SEKULOW

Logan Sekulow: Welcome to Sekulow. We are taking your calls at 1-800-684-3110. We are wrapping up our first week, getting there almost, at least to wrap up our first week of our Double Your Impact drive. I want you to be a part of that today. When there is breaking news, when there is work in the world of the ACLJ, we're going to make sure we cover it. We're going to be joined a little later with a big update from one of our attorneys on a case in Georgia.

Stay tuned for that coming up. But I did want to address some breaking news, and that is the Senate on Wednesday rejected a deal. The Democrats put in a deal to what they would essentially say end the war, thwart the war, if you will, in Iran, and of course, that failed.

Guest (Male): That's right. So this was a resolution which would have said that the President can take no further action in Iran without an authorization from Congress. There's a similar vote happening in the House today. Last night's was in the Senate, which would say that the President directly would have to remove the United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Senate version that went forward last night failed 47 to 53. So a "no" here is on the side of the President. And the 53 "no" votes included all of the Republicans except for one, plus John Fetterman. And then those that voted to advance this, which would have said that basically the war in Iran has to stop unless Congress approves it, was all of the Democrats, minus Fetterman, but adding Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky.

We'll get into this and what it means, but some of the sound coming out from the Democrats is shocking. At a time when our Armed Forces are engaged in this, the way that they are describing the administration seems so very reckless and unserious. If this is as serious as they say it is, the way that they are talking about the administration, I feel like it puts our Armed Forces in more harm's way than if they were just to say we don't believe this is the right action. We don't think this is the way we should go. But I've got a soundbite from Mark Kelly that I'll play you in the next segment, so stay tuned, that will shock you that members of the Senate that are veterans would talk this way.

Logan Sekulow: I want even read to you. This is one from Chuck Schumer. He said today, every senator, every single one, will pick a side. Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted of forever wars in the Middle East or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war?

So again, that is coming from Chuck Schumer. And it does feel pretty strange after we know what was a bumbled and fumbled exit from Afghanistan that was led by their own President and their own party.

Guest (Male): Once again, what we have seen is precision, accuracy, effectiveness from the administration, from the military. And you've got to hand it to our men and women in the Armed Forces of the United States and the commanders and the Secretary of War. They are executing this action in Iran with efficiency, precision, and skill and strength that the United States has not shown in a very long time.

So you can say you don't agree with it or you think that the President doesn't have the right to, even though I think history bears this out that he does. But to say that Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are bumbling us headfirst is a slap in the face to our military that is engaged in this conflict right now.

Logan Sekulow: I want you to take a minute here because we are in our Double Your Impact drive and I have to talk about this because look, there's special months throughout the year where your donations are doubled. They're matched by other donors who are ready to unlock their match. When many think of the ACLJ, they may think of our huge big cases or giant clients, but our efforts extend far beyond those big cases into advocacy across the country.

We take on cases defending individuals against lawfare as well as we are taking on large federal cases always and shaping constitutional fights. The ACLJ's involved on every level from the individual all the way up to representing even Presidents of the United States or world leaders when needed. You'll get the same legal help if you ever need it. But that's only because you support the work. So go to aclj.org or scan that QR code you see on the screen. Every donation made will be doubled and it's tax-deductible. We'll be right back.

Welcome back to Sekulow. We do have some phone lines open for you at 1-800-684-3110. For those that are just joining us, yes, the Senate has rejected a Democrat-led Iran war powers resolution that called for congressional approval for military action against Iran, effectively thwarting and ending the war in Iran. But that is not what happened. The procedural vote, which directed removal of United States Armed Forces has not been authorized by Congress and it failed by a vote of 47 to 53.

Guest (Male): That's right. So the 47 that voted in favor of this, which would have said effectively the President can do no more operations, no more bombings, nothing in Iran unless he comes and gets approval from Congress. 47 senators voted "yes" on that. All the Democrats except for John Fetterman and they added Rand Paul, which is ideologically consistent for him.

Then you have on the other side those that voted against it, every Republican plus John Fetterman. So one Republican and one Democrat switched places on this vote, but it did fail in the Senate. A similar measure is expected to be put forward in the House today. That is co-sponsored by Ro Khanna of California as well as Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

That is the continuing resolution 38 and this is directed at the President pursuant action section 5C of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, doing effectively the same thing. It is expected to fail there as well.

But what you're seeing now is this partisan split on this action that is reaching a new level. It used to be that when the United States engaged in military conflict, there may have been differences in policy, in outcome, and even loud vocal voices saying the President what they're doing is wrong. But the diminishing language I think is what is new here.

The way that you are hearing Democrats talk about the administration, I think it is damaging to the reputation of the United States and to those men and women in uniform that are fighting currently because you have statements like this. This is from Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat from Arizona. You may know him from his videos telling people to not obey what they say is illegal orders. That was the whole big issue with him earlier in this administration. But let's go ahead and hear what he had to say on with Jen Psaki, former alumni of the Obama White House. It's shocking when you hear it, so I need you to listen.

Mark Kelly (Clip): You could pick a random group of people off the street tonight here in Washington, DC, just a random group, and they could probably do a better job than our government is doing right now with this. They don't have a goal, there's no strategic plan, there's no timeline, and what this is likely to lead to is, again, a long war with a lot of dead Americans and no rationale for how this is helping the American people.

Guest (Male): When you hear that from a veteran himself, an astronaut, a sitting US senator, that he is belittling the planning of the military as well because it's not as if Donald Trump himself is sitting there drawing up war plans. That's not how it works. He knows that. And not that Pete Hegseth is the only other person involved in these decision-making processes.

When you hear him say that you could pick a random group of people off the street of DC here tonight and they would do a better job than the US is doing. One, the United States and Pete Hegseth, the President, Marco Rubio have been very transparent. Then they also have been showing the outcome, effective outcomes. The loss from one strike, one missile that got through is tragic, but that is war. As well as it is not this mass chaos where all of our bases are burning in the Middle East and our ships are being sunk like people like Mark Kelly warned us would happen if this went forward.

Logan Sekulow: When you hear Mark Kelly, you hear the stink of politics on it. It's just politics 101. You don't hear someone who's actually coming from, by the way, respect to service, he probably would have a lot to share. But instead, politics has infiltrated him. Maybe he's another one that thinks that 2028 could be a good political run for him because you see that on him. You see the tone that's coming out of him. It is a tone of politics, it's not a tone of war. It is not a tone of conversation that actually could lead to betterment of our military.

Now time will tell whether this war or this military conflict was worth it. When any human life is lost, of course you're going to weigh what the worth was of it. And what I'm hoping is that President Trump and Pete Hegseth, who I very much thought that Pete Hegseth has done a good job over the last few weeks, I hope that what we're going to see is they do have this plan and they do have this strategy. And all signs would point to that they do.

I think that would be different if we were months into this, and I think even John Fetterman mentioned that. We're 36 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours into this war really, into this conflict, that it would be a little different if we're talking about a year from now, two years from now, three years from now, we're still in it. Now look, it is apparently an issue America has had many times before. So it's not an unwarranted question, but when you come at it from a place that feels so political and not military, not from his expertise. I would love to hear from a non-political Mark Kelly at this moment. I would love to hear from non-political from all sides of the military world. But sadly, when you go on one of these programs, that's not what they want, and that's certainly not what he wanted to express. He wanted to express a political position, not a strategic military position.

Guest (Male): That's right. And once again, I would respect their position if it came across as a statesman, if it was a statesman Democrat that said, I ideologically disagree with this, I do not think the President should be leading us down this road, I am concerned about the cost on American lives. I can respect that position.

What I cannot respect is them acting not like statesmen, saying that they are bumbling their way through this. If you talk to any Global War on Terror veteran right now, I would say a vast majority, about would they rather have the early days of Iraq and Afghanistan executed how it was with the leadership that was then there, even through the Obama years, or would you rather have it executed like it is happening now?

I think you would get an overwhelming response of the way that the President and the leadership in the military and the Secretary of War and the National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio, are executing this action against Iran is how the military should operate. This is efficient. This is a plan. This isn't them trying to use academics and all this other theory involved. This is getting back to the basics of lethality in the military and it's working.

The fact that we are even using more conventional methods and we're not fighting an insurgency like we were fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, it makes it such a different war. And having our leaders use words and phrases like they're bumbling through this or anybody on the street in DC could do a better job is disrespectful to our men and women in military. Have a high-level policy discussion about it.

Logan Sekulow: That's what I'm saying. It feels just like a political stump speech. It doesn't feel like there's any weight there. I want to take this call real quick. Let's go to Bill in Wyoming. Bill, go ahead.

Bill (Caller): Hi, thanks for taking my call. I'm very upset about what's been going on there in the Congress. But I've got to say speaking as a vet that as far as I'm concerned, if the Democrats would have got past their resolution, this would have exactly extended what's been going on in Iran instead of ended it quickly, period.

Guest (Male): Well, what they were trying to do is basically say it's got to end now. And so then they would have to come back and then maybe Congress could have gotten forward and gotten a longer resolution out. But Bill, also, I think that's dangerous to our men and women in uniform too. If they today said you can't do another thing, you can't do any more of this, it's over, even though we have all the assets there that then could be sitting ducks. Obviously, I think that they can engage defensively.

But I think that puts our men and women in uniform in more of a harm's way if they have no roadmap, no off-ramp as they like to talk about. What's the off-ramp in Iran? If your off-ramp is a vote in the House and Senate that says you stop right now, don't shoot another missile against Iran until we tell you you can shoot another missile, I think that puts America's troops in more of a harm's way. So it's ridiculous when you hear Senator Kelly talking like this and not going and having a real discussion and debate with the administration, but going on MSNBC with Jen Psaki and trying to say that any one of the people in DC who probably believe, because all the elites that are around that studio probably do believe they could do a better job because that's the swamp for you, but it is just ridiculous.

Logan Sekulow: Phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110. When we get back, we've got a big update in the world of the ACLJ. One of our attorneys, Liam, is going to be joining us. This is a case out of Georgia, but it impacts everybody so you want to make sure you stay tuned for that. But we're going to continue this discussion and get the conversation going. That is at 1-800-684-3110. So if you are watching right now, if you're watching on YouTube or Rumble or however it may be, I encourage you to call in as well at 1-800-684-3110. We'll take your calls on this topic and kind of everything in the broad reach of this topic.

Welcome back to Sekulow. I always want to make sure at least once a show, I give you a big update on any of the things happening in the world of the ACLJ. Sometimes these cases, they may seem individually on a small scale, but you have to understand the big impact, worldwide impact or country impact or even statewide impact that it can happen.

I also wanted to refresh you to know that if you're dealing with something similar, that you can always reach out to the ACLJ. We have attorneys on standby ready to talk with you. And they will get you all set up and again, that is at no cost to you because people donate especially during these months like the Double Your Impact drive that's happening right now.

Because of people like you that support the work, we are able to offer all of our legal clients at no cost. Understand that because of your support, people like this current client we're about to discuss are able to have a top-tier legal team. Liam is joining us from our offices in Washington, DC. Liam's one of our attorneys here at the ACLJ. I wanted you to first let's set up what this situation is out of the state of Georgia.

Liam: Absolutely. Some of our listeners might remember Jason. He is a passionate evangelist who works near an abortion clinic. He is passionate about life and offering these mothers who are going there other options. Unfortunately, what happened is that the city of Forest Park, Georgia, essentially put a heckler's veto into the permit. What I mean by that is there was text on the permit that said if anyone complains about this permit, it's revoked. Well, of course the abortion clinic complained, and so they tried to cite him for these ordinances. They tried to hold him criminally liable, and the ACLJ stepped in right away to make sure that that didn't happen.

Logan Sekulow: Yes, of course that is when the ACLJ team gets involved. Now the case took an interesting turn. Will, I know you know some of the facts as well, took an interesting turn, but there is a bigger side to this that means though I'm going to claim it here, it's definitely at least a partial victory, we know we have to keep fighting.

Guest (Male - Will): That's right. And so Liam, the absurdity of the matter that you can get a permit but then if anyone is concerned about what you got the permit approved for, you could end up being arrested. The absurdity of that on its face is not lost on us. But there was a hearing yesterday because he was arrested, was being charged, and you had to go to court yesterday. Tell us what happened as we were able to get a victory in that, but also what comes next.

Liam: Absolutely. What happened was simple. We were there ready for trial, ready to hit them with these motions that we had filed. That's what the ACLJ does. And at the last minute, and we see this pattern a lot, the process is the punishment. They know they can't win at trial. At the last minute, they decided to dismiss the case without prejudice. They told us that great motions, but we're not going to hear them today. Your client can go home. Now that's a victory. I don't want to belittle that. Our client got to go home and face no criminal liability. But we knew that wasn't okay. This insidious sentence that says these permits can be revoked at any time is still on their permits. So we said absolutely no. We're not going to let this. You're not going to be able to steal our victory away from us. So we're talking with Jason right now and we're planning a federal lawsuit. We want to see this city in court and we want to make it plain as day. That's not what the First Amendment is. These pro-life advocates have a right to be out there. They have a right to be heard. And I think we've got a lot of ACLJ attorneys working on this to make sure that not only his win yesterday doesn't happen again, but anyone else who wants to be passionate about their pro-life views on the streets of Georgia has that opportunity.

Guest (Male - Will): It's a testament to the hard work of our attorneys like yourself and all of your colleagues that put in the time, show up, do the work to defend our clients at no cost to them. Someone who just wants to stand up for life under the threat of an arrest. It's great. We got a victory for our client. The state and city clearly was not prepared to even defend what they know, I assume know, is a heckler's veto here. But at the same time, that doesn't mean that that threat goes away. We get a victory for the individual now, but we have to push back and get real justice for everyone in Georgia, of all places, that the First Amendment can be taken away by a heckler's veto and we have to push back at no cost to the client so that we can get real justice and a real victory here that's lasting for people.

Liam: Let me tell you something about Jason. He is a full-time evangelist. This is his day job. This is what he goes out and does. So if he were to go to a traditional law firm, that's just not an option. He couldn't afford that. What really the heroes of this story are the ACLJ champions who are making sure that people like Jason have a top-notch legal team. When I think of the hours that me and all the other attorneys have put in on this case and we're about to for a federal lawsuit, I can't help but thank all those people who make this possible for people like him.

Logan Sekulow: That is absolutely right. And that is why we have these special months. And you hear about this at the ACLJ, this is just one of many that we are working on all of the time. You've heard from Liam, you'll hear from some of our other attorneys from time to time continually. There are new cases, new intake cases coming in every day. And maybe you have dealt with a situation like this or you feel like you may be dealing with one in the future.

I encourage you to go to aclj.org, look around, look at our legal help section. Make sure you know your rights. Make sure you know what you can and can't do. Or make sure that if you need a lawyer, that we're here for you. All you have to do is go to the ACLJ site, click get help, and you will be immediately attached to a lawyer and the conversation begins. And it doesn't go to a big call center. It gets dispatched directly through the website. And as long as it's within our scope, we'll give you our options. You'll start the discussion.

But again, all of that happens at no cost to our client. But people like this in Georgia who simply want to demonstrate their pro-life beliefs but are told they can't, and again, as Liam said, likely would not have the financial resources to go hire a big top-notch legal team like we have at the ACLJ. But because people like you are ready and waiting and you are there and you are supporting the work, whether that is monthly as an ACLJ champion or whether that is a one-time donation right now, it does not matter. We really appreciate the support.

Because we are in these very crucial times and there are crucial moments throughout the year, only a few times a year do we get to offer these sort of double-matched impact moments. And this is the Double Your Impact drive. It's a new one that we just launched because it will double your impact. If you give any level, someone is ready to unlock their donation. They've pledged and they are ready.

So if there's someone that's out there ready to give $50, essentially that becomes $100 of effective financials for the ACLJ for our legal team, for our media team, and of course to cover the costs that would be for the clients. All of that happens because people like you support the work of the ACLJ during these months. And it's a very special time as we head to our second half-hour. I want you to go to aclj.org or scan the QR code you see on the screen. All donations made, you want to read more about the Double Your Impact drive, you can go directly to aclj.org/impact.

Because the work that we're doing here, it cannot be just even summarized in a one segment of terrestrial radio or of satellite radio or of a podcast. It is so broad in our scope. The amount of work that goes on with these teams, I know you can't see it specifically, you can't see every lawyer, you can't see every case that we're working on all the time, but understand that it is at a level that is hard to comprehend. People that are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the holidays to make sure our clients are taken care of.

With that, we have a second half-hour coming up on the broadcast. If you're watching online, I see a lot of you are on Sam News Channel, YouTube, Rumble, aclj.org, stay here. We'll be back in less than a minute. If you're listening on terrestrial radio, some of our networks don't carry it. If they don't, just find us on all those other outlets. It's free. You can do it at aclj.org. If you're hearing this later on on one of those terrestrial radio options, the show's available on demand always however you get your podcast, YouTube, Rumble, aclj.org. We're there. Just search for ACLJ or Sekulow, it'll pop right up. And with that, again, I'm going to ask you one more time. aclj.org, Double Your Impact today. We'll be back in less than a minute. Really short break.