SEKULOW

Logan Sekulow: Today on the show, the high-stakes battle begins in the US Senate. Welcome to Sekulow. It's Wednesday, we're live. There's a lot going on in the world, and we're going to cover it today. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110.

What a mess with one of our former colleagues, Tulsi Gabbard. We'll get to that here shortly, as well as the continual work of the ACLJ. As you know, ACLJ around the world, you're going to hear a little bit from CeCe Heil a little bit later in a special video presentation. Then back half the show, we're going to hear from Jeff Ballabon from ACLJ Jerusalem. So it's going to be a packed show.

We know that the war in Iran is still going on and still going strong, if you will. But at the same time, if you were flipping on the news this morning, you may have been cut through two or three different Senate hearings. What's going on in the House? JD Vance is speaking in Michigan right now. There's a lot happening. They've got three screens up on there. We're not going to do that to you today. We're going to actually break it all down so you understand what is happening. And Will, should we kick it off about our friend, former colleague here on the Sekulow broadcast, Tulsi Gabbard?

Will: That's right. So we are seeing the annual threat assessment hearing that's happening in the Senate Intelligence Committee. That is an annual briefing that leaders of the intelligence community give to Congress, to the Senate specifically. It is comprised of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, Commander of US Cyber Command William Hartman, and the Director of the DIA Defense Intelligence Agency, James Adams.

They do this periodic annual review as the Senate looks forward to funding or their oversight role. It just comes at a very pertinent time because of the conflict with Iran. We'll be able to play some of this, but you are seeing senators asking questions, trying to get gotcha moments. But these are very serious individuals. This is a less theatrics-type hearing than you'd normally see, mainly because they are very serious questions about very serious issues: threats to the homeland, the way that our intelligence community is briefing the president, things of that nature.

But you still see Democrats trying to get gotcha questions in, like things about climate change, why there's no climate change assessment in this intelligence assessment like there used to be, things of that nature that are definitely politically motivated mixed in with the other serious commentary.

Logan Sekulow: Depending on when you looked up, maybe you looked at the screen, you may have thought you were watching—is this a different hearing? Is this the same hearing? I actually had to ask the question, there's two different things, right? Because the way the news has been cutting back and forth between that and then Markwayne Mullin, who is currently in his confirmation hearings.

Will: That's right. So he has begun his confirmation hearings before the Senate Committee. He's one who's been picked as the new head of the Department of Homeland Security to replace Kristi Noem. We have some information on that as well that we'll be talking about. If you want to talk about any of these issues, including the Senate voting yesterday afternoon after our show to begin that extended debate on the SAVE Act, call us at 1-800-684-3110. There's a lot to dissect here, whether it be the annual threat assessment hearing, the DHS confirmation hearing, or the SAVE Act debate, which has now been opened and expected to go for quite some time.

Logan Sekulow: I do want to hear from you today also. We're halfway through this week and nearly halfway through this month. That's right. Which means we're halfway through our Double Your Impact drive. I want you today to consider supporting the work of the ACLJ, whether that is financially or just in any way you can. Go to aclj.org. You can sign up for the email list, you can do a lot of different ways that are free, you can subscribe on YouTube. But of course, if you donate today, your donation is doubled right now because there's another ACLJ member champion ready to unlock their donation as soon as you make yours.

By supporting the ACLJ, you are unequivocally saying you defend religious liberty, you want to defend the unborn, support Israel, and support Christians that are persecuted around the world. That's what it means to become an ACLJ supporter, whether that's a one-time donation or you're an ACLJ champion, someone that gives on a monthly basis, someone that decides, "I can give automatically." Of course, you can cancel any time. Your first donation will be doubled if you make it today and become a champion. Scan the QR code you see on the screen or go to aclj.org. This is your opportunity to double your impact today.

Right now, your most sacred rights are under attack. Your right to free speech, your right to worship, your right to educate your children the way you choose. If successful, these attacks will have a destructive impact on the future of our republic. We're fighting in courtrooms across the country to have a lasting impact, defending and upholding our values that this nation was founded on. From protecting the rights of kids to pray and share their faith, the best thing you can do is take a stand. There's nothing too small. A kid who wants to start a Bible club is how the ACLJ got its first case to the US Supreme Court. And today, we would take that case as long as we needed to.

Every victory makes a major impact, and it's only possible because of the support of ACLJ members and champions. This is your opportunity to double your impact to defend freedom for you, your children, and generations to come. Go to aclj.org/impact and have your tax-deductible donation doubled today.

We've witnessed monumental legal victories from defending the 14th Amendment and protecting our sacred American right to vote, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and standing up for the religious liberty of our kids and seniors. But even with the many historic wins we've achieved, the battle is far from over. The attacks on our constitutionally protected rights persist. Countless unborn babies remain in jeopardy and across the globe, innocent Christians are being targeted and killed across this country and around the world.

This fight isn't just the ACLJ's; it's all of ours. It belongs to every American who wants to preserve the values and beliefs on which this nation was founded. None of the victories we've won would have been possible without the unwavering support of ACLJ members and ACLJ champions. It's been an honor to fight for you all these years. Join us in fighting for freedom. Have your donation doubled at aclj.org/freedom.

Welcome back to Sekulow. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. I'd love to hear from you. We’ve got some lines open for you. If you're in the chat right now, let me know where you're watching from. I love to see that. If you're on YouTube or Rumble, I get to see worldwide where all of you are coming in from. Of course, a lot of you are watching on aclj.org or listening on the radio; we appreciate that as well.

We are going to reset a little bit because, of course, there's two things kind of happening at the same time. That is the confirmation hearing of Markwayne Mullin to be the head of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as Tulsi Gabbard currently briefing the Senate on threats to the United States in general. I do think we should hear from Markwayne Mullin, who has been testifying now for a few hours. Let's take a listen in on what's going on.

Markwayne Mullin: We have 280,000 DHS employees right now that are on day 30 without pay, and they're still showing up every single day to do their job. That is a dedicated group of people and we should all be proud of them. We should all be working together and we should all be trying to fund them. So I pray, seriously I pray, that we can get past this, that once this hearing is over and once we go through this process, I get it, I get some of it's got to be political theater. I understand it. I've had to really pray about my attitude.

But I will say, once it's over, I hope we can work together and get them funded so when I walk in, if I'm fortunate enough to be confirmed, if I walk in as secretary, that these guys are ready to go to work day one.

Logan Sekulow: Of course, talking about the current shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security in terms of the government shutdown and the funding that is going to the DHS. We know a lot of people are feeling that at the airports right now as we see flights have been continually delayed, the lines have been crazy for TSA. All of this stuff is still happening. He says he understands that some of it has to be political theater because he's no slouch in terms of a little bit of theater here and there.

Will: That's right. One of the most memorable moments that probably most people first saw concerning Senator Markwayne Mullin is when he challenged the Teamsters president to a fight in the middle of a hearing. He was a former MMA fighter, undefeated at 5-0. He challenged a union boss to a fight right there. Some of the criticism of Markwayne Mullin is that he's a bit of a hothead, that he shoots from the hip, has this kind of firebrand style.

That's actually how the hearing started. He had made past comments over disagreements with Senator Paul when Senator Paul was attacked by his neighbor and had a portion of a lung removed and had broken ribs. He said something to the effect of, "I understand why that would happen." But that is how the chairman of this hearing, Senator Paul, opened his line of questioning, saying, "I understand this, but you've not apologized." Let's hear it. Bite 12, this is Senator Paul speaking with Markwayne Mullin.

Senator Rand Paul: In the days after the fight you said, and I quote, "Sometimes people just need to be punched in the face." Is that still your opinion that political disputes can sometimes, and often only, be resolved by violence?

Markwayne Mullin: No, I don't always agree with that. I don't believe in political violence; I've made that very clear. But sometimes people do need—theoretically speaking, sir—I get it, it's about character assassination for you. That's the way this game is played, I understand it. And you are making this about you, which is fine, but that doesn't keep me as Secretary of Homeland Security.

Senator Rand Paul: It's character assassination when you were the one lauding the assault? Who do you think started that character assassination? I'm just repeating what you have done in character assassination. I'm repeating your support for the assault. So that's somehow something I started?

Markwayne Mullin: No, sir. What I'm saying is you're adding a lot to it.

Will: It doesn't get off with the fireworks early on. That is from the Republican chairman that they have a personal issue with. To Senator Paul's credit on this, he even said in other portions that they talked before this and he hadn't apologized. Even in that hearing, he didn't really apologize. Now, they clearly have a personal issue. It is expected that we may see someone like Senator Fetterman, who is also on this committee, vote to advance him, while Senator Paul, because of these personal issues, may not vote to advance him from committee.

It's a very interesting play here. You also saw something where Senator Joni Ernst kind of did a swerve move where she said, "I have never been more disappointed in a nomination by this president." Senator Mullin almost had this look like, "What? I'm being attacked by my friend?" And she said, "Because I will lose my best friend in the Senate." So there are people that really support him like Senator Ernst, who is not this sort of MAGA out-there senator, but very moderate. She's actually retiring from the Senate, but she clearly is very supportive of Senator Mullin. Senator Paul is not.

I also think that his whole talk about what is political theater is he's trying to say that is how this political theater works. His managerial side will be completely different. He's also coming at a time while DHS is still defunded, but you're starting to see senators like the Democrat from Michigan, Senator Slotkin, who after that synagogue attack has started to change her tune as well, saying, "You know what, we need to figure this out and get DHS funded."

Logan Sekulow: It's not on the tip of our tongues. It's not something we're talking about every day. With all the different topics we brought up, the DHS defunding has not become a number one story. It is in the mix; you definitely hear about it, but mainly when it comes to flight delays or the TSA issues. We are not thinking about it on a global scale when we are, though not officially at war, we are in the middle of a conflict where the Department of Homeland Security, it would be nice if they were fully operational.

Will: We're in the middle of a conflict with the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Unfortunately, it isn't in the front-page news that DHS isn't funded because of the bravery of some of the individuals like in Michigan. Unfortunately, the professor was killed at ODU, but the bravery of those ROTC students prevented two terror attacks where the damages have been extremely minimized compared to what the goal of the terrorist was.

It would be unfortunate if DHS was the front-page news because of a failure because they're defunded. So I don't want it to become front-page news; I want them to fund the Department of Homeland Security. But the way that our media cycle goes, it's going to take something horrific for that to become something the media cares about. The fact that he is sitting there today in a nomination hearing should make it something everyone's talking about: the fact that he's being nominated to lead an executive branch department that currently is without funding.

Logan Sekulow: Then on the other hand, we have Tulsi Gabbard. We've got a couple of minutes in this segment, and we'll discuss that a little bit more at length in the next segment. What is going on with Tulsi? She is there in the Senate also talking about the current threats going on to America.

Will: This the global threat assessment hearing that happens in the Senate Intel Committee annually. It's a very great time for this to be happening. Remember when there were senators saying, like Cory Booker, "Let's shut down the Senate until we get these members of the administration before us"? Well, they already had one scheduled. This is an annual hearing that happens to get these leaders in front of them, and it's the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA Director, FBI Director, Cyber Command Commander, the Director of the DIA Defense Intelligence Agency. We've got some great sound from Tulsi. I want to play it when we get back.

We've witnessed monumental legal victories from defending the 14th Amendment and protecting our sacred American right to vote, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and standing up for the religious liberty of our kids and seniors. But even with the many historic wins we've achieved, the battle is far from over. The attacks on our constitutionally protected rights persist. Countless unborn babies remain in jeopardy and across the globe, innocent Christians are being targeted and killed across this country and around the world.

This fight isn't just the ACLJ's; it's all of ours. It belongs to every American who wants to preserve the values and beliefs on which this nation was founded. None of the victories we've won would have been possible without the unwavering support of ACLJ members and ACLJ champions. It's been an honor to fight for you all these years. Join us in fighting for freedom. Have your donation doubled at aclj.org/freedom.

Right now, your most sacred rights are under attack. Your right to free speech, your right to worship, your right to educate your children the way you choose. If successful, these attacks will have a destructive impact on the future of our republic. We're fighting in courtrooms across the country to have a lasting impact, defending and upholding our values that this nation was founded on. From protecting the rights of kids to pray and share their faith, the best thing you can do is take a stand. There's nothing too small. A kid who wants to start a Bible club is how the ACLJ got its first case to the US Supreme Court. And today, we would take that case as long as we needed to.

Every victory makes a major impact, and it's only possible because of the support of ACLJ members and champions. This is your opportunity to double your impact to defend freedom for you, your children, and generations to come. Go to aclj.org/impact and have your tax-deductible donation doubled today.

Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. We are going to take your calls coming up, so get on hold at 1-800-684-3110, covering both the confirmation hearing of Markwayne Mullin right now as the new head of the Department of Homeland Security, potentially if he gets passed, as well as Tulsi Gabbard, who is having this briefing right now. I think we should hear from her about the current threats that are going on.

All of this is tied together. Then just shortly after this, you're actually going to hear our ACLJ team, CeCe Heil, at work doing a UN intervention specifically about what's happening in Iran. So all of this ties together. We are directly involved as much as we possibly can, and of course you are as well by just supporting the work and being a part of the ACLJ family. Let's hear from Tulsi Gabbard. Will, you want to set this up a little bit?

Will: This is from her opening statement. This is where she is going over, as the Director of National Intelligence, which is the role that is kind of the head of all the intelligence agencies. This is kind of the main filter point of the intelligence as it gets related to the President and works with these agencies to kind of alleviate some of the strains from cross-departmental chatter. This is a role that kind of developed after 9/11 when we saw intelligence failures because of the different intelligence agencies not being able to communicate with each other well. So let's hear what she had to say about Operation Epic Fury and where we are now with it.

Tulsi Gabbard: The IC assesses that Operation Epic Fury is advancing fundamental change in the region that began with Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and continued with the 12-day war last year resulting in weakening Iran and its proxies. The IC assesses the regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities. Its conventional military power projection capabilities have largely been destroyed, leaving limited options. Iran's strategic position has been significantly degraded.

The US-led maximum pressure campaign and snapback of European sanctions added additional pressure to an already bleak Iranian economy, resulting in mass protests earlier this year that Tehran suppressed by killing thousands of protesters. Even if the regime remains intact, the IC assesses that internal tensions are likely to increase as Iran's economy worsens.

Logan Sekulow: Of course, this was Tulsi Gabbard's opening statement about what's going on in Iran, of course giving a whole history of what led to this, including beginning with October 7th of 2023. We are approaching multiple years now of this entire thing. It's been thousands of years in many ways, but multiple years of it actually happening in place. Now we are at the point, though, where you have a DHS that is defunded, that needs to be reopened, and you have someone like Tulsi Gabbard coming in there with a pretty calm voice but really showing the impact of what's happening. It's great that the US has led this pressure campaign, but also shows you the real consequences that have come because of it.

Will: Throughout this hearing, there's going to be a lot of different things discussed because it covers not only the threats coming from the Middle East; it talks about the threats from Mexico and the southern border and the cartels. It's a very broad array because it is talking about global threats. Now, this is interesting because this is something that we at the ACLJ have talked about for a long time. And now you're hearing it from the Director of National Intelligence.

This is about the threat of other groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, that have long been an organization that foments terror, that also is trying to bring down Western values. And now you're hearing it in a global threat assessment, something that you would not normally hear but for someone like Tulsi Gabbard and this President giving attention where it needs to be given.

Tulsi Gabbard: An organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood poses a fundamental threat to freedom and the foundational principles that underpin Western civilization. Islamist groups and individuals use this ideology for recruiting and financial support for terrorist groups and individuals around the world and to advance their political objectives of establishing an Islamist caliphate which governs based on Sharia. There are increasing examples of this in various European countries and President Trump's designation of certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organizations is a mechanism to secure Americans against this threat.

In response to setbacks to their capabilities of conducting large-scale complex attacks, Islamist terrorist groups have shifted toward focusing on executing information operations to spread propaganda and inspire or enable individuals located in or with access to the West.

Logan Sekulow: Propaganda. It's everywhere right now. The information operations by terrorist organizations, by Iran, by the Muslim Brotherhood, by Hamas, is everywhere. You are consuming it if you're going on X, if you're going on Facebook, if you're on Instagram. You are consuming propaganda from terrorist organizations that are feeding this into the algorithm and doing a very clever job at it. You are hearing propaganda from these terrorist organizations if you're listening to some podcasters. That is where this is rooted. This is anti-Western ideology.

Now, if you're listening to this show, you know how to see through it. We equip you with that every day. We talk about it every day. But not everyone is as up to speed, and that is why it's important that the intelligence community is looking at this as well.

Will: We also at the ACLJ had our attorney, CeCe Heil. She gave an oral intervention at the UN. She was able to film it here and was played before the UN this week. This was just yesterday. This is what CeCe Heil delivered before the UN by video.

CeCe Heil: Thank you, Mr. President. Recently, the world has witnessed a sharp and heartbreaking escalation of Christian persecution in Iran as nationwide protests erupted at the end of December. The regime has responded with lethal force, killing thousands of civilians and tightening its grip on religious minorities. The recent situation puts an even bigger target on Christians as the government already views them as a threat to national security.

This wave of persecution is not new, but it has reached unprecedented levels and is further proof of Iran's determination to eradicate the Christian presence in the country. The government's crackdown is only the most recent event that has led to Christian persecution in Iran. Unfortunately, since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has a history of targeting Christians and arresting them for gathering to worship, sharing their faith with others, or simply possessing Bibles and other Christian literature.

Iran's continued practice of targeting, arresting, and killing Christians for their faith is a shameful and direct violation of the most foundational human rights. Iran should immediately release all Christians and other religious minorities detained on charges related to their faith, reopen forcibly closed churches, and stop the killing and targeting of Christians. We ask that this Council hold Iran accountable for its failure to abide by its obligation under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to ensure that all its citizens have the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Thank you.

Logan Sekulow: When you see this, that we don't stop working even when there's a global crisis going on, when there's a conflict, we may be on here talking, but our attorneys are at the UN. They're in court. They're everywhere, continually working towards the mission of the ACLJ. Speaking of which, you can support the work of the ACLJ right now. Any donation today will be doubled. Go to aclj.org or scan the QR code you see on your screen.

Right now, your most sacred rights are under attack. Your right to free speech, your right to worship, your right to educate your children the way you choose. If successful, these attacks will have a destructive impact on the future of our republic. We're fighting in courtrooms across the country to have a lasting impact, defending and upholding our values that this nation was founded on. From protecting the rights of kids to pray and share their faith, the best thing you can do is take a stand. There's nothing too small. A kid who wants to start a Bible club is how the ACLJ got its first case to the US Supreme Court. And today, we would take that case as long as we needed to.

Every victory makes a major impact, and it's only possible because of the support of ACLJ members and champions. This is your opportunity to double your impact to defend freedom for you, your children, and generations to come. Go to aclj.org/impact and have your tax-deductible donation doubled today.