Sekulow

Jay Sekulow: We got breaking news. President Trump announces the Iran MoU is DOA. Keeping you informed and engaged. Now, more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your hosts, Logan Sekulow.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome to Sekulow. That's right, President Trump just announced at the NATO, is it NATO? Is it NATO summit? NATO Turkey.
Guest (Male): Turkey.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, we can't say Turkey anymore, right?
Guest (Male): Turkey A.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah. Used to that.
Guest (Male): Yeah. It's like when when the Ukraine war started and they're like, it's Kyiv.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah. It's like your sister decided to be Carol Beth. I don't know where. You can't be a two name. Hope she's listening. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. President Trump did announce in that moment that he believes. Now he said there are people that want to negotiate, they want to talk through. We'll have some, you can hear it directly from President Trump's mouth, but saying he believes that the MoU is dead, that these people are incredibly difficult to deal with, shocker, and we're not living up to their word. So let's hear from President Trump about whether the ceasefire is done. This is bite one.
Donald Trump: Ceasefire over. Is the ceasefire done? Is the MoU dead? It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore, they're scum. You know what scum is? They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people. And they're vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it. As far as I'm concerned, it's over. I'll speak to our negotiators, they want to negotiate, they're good people. Steve Woodco. Jared Christian. But they have to come back to me. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them, they're liars. We make a deal. And then if I make a deal with him, we have a deal. It goes out, he talks. We make a deal, everyone's agreed. No nuclear weapon. We make a deal. They go outside, talk to the press, they say, we never even talked about it. There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo. As far as I'm concerned, it's over.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, they're cuckoo, everybody. Give me a call, what do you think about this? Are you at all shocked that President Trump would make this statement so clearly, saying to him, the MoU is dead, that the ceasefire is over. I want to hear from you. 1-800-684-3110. We got more from President Trump and his meetings there. We got a packed show, to be honest with you. Um, we got a great video presentation our team put together for this special Independence week that we are still celebrating right now. Remember that we are celebrating all donations are doubled right now. If you go to ACLJ.org. And also, if you are one of those first 100 people to give over that $250 threshold at Independence, I'm sorry, at ACLJ.org/USA during this Independence week, you get those special gifts, the cooler bag and the challenge coin, the ACLJ branded America 250 co-branded challenge coin and cooler bag. So get that ACLJ.org. But beyond that, just make a donation of any kind. We appreciate it. During these special months our donations are doubled and matched by incredible ACLJ supporters and ACLJ champions. So I encourage you to do that today.
Guest (Male): That's right. And we're going to get more into this as we go on. Why did the president say it's dead? This is as the US military hit more than 80 targets last night. This is after Iran decided to strike some ships in the Strait of Hormuz, they were trying to transit that strait. And what do we find out? Uh, the US military was ready to spring into action hitting 80 targets. There's a lot more to break down about that. What what is the the endgame for Iran here? What does the president think is going to happen? Well, he doesn't think we're going to get to a deal as of today.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, and what does military, uh, relationship militarily look like now? What are we doing here? If the ceasefire is over, what is the prerogative of America at this point? What do you think? 1-800-684-3110. Again, it has been a very contentious subject for a lot of people on the right and the left. The war in Iran, if now we are at the point where once again, the MoU is done, the ceasefire is effectively over, according to the president, what is it going to look like? President Trump, I believe, will be speaking soon as well. We'll keep an eye on that. After they're saying new strikes have happened in Iran. So we'll discuss a bunch of that coming up. And we're also going to hear from Jeff Balabon, our ACLJ Jerusalem team member who is going to be actually joining us from Washington DC. My brother Jordan, just walked into the studio. He'll be here next segment too. So we got a packed show. Be a part of it today. I encourage you once again. Special week, Independence week. Donations are doubled of any kind at ACLJ.org. I want you to do that today. And we got four lines open. 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back.
Narrator: This week, our great nation celebrated its 250th birthday. This is our Independence week. Freedom is precious, but it is not free. It can never be taken for granted. The ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the American dream, can be lost in a generation if we don't fight to secure it. Our liberty was declared 250 years ago. And for more than 35 of those, the ACLJ has been here, fighting against those that seek to challenge, undermine and even strip us of our God-given rights. Freedom must be protected always. And that's why we need you, right now. When you go to ACLJ.org/USA, your tax deductible gift will be doubled to help us preserve our American freedom. But that's not all. The first 100 members to give $250 or more will receive an America 250 cooler bag and a limited edition ACLJ America 250 challenge coin. It's our thanks to you to help celebrate freedom as we fight to protect it for generations to come. Go to ACLJ.org/USA.
Narrator: We've witnessed monumental legal victories from defending the 14th Amendment and protecting our sacred American right to vote, the overturning of Roe versus 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.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. We got some phone lines open for you, 1-800-684-3110. I do see a bunch of you are just joining us right now. Uh, President Trump is declaring that the MoU, that Iran deal, is dead. President Trump is speaking right now in Turkey at NATO. Let's make sure that there's anything we need to pop in that we can pop in live. I know a lot of you would like to hear if there's any sort of updates or anything news happening right now, because there has been some movement in Iran.
Guest (Male): That's right. So, yesterday there was news that Iran had struck three ships, uh, shipping vessels that were going through the Strait of Hormuz. That's a violation of the MoU. Um, and remember what MoU even stands for? That is memorandum of understanding. That is, here's what we agree to, are our mutual understanding of what the status quo will be during this period of negotiating to a final deal.
Logan Sekulow: It was a pre-agreement.
Guest (Male): Right. And so they were saying, we mutually agree, we're not going to attack ships in Strait of Hormuz. This is now um, the the multiple times since signing of the MoU that Iran has struck vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States struck back last night, uh, with 80 targets hit. Um, this was both air defenses, it was uh, along that coastline, their capacity to launch these attacks, um, and and even other Gulf nations were calling out the the Iranians. So, Cutter, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, which were where the ships were from, were saying, hey, this is a violation and this cannot stand. Now we have the president at NATO at a time where the world is is thinking about foreign policy, is thinking about the alliances of the United States. Uh, he's, as you said, speaking right now at the end of this two-day summit. He'll be returning to Washington soon. Also, Iran was having their major funeral for the Ayatollah finally, because they had waited for it things to settle down so they could actually get it done. So they could have people out and and and not become another target for the United States. So this is where we're at. They are deciding at the same time to flex their muscles and say, hey, we're still going to hit ships. For what reason? It it's unclear why they are even doing this other than to, I guess, look strong. But what happens? United States hits back and the president says pretty firmly, and I think we should play this again for those just joining us. This is what he says when they're asking from a reporter, is the ceasefire over? Is the MoU dead? Let's play what the president had to say just moments ago before we were on air.
Donald Trump: Ceasefire over. Is the ceasefire done? Is the MoU dead? It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore, they're scum. You know what scum is? They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people. And they're vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it. As far as I'm concerned, it's over. I'll speak to our negotiators, they want to negotiate, they're good people. Steve Woodco. Jared Christian. But they have to come back to me. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them, they're liars. We make a deal. And then if I make a deal with him, we have a deal. It goes out, he talks. We make a deal, everyone's agreed. No nuclear weapon. We make a deal. They go outside, talk to the press, they say, we never even talked about it. There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo. As far as I'm concerned, it's over.
Logan Sekulow: Let me just say, this is what we were concerned about from the beginning. Would any kind of memorandum of understanding with Iran and trying to get to a point where you can actually even have a actual agreement, a full agreement with Iran is impossible when you have an end times led regime that's whole basis on their uh, their version of Shia Islam is to bring about the end times by strike by a major kind of action. And the biggest action we know of in the world, Logan, will still today is nuclear war. So nuclear war attacks against Israel and then the Great Satan, the United States of America. And as we've seen through this conflict, any of its allies, including its other Muslim allies. So, for all of those on the right who said, you know what, the president finally saw the light that he needs to stop listening to the Jewish people in American, the Israelis and Benjamin Netanyahu. No, I think the president just saw the light once again. Those of you saying that things could calm down and the Strait of Hormuz could open normally, and the memorandum of understanding was great. By the way, you were the same people who were criticizing the JCPOA when Obama did it, uh, somehow you switched your mindset, and it lasted even less time because the Iranians are bloodthirsty. Like the president said, it is not like dealing with a normal regime. So the moment you get an okay from them, they're still looking at how can we shoot at someone? How can we fire at, it was three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and just cause disaster. Because they don't care about their own people. They don't care that this is the largest retaliatory strike that we've had since this kind of quieter period. This was the biggest one. And the president didn't say, okay, now we're going to go back to negotiating. He said, I don't think we're going to go back to negotiating and they should expect more tonight.
Guest (Male): Exactly. And that's what
Logan Sekulow: That's a lot different than tit for tat, you know, backfire. Okay, let's get back on track now.
Guest (Male): Yeah, he he did tell the press that I I assume that we will strike more tonight. Uh, and and Jordan, I think though this kind of does reveal what the analysis has been on this broadcast for a while is that, uh, that for so long in Washington there was this binary choice of either, uh, an a JCPOA type deal or uh, all out war. And what President Trump has shown is that, uh, there's a different path forward. He's he is very outside the box when it comes to, uh, the way he conducts foreign policy, as well as listening to the advisors. When you see what he did, he hit very hard. He showed that there's credible military threat from the United States. And then gave them the opportunity to realize we're not just, uh, paying lip service to military threat like past administrations have done, on both Republican and Democrat side. He actually showed we will, uh, annihilate a large portion of your government, multiple tiers down, and then give you the opportunity to negotiate. Now, we said the big question is if these three tiers down are still theological in the way that the Ayatollah was. We know they're bought into the system of the government of the Islamic Republic, but are they still the theological ideologues that that the Ayatollahs were? Based off this, it appears they are. And then, as President Trump is saying, there's something wrong with them, they're cuckoo. Yeah, it's uh, called, uh, this apocalyptic nature of their theology. They are going to be not necessarily a credible negotiating partner, but he did give it that opportunity.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, I mean, there was kind of a hope that this sounds strange, but that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, once you remove an Ayatollah, and you really don't have an active Ayatollah right now, was it was a business of terror. They were about making money though. And so if they saw this as a new way to make money without having to be in the part of the business of terror, and they could actually control run a country.
Guest (Male): Be the world's villain.
Logan Sekulow: Be the yeah, they wouldn't have to do that anymore. So they wouldn't have to always look behind their back to see if they were about to be, uh, you know, taken out by by someone who was on their team. Uh, and kind of changed their business model. And what we have seen is they have done the opposite of that hope. They have stayed on track and even gotten more aggressive. I'd say in a way, not just aggressive, but also what they are putting their people through. Uh, the people of Iran through, it's recklessness. Because by firing at these three ships, uh, you have now unleashed the US military and all of its allies in the Middle East, once again, to rain down on Tehran and military sites. And what we know is that there were even more military sites taken out last night, even more Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels taken out last night. But to those on the right who thought this memorandum of understanding was it and we were going to get to some deal, uh, I guess go back to what we were saying, which was I can't imagine this getting through 60 days. That would be through a hope and a prayer. And even if it did, is it really the deal we wanted? Would they ever abide by it? Uh, I hope what the president said, it might may sound strange, but I hope what the president said is true that this deal is done and that we move forward with Iran so that they know, uh, they're going to get a worse deal next time. If they keep doing this, it's going to be worse for them, more dangerous for their economy, their country. And at the end of the day, it just gets to be a more and more difficult way forward for the Iranian regime.
Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, and I want to play this from the president because I thought this was, um, it was just a line where even it shows his mindset, which is is sometimes humorous.
Guest (Male): Yeah.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, but let's go ahead and play bite nine. This was talking about even the Iranians asking for kind of a time out so they could make sure they could attend the funeral of the Ayatollah. Let's hear from the president.
Donald Trump: You know, they they asked for a time out. They wanted to go to the funeral of Komeini. And I said, give it to him. And they start shooting missiles. I mean, it's a crazy thing. Now, we did kill him. Yeah, so I guess you have to look at it that way, but.
Logan Sekulow: He's always trying to find the silver lining here.
Guest (Male): Right. Exactly. He's like, no. Well, I understand it a little. It's insane. We gave them the freedom to go to the funeral.
Logan Sekulow: We caused the funeral. Because we, our word is good, and they lie. As the president said, they're liars, they're scumbags. And we've said that time and time again, it's part of their version of Sharia law and the version of Islam that they follow. This is not all Islam, has that takia in it, which means you can lie to your enemies and that's not somehow violating your faith or sin. And so saying we need a ceasefire during this is great for them. They get to go to their funeral, not worry about bombs, you know, missiles being dropped. At the same time.
Guest (Male): Yeah. And do it into everyone else.
Logan Sekulow: They know, hey, this is a great time for us to start shooting at boats. Phone lines are open for you. What do you think? Of course, this is obviously going to cause some strain even within conservatives in the political nature of everything. How does this new response now from President Trump saying that the deal is done? How's that going to play out? 1-800-684-3110.
Narrator: We've witnessed monumental legal victories from defending the 14th Amendment and protecting our sacred American right to vote, the overturning of Roe versus 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.
Narrator: This week, our great nation celebrated its 250th birthday. This is our Independence week. Freedom is precious, but it is not free. It can never be taken for granted. The ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the American dream, can be lost in a generation if we don't fight to secure it. Our liberty was declared 250 years ago. And for more than 35 of those, the ACLJ has been here, fighting against those that seek to challenge, undermine and even strip us of our God-given rights. Freedom must be protected always. And that's why we need you, right now. When you go to ACLJ.org/USA, your tax deductible gift will be doubled to help us preserve our American freedom. But that's not all. The first 100 members to give $250 or more will receive an America 250 cooler bag and a limited edition ACLJ America 250 challenge coin. It's our thanks to you to help celebrate freedom as we fight to protect it for generations to come. Go to ACLJ.org/USA.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. We actually got a lot of calls coming in, we're going to take some of those as well as we head into this segment because we have also a a great video our ACLJ team put together. I don't want to make sure that you guys don't miss. And don't go anywhere during it. You know, it is a very special video for specifically these weeks. And we have a very special Independence week. You know, we're all coming off of the 250 celebration of America. And I kind of thought, you know, how long would that last? I think that lasted till about Monday. And I feel like we've moved on. The World Cup I think kind of uh, was the final.
Guest (Male): It could have continued.
Logan Sekulow: It could have continued if the team had won. And then I think knowing that that is over, I feel like a lot of the 250 celebration, not for us though. We're keeping it going for Independence week. That's why donations of $250 or more right now at ACLJ.org/USA, not only they're matched, so you get up to $500 in terms of donation, but you get a special challenge coin and a cooler bag. So make sure you get that. Will, what is this video though before we start it off here?
Guest (Male): This is one we put together and it goes kind of digging into where our rights come from. We know we've had these discussions over these past months if we've heard politicians and members of the media, uh, scoff at the idea that our rights come from God. And so we put together this special presentation. You'll see some familiar faces and we wanted to go ahead and run this for you. And, uh, and we'll hope you enjoy this and we'll be back after this video.
Narrator: Our rights come from God, not from the Constitution or legislation or a petition or anywhere else. This isn't a fringe idea. It's a foundational belief, put on paper 250 years ago, in America's Declaration of Independence. Endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Jefferson wrote it. And it's one of the most iconic, recognizable and powerful sentences in the world. So why then does it seem that so many people in America today don't agree with it? Or at least don't understand it?
Jay Sekulow: The notion that rights don't come from laws and don't come from the government, but come from the Creator. That's what the Iranian government believes. It's a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Shia law and targets Sunnis, Baha'is, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities. And they do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their creator.
Guest (Male): Those voices have seeked to distort the self-evident truth that we know so well that our founders boldly proclaimed in the declaration that our rights do not derive from the government. They come from you, our creator and Heavenly Father.
Guest (Female): Is this him putting God over the Declaration of Independence?
Jay Sekulow: So the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling.
Guest (Male): Politicians like Senator Kaine, who ran for vice president just 10 years ago, and journalist Katie Tur, who has a national news platform, probably wouldn't take such positions if their opinions were on the fringe of culture or unpopular. Because political discourse is, generally, a reflection of the values and beliefs of the culture it represents. But do people really believe our rights come from somewhere other than God? Just how popular is that viewpoint? We decided to send our team to ask just that.
Guest (Female): Um, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. I think just being a basic human should be where our rights come from.
Guest (Male): Our founding fathers.
Guest (Male): The people.
Guest (Male): I think the Constitution.
Guest (Male): Beginning in England and the Magna Carta. That was the a good start.
Guest (Female): Uh, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights.
Guest (Male): The history of people making mistakes and realizing what we need as a society.
Guest (Male): Um, the the law of the land. So I think it comes from the Constitution, you know, things of that nature. So I'm sure.
Guest (Male): That's a harsh reminder of how important it is to pass down the biblical values that are enshrined in our founding documents. The ACLJ still believes, no matter what culture may say, our rights come only from our creator.
Guest (Male): What the government does is ensures that the rights that we are endowed with by God are enforced, meaning we are human beings who are put on this earth and created by a higher power. And whether you're a Christian or you're a Muslim or you're a Jew, it doesn't matter, right? God is the reason why we're here to exist on this earth to do good and to to make our fellow man better. And I I think that's very, very important. And our founders were very intentional about that, right? They wanted to make sure that everyone understood that our country was probably the first country in the history of Earth to sort of reverse that and say that human beings have free will that is endowed to them by God and it is the government's job to make sure that it is creating a society where those rights are able to be expressed by every single one of the citizens. And when you look at sort of the ways in which our country is failing, I think a lot of it can be linked directly back to a a straying from faith and a straying from the idea that being faithful and and trusting that your life is in the hands of a higher power and trusting that our government was created under the auspices of the same higher power. It doesn't mean that I have to disrespect somebody for being an atheist. But it does mean that we have a government that was created to ensure that an atheist's rights are equal to that of a Christian or a Jew or of a Muslim. And so faithfulness doesn't know a specific creed, but our government was so smart to use the basis of the Christian faith in order to make sure that everyone's rights, particularly their rights to worship and their rights to speak, were always going to be protected at all costs. I mean, there's a reason why it's our First Amendment. And and the reason why it is our First Amendment is because it's the most important one for building a proper society. Every single word that you find in the Constitution and our founding documents can be applied to all the new technological changes and things that happen in society. But they all get back to those founding Christian principles that they said were the best way for a society to govern itself. And it doesn't mean you have to be Christian, like I said before, but it does mean that those guiding principles should be guiding all the decisions that are being made in every single legislature across this country. And I think that's what's so genius is it gives the kind of wiggle room for our laws to change, but for our founding principles to remain rock solid and to never change.
Guest (Male): At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what we believe about the origins of our rights if we aren't willing to defend them. You see, if our rights indeed come from God and are recognized in our laws and Constitution, then it's our responsibility to make sure they're exercised freely and enforced as written. Because history teaches us that our Constitution is only as powerful as the people and efforts to uphold it. It's why when a street preacher legally comes under attack in Chicago for practicing his First Amendment rights, the ACLJ jumps into action. We aren't just defending that preacher, we're defending his right, ensuring it can be freely applied and exercised by all Americans. Otherwise, that God-given right is trampled and destroyed. At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin famously called America a Republic if you can keep it. Now, two and a half centuries later, the ACLJ remains dedicated to keeping our beautiful constitutional Republic and all our rights as one nation under God.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome back. You've heard me say, is that the end? Doesn't make a cheer, is that the end? Phone lines are open for you. 1-800-684-3110. Our team put together that incredible video, took to the streets, did all of that work. And we make sure that in these moments and something like these special weeks that we're able to offer here at the ACLJ, where all donations, not just the donations of 250 or more, but all donations are doubled because there's ACLJ supporters, because remember, we do legal work, we do media work. None of this, uh, is at a cost to you. Nothing's behind a paywall, but it is only because you're able to support us financially. When when you support the ACLJ, when you give, whether at ACLJ.org, or ACLJ.org/USA right now, if you do that, and you give over $250, you do get that cooler bag and that challenge coin right now. But even beyond that, all of this work happens because of you. And we have a second half hour of the broadcast going on. So I want to make sure if you're listening on trust or radio, you don't get the full hour. We do full hour every day, Monday through Friday. It's on our YouTube stream live. It's on ACLJ.org, the ACLJ app, on uh, Rumble. However you get streaming media, we are there as well. ACLJ News channel. And later on, however you get your podcasts, we're there immediately. So whether you're listening at 12 to 1 PM Eastern time, or you're listening sometime later on, or watching sometime later on, we want you to be a part of the full show. And of course, you can always give us a call too. 1-800-684-3110. We're going to take some calls coming up. We'll be here with Jeff Balabon also. Packed back half coming right up.
Narrator: This week, our great nation celebrated her 250th birthday. This is our Independence week. Freedom is precious. Freedom must be protected always. That's why we need you. Right now, when you go to ACLJ.org/USA, your tax deductible gift will be doubled to help us preserve our American freedom. To help us celebrate freedom as we fight to protect it for generations to come. Go to ACLJ.org/USA today.