Sekulow

Logan Sekulow: On today's show, we're covering the investigation on the Iran-linked video released that targets President Trump's family. 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 host, Logan Sekulow. We're back. It is Tuesday. Welcome to Sekulow, July 28th, 2026. Here we are. Will Haynes is in studio. We've also got a packed show coming up. CC Heil is going to be joining us, Senior Attorney here at the ACLJ. She just got back from an international trip to Morocco. We’re going to cover what the ACLJ is doing there. Again, the work of the ACLJ is all over the world, and I love that so much. Jeff Balabon, head of ACLJ Jerusalem, is going to be joining us. So, again, we're going all around the planet today to tell you about the work of the ACLJ. But that also doesn't stop us from telling you what's going on in the world. And right now, as Senator Graham's funeral processional is happening or is wrapping up right now, we know this service will be a little bit later. There's a lot going on in the news. We also have Prime Minister Netanyahu meeting with President Trump really any minute, or maybe as we speak it's probably happening now. At the same time, there's reports now of a video that has been released by Iran. It's officially, as we've said, released by Iran, at least Iran-linked, that targets and really shows you ways in very graphic detail to not only threaten but potentially assassinate members of the President's family. That includes the First Lady, Melania, and their son, Barron. We're not talking about just go out there and do this. We are talking about a video that shows exactly where they shop, what they've been doing, where they could be, how it can happen. This is the disturbing case that we're dealing with right now. We have seen so many threats to the President. We've seen so many threats, by the way, to really all of us who are involved in this world that it's not shocking or surprising to me whatsoever. But I think maybe it should be a little bit of a wake-up call to what we're dealing with on a worldwide scale.
Will Haynes: That's right. And this is a video that was released by the Tasnim News Agency, which is one of the state media arms that they have. They have an official news agency, but then this one is owned by the IRGC, the mouthpiece officially of the IRGC within Iran. This video is very detailed. It goes through images of the First Lady, talks about the motorcade, talks about even call signs that are used within the Secret Service of the First Lady so that these types of plots could be carried out. Not only is it showing where to maybe carry out some sort of attack, it's titled "How to Kill Melania Trump." It is a call to action to maybe people that are here in the United States, people that are aligned with the Iranian cause, if you will, to try and take out the First Lady of the United States. But it also ends with, "This isn't over, basically. Barron Trump, wait for us." So, it's also making direct threats to other members of the President's family. As we know, the President himself, as well as other officials like Secretary Mike Pompeo and others that have been involved in basically the strength of the United States against Iran throughout the two terms of President Trump, have had a target from the Iranians on them. We know that the Iranians have wanted to carry out assassination attempts on these individuals on US soil. But when you start to see this expanding beyond just the President, just a cabinet member, this is where it starts to be a little shocking. Now, we know the Secret Service has protective details for these individuals. It's not as if they are just out on their own. But it is, once again, a reminder that the Iranians want to cause havoc and cause pain on the United States, including against the President's family.
Logan Sekulow: We're going to keep talking about this. And again, take this work of the ACLJ worldwide as look, all of this is. It's a worldwide issue that we're dealing with. We only got a couple days left now in our Liberty Drive. Of course, we are still celebrating the 250th of America. But we know when these serious situations come up, we need to keep you engaged. We're going to talk about the work the ACLJ is doing around the world when we get back. We have three days left before our deadline, though. And this deadline is great because all donations that are made today will be doubled. So, I encourage you, if you want to support the work of the ACLJ, you like what we do here, go to ACLJ.org right now. Do it during the Liberty Drive. That's the best way to do it because your donation goes twice as far. Phone lines are open for you as well. 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those are the words of our forefathers written in the Declaration of Independence. They are the cornerstone on which our constitutional republic was built. And over the past 250 years, we have formed a great nation. A nation the world has looked to for guidance, for support, and for protection. This month we celebrate our liberty, but that liberty is fragile and requires every American to defend it. That's why this month we've launched the ACLJ Liberty Drive. In honor of America's birthday, we're redoubling our commitment to continue fighting against any attacks that would strip us of that freedom. We owe it to our forefathers. You can join the fight right now through our ACLJ Liberty Drive. Go to ACLJ.org/liberty today and have your tax-deductible gift doubled dollar-for-dollar to enable the ACLJ to fight to defend our God-given liberty. 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 right now, and I would love to hear from you at 1-800-684-3110 on any of these topics. Of course, we're talking about Iran releasing this very disturbing video, but we are also discussing President Trump's meeting right now with Benjamin Netanyahu. What do you hope comes out of that kind of meeting? Where do you stand currently? I'd love to hear you about that. We have more breaking coming in from our international work. Like I said, some of the work we're doing in Israel, we can discuss that as much as you would like at 1-800-684-3110. You also have Senator Graham's funeral right now. A moment where you're seeing a little bit of uniting happening on Capitol Hill, as he was sort of one of those last people that purely would work, even if you did not like sometimes where he would land on things, would work with Republicans and Democrats. Do you think we need more people like that? Give me a call. Be a part of the conversation today at 1-800-684-3110.
Will Haynes: Well, and when you think about exactly what's happening, as you mentioned, the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu is meeting with the President right now, we'll be talking about that later with Jeff Balabon and what that means. But there's a multi-front battle going on, at least for public opinion as well in the United States. One, the conflict with Iran, it is ramping back up because of Iran's refusal to just play by the rules set forth in the memorandum of understanding. That was the simple, laid-out rules of how we can get to an end to this conflict.
Logan Sekulow: President Trump has pretty much said that's null and void at this point.
Will Haynes: Right, because the Iranians would continue to attack ships, continue to provoke the United States and the Gulf partners in this. And as well as at the funeral of the Ayatollah, the people that gathered there specifically through mediators requested that it not be a target. "Let us just mourn the death of our leader," and the United States was like, "Okay, fine. Also, we are in a ceasefire, so yes, we get that." And what did the Iranians do? They started attacking ships during that period. So, they haven't been an honest player in this, as surprise, surprise. But here's the other thing that we're dealing with because at the same time, we are dealing with all of the hate towards the state of Israel, towards any sort of global Jewish population. It's expanding not just on the left, but on the right as well. And that, at the same time, you're seeing things like the Senate candidate in Michigan during the debate last night that he had referred to what who would be a colleague of his if he were to win, John Fetterman, as an ogre on a pike. Violent language going after what would be his colleague.
Logan Sekulow: Someone that, by the way, if you said anything negative about during his campaign due to his medical issue, you would have been labeled as someone who's just horrible, who has no sympathy and no heart if you questioned whether Senator Fetterman should be running at the time. Remember, he was dealing with a lot of medical issues, had a hard time communicating. Now, you had to trust that he was going to be great. Now, time has told, he's pretty good. And guess what happens then? He's someone who actually will play both sides, who will actually discuss, will actually debate, and will occasionally side with Republicans, but not most of the time. We're talking about one percent of the time. Really only to do with Israel. And what has that done? That has made him into the villain of the left. And now, you can make fun of him.
Will Haynes: Once again, at the same time, we talked about all of the issues with the Mayor of New York. We've talked about all of these things spreading. We talked about the DSA yesterday at length about what their platform is. So, there's this internal battle, political battle going on in the United States, at the same time that you see Iran is wanting to do something that would cause extreme havoc in this country. And we are thankful that we have Secret Service, that they have protection, and we pray that we never see some sort of actual attempt, not even a failed attempt, but just not even an attempt on the First Family. But that is the world we're living in right now, where the Iranians are calling for bad actors to do this. And at the same time, you have to wonder how many more Americans are more sympathetic with the Iranians right now because of how this has become such an anti-Semitic moment when you talk about this conflict with Iran. There was all this talk of, you know, President Trump was tricked into doing this by the Prime Minister of Israel. The lack of even credibility that they give the President of the United States, that he could just be blindly led into war by Israel, is absurd as it is. But that is where we're at. So, you have to take these things seriously. I am glad the Secret Service is taking this seriously, but you also have to be concerned when you see the rhetoric from the Mayor of New York. Days and days of fixating on Bibi Netanyahu, what do you have on a solemn holiday of the Jewish people? A crazy person does an attack on a random individual leaving a synagogue. So, that is the culture and climate we're in. They in New York try to say this is a mental health issue. Well, the big concern is that if you continue pushing this rhetoric and you continue to pit Americans against even the best interests of the country, that you have a lot more people willing to do crazy things at the behest of the Iranians.
Logan Sekulow: Of course it is a mental health issue. All of this is a mental health issue. We're dealing with people who have been spurred into chaos, whether that is someone who is being spurred into chaos from a religious point of view or someone that's been spurred into chaos by just the way the media has treated all of this. That every single thing that the administration does is life or death and nothing can be politics anymore. Nothing can be handled as issues that go beyond. You think about how much politics invaded your life even 20 years ago. We can maybe say pre-9/11. Now, 25 years ago, it was something that was discussed, surely. It was something that was a big part of everyone's lives. You had Vietnam War, you had all those things that happened, but it feels like our day-to-day life has really become incredibly polarized. I'm not saying anything new here. I'm not saying anything fresh here. But what I am saying is that if there is some sort of path that doesn't involve violence, I'd be happy to hear it right now from anyone, by the way. I'm talking about from the left or the right. Show me the idea where you call for stuff to be peaceful and then don't incite it with your own rhetoric. You can say the word peaceful, everyone does, and then look what actually happens. Look what you actually incite. And it seems to be no remorse for inciting this kind of behavior and this kind of violence. And that people celebrate or they get disappointed if they see a news report that something was thwarted, that someone's life was not taken, whether you are on the right or the left. You look at Senator Graham's funeral today. People are going through that. Look at some of the horrible things people would put online. That was from regular human beings, by the way, because you saw anyone who actually worked and was his colleague, they all seemed to actually respect him way more than they did a lot of other people. And then you had human beings who've never met the guy going on there and saying, going on their social media pages and saying horrendous, horrendous things about someone who had tragically passed away. I don't care if you agree with them or you disagree with them on politics. It doesn't matter. These are real human beings, and we don't treat people like they are anymore. We treat them like they're just some untouchable television personality or fictional character. And we've gotten so far off track with this. We have a lot of people today even talking about Senator Graham. Why don't we play the bite from John Thune? John Thune was talking about him being a powerful pro-life force. That may not be a lot of things you hear about when you hear maybe your so-called "quote-unquote" conservative friends on social media who maybe did not like Senator Graham or had issues with him or have decided to say something horrible about someone who has passed away. But let's hear from Senator Thune. This was just today.
John Thune: No tribute to Lindsey’s work is complete without mentioning that he was a powerful voice for the pro-life movement. "Until my last breath, I will be fighting for this cause," he said. And he was. He was a fierce defender of Ukraine. He was a fierce defender of the unborn. And on the surface, these might seem like two completely separate issues. But it strikes me that in another way, they are both of a piece. In both cases, Lindsey Graham saw injustice, and he spoke up.
Logan Sekulow: Again, that was from Senator Thune. That was just this morning in the Capitol Rotunda. As they had, there will be a funeral service in South Carolina, but there was kind of this congressional version that took place in the Capitol this morning and the Majority Leader there, Senator John Thune, speaking and really a great tribute to the late Senator. But once again, and I think that's key as well, of defending the unborn and injustice. And when we even think about the work that we do here and the fact that we are such a staunch pro-life organization and we are the American Center for Law and Justice, when you hear that and your discussion about people dehumanizing others, it seems that we forget that no matter your background or where you're from, we all as humans are made in the image of God. And that is where we, as a starting point of this organization with our Christian values, if you forget that, it's very easy to demonize other people to the extent we're seeing, and not just have political fights, but actually think of individuals as less than human. I saw a mutual friend of ours who's a songwriter, professionally. He got a bill passed he'd been working on for years to get new ways that royalties are going to get paid for songwriters. And the comments, he's a Democrat, by the way, a very loud Democrat. All the comments were how dare you work with the administration. So much so that he had to say, you know, put out a statement. This is what we're dealing with here right now. We'll be right back with CC Heil joining us. 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. Over the past 250 years, we have formed a great nation. A nation the world has looked to for guidance, for support, and for protection. This month we celebrate our liberty, but that liberty is fragile and requires every American to defend it. That's why this month we've launched the ACLJ Liberty Drive. In honor of America's birthday, we're redoubling our commitment to continue fighting against any attacks that would strip us of that freedom. We owe it to our forefathers. You can join the fight right now through our ACLJ Liberty Drive. Go to ACLJ.org/liberty today and have your tax-deductible gift doubled dollar-for-dollar to enable the ACLJ to fight to defend our God-given liberty.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. Phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110. Senior Counsel here at the ACLJ, CC Heil is joining us right now. It's been a few weeks. People have been wondering where you were. You sat down, you're like, "I just got back from Morocco." All right, I think we need to have CC on to talk about what's going on because this is the work that we're doing around the world. The ACLJ team is at it. And of course, you're a big part of now the Religious Liberty Council, everything that's happening as well. So, I'll make sure we always plug that, too. But where have you been? What have you been up to?
CC Heil: Well, obviously, I'm the International Legal Director. So, everything that has to do with anything international, I'm overseeing that and hopefully pushing religious freedom throughout the world. And so, this was the International Religious Freedom Summit North Africa that was held in Morocco. It was just a really great opportunity because at the ACLJ, we actually have a client that has issues concerning Morocco. And we also have some clients in Morocco with some issues. And so, this was an opportunity to go and be on the ground and meet with government officials. There was a day that I got to go to Rabat and have meetings with different embassies there, just trying to find out kind of the policies and procedures of what's going on in Morocco. Morocco, they have a king. And in Morocco, basically to be Moroccan is to be Muslim. That is their heritage. But it's interesting because really Morocco, the Berbers were Christians. So, Morocco has a real, really rich Christian heritage. And they also have some Jewish heritage there. And what's again interesting, it's a king and to be Moroccan you are to be Muslim and he is the king, the head of the state, and the head of the faithful, the commander of the faithful. But they do acknowledge Jewish Moroccans, which is very interesting. They do not acknowledge that you can be a Christian Moroccan even though there's very much Christian heritage in Morocco just as much as there is Jewish heritage. And so, that was kind of the issue that I was there to kind of find out more about because there are Moroccan Christians but they have no rights. So, if you want to get married, you do it under the Muslim and Islam. If you want to be buried, you are buried in a Muslim cemetery with your feet facing Mecca. Those are the kind of things. So, it's just deeply rooted in their heritage there. And the King is very amenable to being religiously, and I hate this word, but tolerant. If you can be progressive in that kind of world, they're not the worst. He very much wants to make sure that even in the mosques, there's never anything that's preached that encourages violence or dissension between any kind of religious group. And like I said, they absolutely, he says he's the King of the faithful, but he said that means Muslims, Jews, and foreign Christians. So, to be a Christian there, you need to be foreign. So, while I was there, I went to an Orthodox church, I went to a Catholic church. They are there, but not Moroccans can be there. It has to be foreign.
Logan Sekulow: It also shows how much religion and cultural identity and heritage is treated differently and how we, because we think of Christianity as an opt-in religion, I guess if you will, that we're all making the decision to join this faith where they're born into it essentially. Born Muslim, you are born into the Jewish faith. So, therefore, we don't treat that way. That's interesting.
CC Heil: And really, it goes to the point of to be Moroccan is to be Muslim. They do have this exception of "Oh, but we do have some Jewish Moroccans," but they just will not identify that they have Christian Moroccans. And so, even in my conversations with government leaders, I think maybe I was the only one to broach this subject.
Will Haynes: Well, I think it's also interesting that this international summit was held in Morocco. It shows that there is more openness than I think you would think many countries in North Africa or in the Middle East. But it also brings up that point as well because you were joined by our colleagues at the European Center for Law and Justice. They joined you at this summit. Not only do we have work in places like Pakistan where it's life or death, but even in places where they may be a little bit more free or progressive, if you will, for the area, but it doesn't mean that we can just forget about our brothers and sisters in Christ that live there that may be able to be helped by the good work that the ACLJ and the ECLJ can do and these connections that we have by still trying to get individuals to have equal rights, have international religious freedom wherever they may be, not just in places where it's life or death.
CC Heil: Right. And to bring it even home, so in 2010, there was a purge of foreign Christians. They purged basically all foreign Christians from Morocco. So, that is one of our clients. Basically, these Christians got purged for no reason. Most of them with even no conviction. So, it wasn't even like we see in Turkey where they try to say "Oh, threat to national security," or charge them with committing a crime. Proselytization is a crime in Morocco, but a lot of these people were not charged with that. They were just expelled. And so, we have a client that wants to go back. Obviously, you live in a country for 15, 20 years, you have friends, you have connections. So, there shouldn't be entry bans left on these people. So, that's an issue that the ACLJ is addressing and we're taking that on. And again, we feel like there was a 2011 constitutional change. That was after the 2010 purge. The King is very, very amenable to and wants to be tolerant. And as you see, the United States has recognized Western Sahara as under Moroccan rule. So, of course, right now they love America. In fact, they're going to name a road in Western Sahara I think "The Trump Road." That was just announced the other day. So, this is an opportunity where we as Americans really have an opportunity to influence and effectuate real change because there are countries that maybe don't have the best religious freedom, but when we get engaged and involved, we can kind of push and encourage them to make right decisions, even if we're just chipping away at it a little bit of a time. And I think that's what happened in this trip.
Logan Sekulow: Well, and that's one of the reasons we wanted to bring you on today is just to even showcase that sometimes it isn't a life or death matter. It doesn't mean that it isn't important and that we aren't able to do multiple things at once. So, we were thrilled that you were able to go and bring us this report from it as well. And we know that it also opens up more doors as you continue by making these connections, by being with our ECLJ team who's able to sometimes get to places a little bit quicker than we are from the United States. It's all a part of the work that we continue to do around the world.
CC Heil: It's a part of our commitment that we will stand for religious freedom all over and we will defend Christians and other minorities when they are persecuted.
Logan Sekulow: That's right. Thank you, CC, for joining us. We'll have you back on soon to discuss even more of what's going on. And remember, the work of the ACLJ, as we'll say, is a worldwide effort. And we live in the world, by the way. I know it's easy to get stuck on what's happening in America and look, it's still our number one. It's where the reasons you were there. A lot of it has to do with American values and what we're doing in America. That being said, the work of the ACLJ goes well beyond the limits of our country. We have someone like CC who travels all over the world. We have ACLJ Jerusalem. We have the European Center for Law and Justice. And when you support the work of the ACLJ today during our Liberty Drive that we are celebrating the 250th of America this month as we are in the last couple days here, your donations are doubled and your donations are spread throughout all of the work that we're doing. So, if you want to support the work that we're doing on an international front, if you want to support the work we're doing locally, if you want to support the work that we are doing whether on the media or the legal side, all of it, you just donate at ACLJ.org. Your gift doubled today. We'll be back, second half hour coming right up. Over the past 250 years, we have formed a great nation. A nation the world has looked to for guidance, for support, and for protection. This month we celebrate our liberty, but that liberty is fragile and requires every American to defend it. That's why this month we've launched the ACLJ Liberty Drive. In honor of America's birthday, we're redoubling our commitment to continue fighting against any attacks that would strip us of that freedom. We owe it to our forefathers. You can join the fight right now through our ACLJ Liberty Drive. Go to ACLJ.org/liberty today and have your tax-deductible gift doubled dollar-for-dollar to enable the ACLJ to fight to defend our God-given liberty. Welcome back to Sekulow. Phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110.