Sekulow

Logan Sekulow: We got breaking news. Fox News Channel joins the boycott of the White House press pool.
Logan Sekulow: We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments, or call 1-800-684-3110.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome to Sekulow. It's Monday. I think I started too early. I don't know if we got it. Hopefully, we made it on the air. I think we did. Hey, look at that. Good job, everybody. Logan Sekulow. Will Huddleston in the studio. Senior attorney here at the ACLJ, C.C. Hiles is going to be joining us a little bit later. But, of course, we're covering the breaking news that is happening right now as you have all of the major press organizations, including the Fox News Channel, all linking arms and saying no to the White House press ban. Of course, this came out just the last few days. President Trump decided that there were certain institutions, certain media outlets that were no longer going to be invited to the press pool or be invited to White House events. Now, you have a and again, this wasn't necessarily predicated on one specific instance or something that went wrong. What it seems like is President Trump just decided, I don't want to deal with these people anymore. Now, of course, there's been big pushback on that, saying this is censoring, this is removing what the free the free press that we have here in the United States of America. I want to hear from you, your thoughts as well, 1-800-684-3110. But again, this is a statement that came from President Trump. He said the White House is not instituting an assault on the free press, something which I cherish. It is instituting an assault on the fake news, something that has grown like a cancer in our beloved United States of America. It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, totally out of control. It's a threat to our national security and must be stopped now. Thank you for your attention this matter, President Donald J. Trump. That was from Truth Social. So again, President Trump saying that's not what this is. But there's enough behind it in a very, very big week. I'll be honest, a week that you would like to get some press coverage on. This is not necessarily to me or maybe you don't because you maybe you don't like you think that there's going to be answers that you don't want to have to answer to. As we have Xi Jinping coming to the White House, you have Benjamin Netanyahu, if maybe some controversial things happening right now that could spur a very different conversation. Again, I want to hear from you at 1-800-684-3110. But Will, top line, what am I missing here?
Will Huddleston: What we're looking at is first, three news outlets that were banned from the White House premises. That is Politico, MS Now and CNN. When asked about why on Friday, the President said, no reason. It's a very simple ban. I don't want them in my office, I don't want them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can go. Then you look at over the weekend as this developed, you see the news outlets that are in the TV pool, the TV press pool. Now, that's a very important distinction between just anyone that has credentials to get in and go to press briefings. The TV pool are there, they share cost with one another, they take turns on covering different events. It's very expensive. It is kind of the one layer to reporting that hasn't been democratized by YouTube or podcasts. Because it takes crews, it takes camera ops, it takes expensive travel. And so NBC, Fox News, CNN, they would share the cost and they would rotate, but they also provide that to everyone so that it can be given to to every other press benefits from that. The five that are the TV broadcast press people are standing in solidarity with CNN, MS Now and Politico by saying, we're not covering any of your events, Mr. President, while this goes on. CNN was supposed to be traveling with the President today. They were the designated TV pool media outlet as they travel to New York for the UN General Assembly because President Trump is speaking there on tomorrow, on Tuesday. So what you're starting to see is the press stand together, including Fox News and push back at this blockade that the President gave to three outlets.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, look, there has been talk of, hey, didn't Barack Obama do this? We'll we'll break down what he did coming up in other other segments in the show. So you can learn that it's not new for a President to have some restrictions here. However, this sweeping of a restriction, this is fairly new. Again, it's the people's house, but what do you think? I see a lot of comments coming in. Certainly more on the side of the President at this moment. But, you know, I think we needed to talk about this. I am all for independent journalists. I am all for independent outlets of media. And what happens when the mainstream media gets shut out from that conversation? Let's chat it out. 1-800-684-3110, 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back with more on Sekulow.
Logan Sekulow: The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, and our constitutional rights are under attack, it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success. But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms. That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. ACLJ.org.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome to the all-new ACLJ app. Expert analysis and insight Big Tech can't censor. Customize your news and get real-time alerts on the issues you care about. Advocacy is now at your fingertips. Take action, make a difference. Support the causes you care about with just one tap. Be the first to know. Breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox. Everything you need, all in one place. Stay informed, stay empowered. Download today. We are so excited to announce the ACLJ's brand new app, completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to partner with us at the ACLJ. You can watch the daily Sekulow program, sign the petitions, customize your ACLJ membership experience, donate with the click of a button and receive up-to-the-minute critical updates that the mainstream media can't censor. Just scan the QR code on your screen or go to your phone's app store. Search ACLJ and click install. It's that simple.
Logan Sekulow: It's our lighting up. We're going to take a lot of calls on this. Look, we got to pose the question. If this was Barack Obama, if this was Joe Biden, remember even the uproar on Joe Biden not inviting Elon Musk to the electric car summit. And you guys having a lot of issues with that, of course. So you always do have to look at the shoe on the other foot here in scenario. If what if it was Fox News and friends being blocked out of a Democrat President? Did you not like that Peter Ducey can push back on the current press secretaries in the Democratic Party, that you had that voice in the room to at least cause them a little discomfort, if you will? And not just provide the same fluff questions, if you will, to them. And I'm not saying that on the other side that happens, but we know that that certainly was the case. I do think there is some validity to that. Now, again, when it comes to the legal side of this, we can also break that down. If a private business, if I didn't want, you know, certain people covering my private business and showing up into my offices, sure, you're not allowed to come in here and and start, you know, interviewing me and grilling me on these things. I think there can be restrictions put on place, but this is, again, you're the President of the United States, somewhat you work for the people. And there needs to be some kind of if if freedom of the press, which is one of our, you know, top tiers here, we do have to have some form of accountability. Now, you may say that these are not the people who are telling the truth and are being honest. So how can we how can they keep it accountable? That's fine, but maybe we need to make sure there are other outlets that are maybe even similar political bent that can get the questions in, the important questions, and again, both sides here. We got to think beyond, you got two years left to President Trump. Do you want to set this precedent? I understand President Trump's frustration. I think the mainstream press in general is uh pretty bad. And they do some really poor reporting, and they're creating clickbait nonsense, and a lot of the times it is not for the for the betterment of society. It's not for the betterment of America. It is not to push back on things that are happening. It is simply to get clicks or to ask something an inappropriate time to get a clip. You know, they're click farming in these places. I get that. I get the frustration. I I can feel it in his bones saying, I don't want to deal with these people anymore. So what does that look like? Though, what kind of precedent does it set? Let's chat that out. So many of you have called in right now. We're going to take some calls. Will, I know you got something for me.
Will Huddleston: Yeah, I want to read this. This is from CBS News, this line. It says, for the first time ever, a presidential administration is treating news reporting like a crime, and a reporter like a criminal suspect. That's not about Donald Trump. That's about President Barack Obama, and we called it out then. That was when the Obama administration were using tactics to try and get source material, trying to subpoena a journalist, trying to spy on journalists, both James Rosen from Fox News and James Risen, who I believe was with the New York Times at the time, but more left-leaning journalist and more right-leaning journalist, if you want to look at the ideological spectrum. But that was from the Obama administration. And we called it out that that was not a a good precedent they were setting at the way they were going after the press. Now, there were some legitimate concerns about the things that were being leaked that were going through those outlets, both Fox News and the New York Times. But it didn't necessarily mean that what the administration's response to go after the journalists was the right call because of the freedom of speech and the freedom of of the press that we have enshrined in our First Amendment. When you look here, and you even see that CBS was saying that precedent that they're treating news reporting like a crime. That was the Obama administration. Here, it's gotten to a point where President Trump is saying, I'm kicking them out because of purposely negative stories. If you're the President of the United States, yes, I will grant it. He probably has the most negative stories written about him of any president in history.
Logan Sekulow: Of any person, probably in history.
Will Huddleston: Yeah. However, that is also part of the job. The press is going to be antagonistic towards you. They are going to go after you. Now, sometimes you see some people get a pass, but you also see CBS was reporting on the brazen nature of what the Obama administration was doing. I think that's where we have to always be cautious, and why we we don't always agree with those of you that watch that sometimes things maybe aren't the smartest move.
Logan Sekulow: Well, the Obama administration also at one point did try to get Fox News to be uh not allowed to do a certain interview and they there was restrictions being put on Fox News during his tenure. The question is, is do you go because I see that in the chat a lot, but you go, okay, well, that was wrong, therefore this is right. I think that's where we get a little blurry. I do get it though. I wouldn't want them there either. I'm just going to say it. What I want, what I feel like is just made to create more divisiveness in this country. You know, these outlets and people say, why do they get better outlets? Well, why do they get picked the others? Well, they do have the largest sphere of influence, you could say. Maybe not MS Now. But, you know, you can't say that CNN isn't one of the top places people turn to for news, even if the numbers are dwindling. And a lot of new media has been allowed in that press pool. A lot of new So I do have to give credit to President Trump for allowing in a lot of digital streaming, podcasts, those kind of things into that world, and not just be the old school way, the old school approach. However, they're not always the ones getting called on in those moments, they're not always the ones who are, look, I'll be honest, sometimes aggressive enough to get their questions in there. And I do think we do have need to have access to the White House because whether it is for the conservative side or the liberal side, you need to always make sure that again, that this doesn't turn around. Because what we know is if you say, well, Obama did it, well, that means whoever's going to do it next is going to do the same thing. And if it's someone who you don't agree with, you're essentially saying, I'm cool with them having no press accountability. And for them not having to answer for anything. Do you feel that way for real? Or do you just feel that way because right now it's on your side? I understand the frustration of the fake news side. Trust me, we've been victims of it firsthand. I've seen it happen. I hate it. I hate the way a lot of mainstream media has gone. And I hate new media has gone in general. That's why we try to present you a different show here. This show, I tell you, we always tell you the truth. And look, freedom of the press isn't necessarily this. Freedom of the press means you have the freedom to to talk about, make statements against your your government, do these kind of things, create this sort of situation. It doesn't mean you're going to have full access to the President of the United States at all times. However, as Will said, when the idea is, I just pulled your press credentials because I felt like it today, I do think we need to look at that in a in a bigger scope. I do we we do need to take some calls.
Will Huddleston: Well, and I think we should as well, and one thing too. When you start to look at it also not just as a First Amendment issue. But when he is basically pointing out three outlets and when there's a lot more that have negative headlines every single day. Then it becomes arbitrary, then does it viewpoint discrimination. There's a lot of other constitutional issues that are raised by the action when he's even admitting, I'm tired of the negative headlines. That in and of itself isn't what he calls, he says, it's a threat to our national security. That I think is kind of a dangerous precedent to start to put it out there when you are saying that it is in and of itself Politico, MS Now and CNN are a threat to our national security. That takes it into a different realm of just saying, I don't like the negative stories that are being printed about me. But let's go to Robert calling from Maryland online three. Robert, you're on Sekulow.
Guest (Male): Yes, hi. I wanted to ask the question. I think you may have answered some of it, but uh, I think mainly President Trump is taking this action because as you all said, he doesn't like the negative press. But is it the negative press to the point where it's gotten so bad that they write mostly everything negative about him, even more negative articles and say for example, uh, George Bush, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and even Nixon combined to the point where they never print anything good about him. The other thing I here's what I wanted to ask, uh, does this present a constitutional problem? And if it does, for people that already don't like President Trump, either personally or politically, will they use this to say, here he is again, acting like a king. He's acting like a dictator. That's one of the too major criticisms we hear about Trump.
Will Huddleston: Well, and Robert, I think to that point, um, I I I do think a little bit that this could be looked at through the lens of the midterms as well. With with negative press that he's complaining about. What does it see? We see a lot of people in in the chat on on YouTube and on Rumble, that are happy with this move. that are saying, great, get rid of them. Um, that I think could be a rallying moment. This is going, this is old school Trump going after the fake news. I think to your point, yes, they're going to continue to say this is authoritarian, this is another move that that uh he's doing because he's a king. He doesn't like the stories, he has thin skin. These are all the same things, all the same ink is going to be printed about this that they've been saying since 2016. So I don't think anything new comes out of this. I do think that we will see, I would not be surprised if you see a judge grant a preliminary injunction on this. Because it does raise constitutional questions. Now, not just the First Amendment, but like we said, we talk about viewpoint discrimination, equal access, things of that nature. It's not the same as like a public school scenario. But because of the fact that he's pinpointing these and kind of saying it's for an arbitrary reason. I do think that they probably have a leg up in this lawsuit to maybe get a preliminary injunction, and then what's that going to do? It's going to rally also President Trump's base more of like, look, another rogue judge that may not be so rogue in this case, but it is kind of a story made for the midterms to rally the base when there have been a lot of negative press surrounding the President recently.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah, look, if President Trump pushed for accountability within the press. Maybe he said this is the they have I've given them a term and a half to get things together and they haven't done it. Maybe this is what you want. Let me know. We're going to keep this conversation rolling into the next segment. 1-800-684-3110. Phone lines are completely jammed right now, which is awesome, by the way. Thank you so much for calling. We're going to continue to take calls. I want to get your feedback and your thoughts. Again, we think about the short term, long term impact of a decision like this where again, you have Fox News linking arms with CNN and MS Now saying, you know what, if you're going to ban the liberal press outlets, we're not going to show up either. And this happens to be a pretty important week for the United States of America. And for the President Trump's administration. We'll be right back.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome to the all-new ACLJ app. Expert analysis and insight Big Tech can't censor. Customize your news and get real-time alerts on the issues you care about. Advocacy is now at your fingertips. Take action, make a difference. Support the causes you care about with just one tap. Be the first to know. Breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox. Everything you need, all in one place. Stay informed, stay empowered. Download today. We are so excited to announce the ACLJ's brand new app, completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to partner with us at the ACLJ. You can watch the daily Sekulow program, sign the petitions, customize your ACLJ membership experience, donate with the click of a button and receive up-to-the-minute critical updates that the mainstream media can't censor. Just scan the QR code on your screen or go to your phone's app store. Search ACLJ and click install. It's that simple.
Logan Sekulow: For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. ACLJ.org.
Logan Sekulow: We're going to take some calls and look, does the little bit of me say sure. They finally are getting what they deserve here. They finally after years and years of lying and lying and lying, not just about, by the way, President Trump. Just about anybody, is there just that little inkling in me that goes, you know, that laughs it off and says, you got your press credentials removed. Finally, some, you know, a little bit of a slapdown to what's happening. Sure, there's a little bit of me that giggles to that. But I always have to go back to the global impact and the impact of what this looks like in the future. And what we know is the fact, which is that the other side of this coin could be very bad. Okay, it could be very bad. When you have a Democrat President, and I believe you will, have a Democrat President in our lifetime. Likely that's going to happen. Look at if history tells us anything. There will be someone down the road and what does that look like if now the mainstream press, as much as I can't stand a lot of them, the mainstream press is no longer allowed to be part of the press pool. And specifically not the mainstream press. The mainstream press that happened to be the ones that push back on your claims. And look, do I think they're lying? Yes. Do I think they have a lot of headlines that are deceiving? 100%. So maybe that needs to be the more we need to push back on that. The American people need to push back. On the way we interact with media. That we get out of our own echo chambers. Because you would never know what's happening if you don't intentionally get out of your interest algorithm. That being said, so many of you have called in. A lot of your ACLJ champions. And look, I understand. I'm with you in essence, but you do have to look at sort of a bigger side of this. Let's go to Cliff, ACLJ Champion, line one. Go ahead, Cliff.
Guest (Male): Hey, thanks. Listen, I'm going to get right to it because I want to hear much more other than myself, but I welcome what he had done. And with everybody piling on to go against the President, they're never going to stop even if they weren't around in the in in the room there every day uh press briefings or whatever. They're going to continue to downplay everything about America. For crying out loud. I welcome it. And it has the opportunity for all the other media outlets like Salem News and Rav and and uh Newsmax and others. to to uh get out the real truth about what's going on. I'm not saying throw a soft ball pitches to them because they don't. I mean, look what's going on in the world. But we need the truth to come out and not what what what what one side has to poo poo on everything.
Logan Sekulow: I don't I don't disagree with you Cliff. Here's one thing I I want to push back on just a little bit. Is remember how much um, you know, push back we gave on the Biden administration for being so inaccessible for President Biden to not be available to be talking and to be making statements. And and he would not address the press. I mean, how many it was hundreds of days it felt like would go by without us even really hearing from the President of the United States. And it was such a weird shock because that we were so used to the opposite with President Trump. Now this is sort of happened again, and President Trump is probably the most press accessible president in our lifetime. Where he's out there, he's talking to him. He's playing the playlists on Air Force One. He's He is very accessible to the press. So I'm sure there is a relationship that is built there over time where you think not that these people are your friends, of course they're not your friends. But that you would have some sort of rapport with them and when you see even the ones who you feel like are going to be fair to you turn around and do stuff that's not fair in the press. I understand feeling scorned from that. Again, I've been there. Not as to the level of President Trump, but certainly been there. So I get it. It's not that I don't it's not that I I don't see the the vision here. And if you're looking at it from selfishly, I guess you'd say, I totally get it. If I'm thinking about it in a vacuum of the next two years, I totally get it if I'm President Trump. I don't want those people in my house is what he pretty much said. But again, it's not really your house, and we have to keep that accountability there.
Will Huddleston: Well, and I think here's the other side of that as well. When we talk about access to other organizations, the President's given that. There are plenty of organizations that would have never even fathomed being press credentialed at the White House that the President has brought in. That's that's good. We we applaud that. The difference here is that when you start to look at like CNN specifically that was targeted. They are a part of the press pool, right? Now, the other four a part of the five that are the TV press pool, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News and CNN. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News have all said, we're not going to cover it. So that then takes away access to the people. Because they don't have all five of those TV broadcast networks traveling with him. They rotate because there's only so much space on Air Force One. There's also security reasons. You don't want to have a bunch of cameras. They let one take the feed and they share that responsibility, but they also share the costs. If you were to look at people talk about like right-side broadcasting, I see like, well, let them fill in. They don't have the logistics or the capital or the framework to fill in that type of press pool role. There there is a reason that it is only these five. It's because of the infrastructure they have, the cost of it. They're also willing to share that cost among these five, but give that as a service to everyone else. That is something very valuable to this country. And as we said, the travel here. When you see those interviews on Air Force One, those that's the press pool. That's why sometimes it is Peter Ducey, other times it's Caitlyn Collins that are asking because they're rotating. When they get on to Air Force One and they get that camera feed. That's also why you only ever see one angle on every network. So there is something to look at here that then what if the future presidents start to cut out one. I I think all of the new media that has been uh giving a different angle. If it's a Democrat President, they're all gone. They're all kicked out of the White House immediately. Day one, they're say, no, these aren't legitimate serious journalistic organizations. So that's you also have to look at that. They're already gone. Do you then want less access to future presidents to be able to hold them accountable? I think the answer is no. We don't want less access to whoever is in the White House because it isn't going to be President Trump forever. It's only two more years.
Logan Sekulow: Let's go to Jerry real quick in Rhode Island, who's a champion as well. Jerry, go ahead.
Guest (Male): I I've heard it all and I've heard I've heard both of it. And by the way, Will, are we is this a cost saving measure we're trying to protect the outlets? Or are we talking about the neutrality and objectivity of the last several years on the media which has eroded? Most of us who've been listening for a long time know that.
Will Huddleston: Well, and Jerry, to that point as well, I I no one here is disagreeing that uh.
Logan Sekulow: I agree 100%.
Will Huddleston: every every single outlet has an agenda. that they are not neutral. Um, that that's a a long time neutrality in American press has been something novel in the world that we've assumed that the American press is neutral.
Logan Sekulow: It's a mirage.
Will Huddleston: It's not that way anywhere else in the world. You have conservative and liberal papers in the UK.
Logan Sekulow: I don't think it was ever that way.
Will Huddleston: Right.
Logan Sekulow: We only we're so limited options. You may have thought Walter Cronkite was not giving you a bias.
Will Huddleston: our audience don't.
Logan Sekulow: You know what I'm saying?
Will Huddleston: They know the truth.
Logan Sekulow: But in general, someone was producing that with a bias. The problem was there was three options. Now there's endless supply of media. You can see all the different sides. You're not just being force fed one version. So the idea of a neutral media, I mean, it sounds really utopian and nice. We all think differently. What's right and wrong is going to be very different for me and you than it is going to be for those who watch MS Now or or CNN. And we have to live in a world where we all can get along and that society exists. Phone lines are jammed. Second half hour coming up. ACLJ.org. I haven't been able to do any of our our promotion today. Help make an impact right now. We actually have C.C. Hiles joining us a little bit later in the show. We're going to still try to get to her. So many of you have called in. I had to move that. But again, support the work of the ACLJ. Become a champion if you can at ACLJ.org/champions. Of course, you can get involved in many different ways, just by going to the website. We'll be right back.