First Principles with Phill Kline

The pandemic has led to severe threats to the rule of law, including government use of police powers to enforce executive edicts, unlawful rule changes, and weaponization of ethics rules. Phill speaks with “super-lawyer” Tom King, The Amistad Project’s go-to counsel for election integrity litigation in Pennsylvania. Phill and Tom discuss the left’s ongoing efforts to intimidate and punish anyone who dares to question the conduct of the 2020 election, observing that merely pointing out the widespread lawlessness on the part of state and local election officials is enough to raise the ire of powerful figures in both the public and private sector. PA truck driver Jesse Morgan, for instance, had the FBI come to his house and threaten him after he publicly revealed that he had driven a truck filled with thousands of completed ballots from New York to Central PA just weeks before the election. Tom has also spearheaded The Amistad Project’s successful efforts to rein in PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s excessive emergency orders, and speaks eloquently about the importance of defending individual rights in a time of widespread panic.

Jennifer Tafuto is a former elementary school teacher from Connecticut who resigned over the introduction of Critical Race Theory into the mandatory curriculum. Jennifer comes from a family of educators, and her lifelong dream, from the time she was a little girl, was to become a teacher. After six years of teaching, however, she felt she was being forced to indoctrinate her students in a worldview based on divisiveness and victimhood, all while enduring a culture of repression in the workplace that made her fearful of expressing her true feelings about what she was experiencing. She signed the 1776 Action Pledge, and hopes that it will help to bring about change so that one day she can return to the classroom.

Benghazi... Afghanistan... Have we been here before? On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Phill speaks with Mark Geist, a member of the Annex Security Team who fought the Battle of Benghazi on September 11, 2012, when Al Qaeda terrorists assaulted the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Geist lost two comrades in the fighting, and was seriously wounded himself. Geist now works as a security consultant, recently helping to evacuate refugees from Afghanistan amidst the chaotic U.S. withdrawal. Drawing on extensive personal experience and tactical knowledge, Geist talks about how the U.S. could have managed the withdrawal much more safely and effectively by using Bagram Air Base as a departure point instead of the Kabul airport – and explains why the choice to depart from Kabul was the product of bureaucratic decision-making overriding military logic.

Phill shares his perspective on how the media contributes to political dysfunction by choosing sensationalism and elitism instead of objectively informing Americans about the real issues facing the nation. This is particularly pernicious when it comes to election integrity, an issue that should bring people together, but has instead become one of the greatest sources of division in our society. For more information about Phill Kline and The Amistad Project, please visit www.theamistadproject.org.

This episode explores the demise of objective journalism and how the internet creates both pitfalls and opportunities in the search for truth. Phill speaks with Michael Patrick Leahy, who started the “#tcot” trend and founded the Star News Network, which will soon have outlets in 10 states. Phill and Michael also discuss the dangerous trend of government entities policing speech and selectively seeking retribution against those who put out information that government officials dislike. This is especially problematic in the realm of election integrity, because the government is using irresponsible sensationalist claims as an excuse to go after anyone who questions the conduct of our elections.

Phill speaks with Tim Griffin, an attorney and former assistant Commonwealth Attorney who works with The Amistad Project to support grassroots election integrity initiatives in numerous states all over the country. In addition to their election-related work, Phill and Tim also discuss the frustration citizens from across the political spectrum have felt with their political leaders as a result of harsh, arbitrary lockdowns.

Phill speaks with attorney Ian Northon, who oversaw The Amistad Project’s post-election litigation efforts in Michigan. Ian provides the inside scoop on rampant lawlessness by Michigan’s elected Democrats, especially Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and recounts the story of being physically barred from entering the State Capitol with Republican electors and legislators by state police officers deployed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Phill’s daughter, Jaqueline Timmer – who was also on the scene that day at the State Capitol – also joins the conversation as a special guest.

Phill speaks with businessman, philanthropist, and pastor Jack Brewer about the role that faith plays in education, and how the retreat of faith from the public sphere undermines our ability as a society to bring up successful, well-adjusted adults. After a successful NFL career, Jack earned an MBA and started his own investment and consulting business, The Brewer Group, which specializes in helping companies that make a positive impact in the world. He also founded the Jack Brewer Foundation to help underprivileged individuals around the world. His latest philanthropic venture is the Serving Institute, a faith-based educational program that operates in partnership with Liberty University.

Phill discusses COVID lockdowns, religious liberty, election integrity, and more with Pittsburgh attorney Tom Breth. Tom has been a leading voice defending individual rights and religious liberty from arbitrary, contradictory, and confusing pandemic rules and restrictions, and he shares some of the most outrageous examples he’s encountered.

Phill speaks with Will Witt, a millennial who has spent the past few years sounding the alarm about liberal bias and indoctrination on college campuses. Will considered himself a “liberal” when he first entered college in 2015, but his experience there quickly opened his eyes to the hypocrisy and illiberalism of campus demagogues who spend their days inculcating radical leftism in their students and silencing conservative voices. After dropping out, Will began making videos exposing the ignorance and intolerance bred by intellectually bankrupt education, and now regularly visits campuses all over the country to speak directly to students. He is also the author of a new book, How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies: Taking On Liberal Arguments with Logic and Humor.

Marlena Pavlos-Hackney is a small business owner in Michigan who has been publicly critical of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s draconian lockdown orders. Shortly before she was scheduled to appear on Fox News to air her grievances and argue on behalf of her desire to keep her business open, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sent an email asking if she can be “picked up” for violating the lockdown orders. Lo and behold, she was pulled over and arrested on her way to work. In this episode, she tells her compelling story of becoming a victim of government repression. Phill’s daughter, Jacqueline, also joins the conversation to discuss the fundamental principles that are threatened by the overreach of public officials.

Phill speaks with Rob McCoy, Senior Pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel of Thousand Oaks, California. Pastor McCoy boldly and creatively defied California's lockdown restrictions, serving as a beacon of hope for advocates of individual and religious freedom, even after authorities threatened to shut down his church.

Renowned conservative attorney Harmeet Dhillon joins Phill to discuss academic freedom, election integrity, the evolution of political discourse in the United States, and the creeping expansion of federal power.

Author, speaker, and conservative leader David Harris, Jr. joins Phill for a wide-ranging conversation touching on faith, politics, and America’s founding values. David shares his fascinating life story of growing up in a mixed-race family, finding personal redemption through God, and becoming a self-made success through hard work, integrity, and perseverance. Phill and David also tackle cancel culture, the pro-life movement, and the power of prayer.

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik joins Phill to share his observations after touring the site of the election audit in Maricopa County, Arizona. He and Phill also discuss the threat to free speech and individual liberty posed by overzealous government officials such as Attorney General Merrick Garland, who recently threatened possible prosecution of anyone who questions the integrity of the 2020 elections.

Phill speaks with Jaco Booyens, a director, producer, and prolific anti-trafficking activist. After his sister was victimized by sex traffickers, Jaco and his family emigrated to the United States from South Africa in 2001. Jaco shares the stunning and sobering truth that human trafficking is a flourishing industry right here in the U.S., and describes the way traffickers prey on vulnerable individuals.

Phill discusses Georgia’s new election integrity with attorney Courtney Kramer. Together, they debunk the falsehoods that the left has used to smear the law, and explain why it’s necessary to secure our elections after the tumultuous 2020 election cycle. Phill and Courtney also discuss what it’s like to be a young conservative entering the political maelstrom in the age of “cancel culture” and vicious personal attacks.

Phill speaks with former Ohio Secretary of State and Cincinnati Mayor Ken Blackwell about America’s founding principles, and why individual liberty and morality remain the key to improving our society. Ken shares his experience as the son of a Black World War II veteran who believed deeply in America’s founding promise and worked to instill reverence for America’s founding principles in his own children.

Phill catches up with Jesse Morgan, a truck driver from Central Pennsylvania who found himself thrust into the national spotlight after he decided to speak out about witnessing some highly unusual and deeply suspicious occurrences shortly before Election Day 2020. Jesse recounts his experience transporting a truckload of completed mail-in ballots from Bethpage, NY to Harrisburg and Lancaster, PA, where his trailer mysteriously disappeared in the dead of night. Phill and Jesse also discuss the tension of their very first meeting, as well as Jesse’s unusual experiences in the aftermath of his momentous decision to become a whistleblower.

Phill sits down with Hercules star Kevin Sorbo to discuss what it takes to succeed in life, how to navigate a hostile culture as a conservative Christian, and how governments prey on our emotions and fears to expand their power. Kevin also shares the moving story of his own personal experience of God’s miraculous power, and how the weakening of his body helped him to strengthen his soul.