Who Blinks First?

There have been some developments regarding the Russia and Ukraine conflict. After President Biden threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with personal sanctions, the Russian president fired back saying sanctions from the U.S would be “destructive” for the United States. The two leaders are going back and forth in writing, with Russia stating their demands and America answering questions. How are we, the United States of America, in the position where Russia is demanding that we communicate in writing? Like we are on trial, forced to answer interrogatories.

Congressman Michael Waltz, the first Green Beret to be elected to Congress, joined Sekulow to discuss why Americans should be concerned with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine:

"Two main reasons. Number one, in the wake of Afghanistan, authoritarianism is on the march around the world. And after letting terrorists dictate the terms, and abandoning our fellow Americans, and betraying our allies, Putin, Xi, North Korea, Iran, they all see an opportunity right now. If we allow Putin to just walk over Ukraine with no consequences, I think that is going to have even further consequences down the road. So, it is a slippery slope argument. . . . The other piece is Putin fully intends to establish the old Soviet Union. And he sees an opportunity now with the weakness that he smells in the Biden White House. . . . Is it to the point where we should be putting American boots on the ground in Ukraine? No, I don’t think so. But can we be doing a lot more to frustrate, slow down, and hopefully deter Putin? Absolutely. But Biden right now is basically sending strongly worded letters and making tough promises on what he will do after the fact rather than taking tough measures to deter Putin on the front end."

Not to mention, the United States is answering questions in writing requested by the Russian government as if we are having to defend ourselves. Rep. Waltz gave his thoughts about this:

"It is preposterous. By the way, they just delivered that document to Congress, but they classified it. So why is it classified here in the United States when we put it in the hands of the Russians? . . . . They will spin it for their own propaganda, and yet we can’t reply because they classified it on their end. So once again we are giving our adversaries more latitude than our fellow Americans. But I am far more concerned about what Biden is conceding. We saw this playbook under Obama when Putin invaded Crimea and Ukraine. We saw this playbook under Obama when every time the Iranians got tough, the White House conceded more. I really fear what they put in that document. I hope to see it tomorrow."

The White House is trying to get you to ignore these issues in light of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement. However, we are not ignoring it.

Today, President Biden tweeted:

"The person I nominate to replace Justice Breyer will be someone with extraordinary qualifications. Character, experience, and integrity. And they will be the first Black woman nominated to the United States Supreme Court."

He also added his ideal timeline in a recent press conference:

"It is my intention to announce my decision at the end of February. I have made no decision."

ACLJ Director of Government Affairs Thann Bennett gave his prediction based on this information:

"Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sits in Merrick Garland’s seat on the D.C. Court of Appeals. . . . A former clerk for Breyer. There are a lot of political reasons why she would be a natural fit. She also got three votes from Republican Senators last June, so she got 53 votes to confirm for her current seat. I think she probably makes a lot of sense. . . . I did review some of the hearings for several of these judges that are on this so-called reported shortlist this morning and another judge I think that will get some consideration is a judge sitting on the 7th Circuit – Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi. She is very personally impressive. I’ve heard she dealt very favorably with the White House during her previous confirmation fight. I think those are probably the two frontrunners at this point."

That is just a prediction for now, we will continue researching potential nominees and providing you with updates as they come.

Today’s full Sekulow broadcast is complete with even more analysis of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the potential Supreme Court Justice nominees.