Greg Lukianoff, founder of FIRE since 1999, details President Trump's alleged threats to prosecute him and Secretary Hegseth's attempts to strip his pension for veteran advocacy. He argues these actions constitute an unconstitutional effort to silence dissent, supported by a federal judge's ruling, while criticizing the administration's Iran war strategy that caused 13 American deaths and disrupted global shipping. Lukianoff emphasizes that retired veterans remain essential for accountability, vowing not to back down on First Amendment rights alongside his family and fellow veteran Paul Fujimura. [Automatically generated summary]
Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
Source
Time
Text
President Trying to Silence Us00:09:59
I was so excited to see you and so excited for this opportunity.
I was telling my family, you know, what I was doing out here at Milkkin, and I said, you know, I'm doing this and that.
And then, you know, of course, I'm interviewing a goat.
And my wife is a huge, huge tennis fan and very successful business person in her own right, said, correction, the goat.
So, anyway, thank you very, very much for this time.
Thank you everyone.
Today, President Trump is hosting the President of Brazil at the White House for a bilateral meeting.
The two are expected to talk about security, trade, and critical minerals.
We'll have live coverage from the Oval Office here on C-SPAN as soon as reporters are allowed in the room.
You can also watch on C-SPAN Now, that's our free mobile app, and online at C-SPAN.org.
While we wait, we'll take a look at some of our program, Washington Journal, from earlier today.
Welcome back to Washington Journal.
Just to let you know, in about 10 minutes, the House is going to have a very quick pro forma session.
So if you're interested in seeing that, you can watch it on C-SPAN 3.
That's at 9 a.m. Eastern in about 10 minutes.
Now, joining us to talk about free speech is the president and CEO of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
It's called FIRE.
He's also the co-author of The War on Words.
Greg Lukianov, welcome to the program.
Great to be back on.
So remind us about your organization, what the mission is, and how it's funded.
So FHIR, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, has been around since 1999.
And initially, we only focused on free speech and academic freedom threats on college campuses.
But then in 2022, we decided we needed to expand well beyond campus.
We're now a national free speech organization dealing with issues all across the board, all across the country.
And unfortunately, business has been booming in the past several years.
We have more cases than we know what to do with.
And we are donor funded.
And what was happening in 1999 on college campuses that you felt that this organization was necessary?
Well, I didn't found the organization.
It was founded by Harvey Silverglayton, Alan Charles Kors, but I joined as the first legal director in 2001.
But a lot of people do remember that there was the, I'd say the great age of political correctness on campuses from like 85 to 95, and that essentially this is when campuses that used to sort of venerate free speech started passing.
The president said I should be prosecuted and hanged.
Then he tried to throw me in jail.
And then Pete Hegset, the Secretary of Defense, tried to censure me, demote me, and take away my pension.
All for something I said that I had the right to say as a senator, as a veteran, but most importantly, as an American.
But we all understand that this is not about me.
They're trying to send a message to other retired veterans and really to all of us.
If you say something that the president or this administration does not like, they're going to come after you.
The president is trying to silence us.
And I can't think of anything that's more un-American.
Just like these folks behind me, I signed up to serve our country and protect our freedoms, including the freedom of speech.
Most of us joined to be part of something bigger than ourselves to protect and serve the country we love.
I know Donald Trump doesn't understand that.
And he doesn't understand us.
And sadly, it seems that Pete Hegseth doesn't understand that either.
Because even after a federal judge ruled earlier this year that his attempts to silence me were unconstitutional, he wouldn't stop.
And today, this administration argued in federal court that not only do I not have the same freedom of speech rights as other Americans, but that the millions of other retired veterans across the country don't either, including many of the individuals standing besides me today.
According to them, anytime a retired veteran says something that the Secretary of Defense doesn't like, they can be punished.
So the people who have given the most in service to this country wouldn't be free to say what they believe.
It's absurd and it's outrageous.
It is an outrageous violation of our constitutional rights.
One of our most fundamental rights is the right to speak out about the government.
It's the right that guarantees all others.
And it's how we hold our government accountable.
And it's especially, especially important right now.
Donald Trump is two months into a war with Iran that he started without a strategic goal.
13 Americans have died.
The same Iranian regime is in charge and their enriched uranium is still in their possession.
The Strait of Hormuz is now closed and Americans are suffering with skyrocketing gas prices.
And without any explanation from this president of what this war is trying to achieve, who better to speak out and share their perspective than the people who served?
Retired military members who understand the risks and sacrifice of sending brave Americans into combat, who understand how to use combat power, but also understand its limitations.
And also who have seen the mistakes of past administrations that thought wars could be fast and simple, only to get bogged down for years or for decades.
Retired veterans have always been an important part of our democracy.
And that's exactly why I am not backing down.
After 25 years in the Navy, I've given too much to this country to be silenced by an administration that does not want to be held accountable.
So today, This was a day in court, not just for me, but for the First Amendment rights of millions of us.
This administration has bullied and coerced the press, private companies, and universities.
The list goes on.
But in this case, the President and the Secretary of Defense picked the wrong guy.
Because when it comes to our most fundamental rights, I will not back down.
Given what's at stake, I appreciate the judge's quick and careful consideration in this case.
We have the Constitution and the law on our side.
And I've never been more confident than I am today standing here with my wife Gabby, my daughter Claire, and the guy who I flew almost all my combat missions with, Paul Fujimura.
But also with these brave men and women who served our country.
Don't give up the ship.
Thank you.
Thank you, Sister.
Thanks, Madam.
Thank you, Senator.
Thank you.
And getting remarks there from Senator Kelly.
And you can also look back if you missed any of his remarks on our app, C-SPANNOW, and online at C-SPAN.org.
We'll also bring you live coverage shortly from the White House, where President Trump is meeting with the President of Brazil.
For now, some more of today's Washington Journal.
That's much more explicit than someone seeing seashells on the beach that say 8647.
Now, concerning the press, I want to ask you about the Jimmy Kimmel issue.
There's been two issues now.
There was The comments he made following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, and then recently before the White House correspondence dinner about First Lady Melania Trump.