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Jan. 14, 2025 - Judging Freedom - Judge Andrew Napolitano
26:21
Phil Giraldi : Congress Protects Israel.
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Everyone, Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom.
Today is Wednesday, January 15th, 2025.
Rupert joins us now, along with Phil Giraldi.
I'm tongue-in-cheek, of course.
One of the viewers writes in, one of my favorites about watching Phil is you get to watch Rupert.
Phil, always a pleasure here.
Your beautiful dog, who's better behaved than my dog, Chris, is becoming a fan favorite.
Not out of the blue, though it may sound that way, but consistent with your new piece at UNS called First Order of Business of New Congresses to Protect Israel.
Should the Pope excommunicate Joe Biden?
Well, I would say absolutely, but of course I'm prejudiced on the issue of being kind of a traditional, old-fashioned Catholic who actually believes And some of the doctrines that the church has been promoting since I was three years old.
I mean, that would include certainly things like enabling a genocide, you know, abortion on demand.
You know, there are a number of things.
Old Joe, in spite of the fact that he refers to himself as a Catholic and his local bishop apparently puts up with it.
It's not what I would call a Catholic.
So I would love to see them communicated.
I'd like to see a little accountability in government.
I know that's a word we're not supposed to use, and we don't very often use it.
And I would like to see accountability for what these people have been doing.
We have a Secretary of State who've been enabling two wars.
Right. There was a time when that accountability was around.
I mean, I don't want to get too into the weeds here, but if Francis Cardinal Spellman were still alive and were the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., Joe would clearly, literally have been excommunicated.
There isn't any question about it.
Even John Cardinal O'Connor forbade priests in the Archdiocese of New York from giving the Blessed Sacrament.
To Geraldine Ferraro when she was running on the ticket with Walter Mondale because they were so openly pro-abortion.
Now I'm going to turn the tables on you.
Should the Cardinals depose Francis as Pope?
That's a good question.
They have the power to do that.
If I think back on the 14th century in the time of the...
The papacy being in France, there were a number of kind of gestures, so we say like that.
There were two popes simultaneously, and finally the situation resolved itself.
But I think there's a lot of discord going on in the church in any event over doctrine and over a lot of things.
I was very much dismayed to see after Pope Benedict.
You know, I was discussing this with a colleague today.
We'll get to Israel in just a moment.
I have some video that will raise your blood pressure.
of the Latin Mass has had the opposite effect.
It is far more prevalent, at least in the United States today, than it was here in New York City.
Even in New Jersey, you don't have to go very far to find a Latin Mass because some of the cardinals and bishops have basically decided to disregard what Francis said and because the Latin Mass is gaining Gaining popularity.
My own view is that Francis is the worst pope in history, not because of his personal behavior, which as far as I know is utterly appropriate.
Many popes have had horrific personal behavior, but theologically, because of the confusion he has sown about marriage and about sexuality.
And liturgically, because of his effort to suppress the mass that every canonized saint in heaven, when they were on earth, experienced, puts him in that category of the worst.
The news today, of course, is of the so-called ceasefire.
I say so-called for a reason in just a moment, between Hamas and Israel.
This, of course, This is a plan that had been rejected a half dozen times by Prime Minister Netanyahu.
This is a plan that was on the table when the Israelis assassinated one of the negotiators negotiating with them.
This is a plan that probably has side deals that we don't know about.
One of the side deals that has been whispered, two of them.
In the Israeli press, it involves this Israeli software manufacturer, which goes by the American acronym of NSO, which manufactures ZeroClick.
Now, to Joe Biden's credit, when he learned that the FBI under Trump bought ZeroClick, which is a hideous, hideous device that allows the owner to...
Joe Biden forbade the FBI from using it and had his Commerce Department put a total embargo on its importation into the United States.
The ZeroClick software is stored in a warehouse in New Jersey that the FBI leases.
The rumor in Israeli press is that Stephen Witkoff, President Trump's Middle East envoy, into Netanyahu's year, will allow you to start selling zero-click again.
This, of course, would be horrific for the privacy of Americans.
It would be horrific for the privacy of the government, because it would allow them, it would allow computer hacking be done digitally.
Well, in fact, the Israelis are waffling a bit.
Certainly. Netanyahu has been very clear in his desire not to go towards a ceasefire or any kind of peace arrangement.
And his coalition basically relies on people like Ben Gavir and Smotrich who are equally, or if not more, extreme on these issues and could very well bring down the government over this if they wanted to.
So this is a very serious issue, and it does appear that our emissary from Donald Trump to Netanyahu did put some pressure, considerable pressure, on Netanyahu to come up with some kind of arrangement,
which Trump then could take credit for, which he's already doing.
And so this is the game that's being played here.
I'm not so sure it's completely played out.
I think that the Israeli government, for example, has said there are still some details that are being discussed around the arrangement of the ceasefire.
And I think we're going to see something very much shaped like what we saw in the south of Lebanon, where we had a ceasefire that was not really a ceasefire.
It was just kind of a truce.
Arrange to benefit Israel and to keep Israel with the right to intervene as it sees necessary.
Clearly, I've been hearing that there are parts of the discussion that have given Israel the right to intervene if they perceive that the agreement with Hamas is not being abided by.
So this is interesting.
You know, the Qatari government, the Egyptian government, and the American government have all made public announcements about the existence and taking credit for this so-called ceasefire.
Netanyahu's government hasn't made any announcement which would be consistent with what you're saying.
I can see Netanyahu at a small table with Smotrich and Ben-Gavir begging them not to leave.
If they leave, he has a minority coalition.
In the Knesset, and he either has to form a new coalition, which I don't think would be feasible, or he has to call for new elections now while he's on trial for bribery.
Yeah, he would go to jail, and his wife would go to jail.
Right. That seems pretty clear.
So this is hardball being played, and Netanyahu has long had the controlling cards.
Right. So apparently,
Mr. Whitcoff, whose appointment I had criticized as, you know, he's just another billionaire real estate developer from New York, nevertheless does have some street cred as a...
As a diplomat, so I withdraw my criticism.
Apparently, he called Netanyahu's office on Saturday morning from Doha and said, I'm flying to Tel Aviv.
I need to see the prime minister.
And the office said, sorry, he observes the Sabbath.
Now, we know that's not true religiously.
I mean, maybe he was on the beach.
But anyway, Whitcoff said, tell him I'm coming.
And of course, Netanyahu did see him and apparently said, you know, Trump's not fooling around.
You either agree to this deal or else, and the or else was whatever Trump told Whitcoff to say.
So that's when the tide seems to have turned.
However, you're correct, there has been no Israeli public embrace of it yet.
There is, of course, Joe Biden taking credit for.
Trump jumped the gun.
I took credit on a truth social.
Basically said there will be a ceasefire and it's because of my intervention.
Probably true.
But look at what I did before I'm president.
Just wait until I'm in office.
Typical Trumpian comment.
Joe Biden's comment was the following.
Chris. What credit do you give to the Trump team for this deal?
Trump is already taking credit for it.
Well, you know, This is the exact framework of the deal I proposed back in May.
Exact. And we got the world to endorse it.
Secondly, it's America's support for Israel that helped them badly weaken Hamas and its backers and create the conditions for this deal.
And thirdly, I knew this deal would have to be implemented by the next team.
I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we're all speaking with the same voice, because that's what American presidents do.
How many Americans will be released when the hostages are being released?
All the exact detail of how many people are being held, how many bodies will be returned, will all be forthcoming.
All of it.
Thank you.
Very interesting ending there.
I think what he said is true.
This probably wouldn't have happened without the genocide.
It is also true that this was proposed many months ago.
It is also true that this was rejected by Netanyahu.
Several times, which is why I think it's fair to conclude that Trump, either directly or through Mr. Witkoff, put pressure on Netanyahu.
Now, it is also true that he couldn't answer questions about the number of people to be released, and there are Americans in that group because they probably haven't agreed on or at least made public those numbers.
Phil. Yeah, I think there are a lot of holes in what we just heard.
The fact is, back in May, when the first definitive peace agreement was mentioned by anyone, it was mentioned by the White House, and we were told it was a dumb deal.
But, you know, within 24 hours, Mr. Netanyahu had put a stop to that.
So this is not a done deal until you know all the commitments are and what they are.
We want to see them on paper.
We don't want any secret deals.
If indeed this is something that will stop the fighting and stop the killing.
Last night, for example, Israel is bombing in Gaza right up to what might be the deal.
They killed 62 people last night.
And this is getting ridiculous and it's reached the point where somebody has to develop a conscience and somebody has to develop a willingness.
To go to the mat on whatever diplomacy or whatever kind of nudging it's going to take to bring this about.
What is your take on Trump's comments about Canada, Greenland, and Panama?
I mean, is this a new era of American Manifest Destiny?
Is this a new era of American Colonialism?
Or do you think he says these things just to get a leg up on whatever negotiations he plans to enter into?
Well, first of all, I think I would suggest that these ideas do not come from Trump.
I don't know which of his advisors or the people he talks to are putting these ideas in his head, but these are far too...
Strange issues being surfaced at this time for me to believe that Trump is actually coming up.
I mean, what does Trump know about Greenland?
What does he know about the politics of the relationship with Canada?
Or what does he know about Mexico?
He doesn't know anything.
And so somebody is feeding him this.
Here he is being asked if he would use the military.
In any of these ventures.
Chris, cut number 16. President Trump received 77 million votes to be the lawful commander in chief of this country.
We're not talking about the election.
My question is, would you use our military to take over Greenland or an ally of Denmark?
Senator, one of the things that President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hand.
And so I would never in this public forum give one way or another direct what orders the president would give me in any context.
That sounds to me that you would contemplate carrying out such an order to basically invade Greenland and take over the Panama Canal.
That obviously wasn't Trump, my bad.
That was Pete Hexeth yesterday being asked.
Hypothetical questions, which I'm sure his advisors told him not to answer.
I almost couldn't imagine Trump doing that.
On the other hand, nobody enforces international law.
Nobody stopped Netanyahu from genocide.
Who's going to stop Trump from taking over Panama Canal or Greenland or Canada?
He might as well take Mexico while he's at it.
Yeah, and particularly in the case of Mexico where they've been speaking for some time about using U.S. military to deal with the drug problem.
This is like a ball that's rolling downhill and it's gathering momentum.
The U.S. as an interventionist.
It doesn't gain hardly anything from these interventions.
And all it does is turn the rest of the world against the United States.
And eventually, the chickens will come home to roost.
Yes. Yes, the chickens will come home to roost.
I mean, the problem with going abroad looking to solve problems with force is that you bring those problems home.
I'm paraphrasing our friend and colleague, Ambassador.
Charles Freeman.
This is an off-the-wall question, but I think I know the answer, and you pointed this out in your recent piece on the first order of business of the new Congress is to protect Israel.
Pete Hegseth appeared yesterday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
There is a companion committee in the House called the House...
Yeah, he's been observed wearing the Israeli Army uniform.
I think we have a clip of him in his office in an Israeli military uniform.
Now, he's an American veteran.
I don't even know what the law is or what the Code of Federal Regulations say about an American veteran who's in Congress wearing the uniform of a foreign country, I'm sure.
Whatever the law says, there's some exception for Israel, given our relationship.
But we do have a clip in which he's asked about this.
Chris? Another speaker designated.
What's with your threats today?
Can you tell us anything about this?
Sir, he's got her flag.
I've got my uniform.
Tlaib has her flag.
That's Congresswoman.
Tlaib from Michigan, who flies an American flag and a Palestinian flag outside of her office.
And then he said, and I've got my uniform.
That was on Capitol Hill and in the capital of the United States.
I don't think I've ever seen him.
He lost both of his legs in either Afghanistan or Ukraine and often wears shorts.
to demonstrate the artificial legs as opposed to long pants where you wouldn't see it.
But I don't think I've ever seen anything quite as brazenly pro-Israeli from a member of Congress as this, short of the 58 standing ovations that Netanyahu got in a 50-minute speech.
Well, let's not forget the members of Congress who fly an Israeli flag outside their office.
There's a number of them.
And I received a picture from a friend of mine the other day of the Montana governor's office, which has an American flag on one side of the door and an Israeli flag on the other side of the door.
You know, this is like a disease that's been unleashed on this country, that somehow this I'm going to play another
clip for you from Pete Hegseth's hearing yesterday.
Full disclosure, I have known and worked With Pete for many years, no one has asked my opinion as to whether or not he's qualified to be Secretary of Defense.
No one cares what my opinion is.
However, Senator Hirono, who's become somewhat of a target of the social media crowd because of her manner of speaking and because of her hypotheticals, she asked him one that I wished...
He had answered and he didn't.
Well, you decide if he answered it.
Cut number 15. Then President Trump directed former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown D.C., an order Secretary Esper refused to comply with.
Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?
Senator, I was in the Washington, D.C. National Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those events holding a riot shield on behalf of my country.
Would you carry out an order to shoot protesters in the legs?
I saw 50 Secret Service agents get injured by rioters trying to jump over the fence, set the church on fire, and destroy the statue.
That sounds to me that you will comply with such an order.
You will shoot protesters in the leg.
Well, she can draw whatever conclusion she wanted, but it's inescapable that he declined to answer that.
It's also inescapable that that would be a profoundly unlawful order, and it would be profoundly unlawful to comply with it.
Phil? Yeah, no, absolutely.
This is the sound of silence, you know?
And the other thing I really would like to see the administration address is the numerous calls that came from Trump before the election about deporting people.
Is he going to be in the business of deporting U.S. citizens?
Where are they going to be sent to?
Madagascar? I mean, this is the kind of insanity that's coming out.
And you wonder, are these people tightly mentally wrapped?
And I'm afraid a lot of them aren't.
And that goes for Democrats and Republicans.
There's nothing in terms of it being related to their political preferences.
So this is just a lot of this insane talk.
I think we need some straight talk.
Well, we'll see.
We'll see what comes of it.
I think that Pete will probably be confirmed, but I could be wrong.
You know, Mitch McConnell...
And Senators Collins and Murkowski could vote against him.
And, you know, we'll see what happens.
I have no dog in the fight.
I generally believe that the president should have whoever he wants in his cabinet, providing that person is qualified for their office.
Where is Rupert, by the way, Phil?
Is he still there with you?
I think he went off with the pussycat.
Frankie. Much disappointment in the Judging Freedom audience, but they will have to wait until next Wednesday.
Always a pleasure, my dear friend.
Thank you for joining us, and thank you for defending the traditional teachings of Holy Mother Church, as well as your defense of the Constitution, particularly the Fourth Amendment.
All the best.
Thank you.
See you next week.
Of course.
And coming up tomorrow, At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Colonel Larry Wilkerson.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Professor John Mearsheimer.
At 4 in the afternoon, the always worth waiting for, Colonel Douglas McGregor.
Johnson and Paul Tenno for Judging Freedom.
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