They reckless about knowing or learning whether they were false . Look, every authority from 60some courts to the Department Of Justice to the fbi has confirmed that they were false and whats really interesting here, brianna, this case will, like most cases, go to discovery. Where the parties exchange information, get documents, take depositions. The plaintiffs here will get deep inside of fox news. If this gets the discovery before it settles or goes to discovery, then theyre going to get their eyes on the emails, the texts, the internal notes, memos, what was happening in fox news, and if they knew this was false or definitely should have known it was false, thats going to be real trouble for them legally. What, elly, would a settlement look like to avoid that . In a way seems between a rock and hard spot . Asking for almost 3 billion . I mean a settlement could be extremely damaging financially to a news, a i dont want to say news. To a media outlet like fox. Yeah. This is where the lawyers start negotiating. It theres even a willingness to settle in the first place, by the way. Keep in mind, settling usually carry as common sense imperimeter of admitting some wrongdoing. The question, why settle for a large amount of money if you did nothing wrong . Some precedent here. A few years ago a lawsuit against abc news for defamation and liable in a similartype scenario about a report on a foot Processing Company nap Public Knowledge settled for 77 million. Each case stands on its own merits but a sense of if theres a settlement. It youre fox news you have to think about what it settle if you settle versus the huge risk of going to trial. So theyre in a tough spot. Indeed they are. Oliver, elly, thank you so much for talking to me about this. Thanks, brianna. Announcer this is cnn Breaking News. Top of the hour right now, and it is a busy hour indeed. I want to reset. We are following three breaking stories at this moment. The first is the democrats are requesting the former President Donald Trump testify under oath before, or during, the Senate Impeachment trial. In his Senate Impeachment trial. This trial is expected to begin tuesday. We have yet to hear from the former president on this. The article of impeachment accusing trump of inciting the deadly January 6th Insurrection on the u. S. Capitol. Lets start here first. With cnn chief Congressional Correspondent manu raju who is following this on the hill. Manu, walk us through this, because this is a letter that is requesting trumps testimony, and its from House Impeachment Managers. What are we learning here . Reporter yeah. Lead manager, jamie raskin, writing to donald trump requesting his testimony, because they say that donald trump and his legal teams brief this week disputed the key facts in the case. So jamie raskin says, okay. If youre disputing the facts, come and testify under oath before the senate, subject to crossexamination, too, and gish your story why the facts are disputed here. He says, jamie ranken does, writes in this letter, that other former president s, president s at the time, agreed to testify. Including jared ford when president. President bill clinton gave testimony under oath. They say donald trump is a former president , has no reason not to testify in this case. Theyre invites him to come as soon as monday before the senate, and saying they want to do this between monday and thursday of next week wand an answer by end of this week. One thing they dont say in the letter is what they will do if he does not agree to testify. One thing they do say is that if you decline this invitation we reserve any and all rights including the right to establish a trial that you refused to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions on january 6th, 2021. Of course, the day of the deadly riot here. Charged, the former president is, for inciting an insurrection on that day. So theyre saying they could use it against him if he doesnt agree to testify, but they could also subpoena him. The senate, by a simple majority vote could subpoena donald trump to come and testify. Jamie raskins, well a clear, tried to ask raskin if he would seek a subpoena if trump declines an invitation to testify. He declined to answer the question. I talked to Senate Democrats who are open to the idea of issuing the subpoena for donald trump. Richard blumenthal would vote on a superior if it comes to that. House managers want it, it would carry a lot of weight with me. I expect that to be the prevailing altitude of most democrats, 56 democrats in the chamber with a tiebreaking vote could issue a subpoena if democrats wanted to go that way. Thats still uncertain. We dont know how hard theyll push for it or what donald trump will do at this exact moment. Were awaiting his response. Questions if there will be witnesses in this trial. Democrats want the main witness, donald trump, to testify right away. Brings so many questions with it. Manu raju, thank you, live from capitol hill. Thank you so much. Talk now with my colleague jake tapper, anchor of the lead and cnns state of the union. Help us understand what this could mean in the second Impeachment Trial of donald trump . I think whats going on here is trumps lawyers made a number of claims in their legal brief, in their letter, that are undermined by what we all saw with our eyes and heard with our ears. Let me walk through two of them. Because the goal of the House Impeachment Managers here is to say, oh. Youre refuting these facts, that we think are just, you know, facts. So let us have President Trump present his argument, because this seems like very basic stuff. So just to go through the letter from the lawyers, heres one of them. This is from trumps lawyers. Okay . It is denied that the phrase if you dont fight like hell youre not going to have a country anymore of course what President Trump said at that january 6th rally, had anything to do with the access at the capitol as it was clearly about the no ed to fight for Election Security in general as evidenced by the recording of the speech. All right. Lets play that clip if we can. Where trump is saying to this mob, this crowd, many of whom later attacked the capitol, if you dont fight liar hell youre not going to have a country anymore. We fight like hett and if you dont fight like hell youre not going to have a country anymore. So the idea there is, basically the House Impeachment Managers are saying, really . Youre really claiming he wasnt talking about going to the capitol . Because that just seems to stretch all reasonable credibility. And then, of course, of course, we have had, heard from insurrectionist after insurrectionist saying they were there because trump told them to go. Remember, he said he was going to walk along with them to the capitol. The other that right. One other. There might be, i dont even know, how many lies or claims that are seem to be contradicted by the facts are put out by the trump lawyers. Remember, by the way, how many lawyers trump could not get to sign on to this legal brief, because they refused to do what he wanted to do. Heres another one. Denied from the trump lawyers, denied that President Trump intended to interfere with the counting of electoral votes. Again, we all saw President Trump, he was then the president , saying that mike pence, the Vice President at the time, needed to do the right thing, and overturn the election. He said things in that speech on january 6th about mike pence needing to do the right thing. Theres been reporting about trump saying that pence can either be pardon my language, a patriot or a pussy. So the idea that President Trump was not trying to get the mob, the crowd, to go and stop the counting of electoral votes or at least get it reversed or at least halted, rather, just seems to be undermined by the facts. Thats one argument. Their dream to get trump to testify, but we all know that any lawyer worth his salt would not let trump testify in this Impeachment Trial. No matter how many times weve seen this happen, trump will Say Something outrageous, defenders come out say, no, no, no. He didnt mean we should blow up the moon. Trump comes out, no, no. We should blow up the moon. It happened over and over again. No lawyer will let him testify. Because this is a civil case impeachment, its the civil case that will be considered by lawyers to be an adverse inference. N inference. In other words, because trump is not there, the jury which is the senate, is obligated to infer that hes not there, because he doesnt have anything that can really defend him. Thats whats going on with that. Yeah. His impulse, i suspect is to be heard but certainly his lawyers see the folly in that. Also, jake, while youre here. I want to get your take on what was look, a lot of Breaking News here, but not too long ago there was a bit of an extraordinary moment on the house floor, and that was from republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor greene. The house, of course, is right now taking steps to strip greene, blatantly spread lies and baseless Conspiracy Theories of her committee assignments. Heard from greene, and i want to play some of what she said. Any source of information that is a mix of truth and a mix of lies is dangerous, no 3matte what it is saying what party it is saying. Anything or any country its about is dangerous, and these are the things that happen on the left and the right, and it is a true problem in our country. So i walked away from those things, and i decided, im going to do what ive done all my life. Im going to work hard and try to solve the problems that im upset about. So i started getting involved in politics. You see, School Shootings are absolutely real. And every child that is lost, those families mourn it. I understand how terrible it is, because when i was 16 years old in 11th grade, my school was a gunfree school zone and one of my schoolmates brought guns to school and took our entire school hostage, and that happened right down the hall from my classroom. I know the fear that david hogg had that day. I know the fear that these kids have, and this is why, and i say this sincerely with all my heart because i love our kids. Every single one of your children, all of our children, u truly believe that children at school should never be left unprotected. Just as protected as we were, with 30,000 national guardsmen, our children are our future and our most precious resource. I also want to tell you 9 11 absolutely happened. I remember that day, crying all day long watching it on the news. And that its a tragedy for anyone to say it didnt happen. And so that i definitely want to tell you. I do not believe that its fake. I also want to tell you that weve got to do better. You see, Big Media Companies can take teeny, tiny pieces of words that i said that you have said any of us and can portray us into someone that were not. And that is wrong. Cancel culture is a real thing. It is very real. And when Big Tech Companies like twitter, you can scroll through and see where someone may have retweeted porn, this is a problem. This is a terrible, terrible thing, but yet when i say that i absolutely believe with all my heart that gods creation as he created them male and female and that should not be denied, when i am censored for saying those type of things, that is wrong. And we just need to be clear here, jake. Peddled these lies and conspiracies both on camera and in writing and there seems to be blaming others for taking what she said out of context, when it has been Maeticulous Lew fact checked and it was not taken out of context. The most disingenuous speech ive ever heard ever but a few weeks ago, Kevin Mccarthy outraged anybody would pudge the election lie he had been pushes for three months. This is an entire speech of it. The fact that she blamed this on news media for slicing and dicing and misrepresenting what she said when what i have seen in the news media and what we have reported here on cnn and others have reported elsewhere are complete sections of her live streams. Multiple minutes. Three, four minutes. Screen shots of her social media posts. Where she hypothesizes in a deranged manner that the 2018 wildfire in california that cost dozens of lives were caused by the jewish Billionaire Rothschild in london, and enriching other wealthy jews including senator feinsteins husband. These are just things that she said and things that she wrote. Nobody sliced and diced. Nobody snipped. Its all there for people to see. And the fact that she would respond to these charges based in reality that she is a liar and conspiracy theorist with more lies and a new Conspiracy Theory that its the media that has been misportraying her says it all. And, look, she did believe whatever she wants in terms of her religion in gender or sex, i dont see anybody even talking about that. I dont even know where that came from, but she has been threading, deranged deranged its even, to call it Conspiracy Theories, propaganda. Saying that muslimamericans cant be members of congress. Which is a lie. She went to capitol hill and tried to get rashida tlaib, tried to get them to swear their oaths on a Christian Bible because they swore their oaths on a koran. You know, reveals not only her bigotry, her complete ignorance about what you can swear in on because as you know, brianna, you can swear in on an iphone. Theres nothing in the law says you have to swear in on a Christian Bible or any religious book. Antisemitic theories, qanon, pizzagate, and nonsense, big lie about the election. This has cost lives. Thats why people are discussing this. This cost lives. It enrage add mob that attacked capitol hill. And this is more of a lie. This is part of the whitewashing of all of that. And i think that speaks to the pushing of, you know, why is she covered . Shes covered maybe because this is much bigger than the congresswoman from georgia . She is a sign of something. They is a symptom of something, and i wonder also, jake, what you think about the timing here . Because this i mean, she seems to describe it as contrition. Obviously she is saying this here just on precedence of consequences . She said she feels bad for david hogg, the Parkland Student who became an activist after the Horrific School shooting. There is video of her harassing david hogg. Harassing him. Has she apologized to david hogg for that . No. Goes on the floor of the congress and said i love david hogg. I love all of our students. She says Something Else makes me curious about her because it was written in a clever way. Says that School Shootings are real. Okay. Was sandy hook real . Was parkland real . Those she suggested were false or carried out by leftists to create gun whatever the insanity. Says, i know 9 11 happened. Well her specific brand of 9 11 trutherism is that she said she thoughtin 9 11inlaw happenedt didnt think that plane hit the pentagon. The pentagon. Right. Thats what she said. So she said, im a truther but the 9 11 truther, the plane in the pentagon, obvious insanity. A half truther. I dont buy any of it, because i have eyes and ears. And as you know, this is about something bigger than Marjorie Taylor greene. Who is just, you know a frivolous person who not a serious person who says horrible things. Its about how much the Republican Party is willing to embrace this and mainstream it. Because, remember, shes not the only House Republican who has been spreading deranged lies or part of the noise and incitement that caused january 6th, the terrorist attack. Shes just the most notorious of them. But Something Like 126 House Republicans, including house prsh leader Kevin Mccarthy and scalise signed on to a deranged lawsuit thought to take away tens of millions of votes and disenfranchise wisconsin, michigan Parks Pennsylvania and georgia because they went for biden. Based on lices and then the attack. Voting to disenfranchise 20 Million People from Paand Arizona based on the same election lies. So the question is its not that there arent people who believe this nonsense in the senate. There are. Or at least push it. Calling cruz, probably no better, but its a real problem for the House Republican caucus, because so many of them have signed on to these lies. Not liz cheney. Not adam kinzinger. Plenty of about one third of the caucus hasnt. Chip roy, gallagher a number who have, who are very conservative, but have not aligned themselves with this nonsense. Uhhuh. But about twothirds of the Republican Caucus has. So theres all of this debate about Marjorie Taylor greene, but the big Effort Problem is not Marjorie Taylor greene and her lies. Its the fact that Kevin Mccarthy and twothirds of House Republicans signed on to the election lies that cost capitol hill, Police Officer sicknick, his life, and others their lives as well. Jake, thank you so much for joining us. Obviously, so much to talk about today and we certainly appreciate your voice and we will see you again here shortly at 4 00 p. M. On the lead. Thanks, brianna. Greenes comments have been a slap in the face to families of the 17 people who lost their lives at Stoneman DouglasHigh School Three years ago this month. Including the family of scott beingll. A beloved geography teacher. A crosscountry coach, and when he died, when he was shot, he was trying to save his students. He was opening his door to them, after they ran up a staircase just in front of the shooter trying to escape his bullets. And scott beinglls mother, she is with us now. Linda, we spoke earlier this week, and you spoke to Marjorie Taylor greene this weekend confronting her about what she had said about the shooting that claimed the life of your son. I wonder what your reaction is today to her comments . Thanks for asking me that today, brianna. So Marjorie Taylor greene is playing with words and Playing Games. Im going to raeally simplify i. Its quite simple. Congresswoman greene said that Parkland Scoot Shooting was a false flag, a staged event. Okay . She told me facetoface on a zoom call that she did not believe the Parkland Shooting was either a false flag or a staged event. Now she needs to tell the public just that. She needs to not skirt around the issue and find words that dont have any meaning, okay, and she needs to stop Playing Games with words, and she needs to say, come out in public and say the Parkland Shooting did happen. It is not a false flag. It was not a staged event. You know, to me, again, not a politician. This is the real government. Okay . This is the government of the United States. Not preschool where were taught right from wrong. Okay . You know, you stay in the spotlight for doing good for the country. She should be doing her job. She needs to stop with the spreading lies and then taking out of precious time that could be spent by by everyone in government, okay, getting purposeful issues accomplished. Its ridiculous. Look at where we are. All im talking about is the parkland issue. Okay . Look where we are today. I wonder, linda, one of the things she said i was curious, curious about what you thought about it. She said, i know the fear that david hogg, who was the boy that she was seen harassing on camera on the capitol before elected to congress, she said, i know the fear that david hogg had that day. I know the fear these kids have. Did you get that sense from her when you spoke to her this weekend . You know, i spoke to her, and we really had, we had a very decent conversation. It was more like speaking mother to mother. Okay . When i got off the phone with her, i really, really wanted to believe what she said to me. I wanted to believe, you know, the whole conversation i wanted to believe in. Okay . When five minutes went past after i got off the phone, it was like another person. When i was watching her double down on tv about her Conspiracy Theories and what had gone on. You know, again, mother to mother, you know, if you take away everything, i would have really wanted to think she was sincere. As i sit here today speaking with you, and listening to everything thats transpired since the conversation, she really, she really took me for a ride. You think she just told you what you wanted to hear . Or do you think she told you what she believes, but that shes channeling this b. S. For politics . I think your words have put it perfectly. Okay . I do believe that she knows it was real and she believes it. I do believe that. Okay . But i believe politics is totally taken over. Shes, you know, really in the spotlight, if you look where we are. Every time you see a newscast, every time cnn comes on theres definitely something about her, and thats because shes put herself there. But you know, take yourself out for that. You know, congresswoman greene, take yourself out for that little snippet of time. Stand out in front of the public and tell everybody parkland was real. How many times do we have to ask her to do that . Weve asked her over and over but she wants to go all around the issue and every time she goes around the issue we have another conversation about congresswoman greene. She said its a tragedy for anyone to say it didnt happen. She said that about 9 11, but what you are requesting specifically is for her to correct her very specific comments when it comes to the shooting at parkland, and no one can blame you of that, linda. So thank you so much for coming on to talk with us again. Well, thank you so much for understanding how important this is to us, and how hurtful it is, and really feeling for us. I mean, we cant thank you enough. I cant thank you enough. I cant thank you enough for coming on. Linda beingll schulman, well see you again. Following Breaking News, and it is tied to the election lies told by tomorrower President Trump and his allies. A Voting Company call the smartmatic just filed a 2. 7 billion, with a b, lawsuit against fox. Details of that, just ahead. Ri, not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa were made for. Aficionado. Im a fashionista. Sneakerhead. Metalhead. Me . Gearhead. Audiophile. Gamer. Im a foodie. Woo im whatever this is. Obsession has many names. This is ours. The new lexus is. All in on the sport sedan. Woohoohoohoohoohoo experience amazing at your lexus dealer. With sofi, i was able to condense all of my loans under one account. 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Make it your mission. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. Ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. Whoohoo great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. Thats why at americas beverage companies, our bottles are made to be remade. Not all plastic is the same. Were carefully designing our bottles to be one hundred percent recyclable, including the caps. Theyre collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. That completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. Please help us get every bottle back. We do have another breaking story we are following this afternoon, and that is that a Voting Technology company has filed a lawsuit against fox, protrump attorneys Rudy Guiliani and Sidney Powell and alleging a campaign of disinformation that jeopardized the companys survival. Joined now by cnn senior media reporter oliver darcy and for the legal angles, there are many, laura coates, our legal analyst back with us. This is a company that became swept up in Conspiracy Theories around the 2020 election. What more are you learning . Yeah. Any deranged Conspiracy Theories. Smartmatic, a Voting Technology company, has File Add Lawsuit 2. 7 billion lawsuit against fox news. Some of its hosts lou dobbs, maria bart chrome oh, Jeanine Pirro and Rudy Guiliani and Sidney Powell alleging that they worked in concert to wage a Disinformation Campaign against the company, Disinformation Campaign that the lawsuit says has really endangered the existence, whether this company can even survive. I talked to the ceo of the company who said they really had no choice but to file this lawsuit, because hes not sure if theyre going to be around in a few years. He says that the one tiny error. Right . This was a deranged Conspiracy Theory promoted on fox week after week for a long period of time. A period of time they should have known it wasnt true and promoted by Rudy Guiliani and Sidney Powell. Fox wanting to defend itself. Calling It A Meritless lawsuit. Sidney powell dismissing it as well and we reached out to Rudy Guiliani but havent heard back from him quite yet. Awaiting that. Laura, how strong is this case, or is there a case that smartmatic has here . There is a case considering the second lawsuit in as many weeks about the same predicate. The idea of a Disinformation Campaign and how it tarnished reputations and there could be a financial cost to these companies, and being able to survive if you have this attachment, this Scarlet Letter that suggests somehow they are nefarious actors as opposed to conduit of people exercising their right to vote. You have really a challenge too will go back to what similar in the impeachment proceedings. The idea, is the big lie here or an issue theyll be able to defend with truth . The actual defense to a defamation case, is there truth here . Is it the same thing as speech . Able to have a microphone up to these people coming on your show or the microphone that gives the platform or complicit . Comes to giuliani, Sidney Powell, the same theme appearing. You didnt arg gur the points in court because of the oath. New consequences if you did so in temples of the court of law but chose the court of Public Opinion to use your pulpit for this nefarious way. One point in the lawsuit, they actually say, the earth is round. Two plus two is four. Joe biden and Kamala Harris won the election. Thats how rudimentary they are making this case to talk about how basic it was to know that what they were spewing was inaccurate and it was actually deleterious to their ability to actually thrive as a company and really what Defamation Suits are made of, frankly. Laura, there are big names. Foxal biggest names named in this lawsuit. Maria bartiromo. As well as lou dobbs. I wonder, because i was speak wig oliver earlier. There is, has been in the case of another one, not named in this lawsuit, to my knowledge, tucker carlson. Another of foxs big names. Fox had argued successfully that he couldnt be taken seriously. This was in a Slander Lawsuit that they were successful rebuffering saying he couldnt be taken seriously. That the general tenor of his show should then inform a Viewer Carlson is not stating actual facts about the topics he discusses and instead engaging In Exaggeration and nonliteral commentary. Quote using the argument of fox. Then the judge went on about her findings which were Fox Persuasively argues given mr. Carlsons reputation a reasonable viewers arrived with skepticism about the statements he makes. Even his employer was saying he could not be trusted to tell the truth. Is that kind of defense going to pl fly in the case of these other hosts who trafficked these other these other hosts who be people who trafficked the Information Smartmatic is talking about in this lawsuit . Well, first of all, look at that vote of confidence about the credibility of one of your own anchors if you were essentially arguing this person should not be believed when marketing yourself as an information resource. The fact it actually was litigated on that point does not bode well for that argument to be success until other context. If you actually had to have a judicial ruling whether you should find a news anchor credit worthy, credible or not, then that already tells you this is a matter a reasonable person is not going to be able to perhaps, perhaps, distinguish between truth from fiction. Lies from actual alternative facts. So the very idea here that the average consumer of information who is tuning in believes, im sure, there are guardrails in place, brianna, where they wouldnt be able to say it if it is not true, or if it did not have indicia of News Worthiness or ribleliability could undermi fox defending against this action. Defamation is about whether or not you have, you have defamed somebody and lessened them in the eyes of the average person. Have they lessened their reputation or harmed them in some way . If youve got to go all the way back to whether someone actually believes it in the first place you are having a very uphill battle ahead of you. All right. So much to play out here. Laura oliver, thank you to you both. Breaking news. House Impeachment Managers are now calling President Trump to testify under oath next week. Were going to discuss this Legal Options next. Plus, were live from capitol hill as the house is set to vote on whether congresswoman Marjorie Taylor greene should be stripped of her committee assignments. She just apologized publicly for some of the heinous Conspiracy Theories shes supported, but tried to blame the media. Is it going to be enough . Breaking news. With just days until President Trumps second Impeachment Trial begins his legal team is just getting word that House Impeachment Managers want the former president to testify under oath. Lets talk about this now with our cnn legal analyst elie honig. What are trumps options in response to this request . Yeah, brianna. The House Impeachment Managers are really putting donald trump in a tough position here. Lets walk through his options. Today what he got ashes polite invitation to testify. Now, he can say, sure, ill be there. Ill testify. But as jake tapper said earlier that would be disastrous. No reasonable attorney would allow their client to do that. If he was my client i would tackle him before he went into the well of the senate and took and oath and testified. He can say, no thank you. Thats more likely. The house can subpoena him or not. Then its a formal command. Sorry to interrupt. Going to the State Department. Commitment to the American People, expertise in Foreign Policy and steadfast belief in diplomacy and rocksolid support for our diplomats and development experts. Ive seen him on the hill, in the oval office, in distant world capitals from baghdad to bagram, and visiting our troops, our diplomats, all the Men And Women representing this country, and i can say without fear of contradiction that in the history of the presidency, no one has brought as much Foreign Policy experience to the job as joe biden. Wherever he goes, hes been a champion for american leadership, and a defender of american values. And in Kamala Harris, he has a Vice President , we have a Vice President , with a long track record of standing up for the security of the American People and an abiding commitment to using diplomacy to advance our interests and defend our values around the world. At this moment of unprecedented global challenge, its more important than ever that the United States show up and lead, because the world simply doesnt organize itself to solve big problems. And the wellbeing of the American People hangs in the balance. We need diplomacy to get the pandemic under control worldwide. To save american lives, and livelihoods. We need diplomacy to address the Climate Crisis, to protect communities across our country. We need diplomacy to check the rise of authoritarianism and prevent spread of dangerous womenens, shore up democracy, defend human rights. All of which makes the world more stable and free and all of which protects the security and prosperity of the American People. Foreign policy is Domestic Policy. And because our strength at home determines or strength in the world, Domestic Policy is Foreign Policy, too. President biden and Vice President harris know this better than anyone. Thats why they believe so strongly in the work that we do at the State Department. And theyve made it clear that the first question we must ask ourselves here at state is, how will this benefit our fellow americans . How will this policy answer their needs . How will this outreach reflect their values . How will this initiative make their lives just a little bit better . Were going to hold ourselves to that standard every step of the way. President biden and Vice President harris have come here today at the very start of their administration to make sure we know that we have their support. And that means a great deal. To all of the Men And Women of the State Department. We will do our best, mr. President , madam Vice President , to make you proud. And with that, it is my pleasure to introduce the president of the United States, joe biden. Mr. Secretary, its great to be here with you, and ive been looking forward a long time to be able to call you mr. Secretary. Good afternoon, everyone. Its an honor to be back at the State Department under the eyes of the First American chief diplomat benjamin franklin. And by the way, i want yall to know in the press i was the Ben Minh Franklin Professor of president ial politics at penn and thought they did that because i was as old as he was, but i guess not. Anyway, all kidding aside, its great to be here and stand alongside our most recent senior diplomat secretary tony blinken. Mr. Secretary, thank you for welcoming us today. Weve worked together for over 20 years. Your diplomatic skills are respected equally by your friends and our competitors around the world. And i know when you speak, you speak for me. And so, so is the message i want the world to hear here today. America is back. America is back. Diplomacy is back. At the center of our Foreign Policy. As i said in my inaugural address, we will repair our alliances, engage with the world once again. Not to meet yesterdays challenges, but todays and tomorrows. American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism including growing ambitions of china and determination of russia to damage and bankrupt our democracy. We must meet the new moment accelerating global challenges, from the pandemic to the Climate Crisis, to nuclear proliferation. Challenging the will only to be solved by nations working together and in common. We cant do it alone. That must be the, we must start with diplomacy. Rooted in americas most cherished Democratic Values. Defending freedom. Championing opportunity. Upholding universal rights. Respecting the rule of law. And treating every person with dignity. Thats the Grounding Wire of our global policy. Our global power. Thats our inexhaustible source of strength. Thats americas abiding advantage. Though many of these values have come under intense pressure in recent years, even pushed to the brink in the last few weeks, the American People are going to emerge from this moment more determined and better equipped to unite the fwhorlworld to def democracy because we have fought for it ourselves. Over the past few days weve been in cooperation with allies and partners to bring together the International Community to address the Military Coup in burma. Also in touch with leader mcconnell to discuss our shared concerns about the situation in burma and we are united in our resolve. There can be no doubt in a democracy force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election. The Burmese Military should relinquish power they have seized. Release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained, lift the restrictions in telecommunications and refrain from violence. As i said earlier this week, we will work with our partners to support retoration of democracy and the rule of law and impose consequences on those responsible. Over the past two weeks, i spoke with leaders of many of our closest friends. Canada, mexico, the uk, germany, france, nato, japan, south korea, to being reforming habits of cooperation and rebuilding the muscle of democratic alliances that have atrophied over the past few years of neglect, and i would argue, abuse. American alliances are our greatest asset. And leading with diplomacy means Standing Shoulder to shoulder with our allies and key partners once again. By leading with diplomacy it also means engaging our adversaries and our competitors diplomatically where its in our interest to advance the security of the American People. Thats why yesterday the United States and russia agreed to extend the new start treaty for five years to preserve the only remaining treaty between our countries, safeguarding nuclear stability. At the same time, i made it clear to President Putin in a manner very different from my predecessor that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of russias aggressive actions, interfering in our elections, cyber attacks, poisoning its citizens are over. We will not hesitate to raise the cost on russia and defend our vital interest and our people. And we will be more effective in dealing with russia when we work in coalition and coordination with other likeminded partners. The politically motivated jailing of Alexey Navalny and the russian efforts to suppress Freedom Of Expression and Peaceful Assembly are a matter of deep concern to us and the International Community. Mr. Navalny, like all russian citizens, is entitled to his rights under the russian constitution. Hes been targeted, targeted for exposing corruption. He should be released immediately and without condition. Well also take on directly the challenges posed by our prosperity, security, and Democratic Values by our most serious competitor, china. Well confront chinas economic abuses, counter its aggressive coercive action to push back on intellectual human rights, and global governance. But we are ready to work with beijing when its in americas interest to do so. We will compete from the position of strength by Building Back better at home, working with our allies and partners, renewing our role in international institutions, and reclaiming our credibility and moral authority, much of which has been lost. Thats why we moved quickly to begin restoring american engagement internationally and earn back our leadership position. To catalyze Global Action on shared challenges. On day one, i signed the paperwork to rejoin the paris climate agreement. Were taking steps led by example of integrating climate objectives across all of our diplomacy and raise the ammuambition of our climate targets. That way we can challenge other major emitters to up the ante on their own commitments. Ill be hosting climate Leaders Summit to address the Climate Crisis on earth day of this year. America must lead in the face of this existential threat. And just as with the pandemic, it requires global cooperation. Weve also reengaged with the world health organization. That way we can build better global preparedness to counter covid19, as well as detect and prevent future pandemics. Because there will be more. Weve elevated the status of cyber issues within our government including appointing a First NationalDeputy National security adviser for cyber and emerging technology. Were launching an Urgent Initiative to improve our Capability Readiness and resilience in cyber space. Today, im announcing additional steps to coursecorrect our Foreign Policy and better unite our Democratic Values with our diplomatic leadership. To begin, Defense Secretary austin will be leading a Global Posture review of our forces so that our Military Footprint is appropriately aligned with our Foreign Policy and National Security priorities. It will be coordinated across all elements of our National Security, which Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinkin Working in close cooperation. And while this review is taking place, well be stopping any planned troop withdrawals from germany. Were also stepping up our diplomacy to end the war in yemen, a war which has created humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. I have asked my middle east team to ensure our support for the United NationsLed Initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian challenge and restore long, dormant peace talks. This morning secretary blinken appointed tim lenderking, a career Foreign Policy officer as our Special Envoy to the yemen conflict. And i appreciate him for doing this. Tim has lifelong experience in the region and had worked with the u. N. Envoy and all parties of the conflict to push for a diplomatics resolution. And tims diplomacy will be bolstered by usaid working to ensure that humanitarian aid is reaching the yemeni people who are suffering unendurable devastation. This war has to end. And to underscore our commitment, we are ending all american support for offensive operations in the war in yemen, including relevant arm sales. At the same time, saudi arabia faces Missile Attacks and other attacks from iranian supplied forces in multiple countries. Were going to help saudi arabia to defend its territory and its people. We also face a crisis of more than 80 million displaced people suffering all around the world. The United States moral leadership on refugee issues was appointed bipartisan consensus for so many decades when i first got here. We shine the light of lamp of liberty on oppressed people. We offered safe havens for those fleeing violence or persecution. And our example pushed other nations to open wide their doors as well. So today im approving an Executive Order to begin the hard work of restoring our Refugee Admissions Program to help meet the unprecedented global need. Its going to take time to rebuild what has been so badly damaged. But thats precisely what were going to do. This Executive Order will position us to be able to raise the Refugee Admissions back up to 125,000 persons for the first full fiscal year of the biden harris administration. And im directing the State Department to consult with congress about making a downpayment on that commitment as soon as possible. And to further repair our moral leadership, im also issuing a president ial memo to agencies to reinvigorate our leadership on the lgbtqi issues and do it internationally. We are making sure to promote the rights of those individuals by combating criminalization and protecting the lgbtq refugees and asylumseekers. Finally, to assert our diplomacy and keep americans safe, prosperous, and free, we must restore the Health Morale of our Foreign Policy institutions. I want the people who work in this building and our embassies and consoles around the world to know i value your expertise and i respect you. And i will have your back. This administration is going to empower you to do your jobs, not target or politicize you. We want a rigorous debate that brings all perspectives and makes room for dissent. Thats how well get the best possible policy outcomes. So with your help, the United States will again lead not just by the example of our power but the power of our example. Thats why my administration has already taken the important step to live our domestic values at home, our Democratic Values at home. Within hours of taking office i signed an Executive Order overturning the hateful discriminatory muslim ban, reversed the ban on transgender individuals serving in our military. And as part of our commitment to truth, transparency, and accountability, we stated on day one we started on day one with daily briefings of the press from the white house. Weve reinstituted regular briefings here at state and at the pentagon. We believe a free press isnt an adversary. Rather, its essential. A free press is essential to the health of a democracy. Weve restored our commitment to science and to create policies grounded in facts and evidence. I suspect ben franklin would approve. Weve taken steps to acknowledge and address systemic racism and the scourge of White Supremacy in our own country. Racial equity will not just be an issue for one department in our administration. It has to be the business of the whole of government and all our federal policies and institutions. All this matte t