Speaker mccarthy has added a new wrinkle, opening an inquiry into President Joe Biden. Thehouse inquiry. Good morning and welcome. It is Constitution Day. We will talk this first hour about the impeachment inquiry. 202 7488003 you can send in your questions. The house is set to return this week. There is polling on it already. This is the headline. Americans divided on biden impeachment probe. 38 of independents say they support it. 32 were not sure. I am directing our House Committee to open a formal inquiry into joe biden. The logical next step will give our committee the full power to gather all the facts and answers for the american public. This is exactly what we want to know, the answers. I believe the president would what answer these questions and allegations as well. This effort will be led by the committee on oversight. I do not make this decision lightly. Regardless of your party or who you voted for, these facts should concern all americans. The American People deserve to know that the public offices are not for sale. That the federal government is not being used to cover up the actions of a politically associated family. I would encourage the president and his team to fully cooperate with this investigation, in the interest of transparency. We are committed to getting the answers to the american public, nothing more, nothing less. We will go wherever. Caller all that are missing are the bank records showing that a payment was made directly into the bank account of Vice President biden. I support it for the reason that most of the news media, with the exception of fox news i say most of the news media has failed to report it. The american public, by and large has no idea of the tremendous amount of circumstantial evidence that has led to the decision to initiate an inquiry of impeachment. And i support it for the reason that, hopefully, when the impeachment takes place, it will be covered by all of the news media. That is my statement. Host here is john, who opposes the inquiry. Good morning. Caller good morning. They are having enough trouble passing the Defense Authorization bill. We have the economy bill, where they are looking at a shut down again in september. They have so many issues and all that is is political show and media. The function of government is to build things, get things done, research things. It is a public service. It is not a showcase or Television Media operation. It is getting things done for the citizens, and a lot of the citizens today are looking at it as a tv soap opera, and they have no idea. It is not a healthy way to go. A lot of people, it is just a media event. I want to hear about what is getting done with satellites, what is getting done in the arctic circle, that kind of thing. I work in the energy sector, so now that people are aware, it is not about me or individuals. It is about what we accomplished this week. Host you said they are not getting things done. Is this just peculiar or has it been an issue . A kind of goes both ways over the years. I have they were able to get things done on a global scale, on a national scale, bringing people together, making good connections. How can we put one thing in the line to stop all the progress . That is just unbelievable with all the issues that we have. It is just a showcase of how can i hold something up . In government, how can i hold something up . How can i bring people together to move forward and i work for a city government. The mayors job was to make sure he could get what needed to get done. Host we appreciate your perspective. Now to oakland, california. You are on the air. Caller i support this inquiry. I do not understand how biden that is my only question. It is not right. I came here to have a good life. But the politicians are corrupt on both sides. We are sick and tired of that now. Trump is not a politician. He is a is this guy. He knows everybody. We do not want all this crack in the white house. We want trump back in the white house. Why are republicans pursuing against biden . Since gaining the House Majority, they have aggressively investigated biden and his son, claiming that they engaged in a scheme. Echoes those that trump has made again for years against biden and his family. There was a bribery scheme alleged. The bribery claim was part of trumps first impeachment. The oil and gas company where hunter biden was on the board. They close the matter after eight months, finding insufficient evidence. Other countries were pushing for the firing of ukrainian official. The formal Business Partner said that the bribery allegation was untrue. They have been pursuing lines of inquiry, including the ways that hunter used the biden brand to advance his business with foreign clients. Lets go to the main with james. Caller good morning. I am against the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. It is a complete waste of time and money. Just like it was when they tried to impeach trump. I feel like the democrats it seems things that are unprecedented, and then they get mad when they lose power. When the republicans do the same thing. The Nuclear Option back and 2013 , harry reid and sn8 they made it so that a simple majority could push through nominees. Same thing with these impeachments now. It is not fair to the people of this country. Host because facts of that caller who says that things are not getting done. It sounds like these inquiries further the gridlock. Caller i am an ardent President Trump supporter. Part of me kind of likes seeing them get a taste of their own medicine, but at the same time, i take a look around the country and it is falling apart. This is what they are spending their time on. It is disheartening. Caller i think they should put him out of the white house. Look at our economy. Look at our gas prices. Look at what he has done. He has stopped people from working. God looks down on him every day and the lies he has told. I feel in my heart that he is evil. I pray to god, that god works it out for us because this man has destroyed a lot of peoples lives. There are people begging for food, begging for money. Our children are being taught things that is not right. God is against all that and i am against it. Our forefathers were proud americans. All men were created equal. This man but he did in other countries, you are supposed to be for them, 1000 , but he is not doing it. He is evil. Host yeah asking about the impeachment inquiry that is sent to get underway when the house returns this week. They want to pass a spending bill. If you support the impeachment inquiry here is jeanpierre. Republicans bent year investigating the president. They have turned up with no evidence, none. That is what we have heard over and over again from their investigation, and that is because the president did not do anything wrong. Even House Republicans have said that the evidence does not exist. The House Republicans have said that. But House Republicans have said that it does not exist. Their own investigation has debunked their ridiculous attacks. The only reason he is doing this we have all seen it and you have reported it. She threatened to shut down the government. Can you imagine shutting down the government over a political stunt . We are talking about vital programs that families need. She said that because she wanted him to do this, and if he did not, she would shut down the government. He did not even put up for a vote because he knows that even his own members were not going to support. That is why i call it baseless. They have set themselves that there is no evidence. The evidence does not exist. Host what evidence do they have in terms of the impeachment inquiry . The chairman of the Oversight Committee has overseen through subpoenas to the Treasury Department and various institutions. There is enough and those documents to draw a clear line and no such connection has been proven. Joining forces in june with the republican chairman to launch a larger investigation the fbi and irs have been investigating hunter biden for years and are headed towards a plea this summer until a judge rejected the terms of that agreement. Three counts of a gun charge this week as well. Lets hear from larry. Tuscaloosa, alabama is next. Caller good morning. I totally disagree with this sham with the house Oversight Committee. Number one, a why fda fbi agent and mr. Allen, who is a black former fbi agent. Both of those, two parties the democrat and republican are in this scam together. He came out and he was talking about former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and was also talking about President Biden on the internet. He was fired. Also, mr. Allen came out and told the Oversight Committee that he did not have a job anymore because he was fired as well. For using the internet, but he said he did not use the internet, 70 else used the internet. They came out and donated money to both of them. Both of them were receiving money. If you do not think it is a scan, just wait. The senate is not going to go for that. I just did not see it. It is one it is wasting taxpayer dollars. You could be working on medicaid, medicare, working on things that are going to help the people who are working out here. I just do not get it. Host comments on facebook include this one saying, i support it. Nothing wrong with an impeachment inquiry. They already proved that hunter and joe were raking in millions. While i believe them to be a crime family, the impeachment is just a distraction from completing the countrys budget bills. Chuck says, this is just the way things are. We have a failed government. Nothing but caricatures in office. In michigan, supporting the impeachment inquiry. Good morning. Caller good morning. I just wanted to voice that the government is not really trying to get a lot of change going. We may as well bring back the coliseum and enjoy the entertainment. Host that is how you view the inquiry is more like entertainment . Caller i do not think anybody would be all too upset with a lot of things that politicians do, if they made radical change to the populace. Host bob, what are your thoughts . Caller this is so petty. They are such a contrast between biden and trump. It is astonishing how people do not even try to see. I think they are just humoring the republicans. To keep them from crying so loud about petty stuff. And to try to make you understand how ridiculous it is, putin once is wanting trump to win. Our archenemy, a real enemy. Republicans have him number one on their agenda to be the nominee. Trump loves kim jongun. All right. I think that is about it. I think it is astonishing. It is such a contrast between biden and trump. It is unbelievable. I will talk to you later. Host this is an editorial view from the st. Louis postdispatch. The headline, biden impeachment inquiry opens a dangerous new door. Though it is potly the start of the third impeachment process amhas seen, is dangerous new ground. This inqas launched not response to any actual evidence of wrongdoing bhopes of finding some. If that isew standard, then eve president s partys not control the house will govern under impeachment storefronts. Clintons persecutors losr House Majority because american their cynical stunt. The greater danger is to e nations political stability. Ght now, theyre cut is in an era of impeachment inquiries. That from the st. Louis post dispatch. Jim is in wisconsin and supports the inquiry. Good morning. Caller inflation is as bad as it has been in 40 years. You had that terrible withdrawal from afghanistan. The border, 7 Million People have come across the border, two and half years. We have people getting killed by illegal aliens in this country, and dnot have the resources to holdhem in these bigger cities. I mean, no wonder this country host the things that you mentioned. The issues that you mentioned. You think that your criticism and the president s failure in those areas rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors in which it is prosecuted . Caller i think the email that showed him getting involved in hunters is this are impeachable offenses. I was just going to say that i support the inquiry. He was involved in his sons business. Everybody knows it. It is right there in email. For what they impeached trump over, im no big supporter of trump. I reluctantly voted third part thirdparty. The inquiry host we will go to michelle in kansas, who opposes the inquiry. Caller good morning. Hello. I oppose the inquiry because there is so much more going on in the world. I look for a community be i work for a communitybased program. There are many people who cannot afford to pay for their medications. It is really frustrating. It distracts from what is really going on. It is ridiculous. No democrats or republicans are working on the economy, on how we can afford the economy. You know, both parties need to focus on what the people really need in this world. Not to mention, everyone keeps mentioning about joe biden, but nobody has mentioned how trumps soninlaw received 2 billion. It seemed like everyone wanted to point out because they do not want trump to run. Something is always being brought up about biden. Caller im sorry, im nervous. Host appreciate the call, michelle. Thanks for calling in. This is from in bc. The deadline for the house, for spending was the house and senate have to spend the bill by september 30. Republicans told Kevin Mccarthy, his impeachment inquiry wont solve their spending demand. They are unrelated, one member of the house told nbc news, as Congress Faces a september 30 deadline to avoid a Government Shutdown. Here are some of the comments of Freedom Caucus member matt on the house floor. Matt gaetz on the house floor. On this floor in january, the world witnessed a historic contest for House Speaker. I rise today to serve notice, mr. Speaker, you are out of compliance with the agreements that allowed you to assume this role. The path forward for the house of representatives is to either bring you into immediate total compliance or remove you to vacate the chair. We have had no vote on term limits or balance budgets as the agreement required. There has been no on january 6 dates. There has been insufficient for the biting crime family. You relied on rescissions and budgetary gimmicks so that you ended up serving as the valet to advance bidens spending agenda. You boasted in january that we would use the power of the subpoena and the power of the first. We have not sent the first subpoena to hunter biden. Thats how you know that the rushed and somewhat rattled performance you saw from the speaker is not real. At this point, during democrat control of the house of represent lives, they brought in don jr. Three times. The only thing the 118th congress is known for is electing Kevin Mccarthy speaker and underwriting bidens debt and only one of those things can be remediated at this time. Our leadership right now is asking us to have a vote for a continuing resolution. A vote for a continuing resolution is a vote to continue the Green New Deal and inflationary spending and the most troubling thing, it is a vote to continue the election interference of jack smith. Host on the sunday morning, our opening question on washington journal do you support the house impeachment inquiry into President Biden . If you support that, that line is 202 7488000. If you oppose, 202 7488001. Washington is next, nilda, hello. Caller hello . Host you are on. Go ahead. Caller i consider myself an independent. I can see nothing about the Biden Administration i agree with. We need an America First agenda, where our people are more important than any other nation, any other agenda that the president has. We are put last on every category. Our people are hurting financially. We are overtaxed. We are under provided for. I think back to the time when you couldnt even find baby formula, of all things. Ab formula. Baby formula. We have got to get people in our government that truly and honestly care about the United States citizens. Not those that can bring in by the hordes but the ones that are actually citizens, either by choice of becoming one legitimately or were born here. They come first. Our tax dollars are used in every misappropriated way that they can come up with. And i totally disagree with them. Host and you feel the best way to address some of these problems, among the best ways is the impeachment inquiries the House Republicans are beginning . Caller absolutely. From what i have seen on the news and listen to two, my observation is money has come into that family. Why are they accumulating this money from foreign governments that are not friends to the United States . And, how many tax dollars have they paid on those . When they enforce and try to build the irs to appoint of absolutely going after every, every low income citizen in this country, to get every penny they can, when the biting crime family has given Biden Crime Family has given nothing. They are hiding this. Host on to alex, who opposes the inquiry, calling from alice, who opposes the inquiry, calling from california. Caller i think the biden impeachment is a witch hunt. You should have your facts first and your findings first before you make an impeachment inquiry. You talk about a witch hunt, this is really what it is. And, as far as im concerned, the news media has become a really bad joke. They look at every single little thing. They dont care about what they say, as long as their ratings are high. We will make i will make an analogy in reference to hunter biden. Hunter biden and joe biden, hunter is the one that is under investigation. Not joe. If my daughter were arrested for being a prostitute, would that make me a whore . Host lets go to texas and go to george, who supports the inquiry. Caller i dont know how to respond after that last one. I support the inquiry. I think it will share some light on the Biden Crime Family. I think you go back to joes political career during his time as a senator, he was showing favoritism. After he was Vice President , the recorded statement he made about having the prosecutor fired in ukraine for a 6 billion settlement or something of that nature, that is worth investigating. Why would he have him fired for his sons benefit . Speaking of sons, the investigation, i could care less about hunter biden. I have lots of people that i know that are in the situation he is. The deal with that is they are not handling multimillion dollar business deals and what kind of business deal was he handling anyway . What was their product . They like to get on the trump family, i have stayed at trump hotels and i know girls who have bought ivanka trumps products. They had a business. Joe biden has only made 30,000 a year and somehow he is a millionaire . I believe one of the first things he did was assign a book deal for several million dollars, making about 11 was signed a book deal for several million dollars, making about 11 million. He past that monday through corporations without paying any tax at all on it. He is a crook. He was a crook from the get go. Host this is the wall street journal, kimberly with an opinion piece. She writes white engage in an impeachment inquiry . Without it, the country may never get the tru the white house and media keep changing the definition of joe settled on the line there is no evidence directly linking s business dealings with his dad. It is notable to which the biden family hav to deny investigators the dos they would need toermine whether such evidence exists. That fight will become more vicious as they move to their next stage. House republicans will need all the firepower they can get. David is in capitol heights, maryland, opposing the inquiry. Good morning. Caller good morning, cspan. I oppose it because joe biden is a good man and whatever his son did, that was his sons wrongdoing. Trump tried to impeach joke but joe biden. Joe biden is doing everything humanly possible for his country. The American People need to wake up. This is a deflection. Trump is the one who would not turn over his taxes. He was lying about he was audited. He brought the proud boys to d. C. , when he told them to stand back and stand by. People, please wake up. This country is going in the wrong direction. Going at joe biden is not the way to go. Thanks for taking my call. Host david brought up the former president , donald trump. Trump keeps armslength from house impeachment drive is the headline in the Washington Post this morning, at least about how the former president is reacting. They write in this that seeking return to the white house as a twice impeached former president , facing criminal charges, trump is more focused heavily on what he would do to exact retribution on his political opponents if he is returned to power. He has vowed to appoint a special prosecutor to go after biden. Trump has privately complained more about the lack of criminal charges against biden and his son, hunter, then about House Republicans not impeaching the president. Special counsel david weiss indicted hunter biden for allegedly making false statements and illegal possession of a handgun after pleading to two misdemeanor tax violations fell apart in july. Here is what the democratic leader in the house had to say about the impeachment inquiry. Here is hakeem jeffries. We have a response ability as members of congress to make sure we are funding the government, providing for the health, safety and economic wellbeing of the American People. Launching this illegitimate impeachment inquiry is a distraction, instead of focusing on the business of the American People, extreme republicans are doing the bidding of their public master and chief, donald trump. When donald trump says jump, extreme maga republicans say how high . Leading the charge are extreme lists like marjorie extremists like Marjorie Taylor greene and george santos. They are driving the train right now. And doing the bidding of donald trump. And it is unfortunate that we find ourselves in this situation. As both catherine and pete indicated, House Democrats will continue to partner with President Biden, to make life better for everyday americans. To grow the middle class to build an economy from the middle out and from the bottom up. And to continue to tackle problems on behalf of the American People. And it is our hope that just a handful of sponsor bowl republicans on the other side, instead of engaging in this malignant impeachment theater will partner with House Democrats to get things done for everyday americans. Host about 15 more minutes of your calls and comments on the House Republican inquiry into an impeachment of joe biden. 202 7488000 if you support the inquiry. 202 7488001 if you oppose it. Lets go to Michael Patterson in new jersey. Good morning. Caller good morning. I am calling because i think the guy that just spoke was not telling the truth. And also, why is joe living in the white house . Why . He is a grown up, he supposed to have his own house he is supposed to have his own house and business. I believe he has family business. I believe joe is a traitor and selling out our country. He keeps his family first and not the country. I believe he should be impeached. I believe the truth shall set us free. I tell you what, the truth will put him away. Host up next is dan in arkansas, who is opposing the inquiry. Tell us why, dan. Caller im for the inquiry. I got on the wrong line. Too many people run their mouths. If they typically support their democrats, here they are again. The news media, i believe they are trying to skew the circumstances and that it has entirely to do with influence. And the watergate investigation. Who led it . It wasnt the republicans. It was the journalist from the Washington Post. The media. This time, the Mainstream Media is lined up as a propaganda wing for the democratic party. If the media had been doing their jobs, this would have been uncovered a long time ago. Tony, in his interview, made it totally clear. And believably clear, about what he knew. And then, everybody ignored it. Fox news and a few others have been the only ones showing any interest. The Mainstream Media has lined up as they are totally in the democrats camp and they are the ones that have not done their job. And it is not about how good a job biden has done as president. People need to get past that. These people that dont like the republicans or dont like the democrats, and that is how based on whether or not they are for or against this inquiry, then that is all it is, to investigate the circumstances. Because, the biden family and the Biden Administration is totally unwilling to provide any documentation or proof that it can be cleared up. And, there is all kinds of testimony about what has happened. But, the democrats and, again, the Mainstream Media say there is no evidence, no evidence. Host your view is that the evidence will come out that rises to high crimes and misdemeanors for the impeachment of the president . Caller im saying lets the facts lets let the facts go where they may. This is an inquiry, not an impeachment proceeding. But, because of the lack of cooperation, by biden and the democrats and the lack of interest by the Mainstream Media , the flags have not presented themselves. One way or the other. The facts could provide the proof. Host i appreciate you making that point. This is from the New York Times. The opinion of david french and the headline of his opinion piece is where is the evidence, Speaker Mccarthy . In that piece, french rights this. At the risk of sounding crass, where is the blue dress . Where is the phone call, where is the riot . There is little question that hunter biden, james but evidence from the president he was himself involved in hunters scheme is lacking. As is any evidence the president violated the law. Joseph is in tappahannock, virginia, opposing the inquiry. Good morning, joseph. Caller how are you doing this morning . Host great, thank you. Caller i oppose it because i dont see note evidence that theyve got about biden. Biden passed the inflation bill. An infrastructure bill. Hes been trying to get prescriptions, he is doing a good job of that. They are working on how to get inflation down, gas prices down. I dont see a republican trying to help the average working man. They dont do nothing for the average working man. All they do is this and that and they are working to try to improve peoples lives. The inquiry does not help gas prices. It does not help inflation. It does not help building roads and bridges or what we need. They should be working on that instead of the inquiry and pass a bill at the end of the month to fund the government. They are always working on something thats not relevant to peoples lives. The inquiry does not work on peoples lives. When you are paying these high gas prices and inflation, they should be working on that. Not no inquiries of biden. That aint helping people, not one bit. Now the average working man. Host in pennsylvania next, crystal, good morning. Caller yes. I want to say i have always lived by the premise of if it is right or wrong, i will go with the right side. I dont care if it is against me or not. This biden impeachment is a bunch of hogwash. All they want to do is say biden was impeached like trump. Trump has 91 charges against him. Trump has never been a businessman. Ive watched casinos fail under trump. I watched him steal money from everyday people who were working. He ripped them off and did not pay them. You want to say businessman . Trump stole from charities. Trump has done horrible things to everyday people. Biden did not do that. If hunter did something wrong, hunter should be charged. But over the last past yr, all they came up with was a gun charge. Ok, what are you fishing for . They have done nothing wrong. People testified and said the father was not involved in this. All of republicans want to do is a titfortat. You talk about gas prices and food prices, this is what we complained about before the republicans were in charge of the house. They have done absolutely nothing. Here, you have saudi arabia and russia pulling back from giving us oil and giving us gasoline and you want to blame that on biden. But, trump loves these people. Host focusing on the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as announced by House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy on tuesday, and impeachment was cleared in the Texas Legislature yesterday. This is a headline from the texas tribune. Texas attorney general ken paxton, acquitted on all 16 articles of impeachment. They write, the texas senate acquitted ken paxton of 16 articles of impeachment, alleging corruption and bribery. His most artful escape in a career spent courting controversy and skirting consequences of scandal. No article received more than 14 of the 21 required votes to convict. Only bob nichols of jacksonville and Kelly Hancock voted in favor of convicting for any article, a stark contrast to the more than 70 of House Republicans, talking about texas House Republicans, who impeached the attorney general in may. Paxton, who attended two days of the trial, was not present to witness his exoneration and was characteristically defiant. Mike is calling from los angeles, opposing the inquiry. Good morning, mike. Caller good morning. I just want to say i think this impeachment inquiry is a sham. Its just a sham. I will give you two reasons. Number one, we all know that trump is pushing House Republicans to do this. This is all originating from trump. If that were the case, mccarthy would have held a vote. He didnt hold the vote because he didnt have the vote. That is why they are doing this sham. Second is this huge Misinformation Campaign that is going on on the right wing, particularly with fox. If people are still believing what fox says after they had to pay out 787 billion, 787 million dollars, i dont know what to tell you. A lot of people are getting their information from them. That is why they keep saying Biden Crime Family. They keep repeating it and parodying what they hear on the radio. I think the biggest problem is the misinformation. This is a huge misinformation. People are confused. People are calling and talking about inflation. And they want to impeach the president about this. A guy talking about afghanistan. Those are not impeachable offenses. They are not impeachable. You may not like the policy but it is not an impeachable offense. There is no evidence tying the president s to president to his son. None. Host thanks, mike. Eugene is calling from new york. Good morning. He supports the inquiry. Caller just father and son, they dont talk . His father didnt help him along the way or advise him on anything . Everyone says trump, trump, trump, i dont see trump as a bad guy. Maybe he is a terrible businessman but he went into office rich. Now, they are going after him because he was rich. They did not profit from anything. Other politicians came into office, starting with clinton, obama, biden, they came in poor and look how rich they are living. Nobody sees that obama is the public master for biden and all of this, if they dont, they are really blind. Host in ohio, steve, who opposes the inquiry. Good morning. Caller good morning. First of all, the washington journal is biased is a biased network. Because you are showing the Republican Conventions and last night, you had people on the republican thing with trump again. First of all, what they are charging President Biden for is exactly host steve, are you there . Caller yeah. Host go ahead. Caller i was going to say, what they are charging President Biden for is what trump already did a thousand times over. He is responsible for half a Million Deaths in this country, according to the epidemiologists who said that had he behaved properly and listened to the proper cdc authorities, we would have had a half Million People living in this country. Host we showed you some polling numbers earlier, showing you the fundraising on the impeachment announcement by Kevin Mccarthy, the headline from the messenger, impeachment inquiry gives harris most successful funding bid in 2024 campaign. They say the Vice President s efforts added 700,000 addresses to a Campaign Email list. That story came out the day after the announcement of the inquiry. Lets hear from greg in champaign, illinois. Good morning. Caller hello. I am for the impeachment inquiry. The more jim jordan is on tv, the more people are reminded of his wrestling career. So, go for it, you guys. You are just reminding the American People that the republicans are not a Serious Political Party anymore. Host there is more ahead here on washington journal. It is Constitution Day. We are joined, next, we are joined by Jeffrey Rosen. He will talk to us about the significance of the constitution and constitutional issues of the day. Including impeachment and more. Later, Benham Ben Taleblu will talk about the u. S. Iran proposed prisoner swap deal and what that means for u. S. Iranian relations going forward. This week on the cspan networks, house and senate are in with both continuing to work on federal spending bill so avoid e september 30 Government Shutdown deadline. Wednesday Merrick Garland testifies examining the Justice Department under his leadership. Pete buttigieg testifies before the house transportation and Infrastructure Committee on his departments policies and programs. Federal reserve chairman Jerome Powell hose his Quarterly Press conference. Watch this week, live on the span networks or on cspan now, also cspan. Org for scheduling information or to stream video live or ondemand any time. Cspan your unfiltered view of government. If you ever miss any cspan coverage, you can find it online at cspan. Org. Videos of hearings, debates and events feature markers that guide you to newsworthy highlights. They appear in the righthand side of your screen when you hit play of select videos. The toll makes it easy to get an idea of what was debated and decided in washington. Spend a few minutes on cspans points of interest. Join us monday nine for the premiere of cspans new series books that shaped america. We explored 10 books for American Literature that provoke thought, one awards led to , significant changes and are still talked about today. This week will feature, since, written by thomas payne early 1776 at the height of tensions between the american colonies and great britain. Our guest history professor at the university of maryland talks about how thomas payne urged for american independence in the british monarchy and a six month later the declaration of independence was signed. Watch books that shaped america featuring thomas paynes, since monday night at 9 00 eastern on cspan, cspan now, or only at cspan. Org. Scan the qr code listen to our podcasts where you can learn more about the authors of the books featured. Washington journal continues. Host we are glad to welcome back to washington journal, president and ceo of National Constitutional center Jeffrey Rosen on this Constitution Day. Happy Constitution Day. Guest happy Constitution Day. Host the publication on your website, constitution center. Org, the story of Constitution Day and citizenship day. How long have we been celebrating Constitution Day in the modern era . Guest that is a very good question. I cant answer it off the top of my head. But a look to scott we should look to scott. We are celebrating september 17 which was the day in 1787 when the Convention Held in Independence Hall in philadelphia, propose the constitution to the u. S. That is why it is a significant day. Host what do you think, when you look at the period when the founders signed the declaration of independence in 1776, it is 20 what years later, 21 years later. What happened in those intervening years, why did it take 20 years to get from the declaration to the constitution . Guest that period between 1776 and 1787, the period constitution because shapes values and principles we have in the constitution. Go back to 1776, everyone has agreed on the shining principles of the declaration, created equal, natural rights, government by consent. Thomas jefferson said there was unanimous agreement among all founders of those principles. Then came the work of creating constitutions. That happened in the states and it did not go that well. Many of the state politicians were afraid of executive powers that would create week governors, sometimes multimember executives, strong legislatures, we judiciaries and there was what was considered an excess mob violence and it too much democracy. Shays rebellion in massachusetts was a group of debtors mobbing the state court houses because they did not want to pay their debts. People are afraid Property Rights are insecure and rule of law will be threatened because people are not going to vote by abide by the rule of law. The famous came to philadelphia to create a Central Government Strong Enough to enforce rule of law, paying off the revolutionary war did and protecting the colonies against invasion. But constrained enough to protect liberty. It is quite a difficult balance to achieve both of those goals. That is what the constitution was designed to do by announcing it in the most important words of the preamble, constitution is made by we the people of the United States, not we the people of the states of North Carolina, rhode island in first draft said and other states but instead we the people of the United States, signaling the idea National People created the union together and we the people of the entire nation had the sovereign power, not individual states, not the king, not any tyrant. Host that is a critical phrase. What were the states, the colonies at the time that were still dragging their feet behind the idea of United States, a strong Central Government . Guest there is debate in the convention. The first clash between the big states and the small states, virginia plan drafted by madison and others that would have created two houses a legislatures elected by the people. A strong executive. It is new jersey leaves the smaller cities that want two senators for every state to protect their interests. The compromise is connecticut compromise which mixes properly elected house and the senate less democratic and has two senators for every state. This disagreement among the founders about which people are sovereign, u. S. People or state people. Madison and james wilson of pennsylvania are the biggest nationalists. They think we the people of u. S. Are sovereign and wilson who dressed ghost wars, we the people of u. S. Drafts those words we the people of the u. S. , he wants a president elected by the entire people. The most states rights founder is one who was not there and that is Thomas Jefferson. He is in paris, but hes very much in favor of states rights and thinks that only on the state level can the people express their sovereignty. Madison, considered the father of the constitution, he is moderate in the matter. Federalist 39 he says there is a dual sovereignty, the whole people are sovereign regionally but we parcel out different aspects of sovereignty. Sometimes to the general government, sometimes to the states to achieve separate purposes. This comes ahead of the civil war and some Southern States invoking the arguments that Thomas Jefferson made in opposition to the sedition act passed by the Adams Administration says that because the states make the union, individual states can withdraw from it. Lincoln says absolutely not. We the people made the union and any consent of the hole before the union can be changed. The war came. Its of the civil war to establish the idea of a national sovereignty. Host the constitution signed september 17, 1787 was an incomplete document. It did not include the first 10 admits. What led to the adoption of the bill of rights and why were they not included in the original constitution . Guest there were not included because people thought they were not necessary. Madison said a bill of rights to be unnecessary or dangerous. Necessary because you do not have to fear congress will abridge free speech because it is given no delegating power and therefore would not try to exercise that power. Dangerous because if you make a list of certain rights, people might think if the right is not written down, it is not protected. Our rights are so capacious they come from god and nature, not government, it would be impossible to write them down in a single list. Why did madison change his mind . The pressure from the antifederalist, three people refused to sign the constitution. If you come to the National Constitution center, go to steiner hall and see lifesize statues of the guys who signed the constitution, in the back character who did not signed. Elbridge gerry, edmund randolph, george mason who wrote the virginia bill of rights that became one of madisons model when he got to the federal model. Those three jumped up a movement in the states were many state convictions said we were assigned but we recommend you adopt a bill of rights. Here are the amendments you adopt. Medicine comes the relies a bill of rights would not be a barrier as he recalled, it would be politically necessary and useful. Jefferson pushing for a bill of rights from paris. Medicine drafts it. He cuts and pace revolution state constitutions he has by his side. You can find these online. Many of these states agree on the basic rights. The right of free speech and conscience, the right to bear arms, and medicine cuts and paste the proposals madison cuts and paste the proposals. The original First Amendment was not the one to do with free speech but says there should be one representative in congress for every 30,000 inhabitants. That when did not pass. One did not pass. Host it is positive today. Talking to Jeffrey Rosen. We welcome your calls and comments on issues about the constitution, the history, issues we are facing currently. Democrats, 202 7488000. Republicans, 202 7488001. Independents, 202 7488002. Jeffrey, i want to ask you about a survey of peoples knowledge of the First Amendment, but you obviously talk to a lot of visitors at the constitution center. Your thoughts, how well do people know the constitution . What are the things they tell you about or in . Or ask you . Guest it is exciting to see americans come all over the country to the constitution center, especially the schoolchildren. Eager to touch the founders in Founders Hall or go to the civil war exhibit or the new exhibit we just opened last week on the First Amendment. Just last week we had this amazing, National Forum on the First Amendment with great scholars. It was in front of the tablet im standing behind, the egg back drop. The words of the First Amendment shimmering in marble, you are gazing on Independence Hall. Although these elements are there. What people know about people have a sense of what the five freedoms of the First Amendment are, but not everyone can name all of them, because there are five. Speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition are the five freedoms. What people do not know because they have not had a chance to study it is how does the First Amendment protect free speech. In 1969, Supreme Court said he could only restrict speech that is intended to end likely to cause minute violence. It makes u. S. The must be protected country in the world. It is unfamiliar tests so you want to teach that along with other aspect of the constitution. You do that by going to the website and on the interactive constitution which is this amazing resource. You will find the top liberal and conservative scholars writing about every clause of the constitution, describing what they agree about and disagree about, in models, respectful dialogue, consistent with our mission for education. More than 70 million hits since relaunch in 2015. Host alongside your form last week, a study came out, the headline, focusing on the First Amendment as you point out some of the First Amendment. They found not surprisingly 77 surveyed knew it protected freedom of speech, 40 freedom of religion by a chops off from there. 28 set for them to the press. 33 knew about the right to assembly but t least known element the First Amendment is the right to petition the government. Whwas that included . How has that changed over the years . The right to petition the government. Guest positioning the operation of independence the declaration of independence was a position. It was a petition to king george the third. Protesting against the stamp act or the intolerable acts or other restrictions on the colonial legislatures, free trade and free rights. Requesting he change his mind or initially announcing the right revolution. It is up in the constitution as a central way for people to communicate with the representatives. The right to petition remains robust in years leading up to the civil war when the petitions by abolitionists requesting the end of slavery are sent to congress and Congress Passes a gag rule saying you cannot consider petitions from evolutionists. John quincy adams who is not a congressperson says am i g agged . And he insists on speaking anyway. It is not a few americans know about it because it does not show up so much in judicial opinions. It is been subsumed by brought right of free speech. Our modern First Amendment sweeping, capacious that the ability to communicate with government and congress today, you do not have to send a petition. You can tweet or email or speak on facebook. The need to send a former petition is less crucial. Host washington with different associations and lobbying groups, is the city for people petitioning their government . Guest absolutely. Exercising their Constitutional Rights as founders intended. This question of how responsive congress is supposed to be to the petitions goes to the heart of debates of the original convention. Should be a democracy or a public . Republic . Should we have representatives directly elected by the people or should they be filtered like the Electrical College tuition ensure only the wisest and most temperate and moderate should be chosen . This is the debate between hamilton and jefferson. Hamilton favors the republic and thinks where the home she be at the helm to avoid the mob and avoid polymerization and avoid the most extreme claims of their most noble constituents. Jefferson is more democratic and believes people should be able to have the revolution and change the constitution entirely , living cannot be bound by the dead. He becomes more of a filter democracy and were still having that debate today. Host when you hear the question if we are a republic or democracy, how do you answer . Guest independenc it depends. It is true descriptively that the delegates of the Constitutional Convention are in favor of a republic, not democracy. Their big is unchecked democratic concern is big unchecked democratic. They want to put checks in democracy. The idea of unfiltered democracy is more an innovation of jefferson who is not at the convention and later political developments, the election progressive era including the 17, 118, 19 admit meant, the populace initiatives that follow the progressive era allowed to states like california sad the people amend the constitution by direct democracy in a way that did not exist before. Media Technology Makes it impossible for representatives to communicate with their constituents directly in a way they could not before. It is a huge change. James madison would not have been a fan of twitter because he thought president should not campaign directly at all. They should be chosen by wise men and let the record speak for themselves. He thought it was important to have speed bumps on direct democracy so the voice of wisdom could emerge. Host well get into issues of impeachment as Second Amendment of late but to our callers. Democrats, 202 7488000. Republicans, 202 7488001. Independents, 202 7488002. It is Constitution Day. We have the president and ceo of the constitution center, Jeffrey Rosen, with us until 9 00 eastern. Monty in phoenix, good morning. Caller good morning. I would like to say i believe the constitution was set up as an inspired document. That is why they had the bill of rights an ability to make amendments as we progress is a free nation. It was a framework to guarantee freedoms and liberties. We have ive heard talk about rewriting the constitution per i did not believe it is necessary because we have the ability to change things by the use of amendments which is been done over the course of the history. I believe it is an inspired document and it gives us framework for how this country as a democratic republic and that is what i believe we are. Guest you put it so well. Use the word framework and you are right. It is a framework. The word constitution comes from latin meaning come together, stand together. It means it is a framework for us to come together or stand together to protect freedom and liberty. As a result, you do not think it is necessary to completely amend it or change it, i want to share with you this project we did what we invited three teams of scholars, liberal, conservative, and libertarian to draft a constitution from scratch project amendments of the constitution. Given the chance, none of the three teams decided to end the constitution. They agreed you should keep the basic framework. When we invited the three of them to liberate and propose amendments, they were able in the space of one week, a zoom convention propose five amendments and arguments had to do with the framework. There were no new rights or structures. It was legislative veto that would allow congress to repudiate executive actions they disagree with by majority vote, making impeachment little bit harder in the house easier to impeach in the house but harder to convict in the senate. Eliminating the natural born citizenship requirements for the presidency and finally, allowing 18 year term limits for Supreme Court justices. It is a framework that should be preserved and moderately reformed, but not eliminated. It was the structure protecting freedom and liberty and not the rights that were the most important. Host john in california. Caller hi there. I have two questions. Abortion and the other with the fact that in last eight elections majority of times the republicans when they win, they do not have the majority of the population behind them. I would like to suggest in the constitution, when you look through who defends the constitution, the only element of the government that is mentioned is the president. That in january 20 event where the president will say though protect, defend, preserve the constitution. Where im going with this is the president could change the outcome of president ial elections by simply pointing out to congress or the people that the constitution calls for 30 30,000 members per representatives in the house of representatives. If he bumps membership is constitution by 50 , he would probably create more members of the house of representatives coming from high labor states which tend to be blue states. That would create an outcome in the Electoral College that would more likely end up with majority of the vote going to the next president. The other area has to do with abortion. When you look at roe v. Wade, that goes one direction, the sen. Kaine Supreme Court decision and then if you look at the Supreme Court you have six republican appointed members and three democrat appointed members. It went down partisan lanes. If the president looks at those two statements, if the president said based on my pledge to protect the constitution, i think roe v. Wade if he directed the statement to congress, they would have to overwrite by two thirds vote, i believe. If they could not, the his statement based the constitutional framework would prevail in the current decision by the Supreme Court would have to back off. Host deep hypotheticals there. Guest lets take the last one which is interesting. Can the president interpret Supreme Court decision in a way that only congress can overturn by two thirds vote and it is true that the president issues an executive order interpreting the decision then congress would need a filibuster proof majority under the current rules to repudiate executive order. We saw that with bottles of wall and President Trump where there was majority named congress against the wall. The president s orders cannot be repudiated and it is of the Supreme Court to decide whether or not the orders were valid. This is really constitution drafting Team Proposal legislative veto resurrected is relevant free before the Supreme Court struck out legislative veto in 1980s, congress could repudiate the president s executive order by majority vote. That went out the window when Supreme Court said that violated bicameralism and presentment according to the constitution. This is to say the president could not just read the Dobbs Decision and say i think it means this, but you are right, keita questions are going to happen and approval of drugs like mifepristone and other question is involving travel between states as President Biden or to issue executive orders interpreting dobbs and congress disagreed, it we needed two thirds majority to express this agreement. Host Jeffrey Rosen law professor at George Washington University Law school. That caller mentioned the oath the president takes and member of the house and senate, is that prescribed in the constitution . Guest it is. We know that from president obama. Chief Justice Roberts flood the word is a bit of ego just to make complete leasure flood the words and did a redo to make sure. Host mike from new jersey. Caller hey. How do we feel about the current state of our checks and balances in the constitution and separation of powers . We talk about the dos decision. The theory the republicans have been pushing. The refill constitution do we feel the constitution has been amended enough . Guest you mentioned the unitary executive theory to remind our other friends who are watching, unitary executive theory is embrace not only by republicans, also by democrats. Justice kagan was she was a professor talked about a version of it describing the president s power to run the administrative state. The Bush Administration scholars said the president has unitary control over the executive branch and wartime so he can pass executive orders ordering surveillance or treatment of guantanamo detainees and congress cannot impinge on the power. The unitary executive theory is used to justify the sweeping use of executive orders passed by the president. You ask what is the state of separation of powers, scholars say it is not good because its negative orders are proliferating a weight the founders did not anticipate. George washington issued eight executive orders his first two terms. Roosevelt issued more than 3000 per year it sold during the new deal. It doared during the new deal. The Supreme Court is pushing back which is an effort to enforce the separation of powers. Striking down the executive orders. Our team of scholars thought resurrecting legislative veto would restore the separation of powers by allowing congress to express his prerogatives by simple majority vote. Host your comments and questions on this Constitution Day. Democrats, 202 7488000. Republicans, 202 7488001. Independents and others, 202 7488002. Susan on the independent line in revere. Caller hi, professor rosen. Thank you for being on today. I think you are a national treasure. It is great to learn and the same from you. Ive always been curious given the state of our National Politics and state politics, the complete control of our political processes by two major parties only and inability of independence and other smaller parties to have a voice in national government. I think as a result of that we have drifted into an emerging populace era i think created by the fact two National Parties do not get anything done. The resentment it keeps brewing. We get populism. Ive always admired Department Three democracies, canada, u. K. , many European Countries and some asian countries. They seem to be much more nimble and effective with dealing with critical issues, turning on a dime, making fast decisions, publicly funded elections. I feel that construct seems more functional. I meant i am a native maryland or. My ancestors were a radical baptist. They were kicked out of england. We became catholic prehas some of us are jewish. I always felt maryland was a great model of religious tolerance. I am proud to be a marylander. Host thank for your comments. Guest wonderful comments. Here is to maryland and indeed the wonderful tradition of religious liberty for catholics at a time when that was needed during the framing, extended to baptists and jews, and maryland is a shining model for religious toleration. You raise an important series of questions about whether parliamentary model not rooted pass the post elections is more nimble and less vulnerable to populace. No question the framers are concerned about populace. Hamilton warns about unscrupulous man, unprincipled who was sow the world. Each era there has been those who operated outside of the two party system. Q. Week long during the new deal. The question is whether there been exacerbated and incredibly polarized age of the party themselves have become much more in their most extreme bases and as a result are not moderate majority in both parties less represented. Many scholars have suggested that some think like a proportional representation electoral system would empower independent voices and make us less polarized. We have seen some states experiment with this. New york in its Mayoral Election tried this and ended up with more moderate candidate. You could do it. The biggest barrier 1842 law saying any singlemember districts. Congress could repeal that law. You called our attention to on this Constitution Day and important question is a reminder that Electoral Systems that are not specified in the constitution but affect Constitutional Values may have an impact on the structure of our constitution, so thank you so much. Host this past tuesday Kevin Mccarthy ordered an impeachment investigation and inquiry into sitting President Biden. Potentially third impeachment process in four years. Why was impeachment included in the constitution . Guest because of a concern with what hamilton and others called corruption maladministration. Early draft of the impeachment calls and was to support it would have forbidden corruption or maladministration. Everyone has a mind. Demand bribes from Foreign Countries and try to sell the whirlwind. The delegates decided that was too broad and indistinct. Along impeachment for simple corruption would lower the bar and therefore the final language was treason or the high crimes and misdemeanors. Now we are seeing something unusual which is frequent impeachment. There were just a handful of the first hundred years of American History for president s it was Andrew Johnson during the civil war, president nixon about to be impatient when he resigned and then we had bill clinton and then donald trump twice. It is other democracies frequently impeach the president s for partisan reasons. If we have an impeachment in every demonstration may be moving toward that. Host jim from new york city on the republican line. Caller good morning. Perhaps you are familiar with the writings of anarchists attorney who wrote an essay called the constitution of no authority, in which he characterizes the founders of as a ban of robbers. I wonder if judgment were discussed for a moment if he has an answer to some of the charges he made in the essay. Guest im glad he mentioned to him. He was of course a hero to frederick death is and does this initially constitution was proslavery document following the writings of William Garrison and the abolitionists and thought it was a covenant withheld. After reading both spooner and madisons nose which had been published in 1840 and revealed that medicine said the physician would not admit property, a change that was his conception of himself as a man and citizen as he put it and he became convinced of the constitution was a glorious liberty document and it was a libel on founders to say they had indoor slavery because they kept the word out to the constitution. Spooner was a lot there is who assisted slavery was is consistent with constitution inconsistent with constitution. The founders felt the same. Spooner and others denounce jefferson for being a hypocrite. He said he thought slavery was consistent with declaration and said slavery should end and he trembled for his country because god was just but kept delaying the end of slavery and never could act on his principles and indeed on his own deathbed, freed almost none of his own slaves except his own children by sally hemmings. Spooner is a great example of a principal abolitionists who understands the glorious proliberty, implications of the declaration and constitution, understands that slavery is the original sin, and takes the founders to task for failing to upheld their own principles. Host mike is next. Caller im having a brain problem here. What do we call the popular vote . Host the Electoral College . Caller bless you. What about the popular vote . Interviewing people on the subject like in idaho, we had to have they did not say because god wants us to do it but give us something about what about the popular vote . I assume it has no chance. Thank you. Guest great question. Our scholars, the three teams, both liberals and conservatives would have embraced a National Popular vote and eliminated the Electoral College. Libertarians did not. The National Popular vote amendment came within three votes in congress of passing in the 1970s. It was proposed by a former congressman. It was endorsed by president nixon and by democrats. Had it been proposed by congress, it would have been ratified in a few months because there was support for eight. It was held up because the opposition of three southern congresspeople who wanted to protect their prerogatives. That shows you how in 1970 it is not a partisan issue to think you should not have residence who are how president s who le the National Popular vote to become president. Both run a risk as they did today of losing the National Popular vote. We also talked about Constitutional Convention several framers including james wilson thought you should have a National Popular vote so there are plenty of reasons for it. All states should be represented. A reflection of our federal system. We do not have a direct democracy therefore it is good to require candidates to campaign in all states. Thats the main argument in favor of the Electoral College. In practice, the issue has become so polarized although there is strong on National Support on both sides, were probably not going to see a National Popular vote amendment. Host we have not talk much about the Second Amendment. Amendment. Seems to be every week a new issue involving the Second Amendment. Governor of new mexico stopping b cells of firearms. That was overturned. A judge temporarily overturned the new mexico governors order to suspend the right to carry firearms in public and the issue of Second Amendment may come up in the defense of hunter biden. How far back in our history did the Second Amendment to become as contentious as it is today . Guest well, it was a central concern. It ended up as an amendment. The main concern at the time of the framing, you can learn from the nonpartisan interactive constitution, it is a fear of federal government come in and take away peoples guns and liberties. An overweening government will be tyrannical and he need to be allow you need people to allow people to be malicious and case government came away to take away our liberties. Justice thomas stressed that more individual rights history in his majority opinion in the case. Cspan viewers want to understand the terms of the really importantly the debates on the Second Amendment today read the brewing and the dissenting opinion by justice breyer. Justice thomas introduced a new task for deciding whether or not regulations violate the Second Amendment called the text history and tradition tests and to justify a current regulation, we have defined historical analogue. That is from lower courts into confusion because it is hard to identify historical analogs for modern regulations including bans on people who have been convicted on Domestic Violence possessing firearms which is a case Supreme Court will hear this year. How do you buy catalog for them . Hunter cave and indeed the Second Amendment you mentioned hunter cave and indeed Second Amendment will be central to his case. As that law is additional under the Second Amendment . There is an argument that is not because there is not a federal restrictions on former felons in the 19th century. Second amendment advocates may be on hunter biden side. The defense in his case could be similar to the one that is in the case the courts hearing. As you evaluate these questions, france on cspan, separate your political familiar constitutional views. Do not ask do you think the right to bear arms is important, or not, but does Second Amendment allow or forbid a particulate restriction on guns, being descriptive the law is in flux because this new test is calling into question a lot of regulations that even after the heller decision, have been unquestioned and Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Roberts signaled that they might be open to reducing some of the uncertainty so it is why the case is one of the most important cases of the year. Host don in washington. Caller hi. Glad to be on. I appreciate mr. Rosens excellent commentary on the constitution. He just thought a lot of what i was going to talk about, the Second Amendment. Particularly maybe he can comment, he did a great job running down the background of it. Particularly, i wonder talk on exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind as far as the limits of that limit. It begins with wellregulated militia being necessary for protection of free speech. What was the intent as far as regulation got the as far as regulation . Guest as you know because of your interest in the topic, it is one of the hardest and most contested historical questions. I love to begin on the interactive love to begin on the interactive cotitions at the center because it is such a nonpartisan way of looking at this to see what the state constitutions at the time, how they frame it and if you click on it, youll find you see only two of the 13 states in 1787 talked about the right of individuals to bear arms in defense of themselves or for killing game, all the others talk about a wellregulated militia and in need of citizens to defend themselves against federal tyranny. If you are just going on the basis of the text of the state constitutions and the Second Amendment, which begins wellregulated militia necessary for the security of a free state, there is a broad consensus among liberals and conservatives at the time of their framing central concern was ability of citizens to organize as state militias to defend themselves against federal tyranny. After the heller case there was scholars did word search of the meaning, original meaning of the right to bear arms arms in 1787, broadly it was associated with militia or military, not a right to selfdefense. That change as we begin to talk about privates by the civil war, more individualistic focus, African Americans to defend themselves became important, i interpret the text but depends on how you are touchless to read the words out of context, look at a particular historical timeframe and also what historical timeframe . The founding era is much more militia and then progressive era when new york statute issued as some in cases passmore relations became common. U. S. A good question. What regulations were on the books . A cap change in a few leave their opinion, we read this in my constitutional law class last week. We read it out loud because he wanted to make sure we had the relations down the. They start with statute of northumberland in britain 1352 and move towards each period and each period different regulations, there were times in the framing we had to present your muskets for inspections in the town square and it is not known by any means. Lots of regulations on the book but to come back to the chase of the brewing opinion, when what makes it so confusing and historians disagree, the course assistance you have to find a modern historical analogue not only for restriction in question but the nature of the burden and analytically it is hard for law professors, anyone to come up with that. How are judges supposed to engage in this historical analysis . It is a very contested area but it is interesting for legal historians and if you are reading bruen, you will see the main arguments. Host joseph in fayetteville North Carolina ask about militias, asking firms of the constitution did not advocate for standing, professional, military. State militias were on both sides of the civil war. What happened . Guest true. The third amendment says theyre afraid of the british army coming in and putting in their Standing Army in citizens homes and one of the main things to constrain federal power is the lack of a Standing Army. A vast expansion in federal and federal power from world war ii, world war i as well as the rise of paramounts arise police force, the strength of our modern police at the federal level was completely and conceivable to the framers locally based and quite weak. This poses an interesting question for my profound question for the constitution, how do you translate the framers concerned with not having standing armies and protecting individual rights to bear arms, in a world where state power is so much exponentially stronger . You could say when you got a much stronger prayer most arise for us, you need more of an individual right to bear arms so citizens can defend themselves against ak47s and Nuclear Bombs that threatening our liberties. On the other hand, you can say it is and appropriate to imagine individual citizens to use weapons to fight federal government in an age where the federal military is so overwhelmingly strong. Therefore that aspect the amendment has become no clear answers to to these important questions. Host jean from kansas. Good morning. Caller good morning. This is completely off the subject. It seems to me the central problem in our country we have never really come to terms with it. I think it is unbelievable that a time in our country one person and could kill them and that person had no place to go for justice. I cannot understand how that could feel. At what point was the constitution actually agreeing that a black person was a human being and could get justice . Guest such an important question. Im so glad he put it before as the central sin of the constitution which is slavery. Far from being a side issue, this sin was in the mind of all the framers and they talked about it constantly and each of them agreed with you and with the words of the declaration which say we are endowed by our creator with the unalienable right to equal liberty, all agreed it was a violation of the law of god in nature to hold another human being in bondage. Each of the framers express the desire that slavery would end and jefferson said it was retribution on america the sin of slavery until it ended. They did not act on their principles. There was temporizing and delay and people remained in bondage and it to look lincoln at gettysburg to promise a new birth of freedom to make real the promise of declaration and describe it in constitution. Frederick douglass calling on america to be true to his principles and to make real the promise of the declaration that led the 13th, 14th, 15th commitment of the constitution. When did because of that she recognized the morality of slavery . 13th amendment when did the constitution recognize the immorality of slavery . The 13th amendment. The 15th gave africanamericans men the right to vote until the 19 commitment to give women the right to vote. The battle continues. The promise of that the declaration was not merely a promissory note but the arc of justice bends forward to. The battle to make real the promise of the declaration began in 1877 but continued in 1920 and 1965 and of course today, the struggle continues. Host john in michigan. Welcome. Caller welcome. My name is john. A few weeks ago you had a guy named paul dans from the heritage foundation. Hes a part of writing a book called mandate for leadership and i believe on page 555 not only explains three sections the executive branch, legislative branch, judicial branch, but theres also going to be a fourth branch, the president would be overlooking. The president would be overlooking the congress, the senate, as well as the courts. That has me concerned. That was all part of a project called project 2025 to which they are looking at getting 50,000 people in reference to the next republican group. Host professor, what are your thoughts on moves to rewrite the constitution or to rewrite portions of the constitution . Guest i was really inspired by the constitution drafting project i mentioned at the National Constitution center which you can go to the constitution center. Org and check out. That was a shining testament to the fact that a monk the most conservatives and libertarians today, there is not necessarily a broad desire to rewrite the constitution entirely because as one of our first caller said, it is a framework for freedom and liberty that is served remarkably well for almost 250 years. There is surprising consensus among efforts to refine the constitution and come up with moderate amendments that would address some obvious areas for reform, including term limits for Supreme Court justices, which people of both parties think might make sense, and making it easier to amend the constitution itself as well as restoring some of the separation of power. Of course the constitution is not perfect. The framers never thought it was. James madison thought a new convention would not be a good idea because it was a miracle such a brilliant document had passed the first time and it might get messed up if we really started from scratch, but it is so striking that in this time of polarization among liberals and conservatives and Party Politics and fears of populism there is such broad consensus in america around the american idea in the declaration of independence, created equal, government by consent, as well as the basic ideas of the constitution, federalism, the bill of rights. Im confident that cspan viewers on liberal and conservative sides will all be nodding in agreement because we all hold of those truths to be selfevident and that is a great source of pride and comfort on Constitution Day come out that the american idea embodied in the constitution remains a shining idea. Host thank you for once again eliminating eliminating these important issues for us here on washington journal. Guest happy Constitution Day. Host still to come, morehead more ahead. We will be joined by Behnam Ben Taleblu. Part of what we will talk about is the anticipated u. S. Iran prisoner swap. Next, it is open forum and a chance for you to weigh in on items we have talked about this morning or other news you are following. Democrats, 202 7488000. Republicans, 202 7488001. Independents and all others, 202 7488002. We will be right back. Georgetown University Law professor, author of the court at war, talks about the civil rights and Civil Liberties cases taken up by the u. S. Supreme court during world warwo and the state of the court today. The stain of the antijapanese cases, as well as the nazi saboteur case, those cases have important lessons for us. One is the danger of excessive deference to government claims of National Security because they were wildly inflated in both cases, but the second is the danger and catastrophe that can result when justices are unwilling to stand up to the president who appointed them or to their political patrons. That is an especially important lesson today at a time when more than at any time in our history the positions of the justices correlate with the Political Party of the president who appointed them. Cliff sloan tonight on cspans q a. You can listen on our free cspan now app. A healthy democracy does not just look like this. It looks like this, where americans can see democracy at work, citizens are informed, our republic thrives. Get informed straight from the source on cspan. Unfiltered, unbiased, word for word, from the Nations Capital to wherever you are because the opinion that matters the most is your own. This is what democracy looks like. Cspan, powered by cable. Books that shaped america, a new series that explores key works that i had an impact on our society. You can join in the conversation i summoning your pick for the book you think helped shape this country. Just go to our website. Select record video. And 30 seconds or less, tell us your pick and why. The book i think shaped america is beloved by toni morrison. Join others from across the country as we look back and books that provoke thoht policy change, and are still talked about tod. Be sure to watch live every monday beginning septeer 18 at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Washington journal, continues. Host we have about 15 minutes for our open forum. Call in with items in the news, political policy issues you are following. 202 7488000 is the line for democrats. 202 7488001 for republicans. For independents 202 7488002 202 7488002 and others, for independents and others, 202 7488002. Here is what detroit automakers have to give the uaw to get a deal, experts say. They write to United Auto Workers could get closure closer to an agreement sooner than appears if both sides focus on key job provisions, according to some industry observers and insiders. One issue the union will likely have to accept as it will not win a 32 hour work week for 40 hours of pay. There are other demands they need to win, a costofliving adjustment for one. If carmakers want a quick end to the strike. That strike enters his third day. Bob in michigan is first up. I noticed your constitutional expert also mispronounced the word inalienable, which seems to be mispronounced now university universally by most of your guests, saying unalienable. That is not a word. It does not appear in any of my dictionaries. When it comes to inalienable rights that the declaration of independence talks about. To a person, even in your own constitutional scholar mispronounced the word. That is all i have to say. Host an update from the New York Times this morning on the visit of kim jongun to russia. The headline, russia displays arsenal to north koreas leader. Kim jongun inspected Nuclear Capable Strategic Bombers in russia saturday, according to russian state media. As he continued a trip that raised fears of the two nations deepening their military ties against a common enemy, the United States. He arrived in russias far east saturday morning, traveling via armored train. The defense minister for russia and other top Russian Military officers showed him russias hypersonic missile, mounted on a jet as well as three other key elements of russias nuclear force, a Strategic Bomber and supersonic bombers, according to a russian news outlet. The New York Times writes the prospect of such military exchanges presents a double challenge for washington. Conventional weapons from north korea could help moscow prolong its invasion of ukraine while technical help from russia would expand the norths Nuclear Threat against the United States and its allies in the region. In new york, rick on the independent line. It is open forum. Good morning. Caller thanks for your show. I wish everybody could watch it on a regular basis. I am really saddened to see our country fall further and further into corruption. I see it in all of our branches. Obviously we had four years of it with our last president. Trump. We see plenty of it in congress and now the Supreme Court. I would never have thought that in my lifetime. This is going to sound ridiculous, but i think people need to be given a lie detector test. That does not seem like a practical solution, but it is a real solution. Host you mean people who run for office . Caller yes, before they are provided with authority and guarding our constitution, we have to know what they really think and we do not know what they think. We know what they tell us. That is different than how they act and what they do on a regular basis. So that is kind of all i have to say. Host your impression of corruption getting worse in your lifetime. Caller and in the last two decades more than ever. You cannot have 70 Million People vote for a character like trump without something happening in the country, so it is not only affecting the people but affecting our government. We need to get a handle on that quickly. Host is that corruption happening in just government and politics were elsewhere in society . Caller elsewhere also. You can see it in the division in classes. The poor are poor or poorer and the rich are getting richer. It is happening more often now. The strike now with the autoworkers says a lot when you look at the ceos making 30 million to 40 million. And they are complaining about offering a reasonable contract to the autoworkers. That is corruption. That is greed. It is not healthy for our country. We need to install some mechanisms to get us back on track. Host it is a chance for you to call in with news items you are following. 202 7488000, the line for democrats. 202 7488001 for republicans. For independents and others, 202 7488002. From the Washington Post, the headline about the impeachment inquiry, mccarthy turns impeachment action into political score settling. He writes, impeachment proceedings were not meant to start with theories. In a world turned upside down, that is what mccarthy has done. s the real reason for mccarthy decision to launch the inquiry was apparent to all. It was to bow to hard right members of his congress over funding the government by the september 30 deadline. Some of those members have threatened to try to remove mccarthy as speaker. His hold on the gavel has been tenuous since he barely secured it back in january. He told them at a closeddoor meeting to bring it on. This is a climate that has led to the indication of one of the most serious and until recently really used mechanisms in the constitution for disciplining a president. Lets hear from john on the republican line in california. It is open forum. Good morning. Caller i was not going to call. Upset about all the corruption. What we are going to have to do in this country is learn to look within ourselves at what is going on. He is very willing to point out the corruption he perceives donald trump has committed, which i have a real problem about trump and i wish she would go away. I think he is probably the only republican nominee that can lose an election against the guy we have in there now, but democrats will talk on and on and on about trump, trying to get him jailed, trying to indict him. This never comes up about biden and the money he has taken and his family has taken from Foreign Countries. Never mentioned. Look at your own side of the aisle before you go talking about all the corruption. Look at the funny dossier phony dossier hillary had printed against her political opponents. There is plenty of corruption to go around, but we need to be honest about our own side of the aisle before we can worry about the other side of the aisle. It is very narrowminded. It is ignorant. To look at things through the scope of he is a republican so he is bad, he is a democrat so he is good, or vice versa. That is the most ignorant thing i have heard in a long time. That is the reason to my call. That man who thinks all bad things are on the republican side of the aisle, he needs to educate himself. Host next is darrell on the independent line. Caller thanks for taking my call. A movie in 1993 with tom cruise he stated there are more people in law school than there are actual lawyers. Then in our congress we have lawyers who are congressman. What has happened since president clintons confidant is that the legal lawyer system has found out that this is a fount of gold, by suing, counter suing, investigating, and all the things they have done. Consequently, we have had three times and impeachments and now if it attempted. We have biden. What has happened is the lawyers who swear not to devolve anything divulge anything their clients tell them have given them seniority that they will hear anything, legal or illegal, and he cannot give a word. We accept that as americans come up at what has happened is the lawyers have found gray areas where it is almost legal but not ethical but not moral and allowed clients to get away with these things. The only people the answer to is the aba, and that is how government has proceeded. Thank you. Host next is little river, south carolina, on the republican line. Caller thank you for taking my call. I am a first time caller. I just wanted to mention the caller several callers ago mentioned corruption in the government. In fact, i see that happening so much. He mentions trump and he did not mention biden. I just feel if biden is reelected our constitution and liberties are going to be so corrupted that we may have a hard time getting back to being a democratic republic again. It just amazes me how the opposition can take so many of these indictments against their opponents that enables them not to run again. That is just my theory. Thank you for taking my call. Host we will go to massachusetts, independent line. Good morning. I want to talk about two things. One is impeachment and the second is the electoral vote. As an immigrant, i respect and love the constitution of the United States. It gives small states a stay a say to run the government in the United States. If we go by the popular vote, those small states will not have a say. If you look at it now, the way is different. I want to talk about impeachment because impeachment, you give way for orders others to do that. In this case, that is what happened with mccarthy. He followed Nancy Pelosis footsteps. That is why you have to follow what the law says, not what you want. Host jerry is calling from arkansas. Caller this whole thing has nothing to do with what is right and wrong. The only thing the republicans are doing is trying to get rid of this President Biden. They talk about President Trump and joe biden. Joe biden is president. There are times that the thing of it is there leaning on the nation and if we do not do something they the states are going to default and people like me are going to really be in trouble. So what do we have to do . We have got to get up off the couch. Turn off the tv and go stand in line and vote, vote, vote. Host one more here, and maryland, independent line. Caller im a democrat, but i may be leaning toward being an independent. I think that every time somebody puts out misinformation or disinformation about biden, i think biden has to respond in the media forcefully and i do not like the fact that when things happen, for example when trump says biden made a bad deal with these Union Workers and with these Union Leaders so now the workers are screwed he is making it seem like he cares and biden is standing there not doing anything to help the workers. He has to respond to stuff like that. Host do you feel he is an effectively responding to some of those charges, those allegations . Caller yes. I think trump, say what you want to say about him, he knows pr and media, and if the democrats dont learn pr and media, we are going to lose. We are going to lose. Host appreciate your call and all your calls. Still to come here on washington journal, we will be joined by Behnam Ben Taleblu with the foundation for defense of democracy. We will talk about the anticipated u. S. Iran prisoner swap and other issues relating to iran next. Cspans studentcam documentary competition is back. We are looking forward while considering the past. The youth of today are leaders of tomorrow. It is imperative that we help them succeed as they progress through life. They can Work Together to prevent fentanyl from becoming the next pandemic. It is important to understand the ramifications. We are asking middle and High School Students to create a five to six minute video addressing one of two queio. What is the most important change you want to see in america in the next 20 years . We are giving away 100,000 in total prizes with a grand prize of 5,000 and because we are celebrating every 20 years we are still bring 20 years, every teacher has the opportunity to are a portion of 50,000. The deadlines for students to submit is friday, january 19. R mo information, visiou website. Tonight on q a, georgetown University Law professor cliff sloan talks about the civil rights and Civil Liberties cases taken up by the u. S. Supreme court during World War Two and the state of the court today. The stain of the antijapanese cases, which is a deep stain, as well as the nazi saboteur case and the rest to justice, those cases have important lessons for us. One is the danger of excessive deference to government claims of National Security because they were wildly inflated in both cases, but the second, which is especially important today, is the danger and catastrophe that can result when justices are unwilling to stand up to the president who appointed them or to their political patron. That is an especially important lesson today at a time when more than at any time in our history the positions of the justices correlate with the Political Party of the president who appointed them. Cliff sloan with his book the court at war tonight on cspans q a. You can listen on our free cspan now app. Washington journal continues. Host joining us on washington journal is Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the foundation for the defense of democracies. You are with us to talk broadly about u. S. Iran relations and issues about the proposed prisoner swap. Welcome to washington journal. Let me ask you about that prisoner swap. The headline we are seeing says it is set to happen as soon next week and that it will include iran is expected to release five american detainees. The u. S. Will free several iran nationals serving prison sentences provide letting sanctions and tehran will have access to 6 billion of oil revenue for humanitarian needs. How did this steel come about . This deal come about . Guest the Biden Administration in washington as well as the raisi government have long said that the nuclear diplomacy, however indirect, is not tied to the hostage diplomacy. As you know, the Islamic Republic has taken hostages as long as it has been around. It was active hostage taking that divorced iran and america, when they took u. S. Diplomats as hostages. Every time there have been hostages taken by iran or its proxies directly or indirectly, the u. S. Has been involved often through intermediaries. In this case, the pathway for that diplomacy was opened through back channels that were explored to find a way to limit rather than rollback their growing nuclear infrastructure. Host it is hard to know this for sure, but is it your sense that iran uses these american hostages to get to the point where we are now, to exchange for the iranian nationals held in the United States and for other purposes . It is for even mourn if areas purposes, for example a former commander of the revolutionary guard corps was bragging about this hostagetaking and saying it could be used to solve their Macro Economic problems. You have seen it before with hostage diplomacy following the 2015 nuclear deal and youre seeing it now. This is important for the audience to know. Money is fungible, even though the Biden Administration is saying those moneys originally held in south korea and subject to u. S. Sanctions was supposed to be used for humanitarian purposes and is now able to be more freely used for humanitarian purposes it would freeze up another 6 billion for iran to spend the export of its revolution, the growth of its military Nuclear Programs as well as its apparatus of the mastic regression. There is nothing that says you can only spend this money this way. Based on the accounts, meaning the frozen fonts that existed in korea that are being converted, the account itself is supposed to be locked or controlled for humanitarian purposes. That is what is being reported. The Islamic Republic does have a history of using deceptive or illicit financial practices to get around previously existing humanitarian mechanisms within u. S. Sanchez regimes. Sanctions regimes. We saw this with over invoicing when iran abuse provisions for food and medicine to potentially get more cash. Host an nbc headline says iranian president says we will spend the money in the Prisoner Exchange wherever we need it. I thought it might be helpful at this point to hear with the ministration response to that issue is. John kirby is the spokesman for the National Security council. Lets listen to what he has to say and get your reaction. [video clip] the United States is pursuing an arrangement in which iranian funds held in south korea are moves to restricted accounts in qatar, where they will be available for humanitarian transactions only, things like food, medicine, agricultural products. These funds will be subject to more legal restrictions than they were when they were in korea. They will be monitored by standards required by the u. S. Treasury department. The u. S. Will have visibility and engage in oversight about where the money was going and for what purpose. If youre on track today iran tries to divert the funds, we will take action. This is not a payment of any kind. It is not ransom. We have not lifted a single one of our sanctions on iran. Iran will get no sanchez relief. We will continue to counter human rights abuses and destabilizing actions abroad. Support for terrorism, tax on maritime shipping, and its support for russias war against ukraine. When we are trying to bring americans home, we often are not dealing on a level playing field. We have to use the leverage we have to bring them home. They are not going to be released for nothing, but i do not think we should lose sight of the bottom line, which is these americans did nothing wrong. Bring them home to their families safe again. That is the goal. Host your thoughts on john kirbys statement, particularly his comments about that 6 billion . Guest there is quite a bit to unpack, perhaps starting at the end and moving backwards. I agree it is an unlevel playing field, asymmetric tactic that the Islamic Republic uses against countries that do care about their citizens and the wellbeing of their citizens who travel abroad. That is why the Islamic Republic put a bounty on their heads and has taken hostages for so long. The fear is that not just substate proxies will do this but their increasing patrons like russia and china may do this. The story now of a wall street journal reporter whos essentially hostage in russia as well as the Brittney Griner case , so the fear is by paying iran this six billion dollars other countries may look to take up this tactic and use hostagetaking to adjudicate the political process they have with america. Why this is being resolved is set to create more problems, not less. The follow on to that is for the iranian americans or other dual nationals who go there this is also a supplyside problem as much it as it is a demandside problem. There are countries like north korea where the u. S. Passport is not allowed to be used to travel there and those restrictions do not exist for iran. The u. S. Government may continue consider that moving forward. That means while you have these detained u. S. Citizens coming home you were going to likely have the Islamic Republic continue this practice because it has paid dividends. A corollary to that is in 2019 the Trump Administration managed to get two u. S. Citizens in terms of a swap agreement. And swapped them or traded them with those two u. S. Citizens being held hostage, and that is why i think language is also important. I do not like to call it prisoner swap because there are iranian prisoners who are criminals here in the United States who had Legal Protection and were subject to the u. S. Justice system whereas in the Islamic Republic these people were hostages. Worse than that, in the incurred current agreement, it is five u. S. Citizens of iranian origin, many of them dual nationals. Three of the names are known. Two are unknown. There remain at least three other u. S. Nationals as defined by the law that continue to remain hostage in iran. One of those is recognized as a case of International Detention by the United Nations. He was kidnapped abroad while transiting back to the west from india and kidnapped in the uae, so this is not just domestic. This is transnational, so not only is it set to be a bigger precedent, it does not follow this newfound problem we have. To the money issue, nowhere in his statements was the issue of money being fungible. If you have 6 billion allocated for something and you get 6 billion coming your way, that can be freed up to again fund destabilizing things that have made the government the type of government which it is not one that engages in domestic repression and foreign aggression. Lastly, there was a technical point he made about the nature of the money that was frozen abroad. This is not well understood because of the sanctions mechanism. If the money in qatar has harbored other terrorist groups, if the money there is subject to more provisions, then in korea why was the money move from korea . They were subject to too many provisions, so the idea that qatar met which has deceptive financial practices in its history, the fact that the money would be their subjects to more controlled is not necessarily hold up to scrutiny or the fact that the money was freed to make it more available for iran, not less. And of course what their president said about them being able to use the money as they wish creates more problems and this is a problem that is set to get worse, not better. Host we are talking about u. S. Iran relations. 202 7488000, democrats. Republicans, 202 7488001. Independents and others, 202 7488002. John kirby mentioned notion shins no sanctions relief. Have u. S. Sanctions but effective against iran . Guest exceptionally. The Biden Administration has play politics with many of these u. S. Sanctions. Many of the toughest sanctions that existing is the government of the Islamic Republic today were put in place through acts of congress and brought into law between 2009 and 2013. This is the bulk of the sanctions that got around to come to the negotiating table but when they out negotiated america and what led to the 2015 nuclear deal, many of the sanctions were waived or relieved according to different legal mechanisms. Those were traded away for the 2015 nuclear deal. Those were not unilateral. They followed Un Security Council resolutions and had more political agenda missy behind them but significant macroeconomic impact as well. Agenda behind them but significant macroeconomic impact as well. It took time wrapping though sanctions act in place ramping those sanctions back in place. Unilateral sanctions were more effective in a short period of time than a decade of multilateral sanctions. That shows you the strength of the u. S. Sanction tool against an adversary like the Islamic Republic and a corrupt economy like the economy of the Islamic Republic. With the Biden Administration has done in a bid to go back to the 2015 nuclear deal, to tempt iran to try to tempt down some of these threats like Ballistic Missile testing, all of these things that are growing, is to retain the sanctions it inherited on the books from the Trump Administration but de facto not really. An article last month from bloomberg talked about record oil exports, over 2 Million Barrels per day. This is why you do not have a new agreement with the Islamic Republic. If they are able to illegally export about 2 billion 2 Million Barrels of oil, that is the problem. That bloomberg article had a quote from an unnamed u. S. Official talking about the nonenforcement of u. S. Sanctions. When you put this together, these are basically pulled punches and these led to escalation in the Nuclear Domain , across 2021. Iran did three things that provided them with nuclear knowledge, enrichment of uranium they even went to 84 briefly. As a reminder for folks, when the u. S. Dropped two atomic weapons on japan, one was using uranium the other used plutonium. The uranium bomb was enriched 80 purity. The Islamic Republic head and wrenched it to 84 , a problem. So there was that, the testing and usage of more advanced centrifuges so you can do more with less, and the production using highly enriched uranium, which there is no need for in iran and is what you would use with metallurgy to form the core of a nuclear weapon. These occurred at the Biden Administration was pulling his punches rather than forcing penalties which have a good macroeconomic track record, which if you get the europeans on board have a good political track record as well. And has resulted in the situation we are in now, where everyone is essentially praying that iran does not go up to 90 enrichment again. Guest yesterday marked the oneyear anniversary of the death of mahsa amini in the hands of Iranian Police for her alleged crime of not wearing her head covering. From the New York Times, an innocent and ordinary young woman. What happened to that protest since then . Guest im glad you mentioned this. In many ways, it deserves its own segment because these protests that began hours after a 22yearold woman died due to wounds she sustained by beatings from irans socalled morality police, these became nationwide. It was not just a limited protest. It was part of a larger series of nationwide uprisings we have seen from diverse backgrounds that are part of this Larger National revolution on the street against the state. What you have is an authoritarian government that creates and enforces the kind of violence that the world saw your ago and has been seeing not just on the streets of tehran but of over 150 different cities, towns, and villages across irans 30 diverse provinces because all of them have been protesting in the past year. You have slogans of different ethnic minorities talking about their consciousness as been part of a larger, nationwide collective. This is essentially to be gettings of a revolution in the making. We know there has long been a gap between the state that continues to be accentuated. More protests are expected. The Islamic Republic has realized the oneyear anniversary was on the docket for some time and with the ramp up of the Security Apparatus this summer you see now a military crackdown. You have seen mass arrests starting in august. These line at republic knew the anniversary was coming and prepared to crackdown. Host lets get your calls. It is 202 7488000 for democrats. 202 7488001 for republicans. All others, 202 7488002. Doug is in boston on the democrat line. Thanks for taking my call. In 2018 or 2019, egypt proposed United Nations General Assembly resolution taking the middle east a Nuclear Weapons free zone. All the other countries were in favor of it but it was vetoed by the United States because it would have brought up the tricky question of israels undeclared Nuclear Weapons program. As for the fdd, your guests boss has been lobbying congress for a military strike on iran. I dont know what kind of objectivity your guest has, but Everybody Knows that fdd is an organization that lobbies for israeli interests. Perhaps your guest would care to comment. Thanks and have a nice day. Host all right. Guest the caller is entitled to his own opinion but certainly not his own facts. What he said about mark two bullets mark is incorrect. As an iranian american i would say it is inspiring that you have the confluence of values and interests of American Foreign policy on iran the struggle to get diplomatic normalization. The israeli atomic issue, out recognition recommend the book on the israel atomic program. That has long been an egyptian diplomatic primal priority. Irans program is not in the early 1980s when it was fighting a war against its neighbor, led by Saddam Hussein at that time. That is when iran was subject to many Chemical Attacks and Ballistic Missile attacks and began to develop its Ballistic Missile arsenal and did develop its Chemical Weapons Program in a more limited fashion at the tail end of the conflict and when it resurrected its nuclear program. It is always been a weapons program. It is interesting that irans repression of women is not at all on the mind of the caller. Host on to southern indiana, are independent line. Caller thank you for taking my call. I am a proud iranian american who loves both countries. Im puzzled why on the anniversary of mahsas killing we released the funds to this regime. They know how to fool the american policymakers. And sanctions leaks are being circled around. This regime must belong to the dustbin of history. And support through not sending military force but opening the internet so they can have free access and communicate amongst themselves because there is revolution brewing against the regime but this regime is so brutal, so forceful that they kill there were hundreds of demonstrations all over the cities of iran and they get quelled by helicopters, soldiers opening fire. This regime belongs to the dustbin of history and im puzzled why administration is supporting them. This is a regime that is sending killer drones to ukraine in support of the russians to kill the ukrainians. At the same time, you are sending money back to them. This is a pariah regime that must go. Guest thank you for the call. Very much agree with the caller. In this case, it would be an own goal for the American National interest to underwrite those interest and the values and strategies that under right those morals to not do something to stand with the iranian people in practice with action and not just in principle with words. There is so much that can be done. The release of this money will only go to find that apparatus of domestic repression, which brutally cracked down on protests triggered by the killing of mahsa amini and will go to underwriting threats that the Islamic Republic is spreading abroad. The caller mentioned the drones iran is sending to use in the war against ukraine. An example about not doing any own goal to your own side, which would be important for the National Community to take note and not play politics with those strategies and values. Host do you agree that there is a revolution brewing in iran . If you guest connect the nationwide protests guest if you connect the nationwide protests, they are from a larger push from iranian society. You have seen nationwide protest after nationwide protest since 2017 trying to accomplish a revolution. You see it in slogans and geography. They do not want the government of the Islamic Republic. You see civil disobedience. Previously iran had one of the higher turnouts for elections in the region and the iranian people have realized those are sham elections and you boycotts. The 2020 parliamentary elections, lowest ever turnout. The iranian people have risked life and limb. They are active online telling you what they believe, saying it in their slogans. I am not sure why washington continues to miss the ball on this when it comes to releasing this kind of money to iran cut funding the hostagetaking apparatus and making sure the regime will continue engaging in this kind of bad behavior. These are all own goals in my view. To go back to what the caller mentioned about ukraine and us, this is about europe, for example. In 2020, the Trump Administration tried to work with the interNational Community to prevent the expiration of a conventional arms transfer ban that existed in United Nations. Many in the european camino to lapped at the United States and President Trump for trying to prevent the closing or lasting of this arms transfer ban. Two years later, the radius of drone proliferation increased to include sending weapons that were killing european civilians. No more own goals. Time to stand up for what we believe and practice what we preach. Step one is no own goals. Standing with the iranian people , both good strategy and good values for washington. The caller mentioned this money. That is true, but the day the waiver was given was on 9 11, on the day that the u. S. Suffered these attacks 20 some odd years in the past, the u. S. Essentially gave a green light for this money to go to the worlds foremost state sponsor of terrorism. Host lets talk to jean from syracuse, new york. Caller i appreciate following the previous caller because i want to tell my story. It shows the different positions that the United States has held with iran over time. I was in the navy in the late 1970s. I went on a cruise to the mideast. I ended up in the port of iran. I forget the name of the port offhand, but we were on liberty. I should mention when i was in school for my vocation in the navy at great lakes we had many iranian navy guys, sailors, that went to school with us. We got along with them fine. Our understanding was that i was young, only 18 years old, but we felt like we had a good report rapport with iran country to country so we had, while i was in iran, we were there for almost a week initially. We were off for liberty quite a bit. It was very hot, but the people were friendly. We had several days of liberty, so we took off and we were headed for bum bossa mombasa and we had to go back to iran. We did not really know the whole situation. We just knew the hostages were taken. We were not allowed into the port. We anchored off the coast. Our guns were loaded, which in four years never had that. So there were issues with we were worried about people trying to blow up the ships so we had extra watches constantly. Host i will let you go there. We have a couple minutes remaining. If you would like to respond, that would be great. Guest briefly, i think the caller is talking about the larger drama of u. S. Iran relations. In these countries were friends prior to 1979. If there ever is a change to the government of iran, one does hope they can be friends again. These are own goals if you look at the trajectory the Iranian State was prior to the Islamic Revolution in terms of economic progress, social progress. There were political problems. The iranian people have been protesting for Representative Government and justice and freedom. Lets hope the next round of protests gives the people what they want and does not cut iran off but allows it to join it. Host here is jean calling from arlington, virginia. Caller i have a question from your guest pertaining to the hostages. It appears the current Iranian Regime makes it a practice of abducting or detaining americans as hostages for exchange purposes. The question is im sure not all americans are detained, so what criteria are they using when they make a decision to detain or abduct or kidnap an american . Thank you. Host it is an important question and im glad the caller mentioned this. Sometimes the criteria is targeted and sometimes it is sporadic. Ultimately, they are looking for leverage. You see them take largely western hostages. You have seen these western hostages come in several categories. Category number one is dual nationals, people that have iranian and american citizenship or iranianbritish citizenship, so will nationals. Iran does not recognize these other citizenships. They have to travel on the iranian passport and iran leverages the fact they have another citizenship and tries to engage in hostage lummis e, quite literally using human beings as pawns are in this is sickening. Another sickening thing the regime does is not just go after the dual nationals but foreign citizens. You may remember the case of an Australian Academic who was held hostage in iran. You may room at the case remember the case of the chineseamerican scholar who was held hostage. You may even see our recent reporting now of iran escalating, going to another bucket, which is not just foreign citizens, not just individuals who are dual nationals but also trying to take other government officials hostage. It came out a few days ago that there was a swedish diplomat, a young gentleman in his early to mid 30s who has been held hostage for 500 days. We have not heard anything from the swedish government about this prior to the story in the media, so government that continue to have this policy of silence on their citizens being taken hostage by the government of the Islamic Republic, in my view are doing harm and underwriting the regimes willingness to take the next batch of hostages. The practice has continued and it is time washington and the interNational Community publicize the list of who they believe remains hostage in iran and work to free them in a way that does not pay ransom so the regime takes more hostages in the future. Host our guest is a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies. You can read more of their reporting and analysis at fdd. Org. Ask for being with us on washington journal. Guest thank you. Host that will do it for this mornings program, but we are back tomorrow morning at 7 00 eastern. We hope you are as well. Joy the rest of your weekend. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2023] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org]
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