Broken Promises

From Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel 

President Obama made a promise to the American people: "If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period."

He knowingly broke that promise.

Today, millions of Americans are losing their plans. In fact, many more Americans have lost their health insurance than are enrolling under ObamaCare.

The Obama Administration knew for the past three years that this was going to happen.

How did they know? Federal regulations made the "grandfather" clause that would allow Americans to keep their insurance meaningless.

The Obama Administration knew Americans would lose insurance at historic rates. Yet they did nothing. Worse, they misled the American people with a false assurance that they would be able to keep their health plan.

Today, the person most responsible for overseeing ObamaCare, HHS Secretary Sebelius, is testifying before Congress because you spoke out.

Now it's time to demand an end to the deception.

Join over 45,000 Americans in standing with the ACLJ and our new legal strategy to defeat ObamaCare.

Sign the petition to defeat ObamaCare at ICantEnroll.com.

 

Tax Invasion!

The IRS has targeted citizens for their beliefs. It has misinformed and stonewalled Congress. And now it's in charge of ObamaCare.

How did a government agency that is supposed to collect tax revenue become an abusive monstrosity used to target conservatives and pro-life citizens?

It is time for this story to be told.

In addition to leading the largest lawsuit against the IRS on behalf of targeted Americans, we put together a short movie telling the story and explaining the high stakes of our fight against IRS abuse.

Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, Doctor Ben Carson, and many national leaders sat down with me to tell this critical story.

And as an ACLJ member, you can watch this movie free of charge. Just click the link below:

Watch the documentary here at aclj.org/tax-invasion/


 American Center for Law and Justice is a d/b/a for Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism, Inc., a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, religious corporation as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, specifically dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights. The Center's purpose is to engage legal, legislative and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education and litigation to ensure that those rights are protected under the law. The organization has participated in numerous cases before the Supreme Court, Federal Court of Appeals, Federal District Courts, and various state courts regarding freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Your gift is very much appreciated and fully deductible as a charitable contribution. A copy of our latest financial report may be obtained by writing to us at P.O. Box 450349, Atlanta, GA 31145-0349.

Help al Qaeda in Syria?

From Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel

The United States is at war with al Qaeda; it must not help al Qaeda.

Syrian rebels affiliated with al Qaeda and other jihadist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, have committed atrocities across Syria.

• They murdered a Catholic priest.

• They slaughtered civilians and regime prisoners.

• They attacked a Christian village even while Congress debated intervention, shelling nuns and other civilians.

• They cut out and ate the hearts of their enemies and brazenly recorded it for the Internet.

• The Assad regime's use of chemical weapons is horrific, but the U.S. must not support jihad in Syria. 

 

Sign the petition to stop US assistance to al Qaeda in Syria 

 

 

 

 

Are Christians Forgotten?

From  Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel

As the world turns its attention to Syria, we can't forget the plight of Christians in Egypt. 

Just yesterday footage surfaced of Muslim Brotherhood gangs burning churches and tearing crosses from church buildings. More than 100 churches have been destroyed. 

Just imagine the world outrage if Christian gangs were destroying mosques. Shouldn't there be at least as much outrage when radical Muslims attack Christians? 

The world is forgetting Egypt's Christians. But we cannot forget. We must not forget. 

Send a message to Washington: 

Defend Egypt's Christians; Defeat the Muslim Brotherhood.

Protect Christians; Defeat the Muslim Brotherhood

 Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel 

It's time to take sides in Egypt. 

Egypt's Christian community is under assault from jihadist radicals.

• Churches are burning, including ancient cathedrals.
• Nuns are captured and paraded through the streets.
• Christian homes and businesses are attacked.
• Christian children are dying.

The jihadist Muslim Brotherhood, furious that it has lost power, is taking out its rage on Egyptian Christians. It's past time for a clear message from the United States.

• No to Christian persecution.
• No to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Sign our new petition today; add your voice before more churches burn: 

Defend Egypt's Christians; Defeat the Muslim Brotherhood.

Three Ways the Fort Hood Shooting Previewed Benghazi

By David French


As the trial of Nidal Hasan grinds on, it’s worth remembering that the federal government’s actions at Fort Hood offered a grim preview of its actions in Benghazi.

First, the government was incompetent. Forget NSA surveillance, in the case of Hasan (I refuse to call him “major”), one had only to read his business card or understand PowerPoint presentations to know something was seriously amiss. Or, if you prefer the high-tech solution, intelligence agencies intercepted his communications with notorious (and now-deceased) al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Yet no serious action was taken. As for Benghazi, the warnings didn’t even require reading comprehension: The diplomatic compound was bombed twice before the fatal September 11 attack. The security atmosphere was so bad that other nations were moving diplomats out of the city. Our response? We decreasedsecurity.

continue reading at http://aclj.org

DOES THE LAW MATTER?

 From Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel

Does the law matter to the Obama Administration?

The Administration has ignored the law time and again. Now the Administration is even ignoring the laws it wrote.

The Obama Administration is delaying ObamaCare's employer mandate without any legal authority whatsoever.

The Administration is keeping the individual mandate and abortion-pill mandate in place, yet it's giving a gigantic financial gift to big businesses.

The time is right for the next round in the fight. If we can delay the individual mandate just like the Obama Administration delayed the employer mandate, then another election can change the landscape.

Let's delay the individual mandate, defund ObamaCare if the Administation won't delay the mandate, and then defeat ObamaCare once and for all.

Stand with us!

Sign the Petition to Delay, Defund, and Defeat ObamaCare.

“Progressive” Sideshow Trivializes Victims for Political Theater

In a letter sent to congressional investigators yesterday the Treasury Inspector General that exposed the targeting of Tea Party groups confirmed that conservative Tea Party groups, not “progressive” groups, were intentionally targeted by the IRS.
IG George wrote:

From our audit work, [TIGTA] did not find evidence that the criteria … labeled “Progressives,” were used by the IRS to select potential political cases during the 2010 to 2012 timeframe we audited.  The “Progressives” criteria appeared on a section of the “Be On the Look Out” (BOLO) spreadsheet labeled “Historical,” and unlike other BOLO entries, did not include instruction on how to refer cases that met the criteria.  While we have multiple sources of information corroborating the use of Tea Party and other related criteria we described in our report, including employee interviews, e-mails and other documents, we found no indication in any of these other materials that “progressives” was a term used to refer cases for scrutiny for political campaign intervention.

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A Victory for Constitutional Common Sense

Yesterday a federal court in Montana ruled that the “Big Mountain Jesus” statue can stay on the slopes.  The statue, erected after World War II as a tribute to soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division who fought in Europe and were comforted by similar statues in the Alps, was maintained on federal land under a special use permit granted the Knights of Columbus.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) challenged the permit’s renewal, claiming that a historically significant statue of Jesus maintained by a private organization on federal land violated the Establishment Clause because it offended three of their members.

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A jihadist in the White House

From Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel 

Obama Administration support for the Muslim Brotherhood is out of control.

Yesterday we learned that Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah met with key members of President Obama's national security team, in the White House.

The problem? Abdullah Bin Bayyah is a jihadist, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

In 2004, his organization, the International Union of Muslim Scholars, issued a fatwa – a Muslim religious directive – declaring that it was the duty of Muslims to kill American soldiers in Iraq.

His organization supports suicide bombing of Israeli civilians, and its president has praised the Holocaust.
And now he's come to the White House to ask the Obama Administration to arm jihadists in Syria.

Enough is enough. We need at least 200,000 Americans to speak with one voice. No support for jihad. No support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

use this link to sign the petition to sequester the Muslim Brotherhood

A SPENDING SPREE FOR THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

 From Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel

The Obama Administration must have thought we weren't paying attention.

On the very day when the IRS targeting scandal broke, Secretary of State John Kerry provided a new, $1.3 billion cash stimulus for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Without a press release or public fanfare, he waived human rights conditions placed on American military aid to Egypt's anti-American and anti-Israel Muslim Brotherhood government.

With this action, the Obama Administration reinforces the Muslim Brotherhood even as it steps up its blasphemy prosecutions against Egypt's Christians and even as Egypt's president appointed an actual terrorist leader as governor of an important region.

Speak up. Tell the Administration, tell Congress, there should be no taxpayer money for jihad.

 Use this link to the ACLJ to sign the petition to sequester the Muslim Brotherhood

Violating His Oath of Office

From  Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel


We are at a constitutional crossroads.

We can either stand by and allow President Obama to violate his oath of office or we can take action to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution." At the ACLJ, we are taking action.

When the Obama Administration pushed the unconstitutional abortion-pill mandate, we filed suit. To date, we are 8-0 in defense of religious liberty.

When his IRS targeted conservative groups for their beliefs, we challenged this unconstitutional abuse in federal court.

When President Obama's DOJ targeted journalists for doing their job in violation of the First Amendment, we took a stand.

We must defend the Constitution. Take action with us.


Use this link to sign the petition

The Growing IRS Scandal

     

Full episode on the IRS Scandal as Jay walks us through the events leading in to the targeting of conservatives by the IRS.

ACLJ Files Federal Lawsuit Against IRS on Behalf of 25 Tea Party Groups

(Washington, DC) - The American Center for Law and Justice today filed a significant lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of 25 Tea Party and conservative organizations against the U.S. Attorney General, Treasury Secretary, and Internal Revenue Service - including top IRS officials.

“The IRS and the federal government are not going to get away with this unlawful targeting of conservative groups,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. “As this unconstitutional scheme continues even today, the only way to stop this flagrant and arrogant abuse of our clients’ rights is to file a federal lawsuit, which we have done. The lawsuit sends a very powerful message to the IRS and the Obama Administration – including the White House: Americans are not going to be bullied and intimidated by our government. They will not be subjected to unconstitutional treatment and unlawfully singled out and punished because of their ideological beliefs. Those responsible for this unprecedented intimidation ploy must be held accountable.”

The lawsuit, posted here, urges the court to find that the Obama Administration overstepped its authority and violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as the IRS's own rules and regulations. The lawsuit requests a declaratory judgment that the Defendants unlawfully delayed and obstructed the organizations’ applications for a determination of tax-exempt status by means of conduct that was based on unconstitutional criteria and impermissibly disparate treatment of the groups. The suit also seeks injunctive relief to protect our clients – and their officers and directors – from further IRS abuse or retaliation. Further, the lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive monetary damages to be determined at trial at a later date.

continue reading here

Sign the petition to stop the IRS abuse here

Letters of Intimidation to Tea Party Groups from Lois Lerner - IRS Director of Exempt Organizations

By Jay Sekulow
 
We now know that Lois Lerner, the Director of Exempt Organizations for the Internal Revenue Service - who refused to testify before a House committee by invoking the Fifth Amendment - has a paper trail that reveals her direct involvement in sending intrusive and harassing questionnaires to Tea Party groups in 2012.

As you know, we represented 27 Tea Party organizations in 17 states. Of those, 15 received their tax-exempt status after lengthy delays, 10 are still pending, and two clients withdrew their applications because of frustration with the IRS process.

Consider the timeline. We now know through her own testimony and from the Inspector General's report that Lerner was briefed about this unlawful targeting scheme in June 2011. But nine months later, beginning in March 2012, she sent cover letters to many of our clients - demanding additional information and forwarding intrusive questionnaires. In fact, in March and April of 2012, Lerner sent 15 letters to 15 different clients (including those who were approved after lengthy delays and those who are still pending).

This letter dated March 16, 2012 sent to the Ohio Liberty Council is representative of the other letters that Lerner sent to our clients. This letter, posted here, was sent on letterhead out of the IRS office in Cincinnati. The cover letter bears Lerner's signature, who runs the Exempt Organizations division out of the Washington, DC office. It includes more invasive and improper questions about membership of the group and demands information about all public events conducted or planned for the future. And it specifically requested information about the organization's website, Facebook page, and other social media outlets.

continue reading here


Jay Sekulow is Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), one of the most prestigious law firms in the country. He is an accomplished Supreme Court advocate, renowned expert on religious liberty, and a respected broadcaster.

Who Would Describe Christians in the Military as “Monsters who Terrorize”?

By Matthew Clark

Thousands of the brave men and women of our military who fight to defend the freedoms we hold dear find strength and renewal in their Christian faith.  Yet, some would seek to remove their religious freedom, their freedom to freely practice their Christian faith from the military.

Dangerously, one of the most ardent opponents of religious freedom – and in particular Christians – in the military is now apparently the Pentagon’s newest advisor on religious freedom and tolerance in our armed forces.

Below are the terms he used in a recent post to describe Christians in the military, who he says “terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation's armed forces.”

 continue reading here

 Sign the petition to defend religious liberty in the military.


 Matthew Clark is Associate Counsel for Government Affairs and Media Advocacy with the ACLJ in the Washington, D.C. headquarters. Matthew has authored numerous articles for such publications as the Washington Post and the ACLJ’s Docket Blog on critical constitutional and policy matters facing our nation and the fight for human rights worldwide. Prior to rejoining the ACLJ, where he clerked while in law school, he served as Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Walter S. Felton, Jr., Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Matthew earned a Juris Doctor and Master's Degree in Public Policy from Regent University where he served as the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Regent Journal of Law and Public Policy. 

 Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the ACLJ focuses on constitutional and human rights law worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., with affiliated offices in Israel, Russia, Kenya, France, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, the ACLJ is pro-life and dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights for all people. The ACLJ engages legal, legislative, and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education, and litigation that includes representing clients before the Supreme Court of the United States and international tribunals around the globe.