(relaxing music)
- Welcome to FaithNation, I'm Jenna Browder.
- And I'm John Jessup.
- Well Secretary of State,Mike Pompeo was back
from his trip to the MiddleEast as crisis continues
over missing Washington Postcolumnist Jamal Khashoggi.
- That's right Jenna,it has been now 16 days
since Khashoggi enteredthe Saudi Consulate
in Istanbul, and he never came out.
- CBN's White House CorrespondentBen Kennedy joins us
from the North lawn,
where Secretary Pompeospoke earlier today, Ben.
- Well Jenna and John,Pompeo told reporters
that is made clear to SaudiArabia's king, crown prince,
and even foreign ministerof the seriousness
of this situation.
This as evidence increasingly points
to some Saudi involvementin the death of Khashoggi.
- We take this matter with respect
to Mr. Khashoggi very seriously.
- [Ben] Secretary ofState, Mike Pompeo back
from his fact finding mission,briefed the President today
about his meeting with Saudi leaders.
- They also assured me thatthey will conduct a complete,
thorough investigation
of all of the factssurrounding Mr. Khashoggi
and that they will doso in a timely fashion.
- [Ben] That investigation centers
on the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
It's there, evidenceappears to be mounting
that the Post journalist was murdered.
Various media outlets report
Turkish authorities have audio recordings
that indicate a scene of torture,death, and dismemberment.
There were also accusationsof a Saudi hit-squad
entering Turkey close tothe timing of the incident.
- When I traveled and metwith President Ergodan.
He talked to me aboutthe incident, he told me
that they were conductingtheir own investigation.
We had a chance to meet with some
of the team involved with that.
He assured me that theywould share their results
with the Saudis as well.
So we do believe thatbetween these two efforts,
a complete picture will emerge
for what actually transpired here.
- [Ben] In Khashoggi's final column,
he wrote that what theArab world needs most
is free expression.
President Trump said therecould be severe punishment
if the kingdom of Saudi Arabiais behind the disappearance.
But warns against a rush to judgment.
- I wanna find out whathappened, where is the fault,
and we will probably knowthat by the end of the week.
- Now President Trumpjust boarded Marine One,
a little behind me momentsago, where he said,
"It looks like Khashoggi is dead."
Pompeo told the president
Saudi Arabia should beallowed a few more days
to complete its investigationbefore the U.S. responds.
Economic sanctions would likely be brought
against those responsiblefor the suspected murder.
Also, we have learned todaythat the U.S. Treasury Secretary
Steve Mnuchin will not attendan investment conference
in Saudi Arabia.
It's also important to note that a number
of other scheduled guests have dropped out
of that gathering too.
Jenna, John.
- Well Varsha Koduvayur is with the
Foundation for the Defense of Democracy,
Varsha, thank you for being with us.
- My pleasure, thank you somuch for having me on today.
- Well Mike Pompeo, theSecretary of State said
that he's recommendingTrump allow the Saudis
a few more days to wrapup their investigation
before taking action.
Do you agree with that approach?
- I think my sense ofthis, my reading of this,
is that the Saudis, as we know so far,
have yet to offer any evidenceto back up their claim
that Jamal Khashoggi left the Consulate.
My understanding of givingthe Saudis a few more days
is so that the U.S. and SaudiArabia could work together,
and help the Saudis comeup with an explanation
that would be essentiallya face-saving mechanism
for them to admit culpability.
That is was maybe perhapsas we read reports,
that is was an interrogation gone wrong,
a botched interrogation,something of that sort
that would still putresponsibility for this
on the Saudis while notincriminating the crown prince,
Mohammed bin Salman.
- Is that a typical approach?
I know that this is probably atypical
where you don't a situationlike Jamal Khashoggi
being a prominent journalist.
But is that something thatadministrations have done
in the past?
- I can't speak to theU.S. side of things,
but what I can tell youis that, in Saudi Arabia
over the past two years, there are a lot
of sensitivities surrounding leadership
because there's been anunprecedented generational change.
Authorities are very careful
to manage the kingdom's reputation,
to manage the image ofits new crown prince,
Mohammed bin Salman,that gets disseminated
to international capitals and so on.
And with such an unprecedentedtransfer of power
in the works in Saudi Arabia.
My understanding is that Saudi authorities
are hard-pressed to finda way of saving face
in this situation.
- Varsha, can you talk a little bit
about the delicate balancethe administration is trying
to strike here.
Especially given its strategic partnership
with Saudi Arabia in regional issues
there in the Middle East?
- Certainly yes, theadministration is going to have
to find a balance in thissituation, as you put it.
But it's going to be very tricky.
Essentially what we mustdo is punish the Saudis,
but not in way
that would completelyrupture the relationship,
because at the end of the day,
the trade relationshipis still very important,
bilateral arms sales arestill very important.
And the U.S.-Saudi relationship is hinged
on two very important prongs,
which is using Saudi Arabiaas a regional counterweight
against Iran and relying on Saudi Arabia
to balance global oilmarkets, once oil sanctions
against Iran kick in come November.
So the administration should ideally act
as soon as possible.
And we've already seen alot of furor in Congress,
strong bipartisan action from Congress,
demanding that the presidentenact Human Rights Sanctions
under the Global MagnitskyAct, against figures
that are found responsible in this affair.
That would certainly send astrong message to the Saudis
that this transgression isnot going to be tolerated,
but it would punishthem, as I said, in a way
that would still keep thecore of the relationship
alive and intact.
Because there's no denying
that it's a very importantrelationship for both countries.
- Do you think we'll see some hesitancy
from the administration, kindalike we saw with Congress
really advancing the callfor sanctions against Russia
and having to put that in abigger package so the president
would sign off on it?
- I think the difficultyin this situation is
there is still so much that we don't know.
I mean when you look atthe facts on the ground,
none of them are reallyfacts, in the sense that
they are all allegations andleaks from Turkish media.
And Turkish governmentcontrolled media too,
let me add.
So we're not exactly hearing information
from a source that we can completely trust
or rely upon for it's voracity.
So I think this putsboth the administration
and Congress in a tightsituation, of again,
needing to send a strong message.
Particularly about the U.S.'scommitment to human rights,
the U.S.'s commitment tofreedom of expressions,
to freedom of the press, all of that.
While at the same time,making do with the information
that has come out from Turkish authorities
in this steady drip-feedof leaks and allegations.
- Great point on thatTurkish state-run media.
Along the topic of freedom of expression,
the Washington Post
published Jamal Khashoggi'sfinal op-ed overnight.
His editor wrote that thecolumn, which really focused
on the freedom ofexpression in the Arab world
perfectly captured hiscommitment and passion.
Some have described it as his own obituary
that he's written.
What's your take?
- It was a very heartbreaking opinion
for me to read, personally.
But he ended with a messagethat could not resonate more.
And I have it out here,and what he said was,
the Arab world needs a modern version
of transnational media.
That it can essentially relyupon, that its citizens can use
to understand global events.
And that's such a fittingresonating message.
Given that the entire mediaenvironment, if you will,
that we've seen in the past two weeks
since Khashoggi's disappearance,it's all been shaped
by disinformation campaigns carried out
by Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
It's been shaped by leaks, it'sbeen shaped by allegations.
His final op-ed, it's a tragicnote to end his life with.
But he captures so perfectly the dilemma
that we all find ourselves in right now.
- Well definitely, even indeath, he's shining the light
on the issue.
Varsha Koduvayur, thankyou so much for joining us.
- My pleasure, thank you.
- And Chief Political Analyst David Brody
joins us now for more.
David now the president'ssaying it certainly looks like
Khashoggi is dead.
What do you make of that?
He's late to the game in saying this.
- Sure I mean he is abit late to the game.
This is a delicate balanceguys, I mean it really is.
And there's, news flash,there's politics involved
in all of this.
Look, to go into the mindof Trump for a moment,
he looks at everythinglooking at the leverage
that he can get and the relationships.
Look what happened with Putin, same thing.
Why is he gonna quote, disPutin on a national stage
when he needs something from him later on.
Same thing here withSaudi Arabia to a degree.
Look they have this armsdeal, we know about that.
All right so that's a majorrelationship right there.
Beyond that, there's one word called oil.
They control the oil productionas it relates to OPEC,
they're basically the defactoleading member of OPEC.
And so you put all of thattogether and in Trump's mind
he's thinkin', wait a minute,I gotta go careful on this
because I have relationships to deal with,
I need leverage, and I also need some sort
of final outcome, what is that gonna mean,
and I don't wanna shoot myself in the foot
before I have all of the facts.
- [Jenna] Yeah and alsokeeping pressure on Iran,
helping Israel, these areother factors as well.
- [David] That's rightthe location for sure,
all big factors.- Well you know,
we've been talking about this in the news
for the last couple of weeks.
I think we had just mentioned 16 days now.
It's of course a diplomatic affair,
but how much do you think this resonates
with voters as we lookahead to November 6?
- I don't think it reallyresonates at this point
much at all, and here's why.
Look he's, and look thisis a tragic situation,
and as it relates to not justwhat happened to Khashoggi,
but also as it relates to what that means
for freedom of the press and all of that.
So we can talk about all that.
But look, he's a Saudi citizen,
born in Saudi Arabia
but living here.- True
- So, this is a delicatebalance and I hate
to kinda go there, butI'm going to for a moment.
If he was a U.S. Marine andhis name wasn't Khashoggi
there would be no doubt
a different story.- It's a different story.
- Different story all together.
Because why?
Back to his prism, MakeAmerica Great Again,
if this is a U.S. citizen,a Marine let's say,
captured then he calculates the leverage
and relationships much differently
than in a situation like this.
- David let's talkabout the Supreme Court.
Don McGahn, he just left his position
with the White House as the counsel there.
What's the impact here, goinginto the midterm elections?
We have less than three weeks out.
- Well just Don McGahn byhimself, you line 10 people up
on the street, they don't knowwho Don McGahn is, at all.
But obviously the SupremeCourt's a big deal.
Look there was just a polldone, 54% of white women
in America thought that BrettKavanaugh was treated unfairly
and therefor if you extrapolatethat, most white women vote,
or the majority of whitewomen vote Republican.
Okay, so if you put those two together,
that bodes wellpotentially for Republicans
in midterm elections.
But we have to wait and see,
there are a lot more calculations,
we have to see if theminority vote gets out.
Because that's gonna be crucial,and of course the liberals
we know they're all jacked up ready to go.
- Sure, well speakingof the Supreme Court,
we know that that was amajor issue that drove a lot
of evangelicals to the polls in 2016.
They came out in full forceto support Donald Trump.
What is your sense now in 2018 especially
after the Kavanaugh hearing?
What is your sense aboutevangelicals going to the polls
in the midterms?- So that's the key,
what you just said there John
at the end, especially afterthe Kavanaugh hearings.
Because if you had put mebefore the Kavanaugh hearings
my sources were telling me,
as a matter of fact justgetting off with my sources,
three of them, all thisafternoon, all say the same thing,
which is pre-Kavanaugh, thedisengagement was there.
It wasn't there, the enthusiasmwasn't there compared
to 2016, it also wasn't there compared
to the last midterm elections, 2014.
After Kavanaugh, post-Kavanaugh,much different story.
The engagement isextremely high, I am told
and I'm just looking at some of my notes,
but direct mail, a lotof brochures at churches,
all that, they're beingtaken, it's just anecdotal,
but the point is thatthey're being swallowed up.
I mean it's a big-time energy boost.
Then the question becomes,can the energy boost
that happened in early October,sustain itself all the way
through November 6, that'sunknown, we don't know.
And that's why we doFaith Nation every day.
(laughing)
- That's true, do you have a sense?
- Do I have a sense?
Yeah I do, then again I'm not a big fan
of the prediction business,'cause I'm always wrong.
But no, I would say that Istill think it's a blue blip.
I will say this real quick.
On the House races,this is very important.
When it's a statewidecontest, in other words,
if there's a Senate race,that's good for Republicans
because that's statewide
and the Kavanaugh thing energizes voters.
When it's a state thatdoesn't have a Senate race,
that is not good for theRepublicans in those House races,
because you don't get asmany voters to come out.
- To cancel eachother out.- Mm hmm the engagement.
- To cancel, and that's the difference,
so let's watch for that on election night.
- David Brody, thank you very much.
- A pleasure, I'll be right here.
- Well in a bitterly divided landscape,
one group of Millennials is working
to bring together believersfrom both side of the aisle,
Amber Strong has the story from Atlanta.
- [Host] I wanna getinto it man, you know.
- [Amber] It might not beunusual to see a Republican
and a Democrat face offin front of microphones.
- [Host] You're listening tothe Church Politics Podcast.
- [Amber] But in this case,Republican James Lankford
and Democrat Chris Combs, sat down
to discuss their Christian faith.
And the man behind the conversation.
- Being a biblical Christiancan be lonely place.
- 37-year old Justin Giboney.
Giboney along with former WhiteHouse Staffer Michael Wear
host a podcast called Church Politics,
where they're tacklingtough Christian issues
and allowing politiciansno matter their party
a chance to share their faith.
The former Democratic delegatesays, he's seen the downside
of sharing biblical convictions.
- I've been in politicsfor almost a decade.
And so when I say that Imean, running campaigns,
doing campaign consulting.
- [Amber] In 2016 Giboneyran on a biblical platform,
promoting his pro-lifeand Christian beliefs.
- The Democratic party cannot afford
to be a party thatdisregards, disrespects,
or ignores it's faith-based communities.
- [Amber] That led to attacks from members
of his own party.
Who even tried to have him removed
from the Georgia delegation.
- I came to a point in urbanpolitics when I was thinking,
I enjoy doing this, butI'm getting pushed further
and further to the left on every issue.
- [Amber] And he's not alone.
In this divided society,
members of both partiesfeel pushed to the edges
and away from the middle.
While Giboney didn't getlove from some Democrats,
he also felt excludedfrom conservative circles
thanks to two words.
Social justice.
And you can see why witha quick look at YouTube.
Social justice warrior owned.
I'm glad I'm not a social justice warrior.
The Cult of Social JusticeWarriors, and so on.
- That word has been defiled, all right.
Social justice in somecircles has been defiled
to justify anything people wanna do.
- [Amber] His view ofsocial justice means calling
for an end to things likeabortion and police brutality.
While supporting criminal justice reform.
- If we're about family,then we have to make sure
that people aren't beingincarcerated unnecessarily
because it breaks up families.
- [Amber] So how do you cutthrough the fog of confusion?
By bringing leaders ofboth sides together,
which Giboney did tolaunch the AND Campaign.
- I would agree with itbiblically and theologically,
but my humanity as anAfrican-American was not uplifted.
- [Amber] Giboney started the movement
to help Christians realize,the answer doesn't only lie
within party lines.
- I'm excited about whatthey're seeking to do,
because they're seeking to bridge the gap
between righteousness and justice,
between biblical values and social equity.
And those two have dividedthe Christian community
for far too long.
As though God rides the backof donkeys or elephants.
- We wanna make sure
that Christians are kindatranscending the partisanship
we see today.
Be courageous, thank you.
- [Amber] So, Giboney will remain focused,
by spurring the conversationand providing platforms
where believers, left andright, get a seat at the table.
(choir singing)
Amber Strong, CBN Newsin Atlanta, Georgia.
- Up next, why PresidentTrump is threatening
to use military force atthe U.S.-Mexico border.
(relaxing music)
Thousands of Honduranmigrants are making their way
to the U.S.-Mexico borderdespite warnings to turn back.
- And those demands are comingfrom both their own country
and President Trump.
CBN's National SecurityCorrespondent Eric Rosales has more.
- Well John and Jenna, thecaravan of some 4,000 migrants
are continuing Northward,heading towards America,
with it's number growing along the way.
Now President Trump is threateningto use any means possible
including the U.S. military,to protect the border.
The latest location of thecaravan puts it just outside
of Chiquimula, Guatemala.
Marchers covered about30 miles on Wednesday
with an ultimate mission of making it
into the United States.
- We have the dumbestimmigration laws in the world,
the world laughs at us, butwe're getting 'em changed.
- [Eric] But until then,
the president is taking action of his own.
Tweeting, in additionto stopping all payments
to these countries, whichseems to have almost no control
over their population, I mustin the strongest of terms,
ask Mexico to stop thisonslaught, and if unable to do so,
I will call up the U.S. military
and close our Southern border.
Since 2015, the U.S. government has sent
more than $2.6 billion
in foreign assistance to theNorthern triangle countries,
of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
President Trump has repeatedlythreatened to cut off
that money unless themass migration stops.
CBN News has learnedMexico has sent another 500
federal police officers toawait the procession's arrival.
Mexico states anyone with travel documents
and a proper visa will be allowed to pass,
while others can potentiallyapply for refugee status.
Officials also cautionthose who try to cross
in an irregular manner couldbe detained and deported.
- Everybody wants to come in,and they come in illegally,
and they use children,
in many cases the childrenaren't theirs, they grab them
and they want to comein with the children.
- [Agent] You can clearlysee where these trails are,
they're not natural in this area.
- [Eric] Just this weekborder patrol agents
in the Rio Grand valleyreported they continue
to see large numbers of families
and unaccompanied children trying
to cross the border illegally.
- Counterfeit documents,modified documents,
that are being issued in certain countries
to make a family if you will,just establish parenthood
of a child, and then oncewe start interviewing,
we find out that it's all false claims.
- [Eric] Last year CBNNews rode along with agents
and witnessed the dangers they face.
- You never know who we'llencounter in the bush.
You could encounter asex offender, a murderer,
you know somebody whohas an active warrant.
You just never know until youtake them back to the station,
you roll their fingerprints
and you get that information back.
- Chief Padilla told me in 2017 alone,
officers arrested peoplefrom 70 different nations.
Just in the Rio Grand valley,some were known terrorists.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeohas already had a busy week
after going to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Well he's now headed to Panama City today,
and Mexico city on Friday.
He will meet with thePresidents of both countries
to talk about securityissues, like illegal movement
of cash, weapons, and drugsalong with illegal immigration.
Guys.
- Yeah a lot on Secretary Pompeo's plate.
Eric, the President sayshe's going to get the,
he will if he has to, getthe military involved.
Any signs yet on what that might entail,
and do you think it willactually get to that point?
- Well as of right now
I believe that it'sjust political rhetoric.
I did check with my Pentagonsources and they say
that no formal request hasbeen made for military use
over at the border.
So right now I believethat it was just rhetoric
from a frustrated president.
- Eric, we only haveabout 30 seconds left,
you said earlier the Mexicangovernment will send officers
to the border as the migrants arrive,
but have they done anything now?
- Well I just found out thatyeah, Mexico has sent hundreds
of officers in riot gear,
actually over near the Guatemalan border,
and then Guatemala has actuallysent over some officers
over on their side, afterPresident Trump threatened
to take away some of the money.
- Okay.- All right, Eric Rosales
thank you very much.
- Thank you.
- Well still ahead, a lookat the March for Life.
The latest theme that says being pro-life
is actually pro-science.
(relaxing music)
- [Narrator] Furnace break dow...
- Each year the March forLife comes up with a theme.
- That's right.- And today they took
to the U.S. capital toannounce their latest.
- And Jenna the new slogan ismeant to show being pro-life
is based in science.
Paul Strand brings us the story.
- Those who would pit science
against the pro-life cause
would find they don'treally have a logical leg
to stand on.
At least they would have foundthat out if they'd been here
on Capitol Hill for theMarch for Life's announcement
of it's 2019 theme.
- Unique from day one,pro-life is pro-science.
- [Paul] Jeanne Manciniheads up the March for Life.
- So many who are abortionadvocates erroneously try
to paint life and scienceas being in conflict
and it's just not true.
So we thought we'd revisitthe facts, biology 101.
- Science validates pro-life ethics
because it's simple biology.
Your life began atconception, at fertilization,
you are the same individual organism,
to use the biological term,now that you were when
you were a one-celled organism.
- [Paul] David Daleiden hasbeen sued by Planned Parenthood
after embarrassing undercovervideos his group took,
revealed the abortiongiant is in the business
of harvesting unborn baby parts for sale.
- Especially in the bodyparts procurement business
from the abortion doctors
to the middleman harvesting companies,
to the end user researchers.
That the body parts of our unborn brothers
and sisters are only valuable for sale
and for experimentation
because they're exactly like any
of us and indistinguishable.
And if we don't recognize that,that's what opens the door
to atrocities like Kermit Gosnell.
- [Paul] The March for Lifethis coming year will be
on the National Mall, January 18.
Paul Strand, CBN News, Capitol Hill.
- Thanks Paul.
- Yeah and the March for Life,
gosh they have a huge following,
and they've gotten a lot of support
from this administration.
- They sure have.
Well that's going to do itfor tonight's Faith Nation.
- Have a great evening.