Sekulow

Logan Sekulow: On today's show, we got breaking news. The DOJ exposes a North Korean spy network successful in America.
Announcer: Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Seculo. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments. Recall 1800-684-3110. And now your host Logan Seculo.
Logan Sekulow: Welcome to Seculo. It is Logan Seculo. Pack show today going to be joined by Rick Grenell and Jeff Balabon from ACLJ Jerusalem. It is again packed show. This story really caught my attention this morning because of all of the different kinds of North Korean spy attempts or you know kind of James Bondy kind of situations. This one could affect all of us if we're not careful enough. So much so this caught my attention so much so I forgot to put the hair gel in my hair. So now I got this you know I got whatever's going on right here. So forgive me for that. Phone lines are open at 1800-684-3110. The FBI announced this with the DOJ that they disrupted this attempt in from North Korea. By the way, a successful attempt for a number of years where remote jobs. So think about how many remote workers there are now. Remote jobs sometimes you know very easy entry level kind of positions and some higher level positions. A lot of them in the middle America, Texas, Ohio were being covertly operated by North Koreans and money was being then funneled to potentially they mean the quote is every one of these jobs is funding a stream for a nuclear and ballistic missiles program obtained with the stolen identity of an American in the trust of an American employer. So when you start looking at hiring remote workers, this is a very interesting new thing we have to keep an eye out because successful job interviews, laptops being operated, laptop farms being operated inside the United States but being controlled by operatives in North Korea and having the funding you know essentially leapfrog and make its way to North Korea. and they said small businesses to Fortune 500 companies and again with a growing variety. A lot of this came from some you know direct statements from the FBI. A growing variety of identity and location tasks that were really done to to where you could not tell that these people were not operating within the United States of America including appearing on camera, participating in job interviews and meetings, verifying fraudulent identities, shipping packages and even get this completing urine and fingerprint tests. I don't know how they do that. I'm not asking that question, but it is interesting that they were able to do this inside the United States again that the Justice Department was able to find this out. This was happening again over multiple years. It does make you have to think I mean I mean this is the some of the quotes. These schemes threaten the security of the IT systems and data of the deceived US employers and the countless victims of identity theft, but we have to look at and they they went deep in this. I think this also you have to rethink how hacking works, how cyber security works cuz they did not hack anything. They were let in to be a a paid happy employee, someone you may have dealt with, remote worker. How many remote workers have you not ever met in person? Plenty. I have to say there should be a wake up call even to our own team that hires people here. The you never know who you're really dealing with and we have to figure out ways to be on the front lines of new cyber security. Thankfully, the DOJ was able to uncover this, but I don't think any of us were thinking this way that this was even something that was not necessarily possible, but we're even thinking this way and they are. They can think the people who want to potentially cause destruction in the United States or find out what's happening here or they are coming up with very very high tech and unique ways to do this. These seizures they seized 187 computer devices in Texas. Again, computer devices that were then looking like that they were here in America but then being controlled by outside forces. What do you think about this? Phone lines are open for you at 1800-684-3110. One person comments, if you have 50 laptops in apartment, that's a hint of wrong doing. But again, they make it seem like there's plenty of ways to make it seem like they're not coming from one place. And trust me, if you want to look at how many devices you have connected to your Wi-Fi, I think you'd be pretty shocked. I am sure it's over 50 in my home without a doubt it is over 50. Think about your lights, they got security systems, ring doorbells, all those things. Phone lines are open 1800-684-3110. We'll be right back.
Jay Sekulow: The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, and our constitutional rights are under attack, it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success. But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms. That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well this is the perfect time to stand with us at aclj.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. aclj.org
Announcer: Welcome to the all new ACLJ app. Expert analysis and insight Big Tech can't censor. Customize your news and get real-time alerts on the issues you care about. Advocacy is now at your fingertips. Take action, make a difference, support the causes you care about with just one tap. Be the first to know. Breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox. Everything you need all in one place. Stay informed, stay empowered, download today. We are so excited to announce the ACLJ's brand new app completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to partner with us at the ACLJ. You can watch the daily Seculo program, sign the petitions, customize your ACLJ membership experience, donate with the clickable button and receive up to the minute critical updates that the mainstream media can't censor. Just scan the QR code on your screen or go to your phone's app store, search ACLJ and click install. It's that simple.
Logan Sekulow: Again, how would you know if you hired a fake worker, if they're showing up, if they are having meetings, if they are zooming in, if they are completing fingerprint analysis, urine analysis? How much more check in can you do? What we found out that again these remote and they said they're primarily focused on IT workers, which tells you something of what they were targeting. But I think it probably goes well beyond that. We need to be well aware of that with any organization that is hiring remote workers. It's a new world and there are now new schemes. But again, this scheme was successful. Hundreds and hundreds of laptops that were being essentially routed, I guess the easy way, routed and controlled by North Korea and then funded. That's the main thing. The money then was going at least a percentage of that income was going back to North Korea essentially funding you know all the atrocities that happens there. And you know we talk about Iran, we talk about Russia all the time. North Korea kind of we we it feels like we've pushed off. And I understand to some extent because President Trump has awkwardly had this you know strange albeit probably good for us relationship with Kim Jong Un in terms of their you know connection point if you will where it has kept us out of that conflict. But as everything else starts to bubble up whether it is Israel with teaming up with the United States and Saudi Arabia or whether that is what's happening in Ukraine and Russia, what's happening all over the world, happens in Nigeria. When you start throwing in now North Korea, I understand it can be overwhelming, but I think this is one of those ones where we need to just be more aware of what's happening cuz they said these these were employees at small businesses all the way up to Fortune 500 companies. You can kind of understand how it would get lost in the shuffle that a 400 Fortune 500 company cuz there are just so many employees. There's so many people doing menial tasks if you will or or working IT remotely and that's not uncommon. IT employees typically are now working remotely. There's no reason for them to have to be always in the office. But when you talk about a small business that maybe is hiring 10 people and they are also dealing with these same issues. And this is again a statement from the FBI. This is from the FBI Cyber Security Division. This is Brett LeatherMan. He said North Korea continues to deploy remote IT workers using stolen identities to infiltrate American companies and generate revenue for the regime and its weapons program. Today, the FBI and DOJ announced a series of coordinated actions against the threat securing charges against 14 individuals, conducting two arrests, seizing 190 devices, and executing operations of more than 40 suspected laptop farms. And where are these laptop farms? In Texas. And I believe there's also some in Ohio. Close coordination between the private sector and federal law enforcement was central to the operation to further combat the threat. The FBI has issued a public service announcement with detailed mitigation guidelines for US companies. So I put out PSAs to saying be careful who you're hiring. And honestly, it's very difficult. They create fake Gmail accounts. They they put a list of Gmail accounts. It's like if you happen to you know get in touch with one of these, know that's happened. And you know all of this just happened a couple weeks ago by the way. They did all these searches in late September. The FBI conducted these searches and law enforcement actions over 40 residents in Texas known to be operating laptop farms. It goes on in very very specific detail on how this all works and how this all the funding works and you can find all of that out. But when you hear about it uh look a statement just came out from Cash Patel, the director of the FBI. And he said North Korea is not going to use American companies as ATMs to bankroll its regime. 12 indictments, nearly 190 devices seized, 40 suspected laptop farms targeted across Texas. The FBI and the Justice Department are dismantling these networks and holding those responsible, accountable, out striding outstanding coordination with CrowdStrike and our private sector partners. Again, CrowdStrike is involved in this largely operating and most big companies has something to do with Crowd CrowdStrike. This to me is a much more wild story because it does affect you. You need to be keenly aware. Most of you work in one of these kind of organizations or companies, have a job where you're dealing with remote workers in some some way. And we have heard about the actual infiltration where people are working inside of companies. We understand that happens and that you can get past all of that. But this can happen in a wide wide spread way when you have such coordinated efforts and you have people posing as Americans or actually Americans who have connections to North Korea who are then getting a like I said a job that's not necessarily the highest paid job, could be an entry level position, creates a funding stream for North Korea and also creates a ton of intel and gathers a ton of intel and information in a way that is immoral, but not necessarily. I mean of course now it's illegal, but in a way where they did things on the up and up. Apparently you know conceivably. They went and got a job. It wasn't a hacking situation. They were allowed in with open arms. We need to be really careful about this. And I think we need to start looking into what cyber security means like I said in 2026 and how even the ACLJ can get involved and how we all need to create some sort of way maybe work with the FBI to to showcase this to make sure that your small business isn't becoming not necessarily always by the way cuz this is what it it said. It wasn't always just for intel. It 's also just for funding. North Korea needs the money. They need the revenue. So how can they get American dollars into North Korea? It's a very clever way to do it. Like I said a very spy movie way to do it. There's something oddly romantic about it in weird ways cuz it's like it's this uh you know it it didn't necessarily physically hurt anyone individually. Like it wasn't like they were in there attacking people. They were getting jobs and and working it there's something so you know story tellery about this that it can capture your imagination, but also needs to be a big red flag and a big warning sign. And gives a little more credence to if we're talking about the world of remote workers what that actually needs to look like. We've lived in that post-COVID world where it happens. Look, I understood we we learned that a lot of people do not need to be in the office. Some people thrive outside the office. They don't need to be in in the daily lives of everyone and sometimes they do great work. But how do you vet all of this successfully? So hopefully the FBI, the DOJ and all will come up with new ways. So not only just active on the post side where they are now creating new ways that you could try to keep yourself aware but pre-emptively pre-emptively stopping this from happening. Phone lines are open. What do you think about this? 1800-684-3110. It could be a little scary. I'll be honest cuz it's not always about cyber security. It could be again small businesses. And then also we have to move move in the next segment to our friend Rick Grenell is going to be joining us. There's a lot happening in that world. Another investigation has been opened into representative Omar. We're going to discuss that with him. And then later on in the show at the same time we're dealing with these global conflicts. President Obama speaking in Europe, I believe just yesterday or maybe it was earlier today it's kind of making the rounds today talking about his relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, what he warned him of and what happens with Israel and what he then decides to midway through essentially blame Israel on is shocking really disturbing cuz he he he does a really good job as he always does of starting and ending with kind of uh the the middle ground, the nuance. And then somewhere in the middle there Israel takes the blame to the point of an extreme nature. We're going to talk about that coming up with Jeff Balabon from ACLJ Jerusalem. So if you want to get a hold on any of those topics, I 'm happy to talk about them today. 1800-684-3110. 1800-684-3110. I also want to encourage you if you like this show, if you like what we do here cuz look this isn't the number one story on the news today. But I said I think this is something that our audience needs to hear about because it affects likely the listener of this show, the viewer of this show cuz it is not something. When my you know heads of departments come up to say Logan we want to hire somebody, their remote worker I never thought well have you tried to vet them to make sure they're not infiltrating from North Korea or Iran or whatever. Like that hasn't crossed my mind. It hasn't crossed my mind. And by the way, we do those those dives. We do the social media checks. We do those kind of things. Identity you know obviously confirming your identity, all those kind of things, background checks. But if they have stolen identity fake Facebook, Instagram and and you know they look like they have a total social media life. They're doing calls with you on Zoom or whatever it may be. How do we get to that next level without even even if they figured out a way, I'm sure again there's a way for them to do something in person. And then of course it can be siphoned off. And what if they're doing a good job? It's not like we heard a lot of people were getting fired. They were doing a good job. They were doing the job they were supposed to do at the same time creating funding for North Korea ballistic missiles programs and obviously giving the opportunity to infiltrate Fortune 500 companies and small businesses. And this all was focused in in Texas and Ohio. Now Texas makes sense in some ways. You know you know we think Texas like I can't believe it's Texas. Texas the the IT side Texas is huge. Um my son is a well a professional gamer. So he knows he tells me about Texas all the time. You know Texas is one of the best places. So I understand that that's why Texas is probably one of the hubs for this. And it's also of course one of the biggest states and right in the middle of the country. I want to hear from you though. Phone lines are open 1800-684-3110. As we head to a break, consider supporting the ACLJ by going to aclj.org. If you thought about becoming an ACLJ champion, today's a good day to do that. That is some of the gifts on a monthly basis which is very nice. You sign up, set it and forget it as they used to say on one of those infomercials. But of course you can can't. You don't have to forget it. We want you to be a champion. And then you can cancel of course at any time, but I encourage you to do that. Uh go to right now aclj.org/champions and sign up. Again, we don't differentiate between champions. A champion may give $5 a month, they may give $500 a month. We know you're dedicating a portion of your income to supporting our work. And I know that that is not easy right now. I know that's a tank of gas or more to do or or a gallon of gas you know for in so many states right now. So when you do that, know how much we really appreciate it. Go to aclj.org. We'll be back in just a minute with Rick Grenell.
Announcer: Welcome to the all new ACLJ app. Expert analysis and insight Big Tech can't censor. Customize your news and get real-time alerts on the issues you care about. Advocacy is now at your fingertips. Take action, make a difference, support the causes you care about with just one tap. Be the first to know. Breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox. Everything you need all in one place. Stay informed, stay empowered, download today. We are so excited to announce the ACLJ's brand new app completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to partner with us at the ACLJ. You can watch the daily Seculo program, sign the petitions, customize your ACLJ membership experience, donate with the clickable button and receive up to the minute critical updates that the mainstream media can't censor. Just scan the QR code on your screen or go to your phone's app store, search ACLJ and click install. It's that simple.
Jay Sekulow: The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, and our constitutional rights are under attack, it 's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success. But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms. That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well this is the perfect time to stand with us at aclj.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. aclj.org
Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Seculo. Rick Grenell's joining us now live. Rick, I mean we we just touched on a couple different topics. We started the show talking about the fact that this this FBI you know raid that that got hundreds of devices to find out the other these laptops that were all seized because we were accidentally in small businesses and Fortune 500 companies hiring North Korean you know infiltrates in many different ways through remote work, which I think has to change the way we look at that. But at the same time also we have another what looks to be investigation into Elon Omar happening right now facing maybe another probe. Again, someone who has been no love lost between maybe the current administration and Elon Omar. And of course the president said he had no idea about the raid. Uh Vice President Vance said the same thing, but both of them of course acknowledged the fact that she has been steeped in controversy the entire time. So no one seems to be super shocked that this is to happen right now. And of course it happens on the heels of our right on right before the midterm elections. And there's going to be political uproar from that. But I wanted to first get your thoughts on this not only the the raid that happened, but of course now knowing that there is now the financial side looking like beyond the the immigration status from decades ago.
Rick Grenell: Look, I think that there's been smoke from the immigration issues around Elon Omar for quite a long time. And the Biden administration should have looked into this when the allegations started coming out clearly pointing to the fact that she's lied about her status and coming in. And and and we should probably drop back here for a second and just say that you know hundreds of millions of people around the world want to become US citizens. They're all trying to get into the United States. And sometimes we have situations where we need to look further and see that that you know there are rumors or business associates are are pushing innuendos about certain people. And that's why we have the State Department and DHS to look at the facts and to decide who gets a visa and ultimately green card or immigration status that becomes an American citizen. And so I think that we should first start with the fact that we're extremely generous with our visas and our immigration and citizenship. We are extremely generous, but we want to take the lessons from Europe that we must also have a rigorous vetting process. And I think the fact is is that when Joe Biden was in the office, when Barack Obama was off it in office, the vetting process was not good. And we were forced to to rush people in because we had a bleeding heart. And I think Angela Merkel will tell you that that's not a good idea uh just to let your heart decide who comes in. Again, there are hundreds of millions of people that want to come in. We have long lines of people that want to come in. No one should be cutting the line. We're already generous. Let's just do the vetting. And when it comes to Elon Omar, I think she wasn't vetted and she has been lying about some aspects of how she became a US citizen. And because she used that process to to come into the United States, I think it's only fair to make sure that uh she was truthful and the process was legitimate.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah. And Rick, you have this situation with her specifically. That actually brings up I was just speaking with one of our guys here who is incredible worker here. Uh he's Canadian. He's been working to get his citizenship. He's been working on the naturalization paperwork, everything been here for a long time, green card, everything set up fine, married, children, family. And the process is rigorous. And the process does take long. It seems like for these situations where a situation like someone again who who who has been here, has been active part of society, wants to be an American, but I've seen the process and it could be tough. It's not like it's it's so uh simple as maybe people think, but somehow you're able to have these moments where it feels like like you said that these moments of of uh either fraudulent paperwork or sympathy play into it. And then it ends up becoming what it is.
Rick Grenell: But there there is no question that our State Department and DHS officials have to be rigorous because people exaggerate, they lie, they're doing anything they can to get into the United States. And again, it's very difficult for these individuals on the front line who are working for the United States to understand in certain moments what the truth is. And so a lot of times it's wait and see, it's let's check. It's not a fast process, but there are other times when Democrats seem to rush the process because of a situation in a war-torn country or refugees. And that's when the abuse comes in. We need to have a vetting process regardless of the story to be able to make sure that individuals coming into the United States are vetted properly. Now let me add one more point. Too many times I think the left tries to say that this person in a war-torn country must get out and and you know their life depends on it. And then they jump to the conclusion that we're the only country that should respond. There are a lot of other countries where individuals can be safe, where the UN has a process where refugees can go. It doesn't automatically have to be the United States.
Logan Sekulow: Yeah. And of course Elon Omar is using this moment. It feels very you know ironic in many sense ways because the statements that are coming out from Omar's campaign from her office and her specifically feels oddly similar to the rhetoric that President Trump was using just a few years ago when he was being raided and arrested. And now they're using things like you know this is an I mean this is from what she wrote on the X. Make no mistake, this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation and I will not be silenced. I mean you could flip that and change who we're talking about here. You could have said President Trump was saying that about the Biden administration. It feels like they realize oh wait a second, there is a moment here where people also could get riled up by this. So so use it as an opportunity.
Rick Grenell: Yeah, I hate political prosecutions. I think that they're wrong. I think they're going to ruin our country. President Trump proved that when you go go do the investigations that the accusations against him fell fell apart.
Logan Sekulow: Right.
Rick Grenell: He he was accused of a lot and it all fell apart. All the legal cases fell apart in the face of political prosecution. I think let's follow the facts. Let's not have political prosecutions, but let's look at the facts and let the facts speak for themselves.
Logan Sekulow: I mean yeah Vice President Vance saying look if there's nothing there, we move on. That's it. And I think that that's a little refreshing also to hear from from one of our elected officials say you know what, we're doing the job we said. It doesn't matter that there is an election. I mean likely I don't think this is going to swing anyone's vote for Elon Omar one way or the other. If you decided you're going to vote for it, I don't think this is going to effectively change your mind. So it's probably not going to adjust any election results. But of course we are just a few days out from the election. Uh but if there is crime there, then of course it's their job to do it.
Rick Grenell: Yeah. Yeah, look and and I've heard people say that judge signed off on this and that it's not all just uh DOJ, but there there is a check and a balance and that was done. And so again, we should all say no political prosecutions are acceptable. Follow the facts.
Logan Sekulow: Agreed. Thank you Rick for joining us today. I really appreciate it. I know you made some time for us and go do what you got to do. Have a great rest of your day. And with that, I do want to hear from all of you. Give me a call as we head into the second half hour of Seculo. This is the time to get yourself on the air today. 1800-684-3110. We take a very short break right here if you're watching on YouTube or you're watching on Rumble or Facebook, wherever you're watching us live noon to 1:00 p.m. We're good. You're good. If you're you're watching stick with us. Salem News Channel. We got the whole hour. If you're listening on terrestrial radio, some only pick up the first half hour. You can catch the rest of the show either live or later on on aclj.org or however get your podcast. Of course you can find it on YouTube and be part of the chat. But I encourage you to do that. It's a great way to interact with the show and beyond just listening. But of course if you are listening live and you still are going to lose us, join us live right now on all those platforms. That being said, I do want you to become a member of the ACLJ and not only become a one-time donor if you'd like to, which we appreciate. Look, most of you are one-time supporters if you give, which know how much I appreciate it. It's incredible that you're able to even do that. But some of you few thousand of you have decided to give on a monthly ongoing basis and we call those ACLJ champions. I 'm going to ask you today to make every legal battle in this show possible to keep it all free for the client and for the consumer like you though that enjoys the content. I need you to become an ACLJ champion if you can. That's aclj.org. We'll be right back to a short break less than a minute.
Jay Sekulow: For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well this is the perfect time to stand with us at aclj.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. aclj.org