CNN — a far-left outlet a jury found is literally fake news — is upset that Christians were permitted to openly pray to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ while on the job at the Pentagon.
The outlet’s hissy fit stems from a Christian prayer service Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted at the Defense Department on Wednesday. The event — for which Hegseth himself said attendance was on a “voluntary basis” — featured remarks and prayers from Hegseth and the defense secretary’s Tennessee-based pastor, Brooks Potteiger.
“This is precisely where I need to be, and I think exactly where we need to be as a nation, at this moment,” Hegseth said, “in prayer, on bended knee recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. … Knowing that there’s an author in heaven overseeing all of this, who’s underwritten all of it, for us, on the cross, gives me the strength to proceed.”
The service is reportedly slated to become a monthly occurrence.
While the event’s recognition of Christ’s glory is welcome news for a culture in desperate need of spiritual revival, CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky seemingly felt otherwise. The two “reporters” quickly rushed out a hatchet job featuring remarks from like-minded, left-wing lawyers questioning the legality of the service.
In the piece, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham — a professor at Southwestern Law School and supposed “national security law expert” — arbitrarily contended the Christian prayer service represented a “clear violation” of the First Amendment’s establishment clause. An anonymous “former Pentagon lawyer” allegedly espoused similar claims, calling the event “incredibly problematic.”
“I think it’s sponsorship in the true sense of the word, outside of funding — [Hegseth’s] advocating for this, he is putting his weight of the official Office of the Secretary of Defense behind a particular religious event and inviting someone to the Pentagon to conduct it,” VanLandingham told CNN. “That’s wrong.”
VanLandingham notably participated in a virtual panel hosted by the left-wing American Bar Association’s Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice in June 2021. Titled, “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Military: Racial Disparity in the Services,” the discussion focused on what the organization claimed are “racial disparities in the Military Justice System and its impacts mission effectiveness and readiness.”
In her panel remarks, VanLandingham said, “Racism in criminal justice and racism and racial disparities within military justice is a problem that transcends East coast, West coast — it’s a national security issue, first and foremost.”
(In a September 2023 tweet posted to an X account seemingly belonging to VanLandingham, the professor praised former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Mark Milley — who reportedly told Chinese military officials he’d warn them in advance of a potential U.S.-led attack against Beijing — as “a hero who deserves our gratitude for helping save democracy.”)
Britzky and Bertrand — a Russian collusion and Hunter Biden laptop hoaxer — went on to baselessly argue, despite being a voluntary event, that “the involvement and endorsement of the secretary of defense could put pressure on service members and civilian employees to attend.” VanLandingham echoed similarly unsubstantiated claims.
It’s seriously worth asking if the hit piece’s authors and their crackpot sources have ever bothered to read the Constitution and understand the true meaning of the Establishment Clause. Judging from the assessments they gave in the article, it’s fairly obvious they have no idea what they’re talking about.
As aptly noted by Federalist CEO Sean Davis, “America was founded as a Christian nation by Christian men with Christian ideals and morals and laws for Christian purposes, and the only thing the First Amendment prohibits is the literal establishment of a specific government church funded by taxes.” In other words, the framers did not want the U.S. government “establishing” an official state church subsidized by the American people.
In no way did Hegseth’s voluntary prayer service violate this constitutional provision. Not even close.
[READ: Yes, It’s Completely Constitutional For The U.S. Government To Promote Christianity]
What’s become evidently clear, at CNN and other left-wing propaganda outlets, is that it’s perfectly OK to dishonestly question, ridicule, and/or outright smear Christianity if doing so can help advance leftists’ agenda. And given that their worldview is antithetical to Christian teachings, it’s safe to assume this despicable trend is here to stay.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
Jesus Christ is King
