12/22/22 12/22/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> your support is crucial, not just to stand but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield. we have artillery, yes. thank you. we have it. is it enough? honestly, not really.

amy: ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy addressing a rare joint session of congress where he called on the u.s. to provide for military and financial aid for his war against russia. during the meeting at the white house, president biden announced u.s. sent patriot central missile and moves chris i by scott. -- criticized by moscow. calling for christmas truce in ukraine by faith leaders. cooks believing in the sanctity of all life on this planet, we call for a christmas truce. christmas truce in ukraine. amy: we will speak to three guests who are calling for that christmas truce come the reverend graylan scott hagler of the fellowship of reconciliation, professor cornel west, and medea benjamin of codepink, plus we look at the latest document released by the

january 6 committee now expected to release a full report on the capital insurrection today. -- capitol insurrection today. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president volodymyr zelenskyy has wrapped up a one-day visit to washington where he called on the biden administration and lawmakers to provide more military and financial aid to ukraine in its fight against russia. it was zelenskyy's first overseas trip since the war began and came as russia's war in ukraine is about to enter its 11th month. on wednesday evening, zelenskyy addressed a joint session of congress, thanking the u.s. for the nearly $50 billion in military and humanitarian assistance it has so far directed to ukraine. >> your money is an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.

amy: president biden welcomed zelenskyy to the white house where he announced more military aid for ukraine, including a patriot missile defense system. biden indicated he would let zelenskyy set the timetable for any negotiated thought of it with russia in a joint news conference. pres. biden: can succeed without help and others. so if and when president zelenskyy is ready to talk to the russians, he will be able to succeed as well because he will have one on the battlefield. amy: ahead of zelenskyy strip -- zelenskyy pressure yes top european officials believe russia may not be to blame for acts of sabotage that severely damaged undersea pipelines built to carry natural gas from russia to europe. that's according to "the washington post," which cited interviews with 23 diplomatic

and intelligence officials from nine european countries about the september explosions that d tohe closure of the nord stream pipelines. the officials privately said there is no evidence russia was behind the sabotage, which caused some of the worst methane gas leakin history and cut off supplies of russian fuel to europe aheadf winter. on wednesday, a kremlin spokesperson said european countries were failing to conduct a proper investigation. russia has blamed the u.k. for the explosions, a charge denied by british officials. russian president vladimir putin has pledged to expand russia's army by a half-million troops and is prepared to give his military "everything it is asking for." in another sign the kremlin is preparing for a long war in ukraine, russia's defense minister suggested raising the maximum age of conscription from 27 to 30. president putin made a rare admission of battlefield

defeats, calling the motor situation in four ukrainian territories recently annexed by russia remains "extremely difficult. russia and china have kicked off a week of nal exercises in the st china sea, including live fire missiles and artillery drills. wargames began one day after the u.s. air force flew nuclear capable b-52 bombers and stealth fighters jets to south korea for joint drills and after north korea test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles over theeekend. meanwhile, japanese prime minister fumio kishida has announced five-year, $320 billion plano buy long-range missiles capable of striking china north koreaincluding hundreds of weapons sold by lockheed martin. if completed, it would represent japan's largest military buildup since world war ii. article 9 of japan's constitution renounces war and bars japan from using or threatening to use military force.

the world health organization is calling on china to accurately report data about covid-19 cases and deaths after beijing ended its strict zero covid policy. on wedsday, who officials cited anecdotal accounts that icu's are filling up with severely ill patients even as china officially reported relatively few icu admissions. this is the who's director-general tedros adhanom ghebreyesus. >> the who is very concerned the situation in china with increasing reports of severe diseases. in order to make a risk assessment of the situation on the ground, the who needs more information on the severity, hospital admissions, and requirements for icu support. amy: on wednesday, china reported no new deaths from covid-19. the claim came after a top chinese health official said china would change the

definition of covid deathso include only those caused directly by pneumonia and respiratory failure. many disease models predict a surge of covid cases could kill up to one million people across china over the next few months. here in the ited states, life expectancy has dropped to its lowest level in a quarter century, brought down by the coronavirus pandemic and a surge of drug overdoses. new data from the centers for disease control show a baby born in 2021 can, on average, expect to live 76.4 years. that's nearly two-and-a-half years of lost life expectancy since the start of the pandemic. last year, a record 106,000 u.s. residents died from a drug overdose, while covid-19 remained the third-leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. up to 20 rohingya refugees, including children, may have died on a boat carrying at least 160 people that's now stranded near india's andaman islands. it's believed the boat was headed to malaysia from bangladesh and has been adrift since late november.

aid groups warn survivors face imminent risk from starvation, thirst, and sickness. this comes as the u.n. security council adopted its first resolution on burma in three-quarters-of-a-century on wednesday to call for an end to violence and the release of all political prisoners, including aung san suu kyi, who was ousted and detained by the military junta in february 2021. since the coup, the military has waged a brutal crackdown on protests and dissent. india, china, and russia abstained from the security council vote. in israel, benjamin netanyahu announced he has formed a new coalition government, minutes ahead of the deadline and after weeks of negotiations. it's the most far-right government in israeli history. netanyahu and his likud party will rule alongside leaders from the ultra-nationalist religious zionism party and jewish power party, confirming fears the rights of palestinians in the occupied territories and arabs living in israel will be further eroded. russian president putin called

netanyahu earlier today to congratulate him. netanyahu told he hopes a way will be found as soon as possible to end the war with ukraine. the biden administration has enacted another round of sanctions against iranian officials targeting individuals and groups involved in the crackdown on anti-government protests. iran has executed at least two people in connection with the uprising sparked by the september death of 22-year-old mahsa amini in police custody. meanwhile, a recently surfaced video shows president biden telling someone in a crowd the iran nuclear deal was dead. his comment has further dashed hopes providing reviving the -- reviving the landmark agreement, which biden pledged to do when he was running for the presidency. earlier this week, a top european foreign policy official said the eu is still working with iran to restore the 2015 deal, which collapsed after the u.s. unilaterally withdrew from it under trump in 2018.

the pentagon failed to meet a deadline set by a group of house lawmakers to explain the role of the u.s. military in a 2017 nigerian airstrike on a displaced persons camp that killed more than 160 civilians, many of them children. earlier this year, the intercept reported the pentagon provided nigeria with intelligence ahead of the airstrike in the northeastern borno state, which was supposed to target boko haram fighters. human rights watch nigeria condemned the pentagon for its lack of transparency and accountability. fiji's government has called in the military to "help maintain law and order" following a deepening political crisis following last week's contested election. long-standing prime minister frank bainimarama has refused to concede, delaying the swearing in of returning prime minister sitiveni rabuka who on tuesday reached a deal with other opposition parties on forming a new coalition government. bainimarama originally came to power in a 2006 coup, while

rabuka seized power in fiji's first coup in 1987. rabuka is expected to pursue tighter ties with u.s. allies australia and new zealand, while the current leader maintained a close relationship with china. the moroccan prime minister is suing josé bové, a former member of the european parliament, for defamation after bové accused him of attempting to bribe him into supporting a free trade agreement between morocco and the european union. bové, a french farmer, labor activist, and politician, made the revelations on live radio last week. >> the minister of agriculture cannot -- you propose to send a give to me. that we should meet between christmas and new year's day.

>> the money he is offering? cooked what else to think it was? it was not a teapot. amy: bové has opposed trade deals with morocco that include products from western sahara, which morocco has occupied since 1975. this comes amid a growing corruption scandal in the european parliament, where muiple lawmakers are acced ofcceptingribes fromhe governments of morocco and qatar. go to democracynow.org to see our coverage of that story. sam bankman-fried, the disgraced founder of fallen crypto exchange ftx, is in u.s. custody after agreeing to be extradited from the bahamas. bankman-fried faces federal fraud charges after his company collapsed last month, losing billions of dollars. in more bad news for the erstwhile crypto mogul, two former top executives have pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to cooperate in the government's criminal case against bankman-fried. and in virginia, a life-size

bronze statue of henrietta lacks, the black mother whose cells were taken without her consent in 1951 and used in medical research and treatments, will be placed in a plaza next year in her hometown of roanoke. the plaza was previously named after the confederate general robert e. lee. henrietta lacks' cells, known as "hela" cells, led to groundbreaking treatments for hiv/aids, cancer, and other illnesses. this is ron lacks, the grandson of henrietta lacks. he is speaking at a news conference to unveil the statue's design. >> this historical moment, and long time coming. i want to thank the vice mayor and the foundation. [applause] because they were the first ones ever to reach out to the lacks family before starting this project. and this means a lot to my

family. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. coming up, the ukrainian president zelenskyy addresses a rare session of congress as over 1000 faith leaders in the united states call for a christmas in ukraine. we will speak to three of them. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy addressed a rare joint session of congress where he called on the biden administration and lawmakers to provide more military and financial aid ukraine in its fight against russia. his visit to washington came 300 days after russia's invasion on

february 24. it was zelenskyy's first overseas trip since the war began. on wednesday afternoon, president biden met with zelenskyy at the white house and announcing more aid for ukraine including a patriot missile defense system. pres. biden: today i am announcing the next tranche of our security assistance to ukraine. $1.85 billion package of security assistance that includes both direct transfers of equipment that ukraine needs as well as contracts to supply ammunition to ukraine will need in the months ahead for its artillery, tanks, and its rocket launchers. critically in addition to the new capabilities like precision aerial missions, the fact that package will include a patriot missile which will train ukrainian forces to operate as part of the ongoing to help bolster ukraine's air defense.

amy: during his speech later in the day, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy said aid ukraine should be viewed as investment not charity. >> it is a great honor for me to be at the u.s. congress and speak to you and all americans. against all odds and doom and gloom, ukraine did not fall. ukraine is alive and kicking. ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender. [applause]

so here the front line, the tyranny which has no lack of cruelty against the lives of free people -- and your support is crucial, not just to stand in such fight but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield. we have artillery, yes. thank you. we have it. is it enough? honestly, not really. [laughter] financial assistance is also critically important and i would like to thank you very much. thank you, thank you very much, thank you for both financial packages you have already provided us with and the ones you may be willing to decide on. your money is not charity.

it's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way. [applause] amy: that was ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy addressing a jnt session of congress. he came to the united states yeerday and left after a number of hours after that address. in moscow, vladimir putin made a ra admission a major problems facing the russian military but vowed to continue fighting in ukraine and promised to give the russian military everything is asking for. meanwhile, the kremlin spokesperson dmity peskov criticized zelenskyy's visit to washington and the biden administration's decision to send more arms to ukraine. >> the supply of weapons continues in the range of supplies expanding, all of this of course leads to never evasion

of the conflict. this does not bode well for ukraine. amy: ahead of zelenskyy's trip to washington, over 1000 faith leaders in the united states called for a christmas truce in ukraine. the signatories included reverend jesse jackson, bishop william barber, and members of the russian orthodox church. the letter was initiated by the fellowship of reconciliation, codepink, and the national council of elders. the groups also released this short video featuring some of the signatories. >> as people of faith and conscience, bleeding in the sanctity of all life on this planet, we call for a christmas truce. for a christmas truce in ukraine. >> during the first world war, we urge our government to take a leadership role and cl for cease fire and negotiated

settlement. we pray they do this before more people are killed and wounded and millions more are displaced from their homes. before the growing crisis and global hunger and poverty worsens and before the conflict results in a nuclear war that could devastate the rld's ecosystem an annihilate all of god'sreation. amy: we are joined now by three guests involved in this call by over 1000 faith leaders for a christmas truce in ukraine. the reverend graylan scott hagler is the senior advisor to the fellowship of social reconciliation. cornel west is a philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist, and professor of philosophy and the author of numerous books, including "race matters" and "black prophetic fire."

medea benjamin, co-founder of codepink, which helped initiate the christmas truce in ukraine letter. she is co-author of the new book "war in ukraine: making sense of a senseless conflict." let's begin with you in florida. talk about the reasoning behind this call and how about president biden and president zelenskyy in this rare moment, zelenskyy's first overseas trip since russia invaded, how they dealt with the issue of negotiation most of you are calling for a truce. talk about the distinction. >> we feel this war is not going to be won on the battlefield. this is something the chair of the joint chiefs of staff mark milley said. we see the head of nato who has been so hawkish on this was ask his greatest fear and he said, spinning out of control. if it goes wrong, it could go horribly wrong.

no longer marching toward a nuclear armageddon with their eyes closed, it is with our eyes open. it will not be a military victory. there must be a negotiation. and we don't want the moral center questioning this war to be coming from people like marjorie taylor greene, lauren boebert, donald trump, or tucke carlsen, who are the people now questioning this war. we wanted to come from the moral center of this country. that means the faith-based community who understands that we have to protect all of god's creation and that our moral obligation is to stop the killing, stop the fighting, stop the war. that is why we have called for this christmas truce. amy: professor cornel west, you are a doctor, professor of philosophy and christian practice at christian practice

at union theological seminary. talk about why you signed on to this letter and what the u.s. should be doing that it is not doing right now. clearly, far and above the major supporter of ukraine financially, militarily, when it comes to dealing with russia's invasion. >> i'm sorry, i did not hear your full question. but that's all right. i think it had something to do with the ways in which i would hope we accent how both the american empire that set the context for the situation with the expansion of nato and pushing the gangster putin with his russian empire against the wall and the wrong, illegal, and immoral invasion, occupation of our precious ukrainian brothers and sisters. but we have to be willing to have a moral witness that keeps track of the organized greed of

the hatred of the manipulated fear and chronic hypocrisy of the russian empire and the american empire that is, of course, has 800 military troops -- units around the world and does not want to be honest about its own role. you know if there were missiles in canada or mexico or venezuela or cuba, u.s. military would blow them to smithereens. we have no moral authority when it comes to dealing with the gangster activity of putin. we have an american gangster activity and and military-industrial complex tied to the white house. amy: reverend graylan scott hagler, if you could talk about what this truce would mean as a minister in washington, d.c., and senior advisor to the fellowship of conciliation.

it seems in the united states, this is unlike even the media in france, for example, and germany, that negotiation is viewed as capitulation. in other places, it is viewed as how to save the planet. but talk about what it would look like here and what your response was to yesterday's joint session of congress, to the plea that president zelenskyy made with his people under fire across ukraine, what it means for president biden to agree to send this patriot missile system -- clearly, zelenskyy, to laughter, said he will be asking for more. >> what i want to start off with his send a fellowship of reconciliation is the oldest piece of justice organization and continues to try to lift up an alternative vision of what we

need -- how we need to respond as a people. one thing we know is that wars create carnage and the atmosphere where basically the manufactures of weaponry and those who struggle to try to enlarge empire grow rich while people who are caught up in the conflict grow poor. carnage visits them. there is basic destruction. we believe there is an alternative way. that alternative way comes out of discussion. really when we talk about discretion of the truce, you're talking about the battle for the soul. the soul can commune with another soul and produce a more just world, world that is not built upon conflict and aggression. what we're looking at is the 1914 on christmas eve in world war i. people came out of the trenches, celebrated for a moment.

we are saying that history is speaking to us right now and calling upon us right now create an atmosphere where we can begin the road toward peace and reconciliation because the issue is weapons are not going to take us there. combatants are not going to take us there. it is only one we sit down and say, enough is enough and we need to reason from the heart and spirit of justice. amy: i wanted to turn to the comments that angela merkel made earlier this month. yes, the former german chancellor, making headlines about the minsk agreement in 2014 to end fighting in eastern ukraine. she said "the 2014 minsk agreement was an attempt to give ukraine time. it also used this time to become

stronger, as you can see today. russian president vladimir putin later cited her comments. >> everything that is beg said now only shows we did everything right concerning the special military operations why? because it turns out no one wants to fulfill the minsk agreement. the meeting was only to pump ukraine with weapons and prepare for battle action. we see, parent, we focused much too late, honestly. so it affects the question, how can we make deals and can we make deals and where are the guarantees? that is the question. anyway, in the end, we have to make agreements. i said many times we are ready for the agreements. we are open. amy: medea benjamin, if you can comment on this? and then talk about the course of this war, particularly, front page "the new york times" putin

admits battle failures but fights on. it was a rare admission yesterday but saying he is committed to the long-haul. and president zelenskyy singh the same thing. >> i think it is important to understand angela merkel in her interview also said why would putin ever trust the west and peace negotiations? basically using those peace negotiations not to stop the and flow of weapons into ukraine, but to start pouring them in even more. and so there is no trust on any side at this point, but there is a need for negotiations. both sides have staked out their positions. zelenskyy now send they want every inch of donbas and all of crimea back. the russians saying they now control and owned the four regions of ukraine that they

can't even control on the battlefield. but these are positions for negotiation. but the call for negotiations has to come from biden. it is not happening. we see after he met with macron, the head of france, macron said there are security interests of russia that have to be taken into account. so that all has to be dealt with at the peace table. what we're saying with this christmas truce call is let's be realistic with the american people. we keep pouring more money, now another $45 billion that will be approved by the end but this week, over $100 billion without the going by that could have been used for so many essential needs here in this country. and instead, it is poured into a war that is not winnable on the battlefield. we need to be honest about this. that is why we have this call for a christmas truce.

that is why reverend barber will be giving a christmas ev sermon on the moral imperative of a truce. that is why we are having a week of protests darting january 13, february 19 the libertarian party and the people's party calling for a protest in washington, d.c. march 8, an international call of women to say stop this war and end all wars. that is what we need to do. amy: i want to turn to two clips of president biden. this was the joint news conference that he held with the ukraini president volodymyr zelenskyy yesterday afternoon at the white house. pres. biden: you have made it clear that he is open to pursuing -- limit put it this way, he is not open,or your open to pursuing peace.

you are open to pursuing a just peace. we also know putin has no intention of stopping this cruel war. the united states is committed to ensuring the ukraini people can continue to defend their country against russian aggression as long as it takes. amy: biden went on that he would let zelenskyy set the timetable for any negotiated settlement with russia. pres. biden: can succeed in the battlefield with our help and the help of our european allies and others. if and when president zelenskyy is ready to talk to the russians, he will be able to succeed as well because he will have won on the battlefield. amy: cornel west, if you can respond to the awkward moment at the beginning where he sounded like he was send the russian president was willing to negotiate and then going on to say this is completely up to zelenskyy." are you having trouble hearing

us? i think he is having trouble. let's go on to reverend hagler in answering that question. >> i think the issue is he would hope that joe biden would plead his peace efforts and not the war efforts. that is what we have called out in terms of this letter. it is calling on the leadership to lead toward peace, toward negotiations, toward a dialogue. finding a way out of this. clearly, what takes place on the battlefield will not bring solution, it will just bring further complication and loss of life. so we are asking biden lead in terms of peace and the ears of the world. amy: you're there in washington, d.c. you have this unusual moment

weeks ago when pramila jayapal, the chair of the congressional progressive caucus, the caucus put out a letter from a number of progressive politicians calling for a negotiated settlement that awkwardly -- denmark wrigley retracted it. -- then awkwardly retracted it. why isn't the discussion immediate and congress, that range of discussion? instead, it is the far right republicans are raising questions about giving so much support to ukraine but antiwar progressives are not speaking out as much in congress? >> there's this ideological wall that seems to have developed. it is those who continue to cheer on zelenskyy and ukraine. on the other hand, you have the

republicans, particularly the ultra right wing republicans, that are basically operating as agents for putin. so people have chosen sides, unfortunately. the sides they have chosen are not the side of peace, but the side of continued warfare and continued aggression. and when we sit and look at the money that is wasted on armaments that could be spent at home and could be spent on other kinds of endeavors that build up the world and build up the kind of human dignity and worth that we really expect -- when we look at this truce come this letter calling for a truce, it was very interesting how quickly religious leaders signed on to it because religious leaders understood that there is another way that we need to go. another thing we need to be cheering about. and that is that we need to be

cheering about coming to a place where we can sit down and solve issues, not on the battlefield, but across the table from one another. that is what we're calling for. that 1914 moment of truth is a history lesson that is speaking to us in the current moment. amy: medea benjamin, in a recent book on ukraine, wrote, "after johnson and u.s. austin deliver their message to zelenskyy in april to keep fighting for the long run, the u.s. congress passed an enormous $40 billion aid package to help ukraine militarily and economically to fight a long war. not a single democrat opposed the bill, including senator bernie sanders, and most progressive house democrats call low 11 republican senators and 57 house republicans voted against it." there's the discussion this moment that president biden and

president zelenskyy have seized for zelenskyy, joint session address is right before the house changes hands to republicans because a number of republicans, not clear if the house speaker will be mccarthy, are demanding this money and weapons flow stop. how do you feel as a progressive antiwar activist? two things, being allied with far right republicans and secondly, being called by some a russian apologist? >> i feel that if i were in russia, i would be in jail for protesting this war. i also feel terrible that my congresspeople and the progressive caucus were silenced . i think the 30 who signed on that letter in their heart of

hearts probably believe negotiations is the only way. and we have to pressure them more to come out and say that their original stance was right, just as congressman ro khanna stood by that stance on national television and cnn and got tremendous support for it. -putting pressure on those 30 congresspeople to come back out and say, yes negotiations is the right thing, yes a christmas truce would be a wonderful thing. it is our b to put the pressure on our members of congress, whether they are republican or democrat, to come out with the only rational position right now. the u.s., enforcement, and the biden administration, has been against negotiations. next the negotiations that were going on in late march or early april and told ukrainians basically, don't have to negotiate because we will keep pouring more weapons in. this is only helping the

weapons companies were the sponsors at the reception at the ukrainian embassy in washington, d.c., on december 8, brought to you northrup grumman, and raytheon. they're the ones getting rich in this. ukrainians are suffering in the whole world is suffering and we have to get congress -- all of congress to recognize this is not in the best interest of the american people or of the entire world. amy: i want to put that same question to cornel west. where you find yourself on the spectrum and those who say a negotiated settlement now only serves vladimir putin and zelenskyy's push right now is to not only hold ground but with the patriot missile system, go on the offensive. he says it is the only way to win this war. >> i think sister medea's point

that you've got 14,000 courageous russian brothers and sisters who are willing to go to jail for seven years in order to have some accountability as the gangster who runs their empire russia, we need to have an equivalent antiwar movement in the american empire that is willing to put pressure on our political elites. most of our political elites in a congress suffer from a moral and spiritual bankruptcy because they cannot say a bumbling word when it comes to what is really happening on the ground in iran right now. they cannot say a bumbling word about the palestinian struggles, what is been going on for the last 50 years. but all of a sudden, they're willing to breakdance and act as if they are concerned about domination when it comes to ukraine. we want to be consistent. we want to support any people who are dominated whether they

are in india, brazil, black and working people in america, whether they are workers and university of california system. not a bumbling word from even the mayor. that is what dorothy day was calling for. that is our legacy. what that means is, we are going to cut against all the grain in the name of truth and we also hope of justice and even some beauty. amy: i want to ask about the split on the left, professor west. some on the left have emphasize the history of the u.s. hostility to russia in the region, including pushing nato expansion. yeah people at the cia director earns in the past was fiercely critical of the u.s. pushing to expand nato and many people say

the u.s. now has no right to criticize russia, which according to the logic, is defending its influence. however, others on the left have insisted imperialism must be opposed in all its ugly forms, whether it is u.s. imperialism or russian imperialism against the deeply suffering ukrainian people. where do you stand on this? >> i stand on the highest moral ground i can gain access to, which is in opposition to imperialism be it china, be it india, the it america, be it britain, be it rents, be at russia -- across-the-board, our anti-imperialism must be consistent. i was thinking of my dear sister shirley mitchell who had such great respect for. we did not always agree, but she was a long-distance runner and she attempted to be consistent in her critique of predatory forms of capitalism. i resonate with that. but we need or medea benjamins

and we need more amy goodmans in the world, let me tell you that. amy: but if you can talk more about what should happen in ukraine right now? you also have been extremely critical of russia's invasion of ukraine. you have millions of ukrainians fleeing right now. some say president putin wants this to happen because it will turn europe against ukraine because they can't deal with the flow of refugees. >> we need to have a truce. that is the first step. this is the process. state-by-state, moment by moment. have a truce and then put pressure on both ruling classes. across-the-board. put pressure on the power elites in both empires are across-the-board. and then have a moral and spiritual and political galvanizing of the people from below.

because if it is dependent solely on the voices of the power elites, it is not going to happen. amy: how does a truce lead to a cease-fire, cornel west? >> well, one, it allows us to view the world through the lens of peace rather than war. it allows us to assume there can be not just major interruptions and in the process of war, but maybe those interruptions can become more chronic. as they become more chronic, we have peaceful ways of dealing with the various forms of debt and dogma and domination throughout the history of the species and all we have is actually the you taken -- utopian project of trying to create some spaces in which people are not at each other's throats. that is what truces do. they provide not just moments, but different lens through which

we view the world. i think that is why brother hagler was saying such eloquence and what medea benjamin was talking about all her life. at least her political life. i don't think she came out of the womb talking that way. [laughter] amy: if you can address that splits, medea benjamin, something you have also been dealing with, progressives talking about supporting ukraine at all costs because of the imperialistic invasion by russia of ukraine, and then seeing this war not only as it is but possibly escalating to a global conflagration or even if it doesn't lead to nuclear war? >> i have been going around the country with my colleague nicholas davis on a 50-city tour and we find audiences come in with very different views. i asked them, how many of you are confused about this? just about everybody raised

their hand. we have good discussion stop people leave with a much deeper understanding that this war did not just fall from the sky, that there are context to understand and there is not a military victory. and they go out excited to do something about it. we have entire states that are mobilizing statewide coalition to put the pressure on their elected officials. i think this is what happens to us when wars start. in the beginning of the iraq or, we were told we were saddam hussein supporters. people will come around to our side as this war drags on and more more people get killed and we become closer and closer to this nucar armageddon that president biden mentioned. i feel confident that we're are on the right side of history. i hope more people will come over to our side more quickly, joined us in the pe

aceinukraine.org coalition. amy: medea benjamin of codepink, co-author of the new book "war in ukraine: making sense of a senseless conflict." reverend graylan hagler, senior advisor to the fellowship of social reconciliation. and professor cornel west speaking to us from irvine, california. coming up, we look at the latest documents released by the house january 6 committee, now expected to release its full report on the capitol' is insurrection today. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "small bones of courage" by aldous harding. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the house select committee to investigate the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol is expected to release its final report today. three days after the committee unanimously voted to refer president trump to the justice department for criminal prosecution for attempting to

overturn the 2020 election. the first time anything like this has ever happened in u.s. history. on wednesday, the committee released transcripts from more than interviews conducted with people who aided trump's efforts including conservative attorney john eastman and former national security advisor michael flynn. many of trump's allies repeatedly and vote their fifth amendment protections against self-incrimination stuff to talk more about the house judiciary january 6 committee, we're joined by two guests. still with us, cornel west and christina greer, associate professor of political science at fordham university, host of the podcast "faq nyc," host of "the blackest questions" podcast on the grio, and the author of "black ethnics: race, immigration, and the pursuit of the american dream." can you respond, professor, to what we know so far? >> oh, amy. what we do know is the first

time in u.s. history we had a president that is so corrupt that surrounded himself with people who aided and abetted the corruption were also corrupt and we now have to try pick up the pieces of what is democratic republic and what decracy looks like going forward. ju because it is unprecedented does not mean we can't have prosecution. i think because we have never seen something on this scale, many americans think richard nixon was impeached. he resigned. this is not a comparable scario. this is someone while he was sitting president, not only tried to overturn the results of a free and fair election something we have never seen before, but also tried to enlist some of his allies at the highest levels of government to assist him in those efforts. what we still need to uncover is the number of republican members of congress who were willing to go along with it an assistant in the efforts of overturning a free and fair election. we are at a precipice as to whether or not we can continue

as a nation since oh many people don't believe that donald trump did anything wrong, so many people wanted him to violently overturn the government, and we have members of congress still in office today who refuse to recognize the severity of january 6 and how dangerous it has been and continues to be to the future of our democracy. amy: cornel west, we asked you to stay on for a number of reasons but among them, you were at the unite the right rally years before in charlottesville, virginia. you were there when the white supremacist marched, ultimately the rally and riot that led to the death of an antiracist protester heather heyer. can you talk about what started then under president trump and ended here with the january 6

insurrection and what we know so far and what you feel should happen? >> i think what we have presently is the head spokesman of a vicious neofascist movement that has been caught. he has been a gangster for a long time and should have been persecuted a long time ago. but it has now a life of its own, very different than nixon in the past because he has millions of people behind him who lived in his world of lies and allusion. that is why get a lot of talk about, if he goes to jail, you're going have a civil war. if he goes to jail, there will be violent strikes across the nation. there might be some truth to that precisely because then neofascist movement is in place, has a dynamic of its own. at this point, it does not even need trump anymore.

we are in a very different situion. this is why we have the threat to democracy that is very, very real. i want to defend whatever democratic practices we have, even though they are so corrupted by big money and big military and imperial policy around the world. but we are in one of the most grand moments in the history of the american experiment, the american empire. this is not just unprecedented because the fact a president is now in some sense called -- what would be the right word? could possibly be on the way to jail depending on how to courageous the department of justice is and how courageous the bureaucrats they are are willing to courageously pursue this. but it is a very, very unique moment. what i saw in charlottesville was a particular galvanizing of those neofascists. there are slices of the

movement. all who follow trump are not neofascists but they're motivated by one fundamental fact. they have a profound hatred of the professional managerial class that they see as the winners of corporate globalization and the associate that with black people, with jews, with gay brothers, lesbian sisters, trans, and used to be catholics but i ran into david duke down there and he is now head of one of the klan groups. that a catholic now running the klan. we are going to see more of that as well. you will see more jewish folks and black folks supporting the neofascists. amy: i wanted to ask about a really odd twist that has come up and i wanted as professor greer about the new republican newly elected congress who appears to have fabricated key parts of his education and employment history. that's according to an investigation by "the new york

times," that congressmember-elect george santos lied when he told voters he'd worked for citigroup and goldman sachs. the irs says an animal rescue group that he claims to have led called friends of pets united did not file any records indicating it had tax-exempt status or that it existed. "the times" also found santos faced criminal charges for check fraud in brazil at a time when he'd claimed to be attending classes at baruch college, which has no records for santos. among many other issues. it is particularly significant given the very close breakdown of republicans and democrats in the house. the significance of all of this coming out right now? that people don't really have any idea who this man is, but mccarthy not wanting to call them out because he is running for house speaker and he is afraid he will loose on on the right if he goes after a new congressmember. >> absolutely, amy. the lack of courage from the republican party never ceases to amaze me. but what is really dgerous

about this congressman-elect, there seems to be nothing factual about his biogphy. all the way down to lying about his jewish a catholic heritage and alleged grandparents being survivors of the holocaust. even t addssee as listed o his filing, when they call tt number, the woman who picked up had no knowledge of who this person was and that he had never even lived there. the democrats in new york do need -- amy: and hwas there onanuary 6, one of the insurrectionists. >> absolutely. the democratic party needs to do a serious introspective reshuffling as well. wean't keep paying washington, d.c., coultants run campaigns. we need grassroots instigative reporting, obviously. this is not his first time running. pretty obvious. we have technology. the democratic party needs to think about how they connect to

voters but also how the communicate a messagehen they're running against someone who obviously is such a corrupt candidate and was able to raise the alarfor republican voters d 70 membersf threpublican party, not all, the so many members are either part of the fascist agenda or willing to go along with it. that is just as dangerous. amy: we want to thank you both for being with us. we were really take a look at the report that is supposed to come out today, was supposed to cannot yesterday and not clear why it did not. professor christina greer and professor cornel west, thank you so much for joining us. that does it for today show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

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