It was the week when the Democrats formally selected their standard bearers in the 1st-ever virtual convention, and feds Laura Jarrett, Frank Figliuzzi, & Matt Miller assess the Convention and the Dems’ message. They next take up the Intel Committee’s devastating Report detailing repeated connections between the Trump Campaign and the Russian Government. And they examine the indictment of Kevin Clinesmith and what if anything it portends and do the same for the SDNY indictment of Steve Bannon. Read the full transcript here.
The Sisters in Law Special Edition: Nasty Women Vote
In part one of this special Sisters-in-Law edition of Talking Feds commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote, Jill Wine-Banks, Joyce Vance, and Barbara McQuade speak with civil rights attorney Vanita Gupta and lawyer and Stanford Law School professor Pam Karlan about protecting voters rights. Read the full transcript here.
Kamala: Game On!
In a week dominated by Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s selection of California Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate, Jonathan Alter, Joe Lockhart, Asha Rangappa, and Harry discuss the behind-the-scenes selection of Harris and then proceed to evaluate the choice. Turning to the Republican response, the Feds discuss the loathsome charge, countenanced by Trump, that Harris is ineligible to serve. Finally, the four explain why the attack on the USPS is so grave and what can be done about it. Read the full transcript here.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES: PARIS, TEXAS AND PARIS, FRANCE
Charter Feds and DOJ alumni Amy Jeffress, Ron Klain, and Matt Miller join Harry to analyze the US’s abysmal record controlling the virus. They then discuss the bad news the President got from both the Vance and McGahn cases, and move to the testimony of Sally Yates in the Senate, where she got a full dose of Republican fantasies about Michael Flynn. Finally, all 4 Feds contemplate what a prospective Biden Administration can do to restore the institutional stature and stability of the DOJ. Read the full transcript here.
PERSON WOMAN MAN ECONOMY VIRUS
Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson, journalist EJ Dionne, and Congressman Jamie Raskin join Harry to assess and analyze a week of wretched news. Continuing high numbers on the virus combined with the worst quarterly economic report on record for a deadly 1-2 punch, and the Administration seemed to have no plan for either. Trump floated the prospect of postponing the election, but was roundly rebuffed by his own party. And Bill Barr’s House testimony showed that he is all-in for Trump. Read the full transcript here.
A MAN A VAN NO PLAN
In a week in which President Trump effectively declared war on designated American cities, a classic group of charter Feds -- Frank Figliuzzi, Paul Fishman, and Joyce Vance -- join Harry to break it all down. They explain the deploy of federal agents in American cities was stunning and dangerous, even if a core power is in play. They then turn to Trump’s China-baiting and then his immigration memorandum. An overall theme: Trump’s efforts to elude the force of law and political accountability. Read the full transcript here.
TOXIC MASK-ULINITY
Congressman Joaquin Castro, Zerlina Maxwell, and Max Boot join Harry to break down a week in which the virus roared back to all-time highs in many states. Red-blue politics, and the suppression of science, continued to complicate efforts to get on top of the virus. School reopenings in particular, which the CDC says are the biggest risk for the virus’s strong return, were completely uncertain. Meanwhile, prospects for comprehensive police reform have waned in the wake of Republican opposition. Read the full transcript here.
Pardon Our Obstruction!
It was already a big week with the Supreme Court’s final decisions and the House hearing with ousted SDNY US Attorney Geoffrey Berman; but Trump’s Friday-night commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence made it enormous. This episode begins with a 1-on-1 with Harry and Congressman Adam Schiff about the Stone scandal, then moves into a larger discussion with the Congressman, Jen Rubin, and Barb McQuade about the Trump cases – were they great or a mixed bag? –the politics of a Stone commutation, and Berman. Read the full transcript here.
5-4 Roberts Plays the Long Game
The Supreme Court issued two momentous opinions last week – but the press coverage only appreciated one of them. A phenomenal panel – Dahlia Lithwick, Ron Klain, and Larry Tribe – joins Harry to break down the Court’s abortion decision in June Medical and its executive power decision in Seila Law. They end with practical reflections on Chief Justice Roberts’s position as the most powerful Justice in a century. And a sidebar of 10 of Tribe’s most famous students toast the master’s retirement. Read the full transcript here.
TALKING FEDS 1-ON-1: A CONVERSATION WITH STACEY ABRAMS
In our continuing series of 1-on-1 interviews with political leaders who are mentioned as possible running mates for Joe Biden, Harry spoke with Stacey Abrams, who as Democratic candidate for Georgia governor in 2018 garnered the highest number of Democratic votes in Georgia history. The discussion focuses on Abrams’s new book, Our Time is Now, which is part personal memoir, part historical survey of impediments to voting to the present day, and part manifesto for growing the franchise in 2020 and beyond. Abrams also responds to the criticism that she doesn’t have sufficient experience to permit her to step into the presidency if the need arose. Read the full transcript here.
