DOJ: Garland Here for the Right Reasons?

Talking Feds returns to its roots, with the latest look at the goings-on and inner workings of the Department of Justice by 4 of the professionals that know it best. After a few months in which he repeatedly disappointed progressives, who wanted him to attack the abuses of the Trump DOJ head-on, AG Merrick Garland of late has made several decisions that seem to tack in the other direction. Was it just a matter of timing, or is Garland adjusting his approach as he finds full footing in the job?

Host Harry Litman talks with Amy Jeffress, Katie Benner and Matthew Miller

I See Your Trillion and Raise You Climate Change

“As California Goes, So Goes the Country,” could be the capsule description for this episode, which brings together 3 of California’s most prominent public officials, Sen. Alex Padilla, Congresswoman Karen Bass, and director of the State Office of Business Development (and former White House Press Secretary) Dee Dee Meyers. The 3 join Harry—the 4th Californian-- to discuss the most pressing national topics–covid, infrastructure, voting rights, and more–through the prism of the Golden State.

Bear Trap in the Bedroom: Select Committee, Infrastructure and Buried Tips

It was a week of frantic activity in Congress on several fronts but what if anything will come of it remained unclear. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Norm Ornstein, & Jane Mayer–-3 exceptionally sophisticated experts on the ways of Washington-–join Harry to break it all down. They explore the legislative gyrations over the January 6 Committee, infrastructure bills, and the allegation that the FBI’s 2018 investigation of Justice Kavanaugh was a sham. Adam Scott supplies a sidebar on the filibuster.

Foreign Affairs: Putin on the Blitz

Six months into the Biden Administration, the feds take a deep dive into the state of play in foreign affairs and international relations. A fantastic set of guests – Dr. Richard Haass (the long-time President of the Council of Foreign Relations), Fiona Hill, and Laura King join Harry to focus first on Putin’s dangerous strategies for staying relevant. We then move to the new crises in Cuba and Haiti before discussing the risks and benefits of the Administration’s world Covid vaccine initiative.

S/Elect: Rights and Riots

Natasha Bertrand, Bill Kristol, and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren join Harry to analyze a series of topics that expose, and are driven by, the country’s deep partisan divide. The Feds discuss the substantive and political goals of both parties for the investigation of January 6 by a select House committee, on which Congresswoman Lofgren will serve; the state of play in the battle over the wave of new laws to sharply restrict voting rights; and the prospects for a serious reining in of big tech.

The Supreme Court: Baby, Baby, Where Did Our Left Go?

It’s our annual Supreme Court review and retrospective, in the wake of a very significant Supreme Court Term, the first with the conservative super-majority including the three Trump appointees. Amy Howe, Melissa Murray, and Steve Vladeck join Harry to wrestle with the main cases on their own terms but also for what they portend about where the new Court is now and where it’s going. Is a more moderate 9 in the process of formation, or is this an unapologetic hard-charging hard-right Court? 

Deal or No Deal

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In a week providing living proof of the adage that politics is the art of the possible, President Biden maneuvered his way to partial progress in several key areas, including Infrastructure, Gun Violence, and Voting Rights, where the DOJ sued Georgia to enjoin that state’s new voting law. Talking Feds stalwarts Matt Miller and Juliette Kayyem, and first-time Fed Betsy Woodruff Swan, join Harry to analyze these issues and also explore the uncertain state of play going forward with Covid.

We Wish to Welcome You to Manchinland

In a week with heavy action at every branch of government and on the international stage, Congressman Ted Lieu, David Frum, & Jen Rodgers join Harry to break it all down. At the G7, Biden reassured allies by not being Donald Trump, but his longer-range prospects for foreign policy success were less clear. The country learned of a brazen campaign by the Trump WH to get DOJ to run to court to support the big lie. And prospects for voting rights legislation went from null to at least faint. (Read the transcript here)

Leak House

In a week ending with a classic DC scandal embroiling the press, Congress, the DOJ, and the WH, three old DC hands — George Conway, Joe Lockhart, and Asha Rangappa — join Harry to take apart the roles of all the players. The group considers how we can still unearth the facts of this and other Trump scandals. It considers whether Merrick Garland can stick to his neutral institutional approach. Finally, it analyzes the prospects for any voting rights reform following Joe Manchin’s abandoning ship.

Oh, DeJoy! Gaetz of Hell!

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, Jon Alter, and Matt Miller join Harry in a week when the continuing influence of former President Trump was on regular display. Trump’s former Counsel, Don McGahn, finally testified before Congress; but he was limited to facts already in the public record. Core Trumpians Matt Gaetz and Louis DeJoy were looking down the barrel at serious criminal charges. And state actors in Texas and elsewhere looked to implement Trump’s cynical strategy of voter suppression.