Four charter feds, ex-prosecutors and government officials all -- Paul Fishman, Maya Wiley, Barbara McQuade, and Harry – convene in a classic home-for-Memorial-Day Talking Feds. The 4 explore why the virus disproportionately victimizes people of color, and turn to the new wave of lawsuits challenging state authority. They then take up the DC Circuit’s aggressive move to possibly disable Judge Sullivan in the Flynn case, and end with Trump’s aggressive resumption of bogus claims of voter fraud. Read the full transcript here.
(Whistle) Blowin' in the Wind
After a week with dramatic action on multiple fronts – testimony by Fauci and Bright; Trump’s “unmasking” charge and Obamagate trope; abysmal economic news; and the specter of criminal charges against Senator Richard Burr—feds Aaron Blake, David Gura, and Asha Ragganpa join Harry to talk through the political and legal landscape but also the real-world impact, especially on more vulnerable populations, of the virus and of the Administration’s bumbling and politicized oversight efforts. Read the full transcript here.
Talking Feds 1-on-1: A Conversation with Governor Gretchen Whitmer
In our continuing series of 1-on-1 interviews with political leaders who are prominently mentioned as possible running mates for Joe Biden, Harry spoke with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer has drawn fire from Trump and extremist protesters for her relatively strict shelter-in-place order; but she continues to have strong approval ratings among Michiganders generally. We focused on virus issues but also touched on her background, other goals for Michigan, and the Biden VP possibility. Read a full transcript here.
In Like Flynn
Journalistic legend Andrea Mitchell joins Ron Klain, Anne Milgram, and Harry to discuss the jaw-dropping news of the Flynn dismissal, which the Feds unanimously agree can only be explained by corruption at DOJ. The group then takes on the uneven and dangerous pattern of easing of shelter-in-place orders in various states, and then discusses the whistleblower complaints, particularly the one by Dr. Rick Bright, that portray a White House making life-and-death decisions on the basis of cronyism.
View the full episode transcript here.
Return to the Double Agent Bar and Grill: Intelligence, National Security, and the Coronavirus
Four of the nation’s premier experts in counter-intelligence and national security—Kate Brannen, Frank Figliuzzi, Juliette Kayyem, and Sam Vinograd—reconvene without Harry at the virtual Double Agent Bar & Grill, for a no-holds-barred discussion of the most troubling and important aspects of the virus. The 4 cut to the core in a rich and freewheeling conversation about the grave dangers that the virus, and Trump’s inept handling of it, pose to the US’s security and our standing in the world.
A Few Choice Words: Abortion Returns to the Supreme Court
Abortion returns to the Supreme Court with June Medical Services v Russo, which the Court heard March 4 and could decide any day. It’s the first big abortion case since Gorsuch and Kavanaugh were appointed by Trump, who promised in the 2016 campaign to select Justices who would overturn Roe v Wade. Former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger, Leah (no relation) Litman, and Amy Howe join Harry to discuss the case and situate it in the 50-year sweep of the Court’s abortion jurisprudence since Roe.
Law in the Time of Corona: Trump’s efforts to foil law enforcement oversight
An All-Feds classic, featuring 4 former AUSA’s/MSNBC contributors: Joyce Vance, Maya Wiley, Andrew Weissmann, and Harry. The feds focus on the federal, state and local law enforcement’s responses to the virus, including the efforts to ensure (and Trump’s resistance to) effective oversight; the DOJ’s ongoing work and its political support of Trump; and the only partially successful effort to integrate law enforcement and health care, especially for vulnerable sub-populations.
Talking Feds 1-on-1: A Conversation with Val Demings
In this first ever Talking Feds 1-on-1, Harry speaks with congresswoman Val Demings from her Florida home where she’s sheltered in place. After discussing the challenges in Florida to ameliorate the effects of COVID-19, they discuss Demings‘s career in the Orlando Police Department, where she became the first ever female chief, and her recent experience as an impeachment manager. They end with discussion of her inclusion on lists of possible vice presidential candidates for Joe Biden.
COVID-19 & The November Election: A National Crisis in the Making
The National Task Force on Election Crises formed last year to try in a bipartisan effort to anticipate and stave off a series of possible catastrophes for the November 2020 election. Now they are leading the charge to put in place measures to keep the virus from swamping the election or undermining its legitimacy. Three of the most prominent members of the Task Force—Michael Chertoff, Vanita Gupta, and Jim Baker—join Harry to spell out the biggest risks and detail their recommendations.
Tequila & Quaaludes: Trump’s mismanagement of the Coronavirus
Three of the most prominent Feds – David Frum, Matt Miller, and Ashley Parker-- join Harry to dissect the domestic, political, and international consequences of the President’s erratic management of the coronavirus. Does Trump own his early bungling, or will at least his base once again give him a pass? Are his daily conferences and Biden’s isolation working strongly in his favor? And will there be long-terms consequences to the United States’s previous leadership position on the world stage?