Shows
Talking FedsInside the White House BubbleHarry talks to veteran reporter Chris Whipple to get the inside scoop on his bombshell account of the Trump White House's inner workings. The two discuss why Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was so unguarded in her interviews with Whipple. They cover Wiles's sharp criticisms of administration officials and her admissions of serious wrongdoing by the president, including misleading the public on the Epstein files. The two dig deep into the details—several as yet overlooked—from one of most important stories written about Trump.
Mentioned in this episode:
Whi...
2025-12-2434 minTalking FedsThe [REDACTED] FilesAs the Department of Justice slow-walks an over-redacted release of its files on Jeffrey Epstein, Harry convenes CNN's Aaron Blake, former Senator Heidi Heitkamp, and NOTUS White House correspondent Jasmine Wright to analyze the administration's ham-handed noncompliance. The trio also dig into Vanity Fair's explosive revelations about the White House and Trump's top aide Susie Wiles. They close by considering the administration's escalations in the Caribbean and the real motives behind them. And, late in the episode, Harry offers a reflection on Rob Reiner's passing.
Mentioned in this episode:
...
2025-12-221h 00Talking FedsMolly Mashup: "They're Not Doing 15 Dimensional Chess"In a new mashup episode, Harry and Molly Jong-Fast swap questions about the White House's latest political embarrassments and legal embroilments. Molly wants to know: when—and how—will some of Trump's inner circle face criminal charges? Harry is curious: why did this press-hating White House let their guard down so spectacularly for Vanity Fair? Together, the pair make sense of the noisy headlines and lay out the real consequences behind the week's serving of scandals.
Molly's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738849/how-to-lose-your-mother-by-molly-jong-fast/Molly's podcast: https://fastpoliticspod.com/Molly's Substack: https://mollyjongfast.substack.com/...
2025-12-1826 minTalking FedsDents in the ArmorHarry talks to Alisyn Camerota, David French, and Jonathan Lemire about whether President Donald Trump is finally losing his grip on the Republican Party. Why couldn’t Trump convince Indiana Republicans to back his gerrymander scheme for the state? Have his famed rallies have lost their political magic? And can the president overcome deepening scrutiny of his aggressive military moves in the Caribbean and far-fetched legal maneuvers in the courts?
Mentioned in this episode:
Alisyn's Substack: https://alisyncamerota.substack.com/
David's columns: https://www.ny...
2025-12-1556 minTalking FedsSenator Mark Kelly: "It's a Complete S*** Show"Why did an ad urging U.S. troops not to break the law make President Donald Trump so angry that he practically called for Senator Mark Kelly's head? The retired Navy captain can't answer that. Instead, the senator is focused on investigating the controversies that have gripped the military in the past month. Harry and the senator dig into what makes Pete Hegseth such an unfit Defense Secretary, the dangers the potentially illegal U.S. strikes in the Caribbean pose for American service members, and why the fallout looks like it might bring some genuine accountability for the administration.
2025-12-1120 minTalking FedsIndict, Strike, RepeatHarry turns to Mimi Rocah, Tara Setmayer, and Jacob Weisberg to delve into the DoJ’s latest humiliations, the furor over strikes in the Caribbean, and Trump’s racist outbursts. What will it take for Attorney General Pam Bondi to give up the case against Letitia James? Did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth oversee a criminal missile attack, in addition to risking troops with his Signal messages? And why are Trump’s immigration crackdown and hate-filled outbursts prompting so little pushback?
Mentioned in this episode:
Harry's latest column on the boat strikes: https...
2025-12-0859 minTalking FedsCan a New Kind Of Liberalism Take Hold?Harry talks with journalist Jerusalem Demsas about her case for a robust, combative liberalism capable of taking the fight to the current political power structure. Demsas has just launched a new publication—The Argument—dedicated to renewing and improving the kind of politics that helped fostered many of the country's best achievements. Harry asks Demsas about the shape of that revived liberalism, how she plans to persuade MAGA and other skeptics, and why she feels so optimistic in such a difficult time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2025-12-0430 minTalking FedsHalligan, Bondi, and Other TurkeysFor his latest periodic deep dive on the Department of Justice, Harry talks to DOJ veterans Paul Fishman and Amy Jeffress as well as reporter Anna Bower to assess an institution that looks to be coming apart at the seams. The panel digs into the political and legal flashpoints facing the Department, including its response to the embarrassing dismissals of the prosecutions against James Comey and Letitia James, the revival of possible contempt sanctions against the department, and the prospect that Pam Bondi may act as Trump’s firewall for the Epstein files.
Mentioned in...
2025-11-2751 minTalking FedsInside the DOJ’s Unravelling under TrumpJournalist and Talking Feds regular Emily Bazelon joins Harry to share her reporting on the stories of the rank-and-file Department of Justice staff who’ve weathered Trump’s takeover. Emily spoke with 60 different attorneys who served in the department, and she tells Harry their stories of a department in ruin. What have the key moments looked like from the inside? How have career attorneys handled the wrenching choice of whether to stay on, or quit and risk replacement by a Trump loyalist? And how hard will it be for any new future to pick up the pieces?
2025-11-2037 minTalking FedsThe Phrase that Could End Trump's National Guard Power GrabHarry talks to Marty Lederman, the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General who authored an amicus brief with a legal discovery that has shaken the Administration's attempt to deploy the National Guard to Chicago and other Democrat-led cities. Marty and Harry explain the critical oversight in the administration's reasoning, and they think through what a bruising legal defeat would mean for the effort to put boots on the ground in American cities. It's a possible game changer in a case Harry has called a "moment of truth for the High Court."
Mentioned in this episode:
2025-11-1345 minTalking FedsA Legendary Congressman's Advice for Today's DemocratsWe are living through what feels like unprecedentedly dark days, which can cause us to lose sight of context, history, and all the hard moments that the nation has faced before. This week, Harry turns to legendary Congressman Barney Frank for his perspective of the Trump era through a more long-term lens. Rep. Frank, who won landmark achievements on issues from banking reform to civil rights, speaks to Harry about what Democrats need to do now, his forthcoming book, and whether Donald Trump's outrages have any parallel in American history.
The two spoke by phone, so this...
2025-10-3045 minTalking FedsIs No Kings a Turning Point? (Plus a baseball bonus on Ohtani!)Harry speaks with Congressman Eric Swalwell about the surge of popular resistance to Trump shown in the “No Kings” rallies and what it means for the president’s attempts to remake the country in his image. They tackle Democrats’ progress in the shutdown fight, some hopeful signs from the courts, and Trump’s latest efforts to weaponize the DOJ. Plus, Rep. Swalwell pitches Harry on a new, creative legal strategy Democratic AGs could use to hold federal officials and agents to account.
And this episode has got a special baseball bonus: after his conversation with Swalw...
2025-10-2352 minTalking FedsGetting Free Speech Right on College CampusesChristopher Eisgruber, the long-time president of Princeton University, joins Harry to talk about his new book, Terms of Respect. Eisgruber argues that robust free speech is alive and well on college campuses, and that instances of actual defeat of free speech are far more rare than critics charge. The key to navigating internal strife and external pressure—Eisgruber tells Harry—lies not in an abstract appeal to free speech or equality principles but rather in civil norms of respect that seek to further a model of deliberative community.
Mentioned in this episode:
Eisg...
2025-10-1648 minTalking FedsCeasefire and CrossfireThree top-notch journalists—Emily Bazelon, Susan Glasser, and Kristen Holmes—join Harry to analyze the stunning news of a ceasefire in Gaza, the indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Trump’s latest attempts to put troops on city streets. Will Trump have the attention span to ensure his deal endures, and why did he lash out at Kristen for asking about it? Are judges finally starting to wake up to the administration’s far-fetched declarations of emergencies? And what revelation about the James indictment shocked Harry most?
Mentioned in this episode:
2025-10-1357 minTalking FedsReturn of the Wrecking-Ball CourtSupreme Court expert, Strict Scrutiny star, and Obama White House alum Kate Shaw joins Harry to preview the new SCOTUS term. A steady stream of emergency rulings that mostly backed President's Trump power grab has set the tone for a new year at the court. Kate and Harry preview several of the upcoming blockbuster cases, especially those dealing with executive power and gay rights. They then broaden the conversation, discussing whether any precedent is safe from the conservative supermajority; whether legal reasoning really remains the basis of the court's decisions; and most important: whether there is any executive action...
2025-10-0935 minTalking FedsMolly Mashup: Trump, Tylenol, and TurmoilIn this month’s “Molly Harry Mashup,” Harry and Molly Jong-Fast break down the whirlwind of political and legal chaos under the current administration. From Trump’s clash with Jimmy Kimmel and his obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize, to the unraveling of DOJ norms and the erosion of the Constitution, to the bizarro Trump vaccine claim, Molly and Harry cut through the noise to explain what’s really happening in the political AND legal worlds—and why it matters.
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2025-09-2525 minTalking FedsThe Constitution Was Intended To Be AmendedIn the latest conversation in the Talking San Diego series, Harry sits down with Harvard historian and New Yorker writer Jill Lepore in front of a live San Diego audience to discuss Lepore’s important new book, “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution.” The book contains revelations about the importance to the Framers of the Amendment process, which Lepore argues has become a dead letter since the failure of the proposed Equal RIghts Amendment. In its stead various generations of Americans have looked to either political events or, more recently, the U.S. Supreme Court, to anno...
2025-09-181h 18Talking FedsRep. Krishnamoorthi: “We Have To Stand Up”Harry talks to Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat who’s got a hand in a wide array of headline-grabbing initiatives on Capitol Hill. Representative Krishnamoorthi fills Harry in on what Trump has planned for Chicago, what Democrats are saying about a possible government shutdown, whether further Epstein disclosures are on the way, and why he thinks it’s past time to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2025-09-1121 minTalking FedsBagging BoltonA jam-packed discussion following hot on the dramatic news of the raid of John Bolton’s home, the stunning scenes in a militarized D.C., and the latest escalation in the gerrymandering arms race. Talking Feds regulars Jason Kander, Norm Ornstein, and Tara Setmayer join Harry to break down how long Trump can sustain his flagrant campaign of weaponizing law enforcement and politicizing the military—as well as how long the country can endure it.
Mentioned in this episode:
Jason’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521
Norm’s pod...
2025-08-251h 06Talking FedsA Molly Mashup on the MAGA MessHarry and Molly team up once again to swap burning questions about law and politics. The standout topic: Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Harry gives Molly the lowdown about the Justice Department’s bizarre and deeply suspect dealings with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Molly reads Harry the tea leaves on whether masses of young men — and even Fox News mastermind Rupert Murdoch — might be ready to ditch Trump. Lots more besides!
Molly's piece in the Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/opinion/colbert-late-show-cbs-trump.html
Molly's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738849/how-to-lose-your-mother-by-molly-jong-fast/
2025-07-3128 minTalking FedsSupreme Court Roundup: Revenge of the SixIt’s our annual end-of-term Supreme Court special episode, with a roundtable of three of the most eminent Court watchers in the country: Leah Litman, Melissa Murray, and
Stephen Vladeck. The nationwide injunction case capped off a conservative juggernaut of a term in which the 6 conservative justices expanded Executive power, contracted individual rights, augmented the Court’s own power vis-a-vis lower courts, and pretty much had their way in all important cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2025-07-0756 minTalking FedsHow Social Media Broke Democracy and Childhood
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt joins Harry Litman to discuss his bestselling book "The Anxious Generation" and how the shift to smartphone-based childhood around 2012 triggered a mental health crisis—especially among liberal girls. Haidt explains his moral foundations theory, why Americans can't agree on basic facts anymore, and how social media created a "curse of Babel" that's undermining both democracy and child development. Plus: his four practical norms for rolling back the phone-based childhood and why we may be accidentally training kids for authoritarianism.
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2025-06-1950 minTalking FedsPlane Hits HouseIt's the latest monthly Molly mashup where Molly Jong Fast of Fast Politics fires legal inquiries at Harry, and Harry counters with political questions. The two trade vantage points on the Qatari "Palace in the Sky," with Harry explaining its illegality and Molly its political inanity. They move on to the pasting Trump is getting in the courts, and Molly’s sense of his quickly declining popularity. Molly explains why Dems are likely to take the House in the midterms. And both concur that as damaging as the first few months have been, his chance at actually replacing our cons...
2025-05-2925 min
Talking FedsBad Vibes at the High Court
Harry talks at length with Leah Litman about her new book on the Supreme Court, “Lawless” The book is a funny but biting look at the Court’s recent cases in a series of hot-button areas, including voting rights, abortion, and money in politics. Litman (no relation!) contends that the Court is driven mainly by the sentiments and political views of the Republican Party. The two Litmans explore her general approach to analyzing the Court as well as cases in several of the areas of focus on the book. They move at the end to Leah’s ideas for constructi...
2025-05-0858 min
Talking FedsJamie Raskin and the Constitutional Cavalry
Harry talks once again with constitutional patriot and House Oversight Committee member Jamie Raskin about the tight spot we are in after just one month of Trump rule. Harry presses the Congressman for thoughts about communicating to the country the perils to the rule of law and constitutional scheme themselves. Raskin sets out a short range, mid-range, and long-range agenda for clawing the country back and restoring the rule of law. They go over the most promising and the most worrisome of the 60+ lawsuits against the Administration. They focus at length on the mischief and illegality of the Elon Musk...
2025-02-2729 min
Talking FedsThe politics of DOJ and the law of DOGE
It’s our regular mash-up with none other than Molly Jong-Fast, in which Molly fires legal question that have been occupying her at Harry, and Harry reciprocates with political questions for Molly. This mash-up is in the middle of the burgeoning Department of Justice scandal over the Eric Adams prosecution, and Harry presses Molly on whether the scandal will have political legs. Molly meanwhile seeks to understand whether some of Musk’s crazier antics are legal and how they could be challenged. And that’s just the beginning! Always a lively and informative back-and-forth when these two interrogate each other!
2025-02-1931 min
Talking FedsTHURSDAY NIGHT MASSACRE AT THE DOJ
Harry talks to Kristy Greenberg, former Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in the Southern District of New York, about the burgeoning scandal involving the resignation of the acting United States Attorney and multiple other officials in her office and at Main Justice. The resignations all come in response to an improper command by the acting deputy Attorney General, Emile Bove, to dismiss charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, notwithstanding that there is no question about the righteousness – i.e. the solid facts and law –that undergird the prosecution. Through Greenberg’s experience in the Southern District and Harry’...
2025-02-1426 min
Talking FedsTalking San Diego presents Chris Hayes With His #1 Bestselling Book, “The Sirens’ Call”
In the latest conversation in the Talking San Diego series, Harry sits down with Chris Hayes before a live San Diego audience on the evening when Hayes’s new book, “The Sirens’ Call,” was named to the top position on the New York Times’s Bestseller List. Hayes’s focus is attention – how it has become our scarcest resource and the constant bombardment from different forces vying for it and leaving us all a little insane. Be sure to catch the “lightning round” towards the end of the discussion when Harry serves up a rapid-fire series of lighter-side personal questionsSee...
2025-02-1358 min
Talking FedsSignposts of Democratic Decline
Harry talks with Andrea Pitzer, who has reported extensively on democratic decline in countries such as Chile, Russia, and Hungary, and has written extensively about historical examples especially Nazi Germany. She discusses signal developments in authoritarian democracy that degraded into authoritarian rule, bringing the illustrations back to compare and contrast with Trump’s first few days of rule and the landscape ahead. The two discuss the most important developments that signify dramatic social and political degradations, as well as the most important indications of decline so severe as to take countries to the other side of the democracy/authoritarian div...
2025-02-0656 min
Talking FedsAI and Income Inequality
Harry sits down with Representative Ro Khanna, who from his perch in the heart of Silicon Valley has become a national leader on issues of artificial intelligence and economic innovation. Rep. Khanna is bullish on new technology but keenly aware of its risks. Harry and Rep. Khanna discuss the marketing of AI products; AI’s contribution to social misinformation and how to regulate it; and antitrust protections against undue aggregation of market power by one or two platforms. Along the way, they also touch on others of Khanna’s wide-ranging interests, including term limits for Supreme Court justicesSee...
2025-01-0927 min
Talking FedsMegalomania Mash
The latest entry in the Harry-Molly mix-it-up—the first since the election—with Molly peppering Harry with legal questions while Harry parries with political ones for her. Molly picks Harry’s brain on executive orders, Kash Patel's enemies list, and Harry's exit from the LA Times. Harry returns fire with questions about sounding the alarm on Trump’s authoritarian moves, what’s in the future for the Musk-Trump bromance, and the American mood that gives rise to lionizing Luigi Mangione, who shot a healthcare CEO on the Manhattan streets.As always with these mash-ups, it’s rapid f...
2024-12-2630 min
Talking FedsPardons Here, There, and Everywhere
Harry talks with law professor and former prosecutor, Kim Wehle, one of the country’s foremost experts on the pardon power. They begin with some historical precedent to situate the pardon power and its contours within the American justice system. From there, they move onto the controversy involving Hunter Biden’s pardon, which Professor Wehle and Harry see as an overall conventional use of the power given that no one has contradicted that Hunter Biden was singled out for harsher treatment based on his father. The two then dig deep into the the prospect of a numbrella, pardons by Biden...
2024-12-1944 min
Talking FedsWhy We Must Have A Detailed Report of the Trump Prosecutions
Harry talks again w/ Marcy Wheeler, as tenacious a follower of the Trump cases as there is, about what Jack Smith might include in a report to Merrick Garland pursuant to the Special Counsel regulations that would supplement the historical record. The short answer is “plenty.” Marcy and Harry march through intriguing but incomplete details in the public record about uncharged conduct, declined federal crimes, and especially activity of still important members of the Trump circle such as Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, and Todd Blanche. This is a detailed guide to what we don’t know but need to in the...
2024-11-2646 min
Talking FedsWill the Supreme Court Stand Up to Trump?
Harry speaks with Constitutional scholar and Supreme Court expert Steve Vladeck about the seeds of a fundamental crisis in American political life. The Supreme Court rebuffed Trump at least some in his first term. But now Trump is a lame duck and a lawless cynic, and it’s not hard to envision as ignoring even a mandate from the Supreme Court. Moreover, in part because of their bad steps in the last several years, including the Dobbs opinion, the court is at a low ebb of respect and credibility in the country, which is ultimately the capital it must ca...
2024-11-1937 min
Talking FedsTurning Never Trump
Harry sits down in a live conversation with Bill Kristol, one of the most influential voices in America political life for the last 35 years and a veteran of high official service in two Republican administrations. Kristol was an early and ardent opponent of Donald Trump and a founder of Republicans for the Rule of Law. Harry and he talk about his New York childhood in a conservative hothouse, his early academic success as a political philosophy professor, his transition to the practical hurly-burly world of politics, and his long stint editing the most influential magazine of conservative political thought, th...
2024-11-051h 08
Talking FedsTrailer: Introducing a New Series of 1-on-1 Conversations from Talking Feds
Talking Feds is excited to introduce a new conversation series: 1-on-1s with Harry Litman. This series will drop in your feed every Thursday — in addition to our Monday roundtables — and feature conversations that go in-depth with one special guest. Host Harry Litman will be engaging with all sorts of topics, from law and politics to art and science to sports, history, movies, and more. With the Talking Feds calling card of great guests -- eg Judge Michael Luttig, Scott Galloway, Gina Raimondo, Bill Kristol, Robert Sapolsky, Preet Bharara, and Swati Sharma -- each conversation is sure to be inte...
2024-09-1305 min
Talking FedsImmunity Impunity
We add a special episode this week to tackle the Supreme Court argument on immunity. A great group of court experts – Emily Bazelon, Leah Litman, and Mark Stern – join Harry to add the feds voices to a robust debate in the wake of the argument about the sky is falling, the gang breaks down the questions and a parent fault lines in the court to weigh in on whether the argument augurs the end of any possible trial this year and a ruling that provides a measure of kingly immunity to the President.See Privacy Policy at http...
2024-05-0259 min
Talking FedsIn the (Court)Room Where it Happens
A special and singular episode on Trump’s trial, including 3 experts who spent the week as one of the few dozen people permitted to be inside the courtroom where Trump’s trial is happening. Norm Eisen and Jon Alter, along with Harry, were all feet from Trump, the witnesses, and the jury. They are joined by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who has extensive experience with the NY courts, including Judge Merchan, to break down the trial in its broad strokes & nuances; and to anticipate what’s coming next.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jen-psaki-discussing-say-more-with-harry-litman-tickets-866910250897See...
2024-04-2959 min
Talking FedsThe Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (and Amy Coney Barrett)
In the week ending one of the most consequential Supreme Court terms in American history, 3 of the country’s most trenchant and prominent Court watchers – Dahlia Lithwick, Leah Litman, and Steve Vladeck – join Harry to assess the Term and what it portends for coming years. The 5 arch-conservative Justices shot out of the gate in their first term together and unabashedly wrenched the law and the country sharply right in area after area, starting but by no means ending with abortion.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not...
2022-07-0455 min
Talking FedsListener Q&A with Harry Litman
Talking Feds brings you our first Q&A session with host Harry Litman. Listeners submitted questions, and Harry answered, covering the January 6 committee, Bannon’s subpoena avoidance, and questions regarding the legal proceedings of the insurrection’s trial.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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2021-11-0544 min
Talking FedsThe Vote is in the Mail: Election Protection (from the ground up)
A dream team of Democratic Party leaders -- Marc Elias, the leading lawyer in the country for election protection, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Congresswoman Katie Porter -- join Talking Feds host Harry Litman to discuss the gargantuan efforts afoot to protect the right to vote in the November election. You’ve heard about the manifold problems; now hear about the concrete strategic battles the Democrats are waging in litigation, legislation, and public opinion.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Learn more ab...
2020-09-0853 min
Talking FedsMarried to the Don
In the wake of the Republican convention and the renomination of President Trump, MSNBC host Chris Hayes, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and author Jeff Toobin join Harry for a 360° review of the Convention and what it portends about the Republicans’ election strategy going forward. The group then moves to the Kenosha unrest, and the stark red-blue divide in reaction to the events. The Kenosha bedlam sets up a sidebar from NBA Coach Steve Kerr on the federal role in firearms regulation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not...
2020-08-3151 min
Talking FedsKamala: 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.co...
2020-08-1751 min
Talking FedsA 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at htt...
2020-08-1049 min
Talking FedsPerson 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/p...
2020-08-0359 min
Talking FedsA Man a Van No Plan: Portland
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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at htt...
2020-07-2746 min
Talking FedsToxic 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do...
2020-07-2045 min
Talking FedsPardon 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at...
2020-07-1355 min
Talking Feds5-4 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/priva...
2020-07-0658 min
Talking FedsTalking 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 t...
2020-07-0329 min
Talking FedsPride and Prejudice and the Room Where It Happened
Peter Baker, Laura Jarrett, and Juliette Kayyem (with a sidebar from Frances McDormand) join Harry on a banner week in which the Supreme Court issued two decisions bringing joy to the DACA dreamers and LGBTQ citizens; former national security adviser John Bolton’s long-awaited book trashed the President as dedicated to obstruction as way of life; Trump took it on the chin from other quarters; and the virus continued its chokehold even as more citizens seemed to think the danger had passed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com...
2020-06-2252 min
Talking FedsTalking Feds Now: The Barr-Berman Standoff
It was an extraordinary 24 hours, even by the measure of this DOJ. AG Barr announced Friday evening that SDNY US Attorney Geoffrey Berman was resigning; but Berman responded saying he was doing nothing of the kind. That led to a feverish series of moves that ended with Berman’s agreeing to leave but his Deputy, a career prosecutor likely to protect ongoing investigations, in place—for now. Feds Barb McQuade, Matt Miller, and Andy Weissman join Harry for a rapid reaction to the crazy events.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at http...
2020-06-2142 min
Talking FedsTrumpocalypse Nu?
Minnesota native sons Al Franken and Norm Ornstein join David Frum and Harry on a week that saw the protests from Minneapolis consolidate into an international movement. The Feds discuss the broader circumstances that gave rise to the George Floyd killing, and turn to the national political landscape and the President’s out-of-step chest-thumping response. They analyze the systemic reasons for the election day chaos in Georgia and close with some observations about AG Barr’s bad week.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2020-06-1549 min
Talking FedsPouring Tear Gas on the Fire
As worldwide demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd stretched into their tenth day, Feds Roy Austin, Barb McQuade, and Jen Rubin join Harry to discuss the state of play in the case against the 4 officers charged in the death and then take up the possibility that the stars are aligned for comprehensive national legislation to reform police practices. The Feds then turn to Trump’s disastrous photo-op and the fallout it generated before speculating about whether real change is in the air.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Not...
2020-06-0854 min
Talking FedsMinnesota Burning
In a week that began with turbulence and ended on the edge of anarchy, Natasha Bertrand, Matt Miller, and Senator Barbara Boxer join Harry to make sense of the unfolding dramas in Minnesota, DC, and around the country. The Feds analyze the impact of the killing of George Floyd and its interaction with the continuing ravages of COVID-19. They then turn to current events in DC, including McConnell’s insistence on immunity for companies for transmission of the virus and Pompeo’s deepening troubles.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at http...
2020-06-0146 min
Talking FedsMemorial Day or Groundhog Day?
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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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2020-05-2553 min
Talking Feds(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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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2020-05-1852 min
Talking FedsTalking 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.
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2020-05-1324 min
Talking FedsIn 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.
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2020-05-1146 min
Talking FedsReturn 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.
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2020-05-0440 min
Talking FedsA 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.
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2020-04-2755 min
Talking FedsLaw 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.
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2020-04-2047 min
Talking FedsTalking 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.
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2020-04-1627 min
Talking FedsCOVID-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.
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2020-04-1346 min
Talking FedsTequila & 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-term consequences to the United States's previous leadership position on the world stage?
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2020-04-0640 min
Talking FedsGovernments’ Responses to COVID-19: The Good, The Bad, and The Ridiculous
The long-predicted grim effects of COVID-19 began to hit home in earnest, with numbers of cases in the U.S. doubling every 2-3 days, the economy in free fall, supermarket shelves emptied, and whole states and communities ordered to stay at home. Chris Lu, Barb McQuade, Anne Milgram, and Asha Rangappa –former feds with rich and varied experience in governmental responses to emergencies – join Harry to assess the governments’ work to date and to analyze the formidable difficulties that await us.
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2020-03-2344 min
Talking FedsCorona Cataclysm: a national emergency and a political wild card
Juliette Kayyem, Matt Miller, and Natasha Bertrand join Harry and bring to bear extensive expertise on the emergency management, policy, and political aspects of the Covid-19. We run through testing, turf battles, failures of presidential leadership and more before looking ahead to capacity problems and specific needed measures, closing with an analysis of the likely effects on the presidential race. Lots of rich analysis and nitty-gritty details that will be new to listeners.
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2020-03-1651 min
Talking FedsCorona Clusterf**k
The Coronavirus (Covid-19) exploded into public consciousness this week, and nobody seems to know how widespread, long-lasting, and serious its impact will be. The Administration was caught flat-footed, having squandered several weeks of preparation time. Dramatic measures such as quarantines and school closings were suddenly in play.National security experts Frank Figliuzzi and Juliette Kayeem and public health law expert Wendy Mariner join Harry to explain just where we are and where we might be headed.
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2020-03-0950 min
Talking FedsWas the Killing of Qasem Soleimani Legal?
The Trump-ordered drone killing of Qasem Soleimani, Iran’s second ranking political official, raises profound and exquisitely difficult questions of legality under international law and the federal constitution’s war power clauses. A spectacular panel of war powers experts-- Harvard Professor Jack Goldsmith, New York Times Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter Charlie Savage, and University of Texas Professor Steve Vladeck --join Harry to grapple with these questions.
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2020-03-0251 min
Talking FedsStone Cold Disaster at DOJ
The Feds convene inside the LA office of Congressman Ted Lieu, a critical figure in the impeachment effort from his post on the House Judiciary Committee, at the end of a week of scandal and tumult at the DOJ. Congressman Lieu, former AUSA Prof. Laurie Levenson, and Atlantic writer Todd Purdum join Harry to discuss the cross currents of DOJ conduct, which ended the week with a Barr interview pushing back on Trump’s tweets and the announcement that Trump enemy Andy McCabe would not be prosecuted.
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2020-02-1750 min
Talking FedsHas the Presidency Grown Too Powerful for the Constitution?
Notwithstanding serious misconduct by President Trump of the sort that impeachment and removal seemed designed to address, there never was a serious prospect that the Senate would convict him. What went wrong? Scholars and former government officials Bob Bauer, Rick Pildes, and Kate Shaw join Harry to discuss how Supreme Court decisions, executive branch aggrandizement, congressional acquiescence, and social and political forces have sapped impeachment of the strength the Framers intended.
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2020-02-101h 00
Talking FedsPartial Acquittal
In this special Talking Feds Now! episode, taped hours after the Senate voted to acquit President Trump, Frank Figliuzzi, Glenn Kirshner, and Barb McQuade join Harry with initial reactions and analysis. Is the verdict an unalloyed triumph, as Trump’s ardent defenders proclaim, or inconclusive given the failure to even present evidence? To what extent did the defection of Senator Romney take the luster off the verdict? And what should we now expect by way of continuing oversight in the House?
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2020-02-0646 min
Talking FedsCan I Get A Witness?
Republican strategist Rick Wilson joins Matt Miller, Jen Rodgers, and Harry for a post-mortem on the Senate vote to deny witnesses in President Trump’s impeachment trial and an assessment on the political ramifications of the decision. They consider whether and how the Senate can rationalize the vote, and the possibility that McConnell’s political calculation was errant. Looking past the coming acquittal to the election season, they then assess how the decision will play in the election and in history.
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2020-02-0448 min
Talking FedsWe're Lost
Adam Schiff and the impeachment managers wrapped up three days of tightly focused and at times stirring argument that with few exceptions seemed to full on deaf ears of Republican senators. Paul Fishman, Anne Milgram, Asha Rangappa, and Todd S. Purdum (calling in from the hearings) join Harry to discuss the legal strategies of both sides, Adam Schiff's momentous performance, the comportment of the Senators, and the legal and political maneuvers over calling John Bolton and others as witnesses.
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2020-01-2751 min
Talking FedsWill All Senators Now Stand
In a week in which the impeachment trial of President Trump commenced, there were ½ dozen other blockbuster stories, including the Parnas documents and interviews. Natasha Bertrand, Matt Miller, and Joyce Vance join Harry to analyze a series of the biggest developments, including the Parnas materials, the ongoing battle over witnesses, the appointment of Starr and Dershowitz as Trump’s lawyers, and the investigation of James Comey for a three-year old leak.
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2020-01-2039 min
Talking FedsFrom Russia with Blood
The Feds cast a close focus on the scourge of Russian Organized Crime, which stepped into the gap left by the fall of the Soviet Union to play an illicit and controlling role in virtually every important in the country. At the same time, it maintains remarkable ties with Putin’s government, which ultimately controls its actions, including ordering targeted killings of people all over the world who have fallen out of Putin’s favor; and it may have played a role in some of the Trump Organization’s business dealings over the last 15 years. A panel of Russian OC speciali...
2020-01-0647 min
Talking FedsDemagoguing the Border: The Trump Administration’s Treatment of Migrant Families
In an episode taped live in Washington DC and co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society and George Washington law School, Vanita Gupta, Leon Rodriguez, Lindsay Harris, and Andrea Senteno join Harry to describe and analyze the Trump Administration’s treatment of migrant families at the Southern border. The group traces the historical development of the issue and explains that, contrary to Administration rhetoric, virtually none of the tens of thousands of asylum seekers have histories of violent criminal conduct, and upwards of 95% of claimants with counsel appear for their hearings. The panelists end with some potential solutions to a particularly vex...
2019-12-3057 min
Talking FedsTrump Impeached: An Act of Constitutional Fidelity
Mary Gay Scanlon, Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee, joins Joyce Vance, Maya Wiley, and Harry Litman on the week in which the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump, making him only the 3rd president impeached in U.S. history. The congresswoman adds to the group’s analysis the account of how it felt on the floor of the House as the Articles moved toward passage, and the sentiments within the Democratic Caucus. The Feds all analyze the possibility the impeachment could backfire, the Democratic strategy of holding back on the Articles to try to force the Senate...
2019-12-2348 min
Talking Feds"The Articles Are Agreed To"
The House Judiciary Committee voted out articles of impeachment against a President for the first time in a generation and only the fourth time in history, and sent to the floor a two-count case for impeachment that seems overwhelming in both the facts and the law. But the vote was along strict partisan lines and all indications are that the Republicans in both Houses of Congress will hold near total ranks in support of the President, embracing a series of weak or diversionary arguments. Feds Natasha Bertrand, Ron Klain, and Matt Miller join Harry to analyze the week and assess wh...
2019-12-1649 min
Talking FedsWhat Will The Trial in the Senate Look Like?
Congressional and political experts Norm Ornstein, David Frum, and Elliot Williams join Harry to analyze the probable workings – from the broad strokes to the nitty gritty – of the expected upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate. Will Mitch McConnell control all aspects with an iron fist, and what if anything will make him part company from President Trump? Will it all be a strictly political affair or will broader considerations of country and Constitution hold some sway? And how many votes for conviction can we expect the Republicans?
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2019-12-0955 min
Talking FedsImpeachment Academy
The impeachment process moves to the Judiciary Committee, beginning with a panel of scholars addressing constitutional standards for impeachment and applying those standards to the set of facts that the testimony in the Intelligence Committee established beyond reasonable doubt. We engage the historic moment with a two-part episode featuring a remarkably high-powered group of commentators exploring the political and the constitutional considerations of the prospective impeachment. First, David Frum, Jill Wine-Banks, Liz Holtzman, and Harry analyze and appraise the Democrats’ strategy, including serious consideration of whether opening with a panel of scholars is a blunder. Next, we reissue portions of a pre...
2019-12-021h 09
Talking Feds“Is the Dam Breaking?” Part 1--LIVE from Politicon in Nashville, Tennessee
Former Clinton Press Secretary Joe Lockhart (who served Clinton during his impeachment trial) joins Feds Maya Wiley Jill Wine-Vance, and Harry Litman for a discussion of a number of facets of what is suddenly an impeachment crisis for the White House. What (if anything) is the White House doing right and what is it doing wrong? How does its efforts compare and contrast with the Clinton White House’s strategy in 1998? Turning to the Congress, the Feds consider whether the Republicans “no due process” argument is getting any purchase and speculate on how both the House and the Senate Republicans will appr...
2019-10-2954 min
Talking FedsAre we f***ed?
From Austin, Texas, it's a special bonus episode of Talking Feds. Harry Litman, Joyce Vance, Matt Miller, Asha Rangappa and Mieke Eoyang talk about the state of politics, the president and the law while producer Jennie tries to to get queso on the mic cables. It's a free-wheeling discussion in the back room at Cisco's in East Austin, so sit down and join us!
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2019-09-3044 min
Talking FedsThe Whistle is Blowing
Four Charter Feds – Frank Figliuzzi, Paul Fishman, Matt Miller, and Joyce Vance—join Harry Litman to analyze the complicated questions of law, politics, and national security swirling around the bombshell revelations that 1) a whistleblower complaint from someone in the national intelligence community has been filed but is being withheld from Congress notwithstanding the plain legal command to provide it; and 2) the complaint concerns President Trump’s attempting to strongarm the President of Ukraine into gathering dirt on Joe Biden’s son. The Feds then turn their focus on Corey Lewandowski’s testimony in the House last week, including the devastating cross-exami...
2019-09-2345 min
Talking FedsLa Cosa SDNY: An Insider’s Guide to the Most Renowned United States Attorney’s Office
The Southern District of New York – the United States Attorney’s Office based in Manhattan – is the most renowned federal prosecutor’s office in the Department of Justice—and it knows it. It has a famous independence and swagger, which it has earned with a long string of high-profile prosecutions, particularly of organized crime figures. Friends of President Trump have long identified the SDNY as a bigger threat to his presidency than Robert Mueller. What makes this office tick, and so consistently excellent? Three long time assistants and supervisors in the office sit down with Talking Feds host Harry Litman to detail wh...
2019-09-0353 min
Talking FedsThe Republican Opposition
For many Republicans, the Trump Administration has posed a stark choice between values and outcomes, a choice that seems increasingly irreconcilable with the norms and practices of previous Republican administrations. Host Harry Litman talks with three Republicans who made the choice early on not to support the President's policies. William Kristol, political author and commentator, Peter Keisler, former acting Attorney General of the United States, and Carrie Cordero, former senior associate general counsel at the office of the Director of National Intelligence.
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2019-08-191h 04
Talking FedsWho Fights for The People When the Government Won't?
They've sued white supremacists after Charlottesville, fought for bail reform in Missouri, and stood up in court for Welcoming Cities like Gary, Indiana. The former Feds at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law left the Justice Department to take on cases that have Constitutional claims at their core. They discuss the impact of their litigation efforts in areas where the U.S. government would traditionally play a role. Host Harry Litman is joined by ICAP's team of former Feds: Mary McCord, Joshua Geltzer, Amy Marshak, Annie Owens, Nicolas Riley, Seth Wayne.
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2019-08-0558 min
Talking FedsCongress's Last Stand: Mueller's Testimony
When Robert Mueller testifies on July 17th, the stakes for the House are enormous. The two committees must use the opportunity to make the American people understand the gravity of the offenses and misconduct laid out in the Report, but that is no easy task. How should they approach it in broad strokes? How do they get meaningful answers, respectfully, from Robert Mueller? Harry Litman is joined by Andrew McCabe, Ron Klain, Tim Lynch, and Matt Miller for a discussion in front of a live audience. You can also watch video of the live discussion at c-span.org. This episode w...
2019-07-121h 03
Talking FedsMueller Report Myths and Gerrymandered Maps
In this special Feds Now episode, The Feds break down the myths of the Mueller Report, as first elucidated in a recent Time Magazine article. Host Harry Litman is joined by the co-authors of the article, former US Attorneys and Talking Feds charter members Barbara McQuade and Joyce White Vance. The Feds then turn to the ramifications of the 5-4 Supreme Court on political gerrymandering with Richard Cordray, who clerked for two Supreme Court justices and was the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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2019-06-2853 min
Talking FedsA House Divided
The Feds consider the White House’s radical and unprecedented strategy to not only rebuff all investigative demands from the House, but to deny the very legitimacy of the House’s oversight. They unpack the voicemail from the President’s lawyer asking Michael Flynn’s lawyer for a “heads up”of Flynn’s communications with Mueller. They then bat around a new proposal from Prof Larry Tribe that potentially could break through the drastic logjam. Host Harry Litman is joined by former Feds Asha Rangappa, Elliot Williams, and Barbara McQuade.
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2019-06-1042 min
Talking FedsBarr on the Rocks
A Talking Feds NOW special episode. The Feds convene in emergency session to dissect the Attorney General’s remarkable testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee and to analyze the import of Barr’s apparent decision to act as an advocate for the President’s personal interests. Host Harry Litman is joined remotely by Robert Raben, Barbara McQuade and Matthew Miller.
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2019-05-0235 min
Talking FedsA Deep Dive Into Murky Waters
The Feds probe deeply into the 438-page redacted Mueller report, training their focus in in particular on the respective roles of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Attorney General William Barr. Was Mueller’s decision to shy away from a bottom line judgment on obstruction of justice appropriate? Is Barr not an honest broker, and if not, why not? The Feds tell us the one thing that surprised them the most in the Mueller report. Host Harry Litman is in La Jolla, CA by Carol Lam, Jennifer Rodgers and from Tucson, AZ by Frank Figliuzzi.
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2019-04-2452 min
Talking FedsThe Mueller Report: And Now What?
The Feds convene in emergency session to discuss the Mueller report and the Barr press conference. They analyze whether Barr was a faithful expositor or an advocate for Trump, and whether Mueller’s intent was to leave the judgment on obstruction to Congress. Host Harry Litman is joined remotely by Amy Jeffress, Jennifer Rodgers and Paul Fishman. Read the full report
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2019-04-1830 min
Talking FedsRedaction Reaction
The Feds analyze what to expect from the soon-to-issue Mueller report and offer educated surmises on the internal dynamics within DOJ, including the relationship between the Special counsel’s office and the Attorney General. They then take up the Assange case, again explaining the dynamics within government and evaluating whether it was a case that should have been brought. Host, Harry Litman, is joined in the Washington D.C. studio by Amy Jeffress, Julie O'Sullivan, and Matthew Miller.
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2019-04-1638 min
Talking FedsReport Summary: [REDACTED]
The Feds analyze the outbreak of the war of press leaks between the Mueller camp and the Barr camp and the emerging dueling versions of Barr’s decision to give the President a pass on obstruction. They then consider the prospects that the House will be able to secure the unredacted Mueller Report and the President’s tax returns. Host, Harry Litman, is joined remotely by Joyce Vance, Paul Fishman, and Matthew Miller.
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2019-04-0844 min
Talking FedsThe Mueller We Know
At a time of intense curiosity about the contents of the Mueller Report, and assessment of Mueller’s key decisions over the course of the probe, this episode brings together prominent former federal officials who each worked closely and at length under Mueller when he was United States Attorney and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director. Their vantage points, generally absent from the public discussion to date, give rise to educated surmises about Mueller’s calculations over the life of the probe to the present day, when he possibly is at odds with the Attorney General about critical conclusions from his prob...
2019-04-0145 min
Talking FedsMueller Punts, Barr Intercepts
The Feds debate Special counsel Robert Mueller’s baffling decision not to reach a judgment as to the President guilt of obstruction and the Attorney General’s decision to step into the breach and clear Trump. They then discuss the many perils that remain for Trump and his circle from investigations in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere. Host, Harry Litman, is joined remotely by Barbara McQuade and Mimi Rocah.
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2019-03-2835 min
Talking FedsBreaking News: The Report Is In
The Feds convene an emergency session to discuss Bob Mueller’s long-awaited submission of his report to the Attorney General. Host, Harry Litman, is joined remotely by Paul Fishman, Julie Zebrak, and Matthew Miller.
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2019-03-2329 min
Talking FedsPardon Me
The Feds consider whether it was appropriate for the Manhattan DA to file pardon-proof charges against Paul Manafort, then describe the specific steps Congress and the DOJ would take to investigate the emails to Michael Cohen suggesting Trump and Giuliani may have dangled a pardon to keep him silent. Host, Harry Litman, is joined in the Washington D.C. studio by Elliot Williams, Julie Zebrak, and Elie Honig.
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2019-03-1833 min
Talking FedsMueller Done, Manafort Undone?
The Feds discuss what the Mueller Report might look like and what happens after it drops, then turn to consideration of Paul Manafort's prospects for ever getting out of prison. Host, Harry Litman, is joined in the Washington D.C. studio by Joyce Vance, Paul Fishman, and Matthew Miller.
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2019-03-1439 min