Shows
TWO REPORTERSWant to guess how many laws Trump is violating with all his corruption?Answer: probably zero. As astonishing as it might seem among all the other astonishing outrages in today’s America, it turns out that there is no legal way to stop Trump’s unprecedented financial profiteering from his presidency, even when it damages the nation's interests. Only society’s norms — stronger than the laws — could have prevented it in earlier times when Americans had higher values. Walter Shaub, former head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, details Trump’s corruption in a gripping, distressing conversation. And he has urgent advice for government employees who do, despite Trump, want to act...
2025-09-1356 min
The Continuous ActionOver ClassifiedHow did classified records wind up in the homes of former President Trump and two former vice presidents, Joe Biden and Mike Pence? In this week’s episode, The Continuous Action explains how the over-classification of government documents contributed to those news stories. The government has been classifying far too many documents — just about everything its intelligence personnel can get their hands on. One time, the government even classified a mountain. (True story!) In this episode, Walt speaks with Elizabeth Goitein, who is senior director for Liberty and National Security at The Brennan Center. Elizabeth shares an al...
2023-05-1118 minThe Continuous ActionCourting DisasterThe Supreme Court has an ethics problem. The Project on Government Oversight’s Sarah Turberville and David Janovsky join Walt to discuss the need for a code of conduct for the highest court in the United States.The court’s legitimacy relies on the public’s faith in the institution, and it’s clear the American people believe the court has been politicized. It’s easy to see why. Private, secretive groups spend money on campaigns in support of Supreme Court nominees while justices have accepted lavish gifts from prominent political donors.The ethics lap...
2023-05-0424 minThe Continuous ActionInfiltrated!A 2015 membership roll for the Oath Keepers, a violent, anti-government extremist group, included hundreds of current or former employees of the Department of Homeland Security. That’s according to a leaked document reviewed by the Project On Government Oversight. Since the creation of the document, members of the Oath Keepers, including its founder Steward Rhodes, have been convicted of seditious conspiracy and other offenses related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Any connection between this extremist group and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is obviously disturbing — especially considering the department’s role in figh...
2023-04-2722 minThe Continuous ActionThe Authoritarian’s FistImagine a world in which the president had unfettered power to use the massive federal workforce as a weapon against political rivals. In that scenario, federal officials would be forced to serve a political party’s interests instead of the public interest. Your access to federal benefits and services could be slowed or blocked depending on your declared political affiliation. That’s a world that former President Donald Trump tried to make a reality in the final days of his administration. Exploiting a statutory loophole, Trump issued an executive order in October 2020 that could have made tens...
2023-04-2023 minThe Continuous ActionAnything GoesMembers of Congress write their own rules — and those rules allow stock trades galore!In this episode of The Continuous Action, host Walt Shaub dives into topic of congressional stock trading, outlining the problems with the practice and asking the question we’re all thinking: How is this legal? He’s joined by a member of Congress who’s leading a bipartisan coalition working to make sure it won’t stay legal for long. The fact is, there’s no way for us to know what our elected representatives learn in closed-door government b...
2023-04-1329 minThe Continuous ActionBanned from Office!Is Donald Trump constitutionally disqualified from running for president? In this episode of The Continuous Action, Walt Shaub and Virginia Heffernan examine a provision of the Constitution that bans insurrectionists from holding public office. The “disqualification clause” was ratified with the rest of the 14th Amendment just after the Civil War, and it hadn’t been used in the last hundred years — until a recent court case. In 2022, a group of New Mexico citizens filed a suit alleging that a local county commissioner who was involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol shoul...
2023-04-0623 min
Out Of The Blank#1335 - Walter ShaubWalter Shaub is a government ethics expert who has advocated for integrity and accountability in government across a career in public service. He leads POGO’s Government Ethics Initiative, which focuses on preventing abuses of government power and resources, reforming government ethics systems, and holding government officials accountable to the public they serve. Shaub has testified before Congress as both a government official and a private citizen, and he has worked closely with government leaders to develop and implement government ethics reforms. He has devoted his professional career to the subjects of government ethics, the federal merit systems principles, pr...
2023-02-0158 minThe Continuous ActionIntroducing: Bad WatchdogThe Continuous Action will return for a second season in the spring of 2023. In the meantime, check out the Project On Government Oversight's newest podcast, Bad Watchdog.Bad Watchdog is about what happens when the watchdog tasked with overseeing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the country doesn’t do its job. In a six-part series, host Maren Machles and investigative reporters from the Project On Government Oversight uncover a shocking pattern of misconduct at the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, which resulted in a failure to investigate some of the most tr...
2023-01-2703 min
How to HelpYou Deserve Ethical Government • Walter Shaub, senior ethics fellow at POGOSummaryNo matter what political ideology we have, we all agree that we deserve ethical government. But, trust in government in the US and around the world is at historic lows. Much of this falling trust comes from seeing political officials use their power to enrich themselves at the cost of the public good.In this episode, Walter Shaub—a leading voice—helps us understand why ethics in government is worth fighting for. He also shares his fascinating experiences doing just that, along with issues at the forefront today. Shaub is one of my personal hero...
2022-11-0158 min
2022-06-161h 06The Continuous ActionOut of ControlIn Episode 5 of The Continuous Action, hosts Walt Shaub and Virginia Heffernan sound a dire warning about the largest law enforcement agency in the country, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). While most people think of the agency as having limited reach, two-thirds of Americans live within CBP jurisdiction. It’s also one of the country’s least transparent — and least accountable — law enforcement agencies. This episode’s guests explain how this highly militarized agency came to prioritize stopping border crossings over protecting human life. They explore the culture of impunity for CBP agents that has led...
2022-06-0350 minThe Continuous ActionIt’s Good To Be The KingHosts Walt Shaub and Virginia Heffernan investigate the ways presidential power has expanded at the expense of checks and balances. What systems exist to rein in a would-be authoritarian president, and how are they faring in these turbulent times? The hosts talk to historian Matt Dallek, who explains the expansion of presidential power and the dangers of relying on norms and traditions alone to rein in executive power. As Dallek notes, some theorists have flooded the zone with talk of a nearly omnipotent leader who resembles a king more than a president. But law professor Jed...
2022-05-2053 minThe Continuous ActionBonus: China’s Surveillance StateThis bonus episode features our full interview with Maya Wang, the senior China researcher for Human Rights Watch. As Maya explains, a comprehensive, multi-layered surveillance system blankets much of China with one primary goal: to ensure that the Chinese communist party can rule forever. We included an excerpt of this interview in Episode 3, “The Eyes On Your Face.” But the rest of Wang’s harrowing account of this surveillance system was too compelling to leave on the cutting room floor. Join us for a deeper dive into China’s surveillance state. The Continuous Action is sponsored by The Pr...
2022-05-1339 minThe Continuous ActionThe Eyes On Your FaceIn Episode 3, hosts Walt Shaub and Virginia Heffernan grapple with government surveillance, focusing in particular on facial recognition technology and the ways that the government could — and already does — abuse this pervasive technology. Facial recognition expert Jake Laperruque describes the arms race between technology companies developing new software to be used by law enforcement on one side, and lawmakers and privacy advocates working to regulate this fast-developing technology on the other. Framing privacy as a human rights issue, Laperruque reminds us of the abuses of the post-9/11 era, when the government carried out indiscriminate surveillance of Muslim communities.
2022-05-0654 minThe Continuous ActionWar Lies, Watchdogs, and WhistleblowersIn Episode 2, hosts Walt Shaub and Virginia Heffernan explore a troubling truth: the government lies, particularly when it comes to war. The government has repeatedly misled the American people to justify starting or staying in a military conflict, leaving whistleblowers and watchdogs the dangerous task of exposing the truth. Military expert Mandy Smithberger recounts how manipulation of intelligence information sent us to war in the Middle East, and activist Ben Cohen talks about the need for consequences when government officials lie us into war. The cohosts speak with John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction...
2022-04-2254 min
Straight White American JesusWeekly Roundup: City on a HillsongBrad and Dan begin by discussing the new Hillsong documentary, "Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed," and the various sexual abuse and infidelity scandals that have rocked the church of the stars. They draw on work by Dr. Leah Payne in order to link Hillsong to a long line of celebrity megachurches that use spectacle, entrepreneurial tactics, and slick marketing to attract young, hot, and rich parishioners. History tells us that eventually scandal will rock the church, due in large part to the authoritarian leadership structures that often characterize this type of ministry.Leah Payne's op-ed: https://www.nbcnews...
2022-04-1508 minPremium Ad-Free: Straight White American JesusWeekly Roundup: City on a HillsongBrad and Dan begin by discussing the new Hillsong documentary, "Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed," and the various sexual abuse and infidelity scandals that have rocked the church of the stars. They draw on work by Dr. Leah Payne in order to link Hillsong to a long line of celebrity megachurches that use spectacle, entrepreneurial tactics, and slick marketing to attract young, hot, and rich parishioners. History tells us that eventually scandal will rock the church, due in large part to the authoritarian leadership structures that often characterize this type of ministry.Leah Payne's op-ed: https://www.nbcnews...
2022-04-1508 minThe Continuous ActionThe WaveIn the inaugural episode of The Continuous Action, former Office of Government Ethics Director Walt Shaub and journalist Virginia Heffernan begin exploring the issues confronting democracy by examining the wave of voter suppression efforts crashing across the states. They interview Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund, about the fight for voting rights. They also speak with Supreme Court expert Dahlia Lithwick about the judiciary’s role in ripening the conditions for voter suppression. Their message: The fight for voting rights is urgent and requires the public to act – right now.
2022-04-0851 minThe Continuous ActionIntroducing The Continuous ActionOn The Continuous Action, co-hosts Walter Shaub and Virginia Heffernan break down some of the biggest issues facing our republic today. In this limited series, Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, and Heffernan, a seasoned journalist, interview experts, activists, philanthropists, and others on topics ranging from voting rights to government surveillance. Listen in on lively discussions as they analyze the issues and identify the actions we can all take to help hold our democracy together.The Continuous Action is sponsored by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). Stay tuned on the latest from P...
2022-03-2903 min
Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courtsJan. 6: The Coup That Wasn’t, but Still Could BeAlmost a year later, are we seeing signs of some sort of accountability for the Jan. 6 insurrection? And why is that accountability so important and yet so hard to achieve? Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, Shaub currently leads the Project on Government Oversight’s ethics initiative. Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-12-1854 min
Politics + Media 101Project on Government Oversight's Walter Shaub on Corruption, Ethics, and TransparencyA live audience interviews Walter Shaub, former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and a current leader at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), on corruption, ethics, and transparency in government. Find more (including how to join us live) at PM101.live
2021-12-011h 18
GovExec DailyHow to Address Corruption in GovernmentNearly 11 months ago, on his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order implementing a set of ethics rules for his administration. The administration has had fewer ethics problems than its predecessor, but the Executive Branch is not alone in the government; Congress and the Judiciary have ethics issues that need improvement. Project on Government Oversight Government Affairs Manager Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette and former OGE Director and POGO Senior Ethics Fellow Walter Shaub co-wrote an analysis of how Congress can address corruption headlined “American Voters Say Corruption is a Concern; Congress Should Heed the Message.” They...
2021-11-2341 min
The Bitchuation RoomStopping the Next Trump with Walter Shaub (Ep 114)Trump proved presidents have way too much power. It's easy to flaunt anti-corruption laws in the highest office because, well, they hardly exist. We mostly have cute little "norms" and guidelines. So when should those "norms" be made into laws, and how can we stop the ever-expanding power of the executive branch? Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, had a front row seat to the worst impulses of one of the most corrupt administrations... ever. Where it was Donald Trump's refusal to divest from his organization or Kellyanne Conway hawking Ivanka jewelry on television. Shaub's job...
2021-11-231h 11
The Bitchuation RoomStopping the Next Trump with Walter Shaub (Ep 114)Trump proved presidents have way too much power. It's easy to flaunt anti-corruption laws in the highest office because, well, they hardly exist. We mostly have cute little "norms" and guidelines. So when should those "norms" be made into laws, and how can we stop the ever-expanding power of the executive branch? Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, had a front row seat to the worst impulses of one of the most corrupt administrations... ever. Where it was Donald Trump's refusal to divest from his organization or Kellyanne Conway hawking Ivanka jewelry on television. Shaub's job...
2021-11-231h 11
The Daily Beast PodcastSecret Corruption ‘Waivers’ and Other Tales from Trump’s Former Ethics DirectorWalter Shaub, former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics under the Obama and Trump administration shares “the most horrifying ethical lapse” of the Trump admin that he witnessed—and why he’s annoyed at Biden. Plus, Esquire’s politics blog editor Charles P. Pierce joins to discuss the Ronald Reagan administration’s economic ignorance and how the “the conservative media octopus” made people so anti-vax that they’re actually unAmerican.If you haven't heard, every single week The New Abnormal does a special bonus episode for Beast Inside, the Daily Beast’s membership program. where Somet...
2021-10-2244 min
Uncivilized#s3e1 Season 3 Premiere: AT&T Responds To Cancel Culture & Hunter Biden Has Some Explaining To Do•Two major leftist organizations launched ads targeting AT&T, condemning it for contributing to the campaigns of Texas Republican lawmakers who sponsored S.B. 8, the law that bans abortions after 6 weeks gestation when doctors can detect a "fetal heartbeat." The organizations also plan to hit the Walt Disney Corporation, and NBC-Universal over donations those companies made to Republicans sponsoring a similar abortion bill in Florida.• •Former Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Walter Shaub shared some constructive criticism on Wednesday for President Biden and his administration.•--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: T...
2021-10-1412 min
UncivilizedSeason 3 Premiere: AT&T Responds To Cancel Culture & Hunter Biden Has Some Explaining To Do•Two major leftist organizations launched ads targeting AT&T, condemning it for contributing to the campaigns of Texas Republican lawmakers who sponsored S.B. 8, the law that bans abortions after 6 weeks gestation when doctors can detect a "fetal heartbeat." The organizations also plan to hit the Walt Disney Corporation, and NBC-Universal over donations those companies made to Republicans sponsoring a similar abortion bill in Florida.• •Former Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Walter Shaub shared some constructive criticism on Wednesday for President Biden and his administration.•
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2021-10-1412 min
In Lieu of Fun: #DogShirtTVWalter Shaub's Triumphant ReturnWherein government ethics guru Walter Shaub returns to the show to talk about ethics in the Biden administration and whatever else may be on his mind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-09-141h 09
SubRantEpisode #9: Hunter's "Art" - Can James sell his work for $500k?
- Hunter Biden in now an "Artist"
- "Never would have been better"
- George Berges
- Gallerists is a dumb and pretentious word
- Sylvester Stallone's paintings
- Xeo Chu - Vietnam's Jackson Pollock
- "Artistic abuse"
- This is not art
- William Powhida discusses Hunter's "art"
- Don't anger the Gallerists Gods
- To cover a bad spakle job
- Catherine is getting high, not James...
2021-07-2328 min
Democracy WorksWalter Shaub on transparency, ethics, and democracyCan transparency, oversight, ethics and accountability save American democracy? What can Congress do to create lasting ethics reforms? How would the For the People Act change ethics rules for the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the U.S. government and are the changes enough? How can the Office of Government Ethics and Office of the Inspector General contribute to democratic accountability? How can Congress get a toe hold into reigning in presidential power?In this episode of the Democracy Matters podcast from the JMU Center for Civic Engagement, hosts Abe Goldberg, Carah Ong Whaley, and Angelina C...
2021-07-1949 min
Libertarian CounterpointKnuckleheads of Liberty 106: Communism, art and travelDeSantis Bans CRT and Requires Schools to Teach Communism is Evil
DeSantis on Communism, “FL students will learn about patriots who come to America after fleeing communist regimes. Our students will learn from an integrated civic education curriculum that compares our rights & freedoms to places where they don’t exist like China & North Korea.”
DeSantis on CRT, “I think it's going to cause a lot of divisions. I think it'll cause people to think of themselves more as a member of a particular race based on skin color, rather than based on the content of their character and base...
2021-07-0528 min
James Madison Center for Civic Engagement: Democracy MattersEpisode 59: Can transparency, oversight, ethics and accountability save American democracy?In this episode we talk with Walter Shaub, who leads the Ethics and Accountability Initiative at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), about what elected and other government officials, and the public can do to create and implement long-lasting reforms to shore up the barricades against authoritarianism. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/news/civic/2021/05-19-democracy-matters-episode-59.shtml
2021-05-191h 07
fiction/non/fictionS4 Ep. 3: Monsters for President: Maria Dahvana Headley on Modern Myth-MakingIn this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan talk to #1 New York Times best-selling author Maria Dahvana Headley about the modern-day relevance of the epic poem Beowulf. She talks about her new translation of the ancient text, and illuminates how the “shit-talking” masculinity of the heroes of old can help us understand our current so-called leaders.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by str...
2020-11-0552 min
fiction/non/fictionMonsters for President: Maria Dahvana Headley on Modern Myth-MakingIn this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan talk to #1 New York Times best-selling author Maria Dahvana Headley about the modern-day relevance of the epic poem Beowulf. She talks about her new translation of the ancient text, and illuminates how the “shit-talking” masculinity of the heroes of old can help us understand our current so-called leaders.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by str...
2020-11-0557 min
Politics BriefA Crisis Of Ethics In WashingtonWalter Shaub, senior advisor at the watchdog group CREW, and former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics, joins The Brian Lehrer Show to talk about Capitol Hill's swelling crisis of ethics.
2018-10-2317 min
Robo Trump300040: Tweet from Walter ShaubLast night’s drain-the-swamp chant in Indiana was a grand Orwellian spectacle. Trump has so perverted the language that his howling supporters have .. Read more >> https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/994925045536436229
2018-05-1100 min
Texas Tribune AudioTrump, Ethics and the LawDave Levinthal, senior political reporter at the Center for Public Integrity, moderated the “Trump, Ethics and the Law” panel featuring Matthew Miller, Richard Painter, Walter Shaub and Ken Starr at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2017.
2017-09-281h 03
Texas Tribune FestivalTrump, Ethics and the LawDave Levinthal, senior political reporter at the Center for Public Integrity, moderated the “Trump, Ethics and the Law” panel featuring Matthew Miller, Richard Painter, Walter Shaub and Ken Starr at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2017.
2017-09-281h 03Texas Tribune FestivalTrump, Ethics and the LawDave Levinthal, senior political reporter at the Center for Public Integrity, moderated the “Trump, Ethics and the Law” panel featuring Matthew Miller, Richard Painter, Walter Shaub and Ken Starr at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2017.
2017-09-281h 03
This Week in FCPAThis Week in FCPA-Episode 62This week, Jay and I return for a wide-ranging discussion on some of the week’s top compliance and ethics related stories, including: Will Canada approve DPAs for use in anti-corruption prosecutions? TI-Canada recommends they come into use. See article in Corporate Compliance by clicking here. Also see interview with RCMP Superintendent Denis Desnoyers in GIR.Midyear FCPA enforcement report by Stanford Law Journal. See article in WSJ.The first half of 2017 has brought the final resolutions of only two FCPA matters from the new administration, but they were both declinations. Both declinations have significantly strengthened the FCPA P...
2017-07-2130 min
Everything ComplianceEverything Compliance-Episode 14Show Notes for Everything Compliance-Episode 14 Topics from Matt:Trump Administration & FCPA enforcement— we have two declinations now; maybe a compare-and-contrast, and speculation on what a tough Trump Admin enforcement WOULD look like;EU’s GDPR— Do EU regulators really know what they want to do with enforcement of this law; although if they follow the lead of the anti-competition people whacking Google, it could be a big deal; Hui Chen’s departure from Justice Department; both her public rebuke of Trump, and the substance of how she believes her guidance h...
2017-07-201h 11This Week in FCPAThis Week in FCPA-Episode 61This week, Jay and I return for a wide-ranging discussion on some of the week’s top compliance and ethics related stories, including:HSBC monitor report protected from release. See article in Reuters by clicking here.The Odebrecht scandal continues to resonate across South America. See Dick Cassin’s post in the FCPA Blog.The first half of 2017 has brought the final resolutions of only two FCPA matters from the new administration, but they were both declinations. Both declinations have significantly strengthened the FCPA Pilot Program as a clear path forward for every company that finds itself in FCP...
2017-07-1537 min
Hot Mic: Bite-Size News BriefTrump Scolds Russia, Office of Government Ethics Director Resigns & DeVos SuedPresident Donald Trump urged Russia to halt its actions in Ukraine, but did not call out Russian President Vladimir Putin for election meddling. The head of the federal Office of Government Ethics announced his resignation. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has been sued by 18 states and the District of Columbia for delaying fraud protections for student loan borrowers.
Links:
• In Poland, teleprompter Trump and unscripted Trump looked like 2 totally different people
• Walter Shaub, director of the Office of Government Ethics, steps down
• 19 attorneys general sue Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to protect cheated student borrowers
See...
2017-07-0700 min
BostonredThe Trump InfomercialTrump has promoted and patronized his own properties, from riding down the gilded escalators in Trump Tower as he announced his campaign in June 2015 to hosting primary-night news conferences at lavish Mar-a-Lago and reimbursing himself with campaign cash spent to fly on his own 757 jet and rent premium campaign office space inside his flagship building. And while Trump won’t meet his infamous 2000 prediction — “I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it” — he does seem determined to ensure that the national spotlight that remains fixated on him helps brighten the Trump Organization’s bottom line.Politic...
2017-01-1253 min