CAFE Insider

In the Stay Tuned podcast bonus for Insiders, Preet and Jim Sciutto discuss the controversy surrounding press coverage at the Defense Department.    For more content at the intersection of law, politics, and policy, sign up to receive the weekly CAFE Brief newsletter, for free: cafe.com/brief Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at letters@cafe.com,...

On a new episode of the Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance are joined by Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at Slate and host of the Amicus podcast. They discuss: – President Trump’s firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi;  – Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging President Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship; and – The Court’s 8–1 decision in favor of a therap...

Does life truly have meaning without death? In the Stay Tuned podcast bonus for Insiders, author Michael Pollan and Preet discuss what differentiates humans from machines. Plus, is it possible to control our own thoughts? For more content at the intersection of law, politics, and policy, subscribe to the Stay Tuned with Preet Substack: staytuned.substack.com Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara w...

On the Insider docket: – New reporting alleging that President Trump took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago to aid his business interests; – The $1.2 million settlement in Michael Flynn’s malicious prosecution lawsuit against the Department of Justice; and – Attorney General Pam Bondi’s proposed rule deferring state bar ethics investigations into federal prosecutors to the Department’s own ethics...

In the Stay Tuned podcast bonus for Insiders, Preet answers listener questions. He explains whether the FCC can legally strip TV broadcasters of their licenses for coverage it doesn’t like. Plus, what’s the deal with Trump’s Florsheim shoe pressure campaign? For more content at the intersection of law, politics, and policy, sign up to receive the weekly CAFE Brief newsletter, for free: cafe.com/br...

Constitutional law professor and Supreme Court expert Steve Vladeck joins Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance to break down oral arguments in an election case ( Watson v. RNC), which has the potential to reshape the way ballots are counted. Then, they preview next week’s oral arguments in the birthright citizenship case. Plus, Preet and Joyce pay tribute to former FBI Director and special counsel Robert...

What is David French-ism and is it a bad thing? In the Stay Tuned podcast bonus for Insiders, New York Times columnist and co-host of the Advisory Opinions podcast David French joins Preet to discuss politeness and whether it’s French’s Achilles heel or his biggest strength. For more content at the intersection of law, politics, and policy, sign up to receive the weekly CAFE Brief newsletter, for...

On the Insider docket: – A federal judge’s decision to quash subpoenas in the criminal probe of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell; – Republican efforts to pass the SAVE Act, which would require an ID to vote; and – A proposal from President Trump’s orbit urging him to declare a national emergency to federalize elections. We hope you’re finding CAFE Insider informative. Email us at letters@cafe.c...

Should we fear AI or embrace it? In the Stay Tuned podcast bonus for Insiders, former Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein joins Preet to discuss why he’s optimistic about the changes artificial intelligence will bring, and what the history of technological transformations tells us about what might be coming.  For more content at the intersection of law, politics, and policy, sign u...

On the Insider docket: – The Justice Department’s decision to continue its defense of Trump’s Executive Orders targeting law firms after abandoning the case one day earlier; – President Trump’s firing of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem; – The Justice Department’s reversal of a Biden-era policy restricting “no-knock” warrants; and – The Justice Department’s reported failure to build a criminal case again...

How is the war in Iran going to play politically for Democrats and Republicans? In the bonus for Insiders, The Atlantic staff writer Mark Leibovich shares his thoughts on how the war in Iran could shape U.S. politics. Plus, whether Democrats will flip the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections. Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at letters@cafe.com, or call 83...

On the Insider docket: – Former President Bill Clinton's and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s congressional testimony about Jeffrey Epstein; – New reporting that DOJ excluded allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor from its released Epstein files; – Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to permanently block the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigatio...

Does Trump really believe his own messaging, or is he just a master bullsh*tter? In the Stay Tuned podcast bonus for Insiders, Yale history professor Joanne Freeman and Vox editorial director Astead Herndon delve into the psychology behind Trump’s repeated lies. Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at letters@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. St...

On a new episode of the Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance are joined by former Solicitor General of the United States Don Verrilli to break down the Supreme Court’s decision striking down President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. We hope you’re finding CAFE Insider informative. Email us at letters@cafe.com with your suggestions and que...

What will restore the rule of law? In this bonus from the Stay Tuned podcast, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice turns the tables on Preet, asking how to respond to what she calls the “rapid evaporation” of democratic guardrails.  Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at letters@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tun...

On the Insider podcast docket: – The Justice Department’s failure to secure an indictment of a group of Democratic members of Congress over a video reminding military service members of their duty to refuse illegal orders; – Attorney General Pam Bondi’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee about DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files; – The Trump administration’s announcement that it is end...

It’s been said that American politics moves not like time's arrow or history's arc, but like a pendulum, swinging from left to right and back again. In the bonus for Insiders, historian Douglas Brinkley joins Preet to discuss why we may be on the verge of another swing, whether it will be enough to dislodge the unlikely coalition Trump cobbled together to win the White House, why the next Democrat...

On the Insider docket: – Ghislaine Maxwell’s request that President Trump grant her clemency in exchange for testimony that could clear him and Bill Clinton from any wrongdoing related to Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network; – Recent judicial opinions on ICE actions in Minnesota and Oregon;  – The mounting strain inside DOJ as the Department struggles to retain and recruit prosecutors, whil...

What would it actually take to end the war in Ukraine? What does Trump really want with Greenland? And what comes next for Venezuela after Maduro? In the bonus for Insiders, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, The Atlantic staff writer, and Autocracy in America podcast host Anne Applebaum joins Preet to survey the global landscape—and explains why she believes Trump has prolonged the war in Ukraine...

On the Insider docket: – DOJ’s investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minnesota; – Federal criminal charges brought against journalist Don Lemon related to his appearance at an anti-ICE protest inside a Minnesota church; – The FBI’s search of an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, at the center of President Trump’s debunked election fraud claims; and – The lat...

Could the Trump era ultimately be good for democracy? In the bonus for Insiders, Financial Times U.S. national editor and columnist Ed Luce explains why this might be, as he calls it, the mother of all teachable moments. Plus, what this next year holds for the future of the Fed. Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at letters@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leav...

If the people with oversight over federal agents won’t hold them accountable, what’s left for the public to do when an innocent person is killed in plain sight…and the government lies about what happened? On a new episode of the Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance discuss the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by border patrol agents in Minnesota. They delve into its aftermath, including the...

How should New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, react in the face of another so-called “subway vigilante”? In the bonus for Insiders, lawyer and former ICE Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs Elliot Williams shares his advice for the mayor as he and Preet delve into his new book, Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York’s Explosive ‘80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided...

On a new episode of the Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance are joined by Vanita Gupta, an experienced civil rights attorney who served as United States Associate Attorney General and led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. They break down the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, including whether use-of-force policies were followed, if the ICE agent...

Why aren’t kids today reading at grade level? In the Stay Tuned bonus for Insiders, Preet and longtime Democratic politician Rahm Emanuel discuss education reform and what actually works. Thank you for being a member of the Insider community. Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at letters@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet...