CAFE Insider

On the Insider docket: – Reports that the FBI plans to stage a perp walk with former FBI Director Jim Comey; – A federal judge’s opinion in Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s criminal case, finding signs of vindictive prosecution by the government; and – A federal judge’s ruling blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. Shownotes & transcript can be found...

In the bonus for Insiders, Secretary Blinken shares his thoughts on his successor, Secretary Marco Rubio, and what it means to “run the process.”  Thank you for being a member of the CAFE 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 is brought to you by CAFE and t...

On the Insider docket: – The indictment of former FBI Director Jim Comey, charging him with making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding; and – The Justice Department’s decision to close an investigation into Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, for allegedly accepting a $50,000 bribe. Shownotes & transcript can be found at CAFE.com . Want to see Preet and Joyce live? They’ll...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , Preet speaks with cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker about how laughter and comedy can inform common knowledge and vice versa. Thank you for being a member of the CAFE 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 is brought to you by C...

On the Insider docket: – Eastern District of Virginia US Attorney Erik Siebert’s resignation amid pressure from President Trump to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James; – Trump’s Truth Social post urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute political rivals; – Charlie Kirk’s assassination and its aftermath; and – FBI Director Kash Patel’s testimony before the Senate and House Judic...

In the bonus for Insiders, Preet and Elie discuss what makes Elie such a prolific writer, plus, that one time the mob tried to kill Curtis Sliwa.  Thank you for being a member of the CAFE 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 is brought to you by CAFE and t...

On this week’s Insider episode, Joyce Vance is joined by Slate senior editor and host of the Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick, while Preet is out.  On the Insider docket: – The appeasement theory and how the Supreme Court is emboldening Trump in his continued fight for power; – Some of the most important cases the Court will decide in its upcoming term, covering tariffs, transgender rights, vo...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , Everytown for Gun Safety President John Feinblatt and Second Amendment expert Adam Winkler speak with Preet about U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s decision not to federally prosecute individuals for carrying rifles or shotguns in D.C. Thank you for being a member of the CAFE Insider community. Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at le...

On the Insider docket: – The Supreme Court ruling that loosened restrictions on immigration raids in Los Angeles, allowing ICE to make stops based on factors like ethnicity; – A federal judge’s ruling that President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to LA was unlawful;  – A federal appeals court ruling, which, for the first time, struck down Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to depo...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , Nobel Prize-winning economist and MIT professor Daron Acemoglu discusses what people often overlook when comparing the Industrial Revolution to the AI revolution.  Thank you for being a member of the CAFE 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...

On the Insider docket: – President Donald Trump’s efforts to expand the National Guard’s role in D.C. law enforcement;  – Trump’s threats to deploy troops to other major cities, including Chicago, New York, and Baltimore; and  – Two separate law enforcement assault cases out of D.C. in which federal prosecutors failed to secure indictments before a grand jury. Shownotes & transcript...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , Atlantic staff writer and policy expert Tom Nichols speaks with Preet about the redistricting battles happening around the country. Thank you for being a member of the CAFE 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 is brought to you b...

On the Insider docket: – The agreement between the D.C. government and the Trump administration, facilitated by a federal judge, preserving the local government’s authority over its police force after Trump sought to take control of the department;  – A federal appellate court’s decision allowing the Trump administration to continue to withhold billions of dollars in foreign aid; and – The vo...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , Preet and former Harvard Law Dean Martha Minow explore whether judges should be more outspoken amid the rise of political attacks, death threats, and a breakdown in civic education. They also reflect on the impact of shrinking attention spans, social media outrage, and what we lose when the public stops understanding how justice works. Thank you for being a member o...

On the Insider docket: – President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington, D.C. to seize control of the police and deploy the National Guard; – A federal judge’s decision to reject the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury testimony from the Ghislaine Maxwell case; and – The redistricting debate in Texas, as Democratic lawmakers have fled the state t...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , former congressman Joe Kennedy III reflects on his time as President Biden’s Special Envoy to Northern Ireland. He shares what he learned from a post-conflict society still grappling with identity, division, and peace—and how those lessons might apply to the growing political polarization here in the U.S. Thank you for being a member of the CAFE Insider community. T...

On the Insider docket: – When violations of immigration law are treated as civil versus criminal offenses under U.S. law; and – A new bill in Congress that would ban lawmakers from trading stocks. Shownotes & transcript can be found at CAFE.com . We hope you’re finding CAFE Insider informative. Email us at letters@cafe.com with your suggestions and questions for Preet and Joyce.  Watch li...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , Preet is joined by former DOJ officials Mimi Rocah, Elie Honig, and Asha Rangappa to discuss the intense political backlash surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files. Democrats—and some Republicans—in Congress are pushing to release all documents related to DOJ’s Epstein cases.  Thank you for being a member of the CAFE Insider community. Tweet your questions to @Pr...

On this week’s Insider episode, Preet Bharara is joined by Lawfare editor-in-chief Ben Wittes, while Joyce is out.  On the Insider docket: – Deputy AG Todd Blanche’s meeting with Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell; – The battle over unsealing grand jury testimony in the Epstein case; – The firing of Maurene Comey, an SDNY prosecutor and daughter of former FBI director Jim Comey; – Wheth...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , Preet is joined by legendary media executive Barry Diller, who reflects on the current political moment, and whether AI can replace the artist’s process.  Thank you for being a member of the CAFE 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 wi...

On the Insider docket: – President Donald Trump’s push to unseal grand jury testimony from the Jeffrey Epstein case following weeks of backlash from Trump’s supporters; – Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over a report on Epstein’s birthday letters, including one reportedly bearing Trump’s signature; and – The firing of SDNY prosecutor Maurene Comey, who handled the Epstei...

On this week’s Insider episode, Joyce Vance is joined by CAFE contributor Nita Farahany, while Preet is out. Farahany is a professor of law and philosophy at Duke Law School and a leading expert on the ethical and legal implications of emerging technologies. Joyce and Nita discuss the U.S.’s failure to put in place proper safeguards for AI, and what Congress must do to keep pace with the growing r...

In this bonus from Stay Tuned , Preet is joined by Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum to discuss Trump’s “not very strategic” policy toward Russia and Ukraine, and how Trump has undermined the Ukrainian cause.   Thank you for being a member of the CAFE Insider community. Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at letters@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to...

On the Insider docket: – The Supreme Court’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor , which affords parents of elementary school children a religious exemption to school lessons on LGBTQ+ storybooks; – A federal judge’s ruling that stops President Trump from limiting who can apply for asylum in the U.S.; – The Supreme Court’s order that cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport a group of immi...