Talking Feds

A great trio of prominent commentators–Katie Benner, Aaron Blake, and George Conway–join Harry to break down a very good week for the rule of law joined with a rockier one on the political and social landscapes. The roundtable covers the broader legal and political importance of the Oath trial; the strongest of the many legal threats against Trump, the end game for J6C; & possible moves of the lam...

Public school education is the cornerstone of equal opportunity for all students and the key to the country’s future prosperity and competitiveness. In the last few years, it has plunged into a crisis far greater than most people realize, posting benchmarks that national officials call “appalling” and “unacceptable.” In this special topical episode of Talking Feds, 3 of the country’s leading educa...

On a week of tumultuous and hugely consequential developments on both the political and legal landscapes, Harry welcomes Sen Barbara Boxer, Norm Ornstein, and Michael Steele to work through the aftershocks of the Republicans’ gaining control of the Senate, Nancy Pelosi’s decision to step down as Speaker of the House, former President Trump’s declaration of candidacy, & AG Merrick Garland’s appoint...

After a midterm election in which Democrats outperformed not only poll-driven expectations but the results for any party in power in a generation, Harry is joined by a superb set of political analysts with great on-the ground political experience—Al Franken, Heidi Heitkamp, and Ted Lieu—to assess how the party did it but, more importantly, what the results suggest for the lame duck Congress, the n...

On the very eve of the midterms election, Harry and a great set of guests combining extensive political experience and broad savvy—Bill Kristol, Carol Lee, and Gov. Christine Todd Whitman—undertake a clear-eyed assessment of the potential coming changes. They consider the very real prospect of an election empowering Trump and dragging the country down even further into a polarized and vicious swam...

At T-minus one week to the election, 3 of the country’s leading political commentators and analysts–Joe Lockhart, Susan Glasser, and Josh Marshall—join Harry to analyze the parties’ closing strategies and assess the outsize stakes of the election. They analyze the potential deficiencies in the polls, and the challenges the Democrats face of trying to break through with arguments about abortion and...

On a week in which the midterm polls have shifted modestly but discernibly in favor of Republicans, a great set of political savants–Jon Alter, Greg Sargent, and Tara Setmayer–join Harry to assess the national movement and what if anything Dems can do to avert loss of 1 or 2 Houses of Congress. The group then discusses some individual races before moving on to the likely implications of Republican...

The January 6 Committee neared the end of its historic turn on the national stage with a hearing that focused relentlessly on the central role of former President Donald Trump in orchestrating the various schemes to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to President Biden. A fantastic panel with deep knowledge and experience - Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Carol Leonnig, and Andrew Weissmann - joins...

In a move that seemed only to strengthen the case against him for obstruction, Trump opted to stonewall the DOJ yet again in response to DOJ’s charge that he is still withholding some official docs. A seditious conspiracy case & the upcoming J6C hearing also kept the country’s focus on Trump’s Jan 6 conduct. All of this plays into the approaching midterms, with diverging strategies for the House a...

Based on its series of seismic changes to the law last Term, the Supreme Court starts a new term with record-low public support and deep disapproval in the legal profession. But the Court appears undaunted and poised to take up another set of cases that portend huge transformations for the law and US society. In an episode taped live at the Texas Tribune Festival, court experts Melissa Murray, and...

It wasn’t that long ago that the DOJ and Merrick Garland were being roundly criticized for not aggressively pursuing criminal cases against Donald Trump. No more. It’s clear that the DOJ has the former President in the crosshairs on a cluster of possible crimes. In an episode taped live at the Texas Tribune Festival, Katie Benner, Matt Miller, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to tap into what’s happen...

Another wild and woolly week, and Luke Broadwater, George Conway, & Jen Rodgers join Harry to assess its impact.  Judge Aileen Cannon again threw a monkey wrench into DOJ’s Mar-A-Lago work, prompting DOJ to take an appeal. DOJ’s Jan 6 investigation of Jan 6 seemed to spread to Trump confidants including Mark Meadows. On Capitol Hill, Lindsay Graham introduced a bill purporting to ban nearly all ab...

It was a week that began with a seeming lifeline to Donald Trump—a deeply flawed and out-of-touch ruling by a Trump appointed judge that threatened to upend both the criminal investigation and the national security review growing out of the MAL search. But by week’s end, DOJ had pushed back. Harry is joined by Bill Kristol, Emily Bazelon, and Natasha Bertrand to discuss Trump’s legal troubles and...

Trump managed once again to dominate the news, but that wasn’t good news for him. Court filings from DOJ detailed the magnitude of his illegal grab of public documents and the brazenness of his resistance to returning them. Both the US and our allies scrambled to assess the damage of Trump’s conduct to national security. Biden gave a speech calling out Trump and MAGA Republicans. And we take a clo...

Donald Trump has been slipping the noose for six years, but in the aftermath of the Mar-A-Lago search, he is facing his greatest peril. The search has triggered a criminal investigation within the Dept of Justice, and the case is appearing both solid and righteous. In “[REDACTED],” Harry is joined by David Jolly, Norm Ornstein, & Jen Rubin to analyze Trump’s troubles in Florida and Georgia, assess...

Fentanyl has become the leading cause of deaths of all Americans aged 18-45. Its combination of astonishing potency, synthesis, and control by criminal cartels have produced an extraordinary health and law enforcement crisis. Harry sits down with three experts in drug toxicology, treatment, & use. He then has a rare 1-on-1 interview with the top official at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Ann...

It was a week in which Donald Trump was pummeled from all corners of the legal system, starting with an FBI search of his Mar-A-Lago residence. The feds acted after learning that Trump and his circle had failed to return hugely sensitive documents that he improperly took from the White House and was continuing to conceal. A banner set of guests–Aaron Blake, Alexi McCammond, and Andrew Weissmann—jo...

The news this week found Trump is in the metaphoric crosshairs of the Department of Justice and Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the literal crosshairs of a deadly drone attack from the U.S. A fantastic group of commentators– Erin Burnett, Juliette Kayyem, and Asha Rangappa—join Harry to analyze the portents for Trump, assess the fallout from the drone attack, and canvass the latest in the cou...

In the wake of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade, state Attorneys General around the country are grappling with a new landscape of abortion rights. Harry is joined by three of those state officials from blue states–AG Dana Nessel of Michigan, AG Aaron Ford of Nevada, & AG Phil Weiser of Colorado–to discuss the status of abortion law in their states & what they are doing to protect the repr...

In “The Horror! The Horror!,” Harry and 3 of the country’s most prominent and knowledgeable commentators—Norm Eisen, Juliette Kayyem, and Matt Miller-- give a 360 º look at the January 6th Committee’s hearing on the “187 minutes” during which former President Trump steadfastly refused to call a halt to the ruinous melee he had instigated. The group take up the hearing from multiple vantage points...

A multi-threat, round-the-world episode. The Jan 6 hearings have chased foreign policy, especially the war in the Ukraine, from the headlines; but the brutal war slogs on, in ways that have distinct consequences for domestic politics. Natasha Bertrand, Frank Figliuzzi, & Fiona Hill join Harry to canvass the state of play in the war, the best current thinking on the end game, Biden’s first trip to...

At the end of a week of brutal news that began with another mass shooting in Highland Park IL, three of the sharpest commentators in the country and Talking Feds stalwarts – Laura Coates, Al Franken, and Norm Ornstein – join Harry to analyze the importance of the Cipollone interview before the J6 Committee, the Fulton County subpoenas, and the Supreme Court’s decision overruling Roe v Wade and it’...

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 co...

At the tail end of a week as eventful and tumultuous as any in memory, a stellar group of guests – Katie Benner, Melissa Murray, and Jen Rubin – join Harry to assess the damage and consider what lies ahead. The group divides its discussion between the Supreme Court’s radical landmark decision overruling Roe v. Wade and the January 6 Committee blockbuster hearings documenting two near-miss efforts...

It was a week with two separate hearings in the January 6 Committee, one on the “Big Lie” and one on “Hang Mike Pence.” Each felt like a full-length movie, crammed with new details and above all leaving no doubt that the 2 schemes were 100% bankrupt and everyone in the self-titled “Team Normal” (as opposed to “Team Crazy”) knew it. A phenomenal set of guests–Bill Kristol, Ezra Klein, and Emily Baz...