Talking Feds is a roundtable discussion that brings together prominent former government officials, journalists, and special guests for a dynamic and in-depth analysis of the most pressing questions in law and politics.
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The midterms are just around the corner and there's already a shadow war raging over their outcome. Election law guru Marc Elias spends his days battling the Trump administration’s attempts to stack the deck. With November looming, Harry asks Marc for a tour of worst-case scenarios of election theft or interference. For each, Marc lays out the dangers, the stakes, and the potential countermoves.…
Faced with a worsening midterm map and spiraling conflict with Iran, Donald Trump is focusing on what really matters: his crusade to reshape Washington. Kristen Holmes, Adam Klasfeld, and Tara Setmayer join Harry to break down the monument mania. The panel digs in to the new Kennedy Center scheme, the ballroom appeal, and Jeanine Pirro’s mysterious special grand jury. The group then turns to an…
After an ICE agent shot Renee Good, observers looked to the elite squad of federal prosecutors tasked with investigating such shootings: the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The Division did nothing. It marked a sad chapter for an institution that, as historian Kevin M. Kruse explains, spent decades fighting for justice against long odds. Together, Kruse and Harry discuss the…
Liz Oyer, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to break down a week of embarrassments for Donald Trump, offset partly by Todd Blanche’s confirmation as Attorney General. The panel weighs the iniquity of the Senate’s vote, then digs into a court’s forceful rejection of Trump’s ballroom and the fallout from the shambolic Reflecting Pool prosecution. Finally, the group focuses…
“Sometimes the smaller power has advantages that you don't expect.” That’s the lesson Anne Applebaum says Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are learning as their weaker foes keep handing them setbacks. Applebaum explains to Harry how Ukraine's drone campaign is bringing the war home to Russians and why Iran looks poised to gain unprecedented control over the Strait of Hormuz. And, as Trump amasses…
Donald Trump seems determined to make things hard for everyone: Americans, Republican senators, and even himself. Glenn Kirschner, Josh Marshall, and Ali Vitali join Harry to talk through a week packed with unforced errors by the administration that are derailing Trump's presidency in the run-up to the midterms. The panel discusses Trump’s no-holds-barred effort to save the slush fund, the…
Like the prophets he quotes at the pulpit, Senator Raphael Warnock feels he’s watching his country descend into greed, injustice, and tyranny. He sees a MAGA movement “corrupting” his Christian faith and a president who seems to think charity begins (and mostly ends) at home. With his new book—The Crooked Places Made Straight—Senator Warnock lays out what Democrats must do to meet this moral…
As casualties mount and gas prices rise, the White House knows it may be losing its chance to resolve its war with Iran in time to prevent a midterms wipe-out for Republicans. To plumb the depth of the political damage and assess the decisive races, Harry talks with Susan Glasser, Astead Herndon, and Juliette Kayyem. The group breaks down Trump’s decision to go back to war, Hegseth’s worrying…
Maggie Haberman has been on the Trump beat for decades. Now she has written—with co-author Jonathan Swan—a tour de force on how the president is remaking our government in his image. Haberman gives Harry an inside look at a White House in thrall to a president who’s never been so uninhibited. She shares a swath of insights about Trump’s health, his reluctance to help Republicans in the midterms,…
Aaron Blake, Conor Lamb, and Mimi Rocah join Harry to break down Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing, two new ICE killings, and a primetime election rant. Did Todd Blanche manage to persuade senators that he's a traditional do-the-right-thing prosecutor? Why is Trump suddenly embracing ICE’s abuses again, and could that cost him the midterms? Finally: was Trump’s big speech a prelude to a…