Escalation

Lawfare & Goat Rodeo•www.lawfaremedia.org

The War in Ukraine has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and left entire cities in ruins. It’s a human tragedy on an unimaginable scale. But beyond the death toll and destruction, the conflict represents something even larger: a flashpoint in the ongoing battle between democracy and authoritarianism, sovereignty and imperialism. Escalation is a gripping narrative podcast that delves deep into the complex and often fraught history of the relationship between the United States and Ukraine. Co-produced by Goat Rodeo and Lawfare, this eight-episode series unravels the decades of diplomacy, political scandals, and high-stakes decision-making that shaped this alliance, now tested by the largest land war in Europe since World War II. This is the feed for Lawfare Presents. A home for limited run series and specials from Lawfare and Goat Rodeo.

Produced by Goat Rodeo.

www.goatrodeodc.com

Lawfare

www.lawfaremedia.org/

This series is made possible by the generous support of DeleteMe. To learn more about DeleteMe, visit www.joindeleteme.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Episodes

The Report Part IX: Honest Loyalty

It’s January 26, 2017. Sally Yates is the acting Attorney General; she’s leading the Justice Department until Jeff Sessions is confirmed by the Senate. Yates has just learned some alarming news. The new National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has lied to FBI agents. He’s told them that he hadn’t discussed sanctions in a call with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. But he had. And it looks like Flynn has lied to the vice president about it as well. Yates calls White House Counsel Don McGahn. She ...

Sep 27, 2019•53 min•Season 1Ep. 9

The Report Part VIII: End Of The Beginning

It’s May 12, 2017. The FBI is still reeling from the sudden firing of Director James Comey. Andrew McCabe has only been the acting Director for 3 days. He’s trying to talk to Rod Rosenstein about the issue weighing on his mind: how are they going to protect the Russia investigation? The FBI is already investigating whether the president has tried to interfere with that inquiry. But the Deputy Attorney General is distracted and upset; he can’t believe the White House is making it look as if firin...

Sep 20, 2019•35 min•Season 1Ep. 8

BONUS: The Bodybuilder, The Son, & The Turkish Plot

We’ve just finished Volume I of our podcast bringing to life Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interference, and are hard at work on Volume II. We’ll have that ready for you soon. But in the meantime, we’ve put together some bonus episodes for you to enjoy. In this episode, the Lawfare teams brings you some of the more interesting pieces of Volume I that didn't make it into our episodes. From Donald Trump Jr's grand jury redactions, the role of Bitcoin in election interference, to Mich...

Sep 13, 2019•26 min

BONUS: The Death of Peter Smith

It’s July 2016. Then-FBI Director James Comey gives a press conference explaining that, while he has recommended that the Justice Department not pursue charges against Hillary Clinton for her mishandling of classified information, Clinton’s conduct was “extremely careless.” Evidence has never surfaced that Clinton’s account was compromised. But a Republican political operative named Peter Smith becomes obsessed with the idea that Russia might have gained access. He spends the next year trying to...

Sep 06, 2019•26 min

Part VII: Charging Decisions

It’s April 18, 2019, Attorney General Bill Barr summons reporters to the Department of Justice in Washington DC. Robert Mueller’s report is about to be released. Before the press and the public finally see the document for themselves, Barr wants a chance to tell his own version of the story it contains. But is the bottom line according to Barr the same as the bottom line according to Robert Mueller? We’ll let you decide. Previous episodes have told the story of the factual findings of the Muelle...

Aug 30, 2019•58 min•Season 1Ep. 7

Part VI: Back Channels

It’s December 29, 2016. The Obama administration announces that it’s imposing sanctions on Russia, as punishment for election interference. Michael Flynn has been tapped to become Trump’s national security advisor when the new administration takes office in January, but it’s still the transition period. Flynn is taking a few days vacation at the beach, when he sees the news. He grabs his phone and texts the transition team at Mar a Lago. He writes “Tit for tat with Russia not good” and says that...

Aug 23, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 6

The Report Part V: Russian Overtures

It’s the morning of April 25, 2016. At a hotel in London, a Maltese professor meets with a young foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. The two have been in touch over the past few weeks; the professor has been helping the young man connect with Russian officials. Now, over breakfast, the professor lets him in on a secret. On a recent trip to Moscow, high-level government officials told him that the Russians have “dirt” on Trump’s opponent. What was the “dirt” in question? “Emails,” he sa...

Aug 16, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 5

The Report Part IV: A Tale of Two Trump Towers

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Aug 09, 2019•58 min•Season 1Ep. 4

The Report Part III: The Campaign & The Leaks

It’s July 27, 2016. Donald Trump has just given a press conference during which he suggests that Russia hack Hillary Clinton and release the 30,000 allegedly missing emails from her private email server. The Russians, unbeknownst to people in the United States, appear to take the request seriously and hour later begin cyber-attacking Clinton’s private office for the first time. Privately, Trump has instructions for his top aides: He repeatedly asks individuals affiliated with his Campaign to fin...

Aug 02, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 3

The Report Part II: Hack. Dump. Divide.

It's March 2016. John Podesta is sitting at his computer. He opens an email. Something’s wrong with his password, it says. It looks a little fishy, but IT says it is legit. And so he clicks. He follows the prompt. inputs his old password, resets a new one. And just like that hackers from a Russian military intelligence unit are in. It barely takes a minute, one click and a few keystrokes and there is no going back. This is Episode 2 of The Report: Hack. Dump. Divide Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Jul 26, 2019•51 min•Season 1Ep. 2

The Report Part I: Active Measures

It is 2014 in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the heart of the city, a small nondescript office building sits beside the Bolshaya Nevka River. Inside, workers stare at computer screens open to Facebook and Twitter, furiously typing. Their task: Sow discord, disinformation, and doubt. Their target: The United States of America. Through fake social media accounts and armies of bots, they are flooding online media with disinformation. This is a Troll Farm. It’s name: The Internet Research Agency. Hosted...

Jul 19, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Trailer

On April 18th 2019, The Justice Department released the redacted Mueller Report to the public. The 448 page document details a story that has captured America’s attention. From Russian plots to interfere in our election to constitutional questions of executive power, the Mueller Report is potentially one of the most important and consequential documents of our time. But there’s a problem: Very few people have read it. There is still so much confusion about the Report. What it says, who it implic...

Jul 12, 2019•3 min

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