Donald Trump has used the word "Stop" over and over again to accomplish his nefarious ends: "stop" voting by mail, "stop" Congress from certifying the election results. Of course, Trump adds words like "fraud" and "steal", apparently believing it will somehow help shield him from criminal liability. Here's why he is wrong . . . Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/glennkirschner My podcast, "Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner" can be downloaded where you g...
Feb 01, 2021•8 min•Ep. 14
Many people know of Merrick Garland primarily because he was nominated by President Obama to be a Supreme Court Justice but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unconstitutionally deprived Judge Garland of an "advice and consent" confirmation hearing. What many might not know is that, as a Department of Justice prosecutor, Garland headed up the investigation and prosecution of our nation's deadliest domestic terrorism incident: the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklah...
Jan 31, 2021•10 min•Ep. 13
As a career prosecutor, I was involved in many long-term criminal investigations, both overt and covert. As part of every investigation, we had to balance public safety concerns against the need to continue to investigate before moving to the "takedown" stage - arresting the targets of the investigation. The available evidence supports a conclusion that Donald Trump incited the insurrection on the US Capitol on January 6th. Yet Trump has not yet been arrested for his crimes. Many are asking how ...
Jan 30, 2021•8 min•Ep. 12
Two questions frequently are being asked in the aftermath of the January 6th storming of the US Capitol: 1. Why are the individuals who are being arrested being charged with what seem like low level criminal offenses? 2. Why are most of the insurrectionists being released by judges after they have been arrested and presented in court? In my 30 years as a federal prosecutor, I investigated, indicted and tried many conspiracy cases. Here are some of the institutional, procedural and practical reas...
Jan 29, 2021•16 min•Ep. 11
The frustration of the American people is as understandable as it is palpable. Donald Trump committed so many crimes in plain sight yet he has been held accountable for nary a one. Moreover, it's being reported that Trump is golfing in Florida and plotting his revenge against Republicans who, in his estimation, did him wrong. As a federal prosecutor for 30 years, rarely did I have as much evidence in a case as we've seen just publicly reported about Trump's crimes. Here is why need to be patient...
Jan 28, 2021•9 min•Ep. 10
In his first week, President Joe Biden has been signing Executive Orders at a remarkable pace. Notably, these executive orders have an overarching theme of restoring honor, decency, accountability, diversity and equality to our federal government. In short, he is trying to repair the incalculable damage to our government done by Donald Trump. In another break with Trump precedent, Joe Biden directly confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin on the many issues for which Trump had given Putin a ...
Jan 27, 2021•8 min•Ep. 9
Attorneys General of Maryland and the District of Columbia, as well as the nonprofit organization Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued Donald Trump for his obvious and chronic violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution (personally profiting from his office). The trial courts refused to dismiss the cases but Trump engaged in endless appeals and delays. When the cases finally made it up to the Supreme Court, the court dismissed the cases as moot because Trump is n...
Jan 26, 2021•11 min•Ep. 8
The first Senate impeachment of Donald Trump was anything but a trial: no witnesses, no documents, no evidence, no testimony. Indeed, half of the Senators refused to hold Trump accountable for crimes and abuses he committed in plain sight. But if Senate Impeachment Trial part one was an embarrassment, just wait until Senate Impeachment Trial: The Sequel. Every single senator - the jurors - has a disqualifying conflict, as they are either witnesses, victims or possible instigators/perpetrators th...
Jan 25, 2021•8 min•Ep. 7
The Washington Post and the New York Times reported that Trump planned to oust Acting Attorney General Rosen so he could install a DOJ Official named Jeffrey Clark as AG so Clark could help him corruptly overturn the Georgia election results. What are the next steps to address a situation where a president of the United States recruited a top DOJ Official to participate in a criminal conspiracy to corruptly overturn election results? Clark should be subpoenaed by both Congress and a grand jury e...
Jan 24, 2021•13 min•Ep. 6
Senate MINORITY Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding that the Senate MAJORITY Leader Chuck Schumer leave the filibuster in place, meaning that it would make it significantly harder for the Democrats to pass legislation or confirm presidential nominees on a simple majority vote. This is the same Mitch McConnell who bragged about being the grim reaper and presiding over a legislative graveyard where he sent all of the bills duly passed by the House of Representatives to die. This is the same Mitch ...
Jan 23, 2021•8 min•Ep. 5
Topic 1: President Biden has decided to keep Christopher Wray as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Here are the pros and cons of keeping Wray in place. Topic 2: Donald Trump pardons his close associate, Steve Bannon. Bannon therefore can not be charge in federal court but he CAN and should now be charged in state court. What are the consequences to a state court prosecution of Bannon's decision to accept a pardon? The answer might surprise you. Please consider becoming a #Team...
Jan 22, 2021•14 min•Ep. 4
During his inaugural address, Joe Biden said, "The dream of justice will be deferred no longer." Given the crimes and abuses of the Trump administration, Biden's words must become a battle cry. As difficult as it will be, the crimes of the past four years must be investigated and, when the evidence supports it, charged and prosecuted. There can be no justice without accountability, which is why President Biden's words regarding "justice" were as welcome as they were important. Team Justice is on...
Jan 21, 2021•6 min•Ep. 3
It's being reported that Trump is preparing to issue as many as 100 pardons. This surprises exactly no one, as it's a fitting last act of a president who has been largely lawless during his four years in office. But what are the consequences for the people who decide to accept a pardon from Trump? The Supreme Court answered that question in 1915 in the case of George Burdick v. The United States. Mr. Burdick was the editor of the New York Tribune who refused to accept a pardon from President Woo...
Jan 19, 2021•16 min•Ep. 2
As a career federal prosecutor, I spent 30 years arguing cases in courts. In the final days of the Trump presidency, here is the first in a series of "closing arguments" regarding the legal issues that will have to be addressed in. the near future by the Biden administration. Today's installment: why the Department of Justice MUST challenge a presidential self-pardon and why the courts will strike down the the pardon. Tomorrow's episode: why the available evidence proves beyond a reasonable doub...
Jan 18, 2021•22 min•Ep. 1
DC Federal District Court Judge Reggie Walton is presiding over Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation regarding the Mueller Report. In that capacity, Judge Walton discussed in open court on Friday how his colleague on the DC Federal Court, Judge Emmet Sullivan, might challenge Donald Trump's pardon of Mike Flynn. Having appeared as a federal prosecutor before both Judge Walton and Judge Sullivan, I can attest to how these two jurists are entirely dedicated to the rule of law and the integ...
Dec 07, 2020•19 min•Ep. 17
The recent Supreme Court decision, in which the court struck down New York's attempt to limit the size of religious gatherings for public safety reasons, provides a clear and compelling example of why we must increase the number of Supreme Court justices. We should not be locked in the perpetual battle of decisions that are decided by one justice. When we do that, we are letting one non-elected individual appointed by a partisan president set constitutional policy for 330,000,000 Americans. That...
Nov 30, 2020•16 min•Ep. 16
The New York Times published an article titled: "Can America Restore the Rule of Law Without Prosecuting Trump." The answer to that question can be gleaned from the first two statutes of Title 18 of the U.S. Criminal Code: 1 Principals and 2. Accessories After the Fact. Here's why it's critically important to the health and vitality of the rule of law that the incoming administration prosecute Trump and his criminal associates. Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patre...
Nov 23, 2020•23 min•Ep. 15
An emergency room nurse in South Dakota relates her telling experiences with Covid patients who are unwilling to accept their diagnosis because of the continued disinformation from Trump and company. The only way to fix what Trump broke is education, accurate information, empathy and patience. Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/glennkirschner My podcast, "Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner" can be downloaded where you get your podcasts. Follow me on: Twi...
Nov 15, 2020•14 min•Ep. 14
With the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, there is a powerful urge to move on from the past four years of the unabated crime and corruption that defines the Trump Administration. However, from the perspective of a former career federal prosecutor, here is why the county must now tackle the difficult but necessary task of investigating and, where the evidence supports it, prosecuting all crimes by all government officials - elected, appointed or hired. Please consider becoming a #TeamJust...
Nov 08, 2020•29 min•Ep. 13
We always hear about how candidates make their "closing arguments" to the American people in the final days of the election. As we say in courtrooms - "closing arguments are not evidence." Let's look at six pieces of circumstantial election evidence and see what it tells us about the likely outcome of what may be the most consequential election in the history of our nation. Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/glennkirschner My podcast, "Justice Matters with...
Nov 02, 2020•17 min•Ep. 12
Mitch McConnell has packed the federal courts with 220 judges. Some are already handing down opinions ranging from dubious to destructive of diversity, like Judge Justin Walker deciding that a photographer use her religious beliefs to discriminate against a same sex couple to Judge Neomi Rao who has issued "widely mocked" dissents and had her legal opinion/reasoning reversed by the full court of appellate judges. Civic engagement by the citizenry is more important now than ever. A Citizens Briga...
Oct 25, 2020•29 min•Ep. 141
During her Supreme Court Confirmation hearing, Amy Coney Barrett used something she called super-precedent as a fancy legal-sounding vehicle to hide her ideological preferences. Her confirmation will necessitate future additional to the Supreme Court to help fix what Trump and McConnell broke. Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/glennkirschner My podcast, "Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner" can be downloaded where you get your podcasts. Follow me on: htt...
Oct 19, 2020•26 min•Ep. 141
Trump's behavior before, during and after the now-exposed conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer raises substantial questions of Trump's potential responsibility for how people react to his statements, his suggestions, his commands and his directives. Here is a discussion of the law of conspiracy as well as the 1970 law states regarding Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO). Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/glennkirschner...
Oct 12, 2020•26 min•Ep. 142
Ignoring all advice from the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Trump gathers the rich, the powerful, the influential and the connected together at the White House for a special super-spreader event. The "masters-of-the-universe" crowd (h/t to Thomas Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities), decides to ignore all CDC guidance: no masks, packed shoulder-to-shoulder, lots of hugs and kisses. The political titans apparently believe that their wealth, status and influence serve as a magical shield, ...
Oct 04, 2020•16 min•Ep. 8
All indicators are pointing to Trump losing the upcoming election in a landslide. The prevailing wisdom is he will then file legal challenges in various courts contesting the election results. Based on legal doctrines such as "forfeiture by wrongdoing" and the "clean hands" doctrine, Trump will get laughed out of court by the judges. Trump's days in office are numbered. If you are interested in supporting our content, please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/gle...
Sep 28, 2020•25 min•Ep. 7
My good friend, retired police officer Brett Parson, pioneered the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's LGBTQ+ Unit. His work received Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government Innovation in Government Award, complete with a $100,000 grant used to replicate the model in other police departments around the country. As you all know, I haven't had any guests on "Justice Matters." So I am proud to have Brett as my first guest to talk about his experiences as a police officer for ...
Sep 21, 2020•42 min•Ep. 6
Bill Barr tasked U.S. Attorney John Durham with going on a witch hunt - investigating the Trump-Russia investigators - in efforts to undermine the origins of the Russia investigation, notwithstanding the fact that the Mueller Report AND the DOJ Inspector General (IG) Horowitz report AND the Senate Intelligence Committee reports all concluded that the Trump-Russia investigation was properly opened. Barr is looking for a different answer - one that helps Trump and hurts Biden. Hence, the Durham in...
Sep 13, 2020•41 min•Ep. 5
EDITED: I mistakenly state that election day is "November 4, 2020." It is November, 3, 2020. My apologies for the error. Trump and his nefarious associates believe they have perfected exploiting the delay in the court system to run out the clock and never be held to account. The fix is not as difficult as you might think. There's an abundance of specialized courts created to deal with specific types of cases. For example, there are drug courts, mental health courts, juvenile courts and domestic ...
Sep 07, 2020•32 min•Ep. 4
All the prohibitions in the world (as, for example, banning choke holds), won't accomplish a thing if the wrong people are populating our police forces. After 30 years as a prosecutor working with thousands of police officers, agents and detectives, here's my take on realistic, imminently doable police reform: extreme vetting/hiring practices with FULL citizen participation; extreme training and testing, with FULL citizen participation, until deescalation is muscle memory; and extreme accountabi...
Aug 30, 2020•58 min•Ep. 142
We all know that Mitch McConnell has been packing the courts with ideologues, including several judges rated "not qualified" by the American Bar Association to serve as federal judges. The judicial candidates identified by McConnell and nominated by Donald Trump have inarguably degraded the quality of the federal judiciary. This episode discusses a three-part plan to unpack the courts. After nearly four years of Donald Trump's reign, it's become apparent that we can no longer rely on the federal...
Aug 23, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 2
