Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, Jon Alter, and Matt Miller join Harry in a week when the continuing influence of former President Trump was on regular display. Trump’s former Counsel, Don McGahn, finally testified before Congress; but he was limited to facts already in the public record. Core Trumpians Matt Gaetz and Louis DeJoy were looking down the barrel at serious criminal charges. And state actors in Texas and elsewhere looked to implement Trump’s cynical strategy of voter suppression. See P...
Jun 07, 2021•51 min•Ep. 130
This week we take an in-depth look at the position of the White House Counsel, one of the most important players in government, yet one that remains obscure to many people. The Counsel is integrally involved in most aspects of the Presidency and takes a center-stage role at times of great crisis. In this episode, previously only available to subscribers, Harry speaks with Bob Bauer, President Obama's counsel and Beth Nolan, President Clinton’s counsel. Then, in a new bonus section, he speaks wit...
May 31, 2021•50 min•Ep. 129
Rick Wilson, Erin Burnett, and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon join Harry to talk through the political and legal landscape, starting with the Republican Party’s gyrations to avoid the establishment of a bipartisan commission to investigate the events of January 6. They then analyze the New York AG’s new criminal investigation of Allen Weisselberg, ending with the Supreme Court commission and the likelihood (remote) that it will lead to any changes in Court composition or selection process See Pr...
May 24, 2021•46 min•Ep. 128
Feds Emily Bazelon, Juliette Kayyem, and Max Boot dig into a week of big stories across a range of areas and the changes they portend for coming months. With its ouster of Liz Cheney, the Republican party split along the seam of the Big Lie, making it the party’s defining covenant into 2022. It now appears that COVID won’t taper to zero but to an extended period of risk minimization. And the Colonial Pipeline attack presented a dystopian vision of national vulnerability to cyberattack. See Priva...
May 17, 2021•45 min•Ep. 127
This week we listen in on the most knowledgeable counterterrorism and national security professionals — Frank Figuliuzzi, Katherine Schweit, Malcolm Nance, and Philip Mudd — as they discuss the state of threats to the Homeland and the measures the government is taking to address them, including Biden's anticipated domestic violence and extremism package, the issue of the social media as a breeding ground for extremism, and the spike in mass shootings. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...
May 10, 2021•48 min•Ep. 126
100 days into the Biden Administration, 3 friends of the podcast with special insight into the DOJ – Katie Benner, Matt Miller, & Andrew Weissmann -- join Harry to focus on the state of the Department under new AG Merrick Garland. The 4 discuss the Giuliani search warrant and its broader implications. They then take up the restoration of pattern and practice authority and its deploy in 2 cities. They end with an assessment of morale among career employees after the serious hits of the Trump ...
May 03, 2021•53 min•Ep. 125
In the wake of the guilty verdicts in the Chauvin case, Jamie Raskin, Phil Rucker, and Bianca Vivion Brooks join Harry to break down the reasons for the outcome and, more importantly, what it augurs—or doesn’t-- for broader reform of police practices in this country. The group then turns its attention to climate change and President Biden’s commitment to cut emissions in half by the end of the decade. What does that mean for Americans and what impact will it have on the rest of the world? See Pr...
Apr 26, 2021•41 min•Ep. 124
After a week of seismic developments in foreign affairs, a banner trio of expert commentators -- David Frum, Evan McMullin, and Fiona Hill -- join Harry for a breakdown of the events and their portents. The group analyzes the announcement of the end of the Afghanistan war and whether it was the best of the bad options for the US. We turn to an in-depth discussion of Russia sanctions and the situation in the Ukraine. Finally, we consider whether there is yet such a thing as a “Biden foreign polic...
Apr 19, 2021•48 min•Ep. 123
We tackle this week perhaps the most entrenched stalemate in American political life: the regulation of gun ownership and gun violence. The US has rates of gun deaths 5 to 25 times that of other developed countries, and large majorities support at least certain reforms; and yet we repeatedly play out the same cycle of outrage followed by inaction. Congress members Conor Lamb and Eric Swalwell, and Brady President Kris Brown, join Harry to try to shed new light on this perennial issue. See Privac...
Apr 12, 2021•49 min•Ep. 122
In this episode of Talking Feds, the roundtable delves into three different aspects of our polarized national life. Yamiche Alcindor, David Jolly, and Norm Ornstein join Harry to analyze the trial week in Chauvin and the broader stakes the case presents. They then take up the culture clash over the idea of vaccine passports. Finally, the four try to make sense of the quicksand Matt Gaetz is in, tying it to the broader crazy political culture of Florida. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pr...
Apr 05, 2021•52 min•Ep. 121
In the immediate aftermath of the $1.9 trillion recovery package, the Biden administration is readying the most ambitious and progressive set of economic reforms in the country in at least the last 50 years, with a total price tag of $3-4 trillion. Nobel-Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, former Council of Economic Advisers member Betsey Stevenson, and former senator Al Franken join Harry to break down Biden’s transformative proposals through the lenses of economics and politics. See Privacy ...
Mar 29, 2021•43 min•Ep. 120
This week we turn our sights to the United States Senate, as a phenomenal group of experts–Bill Kristol, Jen Rubin, & Senator Whitehouse–join Harry to break down the most important & challenging topics on the Senate’s plate. We first consider the prospects for passage of landmark voting rights legislation, including the possible elimination of the filibuster. We then turn to oversight of unsolved problems from the Trump years before considering the confirmation prospects of senior DOJ of...
Mar 22, 2021•54 min•Ep. 119
It was a historic week for the country and the presidency, with passage of a 1.9 trillion stimulus that represented the most fundamental alteration in the role of government in at least 50 years. Congressman Joaquin Castro, Joe Lockhart, Laura Jarrett, & Matt Miller join Harry to analyze the landmark provision. They then turn to immigration, where Biden's ambitious plans face less certain prospects. Finally, they reflect on the terrible horrible no-good week of New York governor Andrew Cuomo...
Mar 15, 2021•56 min•Ep. 118
The Feds go back to basics and back to our roots with a nuts-and-bolts prosecutors’ dissection of the three potential criminal cases against Donald Trump—in Fulton County, Manhattan, and the DOJ--from the vantage point of the concrete specifics that experienced prosecutors focus on in determining whether to bring a case. Cynthia Alksne, Judge John Gleeson, Jen Rodgers & Andrew Weissmann join Harry to talk through the three cases’ strengths and weaknesses as prosecutors must before deciding t...
Mar 08, 2021•53 min•Ep. 117
No government agency bore the impact of Trump’s wrath more than the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Trump singled out the Bureau, the traditional crown jewel of U.S. law enforcement agencies, for outrageous and vicious slander. Three of the country’s most prominent and thoughtful experts on the FB–Frank Figliuzzi, Andy McCabe, and Asha Rangappa– discuss the damage the last four years inflicted and what the Bureau now needs to do, including to respond to the grave threat of domestic terrorism. S...
Mar 01, 2021•50 min•Ep. 116
It was a week of intense storms, natural and political. Record-setting frigid weather spread across the country from Washington to Texas, and a cold war took effect between Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. A stellar set of guests—Lawrence O’Donnell, Ashley Parker, and Norm Eisen—join Harry for a bottom-line assessment of the impeachment, an analysis of the GOP sturm und drang, a look at the first lawsuit against the former president, and a preview of Merrick Garland’s confirmation hearing. See ...
Feb 22, 2021•49 min•Ep. 115
As the evidence in the second impeachment trial draws to a close, an expert panel of legal and congressional experts – Matt Miller, Norm Ornstein, and Hakeem Jeffries, who served as a House Manager in the previous impeachment trial – join Harry to analyze the trial and what an acquittal portends for the future of Trump, Trumpism, and the GOP. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad ch...
Feb 13, 2021•53 min•Ep. 114
This week Talking Feds turns its view outward, to the challenges in foreign policy the new Administration inherits. After 4 years of aberrant foreign policy that saw the US bully our allies and coddle our enemies, the Biden Administration faces a different herculean task trying to right the ship of state, with the complication of China’s arrival as an economic superpower. Anne Appelbaum, Garry Kasparov, and Uriel Epshtein join Harry to analyze the challenges and prescribe the best path ahead. Se...
Feb 08, 2021•46 min•Ep. 113
The debris from the Trump years litters the political landscape, and it’s a herculean task to try to clean up the mess and repair our constitutional foundations. Where to begin and who has the political will and interest to pursue it? And is it even possible, with some 70 million citizens, and much of the Republican Congress, still in thrall to Trump? Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith, whose book “After Trump” is the best primer on the topic, and former Deputy AG Jamie Gorelick join Harry to discuss....
Feb 01, 2021•44 min•Ep. 112
Three veterans of the heady first few days of a new Administration – Dee Dee Myers (Clinton), David Frum (George W. Bush), and Valerie Jarrett (Obama) – join Harry to analyze and critique the Biden Administration’s first few days and the challenges it faces for the first 100. Should the new government go big early? How will the impeachment trial affect it? Can Biden hold the Ds together while reaching out to pick off a few Rs? Invaluable commentary and counsel from people who have been there. Se...
Jan 25, 2021•55 min•Ep. 111
In another barnburner week, in which the first-ever second impeachment of a President was only one of several huge stories, Natasha Bertrand, Norm Ornstein, and former Senator Al Franken join Harry to break down the fallout from the storming of the Capitol. They then turn to Trump’s impeachment and coming trial, assessing the dynamic for Biden, Senate Republicans, and Trump himself, before taking up the political and legal status of the Members of Congress who may have facilitated the attacks. S...
Jan 19, 2021•57 min•Ep. 110
On the most tumultuous week of the Trump presidency, and one of the most in US history, Congressmen Eric Swalwell, George Conway, & Laura Jarrett join Harry to discuss whether the President can hang on for 12 days to finish his term. The Feds discuss the triple challenge to Trump of the 25th Amend, impeachment, and prosecution, all based on inciting an insurrectionary mob of supporters to storm the Capitol to try to terrorize Congress into changing the election results. Sidebar by Robert De ...
Jan 11, 2021•49 min•Ep. 109
In this special Talking Feds Now, Harry convenes with Andrew Weissmann, Sam Vinograd, Jennifer Rodgers, and Steve Vladeck to discuss one of the most harrowing and memorable days of our lifetime, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. They discuss the dozens of questions this raises, including sedition, possibilities of impeachment, the 25th Amendment, and national security risks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not...
Jan 07, 2021•32 min•Ep. 108
This week we expect Biden will announce his selections for DOJ brass, including solicitor general, the executive branch's lawyer in the Supreme Court. In this special episode recorded last year at George Washington University, we go beyond the basics to discuss the role which has a huge importance in the development of constitutional law with Seth Waxman, the forty-first solicitor general serving under President Clinton from 1997 to 2001, Paul Clement, the forty third solicitor general who serve...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 107
All eyes turn to Georgia for the all-important Senate runoffs on January 5, with control of the Senate at stake. A fantastic panel combining local and national knowledge, experience, and political savvy – former Columbus, GA mayor Teresa Tomlinson, new Congresswoman Elect Nikema Williams, DNC Chair Tom Perez, and Democratic strategist extraordinaire Bob Shrum – join Harry to describe the scene on the ground and break down the critical points on which success or failure will turn. See Privacy Pol...
Dec 28, 2020•47 min•Ep. 106
In a week when the virus hit ravaging new levels and we learned of a huge new hack; but also in which people first began to get the vaccine and key leaders in Congress recognized Biden’s election, Congressman Ted Lieu, CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash, and Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt join Harry to discuss the political road ahead, the resignation of Bill Barr, the repercussions of the hack, and of course, the Cleveland Indians’ name change. See Pri...
Dec 21, 2020•47 min•Ep. 105
A back-to-basics Talking Feds with three highly experienced prosecutors and DOJ veterans: Jen Rodgers, Mimi Rocah (now the DA for Westchester County), and Andrew Weissmann. The group joins Harry in discussing the potential charges against Hunter Biden and then conjectures whether President Trump’s lobbying campaign to state officials might have broken any laws. They close with an extended discussion of the stakes for Biden of the AG selection, comparing the 4 candidates’ upsides and downsides. S...
Dec 14, 2020•45 min•Ep. 104
With the virus spiking ever upwards and a winter that promises to be the most challenging time in US public health history, a phenomenal set of guests —Senator Michael Bennett, Natasha Bertrand, and Fareed Zakaria—join Harry to look ahead at the measures the country needs to take on the health and economic fronts. They then assess the ongoing damage to the country of President Trump’s narcissistic fantasies of having won the election. Sidebar by chess great and democracy advocate Garry Kasparov....
Dec 07, 2020•53 min•Ep. 103
With national security issues rife, it’s time for a return trip to the Double Agent Bar & Grill to eavesdrop on the candid conversations of top national security experts. Frank Figliuzzi, Sam Vinograd, Josh Campbell, & Kate Brannen trade notes on what Biden’s new team projects about his national security operation; how to repair the damage that 4 years of Trump rule has inflicted on our national security institutions; Trump’s attempt to install his operatives at DoD and NSA; and more. Se...
Nov 30, 2020•41 min•Ep. 102
On a week in which new daily virus cases approached 200,000 with 250,000 Americans dead, President Trump focused on his preposterous claims to have won the election, in the process continuing to block President-Elect Biden from formally beginning the transition. Charter feds Frank Figliuzzi, Paul Fishman, and Amy Jeffress discuss the costs to national security and the country of Trump’s hopeless campaign and then analyze what Biden’s initial decisions indicate about his coming Administration. Se...
Nov 23, 2020•50 min•Ep. 101
