Talking Feds

The 20th anniversary of 9/11 finds the country down in the dumps about that milestone, with many highlighting lost opportunities to consolidate the U.S.’s position as the world’s moral leader and new daunting challenges in combatting international and domestic terror. The DOJ entered forcefully into the fray of the Texas abortion case, but harbingers of a future demolition of abortion rights remain. And COVID’s resurgence gives rise to anxiety about continuing dislocation of present-day life. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of a week of turmoil from Afghanistan to Austin, Jon Alter, Matt Miller, and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon join Harry to assess the damage and analyze the portents. The 4 begin with the Texas abortion statute that the Supreme Court refused to enjoin, and the possibility of effective pushback by Congress or the Executive Branch. They then assess the withdrawal in Afghanistan and the diplomatic path ahead before taking up the latest show of force by the Jan. 6 select committee. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An episode devoted to the savage terrorist attack at the Kabul airport and its national-security implications at home and abroad. Four leading national security experts—Frank Figiliuzzi, with Elizabeth Neumann, Ken Dilanian, and David Laufman—dig into the sharp difficulties for combating terror our withdrawal from Afghanistan presents. They then pivot to the ominous possibility of increased far-right terrorism in the US, as exemplified by the boos that greeted Trump for endorsing the vaccine. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special episode about the state of play for voting rights featuring Beto O’Rourke, Josh Marshall, and Laura Coates. We canvass the substantive and political landscape of federal legislation, including the For the People Act and the just-released John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would undo two Supreme Court cases that gutted enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. We also discuss the state of play on the state side, especially the wild and woolly goings-on in Texas. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Donald Trump’s successful efforts to keep his misdeeds from becoming public, it falls to authors of books to write the first drafts of history. There have been a spate of books of late, and the one that has garnered the most attention and accolades is “I Alone Can Fix It,” by Carol Leonnig and Phil Rucker. Harry sits down with Leonning and Rucker for an in-depth exploration of some of the bigger, finer, and more surprising points of the book, and their take on where things now stand. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talking Feds returns to its roots, with the latest look at the goings-on and inner workings of the Department of Justice by 4 of the professionals that know it best. After a few months in which he repeatedly disappointed progressives, who wanted him to attack the abuses of the Trump DOJ head-on, AG Merrick Garland of late has made several decisions that seem to tack in the other direction. Was it just a matter of timing, or is Garland adjusting his approach as he finds full footing in the job? 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“As California Goes, So Goes the Country,” could be the capsule description for this episode, which brings together 3 of California’s most prominent public officials, Sen. Alex Padilla, Congresswoman Karen Bass, and director of the State Office of Business Development (and former White House Press Secretary) Dee Dee Meyers. The 3 join Harry—the 4th Californian-- to discuss the most pressing national topics–covid, infrastructure, voting rights, and more–through the prism of the Golden State. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a week of frantic activity in Congress on several fronts but what if anything will come of it remained unclear. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Norm Ornstein, & Jane Mayer–-3 exceptionally sophisticated experts on the ways of Washington-–join Harry to break it all down. They explore the legislative gyrations over the January 6 Committee, infrastructure bills, and the allegation that the FBI’s 2018 investigation of Justice Kavanaugh was a sham. Adam Scott supplies a sidebar on the filibuster. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six months into the Biden Administration, the feds take a deep dive into the state of play in foreign affairs and international relations. A fantastic set of guests – Dr. Richard Haass (the long-time President of the Council of Foreign Relations), Fiona Hill, and Laura King join Harry to focus first on Putin’s dangerous strategies for staying relevant. We then move to the new crises in Cuba and Haiti before discussing the risks and benefits of the Administration’s world Covid vaccine initiative. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Natasha Bertrand, Bill Kristol, and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren join Harry to analyze a series of topics that expose, and are driven by, the country’s deep partisan divide. The Feds discuss the substantive and political goals of both parties for the investigation of January 6 by a select House committee, on which Congresswoman Lofgren will serve; the state of play in the battle over the wave of new laws to sharply restrict voting rights; and the prospects for a serious reining in of big tech. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s our annual Supreme Court review and retrospective, in the wake of a very significant Supreme Court Term, the first with the conservative super-majority including the three Trump appointees. Amy Howe, Melissa Murray, and Steve Vladeck join Harry to wrestle with the main cases on their own terms but also for what they portend about where the new Court is now and where it’s going. Is a more moderate 9 in the process of formation, or is this an unapologetic hard-charging hard-right Court? 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a week providing living proof of the adage that politics is the art of the possible, President Biden maneuvered his way to partial progress in several key areas, including Infrastructure, Gun Violence, and Voting Rights, where the DOJ sued Georgia to enjoin that state’s new voting law. Talking Feds stalwarts Matt Miller and Juliette Kayyem, and first-time Fed Betsy Woodruff Swan, join Harry to analyze these issues and also explore the uncertain state of play going forward with Covid. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a week with heavy action at every branch of government and on the international stage, Congressman Ted Lieu, David Frum, & Jen Rodgers join Harry to break it all down. At the G7, Biden reassured allies by not being Donald Trump, but his longer-range prospects for foreign policy success were less clear. The country learned of a brazen campaign by the Trump WH to get DOJ to run to court to support the big lie. And prospects for voting rights legislation went from null to at least faint. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a week ending with a classic DC scandal embroiling the press, Congress, the DOJ, and the WH, three old DC hands — George Conway, Joe Lockhart, and Asha Rangappa — join Harry to take apart the roles of all the players. The group considers how we can still unearth the facts of this and other Trump scandals. It considers whether Merrick Garland can stick to his neutral institutional approach. Finally, it analyzes the prospects for any voting rights reform following Joe Manchin’s abandoning ship. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 with Kate Shaw about her work in the Counsel’s office as a young lawyer. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 years. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 policy.” 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 officials. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 to proceed. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Niro. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 served under President George W. Bush from June 2005 until June 2008, and Don Verrilli, the forty-sixth solicitor general under President Obama, serving from June 2011 to June 2016 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Baker, Laura Jarrett and Robert Raben join Harry to discuss a strange and troubling week when President Trump, abetted by cabinet members and Senate Republicans, hunkered down and refused to allow President-Elect Joe Biden to begin a transition. The group analyzes the harm that the Trump charade is causing before turning to what Biden’s first moves and appointments suggest about his upcoming tenure. They end with some supplementary lessons for our political life from the election results. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the call of the election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Feds Natasha Bertrand, Joe Lockhart, and Mike Murphy review Biden’s winning strategy. They then analyze the relative underperformance of down-ticket Democratic candidates and what it says about the state of US political culture. Finally, they turn to the challenges the new Administration inherits, offering some surprising conclusions about how Biden can make important headway even if McConnell remains Majority Leader. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The day after the contested Presidential election, Feds Matt Miller, Melissa Murray, and Norm Ornstein convene to explain just where the country is and where we’re headed. They canvass some improbable scenarios before zeroing in on the pivotal states (PA, AZ, NEV, and GA and a sophisticated analysis of each one. They then analyze why Trump out-performed the polls, what it says about the country, and what it augurs for the next two years, with a President Biden and a Majority Leader McConnell. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A powerhouse crew of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congress Member Adam Schiff and Kristen Clarke, President of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, join Harry to take final stock of the political landscape just before the election. They assess the closing statements of Trump and Biden and then move to the rushed and completely partisan confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett. Finally, they consider the prospects for a Bush v Gore style intervention in the election by the Supreme Court. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the final presidential debate, Vanita Gupta, Matt Miller, and Congressman Jamie Raskin join Harry to analyze the candidates’ final messages and anticipate what possible bumps may lie on the short ride to the finish line. Trump turned in a more disciplined performance but lied promiscuously; Biden scored strong hits on the virus and immigration and directly connected with voters on kitchen table issues. The feds then canvassed the likely paths of both campaigns in the last week. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With two weeks to go until the election, Al Franken, Dahlia Lithwick and Bill Kristol join Harry and take up first the confirmation hearings for soon-to-be Justice Barrett. Did the Republicans make a mistake going all in and did the Dems play their losing hand right? The Feds then move to the campaign trail, and the bizarre simultaneous town halls by Trump and Biden. Finally, they take stock of the Senate races and the very real prospect that the Dems will sweep the board in November. 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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices