Show Notes
A federal judge warns that Trump is violating the principles of law and the Declaration of Independence—and this week’s events show exactly what that means in practice.
We break down the detention of a five-year-old and the collapse of due process, Trump’s threat against Trevor Noah and the future of free speech, and the raid on a Georgia election center. We also examine the authoritarian “tell” behind Trump’s call to “nationalize the voting”.
Plus: Trump’s reported Fed Chair pick Kevin Warsh and the Epstein-files connection—and a brief turn to Bruce Springsteen on moral imagination and democracy.
The Oath and The Office — weekly analysis of constitutional democracy under pressure.
More from The Oath and The Office
Can writing an article put you at risk of deportation? The Stanford Daily editor George Porteous joins Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang to explain how deportation fears are silencing student journalists—and why his newspaper took the Trump administration to court. After a major district-court victory, the administration is appealing. At stake: freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of noncitizens.
Congress has the power to impeach Trump. Will it use it?
Jack Smith turns the tables on his congressional questioners and doubles down on why he indicted Donald Trump. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down the fiery hearing, the threats of prosecution against Smith, and what this battle over accountability reveals about the upcoming midterms. Plus: Can Democrats win in red states, and what would taking back Congress actually accomplish?
What if the government sends you to a country you've never known—where you fear persecution or torture—and you never get a real chance to challenge it?
Can a president shut out reporters because he doesn’t like their coverage? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang take on Donald Trump’s sudden ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. They explore the constitutional stakes of revoking press credentials, why press freedom protects the public as well as journalists, and whether federal courts will hold the line against a president determined to punish his critics.