Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast
1,151 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 455 ratingsDaily thoughtful conversation about the latest news and politics.
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Let's Talk About the Constitution
December 17, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? In advance of tomorrow's historic House vote to impeach President Trump, the Rules Committee is meeting to determine the structure of the floor debate that precedes it. The committee will hear from Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), whose name has been floated as a potential manager in the all-but-certain Senate trial, and Doug Collins (R-GA), ranking Republican member of the Judiciary Committee. In the wake of an announcement by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a purple-distri...
Could McConnell and Schumer Make a Deal?
December 16, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate are squaring off about what a Senate Trial could look like. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to call four witnesses: John Bolton, Mick Mulvaney, Mulvaney aide Robert Blair, and Office of Management and Budget official Michael Duffey. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not weighed in on the specifics of the likely trial, but has said that he would be coordinating strategy with the White House Counsel's offi...
The Fakes and the Fury
December 13, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? The House Judiciary Committee Republicans were blindsided late last night by a surprise recess called by Chairman Jerry Nadler. Democrats offered little explanation, later saying that such an important moment should take place, "in the light of day." This morning, the committee resumed with their vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a FOX News appearance that he was coordinating with the...
The House Is Almost Ready to Impeach. Here's What You Need to Know
December 12, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? The House Judiciary Committee continues the final markup on proposed Articles of Impeachment against President Trump. Committee members have, so far, spent hours going back and forth over the merits of the case against the President. Mitch McConnell will not move to throw out the articles of impeachment, opting to see a Senate trial through to a likely acquittal in the Republican controlled On today’s episode: Deborah Pearlstein, Cardozo Law School profes...
What Is Giuliani Doing in Ukraine?
December 11, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a late night markup on proposed Articles of Impeachment against President Trump. Committee members will debate the language and merits of the articles on Wednesday evening, and are expected to resume their proceedings Thursday morning, with the committee expected to approve it in a vote later that day. This is the penultimate step in the House's role in impeachment. After the articles are voted out of committee, t...
Democrats Released Their Articles of Impeachment. Here's What's Next
December 10, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Today, House Democrats released two articles of impeachment. They charge that President Trump abused the power of his office with his dealings in Ukraine, and that he obstructed justice by defying subpoenas for documents and blocking key witnesses from testifying. All that's left in the Democrat-controlled House is for the Judiciary Committee to approve the Articles, followed by a full vote of the chamber, which is expected before Congress recesses for the ...
Inspector General Report into Mueller Probe Drops Amid Latest Ukraine Hearing
December 09, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Toady, the Judiciary Committee held a public hearing that Democrats hope will allow them to fully lay out the evidence in their case against Donald Trump. We heard testimony from the Intelligence Committee lawyers from each party. Continuing their line of attack against the fairness of the inquiry's proceedings, committee Republicans raised a sequence of objection's to Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler's handling of the hearing. The Justice Department's Inspector ...
It Is about Ukraine. It Isn’t About Ukraine.
December 06, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? President Trump and his legal team have until the end of the day to decide whether to participate in the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearings. The committee has scheduled its second hearing for Monday, when the staff lawyers for both parties and from both impeachment committees will testify about their findings. Senator Lindsay Graham rebuked a push by a House member of his own party to have Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Adam Schiff testify ...
Trump: 'I can do whatever I want.' Pelosi: “No.”
December 05, 2019 17:00If the president won't let key witnesses testify, how can Democrats satisfy Republicans' calls for more evidence? Where are we on impeachment today? This morning, Nancy Pelosi formally asked the Judiciary Committee to draft and approve articles of impeachment, the final steps before the matter is brought to a full vote of the House of Representatives. Yesterday, after the Judiciary hearing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff met with the chamber's Democrats for a pep-talk of sorts, ...
3 out of 4 Legal Scholars Agree, Trump Deserves It
December 04, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? The impeachment inquiry entered a new phase today with the first hearing by the House Judiciary Committee, a panel that is more partisan than the Intelligence Committee, and more prone to theatrics. Three constitutional scholars summoned by Democrats testified that President Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine rises to the level of impeachment, while the one summoned by the Republicans said the call for impeachment was premature. On today’s episode: Professor ...
Judiciary: Like Intel Hearings 'on Steroids'
December 03, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? In advance of the Democrats' Intelligence Committee report, republicans released their own summary of evidence which they say clears the President of wrongdoing. Democrats are expected to release their report today. Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are reportedly holding a "mock hearing" in advance of tomorrow's testimony by constitutional scholars. Tomorrow's testimony marks a hand-off from the Intelligence Committee, which was tasked with seeking evid...
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries on Your Holiday Witness Wishlist
December 02, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Intelligence Committee Democrats submitted a report of the impeachment probe's findings for review to committee members. The committee is scheduled to vote tomorrow to approve the report before sending it to the Judiciary Committee, which will take center stage in the next phases of the inquiry. The White House has said it will not be sending witnesses to appear in the upcoming Judiciary hearings. The committee will hear testimony on Wednesday from constitu...
The Big Picture: What Impeachment Means for Democracy
November 29, 2019 17:00On this special extended episode of Impeachment, we set aside the granular details of the current probe, and take a big-picture look at the role of impeachment in our democracy. On Today's Show: Mary Frances Berry, professor of constitutional, legal and African American history at the University of Pennsylvania, former chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the author of twelve books including, History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging...
A Case from the Right for More Witnesses
November 27, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? The House Judiciary Committee, which will ultimately be responsible for drafting and approving articles of impeachment, has scheduled its first hearings. On Wednesday, they will hear testimony from constitutional experts to determine the definition of an "impeachable offense." According to new reporting, President Trump was briefed about the whistleblower's complaint in late August, nearly two weeks before he decided to release the military aid to Ukraine. ...
"He said, 'Yeah, I'd Do It Again'"
November 26, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Yesterday evening, a federal judge ruled that former White House Counsel Don McGahn must comply with a congressional subpoena to testify about the 10 instances outlined in the Mueller Report in which President Trump may have obstructed justice. In the decision, US District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote of the Justice Department's argument, "there are few, if any, well-formulated justifications for categorically excusing current and former senior-level p...
'Like Watergate in Reverse'
November 25, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Following the second week of public testimonies, the Washington Post has reported that the White House had launched a secret effort to justify the hold on military aid to Ukraine, weeks after President Trump had ordered it. Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani arrested and charged with campaign finance violations, claims that Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican in the House Intelligence Committee and a stalwart Trump ally, traveled to Vienna in 2018, w...
Did Two Weeks of Testimony Change Anyone's Mind?
November 22, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced a televised town hall on the impeachment proceedings, scheduled for Dec. 5 and moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper. She declined to lay out further details on the timeline of the probe, instead saying that it would be up to the committees running the investigation. The House Intelligence Committee wrapped up its second week of public testimony, and, once it deems its work complete, it will pass the baton to the Judicia...
Have We Had Enough Hearings?
November 21, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Today was the final day of the second week of public testimony in the impeachment probe. We heard from Fiona Hill, an aide to the now-ousted National Security Adviser John Bolton, and from David Holmes, who overheard a crucial call between Sondland and the President. Holmes testified that he could hear Trump asking whether Zelensky would begin "the investigations." After the call, Sondland told Holmes that Trump didn't care about Ukraine, only about "big st...
Sondland: 'It was a quid pro quo'
November 20, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Today, the long awaited testimony of Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, one of the so-called "three amigos" who orchestrated the unconventional foreign policy channel in Ukraine that allegedly sought politically motivated investigations of the President's rivals in exchange for much-needed military aid. Sondland's testimony has changed since his closed-door deposition earlier this month. He says that he "refreshed my recollection" based...
Vindman: In Russia, They'd Kill Me "For Telling the Truth"
November 19, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Today, we hear public testimony from four officials, three of whom listened to the infamous July 25 Trump-Zelensky phone call. In the morning, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a top Ukraine expert at the White House and Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence. Both went to their superiors with concerns about the call, in particular, President Trump's mention of a specific anti-corruption investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his ...
Sondland. In the Restaurant. With the Cellphone
November 18, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Over the weekend, the Intelligence Committee heard closed-door testimony from Mark Sandy, a career official in the White House Office of Management and Budget, whose staff received instructions not to release approved military aid to Ukraine until "further notice." This, ahead of the second week of public testimonies, which will feature accounts from U.S. ambassador to the E.U., Gordon Sondland, who reportedly acted as the point-man between President Trump...
Trump's Business Ties In Ukraine
November 17, 2019 17:00Enjoy for this weekend, the latest episode of Trump, Inc. from WNYC and ProPublica The impeachment inquiry focuses on whether or not there was a quid pro quo: Military aid in exchange for an investigation. But what if you look at the same events from a different vantage point? The business interests at play. This episode: How Rudy Giuliani's associates worked their connections to oust the U.S. Ambassador in Ukraine. How President Trump's personal interests came into alignment with the int...
The First Week of Public Impeachment Hearings Just Wrapped Up. What Did We Learn?
November 16, 2019 17:00A special call-in show reacting to, and breaking down, the testimony of former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, and everything else we learned this week. Tonight's guests: Andrea Bernstein, senior editor for politics and policy for WNYC News, co-host of the podcast Trump Inc, and author of the forthcoming book, American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power Susan Glasser, staff writer at The New Yorker who writes the weekly online column, "Lette...
Yovanovich is an 'Uppity Woman Who Needs to Get out of the Way'
November 15, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Public Hearings, Day 2. Ousted U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testifies. Democrats say they plan to use the testimony about her ousting -- including threats and harassment -- to make an emotional appeal to the country about the human cost of the President's conduct. An Ukrainian associate of Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, says that he first convinced Trump to remove Yovanovitch, contradicting Trump's claim that he didn't know Parnas. A second ind...
The Electoral Calculus of Impeachment
November 14, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Yesterday, the public got its first look inside an impeachment hearing. Among the revelations was the description of a phone call between Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and President Trump, after which Sondland allegedly described the Trump as more focused on the Bidens than on corruption in Ukraine. Sondland is scheduled to sit for a public hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Senate Republicans could be considering a change in strategy. Their ...
Here's How Impeachment Could Shape The 2020 Election
November 14, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Yesterday, the public got its first look inside an impeachment hearing. Among the revelations was the description of a phone call between Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and President Trump, after which Sondland allegedly described the Trump as more focused on the Bidens than on corruption in Ukraine. Sondland is scheduled to sit for a public hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Senate Republicans could be considering a change in strategy. Their ...
What We Learned From the First Public Hearings
November 13, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? The first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry were held today. Lawmakers and the public will hear the testimony of George Kent, the State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau, and William Taylor, who heads the US embassy in Ukraine. Democrats hope to use these witnesses to make the case that President Trump undermined US national interests by circumventing the State department and pressuring Ukraine to investiga...
Democrats Hear Damning New Evidence in Impeachment Testimony
November 13, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? The first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry were held today. Lawmakers and the public will hear the testimony of George Kent, the State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau, and William Taylor, who heads the US embassy in Ukraine. Democrats hope to use these witnesses to make the case that President Trump undermined US national interests by circumventing the State department and pressuring Ukraine to investiga...
Looking Ahead on Trump, and Back on Clinton, Nixon and Johnson
November 12, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Republicans in the House will meet this evening to strategize ahead of tomorrow's open hearings, which will be the first time in the impeachment probe that the public hears directly from those involved. In a last minute lineup-change on Friday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), one of the President's staunchest defenders in Congress, was appointed to the House Intelligence Committee, which has jurisdiction over the hearings. White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, ...
How to Write an Article of Impeachment
November 12, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? Republicans in the House will meet this evening to strategize ahead of tomorrow's open hearings, which will be the first time in the impeachment probe that the public hears directly from those involved. In a last minute lineup-change on Friday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), one of the President's staunchest defenders in Congress, was appointed to the House Intelligence Committee, which has jurisdiction over the hearings. White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, ...
The Prehistory of the Ukraine Scandal
November 11, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? The White House could release the transcript of another call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that took place in April, months before the July 25 phone call at the center of the probe. A transcript of the closed-door testimony of Fiona Hill reveals details about a July 10 meeting at which Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland told Zelensky aides that a White House meeting was contingent upon Ukraine launching "certain invest...
Before Public Testimony, a Look Behind the Closed Doors
November 08, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney is expected to defy a congressional subpoena on Friday. He's the latest in a long line of White House staffers to do so. A federal judge is expected to rule next month on whether Congress can demand testimony from staffers who have been ordered by the White House to withhold it. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich may have given incorrect testimony in her closed-door deposition last month. The issue at hand is whe...
All The Presidents' Lawyers' Lawyers
November 07, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? On Thursday, two witnesses are scheduled to testify before House committees in the impeachment probe: an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and ousted National Security Adviser John Bolton. The aide, Jennifer Williams, was on the Trump-Zelensky call, and has said through a lawyer that she would testify if subpoenaed. Bolton, who left his post in September over rifts with President Trump and Rudy Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, is reportedly reluctant to tes...
The Case Against Impeachment
November 06, 2019 17:00Next week, the House Intelligence Committee will hold its first open hearings as part of the impeachment inquiry. On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, we will hear from William Taylor and George Kent. On Friday, November 15, 2019, we will hear from Marie Yovanovitch. More to come. — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) November 6, 2019 Where are we on impeachment today? Lawmakers in the House announced Wednesday morning that they would begin public impeachment hearings next week, starting with Wil...
It's Only Tuesday: A Rundown of Everything That Already Happened This Week
November 05, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? On Tuesday, House investigators are expected to produce transcripts from the closed-door testimony of Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the European Union, and Kurt Volker, former US special envoy to Ukraine. These are the second round of transcripts the public will see, following the release on Monday afternoon of two others. The Monday transcripts added little substance, but much detail to what was learned from those testimonies through press leaks. Staff...
Jurors Listen Impartially. Are Senators Up To The Task?
November 04, 2019 17:00Where are we on impeachment today? On Monday, four Trump administration officials defied House Intelligence committee subpoenas in the impeachment probe. Among them was National Security Council lawyer John Eisenberg, who reportedly moved the partial transcript of the Trump-Zelensky call into a highly classified server, and instructed the NSC's Ukraine director Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman not to discuss the call. Officials from the Office of Management and Budget — responsible for the hold on...
Will Televised Hearings Be Too Real for the Reality TV President?
November 01, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? In a near-perfect split along party lines, lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted Thursday morning to formalize the rules of the ongoing impeachment inquiry. Although the vote was not required, and does little more than set the probe's procedures going forward, it is seen as a bellweather on the overall question of impeachment. In the wake of the vote, some Representatives appear concerned about how that recorded vote will play for them politically...
A Deeply Divided House Vote
October 31, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? On Thursday morning, the House discussed and then voted on a resolution to formalize the rules for the ongoing impeachment inquiry. The resolution would give ranking Republican members of the relevant committees the right to call their own witnesses, lays out rules and timetables for public hearings and otherwise aims to ensure that due process is built in to the proceedings. Republicans have accused Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of tainting the process...
'It's as Bad as You Think,' Says Congressman Inside Impeachment Hearings
October 30, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, testified before Congress for ten hours on Tuesday, and told impeachment investigators that he filed internal complaints about the president’s Ukraine dealings twice, out of concern that it could undermine national security. According to the New York Times, Vindman also testified that aspects of the Trump-Zelensky phone call had been left out of the final transcript (he wa...
Sen. Murphy: 'We Will Have a Trial in the Senate'
October 29, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? The House will vote this week to formalize the ongoing impeachment inquiry, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced Monday evening, signaling a new phase in the proceedings which is likely to include public testimony. National Security Council staffer in charge of Ukraine, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who listened in on the Trump-Zelensky call, testified before House committees Tuesday morning. Vidman is expected to testify that that he reported concern...
The #Resistance Is Coming
October 28, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? The president has reportedly been resisting efforts by his aides to hire public relations and legal professionals for a dedicated impeachment "war room" in the White House. Former deputy national security adviser Charles Kupperman — who was scheduled to testify Monday morning in the impeachment probe — is refusing to appear until a federal judge clarifies whether he must comply with a House subpoena, or with orders from the White House not to testify. Kuppe...
Meanwhile, in Ukraine
October 25, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have introduced a resolution condemning House Democrats for their handling of the impeachment inquiry. House Democrats have begun to discuss the scope of potential Articles of Impeachment, an important strategic step in the process. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton — who resigned in September over policy rifts with the President — is in talks with House committee staff, t...
How to Get Away with Murder? Become President, President's Lawyers Say
October 24, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? On Wednesday, Republican members of the House staged a protest outside the secure hearing room where foreign policy officials were testifying. The protest raised security concerns, as lawmakers live-tweeted and posted video and audio recordings of the protest from an area where cell phones are prohibited. In the federal Southern District of New York courthouse, a judge heard arguments in a case to determine whether a Justice Department memo — which played ...
After Taylor's Testimony, Is It Time for Public Hearings?
October 23, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? Yesterday evening, the public got the chance to read the opening statement of U.S. emissary to Ukraine William Taylor's testimony. In it, he described "two channels of U.S. policy-making" in Ukraine, official State Department and security channels, and the "highly irregular" efforts by others in the President's circle to undermine the longstanding policy in Ukraine. Taylor laid out the most complete timeline of those efforts available thus far, and cited co...
Trump Compares Impeachment to a 'Lynching'
October 22, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? President Trump this morning called the House inquiry a "lynching," and continues his "I don't even know them" defense. This time, he was referring to William Taylor, the career diplomat at the head of the US embassy in Ukraine. Taylor is scheduled to testify before House committees today about his concern over the "shadow foreign policy" that Rudy Giuliani was allegedly running in Ukraine at the behest of the President. The New York Times reports that Dem...
'A Perfect Slice of Emolument Pie'
October 21, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? The White House revoked its decision to hold the upcoming G7 summit at a Trump property after congressional Republicans told the President they were frustrated about having to defend him on too many fronts. This week, lawmakers in the House of Representatives will hear testimony from the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, who's concerned text message over the Ukraine affair prompted Gordon Sondland's reply, "The President has been crystal clea...
Quid Pro Quo, Or No? Mulvaney Says 'Get Over It'
October 18, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters yesterday that quid pro quo "happens all the time," and added "Get over it," before walking back his comments hours later. In his highly anticipated closed-door hearing, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. Ambassador to the E.U., testified that President Trump directed his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to carry out the so-called quid pro quo in Ukraine. Rick Perry, another of so-called "Three Amigos," who playe...
Hillary Clinton: Trump Should Be Impeached on National Security Grounds
October 17, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? In closed-door testimony last week, former envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volcker testified about concerns that Rudy Giuliani was increasingly in charge of US policy in Ukraine, according to new reporting. He reportedly said, "Hanging over everyone’s head in the expert community is: is there some grand bargain with Russia where we throw Ukraine under the bus?" Fiona Hill, an ousted National Security Council expert on Russia and Ukraine reportedly raised concerns in...
State Dept. Ukraine Expert Says Trump Sidelined Him
October 16, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? George Kent, a senior State Department official for Ukraine policy told investigators in a closed-door session that he was instructed by a supervisor to "lie low" after raising concerns about the events at the center of the inquiry, and that he and other State Department officials were sidelined from their roles in the U.S.'s Ukraine policy. And, in a press conference, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that she wouldn't call a vote to authorize the im...
Bolton Worried Giuliani Was "a Hand Grenade Who's Going to Blow Everybody Up"
October 15, 2019 16:00Where are we on impeachment today? Yesterday, in a closed-door session, congressional investigators heard the testimony of Fiona Hill, a former advisor on Russia. She talked about the concerns of then-National Security Advisor John Bolton regarding Rudy Giuliani's activities in Ukraine. Bolton referred to Giuliani as a "hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up," and called the Ukraine scheme, metaphorically, a "drug deal." Hill also testified that White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvan...