Background Briefing: June 12, 2025
Trump’s Lawless Unleashing of the Military as He Threatens Americans Not to Protest His Strongman Military Parade
We begin with Trump’s invocation of the Insurrection Act without actually using the act passed between 1792 and 1871 by issuing a nationwide memorandum that does not even mention LA, and cites 10 U.S.C. 12406, a law enacted in 1903 which allows a president to call up the National Guard if there is a rebellion against the government or a danger of rebellion. Joining us is Elizabeth Goitein, the co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, which seeks to advance effective national security policies that respect constitutional values and the rule of law. Previously, she was counsel to Senator Feingold, Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is the author of The New Era of Secret Law and has an article at Just Security we discuss, “The Insurrection Act by Any Other Name: Unpacking Trump’s Memorandum Authorizing Domestic Deployment of the Military.”
Finally Governor Newsom Steps Up to Challenge Trump
Then, we discuss the emergence of California’s Governor Newsom as a challenger of Trump, who in a nationwide speech on Tuesday, told the nation that Trump is destroying American democracy; warning, “Democracy is under assault right before our eyes — the moment we’ve feared has arrived.” Joining us is Sasha Abramsky who for months has been urging Newsom to step up. He writes regularly for The Nation, and is the author of several books, including Inside Obama’s Brain, Breadline USA, American Furies, The American Way of Poverty, and, his latest book is Chaos Comes Calling The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America. His recent articles at The Nation include “Trump Calls Up the Marines. Democracy Is in Danger” and “Governor Newsom, It’s Time to Get Off the Sidelines.”
Trump is Asking For $45 Billion More for Private Prisons Where 90% of Immigrants Are Detained
Then finally we explore the Private Prison-Industrial Complex poised to get a big chunk of the $45 billion Trump has asked for to imprison immigrants. Joining us to discuss how 90% of immigrants rounded up are detained in private prisons is, McKenzie Funk, a reporter at ProPublica covering immigration and the machinery of deportation: the contractors, technologies and data streams that are powering the Trump administration’s top policy priority.