Background Briefing: September 19, 2019
Nadler Made the Democrats Look Weak and Feckless
We begin with the embarrassing attempt by House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler to further investigate the findings in the Mueller Report by forcing Corey Lewandowski, who was mentioned in the report 100 times, to testify. Instead Lewandowski turned the hearing into a circus in which he behaved like an insolent punk insulting and demeaning the Democratic members to the point they looked weak and feckless, which no doubt was his intention and it clearly pleased Trump. Harry Litman, a former United States Attorney and former deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department who is the Executive Producer and host of “The Talking Feds” podcast, joins us to discuss his article at The Washington Post, “Corey Lewandowski is the perfect model for a sustained Trumpian legacy.” We assess why Chairman Nadler invited such a public humiliation of his members and did not do what Speaker Pelosi suggested, which was to immediately hold Lewandowski in contempt and if necessary, have the House Sergeant at Arms arrest him on the spot. With Trump stonewalling the Democrats at every turn to stymie the political timeline and force the House investigations into the courts where they will languish for months, we will speculate on what other means there are to deal with a lawless thug who openly displays a flagrant contempt for the law while enjoying cult-like unwavering support from the party of law and order, the GOP.
Trump’s DNI is Suppressing a White House Whistleblower’s Complaint
Then we examine the unfolding case of the whistleblower inside the White House who witnessed Trump making unacceptable if not illegal promises on the phone to a world leader, possibly Putin. This has led to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community locking horns with the Acting Director of National Intelligence who is sitting on the complaint and refusing to pass it on to the Chairman of the House Intelligence Oversight Committee who has the statutory authority to see it. Loch Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Georgia who served as on the staffs of both House and Senate intelligence oversight committees and is the author of “Spy Watching: Intelligence Accountability in the United States”, joins us.
A Young Climate Activist on the Global Climate Strike
Then finally, on the eve of global actions in support of addressing the climate crisis, we will look into the phenomenon of young people suffering from climate anxiety to the extent that many young women in their early 20’s have decided not to have children because they do not want their kids to face the hideous future in store for them if urgent action is not taken now to stop global warming. Natalie Rotstein, a 21 year old organizer with the Sunrise Movement Los Angeles, joins us to discuss the 16 year old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg’s testimony to Congress yesterday and tomorrow’s global climate strike.