Background Briefing: November 25, 2025

On By sasha

Will There Be Further Vindictiveness After the Dismissals of the Revenge Cases Against James Comey and Letitia James?

We begin with the dismissals of the revenge cases against James Comey and Letitia James and assess what further vindictiveness Trump and AG Bondi will pursue and speak with Harry Litman, a former United States attorney and deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department. A professor of constitutional law and national security law at the University of California San Diego and University of California Los Angeles, he is a Senior Fellow at the Annenberg Center at the University of Southern California, the host of the Talking San Diego speaker series, and the Executive Producer & host of the Talking Feds podcast as well as author of the Talking Feds Substack. A senior legal columnist at The New Republic, his latest article at the Talking Feds Substack is “After the Shipwreck: Five Questions in the Wake of the Comey and James Dismissals.“

 

Bolsonaro’s Botched Escape Attempt and Possible Collusion With the Trump Administration

Then we examine Bolsonaro’s botched escape attempt and possible collusion with the Trump administration in aiding and abetting it and speak with James Green, Professor Emeritus of Modern Latin American History and Portuguese and Brazilian Studies at Brown University and the author or co-editor of eleven books on Brazil and Latin America. The past president of the Brazilian Studies Association and the current President of the Washington Brazil Office, he has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and lived eight years in Brazil and he joins us from the scene of the crime, Brazil’s capital Brasilia.

 

Why Are Trump, Hegseth, and Vance So Freaked Out Over the Video by Six Democratic Lawmakers Who Are Veterans 

Then finally we investigate why Trump, Hegseth and Vance are so freaked out over the video by six Democratic Senators and members of Congress who are veterans reminding members of the military of their obligation not to obey an unlawful order as spelled out in the the UCMJ, the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Joining us is Tom Mockaitis, a professor of history at DePaul University, where he teaches courses in British, Modern European, and Military History. His research and writing cover international security, terrorism, unconventional conflict, and military history. A regular contributor to The Hill, he has taught counter-terrorism courses at venues around the world as part of the U.S. Department of Defense Counter-terrorism Fellowship Program and is the author of many books including ‘New’ Terrorism: Myths and Reality and Violent Extremists: Understanding the Domestic and International Terrorist Threat.