Day: August 25, 2026

Briefings

Background Briefing: August 25, 2026

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Trump Has Chief Justice Roberts’ Blessing to Have DHS Create a Master List of All Voters Which Will Be Purged Then the USPS Will Send Mail-In Ballots to a Whittled-Down List of Democratic Voters

We begin with the Supreme Court Shadow Docket ruling by Chief Justice John Roberts, the first sentence of which makes clear that Roberts is framing Trump’s intention as a good faith effort at election reform. However, Roberts must know he is dealing with a criminal in the Oval Office who has lived a life of impunity as though the rules do not apply to him, having been schooled by Roy Cohn to have contempt for the law. In essence what Trump is up to with Roberts’ blessing is to have DHS prepare a master list of voters using the fraud of purging non-existent non-citizen voters which allows Trump to decide how many Democrats to purge. Then he passes the purged list on to the USPS to send out mail-in ballots to a whittled-down minority of Democratic voters. Joining us is David Walbert, who has litigated dozens of election cases, including landmark cases before the Supreme Court and has taught constitutional law at Emory University School of Law. He has testified before Congress on voting legislation and is the author of Stealing Elections, American Style, and has a recent article at The Guardian, “I’ve spent decades fighting for fair elections. Trump is setting the stage for a grim November.”

 

China’s Reaction to Secretary Bessent’s Declaration of Economic Warfare Against Iran

Then we look into China’s reaction to Treasury Secretary Bessent’s D Day declaration of economic warfare against Iran and speak with Orville Schell, who was formerly the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently the Arthur Ross Vice President and Director of the Center on U.S.- China Relations at the Asia Society and his books include Mandate of Heaven: The Legacy of Tiananmen Square and the Next Generation of China’s Leaders. His new book, out next week, is Inside China’s Secret Prisons: An Undercover Exposé and Its Lasting Legacy.

The Small Man With a Big Job at the Pentagon’s War Against Reporting on What an Incompetent Racist Poseur He Is 

Then finally we assess the trail of destruction at the Pentagon from a small man with a big job, Pete Hegseth, whose main focus is to prevent the press from reporting on what an incompetent, racist poseur he is. Joining us is Will Bunch, national opinion columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and author of several books, including The Bern Identity: A Search for Bernie Sanders and the New American Dream. He has won numerous journalism awards and shared the Pulitzer Prize for spot news reporting. We discuss his latest article at the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Why Trump’s attack on Stars and Stripes was a gut punch.”