Month: October 2026

Trump and Vance Just Announced a Phony Reward Program For Exposing Government Fraud, the Same Trump Who Has Pardoned 70 Fraudsters and Had the DOJ and FBI Stop a Real Fraud Investigation Into Senator Lindsey Graham 

We begin with Trump and Vance’s announcement yesterday of a whistleblower program which rewards people who expose government fraud. Standing behind Trump was the right wing influencer Nick Shirley whose phony investigation of fraud he tried to link to Congresswoman Omar led to Operation Metro Surge which led to the deaths of Renne Good and Alex Pretti, exposing the utter hypocrisy of this latest White House stunt given that Trump has pardoned more than 70 fraudsters so far in his two terms. Joining us to discuss a real case of government fraud and corruption which Trump’s DOJ and FBI shut down to protect Senator Lindsey Graham is Avi Asher-Schapiro, an investigative reporter in ProPublica’s Washington D.C. bureau where he covers money and power in the second Trump administration. He is the co-author of a new report at ProPublica, “How Trump’s FBI Purge Saved Lindsey Graham and James Clyburn From a Bribery Investigation.”

The Slimiest of Slimy Hit Job in This Record-Breaking Negative Campaign Money Election

Then we examine the slimiest of slimy hit jobs in this record-breaking negative campaign money election and speak with Robert Alexander, a professor of political science and Founding Director of the Democracy and Public Policy Network at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He is the author of four books including Presidential Electors and the Electoral College and, most recently, Representation and the Electoral College. We discuss how Ramaswamy’s disgusting attack ad against Amy Acton has backfired making it likely she will become the next Democratic governor of Ohio. 

The Wealth of the 22 California Billionaires Opposing Prop 40 Increased 64% in the Last 20 Months From $439.8 Billion to $722.1 Billion  

Then finally we speak with Chuck Collins, a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he coedits Inequality.org. He is the author of several books, including Born on Third Base, The Wealth Hoarders, Wealth and Our Commonwealth (with Bill Gates Sr), and Economic Apartheid in America. His latest book is Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power are Ruining Our Lives and Planet and he has an article at inequality.org we discuss, “Billionaire Bankrollers: Meet the 22 California Billionaires Opposing Prop 40.” We assess the chances that the 22 billionaires, whose combined wealth has increased by 64% in the last 20 months from $439.8 billion to $722.1 billion, will be paying their fair share of taxes.