Skullduggery

Latest Episodes:

Buried Treasure: The CIA's Watergate Moment (w/ Jeff Morley) Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

“Stay the hell out of it!” Those were the key words from the so-called smoking gun tape, the conversation between Richard Nixon and his Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman about how to get the FBI to back off its investigation into the Watergate break-in that occurred fifty years ago this week, June 17th, 1972. The plan they came up with in the days after the burglary was to get the CIA and its powerful director Richard Helms to tell the then head of the FBI, L. Patrick Gray to back off, to stay the hell out of it, to drop the probe into the financing of the break-in unless dark agency secrets would be revealed. It was a lie of course, the Watergate break-in had been bankrolled by Nixon campaign donors and not the agency spooks at Langley. But as Jefferson Morley writes in his new book, Scorpions Dance: The President, The Spymaster and Watergate, Helms was prepared to do what Nixon wanted, at least first. He drafted a memo instructing two deputies that the agency needed to instruct the bureau to quote, “Confine themselves to the personalities already arrested.” And “desist from expanding this investigation into other areas.” Helms may have later gotten cold feet, but as Morley reminds us it was just one of many examples of the exceedingly strange and still mysterious relationship between Nixon and the Spy Master, a dynamic in which each man seemed to have abundant blackmail material against each other. As the country prepares to commemorate the half-century anniversary of Watergate, we’ll look back at the events of that era and get a fascinating new take on why they matter more than ever as Morley joins us.

GUESTS:

Eric Holder, (@jeffersonmorley), Author, Scorpions Dance: The President, The Spymaster and Watergate

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

Pick up Morley's book Scorpions Dance: The President, The Spymaster and Watergate - Here.
Recent story on Watergate - Here.

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Holder: Democracy is on the Line (w/ Eric Holder) Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

Congresswoman Liz Cheney Thursday night laid out the case that Donald Trump orchestrated an attempted coup to block the peaceful transfer of power. And then sat back and watched in apparent approval while his supporters ransacked the US Capitol. It was the opening night of six public hearings on the January 6th attack that committee members will hope galvanize the public to what they believe is an on-going threat to American democracy. The hearing was marked by a compelling new video, illustrating the role that the extremest Proud Boys played in the attack and how Trump's own words inspired them. A Capitol Police officer told of slipping on the blood of her colleagues while trying to defend the Capitol that day. But did Cheney make the case that Trump was criminally responsible for what transpired. We're joined by the former Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder, author of the new book Our Unfinished March, to discuss that and more.

GUESTS:

Eric Holder, (@ericholder), Fmr. Attorney General of the US, Author of Our Unfinished March

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

Pick up Eric Holder's book Our Unfinished March - Here.
Yahoo News article about Trump's reaction to Jan. 6 Hearing - Here.

Listen and subscribe to "Skullduggery" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Jan. 6th’s Primetime Moment (w/ Norm Eisen & Tom LoBianco) Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

They may be the most anticipated and consequential of congressional hearings in decades. After eleven months of work and over one thousand interviews the committee investigating the January 6th 2021 attack on the US Capitol will premiere this week in primetime on Thursday at 8pm. With all the TV networks except for Fox News of course planning full coverage. The committee is touting evidence of what its members are calling a criminal conspiracy led by Donald Trump to subvert the will of the people and overturn the results of the 2020 election. But as Washington gears up for the extravaganza and outside groups plan watch parties with free ice cream, there are still questions about just how strong the committee’s evidence is. And perhaps more importantly whether a public pre-occupied with soaring gas prices, mass shootings, and shortages of baby formula, will tune in. We’ll talk to Yahoo News’ Tom LoBianco about what to expect from the hearings. And then we’ll hear from Norm Eisen of the Brookings Institution on why they matter.

GUESTS:

Norm Eisen, (@NormEisen), Senior Fellow @brookingsgov, Chair @statesunited, Legal Analyst @cnn
Tom LoBianco (@tomlobianco), Politics reporter @yahoonews

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

Yahoo News' "What You Need To Know" about the Jan. 6th Hearings - Here.

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Secrets of Gay Washington (w/ James Kirchick) May 31, 2022

Show notes

Uniquely Nasty, a Yahoo News documentary from 2015, explored the little known story of the US Government’s relentless persecution of gays in the Cold War era, focusing in part on how the FBI under Hoover’s direction, tracked the names of tens of thousands of suspected gays and lesbians working for the Federal Government. And then took steps to have them fired. It was just one piece of a so-called lavender scare that left in its wake a trail of fear, paranoia, and destroyed lives. The full story of the US Government’s jihad against gay America is now being told in a landmark book, The Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington, by journalist James Kirchick. Kirchick’s book brings to life the largely invisible stories of senior government officials at the State Department, the White House, and in Congress, who lived in fear that their secret lives would become publicly known. And how their careers were shattered when their homosexuality was exposed, often for political or bureaucratic advantage. It’s a shocking story that is a reminder of how much about America’s dark past of persecution has been obscured yet remains highly relevant to themes in our current politics. Kirchick joins to discuss the excruciating agony that denizens of the secret city experienced. And why it is a crucial chapter in American history.

GUESTS:

James Kirchick, (@jkirchick), Author of the book Gunfight.

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

Pick up James Kirchick's book The Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington - Here.
Watch the groundbreaking Yahoo News documentary "Uniquely Nasty: The U.S. Government's War on Gays - Here.

Listen and subscribe to "Skullduggery" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Email us with feedback, questions or tips: SkullduggeryPod@yahoo.com.

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Tragedy in Texas (w/ Ryan Busse) May 26, 2022

Show notes

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy addressed the Senate on Tuesday afternoon after the gut-wrenching news out of Texas. Another school massacre in which twenty-two people were killed, nineteen of them young children. Murphy could barely control himself. It was in his state where ten years ago there had been another slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School where twenty-six people were killed, twenty of them school children. Yet no matter how many of these senseless tragedies, the congress of the United States remains hopelessly deadlocked when it comes to passing sensible gun control measures that might, at least might, make even a small difference. Is there nothing that could change the iron-grip of the gun lobby on the United States Congress? We're joined by Ryan Busse, who once worked in the gun industry himself and is now the author of Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry That Radicalized America.

GUESTS:

Ryan Busse, (@ryandbusse), Author of the book Gunfight.

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

Yahoo News story on the victims of the Uvalde School Shooting in TX - Here.
You can read Busse's book - Here.

Listen and subscribe to "Skullduggery" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Trump’s Georgia Bust (w/ Brian Robinson & Chris Huttman) May 25, 2022

Show notes

Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger spoke to a small group of supporters Tuesday night explaining how he pulled off his surprise victory for re-election over a Donald Trump backed opponent. It was a truly extraordinary comeback for Raffensperger, barley a year ago his chances were viewed as hopeless. After refusing Trump's entreaties to find just enough votes to flip Georgia's electoral tally, Raffensperger was denounced by the ex President as an enemy of the people. And he got death threats from Trump's supporters. But Raffensperger stood his ground, and as he put it, refused to buckle under the pressure. Even while, at the same time, he quietly and methodically courted conservative voters with talk about protecting election integrity in the future. The result, combined with Brian Kemp's landslide victory in the governor's race, was a stinging rebuke to Trump. What does all this say about Trump's standing in the Republican Party and how to assess the high-stakes battles in the general election? Not just in Raffensperger's race but in the big contest for governor, Kemp vs Stacy Abrams, and US Senate, Warnock vs Hershel Walker. We are joined by two savvy Georgia political consultants, Republican strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic strategist Chris Huttman.

GUESTS:

Brian Robinson, (@LordTinsdale), President of Robinson Republic
Chris Huttman, Research Director at Canal Partners Media

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

Isikoff's story on Raffensperger's victory over Trump-backed opponent - Here.

Listen and subscribe to "Skullduggery" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Things Are About To Get "Wild" (w/ Andrea Bernstein & Ilya Marritz) May 17, 2022

Show notes

The new podcast series Will Be Wild focuses on the run up to and the aftermath of the January 6th assault on the US Capitol. It's a deeply reported and at time astonishing series that explores the violent undercurrents that were circulating amongst far-right circles in the years leading up to the attack. The encouragement that those activists got from Donald Trump, and the catastrophic failure of law enforcement and intelligence officials to connect the dots and protect the US Congress from a mob hellbent on trying to overthrow the results of an American Presidential election. As we get closer to next month's long awaited hearings from the January 6th Committee, the Will Be Wild podcast offers an alarming preview of what the country maybe about to hear. Andrea Bernstein and Ilya Marritz, the hosts of the aforementioned podcast, join to discuss.

GUESTS:

Andrea Bernstein (@AndreaBNYC), Investigative journalist, author, co-host of the podcast WILL BE WILD
Ilya Marritz (@ilyamarritz), co-host of Will Be Wild podcast & covering Trump legal for @npr

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

You can listen to the Will Be Wild podcast - Here.
Yahoo News' reporting on the January 6th Committee issuing subpoenas to 5 House Republicans - Here.

Listen and subscribe to "Skullduggery" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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We've Got It On Tape (w/ Jonathan Martin & Alex Burns) May 13, 2022

Show notes

Recent tapes of Senator Lindsay Graham talking to New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin on the afternoon of Jan. 6th, 2021 have now been released. It reaffirms what many Republicans were thinking that day about the riot that Donald Trump had just unleashed upon the US Capitol. And expressed hope that the new Democratic President, Joe Biden, could lower the temperature and bring the country together. But as Martin and his Times colleague Alex Burns document in their new book, This Too Shall Pass, that sentiment amongst most GOP lawmakers, Graham prominent among them, didn't last long. And Graham's prognosis that the trauma of Jan. 6th would lead to great national unity couldn't have been more wrong. The United States according to Martin and Burns is facing a political emergency with two parties, who authors write, are not merely advisories but enemies in a domestic cold war that had started to run hot. How hot can it get? And is there any way at this point to cool things down? Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns join to discuss.

GUESTS:

Jonathan Martin (@alexburnsNYT), New York Times Reporter and author
Alex Burns (@jmartNYT), New York Times Reporter and author

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

You can pick up Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns' new book This Too Shall Pass - Here.
The Lindsay Graham Jan. 6th tapes - Here.

Listen and subscribe to "Skullduggery" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Email us with feedback, questions or tips: SkullduggeryPod@yahoo.com.

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The Leak & Battle Over Abortion (w/ Josh Gerstein & Carolyn Shapiro) May 11, 2022

Show notes

Politico dropped a bombshell story that stung the political and legal world last week after obtaining a leaked draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that would appear to be an overturning of Roe v Wade, the 1973 opinion that gave women the constitutional right to abortion. The story was astonishing on multiple levels. It showed that a majority of the court was in fact preparing to discard a core freedom that has been relied on by American women for nearly half a century. But it was also the first time anybody can remember when a draft opinion report had been leaked and published before the court had announced it, making POLITICO's story the mega-scoop of the year if not decade. Josh Gerstein, one of two POLITICO reporters who broke the story, joins to discuss. Then, Carolyn Shapiro, a former clerk to retiring Justice Stephen Breyer weighs in on how the court has operated and may operate differently in the future.

GUESTS:

Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein), Senior Legal Affairs Reporter, POLITICO
Carolyn Shapiro (@cshaplaw), Law prof & co-director, @ISCOTUS @ChicagoKentLaw

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

Yahoo News/YouGov Poll on the current confidence of Supreme Court - Here.
Yahoo News piece the day the leak was reported - Here.

Listen and subscribe to "Skullduggery" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Email us with feedback, questions or tips: SkullduggeryPod@yahoo.com.

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LIVE from Politics & Prose (w/ Bob Woodward, Carol Leonnig, & George Conway) Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

As hundreds of reports gather for this weekend's White House Correspondents Dinner, there's one burning issue that remains a lively topic of discussion and debate. Will Donald Trump finally be indicted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election? To address that question, we assembled an All-Star panel to dissect the complicated legal and political issues facing federal and state prosecutors and ultimately Attorney General Merrick Garland's Justice Department. Bob Woodward and Carol Leonnig of The Washington Post have both written books about Trump's efforts to cling to office, and New York litigator and longtime Republican George Conway has been one of Trump's most persistent legal critics. They spoke to us at a special taping before a live audience at Washington's Politics & Prose bookstore. It ended up being quite a lively conversion.

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