Skullduggery

Skullduggery's Jan. 6 Farewell (w/ Rep. Jamie Raskin and Judge J. Michael Luttig) Dec 24, 2022

Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin laid out the four criminal referrals the January 6th Committee made to the DOJ recommending that Donald J. Trump and others be investigated for the events relating to the attack on the US Capitol. The report included some startling new disclosures including testimony from a former White House staffer that is a potential case of witness tampering. How do we assess the report from the Jan 6 Committee and where do the investigations go from here? We talk to Rep. Raskin and one of the Committee's star witnesses, retired Federal Appellate Court Judge J. Michael Luttig.

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JFK: The Mother of all Conspiracy Theories (w/ Phil Shenon & Jeff Morley) Dec 16, 2022

In the Pantheon of American conspiracy theories, the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy is the gift that keeps on giving. For nearly 60 years it has been dissected and debated by partisans of countless conspiracy theories. So what does the newly released material on the matter show? And what are they still keeping secret? We talk to two leading experts on the subject, former New York Times reporter Phil Shenon and former Washington Post Reporter Jeff Morley.

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The Autocrat in your Phone (w/ Ron Deibert) Dec 16, 2022

On this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Ron Deibert, who runs the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, to discuss the “mercenary spyware” industry - and its proclivity for providing “almost god-like” spyware programs to governments who’ve been proven to use them to surveil “opposition politicians, human rights activists, journalists, academics, embassy workers, and political dissidents.

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The Wild World of Marjorie Taylor Greene (w/ Robert Draper & Marquise Francis) Dec 08, 2022

The violent insurrection at the Capitol last year was a sobering day for American democracy, and yet many people thought that - at the very least - it would break the fever that had overcome the Republican Party and push it to separate itself from Trump and move on from his repeated lies with respect to “the big steal.”

That is not what happened - instead, the past two years represented a pivot point between “this is not normal “ and “this is dangerous and not going away” as we’ve all been witness to GOP taking the “plunge deeper into a Trumpian cult of compulsive dissembling and conspiracy mongering,” falling “hostage to the party’s most fevered extremists” as “the usual partisan differences [have given] way to an existential call to arms.”

So writes journalist Robert Draper in his recently published “Weapons of Mass Delusion: When the Republican Party Lost its Mind,” an account of how a “new breed” of Republicans - the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and Madison Cawthorn - far from moving on from Trump, have taken the “politics of hysteria” to even greater extremes.

Through his extraordinarily intrepid cross-country reporting, Draper chronicles the ascent of these faces of the “new GOP” among the Republican base and within Congress, rendering unforgettable portraits of how “Greene and her ilk” came hold such sway over the GOP, shaping its terms of engagement to an extent that the GOP establishment - likes of Kevin McCarthy - would only begrudgingly admit.

On this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Draper to talk about just how the GOP has, as he says, “lost its mind.”

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Buried Treasure: Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis (w/ Adam Hochschild) Dec 02, 2022

“I have been accused of having obstructed the war. I admit it. I abhor war. I would oppose the war if I stood alone. I believe in free speech, in war as well as in peace.” So said Eugene Debs on September 12th, 1918 to members of a jury tasked with deciding whether he had, as prosecutors argued, during a speech given a few weeks earlier to a crowd of socialists attempted “to promote insubordination [in the military]” and “propagate obstruction to the [military] draft.”

Debs - a socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of, among many leftist groups, the Socialist Party of America - would be convicted of and handed a lengthy prison sentence for violating the Espionage Act, pushed through Congress the year prior by former President Woodrow Wilson - just after the United States entered into the war in Europe.

Upon signing the Act - which made criminal dissent against the war - into law, Wilson, at once, began to use it to go after opposition to the establishment - communists, socialists, trade unionists - and continued to do so even after the war had ended.

This is just one of the many subjects of American Midnight, journalist and historian Adam Hochschild's recent book, in which he examines a period during which the United States saw a swell of patriotic frenzy and political repression that makes McCarthyism look almost subtle by comparison - 1917-21.

On this episode of “Buried Treasure,” we sit down with Hochschild to look back on this all too often unremembered period that gave birth to the Espionage Act - some of the “darkest years of the republic” in which the government and political establishment weren’t at all opposed to blatantly illiberal approaches to achieving their desired outcomes.

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World Cup Iran Moment (w/ Jason Rezaian) Nov 30, 2022

“Every so often over the past quarter-century, analysts have predicted that Iran was on the cusp of major change. They always turned out to be wrong. Now, unrest is engulfing the country yet again.” So writes Jason Rezeian in a recent piece for the Washington Post about the threats the Iranian government is facing, what people are saying - and why this time could be different.

For the past three months, Iran has been rocked by protests prompted by the death of a young woman - Mahsa Amini - while in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” for the alleged crime of wearing an improper hijab.

Images of Amini - bruised and on life support - spread on social media, and her name has become the latest rallying cry in what have been largely women-powered protests against the government’s repression and misogyny.

It has been estimated by human rights organisations that - over the course of the protests - hundreds have died, thousands have been injured, and yet thousands more detained - upwards of 18,000 people.

Rezaian, the global opinions writer for the Washington Post, served as the Post’s bureau chief in Tehran from 2012 to mid 2015, before he was arrested and convicted on bogus espionage charges and held in an Iranian prison for a year and half before being released in early 2016 as a part of a prisoner exchange with the United States.

Rezaian joins us to discuss the protests, Iran’s worsening relations with the West, and what he thinks the future holds for the Islamic republic

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Garland's Special Council Bombshell (w/ Michael Zeldin & Sarah Leah Whitson) Nov 19, 2022

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced what amounts to a legal bombshell in the two most high profile investigations being carried out by his department. He's appointing a Special Council to oversee the ongoing probes into whether Donald Trump illegally sought to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. And whether he violated federal law by taking classified documents from the White House and then refused to turn them over in response to a court approved subpoena. Garland named Jack Smith, a career department prosecutor who once headed the Justice Department's Integrity Section to the job of determining Trump should be prosecuted. And yet Garland still has ultimate power to approve or reject whatever Smith decides. What does this move mean for Trump's future and the integrity of the Justice Department? We talk to Michael Zeldin, a former career prosecutor and Independent Council himself. And then we check in with Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the human rights group D.A.W.N. about the State Department's controversial decision to recommend shielding Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman from a lawsuit.

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Molly Jong-Fast Unplugged Nov 17, 2022

Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced to no one’s surprise that he will once again run for President. By Trumpian standards he seemed subdued as he described America’s decent into war, crime, and economic catastrophe ever since he left the White House twenty-two long months ago and Joe Biden took office. And yet the timing seemed curious. And to many Republicans infuriating. The party had just suffered un-expecting setbacks in the midterms. Once again losing the Senate and it seems just barely taking back the House as Trump endorsed candidates fell by the wayside one by one. And if that wasn’t enough, GOP leaders were still determined to eek out a win in a Georgia run-off and are desperate to have him stay out of the headlines. How much of a threat to Republicans stability and future success as Trump’s candidacy? We talk to Yahoo News correspondent Alex Nazaryan who was at Mar-a-Lago for the big announcement. And then we check in with Molly Jong-Fast, a popular liberal podcaster and social media influencer about what she makes of Trump’s candidacy and the unexpected midterm results.

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The House GOP’s Circular Firing Squad (w/ Juliegrace Brufke) Nov 11, 2022

Even while still reeling from their disappointing performance in Tuesday's election, Republicans are bracing for more turmoil, as they prepare to likely take over the House of Representatives with the thinest of majorities. Instead of celebrating the election results as he had expected, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is now facing serious unrest within his ranks, threatening his prospects of taking the gavel from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when the new congress convenes Jan. 3rd. And even if he does ultimately prevail, how much power will McCarthy actually have? And what should we expect from a Republican controlled House in which the hard-right Freedom Caucus has new power. We talk to one of the reporters most plugged in to the House GOP Caucus, Juliegrace Brufke of The Washington Examiner.

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The "Red Wave" that wasn’t (w/ Matt Bai and Andrew Romano) Nov 09, 2022

For weeks the conventional wisdom in Washington couldn't have been clearer. There was a red wave coming that would sweep Republicans to a historic victory. Winning back control of the US House by wide margin and potentially control of the Senate as well. But then the voters spoke and the conventional wisdom of the pollsters and pundits was wrong once again. As we sit on Wednesday the GOP seems likely to win control of the House after all, but by an exceedingly fine margin that could prove a nightmare for presumptive speaker Kevin McCarthy. And the Senate seems that it could once again depend on the results of a run-off in Georgia where the party's Donald Trump backed candidate Hershel Walker will have huge challenges in his hopes of unseating incumbent Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock. What do the election results say about what passes for the conventional wisdom in American politics? And what do they mean for a 2024 Presidential contest that could well begin as early as next week. We talk to Yahoo News Political Reporter Andrew Romano and Washington Post columnist Matt Bai.

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How dangerous is Elon Musk? (w/ Vivian Schiller) Nov 05, 2022

When Vivian Schiller signed on as a Senior Executive at Twitter in 2013, she was excited to be joining a company that seemed poised to remake the world. It was a heavy time for the social media start-up. Just a few years early, it had been messages on Twitter that connected Democracy activists throughout the Middle East leading to a revolutionary moment known as the Arab Spring. But Schiller soon became disillusioned and has long since left the company. In the years since, Twitter was increasingly hi-jacked by purveyors of hate and disinformation, fouling democracy instead of spreading it. Now, billionaire Elon Musk has taken over twitter, fired half its workforce, and signaled plans to revise if not roll back the content moderation policies that lead the company to kick Donald Trump off the platform for spreading election lies. We talk to Vivian Schiller about what we should make of the Musk takeover and what it portends for the future of Twitter, social media, and American Democracy.

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The Case for Diplomacy in Ukraine (w/ George Beebe) Nov 02, 2022

This week, thunderous explosions rocked the Ukrainian Capitol of Kiev, as Russian forces unleashed another blistering attack of cruise missiles on the city and other regions throughout the country. The attacks targeted energy facilities and other critical infrastructure, cutting off the water supply for 80% of Kiev's residents. It was yet another reminder that despite recent gains by Ukrainians on the battlefield the brutal war that Russia launched last February shows no signs of abating, even as the risks of escalation seem to grow by the day. Is there any hope for diplomacy? Or is the world stuck watching a bloody stalemate in a conflict that has no end in sight? We talk to the CIA former top Russia analyst, George Beebe.

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Supreme Court Time Bombs (w/ Leah Litman & Jess Bravin) Oct 29, 2022

There may be no institution in American more consequential or divisive than the United States Supreme Court. Under the leadership of Justice John Roberts, the court has upended campaign finance laws, undermined the 1965 voting rights act, affirmed a previously unrecognized constitutional right to gun ownership, and this year embolden by its new 6-3 conservative majority struck down the constitutional right to abortion. Decisions that have had a profound impact on our politics, not to mention the daily lives of millions of Americans. But there is more coming up. This coming Monday, on Halloween, the Supreme Court will revisit another politically charged issue. Should affirmative action continue to play a role in college admissions? And coming soon, Senator Lindsay Graham have to testify in a Fulton County investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. We discuss with two longterm court watchers, Leah Litman a Law Professor at the University of Michigan and Jess Bravin of the Wall Street Journal.

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Dems Midterm Blues (w/ Mark Mellman and Brian Robinson) Oct 26, 2022

A few month ago, Democrats were upbeat, believing fervently that they had a decent chance of beating the historical odds and retaining the control of the United States congress. The Supreme Court Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade had energized women across the country, while President Biden scored some major legislative successes. Most notably a climate change bill, that they a bit deceptively labeled, the Inflation Reduction Act. But today, with the midterms less than two weeks away, a new gloom hangs over the party's prospects. The polls consistently show rising prices, the economy, and crime to be the dominant issues preoccupying voters, playing to the GOP advantage. Where do things now stand? We talk to Democratic pollster Mark Mellman to get his state-by-state breakdown. And then we check in with Republican consultant Brian Robinson on two showcase races in Georgia.

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The Lincoln Project Gunslingers w/ (Fisher Stevens & Karim Amer) Oct 20, 2022

"We don't have a client, we weren't here to move some legislative agenda item. We were here to kick the s**t out of Donald Trump." That's from veteran political consultant Rick Wilson talking in a new five part documentary about the groundbreaking SuperPac he and a handful of other Republican consultants founded called The Lincoln Project. The group raised nearly 90 million dollars during the 2020 election, using the cash to create devastating attack ads hammering Donald Trump and his MAGA allies. As election day approached two years ago, The Lincoln Project was getting tons of attention, and Wilson and his confederates were congratulating themselves on their ability to use their attack dog skills to stop the threat to democracy posed by the then President. But how effective really was The Lincoln Project? The documentary now airing on Showtime takes an unblinking look at the controversies surrounding the group and brings up important questions about what they say about the state of modern politics. We talk to the film makers Karim Amer and Fisher Stevens.

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Any Given Tuesday (w/ Lis Smith) Oct 18, 2022

With three weeks before the midterms, the outlook for control of the US Senate and possibly even the House, remains as it's been for some time. A jump ball in which either party can yet prevail. But there is little doubt that there is growing anxiety among Democrats, with inflation, gas prices, and crime, consistently ranking as the top concern among voters, outranking the fallout from January 6th or the alarming number of Republicans running for office who still endorse Donald Trump's election denying nonsense. But are Democrats talking about the right issues? And crafting their messages in ways that connect with that segment of the electorate that actually determines the outcome of elections. veteran Democratic consultant Lis Smith says no, and she's got some advice for them in her new book, "Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story." We talk to her about how she sees the midterms and what she's learned as a female advisor to a parade of Democrats from John Edwards to Elliott Spitzer to Andrew Cuomo, all of whom have had problems over their relationships to women.

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Jan. 6th Committee's Closing Arguments (w/ Matt Miller) Oct 14, 2022

Liz Cheney, Wyoming's Congresswoman, revealed the January 6th Committee's final card at yesterday's hearing. Subpoena to Donald Trump to testify and to provide documents about his role in the events that lead to the attack on the US Capitol. It was a surprise move by the panel at the end of its final public hearing in which it revealed some new details about alarming intelligence warnings to the secret service about the potential for violence that day, as well as compelling footage that day as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer huddled about how to get to the business of the day certifying Joe Biden's victory in the Presidential election back on track. The hearing, like all the earlier ones, got gavel to gavel coverage on cable TV and played big in major newspapers across the country, but it hasn't moved the needle it terms of public opinion. And just as important, hasn't brought the Justice Department any closer to bringing criminal charges to against the former President. We discuss with Matt Miller, former Chief of Public Affairs of the Justice Department under Democratic Attorney General Eric Holder.

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Sen. Murphy on the Saudis and Sandy Hook Oct 13, 2022

President Biden in an exchange with CNN's Jake Tapper, vowed there will be consequences for Saudi Arabia in light of their decision to join with Russia in cutting back oil production, a move guaranteed to help Vladimir Putin and his war with Ukraine, while at the same time, jacking up gas prices for American consumers. The Saudi move jolted the White House, coming barely three months after Biden famously fist-bumped the country's de facto ruler Mohammed Bin Salma, the very same Crown Prince, who according to US intelligence, approved the operation that brutally murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But what should those consequences for the Saudis actually be? Biden didn't say. But one Senator, who has been one of the most outspoken on the issue is Connecticut's Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. We talk to him about the US-Saudi relationship and the war in Ukraine as well as this week's nearly billion dollar verdict against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for his lies about the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

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Walker & the GOP Abortion Crisis (w/ Roger Sollenberger & Dahlia Lithwick) Oct 08, 2022

It may have been the biggest investigative scoop of this year's election. This week, The Daily Beast reported that Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for the US Senate in Georgia and a staunch opponent of abortion rights, paid for a girlfriend's abortion in 2009 - sighting documents that included a receipt from the abortion clinic, an image of a seven hundred dollar check from Walker, and a "Get Well" card signed by the former football star. Walker immediately denied the story. And insisted that he had no idea who the accuser was. But then The Daily Beast followed up with an equally astonishing story, that the woman was actually the mother of one of his children. What prompted the woman, still anonymous, to come forward now? And what impact will this have on one of the most important Senate races in the country? We talk to The Daily Beast reporter who broke the story, Roger Sollenberger, and Yahoo News' own Jon Ward. And then we chat with Slate's Dahlia Lithwick about the new Supreme Court term and her new book, Lady Justice.

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Putin’s Nuclear Threats (w/ Joe Cirincione) Oct 03, 2022

It may be the most pressing question facing the world at this perilous moment. Is Vladimir Putin bluffing or not when he threatens to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine? Nuclear weapons analyst Joe Cirincione says we need to take the Russian president seriously. "We should believe Putin that this is not a bluff," he writes in a recent op ed in The Washington Post. In fact Cirincione points out, Russian military doctrine has been transformed under Putin's leadership. Where once it called for the use of nukes only when the very existence of the Russian Federation was under threat, it now contemplates their use in response to quote, "large scale aggression utilizing conventional weapons in situations critical to the national security." A big difference to say the least. And one more alarming now than ever given that Putin has declared the eastern regions on Ukraine sovereign Russian territory. What might a Russian nuclear attack in Ukraine look like? And what would and should be the United States and NATO's response? We talk to Cirincione and game out the ever more frightening possibilities.

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Trump: The Divider in Chief (Susan Glasser and Peter Baker) Oct 01, 2022

The election of Donald Trump six long years ago began an unimaginable period of time in our history, when the United States was lead for the first time by a President who neither knew or subscribed to the fundamental tenants of our Constitution. And frequently acted to undermine them. So write Peter Baker and Susan Glasser in their new book, The Divider. It maybe the most comprehensive account yet of Trump's presidency. The zig-zags in policy, the clashes and in-fighting among his aides, the incessant attempts to use the power of his office, not to advance policies in the national interest, but to benefit his own personal and political interests. We talk to Baker and Glasser about what they've learned, including their account of Trump's still puzzling relationship with a scary autocrat very much dominating the world stage, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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BONUS: Conspiracyland S4 EP3 - "It’s Not What We Thought It Was" Sep 24, 2022

The third and final installment of the series recounts how senior U.S. officials became increasingly dubious about sensational claims about Havana Syndrome pointing to the lack of any hard evidence that a secret microwave weapon even exists. It features interviews with Fulton Armstrong, former CIA analyst, Jim McGovern, U.S. congressman, Mark Zaid, national security lawyer, and John Cohen, former Department of Homeland Security intelligence chief.

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BONUS: Conspiracyland S4 EP2 - "The Mystery of the Moscow Signal" Sep 24, 2022

The second installment of the series examines the Cold War mystery over suspected microwave attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and how Pentagon fears about such bombardments heavily influenced the initial response to Havana Syndrome. It features interviews with John Fitzsimmons, the former deputy secretary of state for diplomatic security, Sharon Weinberger, a Washington journalist who describes the Pentagon’s own secret research to develop a microwave weapon, and Mike Beck, former NSA counter-intel officer who was convinced he was whacked by a microwave attack during a trip to Russia in the 1990s.

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BONUS: Conspiracyland S4 EP1 - "A Broken Heart" Sep 24, 2022

In the first installment of the series, Isikoff and his producer Mark Seman travel to Cuba where they interview Johana Ruth Tablada de la Torre, the deputy director for U.S. affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry about how the reports of Havana Syndrome were viewed by the country's leadership. The episode also features interviews with a leading Cuban human rights activist, Brian Nichols, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs and Ben Rhodes, the ex-Obama aide who negotiated the reopening to Cuba in 2014 only to watch all his efforts undercut by the events that began with Havana Syndrome.

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What Happened to Rudy Giuliani (w/ Andrew Kirtzman) Sep 21, 2022

In the fall of 1974, a young ambitious prosecutor was grilling a powerful US Congressman on trial for corruption. The prosecutor's cross examination was unforgiving. He had confronted the Congressman with checks from business interests that he had promoted and bombarded him relentlessly with tough questions. After a break, the Congressman threw in the towel and pled guilty. An amazing turn of the tables that handed the young prosecutor his first major triumph. The prosecutor's name, Rudy Giuliani. And it was the first of many headline making triumphs as he went on to serve as a top Justice Department Official, a mob-busting US Attorney, and of course as America's Mayor who guided NYC during its darkest hours and days in the aftermath of September 11th. What's endlessly fascinating about those early triumphs is that they were followed by one of the most spectacular falls from grace that any public figure has experienced in living memory. A man once widely revered, even Knighted by the Queen of England, has ended up as a nearly pathetic laughing stock with significant legal exposure thanks to a considerable degree to his role as consigliere to Donald Trump. It's a story masterfully told by veteran journalist Andrew Kirtzman in his new book, Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America's Mayor. We talk to Kirtzman about his new book and Giuliani's legacy.

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How the GOP Went Crazy (w/ David Corn) Sep 16, 2022

New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller addressed the Republican Convention of 1964, denouncing the extremists that appeared to be taking over his party. Only to be drowned out by boos and shouts by delegates backing that year's nominee Barry Goldwater. Rockefeller's all but forgotten speech is the opening scene in journalist David Corn's new book, American Psychosis: A historical investigation on how the Republican Party went crazy. Corn draws a somewhat straight line from that moment, when a Goldwater movement rife with followers of the John Birch Society and other extremist groups took over the GOP, to the rise of Donald Trump more than a half century later, culminating in the events of January 6th when MAGA extremists stormed the US Capitol and threatened the lives of lawmakers and the sitting Vice President. Corn's book raises the question that hung over the events of 1964, can the Republican Party be saved? And if it can't, can American Democracy be saved? We talk to Corn on this episode of Skullduggery

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Kabul Falling (w/ Nelufar Hedayat & Bradley Hope) Sep 12, 2022

It was 21 years ago this week that 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hi-jacked commercial airplanes and crashed them in to the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon killing nearly three thousand Americans. That murderous act prompted the US Government to invade Afghanistan and where Taliban rulers were protecting Osama Bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders. It was the start of the country's longest war stretching over two decades, only to end disastrously last August when President Biden pulled out all US troops and the Taliban re-took control of the country. For most Americans, Afghanistan is a country that evokes vague unpleasant memories that are fast being forgotten.

But a new podcast, Kabul Falling, reminds us that for millions of Afghans, the US withdrawal was only the start of a horrific nightmare as Taliban fighters went house to house searching for American collaborators while Taliban leaders methodically stripped the country’s women of all their rights and barring them from attending school. We talk to the host of Kabul Falling Nelafur Heydayat, a refugee herself, as well as the podcast’s executive producer and former Wall Street Journal reporter Bradley Hope, to discuss what they discovered in the aftermath of the US withdrawal and what it pertains to the future.

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Biden’s FDR Playbook (w/ Jonathan Darman) Sep 09, 2022

There's no President that Joe Biden and his aides like to compare themselves to more than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After all, FDR and his new deal transformed the American economy and helped rescue the country from The Great Depression, providing a model for the transformative policies that Biden embraced in his Build Back Better proposals. It was also Roosevelt who rallied the country to fight fascists abroad, even as Biden now seeks to mobilize voters to reject semi-fascists at home. In his new book, Becoming FDR, author Jonathan Darman recounts how the young Roosevelt, a gregarious likable politician, not especially deep or thoughtful, with a losing track record as a national candidate, was transformed by a personal crisis that shook him to his core. It's not unlike the personal tragedy that rocked Joe Biden's world after he was elected to the U.S. Senate. We discuss with Darman the FDR-Biden parallels, as far as they go, as well as the latest on Donald Trump's legal troubles.

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Trump and the Espionage Act (with Bradley Moss) Aug 29, 2022

“I have finally seen enough. Donald Trump will be indicted by a federal grand jury.” So wrote national security lawyer Bradley Moss, our guest, in a column for the Daily Beast after release of a heavily redacted FBI affidavit detailing the justification for the extraordinary search of Donald Trump’s home in Mar A Largo to retrieve stacks of government documents that didn't belong to him. While many of the most pertinent portions were blacked out, the affidavit detailed how the FBI had retrieved 15 boxes from Mar A Largo earlier this year. What was in them—mixed in with newspaper clippings, personal correspondence and other items-- were “184 unique documents bearing classification markings,” including 67 marked “CONFIDENTIAL,” 92 marked “SECRET,” and 25 documents identified as “TOP SECRET”—where unauthorized disclosure could reasonably result in “exceptionally grave damage to the national security.” Moss suggests these findings along could be the basis for charging Trump with multiple federal crimes, including obstruction and unlawful retention of classified documents as well as even possibly a section of the Espionage Act dealing with gross negligence in the handling of national defense information. But is the evidence that has been made public so far enough for Merrick Garland’s Justice Department to bring the first criminal charges in history against a former president. We'll discuss with Moss.

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The Afghan Tragedy: One Year Later (w/ Elliot Ackerman) Aug 15, 2022

One year ago this week, the United States hastily pulled out of Afghanistan, an ignoble end to a twenty year experiment in nation building. As armed Taliban fighters swarmed into government buildings and took over the country, the world was privy to gut wrenching scenes as thousands of Afghans who served as translators, co-workers, and allies on the battlefield desperately tried, along with their families, to get on airplanes to leave the country and avoid the inevitable retribution. Few are more emotionally involved in the effort to save those Afghans than our guest Elliot Ackerman. A marine who served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star for valor. In his new book, The Fifth Act: America's End In Afghanistan, he writes about his own frantic efforts along with others to line up charter flights to save his one-time Afghan colleagues. We discuss America's look back on its humiliating withdrawal and take stock of what Afghanistan has become under the harsh rule of our longtime enemies.

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The Mar-a-Lago Raid (w/ Mary McCord & Dana Milbank) Aug 09, 2022

On a Monday morning in August, the United States Justice Department as well as the FBI, may have crossed the proverbial rubicon. For the first time in American history, agents showed up unannounced at the home of a former President of the United States in a court authorized search for classified documents that were removed from the White House. It was an extraordinary move by any measure based on a still sealed affidavit that lays out probable cause for why the documents at Donald Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago contains evidence of a federal crime. What exactly are potential crimes at issue? And what to make of the furious reaction coming from leading Republicans in congress, vowing full-scale investigations of the Justice Department and the FBI if they, as many expect, take control of the House in Nov. Mary McCord, a career prosecutor and the former Chief of the Justice Department's National Security Division, as well as Dana Milbank, columnist for the Washington Post and author of new book The Destructionists: The 25-year crackup of the Republican Party, join to discuss.

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DOJ’s 1/6 Dilemma (w/ Mary McCord Jul 22, 2022

Many chilling images and voices were displayed by the January 6th Committee on Thursday Night including audio tapes of some of the rioters talking among themselves about hunting down and possibly even killing members of Congress. The Rioters wreaked havoc on the US Capitol, smashing windows, detonating smoke bombs, assaulting police officers, while President Trump sat watching Fox News in the White House dining room, indifferent and unmoved, rejecting repeated pleas from his top White House aides, the Republican Leader of the House, his friends at Fox News, and even members of his own family to speak out and call off the mob. We learned for the first time that members of Vice President Mike Pence's own security detail feared for their lives and were frantically calling home to their loved ones during the attack. And we heard for the first time from yet another incredibly strong young woman, White House Press Aide Sarah Matthews, describing how she was so repulsed by Trump's profound derelict of duty that she drafted and submitted her resignation that very day. How powerful was the committee's summertime finale? And perhaps more importantly, how will it be assessed at DOJ? We're joined by Mary McCord, Fmr. top National Security Official in the Department of Justice.

GUESTS:

Mary McCord, Fmr. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division in the Department of Justice

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' article about the key takeaways from final summer Jan. 6 hearing - Here.
Yahoo News article focusing on what Trump was doing during Jan. 6 riot - Here.

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The Sycophants of Trump World (w/ Mark Leibovich) Jul 21, 2022

"The point with Trump is he's in on the joke." So said South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham about his odd relationship with the 45th President as quoted by veteran journalist Mark Leibovich in his new book Thank You For Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the price of admission. The idea that Trump's entire chaotic rollercoaster presidency was a giant joke and his army of Republican enablers were in on it all along is a continuing theme of Leibovich's book, as he charted how one after another top Republicans who privately had utter contempt for the occupant of the Oval Office, never the less fell loyally in line. Concluding, that it was all just some harmless charade that Trump himself was fully a part of. But what happens when the joke, including absurd claims about the results of a Presidential election leads to violence. Threatening the lives of even Trump's own Vice President. As the January 6th Committee plans to wrap up its summer hearings with a primetime special on Thursday night, we'll talk to Leibovich about his book and what happens when the big Washington joke stopped being funny.

GUESTS:

Mark Leibovich, (@MarkLeibovich), The Atlantic, (Fmr NYT), Author of Thank You For Your Servitude

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 Mark Leibovich's book Thank You For Your Servitude - Here.
Yahoo News Exclusive Target Letters to Fake Electors - Here.

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The Jan 6 Georgia Connection (w/ Charlie Bailey) Jul 14, 2022

Liz Cheney dropped one more nugget at the end of Tuesday’s January 6th Committee hearing, new evidence that Donald Trump may be contacting witnesses who are being called to testify in an apparent effort to influence what they might say. If true, it’s a federal crime. And Cheney’s statement that the Department of Justice had been alerted immediately set off speculation about another possible avenue for Attorney General Merrick Garland’s prosecutors to pursue. As the committee moves to wrap up its extraordinary series of hearings next week in primetime, the path to a possible prosecution of Donald Trump only seems to be expanding. Not just in Washington, but in Atlanta where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is accelerating her own investigation. We’ll talk to someone who has their own unique perspective on the Willis probe, Charlie Bailey, a former prosecutor who used to work for Willis, and is now running for Lieutenant Governor against a Republican lawmaker deeply involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

GUESTS:

Charlie Bailey, (@charlie4georgia), 2022 Democratic LG Nominee, Atty at Cook & Connelly, Fmr. Senior Assistant District Attorney

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Isikoff and Klaidman's Fani Willis piece from June. - Here.
David Knowles piece onGeorgia election officials debunking Trump claim - Here.

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Tim Miller’s Road to Hell (w/ Tim Miller) Jul 01, 2022

"Nobody on planet earth was more horrified by the notion of Donald Trump as President." So writes Tim Miller in his new book Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. Miller was a longtime GOP operative, a spinmeister, a dirt disher, who worked for the McCain and Romney and Jeb Bush Presidential campaigns. And also served as a top spokesperson for the Republican National Committee. But his revulsion towards Trump knew no bounds and caused him to sever ties with virtually everybody he used to work with. Miller's book seems to answer an enduring question that persists to this day. Why did so many go along? "I felt like everything I ever knew and believed about my country, my career, my colleagues were a lie," he writes. The Americans I most despise had taken over the country I loved, bringing almost everyone I had once looked up to along with them. Miller joins us to discuss his book and more.

GUESTS:

Tim Miller, (@Timodc), Writer @bulwarkonline, Host “Not My Party” on Snap, @msnbc analyst, author

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@vbass), Senior Advisor at States United, Author of Electoral Dysfunction

RESOURCES:

You can pick up Tim Miller's new book Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell - Here.
Yahoo News' latest on the key cases on the Supreme Court docket next term - Here.

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Cloud Cuckooland (w/ Alex Holder) Jun 29, 2022

"We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable." So said the White House Counsel, Patrick Cipollone on January 6th to White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson. The 26 year old former Deputy to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Hutchinson presented some of the most jaw dropping testimony yet to the January 6th Committee. Recounting how Trump was informed that morning that supporters of his with guns had gathered for his rally but were being refused admission because the weapons would be picked up by the metal detectors, or MAGs as they were known, that are always present for an event with the President. Trump in turn demanded that the MAGs be removed saying, according to Hutchinson, "They're not here to hurt me." And when later informed that the rioters were shouting, "Hang Mike Pence," Trump purportedly said that Pence, "deserved it." Trump of course has denied Hutchinson's sworn testimony, calling her, "a total phony." And some parts of what she had to say is now being disputed by someone close to the Secret Service. Has her account strengthened the case for the prosecution of Trump? And what more does the committee have in store? We talk to one of the panel's witnesses, British documentarian Alex Holder.

GUESTS:

Alex Holder, (@alexjholder), Award-winning documentary filmmaker including the upcoming Docu-series Unprecedented on Discovery+

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@vbass), Senior Advisor at States United, Author of Electoral Dysfunction

RESOURCES:

Details about Alex Holder's upcoming Docu-series Unprecedented - Here.
Who is Cassidy Hutchinson - Here.

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The end of Roe (w/ David Kaplan & Don Ayer) Jun 25, 2022

On Friday, the most consequential Supreme Court decision in decades came down, a 6-3 ruling overturning Roe v Wade. For nearly half a century women have had a Constitutional right to abortion, now they don't. Because, as Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion, Roe was, "egregiously wrong from the start." Informed by what he called, "exceptionally weak reasoning." The new ruling from the court ditching what seemed like well settled precedent is certainly to inflame passion. And as Biden insisted, the fight is not over. His administration, with the backing of virtually every Demacrat in Congress, will seek to pass a Federal Law codifying the right to an abortion. But even if such legislation could overcome a near certain filibuster from Senate Republicans and actually pass, would that supersede the actions of more than a dozen State legislatures that now seemed poised to ban abortion outright? Veteran Supreme Court watcher and author David Kaplan as well as former Deputy Attorney General Donald Ayer, a former Supreme Court Clerk himself, join to discuss this alongside the extraordinary testimony in front of the January 6th Committee this week.

GUESTS:

David Kaplan, (@dkaplan007), Author, Adjunct NYU Professor, Fmr. Newsweek Legal Affairs Editor
Donald Ayer, (@DonaldAyer6), US Deputy Attorney General under President George H. W. Bush

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 SCOTUS overturning Roe v Wade - Here.
Yahoo News' story on the reactions to overturning Roe v Wade - Here.

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January 6th: Will it matter? (w/ Julie Pace & Stephen Engelberg) Jun 23, 2022

"Do you know what it feels like to have the President of the United States target you?" Those were the haunting words of Ruby Freeman, an election worker in Fulton County Georgia describing to the January 6th Committee what it was like when Donald Trump and his allies spread grotesque lies about Freeman and her daughter Wandrea Shaye Moss, accusing them of illegally dredging up suitcases of Biden ballots late at night to throw the 2020 election. None of it was true of course. The FBI, the US Attorney's office in Atlanta, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, they all reviewed the video of Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss counting ballots on election night. And concluded none of it showed anything improper. Just two humble election workers doing their job under difficult circumstances. It was yet more powerful testimony of the chaos that Donald Trump unleashed upon the country. But are the hearings breaking through? Are they penetrating the public pre-occupied with soaring gas prices, punishing inflation, and scorching summer heatwaves? Julie Pace, Executive Editor of the AP and Stephen Engelberg Editor of ProPublica join live from the Collision Conference in Toronto Canada to discuss.

GUESTS:

Julie Pace, (@JuliePace), Executive Editor, The Associated Press
Sol Wisenberg, (@SteveEngelberg), Editor in Chief, ProPublica

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 Trump's pressure put on state election officials - Here.

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January 6th Committee Delivers (w/ Hugo Lowell) Jun 17, 2022

An excerpt from the video taped testimony of Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann revealed this past Thursday described a phone call he got from John Eastman the day after Jan 6th in which the supposed constitutional scholar was unrepentant. Still clinging to the idea somehow some way, the results of the 2020 election could still be overturned. It was a remarkable moment that. was too much for Heerschmann, telling Eastman that he was out of "f'ing mind." And he needed a great criminal defense lawyer because he was going to need it. Words that Eastman, as we learned during Thursday's January 6th hearing, apparently took to heart, reaching out just days later to Rudy Giuliani in search of a presidential pardon. The testimony at the Thursday hearing was powerful as the committee laid out in excruciating detail a relentless pressure campaign by Trump himself, aided every step of the way, by John Eastman to get Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally reject the certified election results. An authority he demonstrably did not have. In some ways it may have been the most significant presentation yet. Laying out elements that Eastman well knew that what he was doing was potentially illegal and unconstitutional. Has the committee finally made its case that Trump and Eastman had made prosecutable crimes? And what more does the panel have in store? Hugo Lowell of The Guardian, who's been all over the January 6th story from the start, joins to discuss.

GUESTS:

Hugo Lowell, (@hugolowell), Congressional reporter for @Guardian

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Key Takeaways from Day 3 of Jan 6th Congressional Hearings - Here.
The outline of Trump's pressure campaign on Pence - Here.

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The "definitely intoxicated" Rudy Giuliani (w/ Matthew Miller & Sol Wisenberg) Jun 13, 2022

An excerpt from one of the video clips played at Monday's January 6th Committee Hearing in which Donald Trump's campaign manager, Bill Stepien, recounts the debate that went on within the White House on election night. Stepien and other top campaign aides were telling Trump to hold off on declaring victory that night, that there were still lots more votes to be counted. And that his slender but steadily slipping margins were starting to fade away. But Trump would have none of it and listen instead to his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, "obviously intoxicated," according to his campaign aide Jason Miller, who told the President to claim he was the rightful winner in an election marked by rampant voter fraud. It was a critical moment when Trump's bogus claims of fraud, pushed in turn by his drunk lawyer, became amplified to the whole country resulting ultimately in the tragic events of January 6th. Is the committee building an air-tight case against the former President? We get perspectives from two veteran legal observers - Matt Miller, the former Chief of Public Affairs for the Justice Department during the Obama Administration and Sol Wisenberg, a criminal defense lawyer and a former top Deputy to Whitewater independent council Ken Starr.

GUESTS:

Matthew Miller, (@matthewamiller), Partner at Vianovo. MSNBC analyst
Sol Wisenberg, (@WisenbergSol), White Collar Defense Atty. Fox News Contributor

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' key takeaways from the Jan. 6th Hearings Day 2 (@CEDickson) - Here.
Isikoff's story about debunked allegations over voter fraud in Georgia during 2020 election - Here.

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

“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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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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Will Trump help Ohio's Vance Advance? (w/ Tom LoBianco and Kyle Kondik) Apr 25, 2022

JD Vance spoke recently at a Donald Trump rally in Delaware County Ohio last weekend. He was publicly boasting about the endorsement he had just gotten from "the big man," touting his newfound benefactor as the future 47th President of the United States. Trump's backing of Vance, author of the best-selling Hillbilly Elegy, was a head-spinning moment in the wild and woolly Ohio Republican primary. Just six years ago, when Trump was first running for President, Vance excoriated him, writing in one recently revealed text message to his former college roommate, "I go back and forth thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad and might even prove useful or that he's America's Hitler." But that was then, and whatever Vance thought of Trump's politics at the time, he's abandoned those views of yesteryear seeing in a full embrace of Donald Trump the key to victory in the Senate race. Next month starts a wave of primaries in Ohio, Georgia, and Pennsylvania that will provide the strongest clues yet on just how much of a hold on Republican voters that Trump still has. Yahoo News' Tom LoBianco joins to discuss the recent Trump rally. Then Kyle Kondik, the Managing Editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball Newsletter that tracks congressional elections.

GUEST:

Kyle Kondik (@kkondik), American elections commentator & analyst; Managing Editor, Sabato's Crystal Ball at UVA Center for Politics
Tom LoBianco (@tomlobianco), Politics reporter @yahoonews, Mike Pence biographer: “Piety & Power”

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:

LoBianco's latest piece on the primaries in Ohio - Here.
Trump holds rally in Ohio in support of Vance - Here.

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Buried Treasure: The Trials of Harry Truman (w/ Jeffrey Frank) Apr 22, 2022

In March,1947 Harry Truman delivered to a joint session of Congress one of the most consequential foreign policy speeches ever given by a U.S. President. It was the speech in which Truman announced his plans to deliver aid to two embattled countries --Greece and Turkey-- threatened by instability and, as U.S. officials saw it, Communist subversion. Truman effectively was setting forth a new policy, committing the United States to assisting countries resisting aggression, or perceived threats of aggression, from Soviet Russia. It was dubbed the Truman Doctrine, and along with the Marshall plan, the creation of NATO and the Berlin Airlift, it created a global security architecture that is still very much with us and today 75 years later its shaping how Joe Biden is responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Jeffrey Frank, author of a new book The Trials of Harry Truman, joins to talk about how the the plain speaking president from Missouri came to roll out that policy – and the role it played then and continues to play today on this episode of Skullduggery’s Buried Treasure.

GUESTS:

Jeffrey Frank (@JeffreyAFrank), Author of The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of An Ordinary Man

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 Frank's book The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of An Ordinary Man - Here.

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Does the US have a Ukraine Endgame? (w/ Derek Chollet) Apr 19, 2022

The battle for Donbas has begun. This week fresh Russian troops poured into the eastern region of Ukraine in what is shaping up as a major offensive aimed at ceasing full control of a substantial slice of the embattled country. At the same time, Vladimir Putin's forces appear to be intensifying their bombardments throughout Ukraine killing civilians, choking off evacuation routes and committing what US officials say are war crimes. What is the Biden Administration doing in response? And is there any hope left for a diplomatic solution? State Department Counselor Derek Chollet, one of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's top advisors, joins to discuss.

GUESTS:

Derek Chollet (@derekchollet), Counselor of U.S. Dept. of State

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' Alexander Nazaryan's piece on Donbas - Here.

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The Hunter Biden - Jared Kushner Payoff (w/ Zach Dorfman & Frank Figliuzzi) Apr 15, 2022

When former Hong Kong Minister Patrick Ho was flying in to New York City's John F. Kennedy Airport in November of 2017, he was arrested by the FBI for bribery and money laundering charges. The first call he made was to James Biden, brother of the then former Vice President and now President. James Biden later said the call was a mistake, that Ho was actually trying to reach his nephew, the President's son Hunter Biden. And for good reason, newly authenticated documents show that Hunter Biden had gotten a million dollar retainer from Ho, just one tranche of as much as five million dollars that flowed to both Hunter and James Biden from the former Hong Kong official and his boss Ye Jianming, a billionaire oil tycoon with past ties to a front for the people's liberation army. The details of the Biden's relationship with Chinese interests emerged in fits and starts. Much of it originally dismissed because they were found on an abandoned laptop that former US intelligence officials suggested may have been a product of Russian disinformation. No evidence of that has yet been found on the material and recent reporting on the subject has caused some former counterintelligence officials to raise an intriguing but important national security question. Were the Biden's a target of a Chinese influence operation that needs to be fully investigated by the FBI. Coming during the same week that new disclosures that Jared Kushner former President Trump's son-in-law had secured two billion dollars in Saudi money for his investment fund. We talk to former FBI counterintelligence chief Frank Figliuzzi about the questionable dealings of Presidential family members and why they matter.

GUEST:

Zach Dorfman (@zachsdorfman), National Security Correspondent, @yahoonews
Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1), FBI Assistant Director (ret); NBC News National Security Analyst, 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:

Michael Isikoff & Zach Dorfman's latest piece on Hunter Biden/Jared Kushner - Here.

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Train Station Horror (w/ Evelyn Farkas) Apr 09, 2022

The horrors in Ukraine only get worse. Russian forces fired missiles at a train station where thousands of civilians had gathered to flee the fierce fighting in the eastern region of Dunbas. At least fifty people were killed including five children and around one hundred were injured. Coming during a week that Western leaders led by President Biden accused the Russians of war crimes and Ukrainian President Zelensky charged that the Russians were engaged in genocide. The rocket attack on a train station only underscored the most pressing issue at the moment. What more can the United States and its allies do to stop Putin's aggression? Few have more consistently called for the US to provide more weapons and military aid to Ukraine than Evelyn Farkas, a former top Pentagon official under President Obama. She joins us to discuss.

GUESTS:

Evelyn Farkas (@EvelynNFarkas), Fmr. Dep. Asst. Secretary @DeptofDefense, ExecDir, WMD Commission, senior Senate staffer, professor

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' Train Station Bombing story - Here.
The White House's response to the Ukrainian Train Station Bombing - Here.

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War Crimes (w/ AMB Stephen Rapp) Apr 06, 2022

President Biden this past Monday doubled down on his charge that Vladimir Putin's Russian forces were committing war crimes in Ukraine. Biden referenced the grotesque images emerging from Bucha showing Ukrainian citizens, their hands tied behind their backs shot and killed by Russian soldiers, their bodies dumped on the streets. Eye-witnesses describe the discovery of mass graves and reports of looting, rape, and other atrocities. Coming on top of Russian missile strikes on a maternity ward and other residential areas. The latest evidence would seem to cry out for a full-scale investigation for war crimes. But how would a war crimes prosecution actually work? And is there any realistic chance that Putin himself would be held accountable? We talk to Stephen Rapp, who formally served at the State Department as US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes.

GUESTS:

Stephen Rapp, Fmr. United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice

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' Dylan Stableford and Colin Campbell's article on Biden claiming Putin should face war crimes - Here.
Yahoo News explainer: What is a War Crime? - Here.

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Will the country’s most progressive prosecutor survive? (w/ DA George Gascón) Apr 01, 2022

In the aftermath of the social protests inspired by the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer, a wave of progressive prosecutors were elected across the country dedicated to rolling back the tough on crime lock-em-up policies that have defined criminal justice in this country for decades. None of those prosecutors have proven more controversial than Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón. From his first day in office, Gascón - a former street cop, issued sweeping directives to put an end to cash bail, the death penalty, life sentences without parole, and the prosecution of anyone younger than eighteen as an adult without exceptions. But today, as violent crime rates in Los Angeles and across California spike, Gascón's reforms have triggered a ferocious pushback. Including from his own prosecutors who sued him for his efforts to bi-pass California's so-called "three strikes and our out" law. Now, Gascón is facing a well funded recall campaign that has already raised over three million dollars. Will Gascón survive the effort to remove him from office? And if he doesn't, what message will that send to progressive prosecutors across the country. Gascón joins us to give us his take on what he still thinks he's gotten right as well as some of the admitted mistakes he's made.

GUESTS:

George Gascón (@GeorgeGascon), LA County District Attorney
Andrew Romano (@AndrewRomano), National Correspondent, Yahoo News

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 & Romano's latest piece on DA Gascón - Here.

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Pete Buttigieg: The Trillion Dollar Man (w/ Sec. Buttigieg) Mar 29, 2022

A little more than two years ago, Pete Buttigieg rocketed to political stardom when he emerged from seemingly nowhere to become a leading Democratic candidate for President. He had to say the least an unusual resume. A combat vet who served in Afghanistan, openly gay, and Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. A town with a population barely over one hundred thousand. Yet Buttigieg stunned the political world by winning the first out of the block Iowa caucus, at least in terms of delegates. Buttigieg didn't get the nomination of course but he was tapped by President Biden to serve as his Secretary of Transportation. A job that puts him in the middle of some of the country's most pressing issues from soaring gas prices to shoring up decaying infrastructure. He's also got some thoughts on the wave of anti-LGBTQ laws being passed by state legislatures across the country. He joins us to discuss these topics and more.

GUESTS:

Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete), US Secretary of Transportation

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:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments about Buttigieg on electric cars and bathrooms - Here.

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Trump's Georgia Test (w/ Greg Bluestein) Mar 28, 2022

This past Saturday night during a political rally in Atlanta, GA railed against Brian Kemp. This is the latest example of his enduring grudge against the state's Republican Governor for the cardinal sin of failing to back his bogus claims that it was he, not Joe Biden, who won Georgia's electoral votes in the 2020 election. Trump's resentment of Kemp has prompted him to endorse the GOP challenger to the Governor, former Senator David Purdue which is shaping up to be a make or break primary that can well determine just how much sway the former President has over the Republican voters. If Perdue pulls out a primary win Trump will undoubtedly be viewed as the ultimate GOP kingmaker clearing the way for him to retake the Republican nomination for President in 2024. But if Kemp prevails, and at the moment he has a solid lead in the polls, it could well be a sign that Trump support is fading far more than Washington pundits have acknowledged. Which will it be? We talk to Greg Bluestein, the lead political reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the author of the new book Flipped: How Georgia turned purple and broke the monopoly on Republican power.

GUESTS:

Greg Bluestein (@bluestein), @AJC politics, @nbcnews contributor, @politicallyga pod, Author of “Flipped”

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 Bluestein's new book Flipped - Here.
Read Klaidman's latest Yahoo News piece on the GA Trump Rally - Here.

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Navalny vs The "Insane Little Tsar" (w/ Vladimir Ashurkov) Mar 22, 2022

Until Volodymyr Zelensky came along, no one had stood up to Vladimir Putin more forcefully and courageously than Alexei Navalny. A longtime thorn in the Russian President's side, Navalny has mobilized opposition to Putin, denounced his policies, and released YouTube videos exposing his corruption, including his alleged connection to a giant billion dollar mega palace on the Black Sea. As a result, Navalny has suffered endless harassment, faced repeated criminal charges, and notoriously was poisoned in 2020 by a chemical agent widely suspected as being planted by the FSB. Last week, he spoke out in court against Putin's invasion of Ukraine, calling it crazy, and saying it's the duty of every person now to fight this war. On Tuesday, in that same courtroom he was convicted and sentenced to nine more years in a maximum security prison. We'll talk to Vladimir Ashurkov, one of Navalny's top aides and the executive director of the anti-corruption foundation Navalny founded.

GUESTS:

Vladimir Ashurkov (@vashurkov), Executive Director of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation @fbkinfo

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:

Michael Isikoff's full-story on Vladimir Ashurkov - Here.
The latest on Alexei Navalny's sentencing - Here.

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Ukrainian Lesson from Marie Yovanovich (w/ Marie Yovanovich) Mar 18, 2022

Marie Yovanovitch, former US Ambassador to Ukraine, testified before congress back in November of 2019 about the notorious phone call during which then President Trump trashed her to the new President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. He commented that she would, in Trump's words be "going through some things." It was the moment that the world first heard from Yovanovich, a veteran US Diplomat who had devoted her career to serving the former Soviet Republics, and in the process becoming one the country's leading experts on Ukraine only to be dumped as ambassador because she was not perceived as promoting the corrupt interests of the American President and his cronies. She's now written a book that imparts what she learned about Ukraine and about Vladimir Putin's Russia. Lessons that are all the more important in the wake of Russia's brutal invasion. As Ukraine remains under siege and millions of its citizens flee for safety, we'll talk to Yovanovich about what those lessons were and what Americans should know about them.

GUESTS:

Marie Yovanovitch, Fmr. US Ambassador to Ukraine

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:

Yovanovitch's reaction to Trump's Helsinki Press conference - Here.
Putin's dictatorship will end in disaster, recent piece from Yahoo News UK - Here.

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Zelensky's Finest Hour (w/ Dan Hoffman) Mar 16, 2022

Ukrainian President Zelensky delivered a powerful message to a joint session of U.S. Congress Wednesday morning. Zelensky invoked the memories of America's darkest moments. "Remember Pearl Harbor," he said, "Remember September 11th." Death from sky visited on Americans just as death from the sky is now being visited on the Ukrainian people. He showed a gut wrenching video showing charred bodies, fleeing refugees, and bombs, one after another destroying Ukrainian cities and killing civilians. He praised President Biden for the help he's provided so far but then implored him to do more. If not a "no fly zone" then more air defense systems, more planes, more weapons to fight the Russian aggressors. We discuss the takeaways from Zelensky's speech. We'll also listen to an excerpt from our talk with the former chief of the Ukrainian Air-force about what the Ukrainians really need. And finally, we'll listen to the comments of the former top C.I.A. official about Vladimir Putin's murderous past and what that can mean for the future of Ukraine.

GUESTS:

Dan Hoffman (@danielhoffmanDC), Ret. CIA Station Chief in Moscow

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:

Alexander Nazaryan's coverage of Zelensky's message to a joint session of the U.S. Congress - Here.
Zelensky shows the joint session of the U.S. Congress graphic video "This is Murder" - Here.

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On the Front Lines (w/ AMB Mark Brzezinski) Mar 11, 2022

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Face the Nation last Sunday gave the green light to a Polish proposal to send MiG fighter jets to Ukraine to help that country fight a relentless Russian invasion. But by the end of the week, the deal was off. President Biden vetoed the idea after US intelligence and Pentagon officials raised concerns that, among other factors, the introduction of the planes would provoke the Russians even further and lead to an escalation to the conflict. It was to be sure a bitter disappointment to the Ukrainian government who's president Volodymyr Zelensky has been literally pleading with the west for more firepower to save his country. We are joined by a man in the middle of the controversy and much else involving the Ukraine crisis, the new UN Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski.

GUEST:

Amb. Mark Brzezinski (@AmbassadogTeddy), UN Ambassador to Poland

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Photos of Ukrainian Refugees fleeing their home - Here.
Yahoo News' Dylan Stableford's latest piece on President Zelensky - Here.

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Special Operation and Peace (w/ Andrei Soshnikov & Maryan Zeblotzkyy) Mar 08, 2022

Journalist Andrei Soshnikoff, with the help of insider Lyudmila Savchuk, exposed the Internet Research Agency, a troll farm set up by a Russian Oligarch close to Putin. It was a new disturbing phenomenon in the global information wars. This was the moment American's came to know the concept of fake news and disinformation. This came to forefront thanks to the groundbreaking work of the aforementioned Russian investigative journalist Soshnikoff and whistleblower Savchuk. who was disgusted by the murder of Boris Nemtsov. But the ability of Russian journalists to cover the news has now been challenged as never before. In the wake of Putin's latest and more vicious assault on Ukraine, the Kremlin has launched a harsh new crackdown on the press. Threatening journalists with up to fifteen years in prison for spreading "false information" and banning them from even referring to the events in Ukraine as a war. Soshnikoff joins us to discuss the state of Russian media. And also, Maryan Zeblotskyy, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament joins to discuss the latest from Western Ukraine.

GUEST:

Maryan Zeblotzkyy, Member of Ukrainian Parliament
Andrei Soshnikoff (@Soshnikoff), Current Time TV, former BBC journalist/Transparency International RU analyst

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' Tom LoBianco's latest piece on Putin - Here.
Yaoo News' Niamh Cavanagh's latest piece on Zelensky - Here.

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Berlin Airlift for Kyiv? (w/ Rep. Tom Malinowski) Mar 04, 2022

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield declared that, "The international community must be unanimous in demanding Russia's forces stop their dangerous assault." This, after the aftermath of reports that Russian forces bombed a Ukrainian Nuclear Reactor. This was the latest sign of the ferocity of the Russian attack, an invasion that continues unabated including reports of cluster bombs and widespread attacks on civilians. Is there anything the United States and its western allies can actually do to stop the madness? Congressman Tom Malinowski, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a former top State Department Official under President Obama, who spent years trying to punish Russian misbehavior joins to discuss.

GUEST:

Rep. Tom Malinowski (@RepMalinowski), (D-NJ) - member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Yahoo News' Dylan Stableford's most recent piece along with Photo Staff about Ukraine - Here.
Yahoo News' Jon Ward's most recent piece on hackers and disinformation about Ukraine/Russia war - Here.

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Zelensky Stands Tall (w/ Mark Savchuk & Dan Hoffman) Mar 02, 2022

President Zelensky is having one powerful performance after another in defense of his country, Ukraine. He's refusing to back down even as Russian troops close in on his Capitol and the city's frightened residents huddle in air-raid shelters to escape the invaders bombs. The Ukrainians from all accounts are putting up a fierce resistance volunteering in droves to wage battle using aging guns, Molotov cocktails and in some cases their very bodies to slow the Russian advance. But how long can the Ukrainians hang on? And how far is Vladimir Putin prepared to go to crush them? Mark Savchuk, a coordinator for Ukrainian journalists joins us from Kyiv to talk about what's going on right now in the heart of the battle. Also, Dan Hoffman, a former CIA station chief in Moscow, joins to discuss what to make of Putin's bizarre erratic but unbelievably brutal behavior.

GUESTS:

Mark Savchuk (@SavchukMark), coordinator for Ukrainian journalists
Dan Hoffman (@danielhoffmanDC), Ret. CIA Station Chief in Moscow

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:

The latest from the war in Ukraine - Here.
Ben Adler's latest Yahoo News piece involving Climate Activism and Ukraine/Russia - Here.

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Putin's War (w/ Catherine Belton & Nina Khrushcheva) Feb 26, 2022

Ukrainian President Zelensky on Saturday posted a video of himself bravely walking in the streets of the besieged capital city of Kyiv standing defiant as Russian forces close in bombarding the city and leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. Zelensky's refusal to back down in the face of Vladimir Putin's aggression is being seen throughout the world as an inspiring David vs. Goliath battle that may yet end tragically for him and his country. But much depends on what is conceivably going on inside the head of Goliath. Why is Putin doing this? What does he really want? And what, if anything, can the west do to stop him. We talk to two renowned experts on Putin's Russia and Zelensky's Ukraine - Catherine Belton, a special correspondent for Reuters and the author of the book, Putin's People - and also Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international relations at the New School and the great-granddaughter of another Russian leader, the late Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

GUEST:

Catherine Belton (@CatherineBelton), Special correspondent for @Reuters, author of Putin's People
Nina Khrushcheva (@ninakhrushcheva),

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:

Ukrainian President Zelensky's video "This is our land" - Here.
Lastest Yahoo News article on Ukraine/Kyiv - Here.
Pick. up Belton's book Putin's People - Here.

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Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson (w/ Richard Rosenthal) Feb 26, 2022

President Biden this past Friday introduced his choice for the Supreme Court. And the nominee, DC Court of Appeals Ketanji Brown Jackson, introduced herself the country. It was a historic pick on multiple grounds. Jackson is the first African-American woman ever nominated for the court. If confirmed, she'll also be the first Supreme Court Justice who worked as a public defender bringing a new sensibility to how the criminal justice system impacts the world of real life defendants. But there is much more to her life story. A stellar student in high school, graduated from Harvard and Harvard Law School, with a family that includes a brother who was a Baltimore city cop and an uncle who was. Miami's Police Chief and yet another uncle who has been wrapped up in the drug trade. We'll talk to one of her oldest friends from High School - appellate lawyer Richard Rosenthal, about what we should know about Ketanji Brown Jackson and what her nomination will bring to the Supreme Court.

GUEST:

Richard Rosenthal, former law clerk to the Honorable Levin H. Campbell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and to the Honorable Edward B. Davis, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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' Christopher Wilson's most recent piece about Ketanji Brown Jackson - Here.

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The San Francisco Recall Earthquake (w/ Matt Bai) Feb 19, 2022

While the Biden White House waits nervously to see if Russia invades Ukraine, perhaps in the next few days, the biggest political story this week that took place was as local as it gets. In San Francisco, where voters, by an overwhelming margin, recalled three school board members. Why? Incompetence and frustration to be sure over the board's decision to keep public schools shut down all last year over Covid even as schools elsewhere were opening. But perhaps even more the recall vote was a rejection of the board members progressive woke agenda. In the name of racial justice the board was looking to rename schools. Even those named after Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. It had ended merit based admission to one of the city's elite high schools because it lead to too many Asian-American students and not enough African-American and Hispanics getting in. That vote has been seen as a wake up call for Democrats when the eyes of some have too often embraced the progressive agenda that has alienated voters across the political spectrum. Washington Post columnist Matt Bai joins us to talk on why the woke agenda has alienated him and what the radical drift of both political parties could mean for the country's future.

GUEST:

Matt Bai (@mattbai), Contributing columnist focusing on politics at @washingtonpost

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:

Matt Bai's latest piece for @washingtonpost discussed on pod - Here.
Yahoo News' Alex Nazaryan's piece on the San Francisco School Board situation - Here.

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A world waits for Putin's play (w/ Dmitri Alperovitch) Feb 15, 2022

Last week, State Department spokesperson Ned Price, fielded tough questions from AP reporter Matt Lee about the US Government's claims that Russian forces were planning to mount a phony false flag attack in order to provide a pre-text for an invasion of Ukraine. It was a classic moment in which a Biden Administrative Official was forced to answer that most fundamental of questions that should always be asked when the government makes bold assertions about the perfidy of a foreign power. What's the evidence? Price declined to do so leaving the press and much of the public leaving to wonder, does US intelligence really have the goods to back up its claims? Or was this just one more front in a much larger information warfare battle in which the Biden Whitehouse is trying to spook the Kremlin to forgo its plans to seize control of a neighboring country? As the world sits on edge of what Putin may or may not do, we talk to cyber security expert Dmitri Alperovitch about what we should expect over the next several weeks.

GUEST:

Dmitri Alperovitch (@DAlperovitch), Chairman, Silverado Policy Accelerator; Co-Founder & Former CTO @CrowdStrike

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:

Vindman lawsuit story and information - Here.
Vindman's book Here, Right Matters for purchase - Here.

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On the Brink of War (w/ Alexander Vindman) Feb 08, 2022

Back in 2019, United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, testified about the notorious phone call between then President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. The one where Trump pressured the new foreign leader to launch investigations into that would embarrass Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Vindman's plain spoken account was a pivotal and dramatic moment that ultimately led to Trump's first impeachment. But Vindman's closing words addressed to his father who brought his family from the old Soviet Union to the United States more than forty years ago has an eerie echo today. Despite his assurance to his Dad then, "Don't worry I'll be alright for telling the truth," Vindman last week filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and two other former White House Aides accusing them of running a coordinated intimidation and retaliation campaign against him. That he alleges has cost him significant financial emotional and reputational harm. Vindman joins us to discuss, and as a former Ukraine analyst on the National Security Council, we also talk to him about the current Russian threat to Ukraine.

GUEST:

Alexander Vindman (@AVindman), Retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel, 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:

Vindman lawsuit story and information - Here.
Vindman's book Here, Right Matters for purchase - Here.

Follow us on Twitter: @SkullduggeryPod

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Pence Gets a Spine (w/ Jon Ward & Jim Pasco) Feb 08, 2022

Last week former Vice President Mike Pence, in a speech to the Federalist Society, delivered his most forceful rebuke yet to the man he had faithfully served for four years - Donald Trump. It may as well have been Pence's finest hour. Not only did he tell Trump that he was flat out wrong in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, but there was, "no idea more Un-American than Trump's persistent intreaties to him that he unilaterally toss out certified votes of electors on Jan. 6th so that Trump could stay in power. How extraordinary was Pence's speech? And why did he deliver it now? And how much impact will it have on the Republican Party? Yahoo News' Jon Ward joins to discuss. Then, Jim Pasco, the Executive Director at National Fraternal Order of Police joins to talk about the politics of crime.

GUEST:

Jon Ward (@jonward11), Chief National Correspondent @yahoonews, Author of "Camelot's End," Host of The Long Game Podcast
Jim Pasco (@GLFOP), Executive Director at National Fraternal Order of Police

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:

Caitlin Dickson's piece on latest Pence speech saying "Trump is wrong." - Here.
The Government & Media Affairs site from the Fraternal Order of Police - Here.

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Trump's Georgia Train Wreck (w/ Greg Bluestein) Feb 02, 2022

Former President Trump in Texas last week threatened the prosecutors who are daring to investigate him with the biggest protests we have ever seen. It was an unnerving speech that. seemed to bring about the idea of another Jan. 6th. type event and triggered the Fulton County prosecutor, Fani T. Willis, to ask for an F.B.I. risk assessment of the county courthouse in downtown Atlanta citing safety concerns for those involved in the criminal investigation. Is this a sign that Trump is nervous? And how much does he have to worry about from what's to come of the Willis investigation? Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal Constitution joins to discuss.

GUEST:

Greg Bluestein (@bluestein), @AJC political reporter, author of the upcoming book Flipped.

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:

Dylan Stableford's piece on Georgia prosecutor asking for FBI Protection post-Trump rally - Here.
Pre-order Greg Bluestein's book Flipped - Here.

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Biden’s Supreme Court Moment (w/ Dahlia Lithwick & Jess Bravin) Jan 28, 2022

Journalist Jonathan Allen on this podcast last March described the fateful moment when Joe Biden, with his campaign on the ropes during the South Carolina primary in 2020, agreed to name an African-American woman to the Supreme Court. It was a commitment made under intense political pressure by house majority WHIP James Clyburn. The most powerful black politician in the state. But it paid off big time. Biden made his pledge, Clyburn endorsed the next morning, and the former Vice-President won a resounding victory in South Carolina putting his campaign on a gliding path to the nomination. And now, Biden's nearly two year old campaign pledge has become newly relevant as Justice Stephen Breyer announced he will be stepping down. Who will Biden actually pick to replace him? And how much difference will it make? Two veteran Supreme Court watches, Dahlia Lithwick of Slate and Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal, join to discuss.

GUESTS:

Dahlia Lithwick (@Dahlialithwick), covers the court and law from Slate
Jess Bravin (@JessBravin), Supreme Court correspondent for The Wall Street Journal

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 piece on Biden's promise to select an African-American to Supreme Court - Here.
Jonathan Allen's appearance on Skullduggery - Here.

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Putin's Potential Plot Against Ukraine (w/ John Sipher) Jan 25, 2022

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged this week that any move by Vladimir Putin on Ukraine will be met with clear, swift, and a united response from the United States and its NATO allies. It was one more sign of a looming crisis that has much of the world on edge. The Russians have amassed as many as 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border prompting the US to pull diplomats out of Kiev over fears for their safety. And now, the US has put as many as 8500 troops on alert for possible deployment in support of NATO. Seventy-Seven years after the end of World War II are we really on the verge of another ground war in Europe? Or does Putin have another game plan? Our guest John Sipher, retired from a 28-year career at the CIA with time spent in Moscow and also running the CIA’s Russia operations, gives us his insight as to what we are potentially dealing with.

GUEST:

John Sipher (@john_sipher), Former CIA Clandestine Service - Now @SpycraftEnt @AtlanticCouncil

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:

Andrew Romano's latest Yahoo News/YouGov story - Here.
John Sipher's Bio on the Atlantic Council - Here.

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The Hypocrisy of Davos Man (w/ Peter S. Goodman) Jan 25, 2022

The World Economic Forum is something that takes place every year in Davos, Switzerland. Mark Benioff, Billionaire CEO of cloud computing company Salesforce who frequents this forum, is an evangelist for a concept known as stakeholder capitalism. The notion that corporate executors have an obligation to not just do what's best for its shareholders, the folks who bought the stocks and reaped the dividends, but for all its stakeholders including the company's workers, consumers, suppliers, and more broadly, society at large. It's positioned Benioff as that most admirable of characters at the annual retreat, a progressive CEO committed to ending climate change, promoting diversity, and otherwise making the world a better place. But according to our guest Peter S. Goodman of The New York Times, and author of the book Davos Man, it's all a charade. In addition, our hosts discuss the latest developments into Jan. 6th, the newly discovered Draft Executive Order for the Military to cease election machines, as well as the recent news out of Georgia in regards to the infamous Trump phone call to find him more votes.

GUEST:

Peter S. Goodman (@petersgoodman), @nytimes global econ corr. Author of DAVOS MAN: How the Billionaires Devoured the World

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 Goodman's book - Here.
Watch Rutger Bregman Viral Clip from Davos - Here.

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Carl Bernstein's Boisterous Beginnings (w/ Carl Bernstein) Jan 22, 2022

Before Watergate brought Carl Bernstein well-deserved fame and fortune, he sharpened his journalistic chops as a copy boy and cub reporter for The Washington Star. It was the Capitol's afternoon newspaper until it was shut down forty-one years ago. And was also The Washington Post's fierce crosstown rival. Bernstein has now written a memoir about his formative days at The Star called Chasing History: A Kid In The Newsroom. It recounts how a kid, who barely graduated high school and never finished college learned how to conduct interviews and craft stories that mattered all while getting a front row seat at some of the biggest events of his time. From the Civil Rights Movement to the assassination of JFK. Bernstein joins to discuss his book and what lessons it has for journalists today.

GUEST:

Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein), Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist

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 Carl Bernstein's new book - Chasing History - Here.

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Biden’s Voting Rights Fiasco (w/ Michael Waldman) Jan 21, 2022

In Biden's recent address to the people of the United States, he appeared to leave open the door for Democrats to question the legitimacy of this year's congressional elections due to new voting laws being passed by Republican controlled state legislatures. The. comments came just as West Virginia State Senator Joe Manchin was on the floor of the Senate reaffirming that he would not go along with changing Senate filibuster rules thereby effectively dooming the President's call for sweeping new Federal laws that would override what GOP lawmakers are doing in the states. Another crushing defeat for Biden. How big of a defeat was this for Dems in general? And what will it mean for this fall's midterms? Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice and author of the newly reissued book The Fight To Vote, joins to discuss said questions and much more.

GUEST:

Michael Waldman (@mawaldman), Pres. @brennancenter at NYU Law. Author The Fight to Vote, Fmr. Bill Clinton speechwriter

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 Waldman's book The Fight To Vote - Here

Follow us on Twitter: @SkullduggeryPod

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Bannon’s Bizzaro World (w/ Tim Miller & Erik Wemple) Jan 14, 2022

On Steve Bannon's Podcast, War Room Pandemic, there's a common theme that the deep state is coming after you. The believe in the "big lie" is also common fodder and remains as powerful as ever. And just this week, DOJ brought new charges against leaders of the Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracies are only seen as further proof of the dastardly leftist plot to target patriotic Trump supporters and tighten its control over America. Tim Milleer of The Bulwark joins to discuss the bizzare-o world of Bannon's podcast and what impact it's having on the Republican Party. Then Erik Wemple, media columnist for The Washington Post, joins to talk about how the media should be covering this strange moment in American politics.

GUESTS:

Tim Miller (@Timodc), Writer-At-Large @bulwarkonline
Erik Wemple (@ErikWemple), Washington Post media critic

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:

Tim Miller's latest piece about spending a week listening to Steve Bannon - Here.
Erik Wemple's latest stories for The Washington Post - Here.

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Buried Treasure: The Coup Plot that anticipated 1/6 (with Jonathan M. Katz) Jan 12, 2022

Skullduggery's Buried Treasure returns as author Jonathan M. Katz joins to talk about his new book Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire. Tracing a path from the first wave of U.S. overseas expansionism to the rise of fascism in the 1930s to the crises of democracy in our own time, Katz's booktells an urgent story about a formative era most Americans have never learned about, including a Jan. 6th 2021 plot-like attempt to overthrow the US Government in the 1930s exposed by Smedley himself to Congress.

GUEST:

Jonathan M. Katz (@KatzOnEarth)

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Pre-Order Katz's book - Here

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The Jan. 6th Endgame (w/ Robert Costa) Jan 05, 2022

In AG Merrick Garland's speech on the eve of Jan. 6th he "vowed to pursue the perpetrators of the violent attack “at any level,” and promised to “follow the facts wherever they lead.” The investigation into the event that took place just a year ago on the US Capitol is not limited to the more than seven hundred rioters who have already been charged with breaching the Capitol barricades, assaulting Capitol Police Officers, and threatening the lives of members of congress as well as the sitting Vice-President of the United States. And whether or not they were present that day. So, who does he mean? And does that mean potential charges against Donald Trump himself? Robert Costa of the Washington Post joins to talk about all the latest surrounding the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6th attack.

GUEST:

Robert Costa (@costareports)

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:

Get Robert Costa/Bob Woodward's latest best-selling book Peril - Here
Yahoo News' Caitlin Dickson's latest story on AG Garland's speech about Jan. 6th - Here

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The Steal That Never Happened (w/ Mark Bowden & Matthew Teague) Jan 04, 2022

We are just days away from the one year anniversary of Jan. 6th, that now infamous dark day in the history of the US where our own people attack the US Capitol in order to stop the certification of Joe Biden as the next President. Leading up to that day, a vast amount of wild and ridiculous conspiracies about how the election was stolen and rigged, were spreading quickly without an ounce of evidence to support them. "Stop the Steal" had become the new catchphrase of Trump's supporters, serving as a spring board and call to action by those who had been convinced it was true. How far did it go? Where did those supporters take action? We all witnessed Jan. 6th on our televisions, but what most of us didn't see was what happened on the local level, state by state, county by county. Authors of the book, The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It -- Mark Bowden and Matthew Teague, join us to discuss the lead up to Jan. 6th as well as some of the wildest claims and conspiracies that millions of people still believe to this day.

GUESTS:

Mark Bowden (@MarkBowdenwrite), Journalist, author of The Finish, Black Hawk Down, Worm, Greatest Game ever Played
Matthew Teague (@MatthewTeague), Nieman Fellow 2019; exec. producer of feature film Our Friend

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:

Buy The Steal by Bowden/Teague - Here.
Yahoo News story debunking urinal/election fraud conspiracy - Here.

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Taking on the Proud Boys (w/ AG Racine) Dec 22, 2021

The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers are now central to the investigations into the events of Jan. 6th. More than thirty Proud Boys have been indicted by the Justice Department for the attack on the US Capitol. And just this week, a Federal Judge overseeing many of those cases, upheld the department's position that the defendants can be charged with obstruction of an official proceeding. Meaning, they can be sentenced to lengthy prison terms of up to twenty years. As this situation intensifies, DC's AG Karl Racine is taking another route. He's filed a civil suit against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over the events, calling the attack, "a coordinated attack of domestic terrorism." AG Racine joins us to discuss.

GUEST:

District of Columbia's AG Karl Racine (@AGKarlRacine)

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 Article on Racine's lawsuit filing against Proud Boys / Oath Keepers - Here

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The Build Back Better Debacle (w/ Max Rose) Dec 21, 2021

Joe Manchin has been pushing back on the furious attacks from the White House and his fellow Democrats over his refusal to support President Biden's Build Back Better bill. Manchin's quote that he, "just can't get there to back the bill," was a crushing blow to the Biden administration and appeared to stun top officials and Democratic leaders. A bill that would in their view sharply reduce child poverty, help working parents by dramatically expanding child care, and take major steps to address climate change. And perhaps just as significant that the failure to pass the bill undermines Democratic arguments that they and Biden can actually get things done. Thereby seriously hurting the party's chances of retaining control of congress in next fall's midterm elections. Former NY Democratic Rep. from Staten Island - Max Rose - joins us to discuss the aforementioned in addition to why he himself is running again to win back the seat he lost just a year ago to Trump supporter Nicole Malliotakis.

GUEST:

Frm. Congressman Max Rose (@MaxRose4NY), Serving the people of Illinois. Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee

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:

The reaction from the Climate Community after Manchin kills BBB Bill - Here
Max Rose seeks rematch to win back his house seat - Here

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Durbin's Doubts (w/ Senator Dick Durbin) Dec 16, 2021

Biden said this week that domestically, there is nothing more important than voting rights. And yet as with Build Back Better, his nearly two trillion social spending bill, there seems little prospect that a voting rights bill can pass before the end of the year. Not so long as two democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin remain admittedly opposed to changing the Senate's filibuster rules that allow a minority that allow a minority of members to block passage of just about anything. Nobody has been in the middle of the fight for voting rights and much else on the democratic slate then Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. He joins us to discuss the aforementioned bills and the prospects of anything getting down not only before Christmas, but next year as well.

GUEST:

Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin), Serving the people of Illinois. Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee

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 Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin - Here

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Operation Whistle Pig (w/ Jana Winter & Hugh Handeyside) Dec 14, 2021

This week, our Yahoo News colleague Jana Winter discovered the existence of a secret investigations unit inside the Department of Homeland Security. It was snooping into the private lives of journalists as well as congressional staff members and others. They were pulling phone records, travel records, personal contacts, and much else. All of this under the guise of cultivating them to help with the legitimate government investigation into, of all things, cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This secret unit launched an initiative called Operation Whistle Pig that targeted journalists. Informally, it called itself W.O.L.F. - way out there in left field. Winter joins us to discuss as well as an ACLU lawyer, Hugh Handeyside, about why this is so alarming.

GUESTS:

Jana Winter (@janawinter), Investigative Correspondent @YahooNews
Hugh Handeyside (@hhandeyside), Senior Staff Attorney, @ACLU National Security Project

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:

Jana Winter's Operation Whistle Pig story - Here.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, House Homeland Security Chair's reaction to story - Here.

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A Tale of Torture (w/ Mohamedou Ould Slahi) Dec 10, 2021

The Mauritanian is a powerful film about a young man named Mohamedou Slahi who was held for fourteen years in GTMO. He was accused of being an Al-Qaeda operative who recruited the hi-jackers for the 9/11 attacks. He was once viewed as one of the most significant high-value detainees and under direct order of then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld he was subjected to special interrogation methods. He was beaten, kicked, and smashed across his face. Subjected to extreme cold and sexual humiliation by female interrogators. And also threatened with execution during a boat ride where he was force-fed sea water. Slahi himself joins us on this episode of Skullduggery to talk about his experience and his eventual release after wrongful prosecution.

GUEST:

Mohamedou Slahi, fmr. detainee at Guantanamo Bay & best-selling 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:

Slahi's best-selling book turned movie - Here
Isikoff's story on Mohamedou Slahi - Here

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Bob Dole: End of an Era (w/ Scott Reed) Dec 08, 2021

The death of Bob Dole this week at the age of 98 has reminded the country just how much Washington and the Republican Party has changed since the days he ruled the roost as Senate Majority Leader. Although a stalwart partisan who was once known as Richard Nixon's "hatchet man," Dole also believed firmly that politics and government had a purpose - to get things done, to pass legislation that actually made a difference in voters. Even if it meant reaching out to the other side, listening and respecting what they had to say and forging compromises. An approach that seems almost entirely foreign in politics these days. We're joined by veteran GOP strategist Scott Reed who managed Dole's 1996 campaign for President.

GUEST:

Scott Reed, top Republican political strategist and former executive director of the Republican National Committee

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:

Scott Reed's recent piece on Dole in The Dispatch - Here
Yahoo News' piece on the passing of Bob Dole - Here

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Supreme Court Greenhouse Effect (w/ Linda Greenhouse) Dec 04, 2021

Supreme Justice Sotomayor grilled the solicitor general of Mississippi on what it would mean for the court's legitimacy if it does what Mississippi wants it to, overturn Row v. Wade. "Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts." This revealed that the court is deeply divided. Is this a result of Trump getting to name three Supreme Court Justices? If overturned, what happens next on the state level? We discuss with Linda Greenhouse who has been covering said court for over forty years.

GUEST:

Linda Greenhosue (@GreenhouseLinda), covers The Supreme Court & Law for the @nytimes

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:

Linda Greenhouse's new book: Justice on the Brink - Here.
Linda Greenhouse's New York Times Profile- Here.

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A debriefing on the President's briefers (w/ David Priess) Dec 02, 2021

After Donald Trump was elected President, the CIA started briefing him on the threats facing the country and other developments the could affect national security interests. From the outset, there was a problem. Trump, while occasionally polite and willing to listen, was rarely impressed with what his briefers had to tell him. He didn’t want his briefing every day. And he wasn’t interested in getting a written brief either. “He doesn’t really read anything,” his chief CIA briefer explained. “In an hour’s discussion, there might only be eight or nine minutes of real intelligence,” said the director of national intelligence. What is remarkable about these comments is that they come from a new book written by a former CIA inspector general and released by the CIA itself. It’s called, Getting to know the President. What does it say about the CIA that it would put out a tome that discloses somewhat embarrassing details of a President it once served? We talk to David Priess, a former CIA briefer himself.

GUEST:

David Priess (@DavidPriess), Lawfare Publisher/COO, cohost @ThatWasChatter pod, fmr. CIA

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:

Getting to know the President book - Here.
David Priess' Podcast, Chatter - Here.

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Attempt to mobilize older Americans (w/ Bill McKibben) Nov 29, 2021

Skullduggery presents an episode of The Climate Crisis Podcast hosted by Yahoo News Senior Editors David Knowles & Ben Adler. In this episode, Adler talks to longtime environmental activist and journalist Bill McKibben about his newest venture: Third Act, an organization intended to mobilize older Americans in the fight against climate change and in defense of voting rights. McKibben tells Adler his thoughts on the outcome of the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, why he is trying to engage Americans ages 60 and older, and how he thinks climate activism must turn towards the private sector.

GUEST:

Bill McKibben (@billmckibben), Author, Educator, Environmentalist and founder of http://350.org and http://ThirdAct.org

HOSTS:

Ben Adler (@badler), Senior Climate Editor @YahooNews, Host of @Climate_Podcast
David Knowles (@writerknowles), Editorial Senior Manager at @YahooNews, Host of @Climate_Podcast

RESOURCES:

The Climate Crisis Podcast - Here.

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Climate Crisis and the way forward (w/ Ben Adler & David Knowles) Nov 19, 2021

Climate change the scientists tell us is an existential threat to the future of the planet. But what do we do about it? And how much time do we actually have before we're completely engulfed by rising sea levels, melting ice caps, and ever more extreme weather events from out of control wildfires to floods, tsunamis, and other natural disasters? Fresh off COP26 in Glasgow, Yahoo News' Ben Adler and David Knowles join to discuss our path forward. Also, Yahoo News Reporter Caitlin Dickson joins to paint the picture post verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse case.

GUESTS:

Ben Adler (@badler), Senior Climate Editor @YahooNews
David Knowles (@writerknowles), Editorial Senior Manager at @YahooNews, Host of @Climate_Podcast
Caitlin Dickson (@CEDickson), Senior 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:

The Climate Crisis Podcast - Here.
Dickson's Rittenhouse story post verdict - Here.

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The meddling in US elections (w/ Sec. Brad Raffensperger) Nov 18, 2021

We all heard the tape of the phone call eleven months ago. President Trump telling Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State, he should overturn the election results and declare that he, not Joe Biden, won the Peach State in last year's election. "President Trump is using what he believes is the power of his position to threaten me if we don't do what he tells us to do Raffensperger writes about the phone call in his new book called Integrity Counts. Essentially accusing then President Trump of criminal conduct. Raffensperger could end up being a crucial witness in the still ongoing investigation of Trump's conduct by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Raffensperger joins to discuss said book as well as his upcoming hopes for re-election.

GUEST:

Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger (@GaSecofState)

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:

Trump's infamous phonecall to Raffensperger - Here.

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The Dopesick Tragedy (w/ Danny Strong & Beth Macy) Nov 16, 2021

The new TV series, DOPESICK, showcases the big lie that a new opioid drug Purdue Pharma was pushing - oxycontin - was safe, effective, and most importantly not addictive. Well, it was. And the new drug had been blessed by an FDA official who later went on to work for, you guessed it, Purdue Pharma. This is the story of the billion dollar drug company run by the Sackler family and how they pushed this product out to the masses creating an addiction to a dangerous narcotic. Danny Strong, the director and writer of the DOPESICK series as well as the author of the book it's based on, Beth Macy, on this episode. Yahoo News' own Jon Ward joins as well to update us on Steve Bannon, who recently appeared in court after originally defying his subpoena.

GUESTS:

Danny Strong (@Dannystrong), Writer/Director/Actor/Producer
Beth Macy (@papergirlmacy), Journalist, author of the award-winning, NYT-bestseller DOPESICK
Jon Ward (@jonward11), Senior Political Correspondent for Yahoo News

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:

Buy DOPESICK book - Here.
Jon Ward's latest Bannon story - Here.

Follow us on Twitter: @SkullduggeryPod

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

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Bannon indicted (w/ Evan Osnos) Nov 13, 2021

"His second term is going to start with a bang, that we can guarantee you." So spoke former White House Counselor Steve Bannon on his podcast Jan. 5th, seeming to foreshadow the horrific events of the next day at the US Capitol. The country, he told his listeners, was about to go through a constitutional crisis that would make the impeachment of Donald Trump look like a Sunday picnic. Did Bannon know what was going to happen on that dark day in US history? Did he encourage it? He was issued a subpoena to turn over documents, he denied. Now, he's been indicted on two counts of criminal contempt of congress. How will this all play out in court? And how long will it take? Evan Osnos also joins to discuss his new book Wildland: The Making of America's Fury. A book that charts how we got to Jan. 6th in the first place. A story in which Bannon plays a role.

GUEST:

Evan Osnos (@eosnos) - Journalist & Author, staff writer @NewYorker

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:

Buy Osnos' new book Wildland: The Making of America's Fury - Here.

Follow us on Twitter: @SkullduggeryPod

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A Bird's Eye View (w/ Fiona Hill) Nov 05, 2021

Fiona Hill was a member of Donald Trump's National Security Council. She was a key figure who coordinated policy toward Vladimir Putin's Russia. She had a bird's eye view of the strange dynamic that played out throughout the Trump years. The repeated and seemingly inexplicable sympathy that the US President had for the authoritarian Russian leader culminated in a disastrous press conference in Helsinki. This of course is where Trump sided with Putin as opposed to his own US agencies in regards to the Russian interference in the 2016 election. Hill contemplated faking a seizure and throwing herself into a row of people right behind her in order to stop the press conference dead in its tracks. This is one scene from Hill's new book - There is Nothing For You Here. She joins to discuss.

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How the NRA changed American politics (w/ Ryan Busse & Tim Mak) Nov 02, 2021

For more than a century has had on the books a concealed carry law that permits individuals to carry a weapon only if they demonstrate they have a special need for one to protect themselves from a threat on their lives. This week, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge from that law from an NRA affiliated group arguing that such restrictions are an unconstitutional violation to a citizen’s right to bare arms. Gun control advocatesfear it’s something that could end up in the Supreme Court, which now has a solid 6-3 conservative majority. Two authors, both with a book out about the NRA and guns - Ryan Busse and Tim Mak - join to discuss where America is headed when it comes to guns, gun violence, and those that lobby for open carry.

GUESTS:

Ryan Busse (@ryandbusse), author of Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America
Tim Mak (@timkmak), Author of Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA

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:

Buy Busse's book - Here.
Buy Tim Mak's book - Here.

Follow us on Twitter: @SkullduggeryPod

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Virginia down to the wire (w/ Tom Davis) Oct 29, 2021

As the race for Governor in the State of Virginia comes down to its final few moments, an epic debate blunder from Terry Mcauliffe has been exploited in order for his rival Glenn Youngkin to have a potential shot at victory. On top of that, a Loudoun County sexual assault case has arisen front and center during the final days. Yahoo News' own Jon Ward joins to breakdown the story. Then former Virginia Congressman - Republican Tom Davis - weighs in on what the results will ultimately mean moving forward.

GUEST:

Fmr. Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia
Yahoo News' Jon Ward (@jonward11)

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:

Latest on Loudoun Country sexual assault case dominating Election Race - Here.

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The Steve Bannon Supoena Situation (w/ Rep. Jamie Raskin) Oct 25, 2021

Rep. Jamie Raskin took to the House floor last week to lay out exactly what is at stake in the battle of Steve Bannon's refusal to testify before the Jan. 6th Select Committee. Few members have done more to get to the bottom of what happened that day than Raskin and punish those who were responsible. Before being elected to Congress, he was a Constitutional Law Professor. It was he who led the charge to impeach former President Trump over his role in inciting the attack. But even if Raskin, who's leading the charge once again gets Bannon to testify, what will they actually learn? And what do they believe the investigation might actually uncover? Raskin himself joins to discuss.

GUEST:

Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin), Rep. from MD's 8th Congressional District, on @rulesdemocrats, @housejudiciary, @oversightdems, & @houseadm_dems

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:

Latest Yahoo News Article on Jan. 6th Subpoenas - Here.
Raskin and Cheney get in fight with Taylor Green on House Floor - Here.

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The Truth Behind "American Crime Story: Impeachment" Oct 23, 2021

In recent weeks, a television series has been airing called American Crime Story: Impeachment that explores the events leading up to the impeachment of then U.S. President Bill Clinton. The story, mostly told through the eyes of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, seemingly conflates and at times completely fabricates the truth to inflict maximum drama while depicting key role players involved with varying degrees of accuracy. Yet, at other times, completely nails exactly what was actually said and/or happened. One of those characters is Skullduggery's own Michael Isikoff who was the original reporter piecing together the landmark story that would change Clinton's Presidency forever. Our hosts, whom all three were involved - Isikoff and Klaidman both at Newsweek at the time, Bassetti who was in the room for Lewinsky's depositions - weigh in on what the show gets right and what it gets wrong.

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:

Michael Isikoff's 1999 book about the events - Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter's Story - Here.
Original Posting from the Drudge Report - Here.
Isikoff's Original Story from 1998 for Newsweek - Diary of a Scandel - Here.

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Schiff on Trump and the future of American Democracy (with Adam Schiff) Oct 19, 2021

In late September of 2019, Congressman Adam Schiff, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, gathered with his staff to read a remarkable document just released by the Trump Whitehouse. It was the transcript to the phone call Trump had that July with Ukrainian President Zelensky stating, "I'd like you to do us a favor though..." then pressing Zelensky to launch an investigation of Joe Biden and his son Hunter. At this point, Schiff had muttered to himself, "Holy Shit." He thought in that moment that he had acquired the ultimate smoking gun. He then lead the charge in Trump's first impeachment. This is a scene he recounts in his brand new book, Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could. Flash forward to today. How have the effort of Schiff and others been trying to purge Trump from politics? And what lessons has he learned to help guide members of his fellow January 6th committee as they seek to get to the bottom of Trump's role in one the darkest days in American Democracy? Congressman Schiff joins to breakdown his book and weigh in on where we are and could be headed.

GUEST:

Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff), Rep. from CA's 28th Congressional District, Chairman of the House Intel Committee @HouseIntel

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:

Congressman Adam Schiff's new book - Here.
Yahoo News' latest story on Schiff - Here.

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The fight over executive privilege (with Norm Eisen) Oct 09, 2021

On New Years Day 2021, Mark Meadows the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States emailed a YouTube video to the acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen. The video promoted a bizarre conspiracy theory known as Italy-Gate, asserting that a tech employee at an Italian Aerospace company had worked with the CIA to use US Military Satellites that flipped votes on election night from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. There wasn’t a shred of evidence to support this fantastical claim. Nevertheless, Meadows wanted Rosen to have the Department of Justice investigate the matter. Rosen forwarded the YouTube video to his deputy Richard Donahue who responded with two words - Pure insanity.

This new exchange is found in a new Senate Judiciary Committee report that documents how then President Donald Trump and his top aides repeatedly pressured the Justice Department to take steps to block the rightful winner of last year’s election and from becoming President and how it all connects to the riot that took place on the US Capitol on Jan. 6th. Will the public ever learn the full extent Trump took to stay in power? Norm Eisen, a former White House lawyer, and a special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.

GUEST:

Norm Eisen (@NormEisen), Senior Fellow @brookingsgov, former White House lawyer, and a special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee

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:

Norm Eisen Bio for Brookings Institute - Here.
Norm Eisen's latest CNN Opinion piece on Sen. Judiciary Committee report - Here.
Reuters Article on new details of Trump's attempt to overturn the election - Here.

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Unpacking the Pandora Papers (with Greg Miller) Oct 07, 2021

Billions hidden beyond reach. So the headline proclaimed in The Washington Post this week. The paper alongside more than one hundred partner news organizations around the world reported on a remarkable cache of documents exposing a secretive off-shore system that hides billions of dollars from tax authorities, creditors, criminal investigators, and the public. And who takes advantage of the system? World leaders, the rich, and the powerful worldwide.

Greg Miller, one of the reporters from The Washington Post who worked on the exposure of information contained in what has been dubbed the Pandora Papers, helps unpack what we know about where all this money is being hidden, and how.

GUEST:

Greg Miller (@gregpmiller), National Security Correspondent for The Washington Post

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' Guide to nine years of finance leaks - Here.
Greg Miller's Bio Page at The Washington Post - Here.
Washington Post Reports answer your Pandora Papers - Here.

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The Peril of Trump’s Final Days (with Bob Woodward & Robert Costa) Oct 01, 2021

The final days of Trump's Presidency were filled with struggles, chaos, and an insurrection on the US Capitol. Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's new book, Peril, gives us insight into what happened during this tumultuous time period that almost destroyed democracy from the inside out. The authors join to discuss the final days of Trump's time in office. What happened? And more importantly what could have happened had the efforts of a select few not stepped in to intervene.

GUESTS:

Bob Woodward (@realBobWoodward), Professor at the University of California – Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies
Robert Costa (@costareports), National Correspondent, Yahoo News. Former Newsweek/Daily Beast

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:

Peril - the new book from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa - Here.
Bob Woodward's Bio - Here.
Robert Costa's Bio - Here.

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Inside the CIA's secret war plans against WikiLeaks (with Zach Dorfman) Sep 27, 2021

CIA Director Mike Pompeo back in April 2017 depicted Wikileaks as a grave threat to American national security. He also called it a Non-State Hostile Intelligence Service was a grabby rhetorical talking point

However, with some exclusive reporting from the Yahoo News Team - Zach Dorfman, Sean Naylor, & Michael Isikoff - Pompeo’s branding opened the door for the CIA to plan all sorts of extreme measures to dismantle the organization. Including a snatch operation to kidnap the group’s leader Julian Assange, then holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and possibly to even assassinate him.

This and so much more uncovered including a plan for a gun battle on the streets of London. Zach Dorfman joins to break it all down.

GUEST:

Zach Dorfman (@zachsdorfman), National Security Correspondent @yahoonews, Former Senior Staff Writer @aspencyber

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 Article Inside the CIA's secret war plans against Wikileaks - Here.

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The Real Thiel (with Max Chafkin) Sep 24, 2021

Just days before the Republican Convention in 2016, 150 Tech executives and investors published a stinging open letter condemning the man the party was about to nominate for President. Donald Trump’s candidacy the tech moguls wrote was fueled by “anger, bigotry, fear of new ideas, and a fundamental belief that American is weak and in decline.”

That was undoubtedly the view that most of the big players in Silicon Valley. But there was one who had a decidedly contrary view. Peter Thiel was the billionaire co-founder of PayPal and Palantir. And was the first outside investor in Facebook giving him instant entree and more than a little clout with the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg. And Thiel had gone all in for Trump. Speaking at the convention, donating more than one million dollars to a Trump Super PAC. And later serving on his transition team as he sought to place figures who share his unorthodox views of the world in high places in the US Government.

How much influence did Thiel have during the Trump era? And how much power does he yield today in the insular world of Silicon Valley. Max Chafkin, author of the new book about Thiel called The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power, joins to discuss.

GUEST:

Max Chafkin (@chafkin), Features Editor/Writer @BW, Author of The Contrarian

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:

Obtain The Contrarian - Here.
Yahoo News' David Knowles original piece on critics latest blasting of Facebook - Here.
Time Magazine's Who's Afraid of Peter Thiel? - Here.

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Botched Drone Strike (with Joe Cirincione) Sep 21, 2021

US Central Command’s top general Kenneth McKenzie last week had to make one of the most painful mea culpas in the history of the US Government’s war on terror. A drone strike intended to save the lives of US soldiers had ended up taking the lives ten innocent Afghan civilians. Seven of them were children.

A rare acknowledgment that a tool the Pentagon and CIA have relied on for years to target terrorists was in this instance tragically botched thanks to sketchy intelligencethat confused a civilian aide worker with an ISIS suicide bomber. McKenzie came clean, only after reporters on the ground exposed the Pentagon’s mistake raising new questions about how many other civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen have also been killed in US drone strikes. And how does this affect the Biden administrations planned use of “over the horizon” drone strikes to prevent Al-Qaeda resurgence in the country we just abandoned?

Joe Cirincione joins to discuss the botched strike and where we go from here.

GUEST:

Joe Cirincione (@Cirincione), Analyst, Author, Distinguished Fellow @QuincyInst, Fmr. President @plough_shares, VP @amprog, Hill rat.

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:

The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft - Here.
Yahoo News' Dylan Stableford and Chris Wilson's original piece on the bothced drone strike - Here.
Dan Klaidman's book Kill or Capture on focusing on drone strikes - Here.

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California Recall (with Dan Schnur and Andrew Romano) Sep 13, 2021

It’s a legacy of the progressive era in American politics. Voters in California get to recall State office holders if they don’t like the job they’re doing without waiting for the next election. It’s facing one of its biggest tests this week when Gavin Newsome, the liberal democratic governor who was elected by a whopping twenty-four percent margin in 2018 will face a recall fueled by discontent. Yahoo News’ political correspondent Andrew Romano as well as former GOP strategist turned academic who’s studied the recall movement help sort out the confusing details of the said election.

GUESTS:

Dan Schnur (@danschnur), Professor at the University of California – Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies
Andrew Romano (@AndrewRomano), National Correspondent, Yahoo News. Former Newsweek/Daily Beast

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:

Dan Schnur's "Politics in the Time of Coronavirus." - Here.
Andrew Romano's Yahoo News articles - Here.

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The Lessons of 9/11 (with Kristen Breitweiser & Karen Greenberg) Sep 10, 2021

On that gorgeous Tuesday morning twenty years ago, Kristen Breitweiser was one of thousands who’s lives were shattered forever. Her husband Ron, a Senior VP at a brokerage firm was working on the 94th floor of the World Trade Center South Tower when Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked the plane that crashed into the building. The second wave of a terrorist attack that killed nearly three thousand. Breitweiser soon emerged as one of the most outspoke 9/11 family members, a trained lawyer that prodded lawmakers to create the national commission to investigate the attack. And ever since she’s embarked on a tireless campaign demanding accountability for the terrorists and for those in authority who allowed the attack to happen. As the country commemorates the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, we talked to Breitweiser about her own recollections of that terrible day and what still needs to be done. And then we talked to Karen Greenberg, Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law, and the author of a new book about how 9/11 transformed the country's politics.

GUESTS:

Kristen Breitweiser (@kdbreitweiser), 9/11 widow and activist, widely credited with forcing the creation of the 9/11 Commission
Karen Greenberg (@KarenGreenberg3), Director @CNSFordhamLaw, Author of new book Subtle Tools, Host @VI_PodcastCNS.

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:

Kristen Breitweiser's op-ed for The Intercept: My Husband Died on 9/11. I'm Still Waiting for a Trial of His Killers. Here.
Karen Greenberg's new book Subtle Tools. Here.

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The Texas Abortion Ban takes hold Sep 02, 2021

It has been the law of the land for forty-eight years, women have had the constitutional right to abortion. This was a decision made by the Supreme Court back in 1973. But this week, the court with no written opinion allowed to go into effect a harsh new Texas law that effectively eviscerates the landmark decision of Roe v Wade. The new law bans most abortions after six weeks, before many women even know they are pregnant and makes no exception for rape or incest. And it deputizes private citizens to file lawsuits who aids or abets an abortion. Dahlia Lithwick joins to discuss. Then, outspoken Congresswoman Susan Wild of Pennsylvania weighs in on the Biden administrations handling of Afghanistan. A sign of some discontent within the Democratic Party.

GUESTS:

Dahlia Lithwick (@Dahlialithwick), writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast Amicus.
Congresswoman Susan Wild (@RepSusanWild), represents Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District

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:

Jon Ward's latest Yahoo News article on Jan. 6th committee and its requests - Here.
Mark Hosenball's article on FBI's findings in regards to insurrection being a coordinated attack. Here.
Kim Wehle's latest article on Trump's lawyers abuse of the court system for political gain. - Here.

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The longest US war is over (with Craig Whitlock) Aug 31, 2021

In May of 2003, then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, flew to Kabul to declare that combat operations were indeed over in Afghanistan. "The country is now secure." This was quite the misleading statement as our guest Craig Whitlock explains. Just one example of numerous half-truths told over four administration about the US' now longest war. On this day, the last flight out of Afghanistan carrying American troops has left, ending the endless war. We'll take a deep dive as to how we got here with the aforementioned author the brand new book, THE AFGHANISTAN PAPERS: A Secret History of the War.

GUEST:

Craig Whitlock (@CraigMWhitlock), Investigative reporter for The Washington Post 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:

Whitlock's new book, The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War - Here.
Whitlock's Washington Post bio page - Here.
Yahoo News' latest article on the end of the war in Afghanistan - Here.

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Jan. 6th Committee's Record Requests (with Kim Wehle & Mark Hosenball) Aug 28, 2021

The January 6th committee is in full swing. It has made sweeping requests for records and information as they work towards discovering what actually happened leading up to the insurrection on the US Capitol. Will the requests reveal Trump administration officials had a hand in the attack? And if so, what will become of them? Who will receive a subpoena and who will claim executive privilege? And how long will this whole process take? Mark Hosenball, investigative reporter for Reuters, talks about his latest article on the FBI's findings and Kim Wehle, Professor of Law, talks about what the consequences could or would be as it all plays out.

GUESTS:

Kim Wehle (@kimwehle), Professor of Law, Fmr Asst US Attorney, Author.
Mark Hosenball (@Reuters), investigative correspondent at Reuters. Formally of Newsweek and Dateline NBC

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:

Jon Ward's latest Yahoo News article on Jan. 6th committee and its requests - Here.
Mark Hosenball's article on FBI's findings in regards to insurrection being a coordinated attack. Here.
Kim Wehle's latest article on Trump's lawyers abuse of the court system for political gain. - Here.

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Bombings at the Kabul Airport (with General McMaster & Congressman McCaul) Aug 26, 2021

The worst case scenario just got even worse. Today, ISIS-K struck the area outside the airport in Kabul twice. Two bombings, one a suicide attack. The events resulted in casualties for both Americans and Afghans, something President Biden said was inevitable in a situation like this. There's finger pointing from all sides, but in the end the deaths ring loud and true. The first loss of American life in Afghanistan since February of 2020. Biden condemned today's attack by responding, "We will hunt you down and make you pay" Does this mean that the endless war won't be coming to and end after all?August 31st is just days away and intelligence tells us that there are more potential attacks. General McMaster, Trump's National Security Advisor, and US Rep. Michael McCaul join to discuss.

GUESTS:

General McMaster (@LTGHRMcMaster), Former US National Security Advisor, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution
Congressman Michael McCaul (@RepMcCaul), Republican US Representative for Texas's 10th congressional district

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 McMaster Article - Here.
Biden's speech after terrorist attack in Kabul - Here.
Latest info on terrorist attack at Kabul Airport - Here.

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Biden doubles down on Aug. 31st deadline (with David Sedney) Aug 25, 2021

The clock is ticking ever closer to August 31st. That's the day that President Biden claims we'll have all US citizens out of Afghanistan. Something he doubled down on in his latest press conference on the matter. But what about all those Afghans that fought alongside the US over the last twenty years? Will the US help them escape the oppressive regime that is the Taliban? With only a week to go before the deadline, and too many people to evacuate, the mess has become a debacle. David Sedney, former President of the American University of Afghanistan weighs in on the struggle to get not only the Americans out, but those Afghans who have spent the last twenty years building a new life only to have it seized away in less than twenty days.

GUEST:

David Sedney (@david_sed), Frm. President of American University of Afghanistan, Frm. US Diplomat & Frm. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in Afghanistan

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:

Biden claims US is on track to finish Afghanistan evacuations by Aug. 31st - Here.
David Sedney Bio - Here.
Yahoo News' Jon Ward article, Who are the Taliban today - Here.

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Forty Years in Afghanistan (with Annie Pforzheimer) Aug 20, 2021

As US Troops and Afghan refugees are being evacuated from Afghanistan, media outlets are reflecting on the twenty year war that was. But the truth is, it's actually been forty. It dates back to the time when President Jimmy Carter signed a secret finding authorizing the CIA to funnel lethal weapons to the Mujahideen warriors who were resisting the Soviets. This was the arming of Islamic rebels who later became the Taliban. Our guest Annie Pforzheimer, former US diplomat who served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Afghanistan, gives us a harsh reality check on the situation currently going on lead by the Biden administration.

GUEST:

Annie Pforzheimer (@pforzheimera), Deputy Chief of Mission in Afghanistan '17-'18

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 latest article on Afghanistan - Here.
Conspiracyland Season 3 Episode 3 (Afghanistan excerpt source) - Here.
Yahoo News' Jon Ward article, Who are the Taliban today - Here.

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Afghanistan Has Fallen (with Peter Bergen) Aug 17, 2021

Kabul has fallen. It was the last city under control of the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani until he decided to flee before it was lost. And now we are left with the striking images of the Taliban inside the Presidential Palace he once occupied. Disturbing video, which now plays on a loop across the news media, shows desperate Afghanis clinging to a US military jet as it departs from Kabul. Shocking footage that has instantly become a stain on the Biden administration despite being something that three presidents before him wanted to do, remove our US troops. It seemed universally what everyone wanted, but apparently not how everyone thought it should have been done. Biden boldly defended himself and the move in a press conference while placing blame on others even after admitting that the Taliban takeover happened more quickly than expected. Where do we go from here as we rapidly approach the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. The optics are not good.

GUEST:

Peter Bergen (@peterbergencnn), VP at New America, CNN National Security Analyst, Prof. Arizona State, author, documentary producer.

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:

Bergen's new book: The Rise and Fall of Osama Bin Laden - Here.
Bergen's latest CNN article - Here.
Shocking Video of people clinging to US plane as it departs Afghanistan - Here.

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Afghanistan U.S. troop debacle (with Elliot Ackerman, Carol Leonnig, & Phil Rucker) Aug 12, 2021

Back in April, President Biden announced the full U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by Sept. 11th. With said date now less than a month away, the news out of the region is that city after city is falling to Taliban forces. And now the U.S. is asking the Taliban to spare its embassy in the capital city of Kabul with the anticipation of an upcoming fight for its control. Quite the mess to say the least. Where do we go from here? Everyone agrees that this solution isn't the best, yet no one has a solution that satisfies all those involved. One thing we do know for sure is that more blood will be shed in the coming days, months, and potentially years in a place the U.S. has spent so much time, money, and loss of life in order to protect. This is quickly shaping up to be another Saigon.

GUESTS:

Elliot Ackerman (@elliotackerman), Author and Fmr. U.S. Marine, served multiple tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig), Washington Post reporter, MSNBC contributor, and co-author of I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year
Phil Rucker (@PhilipRucker), Washington Post Senior Washington Correspondent, NBC News Political Analyst, and co-author of I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief of Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

2034: A Novel of the Next World War - Here.
Carol Leonnig Washington Post Profile page - Here.

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Covid crisis current state (with Dr. Leana Wen) Aug 06, 2021

As the Delta variant of the coronavirus runs rampant across not only the US, but the world, new hot spots have emerged and hospitals are once again filling up to capacity. It appears we are right back where we started with things trending in the wrong direction. And with summer comes huge gatherings at places like concerts, vacation destinations, and weddings. The messaging on Covid seems to change daily and the public confusion grows as misinformation and disinformation spread just as fast and effectively as the virus itself. So where are we now? How do we change this downward trend? With the new school year on the horizon and the fight over masks taking place at the Federal, State, and Local levels, we check in with Doctor Leana Wen, former Health Commissioner for the City of Baltimore, and author of the new book Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health.

GUESTS:

Leana Wen (@DrLeanaWen), Fmr. Health Commissioner for the City of Baltimore, and author of the new book Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health.

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health. - Here.
Washington Post Contributor Profile page - Here.
Current Coronavirus Map & Statistics via John Hopkins University - Here.

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When will Cuomo go? Aug 04, 2021

When the Cuomo Report from the NY Attorney General's office was released, it revealed that eleven women - more than previously reported, had come forward with charges of sexual harassment against the current NY State Governor. The details were both graphic in nature and painted the picture of a hostile work environment. Now everyone, including President Biden is calling for his resignation. Karen Hinton, Former Press Secretary for Andrew Cuomo while he was in the cabinet for then sitting President Bill Clinton, joins the podcast to talk about her own experience with Cuomo and how the harassment and intimidation goes back more than 20 years.

GUESTS:

Karen Hinton, (@KarenHinton), Frm. Press Secretary for Andrew Cuomo

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Hunter Walker (@hunterw), Reporter @theuprising

RESOURCES:

Report of Investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo - Here.
Biden calls for Governor Cuomo's resignation - Here.
NY AG Letitia James announces findings in the sexual harassment investigation against Gov. Cuomo - Here.

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The truth about Jan.6: The inquiry begins (with Bill Kristol) Jul 29, 2021

The first of what will most likely be many hearings to uncover the truth about the January 6th insurrection on the US Capitol has taken place. It was a sobering approach by the select committee. Something we haven't seen at a hearing in quite some time. The result, an emotional and electrifying set of testimonies from those who were on the front lines of the riot that day. From Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell's quote, "This is how I'm going to die," to Officer Michael Fanone of the Metropolitan Police Department stating, "the indifference shown to his colleagues by Republicans even after officers risked their lives to keep those same lawmakers safe that day, Disgraceful," then slamming the table. In addition, previously unseen body camera and CCTV footage revealed just how real and raw the attack was. Bill Kristol, neoconservative political analyst who has served in both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, joins to discuss the reaction of Republicans to the hearing and what's in store for the future of the party.

GUESTS:

Bill Kristol, (@BillKristol), Director, http://defendingdemocracytogether.org. Editor at large, http://thebulwark.com. Host, http://conversationswithbillkristol.org. Fellow, @HarvardIOP

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:

Just Security document - "Questions the January 6 Select Committee Should ask Its Witnesses" - Here.
Lawfare - "House Select Committee Investigating Jan. 6 Holds Its First Hearing" - Here.
Testimonies highlights from Capitol and Metropolitan Police - Here.

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Guantanamo debacle continues (with Carol Rosenberg and Jeh Johnson) Jul 19, 2021

It has been just about twenty years since the opening of Guantanamo Bay and we are no closer today than we were back then to resolving what will go down in history as one of the biggest debacles in American history. After the recent news that Chief Guantánamo Prosecutor Gen. Mark Martins announced his surprise retirement, what will be the next steps in relieving the stalemate preventing things from moving forward? The families of those lost in the horrific attacks on 9/11 are sitting on what is now two decades worth of frustration with no end in sight. Carol Rosenberg, reporter for The New York Times, who's been covering Guantanamo since the beginning joins to put forth her solution. Then, Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, weighs in on the matter in addition to the withdrawing of US Troops in Afghanistan.

GUESTS:

Carol Rosenberg (@carolrosenberg), covers Guantánamo Bay, the base, policy, prison, people and war court for The New York Times
Jeh Johnson, Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security

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:

Rosenberg latest article on Guantanamo - Here.

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The Trump book blitz begins (with Michael Bender) Jul 17, 2021

We all knew it was coming once the Trump Administration was replaced with that of Biden's. Book after book after book would start hitting shelves unleashing insider details that pulled back the curtain on what happened behind the scenes during Trump's four years in office. First up, Michael C. Bender, senior White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal, releases Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost. Bender has been reporting on the former President since his time on the campaign trail. On the podcast he talks about that time he was left alone in the Oval Office for thirty minutes before an interview, his time spent on Air Force One, and what it what he learned being embedded into the reoccurring group of people found in the front row of over dozens of MAGA rallies.

GUEST:

Michael C. Bender (@MichaelCBender), senior White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal

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:

Bender's new book - Here.
Bender's Wall Street Journal Profile/Work - Here.

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Six Months Later (with Congressman Swalwell) Jul 08, 2021

It's been six months since the attack on the Capitol and we're still searching for answers. Now that the House has approved a new select committee to investigate the January 6th riot, will we get said answers? With Liz Cheney defying the GOP by joining the investigation, what will be House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's next move? Will he appoint members of his liking to join or choose the path of selecting no one and call it partisan ploy? Congressman Swalwell joins to discuss his recent Capitol siege lawsuit against Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and Congressman Mo Brooks.

GUEST:

Congressman Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell), member of the House Judiciary and Intel Committees

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:

Congressman Swalwell's lawsuit - Here.
Congressman Swalwell's recent book, "Endgame: Inside the Impeachments of Donald J. Trump" updated with four new chapters - Here.

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Supreme Court Rulings (with Jess Bravin & Jackie Calmes) Jul 02, 2021

It's the end of the term for the Supreme Court. And with that comes a number of decisions. Some more closely watched than others, specifically the case in regards to Arizona and its voting restrictions. Some may argue that the current court is a 6-3 majority in favor of the conservatives. Those same conservatives might argue it's a 3-3-3 court in favor of no one based on past decisions. How are Trump's two recent nominees shaping the future of our country? And what will this mean moving forward with high profile cases already on the horizon including Mississippi's abortion law. Our hosts also react to the news coming out of the New York DA's office about the Trump Organization and whether or not it's another dead end to pin past accusations on the former President.

GUESTS:

Michael Zeldin (@MichaelZeldin), Fmr. DOJ attorney & Resident Fellow IOP Harvard Kennedy School
Jackie Calmes (@jackiekcalmes), Editor, LATimes and author of the new book "Dissent: The Radicalization of the Republican Party & Its Capture of the Court"
Jess Bravin (@JessBravin), Supreme Court correspondent for The Wall Street Journal

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 Jackie Calmes new book - Here.
Read all of the Supreme Court rulings discussed from this episode - Here.
Everything you need to know about the charges brought forth against the Trump Organization - Here.

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Rudy's fall from Grace (with Christine Chung) Jun 24, 2021

Rudy Giuliani's Law License in the State of New York has just been suspended for citing election lies. Once referred to as "America's Mayor" after 9/11, has now become anything but. He now faces possible disbarment for attempting to help Trump overturn the 2020 election results by abusing his power and the courts. Well, the courts just punched back. Christine Chung, one of the lawyers and former Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York - who drafted the original complaint against Giuliani, joins the show to discuss what this all mean for Giuliani, Trump, and the future of American Democracy.

GUEST:

Christine Chung (@chrischunglaw), New York City-based trial and appellate attorney, fmr. Federal Prosecutor in the Southern District of New York

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:

Text of the decision to suspend Rudy Giuliani - Here.
Original Letter that Christine Chung co-wrote - Here.

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Juneteenth: America's second Independence Day Jun 19, 2021

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of the enslaved peoples in America in the wake of the end of the Civil War. Over 160 years after it was first celebrated, President Biden signed legislation this week making it a federal holiday. On this occasion, the Brennan Center's Ted Johnson joins hosts Michael Isikoff and Victoria Bassetti to discuss the holiday's legacy, and his new book When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America.

GUEST:

Ted Johnson (@DrTedJ), Author; director, Fellows Program, Brennan Center for Justice

HOSTS:

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

RESOURCES:

"McConnell shoots down Manchin's voting compromise" by Jordain Carney (June 17; The Hill)
When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America by Theodore J. Johnson (2021; Penguin Random House)

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Crime and punishment (with Bill Bratton) Jun 17, 2021

What is the cause of the nationwide rise in personal, violent crime? Veteran police commissioner Bill Bratton joins hosts Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti to discuss the rise in crime, and to comment on the national conversation about the role of police. Bratton shares his thoughts on what reforms are needed, which ones he’s against, and to talk about the role of the “Defund the Police” movement on officer morale. He also has some things to say about his former boss, Rudy Giuliani.

Plus, we hear from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the threat of domestic extremists, and get to hear some of the early responses to the new season of the critically-acclaimed podcast Conspiracyland, The Secret Lives and Brutal Death of Jamal Khashoggi, which is available now.

GUEST:

Bill Bratton (@CommissBratton), Executive Chairman, Teneo Risk; fmr. police commissioner, NYC (1994-1996; 2014-2016), Boston (1993-1994); fmr. police chief, L.A. (2002-2009)

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:

“Conspiracyland” Season 3: The Secret Lives and Brutal Death of Jamal Khashoggi
“‘The most significant terrorism-related threat’: DHS secretary says domestic extremists now more a danger to U.S. than foreign terrorist groups” by Michael Isikoff (June 15, Yahoo News)

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The untaxed rich (with ProPublica's Stephen Engelberg) Jun 11, 2021

The ultrarich have ways of avoiding paying income tax that regular people simply don’t have access to. This unfair balance-tipping is the subject of new reporting by ProPublica investigators, whose sources furnished them with a trove of data revealing the secrets of the megawealthy. ProPublica editor in chief Stephen Engelberg joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti to discuss their reporting.

Plus, get a sneak peek of the new season of the critically-acclaimed podcast Conspiracyland. Season 3: The Secret Lives and Brutal Death of Jamal Khashoggi debuts on Monday, June 14th.

GUEST:

Stephen Engelberg (@SteveEngelberg), editor in chief, ProPublica

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:

“Conspiracyland Season 3: The Secret Lives and Brutal Death of Jamal Khashoggi
“The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax” by Jesse Eisinger, Jeff Ernsthausen, and Paul Kiel (June 8; ProPublica)

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The "enemy of the people" (with Len Downie) Jun 05, 2021

Len Downie’s career at the Washington Post lasted over 40 years, and culminated with a stint as Executive Editor that ended in 2008. In light of the shocking news that Trump’s DOJ pursued the acquisition of email data from several New York Times reporters, and a gag order on Times leadership, Downie joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode to discuss role of the free press, the evolving nature and technology of the media, the Trump administration’s antagonistic relationship with the media, and to look back on some of the highlights from his storied career.

Plus, our hosts are joined by Yahoo News’s Jon Ward to discuss Trump’s return to rallies, ahead of his anticipated appearance at the North Carolina GOP convention.

GUESTS:

Jon Ward (@jonward11), Chief National Correspondent, Yahoo News
Len Downie, author, former Executive Editor of the Washington Post (1991-2008)

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

“As Trump restarts rallies, GOP strategists hope against all odds that he won’t rehash 2020 election” by Jon Ward (June 4, Yahoo News)
“White House Disavows Knowledge of Gag Order on Times Leaders in Leak Inquiry” by Charlie Savage and Katie Benner (June 5, New York Times)

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Let's play Hardball (with Chris Matthews) Jun 03, 2021

Chris Matthews surprised his audience one evening in March of 2020 by suddenly stepping down from hosting “Hardball” on MSNBC, the political roundtable show he’d helmed for over 20 years. Matthews, whose new book This Country: My Life in Politics and History comes out this week, joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti on this episode to discuss the role of the media in politics, how the polarization of today compares to the era of Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill, and to talk about the moment Matthews stepped away from his program.

Plus, our hosts respond to a troubling tweet from Maggie Haberman of the New York Times about Trump’s plans to return to the White House — quicker than seems possible, under a sober reading of the U.S. Constitution.

GUEST:

Chris Matthews (@HardballChris), Author; journalist; former host of MSNBC’s “Hardball”

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:

This Country: My Life in Politics and History by Chris Matthews (2021; Simon & Schuster)
“Chris Matthews retires from MSNBC after string of recent controversies” by Brian Stelter (CNN, March 3, 2020)
“Chris Matthews Tells Joy Reid ‘Nobody Needs to Defend Me, I Did Something Wrong” by Daniel Villarreal (Newsweek, June 1)

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America the Fallen (with Ben Rhodes) May 29, 2021

How do we rescue American democracy from the corrupt grip of an extremist party, determined to undermine democratic norms and cement minority rule by authoritarian means? This is the problem before us as laid out by Ben Rhodes, the former deputy national security advisor to Barack Obama, co-host of the Pod Save the World podcast, and author of the new book After the Fall. Rhodes joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti on this episode to discuss many aspects of domestic and foreign policy, including the conflict between Israel and Palestinians, the global influence of Xi and Putin, and several of the sweeping legislative proposals before Congress today.

All of this comes on the heels of the failure in the Senate to form an independent commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection on the Capitol, for which 19 more Senators voted in favor, but failed to meet the 60-vote threshold to invoke cloture.

GUEST:

Ben Rhodes (@brhodes), Fmr. deputy national security advisor to Barack Obama; 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:

“Senate Republicans Filibuster Jan. 6 Inquiry Bill, Blocking an Investigation” by Nicholas Fandos (May 28; New York Times)
“Ex-Speaker Ryan to GOP: Reject Trump, ‘2nd-rate imitations’” by Steve Peoples (May 28; Associated Press)

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Inside the Secret Service May 27, 2021

Given the lack of any successfully carried out assassination attempt on a President in the past 40 years, the Secret Service seems, at a first glance, to be an efficient and effective law enforcement agency. But author and Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig has spent years talking to individuals inside the agency, and her new book Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service paints a very different picture. Leonnig joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti on this episode to discuss the agency. She takes us through some of their recent newsmaking scandals, the unique relationship between the Secret Service and the Trump administration, as well as what she identifies as a toxic and confused culture, both among the leadership as well as the rank and file.

Plus, an update on the scandal at the Post Office, and some real world effects from Yahoo News' reporting.

GUEST:

Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig), Reporter, Washington Post; 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:

“Kevin McCarthy Leads House GOP In Blasting Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Holocaust Remarks” by Barbara Spunt (May 25, NPR)
Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service(Random House, May 2021)

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The Postal Service's surveillance program May 20, 2021

Based on the dogged reporting of investigative journalist and Yahoo News contributor Jana Winter, Americans have recently learned about the covert internet surveillance operation being inexplicably run out of the U.S. Postal Service. The operation, charmingly dubbed “iCop,” targets citizens’ social media posts, and both the exact ends of this invasive effort, and the legal authority under which it exists, are unknown. Winter joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti on this episode to discuss the fruits of her reporting, the implications of her findings, and to ask why Democrats have not risen to the occasion to protect their constituents.

Plus, author Brad Stone joins to talk about his new book Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire. They discuss some of Amazon’s unlikely successes (like Alexa), and notorious failures (like the Fire phone), as well as the scandalous episode where some of Bezos’s intimate text messages were leaked to the public.

GUESTS:

Jana Winter (@janawinter), Investigative journalist; contributor, Yahoo News
Brad Stone (@BradStone), Author; head, Global Technology coverage, Bloomberg

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:

“House Votes to Create Capitol Riot Commission” by Nicholas Fandos (May 19, New York Times)
“Facial recognition, fake identities and digital surveillance tools: Inside the post office’s covert internet operations program” by Jana Winter (May 18, Yahoo News)

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The Republican party's civil war (with Barbara Comstock) May 15, 2021

With a vote taking place on Friday morning, the Republican party officially ousted Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and elected 36-year-old Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to be its new Conference chair. The dramatic leadership change reveals fault lines in a party where a significant — and evidently predominant — portion of its elected federal officials places fealty to Donald Trump above all else. Former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA) joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti on this episode to discuss this internecine struggle in the GOP, as well as to give her take on the ostracization of Cheney and coronation of Stefanik, based on her personal relationships with both women. She details her vision for a reformed, policy-driven post-Trump Republican party. But is that what Republican voters want?

GUEST:

Barbara Comstock (@BarbaraComstock), former Congresswoman (R-VA)

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:

“Elise Stefanik speaks to the press after replacing Liz Cheney on House GOP leadership” (The Hill, May 14)
“New Yahoo/YouGov poll: Cheney has few supporters in GOP” by Jon Ward (Yahoo News, May 14)
“Influential Republicans detail call to reform party, threaten to form new one” by Tal Axelrod (The Hill, May 13)

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Did Eddie Gallagher cross the line? (with Dan Taberski) May 11, 2021

The 2019 trial of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher gripped the nation due to the heinousness of the crimes of which Gallagher, a SEAL team captain, was accused. And though he was charged with the 2017 murder of an Iraqi detainee, he was acquitted of all charges but one — posing in a photo with the young dead Iraqi man. But, over the course of the six episodes of the new podcast “The Line,” written and produced by Dan Taberski, the story of how that man died becomes much, much more complicated. Taberski joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti on this episode to discuss his podcast and its shocking new revelations, as well as the culture of the military’s elite special operators that Taberski spent so much time learning about firsthand, through the community of SEALs he spoke with for the show. What are the true costs of a twenty-year war on the psyches of the men and women who fight it? And, what responsibility do we, the American people, have for how they draw the line between what is acceptable and what is forbidden in war?

GUEST:

Dan Taberski (@dtaberski), writer and executive producer of “The Line” podcast

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:

“The Line” podcast (Jigsaw Productions & Apple Originals), available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
“Eddie Gallagher’s shocking claim that SEALs intended for detainee to die” by Luis Martinez (ABC News, May 5)

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The GOP's flight from facts (with Jon Meacham) May 08, 2021

Presidential historian, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham has a new podcast called “Fate of Fact,” in which he investigates how it is that American politics — particularly in the Republican Party, as Meacham says — became detached not only from our constitutional system of checks and balances but from reality itself. Meacham joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti on this episode, which contains a deep and important conversation about history, our tumultuous present moment and where the country might go from here.

GUEST:

Jon Meacham (@jmeacham), Pulitzer Prize-winning author; presidential historian

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:

“The GOP is at a turning point. History is watching us.” by Liz Cheney (Washington Post, May 5)
“Jon Meacham to explore the spread of disinformation in ‘Fate of Fact’” by Jacquie Cadorette (Audacy, Apr. 26)
The “Fate of Fact” podcast, from Shining City Audio, C13 Originals, and Jon Meacham, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

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Right-wing extremism and the FBI May 06, 2021

In the wake of the January 6th riot at the Capitol, which itself was preceded by multiple attacks on state governments by right-wing extremists, Attorney General Merrick Garland said publicly that domestic terrorism from white nationalist groups is now as much of a concern as foreign terrorism for the Department of Justice. Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti are joined by Michael German, a former FBI special agent who spent years undercover infiltrating violent right-wing extremist groups in the 1990s. He talks about why the FBI seems to ignore the violent deeds and threats posed by these groups while simultaneously going after environmentalists, anti-war activists, and Black Lives Matter protestors.

Plus, our hosts talk about the political implications of the infighting in the GOP, and the renewed attempts to ostracize Rep. Liz Cheney (WY) for her refusal to toe the party line on the “Big Lie” about the 2020 Presidential election.

GUEST:

Michael German (@RethinkIntel), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice; former FBI special agent

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:

Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before a House subcommittee on the DOJ budget (May 4)
“Prosecutors Are Said to Have Sought Aggressive Approach to Capitol Riot Inquiry” by Katie Benner (New York Times, Apr. 27)
“Cheney could be ‘toast’ in fight with Trump over GOP future” by Lisa Mascaro, Alan Fram, and Mead Gruver (AP, May 5)

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Biden's hundred days (with Douglas Brinkley & Jonathan Alter) Apr 29, 2021

On the day after President Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress, and to mark the occasion of his first hundred days in office, Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti are joined by esteemed historians and authors Douglas Brinkley and Jonathan Alter to break down the speech, and place Biden’s nascent presidency in important historical context. They discuss parallels with both F.D.R. and Jimmy Carter, place Biden in the history of modern progressive presidents, as well as look ahead to possible pitfalls and obstacles that may stand in the way of the agenda that Biden introduced to the nation.

Also, our hosts discuss the latest news in the ignominious downfall of Rudy Giuliani, who once graced the cover of TIME magazine, but who this week had his office and home searched by the FBI as part of an ongoing investigation into his corrupt practices.

GUESTS:

Douglas Brinkley (@ProfDBrinkley) Professor of History at Rice University, author
Jonathan Alter (@jonathanalter), Contributing Correspondent, NBC News; 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:

President Biden delivers first address to a joint session of Congress (Apr. 28, 2021)

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Fear and partisanship in Georgia (with Gabriel Sterling) Apr 27, 2021

The controversial new election law passed in Georgia has been derided by many, including Stacey Abrams and President Biden, and has inspired many high-profile businesses, like Major League Baseball, to relocate interests out of the state. But Gabriel Sterling, the chief financial and operations official in the office of the Georgia Secretary of State, is a defender of the law. Sterling, who was an outspoken critic of former President Trump’s bullying of state officials in the handling of the 2020 election, joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti to talk about what the law does and doesn’t do, whether or not the 2020 election was free and fair, and about whether or not Georgia’s Election Integrity Act of 2021 was, at its core, a Republican party power-grab.

GUEST:

Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling), COO/CFO, Georgia Secretary of State

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:

“Supreme Court to Hear Case on Carrying Guns in Public” by Adam Liptak, New York Times (Apr. 26, 2021)
“Mr. President, your misinformation on Georgia’s voting law is dangerous” by Gabriel Sterling, Washington Post (Apr. 14, 2021)

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Biden's refugee problem Apr 24, 2021

The Biden Administration has failed to facilitate the admission of more refugees into the United States, which was a campaign promise and a much longed-for change from the punitive policies of the Trump era. Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti are joined by Mark Hetfield, the president and CEO of HIAS, the Jewish-American refugee advocacy group, to talk about the refugee resettlement program and what the Biden Administration could — and should — do to serve this humanitarian need.

Then, investigative journalist and Yahoo News contributor Jana Winter joins to talk about her recent bombshell story about a covert operation to monitor citizens’ social media posts being run by the United States Postal Service. What do we know about this program, and what more can we find out?

GUESTS:

Mark Hetfield (@MarkJHetfield), President and CEO, HIAS
Jana Winter (@janawinter), Investigative reporter and contributor, Yahoo News

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:

“‘Broken promise’: Biden’s backtrack on refugees still slammed by advocates” by Laura Barrón-López, Politico (Apr. 16, 2021)
“Why the White House wanted to avoid the refugee issue” by Natasha Korecki, Laura Barrón-López, and Nahal Toosi, Politico (Apr. 21, 2021)

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Guilty, guilty, guilty: Processing the Chauvin verdict Apr 22, 2021

The guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd brought up a wave of emotions for a beleaguered nation who watched it read live on Tuesday afternoon. For the first time in the history of the state of Minnesota — over 160 years — a white police officer was convicted for killing a Black civilian while on duty. Should this give us hope about the future of police accountability and racial justice in America? Or is this just a lone data point? Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti are joined by Yahoo News reporter Crystal Hill who covered the trial, and then by Dr. Nakia Gordon, a neuroscientist and psychology professor at Marquette University, who talks about the range of emotional responses to what was at the core of this trial: the denial of a person’s humanity.

GUESTS:

Crystal Hill (@crysnhill), reporter, Yahoo News
Dr. Nakia Gordon (@Nakia_S_Gordon), Assistant Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology at Marquette University

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:

“Derek Chauvin found guilty in the murder of George Floyd” by Crystal Hill, Yahoo News (Apr. 20, 2021)
“Derek Chauvin, convicted of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis, is led away in handcuffs” by Chao Xiong and Paul Walsh, Star Tribune (Apr. 20, 2021)

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The threat of QAnon (with Ali Soufan) Apr 20, 2021

Former FBI special agent, author, and counterterrorism expert Ali Soufan joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti to talk about his organization’s shocking new report about the spread of the Q conspiracy. Soufan talks about the influence of foreign adversaries in the spread of disinformation, the role of the tech platforms and the algorithms that promote and fuel the conspiracy, and about what can be done to counter this dangerous movement, by taking what Soufan calls an “all-citizens” approach to the problem.

GUEST:

Ali Soufan (@Ali_H_Soufan) former FBI special agent; CEO, Soufan Group; founder, Soufan Center

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:

“Quantifying The Q Conspiracy: A Data-Driven Approach to Understanding the Threat Posed by QAnon,” Soufan Center Special Report (Apr. 19, 2021)
“Report: China, Russia fueling QAnon conspiracy theories” by Michael Isikoff, Yahoo News (Apr. 19, 2021)
“In secret Facebook groups, America’s best warriors share racist jabs, lies about 2020, even QAnon theories” by Carol E. Lee, NBC News (Apr. 16, 2021)
“Reps. Malinowski and Eshoo Reintroduce Bill to Hold Tech Platforms Accountable for Algorithmic Promotion of Extremism” (Mar. 24, 2021)

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Will Afghanistan end like Vietnam? Apr 17, 2021

President Biden’s announcement that he plans to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11th of this year will mark the end of America’s longest war. But: is it too soon to leave? Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti are joined by Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism adviser on 9/11 and outspoken critic of the George W. Bush administration. Clarke talks about the original flaws in the Afghanistan campaign, and gives his informed take on what future threats might endanger not only the Afghan government, but the United States, as well.

Then, eight-year Marine veteran and novelist Elliot Ackerman joins to respond to some of Clarke’s opinions, and to offer his own foreboding predictions about what is to come. The United States might be done with Afghanistan, Ackerman says, but Afghanistan isn’t done with the United States.

GUESTS:

Richard Clarke (@richardclarke), former Assistant Secretary of State, NSC member, and White House counterterrorism adviser.
Elliot Ackerman (@elliotackerman), author of 2034: A Novel of the Next World War (with Admiral James Stavridis)

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:

President Joe Biden on his plans for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan (Apr. 14, 2021)

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Sen. Murphy's Law Apr 14, 2021

In the aftermath of the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) says he experienced an awakening, and was called to fight for meaningful gun reform on behalf of the grieving families in his home state. Murphy joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti on this episode to talk about his renewed push for gun control legislation now, in the wake of recent shootings in Atlanta and Boulder. He talks about his strategy to get things done with — or without — the help of Senate Republicans, and about the Biden administration's announcement to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan later this year.

Our hosts also discuss the federal pause in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines, and the police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, as the trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd continues in nearby Minneapolis.

GUEST:

Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn. (@ChrisMurphyCT)

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:

“Student killed by police after firing at officers in shooting at Tennessee school” (AP, Apr. 12, 2021)
The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy, by Chris Murphy (Random House, 2020)

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Skullduggery Trailer: 2021 Apr 11, 2021

Donald Trump may be out of office, but we're going to keep digging into the latest in political trickery, underhandedness, and all manner of unscrupulous behavior, as well as analyzing the news of the day, and hearing from high-ranking members of Congress, journalists, and experts on domestic and foreign policy.

So subscribe to Skullduggery today. You can find Skullduggery on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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Q: Unmasked Apr 10, 2021

The writer/director of the stunning new six-part investigative documentary series Q: Into the Storm, Cullen Hoback, joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti to talk about his amazing project, which spans years and multiple continents in search of the connections between the QAnon movement and a mysterious trio of figures associated with the website 8chan (or, as it was later known, 8kun). They talk about the implications of the documentary’s more fascinating discoveries: including a possible “confession” by Ron Watkins.

Our hosts also give you the latest on Gaetz-gate, and update you on the backlash to MLB’s fight against Georgia’s restrictive new voting laws, which President Biden has called “Jim Crow on steroids.”

GUEST:

Cullen Hoback (@CullenHoback), Investigative filmmaker, writer/director of Q: Into the Storm

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

RESOURCES:

“Gaetz Paid Accused Sex Trafficker, Who Then Venmo’d Teen” by Jose Pagliery and Roger Sollenberger, The Daily Beast (Apr. 9, 2021)
Q: Into the Storm, available on HBO and HBO Max (Footage Courtesy HBO)

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Florida Georgia Line Apr 07, 2021

In the wake of Georgia's controversial and restrictive new voting laws, Major League Baseball decided to move their All-Star Game out of Atlanta. They weren’t alone in their reaction. Yahoo News’s Jon Ward joins Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti to talk about the implications of the corporate backlash in Georgia. Then, they are joined by Florida State Attorney Dave Aronberg of Palm Beach County, who lends his insight on a number of Florida stories in the news: the recent allegations that Gov. Ron DeSantis mishandled his state’s vaccine rollout through preferential treatment, the ongoing unravelling of Matt Gaetz, and the possibilities for the future indictment of one auspicious Palm Beach resident.

GUESTS:

Jon Ward (@jonward11), Chief National Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dave Aronberg (@aronberg), State Attorney, Palm Beach County, Florida

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

RESOURCES:

“All-Star Game: Gov. Kemp defends election laws after MLB moves game,” Fox 5 Atlanta (Apr. 4, 2021)
“As in Georgia, Texas Democrats look to mobilize business against voting restrictions” by Jon Ward, Yahoo News (Apr. 6, 2021)

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Gaetz-gate Apr 02, 2021

In the wake of reporting that there is an ongoing Justice Dept. investigation into him, which involves sex, trafficking a minor across state lines, and possible campaign finance misdeeds, Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti sit down to untangle the twisted web that is Gaetz-gate (or maybe just “Gaet”?) They are joined by Washington Post Justice Dept. reporter Devlin Barrett, and former federal prosecutor Steven Block, who each lend their insight and expertise to predicting what comes next in this wild story.

GUESTS:

Devlin Barrett (@DevlinBarrett), reporter, Washington Post
Steven Block (@sablockus), former federal prosecutor

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

RESOURCES:

“Gaetz investigation complicated by overture to his father about ex-FBI agent who went missing” by Mike Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett, Washington Post (Mar. 31, 2021)
“Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be Focused on Cash Paid to Women” by Katie Benner and Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times (Apr. 1, 2021)

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Prosecuting the police Mar 31, 2021

The trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd is underway in Minneapolis, and it represents a moment of grave importance in the fight against police brutality and abuse of power. First, Brandt Williams, MPR reporter who’s on the scene of the trial in Minneapolis, joins Michael Isikoff, Dan Klaidman and Victoria Bassetti to report on the trial’s opening days and on the mood in the city. Then, former DOJ veteran Kristy Parker joins to talk about the difficulties inherent in prosecuting police officers, and how the Garland Justice Department can take steps in the future to hold officers accountable. Our hosts also talk about the import and significance of Biden’s list of judicial nominees, headed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

GUESTS:

Brandt Williams (@BrandtMPR) Reporter, Minnesota Public Radio
Kristy Parker (@KPNatsFan), Counsel, Protect Democracy

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice

RESOURCES:

“What Biden’s first list of judicial nominees tells us about his approach to the courts” by Ian Millhiser, Vox (Mar. 30, 2021)
“Chauvin Trial: Witnesses say they felt anger, powerlessness as Floyd died” by Brandt Williams, MPR (Mar. 31, 2021)
“Prosecute the Police” by Kristy Parker, The Atlantic (June 13, 2020)

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Jim Eagle: Biden's first press conference Mar 26, 2021

After much waiting and to much fanfare, President Biden gave his first press conference on Thursday, fielding reporters’ questions for a little over an hour. But what, exactly, was revealed? Michael Isikoff, Dan Klaidman, and Victoria Bassetti are joined by National Political Correspondent at the Washington Post Olivier Knox and Yahoo News reporter Caitlin Dickson to break down this presser, discussing the news-breaking moments, the artful (and less artful) dodges, and the state of the White House press corps, post-Trump.

GUESTS:

Olivier Knox (@OKnox), National Political Correspondent and Anchor of The Daily 202, Washington Post.
Caitlin Dickson (@CEDickson), Reporter, Yahoo News

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice

RESOURCES:

“Biden defends immigration policies by pointing to differences with Trump” by Caitlin Dickson, Yahoo News (Mar. 25, 2021)
“The Daily 202: Immigration, North Korea, and guns -- Biden’s news conference is a minefield” by Olivier Knox, Washington Post (Mar. 25, 2021)
Full press conference video (NBC News)

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This doleful ritual Mar 25, 2021

A horrific massacre; outrage, sadness; calls for reform; and then: nothing. This is our nation’s “doleful ritual” in the wake of yet another mass shooting. In the wake of the mass murder in Atlanta, another community is now in mourning, and an aggrieved and bewildered nation again begins a conversation about possible legislative answers.

In this episode, Mayor Sam Weaver of Boulder speaks with Michael Isikoff, Dan Klaidman, and Victoria Bassetti about what his city has gone through, and how it will be part of the gun control conversation to come. Then, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D, Michigan) joins to talk about the politicization of gun reform, about whether we need new laws or agencies to tackle domestic terrorism, and about a close election in Iowa.

GUEST:

Mayor Sam Weaver (@sampweaver), Mayor of Boulder, Colorado
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (@RepSlotkin), U.S. Congressman (D, MI-8), Chair of House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice

RESOURCES:

“President Joe Biden Calls Boulder Mayor Sam Weaver To Offer Condolences, Support After Deadly Shooting” by Jennifer McRae, CBS Denver (Mar. 24, 2021)
“NRA Celebrated Block of Boulder’s Assault Weapons Ban Just Days Ago” by Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone (Mar. 23, 2021)
“House Homeland Security Holds Hearing on State and Local Responses to Domestic Terrorism” by Tia Sewell, Lawfare (Mar. 24, 2021)

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For the People, with Rep. John Sarbanes Mar 20, 2021

How can we save our democracy from partisan gerrymandering, the influence of big money in politics, voter suppression, and the spread of disinformation? Congressman John Sarbanes says it is through the pro-democracy reforms of the bill he authored: the For the People Act, which is H.R. 1 and S. 1 in the current Congress — and he says a majority of the American people, regardless of their party affiliation, agree with him. He sits down with Michael Isikoff, Dan Klaidman, and new Skullduggery host Victoria Bassetti, legal expert and former Senate Judiciary Committee staffer, to talk about the sweeping implications of these proposals, and whether there will be enough political will to overcome the Senate filibuster and GOP opposition.

GUEST:

Rep. John Sarbanes (@RepSarbanes), U.S. Congressman (D, MD-3), author of H.R. 1

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
Victoria Bassetti, Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice

RESOURCES:

H.R. 1, the For the People Act, Fact Sheet
H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021, full text
H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Enhancement Act of 2019, full text
"GOP warns HR 1 could be 'absolutely devastating for Republicans'" by Kendall Karson and Meg Cunningham, ABC News (Mar. 20, 2021)

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Joe Biden got Lucky Mar 18, 2021

Jonathan Allen, the co-author of the new campaign book Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency, joins Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman to share inside details into the Biden campaign that became, in unlikely fashion, the 46th presidential administration. Allen talks about the fateful swings on the campaign trail, Joe Biden's decisive victory in the South Carolina primary, and how Covid shaped the calculus of Biden's messaging strategy. He also talks about the relationship between how Biden ran his campaign and how he has governed early in his presidency, sharing some insightful predictions about what we might see from President Biden as his term goes on.

GUEST:

Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc), Senior National Political Reporter, NBC News Digital

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes (Mar. 2021)

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March 11th, a year later Mar 11, 2021

For many Americans, March 11th, 2020 was the day that the pandemic shifted from being a news story about frightening events taking place somewhere else, and started becoming a world- and life-altering event happening in our country, our communities, and in our homes. Yahoo News reporters Andrew Romano and Dylan Stableford have been chronicling all that happened on that auspicious day, and what it was like for various public figures and on-the-ground Americans, for their remarkable project: “‘The most unusual day’: How March 11, 2020 marked the start of the COVID era”.

They join Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman on this episode to talk about the project, and to hear firsthand audio from some people who emblemize the transformations our society has undergone in the past year, such as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Dr. Anthony Fauci, fmr. Pence aide Olivia Troye, and a “viral” Arizona anti-masker.

GUESTS:

Andrew Romano (@andrewromano), West Coast Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dylan Stableford (@stableford), Senior Writer, Yahoo News

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

“‘The most unusual day’: How March 11, 2020 marked the start of the COVID era” by Andrew Romano and Dylan Stableford, Yahoo News (Mar. 9, 2021)

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The U.S.-China Problem Mar 10, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has made the long-looming presence of China on the global stage a personal matter for all Americans. This is one of many claims that columnist Josh Rogin makes in his new book on U.S.-China relations, Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century. He joins Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman to discuss the long reach of China into American life, and to outline the unique challenges that the Biden administration will face in the wake of the often covert Chinese manipulation of Trump's White House.

GUEST:

Josh Rogin (@joshrogin), Author and Opinion Columnist, Washington Post

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century by Josh Rogin (2021)
"In 2018, Diplomats Warned of Risky Coronavirus Experiments in a Wuhan Lab. No One Listened." by Josh Rogin, Politico (Mar. 8, 2021)
"How covid hastened the decline and fall of the U.S.-China relationship" by Josh Rogin, Washington Post (Mar. 4, 2021)
"The Biden administration confirms some but not all of Trump's Wuhan lab claims" by Josh Rogin, Washington Post (Mar. 9, 2021)
"China Is Not Ten Feet Tall: How Alarmism Undermines American Strategy" by Ryan Hass, Foreign Affairs (Mar. 3, 2021)
"U.S. Warned Jared Kushner About Wendi Deng Murdoch" by Kate O'Keeffe and Aruna Viswanatha, Wall Street Journal (Jan. 15, 2018)

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Buried Treasure: COINTELPRO (Part 2: Hampton, Hoover, and the Black Messiah) Mar 07, 2021

Fred Hampton was only 21 years old when he, the charismatic and captivating chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, was murdered by officers of the Illinois State's Attorney's office and the Chicago P.D. on December 4, 1969. But, long before then, he was the target of a secret FBI surveillance program, designed to sow discord, paranoia, and destruction into the ranks of New Left and Black organizations, and whose orders came from the very top of the Bureau — J. Edgar Hoover. In this second installment of "Buried Treasure: COINTELPRO", Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with Shaka King, director of the critically acclaimed film Judas and the Black Messiah, to talk about Hampton's legacy, and the long reach of the FBI that continues today. Then, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) joins the show to talk about his proposed bill to strip J. Edgar Hoover's name from the FBI Headquarters in Washington.

Be sure you caught Part 1 of this series, featuring an interview with Keith Forsyth, one of the burglars who, in 1971, broke into an FBI office in Media, PA to expose COINTELPRO, and Betty Medsger, the investigative journalist who publicized the findings from those documents in The Washington Post.

GUESTS:

Shaka King, director, Judas and the Black Messiah
Rep. Steve Cohen (@RepCohen), U.S. Congressman (D-TN)

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Trailer for Judas and the Black Messiah directed by Shaka King (2021). Available on HBO Max through Mar. 14
"Shaka King Grapples with Hollywood and History" by Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker (Feb. 25, 2021)
"'Judas and the Black Messiah' and the Klan Act" by Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker (Feb. 21, 2021)
"Congressman Cohen and Colleagues Introduce Bill to Strip the Name of J. Edgar Hoover from FBI Headquarters in Washington" (Feb. 26, 2021)

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Buried Treasure: COINTELPRO (Part 1: The Burglary) Mar 06, 2021

On March 8, 1971, a group calling themselves the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI successfully broke in to an FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania. The documents that they stole revealed a massive illegal surveillance program being run by the Bureau, designed to intimidate, persecute, and destroy primarily Black individuals and organizations. In this episode, the first of our two-part "Buried Treasure" series commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of this historic break-in, Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk with Keith Forsyth, a member of the team that committed the burglary, and Betty Medsger, the journalist whose investigative reporting first made public the shocking findings from the trove of stolen documents.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series, featuring an interview with Shaka King, director of the new film Judas and the Black Messiah.

GUESTS:

Keith Forsyth, member, Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI
Betty Medsger, author and investigative reporter

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI by Betty Medsger (2014)
"After 43 years, activists admit theft at FBI office that exposed domestic spying" by Michael Isikoff (Jan. 6, 2014)
"The Greatest Heist You've Never Heard of" (NYT Video, 2014)
1971, documentary film dir. by Johanna Hamilton

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Amazon Workers and the Battle for the Future of Labor Mar 04, 2021

In the wake of an historic pro-labor message from President Biden, Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman go inside the unionization fight at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. First, they're joined by Stuart Appelbaum, national president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU), who explains the significance of the Bessemer union drive, and details some of the tactics Amazon has been using to oppose workers' rights. Then Rep. Andy Levin (D, Michigan) joins, ahead of his trip to Bessemer, to talk about about the power of collective action, the Pro Act, and the future of labor rights in America.

GUESTS:

Stuart Appelbaum (@sappelbaum), President, RWDSU
Rep. Andy Levin (@RepAndyLevin), Congressman (D), Michigan's 9th District

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

President Biden's message to workers
"Amazon Has Become a Prime Revolving-Door Destination in Washington" by David Corn and Dan Spinelli, Mother Jones (Mar. 2, 2021)
"'I'm not a robot': Amazon workers condemn unsafe, grueling conditions at warehouse" by Michael Sainato, The Guardian (Feb. 5, 2020)
"Inside Joe Biden's decision to dive into the Amazon union drive" by Christopher Cadelago and Rebecca Rainey, Politico (Mar. 1, 2021)
Text of the Pro Act

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Schiff: The crown prince has blood on his hands Feb 27, 2021

Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joins Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman to discuss the CIA-declassified report on the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and to offer his thoughts on the future of U.S.-Saudi relations. Then, Mike and Dan talk with Peter Beinart, contributing columnist for the New York Times and professor of journalism and political science, about Middle East foreign policy, and why his proposal for Israel-Palestine is inspired by America's racial past.

GUESTS:

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. (@RepAdamSchiff), Chairman, House Intelligence Committee
Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart), CUNY Professor, CUNY Newmark School of Journalism; writer/editor of The Beinart Notebook

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

The Declassified Report on Jamal Khashoggi's Killing (Feb. 26, 2021)
"America's Other Forever War" by Peter Beinart, New York Times (Feb. 15, 2021)
"I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State" by Peter Beinart, New York Times (July 8, 2020)
"Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine" by Peter Beinart, Jewish Currents (July 7, 2020)
"Peter Beinart's Latest: a Call to Ease Sanctions on Iran" by Ira Stoll, Algemeiner (Feb. 15, 2021)

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Merrick Garland: a real mensch? Feb 23, 2021

Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by legal analysts Victoria Bassetti and Michael Zeldin to break down Day 1 of the confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland as U.S. Attorney General. They discuss some of Garland's deft responses in dialogue with Senators, and some missteps, as well.

GUESTS:

Victoria Bassetti, fellow, Brennan Center for Justice
Michael Zeldin (@MichaelZeldin), legal analyst, former DOJ Attorney

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Merrick Garland Confirmation Hearing coverage (Day 1), C-SPAN

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Will Cuomo be impeached? Feb 20, 2021

Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman report on the scandal out of New York, featuring an interview with the lawmaker at the center of Gov. Cuomo's alleged cover-up and threats: NY state assemblyman Ron Kim (D, Queens). He describes in detail the alleged obstruction and lies around the state's Covid-19 reporting. And then we're joined by medical malpractice attorney John Dalli, who is a member of several state task forces on Covid-19 and elder care, to learn more about the latest charges of corruption in Albany.

GUESTS:

Ron Kim (@rontkim) Member (D), New York State Assembly, 40th District (Queens)
John Dalli (@jdalliesq) Member, New York State Bar Association Nursing Home Covid-19 Task Force; founding member, Dalli & Marino, LLP

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

"N.Y. Assemblyman: Lawmakers are 'inching toward' Cuomo impeachment probe" by Michael Isikoff, Yahoo News (Feb. 19, 2021)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's press conference for Friday, Feb. 19, The Daily Gazette
"New York assemblymember: Cuomo 'berated me,' asked me to lie about alleged cover-up" by Daniel Payne, Politico (Feb. 18, 2021)

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Packing a Punch Feb 19, 2021

Mike and Dan sit down with Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer, the founders of Punchbowl News and the co-hosts of the news podcast The Daily Punch. They talk about Ted Cruz's misbegotten Mexico adventure, the chilly Trump/McConnell relationship, the proposed 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack, and more.

GUESTS:

Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman), Founder, Punchbowl News
Anna Palmer (@apalmerdc), Founder/CEO, Punchbowl News

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

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The 60 Minutes Tell-All Feb 16, 2021

Mike and Dan are joined by Ira Rosen, a two-time Peabody Award-winning writer and former producer for CBS's 60 Minutes. He regales us with stories from his 40+ year career, including an insider perspective on Steve Bannon, Ghislaine Maxwell, mafioso Joe Bonanno, and, of course, Donald Trump. Ira also discusses the delicate process of cultivating sources, and the evolving mission of journalism in general.

GUEST:

Ira Rosen, former producer, 60 Minutes

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes by Ira Rosen (St. Martin's Press, 2021)
"The Week Trump Won" by David Brooks, New York Times (Oct. 26, 2017)
"The Opioid Epidemic: Who Is to Blame?" CBS, 60 Minutes

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Conway on the Constitution in Crisis Feb 14, 2021

In the immediate aftermath of Trump's acquittal by the Senate, George T. Conway III joins Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman to discuss the impeachment trial, the attempted overthrow of constitutional democracy in America, the future legal battles for Donald Trump, and the unravelling of The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln), of which Conway was a co-founder.

GUEST:

George T. Conway III (@gtconway3d), Contributing Columnist, Washington Post

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Impeachment audio, C-SPAN
"Former president, private citizen, and perhaps, criminal defendant: Donald Trump's new reality" by George T. Conway III, Washington Post (Jan. 22, 2021)
"In Georgia, a New District Attorney Starts Circling Trump and His Allies" by Danny Hakim and Richard Fausset, New York Times (Feb. 13, 2021)
"The Predator in the Lincoln Project" by Miranda Green, New York Magazine (Feb. 12, 2021)
Full text of Donald Trump's statement on his second impeachment acquittal

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Impeachment: 2021 - Day Four: The View from Trump Country Feb 13, 2021

Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are again joined by Yahoo News reporter Jon Ward, as well as Gary Abernathy, a Trump apologist and occasional Washington Post columnist, to discuss the defense offered by Trump's legal team on Day 4 of his second impeachment trial. They discuss the political future of Trump — and of Trumpism — on the precipice of a possible second acquittal.

GUESTS:

Gary Abernathy (@AbernathyGary), Contributing Columnist, Washington Post
Jon Ward (@jonward11), Senior Political Correspondent, Yahoo News

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Impeachment audio, C-SPAN
"Trump lawyers dismiss context of Jan. 6 insurrection to claim Trump's innocence" by Jon Ward, Yahoo News (Feb. 12, 2021)
"You can disavow Trump without apologizing for his presidency" by Gary Abernathy, Washington Post (Feb. 2, 2021)
"Nikki Haley's Time for Choosing" by Tim Alberta, Politico

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Impeachment: 2021 - Day Three: Absurdities and Atrocities Feb 12, 2021

Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Yahoo News reporter Jon Ward and legal analyst and law professor Kim Wehle to discuss the culmination of the presentation by House managers on Day 3 of Trump's second impeachment trial. They examine the case from legal and political perspectives, looking ahead to the Trump defense, the endgame of the trial, and to the future of the Republican party.

GUESTS:

Kimberly Wehle (@kimwehle), Legal Analyst, Law Professor, and fmr. U.S. Attorney
Jon Ward (@jonward11), Senior Political Correspondent, Yahoo News

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Impeachment audio, C-SPAN
"Learning from their mistakes, Democrats close their 2nd case against Trump" by Jon Ward, Yahoo News (Feb. 11, 2021)

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Impeachment: 2021 - Day Two: "Is this America?" Feb 11, 2021

Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by legal analysts Matthew Miller and Sol Wisenberg to discuss the presentation by House managers on Day 2 of Trump's second impeachment trial. They examine the impressive case made by the evidence, and discuss the possibilities that it will move a critical mass of Republican Senators toward a potential conviction.

GUESTS:

Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller), MSNBC Legal Analyst; Fmr. Dept. of Justice Director of the Office of Public Affairs
Sol Wisenberg (@WisenbergSol), Legal Analyst; Partner, Nelson Mullins

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Impeachment audio, C-SPAN

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Impeachment: 2021 - Day One Feb 10, 2021

Legal analysts Norm Eisen and Robert Ray join Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman to unpack Day 1 of Trump's second impeachment trial in the Senate. Eisen was formerly counsel to the Democrats during Trump's first impeachment trial, while Ray was formerly on Trump's legal defense team.

GUESTS:

Norm Eisen (@NormEisen), Legal Analyst & Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Robert Ray, Legal Analyst & Partner, ZEK, LLP

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

Impeachment audio, C-SPAN
Everett Dirksen, "Gallant Men"

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Q is in the House Feb 05, 2021

Mike and Dan talk to Marley Clements, a documentary filmmaker whose three-part Vice series QAnon: The Search for Q (with Bayan Joonam) is an in-depth investigation into the origins, operations, and leadership structure of the QAnon movement. Before that, Yahoo News reporter Jon Ward joins to about the House vote to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene — no stranger to QAnon —of committee assignments.

GUESTS:

Jon Ward (@jonward11), Senior Political Correspondent, Yahoo News
Marley Clements, documentary filmmaker, Vice

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

QAnon: The Search for Q, Vice on TV
"Dark to Light with Frank and Beanz", episode with Patrick Byrne (Dec. 21, 2020)
"How three conspiracy theorists took 'Q' and sparked QAnon" by Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, NBC News (Aug. 2018)
Mike Flynn's "army of digital soldiers" speech (Nov. 12, 2016)
"A Game Designer's Analysis of QAnon" by Reed Berkowitz (Sep. 2020)

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Can an ex-President be Impeached? Feb 02, 2021

Constitutional law scholars Steve Vladeck and Philip Bobbitt join Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman for a lively and extremely relevant debate on whether or not the U.S. Constitution allows for the impeachment trial of an ex-President.

GUESTS:

Philip Bobbitt, Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence, Columbia Law School
Stephen Vladeck (@steve_vladeck), Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts, U. Texas at Austin School of Law

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
Dan Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

RESOURCES:

"Four top law firms turned down requests to represent Trump" by Michael Isikoff, Yahoo News (June 6, 2017)
"Why the Senate Shouldn't Hold a Late Impeachment Trial" by Philip Bobbitt, Lawfare (Jan. 27, 2021)
"The Constitutional Case for the Impeachability of Former Federal Officials" by Brian Kalt, Texas Review of Law and Politics (Oct. 2001)
INS v. Chadha (462 US 919, 1983)
Nixon v. United States (506 US 224, 1993)
Ex parte Grossman (267 US 87, 1925)
The impeachment trial of William Belknap

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Bustin’ the filibuster Jan 29, 2021

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton and former Deputy Chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid - Adam Jentleson - join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Bolton weighs in on the upcoming impeachment trial of now former President Donald Trump. Then, Jentleson discusses the origins of the filibuster and if it will survive Biden's split 50/50 Senate.

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Coups and Cults Jan 26, 2021

Michael Bromwich, Frm. IG for the DOJ, and U.S. Rep from California Jackie Speier join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Bromwich talks about the DOJ IG investigation into whether officials tried to overturn the 2020 election. Then, Speier recounts her experience in the House Chamber on January 6th and is now pushing a proposal for the Pentagon to much more aggressively police its ranks as we discover more and more former veterans took part in the attack on the Capitol.

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Jim Clyburn: The 'Savior' speaks Jan 21, 2021

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn from South Carolina as well as Historians and Authors Susan Eisenhower and H.W. Brands join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Clyburn weighs in on recently being dubbed 'the savior' by former President George W. Bush. He also discusses President Biden, his agenda, and how he will be able to get things done with a 50/50 split Senate. Then, Eisenhower and Brands talk about how the Trump Presidency will be remember, how it compared to that of President Eisenhower's, and the future state of politics in a post-Trump era.

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The Al Franken Sense Show Jan 19, 2021

Former U.S. Senator Al Franken and Sr. Researcher at Citizen Lab John Scott-Railton join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Franken talks about the impending impeachment, why it's important, how a 50/50 Senate could play out, and how we recover and what will change now that President Trump's time in office is officially over. Then, Scott-Railton explains how he's using crowd sourcing to help track down those involved in the Capitol Riot and whether or not we've actually got a bigger problem on our hands.

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The Ordeal of Jamie Raskin Jan 16, 2021

Jamie Raskin, U.S. Representative from Maryland, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." On New Year's Eve, Raskin learned that his son had taken his own life. While grieving, Raskin, a constitutional law professor and member of the House Judiciary Committee, was determined to do his duty to uphold American democracy. He helped draft two resolutions that passed the House this past week. One to invoke the 25th Amendment. And the other, to impeach President Trump for violating his oath of office.

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When the mob turns on you Jan 16, 2021

Kate Woodsome, head of the op-ed video team at The Washington Post, and Yahoo News' own Jenna McLaughlin join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Woodsome tells her first person account of what it was like to be attacked by a mob during the Capitol riot as a member of the media. Then, McLaughlin details her latest story about a massive foreign Bitcoin donation that was sent to those on the far-right, potentially funding the actions behind the riot that took place at our Nation's Capitol.

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A House Republican's lament Jan 15, 2021

Mike McCaul, Republican U.S. Representative for Texas, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." McCaul talks about how he now views President Trump, someone he has long supported. Also, his concerns about the growing domestic terrorist threat and the future of the Republican party.

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Spanberger on Trump's "mind-blowing insanity" Jan 14, 2021

Abigail Spanberger, U.S. Rep. for Virginia, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Spanberger talks about her personal experience going through the Capitol riot and how her time as a CIA operations officer played a part in her escape. She also discusses voting for impeachment and gives her reaction to Trump's latest statement condemning violence leading up to and during President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

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Ready for War Jan 13, 2021

Elizabeth Neumann, former Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Department of Homeland Security to DHS Secretary John Kelly, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." As the House gets ready to impeach President Trump for the second time, the group discuss the ongoing threat from right-wing extremism and the Trump Adminstration's refusal to take it seriously.

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The reckoning for Trump and his allies Jan 11, 2021

US Rep. Tom Malinowski and Fmr. Assistant Director for counterintelligence at the FBI, Frank Figliuzzi, join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Malinowski explains why his colleague, Republican Congressman Mo Brooks, should be censured for his recent actions. Then, Figliuzzi talks about the continued threat our country faces after the horrific events that took place at our Nation's Capitol.

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The Garland Justice Department Jan 09, 2021

Jamie Gorelick, former Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and Michael Zeldin, former DOJ Special Council join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Gorelick gives us an in depth look into what we can expect from President-elect Biden's Attorney General pick Merrick Garland. Then, Zeldin weighs in on how logical and legal impeaching Trump for a second time would be. And is invoking the 25th Amendment a true possibility as well?

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Insurrectionist in chief Jan 07, 2021

Nancy Mace, newly elected Republican US Rep. from South Carolina, and Yahoo News' Hunter Walker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Mace recounts her experience from inside the Cannon House Office Building when the US Capitol was stormed by riotous Trump supporters. She also discusses where we need to go from here as a country. Then Walker, who was on the ground during the horrific events in DC, gives us an insiders account of what it was like and what exactly motivated these insurrectionists.

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Trump's final mad descent Jan 05, 2021

Greg Bluestein, Atlanta Journal Constitution political reporter, and Republican US Rep. Adam Kinzinger join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Bluestein talks about the now infamous Trump phone call to Georgia secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, a story in which helped break. Then, Kinzinger, an outspoken Republican against Trump's recent actions post-election discusses his fear of violence during the last days of Trump's presidency.

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Trump’s crazy last days - and beyond Dec 24, 2020

Ben Wittes, legal journalist and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." In this year-end special, the group take a hard look at who has access to the oval office and is in Trump's ear guiding his final days as President - specifically entrepreneur Patrick Byrne. Then, producer Mark Seman joins the conversation to put the hosts on the hot seat with questions from the Skullduggery faithful. And finally, predictions for 2021 to wrap things up.

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The biggest New York Times scandal of all Dec 20, 2020

Andrea Chalupa, Journalist, Author, and co-host of the podcast Gaslit Nation joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group take a deep dive into Chalupa's new film which she wrote and produced entitled Mr. Jones. The film is about, using her words, "Russia's attack on Ukraine and propaganda warfare aided by Western corruption, including leading journalists," specifically Walter Duranty of the New York Times. It's a heartbreaking story few know about in America about a man-made famine that killed millions of people led by Joseph Stalin.

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The Russian Cyber Onslaught Dec 18, 2020

Alex Stamos, Former Chief Security Officer at Facebook, and Washington Correspondent at Business Insider and Mike Pence biographer Tom LoBianco join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Stamos discusses the recent Cyber attacks on U.S. Government Departments and why this is still happening. Then, LoBianco talks about the tough spot VP Mike Pence is in with his civic duty of having to announce President-elect Joe Biden as Trump's replacement and what they could mean for his future in politics.

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Mary Trump: My Uncle the Sociopath Dec 15, 2020

Mary Trump, psychologist, author, and President Trump's niece alongside Barbara Res, former Trump Organization Executive, join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group talk about Trump's final days as President and what we can expect from him moving forward now that Biden has been officially elected by the Electoral College.

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To Kill or Not To Kill Dec 12, 2020

New York Times' Israeli Investigative Journalist Ronen Bergman, alongside colleague & National Security Correspondent David Sanger, join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss the concept of targeted killings and assassinations as well as Biden's new National Security team including surprise choice for Defense Secretary.

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The new AOC on the right Dec 11, 2020

Nicole Malliotakis, Republican US Representative-elect from Staten Island joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss her victory in one of the few heavily Trump-supported districts in NYC, her plans to form her own "squad" in the House of Representatives to counter that of AOC and friends, and her feelings on voter fraud and Trump's attempt to upend the election results in order to stay in office.

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From Bigfoot to Trump World Dec 04, 2020

Congressman Denver Riggleman, a Republican from the State of Virginia, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Riggleman recently published a story that draws direct parallels between Bigfoot enthusiasts and Trump supporters. The group candidly discuss said parallels and explore the Congressman's fascinating backstory from former Air Force officer to National Security Agency contractor who eventually became a US Representative of a conservative district based on Tea Party principles.

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Barr's Double Whammy Dec 03, 2020

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut and The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Murphy discusses the recent assassination of Iran nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and what the possible implications with be for the upcoming Biden administration foreign relations team. Then, Barrett talks all things Bill Barr, who recently upgraded John Durham to Special Council and announced that there was no widespread election fraud despite Trump's claims.

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Transition Mission Nov 26, 2020

Former White House Chiefs of Staff Andy Card and John Podesta join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Isikoff and Klaidman talk about their not only career-long but life-long relationships with those who have been selected to join President-elect Joe Biden's cabinet. Then, Card and Podesta talk about their Presidential transition experiences both entering and leaving the White House, how vital they can be, and why Trump's attitude towards the election results has been damaging to our democracy.

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Michigan Meltdown Nov 21, 2020

Former Governor of Michigan Rick Snyder and former Communications Director for the Republican National Committee Doug Heye join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Snyder weighs in on Trump, what he's done to the country and it's democracy, and why he endorsed now President-elect Joe Biden. Then, Heye talks about where the Republican Party now stands and if there is indeed a chance it could ever go back to what it was prior to the impact Trump has made on it.

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Buried Treasure: "Conspiracy Zero: The Kennedy Assassination" Nov 19, 2020

Former Assistant Counsel for The Warren Commission Judge Burt Griffin, Truth is the Only Client filmmakers Todd Kwait and Rob Stegman, and DeepStateBlog's Jefferson Morley join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." This episode is a deep dive into the "original" mainstream conspiracy still debated today, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. First, the men behind the documentary that states The Warren Commission got it right, debunk all theories that question its findings. Then Morley, who's been fighting to get the rest of the C.I.A.'s classified documents on the matter declassified, makes his case that there was indeed a cover-up and that the answer "could be" in said documents.

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The coming Civil Wars Nov 17, 2020

Tim Alberta, the chief political correspondent at Politico and author of American Carnage, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss the internal conflict within both the Democratic party as well as the Republican party. The far left progressives feel that they deserve more having helped get Biden elected and are unsatisfied with how the President-elect's cabinet selection is going. And how will thing play out on the right? Will Trumpism carry on? Or will someone emerge to bring things back to towards the Reagan-era?

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Trump's Bizarro Land Nov 14, 2020

Yahoo News Senior Political Correspondent Jon Ward, Yahoo News National Correspondent Andrew Romano, and author Chris Whipple join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Ward and Romano discuss their recent story on Trump's frivolous and baseless election voter fraud lawsuits. Then, Whipple shares stories from his new book, The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future.

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It's an embarrasment Nov 11, 2020

Evan Osnos, staff writer for The New Yorker, and Yahoo News Health Contributor and former Obama Administration official Dr. Kavita Patel join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Osnos takes a deep dive into his new book Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now. Then, Patel joins to give us insight on the current coronavirus surge, how much worse it's going to get, and what potential the vaccine announcement from Pfizer holds.

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Bye-Don Nov 08, 2020

Yahoo News' National politics reporter Brittany Shepherd and White House Correspondent Hunter Walker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Shepherd takes us inside President-elect Joe Biden's victory and what his focus will be once he enters the White House. Then, Walker gives us some insight as to what will happen moving forward with Trump, his plans for the remaining days of his presidency, and what kind of transition of power we can expect.

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The Day After Nov 05, 2020

US Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, CBS News legal analyst Kim Wehle, and Yahoo News' White House Correspondent Hunter Walker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Walker takes us inside the Trump campaign and the now infamous 2am speech where the President declared victory. Then Wehle breaks down the possible strategy behind Trump's lawsuit in the states now determined to decide the election. Then finally, Dingell lets us know what it took Biden to pull out a victory in her state of Michigan and what it's going to take going forward to bring both sides together.

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The Final Countdown Nov 02, 2020

Members of the Yahoo News team including National Correspondent Andrew Romano, Senior Political Correspondent Jon Ward, National Politics Reporter Brittany Shepherd, and White House Correspondent Hunter Walker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Romano and Ward take a deep look into the final Yahoo News/YouGov poll results, what they could indicated on election eve, and what the result could mean for both sides. Then, Shepherd and Walker give insight into the final campaign stops and closing arguments from both the Biden campaign and Trump campaign.

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The McCain-Biden Bond Oct 29, 2020

John McCain's aide and alter-ego Mark Salter, Rick Klein of ABC News, and Brian Murphy of McClatchy newspapers all join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Klein and Murphy break down the potential Senate seats that could flip across the country. Then Salter takes a deep-dive into his new book about his former boss, The Luckiest Man: Life with John McCain, where he expresses the magnitude of McCain's friendship with new presidential candidate Joe Biden.

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Will Progressives Vote for Biden? Oct 27, 2020

Former Press Secretary for Bernie Sanders and Bad Faith Podcast co-host Briahna Gray as well as D.C. bureau chief for The Intercept and host of the Deconstructed Podcast Ryan Grim join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Andrew Romano gives us the results of the latest YouGov/Yahoo News poll, then Gray and Grim discuss what the progressives on the left will do and should do as far as voting goes in the 2020 election.

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The Full Brennan Oct 25, 2020

Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss Brennan's storied career as head of the C.I.A., including some difficult subject matter such as drone strikes. They also talk about Brennan's "run-ins" with Trump as he's one of the most outspoken government figure-heads to speak out about the current President.

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DNC Download Oct 23, 2020

Chairman for the Democratic National Convention Tom Perez and Yahoo News Political Correspondent Andrew Romano join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Romano breaks down the final Presidential Debate and how it could affect the last polls before election night. Then, Perez talks about the impact of over fifty million early votes so far and what the strategy for the DNC is during the final ten days.

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The Strange Roots of Q Oct 21, 2020

Zach Dorfman, Senior Staff Writer at the Aspen Institute, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this special bonus episode of Conspiracyland presented by "Skullduggery." The group discuss Larry McDonald, a former member of the United States House of Representatives that represented Georgia's 7th congressional district. McDonald, who was killed on board Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by Soviet interceptors, eerily anticipated conspiracies now held by the QAnon movement which is currently plaguing the American political dialogue. A conspiracy theorist himself, his life story is at times unbelievable - but true.

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The Hunter Biden E-mail Conundrum Oct 19, 2020

Shane Harris of The Washington Post, the former Chief Council to the National Security Agency Matt Olsen, and former top Twitter executive Vivian Schiller all join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Harris and Olsen discuss the current confusion and uncertainty about the Hunter Biden email story published by the New York Post. Then, Schiller talks about the how her former employer has handled the situation by blocking the spread of the story on its platform.

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The Full Fauci Oct 15, 2020

Director of the NIAID Dr. Anthony Fauci as well as Actor and Activist Tim Robbins join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Dr. Fauci joined Yahoo News for a live-streamed interview to discuss the grim fact of where we currently stand on the fight against the coronavirus. Then, Robbins talks about his new podcast series Bobbo Supreme, which satirizes the Trump presidency.

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Grin and Barrett Oct 14, 2020

President of NARAL Pro-Choice America Ilyse Hogue and Adjunct professor at NYU and author of The Most Dangerous Branch David Kaplanjoin Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discusses the on-going confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett. the strategies taken by both the Republicans and Democrats, and what the potential ramifications will be when ultimately she's confirmed.

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Mueller Probe-lems Oct 10, 2020

Andrew Weissmann, former Veteran DOJ Prosecutor, Chief of the Fraud Section, Former General Council of the F.B.I. and former top Deputy in Robert Mueller's Investigation joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Weissmann discuss his new book, Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation. It's our first look inside the Russia probe that is still and ankle weight to President Trump to this day. In the controversial book, Weissmann describes where Mueller went wrong and where things could have gone further, all while taking some shots at former colleagues.

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Lies and Flies Oct 08, 2020

Olivia Troye, Mike Pence's top advisor on the Coronavirus Task Force, and Yahoo News Political Correspondent Andrew Romano join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Troye talks about what she witnessed from the inside on the Coronavirus Task Force. Then, Romano talks about where the 2020 Presidential Election race stands after the aftermath of Trump's own Covid problems.

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Superspreader-in-Chief? Oct 06, 2020

Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker and Former Deputy Trump campaign manager Rick Gates join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Walker talks about President Trump's release from Walter Reed just days after testing positive for Covid-19 and the uptick in White House staff that now too has tested positive. Why does Trump continually put his staff and those that work near him in danger? Then, Gates talks about some surprising comments Trump made back in 2016 about his now Vice President Mike Pence.

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Trump gets Covid Oct 02, 2020

Yahoo News Medical Contributor Dr. Kavita Patel and Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss the news that woke up the US overnight, President Trump has Covid. Early on he played down the virus. Then, he touted that the country was on the path to recovery. And now, he's forced to go into quarantine just one month before election day. There are some very scary scenarios that can play out here. And they are all justifiable.

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Freedom Lost Oct 02, 2020

Michael Abramowitz, the President of Freedom House, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Trump told his supporters at the first Presidential debate to "go in and watch the polls very carefully." Standard poll watching or blatant voter intimidation? The group discuss that as well as additional un-nerving trends about the state of our democracy here in the US and around the world.

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The Clown Show Oct 01, 2020

Joel Benenson, Pollster and chief strategist for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign alongside Tim Miller, a communications consultant and former Jeb Bush advisor join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group react to the first presidential debate that was anything but presidential. Who looked worse? Who came out on top? And does this completely throw what we now know as the current debate format out of the window?

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Debate Night Download Sep 29, 2020

Veteran Political Advisor, Strategist, and Consultant Mike Murphy, Veteran Pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, and New York Times Business Investigations Editor David Enrich join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Enrich reacts to the bombshell Trump tax story his paper dropped over the weekend and what the repercussions will be. Then Murphy and Soltis Anderson prepare us for the highly anticipated first Presidential Debate between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

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The GOP’s QAnon Play Sep 26, 2020

NJ Congressman Tom Malinowski and National Correspondent for TIME Charlotte Alter join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman for a special bonus episode of Skullduggery's "Conspiracyland." Malinowski reacts to the recent unfounded ad attack against him straight from the QAnon playbook. Then, Alter weighs in having just written an in-depth piece about the fringe supporter group and how it's slowly working its way into the mainstream.

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Russia Redux Sep 23, 2020

Screenwriter, producer, and film director Billy Ray joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group take a deep dive into Ray's upcoming two-part Showtime mini-series The Comey Rule. Part one follows the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails and their impact on the election. Part two is an account of the first months of the Trump presidency.

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McConnell's Freight Train Sep 23, 2020

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Lawyers Robert Bauer, a Democrat, and Jack Goldsmith, once a Republican join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Whitehouse, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, talks about his new report on the financial interests that support the conservative movement to get conservative judges on the courts. And then, Goldsmith and Bauer talk about their new book - After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency - which provides a comprehensive roadmap for reform of the presidency in a post-Trump era.

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Supreme Armageddon Sep 22, 2020

The President of Alliance for Justice Nan Aron and the President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center Ed Whelan join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Isikoff and Klaidman discuss the recent passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and its implications. Aron then joins to talk about what the Democratic strategy is in order to slow down and even try to prevent President Trump from ramming through a replacement for Ginsburg. Then, Whalen walks us through the process of what it will take to confirm a new Justice in this very unique circumstance with the 2020 election looming. Something he helps the President can and will achieve.

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Skullduggery Live with Bob Woodward Sep 17, 2020

Legendary investigative journalist and current associate editor at The Washington Post Bob Woodward joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman for a LIVE episode of "Skullduggery." The group takes a deep dive into Woodward's new book, RAGE, his second on President Trump. Woodward explains how Trump has "lost his way, not just as president, but as a human being trying to assess what's real and what's unreal." This in-depth interview fleshes out Trump's presidency and what impact investigative journalism has on the people in today's day and age.

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The Biden Worldview Sep 14, 2020

Senior Policy Advisor to the Biden Campaign Jake Sullivan joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss the recent article that presidential candidate and former Vice President wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine. They address how Biden, if elected, would rescue foreign policy after a Trump White House exit. How exactly would Biden's foreign policy differ from Trump's? Sullivan weighs in.

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Buried Treasure: "Reaganland" Sep 11, 2020

American historian and journalist Rick Perlstein joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." The group take a deep dive into Perlstein's latest book called, Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976-1980, while comparing and contrasting Reagan and our current President in the United State, Donald Trump.

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Whistleblower at the DHS Sep 11, 2020

Mark Zaid, attorney who is currently representing Brian Murphy - the whistleblower who is accusing Trump appointees of downplaying Russian interference and White supremacist threats - joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Isikoff and Klaidman discuss the on-going controversy surround the Woodward tapes. Then, Zaid talks about the case, the process, and what the possible ramifications are if his client's accusations are indeed found to be true.

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The Woodward Tapes Sep 09, 2020

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Former Health Commissioner for the City of Baltimore Leana Wen join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Isikoff and Klaidman talk about the recent release of Bob Woodward's damning taped conversations with President Trump. Then, Bolton reacts to the tapes, weighs in on China, Brian Murphy - the latest whistleblower - who alleges D.H.S. downplayed threats from both Russia and White Supremacists, and his handling of Iran in regards to nuclear weapons. And finally, Leana Wen delivers sobering thoughts on where we'll be by the end of 2020 when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Don McGahn: Double Agent Sep 04, 2020

New York Times Reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Michael Schmidt and Yahoo News Reporter Patrick Symmes join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Symmes brings us the latest from Portland after a suspect in fatal shooting of right-wing activist in Portland was killed by police. Then, Schmidt takes a deep dive into his new book, Donald Trump V. The United States: Inside The Struggle To Stop A President, revealing the incredible story of lawyer and former White House Council Don McGahn's "double agent-like" role.

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Buried Treasure: Biden on Drugs Sep 02, 2020

Eric Sterling, Former Assistant Council to the House Crime Committee and the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." The group revisit Joe Biden's reactionary speech that followed George H. W. Bush's infamous "crack speech" 31 years ago. They analyze "the war on drugs," Biden's aggressive stance and the context from which it came, and where he is now on the drug policy as the 2020 presidential election draws near.

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Trump's Fox Trot Aug 31, 2020

Anchor of Reliable Sources and CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter and Yahoo News Reporter Patrick Symmes join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Symmes takes us inside the protests in Portland and gives us insight surrounding the recent shooting there that resulted in a death. Then Stelter dives deep into his new book, Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the dangerous distortion of truth.

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A defector from Trump World Aug 28, 2020

Former Senior DHS Official Elizabeth Neumann, Actor, Comedian, and Musician Harry Shearer, and Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Walker recaps the last night of the Republican National Convention including the President's long-winded speech from the White House and the non-socially distanced and mask-less crowd. Then, Neumann takes us behind the curtain of the DHS and answers the question of who the real threats is - Antifa or right-wing extremists? Finally, Shearer weighs in on the 2020 Election and shares his latest musical project, The Many Moods of Donald Trump.

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Meacham's Mission Aug 27, 2020

Pulitzer Prize winning Historian, Journalist, and Pundit Jon Meacham joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Meacham talks about how he came to speak at this year's Democratic National Convention, how history will view the Trump presidency, and also his new book His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope.

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Chaos in Kenosha Aug 26, 2020

Chairman of the American Conservative Union and Advisor to the Trump Campaign Matt Schlapp and Yahoo News Reporter Crystal Hill join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Hill gives us the latest on the chaos in Kenosha, WI involving the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the arrest of a 17-year old after two were killed and another severely wounded at protests there. Then, Schlapp talks about what these events mean for the election and his take on the Republican Convention so far.

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Bossie is back Aug 25, 2020

Former Deputy Campaign Manager to Donald Trump in 2016 and the President of Citizens United Dave Bossie joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss the Trump campaign strategy, night two of the Republican National Convention, and where the 2020 presidential race currently stands, specifically in the hard fought battle ground states that could decide the election.

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A Republican's Remorse Aug 25, 2020

Veteran Republican Strategist and now supporter of Joe Biden for President Stuart Stevens joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss Stevens' change of party and why he flipped from Republican to Democrat. Where the path for the creation of President Trump began. His work with The Lincoln Project and ads they run to help defeat Donald Trump. And finally, the specific element that would cost them this year's election.

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The Trump Loyalty Oath Aug 24, 2020

Republican Strategist and Author Rick Tyler and Former Obama Administration Official and Yahoo News Medical Contributor Kavita Patel join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Patel explains the process on how something actually gets approved by the FDA and why fast tracking a coronavirus vaccine without any evidence is the wrong play. Then, Tyler weighs in on how he thinks the week will go at the Republican National Convention, why he will be voting against his party and for Biden, and what four more years of Trump would really mean.

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It's time to remove the filibuster Aug 21, 2020

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Yahoo News National Correspondent Andrew Romano join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Romano weighs in on what worked and what didn't work during the Democratic National Convention and what it's going to take in these final months to win the 2020 election. Then Sen. Durbin talk about his frustration in regards to the filibuster in the Senate and that its removal is on the table if the Senate flips.

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DNC: Day 4 w/ Eric Holder and Sen. Amy Klobuchar Aug 20, 2020

Former US Attorney General Eric Holder and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Holder dives deep into the US Postal Service Scandal as well as his relationship with presidential candidate Joe Biden. Then, Klobuchar talks about why there is a lack of humor at the Democratic National Convention, the after effects that followed the death of George Floyd, and what it's going to take for Biden to not just win, but win big.

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Fraudster Steve Bannon Aug 20, 2020

Delaware Senator Chris Coons and Yahoo News Senior Report Caitlin Dickson join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Dickson talks about her in-person experience with recently arrested former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and the "We Build The Wall" fund. Then, Senator Coons talks about his up-coming speech at the Democratic National Convention and how faith plays a role in Joe Biden's life and in policy making.

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Michigan may be in play w/ Rep. Debbie Dingell Aug 19, 2020

U.S. Rep. of Michigan's 12th Congressional District, Debbie Dingell, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Michigan was one of the key deciding states in the 2016 election and could be in play yet again in 2020. Dingell breaks down what she's seeing in her state, what the deciding factors could be, and why she didn't vote for her party's platform.

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Kennedy vs Markey w/ Rep. Joe Kennedy Aug 19, 2020

Congressman and Candidate for US Senate in Massachusetts Joe Kennedy III joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Kennedy discusses the tight race between himself and Senator Ed Markey. It's getting quite heated with attack ads from both camps, something rarely seen from two progressive Democrats. He also addresses their differences, the youth vote, his outspoken anti-vaxxer uncle, and his father's funding of a Super PAC.

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Senate Intel Report w/ Sen. Angus King Aug 19, 2020

Independent U.S. Senator Angus King of Maine joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss the recently released bipartisan Senate Intel Report and its newly exposed information in regards to Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Republicans and Democrats each paint quite a different picture about the new revelations. Sen. King takes us behind-the-scenes on how the report finally came to be after three and a half years.

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DNC: Day 2 with Rep. Jim Clyburn and Yasmine Taeb Aug 18, 2020

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and Senior Policy Counsel for Demand Progress Yasmine Taeb join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Clyburn weighs in on the Post Office fiasco, night one of the Democratic National Convention, and the lack of transparency in Operation Warp Speed. Then, Taeb talks about the the friction and differences in the Democratic Party over policy and where the party should be headed with the Biden/Harris ticket.

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Republicans pack the DNC Aug 17, 2020

Senior Advisor & Communications Director for the Democratic National Convention Xochitl Hinojosa and Yahoo News' own Will Rahn join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Hinojosa gives us a preview of what we can expect this week at the DNC, including the surprising news of several Republican speakers being featured including former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and former New York Rep. Susan Molinari on the first night. Then, Rahn brings us into the future of the convention and how things will be shaped for years to come in a post-covid election world.

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Trump Goes Postal Aug 14, 2020

Chief National Security Correspondent for CNN Jim Scuitto, CBS Correspondent 60 Minutes John Dickerson, and Yahoo News Senior Political Correspondent Jon Ward join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Ward weighs in on the political position the President has on mail-in voting. Then, Scuitto talks about his new book, The Madman Theory, and Trump's non-traditional style to foreign policy. Finally, Dickerson discusses his new book, The Hardest Job in the World, which takes a deep dive into the history, evolution, and current state of the American presidency.

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The Veep Pick Aug 12, 2020

Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco Lara Bazelon and Former US Senator from California Barbara Boxer join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Boxer, weighs in on the Harris pick for VP as she was succeeded by Kamala Harris in the Senate. Then, for a different perspective, Bazelon recounts her stinging review from a year ago of Harris' record as a prosecutor. The pick is in, will it help Biden win the Presidency?

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We Are Watching You Aug 11, 2020

President of NARAL Pro-Choice America Ilyse Hogue and Law Professor and Author Kim Wehle join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First up, Hogue talks about the warning that she and other influential Democratic women activists have sent out to the media about how they cover Joe Biden's upcoming Vice Presidential pick. Then, Wehle discusses all of the nightmare scenarios surrounding the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election.

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Gunning for the NRA Aug 07, 2020

Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker, Author Frank Smyth, and Journalist Jonathan Alter join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Walker delivers updates on the Trump Campaign and the recent news about the President possibly accepting his formal nomination for re-election from the White House. Does this violate the Hatch Act? Then, Smyth discusses New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the NRA and its misuse of charitable funds for personal gain in hopes to dissolve it. And finally, Alter compares this year's presidential race to that of 1932 when FDR swamped Herbert Hoover in the height of The Great Depression.

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Buried Treasure: "Robert Draper’s To Start A War" Aug 03, 2020

Journalist and Author Robert Draper joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." The group discuss Draper's new book, To Start a War: How The Bush Administration Took America Into War. Draper lays out all the details of the infamous disaster including new details recently exposed. It's a story about a sales pitch to convince the American people and those at the United Nations Security Council that Saddam Hussain had weapons of mass destruction.

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A Tale of Two Governors Jul 30, 2020

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." With President Trump's recent tweet suggesting to delay the upcoming 2020 Election, the Governors of each State are left facing pressing issues on their own. Both Hogan and Pritzker weigh in on their State's specific situations, challenges, and needs including the coronavirus pandemic, racial protests, and spikes in violence. Also, Pritzker lets us know who he is quietly lobbying Joe Biden about in regards to VP candidates.

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Reclaiming My Time! Jul 29, 2020

Former Special Council to the House Judiciary Committee and Author, Norm Eisen, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman and "Skullduggery." The group analyses this week's Bill Barr testimony in great detail including the good, the bad, and the testy. They also take a look at what has happened since Trump's impeachment while discussing Eisen's new book A Case for the American People: The United States V. Donald J. Trumpin which he discloses that he actually drafted up 10 articles prior to the inquiry.

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The Doomsday Scenario for Trump Jul 24, 2020

Political Consultant and Strategist James Carville and ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Carville weighs in on the upcoming 2020 Presidential election and the chances that Trump is forced out of the race by his fellow Republicans. Then, Karl discusses the cancellation of the RNC in Jacksonville as coronavirus cases continue to spike in Florida. And he also gives us an inside look at his new book, Front Row at the Trump Show.

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Showdown in Portland Jul 22, 2020

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Portland-based freelance journalist Patrick Symmes join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Senator Wyden relays his thoughts on President Trump sending Federal Law Enforcement Forces into Portland and their handling of the protests there. Then, Symmes gives us an inside look at what's actually happening and who is protesting in Portland as well as the two starkly different pictures being painted about the events from the Left and Right sides.

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Trump’s Secret Cyber Order Jul 18, 2020

Yahoo News Contributor Zach Dorfman and New York Times Columnist Michelle Goldberg join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on “Skullduggery.” First, Dorfman dives deep into his recent exclusive story revealing that Trump signed a secret finding authorizing the CIA to launch offensive cyber operations on its own with no White House approval. Then, Michelle Goldberg discusses her concerns on restrictions of free speech.

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Stone Cold Salvation Jul 15, 2020

Veteran Political Reporter Howard Fineman and Yahoo News National Correspondent Alex Nazaryan join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Nazaryan weighs in on all things Florida, DeSantis, and the Coronavirus. Then Fineman breaks down Donald Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence, having just interviewed Stone himself.

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Making Russia Great Again Jul 10, 2020

Author and Political Satirist Chris Buckley and Senior Legal Analyst at Slate Dahlia Lithwick join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Lithwick weighs in on the recent Supreme Court decisions in regards to Trump, his taxes, and immunity from criminal charges being brought to a President in office. Then Buckley discusses his new novel, Making Russia Great Again, and the daunting task that comes with trying to satirize a President who already appears to be "satire" himself.

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Facebook Follies Jul 07, 2020

Author, Activist, and Musician Roger McNamee and Yahoo News Senior Political Correspondent Jon Ward join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Ward weighs in on Trump's sinking poll numbers as well as the latest on next month's Republican National Convention in coronavirus stricken Florida. Then, McNamee discusses the advertiser boycott against Facebook in the light of the company's stance on taking down what a growing number of protesters are calling "hate speech."

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See no Putin, Hear no Putin Jul 02, 2020

Congressman Eric Swalwell and CNN's Senior Global Affairs Analyst Bianna Golodryga join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Golodryga weighs in on the coronavirus, Russia, and the controversial vote that could keep Putin in power until 2036. Then Swalwell gives us the latest on the Trump briefing currently being disputed by the White House regarding the bounties paid by Russia to kill US soldiers.

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Russia, Russia, Russia Jun 30, 2020

Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Political Scientist and Author Thomas Rid join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, McFaul talks about the recent reports about Russian bounties offered to Taliban fighters to kill US and UK soldiers. Then, Rid discusses Putin and Russia which are a part of his new book, Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare.

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Covid Catastrophe Jun 27, 2020

Yahoo News Health Contributor and Fmr. Obama Administration Official Kavita Patel and Yahoo News National Correspondent Andrew Romano join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Romano gives the latest results of the Yahoo News/YouGov Poll in regards to where the Presidential race stands, how the public feels about masks, and how long it's going to take to tally up mail-in voting. Then, Dr. Patel talks about the harsh reality the country is facing as the coronavirus numbers spike to all-time highs.

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Flynn Flam Jun 25, 2020

Former Department of Justice Director of Public Affairs Matthew Miller and Special Correspondent for Reuters & Author Catherine Belton join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Miller goes over the Judiciary Committee's Hearing into the DOJ and Bill Barr. Then, Belton discusses in detail her new book, Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West.

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Friday Night Backfire Jun 22, 2020

Former Prosecutor for the Southern District of New York Eli Honig and Co-Founder of the Lincoln Project and Former Republican Strategist Rick Wilson join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Honig discusses the "Friday Night Massacre" that didn't go very smoothly. Then Wilson talks about what he's doing to undermine the re-election of President Trump and how he can succeed.

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Bolton’s Bombshells Jun 20, 2020

National Security Lawyer Mark Zaid and top John Bolton Aide Fred Fleitz join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Zaid tackles the extraordinary court hearing involving the Trump administration trying to stop the release of the book from former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Then Fleitz, who worked directly with Bolton during his tenure under Trump, expresses his disappointment in his former colleague.

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Clyburn's Lament Jun 16, 2020

South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn and psychoanalysts Michael Maccoby and Judith Logue join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Clyburn weighs in on 5th Anniversary of the Mother Emanuel Church shooting in South Carolina, the "defund the police" movement, rioters quoting Martin Luther King Jr. for justification, and President Trump choosing Tulsa, OK for his first post-covid rally. Then Maccoby and Logue discuss their book - Psychoanalytic and Historical Perspectives on the Leadership of Donald Trump.

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Trump's assault on the truth Jun 12, 2020

Washington Post Fact Checker & Author Glenn Kessler joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." All Presidents lie. This is something we are all aware of. However, President Trump takes it to another level. He is just under twenty thousand false statements so far as President of the United States. From 5 or 6 a day in his first year to as many as 22 a day currently. What will the lasting effects of this behavior be? How much damage to the institution has been done? And does Joe Biden, the person in the best position to defeat Trump, also make false statements?

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Defund the Police - and then what? Jun 11, 2020

Sociology Professor at Brooklyn College and Author Alex Vitale and Yahoo News National Correspondent Andrew Romano join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Romano gives us the latest Yahoo News / YouGov polling numbers in regards to the public's view on the idea of defunding the police. Then Vitale discusses his controversial book, The End of Policing,while explaining why the police have been fundamentally misused for decades.

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Revolt at the New York Times Jun 08, 2020

David Folkenflik, NPR Media Correspondent and Host of "On Point" on NPR, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." With James Bennet leaving his post as the New York Times Opinion Editor, the group discuss the state of Media, its coverage and how what's covered is decided, and the reactionary measures taken both by the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer for stories recently published.

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Protesters and Social Distancing Jun 07, 2020

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and Yahoo News Health Contributor and Former Obama Administration Official Kavita Patel join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First off, Isikoff and Klaidman weigh in on the protests that have taken place over the weekend as well as the new call to "defund" the police. Then the group talks about how social distancing will be perceived moving forward and the effect the protests will have on the overall coronavirus numbers in the US.

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The Mattis Moment Jun 05, 2020

Guy Snodgrass, Jim Mattis's Speechwriter and Chief of Communications joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group breakdown the Former United States Secretary of Defense's harsh criticism of President Trump and his handling of the protests that. are currently going on across the US. Also on the docket is recently obtained document by Yahoo News breaking down exactly who is and how many are guarding the White House during this tense time of outcry.

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Should Barr be disbarred? Jun 04, 2020

Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker, Congressman Jamie Raskin, and former Amazon employees Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Walker takes us through his firsthand witness account of the protesters being cleared out of Lafayette Square for the Trump photo op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church. Then, Raskin walks us through the illegality of what took place at said event. Finally, the Amazon whistleblowers return to talk about what happened during the recent Amazon shareholder meeting as well as the PR stunt dispersed by the company posing as a real news story that was broadcast word-for-word across several local news stations.

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Back to the future Jun 01, 2020

Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker and Historian Rick Perlstein join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Walker takes us inside the heart of the protests in front of the White House this past weekend painting a picture both peaceful and aggressive. Then Perlstein, author of the book Nixonland, discusses the parallels between events of the past to those happening today.

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Minneapolis on fire May 29, 2020

Vanita Gupta, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Former Chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." From protests to violence to press members of CNN getting arrested live on television, Minneapolis has become a hotbed of tension after the death of George Floyd. Gupta discusses her work during the Obama administration which focused specifically on police abuses. The group also discuss the threat the President has cast over the right to vote in the upcoming election.

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Twitter's Trump Stain May 27, 2020

New York Times contributing writer and Recode co-founder Kara Swisher as well as Pundit and Author Ann Coulter join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Swisher discusses the mess Twitter has put itself in allowing Trump to continue to peddle conspiracy theories via the platform. Then, Coulter talks about her recent tweet storm about the President, the Alabama Senate race, and her love for Jeff Sessions.

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Covid Conspiracies May 23, 2020

Former Head of the Pandemic Office at the White House Beth Cameron and Yahoo News National Political Correspondent Andrew Romano join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Romano discusses Yahoo News' latest YouGov poll that shows coronavirus conspiracy theories spreading on the right which may hamper vaccine efforts. Then Cameron, current Vice President at NTI for Bio, explains the crippling effect the Trump administration has caused by shrinking the NSC in 2018.

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Buried Treasure: "Snowden and the Journalist" May 21, 2020

Author and Investigative Reporter Bart Gellman joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." Gellman discusses his new book - Dark Mirror - a gripping inside narrative of investigative reporting about Edward Snowden as it happened and a deep dive into the machinery of the surveillance state. The Snowden case has had a rippling effect that we still feel today.

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The All Fake News edition May 15, 2020

Comedian J-L Cauvin and Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and Author Richard Stengel join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Disinformation, what's real and what's not? Conspiracies run rampant these days. And rebutting them could perpetuate them even further. First up on the pod is a very special guest, one that some would claim, spreads disinformation every day. Then, Stengel joins to discuss his latest book, Information Wars, and introduces us to the term "infodemic."

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Flynn fallout May 14, 2020

Frank Figliuzzi, Former Assistant Director for Counterintelligence at the FBI, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Isikoff and Klaidman discuss the recent FBI court filing slip-up that revealed the name of the Saudi Official suspected of directing support for the 9/11 hijackers. Then, Figliuzzi warns that there may be more coming from AG Bill Barr to discredit the Mueller Investigation aside from his request to drop the criminal charge against General Flynn.

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St. Ignatius of Journalism May 12, 2020

Journalist and Novelist David Ignatius and Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Walker joins Isikoff and Klaidman for a crosstalk on Coronavirus, how it has infiltrated the White House, and the translation of a Trump press conference. Then Ignatius, a prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post, discusses his new novel -The Paladin - a story of a high-tech CIA operation that goes wrong.

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The tale of two Amazons May 09, 2020

Former Amazon Employees Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa and Former US Ambassador to China Gary Locke join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Isikoff and Klaidman discuss the recent news about Bill Barr and the DOJ dropping the charges against Former US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Then, Cunningham and Costa tell their story about being fired from Amazon for bringing attention to the current conditions at the company during the Coronavirus pandemic. Finally, Locke talks about his experience as Ambassador to China and what we should be doing with our current relationship with the country.

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The Covid Character Test May 05, 2020

Former Editor-in-Chief of Time Magazine Nancy Gibbs, Yahoo News Medical Contributor Kavita Patel, and Former Health Commissioner of Baltimore Leana Wen join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First up, Mike and Dan discuss Jared Kushner's shadow role in the Coronavirus Task Force. Then, Gibbs joins to talk about the ethical questions we're all facing while states begin to reopen. Finally, Dr. Patel and Dr. Wen compare how various countries have taken on the pandemic and how catastrophic a "second wave" could be.

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Biden's Denial May 01, 2020

Yahoo News D.C. Bureau Chief Sharon Weinberger & Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Mike and Dan discuss the latest in the Tara Reade alligations and her recent interview on MSNBC. Then, Weinberger fills in all the details about her recent stay at the Trump Hotel in D.C. A long time Republican hot-spot now emptied out due to the coronavirus pandemic. Finally, Power talks about her new book, The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir, while giving us an inside look into Joe Biden's foreign policy experience while Vice President of the US.

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Covid's Silent Chain Apr 29, 2020

Northeastern University College of Science's Dr. Alessandro Vespignani & The Atlantic's George Packer join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, the Dr. fleshes out his recently published coronavirus model that shows there was an undetected silent chain of transmission early on resulting in the potential number of cases actually being 10x greater. Then, Packer, explains why America is fast resembling a failed state.

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What to make of Tara Reade Apr 29, 2020

The Intercept's D.C. Bureau Chief Ryan Grim joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Grim was one of the first reporters to shine a light on the allegations of sexual assault against Joe Biden brought forth by Tara Reade. The group discuss the credibility of said allegations, the duties of the media and how it should cover a story like this, and the similarities and differences to cases that have come before this one, most recently the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.

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Fighting Covid Fraud Apr 27, 2020

FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss the topic of frauds during a pandemic. They expose those trying to prey on the scared public, the tactics used, and what kind of scams have been circulating since the coronavirus has come to light. From door-to-door fake testing kits to Trump's ridiculous cures claimed during his daily briefings.

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Lawrence Wright’s Pandemic Prophecy Apr 25, 2020

Former Deputy National Security Advisor Antony Blinken and Author Lawrence Wright join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Blinken blasts President Donald Trump's praising of the Chinese government’s early handling of the coronavirus. And then Wright, who penned the new book The End of October, walks us through the eerily prescient novel about a devastating virus that begins in Asia before going global.

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Perez’s Pandemic Plan Apr 21, 2020

DNC Chair Tom Perez and Yahoo News National Security & Investigations Reporter Jenna McLaughlin join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Perez stresses that he intends to still hold an in-person convention, now in August, as well as what a digital campaign will look like leading up to November. Then McLaughlin dives deep into her story on the origins of the coronavirus and that US intelligence is looking into the possibility of a lab accident in China.

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John Kerry on Coronavirus and Climate Change Apr 17, 2020

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss Kerry's World War Zero, his initiative to end the climate crisis and move towards the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions. They also talk about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected not only his efforts, but the impact it's made on the environment with people now being shuttered in their homes.

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Buried Treasure: "The Longest War" Apr 16, 2020

Greg Barker, the director of The Longest War Documentary, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." The group discuss all things Afghanistan. From the origins of our involvement with the country to the current state of a potential peace deal with the Taliban. A puzzle that has yet to be solved from President Carter on through to President Trump.

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Trump’s agitprop video Apr 14, 2020

Washington Post Media Critic Erik Wemple and Yahoo News Reporter Alex Nazaryan join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Wemple and Nazaryan discuss the bizarre and controversial Coronavirus Task Force media briefing that took place on Monday April 13th. Everything from Trump's claim of "total" authority to what looked like a campaign or agitprop video he showed in the White House press room in addition to the confusion and contradiction while berating and attacking the press on a personal level.

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Coronavirus: Insight and Info from Dr. Patel and Dr. Wen Apr 10, 2020

Yahoo News Medical Contributor Dr. Kavita Patel and Former Health Commissioner of Baltimore Dr. Leana Wen join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discusses the latest on the Coronavirus pandemic, why the numbers are so high in minorities, and the possibility of immunity certificates.

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The Governor Trump’s obsessed with Apr 08, 2020

Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer and Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Whitmer addresses the coronavirus situation in her state as well as the rumors of potentially being Joe Biden's running mate in 2020. Then, Schiff discusses Trump's firing of the Inspector General overseeing the 2 trillion dollar relief package in addition to his new bill to set up a commission in order to review the coronavirus response.

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Coronavirus: Sherrod Browns's pandemic protest Apr 07, 2020

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and CNN’s Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Brown weighs in on how Trump and the administration is handling the coronavirus pandemic, how he thinks voting should be done under quarantine, and that a second stimulus plan will be needed. Then, Stelter gives us the story behind his new HBO documentary, After Truth, and how Fox News allows disinformation and misinformation to run rampant on the network.

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Coronavirus: What do we really know? Apr 03, 2020

Yahoo News Medical Contributor and Former Obama Administration Official Kavita Patel and Yahoo News Reporter Alex Nazaryan join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Nazaryan gives us the latest insight into the coronavirus, how bad it really is going to get, and whether we should all be wearing masks. Then listen in to an exclusive Yahoo News Special Town Hall where Dr. Patel answers readers’ questions about the virus.

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Comedy during Corona Apr 01, 2020

Comedian and Impressionist JL Cauvin and Yahoo News Senior Editor Will Rahn join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First up, after 16 years of life dedicated to comedy, Cauvin finally strikes gold when his Trump vs. God video sweeps the internet. He discussions his incredible Trump impression, what it's like creating comedy during a world-wide pandemic, and if another four years of Trump would be a benefit. Then, Rahn weighs in on all things Andrew Cuomo, his current rise to popularity, and if the New York Governor could sneak in for the presidential bid on the Democratic side.

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Coronavirus: Pandemic ethics Mar 31, 2020

Bioethicist Jonathan Moreno and Yahoo News National Correspondent Andrew Romano join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Moreno talks about the catastrophic reality of the coronavirus, the ethical decisions doctors are forced to make in regards to who lives and who dies, and how a vaccine will be distributed if and when one becomes available. Then Romano weighs in on how the virus has and will effect the Democratic and Republican campaigns for the presidency while updated us on the status of the virus from a west coast perspective.

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Coronavirus: Murphy's Warning Mar 27, 2020

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First off, Murphy joins us from the road just after the Senate passed their $2 trillion economic rescue package, what it took to get it done, and why it took so long. Then Johnson walks us through his past experience of dealing with a crisis and what we should expect moving forward.

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Green Party virus blues Mar 26, 2020

Yahoo News Public Health Contributor Kathryn Jacobsen and Green Party Candidate for President Howie Hawkins join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Jacobsen gives the latest info on the coronavirus and what the projections are looking like here in the US. Then Hawkins discusses the challenges and frustration his party faces getting on the ballot for the general election, especially during the current pandemic.

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The Plouffe Strategy Mar 25, 2020

David Plouffe, Former Barack Obama Campaign Manager and Author of A Citizen’s Guide To Beating Donald Trump joins Michael Isikoff and Danial Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group talk about the road to success for the Biden campaign and the new hurdles that will need to be overcome in the midst of a crisis to win the presidency.

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Coronavirus: Fox and the Virus Mar 24, 2020

Yahoo News’ own Alex Nazaryan and New York Times Media Columnist Ben Smith join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." On this episode, Nazaryan brings us up-to-date with the latest on the Coronavirus and what our unexpected future may look like. Then Smith discusses his latest article in which he criticizes Fox News' handling and coverage of the Coronavirus.

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Coronavirus: Ron Klain on what went wrong Mar 19, 2020

In new Skullduggery podcast, Ron Klain, President Obama's former ebola czar and top advisor to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, warns the worst is yet to come in coronavirus crisis. He also critiques President Trump's performance and tells hosts Daniel Klaidman and Michael Isikoff what he's doing personally to stay safe.

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Coronavirus: Campaigning during a Crisis Mar 19, 2020

Republican Strategist John Weaver and Democratic Strategist Joe Trippi join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Weaver talks about The Lincoln Project - of which he is a part alongside other notable Never-Trumpers - what its mission is, and their current controversial "virus" ad. Then Trippi weighs in about the Democratic strategy during a time of crisis and the expectations and possibility of a "don't touch" campaign for the nominee.

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Coronavirus: The Latest Mar 17, 2020

Yahoo News Reporter Alex Nazaryan and Epidemiologist and Public Health Expert Kathryn Jacobsen, Yahoo News’ Public Health Contributor, join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." This will be the first in a series of podcasts from Skullduggery focusing on the Coronavirus and its effect on politics, the 2020 Election, and everyday life. First up, Nazaryan fills us in on his recent conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Then, Jacobsen lays down some important guidelines as to how the public should be handling this situation now and in the immediate future.

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Corona at CPAC Mar 10, 2020

Chairman of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp and Time Magazine Writer and Author Charlotte Alter join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." An attendee of the recent CPAC 2020 event was found to have the coronavirus and now members of congress including the organizer, Schlapp, are "self-quarantining" themselves. Schlapp discusses what it's been like and where we go from here. Then Alter breaks down her new book, The Ones We've Been Waiting For, an optimistic look at the future of American leadership and the impact millennials will have on politics.

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Jim Clyburn: 2020 Kingmaker Mar 05, 2020

Congressman Jim Clyburn and Historian and Journalist Evan Thomas join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Clyburn discuss the sudden surge from Joe Biden and the role he played in it, who he thinks should be Biden's running mate, and why he believes Biden was a victim of the #metoo movement. Then Thomas gives us an inside look into the mind of his grandfather, Norman Thomas, who was the last socialist to run for President, and if Bernie Sanders would suffer the same fate if elected as the democratic nominee.

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Buried Treasure: The CIA's LSD freak-out Mar 02, 2020

Former New York Times Correspondent and Author Stephen Kinzer joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." The group discuss Kinzer's new book, Poisoner in Chief, which tells the incredible story of Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA's search for mind control by various means, including but not limited too, LSD.

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The oppo on Bernie Feb 28, 2020

Washington Post Foreign Policy Columnist Josh Rogin and David Enrich, Author of Dark Towers, join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First Rogin discusses the philosophical duties as a reporter when you receive oppo research from a source unwilling to be named. In this case, research potentially harmful to Bernie Sanders. Then, Enrich returns to update the Trump / Deutsche Bank scandal, now headed to the Supreme Court, and whether Trump's loan information with ever see the light of day.

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Stone Coldish Sentencing Feb 21, 2020

Former Deputy Attorney General Don Ayer and Yahoo News’ own Hunter Walker join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First up, Isikoff & Klaidman talk Roger Stone and his sentencing. Then, Ayer weighs in on all things Bill Barr, the pressure he's facing to resign, and what it's like working in the DOJ. Finally, Walker reports from the scene of the Nevada primary and paints the picture of where things are headed post debate which featured Bloomberg for the first time.

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The Democrats Dilemma Feb 12, 2020

Journalist & Historian Jonathan Alter, Yahoo News' own Jon Ward & Hunter Walker, as well as David Corn of Mother Jones join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this special New Hampshire Primary Edition of "Skullduggery." Isikoff, Klaidman, Alter, Ward, and Walker talk about the results of the voting in New Hampshire including Bernie's narrow victory and Klobuchar's surge into the top 3. Then Corn joins to discuss the breaking news from the Justice Department surrounding the Roger Stone case.

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Buried Treasure: "The scandal that time (almost) forgot" Feb 10, 2020

Leon Neyfakh, host and producer of the podcast Fiasco, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." The group take a deep dive into the story of Iran-Contra and the repercussions it had on Ronald Reagan’s presidency as well as the parallels it has to today's Ukraine scandal going on in the Trump administration.

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Iowa caucus debacle Feb 07, 2020

Democratic Pollster Joel Benenson and Yahoo News’ own National Politics Reporter Brittany Shepherd join hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Brittany breaks down the debacle that took place in Iowa and what the effects that will have on the democratic party nominees moving forward. Then Benenson talks polls, Bernie and Buttigieg, and the Michael Bloomberg factor.

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Impeachment Redux Feb 02, 2020

Republican Strategist Mike Murphy, Former Federal Prosecutor and Deputy Independent Council Sol Wisenberg, and MSNBC Justice and Security Analyst Matt Miller, join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Murphy breaks down the winners and losers of the Senate Trial and what to expect in the upcoming Democratic Nominee race. Then Wisenberg, Miller, and our hosts analyze what went right and what went wrong with impeachment.

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The view from Bernieland Jan 31, 2020

Bernie Sanders’ National Press Secretary Briahna Gray joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group takes a deep dive into Sanders' campaign, it's current surge in Iowa, and breaks down the dedicated fan base and what has them so fired up.

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Bolton of Lightning Jan 27, 2020

Washington Post National Investigative Reporter and Author Carol Leonnig, as well as, Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 campaign chief Kevin Sheekey join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Isikoff and Klaidman walk us through the bombshell news from Bolton and his book, then Leonnig dives deep into her new book A Very Stable Genius. Then finally, Sheekey takes us into the mind of Michael Bloomberg and why he's running for democratic presidential nominee.

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Ray for the Defense Jan 24, 2020

Robert Ray, a member of President Trump’s impeachment defense team, and Ken Gormley, constitutional law scholar and President of Duquesne University join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Ray discusses the impeachment trial, whether or not the defense team has a plan if witnesses are called - and if so - will executive privilege be invoked. Then Gormley weighs in on the unprecedented aspects of this impeachment vs. prior impeachments. Lastly, Yahoo News' own Jon Ward helps paint the picture of what it's like to sit within the room where the Senate trial is taking place.

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The impeachment trial is underway Jan 17, 2020

Former Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly and Chairman of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Donnelly puts himself back into the role of Senator and weighs in on Senate impeachment trial. Then, Schlapp discusses whether or not witnesses for would even make a difference in the end and who will really benefit from this impeachment process in the end.

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Spies and Assassins Jan 13, 2020

Former Trump NSC official and Executive Director of the International Spy Museum, Chris Costa, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman from the museum on "Skullduggery." The group discusses the recent "assassination" of Soleimani, the past, present and future of conflict with Iran, and how social media is changing the way spies operate.

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"Is Trump our OJ?" Jan 09, 2020

Politico co-founder John Harris and Chapo Trap House hosts Virgil Texas and Matt Christman join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First up, Harris discusses his findings after reaching out to the Politico audience in order to understand what's going through the minds of the Trump supporters during this time of impeachment. Then, Texas and Christman talk about Bernie Sanders and his rise to prominence as a favorite in the current field of Democratic hopefuls for the Presidential nomination.

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Soleimani is dead and Bernie is rising Jan 04, 2020

Yahoo News' own Jenna McLaughlin, Hunter Walker, Zach Dorfman, as well as Bernie Sanders' campaign advisor Jeff Weaver join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." McLaughlin and Dorfman discuss the ramifications of the recent killing of Iran's major general Qasem Soleimani. Then Walker and Weaver dive into the recent surge of democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

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Impeachment Limbo Dec 21, 2019

Congressman Jamie Raskin and RNC National Spokesperson Elizabeth Harrington join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Raskin, having just voted on impeachment, gives us some insight into where things go from here and whether or not he will become one of the House Impeachment Managers. Then Harrington gives us the GOP perspective post impeachment and what their plan is moving forward into the election year.

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The President is impeached Dec 19, 2019

Yahoo News colleagues Jon Ward and Alex Nazarian as well as Tim Naftali former director of the Nixon Library join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Ward and Nazarian, both whom have been covering the impeachment since the beginning, weigh in on next steps, what possibilities remain, and debate whether this will benefit either side in the end. Then Naftali compares and contrasts that of Nixon's impeachment to President Trump's by pointing out similarities as well as differences.

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Trump, McAuliffe, and Charlottesville Revisited Dec 16, 2019

Former Virginia Governor and Author Terry McAuliffe join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group discuss the current state of politics, the impeachment of President Trump, if the former Governor will run again for the same position - or even President - as a late candidate. They also tackle the subject of his latest book - Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism.

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FISA Fiasco Dec 13, 2019

Former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the DOJ Mary McCord and CNN's National Security Analyst and Author Peter Bergen join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." McCord takes us behind the curtain of the DOJ to better understand the recently released IG report and heavily criticized FISA warrant process. Then Bergen breaks down his new book - Trump and his Generals, explaining the threat President Trump has become to our national security.

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Buried Treasure: "Inside Daniel Jones' torture report" Dec 09, 2019

Former US Senate Investigator Daniel J. Jones joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." They discuss in great detail the investigation into the CIA's use of torture in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The report, now a major motion picture, showcases Adam Driver in the role of Jones. A bevy of inside from the man who lived through it all on this episode.

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"The Skullduggery Hearing" Dec 06, 2019

Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal and Washington attorney David Rivkin join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Katyal and Rivkin argue opposite sides of impeachment in relation to President Trump, with the former - specifically his new book "Impeach" - having just been sited in the actual Judiciary hearing. It's a festive debate as no punches are held back.

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No Schiff in the polls Nov 27, 2019

Former Congressman Steve Israel and Yahoo News' own Andrew Romano join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Israel, a close friend of Adam Schiff, takes us into the mind of the current chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, what the plans are moving forward, and if this entire impeachment process will benefit the Republicans or the Democrats more in the end. Then, Romano weighs in on the new Yahoo News/YouGov poll that's just been released.

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"So we followed the President's orders" Nov 22, 2019

Former Federal Prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg and Yahoo News' own Jon Ward join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Zeidenburg weighs in on the impeachment process, whether there is any actual "crime" here, and what he would do if hired to defend President Trump. Then Ward paints the picture of what it's like in the actual hearing room, his takeaways from both the Republicans and Democrats, and what we can expect moving forward in regards to the impeachment proceedings.

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"Don't punch down" Mr. President Nov 19, 2019

Fourteen-term and retiring Congressman Peter King joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." King discusses his point of view on impeachment, his on-going support of President Trump, where the Republican party is headed, and gives his advice to Trump's re-election campaign.

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Buried Treasure: "The Spiro Agnew Method" Nov 18, 2019

President of Ripon College and Professor of Politics and Government Zach Messitte joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." The group discuss Messitte's new book Republican Populist. They breakdown the subject of said book - Spiro Agnew - who he was, his place in history, and how he helped pave the way for President Trump's America.

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The House is on fire Nov 15, 2019

New Jersey Congressman and former Obama State Department Official Tom Malinowski and Debbie Dingell, Democratic Congresswoman from Michigan join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Both Malinowski and Dingell weigh in on impeachment, the process, the hearings, what we can expect schedule-wise moving forward, and what the 2020 candidates should be focused on.

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Impeachment: Day 1 Nov 14, 2019

CBS Legal Analyst Kim Whele and Yahoo News colleague Alex Nazaryan join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman for a special post-hearing round table discussion. They break down the testimonies and new revelations of U.S. Ukrainian diplomat William Taylor and Senior State Department official in charge of Ukraine George Kent that took place in front of the Adam Schiff-led House Intelligence Committee.

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Buried Treasure: "The Roy Cohn - Donald Trump playbook" Nov 11, 2019

Director and Documentary Filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." They discuss his new film - "Where's My Roy Cohn?" - in great detail. Trump, alongside others like Roger Stone, were Cohn protégés. And Trump's playbook is straight out of Roy Cohn's. So much that the president uttered the title of Tyrnauer's film back in January of 2018.

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Where's the whistleblower Nov 08, 2019

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Yahoo News colleagues Jenna McLaughlin and Jon Ward join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, McLaughlin, Ward and our hosts discuss the latest in the impeachment inquiry including threatening voicemails left for the whistleblowers lawyer, Mark Zaid. Then Senator Brown weighs in on impeachment, the recent voting throughout the US, as well as his new book - Desk 88 - which tells the stories of those who sat before him at said desk in the US Senate.

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Buried Treasure: "A new take on the Hoffa mystery" Nov 04, 2019

Former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel and current Professor at Harvard Law School - Jack Goldsmith - joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." They discuss Goldsmith's new book, In Hoffa's Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth, in great detail as Goldsmith's stepfather was Hoffa's right-hand man - Charles "Chuckie" O'Brien.

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Maddow on Trump, Putin, and oil Oct 31, 2019

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." First, Mike and Dan talk about the recent House vote on the impeachment inquiry as well as all the players involved. Then Maddow discusses Trump, Putin, oil, and her new book "Blowout." Finally, Landrieu makes it clear whether or not he would jump in the presidential race as a late entry for the democrats.

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Buried Treasure: "From Bin Laden to al-Baghdadi" Oct 28, 2019

Politico Senior Legal Affairs Contributor Josh Gerstein joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of Skullduggery's "Buried Treasure." They compare and contrast the raid on Osama Bin Laden during the Obama presidency to the recent raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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Max Rose's road to impeachment Oct 24, 2019

NY Congressman Max Rose and Harvard Law Professor and former Justice Dept. Official Jack Goldsmith join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Rose, one of the few Democratic hold-outs in the House with regards to the impeachment inquiry, has come around in support. He discusses what finally pushed him over the edge and what he believes the Democrats’ main focus should be in the upcoming 2020 election. Then Goldsmith weighs in on what crimes, if any, the President has committed. And if they warrant removal from office.

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The Kasich case for impeachment Oct 22, 2019

Former Ohio Governor, John Kasich, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this bonus episode of "Skullduggery." The very outspoken and recent critic of President Trump joins to discuss where he currently stands on the impeachment inquiry and the potential removal of the President from his office. They also discuss his new book, "It's up to us," where the solution to unite our currently divided country resides, and if there's a path to a presidential run in the future.

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Not an Agatha Christie Mystery Oct 18, 2019

Congressman Jamie Raskin and former National Security Council Official Sam Vinograd join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." With the unbelievable press conference held by White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, the group reacts to the now admitted "Quid Pro Quo" in regard to Ukraine. Raskin then fills us in on the current state of witnesses testifying behind closed doors in regards to the impeachment inquiry. And then Vinograd breaks down the US - Turkey deal surrounding Syria.

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Deep State Demons Oct 11, 2019

Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs - Richard Stengel - and Journalist and Author of “Deep State” - James B. Stewart, join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Stengel breaks down the information war, how it has lead to our current political state, and the lasting damage Trump has done by pulling troops out of Syria. Then Stewart explains the origins of the term "deep state" and how it's being used to the Presidents benefit. Impeachment is also on the table as well as the arrests of two Giuliani associates who helped him on Ukraine.

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Bonus Episode: The Smoking Texts Oct 04, 2019

Former Federal Prosecutor and CNN Legal Analyst Michael Zeldin joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group combs through the newly released text messages involving President Trump, his staff, and representatives from Ukraine. With hearings ongoing behind closed doors, what ultimately is going to happen? Is there enough concrete evidence now for Impeachment?

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"We're not fooling around" Oct 03, 2019

Former Deputy Secretary of State and Foreign Policy Advisor to Biden for President, Tony Blinken, and Former White House Counsel to President Barack Obama, Kathy Ruemmler, join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." With multiple subpoenas in full flight, the group discuss in detail the process the Whistleblower took that got us where we are today. They also dive deeper into the July 25 phone call now that we know Mike Pompeo was listening in. Blinken also gives us an inside look into Biden and his son while Ruemmler explains what the Dems should keep their focus on if they want to see this impeachment through. No shortage of topics on this episode.

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The Whistleblower's Complaint Sep 27, 2019

CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." The group breaks down the now-unclassified whistleblower complaint regarding President Trump and his July 25 phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

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Buried Treasure: The Stennis Compromise Sep 24, 2019

Journalist and historian Evan Thomas joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of "Buried Treasure." The group discusses the Watergate scandal, Nixon, and how it relates to the unfolding story of Trump's now infamous recent phone call to the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky. Will we ever see the transcript or hear the recording of Trump's call like we did the Nixon tapes?

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A challenge to Nadler Sep 20, 2019

New York congressional candidate Lindsey Boylan and former FBI special agent and author Josh Campbell join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on “Skullduggery.” Boylan, arguably the most powerful candidate for Congress no one is discussing, is putting pressure on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler when it comes to moving on impeachment of the president. Then, Campbell brings us inside the FBI by telling us what it was like serving under James Comey and how the bureau is dealing with the constant attacks from President Trump.

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The Kavanaugh Firestorm Sep 18, 2019

New York Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Their newly released book, The Education of Brett Kavanaugh, has caused quite a stir bringing forth a previously unreported allegation against Kavanaugh prompting several Democratic candidates to call for his impeachment from the Supreme Court. Isikoff and Klaidman challenge Pogrebin and Kelly as they take a deep dive into the material to find out what sticks and what doesn't.

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The Fall of Mr. Tough Guy Sep 13, 2019

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley and The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." Glasser discusses the recent "firing" of National Security Advisor John Bolton and what impact it will have moving forward on the Trump Administration. Then, Senator Merkley weighs in on Immigration and the recent Supreme Court decision that will allow the barring of Central American Migrants from ever seeking asylum in the US.

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Disinformation Nation Sep 05, 2019

Former FBI Agent Ali Soufan and NYU’s Paul Barrett join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of "Skullduggery." Soufan weighs in on the the recent IG report on James Comey, the pulling out of troops from Afghanistan, and the US negotiations with the Taliban. Barrett then dissects his recent eye-opening report on disinformation being spread via "deep fake" videos and other tactics on social media and what we can do to combat it.

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Supreme Court politics Aug 29, 2019

Chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times Carl Hulse and Yahoo News' own Jon Ward join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on "Skullduggery." After the recent news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most recent cancer scare, Hulse discusses what could happen if RBG couldn't fulfill her duties as Supreme Court Justice as well as the tactics used by Mitch McConnell during the Merrick Garland nomination during the Obama Administration and how its changed the landscape of how we approve judges moving forward. Then Ward joins to take a deeper dive into his groundbreaking story about the Quitman 10+2 and the case of alleged voter suppression in Georgia.

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Bonus Episode: "Felix Sater Unbound" Aug 24, 2019

With the release of revealing new documents from his court file, former Donald Trump real estate advisor Felix Sater -- in an exclusive interview with Skullduggery-- talks about his one time life of crime, his work with mobsters in a Wall Street "pump and dump" scheme and his years serving as an undercover informant for the U.S. government providing crucial details about Al Qaeda terrorists and international cyber criminals.

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The Epstein Conspiracy Aug 23, 2019

Elie Honig, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and author Anna Merlan join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on “Skullduggery.” Jeffrey Epstein is the focus, with Honig giving us a verbal behind-the-scenes tour of the Manhattan jail that was holding Epstein prior to his death by suicide. How could something like this even happen? Merlan joins to discuss all the conspiracies that came to the forefront just hours after his death was reported.

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Behind the curtain at Cambridge Analytica Aug 09, 2019

Documentary filmmakers Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of Skullduggery. They discuss their most recent film, The Great Hack, which focuses on the Cambridge Analytica hacking scandal. The group also dives deeper into the repercussions of giving away our data for free on social media sites, the damage it's already done, and how this can and will affect us going forward especially with the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

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A warning from The Mooch Aug 02, 2019

Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci and Yahoo News Contributor Zach Dorfman join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of Skullduggery. "The Mooch" has been outspoken about Trump's recent flurry of racist tweets and warns the President he may be heading down the wrong path to re-election. Then Dorfman fills us in on what the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is as well as what they are up to around the world with an exclusive story.

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Mueller's Swan Song Jul 26, 2019

Former Justice Department official Matt Miller and CNN Contributor Bianna Golodryga join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman for a round table discussion breaking down the six plus hours of long awaited Mueller testimony. They each give their insights into what went right and what went wrong for both the Republicans and the Democrats as well as how this will impact the future as we barrel towards the 2020 election.

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"Send Her Back" Jul 19, 2019

Political Consultant Mike Murphy and Author - Journalist Tim Alberta join Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of Skullduggery. After several recent racially divisive tweets from the President, Republican and former political strategist Murphy addresses the current state of affairs for Trump's attempt at re-election. Then Alberta joins to weigh in on VP Mike Pence as well as the on-going divide in the Republican Party.

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Buried Treasure: "The impeachment of Andrew Johnson" Jul 15, 2019

Brenda Wineapple, author of the new book The Impeachers, joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of Buried Treasure. They take a deep look into the political climate surrounding the first ever impeachment attempt of a president. And bring to light a striking resemblance to the current presidency.

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Investigating Jeffrey Epstein Jul 12, 2019

Independent investigator Conchita Sarnoff and The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode. Sarnoff breaks down the Jeffrey Epstein case having first reported on the matter almost a decade ago. Then, Winstead joins to unveil the origin story of the term 'Fake News' as well as her activism with Abortion Access Front and her battle to save women's reproductive rights.

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Buried Treasure: JFK and the Nazi rocket scientist Jul 03, 2019

Douglas Brinkley, author, Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities, and professor of history at Rice University joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman. They take a deep dive into the subject of Brinkley's latest book, American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race. They discuss stories behind the stories as well as the impact the moon landing had on culture as well as humanity through the eyes of JFK's presidency.

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Trump's Loyal WHIP Jun 28, 2019

Congressman Steve Scalise and Yahoo News' own national security and investigations reporter Jenna McLaughlin join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman. They challenge Scalise on hot topics like immigration and impeachment while McLaughlin fills us in on her scoop about the US Cyber Command launching a strike against an Iranian spy group. The announcement that Mueller will testify, the citizenship census question, and Trump's most recent sexual assault accuser - E. Jean Carroll - are all on the table as well in this episode.

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The Back Channel Jun 21, 2019

Former US Ambassador William Burns, now president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace after a thirty-three-year diplomatic career, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode. They discuss his vast work with foreign entities such as Russia and Iran, everything that went right and wrong, and what he thinks of the current state of foreign affairs. In addition, Yahoo News' own Alex Nazaryan talks about his new book, The Best People, which focuses on those who have come and gone in the Trump administration.

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Buried Treasure: "The Forever Prisoner" Jun 18, 2019

Ramzi Kassem, a professor of law at the City University of New York, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to discuss his work defending Guantánamo Bay detainees. Kassem is currently working to shine a light on detainees who have been imprisoned without ever being convicted of a crime, such as his client Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alawi, who was classified as a “forever prisoner” in 2010 despite never being convicted because he was considered too dangerous to be released. Intelligence analysts allege that he was once a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden.

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Pod Save America's Tommy Vietor Jun 14, 2019

Tommy Vietor, former spokesperson for President Obama and the US National Security Council turned Podcaster (Pod Save America) joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman. They discuss Trump's comments about excepting political dirt from a foreign government, his attack's on the intel community and why we no longer talk about national security issues like drones. Then co-hosts of the podcast Words Matter, Joe Lockhart and Katie Barlow jump in to comment on the state of impeachment, court fights over subpoenas, as well as executive privilege.

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Buried Treasure: A Liberal's Lament Jun 11, 2019

Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel, former diplomat and now author, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Buried Treasure. vanden Heuvel was assistant to US AG Robert F. Kennedy, US Ambassador to the European of the United Nations, has been Chairman of the Roosevelt Institute, and is a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He's seen and done it all. They discuss his lengthy resume through fascinating personal accounts as well as his thoughts on the current presidency.

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Michael Wolff's Fake News Jun 07, 2019

Michael Wolff, author of Siege: Trump Under Fire -joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to discuss is most recent effort. Our guest is pushed hard on what is fact and what is fiction in his latest book as well as where he comes up with these damning claims. Then, the hosts of the popular podcast Mueller She Wrote let us know where they stand after Mueller has called it a day and what's in store for the ladies moving forward.

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Sex, Spies, and Bank Account Lies May 31, 2019

David Enrich - New York Times Financial Editor and Emily Brandwin - former CIA Operations Officer join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery. Trump's dealings with Deutsche Bank and what it's like to be a "spy" in the CIA are all discussed alongside Mike and Dan's thoughts on Mueller's final public statement.

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Buried Treasure: The Lessons of Iran-contra May 28, 2019

Richard Arenberg, a Senator George Mitchell staff member in the mid-to-late 80's and now Senior Fellow in International and Public Affairs at the Watson Institute, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery's Buried Treasure. The group discuss the almost now forgotten Iran-Contra affair and the stark contrast to how Congress operated back then vs. how it does during the current presidential investigations of today.

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Assange and the Rabble-Rouser May 24, 2019

Rep. Steve Cohen and Yahoo's DC Bureau Chief Sharon Weinberger join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of Skullduggery. Weinberger helps breakdown the recent bombshell indictment of Julian Assange and what that could mean for the future of news organizations, journalists, and the First Amendment. Then Congressman Cohen, who's leading the charge for impeachment of the President, discusses next steps as well as the origins of that now infamous chicken he put in Bill Barr's place in the hearing room.

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Buried Treasure: The Fight Over Fortas May 21, 2019

Michael Bobelian, author of Battle for the Marble Palace joins Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of Skullduggery's Buried Treasure. The discuss the legacy of Abe Fortas, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1965 to 1969, how he's affected modern day politics, as well as his lasting effects on the Supreme Court.

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The Candidate and the Ghostwriter May 17, 2019

Seth Moulton - a 2020 Presidential Candidate and Charlie Leerhsen - President Trump's former ghostwriter join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Skullduggery. The Moulton discussion covers National Security, impeachment of Trump, and why a moderate and former Marine with three Harvard degrees should be the next Commander-in-Chief. Then, Leerhsen lets us behind the curtain during a time period that saw Trump lose over a billion dollars while the two of them put together a follow-up book to his best seller, The Art of the Deal.

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F.B.I. Confidential May 15, 2019

Jim Baker, former government official at the DOJ who served as general counsel for the F.B.I. joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to discuss his time spent at the Bureau. They cover James Comey, Rod Rosenstein, The Steele Dossier, Trump, and Fisa Warrents. Who should we believe? What's the current state of the F.B.I. with the public, and would he testify if asked in regards to the President? All this and more.

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From Rashida with Love May 10, 2019

Rep. Rashida Tlaib and chief White House correspondent for The New York Times Peter Baker join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this edition. Tlaib weighs in on impeachment proceedings, the Trump Administration, immigration, and Israel-Palestine. As for Baker, he discusses what the differences are between covering an Obama Administration vs. the current. It's a feisty episode - buckle up.

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Mueller vs Barr May 03, 2019

Rep. Jamie Raskin, member of the House Judiciary Committee, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to discuss Attorney General Bill Barr's testimony in front of the Senate as well as his "no-show" in front of the House. Will this be the straw that breaks the House's back resulting in a push for Impeachment of not only the President, but also Barr himself? Did Barr commit a crime by lying to Congress? Aren't Mueller and Barr friends? Probably not anymore.

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Buried Treasure: Crack in the White House Apr 30, 2019

Krissy Clark, host of The Uncertain Hour Podcast which takes a look inside America's drug war, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman. They relive the now infamous "crack speech" given by then President George H.W. Bush his first year in office. A sting operation, later found out to be set up from the inside, was used as an opportunity to politicize the war on drugs and a young high schooler - Keith Jackson - paid quite the price for it.

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Mueller's Hidden Nuggets Apr 26, 2019

Shane Harris - Senior National Security writer at the Washington Post, as well as Paul Rosenzweig - Senior Fellow, National Security & Cybersecurity at R Street join co-hosts Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman and Yahoo's WH Correspondent Hunter Walker. Now that everyone has had the opportunity to comb through the Mueller Report, the Skullduggery crew analyze as well as reveal hidden nuggets that could easily turn out to be important pieces in the potential impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

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Mueller Madness Apr 19, 2019

Ty Cobb, former White House Lawyer for the Trump administration as well as April Doss, former senior minority counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman. The Mueller Report, which has finally been made public, is on the docket and we get everyone's reaction. From Trump to Russia and all the characters in between. What's been made more clear? And what new questions have emerged?

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AOC unfiltered Apr 15, 2019

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sat down with co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman for a wide ranging, hourlong interview. She weighed in on 2020, impeachment, Israel, Amazon, and her first months in Congress. The congressional rising star also shared her Game of Thrones predictions and answered one of the most controversial questions in her district ---- Yankees or Mets?

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The Assange Conspiracy Apr 13, 2019

Bob Litt, Former General Counsel, Director of National Intelligence joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to discuss all things Julian Assange as Litt was working for the Obama Administration when they decided at the time to not charge Assange. Then, Stuart Taylor enters the conversation to talk about the surprising case of Greg Craig, former White House counsel under Obama, and his indictment due to ties with Paul Manafort.

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Buried Treasure: The China plots - then and now Apr 09, 2019

Mark Hosenball joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to reminisce about all the real life Chinese spy characters from the 90's as the current administration tries to get to the bottom of the bizarre case of Yujing Zhang, the Chinese woman who snuck on to President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, resort Mar-a-Lago.

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Bonus Episode: The Mueller mystery Apr 06, 2019

The Mueller Report -- here we wait again. As the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler makes it clear that he won't settle for anything less than the entire un-redacted version of the report, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman discuss how things will look if it turns out Bill Barr was indeed covering up and protecting the President. They also dive into Michael Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, and his last ditch effort to buy more time for his client.

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Preet Bharara "Doing Justice" Apr 03, 2019

Preet Bharara, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode. They discuss his infamous "non-phone call" to Donald Trump, his brand new book Doing Justice, how the President gets away with lying, and his theories on why Mueller punted and what the ramifications would be if Bill Barr was found to have been hiding anything due to his short summery of the Mueller Report.

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Trump’s "Ridiculous Bullshit" Mar 29, 2019

George Papadopoulos, Glenn Greenwald, and Ben Wittes are all a part of this packed episode of Skullduggery. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman analyze the fallout of the Bill Barr Mueller Report summery even further alongside Wittes, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Then Greenwald joins to talk about journalists from various outlets possibly misleading the public with their coverage of the Russia scandal. Then, excerpts from Isikoff's exclusive one-on-one interview with Papadopoulos from Politics and Prose bookstore in DC in front of a live audience, help paint a clearer picture of what actually did, or didn't happen, to the man who started it all.

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Buried Treasure: Sandra Day O'Connor Mar 26, 2019

Author Evan Thomas joins Buried Treasure to recount the life of America's first female Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O'Connor. She's the subject of his new book, "First," which is an intimate, inspiring, and authoritative biography. Alongside co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman, they discuss key points in her career as well as her influence.

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Bonus Episode: Mueller’s Punt Mar 25, 2019

Michael Isikoff and Danial Klaidman discuss the fallout from the release of Bill Barr's summery of the Mueller Report. Does this leave us with more questions than answers? There was no collusion found, yet Mueller doesn't exonerate President Trump on obstruction of justice. Check out this bonus episode of Skullduggery.

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Kushner’s charmed life Mar 22, 2019

Author Vicky Ward and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren join as guests alongside co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to discuss Jared Kushner and the pending Mueller Report respectively. Ward penned the new book Kushner, Inc where she fills in all the details of Jared's past, the rise to his current status, and where it all might have gone wrong. Lofgren, a member of the Judiciary Committee and someone who's worked through two presidential impeachments, let's us know what exactly she things their plan of attack should be in regards to Trump moving forward pre and post Mueller report.

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Buried Treasure: The Donald J. Trump Twitter Library Mar 18, 2019

Roy Wood Jr., correspondent from Comedy Central's The Daily Show, joins Skullduggery's Buried Treasure live from SXSW and the site of The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman fill you in on the museum-like experience as they recall the first time the President ever tweeted and how it has changed politics forever.

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Bannon unbound Mar 15, 2019

Alison Klayman and Marie Therese Guirgis, the Director and Producer respectively of the upcoming documentary film The Brink, fill you in on all you need to know about their "behind the curtain" documentary on polarizing figure Steve Bannon. Then George Shipley, an Austin, TX based political consultant, joins the discussion to weigh in on Beto'mania in the wake of O'Rourke's announcement to run for President in 2020.

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Buried Treasure: So much for those thwarted terror plots Mar 09, 2019

Charlie Savage of the New York Times joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on Buried Treasure to discuss the surveillance kerfuffle during Obama's time in office. The previously unknown gathering of data and surveillance, while spying on American's phone records, was explained to the public as a necessary tool in order to thwart terror plots.

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Weld’s case against Trump Mar 08, 2019

Presidential hopeful and former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to discuss why he's throwing his hat in the ring for 2020, how he really feels about our current president, why he's running as a Republican this time around, and where he'd like to take the party moving forward. They also talk about the extraordinary situation in 1988 where Weld, alongside some of his former colleagues at the DOJ, quit because of their mounting concern over the legal problems and leadership of Attorney General Edwin Meese.

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Buried Treasure: I told you so Mar 04, 2019

Daryl Johnson, intelligence analyst working for several federal agencies for nearly 20 years, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman to talk about his now infamous report about DHS Right-Wing Extremism. The leak and its aftermath of the report have had an adverse effect on homeland security, a threat still largely ignored in many circles today.

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The worst version of himself Mar 01, 2019

Congressman Jamie Raskin, member of the house oversight committee, joins co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this week's episode of Skullduggery. They discuss everything that took place during the Michael Cohen public hearing from why he believes campaign finance charges aren't grounds for impeachment to emoluments as well as Trump's tax returns to whether or not Cohen is now a credible witness. Raskin also answers the question, " Will we ever get to see the Mueller Report."

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Inside the Trump International Hotel Feb 22, 2019

Zach Everson and Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia join this week's episode of Skullduggery to discuss what really goes on in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. as well as the what the congressman learned about migration fresh off a trip from South America and if we'll ever get to see the President's taxes. Yahoo's own Hunter Walker fills in as co-host alongside Michael Isikoff.

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The real legal peril Feb 15, 2019

Mimi Rocah and Joon Kim, two former Southern District of New York prosecutors dissect the office's investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization alongside co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman.

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Buried Treasure: The extortion files, from Letterman to Bezos Feb 11, 2019

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman re-examine the 2009 David Letterman extortion attempt and discuss how Jeff Bezos took a page out of his playbook when it came to his own blackmail dealings recently with AMI.

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Zucked Feb 08, 2019

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman welcome former Legal Adviser to the State Department, Harold Koh, to discuss his recently published "Reader's Guide for the 25th Amendment" and its possible application to the current President. Then, early investor in Facebook and Managing Director of Elevation Partners, Roger McNamee, joins the show to discuss the fallout from the social media giant which he details in great depth throughout the course of his new book, Zucked.

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Buried Treasure: "Kennedy was drinking?" Feb 04, 2019

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with Yahoo's own Jon Ward, author of the new book, Camelot's End: Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight that Broke the Democratic Party. They take a deep dive into a time from the past that is quickly becoming relative today's 2020 presidential climate. Will Trump have to face off against some from his "own party" in order to seek re-election?

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Coulter and Corsi: The deplorables edition Feb 01, 2019

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman welcome on-again off-again Trump supporter Ann Coulter as she dishes on the president, the immigration issue and the 2020 election. Then, Jerome Corsi, a potential key witness in the Mueller Investigation joins to discuss his current relationship with Roger Stone.

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Buried Treasure: Operation Cobra Jan 28, 2019

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by the man who broke some incredible news changing history and what we thought we knew in regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis. That man is Yahoo's own Sean Naylor. The author of Operation Cobra: The untold story of how a CIA officer trained a network of agents who found the Soviet missiles in Cuba.

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Bonus Episode: Stone cold lies Jan 26, 2019

In this bonus episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman break down the fallout from the Roger Stone indictment. They also recall specific moments from their interview with Randy Credico in which they all but predicted a month ago exactly what just took place. And what will come of the Trump-Russia scenario now that a key linchpin, one might think, has been brought in? Dog threats, Wikileaks, and Godfather impressions are abound.

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The Power of Vice Jan 25, 2019

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman welcome two filmmakers to the podcast. First up is journalist and director of the up-coming HBO documentary Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists Jonathan Alter for a discussion about the latest developments in the Trump-Russia story including the Buzzfeed article that got everyone rilled up. Then writer, director, and comedian Adam McKay joins to talk about his freshly Oscar-nominated film Vice as they take a deep dive into its subject matter and what influenced his particular take on Vice President Dick Cheney. (Spoiler Alert)

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Buried Treasure: Out of the closet 60 years too late Jan 21, 2019

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman interview author Peter Shinkle about his book Ike’s Mystery Man: The Secret Lives of Robert Cutler. The book focuses on The Cold War, The Lavender Scare and the Untold ?Story of Eisenhower's First National Security Advisor who oversaw the drafting of Eisenhower's Executive Order 10450 which charged the heads of federal agencies and the Office of Personnel Management, supported by the FBI, with investigating federal employees to determine whether they posed security risks due to homosexuality. Cutler himself would later be discovered as a closeted gay.

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Governing from chaos Jan 18, 2019

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman welcome US Senators Klobuchar of Minnesota and Whitehouse of Rhode Island as they discuss joint topics including the Bill Barr confirmation hearing, Trump's relationship with Russia and if he's a threat to National Security, the Mueller Investigation, and when they think the Government Shutdown will end. In addition, Klobuchar talks potential presidential bid while Whitehouse wants answers to Trump's overseas business deals.

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Buried Treasure: "This is not a drill" Jan 14, 2019

In this episode of Buried Treasure, Michael Isikoff is joined by Yahoo's own national security and investigations reporter Jenna McLaughlin as they discuss the events of the false ballistic missile alert issued one year ago via the Emergency Alert System and Commercial Mobile Alert System over television, radio, and cellphones in the US state of Hawaii.

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Hiding in almost plain sight Jan 11, 2019

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman bring in Ben Wittes, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution to discuss the latest with Rod Rosenstein and the Russia investigation. Then Ali Soufan, former FBI agent who was involved in a number of high-profile anti-terrorism cases both in the US and around the world, joins as he's in DC to show support for the memory of Jamal Khashoggi and speak on the 100th day after his murder.

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Buried Treasure: Elusive Prague meetings-- then and now Jan 07, 2019

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman recall the alleged Mohamed Atta meeting in Prague post 9/11 in light of the recent McClatchy story claiming Michael Cohen too had a secret meeting in Prague during Trump's Presidential campaign. What is it about Prague and why are people so quick to accept the reporting in these cases?

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The Russian money laundering probe about to hit Trump Jan 04, 2019

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Congressman Eric Swalwell. They discuss the shift in power in government, a potential money laundering probe, the saudis, the reaction to Tlaib, and finally his plans to run for president. Then Yahoo's own Jon Ward get involved with his perspective on the recent Romney Op Ed and how his Republican colleagues feel about it.

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"Who's the sucker now? Dec 28, 2018

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by General John Allen who is the current president of the Brookings Institution, retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, and former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces - Afghanistan. They discuss the recent removal of US Troops from Syria, the possible impact it could have, and the President's first trip into a war zone.

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Michael Flynn: Not yet free despite plea Dec 21, 2018

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by both Matt Miller and Sol Wisenberg. Miller served as the Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the DOJ under AG Eric Holder and Wisenberg has more than two decades of experience as lead counsel in complex federal white collar crime investigations and jury trials. The group react to the recent Flynn sentencing hearing and talk through the various scenarios of what will happen when the Mueller investigation eventually comes to a close.

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Randy Credico: "I was drunk when I texted Roger Stone" Dec 17, 2018

In this bonus interview for Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with activist, comedian, and former radio host Randy Credico, who happens to be a critical witness in the Roger Stone investigation. Fresh from being grilled by the Mueller team, Credico and his dog Bianca (who was also in the Grand Jury room) fill us in on the latest surrounding the case.

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Trump's Pecker Problem Dec 14, 2018

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman react to the Cohen sentencing and bring in Yahoo's own Hunter Walker who recently spent some time on the phone with Trump's now personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, we get to listen in. Then, Neal Katyal, former Solicitor General during the Obama Administration joins the conversation as they dig through the constitutional ramifications of the situation. And finally, a key witness in the Mueller Investigation in regards to Roger Stone, Randy Credico (and his dog Bianca), jump in to talk about his recent time spent with prosecutors.

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Buried Treasure: William Barr is in for a penny, in for a pound? Dec 12, 2018

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman recall the Iran Contra affairs, President Bush's pardons of those involved, and the man who pushed for said pardons, William Barr, who happens to be the newly appointed Attorney General chosen by our current President Donald Trump. Will Barr push for pardons yet again for those already indicted and those who may become indicted in the current Mueller probe?

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Bonus Episode: The Return of Bill Barr Dec 08, 2018

In this special bonus episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman discuss the recently released Mueller Filings in regards to Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort. Then the two are joined by Tim Flanigan, former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel when Bill Barr was the Attorney General. He weighs in on the matter having worked with both newly appointed Attorney General Bill Barr and current head of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

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The Rise and Spectacular Fall of Roger Ailes Dec 07, 2018

In this episode, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a deep dive into the life and times of the most powerful man in media one could argue, Roger Ailes. They are joined by documentarian and film maker Alexis Bloom who's latest project is "Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes." He's the man most commonly known for creating Fox News, but that's just scratching the service. Michael and Dan also tease the upcoming Mueller Memos and a special weekend edition of the Podcast.

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Buried Treasure: The Story that got George Bush wrong Dec 05, 2018

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman recall the infamous October 19th, 1987 George H.W. Bush cover of Newsweek that said, Fighting the 'Wimp Factor.' The two are joined by the man responsible for inserting the wimp, Evan Thomas. He's here to let everyone know that he got it wrong and to tell us some fun interesting stories about his time covering our 41st President.

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"The cover-up unravels?" Nov 30, 2018

In this episode, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, President Trump's former Campaign Manager and Deputy Campaign Manager respectively. They discuss who they believe to be "Trump's Enemies," also the name of their new book, as well as the recent guilty plea by Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen in regards to the Moscow Tower Deal. Then Yahoo's own Hunter Walker reacts to said conversation bringing some revealing insight into the conversation.

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Buried Treasure: Breach of decorum Nov 29, 2018

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman look back upon Barack Obama's 2010 State of the Union Address which became memorable when Judge Alito shook his head after the President criticized the Supreme Court for their ruling on Citizens United. Flash forward to present day, President Trump takes aim at the 9th Circuit Court calling every case "an automatic loss for the administration" due to "Obama Judges." Former Newsweek Legal Affairs Editor David Kaplan joins and weighs in on the controversies both then and now.

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"Impeachment rethought Nov 23, 2018

In this episode, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee to discuss the Articles of Impeachment he put forth against the President previously as well as what the Democrats' upcoming plan is now that they have control of the House. Then one half of the popular podcast "Words Matter," Elise Jordan, joins to talk about what's going on in Mississippi and her thoughts on The White House Correspondents' Association shelving its tradition of having a comedian roast the president and the press corps at its annual fundraising dinner.

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"I don't feel comfortable being a Republican anymore” Nov 16, 2018

In this episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down for an exclusive and highly sought after interview with George T. Conway III, husband to the Counselor of the President, Kellyanne Conway. No stranger to speaking out against President Trump, he fills us in on the goals of his recently formed coalition entitled Checks and Balances, why he's no longer a registered Republican, his reaction to being called "Mr. Kellyanne Conway" by the President, and what he'd do if Trump was re-elected in 2020. No stone is left unturned.

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Buried Treasure: "Florida Deja Vu" Nov 13, 2018

In this episode of Buried Treasure, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman relive the 2000 Presidential Election through the experience of the Florida recount. Well, we're back down in Florida again post midterms because there are once again races too close to call. The two discuss who was involved back then and will be again this go around. Hanging Chad anyone?

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Bonus Episode: The Crisis at Justice Nov 09, 2018

In this special bonus episode of Skullduggery, co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman, alongside Justice & Security Analyst Matt Miller, discuss the fallout from the Jeff Sessions firing and what possible scenarios may come in its wake. Was this the plan all along? Who is Trump's new acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker? And is he here to stay? All of this just days after the midterms.

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Ready to Rumble Nov 08, 2018

Now that the United States has been left with a divided Government post-midterm elections, co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman discuss the possible scenarios the two sides will take moving forward. They also breakdown the results with pollster and chief strategist to the Democrats Joel Benenson to find out what went right and what went wrong. Then national security and investigations reporter and latest member of the Yahoo News team Jenna McLaughlin joins the pod to discuss the U.S. intelligence community's catastrophic and crippling failure resulting in dozens of deaths.

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"Shamelessness is the new super power" Nov 02, 2018

With the midterm elections now days away, co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down for a rare interview with New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Maureen Dowd to discuss the scare tactics used by the Republican Party in an attempt to perpetuate fear in voters. Additionally, political consultant and pundit Hilary Rosen joins the conversation a we take a last minute look into what we can expect on November 6th.

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Buried Treasure: “From Oklahoma City to Pittsburgh: The lurid unreality of hate in America” Oct 30, 2018

After the horrific event that took place at the synagogue in Pittsburgh over the weekend, co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman discuss the Oklahoma City Bombing of 1995 as well as the broader cultural extremist moment of the time: militias, Waco, and Ruby Ridge while examining the stark similarities of past events to those of today. Some key differences do exist which they also shed light upon in this episode of Buried Treasure.

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"The fish does stink from the head down" Oct 26, 2018

Donald Trump's communication and relationship with the media is like no other. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with former 10-day, although he would argue 11, White House Director of Communications Anthony 'The Mooch' Scaramucci about his brief tenure in the role as the middle man. Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker joins in reaction to the conversation with "the Mooch" and we get an update on the midterm elections via Yahoo News West Coast Correspondent Andrew Romano.

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Buried Treasure: “Everyday when I go into my car, i think it’s going to blow up” Oct 24, 2018

As more details of Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder emerge, co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman examine another recent time when the Saudi government went after another U.S.-based Saudi dissident. It was June 2015 and WikiLeaks released more that 60,000 cables from inside the Saudi Foreign Ministry. The leaks of the cables didn’t attract much news coverage at the time, but one cable has an eerie new relevance since Khashoggi’s murder. The cable involved U.S.-based Saudi dissident, Ali al-Ahmed, who became a target of the Saudi government. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with Ali Al-Ahmed about his harrowing experience as the Saudi government attempted to neutralize Ahmed with a years-long campaign against him and his family.

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Murder, Inc. Oct 19, 2018

As more and more questions about the disappearance and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi go unanswered, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak withThe Washington Post’s Shane Harris and former national counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke about the Khashoggi story and how it affects U.S.-Saudi Arabia relations.

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Buried Treasure: The Saudi influence in Washington, DC Oct 16, 2018

U.S. and Saudi Arabia relations are being tested after the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman examine the close relationship that Saudi Arabia has with politics in the nation’s capital and the interesting lobbying tactics the Saudis used when they recruited U.S. military veterans to pressure Congress to get rid of a new law.

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What happened to Jamal Khashoggi? Oct 12, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman discuss all the latest news from this week. They first break down the mysterious disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and talk to Khaled Saffori, a longtime friend of Khashoggi who saw him right before he left for Turkey. They also speak with The Washington Post national security correspondent Greg Miller about his new book, “The Apprentice” and the latest in the Russia investigation as well as author David Kaplan about his latest book on the Supreme Court and Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s first week on the job.

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Buried Treasure: “The Front Runner” Oct 08, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with award-winning director Jason Reitman, Yahoo News national political columnist Matt Bai and political strategist Jay Carson to discuss their new movie, “The Front Runner.” The movie is is based Matt Bai’s book, “All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid” and stars Hugh Jackman as the 1988 Democratic presidential front-runner Gary Hart.

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Tickling the wire Oct 05, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with author Mark Urban about his new book, “The Skripal Files.” They discuss everything about Sergei Skripal, the ex-Russian spy poisoned in the United Kingdom, and find out with new details from Dan Hoffman, the former CIA station chief in Moscow. Isikoff and Klaidman also break down the latest news out of the Kavanaugh Supreme Court battle with Asha Rangappa.

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"Hot for teacher" Sep 28, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk to with Rob Goldstone, the British publicist who set up the infamous Trump Tower meeting, about his new book and what exactly went down in Vegas and Russia with Donald Trump. They also discuss the latest in the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation battle with Yahoo News Chief National Correspondent Lisa Belkin.

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Buried Treasure: Juanita Broaddrick Redux Sep 25, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman go back and reexamine the story of Juanita Broaddrick. She made headlines in the 1999 after she alleged that then President Bill Clinton had sexually assaulted her in 1978 in Arkansas. Isikoff and Klaidman speak with Lois Romano, who was a reporter at the Washington Post in 1999 and helped break Braoddrick’s story to the world.

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Loud threats and bitter menaces Sep 21, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman recently went down to Austin, Texas for the Online News Association’s annual conference and recorded a special edition of Skullduggery in front of a live audience. The topic — Fake News and the Fourth Estate: How history will rate this media moment. It was enlightening conversation featuring an esteemed panel of guests including presidential historian and author Doug Brinkley, CEO of the LBJ Foundation and presidential historian Mark Updegrove, and former news executive and current CEO of the Civil Foundation, Vivian Schiller. The co-hosts also chat with Yahoo News national political columnist Matt Bai about the latest in Kavanaugh Supreme Court battle.

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Buried Treasure: Deja vu all over again Sep 19, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman recall the Supreme Court confirmation battle of Clarence Thomas. It was 1991 and Thomas’ confirmation was halted after Anita Hill came forward and accused him of sexual harassment. The co-hosts chat with ABC News’ Terry Moran, who at the time of the Hill-Thomas hearings was a legal reporter with Klaidman, and discuss how it is similar and different to what’s happening in Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process.

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Abuse of power Sep 14, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk to Kenneth Starr about his latest book, “Contempt” and whether or not he thinks Congress should censure President Trump. They also discuss the most interesting takeaways from Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear,” and talk to Yahoo News contributor, Luppe B. Luppen, about the latest developments in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

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Buried Treasure: The other anonymous Sep 12, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a look back at another time when an anonymous writer made news in the political world. It was back in 1996 and the political novel “Primary Colors,” written by Anonymous, hit the bookshelves. Isikoff and Klaidman were at Newseek and one of their colleagues ended up in the middle of the mystery as everyone tried to figure out the book’s author. The co-hosts chat columnist Jonathan Alter about what happened as pursued the identity of that anonymous author.

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What if the president is deranged? Sep 07, 2018

It’s been a pretty crazy week from the nation’s capital. Just as Skullduggery prepared to discuss the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the release of Bob Woodward’s book sent the White House into defense mode, only to be followed by an anonymous op-ed in the New York Times, written by a senior official in the administration. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman break all the weeks news down with Congressman Jamie Raskin, Boyden Gray and Ron Klain.

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Buried Treasure: “Robert Bork’s America” — the speech that doomed a Supreme Court nominee Sep 05, 2018

As another conservative nominee undergoes a Supreme Court confirmation fight, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman rewind to the Supreme Court nomination of conservative judge Robert Bork in 1987 and the memorable speech by a Massachusetts senator who helped sink Bork’s chances at a seat on the highest court.

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Active Measures Aug 31, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with Jack Bryan and Marley Clements, the director and co-writer/producer of a new documentary called “Active Measures.” The documentary examines the links between Trump and Russia — an in-depth look at Vladimir Putin, the money-laundering deals with organized crime, and the meetings between Trump officials and Russian contacts. The hosts also speak with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who appears in the movie, about the latest in the Russia investigation and whether he is going to make a run at the Democratic nomination for president.

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Buried Treasure: John McCain and the Caesar torture photos Aug 28, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman pay tribute to Sen. John McCain. They recount the story of a 2014 Isikoff interview with McCain where the two discussed the Caesar torture photos from Syria. Mouaz Moustafa joins the co-hosts to discuss how McCain drew a strong moral line and became a champion against this torture.

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Omarosa and Coulter and Davis, Oh my! Aug 24, 2018

During a busy week of news, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman have a jam-packed episode. Skullduggery chats with attorney Lanny Davis about the latest with his client, Michael Cohen, plus Omarosa Manigault Newman and Ann Coulter about their new books and everything Trump.

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An inside look at the intelligence community, Russia and the mystery of magic Aug 17, 2018

While at the Aspen Security Forum a few weeks ago, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sat down with John McLaughlin, former Deputy Director of the CIA and Acting Director of the CIA, to discuss what’s going on in the intelligence community, Trump dealing with Putin’s Russia and the best tricks of his magic career.

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What’s really going on in U.S.-Russia relations? Aug 10, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with two guests who have some very interesting insights into this very question. The Atlantic’s Natasha Bertrand recently exposed how the Department of Homeland Security is detaining Russian dissidents in the U.S. based on phony red notices and Samantha Vinograd is a former member of President Obama’s National Security Council who worked closely on the aborted Russian reset policy.

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The impeachment election Aug 03, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidmain sit down with former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg, who despite being fired by Trump four times, is working one more time to help President Trump in this year’s congressional elections. What’s his new plan and why does he keep going back to Trump world?

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“Who is minding the store?” Jul 25, 2018

It’s a Skullduggery first as co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sat down with a former member of the Trump administration, Tom Bossert, for an interview from the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colo. Bossert served as President Trump’s first Homeland Security adviser until he was pushed out in April 2018. Isikoff and Klaidman also caught up Bill Browder in Aspen to get the full story on how he became Vladimir Putin’s bete noire.

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Buried Treasure: A Trump adviser, a Yahoo News story and an FBI secret warrant Jul 24, 2018

Over the weekend, co-host Michael Isikoff found one of his stories from September of 2016 back in the news as the FBI released more than 400 pages of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act documents relating to Carter Page. Isikoff and co-host Dan Klaidman revisit the story and why another one of Isikoff’s story has once again appeared in one of these documents.

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The Trump mystery: Pathology or kompromat Jul 20, 2018

Skullduggery is on the road at the Aspen Security Forum at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Victoria Nuland, former Assistant Secretary of Sate for European and Eurasian Affairs, to discuss the latest news from this fascinating forum, the fallout from the Trump/Putin Helsinki summit and the possibility of a second meeting between the two leaders.

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Buried Treasure: Obama’s hot mic moment with a Russian president Jul 15, 2018

As President Trump prepares to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman look back at President Obama’s infamous open mic moment in 2012 with another Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev.

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The battle over Kavanaugh Jul 13, 2018

As Congress gears up for Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation battle, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Timothy Flanigan and Nan Aron to discuss Trump’s Supreme Court pick and the upcoming confirmation hearings. Flanigan is a former deputy White House counsel during the early years of the Bush administration and worked with Kavanaugh and Nan Aron currently serves as the president of the Alliance for Justice.

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Buried Treasure: “Here ruining people is considered sport” Jul 07, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman rewind back to July 1993 when deputy White House counsel Vince Foster was found dead in a park in Northern Virginia. A torn-up suicide note was found in his briefcase that said, “Here ruining people is considered sport.” Foster’s suicide spawned conspiracy theories that he had been murdered. But those conspiracy theories were debunked in a report written by a young lawyer working for Whitewater independent counsel Ken Starr. That lawyer, who later became a judge, is now on President Trump’s list of Supreme Court nominees: Brett Kavanaugh.

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“Finish it the hell up” Jul 06, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Phil Lacovara, the former counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor, about Robert Mueller’s months-long Russia investigation. Isikoff and Klaidman also speak with Dan Pfieffer, former communications director under President Obama, about the insidious role he sees Fox News playing in President Trump’s White House. Yahoo News National Correspondent Alex Nazaryan also drops by to discuss Trump’s possible U.S. Supreme Court justice pick.

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Buried Treasure: How a few tokes changed history Jul 03, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman rewind to the Reagan era to discuss how Judge Douglas Ginsburg’s Supreme Court nomination was derailed, and how it ultimately led to the nomination of Justice Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court. Isikoff and Klaidman talk about how decisions on hot-button issues such as abortion and gay marriage may have looked differently if Ginsburg had been appointed instead of Kennedy.

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Before their rear end hits the chair Jun 29, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Ron Klain, a Washington, D.C. lawyer and veteran of Democratic administrations, to discuss how Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement impacts the balance of the Supreme Court. Isikoff and Klaidman also talk with David Sanger, a New York Times national security correspondent and senior writer, about the upcoming summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Buried Treasure: Unindicted co-conspirators Jun 26, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman rewind back to the Watergate saga to examine the indictment of seven Nixon aides on charges of conspiracy on Watergate. There was also an unindicted co-conspirator in the case that was kept from the public— President Nixon himself. Why was he unindicted and why was it kept secret? Isikoff and Klaidman discuss these questions and what this could mean for Mueller’s Russia investigation.

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Lying through their teeth Jun 22, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Jeh Johnson, former Secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration, to discuss the challenges he faced handling illegal immigration during his tenure and how it differs from the current administration’s policy. Isikoff and Klaidman also check in with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., about the latest in the Russia investigation.

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Buried Treasure: Seymour Hersh on breaking the biggest stories of our time Jun 19, 2018

Legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh sits down with co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman to talk about his new book, “Reporter: A Memoir” and gives behind-the-scenes accounts of breaking some of the most epic stories of our time.

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“We had a suspect” Jun 15, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to discuss his latest book, “Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence.” Clapper reveals to Isikoff and Klaidman that by the time he left office in Jan. 2017, intelligence officials were “pretty confident” that they had identified a suspect responsible for the hacked emails to WikiLeaks. Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker also joins the podcast to discuss the latest from the Trump White House and the big news on the president’s birthday.

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Buried Treasure: The press vs. the president Jun 12, 2018

After the news broke that federal prosecutors secretly seized emails and phone records from New York Times reporter Ali Watkins, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman examine other instances where this has happened in past administrations. They speak with The Intercept’s James Risen about his experience as a New York Times reporter when his records were seized by the Obama administration. Isikoff and Klaidman also sit down with Obama chief of public affairs Matt Miller, who was in the administration when they seized Risen’s records, to discuss why administrations use this tactic against journalists.

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What if we were wrong? Jun 08, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman discover the answer to this question when they speak with President Obama’s former deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, about his new book, “The World as It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House.” Isikoff and Klaidman also chat with J.D. Gordon, a former Trump adviser, who met with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team and described the Russia investigation as a “nightmare.”

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Buried Treasure: Can the president be indicted? Jun 05, 2018

As the debate continues about whether special counsel Robert Mueller can bring charges against President Trump, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman turn back the clock 20 years and discuss another time when the same debate was happening. Will Mueller use Ken Starr’s decisions as a guide for the current investigation?

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The President and his Princelings Jun 01, 2018

While President Trump is in delicate negotiations with China over trade and security, Ivanka Trump’s company has recently been granted seven trademarks by an arm of the Chinese government. Is there a connection? The president of Ivanka’s company says no. But these trademarks are raising questions from Washington watchdog groups. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk with Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at Brookings and chair of the government watchdog group CREW, about these developments. They also check in with Yahoo News White House correspondent Hunter Walker about his experience thus far covering the president.

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Trump's 'ridiculous' spy claim May 25, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with Avril Haines, former deputy director of the CIA and President Obama’s deputy national security adviser, in an exclusive interview about the U.S. government’s response to the early evidence of Russian meddling in American politics during the Obama administration. Isikoff and Klaidman also speak with lawyer and professor Alan Dershowitz about his defense of President Trump’s legal position and his criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

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Buried Treasure: The time the Chinese government tried to interfere in a U.S. presidential election May 22, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman recall the last time a foreign government attempted to meddle in a U.S. presidential election. It was back in 1996. Reuters investigative reporter Mark Hosenball joins Isikoff and Klaidman to recount the campaign finance scandal when the Chinese government, not Russia, interfered in the election between Republican candidate Bob Dole and Democratic candidate President Bill Clinton.

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“I believe you have some information for us” May 18, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman break down the latest news coming out of the Trump White House this week, starting with new insights into Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer on June 9, 2016. There was also a financial disclosure form from the President that lists a repaid debt of more than $100,000 to Trump’s embattled former attorney Michael Cohen. Finally, the Trump administration just abolished the job of the White House cyber czar. Isikoff and Klaidman speak with a former White House cyber coordinator, Michael Daniel and investigative reporter Mark Hosenball about all the latest developments this week.

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Buried Treasure: Proximity to power — The story of Michael Deaver May 15, 2018

Long before Michael Cohen made news for cashing in on his access to President Trump, there was Michael Deaver. Deaver was an aide to President Ronald Reagan and made the cover of Time magazine, with the headline: “Who’s this man calling?: Influence peddling in Washington.” Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman rewind to the 80s and the story of Michael Deaver and what his case may tell us about what could happen to Michael Cohen.

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I'm crushing it! May 11, 2018

It was a busy week in Washington. President Trump’s new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, declared during an interview that Trump wouldn’t have to comply with a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller. Gina Haspel, President Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA, appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee and faced tough questions about torture. Finally, it was revealed that Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, received millions from companies, after he sold them on the fact that he had direct access to the president. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman break all this news down with national security expert and University of Texas School of Law professor Stephen Vladeck and Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who blew the whistle on torture in the intelligence community.

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Buried Treasure: The drone strike controversy May 08, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a look back at the drone wars that began during the Obama administration and have continued during the Trump administration. Why isn’t anyone still talking about drone strikes? Isikoff and Klaidman discuss the issue of drone strikes in the Obama and Trump administrations and why the coverage of this issue has dwindled over the years.

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An Ex-CIA director's advice: Do not serve this president May 04, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with General Michael Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, to discuss the current challenges facing the intelligence community in President Trump’s administration as well as his new book, “The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies.” Isikoff and Klaidman also speak with New York Times Washington correspondent Michael Schmidt about his recent article that revealed special counsel Robert Mueller’s list of questions for President Trump.

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Skullduggery Live! Apr 27, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman host a new episode of the podcast in front of a live audience at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., joins the show to discuss the latest developments from the Senate Intelligence Committee’s ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. A panel of journalists also take the stage for an engaging conversation about the media’s coverage of the Russia investigation and answer questions from the audience.

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Buried Treasure: The pardon of Scooter Libby Apr 24, 2018

After the news broke of President Trump’s pardon of Scooter Libby, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a look back at the Scooter Libby trial with Peter Zeidenberg, one of the former prosecutors who brought the case against Libby. Zeidenberg talks about the decision to prosecute Libby in the first place, his reaction to Trump’s pardon, and what kind of message the president may be sending with this decision.

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With all due respect... Apr 20, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman examine the week’s news, starting with the “confusion” between U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley and President Trump over the announcement of new sanctions on Russia. They speak with Ambassador Daniel Fried, a former sanctions expert in the Obama administration, about these recent developments and the importance of sanctions against Russia. Klaidman and Isikoff also sit down with Adam Davidson of The New Yorker to discuss the latest developments in the Michael Cohen saga, including Davidson’s latest article on the subject, “Michael Cohen and the End State of the Trump Presidency.”

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Buried Treasure: The case of Michael Abbell and the Cali cartel Apr 17, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman rewind to the case of former Justice Department lawyer Michael Abbell who became an attorney for an infamous Colombian drug cartel and was soon accused of lobbying for the cartels in Washington. In 1995, he was indicted by federal prosecutors for his work with the Cali cartel. His case opened the door for federal prosecutors to investigate the conduct of defense lawyers and their communication with clients when the government had evidence of that crimes were committed. It’s a case that has new relevance as Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, continues to make news.

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The Comey blitzkrieg Apr 13, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with the former director of Public Affairs in the Obama Justice Department, Matt Miller, about former FBI Director James Comey’s upcoming new book and how it might affect the Trump administration. Randy Credico, comedian and friend of Roger Stone, also returns to the podcast to talk about the latest in the Russia investigation and whether or not he may be called to testify by the special counsel.

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Buried Treasure: President Johnson discovers Nixon’s Vietnam collusion Apr 10, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman head back to 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration discovered alarming intelligence that the Nixon’s presidential campaign had been secretly communicating with South Vietnam and its president, telling them to back out of a peace deal to end the Vietnam War. Isikoff and Klaidman discuss these events of 1968 and how that moment in history may echo the current reports of the Trump campaign’s contact with Russia.

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Brennan under attack Apr 06, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman catch up with former CIA station chief Daniel Hoffman about former CIA Director John Brennan’s recent Twitter attack against President Trump. Hoffman disagrees with his former boss and claims Brennan’s tweets only help Putin’s efforts to divide the country. Isikoff and Klaidman also talk with legal analyst Michael Zeldin about the latest developments in the Mueller investigation.

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Buried Treasure: MLK and J. Edgar Hoover — A former FBI agent’s unique insights into the feud between the two men Apr 04, 2018

Fifty years ago, on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., who preached nonviolent resistance to oppression and war, was shot to death in Memphis. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a look back at King’s relationship with J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI and speak to a former FBI agent with a unique perspective on the matter. Oliver “Buck” Revell was a young agent during the 1960s and had an unexpected, intimate meeting with Hoover where Hoover spoke with him at lenghth about King.

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Buried Treasure: The Starr Report Apr 03, 2018

After speaking with former independent counsel Ken Starr on the last Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman revisit the release of the Starr Report on this episode of Buried Treasure. The report was released almost 20 years ago, on September 11, 1998, and everyone was feverishly downloading it on their computers or running to get a copy. Isikoff and Klaidman discuss where they were and what they thought when they first read it. They also wonder if special counsel Mueller will release a report like the Starr Report when the Russia investigation is done.

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From Monica Lewinsky to Stormy Daniels: Ken Starr weighs in Mar 30, 2018

As the Mueller investigation continues to face criticism from the White House and rumors of possible pardons for two former White House aides made the rounds in the news this week, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Judge Ken Starr, a man who is very familiar with special counsel investigations and has faced tough criticism from a sitting president and the media. What does Judge Starr think of the Mueller investigation? Should the recent revelations about Stormy Daniels also be included in the investigation?

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Do Not Congratulate Mar 23, 2018

Co-hosts Dan Klaidman and Michael Isikoff discuss the week in White House controversy: President Trump’s penchant for typos, leaked briefing materials urging the president not to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his recent electoral victory and breaking news of John Dowd resigning his position as Trump’s lead lawyer for the special counsel investigation. Michael Isikoff interviews Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Evelyn Farkas, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia.

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Buried Treasure: A murdered spy’s widow speaks out against Putin Mar 16, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with Marina Litvinenko, the widow of murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, about the recent poisoning attack against Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the U.K. Litvinenko revealed to Skullduggery that after her husband’s death, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May promised this type of attack would never happen again. But, as the investigation continues into the attack on Skripal, it appears to Litvinenko that Putin has struck again.

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An Inside look at ‘Russian Roulette’ Mar 13, 2018

On a special edition of Skullduggery, Dan Klaidman sits down with his co-host Michael Isikoff and Mother Jones' David Corn in front of an audience at the Build Studios in New York for an interesting discussion of Isikoff and Corn’s new book, “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump.”

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Buried Treasure: Talking to the portraits Mar 12, 2018

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a look back at President Richard Nixon’s interesting habit of roaming the halls of the White House, “talking to the portraits” of the leaders who came before him, at the end of his troubled presidency. It is a story that was recounted in Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s book, “The Final Days,” about Nixon’s fall from office. Isikoff and Klaidman also discuss whether Nixon’s “talking to the portraits” reminds them in some ways of Trump’s habit of taking to Twitter to express his thoughts and frustrations with the current political climate.

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Who poisoned the Russian double agent in England? Mar 09, 2018

A failed assassination attempt on an ex-Russian spy and his daughter with a nerve agent in England is raising a lot of questions. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk to a former CIA agent, Daniel Hoffman, who arranged the swap that freed the former spy, to find out why he thinks this attack happened and who might have carried it out. They also check in with Randy Credico, a comedian who also is a friend of Roger Stone, and pleaded the fifth after he subpoenaed by the House Intel Committee in the Russia probe.

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The story of the 'illegals' -- the real Russian spies who inspired 'The Americans' Mar 06, 2018

Special counsel Robert Mueller recently announced the indictment of 13 Russian trolls who had developed a scheme to penetrate and influence the U.S. political system. After co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman heard these charges, it reminded them of another story of the Russian ‘illegals’ from the past — the real story of the Russian spies that inspired FX’s ‘The Americans.”

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The incredible shrinking Jared Kushner Mar 02, 2018

It was a week of turmoil in the Trump administration. Jared Kushner was stripped of his security clearance, White House communications director Hope Hicks resigned and President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions once again didn’t see eye to eye. Skullduggery co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk about all of these latest developments with Rep. Ted Lieu, D.-Calif., and National Review Institute senior fellow Andrew McCarthy.

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Buried Treasure: The time China hacked the 2008 presidential campaigns Feb 27, 2018

As the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election continues, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman dig up another time presidential campaigns were infiltrated by hackers. It happened ten years ago and Russia, although suspected, was not involved. The Skullduggery co-hosts recount their story of when the Chinese hacked into both the Obama and McCain campaigns back in 2008.

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The troll farm hiding in plain sight Feb 23, 2018

Co-hosts Mike Isikoff and Dan Klaidman examine the latest developments in the Russia investigation. Special counsel Robert Mueller recently revealed Russian trolls plotted information warfare against the United States. Where was the U.S. intelligence community while this was happening? Could Putin be an indicted co-conspirator in the case? Skullduggery talks to Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., about the status of the Russia investigation in the House Intelligence Committee and attorney Ken McCallion who brought a lawsuit against Paul Manafort that may have led to the latest charges by Mueller.

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Buried Treasure: The story of Warren Meddoff Feb 20, 2018

With over twenty years of reporting together, Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman have plenty of stories about old scandals lost to history and great anecdotes from their past. In this week’s premiere episode of Skullduggery’s Buried Treasure, Isikoff and Klaidman head back to the '90s and delve into the story of a man named Warren Meddoff, his role in the 1996 Clinton campaign finance scandal and the personal connection to one of the hosts.

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Michael Cohen's 'stormy' screwup Feb 16, 2018

Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman examine the latest legal screwups in Washington. Did Michael Cohen just put President Trump in potential legal jeopardy after he confirmed that he paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000? Isikoff and Klaidman speak with Larry Noble, former general counsel of the Federal Election Commission, about the legal implications of Cohen’s admission. They also speak with Lanny Davis, author of a new book, “The Unmaking of the President 2016: How FBI Director James Comey Cost Hillary Clinton the Presidency,” about the legal decisions made by Comey during the 2016 election.

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The FBI under siege Feb 09, 2018

Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a closer look at the recent political attacks on the FBI and what it means for the country’s premier law enforcement agency. They talk to Mike Rogers, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Don Robinson, an ex-FBI agent based in Moscow, to get their thoughts on the current state of the bureau, its relationship with the White House and how and if the FBI can bounce back.

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The spy, the reporter and the memo — the inside story Feb 02, 2018

Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman discuss the House Intelligence Committee’s release of the Nunes memo, which accuses the FBI of bias in the Russia investigation. Within the memo, Isikoff is prominently mentioned as a key player. How did Isikoff come to play such a starring role in this highly anticipated memo?

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Skullduggery Extra: Wait, there's more! Jan 26, 2018

Just after episode 3 of Yahoo News’ Skullduggery was recorded, the New York Times dropped their latest bombshell relating to the Russia investigation. The New York Times reported that President Trump ordered special counsel Robert Mueller to be fired last June but backed down after White House counsel Don McGahn threatened to resign. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman weigh in on the latest story and what it could possibly mean for the investigation moving forward.

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Who did you vote for? Jan 26, 2018

It’s been a busy week of news: Attorney General Jeff Sessions was recently questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, President Trump told reporters that he’s open to being interviewed by Mueller and the #ReleaseTheMemo trended on Twitter as Trump supporters demanded to know what’s in Republican Rep. Devin Nunes’ classified memo. Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk with Matt Miller, the former director of Public Affairs in the Obama Justice Department about all things related to the Russia investigation.

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Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on "The Post", President Trump and North Korea Jan 19, 2018

Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman sit down with author and whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, whom the White House once called “the most dangerous man in America,” after he leaked the Pentagon Papers exposing the American government’s lies about the Vietnam War. Ellsberg speaks with Skullduggery about the new hit movie, “The Post,” which centers around his leak of the Pentagon Papers, his thoughts on today’s whistleblowers Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, and whether President Trump’s war of words with North Korea could trigger a nuclear war.

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It was 20 years ago today – a look back at the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal Jan 12, 2018

In the debut episode of Skullduggery – a Yahoo News podcast and video series focused on Washington scandals in the Trump era and their impact on today's politics – co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman discuss the 20th anniversary of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, a story they famously covered for Newsweek. Their first guest is former United States attorney general Eric Holder who talks about where he was when the Lewinsky scandal broke, his thoughts on Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and he even jokes about being Oprah’s running mate in 2020.

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