THE OFFICIAL MEA CULPA WITH MICHAEL COHEN ARCHIVE

Latest Episodes:

Exclusive!!! Behind the Scenes as MC and Trump Go Head to Head + A Conversation with Stuart Stevens Oct 27, 2023

Show notes

Mea Culpa welcomes the Lincoln Project advisor Stuart Stevens. Regarded as one of the Republican Party’s most talented political gurus—a body of work that includes steering Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012—Stevens may also be the GOP’s most prominent defector when he abandoned his party as Trump rose to power. He despises the former president in a way that feels strikingly personal. While the Lincoln Project argues that Trump is perverting the Republican Party, Stevens doesn’t think Trump has perverted anything: Trump is the Republican Party, Stevens believes, and the Republican Party is Trump. Stuart believes there is no reclaiming his former party, it must be burned to the ground. Or to use a Vietnam-era metaphor, the Village must be destroyed in order to save it. Reflecting on a four-decade career in American politics, Stevens is convinced that Trump was not an aberrant zigzag. He was fate. “I saw a lot of this stuff, but I just chose to believe that this kind of dark side was the recessive gene, not the dominant one,” he says. “I was wrong.” Stevens joins Mea Culpa to discuss his fabulous new book “The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy.” The book is part memoir and part Jeremiad as Stevens unpacks how we are moving towards an autocratic end.

What Does Sidney Powell Have on Trump + A Conversation with David Corn Oct 23, 2023

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Mea Culpa welcomes back to the show, legendary newsman David Corn, the Washington DC Bureau Chief of Mother Jones, and an on-air analyst for MSMBC. Corn and Michael Isikoff “co-authored, “Russian Roulette, The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump”. He’s also the author of four New York Times best-selling books and was the long-time Washington editor for “The Nation”. For a good read, check out “Our Land” — his twice-weekly newsletter that covers everything from news of the day to entertainment, but all told in Corn’s no bullshit style. Corn has been published multiple times, but his latest bestseller,” American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy” is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding our unprecedented times. He joins us today amidst unprecedented dysfunction in American government as the GOP continues for a third week without a House speaker, paralyzed by infighting between moderate and extremist factions of the GOP. On top of this, former President Trump awaits four separate criminal trials and has all but dared Judge Chuktan to jail him for violating his gag order. All the while war rages in Israel and Ukraine. It seems we are drifting without a rudder and American credibility is suffering.

SPECIAL REPORT!!! What’s Next for Israel + A Conversation with Malcolm Nance Oct 16, 2023

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Mea Culpa welcomes back our old friend Malcolm Nance. You may know Nance as the globally renowned expert on terrorism, extremism, and insurgency from his stunning new book, “They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency.” It became a New York Times best-seller as was his last book, the Plot to Hack America. He’s the counter-terrorism analyst for NBC and MSNBC. Nance is considered one of the "Great African-Americans in Espionage” by the International Spy Museum. But he is also extremely well-sourced on what’s happening in the armed forces and has spent time on the frontlines of Ukraine. Today he shifts his expertise and perspective to Israel and the readiness of the IDF to invade Gaza and perhaps face Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon. Nance joins us with answers to our most burning questions, like “how did this happen?”

MC Denounces Hamas + A Conversation with Walt Masterson Oct 13, 2023

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Mea Culpa welcomes back our friend, the brilliant political comic and anti-MAGA troll Walt Masterson. Over the past few years, Masterson has brilliantly insinuated himself into the fabric of the MAGA nation and trolled everyone from January 6th rioters to neo nazi school board members, making them look like imbeciles and exposing their hypocrisy to millions and viewers, especially on Tik Tok where his takedowns of the political right have helped him amass over 1.7 million dedicated followers. He joins us today to discuss his latest round of videos and how much Gas the MAGA stupid train has in the tank.

Trump Continues Wither + A Conversation with Harry Litman Oct 09, 2023

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Mea Culpa welcomes back our old friend, Harry Litman, the former US Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Litman is currently the legal affairs columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a professor of Constitutional Law at UCLA and UCSD. Harry can be seen as a legal and political commentator on CBS, NPR MSNBC, and CNN. Litman is also the creator and host of the Talking Feds Podcast. You’d be smart to subscribe to the “Talking Feds” YouTube channel. New episodes are posted daily and he features the greatest legal minds and tough-as-nails former prosecutors breaking down the legal news and all things Trump indictment. But today Harry is here to give us the rundown on the latest in Trump’s four criminal indictments, and the continued fallout from the Judge Engoron ruling.

GOP Consumed By Chaos + A Conversation with Elie Mystal Oct 06, 2023

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Mea Culpa welcomes the fantastic Elie Mystal, the Nation’s Justice Correspondent and the host of its legal podcast “Contempt of Court. In addition to being a frequent guest on MSNBC, Mystal is also an Alfred Knobler Fellow at the Type Media Center. His first book is “The New York Times bestseller “Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution.” Mystal is also an attorney and is considered one of the foremost experts on the Supreme Court. But he’s also funny as hell and can be seen trolling the GOP daily on the platform formerly known as Twitter. He joins us today as the House of Representatives descends into chaos and the GOP searches for another sucker to take the speaker’s gavel.

Trump's Corporate Death Penalty + A Conversation with Norm Eisen Oct 02, 2023

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Norm Eisen is back with us today to unpack the Ergonon ruling and what it means for Donald Trump. If you happen to be tuning in for the first time, Eisen is a CNN Legal Analyst and the founder and executive chair of “States United Democracy Center”, a nonpartisan organization advancing free, fair, and secure elections. His articles for the Brookings Institute and elsewhere have made the case for why Trump and his band of criminal conspiracists represented a clear and present danger to democracy. The former Obama Ethics Czar and Ambassador to the Czech Republic joins us today to get to the heart of what’s going on.

Inside the NY Judge’s Ruling That Will Bankrupt Donald Trump + A Conversation with Tara Setmayer Sep 29, 2023

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Mea Culpa welcomes back one of our favorite people from the Lincoln Project, Tara Setmayer. She’s a former CNN political commentator, a contributor to ABC News, and a former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. Setmayer has appeared on ABC's The View, ABC's Good Morning America, and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. She was named a Harvard Institute of Politics Spring 2020 Resident Fellow. Also in 2020, she joined The Lincoln Project as a senior advisor. Setmayer hosts the live show "The Breakdown" alongside co-founder Rick Wilson, on the organization's streaming channel, LPTV. She’s also a fierce critic of the ongoing MAGA agenda and what she views as the GOP’s shameful inability to move beyond its toxic politics. She joins me today as we celebrate the ruling against Donald Trump by Judge Engoron.

Rupert Murdoch's Shameful Legacy + A Conversation with Reed Galen Sep 25, 2023

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Mea Culpa welcomes Reed Galen, co-founder of The Lincoln Project and a veteran public affairs and political commentator with more than 20 years of experience, Reed has been involved in politics, government, and business at the highest levels. Galen has spent more than a decade advising Fortune 50, 100, and 1000 companies needing high-level counsel in strategic communications, procurement, and legislation. In addition to his private sector work, Reed has managed several high-profile ballot measure campaigns in California, Texas, and Colorado – Before moving to the private sector, Reed served as Deputy Campaign Manager for John McCain’s presidential campaign and Deputy Campaign Manager for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successful 2006 re-election campaign. Galen also worked on both of President George W. Bush's campaigns and served the Bush Administration at both the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security. As founder of the Lincoln Project, Galen has led the groups vision and created some of its most memorable attacks against Donald Trump. He is now focused on ridding the nation of Trump and attempting to purge the GOP of its love affair with MAGA ideology. He joins us today to discuss the changing of the media guard as Rupert Murdoch rides off into the right-wing sunset. So, let’s go now to that conversation.

Trump Terrified They’ll Make Him Wear a Jumpsuit in Prison + A Conversation with Frank Figliuzzi Sep 22, 2023

Show notes

Mea Culpa welcomes Frank Figliuzzi to help us figure out the legal ramifications of everything going on in Washington DC. Figliuzzi is a national security contributor and regular columnist for NBC News and MSNBC. At one time, Figliuzzi was the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, where he served for 25 years as a special agent and directed all espionage investigations across the entire government. He is also the author of the national bestseller “The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence.” Make sure to check out his excellent new show on YouTube “Frankly Speaking,” where he sheds light on the work done by the FBI illuminating why that work is so critical to the health of our nation and our national security.