Mike & Jay open the show by talking about Attorney General William Barr’s testimony before the Senate and his refusal to testify before the House. Mike says that although he initially gave Barr the benefit of the doubt, it’s now clear that Barr is more interested in carrying water for the president than serving as an impartial arbiter of the law. Jay disagrees, feeling that Barr has been forthcoming with Democrats, who he believes are subjecting Barr to scrutiny for strictly political gain.
Next is a look at the Trump administration’s recent request for $4.5 billion dollars in emergency immigration funding as well as administration proposals to charge fees to asylum seekers and deny them work permits. Mike argues that while emergency funding is needed, it should be focused on hiring more immigration judges. Both Mike and Jay agree that there are potential problems with denying asylum seekers in the country work permits, and that if a fee is charged to asylum seekers, there should be a waiver process in place to ensure that those in clear danger are not prevented from seeking asylum.
After that is a discussion of the crisis in Venezuela, after the failure of opposition leader Juan Guaido’s attempt to oust President Nicolas Maduro (who many people, including Jay and Mike, see as illegitimate). Mike is very wary of US military involvement given the sad history of the United States in Central and South America, while Jay counters that it’s important to keep the military option on the table as well as to respond if the Russians or Cubans stage a significant military intervention of their own.
The show closes with an analysis of the Trump Organization’s lawsuits against several banks to prevent them from turning over Trump’s financial documents to Congress. Mike says that the law on this is clear - Congress has the right to these documents - but that the Trump strategy is to delay until after the 2020 elections. Jay doesn’t disagree, but feels that Congress’ legitimate investigatory authority might be somewhat more limited than Mike views it as being.
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Broken Healthcare, The Value of Protest, Labor Unions, Syria, Thoughts on Trump
Kurt Andersen on Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire
PG 147: North and South Korea Meet, Macron Goes to Washington, How Special of a Special Election in Arizona?, Ronnie Jackson Withdraws, and the Scott Pruitt's "Secret Science"
Sheila Tate on First Lady Nancy Reagan
PG146: North Korea, Russia, Gorsuch Sides with Liberals, Crafty Congressional Republicans, James Comey's Media Blitz
Economist Tyler Cowen on The Complacent Class
PG145: US Strike on Syria, Ryan Out, Zuckerberg Testifies, Cohen Raid, IG McCabe Report
Danielle McDonald on Barriers to Justice
PG144: A War of Words and Tariffs between China and the United States, Zuckerberg Goes to Congress, the Potential U.S. Pullout from Syria
Military Force, Healthcare Workers, Does Jay Respect Young People?, Thoughts on Burke, Flip-Flopping
PG143: VA Shakeup, Census Concerns, Kim Jung Un Takes a Trip, Repeal the 2nd Amendment?, Russia Relations
Jacob Hacker on What We've Forgotten About Growth & Prosperity
PG142: Budget Deal, US vs China, Facebook vs Privacy, PA 18, Bolton In McMaster Out
Bryan Caplan on The Case Against Education
PG141: A Line at the White House Exit, Stormy Daniels Sues Trump, and the Student Walkout
'Collusion' Investigation, Healthcare, Contempt & Civil Discourse, Chain Migration
PG140: North Korea Talks, Sessions Sues California, Trump's Tariffs, Florida vs the NRA
What We've Learned About Fake News
PG139: Trump's Tariffs, Gun Policy, A New Cold War?, Hicks Quits
Reforming an Unresponsive Political System
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