The Many Investigations of Joe Biden

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Mike & Jay open with a discussion of what we know so far about President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and how this case compares to former President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents. After that, they consider Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s pledge to remove three prominent Democrats from House committees, the prospects for the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, and the House Oversight Committee’s Biden Family Investigation.

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Trump’s Taxes & The IRS, 2023 Predictions, GOP Lies, Enlarging the House

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In this midweek supporters’ episode, Mike & Jay discuss Donald Trump’s tax returns and IRS authority, our political predictions for 2023, George Santos and the importance of lies in the Republican Party, and the crazy idea of enlarging the House of Representatives.

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Speaker McCarthy, Roberts’ Report, Biden’s Judges

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In this first episode of 2023, Mike & Jay discuss the 15 rounds of voting required to elect Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House, Chief Justice Roberts’ report on the federal judiciary and the MIA Supreme Court leak investigation, and the impact President Biden has had on the judicial branch two years into his term.

Mike’s Recommendation
Year of the Rabbit

Jay’s Recommendation
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic. Alfred Lansing

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Judge Pierre Bergeron on State Courts, Criminal Sentencing, and Trial by Jury

Mike talks with Pierre Bergeron, a judge on Ohio’s 1st District Court of Appeals about judicial elections, state constitutional interpretation & abortion rights, the lack of good sentencing data & why it matters, and Judge Bergeron’s concerns about how few cases result in trials by jury.

Measures for Justice

How a Spreadsheet Could Change the Criminal Justice System. Pierre Bergeron and Michael Donnelly. The Atlantic, December 14, 2020.

The Missing American Jury. Suja Thomas

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Santos’ Lies, 1/6 Report, Trump’s Taxes, FY23 Budget, Zelensky, Immigration

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Mike & Ken discuss the many lies of Rep-elect George Santos, the final report of the House January 6th Committee, whether the House Ways & Means committee should have released Donald Trump’s taxes and IRS audits of high-income taxpayers, important non-budget items in the recently passed federal budget, Ukrainian President Zelensky’s address to a joint session of Congress – minus a majority of House Republicans, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott busing migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ DC residence on Christmas Eve.

Ken’s Recommendation
Needles & Plastic: Flying Nun Records, 1981-1988. Matthew Goody

Mike’s Recommendation
Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason. Justin E. H. Smith

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Budget Deal, TikTok Bans, SBF / FTX and Campaign Finance

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Mike & Jay open this episode with a discussion of the FY 2023 federal budget, followed by a look at the movement to ban TikTok in the United States, and close with the fall of Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX crypto exchange, and what it says about our campaign finance system.

Mike’s Favorite Christmas Album
Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics

Mike’s Top 5 Christmas Songs
#5 Tiny Tree Christmas. Ryan Miller
#4 Fairytale of New York. The Pogues
#3 All I Want for Christmas is You. Mariah Carey
#2 Swiss Colony Beef Log. Eric Cartman
#1 White Christmas. Otis Redding

Jay’s Christmas Music Recommendations
Joy to the World. Handel
O Holy Night. Tabernacle Choir
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Bing Crosby
White Christmas. Bing Crosby
Christmastime is Here(Charlie Brown). Vince Guaraldi Trio

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Griner, Sinema, GA Senate, Trump Legal Woes, DNC Primary Changes

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This Mike & Ken episode features a discussion of the Brittney Griner Viktor Bout prisoner exchange, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s announcement that she’s leaving the Democratic Party, the implications of Raphael Warnock’s victory over Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff, the 17 count conviction against the Trump Organization, independent counsel Jack Smith issuing subpoenas in his investigation of Trump, and the Democratic National Committee’s plan to upend the presidential primary system.

Ken’s Recommendation
Harvest Time

Mike’s Recommendation
Bullet Train

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Trump Special Master, Rail Strike, Student Loan Forgiveness, Sedition Convictions

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Mike & Jay open the show by talking about the 11th Circuit reversing District Court Judge Aileen Cannon’s order for a special master in the Trump document seizure case. Mike sees it as a clear rebuke of Cannon’s ruling while Jay thinks it’s not quite that and believes that despite the ruling there’s some justification for what Judge Cannon did.

Next they discuss legislation imposing an agreement between freight rail workers and railroads. Jay is no fan of government imposed labor agreements but he feels that in this case it was both justified and reasonable. Mike makes the point that the railroad industry is very profitable and that they should be doing more to take care of their workers.

After that it’s the Supreme Court’s announcement that it will hear arguments in the case of the six states opposing the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness order. Mike and Jay agree that the Court is likely to find that Biden doesn’t have the authority to do what he did.

They close with a look at the sedition conviction of two Oath Keepers leaders and consideration of how the Capitol Breach investigation has progressed nearly two years later.

Jay’s Recommendation
Of Plymouth Plantation. William Bradford

Mike’s Recommendation
Tulsa King (Paramount+)

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Garland’s Special Counsel, Trump Tax Returns, MBS Immunity, Pot Legislation

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This week, Kristin returns to the podcast! She and Mike start off by discussing Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of Jack Smith as Special Counsel in the Trump investigations. They also unpack the Trump Tax Return saga, as well as the Biden Administration’s ruling that Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman has immunity in a civil lawsuit concerning the brutal torture and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. They close with prospects for bipartisan cannabis legislation in the lame duck Congress in the form of the SAFE Banking and HOPE Acts.

Kristin’s Recommendations
The Splendid and the Vile. Erik Larson
Yellowstone

Mike’s Recommendations
Caravan. John Wasson
Inside Man

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Trump Special Counsel, Midterms & 2024, Same Sex Marriage, Biden & Xi

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Mike & Ken kick off the episode with a brief discussion of a story that just broke as they were starting to record – Attorney General appointing a special counsel in the Trump case.

Following that, they look at the nearly final results of the 2022 midterms, discussing what each party might take away from the elections, and then look toward the 2024 presidential and congressional races.

Then they turn to legislation – the Senate’s same sex marriage bill, which is expected to pass with bipartisan support and be signed into law by President Biden.

They close the show with a discussion of the meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Bali, the likelihood of even more aggressive Chinese action against Taiwan, and the G20 statement on the war in Ukraine.

Ken’s Recommendation
Chuck Berry: An American Life. R.J. Smith

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