THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent Greg Sargent

In the wake of Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, Republican anger at the verdict is getting darker, with GOP leaders talking about holding hearings and even defunding other prosecutions of Trump. But Democrats are not engaging this debate nearly as intensively, and appear divided over how to proceed. This is puzzling: The furious GOP defense of Trump is deranged and reckless, and would almost certainly be deeply unpopular—if voters are made to understand it. We talked to veteran Democratic strategist Celinda Lake, who suggested ways the party might find a stronger and more unified posture in this battle going forward. Listen to this episode here.
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The other day on CNN, prominent Never Trump lawyer George Conway did something you rarely see in Washington. He dressed down a GOP commentator for lying his ass off about Donald Trump—and then, right on the air, he asked why CNN was paying this Republican to spread lies on Trump’s behalf. We think this episode illustrates a deep problem with the media’s handling of pro-Trump propaganda. So we chatted with Conway about why he unloaded—and in the process, he revealed some interesting things about the network. Listen to this episode here.
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Earlier this week, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito refused to recuse himself from hearing Jan. 6-related cases amid controversy over an upside-down U.S. flag outside Alito’s home that’s associated with Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” effort. Then, on Thursday, Chief Justice John Roberts denied Democrats’ demand for a meeting, adding to the imperiousness around the conservative justices and making the Alito scandal look worse. We talked to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, about what he called the “omerta” code for right wing justices—and whether it’s time for hearings into the Alito mess. Listen to this episode here.
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Donald Trump recently said he’s “looking at” imposing restrictions on contraception if he is elected president, and even promised a concrete policy. Then he quickly walked it back. But certain constituencies on the right have not given up—far from it. We chatted with Politico reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein, co-author of a great new piece detailing the blueprint that Trump’s MAGA allies are developing for him to restrict birth control through executive action, about how far this could get if he regains the White House. It isn’t pretty. Listen to this episode here.
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On Tuesday, Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily denied special counsel Jack Smith’s latest request for a gag order on Donald Trump’s lie that the FBI was set to use lethal force on Trump at Mar-a-Lago. In keeping with a shady pattern of favoritism to Trump, Cannon said No, but she may feel pressure to grant the gag order later, lest Smith seek her removal. We talked to legal scholar Matthew Seligman, who has done great work road-mapping Trump’s legal travails, about why Cannon’s move may not help Trump in the long run—and why it’s premature to assume he won’t face a federal criminal trial before the election. Listen to this episode here.
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Donald Trump and his media propagandists have been preposterously suggesting the FBI under President Biden was set to use “lethal force” against Trump when it searched Mar-a-Lago. This fabrication was summoned into existence by Fox News and the right wing media. We talked with media reporter Brian Stelter, author of a great new piece on Trump in The New Republic’s “American Fascism” issue, who put all this in its larger context, explaining what the right wing media has become under Trump, and how he will bully non-compliant media outlets if reelected president. Listen to this episode here.
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