Part One:
IS THE RULE OF LAW IN DANGER?
We talk with Jeremy Stahl, senior editor at Slate.com, about his article: “William Barr’s DOJ is Now Covering Up Crimes for Trump in Broad Daylight.” Trump didn’t even have to pardon his former Chief of Staff, Michael Flynn. AG Barr took care of the problem for Trump: He simply dismissed the charges against Flynn, despite ample evidence of the crimes and even though Flynn had confessed to lying to the FBI about Russian interference in the US election in 2016.
Nearly 2,000 former Justice Department lawyers – including our show’s producer, Ken Barnes – signed a letter vehemently protesting Barr’s subversion of public justice in order to serve his master, Donald Trump. Barr’s unprecedented action endangers the rule of law (as President Obama said yesterday) and brings this administration’s corruption to a new low. We are concerned about preserving our democracy and saving our beloved country from a descent into authoritarianism.
Part Two:
“BRIDGEGATE” IS BACK!
Bob Hennelly writes for the NYC Chief Leader and @stucknation. Our conversation begins with “Bridgegate,” a case in which public officials intentionally jammed traffic in Fort Lee, NJ — at the George Washington Bridge — in order to retaliate against the mayor of Fort Lee who had refused to support Gov. Chris Christie’s presidential aspirations. Two of these officials were convicted of federal crimes, but the US Supreme Court has now overturned the convictions.
Hennelly describes the back-story. He paints a frightening picture of swirling, inter-woven themes: of self-dealing and corruption; of state officials controlling non-state entities, of using their authority to punish municipal officials to further their own political ambitions; and of law enforcement’s inability to stop illegal behavior or to punish wrongdoers. Most of us know very little about the intricate web of plots and sub-plots.
At the same time, the American people are hearing a narrative about the news in general, and about this Supreme Court decision in particular, and are coming away with a woefully inaccurate view of what actually happened. Trump and the right-wing media tell us that the Court has “exonerated” the perpetrators, thus proving that these law enforcement investigations and prosecutions (and others) were merely Democratic “witch hunts” and conspiracies. Trump has used this strategy for years, of course, with the Mueller investigation and so many other law enforcement cases. And this time, too, the right-wing’s narratives are nowhere near the truth.
HOW DO WE SOLVE OUR MEDIA PROBLEM — BEFORE IT MAKES DEMOCRACY IMPOSSIBLE?
Unfortunately, however, this is virtually the only perspective that Americans get to hear about. We live in an era where twitter and social media dominate our news. The footprint of the legitimate media has been dramatically reduced. And the “newsmakers” themselves play a huge role in shaping the public conversation: It’s *their* impressions – expressed through Twitter posts and press releases and “not-for-attribution” leaks to reporters – that define what people understand about world events.
The result is that the American people don’t learn about the true facts, much less the “fine print.” We can’t afford to look the other way. We can’t afford not to see what’s really happening within our political system. Research has shown that corruption increases when there’s a lack of media oversight, when there’s no one to hold officials accountable. And it’s tied to big money dominating politics, determining who gets to run, who gets to win, who gets to govern (and how).
So how can we solve this problem? How can we put a stop to secret manipulation covered up by misleading public communication and reported by an ineffective surface-feeding media? According to Hennelly, the only antidote to the problem of deep-seated but unpublicized power-brokering is a robust local media.
We need inquisitive, probing, relentless, aggressive, local investigative reporters who will refuse to be put off by non-answers, obfuscation, or bullying. We need reporters who will persevere until the full story has been uncovered and explained to the public. Only then can voters be truly informed about the people who want to govern them and about all the policies and issues that will control their lives.
