Chapter 1: What concerns do the speakers raise about the current political landscape?
Let's get right into it. And by the way, I'm really happy that you're here. And, you know, and I think you're you're a terrific, terrific journalist. But right now, my concern is I have a couple of concerns. One is Donald Trump in this executive order to try to steal the election, you know, with the over he wants to be in charge of mail in voting. And then we're looking at what's happening.
They're trying to just, I don't know, I guess, demolish the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship. And he's there, I guess, an intimidation tactic to try to intimidate the justices. Where do you fall on these issues? Because I think the 14th Amendment is pretty huge. And, you know, keeping control of elections to the states, that's also a pretty big issue.
Short-term risk and long-term risk here, Don. The short-term risk is minimal. The Supreme Court is giving no indication they're going to rule in his favor based on the arguments today. And every even-minded, even-keeled analysis of this case is that it's a loser for the Trump administration.
Chapter 2: How is the 14th Amendment being challenged in today's political climate?
Let's put that aside for a moment. And the executive order on mail-in voting, I had one election security expert tell me, it's hilariously stupid that if you and I were to jot down notes on a cocktail napkin with a crayon, we'd have just as much ability to change how states do their mail-in voting. And that Trump might as well try to outlaw gravity through an executive order.
It's just not going to work. So the short-term prospects look terrible for him on both of those fronts. Long-term though, Don, I think there's a real risk. I think these are seeds he's planting for post-election challenges. Doesn't like the results of the midterm elections.
He will unilaterally or through his executive powers try to find some way to force an overturning of the results using these types of things. as his argument that there should have been better patrolling protections against mail-in voting fraud and that the birthright citizenship planted millions of fraudulent votes around the country. Totally baseless, but could be mechanized post-November.
Yeah. So if you're watching us now, you're joining us. Thank you for joining us members. And I have put mine because I want to help myself and to help Scott to build up our memberships here, which is really important.
Chapter 3: What are the short-term and long-term risks of Trump's executive orders?
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So, Scott, OK, you're giving me a little bit of hope because I am not that optimistic, especially about I'm going to I'm going to stick with the election part of it. I think Donald Trump is going to try to do whatever he can, if that includes intimidation by ICE or the National Guard or members of the military or whatever that is, to try to interfere with the elections coming up in November.
And that also includes mail in balloting. And, you know, the United States Post Office is a post office that's run by the government. So I just wonder if, you know, I'm just not so sure. I'm just not so sure. I'm not as optimistic that he won't be able to figure out a way to try to, you know, jam this up.
That executive order seems toothless and worthless, but all the things you just described are genuine threats. First of all, you got to keep in mind when it comes to control of the U.S. house, Don, a lot of that goes through red states. They've got to make inroads in places like Iowa.
They have to make inroads to a degree or protect things even in the redistricted Texas, try to protect or steal a seat in Florida. So a lot of these things are going through Trump, Trump aligned gatekeepers in those red states.
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Chapter 4: How might Trump's actions affect the upcoming elections?
That's genuine concern. Ice at the polls seems like that's an inevitability, Don, that there's going to be armed ice agents at the polls. polling places. I suspect they'll be strategically chosen. And it is a disincentive for people to want to come out and vote. Even if their immigration status is locked down, they may just feel chilled from voting. So those tools can be mechanized for Trump.
But I go back to the more fundamental concern here. If he's trying to meddle in elections before they take place, you better believe he's going to try to do so after they take place.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. One hundred percent. I mean, the evidence of that is give me the eleven thousand seven hundred and eighty votes just given to me. Right.
Chapter 5: What is the future of legacy media in the face of independent journalism?
And from the 2020 election, I am. So, look, good. Thank you. You know more about this than I do, because that was your beat in Washington, D.C. I'm just sort of an interloper every now and then I would go out in and out to cover things. But this whole idea now, let's get back to the birthright citizenship. Because I think it's a sort of chipping away at our Constitution.
And especially I think the Civil Rights Department right now, the Civil Rights Unit of the Department of Justice, I think is doing some very dangerous stuff in the way that they are trying to, you know, they're implementing laws that were meant to protect citizens.
Citizens who had been discriminated against historically, including African-Americans, especially, which is what the 14th Amendment was about giving, largely about giving formerly enslaved people full citizenship. And they just keep trying to chip away at that and then distort the language to, as you saw with what's his name, Jeremy Carr, this idea of.
that white people are somehow being overly oppressed more than others in this society. To me, it's just mind-boggling that we're even at this moment right now.
Seems like they've made diversity a loaded term. A bad word. A bad word.
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Chapter 6: How do independent journalists engage with their audience differently?
The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is trying to tackle things that we, for so many years, if not generations, took as prized values, ensuring we have diverse workforces, ensuring we have diverse communities, voices in positions of power. The Trump administration is trying to roll that back. And I'll add this footnote, and I know you have unique equity in this.
The assistant attorney general for civil rights is a terminally online person, somebody who is tweeting at every hour of the day. And that level of knuckleheadery does not go over well with some Americans or people who have knowledge of the civil rights division as a prized historic part of America. The They came to be in the 1960s during the civil rights movement.
They may want the assistant attorney general less in front of a Twitter account and more out there serving Americans. All that notwithstanding, if you've got a Department of Justice that is trying to mechanize its leverage to go after things that ensure diversity in American institutions, what does that leave you with?
A monolithic voice in positions of power, which serves nobody's interest in ensuring that everybody's included.
Yeah, but I mean, I guess I'm not on Twitter, and so I don't know how online anyone is. However, I mean, I do hear things. I do read. However, I wonder how that plays with judges who areā
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Chapter 7: What challenges do media organizations face in maintaining credibility?
you know, who are in charge of some of these lawsuits that the Civil Rights Department of the Civil Rights Union, the Department of Justice is bringing. I'm not sure they, you know, I don't know if the online part matters to them, but I wonder if they look at these cases and go, this is ridiculous.
They've done that so far. In several occasions in the last few weeks, Don, things filed by the Trump administration, be it civil rights or the criminal division, that's a firewall that we've seen where judges have said, no, this doesn't work. This isn't going to fly with me no matter what political arguments or online arguments you make. But you know what? The other like.
The other firewall has been, sadly, not in your case yet, but the grand jurors. Grand jurors have said, no, this is preposterous. This is stupid for us to charge somebody for throwing a sandwich at a federal agent. No, this is stupid for us to try to charge the attorney general of New York. for some alleged scheme in Virginia that doesn't seem to be at all a scheme or criminal.
The grand jurors have been firewalls. And, you know, there's been this expectation through the years, Don, that grand jurors will say yes to anything, that, you know, prosecutors put a case up there, they're going to say yes. No, I think it's been proven that grand jurors will say no when the arguments are that flimsy and that flat.
Chapter 8: How can journalism adapt to better serve public interests?
A different firewall is going to kick in in Minnesota at some point. Grand jurors weren't it, but judges and grand jurors have seemed to be the resistance that Congress has not been against some of these controversial moves.
Look, I understand what you're saying. My case notwithstanding, or I guess withstanding, is that the government can put whatever they want to. They can tell the grand jury whatever they want to because it's done in secrecy, even if it's lies. And they don't know what to believe.
You know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
And you have a lower threshold. You don't have to get the entire grand jury to go along with something. It's just a subset of grand jurors who need to sign off on an indictment. But we are seeing examples of it. I can count a half dozen just in Washington, D.C. alone. We've seen them in Virginia.
We've seen them elsewhere across the country where grand jurors have taken a stand and said no to the administration. And that stuff's contagious, Don. The word gets around about that. Grand jurors do not live in a bubble. And this gets more and more difficult for any arm of the Department of Justice to make a case the more times grand jurors stand up and say no.
And trial jurors are pretty good at that too. I'll go back to that sandwich throwing monstrosity of a case from 2025 in Washington. Grand jurors said no. Trump administration did an end run to get that case charged anyhow. Then a trial jury said no, like in minutes, like at the time that it would take to eat the free jury lunch. They went back and said no. So there is a barrier.
They all had sandwiches in beautiful irony.
I think you're right. Look, I just wonder, though, at the end of the day, Scott, how much damage is done to our country. I think there's a lot. I think a lot. I mean, not just with that, but also in media, which we will talk about. I want to talk to you about that. But I think a lot of damage will be done. I think it's going to take a long time to...
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