The Oath and The Office

Can writing an article put you at risk of deportation? The Stanford Daily editor George Porteous joins Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang to explain how deportation fears are silencing student journalists—and why his newspaper took the Trump administration to court. After a major district-court victory, the administration is appealing. At stake: freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of noncitizens.

Plus: Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation fight, harassment of Rep. Ilhan Omar, the revolving door in the Trump administration, the golf-course controversy involving Judge Reyes, and the battle over Russian sanctions.

Timestamps:
00:11 – Intro
01:43 – How Noncitizens’ First Amendment Rights are Under Attack
06:28 – The Push to Denaturalize Representative Omar
17:38 – Trump’s New Friend in Putin
21:48 – Musk’s Impact on the Midterms
23:30 – The DC Golf Course Controversy
30:35 – One Student Paper Fought Back Against Trump (with George Porteous)

Here is a link to The School Board Project: act.link/gi-schools 

Read George Porteous' essay here: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/stanford-speech-student-press-ozturk-the-stanford-daily/

Congress has the power to impeach Trump. Will it use it?

John Fugelsang and Corey Brettschneider discuss the attack on Ilhan Omar, calls to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Elon Musk’s DOGE assault on USAID and Congress’s constitutional powers. Why should accountability stop with the president’s subordinates?

Then Congressman Al Green joins the show to make his case for impeaching Trump. From Nixon to Trump, we examine Congress’s responsibility to confront presidential abuses—and the danger of treating any president as above the law.

Support our sponsor today at https://FFRF.us/office

Jack Smith turns the tables on his congressional questioners and doubles down on why he indicted Donald Trump. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down the fiery hearing, the threats of prosecution against Smith, and what this battle over accountability reveals about the upcoming midterms. Plus: Can Democrats win in red states, and what would taking back Congress actually accomplish?

Then, Congressman Ted Lieu joins Corey to discuss his proposed AI “kill switch” legislation, the dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence, and federal efforts to stop the sale of presidential pardons.

Learn more about our sponsor, Americans United for Separation of Church and State: https://www.au.org/tenc/

Timestamps:
00:52 – Intro

05:02 – Jack Smith is Grilled in the Senate
23:32 – Which States We’re Watching in the Midterms
46:07 – Congressman Lieu on AI Regulation
55:31 – What Legislation Do We Need to Restrain the Pardon Power?
01:01:16 – How Congress Can Keep Trump in Line

What if the government sends you to a country you've never known—where you fear persecution or torture—and you never get a real chance to challenge it?

The Supreme Court has allowed Trump's third-country deportations to continue while the case is pending. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang examine the human stakes, and what it means when the government acts first and the courts decide later.

Also this week: taxpayer-funded ads pushing Trump's political message, the fight over a federal voter database, and the White House's ongoing restrictions on the press.

Learn more about our sponsor, Americans United for Separation of Church and State: https://www.au.org/tenc/

00:51 – Third-Party Removals

17:06 – Donald Trump’s Taxpayer-Funded Campaign Ads
31:41 – SCOTUS is Letting States Use the SAVE Databases

Can a president shut out reporters because he doesn’t like their coverage? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang take on Donald Trump’s sudden ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. They explore the constitutional stakes of revoking press credentials, why press freedom protects the public as well as journalists, and whether federal courts will hold the line against a president determined to punish his critics.

Then, Oklahoma state representative and Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) official Mickey Dollens joins the conversation to examine the spreading threat of religious coercion and Christian nationalism, from coaches pressuring student athletes to pray to government sponsorship of prayer in statehouses. When does an invitation to participate become pressure to conform? And what happens to freedom of conscience when those in power expect you to share their faith?

Two fights over the First Amendment, connected by one critical question: Can those in authority force the rest of us to fall in line?

Support our sponsor today at https://FFRF.us/office

Timestamps:
01:13 – Trump Banned CNN, Politico, and MSNow from the White House
12:07 – The Push to Impeach Pete Hegseth
19:28 – An Update on the Kennedy Center Naming Debacle
26:27 – Trump’s DC Arch
33:37 – Prayer and School Sport with Mickey Dollens