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The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell

The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell

The Bulwark 115 episodes Latest Jun 6, 2026

The Illegal News is a podcast where law meets politics. Each week, host Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, talks with a legal expert to break down the latest court filings, rulings, and procedural developments of the Trump era. The show aims to explain how these legal moves shape American democracy, without the jargon. It provides context for major news and highlights legal and illegal actions that may be overlooked.

Episodes

S2 Ep163: Trump’s Pick for Attorney General Is Even WORSE Than You Think Jun 10, 2026 3471 Trump's AG nominee Todd Blanche lost Trump's own criminal trial, built an illegal slush fund, and lied on Fox News—and Republicans are confirming him anyway. Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss what Democrats can actually do at the hearing, why Trump is screaming election fraud while gutting the unit that investigates it, and why his DOJ now holding the only copy of the Fulton County ball
S2 Ep162: Trump’s AG Pick May Not Have the Votes to Get Confirmed Jun 6, 2026 3436 Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann return to disuss Todd Blanche’s growing Senate confirmation problems, Trump’s $1.7 billion “weaponization fund” scheme, why the judge isn’t letting the case die, the DOJ’s targeting of Congress members and critics, potential Ghislaine Maxwell fallout, and the reason Weissmann thinks the case against John Bolton is different than other "revenge" prosecutions.Sig
S2 Ep161: Judge Nukes Trump DOJ’s “Vindictive” Prosecution (w/ Mary McCord) | Illegal News May 27, 2026 2824 Sarah Longwell welcomes Mary McCord—former DOJ prosecutor and co-host of the Main Justice podcast—to discuss a series of jaw-dropping legal scandals surrounding Trump’s Justice Department. They include the secretive $1.776 billion “slush fund” for January 6 defendants, a federal judge exposing shocking grand jury misconduct in the Broadview Six case, the collapse of the Kilmar Abrego Garcia prose
S2 Ep160: Andrew Weissmann: Trump's Slush Fund Isn't Just Corrupt—It's a Crime May 20, 2026 5073 Andrew Weissmann joins Sarah Longwell on launch day for his book 'Liar's Kingdom'—but first they discuss why Weissmann calls Trump's $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund" an outright fraud on taxpayers. Then: why election lies are distinct even among Trump's 30,000 lies, what Brazil and the UK do to stop them, and the publisher that vanished the day after a Trump executive order. Plus mob boss
S2 Ep159: Trump Built a System That Pays People to Break the Law (w/ Ben Wittes) May 17, 2026 3185 Sarah Longwell and Ben Wittes discuss the Supreme Court mifepristone fight and why it could reshape abortion politics for years to come, then dig into Trump’s proposed $1.7 billion “weaponization” fund for Jan. 6 allies, the DOJ’s effort to protect Jeffrey Clark, and Kash Patel’s increasingly bizarre behavior as FBI director.Get 15% off OneSkin with the code ILLEGALNEWS at https://www.oneskin.co/
S2 Ep158: Jerome Powell is Fueled by Pure Righteous Anger—And We LOVE IT (w/ Andrew Weissmann) May 7, 2026 4034 Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss the Supreme Court’s voting rights decision, the rush to redraw congressional maps before the midterms, Trump allies pushing criminal investigations against political enemies, the escalating fight over Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, and the growing fears around abuse of FISA surveillance powers. Plus, Weissmann explains why the SPLC case is alrea
S2 Ep157: SCOTUS Profoundly Changed Elections—Mid-Vote! (w/ Kate Shaw) Apr 30, 2026 2721 Kate Shaw—ABC News contributor and co-host of the podcast 'Strict Scrutiny'—joins Sarah Longwell to explain a major Supreme Court ruling that American elections. Then they discuss a string of notable legal news: a DOJ filing that reads like Trump wrote it himself, Trump suing his own government for $10 billion, and the indefensible Comey “seashell” indictment.Start your new morning ritual & g
S2 Ep156: Kash Patel's Lawsuit Could Backfire—BIG TIME (w/ Andrew Weissmann) Apr 23, 2026 3535 Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss a series of major legal developments—from a questionable DOJ indictment targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center, to Kash Patel’s high-risk lawsuit against The Atlantic, to a wave of firings inside the Justice Department that’s raising alarms.They explain what’s actually in these cases (and what’s missing), why some of the legal theories fall apart und
S2 Ep155: Judge Tosses Trump’s WSJ Lawsuit Over Epstein Birthday Card (w/ Elliot Williams) Apr 15, 2026 2860 Sarah Longwell and Elliot Williams explain why courts keep rejecting Trump's defamation claims, what “actual malice” really means, and how his wave of lawsuits is really meant to pressure the media.Plus: the bizarre Trump-as-Jesus post, the growing use of the justice system for retribution, and why targeting witnesses like Cassidy Hutchinson should set off alarms.Get 15% off OneSkin with the code
S2 Ep154: Sorry, The 25th Amendment Can't Save Us From Trump (w/ Andrew Weissmann) Apr 8, 2026 3778 Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann explain the legality of Trump’s unhinged Iran threats, the legal reality behind “war crimes” warnings, and the global fallout of a strategy with no clear objective. They also discuss Trump’s push to control elections, why it’s likely unconstitutional—and why losing in court may actually be part of the plan. Plus, the Steve Bannon case and what it says about a s
S2 Ep153: Reporters Now Need ESCORTS to Do Their Jobs at the Pentagon (w/ Elliot Williams) Apr 1, 2026 3658 Sarah Longwell and Elliot Williams explain a series of legal fights that go to the core of how the country operates—from whether birthright citizenship could actually be undone, to a new immigration detention policy that could keep people locked up for years.They also discuss the Pentagon’s escalating clash with the press and what it means for the First Amendment and the surreal push to rewrite t
S2 Ep152: Todd Blanche’s Jaw-Dropping Ethics Violation (w/ Andrew Weissmann) Mar 28, 2026 4596 JVL (filling in for Sarah Longwell) joins Andrew Weissmann for a wide-ranging breakdown of a system under strain. They discuss the DOJ’s $1.25M payout to Michael Flynn, a surprising leak tied to the Trump investigations, and the backlash that followed—including a top official calling prosecutor Jack Smith a “proven liar.”Buy "Liar's Kingdom”: https://linktr.ee/BulwarkLiarsKingdomMake this the yea

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