We begin with a trial date set by the controversial Judge Aileen Cannon of August 14 when Jack Smith’s case against Donald Trump will be heard and discuss the revelations in a Washington Post article that document how the DOJ’s investigations into January 6 and Trump’s theft of classified documents were delayed for 15 months by Attorney General Garland and the FBI head Wray, both of whom were bending over backwards to show deference to Donald Trump. Joining us to discuss the delay which has enabled Trump to cast his prosecution as a political attack now that he is running for the presidency is Corey Brettschneider, a professor of political science at Brown University, where he teaches constitutional law and politics, as well as visiting professor of law at Fordham Law School. He is the author of The Oath and the Office: A Guide to the Constitution for Future Presidents and his latest book is Decisions and Dissents of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Selection.
Then we speak with Lawrence Gostin, Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and University Professor at Georgetown University. He directs the World Health Organization Center on National and Global Health Law and serves on the National Cancer Advisory Board, and is the author of the new book, Global Health Security: A Blueprint for the Future. We discuss his article at The Daily Beast, “RFK Jr. Would Be the Worst Possible President Kennedy” and how Kennedy’s spoiler campaign is being promoted by tech billionaires Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey and David Sacks.
Then finally we assess the chance that China will play the leading role in ending the war in Ukraine as the Ukrainian counteroffensive gets underway with the Russians much better prepared suggesting the war is heading for a long stalemate unless a diplomatic settlement emerges. Joining us is Alfred McCoy, who holds the Harrington Chair in History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The author of a number of bestsellers, the latest of which is To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change, we discuss his article at TomDispatch, “Is China the only way for peace to come to Ukraine? It’s beginning to look as though Beijing has the means, motivation, and ultimate self-interest to end the war.”