'BradCast' 6/16/2021 (Manchin offers compromise!; Marcy Wheeler on Trump DOJ 'spying')

On today's 'BradCast':  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is the only Democratic senator to refuse to co-sponsor the For the People Act (S.1), which contains crucial reforms to help counter the wave of voter suppression laws adopted by Republican-controlled state legislatures around the country. Today, Manchin said he is willing to compromise on a voting rights bill, releasing a memo detailing his points of 'compromise' to gain his support. Most of his requirements are acceptable and currently in the House-approved measure, others are more controversial among voting rights advocates. And, of course, the devil is in the details. Manchin still insists that any voting rights bill must have 'bipartisan' support, despite Republicans' clear opposition. Even if Democrats can settle on a bill, there is little chance that ten Republicans will sign on to overcome an expected GOP filibuster - so if Manchin won't agree to reform the filibuster, the measure would go nowhere. But the fact that Manchin is willing to compromise on the For the People Act is encouraging news for those of us who care about the survival of American democracy. Then: independent national security journalist MARCY WHEELER delivers some critical insight on the shocking news that the Trump Justice Department subpoenaed the communications data of Democratic members of Congress who the disgraced former president regarded as political enemies, and included scores of staffers and even their families. Wheeler offers helpful insight into why Democratic lawmakers should be very concerned about the collection of 'powerful' meta-data, and the stunning lack of judicial oversight or any limits whatsoever on the length and breadth of data collected and stored - practices which those same Democratic lawmakers have long defended - and what actions must be taken to ensure the public is also protected from surveillance.