Renato and Patti discuss Trump’s frequent false and misleading statements and how the media’s coverage of Trump’s lies could contribute to the distortion of public debate caused by his false statements. They are joined by Daniel Dale, the Washington Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star and a frequent fact checker of Trump’s speeches.

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Renato discussed the Trump Administration’s decision to suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia, and whether the Trump Administration’s foreign policy has put Russian interests ahead of our own. He was joined by Samantha Vinograd, a CNN National Security Analyst who was a former National Security Council official and held numerous foreign policy roles in the Obama and Bush Administrations.

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Renato and Patti discuss the recent indictment of Trump associate Roger Stone, who was indicted for lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing the investigation of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. They are joined by Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL), a member of that committee, and Barb McQuade, the former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and a MSNBC Legal Analyst.

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Renato and Patti discuss the recent Buzzfeed News report that indicated there was substantial evidence that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress as well as the public statement by Mueller that the article is inaccurate and calls for Congress to investigate this and other matters. They are joined by former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal.

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Renato and Patti discuss the recent news that the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation to determine if Trump was compromised by Russia and whether he was working for Russia to advance their interests ahead of our own. They are joined by former FBI counterintelligence agent Asha Rangappa and former CIA officer John Sipher, who ran the CIA’s Russia’s operations.

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Renato and Patti discuss the president’s “emergency” powers, including the limits of those powers, how they can be challenged, and how they should be reformed, with Syracuse Law Professor William C. Banks. They also speak at length with MSNBC Legal Analyst Mimi Rocah about many recent developments in the Mueller investigation, including the revelation that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort provided private polling data to a Russian intelligence operative.

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Renato and Patti discuss gerrymandering, which dilutes the power of voters to choose representatives, as well as campaign finance reform with Paul Smith, who has represents citizens in important gerrymandering and campaign finance reform cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. They also speak with Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) about the legislation introduced by House Democrats to combat gerrymandering and reform campaign finance, as well as the agenda for House Democrats in the year ahead.

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Renato and Patti discuss the most important legal news from the past year and what we can expect in the year ahead from the investigations of Donald Trump and his associates. Patti asks many questions from listeners to Renato and Joyce Vance, the former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and MSNBC Legal Analyst.

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Renato and Patti discuss three topics related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation--the hearing regarding General Michael Flynn's sentencing (and whether he committed treason), Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker's decision not to recuse from supervising the Mueller investigation, and the lengthy memo written by Attorney General nominee William Barr and sent to Justice Department officials and Trump's lawyers. They're joined by Matthew Miller, former Justice Department spokesperson and MSNBC contributor (regarding Whitaker and Barr) and Carlton Larson, Professor of Law at University of California at Davis (regarding treason).

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In this special episode, Renato and Patti discuss in depth the allegations that Trump committed a campaign finance crime when he caused hush money payments to be made to two women during his campaign. They are joined by POLITICO reporter Josh Gerstein, former Federal Election Commission Chairman Trevor Potter, and former White House Counsel Bob Bauer.

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