KPFK - BradCast w/ Brad Friedman

Extreme heat driven by the human-caused climate crisis broils the Northern Hemisphere, with shocking new heat records and heat deaths. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) excoriates fossil-fuel funded Sen. Joe Manchin for again quashing Pres. Biden's climate/clean energy legislation amid extreme weather disasters. Corporate media and some on focuses on blaming Democrats for Manchin/Republicans blocking climate policy. Callers weigh in...

Corrupt millionaire coal baron Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) informed Democrats that he won't support climate/clean energy legislation after months of pretending to negotiate. The deregulated Texas electric grid is on the brink of collapse again. U.S. Secret Service claims it accidentally erased text messages from January 5 and 6, 2021. DC police officer corroborates physical altercation between Trump and Secret Service on Jan.6. Indicted MAGA election fraud conspiracist Tina Peters, former CO election official, gets in more legal trouble. Republicans caught committing election fraud in NY State. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

Guest: Marcy Wheeler, national security journalist, Emptywheel.net

A bipartisan group of former top-level Justice Department prosecutors say 'evidence is overwhelming' that Donald Trump directed the January 6 insurrection and must be prosecuted. Others are concerned the DOJ is moving too slowly, or not at all. Independent national security journalist Marcy Wheeler, who has perhaps the most comprehensive grasp of the sprawling investigations of January 6 than anyone else on the planet, counters that view. Wheeler explains the current status of the DOJ's various probes, new revelations from the House January 6 Committee, and scenarios that could lead to the prosecution of Trump and his top cronies.

The false idea that 'both sides are the same' is dangerously wrong while the Republican Party works to subvert elections and install authoritarian theocracy. TX GOP lawmakers threaten companies for reimbursing employees for out-of-state abortion care. Justice Department sues AZ GOP over new voter suppression law. Wisconsin's GOP-controlled state supreme court rules ballot dropboxes are illegal. In leaked audio from before the 2020 election, Trump crony Steve Bannon confirms that their strategy is for Trump to declare victory on Election Night and pretend to be a victim of fraud, ultimately leading to the most dangerous assault on American democracy in our history. GA GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker denies climate change. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

A new lawsuit taken up by the US Supreme Court next year could legitimize the fringe 'independent state legislature' theory, which would give GOP-controlled state legislatures the power to overturn the will of the voters to steal the 2024 Presidential election. Potential solutions for stopping the slow-rolling coup include massive voter turnout in 2022. Also today: major developments in Britain, Japan, and Sri Lanka. Georgia district attorney subpoenas top Trump cronies in criminal probe into 2020 election subversion. Callers weigh in on all of the above...

Guest: John Amato, Crooks & Liars; Heather Digby Parton, Salon

Encore: original airdate 6/28/2022. Lots of bombshells on Day 6 of the House January 6 Committee hearings. Former top Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified to Trump's fits of rage at key moments as the plot failed; how Trump and his top aides knew violence was likely on Jan. 6 but took no action to stop it; Trump knew his supporters were armed when he urged them to storm the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power; top Trump insiders sought pardons for their roles in the failed coup attempt, and more. The J6 Committee also teased evidence of witness tampering to come. HEATHER DIGBY PARTON from Salon and JOHN AMATO of Crooks and Liars offer insight and analysis on the remarkable hearing.

Guest: Lisa Graves, former DOJ official; Heather Digby Parton, Salon

Encore: Original airdate 6/23/2022. Day 5 of the House Jan. 6 Committee's public hearings detailed another pillar of Trump's multi-pronged scheme to steal the 2020 election from the American people: his failed attempt to decapitate Justice Department leadership and install a low-level apparatchik to do his bidding. Three former top DOJ officials revealed how narrowly the nation averted an unprecedented constitutional crisis. The J6 Committee revealed that 6 GOP congressman sought pardons for their part in the coup attempt. Columnist HEATHER DIGBY PARTON of Salon, and LISA GRAVES, former U.S. Deputy Asst. Attorney General and Deputy Chief for the US Court system, now current Exec. Director of True North Research, offer deep insight and analysis into the day's proceedings. Also: Rightwing SCOTUS overturned states' rights to regulate firearms, and undercut Miranda rights.

Guest: Heather Digby Parton, Salon; 'Driftglass', Professional Left Podcast

Encore: original airdate 6/21/2022. Special coverage of Day 4 of the bipartisan House January 6 Committee hearings investigating the Jan. 6 Insurrection and Trump's multiple failed efforts to steal the 2020 election and overthrow the government. Progressive commentators Heather 'Digby' Parton of Salon and 'Driftglass' of the Professional Left Podcast offer insight and analysis of the day's proceedings, as the committee presented in detail the facts of how loser Trump was central to the coup plot. Gripping testimony from four witnesses debunked Team Trump's relentless election lies and detailed the high personal cost of being publicly targeted by Trump, his henchmen and his mob., among several disturbing revelations...

Guest: Randall D. Eliason, GW University Law; Heather Digby Parton, Salon

Encore: Original airdate 6-16-2022. Special coverage of Day 3 of the bipartisan House January 6 Committee investigating the Trump-incited Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Insurrection and Trump's attempts to steal the 2020 Election, with former Asst. U.S. Attorney, George Washington University law professor, RANDALL D. ELIASON, and HEATHER DIGBY PARTON of Salon. Today's hearing focused on Trump's corrupt efforts to pressure former VP Mike Pence to steal the 2020 Election for him, featuring testimony from top White House officials, conservative former Judge Michael Luttig, previously unseen video, and shocking new revelations, including confirmation that Trump knew that Pence didn't have the authority to invalidate the election and doing so would be illegal and unconstitutional. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'

Warning: Next year, the corrupt, rightwing US Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit intended to legitimize the fringe legal theory known as the Independent State Legislature doctrine, a phony, made-up concept that declares state legislatures have sole authority over election administration, unchecked by state courts, governors, or state constitutions, with absolute power to overturn the voters' will and substitute their own slate of electors in presidential elections. Corrupt Ginni Thomas (wife of Justice Clarence Thomas) refuses to testify to House J6 Commitee. CA lawmakers reject unsecurable internet voting. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report.'