Trump’s abuses of power keep colliding with the law. But even when courts recognize the danger, procedural barriers can prevent them from stopping it.

Corey and John examine how standing doctrine blocked a challenge to Trump’s ballroom project, despite an unusual dissent from Chief Justice John Roberts. They also discuss a major free speech victory at Stanford that, like the Khalil case, was weakened by procedural limits. Next, they turn to Trump’s effort to seize control of the Postal Service and refuse delivery of valid mail ballots, using the unitary executive theory to threaten voting rights.

Then, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade joins the show to explain why Trump governs less like a president and more like a mafia boss. Drawing from her new book, "The Fix", she connects Trump’s mob style campaign against dissent to the attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Justice Department’s subpoenas targeting New York Times journalists, and the administration’s attempt to undermine voting by mail.

Barbara McQuade’s new book, The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government: https://www.barbaramcquade.com/

Why did the January 6 Committee underplay the role of Christian nationalism in its final report?

Rep. Jared Huffman, the only openly nonbelieving member of Congress, joins Corey Brettschneider for a deep dive into the Christian nationalist movement threatening American democracy. Drawing from his new book, No Prophets, Huffman breaks down the specific factions that make up this movement, how they are capturing political power, what they want, and what comes next. We also examine the central role Christian nationalism played in January 6 and why that crucial part of the story was largely left out of the Committee’s final report.

Support our sponsor today at https://FFRF.us/office

You can find Rep. Jared Huffman’s new book, No Prophets, here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324130499

3:43 – Religious Nationalism & January 6th
11:40 – Who Are the Christian Nationalists?
18:18 – Where Christian Nationalism Appears in Congress
24:43 – The Policy Implications of Theocratic Movements
29:42 – Why Congressman Huffman Still Has Hope

This week on The Oath and the Office, we follow four stories that raise one question: what happens when the restraints on presidential power start disappearing?

Donald Trump is being sued over a service offering paying customers early access to his Truth Social posts, including market-moving announcements, for as much as $100,000 a month. Is official presidential information becoming a private commodity?

Then Trump goes back to the Supreme Court after two lower court losses, asking the justices to revive his plan to impose new conditions on mail ballots ahead of the midterms. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down what the fight means for presidential power over elections.

We also look at ICE’s reported plan to spend millions on electric shock gloves and the Treasury Department’s decision to dismantle major beneficial ownership disclosure rules designed to expose anonymous shell companies, rules originally championed by Marco Rubio as a weapon against money laundering, trafficking, and terrorism.

From presidential self-enrichment to elections, immigration enforcement, and financial secrecy, the question is the same: who is left to constrain executive power?
1:50 – Paid Early Access to Trump’s Truth Social Posts
12:56 – The Death of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
19:30 – The Corporate Transparency Act
30:18 – Trump’s Supreme Court Appeal on Mail Voting
43:25 – ICE’s New Electric Shock Gloves

Trump already lost on birthright citizenship. Now he is testing the limits of constitutional law with two narrower executive orders. We explain the high-stakes game of chicken underway: can a president just keep pushing after the courts and the Constitution say no?
Plus, a rapid-fire breakdown of this week’s legal chaos:

• Vanity Plates: A bizarre but critical free speech fight.
• DOJ Takeover: Todd Blanche officially steps in as Attorney General after a bruising confirmation fight over Trump, DOJ independence, and a $1.8 billion slush fund.
• The $400 Million Ballroom: A court abruptly blocks Trump’s massive White House construction plan.
• Targeting Fauci: Senate Republicans vote to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt.

Timestamps:

2:41 - Trump Renews Attack on Birthright Citizenship
10:25 - Profanity, License Plates, and Free Speech
21:56 - Senate Confirms Todd Blanche as Attorney General
35:25 - Court Temporarily Halts Construction on Trump's Ballroom
41:26 - Senate Committee Holds Dr. Anthony Fauci in Contempt of Congress

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears to have secured the committee votes needed to advance his nomination. He cleared the path by agreeing to rescind Donald Trump’s controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and narrow sweeping IRS audit protections for Trump and his family.

But does the deal truly kill the fund—or merely clear a political hurdle while leaving the door open for its return? Corey and John argue that walking back these dangerous policies does not erase Blanche’s complicity in advancing them, nor does it prove him fit to lead the Justice Department.

They also break down a consequential week for executive power and the nation’s democratic guardrails:

Elections: Trump’s escalating attempt to expand federal control over mail voting.

Press Freedom: Withdrawn Justice Department subpoenas that sought testimony and phone records from New York Times journalists.

Media Pressure: The FCC’s continuing pressure campaign against ABC.

Surveillance: Allegations that the Secret Service illegally tracked James Comey and his wife.

Intelligence: The Senate’s party-line confirmation of Jay Clayton to lead the intelligence community.

The checks on executive power are being tested in real time. Some are holding. Others may prove temporary.

Timestamps:
1:20 – Todd Blanche Confirmation Proceedings
18:03 – Trump Cheating in the Midterms
28:03 – Federal Agencies Aren’t Sticking to Their Purpose
28:56 – Jawboning and Media Censorship
47:39 – Why Everyone Should See “The Odyssey”
51:08 – Trump is a Threat to Democracy; the Courts Can Help
54:26 – Trump is Suffering in the Polls

What does Trump actually believe, and how does his worldview connect to the New Right? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang look beyond the latest outrages to the ideology linking them. Then New York Times columnist David French joins Corey to discuss the forces reshaping the American right.

Inside the episode:

David French on birthright citizenship, the postliberal right, and whether there is a path out of America’s democratic crisis.

The attack on the Smithsonian and the fight over who counts as truly American.

Trump’s ties to the manosphere and the grievance politics driving the New Right.

The pressure on New York Times journalists, the disappearance of a Whitney Cummings joke, and the fight to stop Penn Station from being renamed for Trump.

Timestamps: 

• 02:06 – White House Correspondents' Dinner
• 09:34 – Tate Brothers Arrested
• 16:22 – Trump, the Smithsonian, and American History
• 22:28 – Attacks on Free Speech: NYT & Kennedy Center
• 31:43 – Interview: David French Joins
• 41:20 – The New Right and Vichy France
• 52:56 – The Future of MAGA After Trump

Threatening the broadcast licenses of news networks is a direct assault on the free press. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang tear down Trump’s extraordinary primetime speech and explain why standard media fact-checking is no longer enough to protect democracy. They also break down Todd Blanche’s attorney general confirmation hearing and a judge’s condemnation of Trump’s IRS self-dealing.

Then, Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman joins Corey to expose the administration’s hidden $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. Blanche told senators the fund was dead, but Perryman explains why the receipts say otherwise—and why this controversy could derail his confirmation.

What we cover in this episode:
• Media Extortion: The legal reality behind threats to network broadcast licenses.
• The $1.8 Billion Loophole: Why the admin's secret fund might still be alive.
• IRS Self-Dealing: A federal judge’s blistering condemnation of administrative overreach.
• ICE Misconduct: Why state prosecutors must step in when the feds refuse to act.

Timestamps:
1:54 – Trump’s Election Interference Speech
16:53 – Todd Blanche Confirmation Proceedings
22:05 – Federal Judge on the Trump–IRS Agreement
31:51 – FBI to Stop Investigating Confrontations Involving ICE
38:48 – Interview with Skye Perryman

Trump’s Justice Department subpoenaed New York Times reporters after they exposed security problems with the Qatari jet Trump accepted for use as Air Force One. The prosecutor who issued those subpoenas, Jay Clayton, is now Trump’s nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies.

Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang trace the line from the “bribe plane” to a broader attack on democratic accountability, including another fatal ICE shooting in Maine and the White House pressure campaign against the Smithsonian.

Then Senator Ron Wyden joins the show to explain how Section 702 allows the FBI to search Americans’ private communications without a warrant, why putting those searches in the hands of political operatives such as Dan Bongino is so dangerous, and how the bipartisan JAWBONE Act would let those targeted by government coercion fight back in court.

The interview was recorded as the Senate Intelligence Committee, on which Wyden serves, prepared to begin Clayton’s confirmation hearing. Wyden and Corey discuss whether Clayton’s decision to subpoena journalists should disqualify him from overseeing the nation’s intelligence agencies.

The through line is unchecked executive power: targeting journalists, coercing speech, and searching Americans without a warrant.

Trump’s latest financial disclosure points to something far bigger than another ethics scandal: a presidency being used as a vehicle for private financial gain. From crypto windfalls and foreign-linked deals to branding revenue, settlements, and the continued monetization of political power, the numbers raise a constitutional question hiding in plain sight: what happens when the Emoluments Clauses are not enough?

Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down the corruption story behind Trump’s reported $2.2 billion haul, why the Constitution contains two Emoluments Clauses, and why those protections remain dangerously underdeveloped because Congress has never clearly codified them into modern criminal law. Corey argues that using public office for private gain must be treated as a central abuse of presidential power — and that making anti-corruption reform a campaign issue is essential to restoring the rule of law.

Then they turn to the FBI’s reported new push into Georgia 2020 election matters, the Supreme Court’s major ruling on transgender athletes, the Supreme Court’s refusal to disturb the E. Jean Carroll verdict, and the extraordinary NPR correction involving Justice Alito.

This is not just a story about Trump’s money. It is a story about whether American law is prepared to stop a president from turning the office itself into a profit machine — and why Congress must finally make that abuse unmistakably illegal.

The Supreme Court dealt Trump a major defeat by rejecting his effort to end birthright citizenship. It also refused to let him fire the head of the Federal Reserve. But in the same week, the Court handed him sweeping new authority by allowing presidents to remove commissioners at independent agencies.

We break down what these landmark decisions mean, along with the Court’s ruling on Temporary Protected Status, its latest campaign finance decision expanding the influence of wealthy donors, the legal fight over mail voting, and the latest developments in the E. Jean Carroll case.

Then, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance joins us to explain why the birthright citizenship ruling matters so much, what comes next for campaign finance and mail voting, and how these cases are reshaping American democracy.