THE OFFICIAL MEA CULPA WITH MICHAEL COHEN ARCHIVE

Mea Culpa welcomes the legendary politician turned political analyst, Michael Steele. Steele made history when he became the first African-American to be elected to statewide office in Maryland, where he served as lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2007. He was chosen to be the first African-American chairperson of the Republican National Committee from 2009 to 2011. Steele’s abilities as a communicator and commentator have been showcased daily on MSNBC. He’s also appeared on Meet the Press, Face the Nation, HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Daily Show to name a few. In addition to his work in television, Steele can be heard each week on his radio show on SiriusXM. Steele, a prolific writer, is also the author of “Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda", but don’t hold that against him.  Michael and Mr Steele dig deep into the GOP, Fox News and the culture wars.

Mea Culpa welcomes back one of the most dialed-in journalists of the last several decades, Jane Mayer. Mayer has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1995. As the magazine’s chief Washington correspondent, she covers politics, culture, and national security. Previously, she worked at the Wall Street Journal, where she covered the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, the Gulf War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1984, she became the paper’s first female White House correspondent. She is the author of the 2016 Times best-seller “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right,” She also wrote the 2008 Times best-seller “The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals,” which was named a National Book Award finalist. She is the co-author, with Jill Abramson, of “Strange Justice,” also a National Book Award finalist, and, with Doyle McManus, of “Landslide: The Unmaking of the President 1984-1988.” She has won numerous prizes and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Nellie Bly Award for Investigative Reporting. Michael and Jane dig into Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court, GOP's scary policies, and Trump's legal woes. 

Mea Culpawelcomes back Rick Wilson, longtime Republican political strategist, infamous negative ad-maker, and commentator. Since 2015, he's been a leading conservative critic of Donald Trump. His regular column with The Daily Beast is a hilarious and spot-on must-read in the political community. He is also a founding member of the Lincoln Project. Rick’s been published in The Washington Post, Politico, The Hill, The London Spectator, Rolling Stone, The New York Daily News, USA Today, The Bulwark and beyond and he’s constantly called upon for sharp political insights on the national news networks, including CNN and MSNBC. He’s also a fan favorite on Real Time with Bill Maher. A 30-year veteran of politics, Rick got his start in the 1988 Presidential campaign of George Herbert Walker Bush. Rick is also a best-selling author, his latest book is “Running Against the Devil” and his #1 New York Times, best-seller, “Everything Trump Touches Dies” which quintessentially defined the Trump and Michael and Rick dig deep into Clarence Thomas, Fox News, and all of Trump's pending cases and DeSantis.

Mea Culpa welcomes our old friend, Harry Litman, the former US Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Litman is currently the legal affairs columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a professor of Constitutional Law at UCLA and UCSD. Harry can be seen as a legal and political commentator on CBS, NPR MSNBC, and CNN. Litman is also the creator and host of the Talking Feds Podcast. You’d be smart to subscribe to the “Talking Feds” brand new YouTube channel. New episodes are posted daily. But today Harry is here to give us the rundown on all the legal battles currently raging in Washington. 

Mea Culpa welcomes Frank Figliuzzi to help us figure out the legal ramification of everything going on in Washington DC. Figliuzzi is a national security contributor and regular columnist for NBC News and MSNBC. At one time, Figliuzzi was the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, where he served for 25 years as a special agent and directed all espionage investigations across the entire government. He is also the author of the national bestseller “The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence.” Michael and Frank talk about the Tennesee, the Supreme Court, and the indictment.

Mea Culpa welcomes back our good friend Norm Eisen. There’s nothing going on in politics today that Eisen doesn’t have an educated opinion about. Eisen is a CNN Legal Analyst.  And the founder and executive chair of “States United Democracy Center”, a nonpartisan organization advancing free, fair, and secure elections. Eisen served as special counsel to President Barack Obama on ethics. In that role, he was dubbed “Mr. No” and the “Ethics Czar” because he's well known for his strict anti-corruption approach to governance. Eisen is also active with the Brookings Institute and other groups working to expose the myriad of ways Trump and others like him broke the law and attempted to overturn the 2020 election. Eisen is also working with the Brookings Institute to help Ukraine recover and thrive once Putin’s war has ended. So, let’s go now to my conversation with Norm Eisen. Michael and Morm really dug into the indictment and all the other Trump cases on the horizon.

Mea Culpa welcomes back, intrepid newsman, Ali Velshi. Host of “Velshi” and seemingly the favorite fill-in host of every other MSNBC Prime Time News Show. Velshi also reported live from the frontlines of the George Floyd protests, he was drenched during hurricane Ian. And dodged incoming fire from Russian artillery when he fearlessly reported live from the frontlines in Ukraine. A concerned citizen of the world, Velshi seems to be everywhere there is an injustice. He has been a contributor at CNN, Al Jazeera America, and NBC to name a few. Velshi is also a prolific writer and has written books, articles, and columns for newspapers and monthly publications throughout the northern hemisphere. Michal and Ali discuss the NRA, TicTok, and Trump's indictment. 

Mea Culpa welcomes David L. Marcus. Marcus has worked as a foreign correspondent, education reporter, and columnist at the Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Newsday, and U.S. News. David L. Marcus has worked as a foreign correspondent, education reporter, and columnist at the Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Newsday, and U.S. News. As South America bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News, he shared the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, for a series about violence against women. David wrote two books about education and parenting, What It Takes to Pull Me Through and Acceptance. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, and GQ magazine to name a few. Marcus is the cousin of the infamous lawyer, Roy Cohn. He wrote a quintessential piece about Cohn for Vanity Fair shortly after his death. Davis and Michael discuss Roy Cohn's relationship and influence on Trump and Rubert Murdoch and how it plays out today.

Mea Culpa welcomes back to the show one of our favorite people from the Lincoln Project, Tara Setmayer. Setmayer is a former CNN political commentator, a contributor to ABC News, and a former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. She's appeared on ABC's The View, ABC's Good Morning America, and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. Setmayer was also named a Harvard Institute Resident Fellow. And in 2020, she joined The Lincoln Project as a senior advisor. Setmayer hosts a great live show called "The Breakdown" alongside Rick Wilson, you can find it on the Lincoln Project’s streaming channel, LPTV. Michael and Tara dig into foreign policy, culture wars, and the GOP's stand with Trump.

Mea Culpa welcomes back, the Brooklyn Dad Defiant, or simply BDD. BDD is a left-wing political commentator on Twitter, YouTube,  and various other social media platforms. His outspoken defiance and often humorous take on the Trump administration have earned him almost a million Twitter followers. Since the riots at the Capitol on January 6, BDD has used his platform to bring attention to GOP lawmakers like MTG, Cruz, Jordan, and Biggs, asking that they face consequences for their actions in connection to the insurrection. He calls himself a proud papa who is perpetually pissed. Michael and BDD dig deep into the culture wars, the Dobbs decision, and DeSantis.