Trump’s Latest Attempts to Rewrite the Constitution and Expand Executive Privilege

Glenn welcomes back Brian Tyler Cohen, a prominent social media voice and co-host of the Legal Breakdown series. Together, they unpack a recent development: Donald Trump’s push for the Department of Justice to revive a baseless prosecution against innocent Olympian David Hearn. Glenn and Brian talk about the implications of this move, highlighting a disturbing trend of using the DOJ as a tool for personal vendettas, rather than upholding justice.As they explore the legal ramifications, Brian emphasizes the egregiousness of targeting an innocent man, particularly when evidence points to a botched job rather than vandalism. The conversation then transitions to Brian's new book, "The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World", where they discuss the urgent need for accountability and a roadmap for the future once Trump is out of power. They tackle critical actions that Democrats must take, including eliminating the filibuster, expanding the Supreme Court, and implementing the National Popular Vote Compact to ensure every vote counts equally.With a call to arms for listeners, they stress the importance of staying engaged in the democratic process, especially as midterms approach. Justice, they assert, is a team sport, and it requires all of us to participate actively.Find Brian Tyler Cohen on social media at @BrianTylerCohen and grab his book "The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World" at your favorite bookstore.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Justice Matters, Glenn dives deep into two critical legal developments involving Donald Trump: the ongoing battle over birthright citizenship and the controversial expansion of executive privilege. Glenn discusses Trump's recent attempts to undermine the 14th Amendment, emphasizing that the Constitution cannot be altered by executive order. He highlights the recent court rulings affirming that anyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen, regardless of their parents' immigration status.Shifting gears, Glenn addresses Trump's efforts to redefine executive privilege, attempting to extend it beyond government officials to include private citizens and foreign actors. He explains the implications of this move and how it seeks to shield Trump from accountability as investigations loom. With a mix of legal insight and pointed commentary, Glenn underscores the importance of defending constitutional rights and the role of nonprofits in fighting for justice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno is CEO of RepresentUs. She is an advocate, author, and lawyer with two decades of experience globally and within the US on issues of corruption, authoritarianism, organized crime, and human rights. Maria has held multiple senior positions at Human Rights Watch and served as executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, at the helm of a team running groundbreaking state and national campaigns.A Peruvian-American, Maria came of age in Peru at a time of internal armed conflict, economic crisis, and then corrupt autocracy. Early in her career, she contributed to the extradition and trial on charges of corruption and crimes against humanity of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. Her narrative non-fiction book “There Are No Dead Here: A Story of Murder and Denial in Colombia” (Bold Type Books, Feb. 2017), won the 2018 Juan E. Méndez Human Rights Book Award, and the Spanish translation is on its third printing. Maria earned her law degree, magna cum laude, from New York University School of Law and served as a judicial clerk on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.Glenn spoke with Maria to discuss a RepresentUs project called the Congressional Courage Campaign. She spoke convincingly about how it is beyond dispute that Donald Trump is running the US government like a mafia organization. And she also talked about what we can - and must - do about it.Find RepresentUs: https://represent.us/about/Find glenn on Substack: glennkirschner.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Judge Emmett Sullivan is calling Attorney General Todd Blanche to the carpet. More specifically, he's hauling him into court on August 13th because Todd has to explain why he failed to comply with Judge Sullivan's July 25th order to provide the court some documents including some of the unreacted Epstein files.Glenn does a detailed review of Judge Sullivan's new court order in Katie Phang's lawsuit against Todd Blanche for violating federal law - the Epstein Files Transparency Act.Find Glenn on Substack: glennkirschner.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

DC Attorney Jeanine Pirro actually carryied a box of reflecting pool liner into the oval office to try to convince Donald Trump that it wasn't vandals that caused the pool liner to fail, it was a botched install job.The problem is, the botched install job was done by the donor guy to whom Trump gave the no-bid contract.She's trying to tell Trump he's wrong. How well do you think that meeting went for Ms. Pirro?Find Glenn on Substack: glennkirschner.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After push back from congress during his confirmation hearing - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo rescinding Trump's $1.8 billion cop-beaters' fund. But, of course, right after he's confirmed as Attorney General, he can simply issue another memo creating the $1.8 billion cop-beaters' fund again. But there's one thing that Todd Blanche seems to have forgotten: a federal judge, who presided over the lawsuit that Trump brought against his own IRS looking for a $10 billion payday, said that Trump's lawsuit was filed in bad faith, filed for an improper purpose, was an act of collusion, and was executive self-dealing designed to manufacture judicial cover for an unlawful giveaway. And judge Kathleen Williams ruled that the settlement is void.Find Glenn on Substack: glennkirschner.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After saying things like "she was 100% wrong . . . she choked . . . she folded like an umbrella," do we think Donald Trump is maybe getting ready to fire DC Attorney Jeanine Pirro? Remember what happened Pam Bondi? Remember what happened to Kristi Noem?Glenn discusses Trump's pattern of disloyalty and retaliation, especially against women HE selected to be in his administration. Find Glenn on Substack: glennkirschner.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The DOJ courtesy of DC Attorney Jeanine Pirro have moved to dismiss a case that it never should have indicted in the first place.They filed a motion to dismiss the Trumped-up charges against 67-year-old former Olympic athlete David Hearn for reaching into the water of the reflecting pool and feeling a piece of the peeling blue pool liner. And the motion to dismiss that was filed has resulted in the rats in the Trump administration eating one another.Find Glenn on Substack: glennkirschner.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Glenn speaks with Stacey Young the Executive director at the non-profit group Justice Connection. They have become the leading voice delivering the message that the assault on the DOJ makes Americans more vulnerable to violent crime, corruption, climate change, civil rights violations, and terrorism—while eroding the foundation of our democracy. And by providing direct support to employees, tracking the damage, pressuring Congress and mobilizing alumni, they're standing up for the Department Glenn and Stacey once served. Glenn discusses the nomination of Acting Attorney General of Todd Blanche.Find Stacey Young and Justice Connection at: www.thejusticeconnection.orgFind Glenn on Substack" glennkirschner.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Despite Donald Trump's demands - Senate Republicans have stalled the confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche while joining a unanimous Senate vote opposing any presidential pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, delivering a major bipartisan pushback against Donald Trump's administration.Sounds like fake news, doesn't it? But it's not. It's actually a rare point of light coming out of the Senate.Find Glenn on Substack: glennkirschner.substack.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.