CAFE

The Supreme Court is political. (Hold for applause.) It’s one of the easiest taglines in our current public discourse. The Court sits at historic low public approval ratings, hovering between the high 30s and low 40s. You’d be better off criticizing Congress or Kanye West, but only slightly. What exactly do we mean when we say the Court is political though?

The Supreme Court’s Biggest Day of the Year (with Melissa Murray) LOGIN TO LISTEN Show Notes The Supreme Court term is officially over. On this week’s Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance are joined by NYU Law professor and co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast Melissa Murray to break down the Court’s most consequential decisions: – Trump v.

In the Stay Tuned podcast bonus for Insiders, Preet and historian Joanne Freeman discuss President George Washington’s remarkable and prescient decision to relinquish power. For more content at the intersection of law, politics, and policy, sign up to receive the weekly CAFE Brief newsletter, for free: cafe.com/brief. Tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #AskPreet, email us at letters@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail.

Joanne Freeman is a historian, author, and renowned professor at Yale, where she specializes in early American politics and political culture. She joins Preet ahead of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding to discuss the continued relevance of the Declaration of Independence, the fragility of democracy, and why the Founders were so worried about demagogues, civic virtue, and the peaceful transfer of power.

On this week’s Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance are joined by Supreme Court expert and Georgetown Law professor Steve Vladeck to discuss: – The Supreme Court’s rulings in a gun possession case and a religious freedom case; – The Court’s decision to grant review of a case challenging the constitutionality of Florida's six-person juries for criminal trials; and – Trends emerging from the current SCOTUS term, including the shift of power away from Congress and toward the judiciary...

California Governor Gavin Newsom seems to wish ever so badly he was the target of a weaponized Justice Department. God knows he’d have plenty of company, given the Trump administration’s track record: Letitia James, James Comey, Mark Kelly, Jerome Powell, and others found themselves on the receiving end of bogus criminal investigations or prosecutions.

Devlin Barrett is a reporter for The New York Times, where he has covered the Justice Department and the FBI for over 20 years. He joins Preet to discuss his new book, The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice. Barrett takes us inside the DOJ, where morale remains strained, and concerns are growing about the influence of Trump loyalists.

Career Prosecutors Are Over Trump (with Devlin Barrett) LOGIN TO LISTEN Show Notes In the Stay Tuned podcast bonus for Insiders, Preet and New York Times Justice Department reporter Devlin Barrett discuss why so many DOJ employees are willing to risk their careers to uphold ethical standards and resist pressure from President Trump. Plus, why Barrett’s acknowledgements in the book deserve their own spotlight.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has now been formally nominated for the permanent job as the nation’s top law enforcement official. His quest for confirmation will play out over the summer and, even with a 53-47 Republican advantage in the Senate, it looks like a toss-up. Hanging over Blanche’s confirmation hearings are damaging new revelations about the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

On this week’s Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance discuss: – President Trump’s nomination of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the role of Director of National Intelligence; – The legal challenges to Trump’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund; and – The Supreme Court decision ruling federal prosecutors can only try a defendant in the district where the alleged offense occurred.