THE OFFICIAL MEA CULPA WITH MICHAEL COHEN ARCHIVE

The Supreme Court issued a terse 16 word decision that cleared a path for the Manhattan District Attorney to finally receive eight years of Donald Trump’s tax records and related documents. In short, it’s the beginning of the end for the Donald. I’ll take you inside the decision and what happens next. Plus, a hilarious and heart filled conversation with comedian George Wallace. For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merchTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the rearview mirror, the criminal and civil prosecution of the former President has only just begun. The push to impeach Trump may have failed on political lines, but he will likely not fare as well in a court of law. Thus, lawmakers and prosecutors have begun targeting the former president for his role in the January 6TH riot with a series of lawsuits that place the blame for the carnage on Trump’s shoulders.For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merchTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earlier this week The Boston Globe became the first major American newspaper to call for the former guy’s criminal prosecution. Michael deconstructs Trump’s pants problem and whether or not he wears a diaper. Finally, Reverend Al Sharpton joins Mea Culpa to discuss the ongoing threats to Black voting rights and a lifetime battling Donald Trump.To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump Sued for Violation of Klu Klux Klan Act + A Conversation with Asha Rangappa February 19, 2021

It ended how it began, with Democrats proving an airtight case that showed Donald Trump’s absolute guilt but the GOP refusing to acknowledge the facts in the case. They knew Trump was guilty and hid behind arcane constitutional arguments to let themselves off the hook with MAGA voters. Later Michael speaks with “All Gas No Brakes” creator Andrew Callaghan about conspiracy, the Proud Boys and how half this country brainwashed itself into becoming lunatic MAGA supporters.For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merchTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A conversation with the Atlantic Council’s Jared Holt, one of the foremost experts fighting online extremism today. His work has lead to the de-platforming of Infowars founder Alex Jones from Paypal, Facebook and YouTube. In addition, his articles and research are cited by everyone from the Washington Post to today’s Impeachment where prosecutors cited an op/ed he wrote as proof of Donald Trump’s complicity in an insurgent coup attempt. He joins Mea Culpa on Day II of the trial and lead Michael on an illuminating journey into the conspiracy hive mind that threatens our democracy. For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merchTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mea Culpa examines the on-going Marjorie Taylor Greene saga, the growing GOP rift and Donald Trump’s coming impeachment. Then, Michael welcomes Adam Carolla into his sanctum to debate the finer points of MAGA ideology. Strap in for a rumble.For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merchTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With just one week to go before the start of Donald Trump’s second Impeachment, the GOP has once again rallied behind the former president; ending the bi-partisan furor that promised to force Trump out of American politics once and for all. The reality of the situation is that the state party hacks who control the GOP on a grassroots level have become infected by MAGA diehards who have but one litmus: how much you support the former president. They have threatened to primary and expel any congressmen who step out of line. Plus, Michael speaks with New Yorker staff writer Jelani Cobb on Biden’s vision for American unity and much, much more. For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the fresh trauma of January 6th beginning to recede, the old fault lines have reappeared with frightened Republicans rallying behind Donald Trump in a bid to save him from a second impeachment. Plus, the Marjorie Taylor Greene outrage and the GOP’s QAnon problem. Finally, Joy Behar from ABC’s The View talks to Michael about Meghan McCain and whether the Trump children will be welcome back on the show. For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the official purging of Liz Cheney, the GOP is now the party of the lunatic right. Gone are the moderate voices in favor of accused sex trafficker Matt Gaetz and QAnon Queen Marjorie Taylor Green. We get the inside scoop on her aggressive confrontation with AOC and her stalker level obsession with the Congresswoman. Finally, Donny Deutsch joins Mea Culpa to discuss the GOP brand in the age of insanity and much, much more.To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In just five days President Biden has reversed much of Trump’s agenda from the building of the boarder wall to rejoining the Paris Climate Accords with a flurry of executive orders aimed at dismantling his toxic agenda. Mea Culpa welcomes Ben and Brett Meiselas the duo behind Meidas Touch. Chances are you’ve seen their viral videos which have been viewed hundreds of millions of times during the campaign and post-election chaos as they pilloried the former president and advanced the progressive cause. For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merch To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The nation collectively exhaled a sigh of real as Joe Biden was inaugurated the 46th president of the United States. His address was a marked contrast from Trump’s dystopian American Carnage speech four years prior. But the new president inherits a nation beset by crisis and pandemic with bitter internal divisions. The elephant in the room remains the now former President Trump whose impeachment trial looms. Meanwhile America waits for justice to be served. David Enrich from the New York Times joins Michael to discuss Trump’s perilous financial future and is own date with legal jeopardy.For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merchTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Tomorrow's inauguration may spell the end for Donald Trump's disastrous presidency, but the monster he unleashed upon us January 6th will be with us for a generation. Michael discusses how the rioters were not some extraordinary group of hardened extremists, but rather, they come from our own communities; representing, as writer Hannah Arendt noted in her landmark 1963 New Yorker essay about the trial of Adolf Eichmann, "the banality of evil." The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson joins Michael to discuss how we go about dismantling Trump's ugly legacy and hold the rioters and those who supported them accountable. For cool Mea Culpa gear, check out www.meaculpapodcast.com/merchTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Wednesday, Donald Trump became the first President in US history to be impeached twice, this time for inciting an insurrection and sending a mob to attack the US capital in a desperate move to remain in power. The impeachment saw rare bi-partisan support with nine GOP representatives joining the democrats in calling for the president's ouster. The trial now moves to the Senate. MSNBC host Ali Velshi joins Michael as they analyze this unprecedented moment.

The January 6th MAGA riots that saw thousands of Trump loyalists ransack the Capitol Building will stain the President's legacy and will likely shadow the GOP for decades. The revulsion for Trump has grown to a fever pitch with scores of lawmakers calling for his removal from office. This was always the inevitable end for Donald Trump,  the violence a by product of the lies and divisive rhetoric he used to stoke fear and foment rage. The only surprise is that it took this long to happen. It was a heavy day and hard to watch. So we decided to lighten the mood by reaching out to Ben Stiller. Check out Michael's hilarious conversation with the movie funny man to soothe your soul after so much chaos and insurrection.

Norm Eisen is back with us today to unpack the repercussions of Mark Meadows testimony against Donald Trump along with a slew of recent defectors from Sidney Powell to Jenna Ellis. Each one of these is a body blow to Trump's weakening defense. But Meadows could put the smoking gun in his hand. If you happen to be tuning in for the first time, 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. His articles for the Brookings Institute and elsewhere have made the case for why Trump and his band of criminal conspiracists represented a clear and present danger to democracy. The former Obama Ethics Czar and Ambassador to the Czech Republic joins us today to get to the heart of what’s going on. 

Mea Culpa welcomes the Lincoln Project advisor Stuart Stevens. Regarded as one of the Republican Party’s most talented political gurus—a body of work that includes steering Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012—Stevens may also be the GOP’s most prominent defector when he abandoned his party as Trump rose to power. He despises the former president in a way that feels strikingly personal. While the Lincoln Project argues that Trump is perverting the Republican Party, Stevens doesn’t think Trump has perverted anything: Trump is the Republican Party, Stevens believes, and the Republican Party is Trump. Stuart believes there is no reclaiming his former party, it must be burned to the ground. Or to use a Vietnam-era metaphor, the Village must be destroyed in order to save it. Reflecting on a four-decade career in American politics, Stevens is convinced that Trump was not an aberrant zigzag. He was fate. “I saw a lot of this stuff, but I just chose to believe that this kind of dark side was the recessive gene, not the dominant one,” he says. “I was wrong.” Stevens joins Mea Culpa to discuss his fabulous new book “The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy.” The book is part memoir and part Jeremiad as Stevens unpacks how we are moving towards an autocratic end.

Mea Culpa welcomes back to the show, legendary newsman David Corn, the Washington DC Bureau Chief of Mother Jones, and an on-air analyst for MSMBC. Corn and Michael Isikoff “co-authored, “Russian Roulette, The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump”. He’s also the author of four New York Times best-selling books and was the long-time Washington editor for “The Nation”. For a good read, check out “Our Land” — his twice-weekly newsletter that covers everything from news of the day to entertainment, but all told in Corn’s no bullshit style. Corn has been published multiple times, but his latest bestseller,” American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy” is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding our unprecedented times. He joins us today amidst unprecedented dysfunction in American government as the GOP continues for a third week without a House speaker, paralyzed by infighting between moderate and extremist factions of the GOP. On top of this, former President Trump awaits four separate criminal trials and has all but dared Judge Chuktan to jail him for violating his gag order. All the while war rages in Israel and Ukraine. It seems we are drifting without a rudder and American credibility is suffering. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back our old friend Malcolm Nance. You may know Nance as the globally renowned expert on terrorism, extremism, and insurgency from his stunning new book, “They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency.” It became a New York Times best-seller as was his last book, the Plot to Hack America. He’s the counter-terrorism analyst for NBC and MSNBC. Nance is considered one of the "Great African-Americans in Espionage” by the International Spy Museum. But he is also extremely well-sourced on what’s happening in the armed forces and has spent time on the frontlines of Ukraine. Today he shifts his expertise and perspective to Israel and the readiness of the IDF to invade Gaza and perhaps face Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon. Nance joins us with answers to our most burning questions, like “how did this happen?”

Mea Culpa welcomes back our friend, the brilliant political comic and anti-MAGA troll Walt Masterson. Over the past few years, Masterson has brilliantly insinuated himself into the fabric of the MAGA nation and trolled everyone from January 6th rioters to neo nazi school board members, making them look like imbeciles and exposing their hypocrisy to millions and viewers, especially on Tik Tok where his takedowns of the political right have helped him amass over 1.7 million dedicated followers. He joins us today to discuss his latest round of videos and how much Gas the MAGA stupid train has in the tank.

Mea Culpa welcomes back 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” YouTube channel. New episodes are posted daily and he features the greatest legal minds and tough-as-nails former prosecutors breaking down the legal news and all things Trump indictment. But today Harry is here to give us the rundown on the latest in Trump’s four criminal indictments, and the continued fallout from the Judge Engoron ruling. 

Mea Culpa welcomes the fantastic Elie Mystal, the Nation’s Justice Correspondent and the host of its legal podcast “Contempt of Court. In addition to being a frequent guest on MSNBC, Mystal is also an Alfred Knobler Fellow at the Type Media Center. His first book is “The New York Times bestseller “Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution.” Mystal is also an attorney and is considered one of the foremost experts on the Supreme Court. But he’s also funny as hell and can be seen trolling the GOP daily on the platform formerly known as Twitter. He joins us today as the House of Representatives descends into chaos and the GOP searches for another sucker to take the speaker’s gavel.

Norm Eisen is back with us today to unpack the Ergonon ruling and what it means for Donald Trump. If you happen to be tuning in for the first time, 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. His articles for the Brookings Institute and elsewhere have made the case for why Trump and his band of criminal conspiracists represented a clear and present danger to democracy. The former Obama Ethics Czar and Ambassador to the Czech Republic joins us today to get to the heart of what’s going on. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back one of our favorite people from the Lincoln Project, Tara Setmayer. She’s a former CNN political commentator, a contributor to ABC News, and a former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. Setmayer has appeared on ABC's The View, ABC's Good Morning America, and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. She was named a Harvard Institute of Politics Spring 2020 Resident Fellow. Also in 2020, she joined The Lincoln Project as a senior advisor. Setmayer hosts the live show "The Breakdown" alongside co-founder Rick Wilson, on the organization's streaming channel, LPTV. She’s also a fierce critic of the ongoing MAGA agenda and what she views as the GOP’s shameful inability to move beyond its toxic politics. She joins me today as we celebrate the ruling against Donald Trump by Judge Engoron. 

Mea Culpa welcomes Reed Galen, co-founder of The Lincoln Project and a veteran public affairs and political commentator with more than 20 years of experience, Reed has been involved in politics, government, and business at the highest levels. Galen has spent more than a decade advising Fortune 50, 100, and 1000 companies needing high-level counsel in strategic communications, procurement, and legislation. In addition to his private sector work, Reed has managed several high-profile ballot measure campaigns in California, Texas, and Colorado – Before moving to the private sector, Reed served as Deputy Campaign Manager for John McCain’s presidential campaign and Deputy Campaign Manager for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successful 2006 re-election campaign. Galen also worked on both of President George W. Bush's campaigns and served the Bush Administration at both the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security. As founder of the Lincoln Project, Galen has led the groups vision and created some of its most memorable attacks against Donald Trump. He is now focused on ridding the nation of Trump and attempting to purge the GOP of its love affair with MAGA ideology. He joins us today to discuss the changing of the media guard as Rupert Murdoch rides off into the right-wing sunset. So, let’s go now to that conversation.

Mea Culpa welcomes Frank Figliuzzi to help us figure out the legal ramifications 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.” Make sure to check out his excellent new show on YouTube “Frankly Speaking,” where he sheds light on the work done by the FBI illuminating why that work is so critical to the health of our nation and our national security. 

Mea Culpa welcomes Scott Dworkin founder and lead investigator of the Democratic Coalition and host of the Dworkin Report Podcast. His 2016 Dworkin Report helped uncover the Trump-Russia affair well before Special Counsel Mueller’s probe began. He served as a deputy director for both the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee and 2012 Democratic National Convention and was a senior advisor on both the Draft Biden and Run Warren Run campaigns. He has worked on campaigns and with organizations in all 50 states and was named to the Campaigns & Elections magazine’s 2011 class of Rising Stars. Find him at DworkinReport.com, scottdworkin.org, and on Twitter @funder. He joins us today on Mea Culpa to discuss the rapidly approving Georgia Racketeering and all things indictment.

Mea Culpa welcomes back progressive activist and Twitter phenom Brooklyn Dad Defiant. Ever since January 6th, BDD has used his platform which reaches 1.2 million followers to push back on the MAGA agenda as well as the poisonous rhetoric they spread across social media. Brooklyn Dad Defiant joins us today to discuss the rapidly approaching Georgia RICO trials for some of the 18 conspirators as Trump finds himself deeper in the proverbial shit. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back 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. Check out their latest show featuring a who’s who of prosecutorial muscle and special guests like former Senator Al Franken. Also, make sure to check out their new YouTube channel. They may have a face for radio but its content you won’t want to miss. New episodes are posted daily and he features the greatest legal minds and tough as nails former prosecutors breaking down the legal news and all things Trump indictment. But today Harry is here to give us the rundown on what’s happening in Georgia and discuss just what was on Evan Corcoran’s phone and how it will damage Donald Trump. So let’s go now to that conversation.

Mea Culpa welcomes Grant Stern to the show. Stern is the Executive Editor of Occupy Democrats AND publishes the must-read, STERN FACTS newsletter on Substack. He's also a mortgage broker, community activist and radio personality in Miami, Florida, as well as the producer of the Dworkin Report podcast. Grant is also an occasional contributor to Raw Story, Alternet, and the DC Report, and an unpaid senior advisor to the Democratic Coalition and a Director of Sunshine Agenda Inc. a government transparency nonprofit organization. He joins me today on Mea Culpa to discuss his latest bombshell report on fake electors and discuss the impact of the Enrique Tario sentencing plus much, much more. 

Mea Culpa welcomes Lev Parnas from the wilds of Boca Raton, Florida. Lev is a Soviet-born businessman who along with Rudy Giuliani and Igor Fruman played a central role in the campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate Trump’s political rivals…including Hunter Biden. Parnas was thrown into Trump's first impeachment drama, but he worked with federal prosecutors against Giuliani and the former president. Parnas is currently serving a 20-month sentence for Campaign Finance, Wire Fraud, And False Statements Offenses, and is speaking to us today while on home confinement. Lev is a truth-teller and unafraid to remember the things that most folks wish he would forget. Sorry folks but there’s a hashtag that Parnas deploys that says it all, “LEV REMEMBERS.” What that means for Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump and the rest of these criminals is that they are in deep shit because LEV REMEMBERS. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back legendary politician turned political analyst, Michael Steele. Steele made history when he became the first African-American candidate to be elected to statewide office in Maryland, where he served as lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2007, and when 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, where he has become a fierce opponent of Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda. 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 or on the Michael Steele Podcast which has become a must listen for those on both sides of the aisle. He joins me today to discuss the legal thicket we must politically navigate as Trump’s four criminal trials loom as well as some color commentary on last week’s GOP Debate. 

This week on indictment watch we have my friend, mentor, and moral compass Norm Eisen the former Obama Ethics Czar. Norm’s prescient op/eds for The New York Times have predicted what would happen in all four indictments every step of the way. He joins me today to unpack what happened Monday in Georgia and the likelihood of Meadows and any of the defendants having their cases moved to Federal Court.

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. He joins us on Mea Culpa amidst this historic moment of Trump’s fourth arrest. Just last week he read the entirety of the 98-page indictment on the air and into the historic record. This is a true moment of infamy. 

Mea Culpa welcomes the opposite of the narcissistic garbage that surrendered to authorities today. General Mark Hertling. He joins us today to give us a real and frank assessment of the state of both Russian and Ukrainian forces as war begins to tip in Ukraine's favor. In addition, he is an outspoken critic of former president Trump and the MAGA agenda. Hertling spent 37 years in the Armed Forces. During his time as a U.S. soldier, he served in Armor, Cavalry, planning, operations, and training positions. He commanded every organization from Platoon to Field Army. Most notably, Hertling commanded the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division in Iraq during the troop surge of 2007 to 2008 and retired as Commanding General of the US Army Europe. His knowledge of the complex alliances between European nations and the fragility of the NATO experiment gives him a rare insight into how this war is being fought as well as what the face of true leadership looks like. 

Mea Culpa is taking a short August recess. But with everything that’s happening we don’t want to let you down. So, tune in for an all-new interview with my favorite former prosecutor, Harry Litman. The host of the Talking Feds podcast, Litman is also an LA Times columnist and appears frequently on MNSBC. This week he joins us on Mea Culpa to offer a no-holds-barred look at the Trump indictment from a prosecutor's point of view. 

Mea Culpa welcomes legal legend, Nick Akerman. Akerman was formerly a federal prosecutor and the Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he specialized in going after white-collar crime. Prior to the SDNY, he made his name as the Assistant Special Watergate Prosecutor with the Watergate Special Prosecution Force under Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski. There Akerman was instrumental in helping crack open the vast conspiracy orchestrated by President Nixon and his co-conspirators that resulted in Nixon’s resignation and several prison sentences for his underlings. Akerman joins us today to discuss how Trump is basically screwed in his election interference trial and why televising the trial will be a terrible idea.

Mea Culpa welcomes podcaster, radio host, and columnist Joe Walsh. Walsh was elected to the House of Representatives in 2011 from Illinois’s 8th District. He also ran for president and then blew up his life when he spoke out against the MAGA cult and gave Trump the bird. To quote Joe, Republicans “have become fully radicalized and anti-democracy.” Joe’s podcast, “White Flag” strives to find a path to unite, not divide us politically, but he pulls no punches in his latest book, “F*ck Silence: Calling Trump Out for the Cultish, Moronic, Authoritarian Con Man He Is.” He has of late, railed against the GOP establishment, who voted for Trump in 2020 and believe the rest of us simply forgot their actions. He is also deeply worried about the future of the GOP and the idea that there is no longer space for a sane, anti-Trump candidate who supports small government and fiscal conservatism. What happens next is anyone’s guess. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back Reed Galen. Co-founder of The Lincoln Project and a veteran public affairs and political commentator with more than 20 years of experience, Reed has been involved in politics, government, and business at the highest levels. Galen has spent more than a decade advising Fortune 50, 100, and 1000 companies in need of high-level counsel in the fields of strategic communications, procurement, and legislation. In addition to his private sector work, Reed has managed several high-profile ballot measure campaigns in California, Texas, and Colorado – Before moving to the private sector, Reed served as Deputy Campaign Manager for John McCain’s presidential campaign and Deputy Campaign Manager for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successful 2006 re-election campaign. Galen also worked on both of President George W. Bush's campaigns and served the Bush Administration at both the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security. As founder of the Lincoln Project, Galen has lead the group's vision and created some of its most memorable attacks against Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and others. He is now focused on not only ridding the nation of Trump but attempting to purge the GOP of its love affair with MAGA ideology. We had the opportunity to speak to him in the midst of these historic indictments. 

Mea Culpa welcomes our ole friend, Joe Trippi, heralded on the cover of The New Republic as the man who “reinvented campaigning,” Trippi pioneered bringing politics into the digital age. Most recently, he’s brought his campaign savvy to the Lincoln Project where he serves as a senior advisor. With Trump a target of Federal Prosecutors and State DAs, Trippi is targeting the MAGA machine that continues to prop up divisive politics. Lately, his scorn is being directed at Ron DeSantis, who the GOP hoped to dress up as a more palatable Donald Trump but instead got a zombie hall monitor with a mean streak. You can listen to Joe’s podcast, “That Trippi Show,” everywhere podcasts are found or see him on MSNBC, CNN and NBC. Today we’ll go into all things Trump indictment but also look at how the GOP has lost an entire generation of voters as it clings to the poisonous politics of its MAGA base. 

My next guest on Mea Culpa is Neal Kaytal. The former Obama administration Solicitor General of the United States and New York Times bestselling author, of “Impeach,” The Case Against Donald Trump. In addition, Neal runs one of the largest Supreme Court practices in the world where he occupies the role formerly held by now Chief Justice John Roberts. From a legal perspective, the man is an absolute heavy hitter and one of the sharpest minds we’ve had on this show to date. He has orally argued 43 cases before the Supreme Court with 41 of them in the last decade. At the age of 50, he has already argued more Supreme Court cases in U.S. history than any other minority attorney, breaking the record of Thurgood Marshall. Make sure to check out his new podcast Courtside where each week Neal discusses a major Supreme Court case with a non-lawyer guest. This week it’s all about the prosecution of presidents and the landmark, Morrison V. Olsen. Comedian John Mulaney joins the proceedings. on He joins us today on Mea Culpa to unpack the Target Letter and to discuss the myriad ways Trump will likely end up behind bars. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back 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” YouTube channel. New episodes are posted daily and he features the greatest legal minds and tough-as-nails former prosecutors breaking down the legal news and all things Trump indictment. But today Harry is here to give us the rundown on that pesky target letter and the imminent Trump indictment number three. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back our old friend Norm Eisen. There’s pretty much 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. His articles for the Brookings Institute and elsewhere have made the case for why Trump and his band of criminal conspiracists represented a clear and present danger to democracy. His latest work of art is a model prosecution memo that came just days before Trump received his target letter that lays out the case against him in startling clarity. Eisen writes that “the memo builds on the work that has been done by the Jan. 6 Committee and many others but is the first comprehensive application of the law to the facts to establish that DOJ standards for bringing charges are met. We offer an in-depth look at the vast factual record through prosecutorial eyes to describe a relatively simple three-part theory of the case that prosecutors can try to verdict in a year or less.” It’s that three-part theory that Norm is going to break down for us today. Settle in folks and get educated, you’re about to get a masterclass in how to bring down Donald Trump. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back one of our favorite people from the Lincoln Project, Tara Setmayer. She’s a former CNN political commentator, a contributor to ABC News, and a former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. Setmayer has appeared on ABC's The View, ABC's Good Morning America, and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. She was named a Harvard Institute of Politics Spring 2020 Resident Fellow. Also in 2020, she joined The Lincoln Project as a senior advisor. Setmayer hosts the live show "The Breakdown" alongside co-founder Rick Wilson, on the organization's streaming channel, LPTV. She’s also a fierce critic of the ongoing MAGA agenda as well as the damaged GOP that has grown like a cancer from the hard right. 

EXCLUSIVE!!! Robert Kennedy Jr. Vs. Michael Cohen…If You Thought He Was Crazy Just Wait Until Your Hear This Interview

Mea Culpa welcomes back Michael Smerconish, the host of the TV program on CNN fittingly called "Smerconish." He is also the host of The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM. He’s been nationally syndicated in more than 100 markets and has authored seven books: two New York Times best sellers, and his novel TALK! was optioned for television by Warner Brothers. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Smerconish was about to embark on a new tour called "Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking," a one-man show commemorating his 30th anniversary in talk radio. A taped version of that presentation was aired worldwide as a one-hour CNN special in 2020. Nowadays he is focused on pointing out the foibles of the MAGA mob while trying to find a middle ground in our divisive nation; hoping somehow that this nation can find a way to come back together before the 250th Anniversary of this nation. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back legendary politician turned political analyst, Michael Steele. Steele made history when he became the first African-American candidate to be elected to statewide office in Maryland, where he served as lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2007, and when 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 where he has become a fierce opponent of Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda. 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 or on the Michael Steele Podcast which has become a must listen for those on both sides of the aisle. He joins me today as former President Trump awaits news charges from the DOJ and special prosecutor Jack Smith and much, much more. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back our old friend Malcolm Nance. Nance has spent a significant amount of time this year on the frontlines of the Ukraine War and has a lot to say about the current situation there as well as what's happening inside Russia with the likes of the Wagner Group. He’s also a fierce critic of Donald Trump and the danger he poses to democracy. You may know Nance as the globally renowned expert on terrorism, extremism, and insurgency from his stunning new book, “They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency.” It became a New York Times best-seller as was his last book, the Plot to Hack America. He’s the counter-terrorism analyst for NBC and MSNBC. And Nance is considered one of the "Great African-Americans in Espionage” by the International Spy Museum. 

Mea Culpa welcomes David Corn back to the show, legendary newsman David Corn. Corn is the Washington DC Bureau Chief of Mother Jones and an on-air analyst for MSMBC. Corn and Michael Isikoff “co-authored, “Russian Roulette, The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump”. He’s also the author of four New York Times best-selling books and was the long-time Washington editor for “The Nation”. For a good read, check out “Our Land” — his twice-weekly newsletter that covers everything from news of the day to entertainment, but all told in Corn’s no bullshit style. Corn has been published multiple times, but his latest bestseller,” American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy” is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the unprecedented times we live in.

Mea Culpa welcomes back our old friend Malcolm Nance. Nance has spent a significant amount of time this year on the frontlines of the Ukraine War and has a lot to say about the current situation there as well as what's happening inside Russia with the likes of the Wagner Group. He’s also a fierce critic of Donald Trump and the danger he poses to democracy. You may know Nance as the globally renowned expert on terrorism, extremism, and insurgency from his stunning new book, “They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency.” It became a New York Times best-seller as was his last book, the Plot to Hack America. He’s the counter-terrorism analyst for NBC and MSNBC. And Nance is considered one of the "Great African-Americans in Espionage” by the International Spy Museum.