Mixing sharp wit and serious political fire, The Oath and The Office is where hard-hitting constitutional analysis meets razor-sharp comedy. Distinguished political science professor Corey Brettschneider teams up with comedian John Fugelsang to break down the most powerful 35 words in American democracy—the presidential oath of office. Every president swears to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution, but what happens when one openly attacks democracy and the rule of law itself? Each week, Corey and John pull no punches, exposing the latest threats to the rule of law and demanding accountability. Smart, fearless, and wickedly funny—this is the civics lesson you can’t afford to miss.
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.
Katie Phang joins The Oath and the Office to discuss her legal fight to force Trump’s DOJ to release the Epstein files. This is not about money. It is about whether Trump’s DOJ can defy the law and keep records from the public. Phang explains how she is using the Epstein Files Transparency Act, her role as a journalist, and statutory interpretation to challenge DOJ secrecy. We get into the harm Epstein caused, why transparency matters, and what it means when a citizen uses the law to fight for democracy. But first, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down three alarming stories about presidential power: Trump tying FISA surveillance renewal and a national intelligence confirmation to his SAVE Act voter bill, Gavin Newsom’s claim that Trump’s DOJ is investigating him and his wife, and Pete Hegseth’s alleged loyalty tests in military promotions. This episode is about secrecy, retaliation, loyalty, and the fight to make law matter again. Subscribe to The Oath and the Office wherever you get your podcasts. The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It
Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang open with explosive new reporting that Stephen Miller pushed a plan for President Trump to suspend habeas corpus — the fundamental constitutional safeguard that allows people detained by the government to challenge their imprisonment in court. They explain what habeas corpus is, why it has been central since the Founding, and why suspending it to speed mass deportations would mark an extraordinary expansion of presidential power. Then Harry Litman joins Corey and John to discuss the crisis at the Justice Department: the fight over Trump’s so-called “anti-weaponization” fund, the destruction of DOJ culture, the role of Todd Blanche, and what it would take to rebuild a Justice Department committed to law rather than personal loyalty. Plus: threats to mail ballots, the Epstein files, and whether courts and Congress can still constrain an increasingly unbound presidency. https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/its-the-fraud-stupid https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/playing-chicken-in-a-pinto
Trump melts down in a chaotic Meet the Press interview, lashing out when pressed on his “anti-weaponization” fund and his false claims of rigged elections. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down what the moment reveals about Trump’s larger project: turning government power into personal protection, personal revenge, and an attack on democratic legitimacy. Then: Congress pushes back. The House rebukes Trump over Iran war powers and passes new Ukraine aid over his objections, raising a central constitutional question: can Congress finally reclaim its role in foreign policy? Corey and John also look at the next front in the separation-of-powers fight: appointments. Todd Blanche may be headed for a permanent attorney general nomination, while William Pulte’s appointment as acting DNI avoids Senate confirmation despite serious concerns about experience and politicized investigations. Plus: the crisis at 60 Minutes, John Bolton’s guilty plea, selective prosecution worries, and a federal judge blocking Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee. It’s a week of meltdown, weaponization, war powers, appointments, and resistance — with the constitutional stakes coming into sharper focus.
Donald Trump’s revenge politics hit resistance this week — not by accident, but because citizens, journalists, lawyers, judges, and lawmakers kept pushing. This week on The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down a rare hopeful stretch for democracy: a judge blocks payouts from Trump’s so-called “anti-weaponization” fund, another judge reopens questions around Trump’s IRS settlement, courts reject Trump’s attempt to put his name on the Kennedy Center, and thousands of federal lawyers are leaving rather than serve an authoritarian agenda. Corey and John also discuss the fight inside CBS and 60 Minutes, the role of independent journalism, and why democracy depends not just on courts, but on citizens willing to expose corruption, demand accountability, and keep the constitutional system alive.
Trump’s claim of power above the law is showing up on every front: bogus prosecutions, deportation threats, attacks on speech, war powers, and military escalation abroad. This week on The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang start with the dismissal of human trafficking charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. A federal judge found the prosecution vindictive and selective, a major rebuke to a Trump DOJ that tried to punish a man after he fought back against his unlawful deportation. Then Corey and John turn to Mahmoud Khalil, where the Trump administration is pushing another dangerous claim: that noncitizens can be detained and deported for political speech. They also discuss new congressional pushback against Trump’s war in Iran and the DOJ indictment of Raúl Castro, as the administration invokes “law and order” while expanding American military power in Latin America. Then filmmaker Andrew Glazer joins the show to discuss "Spring of the Vanishing", his investigative documentary on the American military’s alleged complicity in killings of innocent civilians by the Mexican military during the drug war. The conversation becomes a broader warning about how the war on drugs has been used to destroy civil liberties at home and abroad. The theme running through all of it: Trump’s imperial presidency is not just a foreign policy problem. It is a threat to constitutional democracy here at home. Subscribe to The Oath and The Office wherever you get your podcasts, and help us expose abuses of presidential power before they become the new normal. Watch Spring of the Vanishing: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0LAGR1QS4QZ2PIWOMLFK18KJ2K
What is the Supreme Court doing when it acts without full briefing, oral argument, or a real explanation? This week on The Oath and The Office, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor joins the podcast to explain the Court’s shadow docket: the emergency orders process that has become one of the most powerful and least understood parts of American government. Kantor discusses the Supreme Court memos she obtained with Adam Liptak, what they reveal about Chief Justice John Roberts, and how they relate to the Court’s supposed image as a neutral “umpire". Corey and John also discuss Trump’s proposed “anti-weaponization” compensation fund, the politics of abortion and the abortion pill at the Supreme Court, and the Court’s emergency order allowing Alabama to move forward with redrawn congressional maps. In this episode: What the shadow docket is and why it matters Jodi Kantor on Supreme Court memos The two sides of John Roberts Why the “umpire” model of judging has collapsed Abortion, Alabama, and emergency Supreme Court power Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund and the politics of grievance The immunity case and presidential power Link to Jodi Kantor's book, How to Start: https://jodikantor.com/how-to-start Link to Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak's reporting on the secret memos of the Supreme Court: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html
This week on The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang begin with the new redistricting wars, as southern states move to dilute Black Americans’ voting power after a green light from the Supreme Court. They look at Tennessee, Alabama, and the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision striking down a voting plan approved by voters. Then, they turn to citizenship itself: DOJ support for stripping citizenship from naturalized citizens and Trump’s attacks on his own Supreme Court justices. Corey then speaks with Cecilia Wang, National Legal Director of the ACLU, who argued before the Supreme Court against Trump’s executive order attacking birthright citizenship, with Trump himself watching from the courtroom. Wang explains why the text and history of the Fourteenth Amendment are on her side, how Reconstruction transformed the Constitution, and why the fight over citizenship is part of the larger battle for voting rights, civil liberties, and democracy itself.
The Supreme Court is reshaping American democracy — weakening voting rights, empowering the presidency, and narrowing the protections that have defined modern civil rights law. John Fugelsang and Corey Brettschneider begin with the Court’s assault on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the fallout for democratic participation across the country. They also discuss Trump’s attacks on James Comey, threats against ABC and Jimmy Kimmel, and the broader campaign of intimidation against critics and dissenters. Then constitutional law scholar Kate Shaw joins the show to discuss how the Court is enabling Trump’s authoritarianism, including the pending fight over Temporary Protected Status, the shadow docket, emergency rulings on immigration and executive power, and her recent exchange with Senator Josh Hawley over nationwide injunctions. What happens when the courts weaken voting rights while expanding presidential power? And what does it mean for the future of constitutional democracy? Subscribe to The Oath and The Office wherever you get podcasts.
Trump briefly talked about “cooling things down.” Then came the escalation. This week on The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang look at how President Trump is using political violence not as a reason for restraint, but as a weapon against his opponents. Jimmy Kimmel and Trevor Noah are targeted for jokes. A 60 Minutes interview becomes another venue for attacking the press. And the administration’s suit against the Southern Poverty Law Center raises a larger question: is law enforcement being turned into a tool of political retaliation? We also turn to the Supreme Court’s major Fourth Amendment case over geofence warrants and cell location data. The old law-school hypotheticals about government surveillance no longer feel hypothetical. With companies like Palantir helping build the modern surveillance state, the threat of databases tracking protesters, dissidents, and political opponents is suddenly very real. Then Corey is joined by James A. Morone, Professor Emeritus at Brown University and one of the country’s leading political scientists, to discuss his new book with David Blumenthal, "Whiplash: From the Battle for Obamacare to the War on Science". The book tells the inside story of how Obama, Trump, and Biden transformed health care politics, from the fight over Obamacare to COVID, Operation Warp Speed, anti-poverty policy, and Trump’s war on science itself. Get the book from Yale University Press: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300263480/whiplash/
Has Trump changed American politics so deeply that what once seemed dangerous now feels normal? In this episode of The Oath and The Office, we begin with the Supreme Court: the shadow docket, Clarence Thomas, and a judiciary that increasingly operates with extraordinary power and too little accountability. We then turn to the case against the former CIA director, along with the resignation of a Justice Department prosecutor, and ask what these developments reveal about the state of law, accountability, and political pressure inside the justice system. Then Aaron Parnas joins us. Parnas has built a massive audience by reporting breaking political news to a younger generation in real time, often outside traditional media. We ask him a bigger question: can the news be reported outside the wider context of the threat to democracy? And when Parnas argues that much of this feels normal to people who grew up in the Trump era, Corey asks what it means when democratic crisis starts to feel ordinary. We also discuss Trump’s reported pressure on the IRS, the questions surrounding Kash Patel and the FBI, and why these stories may be part of a much broader pattern. This is a conversation about power, accountability, and the risk of treating democratic erosion as the new normal.
Trump says the pope should stay out of politics. But when Trump posts himself as Jesus, attacks independent moral authority, and demands loyalty from every institution, the real goal is not religious neutrality. It is control. In this episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang begin with Trump’s clash with the pope and what it reveals about the authoritarian impulse: not keeping religion out of politics, but bending religion to serve power. Then they turn to Hungary, where Viktor Orbán’s loss offers a real sign of hope. Even after gerrymandering and years of democratic erosion, autocrats can still be challenged and defeated. They also break down two more revealing stories: a judge throwing out Trump’s defamation suit over the Epstein birthday-card report, and the administration’s move to abandon civil-rights settlements protecting trans students. Taken together, these stories show the same pattern: attacks on truth, attacks on vulnerable people, and attacks on any institution unwilling to bend to raw power. This episode is about more than one controversy. It is about the larger authoritarian playbook — and why resistance still matters.
Can a president commit war crimes? Can a defense secretary? And what would it take to hold either one accountable? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang open with the Supreme Court showdown over Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship. After Trump became the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the Court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer faced tough questioning from several justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, who delivered the line of the day: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.” Corey and John break down why the administration’s argument looked weak, why Wong Kim Ark remains the key precedent, and what the hearing may signal about the fate of Trump’s effort to gut birthright citizenship. They also discuss the latest chaos inside Trump’s Justice Department after Pam Bondi was pushed out as attorney general and replaced, for now, by Todd Blanche, another Trump loyalist. From there, they turn to the Supreme Court’s move that could wipe away Steve Bannon’s contempt conviction, and what it says about accountability in Trump’s Washington. Then Corey and John are joined by Lawrence Douglas of Amherst College, professor of law, jurisprudence, and social thought, and author of "The Criminal State", for a chilling conversation about whether Trump is committing war crimes, whether Pete Hegseth could face exposure as a war criminal, and how leaders who authorize brutality can be held to account. They explore the continuing relevance of Nuremberg, the legal meaning of crimes carried out by the state, and whether American institutions still have the power to confront criminality at the top. This is a sober, urgent discussion about impunity, presidential violence, and the future of the rule of law
Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship is only part of the story. The bigger danger is a decades-long effort to free the presidency from constitutional limits. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang begin by breaking down Trump’s latest argument against birthright citizenship, why it misreads the Constitution, and what is really at stake in the legal fight. Then David Sirota joins to trace the deeper roots of Trump’s power grab: the conservative blueprints that helped lay the groundwork for Project 2025, the lessons of Nixon and Reagan, and the long campaign to expand executive power. In this episode: Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship why the constitutional case against it fails the antecedents of Project 2025 Nixon, Reagan, and the growth of presidential power why the No Kings protests matter what reforms could restore real limits on the presidency This episode is about more than one policy fight. It’s about how the presidency was reshaped, and whether American democracy can still impose meaningful limits on executive power.
Trump’s reaction to Robert Mueller’s death was grotesque. But the deeper question is what Congress failed to do when Mueller was alive: why didn’t it impeach Trump based on the Mueller report? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang revisit Mueller’s findings, the Nixon parallel, and the constitutional failure that still shapes Trump’s presidency. Then: a major Supreme Court voting-rights case out of Mississippi, ICE at airports as a new front in Trump’s immigration crackdown, and a federal judge’s ruling against Pentagon restrictions on defense reporters. Plus, a listener from the U.K. asks a question many Americans are asking too: could Trump really defy the Constitution and try for a third term? This week’s episode connects the week’s biggest legal and political stories into one urgent question: how many constitutional guardrails are still holding? Learn more about the ACLU and its upcoming Supreme Court case at aclu.org/barbara .
Is the SAVE Act really about election security — or is it a new blueprint for voter suppression? On this episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down the latest fight over the SAVE Act, why its proof-of-citizenship requirement could make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to register and vote, and what this battle reveals about the future of democracy. Then Stacey Abrams joins the show to explain what the bill would do, why it is so dangerous, and how the broader attack on voting rights fits into the Trump-era push to undermine democratic institutions. Also in this episode: Gregory Bovino is out, Judge Boasberg pushes back against politically charged legal tactics, and Trump lashes out at the courts yet again. This is a conversation about voter suppression, constitutional democracy, and who gets to decide the future of the country. Learn more about the ACLU and its upcoming Supreme Court case at aclu.org/barbara .
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Observed July 31, 2026.
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