Episode 112 | Is the Rule of Law Doomed Under This Administration?

It's Complicated

Renato Mariotti

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In today's all-new episode, our hosts Renato Mariotti and Asha Rangappa discuss the imminent danger that the rule of law in the United States faces from the Trump administration's extreme overreaching actions. Subscribe to our Patreon here, where paid members will get access to exclusive portions of this show. patreon.com/reallyamericanmedia Asha Rangappa — Yale University National Security Law professor and former FBI special agent—breaks down the increasingly tumultuous landscape for legal professionals, warning that lawyers are one of the last guardrails standing between us and tyranny. Renato Mariotti, legal analyst and a former federal prosecutor, outlines the unorthodox aggression of the Trump administration, noting a recent executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Coie. This move, seemingly in retaliation for their past involvement with the Democratic Party, opens the discussion to the broader implications of politicized legal battles. Renato warns that such actions send a chilling message to other law firms, raising real concerns about freedom of association and due process. Asha also notes a troubling silence from law schools and other institutions, which normally champion the rule of law—even amidst its most intense threats. She echoes frustrations with groups like the American Bar Association, who are finding themselves silenced or threatened. Despite the grim outlook, both hosts see a growing resistance even within the legal community—hinting that there might yet be collective action on the horizon. Particularly if Trump’s policies backfire and disrupt economic stability, motivating lawyers to align for protection and survival. In this episode, as always, It's Complicated urges our listeners to remain vigilant and cohesive in these trying times. As our hosts navigate the discussion, they remind us that attorneys and legal professionals still have the power to stand firm against Trump's tyranny. Be sure to tune in again next week, as Asha and Renato continue to unravel complex legal narratives that can’t be broken down into headlines or simple soundbites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So, Asha, will the legal profession survive the second Trump presidency?
0:07.4	Eh, it's complicated.
0:13.6	I'm Asha Rangappa. I teach national security law at Yale University.
0:18.4	I'm a former FBI special agent, and I'm a legal contributor for ABC News.
0:23.7	And I'm Renata Marietti. I'm a former federal prosecutor, a practicing lawyer, and a legal
0:29.5	analyst. And we're here to help you understand topics that can't be boiled down into a soundbite
0:35.1	or a state.
0:41.6	Wow. can't be boiled down into a sound bite or a state. I know. It's hard now. For our listeners, every week, we're like, what are we going to talk about?
0:49.2	Because we don't want to do insanity potpourri every week, but it is sort of insanity potpourri every week.
0:56.1	And so finding a common thread that sort of ties a lot of the crazy together and gives us a bigger way to think about it, I think it's going to become increasingly important.
1:06.1	Yeah.
1:06.3	I mean, there's all sorts of things that in an ordinary news cycle would be just insane, right?
1:13.1	Like the U.S. attorney threatening to investigate Georgetown University for their viewpoints
1:19.1	and, you know, prevent any of their graduates to be hired or all, everything that happened
1:24.8	that address at Congress. There's, you know, so much that's going on, right?
1:28.6	There's so many legal issues.
1:29.6	But I think something that really stood out to me this week, you know, I'm on the planning committee and attended the ABA white collar conference.
1:40.1	We talked, Asha, about the American Bar Association and its statement in support of the rule of law.
1:50.1	And wow, it was almost like a funeral there this week of lawyers worried about the potential death of the legal profession.
2:02.5	And there are so many reasons why.
2:05.2	And a lot of those came to a head this week.
2:07.7	Yeah, we always hear the quote, the Shakespeare quote,
	...

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