Welcome to the Empire Files podcast. This is your host, Abby Martin. This is the audio of our show.

You can watch the episodes on our YouTube channel or at the Empirefiles.tv.

Chris, last time we talked, it was immediately after the election. Two years into Trump's presidency,

give us an assessment of how Trump has further deteriorated the last vestiges of our democratic institutions.

Right. I would argue that it's not Trump who has accelerated the deterioration of our democratic institutions,

but by all of those forces within the political establishment, and I would argue the press,

that are tasked with defending an open society.

They've failed us.

I mean, Trump, if the rule of law was in place, could have been impeached on the first day

he took the presidency under the emoluments clause.

He's utterly shameless about Mar-a-Lago or the Trump Hotel in Washington, which is raking

in millions of dollars from lobbyists and foreign governments.

In fact, he, in the publicity material, puts out the information that you may be able to get your picture

with the president if you go to his one of his golf courses.

So it's the breakdown of the rule of law, the, you know, the inability on the part of decayed and anemic institutions, which predated Trump.

So he's clearly committed obstruction of justice, for instance, on innumerable policy decisions,

such as moving behind the scenes to allow Saudi Arabia to build nuclear reactors.

This can only be under law approved by Congress.

It doesn't matter.

So just on and on and on, it's an evisceration of the rule of law, which is what despots or demagogues do, but they are

empowered by a democratic society or failed democracy that no longer does what is tasked to do,

which is defend the rule of law. So it's Mitch McConnell, it's the Democrats, and let's be clear

...