Harry Litman on Important Legal Stuff.

The Al Franken Podcast

Government, Progressive, Politics, Senate, Liberal, Senator, Minnesota, Franken, News, Saturday Night Live, Comedy, Snl

4.6 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 October 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Every day brings a new constitutional crisis. Donald Trump isn't just breaking norms... he's weaponizing the entire justice system against anyone who dare cross him. We're joined by former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman to cut through the chaos and explain what the hell is happening.

Trump promised that he would bring "retribution" to his second term - turns he wasn’t lying. So far he’s gone after James Comey, Letitia James, John Bolton. Harry breaks down why these prosecutions represent "rock bottom, ninth circle of hell" for the Justice Department—and why they're likely unconstitutional.

Harry also discusses Trump sending the National Guard into (Democratic-led) cities despite their objections. Is that legal? Some courts say yes, some say no. Now it's at the Supreme Court, which has already enabled Trump's overreach at every turn. Harry tells us why this is the single most dangerous thing happening right now.

We also delve into the complexities of Louisiana v. Callais, the Voting Rights Act case before the Supreme Court which could eliminate Section II and allow for the elimination of majority-minority districts (we’ll explain this!), likely imperiling 15 House seats now held by Democrats.

Plus, it turns out that it's easier than anyone thought to demolish the East Wing of the White House! At least we're getting a new ballroom.... Harry walks us through why this unprecedented destruction is probably illegal, but so outrageous that no legal framework even exists to stop it.

LISTEN to Harry's podcast, Talking Feds: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-feds/id1456045551

READ Harry's Substack: https://harrylitman.substack.com/

USE Promo Code FRANKEN for 10% off of your first Graza olive oil order! https://partners.graza.co/FRANKEN

Transcript

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0:00.0	The weather. Tomorrow, expect a biting cold front. Hmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be
0:06.8	wearing or taking off. The night will be wild and untamed. Expect heavy, lashing rain
0:13.0	that'll soak you to the skin. By Monday, temperatures will rise slowly but surely reaching
0:18.7	their peak in the afternoon.
0:23.0	Not in the mood for miserable weather?
0:25.6	Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express.
0:28.7	Sun Express, non-stop sunshine.
0:37.2	Hey everybody, we've got a great one today.
0:58.0	Finally, Harry Littman joins us. You know, Harry, he's joined us before. He is a former U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General and host of the Talking Fed's podcast. Well, this past week, J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner, and Steve Whitkoff went to Israel to revive the peace process in Gaza, the 20-step plan. Step one worked very well,
1:07.3	exchange of hostages and prisoners. That was great.
1:13.0	Congratulations to Trump.
1:21.3	Actually, I don't know whether Hamas disarming is part of step one or step two.
1:24.9	Hamas so far refuses to disarm.
1:33.2	And they've gone on a killing spree of Palestinian family groups who sided with the Israelis.
1:37.9	Trump said for some reason that he was okay with that.
1:46.3	But Hamas killed a couple of Israeli soldiers and Israel responded, killing 45 people. So it's all,
1:52.7	it's just all so, so tragic. That's why I really hope and pray that these guys get this 20-part plan figured out and implemented. But so far, this all continues to look a little shaky. I just hope for the sake
2:04.8	of Trump's Nobel Peace Prize next year that he and his team get steps two through 20 together.
2:13.4	So the estimate for Trump's White House gilded Ballroom just went up to $300 million.
2:21.7	Don't worry, we the taxpayers, aren't paying for it as being covered by the rich and powerful
2:27.4	who are seeking favors from Trump.
2:30.8	So I guess we will be paying for it in the end.
	...

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