Welcome to Talking Feds, a roundtable that brings together prominent former federal officials

for a dynamic discussion of the most important legal topics of the day.

We've had another tumultuous week in Washington.

It feels as if the President of the United States is on some sort of mad rampage against

all institutions and even persons who don't display the one quality that separates good

from evil and drives all policy determinations in his mannequin world, namely personal loyalty

to him.

He has trumpeted, contrary to his attorney general, that he is the chief federal law enforcement

officer in the country.

A status that for him seems to encompass the prerogative to savage and defame prosecutors,

judges and even jurors.

He has illegally ex-acted retribution against a war hero lieutenant colonel for testifying

truthfully pursuant to a subpoena, and his twin brother for good measure the lieutenant

colonels for no reason at all except the perceived sins of the brother.

He's moved to oust the acting director of national intelligence for briefing Congress

truthfully and according to legal duty, and is currently canvassing for a permanent successor

based on the single criterion of personal loyalty.

And throughout it all he seems obsessed with trying to scrub away the history of the

Mueller Probe and the impeachment.

He is deep in the gutter and determined to drive us all there.

But we're also seeing some pushback from institutions and individuals, and we have the

prospect of continuing hand-to-hand combat, not to mention congressional investigations.

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