meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Advisory Opinions

The Owner's Manual of This Union

Advisory Opinions

The Dispatch

News, Government, Politics

4.74K Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2020

⏱️ 90 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After reflecting on the best and worst parts of our country’s founding document for Constitution Day, David and Sarah dive into Attorney General Bill Barr’s Constitution Day address at Hillsdale College yesterday, in which he defended political judgment in bringing prosecutions and railed against federal prosecutors’ propensity to punish as much misconduct as possible. Our podcast hosts agree with Barr that there is an effort by federal prosecutors to expand federal criminal law to an unreasonable degree. But David reminds us that federal prosecutors are not just the instrument to be wielded by the attorney general, they are charged with carrying out laws that have been passed by Congress.  “Perhaps we have gone too far with civil service protections,” Sarah explains, “and that we are unable to remove anyone who is part of the permanent federal bureaucracy even for misconduct at this point really.” Most of the news headlines referencing Barr’s speech highlighted his comparison between career federal prosecutors and preschoolers, as well as his rather distasteful comparison between coronavirus lockdowns and … slavery. “You know, putting a national lockdown, stay at home orders, is like house arrest,” Barr said yesterday in response to a question about the constitutionality of stay at home orders. “Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history.” Sarah suggests a new legal truism on today’s episode: If you compare anything to slavery, you’ve already lost your argument. Stick around for a deep dive into Lochner v. New York  its relation to coronavirus lockdown court order, as well as a discussion about whether Trump can win enough Electoral College votes without winning Florida. Sarah and David wrap up today’s episode with a reflection on their biggest career failures. Show Notes: -Bill Barr’s speech at Hillsdale College, Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent by Harvey Silverglate, Yates v. United States, Lochner v. New York, Morrison v. Olson, and William S. Stickman IV’s Pennsylvania District Court decision, The Dispatch30-day trial at . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You ready?

0:02.0

I was born ready.

0:04.0

Welcome to the Advisory Opinions Podcast, a Constitution Day edition of the Advisory Opinions.

0:29.6

Last week, Sarah, you were disgruntled?

0:33.6

I think so.

0:35.6

I think it was last week.

0:37.6

Somehow that's carried over into...

0:39.6

No, now you're disgruntled.

0:41.6

I'm disgruntled as a result of the effects of your disgruntlement.

0:47.6

Listeners, here's what happened.

0:53.6

Last week, through no fault of my own, I had some technical difficulties.

0:57.6

It resulted in a 45-minute delayed start time to this podcast, which I think led to

1:04.8

Sarah on the Dispatch Live event that we had earlier this week on Tuesday night,

1:13.1

which was a great event, by the way, available to Dispatch members only, which is why you should go

1:18.6

to the Dispatch.com and join.

1:21.6

But she called me inexplicably her arch-nemesis.

1:28.0

First, I thought inexplicably, but then I realized that there was lingering grudges held

1:35.6

from the delayed start time, which have manifested themselves listeners here again today,

1:40.8

because I had this great idea for a Constitution Day segment for Advisory Opinions Podcast.

1:47.7

The one we're going to lead off with. We're also going to talk about the evolution of pandemic law.

1:55.1

We're going to talk about Bill Barr's remarks at Hillsdale and what we think of them and why they're

2:03.0

controversial. We're going to talk about the various ways to get to 270, and we're also going to

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Dispatch, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Dispatch and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.