Trump’s New Merger Scandal Is Swampier Than Watergate

Lever Time

The Lever

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.8 • 560 Ratings

🗓️ 31 July 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In a stunning reversal, the Trump administration just gave the green light to a major tech merger — and then fired two Justice Department lawyers who opposed it. Was corruption at play in the merger decision? Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with The Lever’s Luke Goldstein and UnHerd Magazine’s Sohrab Ahmari, who first exposed the “mergers over martinis” story behind the reversal. They dive into the MAGA power struggle inside the Justice Department and tackle the big questions: What triggered the reversal? Could a Watergate-era anti-corruption law bring the truth to light? And if Trump is now opening the floodgates to corporate mergers, what will that mean for your wallet? To check out Sohrab Ahmari’s reporting, as referenced in this episode, click here.Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to the free ad-supported version of our podcast. For an ad-free experience,
0:05.5	visit levernews.com slash upgrade. When Donald Trump was inaugurated like all presidents, he swore
0:12.1	an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. Instead, Donald Trump has decided
0:16.9	to swerve, deflect, and append the Constitution and treat it like a terms and conditions
0:21.8	page. I'm Professor Corey Brett Schneider. And I'm deeply unqualified comedian John Fugleson.
0:27.3	We'd like to invite you to listen to the Oath in the Office podcast where every week we interpret
0:32.1	the Constitution and hold Trump accountable to his oath. It's a podcast that offers real insight on how to take action against tyranny and mayhem,
0:41.2	because despair is not a strategy.
0:43.8	We'll hold him to his pledge, despite his threats to democracy and the law itself.
0:49.3	It's a podcast that's all about hope for what a real democracy should look like from an esteemed, respected
0:54.9	constitutional scholar and a deeply neurotic comedian who thought the emoluments clause was a breakfast item.
1:01.1	Subscribe to The Oath in the Office where every week we talk about how citizens can preserve our democracy
1:06.7	and fight back against the threat to democracy.
1:10.1	Subscribe to The Oath in the Office on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast.
1:17.8	The Lever.
1:21.1	From the Lever's reader-supported newsroom, this is Lever Time.
1:24.9	I'm David Seroa.
1:26.2	From the moment all those tech billionaires were
1:28.9	given front row seats to the inauguration, Donald Trump's second term has promised to be a
1:34.8	bacchanal of government favors for the richest and most powerful corporations in the world.
1:40.8	But there was one place in government that seemed like it could remain an outpost of corporate
1:46.0	regulation, the agencies that police mergers and monopolies.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

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

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