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

and special guests for a dynamic discussion of the most important political and legal topics of

the day. I'm Harry Littman. We had another eventful news week. Afghanistan fell in quick fashion

to the Taliban after the US forces withdrew, and viewers around the world watched scenes of

Bedlam reminiscent of the fall of Saigon in 1975. Domestic debate divided between those who

believed the US was failing to keep faith with its Afghani allies, and those who thought that

the withdrawal was inevitable and was always going to be chaotic and tragic. COVID Part 2,

the Delta variant is sharply increasing in the world in the US, especially in states where

there remain large populations of unvaccinated people. Governors who are ordering state schools not

to impose mask mandates are finding themselves on the short end of defiance and a flurry of lawsuits.

Data from the 2020 census was released, and it showed an aging and diversifying nation where the

total white population decreased, and the number of people identifying as more than one race or

ethnicity grew at the fastest rate. The country also saw the second slowest rate of overall growth

in its history. But we bypass these stories today in favor of a detailed look at voting rights,

both because it remains the most pressing public policy issue in the country, and because it's

very quickly coming to a rapid boil and approaching a now or never point. And to do it, we have a

spectacular trio of expert guests, and they are. First returning to talking feds Laura Cotes,

a CNN anchor and senior legal analyst. She's also the host of the Daily Laura Cotes Show on

serious XM. She's a former trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ and the author

of you have the right, a constitutional guide to policing the police. Laura, welcome back to

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