M.S. W. Media.

This week,

former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had a sentencing hearing in front of a federal judge.

During the hearing, the judge expressed concern about efforts by Flynn's attorneys to minimize his unlawful

conduct. Before postponing the sentencing, the judge also suggested that Flynn

may have committed treason.

Then we learned that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker decided not to recuse himself,

even though DOJ ethics staff told him he should recuse to avoid an

appearance that he could not be fair. We also learned that attorney general

nominee William Barr wrote a 19 page single space

memo criticizing the Mueller obstruction investigation which he sent to the

White House and to Justice Department leaders.

What does this mean for the Mueller investigation?

Let's get on topic. Welcome to On Topic, a weekly in-depth look at a topic that helps us understand the week's news.

My name is Renato Mariati.

I'm a former federal prosecutor, a practicing lawyer,

and a CNN legal analyst.

And I'm joined by my friend Patty Vasquez,

a WGM radio host who will join us regularly

on this podcast.

So Patty, this week we're covering multiple topics partly because we listened to the

feedback from all of our listeners. I posted on Twitter we got I think over 78 I think it was like 78 or 79 comments it was great and I was great

...