Main Justice

Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels were once at odds as White House staffer and White House reporter. Now they’re friends and colleagues—each co-hosting their own shows at MS NOW. But their off-air conversations are where the real action is. Their new show, “MS NOW Presents: Clock It” is an invitation to their groupchat, the liveliest—and most informative—in news. Whether it’s ICE getting dispatched to the Super Bowl because Bad Bunny’s doing the halftime show, or Nicolás Maduro’s Nike Tech fit, or Michael B. Jordan’s sole Oscar nomination despite playing three roles in Sinners, there is no collision between culture and politics that this show won’t document and decipher. Symone and Eugene see exactly what’s going on—and they want you to clock it, too. 
New episodes drop every Thursday, starting February 12th. Search for “MS NOW Presents: Clock It” and hit “follow” so you don’t miss an episode.

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Heads were turning over the weekend after Chad Mizelle, a former Justice Department official, put out a recruitment call for Trump-loyal Assistant U.S. Attorneys to hit him up on X. Mary and Andrew begin by highlighting the atypical nature of this outreach, while noting how slim the pool of applicants must be for what have long-been highly coveted and competitive positions. This piled on another DOJ fumble after a huge tranche ofEpstein files was released that unintentionally exposed the personal information of numerous victims. The co-hosts then turn to Minnesota, where a decision came in allowing Operation Metro Surge to continue, while another judge admonished DHS for ignoring over 90court orders. Mary and Andrew also call out the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort during an anti-ICE protest in the state. Plus: a beat on a controversial federal search warrant targeting 2020 ballots in Fulton County, with more to come on that issue.
Further reading:
Here is the Epstein victims' letter: Emergency Request for Immediate Judicial Intervention—Epstein Transparency Act
Here is the New York Times guest essay that Andrew mentioned: We Were Top Homeland Security Lawyers. You Can’t Wish Away the Fourth Amendment.

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Heads were turning over the weekend after Chad Mizelle, a former Justice Department official, put out a recruitment call for Trump-loyal Assistant U.S. Attorneys to hit him up on X. Mary and Andrew begin by highlighting the atypical nature of this outreach, while noting how slim the pool of applicants must be for what have long-been highly coveted and competitive positions. This piled on another DOJ fumble after a huge tranche of Epstein files was released that unintentionally exposed the personal information of numerous victims. The co-hosts then turn to Minnesota, where a decision came in allowing Operation Metro Surge to continue, while another judge admonished DHS for ignoring over 90 court orders. Mary and Andrew also call out the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort during an anti-ICE protest in the state. Plus: a beat on a controversial federal search warrant targeting 2020 ballots in Fulton County, with more to come on that issue.
Further reading:
Here is the Epstein victims' letter: Emergency Request for Immediate Judicial Intervention—Epstein Transparency Act 
Here is the New York Times guest essay that Andrew mentioned: We Were Top Homeland Security Lawyers. You Can’t Wish Away the Fourth Amendment.

Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mary and Andrew make Minnesota the focal point this week, after the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts in the state culminated in the tragic killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents on Saturday. The co-hosts detail several legal cases related to these efforts: one that challenges how ICE and CBP agents treat protestors and observers, another that aims to preserve evidence in Mr. Pretti’s death, and a state case arguing that the federal government is violating the 10th Amendment and Minnesota’s sovereignty rights by conducting “Operation Metro Surge”. Then, they turn to what Andrew calls an “extortion letter” sent by Attorney General Pam Bondi to Governor Tim Walz over the weekend, implying that compliance of three demands – including handing over Minnesota’s voter rolls – could lead to a reduction of immigration forces in the state. Before wrapping up, Mary and Andrew review a memo surfaced by a whistleblower giving DHS officers authority to forcibly enter homes during immigration enforcement operations.
Further reading: 
Here is a new piece Andrew and Ryan Goodman wrote for Just Security: The Top 10 Questions the Trump Administration Needs to Answer About Minnesota. What journalists and Congress should ask.

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The former special counsel testified in front of the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee for five hours on Thursday. After the hearing was adjourned – and in between their respective hits for MS NOW’s evening shows – Mary and Andrew shared their takeaways from Smith’s time under questioning. As they note, the representatives who called Smith in often used their allotted 5 minutes to read aloud their own political statements and left him little room to say anything. In his opening statement, Smith took pains to stand up for his staff, some of whom were fired from their public service jobs, some whom have been vilified by the president's supporters, and some threatened. He said they are the best of public servants and our country owes them a debt of gratitude. Over the course of the day, Smith repeatedly told lawmakers that his team had proof that Trump knew his allegations about the election being stolen were false, that he caused the Jan. 6th insurrection and that he exploited subsequent violence. While Smith was testifying, as Mary points out, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Jack Smith is a deranged animal, who shouldn’t be allowed to practice Law. If he were a Republican, his license would be taken away from him, and far worse!”

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