Opening Arguments

OA1313 - Why the Republican attempt to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was more legally defensible than the articles of impeachment filed by House Democrats in April. And finally in today's footnote: Arkansas tries to clean up after the single most shocking thing that has ever happened.
Cases and sources discussed:
Articles of impeachment filed against Pete Hegseth by Rep. Thomas Massie on 11/10/2026
Articles of impeachment filed against Pete Hegseth by House Democrats on 4/16/2026
Interview with Suno CEO Mikey Shulman
Elvis Presley Enterprises LLC v. Suno, filed in NDCA 11/6/2026
Docket for U.S. v. Rabbitt (Courtlistener)
Joint Press Release from Supreme Court of Arkansas announcing criminal charges against Nancie Givens for 65 counts of tampering with a public record (11/5/2026)
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OA1312 - Just how big was this blue wave? Jenessa has some exclusive homemade analysis for you to illustrate how the tides are flowing and where the biggest shifts happened. Plus coverage of the remaining procedural steps in Mississippi, what this could mean for the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, and some signature wins and loses.
Cases and sources discussed:
Debunk of some myths about the NPVIC
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OA1311 - Matt runs through a string of DOJ losses this week: researcher Kseniia Petrova's smuggled frog embryos case, a grand jury's decision on Cassidy Hutchinson, and Trump's libel suit against the Wall Street Journal over the Epstein birthday letter, an exit package you have to hear to believe. We close out with a Canadian tourist charged with animal cruelty for abducting a flamingo from the Flamingo Casino in Las Vegas.
Cases discussed:
United States v. Kseniia Petrova (dismissed vindictive prosecution case)
Grand jury declines to indict Cassidy Hutchinson
Trump v. Dow Jones ($10 billion Wall Street Journal libel suit, dismissed)
Trump v. BBC (defamation suit over January 6th footage)
Nevada v. Mitchell Fairbarn (the Peachy the Flamingo case)
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VR49 - Live midterms watch party! Thomas, Matt, and Jenessa parked in front of three screens on election night and just let the good vibes happen. We've got Mike Johnson saying something out loud on camera that he absolutely should not have said days before results came in. We've got Idaho forcing its voters to pick one official state gun (you can't have them all, Idaho). And we've got Ken Paxton's unhinged AI attack ad against James Talarico, possibly the worst political ad ever produced. Plus a genuinely enormous amount of good news that none of us were quite emotionally prepared for.
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OA1310 - We all know by now that election fraud is rare, but do you know why? What mechanisms are in place that make us so sure it's rare, and not just rarely reported? Jenessa walks us through election security protocols, what happens to your ballot at every step in the process, and what election security experts are actually worried about.
Cases and sources discussed:
Brennan Center Election Cybersecurity Summit
Voting Rights Lab election risk heat map
We recorded this before charges were filed against James O’Keefe because he decided to prove me right by getting caught attempting voter fraud
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