Trump Targets the Press—and Spies on Americans (with Sen. Ron Wyden)

Trump’s Justice Department subpoenaed New York Times reporters after they exposed security problems with the Qatari jet Trump accepted for use as Air Force One. The prosecutor who issued those subpoenas, Jay Clayton, is now Trump’s nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies.

Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang trace the line from the “bribe plane” to a broader attack on democratic accountability, including another fatal ICE shooting in Maine and the White House pressure campaign against the Smithsonian.

Then Senator Ron Wyden joins the show to explain how Section 702 allows the FBI to search Americans’ private communications without a warrant, why putting those searches in the hands of political operatives such as Dan Bongino is so dangerous, and how the bipartisan JAWBONE Act would let those targeted by government coercion fight back in court.

The interview was recorded as the Senate Intelligence Committee, on which Wyden serves, prepared to begin Clayton’s confirmation hearing. Wyden and Corey discuss whether Clayton’s decision to subpoena journalists should disqualify him from overseeing the nation’s intelligence agencies.

The through line is unchecked executive power: targeting journalists, coercing speech, and searching Americans without a warrant.