Obviously we discuss the Trump indictment in this week’s bonus episode. We also discuss whether the mainstream media wants and would profit from a civil war in America. Our discussion comes from questions submitted by listeners of our show. To submit your quesitons and to hear our bonus shows and never miss an episode of Gaslit Nation subscribe on Patreon.com/gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

In a classic American road trip tale, Sarah went on vacation hearing that indictments for Trump were imminent, turned off the news for a week, and came back to the very unindicted Trump holding a fascist rally in Waco. Why, it’s almost like the legal pundit class lying to the American people for eight years was lying yet again! This is accountability theater, nothing more. And it’s profoundly dangerous.

This week, we discuss the lack of indictments for Trump, the many crimes that he should be indicted for, the idiocy that the Stormy Daniels case of all things is where officials are focused, and the DOJ’s failure to combat domestic terrorism and transnational organized crime. Sarah gives a long history lesson about the Oklahoma City bombings and predecessor cases like the Fort Smith Sedition Trial of 1988, and Andrea discusses gun violence and the organized political oppression of LGBTQ communities that has been on the rise for the last few years. We also discuss Trump’s confessional flaunting about his relationship with the IRS, which backs up reporting Sarah did in HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT four years ago, and the Trump camp’s use of political violence to intimidate Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. And of course we detail Merrick Garland’s failure to address any of these ongoing crises.

In our bonus episode, available to subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher, we answer questions submitted by our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. This week’s Q&A includes the pressing question and its many implications: Does Putin have a body double? For more and to support the show, sign up on Patreon to join our community of listeners and support independent journalism. 

We also have an exciting announcement – we co-wrote a book! And it’s a graphic novel! About dictators! Currently listed in the humor section of Amazon! DICTATORSHIP – IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK will be published on June 13 and it is available for preorder now. We take you on a world historical tour of dictators, how they got in power, how they stayed in power, and how to get them out. This is the first Gaslit Nation book and we will be giving more information on special signed copies for Patreon subscribers. Stay tuned!

Our featured song for March 2023 is “Nickel and Dime” by Sofia Echegaray. You can find more of Sofia’s music on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sofia-echegaray

If you would like your music featured on Gaslit Nation, submit a song here.

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Does Putin have a body double? This debate matters as it reveals a growing civil war among Russia’s elite. We answer this and more questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher on Patreon. To join our community of listeners and submit your own questions, subcribe to the show by signing up at Patreon.com/Gaslit 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Dictators and aspiring tyrants want us to be demoralized, to be bullied psychologically into submission. Bullies are always surprised when people resist and fight back. The 2022 Midterms were a historic time of fighting back: the first major elections since the violent attempted overthrow of our democracy. People showed up and organized in record numbers, denying Trump’s Big Lie and the America First fascist movement the victories they needed to steal the electoral college in 2024. Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are all protected by elected public servants who believe in democracy, and that’s thanks to voters and organizers who refused to be intimidated. In this week’s special episode, we highlight four Gaslit Nation listeners who worked hard to protect our democracy in the midterms, some volunteering as far as Ukraine.   In this inspiring conversation, you’ll meet Dr. Nicole Speer, a recently elected member of the Boulder City Council who manages a brain imaging research facility at the University of Colorado. She shares her story of running for office and how others can do the same. You’ll also hear from Hugh Stempfley of Illinois who trained as an election judge alongside his grandson, and shares their story of two generations on the frontlines of protecting our democracy. Jed Holtzman of San Francisco is active in his community advocating for policies and other actions to urgently protect our civilization from man-made climate change and his advice on why text-banking is a great way to pitch in, even if you only have an hour to spare. And finally, you’ll meet entrepreneur Isaac Flanagan who left his comfortable home in Colorado to bring desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the frontlines of Russia’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine, even while helping get out the vote in the U.S. midterm by calling voters in a California swing House district. We thank everyone who helped get out the vote in these and all elections. Our democracy depends on you, even though it shouldn’t. Thank you to everyone who works hard to protect our democracy and shows why we always say: grassroots power is the most reliable power we have left.   In our bonus episode, available to subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher, we cover the International Criminal Court at The Hague that just indicted war criminal Putin — an arrest notice that makes Putin a wanted man in well over 100 countries. We also touch on the potential Trump indictment which noticeably isn’t coming from the DOJ. We also answer questions submitted by our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. Thank you to everyone who supports the show and keeps our civic-action community and independent journalism going. We couldn’t make this show without you!  

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Mass-murdering genocidal maniac and proud Russian imperialist and cult of Stalin worshipper Vladimir Putin has been indicted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. This means there are 123 countries, including every European Union nation, that is legally obligated to arrest Putin should he step foot on their soil. It also means there’s no going back to business as usual with Russia as long as Putin is in power. 

The ICC indictment and Putin’s disasterous war put a big target on Putin’s head. Fellow war criminal Igor Girkin who oversaw the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to openly critize Putin, telling him to “shut up” and accuses him of using a body double while the real Putin hides behind long tables. The in-fighting among Russian elite continues, threatening Putin’s grip on power. He should stay away from windows and tea parties. Will an indictment of Trump, Putin’s favorite asset — a multi-decade investment via laundered dirty Russian money — be next?

This week’s bonus episode, excerpted here, opens with a discussion of the Putin indicment and the potential for a Trump indictment. We go on to answer questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. To submit questions to our regular Q&As, and join our community of listeners, subscribe and support our independent journalism by signing up at Patreon.com/Gaslit 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

It looks like the Libertarians of Silicon Valley suddenly love government when they need the government to bail them out. Socialism for the mega-rich, taxes and fascism for the rest of us. In this week’s episode, we delve into the fantasy hellscape of Peter Thiel, his investments in surveillance tech and A.I. that would give aspiring autocrats like him unstoppable power; Dictator Xi of China as a warning of what could happen to the United States if the Silicon Valley Libertarian Fascist Brigade usher in Big Brother 2.0, why Democrats aren’t doing more to stop them (because some are cashing in!).

Thiel’s allegedly instigated banking collapse comes at an opportune time. Rattling the economy when the 2024 presidential elections are around the corner will drive economic anxiety and uncertainty at a time when Democrats need to defend the White House. This will pave the way for a wannabe fascist dictator like Ron DeSantis, the Viktor Orban of Florida, who is using the kind of anti-gay laws Putin used to consolidate power in Russia. DeSantis just gave an interview to Walter Duranty of Fox News, telling Tucker Carlson that supporting Ukraine in the face of an existential genocide from a modern day Hitler is not in the U.S. interests, which means he’s secured Russia’s help in the upcoming election.

In our bonus episode, we answer questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. This week’s discussion includes why we should keep an eye on Russia’s threat of invading Moldova (again!) to open up a new front to seize Ukraine; how to hold onto hope and push back against corruption; and how to organize one’s life to be creative and productive despite the hellscape we find ourselves in, and a fun story about a recent run-in with Hillary Clinton, possible Gaslit Nation listener? If you want to keep Gaslit Nation going and support the show, join our community of listeners on Patreon to get access to weekly bonus shows, ask us anything in our regular Q&As, and join live events. We couldn’t produce the journalism the world needs without you! 

Show Notes:

Opening clip: https://twitter.com/jonsarlin/status/1634712724117794817

Closing clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU1kS2jUpnY

Formal Reprimand of Rep. Frank Is Urged by House’s Ethics Panel https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/20/us/formal-reprimand-of-rep-frank-is-urged-by-house-s-ethics-panel.html

A lot of people heard what Barney Frank said about the new banking law. Few knew he works for a bank. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/24/a-lot-of-people-heard-what-barney-frank-said-about-the-new-banking-law-few-knew-he-works-for-a-bank/

GOP blames Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse on ‘ESG’ policies. Here’s what to know. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/03/14/svb-esg-woke-investing/

Congress just approved a bill to dismantle parts of the Dodd-Frank banking rule https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/congress-just-approved-bill-dismantle-parts-dodd-frank-banking-rule-n876516

Ron DeSantis says backing Ukraine is not in the U.S. interest, a sign of a GOP divided https://www.npr.org/2023/03/14/1163363579/desantis-trump-ukraine-republican-split

Congressional Stock Trading – If You Don’t Know, Now You Know | The Daily Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Vyyc6YCKk

Dozens in Congress beat stock market in 2022 despite downturn on Wall Street: analysis https://nypost.com/2023/01/06/dozens-in-congress-beat-stock-market-in-2022-analysis/

 

 

 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This is an excerpt of our Gaslit Nation bonus episode where we answer questions submitted by our listeners. To submit your own questions and to get access to our bonus episodes and never miss a show, subscribe on Patreon. You won’t hear every episode of Gaslit Nation unless you subscribe at Patreon.com/Gaslit 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This week Gaslit Nation is running an audiobook excerpt from Sarah’s book THEY KNEW: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent. We are running this excerpt now because we are appalled by the pundits and politicians proposing “national divorce”. We want you to understand the conspiracy of kleptocrats behind it. Theirs is not a grassroots initiative, it’s an organized attempt of plutocrats to shake you down by pushing civil war and hardening facile definitions of “red” and “blue” states. Sarah wrote THEY KNEW in 2021 and it is horrifying to see the plots described years ago attempt to come to fruition. This does NOT mean that the victory of the treasonous plutocrats is inevitable. It means we the people must fight back, and the best way to fight back is with the truth. We do not want Americans to fall for opportunistic and destructive rhetoric, and therefore we are warning you of what they are trying to accomplish and what will happen if they succeed. 

Our message is coming to you from the state of New York and from the state of Missouri – two states that are purple, purple like a bruise.

Gaslit Nation will return next week will our usual breakdown of current events. For our thoughts on ongoing issues like Russia and China’s alliance, the war on Ukraine, and the lack of accountability from the DOJ and other agencies, listen to our Patreon bonus episode. Every week we do a Q & A with our listeners and additional commentary. You can access this episode and an archive of hundreds of past episodes by joining at the Truth-Teller level or higher.

Gaslit Nation is made possible solely by our listeners and Patreon subscribers. If you like the show, tell a friend or leave a review. If you’d like to ensure we can keep the show going, join us on Patreon! We thank you for your support.

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This is an excerpt of this week’s bonus episode where we explain how there’s no honor among thieves, especially when they’re jointly furthering the imperialist ambitions of autocracy around the world and trying to steal land and steal rights. To hear every episode of Gaslit Nation, subscribe at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon by joining our community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Every now and again you need to step back and look at the big picture, and then you see that the big picture is a mirror reflecting a void with a mirror reflecting a void with a mirror…hey, welcome to the Gaslit Nation AI Apocalypse Special! 

We have a lot of things to get out of our system, apparently, before The System claims us as its own, and they include: artificial intelligence, the death of the news industry, the struggle to survive multiple collective traumas at once, Sigmund Freud and his nephew Edward Bernays and their dual creation of psychological warfare and public reactions, “the death eaters that prop up the dancing clown of Trump”, child labor and the bipartisan leaders that defend it, the brutal backlash to the social movements of the last decade, nepo babies and purchased merit, weird facts about Hitler, how Trump’s pardons tell you everything you need to know about who really controls America, and the ceaseless desire of our officials to crush progressive policies that help people. 

We will cover Fox News and the origins of covid and all the other breaking news stories next week, don’t worry. That slow-moving soap opera of corruption will still be there! What we tried to figure out in this episode is how to find truth in an era of digital media manipulation, informational voids, and shattered community. Because we’re living this life, not just writing about it. It is tough to break news when the news breaks us!

For our Patreon bonus episode, available to subscribers at the Truth-Teller level or higher, we answer questions from our beloved listeners! Topics include: DOJ corruption; environmental disasters; Saudi Arabia, Russia, and transnational crime; Matt Gaetz; Kamala Harris; Seymour Hersh, Ukraine, and much more! Sign up at the Democracy Defender level or higher to send in questions and at the Truth-Teller level to listen to the show and get access to hundreds of past bonus episodes.

Gaslit Nation survives solely because of our listeners! We are shadowbanned in the current Twitter era and could use help spreading the word about our show. If you like it, tell a friend and leave a review! And consider joining our Patreon to keep us going. Thank you for your support!

Show Notes:

Our new unofficial Gaslit Nation theme song, ‘Don’t Be an Asshole’ on our Twitter page and in the show notes for this episode on our Patreon page. You can find more of Andrew and the Spirit House’s music on Bandcamp at andrewjonesandspirithouse.bandcamp.com.

I have no mouth and I must scream (wjccschools.org)

President Trump Commutes Sentence of Sholom Rubashkin – The White House (archives.gov)

Sholom Rubashkin: the inside story of how a kosher meat kingpin won clemency under Trump | CNN Politics

Rubashkin Cleared of Child Labor Charges – Tablet Magazine

(21) Sarah Kendzior on Twitter: “@revmagdalen In 2017, Pelosi successfully petitioned Trump for the prison release of a man who ran a farm using migrant slave labor, including child labor. Workers were raped and had limbs amputated. Look up Agriprocessors; the horror stories are endless. Excerpts below: https://t.co/sFJYblSLsT” / Twitter 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

In this week’s Gaslit Nation bonus episode, we answer questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher, including how to save the DOJ in a time of elite criminal impunity. To get access to this and every episode of Gaslit Nation, subscribe to the show on Patreon by signing up the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon. You will not hear every episode unless you subscribe. Join our community of listeners today: Patreon.com/Gaslit 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

It has been one year since Russia launched its escalated invasion of Ukraine that has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of Ukrainians displaced, exiled, or kidnapped. We have been covering the Kremlin’s genocidal ambitions and how Ukraine has been used as a petri dish for operatives to experiment with attacks on democracy since we launched Gaslit Nation in 2018. This brutal escalation was a long time coming — and Ukraine knew it, which is why Ukrainians were able to fend off Russian invaders while the West offered only belated and limited support. We discuss what’s changed since February 2022, what Ukraine still needs to win, Biden’s recent visit, and the geopolitical consequences of the war for the rest of the world. We also discuss the importance of US territorial integrity and sovereignty as insurrectionists here seek to divide and conquer in a way reminiscent of (and often financially backed by) Kremlin operatives.

The rest of our episode is an interview with Ukraine expert Yana Prymachenko of Princeton University. From the university’s website, “A native of Ukraine, Yana Prymachenko received her Ph.D. from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. She was a research scholar at the Institute of History of Ukraine from 2003 to 2022. She joined the faculty at Princeton as Visiting Scholar in the fall of 2022. Her research interests vary greatly, ranging from the Soviet culture in the 1920s-30s, the history of the Second World War, the memory politics in Russia and Eastern Europe to the study of Soviet propaganda and informational wars.”

For our bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller level or higher, we answer questions sent in by our listeners! We discuss whether Merrick Garland’s failures are a feature or a bug, what to do when good causes get hijacked by bad actors, the continued attacks on LGBTQ Americans, the discrepancy between Biden’s foreign and domestic policies, and much more! Gaslit Nation is funded entirely by listeners and we need your support to survive. If you appreciate what we do — and would like bonus episodes and other perks – please join us on Patreon. Thank you!

Show Notes:

Join Andrea on Saturday February 25 at an upcoming virtual event to commemorate the one year anniversary of Russia’s imperialist re-invasion of Ukraine.

She will be joining the all civic group “The Media and Democracy Project” for a streamed screening of my film “Mr. Jones” and have a “Q and A session” afterwards.

They will discuss the film, what role the media plays in defending against disinformation and authoritarianism – and what we can all be doing to support BETTER media. 

Sign up for the event by going to the website: TINY.CC/mrjones

Admission is FREE Suggested donation to the Kyiv Independent – as we need to support “media AND democracy” in Ukraine (and here in the US).

In Taking Crimea, Putin Gains a Sea of Fuel Reserves https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/world/europe/in-taking-crimea-putin-gains-a-sea-of-fuel-reserves.html

Imperfect allies and non-state actors: Lessons from the 1991 no-fly zone in Iraq https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/05/28/imperfect-allies-and-non-state-actors-lessons-from-the-1991-no-fly-zone-in-iraq/

 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Our Gaslit Nation Q&A is back! This week we answer questions from listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher about the Norfolk Southern train derailment and explosion in East Palestine, Ohio; what stood out to us in the State of the Union address in terms of what comes next; the GOP’s ongoing scapegoating of LGBTQ people and what can be done about the far-right’s law-warfare, and more.  You won’t get every episode of Gaslit Nation unless you subscribe to our show on Patreon. To sign up and get access to our bonus episodes, join our community at Patreon.com/gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This week’s episode is dedicated to the environmental disaster in East Palestine, Ohio and its political causes and ramifications. As you have heard – or possibly have not heard, since there was an attempt to bury this story early on – on February 3, a massive derailment of a freight train containing hazardous chemicals led to the release of toxic chemicals in the Ohio town of East Palestine, in the surrounding region in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and perhaps even further afield. We do not know, because state and federal officials have refused to give forthright information about this preventable disaster. Our hearts go out to the people of the region and to the country as a whole, for we are all held hostage to this plutocracy and the broken political system it props up.   We discuss the Trump administration’s destruction of railroad regulations and the Biden administrations’ refusal to reinstate them – which led to Biden union-busting in December as railroad workers begged futilely for sick days and safer conditions. Many workers warned of this precise disaster. The American people can see what’s happening – left, right, and center – and unfortunately, with few exceptions, officials on the left, right, and center are keeping the truth about the extent of the disaster from the public. We discuss the ramifications of gutted local media, social media networks that hide information with algorithms, and cable networks that look the other way. We also review the decades of corporate greed and horrific labor policies that led to the Chernobyl of Ohio.   On a related note, we discuss the appointment of Jeffrey Zients, an investment banker with a history of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, as Biden’s new chief of staff. The appointment of Zients, who was responsible to a large extent for Biden’s disastrous covid policies in 2020 and 2021, could not have come at a worse time. Zients joins a team of eugenicist advisors who believe that one’s worth is solely determined by how much you contribute to the economy – and who believe that if you are elderly or disabled, your life lacks utility to the point of worthlessness. (We wish we were exaggerating, but they say this openly.) This is a terrifying time to be surrounded by, as the Ukrainians say, “oligarchs who see the people as the shit they grow their money in”. We are REFUSING to be ruled by them and believe the first step is to speak truth to power and document the crimes.   Our bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller level or higher, is on UFOs! You know, those objects in the sky that the US government is giving us the play-by-play on while they dodge the tragedy in Ohio. We discuss China spy balloons, Project Blue Beam, and much more! We then do our weekly Q&A, answering questions sent in by our Patreon subscribers at the Democracy Defender level or higher. Topics include Erik Prince, threats to poll workers, why the Democrats choose snark over serious prosecution, and much more. Gaslit Nation is a 100% independent podcast – our Patreon subscribers keep us going! Your support allows us to continue taking on these topics and we appreciate your support and our community of listeners!   Show Notes:   Zoom screening of Mr. Jones on February 25 followed by Q&A with Andrea. Sign up for the event by going to the website: TINY.CC/mrjones. Admission is FREE Suggested donation to the Kyiv Independent – as we need to support “media AND democracy” in Ukraine (and here in the US).   Opening clip: https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1625155991724605440   Closing Clip: https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1625277554910273537   The Freight Rail Labor Dispute Was Never About ‘Sick Days’ (vice.com)   Rail Companies Blocked Safety Rules Before Ohio Derailment (levernews.com)   Zeke Emanuel on Twitter: https://t.co/c1yEfz2dMG   The Corporate Past of Jeffrey Zients – The American Prospect   Ohio woman finds chickens dead, questions chemical release from train https://www.wdtn.com/news/ohio/ohio-woman-finds-chickens-dead-questions-chemical-release-from-train/   Animals are sick and dying after Ohio train derailment https://www.wtrf.com/ohio/animals-are-sick-and-dying-after-ohio-train-derailment/?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=socialflow   Elon Musk: We’re Curbing Starlink’s Use in Ukraine to Prevent WWIII https://www.pcmag.com/news/elon-musk-were-curbing-starlinks-use-in-ukraine-to-prevent-wwiii?taid=63ea57b105dea00001f6d1c9&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Manual&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook   Tad Devine and Yanukovych work in Ukraine:  https://twitter.com/rachelweinerwp/status/1022594989702959104   ‘Sadness in the whole forest’: family of Cop City activist killed by police seeks answers https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/12/cop-city-manuel-paez-teran-family-mourns   Eric Feigl-Ding thread on the Norfolk Southern chemical explosion:  https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1625155991724605440   American life expectancy is now at its lowest in nearly two decades https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/22/1144864971/american-life-expectancy-is-now-at-its-lowest-in-nearly-two-decades

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

We discuss one of our favorite topics: UFOs! What are the mystery objects shot down by NORAD? We have some ideas…You can get access to this bonus and every episode of Gaslit Nation by supporting the show at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon by joining the community of listeners at Patreon.com/gaslit: https://www.patreon.com/gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This is an excerpt of this week’s bonus episode where we discuss Biden’s State of the Union and the GOP troll factory in the House and what comes next for the civil war tremors driven by Trump’s Kremlin Klown Kar, otherwise known as the January 6 insurrectionists. We also answer questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender tier and higher on Patreon about Havana Syndrome, how to organize deep dive research when uncovering corruption, FBI traitor Charles McGonigal, and more! To submit questions and listen to our bonus episodes, receiving every episode of Gaslit Nation straight to your inbox, join our Patreon community by signing up at Patreon.com/gaslit for this and more: https://www.patreon.com/gaslit   Show Notes: The Curious Case of ‘Havana Syndrome’ https://www.npr.org/2023/01/25/1151421770/the-curious-case-of-havana-syndrome

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Hey DOJ – quit writing and start indicting! This week we discuss the ongoing grotesque trend of former officials writing books about all the crimes they didn’t solve instead of actually protecting our country while in office. This is a long-brewing crisis going back to the days of John Bolton and James Comey, and its latest iteration is Mark Pomerantz, another lawyer lackey timing his “tell-all” for maximum profits and minimum democracy. We discuss how NDAs block the public from vital info and how the publishing industry has created an incentive for officials to remain silent about – or even participate in — state crimes.

We continue to discuss the case of Charlie McGonigal – the indicted FBI official who was secretly working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska –  in the context of a broader look at corruption in the so-called “department of justice.” We examine the factors that contribute to this crisis including insularity, elitism, and nepotistic networks. We also destroy the myth that authoritarianism and law are two separate categories and that expertise on one negates knowledge of the other. Mafia states are in fact dependent on the judiciary, which functions as the cage bars of autocracy. If you understand how the judicial system works in a typical kleptocracy, the Biden and Trump DOJs will strike you as familiar. This is why the “legal pundits” polluting our airways with savior syndrome myths are not only vapid, but, over time, dangerous, as they destroy public expectations of good governance.

We also discuss the difficulty of parenting during this era of flagrant injustice. It’s Merrick Garland’s DOJ, but our children will have to live in its aftermath.

For our bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller lever or higher, we answer questions from our listeners. Among the topics covered are Fani Willis and the Georgia investigation, what happens if Trump is indicted, Ron DeSantis lackey Christina Pushaw, and the debt ceiling crisis. We will answer ANYTHING so please join on Patreon and send us your questions! Gaslit Nation is 100% independent. Our independence is what makes it possible to address topics most media outlets avoid. We thank you for your support and for keeping us going!

Show Notes:

The Broken Film – a documentary about genocides. For more information, including the trailer, visit the website: https://www.thebrokenpromisefilm.com/

Manhattan Prosecutors Begin Presenting Trump Case to Grand Jury https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/30/nyregion/trump-stormy-daniels-grand-jury.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

National Progressive PAC Plans To Back Manhattan DA Candidate Alvin Bragg With $1 Million Cash Infusion https://gothamist.com/news/national-progressive-pac-plans-back-manhattan-da-candidate-alvin-bragg-1-million-cash-infusion

Read the Full Text of Mark Pomerantz’s Resignation Letter  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/nyregion/mark-pomerantz-resignation-letter.html

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Welcome to the Gaslit Nation Q&A! We answer questions from our listeners subscribed at the Democracy Defender level and higher on Patreon. To access this and all episodes of Gaslit Nation, support the show at the Truth-teller level or higher. You won’t hear every weekly episode unless you subscribe. Join our community here: https://www.patreon.com/gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Welcome to the Gaslit Nation Q&A! We answer questions from our listeners subscribed at the Democracy Defender level and higher on Patreon. To access this and all episodes of Gaslit Nation, support the show at the Truth-teller level or higher. You won’t hear every weekly episode unless you subscribe. Join our community here: https://www.patreon.com/gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Gaslit Nation has been studying Russian oligarch-aiding FBI traitors since our podcast launched in 2018, and what did we get for our diligent efforts? Yet another traitor! This week we discuss the indictment of Charlie McGonigal, the former top counterintelligence official in the New York field office who was secretly working for mega-oligarch Oleg Deripaska while pretending to investigate him. (You may remember Deripaska from our classic T-shirt slogan “You can’t make a deal with the guy who won the aluminum wars in the car bomb 1990s in Russia, you just can’t.” Rolls right off the tongue!)   We analyze the McGonigal case in the context of familiar Gaslit Nation topics – the top heads of the FBI who went on to work for the Russian mafia, how James Comey betrayed America to serve Semyon Mogilevich, the strange behavior of the FBI and the media during the 2016 election, the partnership between Deripaska and Paul Manafort, the partnership between Deripaska and Mitch McConnell, the desire of McConnell to make Merrick Garland head of the FBI as all this illegal activity was transpiring, and how the McGonigal case and general FBI treason affects Russia’s war on Ukraine. This episode was recorded during our second ever Gaslit Nation Live Event and we thank everyone who showed up for this historic occasion!   For our bonus, which will be out on Friday, we answered a LOT of questions from our Patreon subscribers! You can listen to our Q & As if you subscribe at the Truth-Teller level or higher, and you can send in your own question and get it answered in depth by subscribing at the Democracy Defender level or higher.   Times are tough in media, politics, and life and we are VERY grateful to you for keeping our show going! While other sites put up paywalls, we have kept our weekly Gaslit Nation episodes free and provided free transcripts to keep it as accessible as possible during this information war. We also have been able to retain and pay the same small staff of four people for nearly five years. Thanks to you all for supporting truly independent media, please keep it coming!   Show Notes:   Our opening song was “We Can’t Breathe” with music by Rayna Zemel & Chief Wakil, and lyrics by Chief Wakil & Kelli Wakili. You can find Rayna on Instagram @rayzemel and @wintersrockentertainment, and on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/rayzemi.   Correction to live taping: Special Counsel John Durham didn’t indict computer scientists, only a cybersecurity lawyer in regards to the Trump-Alfa Bank allegations: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/us/politics/trump-alfa-bank-indictment.html   Charles McGonigal Named Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office — FBI   Former Senior F.B.I. Official in New York Charged With Aiding Oligarch https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/23/nyregion/fbi-money-laundering-charles-mcgonigal.html   Former senior FBI official accused of working for Russian he investigated https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/01/23/mcgonigal-deripaska-indictment-fbi/   Russian Oligarch and Associates Indicted on U.S. Sanctions Charges https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/politics/russian-oligarch-sanctions-citizenship.html   Trump Server Mystery Produces Fresh Conflict https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/us/politics/trump-alfa-bank-indictment.html   Here’s How Donald Trump’s Paul Manafort Helped Create Chaos In Ukraine https://www.thedailybeast.com/heres-how-donald-trumps-paul-manafort-helped-create-chaos-in-ukraine   Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska & his links to British politicians – BBC Newsnight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziKUzn-5UcU   Trump Server Mystery Produces Fresh Conflict https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/us/politics/trump-alfa-bank-indictment.html   Want to Understand President Obama’s Foreign Policy? https://www.huffpost.com/entry/want-to-understand-presid_b_6834540   Billionaire mogul with Russia ties emerges as major donor to Hochul, numerous pols https://nypost.com/2022/03/06/billionaire-mogul-with-russia-ties-emerges-as-major-donor-to-hochul/   U.S. Politicians Can’t Stop Taking Len Blavatnik’s Money https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2019/10/21/u-s-politicians-cant-stop-taking-len-blavatniks-money/

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Join Gaslit Nation for a live taping January 24 at 12pm EST and stay for the live Q&A. Get tickets by supporting the show at the Democracy Defender ($10) or higher on Patreon by visiting Patreon.com/Gaslit. Join fifteen minutes early, at 11:45am EST, to see Sarah and Andrea put together the show before hitting the record button!    ***   For a month, we at Gaslit Nation have been pulling together disparate strands in the saga of Biden and Trump and the classified records found in each of their homes in order to weave you the tapestry of horrors we present on today’s program! At heart, this is not a story about Biden or Trump, but about the DOJ enabling elite criminal impunity in order to protect the secrets of broken institutions…like the DOJ itself. We break down the Biden documents and the new special counsel, the differences between Biden’s case and Trump’s, how the House GOP plans to weaponize the case and how the DOJ seeks to equivocate in order to weasel out of enforcing accountability, what a Biden impeachment trial would look like, whether Biden will pull a Nixon and resign, and what various successors should look like if he quits or decides not to run again in 2024. We remain in dangerous times and it is critical to look at the big picture threats.   Many of those threats coalesce around one state – Florida! For our special weekly bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller level or higher, Andrea breaks down the history of Florida’s political corruption. (Don’t worry, Kathy Hochul watchers – she’s planning a New York sequel soon.) We also answer questions sent in from our subscribers at the Democracy Defender level or higher. If you are subscribing at that level, you are invited to a live Gaslit Nation taping on Tuesday January 24 at noon EST! We give more information about how that will work in today’s show, and we will post more online, so stay tuned.   Gaslit Nation remains an entirely independent show, which is why we’re able to do deep dives on topics other outlets are not allowed to touch. (Or are too afraid to touch!) We are extremely grateful to you for making this possible. If you appreciate what we do, please consider subscribing on Patreon to get bonus features and to keep Gaslit Nation going. Thank you!  

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

America has a new leading export – sedition! Globe-trotting unpunished coup-plotter Steve Bannon and his elite operatives have moved their operation to Brazil, attempting to violently unseat democratically elected president Lula. Meanwhile, ousted dictator Jair Bolsonaro has taken up residence in Florida, the home base of unpunished mafiosos from around the world! We discuss the events in Brazil, how much more effective Lula’s response was to their attacks than the Biden administration has been to 1/6, and how the DOJ’s refusal to hold criminal elites accountable has created a global national security crisis.

We also discuss the continuing downfall of Congress, which has become less of a governing body than a gathering place for social media addicts attempting to build political personality cults. These reality TV show wannabes exist not to pass policy or protect the American people but to follow the path of the departed Donald Trump, a celebrity/criminal/politician hybrid cheered on by an army of “people” indistinguishable from bots. We also discuss the cliquish and cultish behavior in the Democratic party that has served only to strengthen the GOP’s fascist agenda. We also praise the rare officials who are exceptions to this behavior – new California Senate candidate Katie Porter, for one. Never forget that congresspeople are public servants and they work for you, not the other way around! 

For our bonus episode, available on Patreon, we talk more about Brazil and about the contrived chaos in the House last week, in which Kevin McCarthy staged a feud with the Seditious Caucus in order to frame himself as a “moderate”, which he is not! We also answer questions from our listeners about covid lies and buried statistics, the failures of the DOJ and the January 6 committee, and much more. You can listen to this bonus by joining at the Truth-Teller level, and send us questions to answer in depth by joining at the Democracy Defender level or higher. Democracy Defenders are also invited to participate in our special live taping of Gaslit Nation on January 24! So sign up today, and we will see you soon – we could not make this show without you!

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Our opening clip is from a November 2022 video of Steve Bannon, serial violent coup-plotter. It was put out by Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of defeated former Brazillian president Jair Bolsonaro, who visited Florida in November, meeting with Bannon and Trump. His father is currently in the suburbs of Orlando. Florida is a growing hotbed of the global fascist movement. For the full discussion and to receive our weekly bonus episodes, subscribe at the Truth-teller level or higher. You won’t hear every episode unless you subscribe to the show: https://www.patreon.com/gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

This is an excerpt of our January 6 anniversary special. For the full discussion, which includes the GOP chaos in the House of Representatives and our usual Q&A where we answer questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher, and to access all episodes of Gaslit Nation, sign up at the Truth-teller level or higher. You won’t hear every weekly episode unless you subscribe. Thank you so much to everyone who supports the show. Join our community of listeners here: https://www.patreon.com/gaslit

***

Another year around the sun and coup mastermind Donald Trump still walks around free in his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, a foreign adversary’s paradise of stolen state secrets. And yet he’s still allowed to run for president.   Now Trump’s many accomplices in Congress who helped fuel the incitement to violence that nearly overthrew our democracy on January 6 are currently raking in fundraising dollars from their Trumpian cult base as they proudly prevent the House of Representatives from getting to work. The dysfunction of the far right extremists that now control the Republican Party is by design and decades in the making, as we discuss in our spring 2022 series with leading experts on confronting fascism.   The Trump rally that deliberately killed people on January 6, 2021 can now hold up the House of Representatives, raising alarms about the US once again on the global stage, jeopardizing the essential functioning of a major branch of government, and showing our global allies, at a time when we’re at war with Russian facism determined to undermine democracies around the world, that the US is not a reliable ally, that the US is plagued by political instability.   Putin’s greatest assets aren’t just Tucker Carlson and the GOP. It’s the utter lack of accountability for the Kremlin Klown Kar that carried out their treasonous conspiracy on January 6 two years ago and continues to threaten our democracy once again from the House floor.   Let January 6 now be known as Merrick Garland Day as he’s the one condemning us to a ground hog’s day of attempted coups as the ones tasked with protecting us remain scared of their shadows or paid off in the shadows.   Show Notes:   Our initial reaction to January 6, 2021 captured here: https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1610641793913159680   Matt Gaetz friend handed 11-year prison term in US sex trafficking case https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/02/matt-gaetz-friend-joel-greenberg-sex-trafficking   Judge scolds Justice Department for its slow investigations at hearing for Rep. Matt Gaetz’s convicted associate https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/politics/joel-greenberg-matt-gaetz-investigation-hearing/index.html   It’s Unclear Whether the Justice Dept. Will Take Up the Jan. 6 Panel’s Charges https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/us/politics/jan-6-trump-justice-dept.html   The feds say they’re in for the long haul in the Jan. 6 investigation. There is a time limit. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/feds-say-long-haul-jan-6-investigation-rcna61728

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Welcome back to the fifth year of Gaslit Nation and the fiftieth year of the quest for Donald Trump’s tax returns! 

This week we discuss a panoply of government criminals and their dirty donors, ranging from newly minted oligarch cash receptacle “George Santos” (or whatever his name really is) to fellow recipients of mafia money in Congress (sadly it’s nearly everyone) to Trump’s half-century free ride from the IRS (because, again, they’re all in on it!) to the backers of Putin and Netanyahu’s wars (again it’s the same network enabling the crimes!) We also discuss the chaos and corruption that will ensue under a GOP House, the disturbing rhetoric of new Democratic House Minority Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, and give an update into Putin’s war on Ukraine.

We come fully armed with receipts and discuss what this entrenched corruption means for American democracy in the year 2023, a year in which Congress may have lost its illusions but has not found its soul. We discuss the lackluster release of Trump’s tax returns and stress the urgent need for release of his returns going back to the 1970s, which is when he allegedly made a pact with the US government to not pay taxes for thirty years in return for unnamed favors. (Read about it in Sarah’s book HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT which is having a $2.99 Kindle sale.)

We are recording our weekly bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller level or higher, on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol and the continued inaction of Merrick Garland’s DOJ to hold the organizers accountable. We will also be answering your questions so please keep them coming! If you subscribe to Gaslit Nation at the Democracy Defender level or higher, you can ask us anything you want and we will answer it in depth! Subscribers at that level are also invited to a live Gaslit Nation taping on January 24! Stay tuned for more details and thank you for your continued support of the show – we could not make it without you.

Show Notes:

Russian Oligarch’s Cousin Funneled Cash to N.Y. Politician https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-george-devolder-santos-got-cash-from-andrew-intrater-cousin-of-russian-oligarch-viktor-vekselberg

Conservatives turn to a new message: ‘God bless the Ukrainian people’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/27/conservatives-cpac-ukraine/

Here’s the first evidence Russia used Twitter to influence Brexit https://www.wired.co.uk/article/brexit-russia-influence-twitter-bots-internet-research-agency

Scrutiny mounts over tech investments from Kremlin-connected expatriates https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/19/russia-expatriates-links-probed/

The Russia Investigations: Another Oligarch Becomes Embroiled In The Imbroglio https://www.npr.org/2018/05/12/610466404/the-russia-investigations-did-a-nice-oligarch-pay-trump-s-lawyer

Russian Oligarch’s Cousin Funneled Cash to N.Y. Politician https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-george-devolder-santos-got-cash-from-andrew-intrater-cousin-of-russian-oligarch-viktor-vekselberg

Moscow Heat: George Santos and His Moscow Trips https://petestrzok.substack.com/p/moscow-heat?r=1pz15w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Russians getting seized off the street by police to go fight in Ukraine https://twitter.com/Laurie_Garrett/status/1609668327525203969

Firm Tied to Russian Oligarch Made Payments to Michael Cohen https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/us/politics/michael-cohen-shell-company-payments.html

A tiny paper broke the George Santos scandal but no one paid attention https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/12/29/north-shore-leader-santos-scoop/

GOP operative convicted in scheme to funnel Russian money into Trump campaign https://www.axios.com/2022/11/18/trump-campaign-jesse-benton-russia

$858,000,000,000 – by Judd Legum – Popular Information

SBF and the Injustice Democrats – by Max Berger (substack.com)

Republican George Devolder-Santos Got Cash From Andrew Intrater Cousin of Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg (thedailybeast.com)

The Ties That Bind: Ehud Barak’s Business Network – CTech (calcalistech.com)

‘Israel today, Israel tomorrow, Israel forever,’ Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says at NY rally – Mondoweiss

 

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

The 1930s are back! But this time, we’re fighting dictators, wannabe dictators, and their propagandists on cable TV and social media platforms. Since the 1930s have returned, super-charged with new tech weapons, we should bring some of the heroes of the 1930s back, too. Enter historian Deborah Cohen, the author of Last Call at the Hotel Imperial, a riveting look at the generation of leading journalists who risked everything to rage against the machine.    Some of the journalists she highlights in her book are sadly not as remembered as they should be today given that they helped win the war against the Nazis on American soil. One of the journalists in particular is Dorothy Thompson, a one-woman crusade against Hitler who she originally laughed off in her 1931 interview. Hitler never forgot it and suspended her Twitter account, we mean, kicked her out of Germany, once he took over. Thompson went on to confront the Republican isolationist Congress, Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, and the rest of the America First KKKlown Kar with her fierce independent journalism and moral clarity, even getting kicked out of the Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden. We bring back these heroes to see what inspiration and other lessons we need for today.    In our very special bonus episode, we let loose on what TV shows and films we’re watching to self-care and why. Television is something that we both take seriously, for different reasons, as we share in this discussion which covers a lot of ground on the importance and impact of culture in a time of encroaching autocracy. Let us know what shows you’re watching and why in the comments section. To make sure you never miss an episode of Gaslit Nation, subscribe at the Truth-teller level or higher. And to submit questions to our regular Q&As and get access to exclusive events and more, subscribe at the Democracy Defender level or higher. Discounted annual memberships are available. Thank you to everyone who supports the show — we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!    We’ll be back with an all new episode and Q&A next week. Until then, we wish you and your family a Happy New Year!    *** You’re invited to a live taping of Gaslit Nation January 24 12pm EST followed by a live audience Q&A. Tickets can be purchased by subscribing at the Democracy Defender level or higher — look out for the Zoom link which will be sent out thirty minutes or so before the event. Thank you to everyone who supports the show — we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!  

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.

Subscribe today to access all episodes of Gaslit Nation by signing up at the Truth-teller level or higher. You won’t hear every weekly episode unless you subscribe: https://www.patreon.com/gaslit

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.