Justice Denied: The End of the Trump Prosecutions
Plus: Putin’s New Friend in the Heart of Europe
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BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: Trump Brings a Cannon to a Knife Fight
JVL: Begun, the MAGA Wars Have 🔐
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KIM WEHLE: The End of the Trump Prosecutions
AS DONALD TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE PRESIDENCY draws near, all four criminal cases against him are going out not with a bang but with a whimper.
The federal case relating to Trump’s mishandling of classified documents was stuck in an appeals court after the trial judge, Aileen Cannon, tossed it out last summer on specious grounds. The other federal case, arising from the 2020 election aftermath and January 6th, had been slowed to a halt by various procedural motions. But after Trump won November’s election, Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the courts to dismiss both cases. Smith last week submitted his required final report on the cases, and while it remains unclear whether the report will be published, Smith’s work is done, and he has quietly resigned from the Department of Justice.
CATHY YOUNG: Even in Death, Navalny Still Threatens the Putin Regime
THE DEATH OF RUSSIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTIVIST and opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison camp last February was one of the most shattering events of 2024. Navalny’s return from Germany to Russia in January 2021, after nearly dying from poisoning with a chemical nerve agent—and helping uncover an assassination plot by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)—had been a fearless act; many also saw it as reckless, since he faced certain arrest and very possible death at the hands of his captors.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
A change to the multimedia section today, as I wanted to put some emphasis on one of our new shows!
You know the host, our estimable policy editor and former host of Beg to Differ, Mona Charen. The Mona Charen Show drops on Mondays, and should automatically show up on your player under its new name if you had B2D’s feed saved. If not, add your personal feed of The Mona Charen Show to your podcast player of choice so you don’t miss an episode!
The inaugural episode features Pamela Paul from The New York Times, who discusses why girls are getting negative messages about womanhood.
The Mona Charen Show: Is Womanhood So Bad? [YouTube]
How to Fix It (with John Avlon): Avoiding Partisan Gridlock (with Rep. Tom Suozzi) [YouTube] Suozzi talks with Avlon about where he thinks Dems can work with Republicans and which areas are non-negotiable, including on climate and the environment.
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Bill Kristol: Cannons All the Way Down [YouTube]
Bulwark+ Live:
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood: Awards Season in Flux
Shield of the Republic: Trump's New International Reality [YouTube]
Did you know? Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice.
Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
📣Bulwark+ members can now listen to ad-free podcasts on Spotify! Learn more here.
Our 🎥YouTube offerings are the free-versions of shows, and they do have ads.
✍️Also: Did you know that every podcast has a transcript for B+ members? Yes! If you’re more a reader than a listener/viewer, open any podcast and the transcript button is beneath the player.
JOIN US LIVE TOMORROW:
Starting at 10 am Eastern, Tim, Sarah, Sam, and Will will get together to discuss the Pete Hegseth and his confirmation hearing.
DALIBOR ROHAC: Putin’s New Friend in the Heart of Europe
HAS VLADIMIR PUTIN QUIETLY ACQUIRED a new imperial possession in the heart of Europe, embedded within the EU and NATO? The suggestion may sound hyperbolic, but reports from Bratislava are becoming stranger by the day.
Consider this: Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow on December 23, ostensibly to make the case for a continued Russian supply of natural gas to Slovakia. It is unclear what, if anything, he negotiated at the meeting because, in a break with normal practice, he was not accompanied by Slovak diplomats.
ZANDY HARTIG: Why ‘My Brilliant Friend’ Resonates Beyond Italy
HOW IS IT THAT a person (me) born and raised in America could respond so viscerally to My Brilliant Friend, an Italian drama series (which recently wrapped its final season on HBO and streaming on Max) about the tortuous, lifelong relationship between two women raised in a suburb of Naples? We are all motivated by similar impulses: love, jealousy, hunger, hatred, success, and most of all, survival. Using Elena Ferrante’s quartet of Neapolitan novels as source material—and following them almost to the letter—creator Saverio Costanzo transforms an intensely personal saga into a universal story.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Monday! I hope you had a restful weekend. I spent mine in Georgia on a family trip. As you may have seen, Ohio State is headed to the National Championship, and the Washington Commanders advanced for the playoffs for the first time in nearly 20 years. New ownership (which Cleveland sorely needs!) can yield pretty fast results sometimes, can’t it?
I finally got to see The Wild Robot. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I’ll leave the smart, in-depth movie coverage to Sonny and the Across the Movie Aisle crew, but please allow a brief recommendation: I knew I would have loved this movie as a child when I saw the trailer. As an adult? I really loved it. The storylines, art, score? All amazing. It’s kind of a reverse-Shrek in my book. I think adults will appreciate it more than children will, and children should love it.
Already on order is the trilogy of books by Peter Brown. If the question “What would an intelligent robot do in the wilderness?” seems interesting to you, go out and watch it or check out the books.
Brent Anderson writes on BlueSky: “I needed "The Wild Robot" tonight. It's as my son said, "offensively beautiful" and a testament to lovely storytelling. Truly among the most amazing animation I've ever see.” I really like the term “offensively beautiful.” It fits perfectly. Now go watch it!
He’s a Security Guard at the Met…. Now His Work Is Showing There. (NYT)
As Lake Erie slowly freezes… I love revisiting the tale of the Dave Voelker, who hiked across lake Erie from Ohio to Canada. (Cleveland Magazine)
A timeline of NC’s complicated legal battle… over the 2024 Supreme Court election.
I regret to inform you… Dr. Naomi Wolf, New York Times Bestseller, is at it again, with many, many conspiracies about the LA fires.
The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman… He thought he’d make millions of dollars selling solar panels door-to-door. The reality was much darker. (WIRED)
Pete Buttigieg has a few things to say on his way out… The outgoing transportation secretary on EVs, robotaxis, Trump, Musk, and the work still left to do. (The Verge)
Lithuania commemorates… Defenders of Freedom Day.
From Staff, Contributors, and Friends:
What's going on with the TikTok case? At its core, the First Amendment challenge is about whether China or Congress is the bigger threat, Kim Wehle explains at Simple Politics.
If Joni Ernst rolls over for Trump… she'll be vulnerable from the center, Bulwark+ Founder Mike Michener writes in The Des Moines Register.
Holly Berkeley Fletcher and Ben Wittes… On genocide in Sudan. (Sign up to get the podcast in your feed!)
Mona Charen joins Greg Sargent… To dig into the Bannon-Musk feud.
Adrian Carrasquillo discusses… how the media might cover the incoming presidential administration’s promised mass deportations on The New Abnormal
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