Radio
Breaking news, as well as the most pressing issues of political, economic and social life. Opinion and analysis. Programs produced and made by journalists from Sputnik studios.

Investigating Trump: Who Holds Power in the US? The FBI or President?

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers, and Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”
Sputnik

Americans learned over the weekend that the FBI had taken perhaps an unprecedented step by opening a counterintelligence investigation targeting President Trump following his decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey. Shortly after news of the counterintelligence investigation broke, the media began to heavily focus on the availability of the translators' notes from Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Monday's regular segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights, and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and a strong supporter of President Trump, urged him today to temporarily reopen the government to allow for talks that could satisfy his demand for a border wall. Anger is mounting as hundreds of thousands of federal employees are going without pay, and polls show that most Americans don't want a border wall and most blame Trump for the longest government shutdown in history. Brian and John speak with Kevin Zeese, the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, you can check out their work at popularresistance.org.

National Security Advisor John Bolton asked the Pentagon last year to draw up plans to attack Iran, and senior Pentagon officials are voicing deepening fear that he could precipitate a conflict with that country at a time when the US presence in the Middle East is declining. And President Trump said he would "devastate Turkey economically" if it attacks the Kurds when the US pulls its troops out of Syria. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii, announced her candidacy for president on Saturday. Gabbard is a decorated veteran of the Iraq War and is a strong proponent of peace issues. She's also the first American Samoan and the first Hindu to be elected to Congress. Pundits believe she may draw support away from Bernie Sanders, but she has also been subject to intense criticism over her record on LGBTQ rights. Sputnik news analyst and producer Walter Smolarek joins Brian and John.

Monday's segment "Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers" is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What's happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book "Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto," joins Brian and John.

British Prime Minister Theresa May traveled around the country to drum up support ahead of Tuesday critical parliamentary vote on Brexit. She told voters in northern England that if parliament votes down the Brexit deal there will be no alternative and it will paralyze British politics and likely lead to no Brexit. Brian and John speak with Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the UK's Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers Union.

We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com

Discuss