Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal Chapter 5 : The Department of Retribution.

In Chapter 5 of Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal, Part one, the fictional characters Congresswoman Louise Getty and Senator Wade Stiller, former rivals, meet at the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. They reflect on their pasts and express concern over a hostile political climate under Trump’s second term, feeling fear and paranoia about being surveilled and targeted by the government. Their conversation reveals a sense of vulnerability as they confront the reality that many of their colleagues have abandoned principles out of fear. Louise recalls the intense political maneuvering and betrayals leading up to and following the January 6 insurrection. 

In Part Two, Woody Nuxhall, the newly appointed head of the Treason and Political Crime Section of the DOJ, oversees his zealous young team of prosecutors, eager to pursue investigations and vendettas against political enemies. The group discusses tactics to surveil and undermine former colleagues and opposition figures, planning a strategy fueled by partisan loyalty and vengeance, while embracing a radical transformation of the DOJ's role in politics. The narrative emphasizes the deeply entrenched fear and moral compromise within Washington's political landscape, contrasting the idealistic memories of past sacrifices with the present-day weaponization of governmental power. Overall, the story highlights the erosion of democratic norms, and the personal toll this environment takes on the individuals involved.

While these stories are fictional, they are based on Trump's own words and Project 2025. In fact, the New York Times, just last week reported just how Trump would use the Justice Department to go after his enemies.

We’d like to thank the artists who contributed their time to make this episode:
Richard Schiff and Morgan Fairchild read the chapters and others who contributed character voices.

Sound Design by Marilys Ernst and Jon Moser.
Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal was written by David Pepper and Produced by Pepper, Melissa Jo Peltier and Jay Feldman and is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and The Bill Press Pod. 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, good friends.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm Bill Press, host to the Bill Presspod, and this
is chapter five of our special podcast series Trump's Project
twenty twenty five Up Close and Personal the Department of Retribution.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
First, we like to start with a word not.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
In Donald Trump's vocabulary, and that word is share. It's
important for us to share this podcast series with enough
people because by doing so, we could actually change the
course of this election, how by helping make clear the
dangers of a second Trump term to those occasional voters

(00:39):
not yet motivated to actually vote this year.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
And that's why we're doing this.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Podcast series about Project twenty twenty five in the first place.
Right now, this campaign could come down to engaging so
called occasional voters, those who've not yet decided how to vote,
or whether to vote at all. Just a few thousand
of those occasional voters in each swing state could determine

(01:04):
the outcome of this selection. That's how important it is
to share this podcast series. Two great actors and activists,
Morgan Fairchild and Richard Schiff, have donated their talents to
help spread the word by participating.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
In this podcast.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
We welcome back our regular listeners, But if this is
your first episode. Don't worry about having to go back
to the beginning, as each episode is self contained. But
if you care to look back, you'll find the first
four chapters in your podcast app. And we remind you
that while the people and stories in this series are fictional,
the policies that bring chaos and tragedy to each of

(01:43):
their lives and to the entire country are all too real.
These situations are drawn directly from the pages of Project
twenty twenty five and Trump's own words and promises. Here's
just one promise, for example, as documented in this Von
Hillier for the NBC Nightly.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
News, former President Trump vowing to totally reshape the Justice
Department and target political opponents.

Speaker 4 (02:11):
We will completely overhaul Kamala's corrupt Department of Injustice.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
He recently reposted doctored images of top Democrats along with
Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates in orange jumpsuits with the
caption how to actually Fix the System, and in Trump's
new book, alleging Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will try to
unlawfully influence the twenty twenty four election, writing if he
does anything illegal this time, he will spend the rest

(02:37):
of his life in prison just this weekend, Trump promising
possible retribution against twenty twenty four election administrators, writing lawyers,
political operatives, donors, illegal voters, and corrupt election officials. Those
involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and
prosecuted at levels unfortunately never seen before in our country.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
To fulfill his promise of revain, Trump and Project twenty
twenty five would gut the Department of Justice of its
career employees, you know, those who've worked for both Republican
and Democratic presidents, and replace them with political hacks loyal only.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
To Donald Trump, not loyal to the constitution.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
To understand what happens when they turned the Department of
Justice into the Department of retribution. Our story begins with
a former congresswoman and a senator facing the reality of
a second Trump term. Morgan Fairchild tells their.

Speaker 5 (03:34):
Story Capital Monthly Louise Getty by Rose Cunningham, Washington.

Speaker 6 (03:47):
D C.

Speaker 5 (03:50):
It's funny, all these years we fly in and out
of here, shuttled around like big shots. It's easy to
forget what a beautiful town it is. The splash of
nearby fountains echoed in their ears as the May sun
pierced the blowing spray, miniature rainbows sparkled before their eyes.

(04:11):
The long ago foes had met at the base of
the Lincoln Memorial and ambled the length of the reflecting pool.
Now they were circling the outside of the World War
II Memorial, taking in the white granite pillars that were
each adorned with a gold wreath and the name of
the state. As they walked past Arizona, New Mexico, then Oklahoma,

(04:36):
a group of Honor Flight veterans, mostly in wheelchairs, ambled
around the memorial's oval center. It's so true, Wade. Former
House member Louise Getty said, stopping below the pillar of Utah,
her home state. Last year, when I had the stomach
for it, I flew my grandkids here for a week.

Speaker 7 (04:58):
We did the whole tour.

Speaker 5 (05:01):
Seeing it all through children's eyes was magical, like a
whole new city, a giant outdoor museum expressing all the
hopes and dreams of a great nation. Illinois Senator Wade
Stiller shook his head.

Speaker 6 (05:20):
Sheesh, and I'm still stuck in law firms and lobbyist
shops up and down K Street.

Speaker 5 (05:25):
Well, it's still better than the capital itself.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
These days true, maybe the worst of all.

Speaker 5 (05:31):
Louise turned to look at him correction, the second worst.
Both their grins faded as reality returned with the vengeance.
The former House member from Utah and the current Illinois
Senator had caught up on family, old friends, and the
good old days when his junior members of the House

(05:52):
Oversight Committee. They'd bicker away on debates that felt so
small now meaningless divides in hindsight. But that brief respite
of smalltalk ended abruptly at Louise's reference to the White House.
They were meeting now for the first time in two years,
because for the first time in their careers, these two

(06:16):
giants of American politics were frightened, visibly frightened. In the
mirror and through her husband's eyes, Luise Getty could observe
the non stop paranoia and fear eating away at her.
Her hair was now almost fully gray, always thin, She

(06:37):
had still lost fifteen pounds in six months. Never ending
nausea ruined her appetite, and she felt on edge all
the time, snapping at the man who'd stood loyally at
her side for forty years. Her three kids gently suggested
she seek counseling her first appointment was back in provo
next week. Senator Stiller looked even worse, ten years younger

(07:01):
than she was. The most eloquent man in Washington was
a pale, gaunt version of his old self. He used
to carry his stately six to two frame ramrod straight
Nelly hunched. The inner corners of his eyes were a
pinkish red, and his hair was both thinner and grayer
than the last time they had seen each other, That

(07:24):
was two and a half years ago. After the GOP primary,
voters of her Utah district tossed her for being a traitor.
Most prominently, though the Senator's hands tremored. He kept putting
them in his pocket to hide it, but he spoke
with his hands every time they came out.

Speaker 8 (07:45):
She noticed.

Speaker 5 (07:47):
The two were both such strong figures, neither wanted to
speak first, following Louise's comment, because this meeting was a
joint admission of weakness, and you don't ever want to
acknowledge weakness in Washington, let alone fear but fear. They

(08:09):
felt from one certainty that they weren't just on the
President's lists, as it was loosely referred to in the Beltway,
but they were as high on that list as any
two people in the United States, and as events playing
out in real time made clear, any one on the
list was in the crosshairs of a fully weaponized federal government. Wait,

(08:36):
it's clear I'm being followed. We assumed it was coming.
We waited and watched, and then in mid February, they
started showing up. Creepy cars down the street, creepy men
in public places. If we weren't looking, we wouldn't have noticed,
but it was obvious. The Senator nodded.

Speaker 6 (09:00):
Trust me, amen, I saw it too, in our private space,
but also in both my DC office and the district
offices back in Illinois.

Speaker 5 (09:08):
They began walking again.

Speaker 6 (09:10):
They're all over our phones, probably our computers, a couple
new interns, and our office are clearly plants. They stick
out like sore thumbs, so we're careful. We also don't
want to let on that we know.

Speaker 5 (09:24):
Over the years, Louise and the Senator had both received
numerous classified briefings by FBI leadership. More than almost anyone
in America, they understood the tactics and technologies and toys
that were used in sting operations. Ironically, they knew at
least as much as the political hinchmen suddenly in charge

(09:46):
of those agencies always laughed. That's the problem with tossing
everyone out. This new crew maybe partisan and dangerous, not
their sloppy. They passed Texas or shook his head, Sumple too.

Speaker 6 (10:03):
The Treason and Political Crime Section, orwell himself would have
blushed at the name.

Speaker 5 (10:10):
Louise cringed. Word had it that the new section, led
by one of the phony electors from Arizona, would be
the instrument of the president's political payback. They stopped in
front of Stiller's Illinois. Several bouquets of fresh flowers lay
at their feet. Land of Lincoln, Louise said, looking up

(10:32):
at the pillar and then over at Stiller, the President,
whose stark portrait sat behind her office desk from her
first day in the Utah State House till her last
day in Congress, her constant reminder to always be true
to herself, despite the daily pressures to do the opposite.

(10:54):
The Senator looked down at the flowers and then out
at the veterans listening to a guide. Others were just
admiring the memorial that honored their service.

Speaker 6 (11:04):
Amazing what so many sacrifice for this country, only to
leave us where we are now.

Speaker 5 (11:10):
We tried, wade, We did all we could. That just
needed more of us. Louise thought back to the thousands
of hours that all put in digging up every text
and floor plan and email, proving just how aggressively the
President had worked to undo an election he knew he
had lost.

Speaker 4 (11:30):
We will never give up. We will never concede. It
doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft.

Speaker 5 (11:39):
How had frozen out top staff members who'd tried to
stop him, pressured officials here and across the country, and
at least thousands of stormtroopers to disrupt the vote count
on that cold January day, all to effectuate the plan.
By mid December twenty twenty, Louise had known her college

(12:00):
leagues were up to something. The worst of her colleagues
at least whispers in the hallways, meetings, and even tours
without a place outside groups, multiple visits to the White
House which they couldn't help but brag about. Should laughed
at the absurdity of those eager beavers in on a

(12:20):
top secret plan but wanting people to know they were
in on it. A few years back, these House members
had been annoying little gnats that she another longtime Republican
leaders ignored as irrelevant, But jerrymandering had swelled their numbers
and the President had empowered them, so by December twenty twenty,

(12:42):
they were running the place. Still, she was shocked that
these lemmings and bozos came so close to success. On
January sixth, with an armed mob roaming the halls of
the Capitol, hunting to find her, the Vice President, and
anyone else they could get their hands on, and to
do god knows what if they'd found them, they reached

(13:03):
the Tennessee Pillar. Louise herself had sat in on most
of the Special Committee's depositions, hours and hours of them.
At first, she'd thought it would be awkward, cross examining
fellow Republicans should known and worked with for years. But
once the deposition started, it wasn't awkward at all. From

(13:27):
what they said and did, it became clear she didn't
know these people anymore. Lawless traders willing to trade what
made America great for one man's unhinged and corrupt ambition,
which made the depositions easy hammering away to root out
and compile every detail of their conspiracy, of their historic

(13:50):
crime seizing American power illegally, and even though she'd never
been a talker and committees, the panels public hearings proved
just as easy, methodically exposing the narrative of precisely what
they'd done, backing up her words with videos, screenshots, documents,

(14:12):
so that every American would understand and believe, and equally importantly,
so that the DOJ would finally wake up and do
its job of holding them all accountable up to the
President of the United States.

Speaker 8 (14:29):
And it worked.

Speaker 5 (14:31):
But by the end, any American listening understood the Trader's plot,
and the DOJ did step up, just not early enough
to matter when too many of the chief insurrectionist judicial
appointees used their power to slow things down. We did

(14:51):
the right thing, Wade, you did, I did, We all did,
and we came so damn close to six seating two
damn close. They passed New Jersey. The Senator had been
a senior member of the House, then his crowning act
would be leading the second impeachment trial, the one that

(15:12):
followed January sixth. Louise had watched every moment of it
in awe the entire committee was impressive, but it was
Stiller's moment to show the country his towering strength and skill,
and he did, in her estimation, one of the finest
minds and orators ever to grace the Halls of Congress.

(15:34):
Should we walk up to the monument, Louise asked, after you.
As they reached one side of the street that lay
between them and the path up to the Washington Monument,
the crosswalk light turned red. A few tourists scrambled across,
but the two stopped to wait, and that's when Louise
noticed him, a young man in his early thirties, khakis

(15:58):
and sport coat, sunglasses on, walking behind them. The sudden
stopped threw the man off, so he halted fifteen feet
to their rear, suddenly still all by himself, trying to
look casual, but failing. She'd notice the same man ambling
around the memorial too. A chill ran down her spine.

(16:22):
As much as she was being followed lately, she still
couldn't get used to it. Senator, we're being tailed, she whispered,
I have no doubt.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
Just keep walking and talking. It was still better than
being on the phone.

Speaker 5 (16:38):
They waited ten more seconds then crossed the street without
saying a word. The Senator was trying to play it off,
hands deep in his pockets, but his lips were trembling.
This is why they were both aging so fast. As
powerful as they had always been, are now completely vulnerable,

(17:02):
a total loss of privacy and control, hounded by federally
deputized ideologus. Somehow, the youthfulness of their tormentors made it worse.
Government henchmen younger than their kids. As they stepped under
the path leading up to the monument, the Senator cleared
his throat.

Speaker 6 (17:24):
What's amazing is that early on in my term, I
got to know a lot of these senators. Of course,
the new breed are all in just as militant as
he is, and willing to say or do anything to
get ahead with the several dozen Republican old timers left
or as horrified as we are. They tell me, if
they could do it all over again, they would have
impeached him when we called for it. They could have
ended the nightmare, and they know it.

Speaker 5 (17:47):
Louise shook her head. None of them talked to me,
I'm too toxic now. Did they say why they didn't
do it when they had the.

Speaker 6 (17:58):
Chance they keep their distance from me now as well,
they know I'm on the list. Still, in an honest moment,
they admit they were afraid of losing their next election,
of being excommunicated from the entire world they know, cut
off from the money that'll come their way if they
stand line, afraid of even one death threat becoming real. Plus,

(18:20):
why impede someone with all the hell that would rain
down on them who was never going to run again?
I mean, the guy lost by seven million votes. They
just assumed he fade away like anyone else would.

Speaker 5 (18:30):
I think that drove the old doj too. When politicians lose,
especially that big, they leave the scene. So why bother
looking political with investigations when he was going to disappear anyway?
Behind the scenes, should yelled at the Attorney General's Liaison
about the urgency of upholding the rule of law before

(18:52):
the next campaign cycle begin. If you wait, should warn them,
you'll give the man an incentive to run again and
do whatever it would take to win, which is exactly
what happened.

Speaker 1 (19:07):
Makes me sick to think about it.

Speaker 6 (19:09):
This guy doesn't go away, especially when he knew the
only way to avoid being locked up himself was to
grab the reins of government back.

Speaker 5 (19:17):
And now he has, Louise thought, without saying the words,
and now look at us.

Speaker 7 (19:27):
Over her shoulders.

Speaker 5 (19:28):
She could see the tail twenty feet behind them, too
far to hear their muted voices, but she whispered, anyway,
what are the others saying?

Speaker 6 (19:37):
When we met the other night, both Impeachment Committee and
Jeb's basement at Maryland.

Speaker 5 (19:43):
Jeb Mitchell had retired from Congress in twenty twenty two.

Speaker 6 (19:46):
And all but two of us were certain we were
being followed and bugged and hacked either way.

Speaker 5 (19:52):
We know we're all on the list, and how are
they holding up?

Speaker 6 (19:55):
They're putting on the bravest faces they can.

Speaker 5 (19:57):
Thenny grinned no offense.

Speaker 6 (20:00):
Most look like you and I do about right now, frazzled, scared.
We all know we've done nothing wrong, but we also
know that doesn't matter what the day's DOJFBI and court system.

Speaker 5 (20:13):
Louise grimaced. She'd had a similar meeting in northern Virginia
after flying in two days ago. For former Committee members
also reported being surveilled. The younger ones are melting down.
They have kids the age of my grandkids. They agreed
to do this to serve their country, to stand up
for the rule of law. And now they see what's

(20:36):
happening to those abortion protesters and doctors, the groups who
organize the deportation marches. The former CDC officials being purp
walked to courthouses like common criminals, and they're all gearing
that charges will drop in Georgia and New York any
day now, so they know they're next that their kids

(20:56):
will watch mom and dad charged as criminals. And Louise knew.

Speaker 8 (21:03):
They were bright. It's just awful were able to book
them up.

Speaker 5 (21:09):
I didn't my best. I explained that there are major
supporters who've stepped up to pay for the legal work
to protect them, and I had lawyers walk through the
wall of strong defenses they will offer, and it bought
me about ten minutes.

Speaker 6 (21:23):
Yeah, that's about how my talk went as well.

Speaker 5 (21:27):
They both looked down, holding their hands behind their backs
as they reached the top of the path and the
base of the monument. The Louise looked around, taking a
deep breath. The flags encircling the monument's base flapping loudly
in the breeze. Kids were running back and forth, pointing
up the flags. At the top of the Obelis, a

(21:49):
plane landed over the Lincoln Memorial. The softball season was underway,
players shouting amidst the occasional crack as bats collided with softballs.
All seemed normal for a moment, like those precious few
days Louise had spent with the grand kids, soaking in

(22:09):
every grand symbol and celebration of American democracy the town
had to offer. Lincoln and Jefferson, FDR, and MLK, telling
her grandkids the stories of what each of these patriots
was about, what America was all about. For that brief moment,

(22:32):
all felt fine. She even forgot that Senator Stiller was
standing next to her. Then she turned toward the White House, aghast,
There he was again the tale. He was standing on
the other side of the monument, right in her line
of sight, but he was no longer alone.

Speaker 8 (22:57):
Sidled up next.

Speaker 5 (22:58):
To him was a middle aged woman showing older link
brown hair. Dressed more casually, she looked like a tourist.
Louise recalled her from the beginning of their walk at
the base of the Lincoln Memorials and later standing right
beside them at the crosswalk. It had two tales, but

(23:18):
it only kept their eyes on one and right then
it dawned on her that these people weren't sloppy, They
just didn't care if she and the senator knew.

Speaker 2 (23:36):
After a sharp break, we'll be back with part two
of chapter five, which tells a story from a different perspective,
how the newly appointed head of the Treason and Political
Crime section of DOJ oversees his zealous young team of prosecutors,
eager to pursue investigations and Vendetta's against Trump's political enemies.

Speaker 1 (23:57):
Later in the podcast, author David pepperte.

Speaker 2 (24:00):
Each of the story elements you just heard back to
specific references in Project twenty twenty five and Trump's own
words and dangerous promises. Now, of course, all of us

(24:23):
West wing fans remember the actor who played Toby Richard Schiff.
He joins us now to narrate the second part of
the Department of Retribution, with a look inside a Department
of Justice newly staffed by recruits provided to a second
Trump administration by the Heritage Foundation.

Speaker 1 (24:41):
In Project twenty twenty.

Speaker 8 (24:43):
Five, Capital Monthly Woody Nuxell by Calvin Stegmann, Washington, D C.
Howdy Fellas Woody Nuxell stroke into the conference room for
a Monday morning's meeting, slamming the thick cherry door behind

(25:05):
him harder than he meant to. The adrenaline coursing through
him matched the rush of sitting in a tree stand
on a crisp Montana morning. These weekly meetings when his
young guns came together were the best part of his
new dream job, director of the Treason and Political Crime
Section of the Department of Justice. As he asked his

(25:27):
friends back in Arizona, what could be more fun than that?
Your dad would be so proud of you. But it
sure is a mouthful, his old boss back in Prescott,
Arizona had said, when what he shared the news of
his appointment in late January, Yeah, but almost every word
means one thing? What he replied? What's that power? Just

(25:54):
over three months later, having relocated his wife and five
kids from Barry Goldwater's hometown to the nation's capital, Wood,
he was still amazed by just how much power sure
he'd been a right wing sensation as a state senator,
going viral in his white pinch front cowboy hat and
bolo tie as he led the charge to undo the

(26:16):
Bogus twenty twenty Arizona election, near weekly rounds on far
right television, radio and podcasts. Social media likes and shares
sound by its beams and clips. His rise culminated in
regular calls from the President checking in on Arizona, and
a convention speech on the third afternoon in Milwaukee, which

(26:36):
had earned a rousing ovation and spark chatter of a
Senate run. But in the end it was still all talk.
This job was real power, first because the President himself
had empowered him with a bold and wide mandate, and
second because Woody had assembled the team of all stars

(26:59):
to get it done. Let's get started, he said, staying
on his feet as always. His ten member team sat
five on the side of the thick, rectangular oak table
in front of him, But as they turned his way,
they weren't just looking up at their boss. Behind him.
High on the wall was the head of a huge

(27:21):
black bear he'd killed a few years back in Wyoming,
along with the Springfield rifle he'd used to shoot it dead,
his team's reminder they too were hunting trophies. The young guns,
he'd called them the first time they'd sat together in
late February, all were in their mid and early thirties,

(27:43):
the best young prosecutors America had to offer. He'd want
them young and from the outside, outside both the federal
government and the Ivy League corridor, to ensure that they
weren't already corrupted by the old ways of thinking institutionalists,
the hacks and bureaucrats that replaced pathetically call themselves like

(28:04):
a fucking religion or cult to a bloodless bureaucracy, as
if so called independence was more important than executing the
demands of the most powerful man in the world. Helpfully,
the transition had started months before the election, and thousands
had sent in applications. Even before flying to d c. Wood,

(28:27):
he had sifted through resumes from across the country, along
with references from party and political leaders. But he didn't
stop with the initial trophe. He also reached out to
fellow partisan warriors around the nation, soliciting recommendations for the
best and brightest badasses. Once he found his top one hundred,

(28:48):
he arranged one on one zoom interviews to determine three things.
Were they smart enough, Were they sufficiently dedicated to the
president's political success. Were they warriors and brawlers willing to
push any envelope The moment a candidate fell short of
any of these standards, he'd end the call, sometimes just minutes,
in no reason to waste time. From the initial crop

(29:12):
of one hundred, he'd invited forty to DC for a
grueling interview process. He called it the boardroom, ten at
a time, two hours each cage matches of testosterone and
brain power and ideology, forcing the finalists to go toe
to toe with one another on scenarios and debates and challenges.
All as he observed, some turned into shouting matches. A

(29:36):
few nearly broke out into actual fights. Who were the toughest,
Who would go the farthest? Who dominated? From those gruling hours,
would he narrow down to his ten young guns, the
ten smartest, cockiest, most loyal, most politicized, and most bright
winged prosecutors. Within a day, all ten and listened the

(30:00):
first ten assistant United States Attorneys General in the DOJ's
new Treason and Political Crime Section, Pioneers he called. All
ten now sat before him to review their first round
of cases, Staring up at his hat bolo and brown
sport coat, and of course, at the bear and rifle

(30:21):
looming behind him, who's first six hands flew up a
hunger that confirmed that Boardroom had achieved its goal. He
took note of those who didn't raise their hands. Hey, cowboy,
start us off, He pointed at the first ausa on
his right as he began pacing back and forth. From

(30:43):
just two words, it was clear Reggie Gibbs hailed from Texas,
and his buzz cut, leathery skin and hawk nose struck
an imposing impression. The combination was why Wood he handed
him one of the plummet Simon's state leveled traders.

Speaker 1 (30:58):
We're all over New.

Speaker 4 (30:59):
York and Georgia cases, Sir, had getting started on the
Michigan and Arizona.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
Ones as well.

Speaker 4 (31:04):
Getting started, Yes, Sir, New York and Georgia got way
down the line against the president last year did real damage.
Taking them down first, We'll said a crystal clear message.
So we're putting more resources there first.

Speaker 8 (31:18):
Would He nodded. It was the right move, and he
was willing to put aside his own quest for payback
for being charged as a fake elector in Arizona. Those
elector trials had never gotten out of the gate, while
the prosecutors in New York and Georgia had waked far
more havoc gotten famous for it too, which meant the
splash of going after them would be far greater. Plus,

(31:41):
this was about the president, and the man absolutely despised
the impression left by those two prosecutors attacking him.

Speaker 4 (31:50):
We've had surveillance on the ground for a month in
both cases. We got taps on the traditional chambers, the prosecutors' offices,
and their homes. We're going to get their sell. We
got sources on the inside tracking down whatever documents they can.

Speaker 8 (32:05):
And who are you tapping? Exactly?

Speaker 4 (32:08):
The judge that daughter of his two prosecutors, Georgia Secretary
of State too, given all that he did, getting a
ton of good stuff already, they are running scared. He
found enough politics in their chatter to show this was
never about the so called crimes.

Speaker 8 (32:27):
When he looked across the table at the only guy
older than he was, I assume you're okay with all
of this, he asked, winking. Forty six year old Emmett
Sands was the only previous DOJ lawyer in the group,
the only guy who'd worked in DC for longer than
an internship, the only guy with an Ivy League degree.

(32:48):
Emmitt Sands was instrumental to the team an all depellate
gul who clerked for the conservative Supreme Court justice who
had authored many of the opinions that liberated them to
do what they were doing. Emmett had also served as
the Deputy Solicitor General during the president's first term, writing
many of the briefs that led to the most helpful decisions.

(33:09):
Added all up, and no one in the nation knew
the law of politics better without having to look a
thing up. Even better, no one understood the outer boundaries
of the open lawfare they were waging what the court
would allow them to do.

Speaker 4 (33:25):
It's one hundred percent okay.

Speaker 8 (33:27):
This stops, Emmett had explained the basics at their first meeting.
Fortified by an aggressive president, new rules freeing doj up
to be as political as they wanted, and recent Supreme
Court rulings, the young gods could pretty much do what
they wanted.

Speaker 9 (33:46):
Oh, those clowns in New York and Georgia were acting
for purely political reasons. He was a candidate for the presidency,
for God's sake, and they were attacking him for things
he did as president before. He has every right to
pursue them now as part of the official duty of
his office, which means, under the new DOJ operating rules.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
We do as well.

Speaker 9 (34:05):
Our new counterparts see it the same way.

Speaker 8 (34:09):
It helped that the President had revolutionized the FBI as well,
Just like with what his new unit, loyalists replacing institutionalists,
their partnership in investigating political crimes was off to a
smooth start. Pacing to his right what he turned back
to his Texas star. You have a timeline, cowboy, Yes, sir.

Speaker 4 (34:31):
We'll have this in front of federal grand juries in
New York and Georgia by early June, with indictments by
the end of the month.

Speaker 8 (34:38):
Indictments of whom what he asked, glancing up at the bear.

Speaker 4 (34:42):
Both prosecutors, some deputies, the New York judge and his daughter.

Speaker 8 (34:46):
At least in the Secretary of State.

Speaker 4 (34:49):
We hope, and his top staff too. They were driving a.

Speaker 8 (34:53):
Lot of it good most likely charges.

Speaker 4 (34:57):
Trying to decide what not to charge. Bunch tied to
election interference, to some fraud in and of course some treason.

Speaker 8 (35:05):
Don't overcomplicate this, Reggie. Remember the president's top priority is
publicly announced investigations. Right wing TV repeating the words treason
and abusive power in every segment. That's the victory. Everything
that follows is the great The young guns all nodded Wood.
He had drilled this into their skulls. Even in the

(35:25):
boardroom sessions. The old notion that you only brought cases
you were sure to win was so twentieth century. So
institutionalist investigations, charges and leaked tidbits of evidence dominated the
airwaves of friendly media, destroying and bankrupting the enemy. Before
a trial ever started, they could see it already. Even

(35:46):
rumors that the Feds were coming broke them.

Speaker 1 (35:49):
What I thought you said?

Speaker 4 (35:50):
For these cases, the president wanted revenge, as in convictions.

Speaker 2 (35:54):
To jail time.

Speaker 8 (35:55):
Would he stopped pacing for a moment, eyeing Reggie with
narrow eyes. That was true? You're right, he practically yelled,
laughing for him, these New York and Georgia cases were personal.
DEEI prosecutor's going after him. What the fuck? He does
want revenge, So let's be sure to get some jail

(36:18):
time with these, will you? Humiliation? Reggie exaggerated and nod, yes, sir,
you can count on me. When he scanned the room,
Who's next, long slender arm sprung up to Wood he's
left Utah. What you got? Kate Peterson was a former
BYU small forward who'd been a star law student and prosecutor.

(36:42):
When he first walked into the boardroom with his light
blonde mop of hair, he seemed so polite. What he
thought he didn't stand a chance. But when he turned
it on, the guy was an absolute bulldog. A good
combination for a role that would involve television cameras.

Speaker 10 (36:58):
Sir, so much, you wouldn't.

Speaker 8 (37:00):
Oh, I believe it. Look into any member of Congress
long enough, and you'll find a whole lot. The whole
room laughed. They all knew Cade's portfolio was a top
presidential priority. Another revenge assignment targeting the current and former
members of Congress who had gone after him during and
after his presidency, the members of the two impeachment committees

(37:22):
and the January sixth committee, along with the prior speaker
who put them all there. The President blamed the first
committee for his re election loss, and the second and
third for humiliating him and costing him millions. He demanded
payback for all three. While the impeachments in January sixth
stuff were all pretty clean.

Speaker 10 (37:43):
Most of these people have all sorts of other stuff.
We can go after campaign finance, insider trading, personal problems,
and skeletons.

Speaker 8 (37:51):
Would he ground his teeth as his body temperature rose?
Maybe this kid was too much of a boy scout
after all. Fucking a Utah, that's penny anti bullshit. I'm
not sure you understand this assignment.

Speaker 10 (38:03):
But sir, you said you wanted us to look into
every shit they've ever taken.

Speaker 8 (38:08):
Of course, but the highest crime they were part of
is the January sixth Committee and the impeachment committees. That's
what the president wants revenge for. The whole point is
to show America that those bullshit investigations were corrupt from
the outset, the illegitimate weaponization of the federal government against

(38:30):
its own president. This is about writing the history books.
We need those committees to have zero credibility by the
time you're done, when he slammed his hand on the
table for effect. We don't do that by settling for
inside of trading bullshit or not reporting campaign donations correctly. Shit.

(38:54):
All our guys do that as well. We do it
by attacking the committees as the fucking treason and abuse
that they were, especially by the Republicans who were part
of them. He pros then looked around the room ten
wide eyed faces staring back at him. Em At Sands
was the only one grinning, enjoying the tirade. You got it, yes, sir,

(39:17):
Kate replied cheapestly. And are you up to it?

Speaker 10 (39:21):
I am sir.

Speaker 8 (39:22):
He stepped two feet to his right. All of you
you got it? Yes, sir, they all yelled together. He
stepped back to his left and are you up to it?

Speaker 10 (39:32):
I am sir?

Speaker 8 (39:35):
He turned back to Kate. Well dig through those records again.
Damn it. If what they did can't be turned into
an investigation of treason, I don't know why the fuck
were even here, Yes, sir, Kate said, Do you have
them tapped? Utah, of course, sir, computers hacked, yes, sir,
public in private.

Speaker 10 (39:56):
I've also got folks under covering offices. It's amazing what
these agents can do.

Speaker 8 (40:02):
And how about your old friend from Provo, the trader
who stirred up more trouble than anybody else. The President
was obsessed with the former Republican House member who emerged
as the face of the January sixth committee. Sure she'd
lost the next primary, but that wasn't nearly enough punishment. Hell,
she was more popular now than ever immediate Darling.

Speaker 10 (40:24):
She's in the wave of investigations. We've got eyes on
her twenty four to seven.

Speaker 8 (40:29):
There you go. When his voice come, what these people
did was total corruption. The President wants anyone involved destroyed,
the cause of it.

Speaker 10 (40:39):
I'll make it happen, Sir wood He nodded.

Speaker 8 (40:42):
Mission accomplished. With Kate Peterson and with the rest of
the young guns who were staring in silence at Woody
at the bear as his dad had shown him as
a kid. Tirades had their place for moving to the
next report. Across the table of pennt you mentioned hacking
computers of sitting members of Commerce. Are we okay with that?

(41:06):
Emmett nodded, we are.

Speaker 9 (41:08):
This is an investigation into abuse of power and potential treason.

Speaker 4 (41:12):
By those members. It's fair game. FBI legal counsel felt
the same.

Speaker 8 (41:17):
Good, he said, as they did every week. He and
Emmett had scripted this out before the meeting.

Speaker 9 (41:24):
Plus all of it can be categorized as flowing from
an official act of the president, because if it's an
official act, then the president is immune from it. He
can't be held accountable, and since anything the DOJ does
that you do falls within the scope of.

Speaker 4 (41:40):
That official act, you're immune too. That's right, nobody.

Speaker 9 (41:45):
Plus, in the worst case scenario, he's made clear he
will pardon any of you for doing anything you do
in his service.

Speaker 8 (41:53):
You hear that, gentleman, Emma just speiled out why you
each possess permanent get out of jail free cod uards
along with the greatest prosectorial jobs on the freaking planet.
He pivoted, quickly looking to his right, the Californian sitting
in the middle seat. Okay, now, let's turn to the

(42:13):
guy who actually filed charges. Where are things in your
insurrection act cases? Rocky Valdez, who was the most aggressive
of the group, the undisputed boardroom champion, with his loud
voice wrestlers build and occasional bouts of red faced rage.
The kid from Jersey who could very well be on steroids.

(42:34):
What he couldn't have cared less. Valdez clapped his large
hands together, loudly.

Speaker 11 (42:39):
Kick an ass, and taken names.

Speaker 1 (42:41):
Sir.

Speaker 11 (42:42):
These people are gonna regret ever, taking one step in
protest while alone publicizing all they did on social media.
We're gonna get them for everything they got us for
on January sixth, and then.

Speaker 8 (42:55):
Some which protests. So are we talking about.

Speaker 11 (42:58):
All the big ones, the inauguration ones, the deportation ones,
the abortion ones. All those freaks whining about school vaccine
freedom were sending a message way beyond DC in New York.
Our guys on the ground are working with local shares
to roll up insurrection. It's in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Virginia.

(43:18):
Women especially got out of control after the abortion order.
You should see what they did to that Pittsburgh courthouse.

Speaker 8 (43:28):
They won't be doing that again.

Speaker 1 (43:30):
I guarant goddamn.

Speaker 8 (43:32):
Tee that what he not at his approval. Then look
back to his left, the guy farthest from him who
hadn't raised his hand. Hey Enson, by so quiet? What
do you have going on? Ricky Neeman was generally quiet
without left a misleading impression. It was rectitude, not passivity,

(43:53):
honed from his time in the Naval Academy in Jack Corps,
where you only spoke out once spoken two. Ricky was
a diehard, one of the veterans who'd helped coordinate the
tactical maneuvers that got him into the Capitol on January sixth.
The video of Nieman's military insignia and hand signals made
him famous and led to a conviction, but the President

(44:15):
granted him amnesty in January.

Speaker 12 (44:18):
Sir, I'm so glad you asked. You will love what
I've got going on. Tell us as careful as they
tried to be, we got them dead to rights.

Speaker 8 (44:26):
Remind everyone here just who you're talking.

Speaker 13 (44:28):
About, ha ha, the deep state.

Speaker 8 (44:31):
That's who.

Speaker 12 (44:31):
The institutionalists, the IVY League, snots, and so called experts
who used to sit in these chairs and in conference
rooms just like this all over the federal government. We're
talking DOJ lawyers, FBI agents, diplomats, climate and pandemic scaremongers,
Treasury officials, and education bureaucrats. It turns out thousands of
them thought it would be a good idea to offload
government data and other assets outside before we came in

(44:53):
and before they left.

Speaker 8 (44:54):
Woody entered every job with the succession plan. Right now,
this guy felt like the guy to place him if
he somehow didn't shoot the next charging there in the time,
they won't ever learn. But how do we know all that?
What he asked, Rookie looked down right gleeful, as he answered, the.

Speaker 12 (45:12):
Same way you'd know if someone robbed a bank when
cameras taped the whole thing. Some of them were dumb
enough to leave traces on their government phones and computers.
But they also didn't realize that we had their rickety
private networks bugged by late February, as did our friends
in Russia, who let us know right away. Hell, our
new people and these agencies watch them do it in person.
So we got them nailed, group emails, group texts, huge

(45:34):
transfers of data, you name it, and we'll be able
to reel them all in in the coming months. And
just like you wanted, we'll get them for theft, espionage,
and treason, open and shutcases. What he chuckled, We got
more receipts than a cash register on the old CDC
and pandemic team.

Speaker 8 (45:50):
What he clenched his fist. Perfect. The CDC was the
perfect symbol of the corrupt deep state, even upstaging the
president during co as if they were in charge. Taking
them down as pirates and traders would bag one hell
of a trophy. I'll get back to you at the
timetable for the next thirty minutes the remaining young guns

(46:12):
gave their updates. Surveillance and investigations are under way of
labor unions and left wing political groups. They also were
targeting the right wing business groups and figures who hadn't
supported the president in last year's primary, hunting rhinos wood
He enjoyed, calling it from arcane tax code violations to corruption.

(46:33):
They would all soon face charges. Trent Bowman, the AUSA
assigned the Culture War portfolio, was working with the state
prosecutors and sheriffs to go after abortionists, both the doctors
and their mothers, including those sickening fertility specialists who defied
the president's order and kept killing embryos over the year.

(46:56):
He also planned to target librarians and teachers pedaling pornography,
along with those who insisted on teaching banned history. Reports
were already emerging of gay couples sneaking banned adoptions through
in numerous states, so the FBI would started dragging it
there as well. What He clapped his hands. He scanned
around the room, counting to ten in his head. That's

(47:18):
nine of you, okay, Who's He looked down at the
piece of paper in front of him with a black
sharpie he'd place check marks next to nine of ten
areas listed on his agenda, Deep state, state level traders, Congress, insurrectionists,
and so on. Only one topic didn't have a check mark
next to it, media fake news. Before he could look up,

(47:43):
a high pitched wlang broke in, that's me, sir, od
it was Luke Willis, the normally sweet talking prosecutor out
of Tennessee. Luke was so good on his feet that
he'd help both Tennessee senators and the current governor do
debate craft in recent years. Playing there opponents, he'd wiped
the floor with all three candidates, which is why they

(48:03):
diffusively vouched for him for this job. Luke was never shy,
so quiet Luke well, sir. With an awkward grin, Luke
and the rest of the young guns looked to what
he's left reporters. Note they were looking directly at me
when he turned to his right, Remembering that a reporter

(48:25):
was sitting in the corner, he walked over and patted
him on the shoulder, then gave it a heart squeeze. Sorry,
mister fake news, he said, as the young guns laughed
out loud. This is the part where you're going to
have to step outside.

Speaker 3 (48:45):
Now.

Speaker 2 (48:46):
While the stories in this episode are over, were not
done with Trump's Project twenty twenty five. In a moment,
the author David Pepper will link the stories we've heard
to specific policies of Project twenty twenty five and Trump's
own words. By the way, the next episode of Trump's
Project twenty twenty five, A Close and Personal Chapter six,
will feature the harrowing stories of people caught up in

(49:09):
Trump's promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Speaker 13 (49:17):
Each one of the millions of people Trump wants to
deport is a single human being with a story. This
is Alvaro's said in one of the mass deportation camps
Trump has promised.

Speaker 14 (49:30):
He was only twelve, but he was smart enough to
see it clearly. What made mamma happy was helping him.
Ever since he could remember, he'd been the cause of
her difficulties. She was on the way to get him
from school when the gang took her from San Benito
before escaping to America. She had come back for him.

(49:51):
He knew now that the journey had been far more
difficult because he was with her things she had to
do with the men who were helping them all to
keep him safe. They were in this camp because of him.
It was all mothers and children, the Family Center, they
called it. Every morning, looms of dust in the distance

(50:16):
signaled that the next wave of prisoners was arriving. Guards
took the new women and children from the buses into
the processing center. While frightened and lost, the new families
looked alive, healthy. Their clothes and faces and hair appeared
far more fresh than those of the prisoners they were joining.

(50:38):
That would change in days, Alvaroni, and by the time
families lined up to board the green buses that took
them away, they looked like ghosts.

Speaker 13 (50:49):
The human cost of Trump's despicable fear mongering of migrants
is told in the next chapter of Trump's Project twenty
twenty five, Up Close in Personal the mass deportation Disaster.
You can find this series in your podcast app or
twenty twenty five pod dot com.

Speaker 2 (51:10):
Again, we ask you to please subscribe, review, and, most importantly,
as I urge at the beginning, please share this podcast
with all of your friends and relatives who may not
know just how dangerous a second Trump term and Project
twenty twenty.

Speaker 1 (51:25):
Five would be.

Speaker 2 (51:27):
Next author David Pepper will lay out the connections between
our stories and Trump's own promises. Once again, we remind

(51:49):
you that while this story is fiction, it's based on
actual policies contained in Project twenty twenty five and Trump's
own words, as author David Pepper explains.

Speaker 7 (52:00):
Note by David Pepper, Project twenty twenty five, The DOJ
and Immunity. Donald Trump has made clear from the opening
of the campaign that his goal is to seek revenge.
I am your retribution, he vows, and he and his
team name names. Trump casually tells allies he plans to
have the federal government quote punished critics and opponents end quote,

(52:22):
and his list includes not just Democrats, but formal allies
such as Bill Barr and John Kelly, and those who
dared cross or criticize him, such as Joint Chiefs Chair
Mark Milly.

Speaker 1 (52:33):
Quote.

Speaker 7 (52:34):
Look, when this election is over, based on what they've done,
I would have every right to go after them, and
it would be easy because it's Joe Biden. He amplifies
social media posts about a military tribunal for Liz Cheney
for treason and the prosecution of a broad swath of
elected officials, including Biden, kymil Harris Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell,

(52:56):
and bipartisan members of the January sixth Committee. He says
he will investigate the prosecutors who investigated his crimes, among
other reasons. Quote, I will direct a completely overhauled DOJ
to investigate every radical, out of control prosecute in America
for their illegal, racist, and reverse enforcement of the law.

Speaker 1 (53:14):
End quote.

Speaker 7 (53:15):
His loyalists have been equally explicit. Steve Bannon said, quote,
November fifth is judgment day. January twenty, twenty twenty five
will be accountability day.

Speaker 1 (53:25):
End quote.

Speaker 7 (53:26):
To those who investigated Trump, he said, quote, you are
going to be investigated, prosecuted, and incarcerated. This has nothing
to do with retribution. It has nothing to do with
the revenge, because retribution revenge might be another order of magnitude.
This has to do with justice end quote. Another concervative lawyer,
John Yu vowed quote in order to prevent the case

(53:47):
against Trump from assuming a permanent place in the American
political system, Republicans will have to bring charges against democratic officers,
even presidents. Another Trump surrogate has been circulating a list
all of top targets of MAGA retribution. The list quote
includes numerous Democratic and Republican elected officials, FBI intelligence officials,

(54:10):
members of the House Select January sixth Committee, US Capitol
police officers and civilian employees, witnesses, and Trump's two embeachment trials,
and the January sixth Committee hearings, and journalists from publications
ranging from CNN and the Washington Posts to Reuters and
Raw Story all considered political enemies of Trump.

Speaker 1 (54:29):
End quote.

Speaker 7 (54:31):
Now, let's plead clear, under traditional American governance, none of
this lock em up talk would lead to much. In fact,
Trump repeatedly called for investigations of enemies when he was president,
but they largely didn't happen, and that's due to safeguards
bright lines and checks and balances that keep a president
from exacting political revenge through the government itself. At the

(54:52):
heart of those chechs and balances has been the independence
of the prosecutorial and litigation functions of the Department of Justice,
as well as the independence of the FBI. But those
guard rails all disappear under Project twenty twenty five, which
proposes a quote top to bottom overhaul in the DOJ.
That's from page five hundred and forty seven. These changes

(55:14):
would empower Trump to exact the very political revenge he's
been threatening all campaign. The heart of Project twenty twenty
five is eliminating the DOJ's independence from the White House
and Trump if he were elected. On page five hundred
and fifty nine, Project twenty twenty five says, quote, while
the supervision of litigation is a DOJ responsibility, the department

(55:37):
falls under the direct supervision control the President of the
United States as a component of the executive branch end quote.
The plan also makes clear that the FBI, quote is
not independent from the Department and does not deserve to
be treated as if it were. Page five hundred and
forty nine. One way to establish this rather than a
ten year term quote, the director of the FBI must

(55:58):
remain politically accountable to the President in the same manner
as the head of any other federal department or agency
end quote. That's on page five hundred and fifty two.
There are two key steps in eviscerating the DOJ's independence
in Project twenty twenty five. Quote. First, flood the Justice
Department with stalwart conservatives unlikely to say no to controversial

(56:19):
orders from the White House. Second, restructure the department so
key decisions are concentrated in the hands of administration loyalists
rather than career bureaucrats.

Speaker 1 (56:30):
End quote.

Speaker 7 (56:30):
That's a summary from Reuters. More on the first step,
the plan aims to quote ensure the assignment of sufficient
political appointees throughout the department. The number of appointees serving
throughout the Department of prime administrations, particularly in Trump administration,
has not been sufficient either to stop bad things from
happening through proper management or to promote the president's agenda.

(56:54):
It is not enough for political appointees to serve in
obvious offices like the Office of the Attorney General or
the off office of the Deputy Attorney General. The next
Conservative administration must make every effort to obtain the resources
to support a vast expansion of the number of appointees
in every office and component across the Department of Justice,
especially in the Civil Rights Division, the FBI, in the

(57:17):
Executive Office for Immigration Review. That's all directly out of
Project twenty twenty five. That quote, page five hundred and
sixty nine. On the second step, Project twenty twenty five
calls for tearing down barriers between the White House and
the DOJ. Quote the Justice Department the White House Council
should act as a team and while Project twenty twenty

(57:38):
five notes at contact between the White House and the
Department of Justice traditionally occurs between the Office of the
White House Council and the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General,
a practice it aims to reduce the risk of political
interference in law enforcement. Project twenty twenty five encourages a
new administration to quote re examine this policy and determine

(57:58):
whether it might be more efficient or more appropriate for
communication to cur through additional channels end quote. That's all
New York Times summary the plan. One of the premier
experts on authoritarian governments, a good friend, Ruth BEng Giat,
explained the danger of these proposals. Quote the very definition
of authoritarianism is when the executive branch overwhelms or politicizes

(58:21):
or hinders from being independent the judiciary and the other
branches of government. You also have to have a compliant
civil service. They're going to take apart the DOJ as
an independent body and make it into something else. That's
something is a body that will protect the president and
his cronies end quote. Flushed with political appointees and no
longer held back by independence. Project twenty twenty five makes

(58:43):
it clear that quote litigation decisions must be made consistent
with the present agenda. That's a page five hundred and
fifty nine of the DOJ section. And even though that
clause includes one caveat that quote criminal prosecutions can warrant
different treatment end quote, it doesn't elaborate what that means,
and the quote treatment unquote described later follows the same

(59:06):
theme of highly politicized investigations and actions. For example, as
Trump does nearly daily. The Plan in Project twenty twenty
five urges politicized prosecutions out of the gate, including it
says the DOJ should prosecute any use of the mails
to transport abortion bills that's on page five hundred and

(59:27):
sixty seven, should quote restrain the excess of both the
legislative and judicial branches that's on page five hundred and
sixty should quote initiate legal action against local officials, including
district attorneys, who deny American citizens the quote equal protection
of the laws end quote by refusing to prosecute criminal
offenses and their jurisdictions that's on page five hundred and

(59:48):
fifty three, And should target in state officials for prosecution
for quote, voter registration fraud and unlawful ballot correction end quote.
This is Almo's word for word, which Trump himself promises
when he says, quote, and I will direct a completely
overhauled DOJ to investigate every radical, out of control prosecutor

(01:00:10):
in America for their illegal, racist, and reverse enforcement of
the law end quote. Another example where Project twenty twenty
five overlaps nearly word for word with everything that Trump
also says. The plan explicitly calls for prosecutions in Pennsylvania
for election allegations that were part of Trump's big lie
after the twenty twenty election. Quote the Pennsylvania Secretary of

(01:00:34):
State should have been and still should be investigated and
prosecuted for potential violations of federal law. That's on page
five hundred and sixty four of Project twenty twenty five.
In some, as PBS summarizes, quote, Project twenty twenty five
proposes placing the Justice Department squarely under Donald Trump's authority,

(01:00:55):
doing away with any traditional independence that we usually see
for the Justice Department. In Thetorney General, they want Donald
Trump to install a loyal attorney general install loyal lawyers
across the board, and Trump himself has repeatedly said that
he wants to do this end quote from BBS. And
the plan would also quote transform the FBI into a

(01:01:16):
political task force end quote. As if this weren't all
bad enough, the Supreme Court's recent immunity decision made this
entire plan far more dangerous, adding a layer of protection
to all the above actions that Project twenty twenty five
proposes taking, no matter how outrageous and lawless. In a
recent podcast, Neil Katial explained how easy the Court has

(01:01:39):
made it for the DOJ to protect the President in
itself from accountability. Quote all the president has to do
is slap on the label this is an official act
end quote, and Judge J. Michael Looted the Conservative echoed
that risk quote this is an unequivocal, clear holding by
the Supreme Court United States of America that a president

(01:01:59):
will be immune from prosecution for violating not only the
Constitution but any criminal statute. As a practical matter, virtually
every single thing the president does is and will be
forever considered an official act for which he will be
immune from prosecution end quote. But the decisions protection of
official acts goes beyond the President himself, and this is

(01:02:22):
where it provides such a dangerous assist to Project twenty
twenty five. As NYU law professor Melissa Murray explained on MSNBC,
the decision establishes that when the President acts for the
DOJ or issues orders via the DOJ quote because the
DOJ is viewed as an extension of the president, those

(01:02:42):
actions are immunized. Project twenty twenty five ramps us up,
puts it on steroids, makes it impossible to prosecute the
President or indeed anyone working through the DOJ for those
acts because they are official acts in the perimeter of
his official duties. Folks, what I describe in chapter five

(01:03:04):
is a story, But exactly what I describe in chapter
five could happen if Project twenty twenty five is put
into place. It will allow Donald Trump to exact the
very revenge he's promising to and the Supreme Court decision
immunity would give both him and DOJ attorneys and FBI

(01:03:25):
agent's immunity for carrying out those official acts. Work as
hard as you can to stop them from grabbing power.

Speaker 2 (01:03:34):
Trump's Project twenty twenty five up close and personal is
available again on all the different podcast apps and at
twenty twenty five pod dot com. We like to thank
all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode.
Richard Schiff and Morgan Fairchild who read chapter five, and
Jason Kravitz, Tony Michael's, Jim Holmes, Joe Walsh, and Omit

(01:03:56):
Aptai contributed character voices designed by Marilus Ernst and John Moser.
Trump's Project twenty twenty five up Close and Personal is
written by David Pepper and produced by Pepper, Melissa, Joe Peltier,
and Jay Feldman, and is a production of Ovington Avenue
Productions and The Bill Presspott