Main Justice

Last week, a grand jury refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video they made addressing service members’ duty to refuse illegal orders. Mary and Andrew hold little back as they discuss the government’s attempt to chill free speech and persecute political foes. In an adjacent case, they review Judge Richard Leon’s decision to block Secretary Pete Hegseth from demoting Senator Mark Kelly over the video, saying it “trampl...

“MS NOW Presents: Clock It” is an invitation to the liveliest and most informed groupchat in your feed. Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels are long-time political powerhouses. And they understand more than most how culture influences politics, and the role politics plays in culture. On “Clock It,” they’re helping you put your finger on the pulse of the hottest political gossip and their off-air conversations too colorful fo...

Andrew and Mary are often inundated with news out of the Justice Department, but one item that really caught their attention this week was the DOJ’s appeal to the Supreme Court to toss out Steve Bannon’s contempt conviction. They begin here, highlighting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s wry comments on social media about the case. Next, they turn to a reality hitting prosecutors hard, especially in states ICE is targeting—tha...

Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels were once at odds as White House staffer and White House reporter. Now they’re friends and colleagues—each co-hosting their own shows at MS NOW. But their off-air conversations are where the real action is. Their new show, “MS NOW Presents: Clock It” is an invitation to their groupchat, the liveliest—and most informative—in news. Whether it’s ICE getting dispatched to the Super Bowl becaus...

Heads were turning over the weekend after Chad Mizelle, a former Justice Department official, put out a recruitment call for Trump-loyal Assistant U.S. Attorneys to hit him up on X. Mary and Andrew begin by highlighting the atypical nature of this outreach, while noting how slim the pool of applicants must be for what have long-been highly coveted and competitive positions. This piled on another DOJ fumble after a huge tranche ofEp...

Mary and Andrew make Minnesota the focal point this week, after the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts in the state culminated in the tragic killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents on Saturday. The co-hosts detail several legal cases related to these efforts: one that challenges how ICE and CBP agents treat protestors and observers, another that aims to preserve evidence in Mr. Pretti’s death, and a...

The former special counsel testified in front of the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee for five hours on Thursday. After the hearing was adjourned – and in between their respective hits for MS NOW’s evening shows – Mary and Andrew shared their takeaways from Smith’s time under questioning. As they note, the representatives who called Smith in often used their allotted 5 minutes to read aloud their own political statements an...

Protests continue in Minnesota after the state sued to stop President Trump’s surge of immigration agents to a city still reeling from the death of Renee Good. After mulling where we are one year into this administration, Mary and Andrew zero in on Trump’s revived desire to invoke the Insurrection Act, as Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey become the targets of a federal inquiry. Adding to the tumult, numerous Minne...

Today’s episode begins with the fatal shooting of Renee Good last week at the hands of an ICE officer in Minneapolis. Mary and Andrew break down the frame by frame of the tragedy and its fallout — pointing to the Trump administration’s deflective response, the Civil Rights Division’s decision not to investigate, and the inflammatory language used by the Vice President and Trump himself. Joining the conversation next for a deep dive...

Listen to this special invitation from Rachel Maddow and sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to take advantage of a 3-month free trial!

With MS NOW Premium, you can get our entire suite of podcasts – everything from “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” to “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace” – all ad-free. As a subscriber, you also get early access to select shows, plus exclusive bonus content – like a new episode of “...

It’s been five years since rioters stormed the Capitol in one of the most violent events on U.S soil in recent history. To commemorate the day and remind Americans of the consequences that still reverberate around the nation, House Democrats organized a hearing to “to set the record straight on the violent insurrection carried out by supporters of Donald Trump.” In this bonus episode, you’ll hear from Winston Pingeon, a former Unit...

Just days into 2026, Mary and Andrew dive into a fresh slate of legal questions brought on by the United States’ surprise extraction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife to New York to face criminal charges. Unpacking why the operation is widely viewed as illegal in both Venezuela and here at home, they focus on the Trump administration’s pattern of self-excusing questionable tactics under the banner of fighting crim...

After a year that saw no shortage of heavy legal news, Mary and Andrew close out 2025 with an episode of positive judicial developments. They begin with the Supreme Court’s decision denying President Trump’s request to stay an injunction blocking the federalization of National Guard troops in Illinois, concluding that the statute the government used to justify it first requires an attempt to execute federal laws with the military –...

The highly anticipated release of the Epstein files dropped last Friday with a muted thump, as redactions were abundant and files were held back. Mary and Andrew begin there, with the Justice Department’s failure to comply with the “Epstein Files Transparency Act”, a congressional law compelling the release of "all unclassified records" with a few exceptions. They break down what the law requires, why the DOJ’s redactions raise som...

Seeking political retribution is far different than prosecuting a winning case, as the Trump administration is coming to understand. Mary and Andrew begin here after a grand jury, once again, refused to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James. This comes along with a ruling limiting what evidence could be used in the case against James Comey if the government seeks to re-bring that case. The co-hosts also tee up what may ...

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing Texas to use its gerrymandered congressional map in the 2026 midterms, handing a redistricting win to Republicans. Mary and Andrew begin here, pointing to this decision as an example of the conservative majority’s disregard for opinions made by lower courts. Then, they turn to a Virginia grand jury’s refusal to re-indict Letitia James after a federal judge dismissed the initia...

“What was said, when was it said, and who was observing the operation as it was ongoing?” These questions are top of mind this week for Todd Huntley, Director of Georgetown’s National Security Law Program and a former active-duty Judge Advocate for the Navy. He joins Mary and Andrew to lend his unique expertise to what the Washington Post reported as a “kill them all” order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. This order reportedly...

Rachel Maddow’s new series lays bare one of the most shocking decisions in American history. It’s story that reveals how an executive order authorizing the mass roundup of innocent Japanese Americans came to be, the powerful players who engineered it, and the burn order that tried to erase it from history.

Stay right here to listen to a special preview of “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order.” And for the full episode, search for “Bu...

Amid an abundance of legal issues Mary and Andrew are keeping tabs on, this episode begins with the dismissal of the cases against both James Comey and Letitia James over the unlawful appointment of interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan. The co-hosts work through the judge's decision before reviewing some of the procedural missteps made by Halligan in the Comey case. Next comes the news that the Pentagon is investigating Senator M...