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 “trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms.” The co-hosts then dig into the unsealed Fulton County affidavit and what it shows about the basis of the administration's 2020 election fraud claims, before concluding with a couple due process updates: Judge Boasberg’s decision ordering the Trump administration to facilitate the return of some Venezuelan migrants unlawfully deported, and Judge Tim Kelly’s decision in a case about death row prisoners being sent to a “Supermax” prison on the government’s orders without due process, after Biden granted them clemency from the death penalty before leaving office.

Further reading:

• Read Judge Richard J. Leon’s Memorandum Opinion on Mark Kelly v. Pete Hegseth HERE

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“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 for TV.

In the first episode of their new show, “Clock It,” they’re joined by actors Tony Goldwyn and Myles Frost for a conversation about making thought-provoking art when political tensions are at their highest. And they dig in on the Super Bowl halftime show, why cuts to The Washington Post matter for democracy, and the race to the Senate in Texas.

Stay here to get a sneak peek. Then search and follow the show to get new episodes every Thursday.

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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—that the push for mass detentions did not include any plan for the infrastructure needed to support the caseload in the courts or in U.S. Attorneys’ offices. And it's pushing prosecutors to the brink. Mary and Andrew talk about one of them, Julie Le, who was fired after expressing her exasperation in Minnesota. Next, they explain why Congress was given access to the (mostly) un-redacted Epstein files and Ghislaine Maxwell’s choice to plead the 5th in a congressional deposition. And last up, a beat on the Georgia ballot seizures, as Fulton County sues and a judge orders DOJ records to be unsealed in the case.

Further Reading:

• Here is a new piece from Andrew: How Congress Can Give Epstein Survivors the Investigation They Deserve, Starting with Compelling Maxwell to Testify

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