President Trump yesterday gave a highly unusual press conference to announce that a special forces operation the night before resulted in the death of Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. After a short statement, the President launched into a highly detailed-and probably highly classified - account of how Baghdadi was killed. He insulted Baghdadi and went on to talk about the US invasion of Iraq, advocating taking Iraq’s oil, which would be a war crime.
Russian student Maria Butina was finally released from prison over the weekend. She had been incarcerated since July 2018 for failing to register as a foreign agent. Butina was targeted by the Justice Department, smeared in the press, given a sentence greater than the maximum recommended by law, and will finally be expelled from the United States. Robert Driscoll, who leads the Washington DC office of the law firm of McGlinchey Stafford, represents Maria Butina, and is a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States and former chief of staff of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, joins the show.
A former deputy to former National Security Advisor John Bolton defied a subpoena over the weekend and is refusing to testify in the House impeachment inquiry. Meanwhile, the parallel investigation being done by US Attorney John Durham turned criminal in its focus over the weekend. Brian and John speak with Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers.
European Union leaders agreed today to extend the date of Brexit to January 31, meaning the UK will not leave on Thursday, as originally planned. The announcement comes as members of parliament are meeting on vote on a proposal by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to hold early elections on December 12. Neil Clark, a journalist, and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins the show.
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 author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John.
In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including the reaction to the US special forces raid that killed the leader of Daesh, the extension to the Brexit deadline and crucial elections around the world. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.
Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights, and civil liberties. Brian and John speak with web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa.
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