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This week, a close look at two troubling authoritarian provocations from the Trump administration: Friday’s dawn FBI raid of John Bolton’s house in Maryland, and Monday’s purported firing of Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. We discuss:

* How Matt managed to leave his microphone in Maine.

* What Trump seemingly hopes to accomplish by making an example out of Bolton.

* Whether opposing the retributive prosecution of a crank like Bolton represents a good test of how to build a unified front against fascism.

* Also, what the fuck is going on with Trump’s bruises and cankles?

Then, do the Bolton and Cook abuses provide the broad left any openings to peel off Republicans who might see Trump’s consolidation of power as a threat to their own ambitions. If he’ll go after a stalwart Republican like Bolton, why wouldn’t he go after certain Republican presidential candidates? If overlook Trump’s harassment of Cook, what leg will they have to stand on when 2029 Democrats purge Republicans from government, mine their federal records, and have a big fat precedent to point to.

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Further reading:

* Matt on the economic downside of personalist autocracies like the one Trump is building.

* Brian makes the case against liberal rectitude politics, which make it so hard for the whole, unified party to stand up for itself.

* HEADLINE: Trump, 79, Smears Right Hand in Makeup Amid Cankles Cover-Up.