How This Impeachment Inquiry Differs from Watergate

Published: Oct. 4, 2019, 10:35 a.m.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers.

Former Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker is being deposed by Congress today as part of the impeachment probe. And in two White House appearances with the President of Finland yesterday, President Trump continued to lash out at Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry, and he again called for Rep. Adam Schiff to be arrested for treason. House Democrats, meanwhile, said they would issue a subpoena for White House documents, and they warned Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo not to interfere with the probe.

YouTube has quietly begun demonetizing videos that, it says, don’t comply with its terms of service and community guidelines. What does that mean? It means that many content providers who are outside the mainstream or that use certain words or phrases in their descriptions, are not eligible to earn money from advertising. So how do alternative news providers reach their audiences? Ford Fischer, the founder of the media startup News2Share, joins the show.

Hong Kong’s cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss the invocation of emergency powers to tackle increasingly large and violent protests, beginning with a ban on protestors wearing masks that they use to protect themselves from tear gas or to hide their identities. Chief Executive Carrie Lam called for the emergency meeting and said that the power will be approved and will become law on Friday. Brian and John speak with Walter Smolarek, a Sputnik News analyst and one of the producers of this show.

The Justice Department is planning to require the collection of DNA from all migrants crossing the border with Mexico, as well as from all people in immigration detention for use in a national criminal database. Senior Administration officials say the policy could take effect before the end of the week. Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, joins the show.

The US plans to swiftly impose tariffs on $7.5 billion in aircraft, food products, and other goods from the European Union after the World Trade Organization authorized the levies yesterday. The new duties represent the most significant trade action against the EU since the Trump administration hit Europe with tariffs on aluminum and steel a year ago. The EU announced this morning that it would impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods. Meanwhile, stocks took yet another dive after disappointing data was released related to the US service sector. Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, joins Brian and John.

Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show.

A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.