The Ukraine Connection: Trump, Biden and the Prospects of Impeachment

Published: Sept. 23, 2019, 10 p.m.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”

President Trump acknowledged on Sunday that he raised corruption allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden during a phone call with Ukraine’s leader, a stunning admission as Democrats in the House are ramping up pressure to impeach the president for misuse of his authority, among other reasons. But Republicans are countering that the real crime here was committed by Joe Biden during the previous administration, when he attempted to shield a Ukrainian company that had his son on its board of directors from a corruption probe.

The stakes are growing in President Trump’s policy of pressuring Iran to the point that the country acceeds to his demands to abandon its nuclear program or collapses entirely. And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said over the weekend that he would support the US in the event of an armed conflict with Iran. The Iranians, for their part, tried to lessen the situational pressure by releasing a British oil tanker they had held since July. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show.

The Joint List, the group of Arab parties represented in Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, issued a statement saying that its members would vote for Blue & White leader Benny Gantz to form the next Israeli government. Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Joint List, wrote an op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times saying that the election last week should signal the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s career. Brian and John speak with Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and of "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.”

In a speech to 50,000 Indian-Americans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called President Donald Trump, who introduced him, “a true friend,” and “the best friend India has ever had.” This was after Trump compared the US-Mexico border, to the border between India and Pakistan, where the two nuclear powers have fought five wars since 1947. Sputnik News analyst and producer of this show Walter Smolarek 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 the 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 President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky about Vice President Biden, Iran releasing an oil tanker, and day 8 of the workers strike at General Motors. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.

Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show.