Ben Rhodes joins to talk about the potentially imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine and all the political and economic implications both globally and here at home, and Strict Scrutiny’s Leah Litman talks about whether Donald Trump’s lifetime of legal troubles may finally be catching up with him.

Show Notes

UKRAINE

• NYT: U.S. claims Russia has list of Ukrainians ‘to be killed or sent to camps’ following a military occupation
• Politico: U.S. officials warn a Russian invasion would ‘repress’ and ‘crush’ Ukrainians
• VanityFair: “If Ukraine Matters, Tell Us Why: Joe Biden Is Talking To Everyone Except the American People 
• CNN: ‘All sorts of crises’: Biden’s holiday agenda ranges from Ukraine to Supreme Court
• TheBulwark: Putin’s Right-Wing Shills, and why they matter 
• PoliticoMagazine: Tucker Carlson Says Ukraine Isn’t Important. These Key GOP Voters Beg to Differ
• NPR: Why Republicans are divided on support for Ukraine
• NYT: Oil Prices Seesaw as Russia Menaces Ukraine
• FOXBusiness: Americans will ‘incur some costs’ from Ukraine crisis as energy costs, inflation soar
• CNN: Why a Putin summit would be a huge risk for Biden
• TheAtlantic: Putin Has Made America Great Again

TRUMPS LEGAL WOES

• WaPo: Opinion: Trump’s legal problems are about to get a whole lot worse
• WaPo: Trump’s dilemma on pleading the Fifth
• CNN: Trump’s legal woes deepen and could bring new political trouble
• ABC: Judge rejects Trump’s effort to dismiss Jan. 6 civil lawsuits, finds they could establish ‘plausible conspiracy’ 
• MSNBC: Trump kids’ legal arguments work better for TV than a court of law 
• AJC: Fulton DA Fani Willis finds GOP partners, despite Trump investigation 
• New Republic: Donald Trump Has Had an Epically Terrible Legal Week
• WSJ: Judge Orders Trump to Testify in New York Civil-Fraud Probe
• CNN: Donald Trump’s financial and legal problems just got a lot worse 
• NYT: For Trump, a Perilous Exclamation Point to Years of Wealth Inflation
• NYT: Biden Rejects Trump’s Claim of Privilege for White House Visitor Logs
• Verdict Justia: Mazars’ Resignation Shows Investigators Squeezing Trump’s Pocketbook Today, Not Just His Liberty Tomorrow
• Insider: Donald Trump’s accountants quit — in the midst of preparing his and Melania’s taxes — after questioning ‘discrepancies’ 
• Insider: 2022 is shaping up to be a legal nightmare for Trumpworld. Here’s a timeline of upcoming court cases and legal obstacles.
• CNN: Fulton County district attorney asks for FBI’s help with security as Trump investigation continues
• NPR: A special grand jury has been granted in Fulton County’s Trump investigation

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