Excerpt: Swalwell, Blanche, Bondi & Presidential Records Act (with Mimi Rocah)Listen to a free excerpt of the Insider podcast
Listen to a free excerpt of the Insider podcast. To access the full episode, click here. A NOTE FROM THE PRODUCER Jake Kaplan is the Supervising Producer of the Stay Tuned with Preet and Insider podcasts. Can the Department of Justice declare a law unconstitutional? On a new episode of the Insider podcast, Joyce Vance is joined by former Westchester County, New York, District Attorney Mimi Rocah to unpack an Office of Legal Counsel opinion purporting to declare the Presidential Records Act (PRA) unconstitutional. Preet Bharara is out this week. Congress passed the PRA in the wake of President Nixon’s Watergate scandal. The law requires presidents to preserve official records while in office, making clear that those materials are public property, not the president’s personal property. President Donald Trump now appears to be targeting the law, following his criminal prosecution by special counsel Jack Smith for allegedly retaining classified documents after leaving office in 2021. In the OLC opinion, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel T. Elliot Gaiser wrote that the PRA violates the principle of separation of powers. On the podcast, Mimi explains how unusual it is for DOJ to declare that a law passed by Congress is unconstitutional, especially in the face of Supreme Court precedent: “This is not a typical thing that administrations do, to just say that a law is unconstitutional when there is Supreme Court precedent to the contrary and nothing supporting what [OLC is] saying.” Joyce echoes this point: “OLC…doesn’t have the ability to reverse Supreme Court decisions. And that’s what this one does.” Mimi also frames the opinion as part of a broader pattern inside the Trump administration, explaining: “A lot of what this administration does is about giving permission to people…to do things that they might otherwise hesitate to do.” This opinion is already facing a legal challenge. Stay tuned. Listen to the episode and comment below with your thoughts and questions. Thank you for being a member of our community here on Substack. For access to the full analysis, upgrade your subscription. Stay Informed, Jake Access the full episodeBecome a paying member to get exclusive access to Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance’s weekly Insider podcast. On this week's full episode, Mimi Rocah and Joyce Vance discuss: – The Manhattan DA’s investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Representative Eric Swalwell following his resignation from Congress and the limits of “due process” arguments outside the courtroom; – Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s blunt comments about the Justice Department’s priorities and presidential authority, and what his posture reveals about DOJ’s independence; and – Former AG Pam Bondi’s refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena seeking testimony about her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files release. Listen below:
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