The Oath and The Office

Two Squared Media Productions

Mixing sharp wit and serious political fire, The Oath and The Office is where hard-hitting constitutional analysis meets razor-sharp comedy. Distinguished political science professor Corey Brettschneider teams up with comedian John Fugelsang to break down the most powerful 35 words in American democracy—the presidential oath of office. Every president swears to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution, but what happens when one openly attacks democracy and the rule of law itself? Each week, Corey and John pull no punches, exposing the latest threats to the rule of law and demanding accountability. Smart, fearless, and wickedly funny—this is the civics lesson you can’t afford to miss.

  1. 2d ago

    Blanche’s Confirmation Deal: Trump’s Weaponization Fund Could Return

    Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears to have secured the committee votes needed to advance his nomination. He cleared the path by agreeing to rescind Donald Trump’s controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and narrow sweeping IRS audit protections for Trump and his family. But does the deal truly kill the fund—or merely clear a political hurdle while leaving the door open for its return? Corey and John argue that walking back these dangerous policies does not erase Blanche’s complicity in advancing them, nor does it prove him fit to lead the Justice Department. They also break down a consequential week for executive power and the nation’s democratic guardrails: Elections: Trump’s escalating attempt to expand federal control over mail voting. Press Freedom: Withdrawn Justice Department subpoenas that sought testimony and phone records from New York Times journalists. Media Pressure: The FCC’s continuing pressure campaign against ABC. Surveillance: Allegations that the Secret Service illegally tracked James Comey and his wife. Intelligence: The Senate’s party-line confirmation of Jay Clayton to lead the intelligence community. The checks on executive power are being tested in real time. Some are holding. Others may prove temporary. Timestamps: 1:20 – Todd Blanche Confirmation Proceedings 18:03 – Trump Cheating in the Midterms 28:03 – Federal Agencies Aren’t Sticking to Their Purpose 28:56 – Jawboning and Media Censorship 47:39 – Why Everyone Should See “The Odyssey” 51:08 – Trump is a Threat to Democracy; the Courts Can Help 54:26 – Trump is Suffering in the Polls

  2. Jul 30

    What Trump and the New Right Really Believe | David French

    What does Trump actually believe, and how does his worldview connect to the New Right? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang look beyond the latest outrages to the ideology linking them. Then New York Times columnist David French joins Corey to discuss the forces reshaping the American right. Inside the episode: David French on birthright citizenship, the postliberal right, and whether there is a path out of America’s democratic crisis. The attack on the Smithsonian and the fight over who counts as truly American. Trump’s ties to the manosphere and the grievance politics driving the New Right. The pressure on New York Times journalists, the disappearance of a Whitney Cummings joke, and the fight to stop Penn Station from being renamed for Trump. Timestamps:  02:06 – White House Correspondents' Dinner09:34 – Tate Brothers Arrested16:22 – Trump, the Smithsonian, and American History22:28 – Attacks on Free Speech: NYT & Kennedy Center31:43 – Interview: David French Joins41:20 – The New Right and Vichy France52:56 – The Future of MAGA After Trump

  3. Jul 23

    Trump’s Media Threats & Todd Blanche’s $1.8B Slush Fund (with Skye Perryman)

    Threatening the broadcast licenses of news networks is a direct assault on the free press. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang tear down Trump’s extraordinary primetime speech and explain why standard media fact-checking is no longer enough to protect democracy. They also break down Todd Blanche’s attorney general confirmation hearing and a judge’s condemnation of Trump’s IRS self-dealing. Then, Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman joins Corey to expose the administration’s hidden $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. Blanche told senators the fund was dead, but Perryman explains why the receipts say otherwise—and why this controversy could derail his confirmation. What we cover in this episode: • Media Extortion: The legal reality behind threats to network broadcast licenses. • The $1.8 Billion Loophole: Why the admin's secret fund might still be alive. • IRS Self-Dealing: A federal judge’s blistering condemnation of administrative overreach. • ICE Misconduct: Why state prosecutors must step in when the feds refuse to act. Timestamps: 1:54 – Trump’s Election Interference Speech 16:53 – Todd Blanche Confirmation Proceedings 22:05 – Federal Judge on the Trump–IRS Agreement 31:51 – FBI to Stop Investigating Confrontations Involving ICE 38:48 – Interview with Skye Perryman

  4. Jul 16

    Trump Targets the Press—and Spies on Americans (with Sen. Ron Wyden)

    Trump’s Justice Department subpoenaed New York Times reporters after they exposed security problems with the Qatari jet Trump accepted for use as Air Force One. The prosecutor who issued those subpoenas, Jay Clayton, is now Trump’s nominee to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang trace the line from the “bribe plane” to a broader attack on democratic accountability, including another fatal ICE shooting in Maine and the White House pressure campaign against the Smithsonian. Then Senator Ron Wyden joins the show to explain how Section 702 allows the FBI to search Americans’ private communications without a warrant, why putting those searches in the hands of political operatives such as Dan Bongino is so dangerous, and how the bipartisan JAWBONE Act would let those targeted by government coercion fight back in court. The interview was recorded as the Senate Intelligence Committee, on which Wyden serves, prepared to begin Clayton’s confirmation hearing. Wyden and Corey discuss whether Clayton’s decision to subpoena journalists should disqualify him from overseeing the nation’s intelligence agencies. The through line is unchecked executive power: targeting journalists, coercing speech, and searching Americans without a warrant.

  5. Jul 9

    Trump’s $2.2 Billion Presidency: The Corruption the Constitution Saw Coming

    Trump’s latest financial disclosure points to something far bigger than another ethics scandal: a presidency being used as a vehicle for private financial gain. From crypto windfalls and foreign-linked deals to branding revenue, settlements, and the continued monetization of political power, the numbers raise a constitutional question hiding in plain sight: what happens when the Emoluments Clauses are not enough? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down the corruption story behind Trump’s reported $2.2 billion haul, why the Constitution contains two Emoluments Clauses, and why those protections remain dangerously underdeveloped because Congress has never clearly codified them into modern criminal law. Corey argues that using public office for private gain must be treated as a central abuse of presidential power — and that making anti-corruption reform a campaign issue is essential to restoring the rule of law. Then they turn to the FBI’s reported new push into Georgia 2020 election matters, the Supreme Court’s major ruling on transgender athletes, the Supreme Court’s refusal to disturb the E. Jean Carroll verdict, and the extraordinary NPR correction involving Justice Alito. This is not just a story about Trump’s money. It is a story about whether American law is prepared to stop a president from turning the office itself into a profit machine — and why Congress must finally make that abuse unmistakably illegal.

  6. Jul 2

    Trump Loses Birthright, Wins a Power Grab (with Joyce Vance)

    The Supreme Court dealt Trump a major defeat by rejecting his effort to end birthright citizenship. It also refused to let him fire the head of the Federal Reserve. But in the same week, the Court handed him sweeping new authority by allowing presidents to remove commissioners at independent agencies. We break down what these landmark decisions mean, along with the Court’s ruling on Temporary Protected Status, its latest campaign finance decision expanding the influence of wealthy donors, the legal fight over mail voting, and the latest developments in the E. Jean Carroll case. Then, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance joins us to explain why the birthright citizenship ruling matters so much, what comes next for campaign finance and mail voting, and how these cases are reshaping American democracy.

  7. Jun 25

    Trump’s DOJ Is Hiding the Epstein Files. Katie Phang Is Suing.

    Katie Phang joins The Oath and the Office to discuss her legal fight to force Trump’s DOJ to release the Epstein files. This is not about money. It is about whether Trump’s DOJ can defy the law and keep records from the public. Phang explains how she is using the Epstein Files Transparency Act, her role as a journalist, and statutory interpretation to challenge DOJ secrecy. We get into the harm Epstein caused, why transparency matters, and what it means when a citizen uses the law to fight for democracy. But first, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down three alarming stories about presidential power: Trump tying FISA surveillance renewal and a national intelligence confirmation to his SAVE Act voter bill, Gavin Newsom’s claim that Trump’s DOJ is investigating him and his wife, and Pete Hegseth’s alleged loyalty tests in military promotions. This episode is about secrecy, retaliation, loyalty, and the fight to make law matter again. Subscribe to The Oath and the Office wherever you get your podcasts. The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It

  8. Jun 18

    Trump’s War on Habeas Corpus and DOJ Independence — with Harry Litman

    Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang open with explosive new reporting that Stephen Miller pushed a plan for President Trump to suspend habeas corpus — the fundamental constitutional safeguard that allows people detained by the government to challenge their imprisonment in court. They explain what habeas corpus is, why it has been central since the Founding, and why suspending it to speed mass deportations would mark an extraordinary expansion of presidential power. Then Harry Litman joins Corey and John to discuss the crisis at the Justice Department: the fight over Trump’s so-called “anti-weaponization” fund, the destruction of DOJ culture, the role of Todd Blanche, and what it would take to rebuild a Justice Department committed to law rather than personal loyalty. Plus: threats to mail ballots, the Epstein files, and whether courts and Congress can still constrain an increasingly unbound presidency. https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/its-the-fraud-stupid https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/playing-chicken-in-a-pinto

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Hosts & Guests

4.9
out of 5
598 Ratings

About

Mixing sharp wit and serious political fire, The Oath and The Office is where hard-hitting constitutional analysis meets razor-sharp comedy. Distinguished political science professor Corey Brettschneider teams up with comedian John Fugelsang to break down the most powerful 35 words in American democracy—the presidential oath of office. Every president swears to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution, but what happens when one openly attacks democracy and the rule of law itself? Each week, Corey and John pull no punches, exposing the latest threats to the rule of law and demanding accountability. Smart, fearless, and wickedly funny—this is the civics lesson you can’t afford to miss.

Information

  • Creator
    Two Squared Media Productions
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    79
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Corey Brettschneider
  • Show Website
    The Oath and The Office

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