Skullduggery

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman rewind to the case of former Justice Department lawyer Michael Abbell who became an attorney for an infamous Colombian drug cartel and was soon accused of lobbying for the cartels in Washington. In 1995, he was indicted by federal prosecutors for his work with the Cali cartel. His case opened the door for federal prosecutors to investigate the conduct of defense lawyers and their communication with clients when the government had evidence of that crimes were committed. It’s a case that has new relevance as Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, continues to make news.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with the former director of Public Affairs in the Obama Justice Department, Matt Miller, about former FBI Director James Comey’s upcoming new book and how it might affect the Trump administration. Randy Credico, comedian and friend of Roger Stone, also returns to the podcast to talk about the latest in the Russia investigation and whether or not he may be called to testify by the special counsel.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman head back to 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration discovered alarming intelligence that the Nixon’s presidential campaign had been secretly communicating with South Vietnam and its president, telling them to back out of a peace deal to end the Vietnam War. Isikoff and Klaidman discuss these events of 1968 and how that moment in history may echo the current reports of the Trump campaign’s contact with Russia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman catch up with former CIA station chief Daniel Hoffman about former CIA Director John Brennan’s recent Twitter attack against President Trump. Hoffman disagrees with his former boss and claims Brennan’s tweets only help Putin’s efforts to divide the country. Isikoff and Klaidman also talk with legal analyst Michael Zeldin about the latest developments in the Mueller investigation.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fifty years ago, on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., who preached nonviolent resistance to oppression and war, was shot to death in Memphis.  Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a look back at King’s relationship with J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI and speak to a former FBI agent with a unique perspective on the matter. Oliver “Buck” Revell was a young agent during the 1960s and had an unexpected, intimate meeting with Hoover where Hoover spoke with him at lenghth about King.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After speaking with former independent counsel Ken Starr on the last Skullduggery, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman revisit the release of the Starr Report on this episode of Buried Treasure. The report was released almost 20 years ago, on September 11, 1998, and everyone was feverishly downloading it on their computers or running to get a copy. Isikoff and Klaidman discuss where they were and what they thought when they first read it. They also wonder if special counsel Mueller will release a report like the Starr Report when the Russia investigation is done.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the Mueller investigation continues to face criticism from the White House and rumors of possible pardons for two former White House aides made the rounds in the news this week, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman are joined by Judge Ken Starr, a man who is very familiar with special counsel investigations and has faced tough criticism from a sitting president and the media. What does Judge Starr think of the Mueller investigation? Should the recent revelations about Stormy Daniels also be included in the investigation?   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Co-hosts Dan Klaidman and Michael Isikoff discuss the week in White House controversy: President Trump’s penchant for typos, leaked briefing materials urging the president not to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his recent electoral victory and breaking news of John Dowd resigning his position as Trump’s lead lawyer for the special counsel investigation. Michael Isikoff interviews Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Evelyn Farkas, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman speak with Marina Litvinenko, the widow of murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, about the recent poisoning attack against Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the U.K. Litvinenko revealed to Skullduggery that after her husband’s death, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May promised this type of attack would never happen again. But, as the investigation continues into the attack on Skripal, it appears to Litvinenko that Putin has struck again.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On a special edition of Skullduggery, Dan Klaidman sits down with his co-host Michael Isikoff and Mother Jones' David Corn in front of an audience at the Build Studios in New York for an interesting discussion of Isikoff and Corn’s new book, “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump.”  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman take a look back at President Richard Nixon’s interesting habit of roaming the halls of the White House, “talking to the portraits” of the leaders who came before him, at the end of his troubled presidency. It is a story that was recounted in Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s book, “The Final Days,” about Nixon’s fall from office. Isikoff and Klaidman also discuss whether Nixon’s “talking to the portraits” reminds them in some ways of Trump’s habit of taking to Twitter to express his thoughts and frustrations with the current political climate.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A failed assassination attempt on an ex-Russian spy and his daughter with a nerve agent in England is raising a lot of questions. Co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk to a former CIA agent, Daniel Hoffman, who arranged the swap that freed the former spy, to find out why he thinks this attack happened and who might have carried it out. They also check in with Randy Credico, a comedian who also is a friend of Roger Stone, and pleaded the fifth after he subpoenaed by the House Intel Committee in the Russia probe.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Special counsel Robert Mueller recently announced the indictment of 13 Russian trolls who had developed a scheme to penetrate and influence the U.S. political system. After co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman heard these charges, it reminded them of another story of the Russian ‘illegals’ from the past — the real story of the Russian spies that inspired FX’s ‘The Americans.”  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a week of turmoil in the Trump administration. Jared Kushner was stripped of his security clearance, White House communications director Hope Hicks resigned and President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions once again didn’t see eye to eye. Skullduggery co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman talk about all of these latest developments with Rep. Ted Lieu, D.-Calif., and National Review Institute senior fellow Andrew McCarthy.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election continues, co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Dan Klaidman dig up another time presidential campaigns were infiltrated by hackers. It happened ten years ago and Russia, although suspected, was not involved. The Skullduggery co-hosts recount their story of when the Chinese hacked into both the Obama and McCain campaigns back in 2008.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.