Accountability, Pardons, and Qualified Immunity

Discussion on legal obstacles to holding federal agents accountable and how pardons could insulate misconduct.

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Episode notes

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch are joined by Reason senior editor Robby Soave to discuss the Justice Department's (DOJ) investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and whether this latest tactic is just a form of political retaliation. They discuss whether there is a coherent case for the probe, how much influence presidents should have over monetary policy, and where the line is between oversight and using legal machinery against perceived adversaries.

The conversation then turns to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shootings in Minneapolis and Portland, where federal agents killed Renee Good during an immigration enforcement operation and shot two people outside a federal building days later, even as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem brands the Minneapolis victim a domestic terrorist and local officials accuse Washington of lying about what transpired. The panel talks about accountability for law enforcement, and how Americans can watch the same videos yet reach completely different conclusions. The editors then look at the uprising in Iran and the contrast between President Donald Trump's support for protesters there and his deployment of federal force at home, before examining California's proposed wealth tax and how it might impact the state economy.

0:00—the DOJ investigates the Federal Reserve

7:54—Trump's proposal to cap credit card interest rates

12:42—ICE shootings divide the country

37:35—Iran protests intensify

43:14—Listener question on Democrats holding Trump accountable

52:28—California wealth tax

1:01:33—Weekly cultural recommendations