Slate News Political Gabfest | Tough It Out, Pregnant Ladies!
Sep 25, 2025
Beverly Gage, a historian specializing in 20th-century American politics and author of a Pulitzer-winning biography of J. Edgar Hoover, sheds light on McCarthyism and the Red Scare. The discussion reveals the complex origins of anti-communism and its chilling effects on free speech. Gage also draws parallels with today’s political climate, emphasizing strategies for resisting political intimidation. Insights are shared on how past struggles for civil liberties can inform current battles against executive overreach.
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Norms Protect Prosecution Independence
- Since Watergate the Justice Department has had norms to keep prosecutorial decisions insulated from the White House.
- Trump’s push to replace a U.S. attorney for refusing to indict his enemies shows those norms are being actively eroded.
Investigations Should Start With Deeds Not People
- Prosecutors normally start with suspected criminal acts, not individuals.
- Reverse-engineering crimes to fit political targets undermines legal standards and creates illegitimate investigations.
Politics, Not Law, May Be The Main Check
- Legal safeguards are limited when the president controls the executive branch.
- Political responses—Congress, voters, and public pressure—may be the main check on politicized prosecutions.
