THE OFFICIAL MEA CULPA WITH MICHAEL COHEN ARCHIVE

Mea Culpa welcomes back a very special guest, John Dean. For those of you who lived through Watergate, his name is synonymous with the political intrigue of the 1970s. Dean served as White House Counsel for President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. In that position, he became deeply involved in events leading up to the Watergate burglaries and the subsequent scandal and cover-up. Referred to as the "master manipulator of the cover-up" by the FBI, Dean’s testimony before the House was watched by some 80 million Americans. Granted immunity, Dean laid out in stunning detail and intricacy how the President not only knew about but orchestrated the break-in and burglary of the DNC. He ultimately was sentenced to one year in Federal Prison but emerged from the experience as a changed and soulful individual. Dean renounced his former politics and started a second life as an author and speaker. He’s penned five books about Watergate and 10 books in total; including his most recent tome, Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and his Followers. Dean is now the last man standing from that era, He is the last connection between this nation’s authoritarian past and present. Michael and John dig deep into Watergate, January 6th, and DOJ.

Mea Culpa welcomes friend and fellow lawyer,  Katie Phang. Phang became a legal analyst for NBC Universal in 2017 and is currently a political commentator, podcaster, and television host. Catch the excellent Katie Phang Show, which sheds light on the intersection of law, politics, and culture locally and nationally. It airs weekends on MSNBC and you might also find her filling in for Chris Hayes or Ari Melber on MSNBC. Let’s go now to my conversation with Katie Phang. Michael and Katie dig into all of Trump's legal woes.

Mea Culpa welcomes back our old friend Malcolm Nance. Nance has just returned from the frontline in Ukraine and has a lot to say about the current situation there. You may know Nance as the globally renowned expert on terrorism, extremism, and insurgency. Nance’s stunning new book, “They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency” was a New York Times best-seller as was his book, the Plot to Hack America. He’s the counter-terrorism analyst for NBC and MSNBC. And Nance is considered one of the "Great African-Americans in Espionage” by the International Spy Museum. Micheal and dig deep into Putin and Russia and where things stand with China.

Mea Culpa welcomes Lev Parnas to the show. Lev is a Soviet-born businessman who along with Rudy Giuliani and Igor Fruman played a central role in the campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate Trump’s political rivals, including Hunter Biden. Parnas was thrown into Trump's first impeachment drama, but he ended up working with federal prosecutors against Giuliani and the former president. Parnas is currently serving a 20-month sentence for Campaign Finance, Wire Fraud, And False Statements Offenses, and is speaking to us today while on home confinement. Micheal and Lev dig deep into the Trump crime syndicate. 

It's our distinct honor to have Fred Guttenberg as our guest today on Mea Culpa. Fred is the father of Jaime, a 14-year-old girl killed during the Parkland mass shooting in 2018. Fred began his public life directly after the murder of his beautiful daughter when he decided to attend a public vigil in Parkland. While there, the Mayor asked him to speak. His words shook a nation and he has not stopped ever since. Michael and Fred discuss gun violence, gun control, and the state of politics in Florida. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back our old friend, Harry Litman, the former US Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Litman is currently the legal affairs columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a professor of Constitutional Law at UCLA and UCSD. Harry can be seen as a legal and political commentator on CBS, NPR MSNBC, and CNN. Litman is also the creator and host of the Talking Feds Podcast. Today Harry is here to give us the rundown on all the legal battles currently raging in Washington. Micheal and Harry dig into the Manhattan DA investigation, the State of the Union, Jack Smith, and the special counsel.

Mea Culpa welcomes back Tristan Snell. The former New York Assistant Attorney General famously lead the civil prosecution in the Trump University case for the state of New York against the Trump Organization. The 2013 case found the Trump Org guilty; forcing them to pay out $25 million in restitution. Snell spent years scaling the walls of the Trump Organization, largely creating the playbook for defeating Donald Trump in court. Ultimately, he said, it’s about the receipts, not the witnesses. To beat Trump you need indisputable proof, a smoking gun and that only comes from having the documents to prove it.” Nowadays, Snell is the founder of Main Street Law and appears as a commentator on CNN. He also serves as a contributing writer for the Washington Post, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. To name a few. Tristan joins Michael today in discussing Biden's potential run, women's rights, and if the Stormy Daniels case will ultimately be the case that takes Trump down. 

Mea Cilpa welcomes our good friend Frank Figliuzzi to help us figure out the legal ramification of everything going on in Washington DC. Figliuzzi is a national security contributor and regular columnist for NBC News and MSNBC. At one time, Figliuzzi was the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI. He served 25 years as a special agent and directed all espionage investigations across the entire government. He is also the author of the national bestseller “The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence.” Michael and Frank dig into bad cops, gun legislation, and the justice department.

Mea culpa welcomes one of our favorite people from the Lincoln Project, Tara Setmayer. Setmayer is a former CNN political commentator, a contributor to ABC News, and a former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. She's appeared on ABC's The View, ABC's Good Morning America, and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. Setmayer was named a Harvard Institute of Politics Spring 2020 Resident Fellow. Also in 2020, she joined The Lincoln Project as a senior advisor. Setmayer hosts the live show "The Breakdown" alongside co-founder Rick Wilson, on the organization's streaming channel, LPTV. Michael and Tara Dig into the up police violence, the cult of Trump, and who will get the Republican nomination. 

Mea Culpa welcomes back Jack Cocchiarella. He’s a Gen Z activist and Democratic Digital Strategist. While still in college, he worked to get Charlie Crist elected Florida Governor in the Midterms, a noble effort indeed. Jack has 340,000 followers on Twitter and is a politically astute young person that we can all learn from. Michael and Jack dig deep into the Desantis, voting, the GOP, and the future of democracy.