Pushback with Aaron Mate

A hearing on the US effort to extradite Julian Assange for charges brought under the Espionage Act has begun in London. Satirist and broadcaster Randy Credico, a friend of Assange, discusses the stakes involved: an unprecedented assault on press freedom and a media publisher who has exposed the crimes and secrets of the US establishment. Guest: Randy Credico, political satirist and broadcaster.

US media is once again consumed with evidence-free claims that Russia intends to interfere on Donald Trump's behalf. But as Democrats accuse Trump of being "Putin's Puppet," Trump is overseeing a hawkish agenda that has worsened US-Russia tensions. Nowhere is that more dangerous than Trump's escalation of the nuclear arms race with Russia: abandoning arms control treaties while deploying and developing new nuclear weapons. Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter joins Pushback to discuss the overlooked dangers. Guest: Scott Ritter, former UN Weapons Inspector, Marine Corps Intelligence Officer, and author of "Scorpion King: America's Suicidal Embrace of Nuclear Weapons from FDR to Trump." Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com

Roger Stone has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for lying to a Congressional investigation of Russiagate and threatening a witness, Randy Credico. Stone falsely claimed to have a secret backchannel to Wikileaks, and that Credico was his source. Stone then tried to intimidate Credico into not contradicting his falsehoods. In an exclusive interview with Pushback, Randy Credico responds to the Stone sentencing and tells the real story of what happened. Guest: Randy Credico, political satirist and broadcaster.

Idlib is facing a humanitarian disaster as hundreds of thousands flee a Syrian and Russian military campaign to retake the province from militant rule. Overlooked in Western coverage of the crisis is that Idlib is mostly controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rebranded affiliate of Al-Qaeda -- and that Turkey, with U.S. backing, has intervened to keep the extremist group in place. Guest: Scott Ritter, former UN Weapons Inspector and Marine Corps Intelligence Officer. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

Iowa's voting debacle has renewed fears that the DNC is again working against Bernie Sanders and his grassroots campaign. The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal breaks down the network of dark money billionaires, Democratic elites, and Russiagate profiteers behind the app that ruined the Iowa vote, and a wider effort to stop Sanders' progressive momentum. Guest: Max Blumenthal, Editor of The Grayzone and author of The Management of Savagery. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Pushback on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

As the Trump administration’s stated rationale for killing Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis collapses, journalist Gareth Porter has pieced together the overlooked background. Porter reports that the assassination was in fact the culmination of a lengthy provocation campaign involving Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, and the Israeli government, which carried out a number of under-reported bombings inside Iraq and Syria in the months prior. Guest: Gareth Porter. Journalist and historian. His latest book, with John Kiriakou, is The CIA Insider’s Guide to the Iran Crisis.

President Trump was joined by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to unveil the so-called "deal of the century" at the White House. Attorney and author Noura Erakat says Trump's so-called "peace plan" is a con that seeks to cement Israeli apartheid for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. Guest: Noura Erakat. Human rights attorney, legal scholar, Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, and author of Justice for Some: Law and in the Question of Palestine.

At the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, chief Democratic prosecutor Adam Schiff has claimed that the US is arming Ukraine "so that we can fight Russia over there so we don’t have to fight Russia here" and called Russia a "wounded, dangerous animal." Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies at New York University and Princeton University, says that Schiff's rhetoric is "ignorant and debased." Guest: Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies at New York University and Princeton University, contributing editor at The Nation, and author of "War with Russia: From Putin & Ukraine to Trump & Russiagate." Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former senior official in the Bush administration, joins Pushback to discuss the Trump administration's Iran policy; the Iran nuclear deal; and decades of US-Iran confrontation in the Middle East. Guest: Michael Doran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former senior official in the Bush administration. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

As Bernie Sanders ignores Hillary Clinton's attacks, Tulsi Gabbard is fighting back. Gabbard has filed a $50 million defamation suit against Clinton for labeling her a "Russian asset." Independent journalist Michael Tracey joins Pushback to discuss. Guest: Michael Tracey, independent journalist. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com