UnJustified Podcast: “Fascism in Action”

Host: Allison Gill (creator of Mueller, She Wrote)
Co-Host: Andrew McCabe (former Deputy Director of the FBI)
Date: February 1, 2026
Theme: Documenting the erosion of civil liberties and the rule of law under Trump’s Department of Justice

Overview

In episode 54, Allison Gill and Andy McCabe deliver a sobering account of the escalating attacks on civil liberties, press freedoms, and the independence of the judiciary under Trump’s second-term Department of Justice. The episode details aggressive prosecutions of journalists, controversial federal interventions in local law enforcement matters, the politicization of the Justice Department, and alarming new tactics aimed at legitimizing further crackdowns on perceived political enemies and the 2020 election. The tone is urgent, incredulous, and at times mournful for the unraveling of presumptions about democracy and rule of law.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Law Enforcement Killings and Crisis in Minneapolis

• Alex Preddy Shooting:

  • ICU nurse and veterans’ advocate Alex Preddy was shot and killed by Customs and Border Protection agents at a protest in Minneapolis. The DOJ initially declined to investigate but opened a civil rights case under public pressure.
  • The local U.S. Attorney's office is described as being in “crisis,” with resignations and internal revolt over being asked to undermine the office’s mission and best practices.
  • “They confronted him over concerns that they were being asked to execute orders that went against the department's mission and best practices.” (Allison, 04:00)

• Pattern of Ignoring Court Orders:

  • Judge Patrick J. Schlitz documented 96 federal court orders ignored in just one month by ICE and DHS in Minneapolis—a staggering deviation from established norms (12:02).
  • “ICE is not a law in, you know, unto itself. ... There were more court orders defied by this agency in one month than many agencies have in the entire existence of the agency.” (Allison, 12:26)

2. Targeting of Journalists and Protesters

• Arrest of Don Lemon and Others:

  • DOJ charged four journalists, including Don Lemon, with “conspiracy against rights” and “threat of force to impede religious freedom” for covering (not inciting) protests at a St. Paul church.
  • Local federal judges called the charges “frivolous” and rebuked DOJ attempts to secure arrest warrants for journalists.
  • “When journalists can be detained for covering protests, none of us are safe.” — Todd Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign (28:52)

• Racial and Political Motivations:

  • All four journalists charged were Black, and hosts point to a pattern of selective prosecution along racial and political lines.
  • “It’s not lost on me…that these four journalists happen to be black people. … It’s a pattern worth noting.” (Allison, 31:00)

3. DOJ’s Politicization and Staffing Crisis

• Recruitment via Social Media:

  • The administration is resorting to social media to fill DOJ vacancies as reputable prosecutors refuse to serve (05:00).
  • “Good prosecutors are increasingly hesitant to work for this Department of Justice, so they are putting posts on Twitter to see if they can get DMs to be a US Attorney.” (Allison, 05:40)

• Ethical Red Lines for Lawyers:

  • McCabe compares DOJ collaborators to Vichy France or Robert Bork, warning:
    “If you do that, you should go down in infamy as one of the collaborators.” (Andy, 18:09)

4. Election Subversion: Fulton County, GA Raid

• FBI Agents, DNI Gabbard, and Election Equipment Seizure:

  • FBI, accompanied by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, raided Fulton County election offices and seized ballots and voting machines from the 2020 election, despite zero evidence of fraud and long-expired statute of limitations.
  • Gabbard’s direct involvement is described as illegal and a pretext to fabricate foreign interference claims—potentially as a predicate for further federal intrusion in elections (see 34:05–38:20).

• Theory: Fabrication of Foreign Interference

  • The hosts connect these events to Trump's previously failed attempts to involve the Pentagon in seizing voting machines (requiring a “foreign interference” finding) and suggest the administration could now manufacture “evidence” using Nicholas Maduro, recently in U.S. custody.
  • “When Donald Trump finds this evidence of foreign interference, however he finds it… and orders voting machines seized in swing states…that’s when groups like Mark Elias…should get together and bring articles of impeachment.” (Allison, 48:00)

5. Pulitzer Lawsuit and the “Catch-22” on Classified Evidence

• Trump’s Lawsuit Against Pulitzer Board:
  • Trump is suing the Pulitzer Prize board for defamation over Russia reporting, which forces him to either release classified documents (Mueller Report, Trump-Russia communications) or drop the suit—posing a constitutional crisis.
  • “He’s now presented with a catch 22, either disclose these things classified as national secrets or drop his claim.” (Andy, 51:55)
  • Legal experts cited call the suit frivolous and dangerous to state secrets norms.

6. Expansion of Mass Surveillance & “Domestic Terrorist” Lists

• Biometric & AI Surveillance of Protesters:

  • ICE and CBP are using smartphone-based facial recognition (Clearview AI) and license plate data, placing American citizens—identified at protests—into unregulated databases. Protesters are told they are now on “domestic terrorist lists” (as described by several listeners; 62:21).
  • “They are taking photographs of people, entering them into those databases and identifying who those people are…This is a well of problems that we have only scratched the surface of.” (Andy, 64:42)

• Erosion of Privacy Protections:

  • Hosts stress that such broad surveillance is unprecedented and violates traditional legal firewalls in accessing government data.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ignoring the Rule of Law:
  “It is so unthinkable, unthinkable that any person or entity in this country would have to go in front of a federal judge and ask for that judge to order the Department of Justice to not destroy evidence…because that's their job.” —Andy (10:00)

• On Press Crackdown:
  “This is what they do in Russia to journalists.” —Allison (31:33)

• On Judicial Resilience (or Lack Thereof):
  “The court system holds up because we follow what they say…That presumption of regularity is gone.” —Allison (14:24)

• On Collaborating Attorneys:
  “You should go down in infamy as one of the collaborators...the imprimatur that they should carry around. It's disgusting.” —Andy (18:09)

• On Surveillance State Expansion:
  “Where are those congressmen and a few senators who are so outraged by the offense of having had their telephone metadata collected by the FBI...Well, that's entirely lawful. ... But the idea that this is happening in our country by our own agencies and agents and nobody cares...is astonishing.” —Andy (66:42)

Important Timestamps

• 00:57: News on journalists arrested on conspiracy charges
• 01:40: Episode intro and context
• 02:28–05:00: Minneapolis office crisis and prosecutor exodus
• 07:54–09:32: Details on DOJ push targeting Don Lemon and judges’ rebuke
• 12:02–14:24: Court orders being ignored on massive scale
• 17:45–20:51: Ethical and professional red lines for U.S. Attorneys
• 26:03–32:36: In-depth discussion of Don Lemon’s arrest and implications for press freedom
• 34:05–45:45: Fulton County raid, DNI Gabbard’s involvement, historical context of voting machine seizure efforts
• 48:00–50:19: Dangers of potential fabricated foreign election interference
• 51:55–58:26: Pulitzer Prize defamation lawsuit and catch-22 on classified evidence
• 62:21–71:47: Listener questions covering surveillance, “domestic terrorist list” and privacy concerns

Tone & Language

Gill and McCabe speak candidly, alternating between incredulity, righteous anger, and weary sarcasm. They express deep alarm at the sweeping departures from democratic norms, using pointed analogies and historical references (e.g. “Vichy France”, Robert Bork, Russia, Saturday Night Massacre) to underscore the gravity of recent events.

Summary Takeaways

• Civil liberties are in a precipitous state of decline; the DOJ is weaponized for political ends against protesters, journalists, and political opponents.
• Federal interventions in elections and prosecutions of journalists are eroding longstanding norms.
• Unchecked surveillance and violations of privacy are proliferating, with little Congressional oversight or public resistance.
• Judicial oversight is increasingly ignored; even conservative judges are incapably containing executive overreach.
• The administration appears positioned to manufacture foreign interference narratives as a pretext for nationalizing election control.
• Whistleblowers and principled resignations are vital, but are met with dire professional consequences and a lack of support.
• The co-hosts urge vigilance, vocal resistance, and legal activism to forestall further democratic backsliding.

For listeners, this episode provides a comprehensive, if deeply unsettling, chronicle of the ongoing dismantlement of democratic guardrails and signals the urgency of public engagement and pressure on elected officials to preserve civil liberties and the rule of law.