Emptywheel Friday: Bribery, Binance, Bolton & More BS

About this episode

Marcy Wheeler joins Nicole Sandler to discuss recent political events including bribery allegations and legal issues surrounding Trump and others.

It's another Emptywheel Friday in which Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel.net helps us figure out what went on this week. Today, we got into Todd Blanche literally telling Congress that Trump can't be held accountable for accepting a bribe... and then getting named acting AG the next day. We talked about the DOJ "fraud task force" that's really just a scheme to chase people on SNAP while shielding Trump's billion-dollar crypto corruption. Pam Bondi's Epstein deposition transcript dropped and there's a lot to unpack — including what's still being hidden and why. Plus the SPLC superseding indictment, FISA leverage, Bolton's guilty plea, Trump sleeping through cabinet meetings on camera, and a UFC cage in front of the White House that Trump is now comparing to the Eiffel Tower. No, really. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

People in this episode

Host: Nicole Sandler

Guest: Marcy Wheeler

Topics covered

• bribery
• crypto corruption
• political accountability
• legal proceedings
• government oversight
• current events

Keywords

• bribery
• Trump
• crypto
• DOJ
• SPLC
• Bolton
• Pam Bondi
• politics
• Emptywheel

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: DOJ, SPLC, emptywheel.net, UFC

More episodes of The Nicole Sandler Show

• Emptywheel Fridays with Marcy Wheeler, from Dublin to Belfast to Mar-a-Lago · June 12, 2026 · 1h 22m
• Oil and Water and Climate Change and War Don't Mix: The ImPerfect Storm · June 11, 2026 · 1h 22m
• Driftglass Unmasked! Plus: Trump's War, Your Money, and the GOP's "Both Sides" Lie · June 10, 2026 · 1h 6m
• Get Your Religious Lies Out of My US History | Jonathan Larsen on Trump's Freedom 250 Propaganda Trucks · June 9, 2026 · 1h 23m
• Sen. Mark Kelly Changed My Mind, Something I Didn't Expect · June 8, 2026 · 1h 8m
• Trump Makes No Sense, but Lisa Graves Tries to Explain Anyway · June 5, 2026 · 1h 18m