The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell artwork

Politics · The Bulwark

The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell

by The Bulwark

“The Illegal News” is where law meets politics. Each week, Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell (not a lawyer) sits down with a legal expert to unpack how the latest court filings, rulings, and procedural twists and turns of the Trump era are shaping American democracy. These are conversations about justice without the jargon, giving you context for the biggest developments and surfacing the legal (and illegal) moves not getting enough attention. If you're looking for "George Conway Explains It All to Sarah Longwell," George is off on a new adventure, but Sarah will keep you covered.

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

S2 Ep183: Trump Keeps Trying to Jail His Enemies. Grand Juries Keep Saying NO (w/ Andrew Weissmann) | Illegal News

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss Trump’s desperate (and failing) attempts to punish his political enemies, from a grand jury’s refusal to indict Cassidy Hutchi

Oct 29
1 h 09 min

S2 Ep182: Trump’s $10 Billion BBC Lawsuit Just Backfired (w/ Andrew Weissmann) | Illegal News

Why is Trump’s own Justice Department investigating Corey Lewandowski, and is the corruption probe for real? Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann examine the allegations,

Oct 25
52 min

S2 Ep181: DHS Raids Ilhan Omar’s Home. Weissmann Smells a Rat. | Illegal News

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss the FBI raid on Ilhan Omar, Trump’s latest overtures to Putin, and the courts’ efforts to stop his taxpayer-funded campaign ad

Oct 15
1 h 06 min

S2 Ep180: Andrew Weissmann Sees BIG Trouble for Trump in Deportation Showdown

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann explain the explosive Kimberly Guilfoyle corruption allegations, including the $100,000 Amex payment, incriminating text messages, and

Oct 8
1 h 01 min

S2 Ep179: Trump’s “Grand Conspiracy” Investigation Is Falling Apart From the Inside | Illegal News

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss Jack Smith’s latest Senate testimony, including the questions Republicans didn’t ask about the actual cases against Trump and

Oct 1
1 h 02 min

S2 Ep178: Andrew Weissmann: Trump’s White House Press Ban Is Going to Lose in Court

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann cover Trump’s escalating war with the press, from his White House ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico to the growing consolidation of maj

Sep 23
1 h 01 min

S2 Ep177: Alex Wagner NUKES Alito’s Defense of the Trump Election Power Grab

JVL is joined by Alex Wagner to trace how four conservative power brokers built the legal machine that would reshape the Supreme Court decades later, and how that project

Sep 19
57 min

S2 Ep176: Sarah Longwell's Message for Everyone Who Thinks We’re Doomed (w/ Andrew Weissmann)

Andrew Weissmann turns the tables on Sarah Longwell for a conversation about her new book, How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time—and what a post-Trump political fut

Sep 10
1 h 04 min

S2 Ep175: Whistleblower Exposes Trump’s Election Chaos Machine (w/ George Conway)

Sarah Longwell and George Conway discuss Trump’s attempt to overhaul mail-in voting before the midterms—and why Conway thinks the administration’s chaotic new USPS system

Sep 3
54 min

S2 Ep174: Trump Is Racing to Build His Ballroom Before the Courts Stop Him (w/ Andrew Weissmann)

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss a pair of Supreme Court moves benefiting Trump, including John Roberts allowing construction on the White House ballroom to co

Aug 26
1 h 09 min

S2 Ep173: Trump Just Ordered the Government to Delete the Receipts (w/ Andrew Weissmann)

Andrew Weissmann joins Sarah Longwell to discuss the Trump administration’s move to erase corporate ownership records, the latest developments in the Fauci investigation,

Aug 20
1 h 16 min

S2 Ep172: Career Prosecutors Wanted NO PART of What Trump’s DOJ Was Doing (w/ Andrew Weissmann)

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss the escalating campaign against Anthony Fauci, why his lawyers may see the congressional investigation as a perjury trap, and

Aug 12
1 h 06 min

S2 Ep171: Trump’s Reflecting Pool Case Collapsed in SPECTACULAR Fashion (w/ Andrew Weissmann) | Illegal News

Sam Stein and Andrew Weissmann discuss the Justice Department’s dismissal of charges over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, potential recourse for Olympian

Aug 5
57 min

S2 Ep170: George Conway: Trump Showed Up to the Trial and Lost $83 Million

Sam Stein and George Conway discuss James Comey’s challenge to the “8647” prosecution, Donald Trump’s Supreme Court bid to overturn E. Jean Carroll’s $83 million defamati

Jul 31
1 h 05 min

S2 Ep169: George Conway Is Back—and Trump Gave Him PLENTY to Work With

Sarah Longwell welcomes George Conway back to The Illegal News to discuss Trump Media’s plan to sell Wall Street firms early access to Trump’s market-moving Truth Social

Jul 22
52 min

S2 Ep168: Senators Never Asked Blanche the Most Obvious Epstein Question

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss on a week that tested both of them: Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing, and Trump's prime-time speech on election interferenc

Jul 18
59 min

S2 Ep167: Trump's Own Judge Torched DOJ's Insane Election Subpoena (w/ Andrew Weissmann)

Andrew Weissmann joins Sarah Longwell to discuss a big week in legal news: DOJ's stunning concession in a reporter's lawsuit over the Epstein files, the questions senator

Jul 9
1 h 05 min

S2 Ep166: MAGA is Furious at Amy Coney Barrett (w/ Steve Vladeck)

Sarah Longwell and Georgetown University Law Center's Steve Vladek discuss the Supreme Court's final day of the term—a narrow 5-4 ruling upholding birthright citizenship,

Jul 1
58 min

S2 Ep165: The Reflecting Pool is a Symbol of Trump’s Failure (w/ Andrew Weissmann)

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann talk about the Iran nuclear deal—why the "win" Trump is selling actually leaves America with less leverage, fewer allies, and zero nuc

Jun 25
1 h 08 min

S2 Ep164: Stephen Miller and JD Vance Wanted to Suspend Habeas Corpus (w/ Leah Litman)

Sarah Longwell is joined by law professor and Strict Scrutiny co-host Leah Litman to discuss the White House’s plan to suspend habeas corpus, JD Vance’s push to invoke th

Jun 17
46 min

Chart trend

Position in the Politics chart (US), last 90 days.

#8
all-time peak
3
days in the top 10 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 31, 2026).

#109 ▼ 17 News US
#38 ▼ 3 Politics US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I look forward to this show every week. Andrew cracks me up with his tangents and stories. Sarah cracks me up with her attempts to stay on topic. These two are a great pairing and their discussions are brilliant and informative.

Annette the Minnesotan · Jun 2026

Have to interrupt my listening to the latest episode to say kudos to Eliot Williams for being so lovely and gracious: THAT was an apology. Coming from a man, an attorney no less, it was beautiful and powerful. Not an if-pology, not an "I didn't mean...", not a rationalization, just clear owning it, here's why it wasn't right, here's who I'm saying sorry to, we continue to strive to do better. This process should be a normal everyday practice of adulting & civility, but unfortunately it's not. Mr. Williams wins the Act Like a Human Being of the Day Award. 👏🏼 Thank you.

Stilph · Apr 2026

George Conway has an engaging personality, has familiarity with the cases against Trump, tells pertinent stories about his own engagement peripherally with Trump, all of which makes for a fascinating podcast. Sarah Longwell is a great host, and juggles all the many bits and pieces organized—quite a lot of them amazingly, and asks salient questions to keep the conversation lively. I look forward to every show, for two reasons—one: I believe in justice, and two: the show is always entertaining—a real-life Perry Mason like Cliff-hanger! I love Conway’s inside stories from his legal career, which adds a significant dash of spice to the on-going, seemingly never ending saga. Thank you—These are fraught times; your podcast gives me at least a shred of hope! As a bonus, George has actually managed to influence the English language! His use of the legalistic phrase “that being said” or “that said,” is popping up in conversations elsewhere. (Reminiscent of John Dean’s use of the phrase “at that point in time.”) Linguists must be loving the opportunity to study this phenomenon in real time!

Foxposte · Oct 2024

I look forward to each new podcast on George explaining legal proceedings of Donald Trump to Sarah Longwell. Both are quite smart and politically astute as well. They are concise and challenging as needed and adept at explaining to lay persons complex legal proceedings, rules, and rulings of the courts. I highly recommend.

nana5950 · Aug 2024

I have unsubscribed, even though I have previously enjoyed this podcast, due to the over abundance of advertising. It’s become unbearable due to the incessant breaks to promote various products. Sorry, just not worth it anymore.

DonQ69 · Oct 2024

The host appears to be using a similar formula as her previous podcast with George Conway — get a big media-brand name and ask him questions. I like both Conway and Andrew Weissmann and enjoy them on various podcasts. Unfortunately, on this one the name brand doesn’t make up for Longwell’s (minimal) amount of legal knowhow. I get she has her hands full, so I may have more time to learn about the law and follow current legal developments. But if that’s the case, other than featuring good-get guests, I’d rather hear a host who’s a little more informed, i.e., better able to pose more astute questions and engage at a more compelling level. As a result, the discussions end up being a bit surface.

Elisabeth-Ann · Sep 2026

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