Carol Leonnig and Will Sommer: The Loons and the Loyalists Running the DOJ

In this episode of The Bulwark Podcast, hosts Tim Miller and Charissa welcome investigative journalists Carol Leonnig and Will Sommer to discuss the deepening crisis within the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI under the Trump administration. Leonnig dissects the Secret Service's failure at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, emphasizing that while the suspect was stopped just two feet inside the perimeter, the breach of protocol—especially the failure of magnetometer security—was a catastrophic lapse. She highlights the incompetence of the new agent in charge, calling it a 'colossal failure' of basic security principles. Leonnig also details how the DOJ is being purged of career prosecutors who don’t align with Trump’s political agenda, citing the firing of Maria Long for refusing to pursue baseless charges against John Brennan. She underscores the intense internal resentment toward acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and former Attorney General Pam Bondi, with agents reportedly throwing Bondi’s portrait in the trash. The episode then shifts to Will Sommer’s reporting on the growing chaos within the right-wing media ecosystem, focusing on the escalating personal feuds among figures like Candace Owens, Laura Loomer, and Nick Fuentes. Sommer also reveals explosive new reporting on the controversial figure Clavicular, who allegedly overdosed, is now entangled with Israeli organized crime through a nightclub venture, and is reportedly pursuing fatherhood—a development that raises serious concerns about his judgment and stability. The hosts reflect on how these internal fractures, once hidden behind a unified MAGA front, are now becoming public and potentially damaging to the movement’s cohesion.