Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

Attorney General William Barr told ABC News that the President's tweets about cases in the Justice Department's docket "make it impossible for me to do my job". The question was apparently prompted by a presidential tweet celebrating the department's decision to recommend a more lenient sentence for Trump ally Roger Stone. Stone was found guilty in November of seven charges, including lying to Congress, obstructing official proceedings, and witness tampering. Several assistant U.S. attorneys have resigned or recused themselves from the case in the wake of the reduced sentencing recommendation.  After a disappointing showing in Iowa and New Hampshire, Elizabeth Warren is reportedly taking a more aggressive posture on the campaign trail, and going after her opponents in order to highlight what distinguishes her from the pack. Her campaign is counting heavily on Super Tuesday states to deliver her the delegates she needs to win the nomination. Going into that pivotal March 3 contest, in which a third of the total delegates are at play, candidates will need to build their coffers big enough to transition from state-by-state to nationwide campaigns. Their ability to fundraise will depend largely on their performance in the two states before Super Tuesday, Nevada and South Carolina. After purging some members of the administration who testified in Donald Trump's impeachment proceedings, the White House is undergoing some staffing changes. Hope Hicks, an old confidante of the President who resigned as communications director in March, 2018, is returning as a senior advisor, reporting to Jared Kushner. White House sources told POLITICO that the staffing changes reflected an administration gearing up for a tough election and potential second term.  On Today's Show: Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. Representative (NY-8), Judiciary Committee member and House Democratic caucus chairman.

As the Democratic primary candidates move out of the earlier, more homogeneously white nomination contest and into South Carolina and Nevada, some candidates — particularly Buttigieg and Klobuchar — are reportedly struggling to gain footing with voters of color. And all the candidates are struggling to win the support of the African American donor class. Joe Biden, who had long been the race's assumed front-runner before the first nomination battles, is working to reassure his supporters after a pair of poor showings in the early states. Attorney General William Barr, who had resisted calls to testify during the President's impeachment proceedings, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee on the Justice Department's reduced sentencing recommendation in the trial of Roger Stone, amid which several U.S. attorneys assigned to the case have recused themselves.  On Today's Show: Joan Walsh, national affairs correspondent for The Nation and a CNN political contributor, talks about the latest news in the 2020 campaign. 

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is facing renewed criticism for his support of stop and frisk—a position he held until entered the presidential race three months ago—after a 2015 audio clip surfaced in which he is accused of making racist comments.  Denis Walcott, President and CEO of the Queens Library, former deputy mayor and NYC schools chancellor under Bloomberg, defends the former mayor, and says voters should accept his apology.  Plus, New Yorkers weigh in: Should we let Bloomberg move past stop and frisk? We take their calls. 

Following the results of Democratic primary races in Iowa and New Hampshire, with Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg neck and neck for the frontrunner spot, the campaigns now head to Nevada and South Carolina, states that are far more racially representative of the Democratic party than the Hawkeye and Granite states. How will the campaigns play to audiences that are more Black and Brown, and how will candidates' records on racial issues come into play? On today's show: Georgetown University Sociologist, Michael Eric Dyson, contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, contributing editor of The New Republic.

New Hampshire votes today. Bloomberg's massive ad-buys appear to be working, at least in Dixville Notch, which started voting at midnight into early this morning and where five voters wrote in the former Mayor of New York, whose name does not appear on the New Hampshire ballot. But a new audio leak places him at odds with most liberals, and crucially with Black and Brown voters on the issue of stop and frisk. Warren "out of the spotlight," under the radar as candidates launch attacks on Iowa front-runners Sanders and Buttigieg. Plus, what is electability worth to Joe Biden if he has yet to win a primary election. On Today's Show:Jess Bidgood, national political reporter for the Boston Globe, breaks down the latest out of New Hampshire on its “first-in-the-nation” primary;

Democrats in New Hampshire will vote tomorrow for the candidate they they want to nominate for president. We check in with a public radio journalist from the Granite State, Laura Knoy. Klobuchar gaining momentum. Biden throws in the towel. Sanders, from neighboring Vemont likes his numbers. Buttigeig resonating with those looking for an aspirational moderate. Brian and Laura will host a live, national call in special at 7 PM Eastern tomorrow, Feb. 11, to break down the events of the New Hampshire primary. Listen live then at wnyc.org.