{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Frealclearinvestigations.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2F140-KY7HZd3P","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Free and Fair Elections? With Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch | RealClearInvestigations Podcast #140","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/69be5d4f-b498-44bc-b3b5-f614ce9a7957/a4ef2235-09c9-43e4-838b-81f0aa0114b5/cropped_1792730344771.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/731c4d2b-8263-4b06-a57d-7c9de87b6df4\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Free and Fair Elections? With Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch | RealClearInvestigations Podcast #140\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"On this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speak with Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, about his government watchdog organization’s effort to clean-up voter rolls and support other measures to improve election integrity.\n\nOn the news roundup, Zane and Varney discuss a RealClearInvestigations article which reports how and why the role of money in determining elections is overstated; an investigation by the Guardian detailing the financial incentives that appear to be perverting the course of justice in eviction hearings in Louisiana; and a New York Times article reporting that President Trump pardoned a Venezuelan billionaire after the man’s daughter offered one of the president’s close allies, Alina Habba, a four-year contract for legal services that will pay her $50 million.\n\n00:00 Cold Open & Welcome\n01:55 Does Money Really Win Elections? (RCI Analysis)\n08:41 Louisiana's Eviction Courts and the Judge Paid by Landlords\n13:31 The Pardon, the $50 Million Job Offer, and Trump's Former Lawyer\n19:27 Meet Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch: Can We Trust the Midterm Results?\n22:55 Voter ID, Disenfranchisement Claims, and Dirty Voter Rolls\n28:48 Why Courts Are Blocking the Trump DOJ's Voter Roll Lawsuits\n35:43 Non-Citizen Voting in Virginia, New Jersey, and D.C.\n38:28 Why No One Is Checking Elections, and the Bank Analogy\n44:36 FBI Stonewalling: Butler Records, \"Lawfare\" Files, and FOIA Delays\n\nMaterial Discussed in This Podcast:\n\n·       Tom Fitton: Judicial Watch Official Website\nhttps://www.judicialwatch.org/\n\n·       RCI: The Overstated Role of Money in Politics\nhttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/10/22/the_overstated_role_of_money_in_politics_1213076.html\n\n·       Guardian: Louisiana Evictions Mean Millions in Fees for Judges \nhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/oct/20/louisiana-justice-of-peace-courts-evictions-fees\n\n·       New York Times: Billionaire Secures Pardon After $50M Deal with Trump Pal\nhttps://archive.is/oJJoL\n"}