In a Feb. 8, 2026 episode of The Nation’s “The Time of Monsters,” host Jeet Heer interviewed journalist Josh Kovensky about his Talking Points Memo essay arguing that federal prosecutors under President Donald Trump have increasingly pursued terrorism-related charges in cases involving groups Trump has publicly attacked.
The Nation’s podcast “The Time of Monsters” released an episode dated February 8, 2026, in which host Jeet Heer spoke with journalist Josh Kovensky about Kovensky’s recent Talking Points Memo article on the Trump administration’s use of anti-terrorism laws.
In the episode description, The Nation quotes Kovensky as writing that “across the country, federal prosecutors are upgrading what would have been routine prosecutions into terrorism cases” in matters involving people Trump has portrayed as political enemies. Kovensky argues this reflects a shift in how the Justice Department is applying terrorism tools in prosecutions.
Kovensky’s essay focuses in particular on the federal “material support” statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2339A, which criminalizes providing “material support or resources” while knowing or intending that the support will be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, certain specified terrorism-related offenses. In the quoted passage reproduced by The Nation, Kovensky describes the approach as “a dramatic departure” from past Justice Department practice, contending that prosecutors historically reserved § 2339A for major plots or large-scale attacks.
Heer describes the approach as a “dangerous legal innovation” and frames the discussion around the legal and political history of such prosecutions. The Nation’s episode description does not independently document specific cases or provide evidence that prosecutors acted because Trump personally named particular defendants; rather, it presents Kovensky’s characterization of the trend and his broader argument about politicization of counterterrorism law.
