The PA Political Digest newsletter decided to do an Election '25 preview pod, with host Christopher Nicholas, a veteran GOP political consultant. His guest is one of his TV sparring partners. Democratic consultant Brittany Crampsie.

https://papoliticaldigest.substack.com for sharp analysis of PA politics and campaigns writ large.

Join them as they talk through the big races on the ballot in November 2025, especially the Retention races of 3 PA Supreme Court justices, which is garnering national attention. Enjoy.

Pa Political Digest bonus Episode 6 brings you behind the scenes of three top PA political corruption cases -- those involving Sen. Vince Fumo, Treasurer Rob McCord & Attorney General Ernie Preate -- from the U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted them.

Veteran political journalists John Baer and Brad Bumsted were given the day off, and GOP political consultant and producer/host Christopher Nicholas sat down with 3 former U.S. Attorneys with first-hand knowledge and experience prosecuting political corruption cases: Pat Meehan, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern DIstrict (Bush 43), Dave Freed, former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District (Trump), and David Barasch, another former U.S. Attorney for the Middle DIstrict (Clinton).

In the final episode of the PA Political Digest's pod, A Stroll through the annals of Pa. Political Corruption, we re-visit the horrific Cash for Kids scandal that rocked Luzerne County, look at a Republican Attorney General who had to resign -- and run through some oddities concerning a witch in the PA House, prostitutes and a serial per diem abuser.

Thanks to Feedspot.com for ranking us as the #4 political pod in Pa. And thanks to all of our listeners for their support throughout our 5-episode jaunt through Pa political corruption. Enjoy our final episode...

Pa. Treasurer Budd Dwyer killed himself during a press conference the day before he was to be sentenced on his bribery conviction. That way his wife, his widow, could still get his $1 million+ state pension.

Plus in Episode 4 we examine three other state "Row Officers" got in trouble for what they did in office and out: Treasuers Rob McCord, who went from Harvard to teaching yoga, and Barbara "The Hafe" Hafer who lied to the Feds, plus Auditor General Al Benedict.

Lost in all the controversy about Dwyer's guilt was the fact that he was quite an acommplished politician. Hailing from tiny Crawford County in the "great NW" part of the state, voters elected him to state-wide office when he was just 41. And he had already served 3 terms in the state House and was in his third term in the state Senate...

Episode 3 first focuses on former S. Philly state Sen. Vince Fumo, dubbed the "Vince of Darkness," who had a penchant for using OPM (Other People's Money) -- his mantra for how to acquire, steal or confiscate money from someplace else to pay for all his eccentricities and luxuries. That's the main focus; our secondary focus is the trials and tribulations of so many Democratic congressmen from Phiily -- from ABSCAM to Chaka Fattah.

In Episode 2 we examine the scandal "cousins" Bonus-gate & Computer-gate, that roiled the Legislature and how 2 ex-House Speakers ended up as cell mates for a time.

Plus, it's the Ories vs. the Zappalas in a western PA grudge match; Porn-gate takes down 2 Supreme Court justices, and Philly's Traffic Court gets expunged.

A wide-ranging review of the meteoric rise & fall of Pennsylvania's first Democratic Attorney General. Plus, our beautiful state Capitol building itself was christened with a huge construction scandal that in today's money would equal nearly half a billion dollars. Could that be part of the reason why the Keystone State has suffered through so much political corruption over the years?