Former Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice told Preet Bharara’s podcast this week that when Democrats are back in power, corporations that enabled and supported Donald Trump are not going to be forgiven. “Whether you’re a law firm, whether you’re a university, whether you’re a media entity, whether you’re a big corporation, whether you’re big tech, you need to play a long game, not this short game that has been so detrimental,” she said. “There will be an accountability agenda. Companies already are starting to hear they better preserve their documents. They better be ready for subpoenas. If they’ve done something wrong, they’ll be held accountable.” “But this is not going to be an instance of forgive and forget. The damage that these people are doing is too severe to the American people and to our national interest.”

SUSAN RICE: Trump is not popular. What he is doing, whether on the economy and affordability or on immigration now, is not popular. And there is likely to be a swing in the other direction. They are going to be caught with more than their pants down. They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box. And I can tell you, Preet, as I talk to leaders in Washington, leaders in our party, leaders in the states – if these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to play by the old rules and say, Oh, never mind. We’ll forgive you for all the people you’ve fired, all the policies and principles you’ve violated, all the laws you’ve skirted, I think they’ve got another thing coming. Just like when Trump thought, Okay, I’ll redistrict and the Democrats won’t have the guts to play hard ball, they’re going to be surprised. Democrats have had a belly full, and we’re not going to play by the old set of rules when these guys are playing by a very different set of rules. We’re going to play by the law – we’re not going to violate the law the way they do – but we’re not going to be suckers. So I think, whether you’re a law firm, whether you’re a university, whether you’re a media entity, whether you’re a big corporation, whether you’re big tech, you need to play a long game, not this short game that has been so detrimental. PREET BHARARA: So very specifically, if the House changes hands in a few months, what should be the top priority or two in terms of that accountability that you’re speaking of for Democratic leadership in the House? SUSAN RICE: Well, first of all, when the Democrats win the House – which I believe they will – and possibly the Senate, they need to appropriately focus on the needs of the American people, which Donald Trump and the Republicans couldn’t give a damn about – whether it’s health care costs, housing costs, food prices, electricity prices, runaway tech companies that are lining their own pockets at the expense of our children, our jobs, maybe even our very existential future. There’s a lot of stuff that we need to do in service of the American people. But in addition to that, there will be an accountability agenda. Companies already are starting to hear they better preserve their documents. They better be ready for subpoenas. If they’ve done something wrong, they’ll be held accountable. And if they haven’t broken the law, good for them. If they’ve done the right things, good for them. That also will be noted and remembered. But this is not going to be an instance of forgive and forget. The damage that these people are doing is too severe to the American people and to our national interest. PREET BHARARA: On some of these things, that strikes me – and I totally hear what you’re saying with respect to some of the bending of the knee – people didn’t break the law, they just caved. People are allowed to make bad deals. So, for example, ABC or CBS or other media outlets who settled for a lot of money, even though they had very strong and meritorious defenses to a defamation claim – probably not something you can do there in terms of legal violation. Maybe you can shine a light on it and have hearings to expose some of those outlets. Is there anything else you think can or should be done with respect to the fourth estate giving Trump a blank check to intimidate them? SUSAN RICE: Well, careful – media people are listening and watching. First of all, we ought to lift up those that have not bent the knee – and there are those. I think The New York Times and The Atlantic, even The Wall Street Journal, deserve credit for standing up. And among the broadcast networks, NBC has taken a different approach than CBS. So I think part of this is consumers voting with their feet and their dollars. But it’s also to examine what may lie behind the scenes. On the surface, it doesn’t appear that one could argue that laws were broken, but some of the stuff that seems to be going on at CBS is dubious at best. So I do think that there ought to be inquiries – but no replication of what Trump has done, which is essentially wielded the authority of the FCC and crony capitalism to benefit his ideological allies in the media and disadvantage the American people.

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