The U.S. House just voted in favor of a massive tax and spending bill. And, here in Washington, on Wednesday night, a high-ranking King County official was arrested.

King County Assessor John Wilson is running for county executive – an open seat overseeing the Seattle-area metro system, county jail, sheriffs, and more.

Wilson was arrested for allegedly violating a restraining order against his ex-fiancee.

But who is Wilson, and why is he running for executive?

Today, we’re re-broadcast a conversation between Scott and Libby from KUOW’s Soundside. Because even if you don’t live in King County and aren’t voting in the upcoming primary election, it surfaces lots of important questions about due process and how and when elected officials are held accountable.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producers this week are Sarah Leibovitz and Jason Burrows. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you! Send us your politics questions by emailing soundpolitics@kuow.org or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For now, a cease-fire between Iran and Israel appears to be holding, following a 12 day period of fighting between the two countries that culminated in an attack on three Iranian nuclear sites by the US, and a counterattack by Iran on an American military base in Qatar.

The strikes, and subsequent peace agreement, have been met with a variety of responses from American lawmakers.

Is this a military victory? A violation of constitutional oversight? A failed attempt to take out a nuclear power?

Congressman Michael Baumgartner joins us to discuss.

Plus: how he’s feeling six months into representing the 5th Congressional District, and why he voted in favor of President Trump’s big, beautiful, bill.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you! Send us your politics questions by emailing soundpolitics@kuow.org or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State government reporter Jeanie Lindsay is joining us for one final time to talk about access to lawmakers in Olympia. Reporters don’t like being the story, but some drama in the press corps covering Washington’s government was one of the stories of this year’s session. This is an issue that the press is grappling with in D.C., too. The Associated Press was blocked from covering the president because they wouldn’t refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. They sued and a federal judge reinstated their access. But it’s not just President Trump or the right wing, the press corps in the state capitol face some intense pressures from the Democrats running Olympia.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/politics. Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer this week is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Scott Greenstone and Libby Denkmann.

And we want to hear from you!Send us your politics questions by emailing soundpolitics@kuow.org or give us a call at 206-221-0511.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.