PEOPLE V. TRUMP

From campaign stops to court, Trump has a very busy day.

Trump's lawyer calls Pecker's memory into question
Pecker testified that he also caught and killed a story about former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Trump's lawyer gets at Pecker's motives for publishing positive stories about Trump
Pecker reveals Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Hope Hicks discussed extending McDougal's agreement
Cohen told Pecker that Trump had the attorney general ‘in his pocket,’ Pecker testified

Under questioning from the defense, Pecker told jurors that he had previously suppressed negative stories about notable men during his publishing career.

Ben Feuerherd

David Pecker testified that when the FBI raided Michael Cohen's home, office and hotel room in April 2018, agents also seized Pecker's phone and a phone from Dylan Howard.

Erica Orden

Boris Epshteyn, who was among the people indicted Wednesday by an Arizona grand jury for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election, is in the courtroom.

Erica Orden

As David Pecker testified about learning of Stormy Daniels’ allegation of having sex with Donald Trump, the former president leaned back in his seat and appeared to close his eyes.

Ben Feuerherd

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Visit Magazine

Workers leave Google's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California.

GEOPOLITICS OF 2024

Welcome to Another ‘American Century.’ Also: We Suck

Set aside the election and hot wars. How the U.S. resolves its crisis of confidence is what’ll shape the world.

By Matthew Kaminski

An illustration of Donald Trump with his feet on the desk, reacting to his phone. A fox News TV screen is in the background.

The Media Issue

How Donald Trump Gets His News

The former president is a voracious press consumer. Here’s how his media diet has changed since his last presidential campaign.

By Meridith McGraw

Brian Glenn is fast becoming one of Donald Trump’s favorite reporters, likely racking up more one-on-one interviews with Trump in the last year than any other journalist.

The Media Issue | Person of Interest

Meet the Man MAGA America Wakes Up To

Between hosting Right Side Broadcasting Network and dating Marjorie Taylor Greene, Brian Glenn is the next big MAGA media star.

By Adam Wren

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks with reporters after a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol.

Column | On Politics

How Mike Johnson Is Taming Trump and His Party — Against All Odds

At a crucial juncture, the speaker went from pandering to Trump to managing him and from challenging the Democrats to working with them.

By Jonathan Martin

Photo illustration of a pile of TV sets stacked on top of each other. The center TV shows coverage of Trump's trial while the surrounding show illustrated mouths talking withTV static background.

The Media Issue | Rules of Law

Inside the Off-the-Record Calls Held by Anti-Trump Legal Pundits

Some of the country’s most prominent legal commentators are holding off-the-record sessions to hash out the latest twists and turns in Donald Trump’s legal saga.

By Ankush Khardori

Youths dressed as independence heroes in Arcahaie, Haiti.

History Dept.

Opinion | The Haiti I Know Is No More. But There Is Still Hope.

Haiti has suffered political crises before, but never has its future seemed so bleak. But one of its native sons sees a solution to the chaos.

Opinion by Joel Dreyfuss

Culture Club

Trump’s Jokes Killed DC’s Sense of Humor

As a speechwriter, I loved writing jokes for events where politicians were able to sit down together in an atmosphere of laughter and self-deprecation. But those days are gone.

By Jeff Nussbaum

Tom Cole walking in a hallway in the U.S. Capitol.

Q&A

‘We Just Finally Saw the Dam Break’: How House Republicans Embraced the Chaos

Veteran Rep. Tom Cole is fed up with his party’s insurgents.

By Ryan Lizza

Sen. Bob Graham unloads bags from a USAir jet on the tarmac at Tampa International Airport.

Postscript

The Greatest Book a Politician Ever Wrote

The late Bob Graham’s book is everything politics should be.

By Michael Grunwald

Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom at Manhattan criminal court in New York.

Legal

How Much Do We Really Know About the Trump Jury?

The 12-person jury is a reasonable cross section of Manhattanites. That should make Trump nervous.

By Calder McHugh

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich speaks.

Q&A

‘You Can’t Govern By Shooting Yourself in the Head Every Day’

Newt Gingrich offers advice for how Mike Johnson can stay speaker.

By Ian Ward

The University of Southern California's Capital Campus building is seen.

Column | Capital City

Federal Workers Are Fleeing Washington. Can College Students Replace Them?

Why so many schools are building Beltway outposts.

By Michael Schaffer

INTERACTIVES

A picture of a form that allows readers to select a state to find out if abortion is legal there.

Trump says abortion should be up to states. Here’s where it’s banned — and where it’s protected.

Tracking the Trump criminal cases

TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL

Former president Donald Trump watches as David Pecker answers questions on the witness stand from assistant district attorney Joshua Steingless.

The Trump trial turns tabloid

From the National Enquirer to Truth Social, the courtroom was full of sensation on Tuesday.

By James Romoser

Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court.

David Pecker returns to the stand at Trump hush money trial

By POLITICO Staff

Donald Trump and his lawyers sit in court during his trial.

Prosecutors say Trump violated his gag order 10 times. The judge is finally set to weigh in.

By Betsy Woodruff Swan

Television crews are set up outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse.

How large parts of Trump’s trial are playing out in the shadows

By Kyle Cheney and Erica Orden

LEGAL

Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters on Jan. 23, 2024.

Arizona grand jury indicts Meadows, Giuliani, other Trump allies for 2020 election interference

The former president is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.

By Kyle Cheney and Betsy Woodruff Swan

Activists demonstrate at the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court appears skeptical of rulings that found public sleeping ban violated Constitution

By Josh Gerstein

Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court.

Trump’s super PAC has helped foot his legal bills. That might end soon.

By Jessica Piper

Donald Trump shows the posthumous pardon for former world champion boxer Jack Johnson after signing it in the Oval Office

Appeals court upholds conviction of GOP operative who steered Russian money to Trump camp

By Kyle Cheney

2024 ELECTIONS

Trump campaign will host Florida donor retreat with potential VP picks

The May event in Palm Beach is expected to attract around 400 donors.

By Alex Isenstadt and Natalie Allison

Sen. Elizabeth Warren walks at the U.S. Capitol.

Warren gets a second crypto-friendly Republican Senate challenger

By Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity

Biden leans on one-time battleground Florida as a cautionary tale

By Kimberly Leonard and Elena Schneider

Former President Donald Trump leaves Manhattan criminal court.

Trump fumes while Biden hits the trail

By Meridith McGraw and Kimberly Leonard

CONGRESS

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol.

Inside Dems' thinking on saving Mike Johnson

“I don’t think we should penalize a speaker for doing the right thing,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer.

By Nicholas Wu and Daniella Diaz

Mike Johnson takes questions from the media.

Johnson demands Biden send in National Guard during raucous Columbia visit

By Madina Touré and Irie Sentner

Rep. Donald Payne departs a Congressional Black Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill.

New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne Jr. dies

By Matt Friedman

Mitch McConnell speaks during an interview in his office.

How McConnell and Schumer beat hardline conservatives on Ukraine

By Burgess Everett and Jennifer Haberkorn

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

A U.S. missile from the Army Tactical Missile System being launched into the air.

The US secretly sent long-range ATACMS to Ukraine — and Kyiv used them

The transfer of Army Tactical Missile Systems with a nearly 200-mile range ends a yearslong drama between Washington and Kyiv.

By Alexander Ward and Lara Seligman

155 mm M795 artillery projectiles are stacked during manufacturing process.

US preparing $1B weapons package for Ukraine

By Lee Hudson, Lara Seligman and Nahal Toosi

A Ukrainian serviceman with the 65th Brigade rides in an armored vehicle at the frontline.

Next Ukraine package to be larger than normal, include armored vehicles

By Lara Seligman and Lee Hudson

Unidentified Russian military instructors speak to media.

US vs. Russia: Why the Biden strategy in Africa may be failing

By Erin Banco and Lara Seligman

WHITE HOUSE

People rally on the campus of Columbia University which is occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Biden camp not sweating political fallout from latest round of campus protests

The president’s team, and some pollsters, don’t see Gaza as the primary voting issue for the younger cohort.

By Eugene Daniels and Elena Schneider

FILE - Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape, left, listens during a meeting with Pacific Islands Forum leaders during the U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, in Washington. Prime Minister Marape accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that an uncle of the U.S. president had been eaten by “cannibals” there during World War II. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Papua New Guinea PM slams Joe Biden over ‘cannibals’ comment

By Claudia Chiappa

President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media following a speech on Earth Day at Prince William Forest Park.

Biden condemns ‘antisemitic protests’ — and absence of Palestinian empathy, too

By Eli Stokols

New York City police officers stand guard as demonstrators chant outside the Columbia University campus on April 18, 2024.

‘Antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous’: White House responds to chaos at Columbia

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) offered to walk with Jewish students on Columbia's campus.

By Kelly Garrity

STATES

Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Columbia's campus on Monday and met with university leadership, the NYPD and students.

New York governor to Mike Johnson: Stay in Washington

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said House Speaker Mike Johnson should be focusing on Washington instead of "politicizing" the ongoing crisis at Columbia University.

By Jason Beeferman