National Politics

US officials and private sector experts investigating the massive data breach that has rocked Washington increasingly believe the attackers were ultimately discovered because they took a more aggressive “calculated risk” that led to a possible “unforced error” as they tried to expand their access within the network they had penetrated months earlier without detection, according

President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening announced 26 new pardons, including ones for longtime ally Roger Stone, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s father, Charles. The pardons extend Trump’s streak of wielding his clemency powers for criminals who are loyalists, well-connected or adjacent to his family. While all presidents

The end of President Donald Trump’s time in office has been marked by a renewed interest in granting clemency — both from the President, and from members of his inner circle looking for protection before President-elect Joe Biden assumes office. While Trump has continued to falsely insist publicly that he won the presidential election rather

US Central Command said Wednesday that the Sunday rocket attack on Baghdad’s International Zone near the US embassy was “almost certainly conducted by an Iranian-backed rogue militia group.” Captain William Urban, the CENTCOM spokesman, said the 21 rocket attack was the largest rocket attack since 2010 on the area in central Baghdad, also known as

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team has criticized Twitter’s decision to not allow the millions of followers of the White House Twitter accounts to be automatically retained when the accounts are handed over to the new administration. “Twitter’s reluctance to transfer millions of followers from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration unnecessarily politicizes what otherwise should be

President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed the sweeping defense bill that both chambers of Congress recently passed by veto-proof majorities, setting up a possible veto override that would pit members of his own party against him. Trump had previously threatened to veto the defense bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, because it doesn’t

The State Department on Wednesday issued the most decisive statement yet from the Trump administration blaming the Russian Security Service for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, days after CNN reported on the first direct evidence of the agency’s involvement in the poisoning. “The United States believes that officers from the Russian Federal Security

At his confirmation hearing nearly two years ago, Attorney General William Barr boasted that there was an advantage to putting him in charge of the Justice Department — he could afford not to care about the consequences of his decisions. Mostly retired and 68 years old at the time, Barr’s pitch to senators in January

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team on Wednesday disputed suggestions from Pentagon officials who questioned the accuracy of Biden’s assertion a day earlier that the Department of Defense has refused to brief his team on the massive cyberattack on government agencies and major American technology and accounting companies. “As the President-elect noted yesterday, the Department of

Pedro Martinez has a simple message for Congress: “HELP US!” The military veteran and father of four said the $600 payments passed this week as part of a second coronavirus relief package are far too little to undo the financial damage his family has suffered as the pandemic has surged again — a message also

President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday introduced Miguel Cardona as his nominee for education secretary, calling the Connecticut education commissioner “brilliant” and saying he will play a key role in his administration’s efforts to reopen schools forced online amid the coronavirus pandemic Cardona, whose parents moved from Puerto Rico to Connecticut, would be another high-profile Latino

President Donald Trump announced a wave of pardons on Tuesday for people ranging from Republican allies to two men who pleaded guilty in Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Meanwhile, speculation grows about whether President Trump will pardon three of his adult children, his son-in-law, or even himself before his term ends on January 20. But what

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is asking for changes to the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress, leaving the future of the $900 billion stimulus in doubt. Trump’s position could threaten to torpedo the carefully drafted bill, which his own administration helped negotiate — a move that could lead to a government shutdown

The end of President Donald Trump’s time in office has been marked by a renewed interest in granting clemency — both from the President, and from members of his inner circle looking for protection before President-elect Joe Biden assumes office. While Trump has continued to falsely insist publicly that he won the presidential election rather

President Donald Trump’s surprise Tuesday night video cataloging his complaints about the massive — and painstakingly negotiated — $900 billion coronavirus relief bill immediately raised the specter of a government shutdown and economic turmoil at a time when aid is desperately sought for millions of Americans. The President didn’t explicitly threaten to veto the bill,