Politics

By Zachary Cohen, Kara Scannell, Jeremy Herb, Katelyn Polantz and Chandelis Duster, CNN Jack Smith, the special counsel announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday to oversee the criminal investigations into the retention of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection, is a long-time

By Tierney Sneed, Jessica Schneider, Devon M. Sayers and Nick Valencia, CNN A judge in Georgia on Friday ruled to allow early voting on November 26 in the state’s US Senate runoff election. In a written ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox said that after he “considered the moving papers, arguments of counsel,

By Ariane de Vogue and Katie Lobosco, CNN The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow its controversial student loan debt relief program to go into effect while legal challenges play out across the country. The program promises to deliver up to $20,000 of debt relief for millions of borrowers, but has

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN US and Irish Embassy officials were able to visit with Paul Whelan at his remote penal colony in Russia on Wednesday, his brother said in an email. His last in-person visit was in June. A State Department official confirmed the visit. Whelan has US, Canadian, British, and Irish citizenships. Discussions between

By Annie Grayer, CNN Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal announced in a new letter to her colleagues Friday that she will not enter the House Democratic leadership race and instead will run for reelection for her spot leading progressives in the chamber. Jayapal’s decision demonstrates that a path is clearing for the lawmakers seeking

By Maeve Reston, CNN Democratic Rep. Katie Porter will win reelection in California’s 47th Congressional District, CNN projects, after facing a tougher-than-expected race against Republican Scott Baugh. Porter’s victory in the coastal Orange County district gives Democrats another House seat the next session — as of Friday morning, they had won 212 seats. But that

By Ethan Cohen, Jeremy Harlan and Paul LeBlanc, CNN Democrat Adam Frisch announced Friday that he had called GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert and conceded the race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. Although there will be an automatic recount done by the Colorado secretary of state’s office, Frisch said in a live Facebook speech that he

By Tierney Sneed, CNN A Republican operative was convicted on Thursday of facilitating an illegal campaign contribution from a Russian national to the Trump campaign in 2016. The Justice Department touted the jury conviction of Jesse Benton, known for his work on campaigns for GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, in a press release

By Curt Devine and Donie O’Sullivan, CNN Michigan police have closed the case of a missing voting machine and believe the device was accidentally donated to a thrift store before it wound up for sale online — though questions remain about who donated the device in the first place. CNN first reported in September that

By Katie Lobosco and Nicholas Anastacio, CNN The cost of college is not skyrocketing — at least for now, when factoring in the average amount of grant aid students receive. Most schools offer grants, money that students don’t have to pay back, making the actual amount they pay for college, known as the “net cost,”

By Zachary Cohen, Pamela Brown and Allison Gordon, CNN The top House Republican poised to investigate the Biden family said Thursday he’s not planning to subpoena President Joe Biden despite being prepared to issue one to his son, Hunter. “There’s no plans to subpoena Joe Biden. There are plans to subpoena Hunter Biden,” GOP Rep.

By Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand, CNN The historic seditious conspiracy trial of five alleged Oath Keepers — a closely watched test of how the Justice Department is prosecuting US Capitol rioters — is now with the jury. The trial began more than seven weeks ago and has featured hundreds of messages, audio recordings, and

By Kate Bennett, CNN President Joe Biden is turning 80 this weekend, but the big bash at the White House is for an entirely different and more youthful occasion. Naomi Biden, Biden’s oldest granddaughter, married Peter Neal on the White House South Lawn on Saturday. One day following the nuptials, Biden will mark his spot

By Alex Marquardt, CNN The Biden administration has determined that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, should be granted immunity in a case brought against him by the fiancée of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whom the administration has said was murdered at the prince’s direction. A court filing was made by Justice Department