National Politics

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — “Just do it.” With three short words, more famous for selling sports gear than exposing conspiracies, star witness Michael Cohen on Monday depicted Donald Trump’s order of a hush money payoff to an adult film star to allegedly save his 2016 campaign. Prosecutors will seek to build

By Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — Michael Cohen implicated his former boss Donald Trump in the hush money scheme to pay Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election, saying he doled out $130,000 at Trump’s direction and was promised reimbursement. Cohen’s testimony ties together the prosecution’s allegations that

By Donald Judd and Michael Williams, CNN Washington (CNN) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday reflected on her experiences as a barrier-breaking public figure, telling a crowd in blunt terms that sometimes they need to take it upon themselves strive for their own opportunities and successes – even if others may doubt them. “We

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — Federal prosecutors will pursue tougher sentences in cases in which artificial intelligence is used to commit an election-related crime, including threatening violence against election workers and voter suppression, Deputy US Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Monday. The Justice Department policy change is an effort to keep pace with a

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — A group of mostly White voters that is challenging Louisiana’s proposed congressional districts called the map “morally repugnant” in a filing with the Supreme Court on Monday. The high court is considering an emergency appeal over a map drawn by state lawmakers that includes a second majority-Black district in

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — A Democratic super PAC is launching a $25 million advertising blitz in three swing states, featuring voter testimonials about former President Donald Trump’s role in curbing abortion access. The ads from American Bridge 21st Century mark the first wave of a larger, planned $140 million campaign by the group

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — A sitting US senator faces a weekslong trial over charges of taking bribes including gold bars, cash and a luxury car to, among other things, help push US aid and weapons to a foreign government and stop a federal case against one of his co-defendants. Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez

CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — Michael Cohen once described himself as Donald Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer.” But this week, he has a new role. He will be the star witness for prosecutors trying to prove Trump illegally falsified business records after paying off adult film actress Stormy Daniels

By Jack Forrest, Andrew Millman and Avery Lotz, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden is facing backlash from lawmakers in both parties over his ultimatum that a major Israeli offensive in the city of Rafah would result in a shut-off of some US weapons. Biden’s decision to go public with the ultimatum in an interview with CNN’s

CNN By Greg Hughes, Dana Bash and Courtney Pence, CNN (CNN) — Standing in front of a ruined warehouse in tornado-ravaged Marietta, Oklahoma, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was full of questions. “Have you gotten any sleep yet?” she asked the mayor. To the sheriff: “Your home is okay? Your family?” “Do you have any questions

By Arit John, CNN (CNN) — Less than 24 hours after Arizona’s near-total abortion ban was repealed, Kari Lake challenged Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, her likely opponent for the state’s US Senate seat, to a debate on the issue – ideally over Mother’s Day weekend. “We owe it to the people of this state not

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden’s campaign will deploy Hollywood star power at a fundraiser in Los Angeles next month – with Barack Obama adding some additional Democratic wattage. The event – set to feature the former president, George Clooney and Julia Roberts, among others – will seek to expand Biden’s cash advantage

By Jeremy Herb, Kara Scannell and Lauren del Valle, CNN (CNN) — Nobody has anything nice to say about Michael Cohen. Donald Trump’s former fixer and lawyer is expected to take the stand Monday as the key witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s case against the former president, prepared to give testimony connecting to Trump the $130,000

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — Top American officials offered stark warnings Sunday against an Israeli invasion of Rafah, predicting that a major ground offensive in the southern Gaza city would lead to widespread civilian casualties, spark a Hamas insurgency and create a power vacuum the terror group would later seek to fill. The alarm

CNN Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN (CNN) — Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey faces his second, distinct bribery and corruption trial in seven years starting Monday. This new case is a complicated affair involving multiple gold bars, envelopes of cash, a Mercedes and a lot more that, prosecutors say, the powerful former

By Morgan Rimmer and Michelle Shen, CNN (CNN) — Sen. Bob Menendez declined to say whether he’ll resign should his forthcoming federal corruption trial result in a conviction. The New Jersey Democrat told CNN’s Manu Raju on Capitol Hill last week, “I am looking forward to proving my innocence,” when asked repeatedly whether he would resign

By Greg Hughes, Dana Bash and Courtney Pence, CNN (CNN) — Standing in front of a ruined warehouse in tornado-ravaged Marietta, Oklahoma, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was full of questions. “Have you gotten any sleep yet?” she asked the mayor. To the sheriff: “Your home is okay? Your family?” “Do you have any questions for

By Edward-Isaac Dovere and Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — The war in Gaza is reverberating all the way through north Bronx and Westchester County, defining the most competitive primary an incumbent House Democrat is facing anywhere in the country. That’s where Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, who got to Washington four years ago by

By Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — Paul Manafort, former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman whom he later pardoned, is backing away from a role with the Republican National Convention following media scrutiny and questions over his involvement in the planning process, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Manafort had been in discussions with Trump’s team to help with the convention

By Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Saturday called Donald Trump “clearly unhinged” and claimed that “something snapped” in the former president after he lost the 2020 election. “It’s clear that … when he lost in 2020, something snapped in him,” Biden told supporters in Seattle at a private fundraiser Saturday, according