CNN – US Politics

By Sean Lyngaas, Natasha Bertrand and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the leaks of a trove of apparent US intelligence documents that were posted on social media in recent weeks. The investigation comes as new documents surfaced Friday covering everything from US support for Ukraine to information about

By Katie Lobosco, CNN The Biden administration is facing another lawsuit over extending the pandemic-related pause on federal student loan payments. The pause is set to end later this year, but the plaintiffs want the moratorium to end immediately. The newest legal challenge was filed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of the

By Jasmine Wright, Sam Fossum and Kaanita Iyer, CNN Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Nashville on Friday where she delivered an impassioned speech advocating for gun control and met with a pair of state lawmakers who were expelled from the General Assembly after protesting on the state House floor. “Let’s not fall for the

By Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN The federal appeals court in Washington, DC, has upheld the Justice Department’s use of a key criminal charge against hundreds of January 6 rioters, saying they can be charged with obstructing Congress. The appeals court said obstruction can include a “wide range of conduct” when a defendant has

By Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler, CNN The State Department’s review of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan has far more findings in it than the document about the withdrawal that the White House released Thursday afternoon, according to a source familiar with the report. While the White House’s document focused on President Joe Biden having

By Ariane de Vogue and Tierney Sneed, CNN Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday that he did not disclose luxury travel paid for by a Republican donor because he was advised at the time that he did not have to report it. In a rare statement sent via the Supreme Court’s public information office, Thomas said

By Melanie Zanona and Annie Grayer, CNN As House Republicans prepared to pass a parental rights bill — a signature plank of their governing agenda — GOP leaders ran into unexpected headwinds. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who is tasked with counting votes, began picking up on concerns from conservatives who thought the measure was

By Rob Frehse, CNN The former head of Michigan’s medical marijuana licensing board and former state House speaker admitted to taking more than $110,000 in bribes to help businesses get medical marijuana licenses, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court. Rick Johnson, 70, agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge of accepting

By Eva McKend, CNN Over two dozen members of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus are calling on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to address concerns about the safety of Black motorists. “On our nation’s roads and highways, Black motorists have experienced disproportionate scrutiny and excessive force under the guise of traffic enforcement,” a letter sent Thursday

By Sam Fossum and Devan Cole, CNN The Biden administration proposed Thursday a new federal rule change that would allow for schools to enforce some restrictions on transgender student athletes, but opposes policies that “categorically” ban those students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender. “The proposed rule would establish that policies violate

By Devan Cole, CNN The Supreme Court on Thursday denied West Virginia’s request to let it fully enforce a state law that bans transgender women and girls from participating on public school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. In an unsigned order, the court denied West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey‘s emergency request to

By Maegan Vazquez, CNN President Joe Biden on Thursday vetoed a resolution that would have rescinded his administration’s hallmark water rule, with proponents of the rollback arguing that the regulation places a burden on the agriculture community by being too restrictive in defining what is a navigable waterway. Biden’s announcement marked both the second veto

By Katie Lobosco, CNN The forthcoming overhaul of the Internal Revenue Service is intended to increase audits of the wealthy and big corporations while leaving audit rates on average households the same, according to a plan released by the agency Thursday. The highly anticipated outline details how the IRS will spend a new $80 billion

By CNN The White House released a summary Thursday of the Pentagon reviews of the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Read the summary here. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Kevin Liptak, Jake Tapper, Natasha Bertrand and MJ Lee, CNN President Joe Biden’s administration blamed conditions created by President Donald Trump for the chaotic withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, according to a summary of findings from an administration-wide after-action review released Thursday. The 12-page summary document does not

By Holmes Lybrand and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN A juror in the federal trial of five Proud Boys members accused of plotting to stop Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election has raised fears that she was being followed, according to multiple people familiar with the matter — the latest incident to delay the already monthslong

By Alex Marquardt, CNN CIA Director William Burns made an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this week to meet with intelligence counterparts. “Director Burns traveled to Saudi Arabia where he met with intelligence counterparts and country leaders on issues of shared interest. The Director reinforced our commitment to intelligence cooperation especially in areas such

By Devan Cole, CNN Stormy Daniels is “absolutely” willing to testify in Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial, she said in an interview with Piers Morgan, her first comments since the former president pleaded not guilty to charges related to a hush-money payment scheme intended to silence the adult film star. “Having them call me

By Annie Grayer and Zachary Cohen, CNN House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan subpoenaed former New York County Special Assistant District Attorney Mark Pomerantz for his role investigating Donald Trump and his business empire — as House Republicans attempt to frame the recent indictment against the former President as politically motivated. The move comes as Jordan

By Tierney Sneed, CNN Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, have gone on several luxury trips involving travel subsidized by and stays at properties owned by a GOP megadonor, according to a new bombshell ProPublica report published Thursday. The hospitality was not disclosed on Thomas’ public financial filings with the Supreme

By Devan Cole, CNN Health care providers in Idaho on Wednesday sued the state‘s attorney general after he wrote in a legal opinion that the state’s abortion ban prohibits medical providers from referring patients out-of-state for abortion services. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a Republican, said in a two-page letter last week that the state’s

By Jack Forrest, CNN Transgender women and girls in Kansas will no longer be allowed to compete on sports teams from kindergarten through college consistent with their gender, after state lawmakers on Wednesday overrode a veto from their governor to enact the restriction. The law is set to take effect on July 1. Gov. Laura

By Rashard Rose, Eric Bradner and David Wright, CNN Environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for president in 2024 as a Democrat. The filing was confirmed Wednesday by his campaign treasurer, John E. Sullivan. Kennedy will officially announce his candidacy on April

By Jack Forrest, CNN Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed a repeal of the state’s 1931 abortion ban, which the Democratically controlled state legislature had passed last month. “This is long overdue,” the Democratic governor, who campaigned on protecting abortion rights last fall, said in a statement on Twitter. The ban’s repeal came a

By Kevin Liptak and Lauren Fox, CNN Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday will become the second US House speaker to meet with Taiwan’s president in person in the span of a year when he sits down with Tsai Ing-wen in southern California. His meeting could be considered less provocative than Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island

By Dianne Gallagher and Devon M. Sayers, CNN North Carolina Republicans gained a veto-proof supermajority in the state House after a Charlotte-area Democrat announced Wednesday she was switching parties. State Rep. Tricia Cotham, who won as a Democrat in her blue district last fall by nearly 20 points, said at a news conference in Raleigh

By Angela Fritz and Ella Nilsen, CNN The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed new, stricter rules for harmful pollutants, including mercury, from coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to slash mercury pollution and harmful particulate matter from coal-fired power plant emissions, including from lignite coal plants, by up to 70%. If finalized,

By Clare Foran and Simone McCarthy, CNN Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen delivered a dire warning that “democracy is under threat” as she met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday in California, a highly anticipated event that marked a show of democratic solidarity in defiance of threats from China. Tsai gathered with McCarthy and

By Nikki Carvajal, CNN President Joe Biden will travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland next week, the White House announced early Wednesday morning. The president will first travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, before traveling to Ireland where “he will discuss our close

By Dan Berman, CNN Three thousand miles away from his New York legal drama, Donald Trump secured a substantial victory in another court. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the former president in his effort to recoup additional legal fees from adult film star Stormy Daniels, who had filed and lost a

By Phil Mattingly and Betsy Klein, CNN First lady Dr. Jill Biden is set to travel to London next month for the coronation of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, leading the US delegation to the highly anticipated event. President Joe Biden spoke by phone Tuesday with King Charles, the White House said, offering

By Tierney Sneed, Hannah Rabinowitz, Katelyn Polantz, Fredreka Schouten, Holmes Lybrand and Devan Cole, CNN In a first-of-its-kind criminal indictment against former President Donald Trump, Manhattan prosecutors are accusing Trump of falsifying business records with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign. The criminal charges stem from Manhattan District Attorney

By CNN Former President Donald Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts in an indictment unsealed Tuesday. Read the indictment and statement of facts here. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Shawna Mizelle, CNN Florida’s state Senate on Monday passed a bill that would ban most abortions in the state after the gestational age of six weeks, or about four weeks of pregnancy. The bill’s advance, which still needs to pass the state’s GOP-led House, comes one year after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a 15-week

By Eric Bradner, CNN Democratic-backed Janet Protasiewicz will win Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election, CNN projects, flipping majority control in liberals’ favor in what could be the most consequential election of the year with abortion access, election rules and more on the line in the key swing state. Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County circuit court judge, will

By Ella Nilsen, CNN A federal judge in Alaska has declined to block progress on the controversial Willow oil drilling project while lawsuits against the project proceed. The Biden administration approved ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope last month. The project galvanized a groundswell of online opposition in the weeks leading

By Katelyn Polantz and Evan Perez, CNN Special counsel prosecutors have secured evidence including daily notes, texts, emails and photographs and are focused on cataloging how Donald Trump handled classified records around the Mar-a-Lago resort and those who may have witnessed the former president with them, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. The

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand Monday as the first blockbuster witness in the star-studded trial of former Fugees member Pras Michel. Michel is accused of participating in a global campaign-finance conspiracy funded by Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman who allegedly stole billions of dollars from a Malaysian sovereign

By Sean Lyngaas, Zachary Cohen and Donie O’Sullivan, CNN Former President Donald Trump’s expected court appearance in New York on Tuesday has led to a modest outburst of online threats featuring calls for violence but US officials say the chatter has been disorganized, sporadic and lacks the coherent planning that defined the lead-up to the