Outside the Beltway

President Trump has issued another controversial pardon.

President Trump is claiming that he didn’t fire former F.B.I. Director James Comey because of the Russia investigation, even though he admitted the exact opposite just weeks after it happened.

In an early morning Tweetstorm, President Trump said he would not have hired Jeff Sessions if he knew he’d recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

The President’s constant attacks on the news media are meant for a single purpose, to undermine even accurate reporting about wrongdoing in his Administration.

With the President’s “Spygate” allegations standing largely discredited, his attorney and at the moment chief spokesperson Rudy Giuliani admits that the entire conspiracy theory was created to discredit the Mueller investigation.

Alex Jones is finally being called on to answer for his irresponsible lying about events like the Sandy Hook shooting.

Three Executive Orders signed ahead of the Memorial Day holiday has government employees scrambling.

Despite advice from advisers, the President continues to use unsecured devices to communicate outside of White House channels.

Russia wasn’t the only nation that sent people to meet with Trump Campaign officials at Trump Tower back in 2016 regarding assistance to the Trump Campaign.

The Mueller investigation turns one year old today and, despite the arguments of Trump and his supporters, there’s no sign that it will be coming to an end in the near future.

Backing up the nation’s intelligence agencies, the Senate Intelligence Committee said in a preliminary statement that it had concluded that Russia sought to aid Donald Trump’s campaign in the 2016 Presidential election.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has released a treasure trove of documents related to the June 2016 meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer, and they raise far more questions than they answer.

The number of Americans professing no religious affiliation is on the rise. This will have some interesting cultural and political implications.

While longtime supporters have turned on the legendary attorney over his support of Donald Trump, he’s been astonishingly consistent.

Mike Pence’s obsequiousness to his master knows no limits.

For Donald Trump and his supporters, “Fake News” means any news that doesn’t shower enough praise on him.

As expected, President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the nuclear deal with Iran. There was no rational basis for doing so.

A majority of Americans want the President to stay in the nuclear deal with Iran. That’s unlikely to matter to him.

Rudy Giuliani is basically now suggesting that his client would be willing to set off a Constitutional crisis that would make Watergate seem like a picnic.

John McCain continues to bravely battle an aggressive form of brain cancer, but he’s already made clear that he doesn’t want the 45th President of the United States at his funeral.

They hired Israeli Private Investigators to dig up dirt on former Obama officials, including Ben Rhodes and Colin Kahl.

Rudy Giuliani tried to clean up the mess he created for his client earlier this week. He failed miserably.

In addition to his admissions about the Stormy Daniels matter, Rudy Giuliani also confirmed what we’ve known for awhile, that James Comey was fired because of the Russia investigation.

Rudy Giuliani threw a live grenade into the middle of the Stormy Daniels affair last night, and he’s made things much, much worse for his client.

It’s been 441 days since Donald Trump held a full-fledged Presidential press conference. Does anyone care?

Robert Mueller has some questions for the President, and the wide range of topic areas should worry President Trump significantly.

Instead of attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner last night, Donald Trump took his show on the road where he continued his long-standing attacks on the press. Unfortunately, it’s a message that resonates with his supporters.

The House Intelligence Committee’s report is being touted as vindication by the Trump Administration and its supporters. It’s not.

The lawyer who met with President Trump’s oldest son and other top Trump campaign officials is now admitting that she is a Russian informant.

The White House is pushing back on the allegations of misconduct that were made against Ronny Jackson this week, and trying to use them in a high-profile Senate race in Montana.

Michael Cohen will invoke his rights under the Fifth Amendment in response to any questions asked in discovery in the civil suit filed against him by Stormy Daniels. That’s really the only option he has.

The GOP’s most vulnerable incumbent is still looking very vulnerable.

For better or worse, Mike Pompeo will be confirmed as the 70th Secretary of State by the end of this week.

The transformation is complete. The GOP is now the party of Donald Trump. If you’re sticking around and not speaking out against what the President represents, you’re part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Hillary Clinton isn’t running for anything in 2018, but that isn’t stopping Republicans from running against her.

An essay from earlier in the year by Jacob T. Levy underscores some of the points I recently tried to make about democratic norms in the current era.

The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. As a legal document, it appears to be little more than a political stunt.

A longtime “Hillary Beat” reporter ruminates on what she and her candidate could have done differently in 2016.

Despite facing headwinds in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mike Pompeo will probably be confirmed as the next Secretary of State. That’s unfortunate.

Former F.B.I, Director James Comey’s memos regarding his meeting with Donald Trump early in 2017 have been released, and they corroborate everything Comey has said about those conversations.

The campaign-agnostic political science models predicted a toss-up in 2016 and again in 2020.

Republicans are blaming the President for the fading popularity of the tax reform law passed in December. It’s more complicated than that.

Barbara Bush, only the second woman in history to be the wife and mother of a U.S. President, has died at the age of 92.

For intelligence and law enforcement to function, their leaders must remain outside the partisan fray—even in recent retirement.

President Trump is on the attack against James Comey as the former F.B.I. Director begins his book tour.

President Trump’s job approval numbers remain historically low.

In the wake of the latest attack on Syria, some of the President’s strongest supporters seem shocked to discover that the unprincipled egomaniac they supported is, in fact, an unprincipled egomaniac.

Donald Trump could have more to worry about regarding the investigation of Michael Cohen than he does regarding the Mueller investigation.

Hang on, the ride on the Trump Train is about to get a lot bumpier.