Pompeo Pushed Out His Own Ukraine Rep to Squash a Growing Scandal  —  “Volker was the easier guy to let go,” said one former State Department official.  “But just because it is an easy choice doesn't mean it is the right choice.”  —  When President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani appeared …

Shoot Migrants' Legs, Build Alligator Moat: Behind Trump's Ideas for Border  —  WASHINGTON — The Oval Office meeting this past March began, as so many had, with President Trump fuming about migrants.  But this time he had a solution.  As White House advisers listened astonished …

Bernie Sanders has surgery for artery blockage, cancels campaign events  —  2020 contender Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign announced Wednesday that he underwent surgery to insert two stents after blockage was found in an artery.  —  Why it matters: Senior adviser Jeff Weaver said the 78-year-old candidate …

Support for impeaching Trump hits new high  —  Support for impeaching President Donald Trump is growing.  —  A batch of recent polling confirms the Democratic impeachment push is gaining steam — including a new POLITICO/Morning Consult survey that shows for the first time that more voters support …

Donald Trump impeachment: President called Boris Johnson for help to discredit Mueller inquiry  —  President Trump personally contacted Boris Johnson to ask for help as he tried to discredit the Mueller investigation into possible connections between Russia and his 2016 election campaign, The Times understands.

A Trump hotel mystery: Giant reservations followed by empty rooms  —  House investigators are looking into an allegation that groups — including at least one foreign government — tried to ingratiate themselves to President Donald Trump by booking rooms at his hotels but never staying in them.

Ukraine's ex-president discussed investments with Giuliani  —  KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's former president said Wednesday he discussed investments with President Donald Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in 2017, but that he never discussed Ukrainian companies with any U.S. official.

Barr Went to Rome to Hear a Secret Tape From Joseph Mifsud, the Professor Who Helped Ignite the Russia Probe  —  The U.S. attorney general traveled to Italy to meet with Italian secret service agents—and, potentially, undermine the Mueller investigation.  —  Correspondent-At-Large

No Change in Trump Reelect Prospects  —  Warren and Biden lead Dem ‘beauty contest’  —  West Long Branch, NJ - Recent events have not moved public opinion in either direction on whether President Donald Trump deserves a second term.  His reelection bid remains underwater, with particular signs of weakness among critical voting blocs.

Saudi Arabia ramped up multi-million foreign influence operation after Khashoggi's death  —  Foreign influence and lobbying spending targeting the United States on behalf of Saudi Arabia's interests has grown precipitously in the year since the death of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.

Why Black Voters Prefer Establishment Candidates Over Liberal Alternatives  —  Black voters effectively delivered Hillary Clinton the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.  She and Sen. Bernie Sanders ran about evenly among white voters, but black voters overwhelmingly backed Clinton.

Was There Another Cover-Up In Response to the Whistle-Blower?  —  The Justice Department should have shared a campaign-finance investigation with the Federal Election Commission.  —  Mr. Geltzer and Mr. Katyal are law professors at Georgetown.  —  One of the first things new prosecutors …

Donald Trump's Sons Have Sold More Than $100 Million Of His Real Estate Since He Took Office  —  There are big dreams, and then there are Trump-size dreams, ones that demand capital letters and tower over cities.  They are what nudged Donald Trump's grandfather Friedrich from Germany to New York …

Will Trump Ever Leave the White House?  —  It's a loaded question — with no obvious answer.  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.  —  Since 2015, we have been worrying about how much danger Donald Trump posed to democracy.

The chances of Republicans deserting Trump are underrated  —  Upon dismissing his chief of staff in 1973, Richard Nixon said that he loved him “like my brother”.  The line seems too easy until you remember that the US president had seen two of his own die young.

With impeachment looming, the news media is growing a spine.  It needs stiffening.  —  Scott Pelley of CBS pushed back hard Sunday when House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried to spin him on Sunday's “60 Minutes.”  —  So did Chris Wallace of Fox News when Trump aide Stephen Miller refused …

Giuliani's Ukraine Work Tied to Firm Whose Website Has Vanished  — Giuliani withdrew from event set by Kremlin-linked adviser  —  The website of the consulting firm that forged business contacts for Rudy Giuliani in Ukraine and Russia for more than a decade has suddenly vanished.

Putin jokes that Moscow plans to meddle in the 2020 election  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday appeared to revel in the ongoing political maelstrom in the U.S., jokingly admitting to plans for future election meddling.  —  When asked if Russia would interfere in the 2020 election cycle …

Elizabeth Warren Proposes Steep Lobbying Taxes on Top U.S. Companies  — Plan is part of push to curb influence of money in politics  — Campaign says levy could raise $10 billion over a decade  —  Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday unveiled details of a tax on lobbying that would cost …

Impeachment inquiry puts new focus on Giuliani's work for prominent figures in Ukraine  —  The hunt by President Trump's attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani for material in Ukraine damaging to Democrats has put a spotlight on business ties he has had in the former Soviet republic for at least a decade …

U.S. Slowdown Spurs Concern Economy Is Near Stalling  — Stall speed estimates have declined as potential GDP eased  — Slower growth leaves economy in fragile position to shocks  —  Explore what's moving the global economy in the new season of the Stephanomics podcast.