Exclusive: Former FBI lawyer under investigation after allegedly altering document in 2016 Russia probe  —  Washington (CNN)A former FBI lawyer is under criminal investigation after allegedly altering a document related to 2016 surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser, several people briefed on the matter told CNN.

Trump's Defenders Have No Defense  —  Witnesses were uneven, but even his closest allies don't try to deny he did what he's accused of doing.  —  Look, the case has been made.  Almost everything in the impeachment hearings this week fleshed out and backed up the charge that President Trump muscled Ukraine for political gain.

This Week in Impeachment: The Most Important Republican on the House Intelligence Committee Speaks  —  There are nine House Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, but only three of them have received extensive media attention during the public hearing phase of the committee's impeachment inquiry.

'He cares about his grievances and his reelection, and that's it'  —  President Donald Trump was supposed to offer a White House plan to protect Americans from gun violence.  —  He was supposed to achieve historic immigration reform, crack down on flavored e-cigarettes …

Bolton Allies Cut Out ‘Three Amigos’ for Direct Line to Kyiv  —  After a White House meeting that was thrown into chaos by Ambassador Gordon Sondland, senior National Security Council officials took matters into their own hands, sources say.  —  In the days following a July meeting at the White House …

Impeachment is about to get a Robert Mueller reprise  —  Right now, impeachment is all about Ukraine.  But after Thanksgiving, prepare for a Robert Mueller reprise.  —  Now that House Democrats have wrapped up public hearings on President Donald Trump's pressure campaign to get Ukraine …

AG Barr: Epstein's death was a ‘perfect storm of screw-ups’  —  1 of 6  —  ABOARD A US GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT (AP) — Attorney General William Barr says Jeffrey Epstein's death was the result of a “perfect storm of screw-ups.”  —  Barr's comments in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press come days …

Sacha Baron Cohen Uses ADL Speech to Tear Apart Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook  —  Accepting an award from the Anti-Defamation League, the comedian called Facebook “the greatest propaganda machine in history.”  —  Sacha Baron Cohen accepted the International Leadership Award …

Parnas Attended Giuliani's Madrid Meeting With Zelensky Aide  —  Parnas was at the table for a meeting where Giuliani pressured a senior Ukrainian official to investigate a company linked to the Bidens, the official told The Daily Beast.  —  When Rudy Giuliani met with a senior Ukrainian official …

Shepard Smith Uses a Post-Fox Spotlight to Defend Freedom of the Press  —  The former anchor made his first public appearance since his abrupt departure from Fox News, where he faced taunts from colleagues and President Trump.  —  In his first public remarks since abruptly resigning …

Trump says Pompeo would run for Senate if GOP in danger of losing Kansas seat  —  President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday that his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is mulling a run for Senate in Kansas next year.  —  In a live, extensive phone interview with Fox & Friends …

Trump says he might veto legislation that aims to protect human rights in Hong Kong because bill would impact China trade talks  —  The legislation easily passed Congress with a veto-proof majority  —  President Trump suggested on Friday that he might veto legislation designed …

The Road That Brought Conservatives and Republicans to This Point  —  At some point in your development, probably in your younger years, you stepped into the world of politics out of curiosity and it lit something within you.  While lots of your peers found it boring, you started to feel like it was grand crusade in the best sense.

House attorneys say Trump's tax returns are needed for impeachment inquiry  —  Lawyers for the House, citing the “rapidly advancing impeachment inquiry,” urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to reject President Trump's bid to shield his tax returns and financial records from congressional investigators.

Right-wing group continues to build private border wall.  It lacks permits, but not official praise.  —  A right-wing group led by Stephen K. Bannon and prominent allies of President Trump has been bulldozing the banks of the Rio Grande to erect a privately funded border fence along …

Ambassador Sondland's slick move  —  By many accounts, Gordon Sondland delivered the most consequential testimony of the House Democrats' rushed public impeachment proceedings.  Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, testified in the impeachment hearings Wednesday.

Colombia ambassador criticizes State Department in recording  —  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Colombia's ambassador in Washington was embarrassed Wednesday by publication of a recording in which he trashes the State Department as a feckless institution subjugated to the whims of the White House.

Trump and His Corrupt Old Party  —  For Republicans, there is no bottom.  —  Formally, the House of Representatives is holding an inquiry into the question of whether Donald J. Trump should be impeached.  In reality, we've known the answer to that question for a long time.

Trump's meddling in a SEAL disciplinary case risks a collision with the Navy  —  Navy Secretary Richard Spencer was traveling in California on March 30 when he received a 4 a.m. phone call from President Trump.  The president demanded that the Navy release from the brig a SEAL named Edward Gallagher …

Democrats Know Trump Isn't Going Anywhere  —  The first sound that greeted me, rounding the corner outside the hearing room in the Longworth House Office Building, was the eerie echo of Representative Adam Schiff's voice emanating from the several dozen cellphones blasting live-stream footage of the testimony going on inside.

It May Take a Month to Name California's Winner on Super Tuesday  —  Changes to election procedures are expected to slow the vote-counting for Democratic presidential contenders in March  —  LOS ANGELES—California's decision to move up its 2020 primary to Super Tuesday in early March …