Don't let the defense fool you.  This impeachment is all about corruption.  —  George T. Conway III is a lawyer in New York and an adviser to the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump super PAC.  —  The president's lawyers this week floated their catch-all impeachment defense, one tailor-made for President Trump.

Paul Manafort and Rudy's Indicted Associate Igor Fruman Go Way, Way Back  —  The relationship — stretching from New York to London to Kyiv — long predated Rudy Giuliani's attempts to discredit the evidence that played a key role in Manafort's downfall.  —  The web of connections between …

In Austin, John Bolton voices support for officials called in impeachment hearing  —  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Speaking at a private event in Austin Thursday, Former National Security Advisor John Bolton defended government officials who testified in front of the U.S. House impeachment inquiry.

Trump: Coronavirus will have ‘a very good ending for us’  —  President Donald Trump on Thursday sought to assure Americans about the spread of a new coronavirus, saying it would have “a very good ending for us ... that I can assure you,” hours after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global emergency.

Bernie Sanders praised George Wallace as ‘sensitive’ in 1972  —  Seven years after Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to George Wallace as “perhaps the most dangerous racist in America today,” a young Bernie Sanders praised the segregationist Alabama governor.

AP Exclusive: Woman who says Trump raped her seeks his DNA  —  NEW YORK — Lawyers for a woman who accuses President Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s are asking for a DNA sample, seeking to determine whether his genetic material is on a dress she says she wore during the encounter.

Trump's border wall, vulnerable to flash floods, needs large storm gates left open for months  —  NACO, Ariz. — President Trump's border wall likely will require the installation of hundreds of storm gates to prevent flash floods from undermining or knocking it over, gates that must be left open …

Iowa Democrats fear losing first-in-the-nation status  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — Bruised feelings from Julián Castro's criticism this fall that Iowa is too white and too unrepresentative of the Democratic Party to go first in the nominating process have been replaced by spreading fears here that critics could get their way in 2024.

Democrats Never Found Their Hero  —  As the final sliver of daylight faded over the Capitol dome last night, it was clear that Democrats' long, frustrated quest for a deus to save them from Donald Trump would produce no machina after all.  Instead, there was only Representative Adam Schiff …

The Atlantic made Rahm Emanuel a contributing editor.  Then, suddenly, he wasn't.  —  Last May, the Atlantic announced that Rahm Emanuel, who'd just left his post as Chicago mayor, would be joining the magazine as a contributing editor.  “The Atlantic will be the primary home for Emanuel's writing …

64 US troops suffered traumatic brain injuries from Iranian missile attack, as casualty total continues to balloon  —  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced Thursday that 64 American troops sustained mild traumatic brain injuries as a result of the Iranian missile strikes on two military bases in Iraq …

Alexander Statement on Impeachment Witness Vote  —  “I worked with other senators to make sure that we have the right to ask for more documents and witnesses, but there is no need for more evidence to prove something that has already been proven and that does not meet the United States Constitution's high bar …

Bloomberg surges past Warren into third place in new national poll  —  Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg surged past Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the latest nationwide Hill-HarrisX poll, putting him in third place in the field of Democratic presidential candidates.

AP Exclusive: Barr names new U.S. attorney in DC  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr on Thursday named Timothy Shea, one of his closest advisers, to be the next top prosecutor in the nation's capital.  —  Shea will lead the largest United States attorney's office in the country …

Pence aide who testified in impeachment inquiry to leave VP's office  —  A national security aide to Vice President Mike Pence and key witness in the House's impeachment of President Donald Trump will be leaving her post in the vice president's office early to join Central Command, according to two people with knowledge of her plans.

White Nationalist State Department Official Still Active in Hate Movement  —  U.S. State Department official Matthew Q. Gebert has been steadily producing white nationalist propaganda in the nearly six months since he was suspended from his job, Hatewatch has learned.

In contrast with Trump legal team, Justice Department lawyer says House can impeach over defied subpoenas  —  Five memorable exchanges from Wednesday's trial  —  Washington (CNN)A Justice Department lawyer said Thursday in federal court that the House can impeach a president over ignored subpoenas …

Leaked memo shows US border officers were directed to stop Iran-linked travelers  —  (CNN)An internal Customs and Border Protection memo obtained by CNN suggests that US border officers working at Canadian ports of entry were directed to detain and question travelers of Iranian descent …

Bernie Sanders Is Still Sad About the Dodgers  —  And he knows how to nurse a grudge.  —  BURLINGTON, Iowa — The role was not an artistic stretch.  —  “My name is Rabbi Manny Shevitz,” Bernie Sanders began, acting in a little-seen 1999 comedy called “My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception.”

Facebook closes down 6%, wiping out more than $30 billion in market value  — Facebook stock closed Thursday down 6.1% after it reported fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday evening.  — The drop erased more than $30 billion from the social media giant's market cap.

Senate floor fight breaks out over Trump lawyer claim on foreign dirt  —  Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said he has “no problem” with a White House lawyer's argument that American politicians can accept damaging information on their opponents from a foreign country …

Trump lawyer Pat Cipollone was a camera-shy Washington Everyman — until impeachment made him a star  —  In August 2016, the conservative pundit Laura Ingraham brought an unassuming, 50-year-old corporate attorney to a presidential debate-prep session for then-candidate Donald Trump.

Senator Collins' Statement on Vote on Witnesses and Documents  —  Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins issued the following statement on the next stage of the impeachment trial process:  —  “We have heard the cases argued and the questions answered.

GOP senators know Trump's defense is based on lies.  Here's proof.  —  As President Trump's trial hurtles toward a vote on new witnesses, his lawyers have based his defense in part on the notion that Trump's demand that Ukraine investigate the Bidens was legitimate.