Justice Department asks judge to hold Trump team in contempt over Mar-a-Lago case  —  The request came after months of mounting frustration from the Justice Department with the former president's lawyers.  —  Prosecutors have urged a federal judge to hold Donald Trump's office in contempt …

Exclusive: Paul Whelan tells CNN he is ‘disappointed’ that more has not been done to secure his release  —  Detained American Paul Whelan expressed his frustration that more has not been done to secure his release in an exclusive CNN interview hours after another detained American, Brittney Griner, was freed.

EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Senate report details Trump's most surreal decision of pandemic  —  A leaked copy of the report a United States Senate committee is about to release slams the Trump Administration's response in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.  —  It also reveals that a chaotic …

Op-Ed: Democrats should use their Senate majority to expose Republican corruption  —  With Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia winning reelection, Democrats now have a 51-49 majority heading into the next Congress.  Under a 50-50 Senate, each party seats the name number of members on committees.

Two top Times reporters are skipping the walkout  —  Two of The New York Times's top White House reporters are opting out of a labor action Thursday as tensions continue to grow over contract negotiations at the news organization.  —  Chief White House reporter Peter Baker …

Who is Paul Whelan?  Former US Marine left behind in Brittney Griner-Viktor Bout exchange  —  Whelan left behind by Biden administration during two separate prisoner exchanges with Kremlin  —  US offers Russian arms dealer in exchange for Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan

Poll: DeSantis surges to 5-point lead over weakened Trump in 2024 primary matchup … A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll finds that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis now leads former President Donald Trump by 5 percentage points in the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

First on CNN: January 6 committee considers criminal referrals for at least 4 others besides Trump  —  The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection is considering criminal referrals for at least four individuals in addition to former President Donald Trump, multiple sources told CNN.

The Supreme Court Seems Less Inclined to End Democracy Than Before  —  Moore v. Harper, the crucially important case heard at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, centers on a fundamentally unserious idea.  North Carolina Republicans, defending an unconstitutional gerrymander …

Who will be Biden's 2024 campaign manager?  —  Presented by United Indian Nations of Oklahoma and 141 Tribes Standing for Tribal Sovereignty  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.

Maxwell Frost, future Gen Z congressman, denied D.C. apartment over bad credit  —  Rep.-elect Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the first member of the Gen Z generation elected to Congress, said Thursday that a company in Washington rejected his application to rent an apartment because of his bad credit score.

Inside the turbulent, doomed campaign of Herschel Walker  —  Georgia's Senate runoff was less than a day old and, already, there was a shouting match at a staff meeting.  —  Republican candidate Herschel Walker's campaign was starved for cash as it faced Sen. Raphael Warnock and his deep-pocketed Democratic allies.

The Dangerous Illusion of a Presidential Third Party in 2024  —  It isn't the first time and it certainly won't be the last, but American voters are frustrated with the state of our politics, and approval ratings for both the Democratic and Republican parties are low.

Russian disinformation is demonizing Ukrainian refugees  —  On social media, pro-Kremlin networks are exploiting German anger over its energy crisis to undermine support for Ukraine  —  GROSS STRÖMKENDORF, Germany — The news clip showed a towering blaze in a residential neighborhood in Germany …