The Lead with Jake Tapper

Dirty laundry is aired in court during Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial as his ex-wife and ex-girlfriend took the stand. We look at how testimony involving a crack pipe is being used to build the prosecution’s case. Plus, massive news in Donald Trump’s federal classified documents case as the judge delays hearings. The judge is also allowing more voices to weigh in on whether special counsel Jack Smith should have the case in the first place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brand new rules at the U.S. border as the president clamps down on how many people can seek asylum. But, why now? Numbers on border crossings are down, but so are the numbers on President Biden’s polling on immigration. Plus, another state is charging Trump allies with crimes related to a 2020 fake electors scheme. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The question of the moment for the Trump campaign is if they should try to move the former president’s sentencing date in New York. The GOP convention begins July 15th in Milwaukee and sentencing begins July 11th. Plus, Anthony Fauci is back on Capitol Hill facing questions and some attacks about the Covid-19 pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

34 convictions, but what happens next? Donald Trump takes to the mic, airing familiar grievances and railing against the historic guilty verdicts in the hush money cover up case. We’ll tell you what the Trump team’s plan is moving forward. Plus, Sen. Rick Scott from Florida who is running to replace Mitch McConnell as the Senate GOP leader joins to discuss the verdict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The historic verdict is in: Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, has been found guilty by a jury of his peers on all 34 New York State felony counts of falsifying business records tied to the alleged Stormy Daniels hush money cover up. The former president of the United States is now a felon. We bring you all the latest in this historic verdict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump has been found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. A former juror from another high-profile case joins to discuss what likely happened behind the closed doors today. We bring you all the latest in this historic verdict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In just over four hours of deliberations, the jury in the New York hush money cover up trial is asking to hear read back of four parts of testimony. We bring you all the latest in the trial as twelve jurors will decide the fate of former President Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump’s New York hush money cover up trial is in its final phase as the prosecution is in the midst of giving its closing arguments. The prosecution argued that Trump corrupted those around him and that he got them to lie and cover it up. This follows nearly three hours of closing arguments from Trump’s defense attorney who attacked one of the prosecution’s witnesses, Michael Cohen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are less than 24 hours away from the defense and the prosecution making their final pitches to the jury in Donald Trump’s New York hush money cover up trail. How strong is the prosecution’s case going into this final phase? A panel of experts including a former New York judge join to discuss. Plus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is claiming a military strike on Rafah was a tragic mistake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Millions of Americans put aside conceptions of the economy as record travel starts the summer season off with a bang. Can President Biden capitalize off of this sentiment as the 2024 election creeps closer? Plus, a horror story in Haiti after an American couple serving as missionaries are killed by gangs. Also, the future of law enforcement, drones in danger zones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the Empire State, which no Republican presidential candidate has won in over 40 years, Donald Trump is setting his sights on New York and is trying to set inroads with Black and Hispanic voters. What does this political move say about the political moment we are in? Plus, Chinese fighter jets and warships encircle Taiwan. The Chinese government is insisting this is only a test. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New York hush money cover up trial is quiet today but another case involving Trump is turning into a shouting match. Attorneys traded barbs in the federal classified documents case in Florida. This as Trump’s co-defendant accuses prosecutors of selectively and vindictively charging him with a crime. Plus, new footage shows the very moment three Israeli women were kidnapped by Hamas. This as Norway, Ireland, and Spain will recognize a Palestinian state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The defense rested in Donald Trump’s hush money cover up trail in New York. The jury is expected to begin deliberations next week in what will be no doubt a historic ruling in the very first criminal trial of a former president. Plus, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joins live from Jerusalem a day after the decision by the International Criminal Court to seek an arrest warrant for both leaders in Hamas and also leaders in Israel, including Netanyahu himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The prosecution has rested its case in the New York hush money cover up trial and now it’s Donald Trump’s turn. His defense team has called a witness, Robert Costello, an attorney who at one point advised Michael Cohen. Costello has claimed Cohen has lied about him under oath during this trial. Star witness Michael Cohen admitted that he stole from the Trump Organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shocking new video backs up allegations of domestic violence perpetrated by Sean “Diddy” Combs. The damning new video obtained exclusively by CNN shows clearly a violent assault. The video shows him throwing his ex-girlfriend to the ground, dragging her, and kicking her. This was in 2016. Why are we only seeing this tape now? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If Donald Trump is acquitted in his hush money cover up trial, the history books could point to today’s testimony from Michael Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer. Trump’s defense attorney Todd Blanche laid out Cohen’s past lies under oath and then introduced evidence claiming that Cohen has lied in this trial. Cohen’s cross-examination is set to resume next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Biden and former President Trump have put into writing that they will face off in two 2024 presidential debates. The first debate will occur in just weeks on CNN. The political jabs are already flying. Plus, a look at the charges that could soon be on the way for Boeing, one of the biggest plane manufacturers in the world, after the investigation of deadly crashes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the New York hush money cover up trial, Michael Cohen is facing incredibly aggressive cross-examination. Trump attorney Todd Blanche has gotten Cohen to confirm that he wants to see Trump convicted in this case and that he makes money off of his anti-Trump social media posts. Plus, House Speaker Mike Johnson is the latest and most senior Republican official to defend Donald Trump outside of the courthouse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The witness at the center of the case, Michael Cohen, is testifying in New York for the hush money cover up trial. He is detailing how he came to pay $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels who came forward about an alleged episode with Donald Trump in the days leading up to the 2016 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The next star witness in line to testify in the New York hush money cover up case is Donald Trump’s former lawyer known as the fixer. What is the impact of this trial on Trump himself? Former Trump White House aide Anthony Scaramucci joins to share his perspective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Several witnesses including Stormy Daniels testified today in the New York hush money cover up trial. Jake walks you through what he saw while observing the courtroom proceedings today. At the end of the day, the proceedings heated back up as Trump’s attorneys argued, out of the presence of the jury, for a mistrial and to lift Trump from the gag order from speaking about Daniels. Judge Juan Merchan denied both motions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the New York hush money cover up case, CNN is learning of a new legal strategy by Trump’s legal team in direct response to testimony from adult film star Stormy Daniels who returns to the stand tomorrow morning. Plus, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is acknowledging a worm ate part of his brain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israel is vowing to continue its operations in Gaza until Hamas is eliminated or another hostage is returned while Hamas has its own response. Plus, President Biden is condemning the alarming rise in anti-semitism in the United States. Also, Stormy Daniels is on the stand in the New York hush money cover up case, going into detail about her alleged rendezvous with Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A stern warning for Donald Trump today from the bench, keep violating your gag order in your hush money cover up case and you may well end up in jail. Judge Juan Merchan that Trump violated that gag order for the tenth time. He fined Trump $1,000, which is the maximum penalty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today one of Donald Trump’s most loyal aides and the first former Trump White House employee to testify took the stand in the hush money cover up trial. Hope Hicks acknowledged to the jury that she was nervous to testify at times and she did in one instance cry on the stand leading to a brief delay in the trial. She testified about the campaign’s panic behind the scenes when they learned of the now infamous Access Hollywood tape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The criminal hush money cover up trial of former President Trump is well underway. Our panel breaks down the latest witness testimony and developments in the trial. Plus, President Biden makes his most direct comments yet on the protests which have erupted from coast to coast on college campuses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From New York to California and points in between, confrontations between students and police continue. Plus, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel trying to push a ceasefire. Also, from the trial to the trail, Trump hits two battleground states today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Campus protests are hitting a whole new level at Columbia University with violence and vandalism and anti-war demonstrators barricading themselves in a university building. The university is warning people to stay away from campus. Plus, the major move coming from the Biden administration aiming to reclassify marijuana after criminalizing for nearly 90 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Columbia University, the epicenter of the weeklong pro-Palestinian protests, said it has begun suspending students who refused to abide by a deadline to vacate the campus encampment. Another Ivy League school, Cornell University, said it was suspending student protesters who declined to move to an alternate location. The college protests are raising legal questions around free speech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new witness in Donald Trump’s hush money cover up trial, the prosecution just called its third witness, Gary Farrow, a banker who worked with Michael Cohen at the time the payments were made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn actress and director Stormy Daniels, both of whom alleged romantic entanglements with Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the New York hush money trial, Donald Trump’s defense team is now cross-examining the prosecution’s first witness, former tabloid executive David Pecker. This is Pecker’s third day on the stand and today for the very first time he described the deal he helped broker with adult film star Stormy Daniels. A deal that is at the center of the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Protests are underway across United States colleges and universities after weeks of tension over the Israel-Hamas war. Our reporters report live from campuses where protests continue. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks at Columbia University amid the protests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former tabloid publisher David Pecker is under oath and on the record revealing just how far Donald Trump went allegedly to protect his 2016 presidential campaign. But, when it comes to whether Trump committed a felony in the process, how damaging was today’s testimony? Plus, what Pecker said went down in the room in the infamous meeting in August of 2015 that could hurt Donald Trump’s case nearly nine years later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The prosecution and defense sparred in opening statements during Donald Trump's hush money scheme. Did Trump violate a gag order? Crisis on college campuses; are Jewish students safe at School? Calls increase for Columbia University's President to resign over handling of antisemitism. Plus, the Supreme Court is set to decide if cities can punish people who are homeless, and a U.S. animation studio's work has been found on a North Korean server. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A horrific scene outside of Trump’s New York City courthouse after a man lit himself on fire while inside the courthouse there was a major development in the hush money trial. How long can the prosecution hold out and keep its witness list outside of the hands of Donald Trump and his defense team? Also, in an extraordinary move, some 165 House Democrats came to the aid of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, drawing the ire of hard-line Republicans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The shocking actions that leads to two jurors in the Trump hush money case suddenly being dismissed in an unusual occurrence. Plus, name calling and fresh threats for House Speaker Mike Johnson by hard-right Republicans demanding he keep his hands off the rule which, as of now, allows just one member of Congress to force a vote to remove him as speaker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

House Speaker Mike Johnson finds a way to allow votes on aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan but it’s his path forward that has his party in an uproar. Speaker Johnson joins to answer if he needs helps from Democrats. Plus, a brand new filing from the hush money case includes a line of questioning the prosecution may take if Trump takes the stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A deep divide in the U.S. Supreme Court is on display today as justices challenge whether prosecutors have been overzealous using obstruction charges against rioters. Plus, a valedictorian’s speech is canceled, the criticism about the muslim student that lead to objections on the campus of the University of Southern California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Day one of the New York hush money cover up case against Donald Trump wraps. A playboy model will be allowed to testify and the infamous Access Hollywood tape will not be allowed to be aired in court. Plus, a critical meeting at the Capitol as House Speaker Johnson is weighing his next move in the wake of the weekend attack from Iran. Will Speaker Johnson isolate support for Israel for an aid package without attaching new aid for Ukraine? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The US has been on high alert for a significant Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel in recent days as fears grow of a wider regional war. Plus, the House passed a modified surveillance bill, just two days after an earlier version failed to advance in a public rebuke to GOP leadership. The bill, which reauthorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also needs to pass the Senate ahead of an April 19 deadline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

O.J. Simpson, Heisman Trophy winner most known for the double murders of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, the crimes of which he was infamously acquitted, has died of cancer at the age of 76. Plus, comedian Conan O’Brien joins in studio to discuss his latest project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In classic Donald Trump fashion, the former president is giving his supporters whiplash after blasting both Arizona and Florida for their abortion bans just two days after saying abortion should be left up the states. Plus, another Hail Mary appeal hearing from Donald Trump as his legal team tries to stop the Stormy Daniels case from beginning. Also, from tornado warnings to flash flood emergencies, the United States is on severe weather alert as dangerous storms move in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled the state must comply with a 160-year-old law barring all abortions, the only exception being to save a pregnant woman’s life. There are no exceptions for incest or rape. Plus, Donald Trump is rejected again in yet another attempt to delay the New York hush money trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump weighed in on abortion saying he believes states should decide abortion legislation. The former president did not indicate the number of weeks during a pregnancy at which he thought it would be appropriate to ban abortion but reiterated his support for certain exceptions. Plus, the State Department said 304 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, the highest number since the war began. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The strongest earthquake to rock New Jersey in more than 240 years. There are reports of structural damage. Plus, two Israeli military officers were fired in connection for the airstrike which killed seven aid workers in Gaza. Will Israel do more in the wake of criticism of the deadly strike? Also, Bob Costas joins to discuss March Madness college basketball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Biden warned Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States could change its policies toward Israel if they do not stop the killing of innocent civilians. Sen. Bernie Sanders joins to discuss. Also, Donald Trump was rejected by two judges in separate criminal cases today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the strongest rebuke yet, special counsel Jack Smith goes in blasting how judge Aileen Cannon is handling the classified documents case in Florida. We lay out what has the prosecutors so upset. Also, Chef Jose Andres speaks out and accuses the Israeli military of systematically targeting his aid workers and killing them in Gaza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israel apologizes for a strike that killed aid workers delivering food in Gaza. Unintentional targets is how Israel describes the drone strike that killed seven aid workers from all over the world working for the World Central Kitchen organization. Plus, the new Republican attempt to rename an international airport after Donald J. Trump. Also, a look at what could be a last chance to write in some small way, a major wrong more than 100 years for the horrific Tulsa race massacre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Atlanta, an orange SUV rammed into the gate of an FBI field office. Plus, brand new images of the aftermath of a deadly airstrike. Iran says the attack hit a consulate building in Syria. Also, as crews begin hauling debris from the river where a bridge collapsed in Baltimore, authorities update plans on reopening a Maryland port. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Specifics measures revealed on the massive operation to reopen a critical shipping port and to get that collapsed bridge off a cargo ship in Baltimore including cutting the bridge into pieces, tug boats, barges, and cranes. We ask a Republican who calls himself a budget hawk about the role of congress. Plus, what has so many fish freaked out near Florida spinning and swimming upside down? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices