The Lead with Jake Tapper

A proposed criminal trial date for Donald Trump in Atlanta right as the 2024 primary season kicks into high gear as CNN learns about his possible plan to turn himself in in the coming days. Plus, growing questions and outrage in Hawaii now that we learned the Maui system was tested, but not used before the wildfire which torched the historic town of Lahaina. Also, an unexpected twist for a small-t...

Donald Trump now faces a cumulative 91 criminal charges after being indicted in Fulton County, Georgia in his fourth criminal indictment since leaving office. He’s one of 19 people charged in Georgia for their attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in that state. Plus, one week after the evacuations in Hawaii, new questions emerge about the warning systems. Did the wildfires make them inop...

The grand jury in the Georgia election interference case is bused in as prosecutors lay out their evidence that Donald Trump tried to steal the state’s electoral votes. Witness testimony has been moved up from tomorrow to today as Trump attacks a key witness and prosecutors are in possession of evidence of texts messages which allegedly directly link the former president’s legal team to a voting s...

First: Attorney General Merrick Garland makes a surprise announcement, elevating the US Attorney heading the Hunter Biden probe to special counsel status. What will this mean for the president's son? And what will this mean for the president?  Plus: Donald Trump might be told to zip it. The judge in the 2020 election fraud case signals that she is going to be willing to restrict sensitive evidence...

New footage showing powerful flames ripping through communities in Hawaii after a wildfire strikes Maui along with Hawaii’s Big Island. The death toll rises to 36 as crews anticipate that number growing even higher. Plus, President Biden makes a deal with Iran that would include making $6 billion in Iranian funds more accessible to Tehran in exchange for five Americans’ return to the US. Also, Ecu...

Violent and explosive wildfires fueled by strong winds from a hurricane hit parts of Hawaii. It is a situation so sudden and catastrophic that local officials say a dozen people ran into the ocean to try to escape the flames. Plus, more than a dozen people could soon be indicted as early as next week in the Georgia 2020 election interference probe. Also, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joins to di...

Voters are heading to the polls in Ohio for a special election that could determine abortion rights in the state. Also, Donald Trump is defiant and back on the campaign trail this afternoon, pushing back on prosecutors who want to restrict what he can say publicly about the federal indictment. Plus, a look at the results of a brawl in Alabama after a Black employee was rushed by a group of White m...

Lawyers for Donald Trump approach a 5:00 PM EST deadline as prosecutors push to limit what the former president can say about the federal case against him. Plus, after years of dodging the question, Gov. Ron DeSantis bluntly said “of course [Trump] lost" the 2020 election as the former president’s rival tries to reset his campaign. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.c...

Former President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to help fight his legal battles. He claims the cases against him are quote “election interference” which is the same thing he’s accused of in his third indictment. Plus, police have identified another murder victim 27 years later in the Giglo Beach killings. So, why wasn’t the suspected serial killer charged in connection with her death? To...

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Donald Trump is expected to head to Washington, D.C. where he will make his first appearance in federal court in connection with the January 6th riot and attempts to overthrow the 2020 election. How is the nation’s capitol preparing for his possible appearance just down the road from the site of the insurrection? And, who are Trump’s six coconspirators listed in the indictment, though not named? R...

Sources tell CNN that Trump is preparing for a possible third criminal indictment today and we’ve seen him be very active, updating people on his Truth Social account whenever there are developments. This as the federal grand jury investigating efforts by former President Trump to overturn the 2020 election finishes for the day.  To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com...

Another Trump associate makes his first court appearance in the classified documents case in Florida. The Mar-a-Lago property manager is accused of trying to help delete security footage from Trump’s resort. While in Georgia, there are signs that we are close to a key decision in another Trump case. Plus, a search intensifies for a nurse and her child kidnapped in Haiti while the State Department...

Who is the key witness in the classified documents case named Trump employee number four? CNN confirms the name after he allegedly discussed surveillance camera footage on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property. This new identity as the former president faces new charges. Plus, a look at the political future of Senator Mitch McConnell. What his office is saying about his freeze this week in front of r...

Donald Trump’s legal team sits down behind closed doors with special counsel Jack Smith. What Trump himself is saying about the meeting and his own defense. Pus, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is back on the Senate floor today after freezing in front of reporters mid-sentence. Source tell CNN the 81-year-old has fallen three times this year alone. Also, the emergency warning from America’s...

The judge placed a plea deal on hold after Hunter Biden appeared before court for failing to pay between $1.1 and $1.5 million in federal taxes before the legal deadlines. Plus, Mitch McConnell was ushered away from the microphones after freezing mid-sentence. We look at what he is saying now about that startling moment. Also, what could be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s real reason behind floatin...

CNN confirms that US Marine veteran and former Russian prisoner Trevor Reed was not only fighting in Ukraine but also injured in combat. Plus, college basketball standout, Bronny James, the oldest son of NBA star LeBron James, is recovering from a cardiac arrest. Also, is House Speaker McCarthy laying the groundwork for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden for his alleged ties to his son’s...

Biden administration officials have grown concerned over floating barriers the Texas government has placed along the Texas-Mexico border. Plus, a new CNN exclusive to try and determine what Donald Trump said behind closed doors in the Oval Office meeting about election security that now has the attention of the special counsel. Also, protests and clashes stretch well into the night in Israel over...

The Trump-appointed judge in the classified documents trial has set the trial case for May after the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire primary, and Super Tuesday. Plus, we speak with the president of Microsoft about artificial intelligence utilizing copyrighted material to write books and generate art. This as leading A.I. companies agree to outside testing of A.I. systems and other safety commitments....

One of the IRS whistleblowers, Joseph Ziegler, who alleged malfeasance and slow-walking in the Hunter Biden investigation joins for an exclusive interview. Plus, a look at what’s behind the success of the film Sound of Freedom. Also, massive explosions light up the night sky in Ukraine’s port city of Odessa. Why are Russians targeting that spot?  To learn more about how CNN protects listener priva...

Trump is facing a potential third indictment as his lawyers want to know what evidence the special counsel has. How will Trump handle the invitation for him to appear before a grand jury by tomorrow? Plus, a new photo of the American soldier detained in North Korea emerges. Why did he run across the border into the hermit kingdom? Also, new footage suggests Yevgeny Prigozhin may still be alive aft...

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sits down to discuss if he thinks Trump should be indicted if the special counsel finds evidence of criminality, his sweeping new military plan, US relations with China, the state of the war in Ukraine, and if he has concerns about his campaign’s ability to win the Republican nomination. Plus, a US soldier is believed to have been detaine...

Vladimir Putin is vowing retaliation after Ukrainian forces unleashed a pre-dawn strike on the bridge that connects Crimea to Russia. Russia has also ended a deal critical to the world’s food supply. The Black Sea deal which ensured the safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports expired today. Plus, Jake sits down for a one-on-one with GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson to di...

A suspected serial killer has been in caught by law enforcement and makes his first court appearance after being charged with the deaths of three women whose bodies were found on a Long Island beach in 2010. We examine how a car, burner phones, fake email accounts, and DNA from a piece of pizza led police to the suspect. Plus, 1,000 heat records have been shattered in the US since June and more co...

President Joe Biden on Thursday said he doesn't believe the war in Ukraine will drag on for years. Plus, a look at how Ukrainians plan to deploy US cluster bombs. Also, after months of Sen. Tuberville (R-Ala.) blocking military promotions, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tells CNN in an exclusive interview the blockade by Tuberville has become a threat to national security. And, the Secret Service...