The Lead with Jake Tapper

“Trump Employee 5”, a man named Brian Butler, an employee of Trump for 20 years, is a central witness in the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. He is now speaking publicly because he believes that voters should hear the truth about his former boss and the case before the November election.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

The man Trump belittles as Sleepy Joe seemed quite fiery last night as the president tries to flip the script launching a campaign blitz just one day after his forceful State of the Union address. Plus, Donald Trump's one-on-one at Mar-a-Lago today, meeting with Hungary's Viktor Orban, the authoritarian leader known for anti-immigration nationalist rhetoric and who often cozies up to Vladimir Puti...

President Joe Biden is expected to deliver his State of the Union address tonight in a high-stakes moment to convince voters to give him a second term in the White House. The president's speech is expected to include calls for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. He also plans to take a swipe at former President Donald Trump, vow to restore Roe and acknowledge his age.  Learn more about y...

Nikki Haley exits and clears the way for a Biden-Trump rematch. The president is making a play for her voters while Donald Trump is racking up some new GOP endorsements including a big one from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Also, a look at the chances of a third-party candidate jumping into this race this hour. The chief strategist for No Labels party joins.  Learn more about your ad cho...

All nine Supreme Court justices agree that Colorado cannot kick Trump off its 2024 ballots regardless of what he did on January 6th. There is a sharp divide in the court over important details despite this unanimous ruling. Plus, we'll get reaction from Trump's top Republican challenger, Nikki Haley, and from a conservative judge who thought the U.S. Supreme Court should disqualify Trump. Also, CN...

Fani Willis' fate is now in a judge's hands. She's the woman who charged Donald Trump with attempting to overturn the 2020 election in the state of Georgia. But now she herself is facing allegations of an improper relationship with the special prosecutor she put on the case. The judge says he'll make his decision in about two weeks.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...

President Biden and Donald Trump are both in Texas trying to blame each other for the crisis at the border. Republicans and Democrats who represent border towns weigh in. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Trump's legal team is pushing back as yet another state has tried to take him off its 2024 ballot. Also on today's show: We explore the chaos on the coast in Gaza after the Israeli military opened fi...

Mitch McConnell is stepping down as Senate Republican leader, though he is going to stay on as the senator from Kentucky. The new era of Republican politics is now loading. Plus, a monster wildfire is exploding in Texas, burning through land 11 times the size of Washington, D.C. Also, President Biden’s met with his doctor for his annual physical in what is expected to be the last update on Biden’s...

The Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was cornered by the president of the United States and his fellow top congressional leaders at what is being called by the Senate majority leader as of one of the most intense meetings he's ever been to in the Oval Office. Plus, CNN's Christiane Amanpour returns to Bucha, Ukraine, two years later. Also, we are very close to learning whether President Biden has...

A small but determined group of Democrats want to seize the moment and use the power of the vote in battleground Michigan to send a message to President Biden. They are demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and military aid cut off to Israel. They want Democrats tomorrow to vote uncommitted instead for Biden. Congressman Dean Phillips, Biden's top democratic challenger in the prim...

The governor of California, one of the main Democrats floated, perhaps more than anyone else, as an alternative to Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom joins. Is he all in on President Biden's reelection bid? Gov. Newsom also discusses how he is trying to fix the problems in his state such as illegal immigration and skyrocketing homeless numbers. Plus, after two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, are Putin an...

President Biden shares unfiltered remarks on what he really thinks not just about Putin but also Donald Trump. Nikki Haley joins this hour to discuss the latest in the presidential race. Plus, an investigation is launched into a widespread cell phone outage. What cut service for so long for tens of thousands of AT&T customers?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden appears to be possibly on somewhat shaky ground after the Justice Department alleged that the former FBI informant who appeared to have dirt on President Biden was actually peddling lies and getting his dirt from Russian intelligence. Plus, at look at the woman with the dual U.S.-Russian citizenship who was detained in Russia.  Learn more about your ad cho...

A new warning from the Biden administration is that tough new sanctions are on the way for Russia for both the war in Ukraine and for the suspicious death of Putin's prominent critic Alexey Navalny. This as the Kremlin insists Navalny's remains cannot be released. Why not? Plus, what sources are now telling CNN about President Biden's new aggressive plan to go after the “crazy” statements that Don...

The widow of Alexey Navalny shares a new message for Russians to not be silent. She is accusing the Kremlin of hiding her husband's body, alleging that he was poisoned and urging Russians to take to the streets after his death. CNN is in Russia as police are rounding up hundreds of people mourning Putin's fiercest critic. Plus, the late night skit that has disgraced former congressman George Santo...

In an absolutely staggering financial penalty for Donald Trump, a New York state judge ordered the former president and his companies to pay nearly $355 million for committing fraud. The judge found that Trump submitted “blatantly false” financial data when he applied for loans allowing him to get more favorable rates. There is one small victory in the ruling for Mr. Trump, the judge is not orderi...

The Georgia election subversion case against Donald Trump and 14 of his allies took a stunning turn when two top prosecutors testified under oath about their romantic relationship. Allegations of self-dealing have the potential to derail the indictment. However, nothing that happened today undercut the factual allegations against Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, or the other GOP allies who are...

A woman was shot five times by deputies after they mistook her for an intruder. She was not. Thankfully, she survived. We have the new body cam video and her attorney, Ben Crump, is in studio. Plus, after nine years away, Jon Stewart is back behind his desk managing to get under the skin of some Democrats. Also, voters in New York's third congressional district are braving today's winter storm in...

Two Israeli hostages were rescued in Gaza by the IDF and new footage shows the early morning raid in Rafah. The White House says they’re concerned about some 100 Palestinians reportedly killed in the joint Israeli operation. President Biden makes remarks with the king of Jordan after calling Israel’s actions over the top just last week.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/a...

Kamala Harris is leading the charge to defend President Biden in the wake of a special counsel repot that makes serious allegations about Biden's diminished faculties and faulty memory. He went before cameras yesterday to disprove the point and ended up calling the president of Egypt the president of Mexico. Also, fear grips citizens in in Gaza as Israel signals it is preparing for a new ground in...

A scathing special counsel report released laid out in detail how President Biden's mishandled classified materials. The report includes photographs of documents, showing them kept under his TV in his Delaware home and classified documents about Afghanistan barely stored. However, the special counsel concluded the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore...

Republicans in both the House and Senate are in what can be called disarray after failing to keep their party in line on the issues they demanded action on. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin joins to discuss the disfunction. Plus, we are one day away from Donald Trump’s first real case before the Supreme Court. He is trying to keep his name on election ballots in states across country.  Learn more ab...

Donald Trump's presidential immunity claim was rejected today by three federal judges. A conservative former judge is taking us inside the ruling and shares his take on what may play out if Donald Trump takes the case to the U.S. Supreme Court where he appointed three of the justices. Plus, frustration from Capitol Hill all the way to the border with a bipartisan immigration bill on the brink of c...

Migrants risking their lives crossing the Rio Grande river underscore the need for urgent action at the border. This morning, Texas authorities pulled a woman and child from the cold waters. Meanwhile, Republicans are set to meet one week after a bipartisan compromise deal was put on the table which now appears to be on the brink of collapse. We speak with a House Republican who has tough words fo...

Brand-new CNN polls on the 2024 race. Has the Republican contest changed at all since Donald Trump swept Iowa and New Hampshire? Which GOP candidate fares better in head-to-head matchup against Joe Biden? Also, a scary warning ahead of the November election about artificial intelligence. Plus, the mother of the Oxford, Michigan school shooter takes the stand in her defense and shares what her son...