The first week of Donald Trump's hush-money trial concludes with the seating of 12 jurors, while the former President fumes about a gag order by Judge Juan Merchan that bars him from criticizing jurors, witnesses and court staff. Plus, the Senate summarily dismisses the impeachment articles passed by the House against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Read transcriptSpeaker Mike Johnson moves ahead with bills supporting Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan against their enemies. What's in the bills, what are their prospects for passing, and could they cost Johnson his job as a small group of Republicans threaten to move against him?
Read transcriptThe Supreme Court hears an appeal from a former Pennsylvania cop, who says his conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6 does not qualify as obstruction under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Prosecutors have charged more than 300 people using that law, but are they stretching it too far? Plus, the Justices rule that a local $23,420 permitting fee is covered by the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause.
Read transcriptJury selection starts in New York, as the former president faces 34 counts of falsifying business records, tied to a 2016 payment to Stormy Daniels. But has Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought a weak case, with potential legal avenues for appeal, given that to convict on these felonies he must prove that Trump intended to commit or conceal a second unrelated crime?
Paul Gigot interviews Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about Tehran's attack on Israel, whether it was really a 'win' for the Jewish state, how Israel is likely to respond, and whether U.S. policy toward Iran will finally change.
Read transcriptPresident Biden touts the IRS's new Direct File pilot program in 12 states, after Sen. Elizabeth Warren stuck it into the Inflation Reduction Act. But do Americans trust the agency to get it right? And if the complexity of the tax code is the reason that people turn to expert tax preparers, why isn't the answer just to simplify? Plus, the House passes a reauthorization of the Section 702 surveillance program, as FBI Director Christopher Wray warns about elevated threats to public safety.
Read transcriptHigher prices make a comeback, roiling markets and complicating plans by the Federal Reserve for cutting interest rates. How big a threat is inflation to President Biden's re-election?
Read transcriptNineteen Republicans break with Speaker Mike Johnson by blocking a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, after Donald Trump comes out against. Section 702 lets the government collect communications from foreigners overseas, which can include messages with Americans. What reforms to this power are enough to ensure accountability?
Read transcriptThe House comes back to town facing a big decision on military assistance for Ukraine, as well as Israel and Taiwan. Will Joe Biden show the leadership needed to get funding over the finish line, and will Donald Trump intervene? Plus, Marjorie Taylor Greene intensifies her criticisms of Speaker Mike Johnson in a scathing letter to her colleagues calling for him to be replaced.
Read transcriptConservatives expressed their disappointment with Donald Trump after he said abortion should be left up to the states instead of a federal ban. Was this a wise political move for his election campaign? Plus, Joe Biden announces another student loan forgiveness plan, which may end up in the courts again.
Read transcriptPaul Gigot is the editorial page editor and vice president of The Wall Street Journal, a position he has held since 2001. He is responsible for the newspaper's editorials, op-ed articles and Leisure & Arts criticism and directs the editorial pages of the Journal's Asian and European editions and the OpinionJournal.com Web site. He is also the host of the weekly half-hour news program, the Journal Editorial Report, on the Fox News Channel.
Mr. Gigot joined the Journal in 1980 as a reporter in Chicago, and in 1982 he became the Journal's Asia correspondent, based in Hong Kong. He won an Overseas Press Club award for his reporting on the Philippines. In 1984, he was named the first editorial page editor of The Asian Wall Street Journal, based in Hong Kong. In 1987, he was assigned to Washington, where he contributed editorials and a weekly column on politics, "Potomac Watch," which won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
Mr. Gigot is a summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College, where he was chairman of the daily student newspaper.