Jenna Lifhits

Senate Democrats try to block Pompeo.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes

UK and France join U.S.-led effort.

The Trump administration's decision to go after Russian leader Vladimir Putin's inner circle with sanctions is being praised as a long-awaited, highly significant response to the Kremlin's destabilizing activities.

The White House said in a statement Wednesday that the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria is approaching completion, but did not indicate any change for the time being in troop levels, despite suggestions to that effect from the president in recent days.

In his final public remarks as White House national security adviser, H.R. McMaster offered a stinging rebuke of Russian violations of sovereignty and attempts to sow discord in free societies, activities for which he said the U.S. and its allies must impose higher costs.

The Russian Cultural Center, which sits in a restored mansion on a quiet, leafy block in Washington's Kalorama neighborhood, hosts language classes, lectures, and concerts with the stated goal of maintaining positive relations between Russians and Americans. For the second time in five years, it…

Russia is expelling 60 U.S. diplomats and closing the American consulate in St. Petersburg in what the Kremlin described as a tit-for-tat response to the Trump administration's expulsions of Russian operatives earlier this week.

The Trump administration’s decision to expel dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States earned bipartisan approval this week, with some of the president’s toughest congressional critics praising the move while calling for further action.

Arizona senator John McCain is asking the president’s pick for CIA director to expand on her involvement in the agency’s enhanced interrogation program, amid adamant objections to her nomination from one other Republican lawmaker.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will be swapping out national security adviser H.R. McMaster for former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, known Russia hawk, come mid-April.

The House Intelligence Committee voted on party lines Thursday to begin the declassification process for a GOP-led report that Republicans say caps the panel’s yearlong investigation into 2016 Russian election interference.

Nebraska Republican Ben Sasse on Wednesday slammed the White House’s refusal to condemn the fraudulence of Russia’s election, describing the dodge as a break “with basic American moral tradition.”

After President Donald Trump congratulated Russian leader Vladimir Putin on his re-election during a phone call Tuesday, some Republican senators questioned the wisdom of commending an autocrat whose election they see as fraudulent. Others brushed it off as a diplomatic nicety.

Top lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating Russian election interference on Tuesday marked the end of a critical portion of their probe focused on election security, and offered up a preview of the panel’s recommendations to counter foreign meddling in the midst of the 2018…

The result of the Russian election was no surprise, and neither is the list of foreign leaders who lined up to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his victory.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker said on Sunday that he expects President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal in May if progress is not made to fix it by then.

The opening shots in the battle over Gina Haspel's nomination to lead the CIA badly missed their target Thursday, when ProPublica corrected a report that featured a number of false allegations about Haspel's involvement in the CIA's enhanced interrogation program. Senator Rand Paul, who repeatedly…

The United States does not have a "bloody nose strategy" for a limited preemptive strike against North Korea, the top commander of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific said Thursday.

California senator Dianne Feinstein is calling on the CIA to release documents detailing the involvement of Trump’s pick for CIA director, Gina Haspel, in the agency’s detention and interrogation program.

United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley on Wednesday blamed Russia for using chemical weapons to poison an ex-spy in the United Kingdom.

Kentucky senator Rand Paul said he would oppose the president’s picks for secretary of state and CIA director, criticizing one over what he described as support for regime change and both for their links to torture.

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that he would be disappointed if Democrats raised fresh objections to the nomination of Gina Haspel as CIA director.

The Senate’s top Iran hawks heaped praise on the president’s nomination of CIA director Mike Pompeo to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Tuesday, and critics of the deal on and off Capitol Hill expressed confidence that Pompeo’s presence would place renewed pressure on negotiations to fix…

This story is developing and will be updated as necessary.

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said Monday that they did not find any evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Kremlin in a more than yearlong probe of 2016 Russian election interference.

This is a developing story and has been updated with new information.

Republican lawmakers greeted with cautious openness the announcement that President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet, reminding the president of years of failed talks with Pyongyang and urging him not to ease economic pressure just yet.

President Donald Trump will meet with Kim Jong-un by May amid a commitment from the North to denuclearization, South Korea’s national security adviser said Thursday.

Top lawmakers are pushing to expand sanctions targeting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), amid a declaration from a senior IRGC official that Iran’s missile production has tripled.

Two top intelligence chiefs appeared wary Tuesday about North Korea’s apparent willingness to engage in talks related to its nuclear program and to halt weapons testing while doing so.

Legislation that would pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop monetarily rewarding acts of terror is moving toward final passage, according to one of the bill’s top backers.

Guatemala will relocate its embassy to Jerusalem in May, two days after the United States is slated to make the same move, the country’s president said Sunday.

The State Department signed off on a potential $47 million sale of 210 Javelin anti-tank missiles and 37 launch units to Ukraine Thursday, moving the planned purchase one step closer to completion.

Senators on both sides of the aisle shot back at Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday after he boasted in an annual state-of-the-union address that Russia possesses nuclear weapons capable of bypassing missile defense systems.

The Trump administration is revving up an effort to counter foreign state propaganda and disinformation, including from Russia, after a months-long funding lag and criticism from lawmakers.

Iran has boosted its investments in militant and terrorist groups across the Middle East since the enactment of the 2015 nuclear deal, the nation’s top general who oversees U.S. Central Command said Tuesday.

For the past three years, Russian opposition activists say, authorities have attempted to erase any trace of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in the spot where he was murdered—on a bridge just outside the Kremlin. But on Tuesday morning, Russian officials will wake up to an inescapable reality: The…

The Trump administration made clear on Friday, with what it described as the largest set of sanctions against North Korea yet, that it will continue to isolate Pyongyang even as the South seeks to engage with the North.

Special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians on Friday for their efforts to interfere with the U.S. political process. In the days since, President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter, pushing back hard on suggestions that his campaign colluded with the Kremlin, denying that he said Russia…

Top Democratic leaders are calling to provide the FBI and Department of Homeland Security with hefty funding boosts to expose and counter Russian election interference ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

The State Department is denying that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday described Hezbollah as a legitimate actor in the Lebanese government, after the secretary’s comments drew harsh criticism from regional experts.

California congressman Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that the panel is negotiating with the FBI about narrowly redacting sensitive information contained in a memo intended to counter a Republican document alleging surveillance abuses.

FBI director Christopher Wray fended off accusations of political bias at the bureau Tuesday, amid controversy over a GOP memo that suggests misconduct by officials at the FBI and Department of Justice.

The Trump administration’s top spy chief quietly criticized the White House in written testimony Tuesday, warning lawmakers that U.S. allies are questioning America’s ability to keep its international commitments amid looming threats from China and Russia.

GOP lawmakers are raising concerns about surveillance abuses in a controversial memo, weeks after shepherding through the renewal of a surveillance authority. The apparent contradiction has civil liberties advocates asking, what gives?

Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin reassured lawmakers Tuesday that the department is preparing sanctions against corrupt Kremlin-linked people who are listed in a classified version of a report mandated by Congress.

The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously on Monday to publicly release a Democratic memo intended to counter a now-public Republican document that alleges surveillance abuses against a former Trump campaign adviser.

The House Intelligence Committee is expected to vote Monday on publicly releasing a memo that Democrats say rebuts a Republican document alleging surveillance abuses that was released Friday.

Update: Devin Nunes clarifies his comments as reported below. He tells TWS that his investigation will produce more reports, but he will release the information in a traditional manner.

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham is renewing his call for a second special counsel in the wake of the release of a GOP-drafted memo that alleges politically-motivated surveillance abuses.

The House Intelligence Committee on Friday publicly released a GOP-drafted memo that alleges surveillance abuses against the Trump team, amid objections from the FBI, Department of Justice officials, and committee Democrats.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee is calling on the panel’s Republican chairman to halt the process of releasing a memo alleging that the Trump campaign was a victim of surveillance abuses, shortly before the document’s expected public release.

House Oversight Committee chairman Trey Gowdy announced Wednesday that he will not be seeking re-election and will instead be returning to work in the justice system.

Lawmakers and experts are hoping for the best after the Treasury Department released what was seen as an underwhelming, congressionally-required public report on Russian oligarchs and senior political figures late Monday night.

During his first state of the union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump repeatedly called for bipartisanship, painted hopeful images, and told inspiring stories about guests in the crowd. But a year’s worth of partisan battles cut through the president’s optimistic rhetoric.

Republicans and Democrats are at odds over the Trump administration's decision Monday to hold off on new sanctions that target Russia’s intelligence and defense sectors.

The House Intelligence Committee on Monday voted along party lines to publicly release a secret GOP-drafted memo on alleged surveillance abuses targeting the Trump campaign, according to the panel’s top Democrat.

The House Intelligence Committee is set to meet Monday evening amid a heated a party-line battle over a secret, GOP-drafted memo that Republicans want released publicly. A committee aide told THE WEEKLY STANDARD ahead of the meeting that a vote on releasing the memo publicly is “possible.”

The Trump administration is expected to provide lawmakers with a report Monday that calls out Russian president Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, a document that has had Russian elites worried for months.

The Trump administration hit 30 Russian and Ukrainian entities with sanctions Friday in an effort to pressure the Kremlin over its role in the continued violence on Ukraine’s eastern border as well as its occupation of Crimea.

As House Republicans and Democrats battle over the release of a secret memo alleging surveillance abuses against the Trump campaign, Senate Republicans are not giving in to the prevailing heated rhetoric.

The House Intelligence Committee is now home to dueling memos over alleged surveillance abuses related to the 2016 election. Democrats on the committee have crafted their own secret document in response to a Republican-drafted memo that outlines alleged FBI misconduct against the Trump team, as…

CIA director Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the agency had, until a year ago, not been paying enough attention to North Korea, even as the Hermit Kingdom worked to advance its weapons capability.

Top House Republicans met Saturday amid mounting calls for the release of a memo about alleged surveillance abuses by federal officials, a document that Democrats describe as a partisan stunt meant to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller.

Senators agreed Thursday to reauthorize a controversial surveillance authority a day before its expiration, clearing a final hurdle on the turbulent path to the president’s desk.

Senate leadership won just enough votes Tuesday night to advance the renewal of a controversial surveillance authority due to expire by the end of the week, the latest bump in the authority’s turbulent road to passage. Lawmakers will likely cast a final vote on the bill this week, paving the way to…

'My neighbors probably think I’m nuts,” says Cory Gardner. The fresh-faced senator is from tiny Yuma in northeastern Colorado, a 3,500-person town with “horrible cell service” to the point where he doesn’t get reception inside his house. So when the secretary of state calls, Gardner does what the…

Texas senator Ted Cruz on Thursday suggested that President Donald Trump buck members of the foreign policy establishment who are “desperately” trying to save the 2015 nuclear deal and not waive sanctions lifted under the agreement ahead of a series of related deadlines.

Legislation that attempts to make good on President Donald Trump’s October demand to fix the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is still facing obstacles, days before Trump is due to decide whether to issue sanctions waivers that would keep the agreement alive—or kill it.

“My neighbors probably think I’m nuts,” says Cory Gardner. The fresh-faced senator is from tiny Yuma in northeastern Colorado, a 3,500-person town with “horrible cell service” to the point where he doesn’t get reception inside his house. So when the secretary of state calls, Gardner does what the…

The fight over a key surveillance authority is pitting House committees against each other and fueling intraparty tension, as lawmakers dive into the debate over the power’s renewal this week.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are expected to vote Thursday on whether to renew a controversial surveillance power that Trump officials say is vital for protecting against terrorism and other national security threats.

The world has not seen the last of the anti-regime protests that have swept Iran in recent weeks, the Trump administration’s intelligence chief said Sunday.

Republican senators on Wednesday night brushed off President Donald Trump’s tweet threatening North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with the size and power of his “nuclear button,” the latest in a series of heated exchanges between the two leaders.

Back in December, lawmakers put off the long-term reauthorization of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a powerful surveillance authority, amid a pre-Christmas legislative whirlwind. Now the House and Senate have until January 19 to agree on a reauthorization bill that…

Congressional Republicans are calling for answers on the Obama administration's reported efforts to derail an initiative that tracked Hezbollah’s international web of criminal activities, efforts that former officials said were fueled in large part out of a desire to secure the 2015 nuclear deal…

The Trump administration has given the green-light for the commercial sale of some lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, a move that lawmakers and experts hailed as a sharp reversal from Obama-era policies. But some also hope the decision is an intermediary to a bigger step: sending defensive…

The Trump administration is sanctioning five high-profile individuals under the Magnitsky Act, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday, a move that a top Kremlin critic says is likely to rile Russia.

Ukraine is living through its bloodiest year in the conflict on its eastern border since it began in 2014, the Trump administration’s envoy for the crisis said Tuesday.

The Obama administration hobbled a covert initiative that tracked Hezbollah’s web of criminal activities, allowing millions of dollars to fall into the hands of the Iran-backed militia, according to a Politico report. Efforts to stymie the initiative, former officials told Politico, were fueled in…

Nikki Haley on Thursday presented what she described as undeniable evidence that Iran is supplying arms to militants in Yemen and charged that Tehran is fueling conflict in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria—activities that she said fly in the face of United Nations resolutions.

Republican lawmakers and officials are feeling a moment of relief after the defeat of embattled GOP candidate Roy Moore in Alabama’s special election Tuesday.

The chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Thursday that the committee will never support Roy Moore, the Alabama Senate candidate who has been accused of sexual misconduct with teenage girls.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced plans to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel, describing the move as a “recognition of reality.”

A bill that would pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop financially rewarding acts of terror against Israelis and Americans easily passed the House of Representatives Tuesday.

Democratic lawmakers are at odds about whether the president should declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a recognition he is expected to make Wednesday.

Former national security adviser Mike Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to knowingly making false statements to the FBI, making him the senior most Trump administration official to be charged in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s wide-ranging probe.

"The defendant is guilty as sin,” said federal prosecutor Julieanne Himelstein. “And,” she added, “he is a stone-cold terrorist.”

Abu Khatallah, the first person publicly charged in connection with the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, was acquitted of federal murder charges Tuesday after a grueling seven-week trial.

The trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the first person to be publicly charged in connection with the 2012 Benghazi attacks, is becoming mired in discord, as the government and defense appear at odds over explosive intelligence that could put a dent in the government’s portrayal of Khatallah as the…

A top foreign correspondent at the New York Times said Friday that the Obama administration deliberately downplayed al Qaeda’s strength in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election.

Democratic senators grilled a federal judicial nominee, known as Texas’s witty “Tweeter Laureate,” on Wednesday over his past tweets about bacon and Alex Rodriguez. Seriously.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday rejected accusations that he had lied in previous congressional testimony about his knowledge of contacts between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, insisting to House lawmakers that his answers on the matter “have not changed.”

Lawmakers are still waiting on the Trump administration to advise the Supreme Court on a case that, if taken up, would potentially allow American victims of Palestinian terrorism to collect a reversed multimillion dollar judgment, sources on and off Capitol Hill told TWS.

GOP senators are further distancing themselves from Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore as allegations that he made sexual and romantic advances on teenage girls escalate.

Congressional negotiators approved a series of measures to counter Russian activities and influence in this year’s annual defense bill, including an authorization for providing Ukraine with lethal defensive aid and an initiative to bolster counter-propaganda efforts.

A witness called before the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on campus anti-Semitism is drawing fire from pro-Israel groups for defending comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany and downplaying the targeting of Jewish students.

The resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister over the weekend is heightening congressional scrutiny of Hezbollah's wide-ranging influence in the country, with a top lawmaker calling on the Trump administration to reassess military assistance.

During a rare appearance before Congress Wednesday, a high-ranking North Korean defector told lawmakers that the U.S. should focus on shaping the flow of information into North Korea and urging China not to repatriate defectors.

Arizona senator Jeff Flake issued a sharp rebuke of a Republican Senate candidate’s controversial past remarks and warned about his nomination Tuesday, while many of his GOP colleagues skirted the subject.

Top Trump administration officials urged lawmakers on Monday not to unduly constrain the executive branch under a potential new authorization for the use of military force (AUMF).

The United Nations is earmarking millions of dollars for Palestinian efforts to pursue international legal action against Israel over the next four years, triggering outrage on and off Capitol Hill and fueling calls to re-examine U.S. funding of the U.N.

The United States has captured a second militant in connection with the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya that left four Americans dead, the White House said Monday.

The Trump administration is facing mounting bipartisan calls to redesignate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism ahead of a congressionally mandated deadline.

GOP lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to make good on President Barack Obama’s promise that, because of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, inspectors “will have access where necessary, when necessary.”

In mid-October, President Trump was due to make a certification to Congress on four conditions about its nuclear deal. He has repeatedly said this deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), gave the Iranians too much for too little. On October 13, he surprised no one by…

Two top lawmakers remain frustrated over the Trump administration’s failure to start implementing a set of congressionally mandated Russia sanctions on time, and are considering other avenues to pressure officials to act.

The House Intelligence and Oversight Committees are investigating Russia’s involvement in a controversial Obama-era uranium deal, the panel’s chairman announced Tuesday.

Lawmakers will vote this week on strengthening sanctions against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah and punishing Iran for its ballistic missile development, amid pressure from the Trump administration to come to a legislative solution related to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

A top Trump White House official ripped Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist enabler” on Thursday and warned businesses against engaging with the freshly designated organization.

In mid-October, President Trump was due to make a certification to Congress on four conditions about its nuclear deal. He has repeatedly said this deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), gave the Iranians too much for too little. On October 13, he surprised no one by…

CIA director Mike Pompeo described the connection between Iran and al-Qaeda as an “open secret” Thursday, a relationship that he and others criticized the Obama White House for downplaying.

A Republican lawmaker is urging the president to block a multibillion-dollar deal between Boeing and Iran Air, “the terror-supporting transport-arm” of a network that is now facing steep sanctions from the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump refused to certify the Iran nuclear deal Friday, a move that has been described as one piece of a larger strategy to toughen U.S. policy toward Iran.

This piece has been updated with new information.

Lawyers want Boeing to reveal the secret details of its multibillion dollar deal with Iran Air to an Illinois federal court, a disclosure that hinges on the approval of the Trump administration.

Two top lawmakers slammed the Trump administration Wednesday for failing to “get their act together” and meet an October deadline to start implementing Russia sanctions.

A key Democrat said Tuesday that he would support supplemental agreements to the Iran nuclear deal, but urged the administration in the interim to certify Iranian implementation of the deal ahead of an upcoming deadline.

"I want them to hate him," a federal prosecutor said quietly on the evening of October 2 as his colleagues packed up. It had been a long first day in the trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the man charged with instigating the tragic 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

"I want them to hate him," a federal prosecutor said quietly on the evening of October 2 as his colleagues packed up. It had been a long first day in the trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the man charged with instigating the tragic 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

Lawmakers are proposing reforms to a key foreign surveillance program used to monitor terrorists and disrupt their plots ahead of its December expiration.

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s probe into Russian election interference has expanded since January, with hundreds of additional information requests, new leads, and questions about fresh Russia-related events, the leaders of the panel said Wednesday.

Abu Khatallah is facing 18 counts related to the 2012 attack in Benghazi, including murder and providing material support to terrorists. His long-awaited trial began Monday in Washington, D.C.

GOP lawmakers are waiting on the White House to act on recommendations from top officials to send lethal defensive aid to Ukraine.

Hawkish Republican senators are advising President Donald Trump to decertify the Iran nuclear deal in October, a move that critics of the agreement see as a key step in changing U.S. policy toward Iran.

Unmasking. Leaks. Wiretaps. The mounting surveillance scandals of 2017 are suddenly threatening one of the most effective intelligence-gathering programs in U.S. history.

Iran has ramped up its illicit activities in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. military's top general told lawmakers Tuesday, and the Islamic Republic has been boosted in such pursuits by the funds it received under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Tennessee senator Bob Corker announced Tuesday that he won't run for reelection next year, putting to rest weeks of speculation about the influential Republican's potential retirement from the Senate.

European officials are signaling openness to cracking down on Iran’s support for terrorism and improving on the 2015 nuclear deal, which one diplomatic official attributed on Monday to the Trump administration’s tough talk.

Unmasking. Leaks. Wiretaps. The mounting surveillance scandals of 2017 are suddenly threatening one of the most effective intelligence-gathering programs in U.S. history.

Lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee are hinting at still-secret details related to Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal that the president could use to back up a potential October decertification.

A terror attack in a crowded London tube train left at least 18 hospitalized Friday morning, according to multiple reports.

Mark Green, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is a firm believer in fostering democracy abroad.

CIA director Mike Pompeo cancelled a scheduled appearance at Harvard Thursday after the university hired Chelsea Manning, a former Army private and leaker who Pompeo described as an “American traitor.”

On Wednesday Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin doubled down on a threat from the president to stop trade with any country that does business with North Korea.

A key Senate panel showed its disdain for the Trump administration’s proposed steep cuts to the foreign aid budget—first by agreeing to spend more than what the president had asked for and then by issuing a report condemning the president’s “"apparent doctrine of retreat"

President Obama’s former ambassador to Syria said Monday that Bashar al-Assad, cemented by support from Iran, has essentially won the Syrian civil war and will maintain his grip on power.

North Korea fired a missile that passed over Japan, the Pentagon confirmed Monday evening.

The Trump administration is considering sending lethal defensive aid to Ukraine, defense secretary Jim Mattis said during a visit there Thursday.

President Donald Trump ditched the TelePrompTer during a wide-ranging campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona Tuesday night, and set Twitter ablaze with hot takes.

Republican lawmakers praised President Donald Trump’s announcement Monday that he would maintain U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and base further action on conditions on the ground rather than a predetermined timeline.

Tennessee senator Bob Corker issued a sharp critique of Donald Trump Thursday, adding to a chorus of Republican criticism around the president’s handling of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

President Donald Trump’s response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville has drawn repeated criticism from Republican lawmakers. On Thursday, the president fired back.

On Tuesday, Republican lawmakers called for moral clarity and sharply criticized remarks made by the president after he again assigned blame to "both sides" for the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

The Trump administration warned U.S. citizens Tuesday about the risks of traveling to Iran, including the potential for arrest and detention.

The Mooch now knows he wears women’s sunglasses. And he’s damn proud.

Updated, 10:45 p.m.: Violence around a planned white nationalist rally in Virginia left three people dead and over a dozen injured Saturday, multiple news outlets reported.

President Donald Trump is open to preemptive military action against North Korea if negotiating with Pyongyang does not work, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham told conservative host Hugh Hewitt Thursday. “If negotiations fail, he is willing to abandon strategic patience and use preemption. I…

Democratic lawmakers are criticizing President Trump for unleashing heated rhetoric against Pyongyang this week, including his threat of “fire and fury” against the North Korean regime. That warning was "reckless and shows a serious lack of judgment," said House minority whip Steny Hoyer.

The State Department would not respond to a warning from Iran's president that it would be an act of political self-destruction for President Donald Trump to dismantle the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Sunday that the Justice Department is not out to target and prosecute journalists, after mounting concern over how a newly announced crackdown on leaks could affect reporters.

The president is expected to sign a sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran, and North Korea “very soon,” according to the chairman of the Senate’s foreign relations panel.

Top lawmakers on the Senate's foreign relations committee are brushing off a retaliatory measure taken by Russia in response to a sanctions package that passed Congress overwhelmingly last week, describing the heated move as predictable.

A congressional sanctions package that targets Russia is triggering icy resentment from the Kremlin, with top officials there warning of further retaliation and worsening relations between Moscow and Washington.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a sweeping bipartisan sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran, and North Korea Thursday, 98-2.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on a sunny Tuesday, communications director Anthony Scaramucci threatened an executive branch purge.

Lawmakers reached an agreement Wednesday for the Senate to vote on a sweeping sanctions bill that was overwhelmingly approved by the House this week, in a push to promptly get the legislation to the president’s desk.

Jared Kushner’s three-hour interview with the House Intelligence Committee has led to some verbal sparring between members of Congress.

The Senate is weighing removing North Korea sanctions from a sweeping bill that overwhelmingly passed the House on Tuesday, the chairman of the Senate’s foreign relations panel said, in an effort to get the package passed before August recess.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a sweeping sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran, and North Korea on Tuesday, 419-3.

The leaders of the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia probe emerged satisfied from a three-hour meeting with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, but left open the possibility of further questioning.

The House is expected to vote on a sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran, and North Korea Tuesday, but the chairman of the Senate's foreign relations panel says lawmakers need to work out a few more kinks—which might prevent the bill’s passage before August recess.

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham on Thursday blasted the Trump administration's reported decision to cut a CIA program that trained and armed Syrian rebels fighting the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Texas senator Ted Cruz dubbed the Trump administration’s certification that Iran is fully implementing the 2015 nuclear deal a “serious mistake” Wednesday.

Congress is ratcheting up pressure on the Trump administration to keep a watchful eye on Tehran, after the House approved an amendment last week requiring the president to inform lawmakers regularly of any efforts by Iran to ferry weapons and fighters using its commercial planes. The provision,…

The steady drip of Russia-related controversies surrounding the Trump administration are becoming a “nuisance” and “distraction,” a Republican on the House Intelligence Committee said Monday.

A bill slashing funds that benefit the Palestinian Authority will easily pass the Senate’s foreign relations panel, likely before August recess, the leaders of the committee told THE WEEKLY STANDARD. The measure conditions the flow of U.S. dollars on whether the PA has stopped monetarily rewarding…

Donald Trump hates the Iran nuclear deal. Brokered by the Obama administration and officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement has the stated purpose of preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability. But the president believes the deal gave Iran…

House Democrats have not decided yet whether to file their own version of an Iran-Russia sanctions bill, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Wednesday afternoon.

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham drilled Trump’s nominee for FBI director Wednesday on whether the president’s son should have contacted the FBI after Russian sources offered him dirt on Hillary Clinton.

On Wednesday, Christopher Wray, the president’s nominee to head the FBI, swore to maintain the independence and nonpartisanship of the Bureau, with the Trump’s May firing of then-director James Comey fresh in lawmakers’ minds.

Expressing concern about “the amnesia of people that are in the Trump orbit,” something he described as a “medical issue,” Rep. Trey Gowdy on Tuesday issued some of the harshest criticism yet by any GOP lawmaker of the Trump administration’s handling of the Russia controversies.

The House Intelligence Committee will investigate a June 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-linked lawyer, and plans to call those connected to the meeting to come before the panel, the committee's top Democrat said Tuesday.

What began as a bill slapping sanctions on Iran for ballistic missile development and human rights violations is being mired in minutiae over a single added word—“Russia.”

Former U.N. ambassador John Bolton issued a stern warning to the president Monday about negotiating with Russian president Vladimir Putin, after Putin and Trump held their first official in-person meeting Friday. Bolton, who was under consideration to be Trump’s secretary of state, also criticized…

A top Russia hawk in Congress slammed President Donald Trump on Sunday for letting Russian election interference slide after a lengthy meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin Friday.

I stuffed notebook paper into my dress sleeves and got praised for being a “shero” on Twitter.

The White House says it is in agreement with the State Department on how to handle the Saudi-led decision to freeze diplomatic ties with Qatar, despite mixed messaging from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the issue.

The Trump administration is not ruling out providing Ukraine with defensive weapons in its fight against Russian-backed separatists, a State Department official told THE WEEKLY STANDARD, though the administration is focused on a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

The heads of the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia probe are threatening to use their subpoena power if the White House does not respond “appropriately and fully” as to whether it has documentation of conversations between the president and fired FBI director James Comey.

Intelligence agencies are supplying the House Intelligence Committee with information about unmasking requests made by three former Obama administration officials, a spokesman for the committee chairman told THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

A former Obama State Department official suggested Friday that the administration would have “done more” about Russian election interference if it had been clearer earlier that one of the Kremlin's central objectives was to denigrate Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he does not have tapes of his conversations with fired FBI director James Comey Thursday. But the top Democrats overseeing Russia probes in the House and the Senate said the president's statement still left questions unanswered.

With multiple–and potentially overlapping–investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election under way, a top Republican is trying to ensure that the House Intelligence Committee probe doesn’t interfere with the work of special counsel Robert Mueller.

A Department of Homeland Security official on Wednesday compared the behavior of Kremlin-linked hackers seeking to disrupt the 2016 election to that of burglars casing a neighborhood, with a few “rattled” doorknobs and a few successful entries.

The heads of the House Intelligence Committee investigation into Russian election interference met with special counsel Robert Mueller Tuesday, the latest in a string of closed-door conversations between Mueller and lawmakers since last week.

Iranian officials are slamming a freshly approved crop of congressional sanctions as a breach of the 2015 nuclear deal and have vowed to take reciprocal measures. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are underscoring the need for penalties on Tehran and dismissing the recent rhetoric as par for…

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday that the president is working to discredit and "take down" special counsel Bob Mueller, just as Mueller's probe is beginning.

President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed that he is the subject of an investigation by special counselor Robert Mueller in a tweet was inflammatory even by Trump standards.

The Senate almost unanimously approved legislation Thursday that slaps sanctions on Iran and Russia.

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham suggested Friday that a planned hearing next week with former FBI director James Comey could descend into a political "hit job" if the director focuses only on reported conversations between him and the president.

The House Intelligence committee issued subpoenas targeting two Trump associates on Wednesday as part of its ongoing investigation into Russian election interference. The panel also reportedly subpoenaed three government agencies for information that could shed light on potential surveillance…

National Security Agency analysts under the Obama administration improperly searched Americans' information, but the searches were conducted largely out of error, according to a review of publicly available intelligence documents reported on by Circa last week.

Vice President Mike Pence assured graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy Friday that the president will "always have your back." He pointed to the administration's recently delivered defense budget proposal, which he described as "one of the largest increases in defense spending since the days of…

Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee easily passed a bipartisan bill that slaps sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile tests and other non-nuclear behavior Thursday, amid attempts by former Obama administration officials to stymie the legislation over concerns that it could hurt the…

The Trump administration is taking significant steps to target a full range of Iranian military aggression and human rights abuses, functionally reversing the Obama administration's near-total prioritization of the 2015 nuclear deal, according to discussions conducted by THE WEEKLY STANDARD with…

Former CIA director John Brennan said Tuesday that he did not know whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin, but told lawmakers that he had seen intelligence that triggered questions about the possibility of such coordination.

Washington greeted the news that the Justice Department had named Robert Mueller special counsel to oversee the FBI's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election with a collective sigh of relief. The speed and intensity of events and developments about this interference—and the…

Washington greeted the news that the Justice Department had named Robert Mueller special counsel to oversee the FBI's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election with a collective sigh of relief. The speed and intensity of events and developments about this interference—and the…