Management

How Bill Clinton Stopped White House Leaks

And why the Trump administration will struggle to replicate his strategy.

Oversight

Trump Goes to War With Mueller

The president has repeatedly said he intends to intervene in the Justice Department, and leaks and changes to his legal team telegraph a strategy of escalation.

Oversight

Why Do Trump’s Defenders Assume He’s Guilty?

With friends like these, the president should probably reconsider his messaging strategy.

Oversight

The Tenacity of Trump

The president lies prodigiously, but when it comes to campaign promises on immigration, trade, and other issues, he’s working hard to keep them.

Defense

Analysis: Trump's New Solution to Every Problem

Like his predecessors, the president is discovering the allure of using the armed forces to solve problems, and like them, he’s also quickly discovering its limitations.

Management

Analysis: A Cabinet of Conspicuous Corruption

Wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars by several secretaries follows a tone set by the president.

Oversight

Will the Last Person to Leave the West Wing Please Turn Out the Lights?

As the administration faces a spate of departures from its top ranks, filling their posts will be a major challenge.

Oversight

Trump Thought the Rules Didn’t Apply—and Now He’s Paying the Price

The Trump administration decided early on that many guidelines were either antiquated or punitive, and is belatedly discovering that they were there for its own protection.

Management

How the White House Gamed the Security-Clearance System

Even when the FBI recommends against granting a clearance, there’s nothing to prevent a president from simply overriding the system.

Management

What Does It Take to Get Fired in the Trump White House?

Trying to clean up the Rob Porter mess, a spokesman says the administration could have reacted better, but can’t explain how—or what led to the staff secretary’s departure.

Management

The FBI Is Most Loyal to Its Own Interests

The bureau is an inherently political player, but as its history and texts between two employees show, its allegiance is not to Democrats or Republicans—but to itself.

Oversight

The Surprise in the Nunes Memo

The controversial document raises some interesting questions—but also undermines the political argument it was intended to buttress.

Management

The Peril of Taking on the FBI

Trump’s attacks on law-enforcement agencies were followed by an unusual statement from the bureau, and a series of damaging leaks.

Management

Analysis: The Republican Party Turns Against the FBI

Trump again provokes a sudden crisis that crystallizes a lengthy erosion of confidence.

Oversight

Trump Under Oath Is a Different Person

What the president’s previous depositions suggest about how his interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller might go

Oversight

Using the Justice Department to Investigate Trump's Enemies

FBI agents are reportedly looking at the Clinton Foundation again, while two Republican senators suggested the Justice Department consider whether the author of an explosive dossier alleging the president had been compromised by Russia lied.

Management

Trump's White House Is Ahead of the Curve on Pushing Out Campaign Aides

Every president ends up pushing out campaign aides in favor of government professionals, but few have done it as swiftly as the office’s current incumbent.

Defense

Has the Mueller Probe Hamstrung Trump's Foreign Policy?

Nixon and Clinton managed to get a great deal done of overseas while facing special prosecutors at home, but Trump has more weaknesses than they did.

Oversight

Trump Demands the Prosecution of His Defeated Rival

Even as he admits he’s not supposed to interfere with the Justice Department, the president just can’t help himself.