Selected Work
A selection of columns, reported features, profiles, courtroom dispatches, essays, and criticism.
Columns, Essays, & Analysis
Analysis, commentary, essays, and criticism on the most consequential legal questions of the moment.
Trump May Have Accidentally Pardoned the Jan. 6 Pipe Bomber
The Justice Department has touted the arrest, but he might still walk free.
5 Rules for Reading the Epstein Files
How to review a mountain of potentially explosive documents like a pro.
Remember the Torture Memos? The Boat Strike Memos May Be Worse.
The Trump administration needs to release the legal analysis underpinning its controversial military campaign.
‘The Courts Might as Well Just Shut Down’
As the Supreme Court takes up Trump’s tariffs, two conservative legal scholars fight it out on the issue.
‘At What Point Does This Cross a Line Into International Criminality?’
An expert on international law weighs in on the legality and global implications of the Trump administration’s drug boat killings.
Trump Is Trying to Blackmail the Supreme Court
The legal arguments for Trump’s tariffs are weak, so he’s arguing their rejection would bring ruin.
‘We Still Don’t Know How Far They’ll Go’
Foreign diplomats are growing nervous about the rule of law in Trump’s America — and it could complicate law enforcement across the globe.
Why Major Law Firms Surrendered to Trump
A reality check about the industry.
ABC Had Good Legal Reasons to Settle with Trump
It doesn’t mean the press is caving to Trump.
Trump Got Away With It — Because of the Biden Administration's Massive Missteps
How Merrick Garland and the Biden team failed to hold Trump accountable.
The Coming Trump Revenge Tour
Trump has campaigned on a wave of retaliatory criminal prosecutions. It's not the first time he's promised to lock up his rivals — but a second term would be different.
The Supreme Court Gave Trump a Stunning Gift — and Rewrote the Constitution
The decision may go down as one of the most brazenly political decisions in the history of the Supreme Court.
Inside the Off-the-Record Calls Held by Anti-Trump Legal Pundits
Every week, a group of high-profile lawyers and former officials meet on Zoom to discuss the legal cases against Donald Trump. We got a peek inside.
The Most Important Criminal Prosecution in American History
The Justice Department's case against Trump is necessary and just.
How Bad Is James Comey's New Crime Novel, Really?
The evident sincerity and undeniable mediocrity of the effort are its most endearing qualities.
Trump Faces Five Major Investigations. He Has Dozens of Ways Out.
An interactive visual exploration of the many paths available to a former president facing unprecedented legal jeopardy.
Don’t Treat Trump’s Legal Woes Like the Mueller Report
The public deserves our best effort to convey and evaluate the full range of possibilities as facts continue to unfold, and to acknowledge the many uncertainties that remain.
Merrick Garland’s Moderation to Excess
As attorney general, he is the United States’ top law enforcement officer. But is he enforcing enough?
Wanted: Lead Suspect in Election Fraud Conspiracy
Identifies Donald Trump as the central figure in a campaign to subvert the 2020 election.
The Case for Prosecuting Trump
An examination of the legal and political implications of pursuing criminal charges against a former president.
When the Rule of Law Turns into Rule By Law
This selective use of the law is dangerous precisely because it has a veneer of legal legitimacy that covers a corruption deeply corrosive to the political order.
Profiles & Reported Features
In-depth profiles and reported features on the people and institutions shaping American law and politics.
Infiltrating the Supreme Court
A roundtable conversation with top Supreme Court reporters on secrecy at the court, the justices’ ethics, and how they do their job at a crucial moment.
A Supreme Court Justice Sounds a Warning
Stephen Breyer has a message for his former colleagues — and he's ready to talk.
Lina Khan's Rough Year
When a liberal star took over the FTC, she was expected to break up big business. Instead, critics say, she's broken the agency.
The Pelosi Factor
Trump's longtime antagonist played an essential role in his historic indictment.
The Chaos Inside Trump's Legal Team
His attorneys describe a dysfunctional operation as they expect more indictments.
Can Gary Gensler Survive Crypto Winter?
D.C.'s top financial cop on crypto enforcement, regulation, and Sam Bankman-Fried.
The Merrick Garland You Don't Know
A deeply reported profile of the nation's famously low-key attorney general — who is actually quite comfortable in the spotlight.
Elizabeth Holmes's Last Pitch
She now faces her greatest challenge: convincing a jury that she is not to blame for a massive fraud.
Policy & White-Collar Crime
Financial crime, corporate accountability, regulatory policy, and more.
Everybody Calm Down About GameStop
A call to resist hasty regulatory or legislative action following the GameStop short squeeze.
America Is Losing the War on Financial Crime
An analysis of the decline in white-collar prosecutions and the need for the Justice Department to prioritize financial misconduct.
Boeing's Deal With the DoJ Highlights the Limits of US Justice
The $2.5 billion settlement over the 737 Max crashes raises hard questions about corporate accountability.
The Justice Department Isn’t Just Corrupt. It Also Bungled the Pandemic.
The public relies on legal institutions for protection during a pandemic. The department seems dangerously uninterested.
There’s Never Been a Better Time to Be a White-Collar Criminal
Thanks to the Trump administration’s signature mix of incompetence and corruption, America is knee-deep in fraud and corporate malfeasance.
The Justice Department
Investigations, institutional critiques, and accountability reporting on the DOJ — informed by experience as a former federal prosecutor.
What I Learned By Watching Every Pam Bondi Speech
The Trump loyalist is a new kind of attorney general.
The American People Deserve to Know What the Justice Department Is Up To
After the Mar-a-Lago search, the department should be doing more to counter the condemnation from the right and address questions from the public.
Trump’s Great Escape
On the now-dubious prospect of a federal criminal investigation into Trump’s election shenanigans.
The Bannon Contempt Case Shows Reform Is Needed at the DOJ
It’s time to overhaul the Office of Legal Counsel.
What the DOJ Isn't Telling Us About Jan. 6
Merrick Garland can and should be more forthcoming about investigating the insurrection.
The Trump Trial
Courtroom dispatches and first-person reporting from inside the historic criminal prosecution of the former president.
New Polling Shows the Real Fallout From the Trump Conviction
A POLITICO Magazine/Ipsos poll shows that Trump's criminal conviction hurts him with independents. One of the most-read pieces on Politico in 2024.
Trump Bungled the Trial
A conviction wasn’t inevitable.
Will the Jury Convict Trump? Here Are the Clues.
Judgment day approaches.
Trump’s Lawyers Are Making Major Mistakes
Trump has no one to blame but himself.
‘Grueling’: The Trial May Be Getting to Trump
Did Stormy Daniels’ testimony help or hurt the case against Trump? POLITICO’s reporters in the courtroom and on the campaign trail take you behind the curtain.
What It's Really Like Inside Trump's Trial
POLITICO reporters take you inside the courtroom that could decide the 2024 election.