The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee apparently thought they could help Donald Trump's cause by attacking former special counsel Jack Smith in hearing. Their failure in that endeavor is evidenced by them trying to bury the transcript of Smith's deposition over the New Year's holiday when as few people as possible were paying attention. Michael Feinberg, former FBI official, talks with Jen Psaki about Smith's clear explanation of Donald Trump's criminal culpability. It should come as no surprise to anyone that criminal president Donald Trump is in regular conflict with the law, which means the best place to stop him is in the courts. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who sued the Trump administration 52 times last year, talks with Jen Psaki about why the rule of law is Donald Trump's most successful opponent.Many Democratic candidates are hearing from voters that simply moving on from Donald Trump or thwarting his agenda is not enough. Voters want accountability and they want the damage Trump has done to the United States to be undone. Rep. Eric Swalwell talks with Jen Psaki about Democrats taking a more aggressive stance on how to treat Trump if they can regain control of parts of the federal government.While Marjorie Taylor Greene's split from Donald Trump is uncommon, her doing so while maintaining "America First" and "MAGA" bona fides, and while Trump flakes on Epstein files promises and botches other key issues, signals a weakening of Trump's grip on the Republican Party that may not even survive the duration of his second term. Robert Draper, journalist for the New York Times, discusses with Jen Psaki.

Jen Psaki proposes that Donald Trump is motivated by a the rush of making himself feel powerful, which explains why so many of his actions don't appear to have rational, principled justifications, and also why so many of his actions have no follow-up plan for dealing with the messes he makes.House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi talks with Jen Psaki about Democrats keeping their focus on improving Americans' quality of life while Donald Trump spends billions of taxpayer dollars on random schemes in South American countries. Pelosi points out that Vladimir Putin is a common through-line in Trump's international actions that are otherwise hard to explain.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey talks with Jen Psaki about how his city is dealing with the deadly shooting by a federal ICE agent, his vehement opposition to how immigration agents are terrorizing communities, and the distortions the Trump administration is pushing even as Americans have seen multiple videos of the shooting. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer shares his reaction to the deadly shooting by a federal ICE agent of a woman in Minneapolis, condemning the Trump administration's anti-immigrant overreach, and lamenting the corruption of previously stalwart agencies like the FBI, which has been tasked with investigating the shooting.Former national security advisor Jake Sullivan discusses the mess Donald Trump has made in Venezuela and Trump's dubious claims about Venezuela's oil.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani talks with Jen Psaki about the need to hold ICE agents, including the one who shot and killed Minneapolis mother Renee Good, to the same justice as everyone else in America. Mamdani also highlights a new universal childcare initiative in New York, proving that government can still work for good outcomes and doesn't have to be all terror and chaos like the Trump administration produces.Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro talks with Jen Psaki about how a well run government coordinates at all levels, from federal to local, instead of the havoc and terror Donald Trump's federal agents are committing while gaslighting communities and making people less safe. Shapiro criticizes JD Vance for being the embodiment of the "chaos, cruelty and corruption" that defines the Trump administration.

Just two days after the deadly ICE shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, several videos, shot from different perspectives have been released to the public, including video taken by the shooter, which many on the political right claim supports the argument that the ICE agent was defending himself when he shot and killed Good in her car. Jen Psaki synchronizes several videos for a closer analysis of what the shooter's video actually shows, and what the videos tell us about what Good was doing when she was killed.Senator Amy Klobuchar talks with Jen Psaki about the challenges her state has dealt with recently in the national spotlight and how the people of Minneapolis are dealing with the killing of a mother of three by an ICE agent, as well as potential solutions in the Senate to address Donald Trump's abuse of the immigration issue and the ICE agents making residents less safe and more afraid.

Jen Psaki reports on new polling that shows Americans are very aware of the deadly ICE shooting of a Minnesota mom and are not buying into Donald Trump's tactic of trying to blame the victim of the shooting. At the same time, Trump's DOJ deciding not to investigate has triggered a rash of resignations, and a non-stop flow of videos of ICE agents brutalizing residents of Minneapolis, including Americans, is further souring public opinion on the job Trump has ICE doing.Assistant attorney general for civil rights, Harmeet Dhillon, decided not to investigate the deadly ICE shooting of Minneapolis mom Renee Nicole Good, triggering shocked outrage not only from Americans who watched videos of the shooting, but also from prosecutors within the Justice Department. Stacey Young, former DOJ official, talks with Jen Psaki about why the Justice Department refusing to do its job is extremely uncommon, and also an abdication of the department's role in American governance.Donald Trump's petulance over not being able to manipulate interest rates to his own political advantage risks economic catastrophe for the United States as Trump has deployed his weaponized Justice Department to try to intimidate Fed chair Jerome Powell. Senator Elizabeth Warren joins Jen Psaki to discuss how the situation came to be and what's at stake.

With Donald Trump already doubling down on the trauma and terror he is inflicting on the Minneapolis community with his federal ICE police force, he took a step further away from American values and the First Amendment with a F.B.I. raid on the home of a journalist, ostensibly to search for evidence in the prosecution of a suspected leaker of federal secrets. Jen Psaki reacts.Senator Elissa Slotkin organized a video of elected officials with military backgrounds reminding serving members of the U.S. military that they are obligated to disobey illegal orders. Donald Trump took the message personally and has been using the federal government to exact a vendetta against the people in the video ever since. Most recently that has meant Trump's weaponized Justice Department conducting "investigations." Senator Slotkin discusses with Jen Psaki.  MS NOW reporter Jillian Frankel reports live from the scene of a chaotic clash between federal agents and protesters in Minneapolis following reports by the city's social media account of "a shooting involving federal law enforcement."

Donald Trump's ICE force is not only not making life better for the residents of Minneapolis, it seems to be trying to pick a fight. Today, Trump, who is notoriously unable to keep the thoughts in his head from escaping out of his mouth, suggested he would invoke the Insurrection Act to suppress the unrest that he provoked. Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during Donald Trump's first term, talks with Jen Psaki about why he is certain Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act, and tells stories from Trump's first term that make sense of Trump's second term behavior.After another incredible (as in, not-credible) White House press briefing, Jen Psaki steps in to address some of the questions that were not handled correctly by Donald Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.Donald Trump and his Cabinet acolytes continue to insist on the righteousness and professionalism of Trump's ICE enforcers terrorizing Minneapolis, even as Americans see endless accounts and videos of the reckless brutality the residents of Minneapolis are enduring. Elliott Payne, Minneapolis city council president, talks with Jen Psaki about the reality on the streets of his city.

As courts rebuke ICE violence in Minneapolis, and Donald Trump doubles down on corrupting the Justice Department by opening investigations into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Americans are watching everything that is taking place and are not liking what they see. Jen Psaki looks at how the tide has turned on Trump after his obnoxious handling of what used to be his strongest issue, immigration. Many Americans don't realize that Donald Trump has sent so many ICE agents to the Twin Cities area that they are literally everywhere, and of course, they are not a benign presence. St. Paul, Minnesota Mayor Kaohly Her talks with Jen Psaki about what life is like in a Donald Trump police state and how neighbors are trying to help and protect each other from the malevolent presence of Trump's federal enforcers.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker talks with Jen Psaki about resisting Donald Trump's power grabs, protecting the people of his state, and holding Trump officials to account once they are not longer under his protection.Donald Trump explained at a press conference that he likes the look of military occupation, perhaps stating the obvious as his actions have shown his enthusiasm for deploying militarized federal forces in U.S. cities. But the American people do not share his fondness for living in a military state, and Trump's overreach has even begun to turn local police against him, Jen Psaki explains.

Jen Psaki reviews the lowlights of Donald Trump's cringey, humiliating  ramble of an address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland which not only put Trump's ignorance and vanity on full display but he repeatedly said the wrong name of the country at the center of his effort to destroy the western alliance.Donald Trump attempted to bring his signature style of whiney grievance politics to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, but only managed to show off his lack of knowledge of history and world affairs. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, talks with Jen Psaki about how America's allies in Europe are interpreting Trump's petulance.Senator Richard Blumenthal joins Jen to discuss a secret memo that tells ICE agents they can raid homes without a warrant.

While the Trump administration releases a steady stream of gaslighting statements about ICE arresting "the worst of the worst," Americans are seeing with their own eyes the abuse and cruelty of Trump's anti-immigrant agenda directed at innocent members of close, caring communities. An elderly man, barely clothed, dragged from his house, small children being detained from their parents and used as bait to trap family members. Americans are so thoroughly disgusted and outraged at what Trump and his lackeys are doing that they are braving inhuman cold by the tens of thousands to make their displeasure seen and heard.Mary Moriarty, the county attorney of Hennepin County, Minnesota, talks with Jen Psaki about how distorted the Justice Department has become under Donald Trump and the power the state has to enforce its laws against the abuses of federal agents, including in the case of the shooting of Renee Good.

Rep. Seth Moulton talks with Jen Psaki about why so many Democrats (and even some Republicans) want Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to resign or be impeached after agencies under her purview have not only terrorized whole communities but left two Americans dead.Senator Alex Padilla, who visited California's largest immigration prison and was shocked at what he heard from detainees, talks with Jen Psaki about how the abuses of ICE don't stop with the terrorizing tactics used to hunt and detail immigrants in the U.S., but extend to what Donald Trump is doing with the tens of thousands of people he is holding at facilities across the country.Jeh Johnson, former secretary of Homeland Security, talks with Jen Psaki about how irregular it is that the DHS would investigate itself for the deadly shootings of protesters in Minneapolis, and how the pre-judging by Kristi Noem and other DHS officials make an impartial investigation extremely unlikely.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talks with Jen Psaki about accountability for the abuses committed by members of the Trump administration but also thinking to the future after Trump and how Americans really feel about the issues Trump uses as divisive cultural wedges. Jen Psaki looks at how even non-political American cultural spaces are reacting to the killing for Alex Pretti and the brutality of ICE actions, and shares other indicators, including new polling, that suggest Trump is in big trouble with voters.Senator Jon Ossoff joins to discuss Donald Trump's corruption of the Justice Department to force the investigation of his conspiracy theory about his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.Ezra Levin discusses the No Kings Day 3 protests and the expectation that participation will set a new record for protests in the United States.

Senator Warner talks with Jen Psaki about the threat Donald Trump poses to free and fair elections in the United States.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses the legal fight to liberate the state of Minnesota from the paramilitary occupation of ICE agents terrorizing communities in Minneapolis.Rep. Joaquin Castro visited the immigration prison in Dilley, Texas and met with 5-year-old Liam and his father. He talks with Jen about the poorly maintained conditions in ICE's prison camps.Senator Chris Van Hollen delivers the latest news on negotiations in the Senate where Democrats are refusing to approve any more funding for ICE without new rules to make agents more accountable.

Abbe Lowell, attorney for journalist Don Lemon, talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's escalating war on the news media, and the pattern he sees among his clients who have been targeted by Donald Trump's Justice Department, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.Rep. Robert Garcia talks about the Justice Department's release of a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein files.Annie Farmer, Jeffrey Epstein accuser, shares the perspective of survivors of abuse by Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and their associates as Pam Bondi's Justice Department botches (or maybe sabotages) the job of redacting names as it releases files from the investigations of Epstein.Terry Moran, former senior national correspondent for ABC News, and Eugene Daniels, co-host of The Weekend on MS NOW, talk with Jen Psaki about the dubious accusations in the Trump Justice Department's indictments of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for reporting on a protest at a church, and what is really motivating the Trump administration to use such heavy-handed tactic against the news media.

Jen Psaki shows how an onslaught of bad news and bad polls for Donald Trump is making him more desperate to control voting and the outcomes of elections in the U.S., and he is actively taking steps to do so while his staff struggle to find alternative explanations for what is going on.Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, joins to discuss Donald Trump's growing threat to free and fair elections in the United States.Senator Richard Blumenthal discusses Senate Democrats' demands for holding ICE accountable for their actions, and a shadow hearing today to hear from victims of abuse by overzealous ICE agents.Rep. Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, talks with Jen Psaki about the many investigatory leads presented in what has been released of the Epstein files so far and what would likely be pursued if the United States has a real attorney general instead of a Donald Trump sycophant.

Jen Psaki looks at Donald Trump's poll numbers sinking to deeper depths as Trump grows more vocal about his intention to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections, and doubles down on his goal of making sure his own narrative is the only one people hear by cutting off access to reliable information about his administration."Donald Trump, that's what happened, really." Marty Baron, former executive editor of the Washington Post, talks with Jen Psaki about what explains the total reversal in Jeff Bezos's attitude about the mission of the Washington Post. Bezos appears to have reconsidered the Washington Post's reporting antagonize Donald Trump when Bezos's other business interests are at the mercy of Trump's fickle favor.Miles Taylor, former DHS chief of staff in the first Trump term, talks about the executive order Tulsi Gabbard is using to confiscate ballots from Fulton County, Georgia in her mission to justify Donald Trump's conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan expresses her outrage at ICE and other DHS agents harassing school children and their families, and threatening teachers.

Jen Psaki rounds up the myriad conspiracy theories and random ideas that Donald Trump has his White House staff chasing down in a desperate effort to make himself feel better about his loss to Joe Biden in 2020, and to justify taking control of the election process going forward under the guise of keeping elections honest.Senator Mark Warner joins to discuss how far out of bounds the Trump administration is going in pursuit of Trump's election conspiracy fantasies.Rep. Jamie Raskin talks with Jen about the galling breaking news that Donald Trump has told Senator Chuck Schumer that he will release  billions in funds for infrastructure projects if Schumer will support naming a train station and an airport after him.Donald Trump is suing the IRS for $10 billion dollars over leaked tax records, essentially asking his White House acolytes to hand over the money. He offers his reassurances that the money, taxpayer dollars, will be donated to charity, a familiar promise to anyone who has paid attention to Trump's past lies and the fact that Trump's charity was shut down over fraud.Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson talks about Steve Bannon's threat that Donald Trump will surround polling stations with masked, armed ICE agents.

The panicked response by Donald Trump and his White House support staff to the backlash against his racist social media post suggest Trump miscalculated how much racism the American people are willing to tolerate, which may be a reflection of the bubble in which he lives. Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, and Eddie Glaude, a professor at Princeton University, talk with Michael Steele about the regressive nature of Trump's brazen racism and the extent to which Trump's racism is reflected in attitudes among the general American public.Michael Feinberg, former FBI official, joins to discuss reports of the FBI inviting state election officials for a meeting.Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general, discusses taking Donald Trump to court for withholding funding from a vital infrastructure project that will have an effect on the lives of millions of Americans.And Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney, discusses how the anti-immigrant zealotry of the Trump administration and the corruption of Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are driving the Justice Department into the ground.

Jen Psaki looks at how the Epstein scandal is an actual scandal in places still capable of shame and disgrace, while in the United States, association with notorious pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has no real consequences. Rep. Ro Khanna, however, intends to change that, and today named six men who he says were being hidden by the Department of Justice behind unnecessary redactions.Jen Psaki reports on Donald Trump giving federal authority to debunked, discredited election conspiracy theorists to revisit his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and produce an explanation that suits his ego and paranoia. Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara joins for legal analysis of Trump's intrusion on states' elections.Mark Santia, MS NOW investigative correspondent reports live from Rio Rico, Arizona where sources say there is new FBI activity in the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. This development follows reports of other activity in Annie Guthrie's neighborhood as well as the release of doorbell camera video as the radius of the investigation continues to grow.Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law to Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, join to discuss Epstein survivors' frustrations with Trump's Justice Department continuing to shield Epstein's associates. 

Jen Psaki shares highlights from the most bizarre and obnoxious testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, or any committee, in recent memory in which Pam Bondi blurted and shouted like a deranged A.I. bot in a desperate effort to avoid addressing her department's Epstein scandal.  Rep. Jamie Raskin discusses the effort to get transparency and accountability with the Epstein files.Donald Trump may have thought that Jeanine Pirro's cartoonish belligerence on Fox News would make her a strong advocate for his political interests as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. So far, however, Pirro's incompetence has Trump's various political vendettas into legal humiliations. Rep. Chris Deluzio, whom Pirro failed to indict despite a lot of tough threatening talk from Trump, talks with Jen Psaki about the ridiculousness of the failed case against him.Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro discusses Donald Trump's increasingly aggressive efforts to hijack the U.S. elections system.

For more than a week since the initial report from the Wall Street Journal, information about an intelligence community whistleblower report and the accusation that Tulsi Gabbard did not handle the report properly has been slowly leaking to the public. Now it has emerged that Jared Kushner is the subject at the center of the report. Andrew Bakaj, chief legal counsel for Whistleblower Aid, and the attorney for the whistleblower in question, talks with Jen Psaki about where the case stands.Senator Amy Klobuchar joins to discuss Minnesota seeking accountability in the wake of Donald Trump's anti-immigrant surge.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison talks with Jen Psaki about trying to get federal cooperation in the investigations of the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.Beyond the near daily new stories about people in Donald Trump's orbit and administration turning up in the Epstein files, the regular business of the Trump administration is in a state of disaster as the economy sputters and Trump's crown jewel anti-immigrant agenda is destroying his approval rating. Jen Psaki paints the picture and explains why even the Trump administration's announcement of the end of the anti-immigrant surge in Minnesota is getting pushback from officials who want to make sure accountability is addressed before ICE heads out to terrorize the next American community.

Jen Psaki rounds up a remarkable list of failures and bad news suffered by Donald Trump's secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, and shares highlights of eye-popping new reporting from the Wall Street Journal about how Noem has led her department into chaos with tyrannical behavior, wasted money, rumors of infidelity, and bizarre drama over a lost blanket that resulted in the firing and re-hiring of a Coast Guard pilot.Rep. Eric Swalwell joins to discuss the mess at the Department of Homeland Security and Democrats withholding their votes from any funding unless ICE agrees to new standards.Former federal prosecutors Glenn Kirschner and J.P. Cooney talk with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department and how Trump uses flawed indictments and doomed prosecutions to harass his enemies with the justice system even if they haven't done anything that warrants prosecution.As the Epstein files are causing scandal and disgrace around the world, associates of Jeffrey Epstein in Donald Trump's orbit are not dealing with any consequences. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam talks about next steps in Congress for the Epstein investigation.Donald Trump's intention to manipulate the coming midterm elections is no longer merely speculation, but local election administrators now have their guard up. Stephen Richer, former Maricopa County recorder talks with Jen Psaki about a low-energy Kristi Noem event in Arizona, and how states can prepare for Trump's intrusion.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett talks with Jen Psaki about the Texas Senate race and the phone call she received from Paramount in connection to the confrontation between Stephen Colbert and CBS over Colbert's interview with Crockett's Senate race rival James Talarico.Rep. Crockett is also about to hear testimony from a Les Wexler, a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein.Terry Moran, former senior national correspondent for ABC News, joins to discuss Donald Trump's war on the truth-telling media and the style of censorship imposed on broadcasters by Trump's FCC.Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants' Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, talks with Jen Psaki about the terrible conditions, spoiled food and lack of medical care for children in Trump's immigrant prisons, many of whom are being held significantly longer than the legal limit.

The Trump administration is rolling out a strategy to send Cabinet members to electorally competitive districts ahead of next year's midterms. Jen Psaki considers the political damage this strategy will cause for Republicans as everyone in Trump's Cabinet is somewhere on the scale from weird and tone deaf to personally repellant.Maryland Governor Wes Moore talks with Jen Psaki about dealing with unwanted attention from Donald Trump, who seems to have not enough to do as President of the United States. Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor of Atlanta, discusses Donald Trump's past and ongoing efforts to corrupt voting in Georgia.Les Wexner, former Victoria's Secret boss, and a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein, told members of Congress that the FBI and DOJ investigators never reached out to him despite his close relationship with Epstein. Annie Farmer, a survivor of Epstein's abuse talks with Jen Psaki about the shockingly poor job investigators did holding Epstein to account.

Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, react to the news of the arrest of former Prince Andrew. Virginia Roberts Giuffre's photo with Andrew, the man she accused of participating in her abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, became one of the most recognizable pieces of evidence in her advocacy for justice for her fellow survivors of Epstein's abuse.Rep. Ro Khanna joins to discuss a new deposition given by Les Wexner, a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein, and why Donald Trump's Justice Department hasn't taken any action on Epstein's associates the way other countries have since the release of millions of Epstein files.Susan Rice, former national security advisor and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's latest pseudo-governmental vanity project, the "Board of Peace," and Trump's dubious appropriation of $10 billion from U.S. taxpayers for the project.House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries talks with Jen Psaki about the upcoming midterm elections.

Jen Psaki points to examples of Donald Trump manipulating tariffs against other countries for reasons that have nothing to do with economics and everything to do with his own personal enrichment or petty grievances. And while Trump abuses his power in order to serve himself, American taxpayers foot the bill by paying for the consequences of Trump's tariffs.Illinois Governor JB Pritzker discusses how Americans can get their money back after footing the bill for Donald Trump's unconstitutional tariffs.Jen Psaki looks at the role tariffs have played in Donald Trump's quest to acquire and assert power, and points out a familiar pattern in Trump's behavior at a press conference after the Supreme Court rules his tariff scheme is yet another violation of the Constitution. Senator Elizabeth Warren talks with Jen Psaki about what comes next now that the Supreme Court has pulled the plug on Trump's tariff scheme.

California Governor Gavin Newsom talks with Jen Psaki in an extended interview about the damage Donald Trump has done to democracy in the United States, the threat of his potential successors like JD Vance and Marco Rubio, fighting with the right-wing media machine and what American voters are looking for in a president.Jen Psaki points out that in Donald Trump's first term, Cabinet members who wasted taxpayer money on personal luxuries like planes were cast out of the administration. Donald Trump appears to have lost his aversion to that type of abuse because making spectacles of themselves indulging in taxpayer funded benefits, but haven't prompted any scorn from Trump for doing so. Jon Lovett, co-host of Pod Save America on Crooked Media, joins Jen Psaki to discuss. 

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee apparently thought that calling Hillary Clinton to testify about Jeffrey Epstein would score them some political points with their base. Instead they looked like fools, wasting everyone's time and only managed to learn that Clinton was possibly the least useful witness they could have called. Rep. James Walkinshaw and Rep. Yassamin Ansari, who serve on the Oversight Committee, join to discuss.It has been clear for months that Donald Trump is very much at risk of losing control of the House and possibly the Senate in this year's midterm elections so he is looking for any way he can to avoid allowing that election to happen in a free and fair way. Now new reporting suggests Trump is considering declaring a national emergency to give himself new powers over the running of elections. Rep. Jamie Raskin joins to discuss.Andrew Bakaj, chief legal counsel for Whistleblower Aid, discusses the latest developments in Tulsi Gabbard trying to keep his whistleblower client's report away from Congres.

Ali Velshi reviews the dubious dealings and questionable relationships of Donald Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, not the least of which is his association with Jeffrey Epstein, which he was caught lying about.Just as depositions given by Hillary and Bill Clinton to the House Oversight Committee on the matter of Jeffrey Epstein have raised questions about why Donald Trump or Howard Lutnick shouldn't be next to be deposed, the revelation of missing documents in the Epstein files have given those questions greater urgency. Sarah Fitzpatrick, staff writer for The Atlantic, discusses her new reporting about "multiple allegations that have been submitted to the FBI and DOJ in recent years and do not appear in the files."Texas State Rep. Gina Hinojosa discusses the momentum Democrats are enjoying in Texas heading into midterm election season, and how Donald Trump's deep unpopularity makes he unhelpful to Republican candidates who are struggling with infighting.

Jen Psaki looks at how concerns about inexperienced and unqualified members of Donald Trump's cabinet are coming to fruition as crises develop in national air traffic as well as national security and Trump's secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, are struggling to meet the demands of their positions.

Jen Psaki takes a closer look at how Elon Musk is benefitting from the understanding that doing business with Musk's companies is a way to curry favor with the United States government. And while Trump's trade war makes basic necessities more expensive for new American families, Trump's own family (and business associates) are cashing in on their proximity to the president of the United States as they make deals abroad.

Jen Psaki reports on the failure of yet another Donald Trump nominee, Ed Martin, Trump's nominee to be D.C. U.S. attorney, and looks at the broader pattern of Trump trying to make publicity stunt distractions when he's on a losing streak.

Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka talks with Jen Psaki following his release from being held in a Homeland Security cell after being arrested and charged with federal trespassing in a chaotic confrontation that included members of Congress outside an ICE facility. "This is disturbing what they think they have the ability to do."

Jen Psaki takes a closer look at Donald Trump's specious explanations and dubious promises as he heads on a trip through the Middle East where his personal business interests seem more relevant than the business of the United States.

Jen Psaki shares examples of Republicans, from Donald Trump to House Speaker Mike Johnson to members of Trump's Cabinet avoiding questions and claiming not to be familiar with major national news stories and other data directly related to their areas of responsibility. And while the ignorance tactic may help them avoid answering questions, new polls show Americans already understand what's really going on.

The focus on nationwide injunctions in the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court shows that what is at stake is less about whether people born in the U.S. are citizens and more about whether a circuit court can put a hold on a new rule for the entire country, or whether Donald Trump can assert his will in different regions of the U.S. if he finds friendly judges willing to indulge him, even if he is blocked in other parts of the country. Jen Psaki reports.

The budget bill Donald Trump was hoping to come home to following his trip to the Middle East has not come to fruition and the longer it takes the work out, the more skittish Republicans will be about attaching their name to a bill that is so full of unpopular policies with an election on the horizon.

Rep. LaMonica McIver talks with Jen Psaki about what really happened at the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, where she and other members of Congress arrived for an inspection and were met with a confrontation that resulted in federal charges against McIver and a corresponding false narrative being spun up by the Trump administration. Sen. Elizabeth Warren explains the terrible effects of the "Big Beautiful Bill" that Republicans are trying to push through.

Georgia and Arkansas have both tried to implement work requirements for Medicaid, with both producing disastrous results. Now Republicans in Congress want to impose those work requirements on a national level and seem oblivious to the idea's previous failure and the regret expressed by fellow Republicans for their role in it.

The Republican budget bill still has a lot of time and processing to undergo before it heads to Donald Trump's desk for his signature. And now Republicans face their worst fear and biggest obstacle, their own constituents, who are quickly finding out what their elected representatives have voted for and aren't going to be happy about it. Jen Psaki shows that there is still time for American voters to make themselves heard in the budget process.

Jen Psaki reports on how Donald Trump still used the trappings of the presidency during his "personal time" at a dinner for big-money purchasers of his cryptocurrency, and shares dramatic new visuals of how much the new Republican budget bill benefits wealthy Americans over the poor.

Jen Psaki pairs Donald Trump's political rhetoric about crimes like fraud against his abusive use of the presidency's pardon power to absolve criminals convicted of those very same crimes.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Donald Trump lacks the authority to enact his sweeping tariffs under the emergency powers law. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes who co-led the lawsuit against Trump's tariffs discusses the ruling and next steps with Jen Psaki.

Donald Trump and his cast of supporting characters are learning the hard way that actually governing is much more difficult than shooting hot takes from the hip and spinning up conspiracy theories about how the world works. Jen Psaki reviews the struggle Trumpworld is having with real world governing.

After ranting endlessly about Hunter Biden's drug use and addition issues, Donald Trump and his cohort were oddly quiet about a New York Times report on Elon Musk abusing of drugs.

Jen Psaki looks at a startling number of Trump Cabinet members whose lack of fitness for the jobs they serve is glaringly apparent, all while career public servants who make the government work regardless of the competence of the people in charge are struggling to adjust to crippling DOGE cuts and burdensome new red tape.

Jen Psaki reports on the tantrum Elon Musk is throwing over the Republican budget as his business interests are not well represented, and Republican support for their own bill seems to be splintering as details emerge about what the bill contains.

In the midst of Donald Trump and Elon Musk throwing insults and threats at each other on their respective social media platforms, Musk accused Donald Trump of being ungrateful to Musk for purchasing the election for him, an admission of sorts that his support for Trump was transactional. Jen Psaki takes a closer look.

Even as the feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk threatens untold chaos, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of DOGE in granting access to Americans' personal Social Security data. Jen Psaki, Ronan Farrow, Senator Elissa Slotkin, and Rep. Melanie Stansbury discuss the dangers and the level of concern among American voters.

Donald Trump needs the protests in L.A. to be violent and chaotic so he can justify the power grab he desperately wants. His allies in Congress and right-wing media are only too happy to oblige by encouraging his exaggerations and distortions. Jen Psaki takes a closer look at how the protests in L.A. are being mischaracterized as Trump edges toward invoking the Insurrection Act.

Jen Psaki reports on the absurdity of Donald Trump's military deployment to Los Angeles, and the expectation that similarly militarized actions are expected in other major cities across the United States as Trump's deportation frenzy intensifies.

Jen Psaki covers breaking news of an attack by Israel on Iran, while at the same time a federal judge issued a temporary stay on Donald Trump's use of the National Guard in Los Angeles and California Governor Gavin Newsom addresses the press.

Jen Psaki looks at the effort Donald Trump is putting into trying to make himself look like a third world tough guy even as the tough guy world leaders he admires keep making it clear they don't respect him.

Jen Psaki reports on yet another public official being arrested by ICE in the course of their heavy-handed tactics in rounding up immigrants. But each new instance of abuse of power by ICE is met with more vocal outrage and louder public protests.

Jen Psaki looks at the various influences manipulating Donald Trump as he makes decisions on the war between Israel and Iran without having any personal principles mooring his thinking, and how his lack of leadership is leaving his supporters to fight with each other.

Jen Psaki points out the mistake some media outlets made in relaying Donald Trump's two-week deadline to make a decision on U.S. action on Iran, without also pointing out that Trump often promises to do things in two weeks, and seldom actually follows through.

JD Vance came to Los Angeles with the goal of making the case that the fear of unruly protests justifies the continued deployment of military forces of the city (and other cities), completely ignoring the fact that what the people of Los Angeles are actually afraid of is Donald Trump's militarized raids and street snatchings.

Jen Psaki reports on the evolving explanations and contradictory statements from the Trump administration about the U.S. bombing of Iran, and new reports that Iran's nuclear program is not, in fact, "obliterated," as public polling already shows that Trump's decision to bomb Iran is mostly unpopular with Americans.

In his first national interview since Tuesday's primary election New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani talks with Jen Psaki about the principles of his campaign and how he reached out to voters who had previously chosen Trump, and how he countered significant opposition spending.

Jen Psaki looks at the strenuous lengths to which Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard are going to support Donald Trump's story that bombing Iran was a work of military genius that obliterated the Iranian nuclear program, even as facts continue to emerge that suggest a different reality.

Jen Psaki looks at how we arrived at today's Supreme Court ruling on nationwide injunctions, from Donald Trump's unpopular policies, frequently unlawful executive orders, and Republican lemming Congress, to the state attorneys general defending rights and the rule of law, and the millions of Americans who have been organizing against Trump. That organizing is going to be useful as the Supreme Court has left the door open on using class action lawsuits to oppose Trump's orders.

Jen Psaki reviews the terrible poll numbers of Donald Trump's budget bill, including among Donald Trump's core constituency, and runs through the diverse array of people and organizations, some of whom would otherwise be aligned with Trump, who utterly reject the bill's content as well as its intentions.

Rep. Maxwell Frost talks with Jen Psaki about the uphill battle Republicans face in the House to pass Donald Trump's budget bill because they're already well short of the votes they need. Democrats hope that by delaying the vote, enough people will learn about the bill to make it too unpopular to pass.

Jen Psaki looks back at how Democrats made Republicans pay for their efforts to kill Obamacare by making that a central focus of House races that ultimately flipped the House to Democratic control. Donald Trump's budget bill is so wildly unpopular that Democratic candidates are already preparing to run against the bill and anyone who supported it. Republicans, in the meantime, are busy trying to distract Americans from what they're doing.

Jen Psaki remarks on how the devastating removal of health care and food aid to millions of Americans was actually only an afterthought for Republicans, in service of tax cuts for rich people, and reports on protests already spreading nationwide.

Jen Psaki looks at questions about the preparedness of FEMA to offer its full assistance to Americans struggling through natural disasters while Donald Trump works to phase out the agency. Former FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell joins to discuss how federal assistance can help in emergencies like the deadly flooding in Texas.

Jen Psaki piles up evidence in a litany of examples of Donald Trump having no idea what he is doing, what is being done in his name, or what is going on in his own administration, and not even doing a very good job faking it. Meanwhile, the scammers are running amok, planting ideas in Trump's head and manipulating him on issues like cryptocurrency regulation.

Jen Psaki points out how much of what we know about what the Trump administration is up to is due to leakers and whistleblowers on the inside exposing the truth about an administration where lying is the norm. Trump has been trying to silence truth tellers since his first day in office, and now he wants to put a loyalist, Paul Ingrassia, in charge of the Office of Special Counsel, the watchdog that deals with whistleblowers.

Jen Psaki reports on how the Trump administration's insistence that there is no worthwhile information to be released from the files on notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is not sitting well with supporters who believed the many stories spun by now-serving members of the administration. And that discontent is reportedly also seeping into the administration.

A key element of Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories is that Epstein's friends and "clients" are wealthy elites who commit horrible crimes against underage girls but never get in trouble for it because of their elite status. And so, key to Donald Trump's support is the idea that he would bring accountability to those elites. Jen Psaki argues, now that Trump is apparently standing in the way of the release of information about the Epstein case, Trump is being recognized as the unaccountable elite he actually is and has always been.

Jen Psaki reports on Donald Trump's spiraling freak-out over the public interest in the investigation files on notorious pedophile and close friend of Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, with Trump going so far as to condemn his own followers as "stupid," and attempting to somehow blame his involvement with Epstein on Democrats.

New reporting from the Wall Street Journal says that Donald Trump's message to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday suggested common interests and "wonderful" secrets between Trump and Epstein. Donald Trump has reacted with threats and outrage, and Republicans are scrambling for a place to hide.

Donald Trump's desperate desire to make everyone stop talking about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein has run contrary to his petulance as his lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch for publishing his creepy birthday message to Epstein guarantees new news and developments in the story for the public to discuss for months to come. Former U.S. attorney Harry Litman, and MSNBC senior reporter Brandy Zadrozny discuss Trump's disastrous damage control.

Texas State Rep. James Talarico talks with Jen Psaki about applying his Christian faith to modern American politics, the scourge of Christian nationalism, countering the influence of billionaires in politics, and what Texas Democrats can do to block Donald Trump's plan to rig the 2026 election by gerrymandering Texas so it produces more Republican members of Congress to maintain his control.

Jen Psaki relays breaking news from the Wall Street Journal that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Donald Trump in May that that his name is in the Epstein files, suggesting the reason the Trump administration has been so energized to prevent the release of material related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

Maria Farmer, one of the first women to speak out about the abuses of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and her attorney, Jennifer Freeman, talk with Jen Psaki about why she told investigators about Donald Trump, and her desire to testify to Congress and gain access to her own records in the Epstein files.

Jen Psaki reports on Donald Trump's unresolved and worsening Jeffrey Epstein scandal is giving Republicans a headache at home as they've left Washington for their home districts for the rest of the summer. Trump, meanwhile, went all the way to Scotland, only to find the Epstein scandal waiting there for his arrival.

With the confirmation of Donald Trump's criminal defense attorney to a lifetime appointment as a federal judge, Donald Trump took another step in his quest to fill the legal system with loyalists, all with the help of pliant congressional Republicans.

Jen Psaki points to the rare sight of Republicans daring to defy Donald Trump. And while it's only a few, that defiance is exposing the weakness behind Trump's bluster and threatens to spread at Trump's popularity with voters continues to fall.

Despite Donald Trump's claim of king-like powers to apply trade tariffs by his own whims, a lawsuit being heard in federal appeals court argues that he is asserting a power no president has, and his claims of emergency powers are contradicted by his myriad non-emergency excuses. Neal Katyal, who argued the case against Trump in court today, talks with Jen Psaki.

Donald Trump's reckless manhandling of the levers of the U.S. economy, from tariff chaos to cruel anti-immigrant policy is reflected in poor numbers in the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unsurprisingly, though no less shockingly, Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following a pattern of attacking data whenever it doesn't serve his preferred narrative.

Donald Trump's acolytes, including Attorney General Pam Bondi attempt to minimize Trump's connection to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his sex trafficker accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, while hoping that a re-boot of the investigation into the investigation into Russia's support of Trump's candidacy in 2016 will be a further distraction. Texas Governor Greg Abbott tries to get heavy with Democrats who are denying state Republicans a quorum so they can't further gerrymander the state to try to help Trump hold onto his majority in Congress. And meanwhile, Republicans who are returning to their home districts are facing outrage from constituents for their blind support of Trump's wildly unpopular policies.

Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump distorts the justice system to benefit himself, with the White House machinations around his Jeffrey Epstein scandal being the latest example. Survivors of Epstein's abuse are outraged that they are being excluded again. The Department of Homeland Security has been given a massive infusion of taxpayer dollars to pump into ICE for immigration enforcement, so they're putting new effort into recruiting more agents. And Texas Democrats are still fighting to prevent state Republicans from further distorting the state map with gerrymandering to preserve Trump's hold on Congress after the 2026 midterms.

Jen Psaki points out that, contrary to initial denials, JD Vance, Pam Bondi, and Kash Patel met to discuss messaging strategy around Donald Trump's Jeffrey Epstein scandal. It furthermore appears that the group worked out a list of FBI officials who had a role in some aspect of Donald Trump's legal disgrace, and fired them. Texas Democrats remain in a fight to preserve American democracy, and Georgia's former lieutenant governor has decided to switch to the Democratic Party.

The Trump administration continues to dance around their promise to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, but now Democracy Forward is filing a lawsuit for access to internal communications regarding the handling of the case, which could expose whatever it is that Donald Trump does not want known. Trump has announced an upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at which Trump is expected to make concessions for peace in Ukraine despite have earlier issued an ultimatum. Activists against ICE's cruel brutality against immigrants grow in number, particularly among young people afraid for their families. And Donald Trump has fired the unqualified crony he installed at the IRS and is inexplicably moving him to be ambassador the Iceland.

The truth of Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard to police Washington, D.C. is evident in the demographics of other cities he claims to want to target. Governor Wes Moore makes it clear that he is not interested in playing along with Trump's stunt if Trump tries to move on to Baltimore. Moore also says that redistricting in his state is possible if Donald Trump persists in trying to rig the 2026 election with red state gerrymandering.Plus, Jen Psaki answers White House press briefing questions, minus the Trump White House spin, and the best outcome to hope for from Trump's Friday meeting with Vladimir Putin is that Trump doesn't do too much damage.

Donald Trump cements his dictator identity by rewriting U.S. history to his liking, tampering with museum exhibits, and deploying the U.S. military against Americans in the name of crime fighting. Democratic members of Congress try to hold ICE accountable for terrible conditions at its internment prisons, but HHS is getting better at hiding its tracks and its abuses. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s deranged ideas about vaccines are not only hurting the preparedness of the United States to address new diseases, but are making MAGA followers hostile to a scientific community that is only dedicated to helping people. And Ivanka Trump is organizing a cage fight at the White House for the nation's 250th anniversary.

Donald Trump's use of federal forces to crack down on residents of Washington, D.C. is not well received. Neither is the crackdown by federal immigration authorities on immigrant school children. Gavin Newsom has presented his counter to Donald Trump's gerrymandering scheme by offering to voters a new district map that would only be triggered if Texas changes their map first. Jen Psaki takes a closer look at the Christian nationalist extremists who have a concerning amount of influence on members of the Trump administration. Michael McFaul offers a preview of Trump's Friday meeting in Alaska with Vladimir Putin. And Alex Jones has lost another court case and it another stop closer to losing all of his business assets to pay for the Sandy Hook Elementary judgment against him.

Despite efforts to lower expectations for his big meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump still managed to underperform with nothing to show for the meeting, which was followed by a "press conference" with no details and no questions taken. Jen Psaki is joined by her MSNBC colleague Nicolle Wallace, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, and former deputy national security advisor, Ben Rhodes discuss what happened and what it all means.Expectations for the outcome of Donald Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin were low, but few people anticipated that in addition to producing no agreement, the meeting would be followed by a low-energy 12 minute press presentation with no details given and no questions taken.

Despite his deep delusions to the contrary, Donald Trump turning Washington, D.C. into a police state is making life and business in the District worse, thanks in large part to the team of bad faith bunglers Trump has assembled to carry out his will. While Trump's acolytes appear eager to help him weaponize the DOJ and law enforcement against his political enemies, their incompetence mostly yields embarrassment. The best possibility for a consistent ceasefire in Ukraine is if a coalition of outside countries deploy a NATO-like force to enforce it, argues former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor. Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier is essentially imprisoned in the State Capitol because she won't agree to being monitored by police, so they won't unlock the doors to allow her to leave. Oklahoma's MAGA superintendent of public schools is working hard to make his state the most poorly educated in the nation by prioritizing right-wing ideological standards instead of fact-based scholastics. And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is probably wishing her spokesperson didn't invoke the church when offering a retort about Noem mooching a free apartment from the Coast Guard.

Donald Trump has so thoroughly exploited the willing support of Republican legislators that any pretense of principles outside of serving Trump has been abandoned. Democrats, recognizing that Trump is unfettered in distorting and weaponizing the federal government, have no illusions about what it will take to stop him.

Jen Psaki shares samples of the gross, sycophantic fawning of Donald Trump's Cabinet members at a group meeting that leaves little wonder why Trump thinks "a lot of people say" he should be a dictator. His own Cabinet already treats him like one.Jen Psaki reports on Donald Trump's director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who is using his access to federal housing data to accuse Trump's political enemies of mortgage fraud, perhaps ignoring the irony that Trump is a notorious fraudster, or perhaps because of it. Senator Elizabeth Warren joins to discuss what the FHFA is meant to do, and what is really going on with Pulte's obeisance to Trump.Jen Psaki reports on the devastating poll results that have Donald Trump rightly concerned about Republican control of Congress after 2026, and which are likely why he is appointing wild election conspiracy theorist Heather Honey to be deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, and is begging states with Republican-controlled legislatures to help him rig voting districts.

Jen Psaki addresses the horrific shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis and the shocking gun statistics in the United States that "should make everyone angry." Psaki points to new gun legislation that passed under the Biden administration after a mass shooting at a supermarket, and reminds viewers that anger can turn into activism, activism can turn into pressure, and pressure can change laws.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey talks with Jen Psaki about the horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School that has left his community in shock and grief. Frey calls for Americans to recognize the victims of today's shooting not as somebody else's kids, "think about them as your own," and encourages a loving perspective but also real action to address America's gun problem. The Trump administration is attempting to remove CDC Director Susan Monarez from her position after only two weeks in the Trump-appointed, Republican Senate-confirmed job. The conflict over Monarez's resistance to Trump HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-science whims and conspiracy theories has apparently set of a series of other high-profile departures, leaving a vacuum at the top of the CDC and the Trump administration looking foolish.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who resigned in protest from his position as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, talks with Jen Psaki about the valuable work being done by the people at the CDC, and how the Trump administration, through HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is corrupting the CDC with unscientific attitudes and agendas.Jen's Version: Jen Psaki answers questions posed in today's White House press briefing, without the Trump administration's spin, and doubles down on her criticism of the Trump White House for taking no action to prevent gun violence and instead wasting time on "bad faith back-and-forth."Plus, Philadelphia D.A. Larry Krasner on Donald Trump's use of the military as domestic police, and Graham Platner on challenging Susan Collins for Maine's Senate seat.

Ian Bassin, co-founder and executive director of Protect Democracy, and former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg, talk with Jen Psaki about a federal appeals court finding that Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal, and other legal problems the administration is having with overreach, like Jeanine Pirro humiliating herself with her failure to match an indictment to her tough talk on the sandwich-throwing activist.Donald Trump has made clear his intention to dismantle FEMA and shift responsibility for disaster preparedness and response to states. As he makes progress toward that goal, FEMA staffers are raising the alarm that the plan is flawed and the U.S. is not ready to meet the demands of a major disaster. James Stroud, a FEMA statistician, joined his colleagues in signing a letter to Congress, alerting them to urgency of the situation, and was subsequently suspended by petty Trump for speaking out.The parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine cite responses from ChatGPT among the reasons for his suicide after they discovered messages from the A.I. bot offering advice instead of triggering alerts that are meant to discourage these kinds of ideas. Jay Edelson, attorney for the Raine family, talks with Jen Psaki about the responsibility they believe OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, has for their son's death.Congressional Democrats and some Republican allies are already planning press events and subpoenas to put the Jeffrey Epstein case back into the spotlight when Congress returns from summer recess. Rep. Jared Moskowitz discusses with Jen Psaki.

Jen Psaki shares Donald Trump's seemingly self-contradicting answer to a question about internet rumors that he had been out of the public eye for several days because he had died. But Trump has plenty of other reasons to want to hide from the American public.Jen Psaki shows how Donald Trump's unpopular and illegal agenda is suffering one legal loss after another in court challenges, and talks with Norm Eisen, executive chair of the Democracy Defenders Fund, and Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, about the effectiveness of keeping Trump's feet to the legal fire.And Jacob Soboroff delivers a powerful report about an 18-year-old honors student deported to Guatemala where she is threatened by the exact type of gangs that Donald Trump claims to be fighting with his indiscriminate deportation policy. 

The role of Jeffrey Epstein abuse survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre in demanding accountability for Epstein and his accomplices, and keeping the case in the spotlight even as powerful forces attempted to make the case disappear, cannot be overstated. Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, talk with Jen Psaki about the challenges Giuffre faced, and her legacy as other survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse are speaking out and demanding the release of the files related to Epstein's criminal investigation.Despite every poll showing support, all but a few Republican members of Congress are resisting releasing the files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Rep. Ayanna Pressley discusses her frustration with Republicans who won't put action to their words of support for Epstein's victims.While Donald Trump's HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismantles the CDC, states are taking it upon themselves to continue to support a robust vaccine regime to keep preventable diseases at bay. Not all states, however. Florida today announced it is ending mandates for all vaccines. Senator Jon Ossoff discusses with Jen Psaki, and for the first time calls for the resignation of Secretary Kennedy.

The Senate Finance Committee was not gentle with Donald Trump's HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., grilling him on his perspectives on vaccines and often catching him in contradictions. Jen Psaki shares highlights of some of Kennedy's more frustrating lies, and the efforts of senators to call him out.As Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, levels accusations of mortgage fraud against Donald Trump's political enemies, a new report from ProPublica shows that three members of Trump's own Cabinet have the same kind of mortgages that are the basis for Pulte's fraud accusations against Democrats. Jen Psaki explains how the facts contradict Pulte's claims of non-partisanship.States that value science and data and good health are not waiting around for the Trump administration to come to its senses as long as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the Health and Human Services secretary, so they're taking the responsibility on themselves. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey talks with Jen Psaki about how she is securing vaccine access for her state, and why states will have to do more on their own in the absence of federal leadership.

In an exclusive, extended interview, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's threat to blitz Chicago with ICE agents, supported by the deployment of National Guard troops. Pritzker discusses what tools he has to push back, what Chicago residents can do, and what else he thinks Donald Trump has in mind while he normalizes military on the streets of U.S. cities.Rep. Jamie Raskin alerts viewers that the House Judiciary Committee will be releasing an "explosive" report early next week about the extent to which the Trump administration has undermined federal anti-human trafficking efforts.Jen points out the shocking degree to which Donald Trump is not living up to his economic promises, and to make matters worse he is actively dismantling consumer protections established during the Biden administration. 

Donald Trump and his Republican acolytes defy credulity with their bizarre denial that Trump's page in Jeffrey Epstein's birthday book is somehow a 22-year-old forgery, but as Jen Psaki points out, that isn't the only unbelievable story Trump is trying to push to escape a reality that makes him look really bad. In the latest edition of "Jen's Version," Jen Psaki addresses questions asked at the White House press briefing, including what Donald Trump meant by "if a man has a little fight with the wife they say this is crime," as he complained about the crime getting in the way of his claim that Washington D.C. doesn't have any more crime.Texas State Rep. James Talarico, fresh from declaring his candidacy to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, talks with Jen Psaki about the role of "love thy neighbor" religion in his politics, and the fight he wants to help bring to bear against Donald Trump's Republicans. Senator Adam Schiff joins to talk about Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, and Wes Moore discusses his decision to run for reelection as Maryland's governor.

Senior White House Correspondent Vaughn Hillyard, who has covered Charlie Kirk's ascent in conservative politics, joins Jen Psaki to provide insight into Charlie Kirk's rise and influence within the MAGA ranks and young conservatives.

As the manhunt continues for the person who shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Alicia Menendez talks with Vaughn Hillyard, MSNBC senior White House correspondent, Ken Dilanian, MSNBC justice and intelligence correspondent, and Marc Santia, MSNBC investigative correspondent, about progress in the investigation so far.Senator Amy Klobuchar talks with Alicia Menendez about how the increase in political violence and threats toward political figures has legislators not only looking for increased security but also for a way to alter the tone of political discourse in the United States.Utah officials hold a press conference in which they release new video and enhanced photos in an appeal to the public for help finding the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk.

Jen Psaki looks back at past examples of political violence in the United States and how political leaders addressed the country with calls for unity and cooler heads, with examples from John Boehner to Utah Governor Spender Cox, who spoke this morning at a press conference announcing that the suspect in the shooting of Charlie Kirk is in custody. Senator Tina Smith discusses the dire state of politics in the U.S.While the suspect in the Kirk shooting is in custody, Kash Patel's poor performance leading the FBI did not go unnoticed. Andrew Weissmann joins to explain how the FBI is supposed to work in normal times under normal leadership.Donald Trump has named Memphis as the next target of his military policing plan. Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson expresses his vehement opposition to what Trump intends to do.NATO suffered significant alarm when Russia sent drones into Poland in what is widely seen as a test of NATO readiness. Donald Trump seemed more inclined to excuse Vladimir Putin than to rally with allies, Jen Psaki explains. And a CDC panel assembled by Trump HHS secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy will decide whether they endorse the new booster, which will determine whether residents of as many as 16 states are able to access the vaccine this season. 

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz talks with Jen Psaki on the day that he had declared his candidacy for reelection. Walz offers harsh words on Donald Trump for his response to shootings in Minnesota, including the fatal shooting of Democratic politician Melissa Hortman, as well as the deployment of the National Guard to American cities, and Trump's handling of the economic challenges Americans are facing.Jen Psaki reports on FBI Director Kash Patel's credulity-straining Senate testimony today and shares new MSNBC reporting that FBI agents are being diverted from human trafficking and child predator cases to work on Trump's immigration agenda.Jen Psaki looks at how the Trump administration is taking an active opposition to free speech in the United States in the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk, with Donald Trump going so far as to suggest to a reporter that treating Trump "unfairly" is "hate."

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker reacts to breaking news that Disney's ABC television network has capitulated to strong-arming by the Trump administration to remove Jimmy Kimmel from the air, and encourages Americans to not only push back on Disney, but to remain steadfast in standing up to Donald Trump's intimidation tactics. Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara weighs in on the legal perspective, and Rep. Dan Goldman joins to discuss Donald Trump's power overreach.Jen Psaki reports on a Senate health committee hearing in which Republicans were trapped trying to maintain the Trump administration's anti-vaccine attitude in the face of well-informed testimony from former CDC officials, including Republican-confirmed former CDC Director Susan Monarez, pushed out by Trump's HSS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC's former chief medical officer, who also testified at today's hearing, joins to discuss the lack of scientific rigor and transparency from Trump's new health officials.

With Donald Trump saying the quiet part out loud about who should be allowed to speak in the United States, Jen Psaki follows the money through the corporate powers that are helping the Trump regime reshape American media in order to protect their financial interests.Meanwhile, Congressoinal Democrats intend to investigate potential conflicts of interest by media conglomerates looking to appease Donald Trump for business reasons.Stacey Abrams joins to dicuss what people can do to push back on Trump's power grab."The moment you hear 'public interest,' it should ring the bell." Russian dissident Garry Kasparov, founder and chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative, talks with Jen Psaki about what it looked like as Russia's democracy gave way to autocracy under Putin, and parallels he sees with the Trump regime now.

Jen Psaki reports on the negative reactions of some surprising Republicans to the Trump administration's use of political intimidation to silence Donald Trump's critics. Along with the few Republicans who have opposed Trump on covering up Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, the unquestioning obedience Trump enjoys from his party may be showing cracks.

Donald Trump managed to take it personally when an escalator at the UN General Assembly stopped working while he was on it. Jen Psaki takes the opportunity to observe another instance of the "Donald Trump rage cycle," and points out that the thin-skinned president's petty tyrades are less intimidating the more people learn to stand up to him.Jen Psaki revisits MSNBC reporting from the weekend about the FBI investigating Trump border czar Tom Homan until the investigation was suddenly dropped, and reviews a litany of cuts to the government's anti-corruption capacity.The pressure campaign against Disney/ABC appears to have worked, and Jimmy Kimmel is to return to the airwaves, but many Americans won't be able to make the choice to watch him or not on their own because Nexstar and Sinclair, the media conglomerates that own their local ABC station, may have a financial interest in appeasing Donald Trump rather than serving local communities. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic appointee on the commission, joins Jen Psaki to discuss the dynamics at play.

While it was generally understood that Donald Trump's installation of his own personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, as U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia to replace the abruptly departed Erik Siebert, was related to his stated desire that his personal enemies be criminally prosecuted, it wasn't entirely clear until today's MSNBC report on the expectation of an indictment of former FBI Director James Comey what was really going on. Jen Psaki reports on Trump's disdain for Comey and his frighteningly direct tactic of assigning unquestioning loyalists to attack his enemies.Jimmy Kimmel returned to his late-night TV show, not only defiant, but before a significantly larger audience, a reflection of the broad support he has received after the Trump administration tried to bully the corporations that carry his show into taking him off the air. Terry Moran, former ABC News senior national correspondent, talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's miscalculation about the importance of free speech to Americans.And the Trump administration sank to a new low as former Trump lawyer turned DOJ attack dog is dabbling in Sandy Hook conspiracy theories with Alex Jones.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann talks with Jen Psaki about the legal issues inherent in the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, and the procedural steps that have been skipped in Donald Trump's rush to have his political enemies prosecuted. Weissmann points out that having a trial that gives Comey a platform to mount a defense may be a move Donald Trump comes to regret.Senator Tim Kaine talks with Jen Psaki about the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, and what seems like glaring weaknesses in the apparently politically motivated case. Senator Kaine notes that Attorney General Pam Bondi says they are still following the facts, suggesting that means they don't already have the facts for a conviction.  Who's next in Donald Trump's revenge tour? Jen talks with White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard.

George Conway, president of the Society for the Rule of Law, and Liz Oyer, former Department of Justice pardon attorney, talk with Jen Psaki about the myriad flaws and shortfalls in the Trump Justice Department's case against former FBI director James Comey.New files turned over from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein to the investigators with the House Oversight Committee contain the names of close associates of Donald Trump. Rep. Ro Khanna talks with Jen Psaki about the ongoing pressure campaign to release the Epstein legal documents.The coming vote in California on Prop 50, redistricting to counter the Texas gerrymander meant to help Trump retain power over Congress through the midterm election, has brought a wave of advertising both for and against the measure. Jen Psaki takes a closer look at how those ads are being paid for and finds the two sides are not the same.

As the federal government heads into shutdown, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries talks with Jen Psaki about Democrats' openness to bipartisan negotiations but criticizes his Republican colleagues for using a "reckless rubber stamp" when it comes to Donald Trump.Donald Trump's secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, summoned all of the U.S. military's top leadership to an extremely unusual meeting in Quantico, Virginia, only to subject them to weird, self-indulgent speeches from Hegseth and Trump. Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, U.S. Army (retired), talks with Jen Psaki about the bizarre event and Donald Trump's poor understanding of how the U.S. military works.

Jen's Version: Jen Psaki addresses questions raised in the White House briefing room with real answers instead of the Trump administration's distortions and spin, including the bizarre claim that Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is donating his time to world peace by inserting himself into the affairs of countries that have given him billions of dollars.Maryland Governor Wes Moore talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's bizarre presentation to a gathering of U.S. military leadership, including Trump's suggestion that U.S. cities be used as military training grounds. Moore points out that members of the military follow orders, except when those orders are unlawful.And Senator Elizabeth Warren talks with Jen Psaki about Democrats' insistence on protecting Americans' health care before considering any cooperation with Republicans on a budget vote.

As public displays of Donald Trump's erratic behavior seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity, and the stakes for the fate of the country seem increasingly dire, more public figures are speaking out about whether Trump is not well enough to serve. Rep. Madeleine Dean, who was caught on camera confronting House Speaker Mike Johnson about Trump's condition, talks with Jen Psaki about her concerns.With Donald Trump using the federal government shutdown to allow his OMB director Russel Vought to run amok slashing jobs and federal programs, Shalanda Young, former director of the Office of Management and Budget, is speaking out about the willingness of congressional Republicans to give up their constitutional power to Donald Trump's abuses.Jen Psaki reports on how Donald Trump's trade war, combined with his weird favoritism for his international buddies like Argentine President Javier Milei, has resulted in brutal economic conditions for American farmers. Not only is Trump devastating their businesses, but Trump's policies are hurting their living expenses and particularly their health care costs. Senator Amy Klobuchar joins to discuss.

Jen Psaki points out examples of Donald Trump not being aware of what his own administration is doing, or of the fallout of his own actions, raising questions about whether Trump understands the political consequences of the harm he is causing the American people with his shutdown of the federal government. Rep. Dan Goldman joins to discuss.Kat Abughazeleh, Illinois congressional candidate, talks with Jen Psaki about the violence and brutality ICE is inflicting on protesters and members of the media who are demanding greater transparency and humanity in the treatment of immigrant detainees.

Jen Psaki points out Attorney General Pam Bondi's strenuous efforts to avoid having to answer for anything happening within the department she leads, which is a problem throughout the Trump administration and is particularly acute in Trump himself, who not only famously refuses to take responsibility for anything but seems to have no real idea what is going on with the things he's supposed to be in charge of.Jacob Soboroff, MSNBC senior national correspondent, reports from the Chicago suburbs about how Donald Trump's anti-immigrant enforcers are targeting even the most benign members of the community, sparking outrage and defiance. Virginia Giuffre once described Ghislaine Maxwell as worse than Jeffrey Epstein and the puppetmaster who pulled Epstein's strings. Her brother and sister-in-law talk with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's weird hedging on whether he could pardon Maxwell.

Jen Psaki shows House Speaker Mike Johnson's pattern of avoiding having to address any issues that might cast Donald Trump in a poor light by pretending they are "not in his lane," not relevant to his position in Congress and therefore he can't speak on them. But when asked about Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl, Johnson wasted no time leaving his lane to speak his mind.New reporting from the Wall Street Journal says that Donald Trump's social media post demanding that Attorney General Pam Bondi prosecute his political enemies was meant to be a private direct message. Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara talks with Jen Psaki about the DOJ's case against former FBI Director James Comey and how Trump's sloppy posting will not only be used against him, but could turn up more improper communications in discovery.Jen Psaki exposes the facts that undermine a fake surveillance scandal that Republicans like Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley, and Chuck Grassley are pretending to be outraged about so they can push a re-writing of the history of January 6 and what the subsequent investigation turned up.

With the indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James by Donald Trump's Justice Department, Trump's pattern of political prosecutions is undeniable. Rep. Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, talks with Jen Psaki about the damage Trump's malicious prosecutions are doing to the U.S. legal system, and why it's more important that ever for members of the legal community to defend the rule of law from Donald Trump's abuses and distortions.Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara talks with Jen Psaki about the many flaws in the legal cases being brought against people Donald Trump bears a grudge against, and points out that because they're only motivated by Trump's ire and vanity, there is no reason to expect them to end with the adversaries he has already named out loud for the DOJ to go after.For reasons only he can know, House Speaker Mike Johnson thought it would be a good idea to take questions from the public in the midst of presiding over a government shutdown. Among the uncomfortable encounters Johnson endured was a man who accused him of lying about illegal immigrants draining Medicaid. Johnson challenged the man to "look at the documents," so Jen Psaki did just that.

Jen Psaki shares reporting from ABC News that the indictment of New York Attorney General Lititia James by Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan caught Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, off guard, raising questions about whether she has fallen from Trump's favor despite her devotion and sycophancy. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins to discuss Bondi's job performance and why she may have been left out of the loop on such a prominent case that is so important to Trump.Jen Psaki looks at how the effectiveness and increasing popularity of anti-Trump protests have driven some Republicans into hiding while Trump's closest acolytes have begun pushing weird lies and mischaracterizations of the events in the hopes of undercutting their energy. Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson joins to discuss the principles at stake and the importance of remaining steadfast against Donald Trump's overreach.

Jen Psaki looks at the myriad conflicts of interest and outright corruption by the Trump administration while taxpayers foot the bill for his self-serving deals and federal workers scramble to live without getting paid because of Trump's government shutdown.Jen Psaki points out how the combination of Donald Trump's poor sourcing of information and weak comprehension skills suggest he doesn't understand what is happening in his own administration. But when the facts are self-evident, perhaps a more reasonable explanation of Trump's behavior is that he simply doesn't care.House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi talks with Jen Psaki in an exclusive interview about California Democrats' enthusiasm for Prop 50 to redistrict the state and increase the number of likely Democratic districts in a bid to counter Republican states redistricting to try to rig the midterm election to maintain Donald Trump's control of Congress. Not only is Pelosi bullish on a win for Prop 50, but she is confident that Democrats wil "win big" in the midterms.

Jen Psaki looks at ways Republicans are trying to avoid accountability for Donald Trump's failures by rigging the election system to take power away from voters who would reject them.As the federal government shutdown drags on, House Speaker Mike Johnson does not appear motivated to use his uniquely powerful position to resolve the crisis. Nor does he seem inclined to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva who recently won a special election. Grijalva and Rep. Robert Garcia talk with Jen Psaki about how Mike Johnson's political games are hurting Grijalva's constituents in Arizona and why the only real reason for Johnson's delay is to hold off a vote on a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein investigation files.Federal workers are unbowed in their resistance to Donald Trump even as Trump has devoted his second term to making their lives miserable. Senator Andy Kim tells Jen Psaki that federal workers he has talked to tell him that Donald Trump's attempt to use the federal government shutdown as an excuse to fire more federal workers is plainly false because they've lived through Trump gunning for them since his second term began.

Ahead of the premiere of her new documentary, "Andrew Young: The Dirty Work," Rachel Maddow talks with Jen Psaki about parallels between the activism of the civil rights movement and the anti-Trump "No Kings" protests that are sweeping the nation. As Donald Trump continues to push his anti-immigrant agenda, viral videos of ICE agents abusing people have steadily increased in number, prompting a growing public outcry for accountability for agents terrorizing neighborhoods and breaking local laws. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker talks with Jen Psaki about reports that he is looking into holding law-breaking ICE agents responsible.Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, talks exclusively with Jen Psaki about how he plans to stand up to Donald Trump and protect the city from Trump's abuses if he becomes mayor. Mamdani also addresses issues of religion and intra-party Democratic politics.

It has been weeks since Adelita Grijalva was elected to represent Arizona's 7th congressional district in Congress, but because Grijalva would represent the deciding vote to force a vote on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files, Mike Johnson has found every excuse he can to postpone swearing Grijalva into office so she can officially begin work on behalf of her constituents. Now Arizona is out of patience and has sued Johnson directly for denying representation in Congress to the American voters who elected Grijalva. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes joins Jen Psaki to discuss.Fresh from the massive success of Saturday's "No Kings" protest, many people are asking what comes next. Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, talks with Jen Psaki about how the No Kings movement can make productive use of its momentum, and the launch of the "No Kings Alliance" for rapid response activism.Jen Psaki reports on Paul Ingrassia, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of the Special Counsel, who managed to stay in good standing with Republicans despite a long string of scandals, but ultimately withdrew his himself from the confirmation process after new reports, which he disputes, that he once described himself as having a 'Nazi streak,' an accusation that cost him too many Republican votes to sustain his nomination.

Jen Psaki reacts to Donald Trump's demolition of the White House's East Wing to make room for his vanity project ballroom, and takes heart in the increasing, and increasingly creative, ways that Americans are pushing back against Trump's authoritarian overreach. Rep. Jamie Raskin explains the maneuver Donald Trump is trying to pull off by getting the lawyers he installed at the top of the DOJ to agree to have the Justice Department pay him $230 million, the laws Trump is trampling, as well as what Congress can do to stop him if Democrats regain control of the House in 2026.In what may be the most important story in the country right now, Democrats and democracy advocates are finding ways to counter Republican efforts to rig the 2026 midterm elections by gerrymandering states with Republican legislatures to take the voice away from Democratic voters and ensure Donald Trump's uninterrupted power by keeping the House in the hands of spineless sycophants. Jen Psaki explains.

Jen Psaki observes that as Donald Trump gets more comfortable with his autocrat persona, the traits that made him a societal laughing stock all his life are coming to define his leadership style. And the mockery he has become has so diminished him that his opponents are emboldened to get in the way of his demolition of the United States.Donald Trump's lackeys in Congress are trying to support his effort to exact revenge on the public servants who tried to hold him to account. Former special counsel Jack Smith is a prominent name on Trump's enemies list, so it's not surprising that Congressional Republicans would try to discredit him with their investigating-the-investigators hearings. Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann talks with Jen Psaki about why Jack Smith is smart to agree to participate in the hearings on the condition that they be public. Jen Psaki addresses questions posed at the White House press briefing, giving more honest and direct answers than the White House is willing to offer on questions ranging from Donald Trump's desecration of the White House to Trump's pardoning of a crypto-criminal business associate.

In a move seen as a test run for intimidation tactics during the midterm elections, Donald Trump is reportedly sending poll watchers to a few polling places around the United States. Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at UCLA, explains why the steps Trump is taking this year may only be a dress rehearsal for how he intends to disrupt the 2026 election which could cost him control of Congress.Even though incompetence and corruption are endemic in the Trump administration and can often explain the shoddy work of Trump staffers, the poorly supported legal cases against James Comey, Letitia James, and Adam Schiff reveal that these cases are less about winning and more about trying to drag people who Donald Trump doesn't like through the mud. Michael Schmidt, investigative reporter for the New York Times, talks with Jen Psaki about the point of these political prosecutions being to smear the subjects, not actually win the cases.

The Maine Senate race was rocked this month when revelations about the Democratic frontrunner Graham Platner threatened to completely upend the Democratic primary to select a candidate to try to unseat Susan Collins. Jen Psaki had Platner back on The Briefing to ask him directly about past offensive internet comments, a tattoo identified as being associated with Nazism and the state of his campaign in the wake of a tumultuous month.Graham Platner, an upstart outsider who appears to still be leading the Democratic primary race for a chance to unseat Maine's Republican Senator Susan Collins, talks with Jen Psaki about weathering scandal on the campaign trail and succeeding as a Democratic candidate despite considerable resistance from powerful figures within the Democratic Party.

Jen Psaki shares reporting on the suspension of two federal prosecutors after they submitted a sentencing recommendation for January 6 rioter Taylor Taranto after his conviction on charges unrelated to the insurrection. The recommendation was refiled with alterations made in the references to January 6 and Donald Trump.Jen Psaki relays reporting from "Retribution," the new book from Jonathan Karl, ABC News chief White House correspondent, which offers a look behind the scenes at how Donald Trump put together a Cabinet full of wildly unqualified sycophants. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan talks with Jen about shutdown drama in the Senate today as Republicans are freaking out that Democrats aren't caving like they usually do and Americans are suffering as a result of Trump's indifference and Republican deference to Trump.Captain Dylan Blaha joins to discuss Trump's abuse of the National Guard.

Jen Psaki shows Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance explaining out loud that the reason they don't want to fund food assistance to millions of Americans is because if they do, Democrats will have even less incentive to vote for the Republicans' budget bill, in effect admitting that they're deliberately causing pain to people they know Democrats care about as leverage to get their way on a bad budget bill. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries talks with Jen Psaki about Republicans trying to use the pain of tens of millions of Americans going without food as a means of manipulating Democrats to vote for their bad budget bill, and points out the irony that while Donald Trump has never met a law he didn't think he could ignore, he is trying to use the law as an excuse to avoid funding the food assistance program SNAP.Curiously coinciding with a fictional TV movie about U.S. nuclear readiness, Donald Trump has taken a sudden interest in testing U.S. nuclear capability and, against conventional good judgment, has announced that interest out loud in public. Mark Hertling, former commanding general of United States Army Europe, joins Jen Psaki to discuss how nuclear issues are addressed when they're handled by a competent administration, and why it's a bad idea for U.S. leaders to muse about the possibility that the nuclear arsenal doesn't work.

In the aftermath of an Election Day disaster, Donald Trump struggled to accept the reality of the fallout from his painful policies, though he did at least acknowledge that the shutdown of the federal government weighed against Republicans. Senator Chris Murphy joins Jen Psaki to discuss whether the clear message from voters is enough to motivate Republicans to re-open the government. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro talks with Jen Psaki about the Democrats' resounding victories in the first elections of Donald Trump's second term, and points out that while there were differences between the Democratic candidates, one unifying element is that they all campaigned on solutions to specific problems voters are dealing with.And New Jersey Governor-election Mikie Sherrill joins to discuss her electoral victory and what issues in her campaign resonated the most with voters.

Jen Psaki looks at some bizarre Republican hot takes explaining their poor performance in this week's elections, with addressing the cost of living in America coming almost as an afterthought.Jen Psaki reports on the lengths Donald Trump's weaponized Justice Department went to in order to try to make an example of Sean Dunn, a Washington, D.C. resident who threw a sandwich at a Border Patrol officer. But in the end the jury would not play along and found Dunn not guilty.Morris Katz, a senior advisor to the Mamdani campaign, talks with Jen Psaki about the importance of keeping candidates authentic and running a campaign that suits the district instead of following a universal blueprint.

Jen Psaki looks at Donald Trump's callous disregard for Americans who are struggling to cover living costs while he learns that "affordability" is an important political buzzword but all of his policies only make things more expensive.Senator Ruben Gallego talks with Jen Psaki about the Republicans' cruel leverage tactics in the fight to manipulate Democrats into supporting a budget that will hurt tens of millions of people. Republicans have set up the argument to pit people who need food assistance against people who need health care subsidies. Earlier, Republican Senate Leader John Thune said the quiet part out loud when he disparaged Americans who need food and health care assistance, injecting further divisiveness into the debate.Jen Psaki shares breaking news that the Supreme Court has agreed to a Trump administration request to temporarily block a lower court judge's order to resume full SNAP payments until the case can be heard by a circuit court. Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, one of two groups presenting a coalition of states suing the Trump administration over SNAP cut, joins to discuss.

Jen Psaki reacts to the collapse of Democratic resistance in the shutdown fight and the fact that no Democratic Senate candidates support the deal, while Republicans remain in abject disarray. The angry reaction to the Trump administration's poorly conceived economic ideas, including a 50-year mortgage that is seen as a gift to big banks, has Donald Trump scrambling even with his own base. Stephanie Ruhle joins Jen Psaki to talk about why the Trump administration's ideas are impractical.Jen Psaki explains how Republican theatrics over being included in federal investigations of Donald Trump's effort to subvert his 2020 election loss has led to the inclusion of a retroactive legal provision in the new spending bill.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva, now official a member of Congress after waiting 50 days for Republican House Speaker to agree to swear her into office, talks with Jen Psaki about how Johnson's obstruction "has highlighted the corruption," and the need for a law that requires new members be seated promptly without relying on the good faith of the House speaker.Jess Michaels, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse, talks with Jen Psaki and Rep. Adelita Grijalva about what it means that there are now enough signatures to force a vote in the House on the release of the DOJ's Epstein investigation files, not only for what they may reveal about Donald Trump, but for their potential to help bring justice to the many women who were abused by Epstein and his friends.What a day to be the White House press secretary! Jen Psaki offers some assistance to beleaguered Trump White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt who spent today's press briefing side-stepping and non-answering questions raised by new documents released by the Jeffrey Epstein estate about the relationship between Epstein and Donald Trump.

Donald Trump and his defenders have responded to the newly released tranche of Jeffrey Epstein documents by seeking to discredit any references to Trump that they contain, including by exposing the redacted name of Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre and treating her cherry-picked remarks as if they exonerate Trump of any wrongdoing. Sky and Amanda Roberts, Giuffre's brother and sister-in-law, talk with Jen Psaki about their outrage at Trump defenders trying to hijack her story for their political purposes while ignoring the crimes and the survivors seeking justice.Jen Psaki shares how a particularly damning photo of former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, which both Maxwell and Mountbatten-Windsor had insisted was fake, appears to be authenticated by an e-mail released by Epstein's estate.

Trump struggles to find excuses and distractions in the face of unrelenting questions about his association with Jeffrety Epstein, leaving his Republican sycophants uncertain of what talking points to mimic. Jen Psaki shares new bombshell reporting from Pro Publica on the unseemly ties between Department of Homeland Security insiders and companies paid hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to create video advertisements, including one that thanks Donald Trump for his immigration crackdown.Texas State Rep. James Talarico talks with Jen Psaki about why an increasing number of people in the faith community are speaking out against Donald Trump as his already notoriously compromised character is compounded by the cruelty of his anti-immigrant policies and his disturbing association with sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein survivor Sharlene Rochard tells Jen Psaki in an exclusive interview tonight that the people to whom she was trafficked include well-known names and some names that "have not been out there yet." Rochard explains how she was brought to "model parties" at Mar-a-Lago as a girl in her early teens, and discusses working with Sky and Amanda Roberts and survivors of Epstein's abuse to bring his associates to justice.Epstein survivor Sharlene Rochard and Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law to Virginia Roberts Giuffre, talk with Jen Psaki about the passage of the Epstein Transparency Act and why they are still ready to fight in case Donald Trump attempts to stonewall the release of the Epstein files, even as they take some comfort from today's long-fought victory.

Jen Psaki reports on breaking news that Donald Trump has signed the Epstein Transparency Act after House Speaker (and Trump sycophant) Mike Johnson failed to keep Congress inert against Trump's deepening political unpopularity. Even devoted lackey Pam Bondi may not be able to keep the Epstein files from the public any longer.Jen Psaki points out Donald Trump's over-the-top treatment of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, as well as Trump's passionate defense of the Saudi leader against difficult questions from American journalists. Though Trump denies any conflicts, it is difficult to imagine a better explanation for his behavior.

Donald Trump has made flouting the law and daring anyone to challenge his ability to do so a hallmark of his second term, but a new video reminding Americans of the limits of Trump's power has him in a red-faced tantrum. The video consists of several members of Congress who are veterans of the military and intelligence services pointing out the fact that members of the military are not required to follow illegal orders.Donald Trump called for the deaths of Democratic members of Congress who are military and intelligence service veterans who participated in a video reminded members of the military that they should not follow illegal orders, prompting hundreds of death threats to those legislators and making additional security for their protection necessary. Despite vociferous concern about violent political rhetoric in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, Republican condemnation of Trump has been light. Rep. Chris Deluzio and Rep. Maggie Goodlander talk with Jen Psaki about preserving legal and moral clarity in the face of Trump's lawlessness and threats.Jen Psaki explains how the political revenge prosecution of Adam Schiff by two of Donald Trump's lackeys, Ed Martin and Bill Pulte, has not only fallen apart as a legal case, but has flipped on Trump's investigators, who now find themselves the subjects of a new Justice Department investigation.

Right-wing, Trump-supporting media had so thoroughly demonized New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani that it seemed all but a certainty that Donald Trump would play his part and make a show of his disdain for the young upstart upon their meeting at the White House. Instead, Trump was nothing short of fawning and even affectionate. How were Trump supporters (and political observers) so wrong in their expectations of the historically fickle Trump? Ali Velshi discusses with Rev. Al Sharpton and Molly Jong-Fast.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a MAGA firebrand, who has come under fire from Donald Trump for her support for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files, announced through a video on her online social account that she would resign her seat in Congress on January 5, 2026. MS NOW senior White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard discusses the unexpected announcement with Ali Velshi.

Jen Psaki checks in on "some of the most incompetent people this country has ever seen," some of the higher profile members of Donald Trump's administration, and finds they have not grown to fill their positions and remain a source of humiliation for Trump.Glenn Kirschner, former federal prosecutor and former Army JAG prosecutor, talks with Jen Psaki about why Donald Trump's secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, is wrong for how he is treating Senator Mark Kelly, and why "you must obey lawful orders, but you must disobey unlawful orders" is foundational to serving in the U.S. military.

Jen Psaki rounds up the latest reporting in the investigation of a shooting in Washington, D.C. that has left two members of the West Virginia National Guard in critical condition. Ken Dilanian, MS NOW justice correspondent, shares new reporting on Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national who came to the U.S. through a program for Afghan citizens after the United States ended involvement in Afghanistan.Hakeem Jeffries, top Democrat in the House, reacts to the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and discusses with Jen Psaki the possibility of getting enough votes for a discharge petition to force a vote on health care subsidies. A discharge petition would overrule Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson the same way House Democrats with a handful of Republicans forced a vote on the release of the Epstein files.Donald Trump won Tennessee's 7th Congressional District by 22 points last year, so Republicans may have expected an easy win in a special election coming this Tuesday, December 2. Instead, new polling shows the Democratic candidate, Aftyn Behn, all but closing the gap with Republican opponent Matt Van Epps. Behn talked with Jen Psaki about the success of her campaign and what she is hearing from voters.

Tennessee State Rep. Aftyn Behn shocked the political world with a disproportionately strong showing in a special election in a congressional district that Republicans would expect to win by a large margin, as Donald Trump did just a year ago.Senator Mark Warner, ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, reiterates his call for Donald Trump secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, to step down as scrutiny of whether he ordered a war crime intensifies over the U.S. blowing up boats in the Caribbean.Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump's erratic behavior and struggles to stay awake during meetings is adding to questions about Trump's fading vitality, including a recent MRI that remains unexplained. Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for Senate who is also a physician, joins to discuss.

Jen Psaki rounds up reporting and developments from just the past 24 hours that paint Donald Trump's secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, into an even tighter corner, not the least of which is a newly uncovered video from 2016 in which Hegseth talks about war crimes and troops not following illegal orders, the same message he has been criticizing Democrats for delivering in a recent PSA video.Newly released photos and videos of Jeffrey Epstein's island estate have made Donald Trump's nightmarish news week even worse. Rep. Jamie Raskin discusses the steady progress being made on releasing the Epstein investigation files despite Trump's efforts to suppress them.The special election in Tennessee's Seventh District may seem like a typical Republican win in a solidly Republican district, but political experts see a grave vulnerability for Republicans nationwide in the much narrower margin of victory by Republican candidate Matt Van Epps. Faiz Shakir, executive director of More Perfect Union, and Brendan Buck, former senior advisor to Republican House speakers, talk with Jen Psaki about how the outcome of the Tennessee has changed the political landscape looking ahead to the 2026 midterms.  Rep. Ilhan Omar sings the praises of her Somali-American community and reminds Americans of what Donald Trump is neglecting and failing at in his job while he works himself up insulting Somalia.

Rep. Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee was one of only a few legislators in a classified briefing on the September 2nd bombing of a boat in the Caribbean Ocean. Himes was able to watch the full, unedited video of the attack and hear testimony from Admiral Frank M. Bradley, the Navy commander who oversaw the operation. Himes spoke with Jen Psaki about the shocking details of the video and what he learned that contradicts some of the key elements of the Trump administration's story about what happened.Pete Hegseth's Pentagon has turned its press corps into a group of pliant acolytes, but that hasn't prevented a steady stream of important reporting on U.S. military affairs.And a grand jury declined to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, foiling Donald Trump's vendetta-driven DOJ again.

Jen Psaki looks at the myriad ways Donald Trump and members of his administration are indulging reckless, juvenile ideas with no one pushing back to force a re-thinking. Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during Donald Trump's first term, joins to share his experience of why it's so bad that there are no grown-ups in the White House in Trump's second term.Rep. Adelita Grijalva talks with Jen Psaki about being confronted with aggression from border agents when she tried to get answers about an ICE raid taking place on a beloved local restaurant in her district, despite identifying herself to them as a member of Congress.Also Jeh Johnson, former top lawyer at the Pentagon discusses the U.S. blowing up boats and killing people in the Caribbean Sea.And Michael Feinberg, former FBI field ops section chief talks about the terrible job Kash Patel is doing as director of the FBI.

Jen Psaki reviews the myriad scandals, disgraces, and bad news stories that are plaguing Donald Trump and his administration, and the familiar playbook of gaslighting, distraction, and lies that Trump is deploying with decreasing effectiveness. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear talks with Jen Psaki about the factual gap between Donald Trump's bizarre economic boasts and the reality that Americans are living with in an economy burdened and distorted by Trump's tariff policy.Even as Donald Trump tries to move on to fresher scandals, questions about the new U.S. practice of blowing up boats in the Caribbean Sea and Trump's threats to start a war with Venezuela remain pressing. Rep. Chris Deluzio discusses.And Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of Semafor, talks with Jen about Donald Trump's heavy hand in shaping a new media oligarchy with the help of his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Jen Psaki introduces viewers to Rachel Maddow's new podcast, "Burn Order," about Japanese internment in the U.S. during World War II, and points out that unlike Americans of that era, Americans now are being much more outspoken in support of immigrants and in condemnation of Donald Trump's anti-immigrant policies. Rachel Maddow joins to discuss Trump's use of anti-immigrant scapegoating as a means of giving himself more power.Rachel Maddow talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's cluelessness regarding U.S. aggression toward Venezuela while the administration's explanations change and don't make sense. Maddow notes that what appears to be happening is a regime-change war to get access to Venezuela's oil.Senator Jon Ossoff joins Jen to discuss the recent string of Democratic candidates outperforming expectations set in 2024.And Senator Ruben Gallego discusses another Democratic upset win, this time for mayor of Miami.

Donald Trump's prosecutors tried and failed a third time to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has repeatedly humiliated Donald Trump by exposing fraud in his organizations. Abbe Lowell, attorney for James, talks with Jen Psaki about the egregiousness of the politically motivated case, and the possibility of a counter suit over the DOJ's abuse of power.Rep. Hakeem Jeffries talks with Jen about the upcoming midterms, Donald Trump's unpopularity, and Indiana Republicans rejecting Trump's push to boost the number of Republican districts to help him preserve power in Congress.Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock talks with Jen Psaki about the looming health care crisis if Republicans continue to be unable to produce a solution to extent Obamacare subsidies, and the factors that are contributing to the housing crisis in the U.S. that Republicans in charge of Congress are also unable to address.Senator Adam Schiff discusses the upcoming release of Epstein investigation documents. 

Jen Psaki shares highlights and insights from a new Vanity Fair article based on interviews with Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. The article not only shows that there are no "adults in the room" at Trump's White House, but shows Wiles to be so incompetent that agreeing to interviews with a reporter looks like a really bad idea.Rep. Adam Smith, top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee talks with Jen Psaki about the lack of information and evasiveness by the Trump administration in explaining to Congress the reasoning behind Donald Trump's increasing belligerence toward Venezuela and the clear risk of plunging the United States into another forever war.With a new release of Epstein documents set for this Friday, Donald Trump and his supporting Republicans are getting anxious, but Rep. Robert Garcia isn't sure how much Friday's release will contain.Another looming deadline as the year comes to an end is the expiration of health care subsidies. Rep. Brendan Boyle explains that the best hope that Republicans will act to prevent millions of Americans from losing their healthcare is that enough angry voters make Republicans more afraid of them than they are of Donald Trump.

Jen Psaki shares her first reaction and offers some corrections and clarifications to Donald Trump's address to the nation. MS NOW's Catherine Rampell and senior White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard join with further fact-checking an analysis.Senator Mark Kelly shares his reaction to Donald Trump's address to the nation, describing Trump as "angry and desperate and defensive," and mocking the ridiculous intersection of math and Trump's dishonest exaggerations. Kelly also discusses Trump's military escalation with Venezuela.And reporter Chris Whipple talks with Jen about his blockbuster piece in Vanity Fair based on 11 interviews with Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

Brown University shooting suspect found dead.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, and Julie K. Brown, investigative reporter for the Miami Herald, talk with Jen Psaki about the Justice Department's failure to comply with a law requiring the full release of the Epstein documents. Brown points out that much of the new document release consists of material that was already in the public domain. Weissmann explains different ways the DOJ can be held to account for failing to meet the law's requirements, not the least of which is actual criminal prosecution, with a statute of limitations exceeding the longevity of Donald Trump's term and his protection.Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law of outspoken accuser of Jeffrey Epstein Virginia Giuffre, talk with Jen Psaki about their frustration with Donald Trump's Justice Department for failing to follow the law requiring the release of all of the Epstein documents, and their determination to continue to fight for the truth to come out and for those involved to be held to account.

Jen Psaki reports on some of the new discoveries in the latest tranche of files released in the Epstein document collection, as well as new questions raised by what is being concealed by inappropriate redactions and the slow-paced release of material from Donald Trump's Justice Department. Rep. Ro Khanna joins to discuss what is still missing from the release and what materials will actually address the question of who worked with Epstein and participated in his abuses. Jen Psaki remarks on some of the weak explanations given by CBS News management for spiking a 60 Minutes story about a Donald Trump deportation scandal. Former ABC News senior national correspondent, Terry Moran, joins to discuss the situation and the bigger picture concerns about Donald Trump and his billionaire supporters slowly transforming the free media in the United States into a subservient, supporting wing of the Trump administration.John Brennan, former director of the CIA, joins Jen to talk about Donald Trump's warped perspective on national security.Annie Farmer and Jennifer Freeman talk with Jen about how survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse are deal with the slow roll out of Epstein documents to the public.

Jen Psaki looks at the many ways Donald Trump is using his time in office to enrich himself from the very start of his second term in office.

As the U.S. military remains mostly opaque on the details of ongoing aggression against Venezuelan targets, Donald Trump lack of filter and braggadocious inclinations mean there is little holding him back from blurting about a recent U.S. attack. Margaret Donovan, former federal prosecutor and former Judge Advocate General officer, and MS NOW senior national security reporter David Rohde discuss what is known about what the U.S. is doing in Venezuela and whether the Trump administration is reverse engineering legal justifications for its actions.With the arrest of Pastor Joe Campbell earlier this month on child sex abuse charges, the women who have spent decades seek justice for abuse they accuse Campbell of committing may be closer to that goal. Abuse survivor Phaedra Creed talks with Antonia Hylton about her feelings about Campbell's arrest, the effort it took, and insights her experience offers for women who were abused at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.The ongoing release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files continues to raise more questions than answers. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam joins to discuss.Cesar Vazquez discusses progress in protecting his neighbors in California from the abuses of ICE.