“Michael Avenatti, the brash celebrity lawyer who rose to fame taking on Donald Trump before a slew of criminal charges destroyed his legal career, was ordered on Friday to pay $148,750 in restitution to his best-known client, porn actress Stormy Daniels,” Reuters reports.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in June sentenced Avenatti to four years in prison, calling his conduct “brazen and egregious.”
Save to FavoritesJust for members: The latest edition of Inside Elections. This issue is prime evidence that the most important races aren’t just the ones rated as a toss-up. Join now to…
“Israel’s top general warned on Friday that the war with Iran could be lengthy, calling it the most complex military campaign in the country’s history,” the Wall Street Journal reports….
“It is dangerous to me that politicians are being rewarded for spewing absolute bullshit when it comes to vaccines. What they’re doing is incredibly dangerous for public health. I think…
New York Times: “The longer Israel waits for Mr. Trump, the greater the strain on its air defense system. To keep out Iran’s ballistic missile barrages, Israel is burning through…
DNC Chair Ken Martin has just two main responsibilities: raise money and win elections. Right now, he’s falling short on the first—and that could put the second at risk. Join…
“Iran sent a barrage of missiles into Israel on Friday that struck in several places,” the New York Times reports. “Both sides traded fire even as European ministers were meeting…
Politico: “Many of Cuomo’s former detractors have abruptly reversed course without publicly reckoning with his controversy-laden past, leaving little explanation as to why elected officials who once deemed him unfit…
President Trump is demanding that a special prosecutor be appointed in order to investigate his 2020 election loss, based on his disproven claims that “MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING” fraud was responsible…
The Economist: “Iran’s regime is often described as decaying, corrupt, bankrupt and despised by its citizens. Is it about to collapse? Israel’s shock-and-awe campaign continues relentlessly: on June 16th it…
Richard Haass: “There is no easy option without downsides. The best course of action for Trump now would be to give Iran one last chance to accept a diplomatic deal….
“Elon Musk may have stopped sparring with President Donald Trump online, but the former presidential adviser and megabacker isn’t done publicly sniping at members of Trump’s administration,” Politico reports. “The…
“As President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his tax-and-spending bill change by the hour, his party is getting accustomed to a new reality: No one knows what’s going on with the…
William Kristol: “The fact is, for all the talk about rejecting ‘globalists,’ the experience of the Trump administration is one of intervening, repeatedly, in global affairs. There is no Fortress…
“Sen. Josh Hawley is urging GOP leaders to strike Senate Finance Committee language altering a key Medicaid financing provision, warning he’s already hearing from House Republicans that it can’t clear…
Politico: “Russ Vought’s relationship with Republican appropriators was already strained. Then he started talking about pursuing the ultimate end-run around their funding power heading into the fall.” “The White House…
“Democrats and clean energy advocates are ratcheting up pressure on a handful of Republican senators to salvage billions of dollars in projects, ahead of an expected vote next week on…
The latest Strength in Numbers/Verasight poll finds President Trump’s approval on foreign policy sits at 39% to 53%. G. Elliot Morris: “If the news agenda shifts to covering Trump on…
Molly Ball: “The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation program is testing the political bounds of what Americans will tolerate, spurring a backlash from voters and some Republicans and testing the administration’s…
“Sen. Rand Paul is a frequent thorn in GOP leadership’s side. But his recent break over border security funding in President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has top Republicans pushing…
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.