CNN Political Briefing is off for Thanksgiving this week, so we are sharing an episode of The Assignment with Audie Cornish. In this episode, David Chalian and Audie Cornish talk about covering this tumultuous political moment, the role of the media as truth tellers, and David’s surprising college major. We’ll be back next week with a new episode. In the meantime, you can find The Assignment wherever you get your podcasts.  
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Covering Politics with Audie Cornish

Join CNN Political Director David Chalian as he guides you through our ever-changing political landscape. Every week, David and a guest take you inside the latest developments with insight and analysis from the key players in politics.

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This week a group of Donald Trump’s allies flocked to the Manhattan courthouse for the former president’s criminal hush money trial. It’s become a way for North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and others to ‘audition’ for the role of vice president. Elaine Godfrey is covering this year’s ‘Veepstakes’ for the Atlantic. She joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to explain why she says Trump’s search is different this time around. 
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Inside Trump’s ‘Veepstakes'

Mike Johnson evaded another threat to his position as leader of the House this week. On Wednesday, Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene made a motion to oust Speaker Johnson, after threatening to do so for several weeks. The House voted swiftly in favor of Johnson by a tally of 359 to 43, so Speaker Johnson will keep his job, for now. But how long will this last? And how might this impact the presidential election? On this special edition of CNN Political Briefing, CNN Anchor and Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju and Capitol Hill Reporter Melanie Zanona discuss the latest.
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Speaker Johnson Survives, Now What?

This week’s Pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University led to more than 100 arrests after students barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall. This happened in the exact same building where anti-war student protestors demonstrated 56 years ago to the day, according to Columbia’s student newspaper. Mark Naison, a Fordham University professor of history, was part of the 1968 protests. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to explain why he says this week’s protests feel like ‘déjà vu,’ and why he supports today’s demonstrations.
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Columbia’s Protests, Then and Now

This week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in former president Donald Trump’s historic immunity case. Trump’s attorneys say he should be granted sweeping immunity in a federal election subversion case because he was acting “officially” as president. Now all eyes turn to how the court decides -- and whether or not this is sent back to lower courts for further adjudication -- with this November’s election potentially hanging in the balance. University of Michigan Law professor Leah Litman and CNN Political Director David Chalian break down the foundations of the case and talk about what’s at stake.
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"Private” vs “Official” Actions in Trump’s Historic Immunity Case

This week, the first of four expected criminal trials involving former President Donald Trump began in Manhattan. And for the first time in United States history, a former president is now a defendant in a criminal trial. CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen was in the courtroom. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to share his analysis of not only this case, but also this week’s Supreme Court oral arguments on the January 6 obstruction charges, which could have potential legal implications for Trump as well. 
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Covering Politics with Audie Cornish

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