Tessa Berenson

Tessa Berenson Rogers is an editor at TIME based in the Washington, D.C., bureau. She was a White House correspondent during Donald Trump's presidency.

Recent Articles

Bill Clinton and James Patterson on Their New Thriller

Three years after writing a bestselling novel together, former President Bill Clinton and author James Patterson are back with their second: The President's Daughter, published jointly by Knopf and Little, Brown and Company on June...

By Tessa Berenson

An Impeachment Manager on Trump's Acquittal

It’s an icy Sunday morning in Washington, less than 24 hours after the Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump in the unprecedented impeachment trial of a former president, and Representative Joe Neguse is trying to...

By Tessa Berenson

Trump’s Lawyers Say He Didn’t Incite Capitol Riot

Donald Trump’s attorneys defended the former President against the charge that he incited an insurrection before the Senate on Friday, presenting their entire argument in less than three hours. House managers “chose to spend 14-plus...

By Tessa Berenson and Lissandra Villa

Republicans Remain Unmoved

The House impeachment managers finished their opening arguments after two days of wrenching presentations about the deadly riot at the Capitol

By Tessa Berenson and Lissandra Villa

Democrats Make an Emotional Case to America

House impeachment managers are creating a public record of the dramatic assault on American democracy

By Lissandra Villa and Tessa Berenson

Senate Votes Trump's Second Impeachment Trial Is Constitutional

The Senate affirmed the constitutionality of holding an impeachment trial for a former president on Tuesday, paving the way for the final showdown over Donald Trump’s extraordinary presidency. By a vote of 56 to 44,...

By Tessa Berenson

Trump's Impeachment Trial Begins

Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial is set to begin in the Senate this week, and while it will likely end in the former president’s acquittal, it will also be a revealing inflection point for the...

By Tessa Berenson

What We Know About Trump's Impeachment Defense Strategy

Donald Trump’s lawyers in his second impeachment trial plan to argue that the Senate trial is unconstitutional and that Trump's statements preceding the violence at the Capitol were protected by the First Amendment, a strategy...

By Tessa Berenson

Trump's Impeachment Trial Raises Constitutional Questions

Sen. Rand Paul forced a vote on the constitutionality of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial

By Tessa Berenson and Lissandra Villa

Donald Trump Impeached a Second Time

Democrats and a handful of Republicans voted to impeach President Trump for inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. It's now in the hands of the Senate

By Tessa Berenson

How the Senate Could Ban Donald Trump From Running in 2024

Congress is gearing up for a second impeachment of Donald Trump—just about one year after he was impeached for the first time. But now Democrats may have a more pressing aim beyond removing Trump from...

By Tessa Berenson

Inside the Lonely End of the Trump Presidency

Donald Trump spent Thursday stewing inside the White House, as isolated and powerless as at any time in his turbulent presidency. Democrats were pushing for his resignation, removal or impeachment for his role in inciting...

By Brian Bennett , Tessa Berenson and Alana Abramson

How Biden Can Repair the Justice Department's Reputation

Joe Biden has had to face some trying circumstances as President-elect: a surging pandemic, an incumbent unwilling to admit defeat, and a Senate whose balance of power is still up for grabs. But he still...

By Tessa Berenson

Barr Leaves the DOJ, Dogged by Controversy

President Donald Trump announced the Attorney General will leave his post before the end of the year

By Tessa Berenson

Trump's Fight Against Election Gets Harder

Donald Trump continues to baselessly claim the election was "rigged" and his legal team keeps pushing lawsuits in key states to try to overturn the results for President-elect Joe Biden. It has already been an...

By Tessa Berenson and Alana Abramson

What Donald Trump Can — And Can't — Do with the Pardon Power

There's one presidential power Donald Trump can still use with wide discretion until Inauguration Day on January 20: the pardon power.

By Tessa Berenson

The Transition to Joe Biden's Presidency Has Begun. But Donald Trump Won't Talk About Losing

President Donald Trump made two public appearances on Tuesday, something that's become increasingly rare since he lost the election. He appeared fleetingly in the White House briefing room to talk about the stock market and...

By Tessa Berenson

Portraits of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Favorite Collars and the Stories Behind Them

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American icon. The late Justice, who died on September 18, 2020 at the age of 87, was only the second woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, and a...

By Tessa Berenson

Trump's Lawsuits Don't Claim 'Massive' Fraud

Trump and his lawyers publicly allege massive fraud, but their court filings do not make such claims

By Tessa Berenson

Inside Trump's Dangerous Legal Strategy

President Donald Trump’s strategy of flooding state and federal courts with spurious and unsuccessful lawsuits challenging Joe Biden's election victory has mystified lawyers on both sides of the aisle. He's not likely to win any...

By Alana Abramson and Tessa Berenson
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