The president’s top advisers gathered in a series of Situation Room meetings as they struggled to contain a scandal engulfing Donald Trump himself.

Aides to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California say several people associated with the couple have been contacted by federal agents in the past week. He criticized the move as politically motivated.

© Godofredo A. Vásquez/Associated Press

Secret memos show that the White House debated last year, to a greater degree than previously known, whether to limit habeas corpus rights for undocumented immigrants.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

James M. McDonald, a veteran former federal prosecutor and regulator, has more recently been part of President Trump’s legal team, appealing his criminal conviction.

© John Taggart for The New York Times