Trump's Last Stand Part III: The Break With Barr

In this episode of How It Happened: Trump's Last Stand, national political correspondent Jonathan Swan reveals the story behind President Trump's break from Attorney General William Barr, who had been deeply loyal and a key bridge between Trump and the Republican establishment.

• Swan takes listeners into the room for two explosive, consequential meetings that lead to Barr's resignation.
• By examining the breakdown of the relationship between Trump and Barr, Swan shows how Trump began to turn on not just his campaign team, but his most crucial allies in his administration.

Note: This episode contains some explicit language.

Credits: This show is produced by Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin and Alice Wilder. Dan Bobkoff is the executive producer. Additional reporting and fact checking by Zach Basu. Margaret Talev is managing editor of politics. Sara Kehaulani Goo is Axios’s executive editor. Sound design by Alex Sugiura and theme music by Michael Hanf.

About this series: The reporting in this series is based on multiple interviews with current and former White House, campaign, government and congressional officials as well as direct eyewitnesses and people close to President Trump. Sources have been granted anonymity to share sensitive observations or details they would not be formally authorized to disclose. President Trump and other officials to whom quotes and actions have been attributed by others were provided the opportunity to confirm, deny or respond to reporting elements prior to publication.

This series was reported by White House reporter Jonathan Swan, with writing, reporting and research assistance by Zach Basu.