Exclusive: Embedding With America’s Top Hostage Negotiator

Trump’s Last Appeal • Panic at the Polls • De Niro for Biden [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( Exclusive: Embedding With America’s Top Hostage Negotiator Good morning. American political leaders have long held that they don’t negotiate with terrorists—but that’s not so for Roger Carstens, Washington’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. In an eye-opening [exclusive](, the 59-year-old retired Special Forces officer regales Adam Ciralsky with tales of how he repatriated scores of US citizens wrongfully detained by militant groups like Hamas as well as foreign governments, including Venezuela and Russia. “Roger simply is unstoppable,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells Ciralsky. “He’s fundamentally motivated by the human dimension of this.” Elsewhere, Dan Adler [caught]( the closing remarks in Donald Trump’s Manhattan hush money case, whose jury could deliver a verdict as early as today. Plus, Molly Jong-Fast [cautions]( against putting too much stock in Joe Biden’s poor polling numbers, which she argues could change a whole lot between now and November. Thanks for reading. [Image may contain: Adult, Person, Landmark, and Thomas Jefferson Memorial]( [Exclusive: Embedding With America’s Top Hostage Negotiator]( By [Adam Ciralsky]( [A year with Roger Carstens, the point man for freeing US detainees, whether held by Vladimir Putin, Hamas, or Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.]( [Read more button](   [Donald Trump’s Final Appeal: Are You Going to Believe Michael Cohen?]( By [Dan Adler]( [Throughout the last few weeks of the trial, Trump attorney Todd Blanche fixated on the reliability of the former president’s onetime lawyer. His closing argument offered another reprise.]( [Read more button](   [The Panic of the Polls]( By [Molly Jong-Fast]( [The 2024 election won’t be decided by vibes in May, but by votes in November.]( [Read more button](   [Trump Plan for Pro-Palestinian Protesters: “Throw Them Out of the Country”]( By [Eric Lutz]( [Behind closed doors, Trump made clear to wealthy donors that he won’t draw any red lines on Gaza if reelected—as Biden struggles to make clear what his red line is.]( [Read more button](   [Robert De Niro Calls Trump a “Coward,” a “Buffoon,” and a “Tyrant” Who “Absolutely” Belongs in Jail]( By [Bess Levin]( [“The only way to preserve our freedoms and hold on to our humanity is to vote for Joe Biden.”]( [Read more button](   Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn](   This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2024 Condé Nast