Aug 31, 2017

GOP Senators: Comey drafted statement clearing Clinton before FBI interview

Andrew Harnik / AP

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Lindsey Graham have written to FBI Director Christopher Wray claiming James Comey, Wray's predecessor, began drafting a statement clearing Hillary Clinton of criminal charges two months before she was interviewed by the FBI, per Politico.

The source: The senators have obtained transcripts of interviews from the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC), a government watchdog, that was investigating Comey's actions and whether they violated a law preventing government employees from engaging in political activity on duty.

In a hearing last September on Capitol Hill, Comey denied a decision had been made on Clinton's status before the July 2 interview.

Grassley and Graham have demanded the FBI hand over all Comey memos and other materials linked to the OSC probe, which was shut down after Trump fired Comey. Reached for comment, the FBI said only that they received the letter and would respond.

Go deeper

Margaret Talev
30 mins ago - Politics & Policy

President Trump's suburbs

Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call.

President Trump cast an outdated vision of "the 'suburban housewife'" as he swiped this week at Joe Biden's newly minted running mate Kamala Harris — building on his months-long play to drive a wedge through battleground-state suburbs by reframing white voters' expectations.

The big picture: As he struggles to find an attack that will stick against the Biden campaign, Trump for a while now has been stoking fears of lawless cities and an end to what he's called the “Suburban Lifestyle Dream.” It’s a playbook from the ‘70s and ‘80s — but the suburbs have changed a lot since then.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Sara Fischer, Ashley Gold, Kyle Daly, Dan Primack
10 hours ago - Technology

Trump tightens screws on ByteDance to sell Tiktok

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump added more pressure Friday night on China-based TikTok parent ByteDance to exit the U.S., ordering it to divest all assets related to the U.S. operation of TikTok within 90 days.

Between the lines: The order means ByteDance must be wholly disentangled from TikTok in the U.S. by November. Trump had previously ordered TikTok banned if ByteDance hadn't struck a deal within 45 days. The new order likely means ByteDance has just another 45 days after that to fully close the deal, one White House source told Axios.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 10 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m. ET: 21,056,850 — Total deaths: 762,293— Total recoveries: 13,100,902 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m ET: 5,306,215 — Total deaths: 168,334 — Total recoveries: 1,796,309 — Total tests: 65,676,624 — Map.
  3. Health: CDC: Survivors of COVID-19 have up to three months of immunity —Fauci believes normalcy will return by "the end of 2021" with vaccine — The pandemic's toll on mental health — FDA releases first-ever list of medical supplies in shortage.
  4. States: California passes 600,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.
  5. Cities: Coronavirus pandemic dims NYC's annual 9/11 Tribute in Light.
  6. Business: How small businesses got stiffed — Unemployment starts moving in the right direction.
  7. Politics: Biden signals fall strategy with new ads.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow