National

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

The National Archives asked former President Trump's lawyers to account for correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in May 2021 as part of a bid to locate boxes of presidential records, according to email correspondence released Monday. 

Why it matters: Exactly eight weeks since the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago, the former president and his legal team have still not explained why he took more than 11,000 government documents and refused to return them on request.

The National Archives said it released email correspondence in response to more than 50 freedom of information requests related to the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago this summer.

Details: On May 6, 2021, National Archives General Counsel Gary Stern asked Trump's lawyers for their "immediate assistance to ensure that NARA receives all Presidential records as required by the Presidential Records Act."

"For example, the original correspondence between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un were not transferred to us; it is our understanding that in January 2021, just prior to the end of the Administration, the originals were put in a binder for the President, but were never returned to the Office of Records Management for transfer to NARA."

"It is essential that these original records be transferred to NARA as soon as possible," wrote Stern, who also pointed to a missing letter from former President Obama.

"We know things were very chaotic, as they always are in the course of a one-term transition ... But it is absolutely necessary that we obtain and account for all original Presidential records."

Other requests released Monday referenced deleted Trump tweets that weren't properly archived.

The big picture: Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records must be immediately transferred to the national archivist as soon as a president leaves office. Some of the documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago during the FBI's search were classified, according to the Justice Department.

Trump has claimed he had a "standing order" dictating that documents taken from the Oval Office to his residence were "deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them."

Former Attorney General Bill Barr and former national security adviser John Bolton, who both worked in the Trump administration, have disputed the claim.

Now embroiled in a legal battle with the DOJ, Trump faces a special master who appears deeply skeptical of the arguments put forth by his legal team.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

National Archives asked Trump's lawyers for Kim Jong-Un correspondence in May 2021

The request was part of an ongoing bid to locate two dozen boxes of presidential records.

Photo of Donald Trump looking to his left

Former President Trump looks over at the crowd as he speaks during a Save America rally on Oct. 1, 2022 in Warren, Michigan. Photo: Emily Elconin via Getty Images

Donald Trump

World

Former President Trump sued CNN on Monday for alleged defamation and is seeking at least $475 million in damages.

Why it matters: Trump has had a contentious relationship with the press, especially CNN, during his time as a candidate and elected official and has bashed news organizations as "fake news" and "enemy of the people."

What he's saying: The complaint, which was filed in a U.S. District Court in Florida, claims CNN has tried to taint Trump using defamatory language as part of a "concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left."

"CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of 'racist,' 'Russian lackey,' 'insurrectionist,' and ultimately 'Hitler'" the complaint reads. 

It alleged CNN has used language like "Trump's big lie" — referring to his claims that the 2020 election was stolen —  "with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity, thereby acting with actual malice," citing the legal standard for libel cases in the U.S. 

A CNN spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The big picture: Defamation suits have become more common as high-power figures look to challenge the media's first amendment power. 

Trump himself is currently trying to delay proceedings in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, an author who has alleged he raped her in the mid-1990s.

Yes, but: A slew of recent precedents show how hard defamation can be to prove when it comes to media outlets in the U.S.

Former Republican Alaska Gov. and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin lost her defamation suit against The New York Times in February, after a court said she had failed to prove that the paper acted with "actual malice" toward her. 

The Supreme Court earlier this year declined to revisit the decades-old defamation standard set in the landmark New York Times v. Sullivan. 

Go deeper:  Defamation trials amplify America's war over free speech

Trump sues CNN for alleged defamation

Trump has had a contentious relationship with the press, especially CNN, during his time in politics.

Photo of Donald Trump speaking from a podium with a finger raised

Then-President Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Oct. 24, 2018. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Media

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Democrats hold an advantage in campaign spending on Facebook, Google and connected television platforms, but Republicans have closed the gap in several key Senate races in the final stretch of the midterms, Axios has learned.

The big picture: Democrats outspent Republicans $10.1 million to $8.2 million online in battleground Senate races in the week of Sept. 18-24, according to data compiled by the Democratic marketing firm Bully Pulpit Interactive.

But in three of the biggest Senate contests — Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina — Republicans are now outspending their Democratic rivals. 

What they're saying: "The voters Democrats need to persuade and mobilize now through election day are more likely to spend their time on streaming and digital channels than the voters Republicans need to engage," said Joe St. Marie, the senior director of product at BPI. 

"Younger voters and voters of color are more likely to spend their time on connected TV devices and on social, in particular, so it's crucial for Democrats to maintain a spending advantage on those channels to win.”

By the numbers: Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is the biggest beneficiary of the GOP's digital investments, with $2.2 million spent on his behalf from September 18-24.

The only other Republican Senate candidates to hit the million-dollar mark in that time period are Herschel Walker ($1.3 million) in Georgia and Dr. Mehmet Oz ($1.2 million) in Pennsylvania.

 Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), two of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents, each benefited from $1.8 million in digital ads from their campaigns or outside groups between Sept. 18-24. 

Among Democratic non-incumbents, Wisconsin Senate nominee Mandela Barnes comfortably leads the pack with $1.6 million spent on digital between Sept. 18-24.

That easily surpasses the digital advertising spent on behalf of Pennsylvania Senate nominee John Fetterman ($932,000), Florida Senate nominee Val Demings ($473,000) and North Carolina Senate nominee Cheri Beasley ($430,000) during the same period.

The bottom line: Senate Republicans held a $5.3 million advertising advantage over Democrats on traditional broadcast and cable platforms between Sept. 18-24, according to an ad-tracking source. That means Democrats are betting on newer means of reaching out to voters to win close contests. 

Senate Republicans narrow digital cash divide

Republicans are now outspending their Democratic rivals online in three of the biggest Senate contests.

Illustration of the Republican elephant icon with cursor arrows in place of stars

2022 elections

Former President Donald Trump is seeking to delay proceedings, including his deposition, in the defamation lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, an author who has alleged he raped her in the mid-1990s, according to a letter from his attorney filed in federal court Monday.

Driving the news: Trump's lawyer requested that the court either substitute the U.S. government as the defendant or, "at a minimum," halt proceedings until an appeals court resolves the question of who the defendant should be since he was president when he labeled Carroll a liar following her public accusation.

Trump is scheduled to be deposed on Oct. 19.

The New York Times has reported that if the U.S. government becomes defendant in the suit, it "cannot proceed, because the federal government cannot be sued for defamation."

The other side: Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said last week that "[Trump] should not be permitted to assert at the last minute that he is entitled to avoid a deposition because it remains on appeal."

"It could hardly be clearer that defendant hopes to ‘run out the clock’ until he is elected president again," Kaplan wrote in  a letter filed in court Friday.

Catch up quick: Trump has maintained that he did not rape Carroll, who then sued him for defamation in 2019 for labeling her a liar.

Trump, who faced a number of sexual misconduct allegations during his 2016 campaign, lost his bid to countersue earlier this year.

In addition to the defamation case, Carroll also plans to sue Trump for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress "on the earliest possible date," which is Nov. 24, Axios' Shawna Chen reports.

Trump seeks to delay deposition in E. Jean Carroll defamation suit

Trump is scheduled to be deposed Oct. 19.

Former President Donald Trump gets ready to speak during a Save America rally on Oct. 1, 2022, in Warren, Michigan. Photo: Emily Elconin/Getty Images

A Moscow region court on Monday set WNBA star Brittney Griner's appeal date for Oct. 25 after she was sentenced to nine years in prison over drug charges, AP reports.

Driving the news: Griner’s lawyers have argued that the punishment — just under the 10-year maximum — was excessive, per AP. 

Griner has been detained since February and maintains that she had "no intent" to break the law by bringing vape cartridges into Russia.

Her lawyers told a Russian court in July that doctors in the U.S. prescribed Griner medical cannabis for chronic pain.

U.S. officials have said that she is "wrongfully detained" by Russia.

The big picture: The new date comes months after the U.S. proposed prisoner swaps with Russia for Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, but there haven't been any public plans.

Russia confirmed in August that it was negotiating with the U.S. about the potential exchange.

The Biden administration earlier this year conducted a prisoner swap with Russia, seeing former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed released in exchange for  Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian citizen serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of conspiracy to smuggle more than $100 million worth of cocaine into the U.S.

Worth noting: President Biden met with Griner and Whelan's families in September "to reiterate his continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely" from Russian detainment, according to the White House.

Brittney Griner's appeal date scheduled for Oct. 25

A Russian court sentenced her to nine years in prison over drug charges.

Photo of Brittney Griner in handcuffs and escorted by prison guards

U.S. Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) basketball player Brittney Griner leaves the courtroom after a Russian court's verdict in Khimki outside Moscow on Aug. 4, 2022. Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

WNBA

Russia

Shifts in technology and media are changing the way we play, watch and understand sports. Business models are adapting and social change is forcing those in charge of teams and leagues to reconsider decades-old practices.

Sports

Coinciding with his visit on Monday, President Biden announced the administration will provide $60 million to Puerto Rico to help the island shore up protections against future storms.

Driving the news: More than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico, 122,130 customers are still without power as of Monday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

The devastation from Hurricane Fiona was expected to compound the already strained recovery efforts from past disasters. Many homes destroyed by Maria and the island's power grid were still being rebuilt when Fiona hit, Axios' Marina E. Franco writes.

At least 25 deaths in Puerto Rico may be linked to Hurricane Fiona, CNN reported.

The big picture: "In the wake of Hurricane Fiona, I'm announcing a $60 million investment to shore up levees and flood walls, and create a new flood warning system to help residents better prepare for future storms," Biden tweeted Monday afternoon.

The new funding will come from the bipartisan infrastructure law, per a White House pool report. 

Politico first reported news of the funding.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited Puerto Rico on Monday afternoon, where they met with community leaders and families affected by Fiona.

In the municipality of Ponce, 14% of customers have not yet had their power restored, according to an update issued by Luma Energy, the island's grid operator, on Sunday night.

What they're saying: "I said we'd be with the people of Puerto Rico for as long as it took. I meant it," Biden added in his tweet.

"I'm heading to Puerto Rico because they haven’t been taken very good care of," Biden told reporters as he prepared to depart the White House Monday morning, per a White House pool report.

"They've been trying like hell to catch up from the last hurricane. I want to see the state of affairs today and make sure we push everything we can," he added.

Biden announces $60M for Puerto Rico flood protections

More than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico, 122,130 customers are still without power as of Monday morning.

A flooded street in the Juana Matos neighborhood of Catano, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 19 after Hurricane Fiona. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Puerto Rico

Extreme weather

A look at the scientific breakthroughs changing the world, explorations in space and in worlds beyond our own and the threats posed to us by our own planet, both out of our control and of our own making.

Science

Planned Parenthood announced plans on Monday to open its first mobile clinic to provide abortion services, launching a program in Illinois to expand its footprint near the state's borders with Missouri and Kentucky.

The big picture: Since the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, 17 states have moved to ban or restrict the procedure.

Since the Dobbs decision, Planned Parenthood's Fairview Heights clinic in Illinois, located just 20 miles from the Illinois-Missouri border, has seen a 30% increase in abortion patients, the organization said.

The clinic has also seen a 340% increase in patients traveling from outside Illinois and Missouri.

The clinic typically received patients from Missouri as well as those traveling from the midwest and south, such as from Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood told Axios.

Driving the news: The mobile clinic will be outfitted in an RV and will serve patients along the Illinois border and provide the full slate of services usually provided by a brick-and-mortar Planned Parenthood, per a press release.

The mobile clinic will help Planned Parenthood reduce wait times and travel distances for patients as well as free up capacity at the Fairview Heights clinic.

The mobile clinic will have a waiting room, a lab and two exam rooms, and will provide medicated abortions up to 11 weeks gestation. It has plans to offer procedural abortions in the future.

The mobile clinic will begin seeing patients at the end of October or early November, the spokesperson told Axios.

Planned Parenthood has other mobile clinics in the past that have offered family planning services, this is the first to provide abortion services, the spokesperson added.

What they're saying: "One hundred days post-Roe we stand in defiance to say: we are not backing down," Yamelsie Rodriguez, president of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said in the press release.

"Abortion bans, 'defunding’ Planned Parenthood, and attacks on reproductive freedoms writ large are deeply unpopular," Rodriguez added.

"We're standing in the gap created by politicians and ensuring all people can access the health care they deserve, no matter where they live."

Planned Parenthood opening first RV clinic to provide abortion services

"One hundred days post-Roe we stand in defiance to say: we are not backing down," a Planned Parenthood in Missouri said.

A Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center in St. Louis in May 2019. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Abortion

The Supreme Court decided Monday to take up a case that will test the immunity social media companies have from lawsuits over content posted by users.

Why it matters: The case appears to be the court's first test of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a controversial provision that shields online platforms from lawsuits over moderation practices and user-posted content.

Industry groups and supporters of Section 230 argue that its protections make it possible for website publishers and app services to use and moderate user-contributed content in ways that benefit their customers and society. 

The big picture: The case, Reynaldo Gonzalez, et al v. Google LLC, alleges YouTube aided and abetted the killing of a 23-year-old American woman during the  2o15 ISIS attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and injured hundred more. 

The plaintiffs, the surviving family members of Nohemi Gonzalez, allege Google "provided material support to ISIS" by allowing it to use YouTube "as a tool to commit terrorism."

Google has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the claims are barred under Section 230.

Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in an October 2020 filing that Section 230 should be narrowed, saying internet companies have been granted "sweeping protection" and that courts are reading more comprehensive immunity into Section 230 than was intended.

Thought bubble, via Axios' Ashley Gold: If the Supreme Court erodes Section 230 immunity, it could create a nightmare scenario not just for Big Tech but for anyone runs a website with user-generated content. 

The big picture: Members of Congress in recent years have repeatedly tried to reform or repeal Section 230.

Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, typically claim Section 230 allows digital platforms to censor conservative views, while Democrats have argued it should be revisited to make tech companies more accountable for the proliferation of misinformation and hate speech.

Go deeper: Florida appeals to Supreme Court over controversial social media law

Supreme Court takes up case on Big Tech’s most important law

It marks the court's first test of Section 230, which shields online platforms against certain lawsuits.

The Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3.

The Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Supreme Court

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to consider the defamation case lodged against him by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems.

Driving the news: Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 billion lawsuit against Lindell in February 2021, alleging that Lindell — an ally of former President Donald Trump — helped promote the baseless conspiracy theory that the company's voting machines were rigged in favor of President Biden in the 2020 election.

The big picture: The Supreme Court's decision to not take up the case means that an August 2021 ruling by a federal judge, rejecting a motion by Lindell to dismiss the case and allowing it to go forward, will stand.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson didn't participate in the decision.

Dominion has argued that Lindell was well aware that his claims about the election were false and that “there was no real ‘evidence’ supporting his claims,” but that he participated in a "defamatory marketing campaign" against Dominion in order to sell more pillows.

Lindell's lawyers, however, have argued that Lindell really believes his claims about Dominion to be true, per NBC News. 

State of play: Dominion also filed defamation lawsuits against Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell last year. 

Dominion also filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News in March 2o21. In June 2o21, a judge dismissed Fox's bid to throw out the case.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who ruled in Lindell's case in August 2021, also allowed the lawsuits against Giuliani and Powell to proceed.

 Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.

Denver

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Axios Denver Deep Dive

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Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporters John Frank and Alayna Alvarez.

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Supreme Court rejects MyPillow CEO's defamation lawsuit appeal

Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 billion lawsuit against the MyPillow CEO in February 2021.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell attends a "Save America" rally in Warren, Michigan, on Oct. 1. Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Axios AM

Maggie Haberman reports in "Confidence Man," out Tuesday, that when former President Trump was about to be discharged after COVID treatment, he had an idea that he eventually abandoned:

"He came up with a plan he told associates was inspired by the singer James Brown, whom he loved watching toss off his cape while onstage, but it was in line with his love of professional wrestling as well."

[H]e would be wheeled out of Walter Reed in a chair and, once outdoors, he would dramatically stand up, then open his button-down dress shirt to reveal [a] Superman logo beneath it. (Trump was so serious about it that he called the campaign headquarters to instruct an aide, Max Miller, to procure the Superman shirts; Miller was sent to a Virginia big-box store.)

Trump returned to the White House on Marine One after a three-day stay at Walter Reed Medical Center in October 2020.

Haberman book: Trump wanted to wear Superman shirt after COVID hospital stay

When Trump was about to be discharged after COVID treatment, he had an idea that he eventually abandoned.

President Donald J. Trump watches Marine One from the Truman Balcony as he returns to the White House from Walter Reed Medical Center after receiving treatment for COVID.

President Trump watches Marine One as he returns to the White House from Walter Reed Medical Center after receiving treatment for COVID on Oct. 5, 2020. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Eric Herschmann, a top White House lawyer to President Trump, confirms to Axios he is now lead counsel to NFL legend Brett Favre, who is embroiled in a welfare-funds scandal in his home state of Mississippi.

Why it matters: The former Green Bay Packers quarterback is at the center of Mississippi’s biggest-ever public corruption case. 

What's happening: Herschmann confirmed his new role after it was disclosed to Axios by a source close to the case. 

Herschmann has talked with Favre multiple times, and spent several weeks reviewing years of text messages, emails and contracts, the source said.  

The lawyer concluded Favre shouldn’t be indicted, and has convincing defenses if he were. Then he agreed to represent him. 

"I only agreed to represent Brett Favre after I did my independent due diligence and was convinced that he did nothing wrong," Herschmann said. "Brett enthusiastically tried to help his alma mater, a public university, that needed and wanted his help."

"To be clear, Brett had no idea that welfare funds were being used or that others were involved in illegal conduct," Herschmann added.

Catch me up: Mississippi, one of the nation's poorest states, spent millions in anti-poverty money on a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre graduated and his daughter played volleyball. 

The Mississippi Department of Human Services filed a civil lawsuit in May against Favre and others to recover more than $20 million in "squandered" public money.

Text messages filed in court last month indicated Favre and former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) discussed using public funds for a football practice facility.

Favre, 52, endorsed Trump in 2020 with a tweet that said in part: "My Vote is for what makes this country great."

Favre lawyer Bud Holmes told Front Office Sports on Thursday that he no longer represented Favre on the welfare allegations, but didn't know who the new lawyer was. 

Context: Herschmann, 58, based in Austin, was one of Trump’s most trusted aides, and represented Trump at his first impeachment trial. His White House title was senior adviser. 

Herschmann gave videotaped testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee. His contemporary art caused a stir when clips were played at a hearing. 

He has been subpoenaed by the federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 attack.

Herschmann and Favre were connected by mutual friends. 

Editor's note: This version corrects Eric Herschmann age.

Scoop: Trump lawyer Eric Herschmann to represent Brett Favre

The former top White House lawyer confirmed his new role after it was disclosed to Axios.

Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

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