National

Dominion Voting Systems on Monday sent a cease and desist letter to My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell over his spread of misinformation related to the 2020 election.

Why it matters: Trump and several of his allies have pushed false conspiracy theories about the company, leading Dominion to take legal action. It's suing pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell for defamation and $1.3 billion in damages, and a Dominion employee has sued Trump himself, OANN and Newsmax.

The letter also orders Lindell to "preserve and retain all documents relating to Dominion and your smear campaign against the company."

Lindell also must preserve all communications with any member of the Trump campaign, in addition to communications with Rudy Giuliani, Powell, Jenna Ellis and Lin Wood.  

 Lindell told Axios, "I want Dominion to put up their lawsuit because we have 100% evidence that China and other countries used their machines to steal the election."

The big picture: Lindell met with Trump last week and was caught by photographers with notes referencing martial law and Sidney Powell. The CEO has become known for peddling election-overturning conspiracies and last year promoted a fake cure to the coronavirus. 

What they're saying: Dominion's letter reads... "Despite knowing your implausible attacks against Dominion have no basis in reality, you have participated in the vast and concerted misinformation campaign to slander Dominion ... Litigation regarding these issues is imminent."

This post has been updated with a comment from Lindell.

20201223 Preservation Notice M. Lindell

Dominion sends cease and desist letter to My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell

Lindell is a prominent Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist.

Politics

Trump administration

Politics & Policy

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris submitted her resignation from her seat in the U.S. Senate on Monday, two days before she will be sworn into her new role.

What's next: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has selected California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to serve out the rest of Harris' term, which ends in 2022.

What they're saying: "As I resign from the Senate, I am preparing to take an oath that would have me preside over it," Harris wrote in a farewell post.

"As senator-turned-Vice-President Walter Mondale once pointed out, the vice presidency is the only office in our government that 'belongs to both the executive branch and the legislative branch.' A responsibility made greater with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate," she continued.

"Since our nation's founding, only 268 tie-breaking votes have been cast by a Vice President. I intend to work tirelessly as your Vice President, including, if necessary, fulfilling this Constitutional duty."

The big picture: Harris will now make history as the first Black, first South Asian and first female vice president when she is inaugurated on Jan. 20. But her exit from the Senate leaves just two Black lawmakers in the chamber, until the newly elected Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) takes office. 

Harris is one of ten Black lawmakers to have ever served in the Senate, and the second Black woman in the chamber's history. 

Harris will have the power to cast tie-breaking Senate votes upon taking office, writes Axios' Stef Kight. The responsibility has the potential to define her as vice president — and as a possible 2024 presidential contender.

Go deeper: Tie-breaking vote a political challenge for Harris

Kamala Harris resigns from Senate seat ahead of inauguration

Harris is one of ten Black lawmakers to have ever served in the Senate.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Photo: Mason Trinca/Getty Images

Kamala Harris

Joe Biden

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has been ordered to remain in pre-trial detention for 30 days, following his arrest upon returning to Russia on Sunday for the first time since a failed assassination attempt last year.

Why it matters: The detention of Navalny, an anti-corruption activist and the most prominent domestic critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has already set off a chorus of condemnations from leaders in Europe and the U.S.

Driving the news: Navalny, who has been arrested several times on charges he says are politically motivated, is accused of breaking the terms of his parole by staying in Germany while he recovered from an attempted poisoning.

After his arrest at a Moscow airport, Navalny faced a makeshift hearing at a police station on Monday, which he called a "mockery of justice."

Navalny tweeted after he was ordered to remain in custody: "Don't be afraid, take to the streets."

The big picture: Navalny has alleged that the Kremlin ordered his poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok.

An investigation by Bellingcat revealed that an undercover team of Russian spies tailed Navalny on more than 30 trips to and from Moscow starting in 2017 before he was poisoned in August.

The Kremlin has denied any role in the poisoning. Putin suggested after the Bellingcat report was published in December that Russian intelligence officers  "would have probably finished the job" if they were responsible.

What they're saying: Western nations on Sunday immediately condemned Navalny's detention, which could further escalate tensions between Russia and its adversaries just as President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office.

Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden's incoming National Security adviser, denounced what he called "the Kremlin's attacks on Mr. Navalny" as "a violation of human rights" and "an affront to the Russian people who want their voices heard."

The UN Human Rights office tweeted that it was "deeply troubled" by the arrest, calling for Navalny's immediate release and for his "due process rights to be respected in line with the rule of law. We reiterate our call for a thorough and impartial investigation into his poisoning."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg joined the call for Navalny's release, adding that whoever is "responsible for the attempt to assassinate him, using a prohibited chemical weapon, must be brought to justice. #Russia has to respect its international commitments on human rights and the rule of law." 

European Council President Charles Michel tweeted: "The detainment of Alexey #Navalny upon arrival in Moscow is unacceptable. I call on Russian authorities to immediately release him."

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for Navalny's release, calling the arrest “completely incomprehensible." He added: “Russia is bound by its own constitution and by international commitments to the principle of the rule of law and the protection of civil rights. These principles must of course also be applied to Alexei Navalny. He should be released immediately.”

The other side: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the condemnations coming from around the globe were part of efforts to “to divert attention from the crisis of the Western model of development," according to AP.

Putin foe Navalny to be detained for 30 days after returning to Moscow

Western leaders have condemned the detention of the Russian opposition activist.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Photo: Oleg Nikishin/Epsilon/Getty Images

World

Alexei Navalny

Russia

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

President-elect Joe Biden has selected FTC commissioner Rohit Chopra to be the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Obama-era Wall Street regulator Gary Gensler to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Why it matters: Both picks are progressive allies of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and viewed as likely to take aggressive steps to regulate big business. 

Chopra worked as a consultant at McKinsey before helping Warren set up the CFPB in 2011. He went on to serve as the agency's assistant director "student loan pointman," before his nomination to the FTC in 2018.

Gensler was a partner at Goldman Sachs, where he worked for 18 years before joining the Treasury Department in 1997. He was nominated by President Obama in 2008 to serve as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he earned as a reputation as an aggressive regulator and Wall Street foe.

The big picture: Biden is going to attempt to chart an economic policy that's visibly to the left of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. If he succeeds, it's going to show up not only in taxes and spending, but also in regulation.

Go deeper: Biden's radical economic agenda

Biden picks Warren allies to lead SEC, CFPB

Gary Gensler and Rohit Chopra will be seen as welcome picks by progressives.

Business

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

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

Tech Policy

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

Researchers see one bright spot as far-right extremists turn to private and encrypted online platforms: Friction.

Between the lines: For fringe organizers, those platforms may provide more security than open social networks, but they make it harder to recruit new members.

Catch up quick: The online far right is moving away from mainstream social networks and onto both right-wing-welcoming networks like Gab and privacy-friendly platforms like Telegram and Signal, due largely to the collision of three events:

Public social media activity left a trail that's been exposing the identities of a growing list of Capitol rioters.

The far right is exiting large social networks, either as a political statement or under force of a ban, as tech platforms crack down on extremists.

WhatsApp botched the rollout of a new privacy policy, confusing and worrying a massive number of users of all political stripes who then went looking for alternatives.

The catch: As the fringe right burrows underground, experts say it will quickly learn how much harder it is to organize there than on wide-open channels like Facebook and Twitter.

1) Every added step is a chance to lose a follower. 

Having to download apps and go through steps to verify their identities is bound to dissuade people from joining, said Matt Mitchell, a technology fellow at the Ford Foundation.

And when a platform goes down — as an extended Signal outage Friday illustrated — it cuts off the intake entirely.

2) You don't always know who you're talking to. It can be trivially easy in some cases for outsiders to infiltrate private online groups — something not lost on extremists.

"We're seeing more recognition among groups on platforms like Telegram, Gab and MeWe that there are security researchers, law enforcement officials and journalists in these groups," said Bryce Webster-Jacobsen, Director of Intelligence at cyber intelligence firm GroupSense.

3) You can still be deplatformed even on private or semi-private forums.

Telegram has been deleting hate-group channels in recent days.

Discord, another chat client, banned a major pro-Trump server earlier this month.

Walkie-talkie app Zello deleted more than 2,000 channels being used by militia groups following an investigation by The Guardian.

4) Out of sight, out of mind. Experts say domestic terrorists face a similar problem that groups like ISIS have faced after being deplatformed: recruiting gets harder.

When images and videos are removed from more public platforms, it becomes more difficult for hate groups to draw in fresh members. 

Yes, but: Research shows that when fringe groups are banned from mainstream platforms, the bans often push bad actors to even darker parts of the web, where the conversation becomes even more toxic.

That means that while far-right groups may have a harder time drawing in fresh blood than they did on mainstream social networks, the ones that do show up could be more dedicated to the cause.

What's next: The scrutiny (and channel deletions) now rising among the alternative platforms could create smaller and even more radical splinter groups.

"You have one fire to take out and instead you made 500 burning embers," said Mitchell.

The perils of organizing underground

Those platforms may provide more security than open social networks, but they make it harder to recruit new members.

Illustration of a hand holding a hammer that is breaking a text message bubble

Technology

Online extremism

Social Media

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.

Latino

Axios Latino

Efforts to save the office where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., planned some of the most important moments of the civil rights movement are hitting roadblocks amid a political stalemate.

Why it matters:  The U.S. Park Service needs to OK agreements so a developer restoring the historic Prince Hall Masonic Lodge in Atlanta — which once housed King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference — can tap into private funding and begin work.

The space where the office sat is empty, and advocates want former aides who are still alive to help recreate the atmosphere. 

In 2018, President Trump signed a bill sponsored by the late Rep. John Lewis that designated the lodge, King’s birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and King’s burial site as a national historic park.

Trump later complained that Lewis didn't attend any of his State of the Union speeches, and the administration stalled on agreements for the lodge.

What we’re hearing: Some Department of Interior projects, run by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, have halted as employees seek to remain low key in the final weeks of the Trump presidency and avoid his wrath. 

The National Park Service said it was waiting on the masons who still own the building to proceed with the project, and the agency has offered technical assistance. 

Flashback:  “For many years, I worked with my congressional colleagues and the National Park Service to preserve these Atlanta landmarks and to enhance visitor experiences and services,” Lewis said in 2017 as he tried to push his proposal.

As part of the package, the Prince Hall Masonic Temple donated land to the National Park Service. The lodge was build in 1938 and served as a meeting place for Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Black neighborhood.

What they're saying: "Since that law was signed by Trump, nothing really has happened between the Park Service and the Prince Hall Masons in terms of the agreements ... so they can interpret Dr. King's former offices," said E.W. Bowen & Co. founder Edward W. Bowen, the project's developer.

Bowen said private donors and the city of Atlanta will help fund the $10 million project to recreate King's mid-century Southern Christian Leadership Conference office for visitors to experience.

Further delays into the Biden administration may cause private funders to pull money for more shovel-ready projects, Bowen said.

Details: King operated the Southern Christian Leadership Conference beginning in 1957 in the lodge, and the masons provided security and protection in a fortified space with exit tunnels. 

This is where King and his aides planned the Selma march, the Chicago desegregation fight, opposition to the Vietnam War, and the multiracial Poor People's Campaign.

It was there that King defied aides and told them he would go to Memphis to help striking Black sanitation workers where he delivered his final speech on April 3, 1968.

 Don’t forget: Projects like these allow visitors to have a tangible connection to the past and experience a multilayered story to civil rights, said Lawana Holland-Moore of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

"You are touching what they touched. You are literally walking where they walked."

The big question: The fight to resurrect King's office comes as advocates work to save other historic sites linked to civil rights.

A clubhouse of the League of United Latin American Citizens in Houston recently was deemed a landmark after a long battle. It was the site where Mexican Americans planned desegregation battles and a crucial meeting with President John F. Kennedy.

Advocates are trying to bring attention to the birthplace of United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta. It's currently an abandoned field in northern New Mexico. 

Resurrecting Martin Luther King's office

The site of the old Southern Christian Leadership Conference office needs renovation.

Martin Luther King, Jr, points to Selma, Alabama, on a map at his Atlanta Southern Christian Leadership Conference office in January 1965.

King points to Selma, Alabama on a map at his Southern Christian Leadership Conference office in Atlanta in January 1965. Photo: Bettmann/Getty Contributor

Civil rights

Virginia National Guard soldiers are issued their M4 rifles and live ammunition on the east front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 17.

Small groups of protesters gathered outside fortified statehouses across the U.S. over the weekend ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday.

The big picture: Some protests attracted armed members of far-right extremist groups but there were no reports of clashes, as had been feared. The National Guard and law enforcement outnumbered demonstrators, as security was heightened around the U.S. to avoid a repeat of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots, per AP. 

Virginia National Guard soldiers are issued their M4 rifles and live ammunition on the east front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 17. "More reporters and law enforcement members were present than protesters" in Washington, D.C., USA Today notes. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Members of the far-right extremist movement the Boogaloo Bois, stage a demonstration at Oregon's State Capitol in Salem on Jan. 17. 

Boogaloo Bois members outside Oregon's State Capitol in Salem on Jan. 17. Photo: John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

National Guard soldiers protect the Department of Health Care Services building near the California State Capitol on January 17

National Guard soldiers protect the Department of Health Care Services building near the California State Capitol on Jan. 17. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Minnesota State Patrol stand guard as a small group of people who support President Donald Trump sit outside the Minnesota Capitol building on January 17, 2021 in St Paul

Minnesota State Patrol stand guard as a few people who support President Donald Trump sit outside the state capitol building on Jan. 17 in St Paul. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images 

A woman and child look on as members of the Washington National Guard and State Police stand outside the state Capitol in Olympia, Washington on January 17

A woman and child look on as members of the Washington National Guard and state police stand outside the state Capitol in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 17. Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

A protester carries a crossbow outside the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on January 17

A protester carries a crossbow outside the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 17. Photo: Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

An armed member of the right-wing subsection of the militia coined the Boogaloo Boys protests outside of the Capitol on January 17, 2021 in Frankfort, Kentucky. 

An armed member of the the Boogaloo Boys protests outside the Kentucky State Capitol on Jan. 17 in Frankfort. Photo: Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Members of the Utah National Guard stand watch as a man carries an upside down American flag as he walks the grounds of the Utah State Capitol building on January 17

Members of the Utah National Guard stand watch as a man carries an American flag while passing the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City Jan. 17. Photo: George Frey/AFP via Getty Images

A Nevada Highway Patrol vehicle passes by the State Capitol on January 17, 2021, in Carson City

A Nevada Highway Patrol vehicle passes by the State Capitol on Jan. 17 in Carson City. Photo: Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images

Armed groups cross the street as they hold a rally in front of a closed Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas,on January 17

Armed groups rally in front of a closed Texas State Capitol in Austin on Jan. 17. Photo: Matthew Busch/AFP via Getty Images

Armed members of the Boogaloo militia speak to people in front of the State Capital in Concord, New Hampshire on January 17

Armed members of the Boogaloo group in front of the State Capital in Concord, New Hampshire, on Jan. 17. Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Supporters of the second amendment stand outside of the Georgia Capitol building on January 17

Supporters of the Second Amendment outside the Georgia Capitol building on Jan. 17 in Atlanta. Photo: Megan Varner/Getty Images

A few people protest the results of the election outside the Colorado State Capitol on January 17

A couple of Trump supporters outside the Colorado State Capitol on Jan. 17 in Denver. Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

New Mexico State Police patrol around the New Mexico Capitol in Santa Fe, New Mexico on January 17

New Mexico State Police patrol around the state capitol in Santa Fe on Jan. 17. Photo: Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images

Trump supporters stand outside the Capitol Building in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 17

Trump supporters outside the Capitol Building in Phoenix, Arizona, on Jan. 17. Photo: Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images

A man has a conversation with law enforcement in front of the state capitol building in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, on January 17

A man speaks with law enforcement in front of the state capitol building in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, on Jan. 17. Photo: Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images 

In photos: Protests outside fortified capitols draw only small groups

There were no reports of clashes, as had been feared, and law enforcement outnumbered Trump supporters, per AP.

Members of the Michigan Boogaloo Bois an anti-government group stand with their long guns near the Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan on January 17

Armed members of the far-right extremist group the Boogaloo Bois near the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing on Jan. 17. About 20 protesters showed up, AP notes.  Photo: Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images

Cities

Law enforcement

Donald Trump

Capital

Axios Capital

China's economy grew at a 6.5% pace in the final quarter of 2020, the national statistics bureau announced Monday local time, topping off a year in which it grew in three of four quarters and by 2.3% in total. 

Why it matters: No other major economy managed positive growth in 2020. Although the COVID-19 pandemic was first detected in China, the country got the virus under control and became one of the main positive drivers of the global economy even as the rest of the world was largely under lockdown.

By the numbers: China is expected to grow at a blistering 8.3% pace in 2021, per FactSet, more than double the 4.1% growth seen in the U.S. 

What they're saying: "However many times you hear the China growth story, it continues to have the capacity to shock and amaze," says Columbia historian Adam Tooze. "In scale and speed it is unlike any previous experience."

China's economy grows 6.5% in Q4 as country rebounds from coronavirus

No other major economy managed positive growth in 2020.

Technician from Zhejiang YAT Electrical Appliance Co.,Ltd checks the service robots which will be used for food and medicine delivery, on January 17, 2021 in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province of China.

A technician installs and checks service robots to be be used for food and medicine delivery in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China, on Sunday. Photo: Hu Xuejun/VCG via Getty Images

China economy

Science

Health Care

China

President Trump plans to issue at least 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office Tuesday, an administration official told Axios.

Why it matters: This is a continuation of the president's controversial December spree that saw full pardons granted to more than two dozen people — including former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, longtime associate Roger Stone and Charles Kushner, the father of Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The pardons set to be issued before Trump exits the White House will be a mix of criminal justice ones and pardons for people connected to the president, the sources said.

Go deeper: Convicts turn to D.C. fixers for Trump pardons

Trump to issue at least 100 pardons and commutations before leaving office

It's a continuation of Trump's December spree that saw Roger Stone and Paul Manafort pardoned.

 President Donald Trump speaks following a section of the border wall in Alamo, Texas, on January 12

Capitalizing on the Georgia runoffs, achieving a 50-50 Senate and launching an impeachment trial are weighty to-dos for getting Joe Biden's administration up and running on Day One. 

What to watch: A blend of ceremonies, hearings and legal timelines will come into play on Tuesday and Wednesday so Chuck Schumer can actually claim the Senate majority and propel the new president's agenda.

1. Swear in new senators: Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock can't become the 49th and 50th Senate Democrats until the Georgia secretary of state certifies their runoffs. 

An official Brad Raffensperger's office told Axios that's likely to happen on Wednesday — Inauguration Day. But it could drag until a statutory deadline on Friday. 

2. Replace the vice president: California Secretary of State Alex Padilla must be sworn in to replace incoming Vice President Kamala Harris, who plans to resign her Senate seat on Monday.

Padilla could do so as early as Tuesday — the day senators return from recess — but he told reporters last week it would likely happen Wednesday.

3. Assume majority mantle: Schumer still won't get to claim his new title until Harris is sworn in as vice president, empowering her to cast tie-breaking votes as Senate president. That happens just before noon Wednesday.

4. Divvy up power: Schumer and soon-to-be Minority Leader Mitch McConnell must settle on a power-sharing agreement, such as which party controls committees. There's precedent from the 50-50 Senate in 2000.

 5. Hold confirmation hearings: So far, Senate committees have scheduled hearings for only five of Biden's Cabinet nominees — on the lower end, historically.

All five hearings — for State, Defense, Homeland Security, National Intelligence and Treasury — are now scheduled for Tuesday. They point to the importance of maintaining national security and economic confidence.

6. Plan impeachment: Schumer and McConnell also have to sort out when and how they'll hold President Trump's second impeachment trial. 

The trial threatens to consume valuable time during Biden's first 100 days. The president-elect has suggested splitting legislative workdays to focus daily on impeachment and confirmation hearings.

7. Finish everything else: Biden recently unveiled a $1.9 trillion coronavirus package, and there's expected proposals for immigration legislation, infrastructure construction, etc.

Schumer's m(aj)ority checklist

What to watch: A busy schedule of planning, hearings and ceremonies on the 19th and 20th.

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