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President Trump told "Fox & Friends" during a Friday phone-in that "the jury's still out" on FBI Director Chris Wray and the bureau's handling of its investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

What he's saying: "Look the jury's still out with regard to that, but it would have been a lot easier if he came out rather than skirting and going through, you know, 19 different ways except through the FBI, so let's see."

  • "But I said, you know what? I want Bill Barr to handle it. I want nothing to do. Let's see. He's done an unbelievable job."

The state of play: Trump has faced public and private pressure from allies to fire Wray, who he appointed to the position after firing James Comey, over the Flynn investigation.

  • The Justice Department moved yesterday to drop its case against Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador in 2017.
  • It said in its court filing that it concluded that the interview in which Flynn lied to the FBI "was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn" and "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis."
  • Flynn had been trying to withdraw his guilty plea in recent months, especially after the release of new FBI documents regarding his case.

Go deeper: Inside FBI director Chris Wray's fate

Go deeper

Updated 8 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Trump supporters protest outside Arizona voting center during vote-counting

Supporters of President Trump supporters gather outside the Maricopa County Elections Department office in Phoenix, Arizona, late Wednesday. Photo: Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images)

Supporters of President Trump protested outside an Arizona election center late Wednesday, chanting "count the votes!" as elections officials continued to tabulate ballots in a state that Joe Biden is projected to win.

Why it matters: The Trump campaign was furious that Fox News and AP called Arizona for Biden on Tuesday night with hundreds of thousands of votes still outstanding, as a victory for the Democrat would significantly narrow Trump's possible paths to 270 electoral votes.

Updated 57 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Live updates: Biden close to victory with wins in Michigan, Wisconsin

Expand chart
Data: AP; Chart: Naema Ahmed, Andrew Witherspoon, Danielle Alberti/Axios

Joe Biden is closing in on the 270 electoral votes he needs to defeat President Trump, according to Associated Press projections, with the critical battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin now called for Biden.

The latest: With those states and Arizona in Biden's column, one more — like Nevada or Pennsylvania — would be enough to put him over the top even as the Trump campaign fights him with lawsuits and recounts.

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Politics: 4 in 10 voters name the pandemic as their top concern — Biden's pandemic response would face intense resistance.
  2. Health: U.S. exceeds 100k daily cases for first time since pandemic began — Air pollution connected to higher COVID-19 death rates
  3. World: Italy imposes regional lockdown as infections spike