May 20, 2018

Trump demands DOJ investigation into FBI surveillance of his campaign

Axios

Continuing his Sunday tweetstorm, President Trump announced his plan to "officially" demand tomorrow that the Department of Justice investigate whether the FBI and DOJ under the Obama administration "infiltrated or surveilled" the Trump campaign.

The big picture: As Axios' David Nather reported last week, there's no evidence that these agencies placed a "spy" inside the Trump campaign. But, per the Washington Post, the FBI did utilize an informant — named by NBC News as American academic Stefan Halper — to attempt to solicit information from Trump campaign associates Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, and Sam Clovis for the Russia investigation.

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Axios

Situational awareness

Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Catch up on today's biggest news:

  1. Warren supporters form super PAC
  2. We may be on "the brink" of coronavirus pandemic
  3. Pentagon policy chief resigns
  4. National polls show Bernie in control ahead of Nevada
  5. How a Chinese think tank rates all 50 U.S. governors
  6. Sanders and Bloomberg battle over heart health
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Stef W. Kight

Trump has declared war on sanctuary cities

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Armed with subpoenas, lawsuits and immigration SWAT teams, the Trump administration has declared war on sanctuary cities.

The big picture: President Trump and his administration have used every available tool to try to crack down on local governments that refuse to hold immigrants in criminal custody, block immigration agents from working in county jails or deny federal authorities access to immigrants' records.

Go deeperArrow2 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Dan Primack

Peter Thiel's Founders Fund isn't really Peter Thiel's Founders Fund

Illustration: Photo Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photos: Charles Eshelman, Steve Jennings, and Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Founders Fund has raised $3 billion for a pair of new funds, so expect a slew of headlines about how "Peter Thiel's venture capital firm" is now flush with cash.

Behind the scenes: Thiel is essential to Founders Fund, but he's not autocratic. Instead, Axios has learned that he's one of three people with veto power over most FF investments, and is unable to do a deal without approval of the other two.

Go deeperArrow7 hours ago - Economy & Business