Jun 2, 2019

Trump: Lawyer Emmet Flood, who handled Mueller inquiry, to leave post

White House lawyer Emmet Flood. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Trump announced Saturday that White House lawyer Emmet Flood would leave his legal team, after overseeing the administration's response to the Mueller investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election campaign.

Why it matters: Flood — who helped former President Bill Clinton through impeachment proceedings — took an adversarial approach to the Mueller investigation after taking over from Ty Cobb.

In an April letter to Attorney General Bill Barr, Flood denounced former special counsel Robert Mueller's final report as "political" and urged the White House against cooperating in further Mueller report-related inquiries.

Go deeper: Explore a detailed view of the Mueller report

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Kyle Daly

15 mins ago - Technology

The slippery slope of protest surveillance

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump's call to treat antifa supporters like terrorists could be a green light for high-tech surveillance of dissidents.

Why it matters: It's unlikely the Trump administration can designate antifa as a terrorist group in any legally meaningful way, but the declaration gives law enforcement tacit approval to use a plethora of tech tools to monitor protesters and left-leaning activists.

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David Nather

34 mins ago - Politics & Policy

The biggest crisis since 1968

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Bettmann/Contributor

The year 1968 has been on a lot of people’s minds lately — another year of protests, violence and upheaval that seemed to be tearing the nation apart.

Yes, but: This crisis also has moments we’ve never seen before — and some historians and experts say the differences suggest that 2020 doesn't compare well at all.

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Dion Rabouin

44 mins ago - Economy & Business

SoftBank to launch $100M fund backing companies led by people of color

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure said in a letter to employees early Wednesday that the firm will create a $100 million fund that "will only invest in companies led by founders and entrepreneurs of color."

Why it matters: The Opportunity Growth Fund is one of the first to put significant capital behind companies' statements of empathy and outrage in response to protests over systemic racism in the U.S. typified by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other African Americans by police.

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