D.C. Briefly
A federal investigation into a land deal led by Jane Sanders, the wife and political adviser of Sen. Bernie Sanders, has accelerated in recent months — with prosecutors hauling off more than a dozen boxes of records from the Vermont college she once ran and calling a state official to testify before a grand jury, according to interviews and documents. A half-dozen people said they had been contacted by the FBI or federal prosecutors, and former college trustees told the Washington Post that lawyers representing Jane Sanders had interviewed them to learn what potential witnesses might tell the government.
The investigation centers on the 2010 land purchase that relocated Vermont's Burlington College to a new campus on more than 32 acres along Lake Champlain. The questions from government investigators, as described by those who were interviewed or received subpoenas for documents, suggest the investigation is focused on Jane Sanders — who was the college president —and alleged bank fraud, and not on her husband. But the inquiry could nonetheless create a political liability for the senator, who was a candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
Former President Barack Obama will formally re-enter the political fray this week less than six months after leaving office, headlining a fundraiser for a group that could prove critical to the Democratic Party's rebuilding efforts. Obama's appearance Thursday before a few dozen people will be at a closed-door event in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
A Chinese official said Monday that the U.S. had apologized for a White House statement that misidentified China's leader, Xi Jinping, as president of the Republic of China — the formal name for Taiwan. The erroneous reference was in the heading of a White House transcript, released Saturday, at the Group of 20 summit. Xi is the president of the People's Republic of China.
The Trump administration said it would delay, and probably eliminate down the line, a federal rule that would have let foreign entrepreneurs come to the U.S. to start companies. The decision, announced Monday before the official publication on Tuesday, was quickly slammed by business leaders and organizations, especially from the technology sector.
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