Amazon Is Flooding D.C. With Money and Muscle: The Influence Game

Federal records show that Amazon.com Inc. lobbied more government entities than any other tech company in 2018 and sought to exert its influence over more issues than any of its tech peers except Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Last year, Amazon spent $14.2 million on lobbying, a record for the company, up from its previous high mark of $12.8 million in 2017.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-amazon-lobbying/

Trump renews call to pull arts, PBS funding

President Trump’s 2020 budget proposal calls for eliminating popular programs such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund stations such as PBS and NPR, and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Trump had proposed eliminating the programs in his last two budgets as well, suggestions Congress ignored.

The 2020 request, which was released in its entirety Monday, calls for scrapping $435 million from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $126 million from the NEA, leaving both with a few million dollars to manage an orderly shutdown.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/434586-trump-renews-call-to-pull-arts-pbs-funding

Pentagon sends Congress list of projects that could be cut to pay for Trump's border wall

Pentagon identifies $12.9 billion in "unobligated" funds that can be re-allocated for the wall.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/18/politics/trump-wall-congress-projects-list/index.html

Federal Authorities Raided Trump Fundraiser’s Office in Money Laundering Probe

A sealed search warrant obtained by ProPublica shows federal agents scoured Elliott Broidy’s office for documents related to China, Saudi Arabia and a Miami Beach club promoter.

https://www.propublica.org/article/federal-authorities-raided-trump-fundraisers-office-in-money-laundering-probe