LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Investors in cryptocurrency are bidding to become a political force this year.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Former President Trump spoke last weekend at a bitcoin conference in Nashville. He's seeking votes and donors among those who play in cryptocurrency markets. Trump promised to fire the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission for his efforts to regulate crypto. The story we have this morning shows crypto's possible influence on a race for Congress. Arizona holds its primary today, which means voters choose nominees for an open seat for Congress. And some Republican donors, including some with an interest in crypto, have been donating to a Democratic primary.
FADEL: NPR's congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales joins us this morning to talk about it. Good morning.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So, tell us about this Democratic primary race. It's drawn interest from high-profile Republican donors, why?
GRISALES: Well, that's one of the enduring mysteries here. This is a pretty blue seat in this purple state. It's a 65% majority Latino district. It's been held by Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego, but he's leaving it for a U.S. Senate run. Polling shows this could be a close race between an ex-top state Democratic lawmaker and a former Phoenix City council member. They're both vying to make history here with their backgrounds. Former state lawmaker Raquel Teran would be the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress, while former Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari would be the first Democratic Iranian American in Congress. And with Republican donors favoring Ansari, it's become a bitter race.
FADEL: So what are the candidates saying about how this primary contest has been playing out?
GRISALES: Well, I talked to both Teran and Ansari in recent days, and Teran argues that she's having to face off against Republican and crypto donors who are, quote, "bankrolling" former President Donald Trump.
RAQUEL TERAN: They are trying to silence our voices as Latino voters. They are trying to meddle into Democratic primaries, taking away the voices of many working families.
FADEL: So how is Ansari responding to all this?
GRISALES: Well, she disputes all of it. She says in one case, a major Trump donor is giving to her campaign because they're a family friend and they have shared heritage. And as for the crypto donors, she says she's likely drawn that support because she's pushed ideas on how to innovate the digital asset industry.
YASSAMIN ANSARI: Frankly speaking, I think it's a desperate attack from a campaign that has not spent much time at all focusing on what they actually want to do for residents but more on trying to tear down another Democrat.
GRISALES: For example, she said she has no connection to the Winklevoss twins, who are major players in the crypto industry today and donated the maximum allowed to her campaign.
FADEL: So, Claudia, how unusual is it for Republican donors to be donating to a Democratic candidate in a Democratic primary?
GRISALES: Well, it's pretty unusual. Though we did see this in the last election cycle in a Democratic primary in Oregon. Falling crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried in 2022 propped up a virtual political unknown against a Latina state lawmaker. It became one of the most expensive primaries in the country that year, but in the end, crypto's favorite candidate lost to the state lawmaker. Now, in Arizona's case, we know the industry has been through a series of major scandals in recent years, but yet crypto could make its biggest mark on this election cycle. For example, the Republican crypto Protect Progress PAC has given more than $1.3 million to support Ansari's campaign in just this one House Democratic primary race. So it'll be interesting to see how this plays out today in this key battleground state.
FADEL: NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thank you.
GRISALES: Thank you.
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FADEL: Former President Trump has agreed to be interviewed as a witness in the assassination attempt against him. The FBI says it will talk with Trump as it investigates the shooting at a campaign rally just over two weeks ago in Pennsylvania.
INSKEEP: NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas is covering this investigation. Ryan, good morning.
RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: What's the FBI hoping to learn?
LUCAS: Well, this is what's known as a victim interview. It's standard procedure. The FBI says it wants to get Trump's perspective on the shooting, what he observed that day, experienced, just like any other witness. And the bureau says they contacted him about doing this interview and that he's agreed to sit down with them.
INSKEEP: I just have to note, Ryan, this is a man who is under federal indictment in entirely separate cases for the 2020 election and for classified documents. Do the agents agree not to ask him about any of that stuff?
LUCAS: These sorts of victim interviews will be limited to the events of July 13 and what he saw that day.
INSKEEP: OK, so they're focused on the assassination attempt, and this is part of the broader investigation. What has the FBI been learning in that investigation?
LUCAS: Well, it says that it's interviewed more than 450 people at this point. That includes folks who knew the shooter, Thomas Crooks - his family, co-workers, former teachers, classmates. Remember, Crooks was just 20 years old. The FBI says Crooks was highly intelligent but a bit of a loner. His social circle was limited basically to his immediate family. He was interested in shooting, first as a hobby. That later morphed into formal firearms training. And at this point, the FBI says it still has not determined a motive. But it says it does believe from what it's found so far that Crooks appears to have planned carefully ahead of the Trump rally and taken actions to try to hide his activities.
INSKEEP: What was he trying to hide?
LUCAS: The FBI says Crooks used aliases to buy things online, and not just any old things, but things related to guns and explosives. It says starting in early 2023, Crooks made 25 gun-related purchases online. And then in the first half of this year, he bought precursor chemicals, basically the ingredients for making homemade bombs, and he did so on six occasions, ultimately used them in two explosive devices that were found in his vehicle. He, of course, didn't detonate those.
So that is new. Investigators say that this is what points to careful planning, concealment on Crooks' part. But we also learned more about what the FBI has seen on his cellphones, computer, his online search history. And that includes that he looked up information related to power plants, to mass shootings, homemade bombs. And he also looked up information on the attempted assassination earlier this year of Slovakia's prime minister.
INSKEEP: I'm amazed that after all that planning, he ultimately just improvised his way into a position where he could fire from a rooftop at the former president. Has the FBI answered any questions about how that could have happened?
LUCAS: Well, we got the most detailed timeline yet from the FBI on what Crooks was doing the day of the shooting, particularly in the immediate run up to it. The FBI says that at 5:56 p.m. - so 15 minutes before Crooks fired on Trump from the rooftop - that Crooks was seen walking on the ground with a backpack. So he wasn't on the roof at that point. Investigators say they think he climbed piping on the side of the building to get up onto the roof. And then at 6:08, he's seen walking across the roof to get to his final firing position. Three minutes later, a policeman - and we've heard about this - was lifted up to the roof, sees Crooks. Crooks points the gun at the cop, who immediately drops back down to the ground. And the FBI now says it was just 25 to 30 seconds after that that Crooks fired eight rounds before being killed by a countersniper.
Now, as for the security failings that day, the FBI is not focused on that. There are other investigations. The Secret Service director and a senior FBI official are testifying about that before Congress today.
INSKEEP: NPR's Ryan Lucas. Thanks for the update, really appreciate it.
LUCAS: Thank you.
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FADEL: OK, let's go to Paris, where Simone Biles competes for gold today, and where there's trouble for the U.S. in the water.
INSKEEP: Americans have always been dominant at the Summer Olympics - think about Michael Phelps in swimming. But so far in these summer games, the swimmers are struggling.
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RYAN MURPHY: You know, and really, the parity internationally, it's really competitive right now. There's so many talented athletes across the world now.
INSKEEP: Veteran American swimmer Ryan Murphy settled for bronze last night in the 100-meter backstroke.
FADEL: With me now is NPR's Brian Mann in Paris. Hi, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hey, good morning, Leila. Beautiful summer day here in Paris. Big crowds. It's going to be really hot, though, today.
FADEL: So - but there are a few gold medals for American swimmers? What's happening?
MANN: Yeah. You heard Ryan Murphy there talking about parity. The rest of the world, especially Australia, is getting better and better. The U.S. has seen some of its big stars retire, like Michael Phelps, and others are nearing the end of their careers like Katie Ledecky. And, Leila, one other big trend that we're seeing here is that international swimmers are living and training in the U.S. Some of the big new stars in the swimming world, the future of the sport - folks like 17-year-old Canadian Summer Mcintosh, who won gold last night, Leon Marchan, the Frenchman, who won his first gold. These athletes have come up through the U.S. swimming system, but their gold medals are going to their home countries.
FADEL: So one more bit of trouble in the water, Brian. The men's triathlon delayed today because of poor water quality in the Seine River. Is this fixable?
MANN: Yeah, the French took a big risk trying to clean up the Seine enough that world-class athletes could swim and compete there. Organizers say it was in good shape but then all that rain hit Paris and it flushed gunk into the river, so it's testing unsafe right now. They're going to try again tomorrow.
FADEL: Now, Simone Biles competes today in the gymnastics team finals. There have been questions about Biles' left leg possibly being injured. What do we know?
MANN: In preliminary competition, Biles had heavily taped calf and ankle. She was clearly limping. Her coaches downplayed this, Leila, describing it as a muscle issue in her calf. She is scheduled to compete in all these events, and she's looked strong, confident, really poised. The U.S. is going to face some real competition from Brazil and Italy. But if Biles shows up healthy, if she performs as brilliantly as we've seen so far, the U.S. women are heavy favorites.
FADEL: Now, a sports doping scandal involving Chinese athletes has continued to escalate in Paris. Today, U.S. lawmakers are getting involved back in Washington. What's happening there?
MANN: Boy, this just keeps getting messier. Eleven Chinese swimmers competing at these Olympics tested positive back in 2021 for banned performance-enhancing drugs. The World Anti-Doping Agency - known as WADA - is supposed to keep drugs out of international sport. But when WADA learned about those positive tests, they kept it secret. That's led to a lot of calls for reform of the anti-doping system, but it sparked this intense diplomatic fight.
Here in Paris, the International Olympic Committee is siding with WADA. And the IOC actually demanded that American officials back off, the IOC threatening to revoke Salt Lake City's award to host the Winter Games in 2034. Now, U.S. lawmakers not backing down. At a press conference today, this bipartisan group of senators and House members are expected to announce legislation pushing for big changes to WADA. And athletes are also angry over this, Leila. They want reforms to this system.
FADEL: NPR's Brian Mann is with our team in Paris covering the Olympics. Thank you, Brian.
MANN: All right, thanks, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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