“Subpoenas issued to people with ties to President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and his associates indicate a broad federal investigation into possible money laundering, obstruction of justice and campaign-finance violations, and suggest that prosecutors are looking closely at the work of Mr. Giuliani himself,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports the federal investigation into two associates of Giuliani “is exploring a wide range of potential crimes — including wire fraud and failure to register as a foreign agent — as prosecutors dig into the pair’s interactions with the president’s personal lawyer and the main pro-Trump super PAC.”

Politico: “What these grassroots supporters may not realize is that, in making small, repeated contributions, they have, in aggregate, delivered a huge payday for the middlemen, often large banks and financial institutions that process those payments.”

Politico: “Between 2012 and 2014, campaigns and political groups spent a combined $69,000 at Trump businesses… But since June 2015, when Trump announced he was running for the White House, political spending at the president’s properties has topped $19 million.”

Federal political committees have spent more than $20 million at businesses owned by President Trump since the 2008 cycle, according to OpenSecrets.

“Roughly 99% of that money has come since the start of the 2016 cycle, when Trump announced his bid for president and began spending campaign money at his own properties.”

Politico: “The effort centers around novelty merchandise items the reelection campaign has been hawking on its website, including ‘Pencil-Neck Adam Schiff’ T-shirts lampooning the Democratic congressman and Trump antagonist as a clown; ‘I Spy Trump’ tees and tanks depicting the commander-in-chief being snooped on by former President Barack Obama; and, most recently, the plastic straws. The Trump 2020 online store has marketed the offering as an alternative to the more environmentally-friendly ‘liberal paper straws’ that ‘don’t work.’”

“The straws (they are actually reusable and recyclable) have been a cash cow, generating more than $456,000 in sales since they first became available July 19, according to the campaign. That and other offerings have attracted scores of new donors to the Trump campaign, and helped the president build a massive early financial advantage over Democrats. Even Democrats who’ve savaged the president over his environmental record offered grudging respect for the straw maneuver.”

Axios: “Big Tech companies, including Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon, are all seen as leaning more Democratic, along with sports-linked brands like Nike, the NBA, and the NFL — while banks like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citi, are all seen as more Republican, along with some of the biggest corporate names like Walmart, GM, and Delta.”

“People of both parties — Democrats at 38%, Republicans at 35% — are just about as likely to boycott brands over their social beliefs, but their targets skew similarly partisan.”

“Last April, telecom giant T-Mobile announced a megadeal: a $26 billion merger with rival Sprint, which would more than double T-Mobile’s value and give it a huge new chunk of the cellphone market,” the Washington Post reports.

“But for T-Mobile, one hurdle remained: Its deal needed approval from the Trump administration.”

“The next day, in Washington, staffers at the Trump International Hotel were handed a list of incoming ‘VIP Arrivals.’ That day’s list included nine of T-Mobile’s top executives — including its chief operating officer, chief technology officer, chief strategy officer, chief financial officer and its outspoken celebrity chief executive, John Legere.”

“Bill and Hillary Clinton have been forced to resort to selling half price tickets for their 13-city tour on Groupon in a desperate bid to put bums on seats,” the Daily Mail reports.

“The former president and first lady launched their tour in a Canadian hockey arena last Tuesday to an underwhelming crowd and swaths of empty seats. Ticket prices were plummeting shortly before the event, with the cheapest seats selling on Stubhub for single-digits –  $6.55 Canadian Dollars, or less than $5.”

ProPublica: “Since Donald Trump declared his candidacy for president in late 2015, at least $16.1 million has poured into Trump Organization-managed and branded hotels, golf courses and restaurants from his campaign, Republican organizations, and government agencies. Because Trump’s business empire is overseen by a trust of which he is the sole beneficiary, he profits from these hotel stays, banquet hall rentals and meals.”

“The vast majority of the money — at least $13.5 million, or more than 84 percent of what we tracked — was spent by Trump’s presidential campaign (including on Tag Air, the entity that operates Trump’s personal airplane). Republican Senate and House political committees and campaigns have shelled out at least another $2.1 million at Trump properties.”