The Trail 2016: Drip, drip, drip…

by Jonathan Easley - 08/30/16 6:48 PM ET

Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

Hillary Clinton is under growing pressure to address questions about conflicts of interest between her family’s charitable foundation and her time as secretary of State.

In several instances, foundation donors have done business with the State Department, raising “pay-to-play” allegations from Donald Trump.

More than 50 Republicans on Capitol Hill signed a letter on Tuesday urging the Justice Department appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether Clinton Foundation donors had unusual access to Clinton during her time at State.

Even The New York Times editorial board is alarmed, calling it an “ethical imperative” for Clinton to cut ties with the charitable foundation if she wins the White House.

Meanwhile, Clinton’s other controversy just won’t go away.

The State Department said Tuesday the FBI had recovered 30 of the nearly 15,000 deleted emails from Clinton’s private server. The emails pertained to the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Also on Tuesday, the conservative watchdog group that has relentlessly pursued emails from Clinton’s private server submitted 25 questions to a judge on Tuesday that the Democratic nominee will have to respond to under oath.

In a separate lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee, the State Department is arguing in court that it can’t meet demands to release a cache of Clinton’s records until after the election.

Check back at The Hill for updates on all of these developments.

You’ll also want to tune in throughout the night for breaking news updates on the House and Senate primaries playing out in Arizona and Florida. Will John McCain and Debbie Wasserman Schultz survive? Who will triumph between Alan Grayson and Patrick Murray?

Come back tomorrow, as The Hill will be your source for developments surrounding Trump’s big immigration speech.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

RACE TIGHTENS: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Donald Trump is gaining some ground on Hillary Clinton in the polls ahead of the crucial month of September.

BORDER CROSSROADS: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Donald Trump’s months of tough talk on immigration faces a defining moment in a policy speech this week. Rush Limbaugh is telling his audience that he never took Trump’s immigration proposals seriously.

PROGRESSIVE BENT: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: HIllary Clinton has tapped a close ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for her White House transition team.

FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE: The Hill’s Katie Bo Williams reports: The ranking Democrats on four House committees have asked the FBI to investigate whether Donald Trump’s campaign had any role in the recent cyber-attacks against the DNC and DCCC.

ODDS AND ENDS

STAND-IN: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: The Clinton campaign is in contact with Donald Trump’s ghostwriter as it prepares for next month’s presidential debate.

SOCIAL MEDIA GAFFE: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: A prominent African-American surrogate for Donald Trump is apologizing for tweeting out a cartoon of Hillary Clinton in blackface.

IMMIGRATION SNAFU: The Hill’s Paulina Frozi reports: Some foreign models are said to have worked illegally through Donald Trump’s modeling agency.

VOTERS WILL RENDER JUDGMENT: The Hill reports: Rick Perry will join the new cast of “Dancing With the Stars.”

POLL POSITION

TIGHTENING THE RUST BELT: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Polls are showing a tight race between Clinton and Trump in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

STARTING POINT: The Hill reports: Donald Trump’s support from African-Americans is at zero percent in a new poll.

NATIONAL FOUR-WAY: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 4 points nationally in a race that also includes Gary Johnson and Jill Stein.

THE DAILY TRUMP

WHO KNOWS?: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump had flippant response to a question about whether it’s smart for him to campaign in deep blue Washington.

WHO YOU CALLING SOFT?: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump, Jr. disputes the notion that his father is “softening” on immigration.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We take very seriously any effort by any actor — including nation states but especially nation states — that moves beyond the collection of information about our country, and then offers the prospect of an effort to influence the conduct of affairs on our country, whether that’s election or something else.”

— FBI director James Comey publicly addressing for the first time reports that his agency has been alarmed by suspected hackings of voter database in Illinois and Arizona.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

COAL AD: The Hill’s Devin Henry reports: Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is tying his Democratic opponent to Hillary Clinton’s widely criticized statement about putting “coal miners and coal companies out of business.”

MONEY WATCH

OMINOUS SIGNS PART I: The Hill’s Reid Wilson reports: The main super-PAC backing Senate Democrats is delaying an ad buy in Ohio, a sign that Democrats are growing increasingly pessimistic about Ted Strickland’s chances of unseating incumbent Sen. Rob Portman.

OMINOUS SIGNS PART II: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: The network of conservative groups helmed by billionaire donors Charles and David Koch are pulling ads from Ohio, believing Rob Portman to be safe.

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

(All times Eastern)

Donald Trump will hold a rally in Everett, Wash., at 10 p.m. on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he’ll hold a rally in Phoenix, Ariz., at 9 p.m.

Mike Pence will rally supporters in Winston-Salem, N.C. at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. On Wednesday he’ll hold a town hall event in Sarasota, Fla. at 4 p.m.

Hillary Clinton will address the American Legion National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday.

Tim Kaine will be in Bethlehem, Pa., on Wednesday for a 1:30 p.m. event.

Gary Johnson will participate in a Facebook Live event at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.

There are Republican and Democratic House and Senate primaries in Florida and Arizona on Tuesday night.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Three weeks ago every headline & pundit screamed “Look at the polls! Race is over!” #Polls now tightening; media chatter is poll-free.

— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) August 30, 2016