Subject: POLITICO’S Huddle: OBAMA VOWS ACTION AGAINST IRAN IF NECESSARY — McCaskill scoffs at Scott Brown’s bare-chested habits — STRING VIDEO STAR SEES SOME GOOD IN PLANNED PARENTHOOD — Cruz issues another funding warning — HACKERS GET CHEATING HILL WORKERS’ INFO
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2015 06:33:53 -0600

By Rachael Bade (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  or @RachaelMBade)

"IN LETTER, OBAMA TELLS CONGRESS U.S. WILL STILL PRESS IRAN." The White House is trying to ease the nervous left about the Iran deal with a promise that, should Iran go back on the deal, the administration will comes out guns blazing. Jonathan Weisman scoops for the N.Y. Times: "In his most comprehensive effort to assure wavering Democrats, President Obama wrote in a letter to Congress that the United States would unilaterally maintain economic pressure and deploy military options if needed to deter Iranian aggression, both during and beyond the proposed nuclear accord."

"The Aug. 19 letter, obtained by The New York Times, is addressed to Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, but is also aimed at other Democrats with concerns about the deal. For Mr. Obama, it reflects steps the administration could take outside the agreement. The president has repeatedly said that the deal reached by Iran and six world powers cannot be changed..."

"White House officials say the letter represents the first time that the president himself has compiled them under his name and in writing. It commits explicitly to establishing an office within the State Department to carry out the nuclear accord... expanded assurances that sanctions lifted under the nuclear accord could be reimposed piece by piece, not all at once..." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe12b0b1be40039c4c15801cf7460d9671f743b1133ad9b300e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe12b0b1be40039c4c15801cf7460d9671f743b1133ad9b300e 

MCCASKILL BACKS IRAN DEAL. A red-state Democrat, no less - adding momentum for the President as he lobbies for Democratic support. Burgess and Pro Defense's Jeremy Herb report: "Sen. Claire McCaskill said Thursday she backs President Barack Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran, the second centrist Democrat to announce support in the last day. The Missouri lawmaker's endorsement demonstrates that vulnerable, red-state Democrats are not worried enough about the deal to move to the political right of the president. Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana announced his backing for the deal on Wednesday afternoon and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is leaning toward supporting it." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe16c0cc58984c512eb1755d72259d319d286e5abfda9cde4c4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe16c0cc58984c512eb1755d72259d319d286e5abfda9cde4c4 

SPEAKING OF MCCASKILL...

BEER, BASEBALL, & A SHIRTLESS SCOTT BROWN, W/ MCCASKILL . There's a reason New York Magazine called McCaskill "the most candid woman in the Senate," after hanging with her for a profile in which she smacked the former Massachusetts Senator for taking his shirt off too often. From the piece: "I&#39;m about to ask her what she thinks of Scott Walker, but McCaskill has a question of her own. 'What&#39;s Scott Brown up to these days?' I tell her that the last I heard he was appearing as a guest on a celebrity cruise and pushing diet pills."

"'No! Who goes on a celebrity cruise ship to see Scott Brown?' she scoffs. 'Do people even know who he is? Wow. He will do anything to show his body. It was so surreal, all of the women in the Senate used to talk about how he would figure out some way, every time he had a conversation, to work in something about his body. Like, "I was on the treadmill in the gym this morning and I saw you on MSNBC," or "You know, I was running at lunch today and" - and he did it to all of us! We all compared notes.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1e6fd75188d27ffe7f7988401bbfc6b1e0a3a2b56a66bf47d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1e6fd75188d27ffe7f7988401bbfc6b1e0a3a2b56a66bf47d 

FRIDAY! - IT'S AUGUST 21, 2015. Thanks for hanging with Huddle this week for all news Congress. I'm out next week burning up vacation before in Cancun - and trying to decide between Chichen Itz&aacute; and Tulum. Which one is more impressive? Email suggestions here: 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] , or Tweet: @RachaelMBade.

TODAY IN CONGRESS: Peacing out early for recess. 

OFF THE HILL: Americans for Prosperity is hosting the ninth annual Defending the American Dream Summit today and tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio, headlining some familiar congressional faces, including: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

BOOKED FOR SECRECY. (Burgess writes in more on Iran) Why declare mostly newsless press call with your state's Jewish community off the record? No idea. But that's exactly what New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker did on Thursday when he held a 30-minute conference call organized by The Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel of America, AIPAC, and the N.J. State Association of Jewish Federations. Two sources on the call said that the call was not advertised as off-the-record, but when it began it was made clear that neither constituents nor any media outlets on the call were allowed to report the contents.

Doesn't sound like we missed much; Booker still hasn't made a decision, the sources said. But why the secrecy? "NJ stakeholder call. Closed press," a spokeswoman said. In an invitation, the call is not declared off-the-record, but there is a helpful suggestion that Booker is almost ready to make a decision. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe165bf50798717a5dcab5e30e278cb1dc674125d70f565bcbd 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe165bf50798717a5dcab5e30e278cb1dc674125d70f565bcbd 

STING VIDEOS' STAR SEES SOME &#39;GOOD&#39; IN PLANNED PARENTHOOD. The woman who's starring in a number of the undercover videos that have plagued the woman's health organization says she doesn't necessarily want to see the organization tank, even offering some praise. An interesting read by Pro Health's Jennifer Haberkorn: "The woman featured prominently in three of the Planned Parenthood sting videos says she's unsure whether the women's health organization should be shut down in light of the massive political controversy she helped ignite."

"Holly O'Donnell, a 24-year-old from Northern California, said in a little-noticed conservative radio podcast that she is 'pro-life' and personally opposes abortion, but also calls it 'every woman's choice.' She said she participated in the videos as a whistleblower because she wanted to expose practices that she considers trafficking in fetal body parts - yet she still has praise for some of Planned Parenthood's work. 'I think Planned Parenthood, they do a lot of wonderful things, but they also do things like fetal trafficking with biotech companies,' O'Donnell said in the podcast. 'I don't think I have any authority to outright say, oh yeah, shut down Planned Parenthood. Because they do
 do good for women as well.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe15a9d1dfd4627144c759f0677e429375c4e2f36af9421e502 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe15a9d1dfd4627144c759f0677e429375c4e2f36af9421e502 

SHUTDOWN SIRENS BLARING: CRUZ DOUBLES DOWN ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD. Friendly reminder of the challenge awaiting the Senate Majority Leader when lawmakers return in September to hash out a spending plan: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a USA Today op-ed again called on the Kentucky Republican to squash Planned Parenthood's government funding in any spending legislation - which would almost assuredly end in a government shutdown:"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should not schedule or facilitate the consideration of any legislation that gives federal money to Planned Parenthood. Instead, the Department of Justice needs to investigate and prosecute Planned Parenthood for any potential criminal
 actions of commercial trafficking of fetal organs... I intend to lead the fight in the United States Senate to defund Planned Parenthood, even while investigations continue... Funding the federal government does not require funding Planned Parenthood. But basic decency and our commitment to the right to life does require that we stop taxpayer funding of abortions and any trade in baby parts." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1ee4bef88f81cf605cda031c29a87a5c0a3712a2349af29a1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1ee4bef88f81cf605cda031c29a87a5c0a3712a2349af29a1 

"RETIRING REID WILL LOOM LARGE IN NEV. SENATE RACE." Don't underestimate the outgoing Minority Leader - even when he's gone, per James Arkin for RealClearPolitics: "The first indication of Reid's effect on the contest to replace him came within hours of his official retirement announcement in March. In an interview with Nevada public radio, the five-term senator said he had talked to former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and encouraged her to run for his seat. 'If she runs, I&#39;m going to help her,' he said. 'Whoever runs against Catherine will be a loser.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe151633260eea2022379673414ff662db21f2fd8d85a339c6e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe151633260eea2022379673414ff662db21f2fd8d85a339c6e 

LATEST ON CLINTON EMAILS-

JUDGE: CLINTON VIOLATED GOV POLICY. Gerstein with the read from yesterday's court hearing: "A federal judge has added fresh fuel to the incendiary controversy over Hillary Clinton's email, asserting during a hearing Thursday that she violated government policy by storing official messages on a private server when she worked as secretary of state. 'We wouldn't be here today if this employee had followed government policy,' said U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, apparently referring to Clinton, during a hearing on one of the many Freedom of Information Act lawsuits seeking access to her records as secretary of state." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1091de49b284ccd24ebd940da63ac5d513fb0b32b17f2faa8 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1091de49b284ccd24ebd940da63ac5d513fb0b32b17f2faa8 

...And orders State to seek Clinton server information from FBI.Laura Koran for CNN: "A U.S. district court judge on Thursday ordered the State Department to ask the FBI for any information found on Hillary Clinton&#39;s private email server that could prove relevant to an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. 'I&#39;m surprised State didn&#39;t do that already,' Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington said at one point during the hearing after first admonishing the State Department&#39;s counsel for not being able to confirm whether the FBI was in possession of the server. The conservative organization Judicial Watch is suing the State Department over failure to provide records related to
 the employment of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe15a3ca1bbe9dd0b9d75c74d20693454e15e2adc143a163a42 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe15a3ca1bbe9dd0b9d75c74d20693454e15e2adc143a163a42 

YIKES! HACKERS GET DIRT ON GOV, HILL WORKERS. The AP: "Hundreds of U.S. government employees - including some with sensitive jobs in the White House, Congress and law enforcement agencies - used Internet connections in their federal offices to access and pay membership fees to the cheating website Ashley Madison, The Associated Press has learned... They included at least two assistant U.S. attorneys; an information technology administrator in the Executive Office of the President; a division chief, an investigator and a trial attorney in the Justice Department; a government hacker at the Homeland Security Department and another DHS employee who indicated he worked on a U.S. counterterrorism
 response team.... They included workers at more than two dozen Obama administration agencies, including the departments of State, Defense, Justice, Energy, Treasury, Transportation and Homeland Security. Others came from House or Senate computer networks. The AP is not naming the government subscribers it found because they are not elected officials or accused of a crime." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1e7b5043a0442ce0f5ad9e0903beb5d9ad020c5c8d1a7f7dc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1e7b5043a0442ce0f5ad9e0903beb5d9ad020c5c8d1a7f7dc 

TRANSITION TO WEST PAUL BEACH. Bon voyage! (Hat tip Daniel Lippman) Juliet Albin is leaving Rep. Michael Capuano's (D-Mass.) office after two years as a foreign policy, human rights and technology legislative aide and is moving to West Palm Beach to become the Director of Operations for Rep. Pat Murphy's Senate campaign.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER. Grant Dubler was the first to answer that President John Tyler was born during George Washington&#39;s Administration, and his youngest child, Pearl (born when he was 70!), died during the Truman Administration

TODAY&#39;S TRIVIA: Which comes from our winner: Today is Hawaii Admission Day, which is celebrated every year on the third Friday in August to commemorate Hawaii&#39;s admission into the Union in 1959. Since then, only 14 people have served Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives. Who is Hawaii&#39;s oldest living former House Member and what Cabinet-level position did he or she hold after serving in Congress. Email 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] .

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says &#39;Sign Up.&#39; 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1c57251b48cdf7cd85a3e82dea7df4f38d62ad68fc4a17d8c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1c57251b48cdf7cd85a3e82dea7df4f38d62ad68fc4a17d8c . 

Go to POLITICO Huddle Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1de21393e2ac4b59659f160969823e588bef31f4c30dfcb7c

Go to this edition >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe141f3556cf8fc9fa69e72bb6d98226dcf92bcac8b9f39c12f

=================================

2015 POLITICO, LLC

POLITICO Huddle.

To unsubscribe, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=21ae78695118cfe1c2e78c2f89c5b4b93f7864e4f72a7d934132faecd969fa80

1000 Wilson Blvd., 8th Floor

Arlington, VA 22209

=================================