Subject: Playbook Power Briefing, presented by BP: KUSHNER: ‘Let me be very clear: I did not collude with Russia’ -- TRUMP says Sessions is ‘beleaguered’ -- MO BROOKS uses Scalise shooting in campaign ad
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2017 11:40:32 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_6849691.xt.local>

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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by BP 
            
By JAKE SHERMAN ([email-masked]; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER ([email-masked]; @apalmerdc), DANIEL LIPPMAN ([email-masked]; @dlippman), ZACH MONTELLARO ([email-masked]; @ZachMontellaro)

        
Good Monday afternoon. WE'RE GOING TO DENVER! Join us on Aug. 1 for a live Playbook Exchange event with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper in Denver. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0d6c9f9efbaff41196d8104ae58feb9955fe4d85dfde13b71b4ed00aade9822517b9955dff6c976b39c0f99b52418d1ca

JARED KUSHNER SPEAKS -- "Let me be very clear: I did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so. I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds for my businesses. And I have been fully transparent in providing all requested information. Donald Trump had a better message and ran a smarter campaign, and that is why he won. Suggesting otherwise ridicules those who voted for him."

-- @ChuckGrassley: "Bipartisan wrk being done by JudicComm Intrvws just beginning&transcripts hold acctble Any future public testimony&subpeonas always on table" 

THE MOOCH SPEAKS -- GOOD CALL! -- @Scaramucci: "The TV Cameras are back on." 

CNN's JOHN KING -- TILLERSON on the way out?: "For weeks, conversations with Tillerson friends outside of Washington have left the impression that he, despite his frustrations, was determined to stay on the job at least through the end of the year. That would allow time to continue efforts to reorganize the State Department and would mean he could claim to have put in a year as America's top diplomat. But two sources who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity over the weekend said they would not be surprised if there was a 'Rexit' from Foggy Bottom sooner that that.

"Both of these sources are familiar with Tillerson conversations with friends outside Washington. Both said there was a noticeable increase in the secretary's frustration and his doubts that the tug-of-war with the White House would subside anytime soon. They also acknowledged it could have been venting after a tough week, a suggestion several DC-based sources made when asked if they saw evidence Tillerson was looking for an exit strategy." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0a16f4f82bf4d7a148a3b86a08e585a99af439691f53b691cecfbd25c50eb46f8169959d016b1e588dd8fc2ecda5c8b8f 

-- FLASHBACK: Tillerson bought a $5.6 million home in DC in February. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0a44ebf8f617ded18296950cae91f416e482c0933b615c4ec5ee8a807a8cb3803bb8f0ca388e0393af11fb4923f02670f

INTERESTING -- Joe Nocera (@NoceraBV): "Stop the presses: Just saw Rudy (and his muscle) at the Delta shuttle terminal. Got on the flight to...Washington." Mike Allen's story on Trump considering Giuliani for attorney general http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0c19448135ba8807ed3951b04190cfc606882ec3ae477586580866931da3aefeb0d6ac52a4059a246af429dbf64c1ed60

THIS HAPPENED AT THE WHITE HOUSE THIS MORNING -- From George Condon of National Journal -- today's pooler: "The interns were standing in five tiered rows of about 25 in each row. The president was in the middle of the interns, standing in the third tier. Two questions shouted by the pool drew giggles and laughter from the interns and no answers from the president. Asked 'should Jeff Sessions resign,' he did not answer but told the interns, 'They're not supposed to do that.' At the second question of whether he had any message on health care, he responded, 'Be quiet,' triggering more laughter as the pool was ushered out."

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FROM THE PRESIDENT ... -- @realDonaldTrump at 6:40 a.m.: "Drain the Swamp should be changed to Drain the Sewer - it's actually much worse than anyone ever thought, and it begins with the Fake News!" ... at 6:52 a.m.: "After 1 year of investigation with Zero evidence being found, Chuck Schumer just stated that 'Democrats should blame ourselves,not Russia.'" ... at 8:49 a.m.: "So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?" ... at 9:12 a.m.: "Sleazy Adam Schiff, the totally biased Congressman looking into 'Russia,' spends all of his time on television pushing the Dem loss excuse!" ... at 9:18 a.m.:
 "Republicans have a last chance to do the right thing on Repeal & Replace after years of talking & campaigning on it."

-- @RepAdamSchiff: "With respect Mr. President, the problem is how often you watch TV, and that your comments and actions are beneath the dignity of the office." ... @sahilkapur: "No joke: Is this the first time in US history the president has publicly called his own AG beleaguered?"

-- ALSO: Congressional committees spent a good deal of time and energy probing Hillary Clinton. Oh, and also: Trump's party controls Congress!

2020 WATCH -- BEN TERRIS in WaPo, "Sherrod Brown thinks he could have helped Democrats win in 2016. But what about 2020?": "In an alternate universe where Hillary Clinton picked Sherrod Brown as her vice-presidential candidate, which she almost did, the Democratic ticket could have won Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the White House. At least that's what Brown thinks. 'I mean, if I had gone to Wisconsin and Michigan a lot, anything would have changed those two states,' he said in an interview with The Washington Post. 'My wife thinks we would have won. She thinks we would have won Ohio.'

"But instead of settling in to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Brown finds himself up for reelection in a state redder than the president's face during an anti-CNN tweetstorm. His party, desperate to figure out a way to win back Rust Belt voters, will be scrutinizing this race like a laboratory experiment. If Brown pulls it off - well, perhaps they aren't as doomed as some think." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0a3156a044b8a9875e91b57a7c3ce5846688caa5cf40204b17b9ec5a1408fa9bcb2d84fa58a68f1d71a2297cba6d4fcf0 

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AFTERNOON READ -- "The Moneyman behind the alt-right," by BuzzFeed's Aram Roston and Joel Anderson: "How did explicit racism move from a taboo to an open, unabashed force in American politics? A loose but sprawling internet army, often called the alt-right, gave white supremacy a massive megaphone. And with the rise of Donald Trump's candidacy, it suddenly seemed to be everywhere at once. In fact, that movement had an infrastructure - organizations, journals, conferences, money - that had been laid down years before. It was in large part funded by one person: a secretive and aging multimillionaire named William H. Regnery II, the most influential racist you've never heard of.

"Despite inheriting immense wealth, having grown up in a prominent family in the conservative movement, he had managed to chalk up virtually no public success in his first six decades of life. He never graduated from college, and he floundered in his attempt at running the family business. But starting in 1999 - when he convened a dozen other middle-aged white nationalists at an ornate seaside hotel nicknamed the Pink Palace - he has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the quest to transform America and create what he calls a white 'ethnostate.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd023e646e98195b59decb006bd016ed075d22ac03d196a95cdd040eeeba72d260a90217ce73e5e82634b94ac68daa9f62f 

HMM -- "Brooks ad uses Scalise shooting," by Daniel Strauss: "A new ad for GOP Rep. Mo Brooks' Alabama Senate campaign uses footage from the aftermath of the congressional baseball practice shooting that wounded House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and others. The ad, titled 'Second Amendment,' includes audio of a gun firing and starts out with text that reads 'June 14: A Bernie Sanders supporter fires on Republican congressman.'

"'Mo Brooks gives his belt as a tourniquet to help the wounded,' the next text segment reads. The ad then shows a clip of Brooks being interviewed by reporters on whether the shooting changed his views on gun control. 'The Second Amendment, the right to bear arms is to ensure that we always have a republic, so no I'm not changing my position on any of the rights that we enjoy as Americans,' Brooks says in the footage." More for Pros http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd045c0c0512b72fb633cc3304ecf4bcad64a51c5493e08ffe5a5c821ace5294bae55b578d4da9434a59f5e9165008924dc ... The ad http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0f96c73d58defd10581197d800b504fa5fe63ba92dd5effdf51284e946c0d6462c13efdd5931a61df1d081954fe9242b4 

NORTH KOREA STRATEGY -- "How to Take Down Kim Jong Un," by Tom Malinowski in POLITICO Magazine: "No one can predict when and how Kim's hold will weaken, and it would be foolish to think we can force change from the outside. So if anyone reading this has fantasies about setting up governments in exile or fomenting coups or calling for uprisings, please put them aside - that kind of talk will only get people inside North Korea killed. There are, however, forces in play within North Korea that will probably lead to the end of its regime and its reason to exist as a country. Political change in Pyongyang and the reunification of Korea, as hard as it may be to imagine, is actually much more
 likely than the denuclearization of the present regime. The central aim of our strategy should be to foster conditions that enable this natural, internal process to move faster, while preparing ourselves, our allies and the North Korean people for the challenges we will face when change comes." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd09839fc75fbeed82c7f11e74c8456f5109d6ebf84f46d4371ab13585883c4bc6d748b60c6c8ae33f0ba3d5030ad0cd766 

TODAY'S BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- De Blasio bashes the MTA -- Illinois gubernatorial candidate lays out criminal justice reform platform http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0c3b72726cd68a6bfc7334a32e783acd2a3ae021d1312505b1dd9fda368ca80992369bf6e437166738d3bb274c7b526ce 

SPOTTED at a local video game company exposition hosted by the Entertainment Software Association and WeWork at San Diego Comic Con 2017 on Saturday: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), competing against each other in Mario Kart 8 for the Nintendo Switch. Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0ac28c88f6e3593aa208339c6fa49b7620a0abfcd8cda7f7f4b3ac49d5d031152c8059147f4da4ca407096c896076e77b 

MEDIAWATCH -- "NYT NAMES NEW JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF," by the Jerusalem Post's Amy Spiro: "David Halbfinger, a veteran Times reporter and editor, will move to the region in August, and begin working in September, the newspaper announced on Monday. Halbfinger will replace Ian Fisher, who took up the post in January." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3bff462f6d692dd0795c242ff24a565dbec05e491b2ad2acf4b5db47aaeefe6d4ccedc4f2f345730b833ad574094f81cf91e5897b3d35a9d 

-- WHCA President Jeff Mason officially handed over his leadership responsibilities to Bloomberg's Margaret Talev this morning. Mason's email to WHCA: "It has been a true privilege serving as president of the White House Correspondents' Association this last year. Thank you for your support of me and the WHCA board during very challenging times. From the end of the Obama administration to the often chaotic transition period and the first months of the Trump White House, it has been an adventure. I'm proud of the work we've done."

SPOTTED: Malia Obama on Sunday afternoon at Millie's ... Fred Humphries, Melissa Moss and Kiki McLean, Geoff Morrell and George Will all having breakfast separately at the Four Seasons Monday morning

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