Subject: POLITICO Playbook, presented by the American Bankers Association: TRUMP heads to Texas as epic floods continue -- POTUS ‘unusually silent’ after top aides challenge him -- REMEMBERING MICHAEL CROMARTIE -- MICHAEL SCHERER to WaPo -- B’DAY: Neil Gorsuch
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Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2017 04:33:34 -0600
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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by the American Bankers Association 
            
By ANNA PALMER ([email-masked]; @apalmerdc), JAKE SHERMAN ([email-masked]; @JakeSherman) and DANIEL LIPPMAN ([email-masked]; @dlippman)
        
Listen to the Playbook Audio Briefing
                  Driving the Day         
Good Tuesday morning. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is headed to Texas at 8:30 a.m. to survey the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. THE PLAN: Trump will arrive in Corpus Christi, receive a briefing, and then head to Austin for a tour of the Emergency Operations Center and a meeting with the state's leaders.

-- UNDER THE DOME: D.C. IS BEGINNING TO TURN ITS ATTENTION to the likelihood that it will have to pass a massive emergency spending bill to help rebuild Houston. It will take a while for Texas and the federal government to fully assess its needs. But President Trump yesterday promised "rapid action from Congress," not to mention his vow that the water-logged state will be "up and running very, very quickly," something that emergency managers and Texas officials have pushed back on.
 
A FEW PATHS THE LEGISLATING CAN TAKE, per insiders we've spoken to: Congress can provide an initial down payment by passing the first installment of cash for Texas. That would give lawmakers the opportunity to show they're on top of the situation, while leaving open the possibility that they'd have to pass a second -- and larger -- bill. This has upsides and downsides. Upside: it shows immediate action. Downside: Congress would have to act twice. It's hard enough for the institution to do something once.

Another option is to attach a disaster relief bill to a government funding measure. Upside: As long as the bill didn't include funding for the border wall, this would help ease the passage of a bill to fund the government and could stop a September shutdown. Downside: Any time Congress lops one measure onto another something could go wrong.

-- THE REALITY, via Julie Turkewitz in Houston, Richard Perez-Pena in New York and Jack Healy in San Antonio with Dave Montgomery in Austin, Dave Philipps in San Antonio, John Schwartz in New Orleans and Henry Fountain in New York, on A1 of the the NYT: "Local, state and federal officials conceded that the scale of the crisis was so vast that they were nowhere near being able to measure it, much less fully address it. Across a region that is home to millions of people and includes Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city, no one has a clear idea how many people are missing, how many evacuated, how many hunkered down or were trapped in their waterlogged homes, or how many inundated houses
 and vehicles are beyond saving." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba126ff4c8fe9787f694711e6dc8745549d3998aad9d3dadf8d11b6b474a6d56475fb88c45b8d88ee841be7fd2dce34fb8e6

-- L.A. TIMES: "By Monday evening, the death toll had risen to nine. Officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, reported at least six 'potentially storm-related' fatalities. A 60-year-old woman died Monday in Porter, a small community north of Houston, when a large oak fell on her mobile home. Another person died in the small coastal town of Rockport, near where Harvey made landfall. A 52-year-old homeless man was found in La Marque, a small city near Galveston." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12dc297f277c22aa460b3feff727b5c72b4156b02ffb28488ddeb4cd4b2b9adcc5437f08ea1b64aa444bb917b648668c17

HOUSTON POLICE CHIEF ART ACEVEDO to the AP: "We know in these kind of events that, sadly, the death toll goes up historically. I'm really worried about how many bodies we're going to find."

PULLING BACK THE LENS -- "Bracing for Harvey's return, worry renews: Is worst to come?," by AP's Michael Graczyk and David Phillip in Houston: "The disaster is unfolding on an epic scale, with the nation's fourth-largest city mostly paralyzed by the storm that has parked itself over the Gulf Coast. With nearly 2 more feet of rain expected on top of the 30-plus inches in some places, authorities worried the worst might be yet to come. The Houston metro area covers about 10,000 square miles, an area slightly bigger than New Jersey. It's crisscrossed by about 1,700 miles of channels, creeks and bayous that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles to the southeast from downtown.

"The storm is generating an amount of rain that would normally be seen only once in more than 1,000 years, said Edmond Russo, a deputy district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, which was concerned that floodwater would spill around a pair of 70-year-old reservoir dams that protect downtown Houston." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12b1e8b21224f151ae71eee7da4b964e575bdfa706a14e52b5e869783177e2c62073d154b5f8b48eedc5ae2c2bdcb7869c

-- UNBELIEVABLE STATS in today's HOUSTON CHRONICLE: "Tropical Storm Harvey was producing 1 to 2 inches of rain per hour Tuesday morning, which would ultimately worsen the city's flooding problem, according to the National Weather Service." ... "The amount of water expected to hit Fort Bend County by late Tuesday could reach levels seen only about once every 800 years."

-- WHAT YOU'LL HEAR A LOT ABOUT IN THE COMING DAYS: "Storm water starts rising in neighborhoods near Addicks and Barker dams," by the Houston Chronicle's John Harden and Lindsay Ellis: "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began releasing water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs early Monday morning, hours before officials planned to release rainfall from the two dams, according to the Harris County Flood Control District.

"The flood control district reported almost an hour later that storm water has started rising in the neighborhoods adjacent to Addicks and Barker. Heavy rainfall forced reservoir officials to begin releasing water from the dams sooner than previously planned. Col. Lars N. Zetterstrom with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had announced late Sunday afternoon that rising levels in the two reservoirs would force authorities to release water from both dams. The rising tides within the dams are forcing the water to swell and spill upstream into neighboring communities that sit against the dams." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12356fb9e7628432b089d91d44752845d5d9cdecbddad0cc60be241ac21b9771759b9a4aa8de9dbe12b7edd1e03a6d9c72

CLICKER -- "The Unprecedented Flooding in Houston, in Photos" - 28 pix on one page http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12840cd6aba69c9ebedd4e8cedd26b5ccb889de2e87d5b518d79726d7af52128c91c2137d706aadbc2d78ac9742a089577

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MATT NUSSBAUM: "Trumpian branding meets national tragedy": "President Donald Trump has deployed his knack for marketing as Hurricane Harvey has ravaged Texas, calling the storm 'epic,' 'historic,' and the 'biggest ever.' 'Even experts have said they've never seen one like this!' Trump declared on Twitter. But Trump's showmanship is about to collide with the devastation on the ground as he heads to Texas on Tuesday, and while natural disasters usually call for a certain presidential demeanor, Trump's response so far has been distinctly his own." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12a543781b3dc58dbd12f25b960ddae5e3da0d8ec85a0e94e765658ffc8ea4add0e668521b88b8acef52532b7fbf8b1e19

THIS COULD BE A PROBLEM -- "Texas Republican vows to fight for flood insurance overhaul," by Zach Warmbrodt: "As his state's largest city is pounded by extreme rain, Rep. Jeb Hensarling is digging in his heels on a conservative vision for overhauling the heavily indebted National Flood Insurance Program, which protects millions from the risk of financial calamity. The Texas Republican, who as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is spearheading efforts to revamp the program before it expires next month, will call on his colleagues to pass his proposal as soon as they return from recess.

"His committee has drafted legislation that would renew the program for five years but also shrink its footprint, make coverage more expensive for policyholders, and ease the pathway for private companies to sell their own flood insurance policies. Opponents say the changes would make coverage less accessible for many homeowners. ... In an interview Monday, as the devastation in Houston began to bring the policy issues to the fore, Hensarling said he was 'pressing on the accelerator' - not the brake. 'It's more urgent than ever we get this bill done,' he said.

"His characteristic steadfastness puts him at odds with other lawmakers, aides and lobbyists who suggested Congress was more likely to advance a less ambitious flood insurance package, including potentially a short-term extension bill without significant reforms. 'Hurricane Harvey makes a rapid reauthorization of the NFIP - in its current form - more likely,' a House Republican leadership aide said. 'Considering the ongoing disaster in Texas and the fact we are not even halfway through hurricane season, I think there will be immense public and political pressure to get this finished.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba120d0acab9c326604fcbb1dac0d3a9b55bc3b6d6cbc8d1489fdee20f0782147d392cd332e6a4d8ef0aa92c761769794db7

-- HENSARLING HAS STRUGGLED for years with changes to the flood insurance program.

NORTH KOREA, UNCOWED -- WAPO'S ANNA FIFIELD in TOKYO: "North Korea launched a ballistic missile Tuesday morning that flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, the most brazen provocation of Kim Jong Un's five-year-long rule and one that elicited strong condemnation from U.S. allies Japan and South Korea.

"The launch poses a further challenge, in particular, to President Trump, who has made North Korea a favorite rhetorical target. Trump said earlier this month that he would make Kim 'truly regret' harming the United States or its allies. In Japan, the prime minister was visibly agitated by North Korea's actions. 'A missile launch across Japan is an outrageous act that poses an unprecedented, grave and serious threat, and significantly undermines the peace and security of the region,' Shinzo Abe said after an emergency national security council meeting. ...

"In Seoul, President Moon Jae-in, a liberal who has promoted engagement with Pyongyang, ordered an 'overwhelming show of force' in response to the missile launch. South Korea's military aircraft dropped eight bombs on a shooting range on the southern side of the border with North Korea." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12dfd262558dd97a223babccf47e75f88e3b67d531ce02330c9cc7d4383c53f50197b06fa4a3ab337ef17ec13a82dbb3e9

THE BIG PICTURE, NYT A18 -- "Two Bankers Are Selling Trump's Tax Plan. Is Congress Buying?" by Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Kate Kelly: "Gary D. Cohn and Steven Mnuchin have spent months behind closed doors with Republican congressional leaders sketching the contours of an elaborate and politically difficult tax overhaul that is President Trump's top priority. ... Already, their ambitions have drifted from the president's original mark: A 15 percent corporate tax rate proposed in April is now likely to move to the 20 to 25 percent range, say two people familiar with the officials' recent thinking. And a proposed 35 percent ceiling on the highest personal income tax rate could be shelved
 altogether, leaving the current 39.6 percent cap intact.

"For Mr. Cohn and Mr. Mnuchin, quiet competitors since their days as new partners at Goldman Sachs more than two decades ago, the task is a consequential test of whether real-world experience in finance has equipped them to carry out a delicate political negotiation, and whether two Jewish New Yorkers who have been lavish supporters of Democrats can succeed in Mr. Trump's Washington. 'Goldman has thrived by hiring strong individuals with very different backgrounds and putting them together on a team,' Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, said in an email. 'Gary and Steven are both steeped in that tradition from their years working side by side on the trading floor -- not a
 bad training ground for the pressure cooker that is Washington.' ...

"In a meeting with a group of Senate Democrats this year, according to people who were present, Mr. Cohn jokingly dismissed concerns about the wisdom and cost of repealing the estate tax, remarking, 'Only morons pay the estate tax.' A source close to Mr. Cohn denied that he had used the word, saying he had been referring to 'rich people with really bad tax planning.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba128654b65627af79f573caa5a4deaf1f8c77efb3b9b1e34a7ad46e25c8d45580ffe79644c4aa5acc2ceaaeabaa215023ed

TRUMP V. HIS CABINET -- "Trump rejected China steel offer his officials backed," by FT's Demetri Sevastopulo and Shawn Donnan: "Donald Trump last month rejected a Chinese proposal to cut steel overcapacity despite it being endorsed by some of his top advisers, as he urged them instead to find ways to impose tariffs on imports from China. One week after the July G20 summit in Hamburg -- where Mr. Trump criticised China for flooding the world market with cheap steel -- Beijing proposed cutting steel overcapacity by 150m tonnes by 2022. But Mr. Trump twice rejected the deal, according to several people familiar with the internal debate. ... Wilbur Ross, U.S. commerce secretary, endorsed the
 deal and brought it to Mr. Trump, but the president rejected the proposal. Mr. Ross, a long-time friend of the president, floated the deal again the following week during the two-day meetings with Chinese vice-premier Wang Yang, but Mr. Trump once again refused to accept it." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba1288a5219be5f598d575a76c88658a6d2ab2e1d56e3b5c4644a127b557283fbaf0bc2648df78ba52ed4882eabbb834a73a

DEPT. OF BARK NO BITE -- "Trump unusually silent after aides challenge him," by Josh Dawsey, Ben White and Eliana Johnson: "President Donald Trump is not happy with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, for publicly criticizing his response to violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. But it appears there is little he is planning to do about it, according to people who have spoken to him. The unusually direct challenges from a Cabinet secretary and senior administration official seemed to make little more than a surface ripple in the swirling melodrama of the Trump White House, even as the president fumed privately about it. ... Cohn told
 associates that he hadn't heard a word from the president about his supposed anger - and that he didn't regret one bit having made his comments." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba120b70e3897f2b42d69fc56b35c0d6e883879ed0c20c48426c551dbae500644236ef6cb7df651404fc5859c8e85849c51b

-- BUT, BUT, BUT ... "Trump Punishes Longtime Aide After Angry Phoenix Speech, Sources Say," by Bloomberg's Jen Jacobs and Kevin Cirilli: "Donald Trump was in a bad mood before he emerged for a confrontational speech in Arizona last week. TV and social media coverage showed that the site of his campaign rally, the Phoenix Convention Center, was less than full. Backstage, waiting in a room with a television monitor, Trump was displeased, one person familiar with the incident said: TV optics and crowd sizes are extremely important to the president.

"As his surrogates warmed up the audience, the expanse of shiny concrete eventually filled in with cheering Trump fans. But it was too late for a longtime Trump aide, George Gigicos, the former White House director of advance who had organized the event as a contractor to the [RNC]. Trump later had his top security aide, Keith Schiller, inform Gigicos that he'd never manage a Trump rally again, according to three people familiar with the matter." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12f3a3d7fd60665744390aca12a72c66c4f40cddfef4748ac11ab9b110b025f4ed5557448ce285fa06e15d8e93807e3cd2

REVOLVING DOOR -- "Another RNC data guru heads for the exits," by Alex Isenstadt: "The [RNC] is losing its fifth staffer in just over a month. Conor Maguire, who has been working at the committee since 2011, is expected to depart in the next few weeks, according to two senior Republicans familiar with the move. Maguire, who served as director of external support, joins a wave of aides who have exited the committee's data department amid a change in leadership among its top ranks." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12ee62bad0fc1ef6e0216b6c2420f7dccd7f8a2d23f2e360f239e1c557741264ed45dde54c4c5a99224408741ecde4a2f9

IN FOGGY BOTTOM -- "Tillerson moves to ditch special envoys," by CNN's Elise Labott, Nicole Gaouette and Jeremy Herb: "Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is moving to eliminate or downgrade special envoy positions at the State Department, including the representative for climate change, a step that is sure to ignite vociferous opposition from some members of Congress. In a letter obtained by CNN and written to Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who heads the foreign relations committee, Tillerson said he would end or transfer as many as three dozen special envoy positions. ... Special envoys for Syria, Sudan and South Sudan, and the Arctic will be eliminated." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12bfbd932a79f8b3a039c1fff9becfadd7b652b735427ad05a1a6b0b3c326761bc544ca3545971939ac4568a716f1652b1

BANNON VS. TRUMP -- "Bannon wages war against Trump-backed candidate in Alabama," by Alex Isenstadt: "Just-departed White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is breaking from President Donald Trump in the closely watched Alabama Senate special election. During a closed-door meeting with powerful conservatives in Washington last week, Bannon declared that he's supporting former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore over Trump-endorsed incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, according to two people who were present. ... Appearing before a meeting of the secretive Conservative Action Project, Bannon made it clear that he supported Moore, a favorite among evangelicals, but was careful not to cast it as
 a break with the president. Rather, he said, it was an act of opposition toward Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is supporting Strange and has made the race a top political priority." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba1224b4ba418dd6515781ddc930fc09087eb8ec11ba4bb1de87c005c8a6b378ae5de91dd159b392c0d123afe469a37a1426

-- THIS WILL NOT be a fight that McConnell will shy away from. He and his allies have gone up against Bannon in primaries before -- and won.

IT'S BEGINNING ... -- "The 2020 campaign just kicked off in a New Hampshire strip mall," by Isaac Dovere in Manchester, New Hampshire: "Just like that, the 2020 retail campaigning for president began right here in a strip-mall campaign headquarters Monday, when Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti showed up for what he called 'the most important race in the country.' He was talking about the Manchester mayor's election. Joyce Craig, the Democratic candidate, invited him to join her for an afternoon that also included a speech to the Manchester Young Democrats and a fundraiser. Garcetti worked the crowds, introduced himself as 'Eric,' and took a bumper sticker and put it on the back of the black
 SUV he was driving around in. ... On Tuesday, Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), the only one to have already officially announced, will be here for a two-day trip, trying to get attention for his long-shot bid.

"On Labor Day, both Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jason Kander, the Democrat who narrowly lost his U.S. Senate bid in Missouri last year, will be back. And on Thursday, Sanders -- who was in Indiana and Michigan last week 00 will be in Iowa, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon will be there in October. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who made his own teasing stop here in Manchester at the end of April, is headed to South Carolina in September." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12c5af8aba1bdb0dca6f2cb48c4d20ac97c8802e9de5bc12a7e2f84734a00a7a521ba713e770289a9b59128e04c5d5fd72

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- "Senate chairman eyes Sessions testimony this fall," By Seung Min Kim and Elana Schor: "Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is preparing for testimony by Attorney General Jeff Sessions as soon as next month - a high-stakes appearance for Sessions, who's likely to face tough questions over the ongoing investigation into President Donald Trump's ties to Russia. Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote to Sessions on Monday that 'unfortunately we still do not have a confirmed date' for the committee's usual Department of Justice oversight hearing. Staff-level discussions have zeroed in on Sept. 19, Sept. 27, or Oct. 3 as open dates for Sessions' testimony, Grassley wrote, asking
 Sessions to reply no later than Wednesday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12f62e7ed4f351d2184d2d30ef28b0241364d12e2e70cc17f741396b9b33f5185704c98b1eb9b7f6a31365699713020c74

THE JUICE ...

-- TWO FUN SPOTTEDS: IVANKA TRUMP last night at a table with five other women at Barcelona Wine Bar on 14th Street ("half price wine night") ... Huma Abedin lunching at Sunset Beach in Shelter Island on Monday with her son Jordan and other friends.

-- HOT JOB: The Des Moines Register is hiring for a new politics editor who will oversee their coverage of the 2020 caucus cycle (as well as the 2018 gubernatorial race and the 2020 general election). http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12778c755196d9d68110d2b16df5a94593cbdc230aafefa7ba81511e34e193f61bf1a3d542a5c7140fac88a3f2941b2912

-- HILLARY FALL BOOK TOUR CITIES: 3 STOPS IN CANADA! D.C.; Toronto; Broward, Florida; Davis, California; Montreal, Canada; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Chicago; NYC; Milwaukee; Atlanta; Boston; Philadelphia; Seattle; Portland; and Vancouver. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba1218d34368eec7957afa3f972b1915cb17199f77a4abe0b649416dc6e20ed4edea386b59b38821bb92a4782edc5f94a687

-- MICHAEL SCHERER is joining the Washington Post as national political reporter. He has been Time's Washington bureau chief since 2013. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12008e3414f71935437daa19c1452cdeed213b00b9d45f72f03f25f1395ea83cf8383b11a126e0ee7d78a7e861e39668ad 

          Playbook Reads         

PHOTO DU JOUR: Rescue boats fill a flooded street as flood victims are evacuated as floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey rise on Aug. 28 in Houston. | David J. Phillip/AP Photo

THE NEVER-ENDING RUSSIA STORY ...

-- WAPO'S ROS HELDERMAN, CAROL LEONNIG and TOM HAMBURGER: "A top executive from Donald Trump's real estate company emailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal spokesman during the U.S. presidential campaign last year to ask for help advancing a stalled Trump Tower development project in Moscow, according to documents submitted to Congress on Monday. The request came in a mid-January 2016 email from Michael Cohen, one of Trump's closest business advisers, who asked longtime Putin lieutenant Dmitry Peskov for assistance in reviving a deal that Cohen suggested was languishing.

"'Over the past few months I have been working with a company based in Russia regarding the development of a Trump Tower-Moscow project in Moscow City,' Cohen wrote to Peskov, according to a person familiar with the email. 'Without getting into lengthy specifics, the communication between our two sides has stalled. As this project is too important, I am hereby requesting your assistance. I respectfully request someone, preferably you, contact me so that I might discuss the specifics as well as arranging meetings with the appropriate individuals. I thank you in advance for your assistance and look forward to hearing from you soon,' Cohen wrote. Cohen's email marks the most direct outreach
 documented by a top Trump aide to a similarly senior member of Putin's government." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba123f0f924e3c1b7ef48ceb8cf251fc2664305a6838787133831a215f8de2f35995dbfe69d4c292ba85201129b59df85ea5

-- NYT'S MATT APUZZO and MAGGIE HABERMAN: "Trump Associate Boasted That Moscow Business Deal 'Will Get Donald Elected'": "The associate, Felix Sater ... predicted that building a Trump Tower in Moscow would highlight Mr. Trump's savvy negotiating skills and be a political boon to his candidacy. 'Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,' Mr. Sater wrote in an email. 'I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.' ...

"Mr. Sater said he was eager to show video clips to his Russian contacts of instances of Mr. Trump speaking glowingly about Russia, and said he would arrange for Mr. Putin to praise Mr. Trump's business acumen. ... Mr. Sater said it would be 'pretty cool to get a USA President elected' and said he desired to be the ambassador to the Bahamas. 'That my friend is the home run I want out of this,' he wrote." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12fd6e877833258f1f8651d5d42b3c4202fdb51bc68ab5d0e55403467ca37db66f03c4441488b92ad581811d2761ba4bc3

FOR THE PRESIDENT -- "Mueller Team Asking If Trump Tried to Hide Purpose of Trump Tower Meeting," by NBC News' Julia Ainsley and Tom Winter: "Federal investigators working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller are keenly focused on President Donald Trump's role in crafting a response to a published article about a meeting between Russians and his son Donald Jr., three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. The sources told NBC News that prosecutors want to know what Trump knew about the meeting and whether he sought to conceal its purpose." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba123dec12908f44d7eef94394f6d0c6d58a9e4af2d8eab367d274f9581331a7a3d7be8176f53f0593b48ea17b654e202184

ISAAC DOVERE'S "OFF MESSAGE": "How Detroit's Mayor Became Unbeatable," in Detroit: "Something weird is happening in Motor City: Government is working. And the guy in charge is about to get re-elected in a landslide because of it. Detroit used to look like how America ends. Abandoned skyscrapers downtown. An 18-story abandoned train station looming at the edge of the skyline like a Roman ruin. Collapsing car factories, block after block of grass growing high over lots where the houses had burned or been abandoned. Bankrupt, with the governor putting a city manager in charge, looking at selling off its art museum's collection to pay the bills-all while the glass towers of General Motors'
 of-course named Renaissance Center stuck up high above neighborhoods where it wasn't safe to drink the water.

"'I was appalled at so many things,' Mayor Mike Duggan told me in an interview for POLITICO's Off Message podcast, recorded in his office. 'That the buses just weren't running and people stood out on the corners in the winter for hours at a time. That every vacant building in the city was covered with graffiti and nobody cared. The lack of anybody caring was heartbreaking.'" BONUS: The previously unreported showdown he, Mitch Landrieu and Bill de Blasio had with John Podesta at Clinton campaign headquarters last year over what they warned was an economic message too long and complicated to work. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12becfe9363a88be193f1f3a425b9bb240996864177f43f8e5e5b50fd22c1df05288c2a53332eb28453d4cc02ba206e444 ... Listen to the full podcast 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12c12863ec04e3b5aea800cb6c5d8d7753363da68163db7e1831f86782b4f113f3cc0495827497da18d637ee3bccd251fa

JOHN BOLTON in NR, "How to Get Out of the Iran Nuclear Deal": "Although candidate Donald Trump repeatedly criticized Barack Obama's Iran nuclear agreement, his administration has twice decided to remain in the deal. ... Many outside the administration wondered how this was possible: Was Trump in control, or were his advisers? Defining a compelling rationale to exit Obama's failed nuclear deal and elaborating a game plan to do so are quite easy. In fact, Steve Bannon asked me in late July to draw up just such a game plan for the president - the option he didn't have - which I did. ... I offer the Iran nonpaper now as a public service, since staff changes at the White House have made
 presenting it to President Trump impossible. Although he was once kind enough to tell me 'come in and see me any time,' those days are now over." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba1263bebac0ecf99fae0fae7ebb246ee95cf6921b42275c07f98eb2c74024cc45e991561d54c060cfb99de9fa9a027da49f

-- Foreign Policy's Dan DeLuce: "A source involved in the Iran policy discussions at the White House confirmed that Bolton was in and out of the Oval Office for at least several weeks. At one point, he was even offered the possibility of serving as deputy national security advisor, with the idea that he might eventually get to replace H.R. McMaster. The source said Bolton declined, preferring to wait until he was offered the top job." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12c688f045365e47076ebb3403ef954887654d17ec6e4d993ff359eda8968c1bb0b73062bffef46b9f48e327c6f2194970

****** A message from the American Bankers Association: America's banks play a critical role in generating economic growth while delivering safety and convenience for customers. The two million women and men who work for America's banks safeguard $12.9 trillion in deposits and originate $2.4 trillion in home loans. They provide $331 billion in loans to small businesses and $175 billion in loans to farmers and ranchers. Banks' fraud protection measures stop at least $11 billion in attempted fraud each year. And thousands of banker volunteers deliver financial literacy lessons annually to millions of young Americans to help them become financially successful adults. Find out more at
 www.aba.com/AmericasBanks, #AmericasBanks ******

SPENCER ACKERMAN in THE DAILY BEAST -- "Paul Manafort Teamed Up With Obama's Lawyer to Help Putin Ally: As the examination of pro-Kremlin influence-peddling continues, Democrats are coming under scrutiny, too": "It wasn't just Republicans. When Paul Manafort needed a powerful D.C. law firm to bless an alarming act by his clients in Kiev's pro-Kremlin regime in Kiev, Donald Trump's future campaign chairman turned to attorneys with significant ties to Barack Obama's administration.

"In exchange, a team led by Obama's former White House counsel Greg Craig at the firm of Skadden Arps produced a report that whitewashed the pro-Putin government of Viktor Yanukovych for jailing Yanukovych's anti-Kremlin predecessor. Manafort consulted for Yanukovych's Party of Regions. And they did it all for roughly $13,000-a conspicuously small amount for top lawyers at a prestigious law firm. (Prosecutors in Ukraine have reportedly alleged a million dollars more in secret payments.)" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba123b197bf7dc6ad0d44f41a3b82dfce2b78fa9916102d49c8020cd0774f5fc8e4893c8d00e88206933e25e4d1c2dc6b88a

MIKE STEEL in the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER -- "Dean Smith statue in the U.S. Capitol? He beats who's there now": "The furor over removing Confederate memorials offers North Carolina an opportunity to tell a new, more positive story about our state and our values. One modest proposition: We should replace North Carolina's statue of a Confederate veteran in the U.S. Capitol with a new statue of the late, legendary college basketball coach Dean Smith." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12484beb65bba85274c71e95bce61e40792cd92b3dbb0dea82337474cdd78d534a3dd721bc08a861b58f7987529ae45043

BUSINESS BURST -- "At Whole Foods, Amazon Takes Rare Lead in Cutting Prices,"by WSJ's Laura Stevens and Heather Haddon: "Amazon.com on Monday put itself in the unusual position of being a first-mover on price cuts when it slashed the sticker price on more than 100 items at Whole Foods Market many by more than 30%. Amazon typically relies on algorithms that scrape competitors' prices before automatically matching or narrowly undercutting them on its website. It focuses on items that are most popular on the site and that drive traffic, according to former executives in Amazon's retail divisions. That gives the retail giant a reputation for having the lowest prices, part of its strategy of
 driving more shopper traffic." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba121828684cedc2353a2694186f39c4ec1c2789749c5654ba0fc1b8731a6e23c4bf1d85d5769213bbf8b5a745ebdf421cd0

VALLEY TALK -- MARK ZUCKERBERG posts on Facebook: "Priscilla and I are so happy to welcome our daughter August! We wrote her a letter about the world we hope she grows up in, and also hoping she doesn't grow up too fast." With the letter and a pic of the whole family  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12111902333a376e258a27c167d60497fbdc1525ff64520f6a6f844cf73ab69010dc49781ad56c86f9388706474b84feb9

MEDIAWATCH -- Paul Farhi (@farhip): "Pres/CEO of @Newseum, Jeff Herbst, suddenly steps down. Interim head will Jan Neuharth, chair/CEO of Freedom Forum, Newseum says."
                  Playbookers         
REMEMBERING MICHAEL CROMARTIE - Christianity Today's Kate Shellnut: "Cromartie, a Washington networker who helped rebrand America's image of Christian political engagement, has died of cancer at age 67. The news of his death was reported Monday on Twitter and confirmed by colleagues at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the DC-based conservative think tank where he served for more than 30 years. Cromartie brought Christian thought leaders and secular journalists under the same roof at the Faith Angle Forum, held every year since 1999. ... In a political arena often dominated by competition, power grabs, and culture war debates, Cromartie stuck out by offering a friendlier, humbler
 approach." With remembrances by Michael Gerson, Russell Moore, Michael Wear, John Stonestreet, Pete Wehner http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12595856f95122179a76249f874bf5445e050e4931b928d598ef98a1f9e71fd543c45c66597ac94240af1dedd03360fe63 ... 2013 profile http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12af835f3d96293ac9f9d4926a68150f9950f592324c9b15299cf80ad7107ff4a8281a76897e7063df547a479103e859a1 ...Friends' memories of Michael on his Facebook page http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba1247d8f398e0c617d7586f931aaa0c96c8bd67d9929ada4d3f0da1eebe8acb2db45c042c12572a2f24618d54bcb1dbe1c6

TRANSITIONS -- Julian Castro, former HUD secretary and San Antonio mayor, is joining the faculty of the LBJ School at UT Austin as the dean's distinguished fellow and fellow of the Davila chair in international trade policy. ... Maggie Hollander has joined MSNBC as a media relations manager. Hollander was previously an international communications manager at Viacom. ... George Selim has been named SVP of programs at the ADL. He's the former DHS director of the office for community partnerships.

OBAMA ALUMNI -- MICHAEL GOTTLIEB, partner at Boies Schiller Flexner and former W.H. associate counsel, has been named to National Law Journal's D.C. Rising Stars list - what he says is his biggest win: "I am proud to have helped James Alefantis, owner of Comet Ping Pong, fight back against fake news attacks falsely claiming that Comet was running a child sex ring. We helped Comet restore its business, and obtained an apology and retraction from leading conspiracy theorist Infowars." For NLJ subscribers http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12e6c406d721680f928649ccde978938879a7cb023fc472d1302d4ffe29054cbc18a0bd77be03ed60403cf927cabb66643

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - Ryan Brevard, adviser at the Institute of International Education, and girlfriend Bri Fett recently welcomed Magnolia Marie Brevard. Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba124dda4fe5d20cd941c682b2317d4866e466a3faf788f81eeac026d25009e03193efe7f9a90153f90c89333c13b52ded48

WEEKEND WEDDINGS - Hayley Andrews, director of government affairs and policy at the Charles Group and travel blogger at Navigate Abroad (http://bit.ly/2tjP2ff), on Saturday married Eugene Gelfgat, a lieutenant in the Army. Their small wedding was at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Va. The couple met as GW students on a Birthright Israel trip in 2010. Pic  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba126b16ce99d1ca0d4aab2d6a66ef1e3dc4f8067c7bd0404e5c204252b043dd4b443e9f4d1b5d8876a7864636721be960a4

-- Scott Rausch, legislative director for Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.), on Saturday married Patricia Simpson, director of career programs at the Leadership Institute. "The couple met at a birthday party at the home of Brent Gardner, chief government affairs officer at AFP, the day Scott moved to D.C. to begin his job as a lobbyist at the NRA." Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12e492f72edc2e198544000a9d1238141efce0a90ea29b6e70a6093d1cf50bc18ecbd7323c8e91854974c20878f4322924

BIRTHWEEK (was Sunday): Ashley Koerber of Fox News

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Robert Rubin, former U.S. treasury secretary and co-chair emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, celebrating at Daniel in New York. A fun fact about Bob: "A fun fact is how I found out who Jimmy Buffett is. When I was at Treasury, I told the Republican House majority leader that Warren Buffett was opposed to cutting capital gains taxes-as was I. (And I still am.) He responded that Warren Buffett might be opposed, but Jimmy Buffett is in favor. I started to say, 'Why should I care about Warren Buffett's son?' but I didn't. Later, someone told me that Jimmy Buffett is a famous singer, so I called Alan Greenspan to see if he had heard of this Jimmy Buffett
 character. He said it was probably Warren's son. I later told President Clinton about my exchange with the majority leader. The President laughed at me for not knowing who Jimmy Buffett is, and I told him that Greenspan also thought he was Warren's son. President Clinton said that for some reason this didn't surprise him." Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5c6d893088ccba12ad117bf9197d0ff4a2e0cab8f837db60a238c74668eec611575430e3f4d15eb9f6151410c99d3b4831b7e047acb8e8f2

BIRTHDAYS: Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch ... Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of Consumer Technology Association ... former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew ... Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ... Connie Milstein (hat tip: Tammy Haddad) ... Politico's Nancy Scola and Rachael Cusick ... Charlie Spies, leader of Clark Hill's national Political Law practice ... Amy Nathan ... lobbyist Tom Jolly ... NYT's Sewell Chan ... Rich Cooper ... Sacha Zimmerman, senior editor at The Atlantic ... Andrew Adair ... Guam Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo ... Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) ... Stacey Hughes, president and founding partner of The Nickles Group ... Sal Albanese, former 15-year NYC city councilman now running for
 mayor ... former NY Assemblyman Richard Brodsky ...

... Ed Wyatt, SVP of Sphere Consulting ... Jerr Rosenbaum, partner at HLP&R Advocacy ... Duncan Neasham, comms director at tech trade group ITI (h/t Jose Castaneda) ... Roger McShane, Cairo bureau chief for The Economist ... Anna Adams-Sarthou ... Tim Warner ... Kendra Marr Chaikind ... Sam Hudis ... Molly Phillips Fogarty, SVP of corporate affairs at Nestle ... Paul Coussan ... Catherine Hill, director for Brunswick Group in SF and San Francisco Rec League Soccer Star (h/ts Nick Massella and Suzanne Merkelson) ... Meagan Bond ... Beth Mlynarczyk ... Suzanne Henkels ... Christina Silva, news director at Newsweek ... Ryann DuRant ... former Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.) ... Ben Martello ...
 Allan Lengel ... Adam Shapiro ... Sarah Smith-Clevenger of Louisiana ... Amy Storey ... Susan Markham ... David Morehouse ... Barb Worcester ... Kevin Sweeny ... Paige Ennis ... Alison Schwartz (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

****** A message from the American Bankers Association: America's banks play a critical role in generating economic growth while delivering safety and convenience for customers. The two million women and men who work for America's banks safeguard $12.9 trillion in deposits and originate $2.4 trillion in home loans. They provide $331 billion in loans to small businesses and $175 billion in loans to farmers and ranchers. Banks' fraud protection measures stop at least $11 billion in attempted fraud each year. And thousands of banker volunteers deliver financial literacy lessons annually to millions of young Americans to help them become financially successful adults. Find out more at
 www.aba.com/AmericasBanks, #AmericasBanks ******

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