Subject: Playbook Power Briefing, presented by Chevron: SESSIONS says he has ‘no reason to doubt’ Moore accusers, pushes back on Clinton special counsel -- House set to pass tax bill on THURSDAY -- Alabama race now a TOSS-UP
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2017 12:03:26 -0600
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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by Chevron 
            
By JAKE SHERMAN ([email-masked]; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER ([email-masked]; @apalmerdc), DANIEL LIPPMAN ([email-masked]; @dlippman) and ZACH MONTELLARO ([email-masked]; @ZachMontellaro)

        
AIR FORCE ONE landed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii at 11:28 a.m. east coast time. From POLITICO's own Andrew Restuccia: "President Trump spoke to the pool for about five minutes just as we were taking off in the Philippines. He was in a jovial mood and he was very pleased with how the trip went. ... 

"Chief of staff John Kelly also briefly popped into the press cabin to explain why we left the Philippines before Trump could participate in the family photo. Because the event was running late, POTUS opted to deliver his remarks at a closed-door lunch with world leaders instead of at the plenary sessions planned for later in the day, Kelly said. Then a decision was made to depart. 

"The rest of the flight was uneventful, though the press pool did watch both Independence Day and Armageddon in the press cabin. Your pooler gives them two thumbs way up."

Good Tuesday afternoon. ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS on ROY MOORE'S ACCUSERS -- "I have no reason to doubt these young women."

-- "Sessions casts doubt on need for Hillary Clinton special counsel," by Kyle Cheney and Darren Samuelsohn: "Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pressed Sessions on why it had taken the Justice Department months to hint, as it did Monday, at the prospect of considering a special counsel to probe years-old matters connected to Clinton. Jordan said he thought evidence unearthed in the last year about how FBI decided not to charge Clinton over her handling of classified information at the State Department appeared to be enough to warrant a special counsel. ''Looks like' is not enough basis to appoint a special counsel,' Sessions responded." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e1136e009b18ca77e2de322c8a7a35bf8ff3a7ab10e0217db5de971bfb2269d7d4e152bac3723eab353 

-- "Sessions says he never lied, has 'no clear recollection' of proposed Trump-Putin meeting," by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday he never lied under oath about Moscow's interference in the 2016 election and said he didn't recall conversations with Trump campaign aides about their Russia-linked contacts until he saw news reports about them.

"At his first appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Sessions said he has 'no clear recollection' of what was said at a session at which a Trump campaign associate, George Papadopoulos, proposed organizing a meeting between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"However, Sessions said that despite his lack of clarity on what transpired at the March 2016 meeting, he believes he rejected the suggested meeting with Putin. 'I believe that I wanted to make clear to him that he was not authorized to represent the campaign with the Russian government, or any other foreign government, for that matter,' Sessions told the committee. 'But I did not recall this event, which occurred 18 months before my testimony of a few weeks ago, and would gladly have reported it.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e11744c7b43c3ff7a4a5d5c32d137f6a0d69ec484e6f7da900eef950d41c0702a6ef7374ea4936194ae 

SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER laces into Trump: "All in all, President Trump's trip to Asia was a flop. He seemed far more interested in pomp and circumstance - red carpets, fancy meals, and the flattery of foreign leaders - than advancing American interests in a region that is increasingly looking to China for leadership. And after the President's performance, those countries are going to turn more to China. At least they have strength and direction, even though China will take advantage of them for sure as they have taken advantage of us."

MARK YOUR CALENDARS -- "House Republicans confident on tax bill," by Aaron Lorenzo, Rachael Bade and John Bresnahan: House Republicans are stepping up their whip effort behind a major tax-cut package, with top leaders expressing confidence they'll have the votes to pass the measure on Thursday. With many Republicans calling it a 'make-or-break' moment for their majority, House GOP leaders and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady are sounding decidedly bullish. President Donald Trump, returning from a 12-day Asia trip, will meet with House Republicans before the vote.

"Speaker Paul Ryan and other top Republicans are so confident that they can pass the bill that they are resisting efforts by Trump to include a repeal of Obamacare's individual mandate in the package. They've also rejected attempts by blue state Republicans to revise their proposal to limit state and local tax deductions. 'We're pushing this bill as we have it,' Ryan told reporters on Tuesday morning following a GOP members-only meeting in the Capitol. Ryan told his members that if they pass their bill this week, Congress can finish work on the issue by the end of the year, GOP sources said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e116a0438cf8b2ff1395b5b0148ed7f5293fdaf46d655311fc21f3a022c8b6834d8beb919df50d8eb40 

SOMETHING TO WATCH IN ALABAMA -- "Alabama GOP Moves Toward Deciding Roy Moore's Fate Later This Week," by Talking Points Memo's Cameron Joseph: "The 21 members of Alabama's Republican Party central steering committee are the only ones who can pull Roy Moore's nomination and potentially block his path to the Senate. After days of mounting allegations that their Senate nominee had sexual contact with teenage girls while he was in his 30s, two Alabama GOP sources tell TPM they've finally decided to hold a meeting later this week to hash out whether they can stand by his side. 'We are still weighing the evidence, but realize some decision or statement must come from the state party soon,' said
 one Alabama Republican." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e1140e7403a3f57f8c501daf81b5c01c2a9f3a14d253af909b4dda007c0336dbb88e278325f8b376783 

-- THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT has moved the Alabama Senate race to toss-up. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e118e56448a0be06808899912ac990e9299535b975759513f4a93733a0ca006dbf95cf41cb5e77b6de4 

VP MIKE PENCE is keynoting the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council meeting at 4:45 this afternoon.

****** A message from Chevron: We're piloting a program that uses drones to keep an eye on Chevron wells, tanks, and pipelines-all to keep DOERS and what they're doin' safer. Watch the video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7ce50098fb126957768650210bf7a7c6a7d040f25a69f517a0d5986bcb7df653a75010c35cc3d1fa0db7e056a8f45732 ******

ABOUT THOSE MEETINGS -- "Duterte spokesman: Trump offered to return Philippine fugitive during bilateral talks," by WaPo's Emily Rauhala and David Nakamura: "A spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday that President Trump offered to return a fugitive who had fled to the United States and did not bring up human rights issues at all during the bilateral meeting a day earlier. Spokesman Harry Roque's account of the meeting in an interview with The Washington Post appears to contradict White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who said 'human rights briefly came up' as the two leaders discussed the Philippines' bloody fight against illicit drugs.

"Roque suggested he was surprised that Sanders had told American reporters here that the issue had come up. 'It was not Trump who raised it. Trump never raised it, honestly,' Roque said. Sanders did not reply to an email seeking comment. ... At one point, Trump offered to extradite a Philippine fugitive in the United States. 'Do you want him back?' Trump asked, according to Roque. The U.S. president added: 'I will send him back because I know you follow the rule of law.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e1141b7813de6e74f2cc0ff9f99bf7d3a362d353966fc48b17afd36793c9eabee9f8c9d3ea41160b343 

-- "Trump Chases U.S. Arms Deals in Asia to Help Him Win Re-Election," by Bloomberg's Justin Sink, Jennifer Jacobs and Nick Wadhams: "For Trump, a self-styled traveling salesman, crisscrossing the region to reverse decades of trade deficits, Vietnam's decision to buy arms from Russia was incomprehensible, almost insulting. Never mind that U.S. law prevented such sales until last year.

"Trump reminded [Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan] Phuc that he's been president for 10 months, according to two people who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting. What was he waiting for? He needed quick wins, he told his team in the room, because he'd be running for re-election before anyone realized. And weapons sales, in Trump's view, are good for his approval ratings." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e115befa7f38321dff92fc1ddf700b5c601c681b270bb535430eb3149d56ff77257deff412b71bed093 

DEALING WITH HARASSMENT ON THE HILL -- "'Nothing about it felt right': More than 50 people describe sexual harassment on Capitol Hill," by CNN's MJ Lee, Sunlen Serfaty, Sara Ganim and Juana Summers: "Be extra careful of the male lawmakers who sleep in their offices -- they can be trouble. Avoid finding yourself alone with a congressman or senator in elevators, late-night meetings or events where alcohol is flowing. And think twice before speaking out about sexual harassment from a boss -- it could cost you your career.

"These are a few of the unwritten rules that some female lawmakers, staff and interns say they follow on Capitol Hill, where they say harassment and coercion is pervasive on both sides of the rotunda. There is also the 'creep list' -- an informal roster passed along by word-of-mouth, consisting of the male members most notorious for inappropriate behavior, ranging from making sexually suggestive comments or gestures to seeking physical relations with younger employees and interns." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e1169ffd3df9d8c5eb10497f4302a0145b31debe40bd4619215cc37a27830cc10fe516908e5fdef592b 

-- "Two members of Congress engaged in sexual harassment, lawmakers say," by Elana Schor: "Two female lawmakers, one Republican and one Democrat, shared stories at a hearing Tuesday about male members of Congress who engaged in sexual harassment, though they declined to name them. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who has long pressed for a stronger congressional anti-harassment system, testified before a House Administration Committee hearing on misconduct that she is aware of two sitting lawmakers, one in each party, who have perpetrated sexual misdeeds. Before Speier spoke, however, Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) said a member 'decided to expose himself' to a young female aide sent to drop
 off materials at his home.

"The young staffer was 'greeted with a member in a towel,' Comstock told fellow lawmakers, who 'invited her in; before committing the offense. 'She left, she found another job,' Comstock said. 'But that kind of situation -- what are we doing here for women right now who are dealing with somebody like that?' ... Speier shared a sampling of anonymous harassment victims' stories, including some who have had 'their private parts grabbed on the House floor.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e11b8b508ef3ed84f94edf273181377fa9c54935521370921247829aebe9f40e4b2539669f94b16c661 

THE LATEST FROM THE MENENDEZ TRIAL -- "Menendez attorney, judge quarrel as jurors go back into deliberations," by POLITICO New Jersey Playbooker Matt Friedman: "'This is a serious matter. This is not reality TV. This is real life,' [Judge William] Walls told jurors. He then offered the jurors an instruction: 'When you sit around that table and you are deliberating, I want you to ask each other one thing: 'Why?''

"Menendez attorney Abbe Lowell said that Walls' direction to the jurors to ask 'why' was not included in the model instructions he had given attorneys. 'I object to the fact that you varied from what you gave us ahead of time,' Lowell said. 'I don't know what the 'why' was.'' http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e11fb68f6e3b833881f23da912e38fc704e83c633281277a720f92e45639bc4dace6cb98619866aa545 

NOT VISITING 1600 PENN. -- "Trump, breaking with precedent, will not meet with American Nobel recipients," by Stat's Lev Facher: "President Trump, breaking a tradition that stretches back nearly two decades, will not personally greet the eight American Nobel laureates this year before they travel to Sweden in December to receive their prizes.

"Not all the honorees are disappointed. Two American Nobel Prize winners, when contacted by STAT, indicated they would not have attended a White House event even if invited. Columbia biophysicist Joachim Frank, awarded a Nobel in chemistry for his work in microscopy, said in an email he was 'very relieved' when he learned there was no chance of an encounter with the president." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e116a041b754207829e577f2bf34931ffb1fd808400c4bca9efb2883fc66541aa45e5814af1c9c9cdbf 

THE NEW FACE OF THE JUDICIARY -- "Trump choosing white men as judges, highest rate in decades," by the AP's Catherine Lucey and Meghan Hoyer: "So far, 91 percent of Trump's nominees are white, and 81 percent are male, an Associated Press analysis has found. Three of every four are white men, with few African-Americans and Hispanics in the mix. The last president to nominate a similarly homogenous group was George H.W. Bush. The shift could prove to be one of Trump's most enduring legacies." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e11878ba1843c5b97aa61d99a5c699520906230ccd973549137e6e3c7b6e9f1789cc751d4788dfaa1e8 

TODAY'S BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- Cuomo hosts major fundraisers in California -- Browns spars with activists over hydraulic fracturing http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e110e72c577d22ab3f4c2e53872530566c881801ac973a5922def9783ceffa3c7ee2d9f24f3abaea3da 

CLICKER -- FORBES revealed their latest 30 under 30 lists, with honorees for media, law & policy and more Including Andrew Kaczynski, Olivia Nuzzi, Peter Sterne, Lauren Aronson, Mary Elizabeth Taylor and more http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e11f60ef4aa50611e80580c40fd5424f00f37a292d0049cbd4412a10b7c77de6175fce5f81ccbbe3e33 

MEDIAWATCH -- "Simmons College to name new media and arts program after Gwen Ifill," by PBS Newshour's Joshua Barajas: "The newly formed Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities is schedule d to launch in fall 2018. It's one of four colleges recently formed to help restructure Simmons College's range of academic studies. Years before she became the celebrated co-anchor of the Newshour and moderator of the political roundtable of Washington Week, Ifill graduated from Simmons in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in communications." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e11d37f906fe532485a5e13c7f2371337eeb4b0798890461f80f3ad6a877836d66f3b37691b78182f74 

-- ERICA WERNER is joining The Washington Post as a congressional economic policy correspondent. She worked at the AP for 18 years, and was its chief congressional correspondent.

-- Sean Rameswaram is joining Vox as the host of their soon-to-launch daily news podcast. He was previously a reporter for the WNYC series "More Perfect." 
 
TRANSITIONS -- Eric Douglas is Waymo's new state public policy and government relations lead. He was previously a senior director at CVS Health. ... Kathy Jeavons joined Direct Impact as an executive vice president. She was previously SVP at Story Partners. ... Matt Shuckerow started Monday as Sen. Dan Sullivan's (R-Alaska) new deputy communications director. He most recently worked for Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). ...

... Arun Rao is a new EVP at IGI/The Lenzner Firm. He was previously chief of the southern division of the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Maryland. ... Lindsay Hamilton has joined GWU as chief spokesperson and executive director of media relations, She previously was chief of staff and a VP at the Center for American Progress. ... Kelley Smith has been named SVP of new business at Edelman. She was previously a senior director at Purple Strategies.

ENGAGED -- Tim Carlton, senior LA for Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wisc.) and a Duncan Hunter alum, proposed to Lainey Godwin, student programs and recruiting coordinator at the Institute for Justice. He proposed along the C&O Canal in Georgetown. "They met a year-and-a-half ago after meeting at Mr. Smith's and running into each other the next day." Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e11f3816d840e62ea872993203e7491c55e411c8c28dd70422b3c759b9eed6e1bb98fad5abceee1d07c ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e115fea12ca0d1248a9cc2ed9f14b477a0d89fadc4113240951a535ea05b3fb7008df65b473b68e980f 

 WEEKEND WEDDING -- Ja'Ron Smith, director of urban affairs and revitalization in the White House and a Generation Opportunity alum, on Saturday married Ashley Triplett, science and technology manager at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. "The wedding and celebration took place at the Finest Playa Mujeres resort in Cancun, Mexico." Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f5b1cf0477b0e11f3735b7c1bfd0fee72e6af92726c71ba41610ef8d09139c76c4da21b13a2a5cc5dff830dcf505ed2

BONUS BIRTHDAY: Randolph Court, COO of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (h/t Samantha Greene)

****** A message from Chevron: This is a story about energy, safety, and some truly high-flyin' doin'. We're piloting a program that uses drones, HD imaging, and thermal mapping to help keep a close eye on Chevron wells, tanks, and pipelines-all to keep DOERS and what they're doin' safer. Watch the video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7ce50098fb126957768650210bf7a7c6a7d040f25a69f517a0d5986bcb7df653a75010c35cc3d1fa0db7e056a8f45732 ******

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