Subject: POLITICO Playbook, presented by Charter Communications: COUNTDOWN: FIVE DAYS to shutdown -- TRUMP’s tax sales job -- A real estate carveout in the tax bill that could benefit TRUMP and CORKER -- MCCAIN in AZ -- ASHLEY PARKER/MIKE BENDER engaged
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Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2017 05:11:37 -0600
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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by Charter Communications 
            
By JAKE SHERMAN ([email-masked]; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER ([email-masked]; @apalmerdc) and DANIEL LIPPMAN ([email-masked]; @dlippman)
        
Listen to today's Audio Briefing | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Visit the online home of Playbook
                  Driving the Day         
Good Monday morning. FIVE DAYS until the government runs out of money. CONSIDER THIS: Republicans have held the majority in Congress for three years, routinely promising to normalize government operations. Yet it's Dec. 18 and the government is slated to shut down just a few days before Christmas. A deal to boost spending levels has all but fallen apart. And the two chambers will come back into session this week with no clear idea how to keep the government running. BUT ... It looks like they will get tax reform done by midweek.

STATE OF PLAY -- "GOP leaders in House, Senate endorse conflicting shutdown strategies," by Rachael Bade, Seung Min Kim, and Jen Haberkorn: "Republican leaders in both houses of Congress face a sticky situation this week as they try to avert a government shutdown: Each side has promised its members things that will not fly in the other chamber. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) he'd support passage of legislation by the end of the year to prop up Obamacare insurance markets - so long as she votes for tax reform. That addition, however, puts Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in a pickle: his members are loath to be seen as bailing out a health
 care law they hate.

"Ryan, meanwhile, green-lighted a short-term spending strategy that funds the Pentagon but does nothing for Democratic priorities - and suggested House members could leave town to try to 'jam the Senate' into accepting their bill. But McConnell needs eight Democrats to pass anything, so the House plan is sure to fail in his chamber. 'Right now, they're just headed straight off a cliff,' one person familiar with the negotiations said of the House. '[The] Senate's not likely to jump with them.'

"Instead of addressing the obvious inconsistencies, GOP leaders have tried to put off the issue and focus on tax reform for now. They're eager to delay internal spending fights until the tax package - which Republicans view as critical to maintaining their congressional majorities in the 2018 midterm elections - reaches the Oval Office for President Donald Trump's signature sometime this week." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f951752b7a881bafdd6e53c59d2b26e399adb085f5a3d7eb5245ebaff891763b8bdc089f9e9a4f250f

-- HOUSTON CHRONICLE: "Congress unlikely to pass DACA replacement by year's end," by Bill Lambrecht: "While U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, says it would take a miracle to get a deal done before lawmakers leave for the holidays later this week, immigration advocates are holding out hope that an agreement can be reached in the Senate by tying the fix to the must-pass budget bill, which could force action in the House." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9925e6528d9bb88e16af07c5da885fe60e533afdc42c66fcfc5f8a97344a56fecd5b30bde38734c13 

FINALLY... A VICTORY FOR TRUMP -- "Trump finds success on taxes doing what he knows best - selling," by Nancy Cook: "President Donald Trump is on the precipice of signing a sweeping tax reform bill, his first major piece of legislation since taking office 11 months ago, the result of a strategic decision to do one simple thing: focus on the hard sell. Trump has spent weeks wooing, prodding, cajoling and personally calling Republican lawmakers to pass sweeping tax legislation in time for Christmas - a deadline Trump himself set months ago - but he and his staff have left many of the policy decisions up to Republican lawmakers and top congressional staffers.

"In the final weeks of negotiations, Trump has acted as the cheerleader and closer. He's personally phoned lawmakers whose support of the bill wavered at times - including Republican Sens. Bob Corker, Ron Johnson and Steve Daines - while staying in close touch with congressional leadership to check on progress toward a win, according to several White House aides, congressional officials and people close to the administration." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9532845d04c414cbe272e73515de6a08a3d4d5147763356289b00c64f824da528dcd4a93ef7f48d04

THE HIDDEN GOODIES -- "Trump, Real Estate Investors Get Last-Minute Perk in Tax Bill," by Bloomberg's Lynnley Browning and Ben Bain: "Lawmakers scrambling to lock up Republican support for the tax reform bill added a complicated provision late in the process -- one that would provide a multimillion-dollar windfall to real estate investors such as President Donald Trump. The change, which would allow real estate businesses to take advantage of a new tax break that's planned for partnerships, limited liability companies and other so-called 'pass-through' businesses, combined elements of House and Senate legislation in a new way.

"Its beneficiaries are clear, tax experts say, and they include a president who's said that the tax legislation wouldn't help him financially. ... James Repetti, a tax law professor at Boston College Law School, said: 'This is a windfall for real estate developers like Trump.' The revision might also bring tax benefits to several members of Congress, according to financial disclosures they've filed that reflect ownership of pass-through firms with real estate holdings. One such lawmaker, Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, who'd voted against an earlier version of the legislation, said on Friday that he would support the revised legislation."  
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f999f17979468314615df34066a859016d0bccc06d70b0244246ef726e4d2e10d39c2c5301abf3e32e

-- THE TENNESSEAN: "Sen. Bob Corker asked a top Senate Republican on Sunday to explain how a provision that will provide a tax break to people with large commercial real estate holdings ended up in the final version of the tax reform package that Congress is expected to approve this week.

"'Because this issue has raised concerns, I would ask that that you provide an explanation of the evolution of this provision and how it made it into the final conference report,' Corker wrote in a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. 'I think that because of many sensitivities, clarity on this issue is very important and hope that you will respond in an expeditious manner,' said Corker, a Tennessee Republican." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9f0f0d81881914cd9a04e428f09353945e0b6efe6d92cd4e66832d3de573c7e9c9a00bafe970baec8 

THE POLITICS: BETWEEN THIS REAL ESTATE PROVISION and cutting the top rate to 37 percent, some Republicans worry the party is handing Democrats a midterm gift.

THE TAX BILL THAT KEEPS ON GIVING -- "GOP Tax Bill Would Set Up Years of Challenges," by WSJ's Rich Rubin: "Republicans are on the cusp this week of passing a historic overhaul of the U.S. tax system but might also be ushering in a new period of instability in the tax code, because the plan is advancing without bipartisan support and with expiration dates that guarantee it will be revisited for years. A $1.5 trillion reduction in the overall tax burden over a decade accompanies the most sweeping rewrite of U.S. business and income taxes since the Reagan era, achieving goals long sought by many conservative economists and politicians. But to get the bill through a closely divided Congress,
 Republicans made many of its pieces time-limited.

"Individual tax cuts and a new 20% deduction for millions of businesses are scheduled to vanish after 2025. A corporate-tax-rate cut and international tax rules are permanent to encourage long-run planning, but other business provisions arrive, then disappear. One-time revenue sources like a $339 billion tax on stockpiled foreign profits pay for long-running tax cuts, making the bill more costly in the future. Key features-including the $2,000 child tax credit and a $10,000 cap on the state and local deduction-aren't indexed to inflation, eroding their real value over time." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9db03b589f1555a5192fdb51a06ab5b8559dcc2058213b169471de199b2a1e14b26275ea877e95d4f

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NYT'S JONATHAN MARTIN (in Houston) and ALEX BURNS (in Winchester, Kentucky, and Barrington, Illinois): "Rebelling Republican Suburbs Offer Democrats Path to House Control": "If Democrats are to claim the House majority next year, their path back to power will go through places like the Huntingdon, a 34-floor high-rise in the River Oaks section of Houston that was once home to Enron's Kenneth L. Lay, has no fewer than five valets on a busy night and sits in the district of Representative John Culberson, a veteran Republican who may be in for the race of his life. ... 

"From Texas to Illinois, Kansas to Kentucky, there are Republican-held seats filled with college-educated, affluent voters who appear to be abandoning their usually conservative leanings and newly invigorated Democrats, some of them nonwhite, who are eager to use the midterms take out their anger on Mr. Trump. ... 

"In October, Mayor Ben McAdams of Salt Lake County, a Democrat, announced a bid to oust Representative Mia Love in Utah, a conservative state stocked with educated Mormon voters who view Mr. Trump with disdain. In early December, Mayor Jim Gray of Lexington, Ky., a Democrat, kicked off a campaign against Representative Andy Barr, about 40 percent of whose electorate is in Lexington, home to the University of Kentucky. 

"Outside Philadelphia, Scott Wallace, a lawyer and philanthropist whose grandfather was Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president, is exploring a challenge to Representative Brian Fitzpatrick in a traditional haven for white-collar Republicans, people who have spoken with Mr. Wallace said. And P. G. Sittenfeld, a Cincinnati City Council member who briefly ran for Senate last year, is being recruited by House Democrats to challenge Representative Steve Chabot in a district that mixes African-Americans and urban and suburban whites." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f946eccaa6611313f87aca5adecccd16765455171d5998dcb62983b94466c712091f11b3787a493ca7 

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY -- DARREN SAMUELSOHN and MICHAEL CROWLEY -- "Trump foreign policy plan stresses home front": "President Donald Trump is set to unveil a national security plan Monday that reflects the most inward-focused vision of American foreign policy in recent memory -- with a heavy emphasis on economic strength and defending U.S. borders. At the same time, the official document presents relatively conventional views at odds with Trump's own positions-including praise for the role of diplomacy and warnings about Russia's malign intentions.

"The strategy 'is wildly inconsistent with Trump administration behavior,' said Kori Schake, a former State Department official now at Stanford University's conservative Hoover Institution who is familiar with portions of the document. A draft excerpt of the document, formally known as the National Security Strategy, sternly declares that Russia, along with China, 'challenge[s] American power, influence and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity.'

"It also warns against the belief that 'engagement with rivals' will turn them into 
'benign actors and trustworthy partners.' That is likely a veiled repudiation of President Barack Obama's outreach to Iran, though it also echoes the critique of foreign policy insiders concerned about Trump's frequent vows to befriend Russian President Vladimir Putin." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9d05c01c7f1da72a8adbc040065d4909fcebe2fa5f46645d00e5639bcc7284f848d6b2fd0fd2d3f1e

MCCAIN UPDATE: "McCain's office says he has returned to Arizona," by Brent D. Griffiths: "The office of Arizona Sen. John McCain said Sunday the Republican senator is returning to Arizona for 'physical therapy and rehabilitation.' McCain has been undergoing treatment for brain cancer. Senator McCain has returned to Arizona and will undergo physical therapy and rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic,' the statement said. 'He is grateful for the excellent care he continues to receive, and appreciates the outpouring of support from people all over the country. He looks forward to returning to Washington in January.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9b006c5275374d3581ccb81d59d18c1efa3082265402eb0179b3c3013504ed331729b8faeacca0e25

WHAT TRUMP IS WOUND UP BY - per WaPo's Phil Rucker, Josh Dawsey and Sari Horwitz: "Advisers who have spoken recently with Trump about the Russia investigation said the president was sharply critical of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as well as Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees the Mueller operation - but did not broach the idea of firing Mueller. 'I think he realizes that would be a step too far,' said one adviser ... Rather, Trump appeared to be contemplating changes in the Justice Department's leadership. In recent discussions, two advisers said, Trump has called the attorney general 'weak,' and complained that Rosenstein has shown insufficient accountability on the
 special counsel's work.

"A senior official said Trump mocked Rosenstein's recent testimony on Capitol Hill, saying he looked weak and unable to answer questions. Trump has ranted about Rosenstein as 'a Democrat,' one of these advisers said, and characterized him as a threat to his presidency. In fact, Rosenstein is a Republican. In 2005, President George W. Bush nominated him to be U.S. attorney in Maryland." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9739bf87a34e5d378c94d85e5fa8964cd01f5fb5c000ebf8254af6a4fffad7f0a38d62aec4a5e996b

NYT'S MIKE SCHMIDT: "Image of Cooperation Between White House and Mueller Starts to Fracture": "For much of the seven months since Robert S. Mueller III was appointed special counsel, President Trump's lawyers have stressed their cooperation with him, believing that the more they work with his investigation, the sooner the president will have his name cleared.

"But in recent weeks, as the investigation has reached deeper into Mr. Trump's inner circle, that image of cooperation has begun to fracture. Mr. Trump's lawyers and supporters have significantly increased their attacks on Mr. Mueller, especially as the F.B.I. has handed them fresh ammunition to claim that the agents investigating the president may be biased. The latest salvos came over the weekend, when a top Republican senator said Mr. Mueller should examine his team's political leanings, and a lawyer for Mr. Trump sent a letter to lawmakers saying that the special counsel had improperly gotten emails from the presidential transition team.

"'Not looking good, it's not looking good - it's quite sad to see that, my people were very upset about it,' Mr. Trump said on Sunday when asked about the emails. 'I can't imagine there's anything on them, frankly, because, as we've said, there's no collusion, no collusion whatsoever.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9ff5a6059985284d56998c1ecd0fd21b62de6426e3ebf78139304b744f6945cd5dd7e59829d30330b 

TRUMP ON MUELLER: "No, I'm not," Trump told reporters on whether he intends to fire Mueller as he returned to the White House from a weekend at Camp David, per pooler Alex Leary of the Tampa Bay Times.

HARASSMENT FILES -- "Paranoia grips Capitol Hill as harassment scandal spreads: Lawmakers and aides are consumed by one question: Who's next?" by Elana Schor and Rachael Bade: "The details change almost daily, but the rumor won't die: A credible news organization is preparing to unmask at least 20 lawmakers in both parties for sexual misconduct. Speculation about this theoretical megastory is spreading like wildfire across Congress and beyond, a lurking bad-press boogeyman that's always described as on the verge of going public. And it's far from the only worry that's seeped into the collective psyche of Capitol Hill, where members and aides are now perpetually bracing for the next
 allegation to drop.

"Washington is also gripped by uncertainty over whether the nationwide awakening to workplace misconduct might be manipulated into a political weapon. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) went to law enforcement after being targeted last week by a forged harassment complaint against him, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last month parried a false accusation of misconduct posted on Twitter." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9506284a9cf03253026db69f2821fdcc97904f71730919351bbfe90c288a0a334d76a2cca44e169f5

-- "Franken urged to reverse his resignation," by Isaac Dovere: "At least four senators are urging Al Franken to reconsider resigning, including two who issued statements calling for the resignation two weeks ago and said they now feel remorse over what they feel was a rush to judgment. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who urged Franken not to step down to begin with - at least not before he went through an Ethics Committee investigation - said the Minnesota senator was railroaded by fellow Democrats.

"'What they did to Al was atrocious, the Democrats,' said West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin in an interview for POLITICO's Off Message podcast to post on Tuesday. Franken's unusual timeline -- in his departure announcement he said he'd go 'in the coming weeks,' without setting a date -- has fed the fleeting hopes that there's still time to reverse course. However, Tina Smith, Minnesota's Democratic lieutenant governor, was named last week as his appointed successor.

"People familiar with Franken's plans said he has not changed his mind and intends to formally resign in early January. He praised the selection of Smith and has begun working with her on the transition." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9d38106f78fa95add8b0195fcb3a5168e549f5879f6029e7b8a2b79c7da440365b2c6de45dd14390c

POLITICO INVESTIGATION - "The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook: An ambitious U.S. task force targeting Hezbollah's billion-dollar criminal enterprise ran headlong into the White House's desire for a nuclear deal with Iran," by Josh Meyer: "In its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as it was funneling cocaine into the United States, according to a POLITICO investigation. 

"The campaign, dubbed Project Cassandra, was launched in 2008 after the Drug Enforcement Administration amassed evidence that Hezbollah had transformed itself from a Middle East-focused military and political organization into an international crime syndicate that some investigators believed was collecting $1 billion a year from drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities. ... They tracked the river of dirty cash as it was laundered by, among other tactics, buying American used cars and shipping them to Africa. And with the help of some key cooperating witnesses, the agents traced the conspiracy, they believed, to the innermost circle of Hezbollah and its
 state sponsors in Iran. ... 

"But as Project Cassandra reached higher into the hierarchy of the conspiracy, Obama administration officials threw an increasingly insurmountable series of roadblocks in its way, according to interviews with dozens of participants ... When Project Cassandra leaders sought approval for some significant investigations, prosecutions, arrests and financial sanctions, officials at the Justice and Treasury departments delayed, hindered or rejected their requests." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9e58413fb0bdc1c2da0a8af32e44cc10abfc234a30fb02aa5e940719ca3381f03327fb490d6c3f97f

FOGGY BOTTOM WATCH -- "A Tillerson Slip Offers a Peek Into Secret Planning on North Korea," by NYT's David E. Sanger: "Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson let slip last week a few tantalizing details about one of the nation's most secret military contingency plans: how the United States would try to race inside North Korea to seize its nuclear weapons if it ever saw evidence that Kim Jong-un's government was collapsing. For years, American diplomats have been trying to engage their Chinese counterparts in a discussion of this scenario, hoping to avoid a conflict between arriving American Special Forces - who have been practicing this operation for years - and the Chinese military, which
 would almost certainly pour over the border in a parallel effort.

"And for years the Chinese have resisted the conversation, according to several former American officials who tried to engage them in joint planning. The Chinese feared that if news of a conversation leaked, Beijing would be seen as conspiring with the United States over plans for an eventual North Korean collapse, eroding any leverage that Beijing still held over Mr. Kim. So it was surprising to Mr. Tillerson's colleagues in the White House and the Pentagon when, in a talk to the Atlantic Council last week, he revealed that the Trump administration had already provided assurances to China's leadership that if American forces landed in North Korea to search for and deactivate nuclear
 weapons, the troops would do their work and then retreat." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f95d5c075637623fef327ad9b1122f65fdb2913946b9d57684f2069d5868f7a6fb502bb1684100332a

TRUMP'S MONDAY -- The president will give a speech on the administration's national security strategy this afternoon at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. He will also meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

THE JUICE ... 

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: GREGG NUNZIATA is joining the D.C. office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as a partner in the firm's regulatory and government practice. Nunziata most recently served as Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) primary legal counsel and senior policy advisor on his presidential and Senate reelection campaigns. He also served as chief nominations counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee playing a senior role in the confirmations of judges like Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito and Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

CLICKER - Bloomberg has published its annual "Pessimist's Guide": "[W]elcome to the latest edition of the Pessimist's Guide... to 2028. It's an attempt not just to look at the potential shocks of next year but also to consider how they could shape the coming decade. The scenarios outlined here are not meant as forecasts. Instead, they are provocative ideas intended to make you think about how quickly our world is changing." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f987332886be326aa610ce80172f0a0093e94bae5724515096d86d39c694935f6aaffb24fc30e98f46

          Playbook Reads         

PHOTO DU JOUR: President Donald Trump arrives back at the White House after an overnight stay at Camp David on Dec. 17. | Chris Kleponis/Pool/Getty Images

DEPT. OF DISSONANCE - "Washington Bureaucrats Are Chipping Away at Trump's Agenda: Across the government, career staffers are quietly finding ways to continue old policies, sometimes just by renaming a project," by Bloomberg's Christopher Flavelle and Ben Bain: "In report after report following Donald Trump's election, career staffers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration kept saying the same thing: climate change is real, serious and man-made. That's surprising because Trump has called global warming a hoax. His political appointees at the Commerce Department, which oversees NOAA, have complained to its staff, but stopped short of demanding changes or altering the
 findings. So the reports, blog posts and public updates kept flowing. The bureaucrats won. ...

"Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission ... issued a report contradicting the White House's position about the negative effects of banking regulations. The State Department's embassy staff preserved Obama-era programs to boost the economic development of third-world countries -- at odds with Trump's 'America First' campaign pledges -- not by changing the substance of the programs but merely by relabeling them as a way to create markets for U.S. exports." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f96e02cb09f2cec854d9b8656f22c218b14002a97c52937850ee9d2b69f5dae5ed94c14f4aea8e2ba7 

THE FIRST FAMILY -- "Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner sued over financial disclosures," by Josh Gerstein: "First daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump and her husband and fellow White House adviser Jared Kushner were hit with a lawsuit Sunday alleging illegal omissions on their public financial disclosure forms. Washington lawyer Jeffrey Lovitky contends that Trump and Kushner failed to identify the assets owned by 30 investment funds the couple had stakes in. The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington also claims the couple should have declared the value of and income they derived from two investment vehicles, but did not. ... A White House spokesman and attorneys for the
 couple did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday night." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9dd3cbe3ee3df305b1b703174bc6904da9e5b5101dc802f63bc2b11611314d5845663e86ea4d45734

-- TRACK PALIN, Sarah's oldest son, was arrested. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9ea5bd6b9ebbbb0e4dc0642da5f6700439d66d7eaa7a317d7b6b865e74af894ad75122150e2c5c563 

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Fallout from allegations of tea party targeting hamper IRS oversight of nonprofits," by WaPo's Robert O'Harrow Jr.: "Years of conservative attacks on the Internal Revenue Service have greatly diminished the ability of agency regulators to oversee political activity by charities and other nonprofits, documents and interviews show. ... The main part of government tasked with policing those lines, the IRS's Exempt Organizations division, has seen its budget decline from a peak of $102 million in 2011 to $82 million last year. At the same time, division employees have fallen from 889 to 642. The division now lacks expertise, resources and the will needed to effectively
 oversee more than 1.2 million charities and tens of thousands of social welfare groups, according to interviews with two dozen nonprofit specialists and current and former IRS officials." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9401876139e337c3b12ec17277157865423f90d43ad271bb71dbaee29e98ca02606108426ad7f5c55

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ON THE WORLD STAGE - "AP Exclusive: Digital police state shackles Chinese minority," by Gerry Shih in Korla, China: There are "possibly tens of thousands ... of people, rights groups and academics estimate, who have been spirited without trial into secretive detention camps for alleged political crimes that range from having extremist thoughts to merely traveling or studying abroad. The mass disappearances, beginning the past year, are part of a sweeping effort by Chinese authorities to use detentions and data-driven surveillance to impose a digital police state in the region of Xinjiang and over its Uighurs, a 10-million strong, Turkic-speaking Muslim minority that China says has been
 influenced by Islamic extremism.

"Along with the detention camps, unprecedented levels of police blanket Xinjiang's streets. Cutting-edge digital surveillance systems track where Uighurs go, what they read, who they talk to and what they say. And under an opaque system that treats practically all Uighurs as potential terror suspects, Uighurs who contact family abroad risk questioning or detention." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9f246a86390195cde902edcbed7fd30e572885b7bea02fe048cb51b4549603b6f93a4bd681ef4e141

JOSH ROGIN in WaPo - "How China got a U.S. senator to do its political bidding": "In its effort to cultivate foreign influence, the Chinese Communist Party boldly mixes economic incentives with requests for political favors. Its dealings with Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) this year offer a success story for Beijing. Last month Daines announced a breakthrough in his long-standing effort to win access for Montana's beef exports to China - a $200 million deal with a leading Chinese retailer.

"Then, on Dec. 5, the regime of Xi Jinping got something at least as valuable from Daines. The senator hosted a delegation of Chinese Communist Party officials who oversee Tibet, at the request of the Chinese Embassy -- thereby undercutting a simultaneous visit to Washington by the president of the Tibetan government in exile. ... The episode illustrated China's growing practice of enlisting Western politicians to blunt criticism of the regime - and also its determination to haunt its opponents wherever they travel."  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9d78e3e776115c0a65b955a9c70d32065656d9c050664b50fd03a62d19db82909567948ef2d4493a7

CHOOSE YOUR NEWS - WSJ: "Prosecutors Treat Opioid Overdoses as Homicides, Snagging Friends, Relatives," by Joseph Walker: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9d4877b75a46ad11044ffa27670ee6a857e54623c23c079e3983c98991b33940238738c20ed58f674 ... WaPo: "'We feel like our system was hijacked': DEA agents say a huge opioid case ended in a whimper," by Lenny Bernstein and Scott Higham: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9a2586238d8a06df15d9e112327a47f450eadbc9147257f7d87ef3dae5ca1b31acef57bde50389389 ... "60 Minutes" companion segment http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f90a205c9c248ab37b12d92749eee73ee01e43af6a09d3b7e9ce4d52f9922816a6022d18b33f990e38

                  Playbookers         
SPOTTED: Cokie Roberts enjoying a "cookie Roberts" (named after her) at BreadFurst on Sunday. "It looks like a pecan sandie and label says it's New Orleans inspired. Her hometown I suppose!" per our tipster.

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Brad Stewart, communications director for Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), and Danielle Varallo, communications director for Republican Main Street Partnership, were married on Saturday at the Mayflower Hotel. "They met working for former Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk in 2013. Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black officiated the wedding, and Sen. Kirk along with many Kirk alums were in attendance to celebrate." Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9e5cd17e2d7b27f5b015a498cb347b9892c452e526992006ed1ba1b3dc1a486d633c2a1c6d265e5da ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9d56e2758236d99606bb823800175f0222bc17b8a9b81aa0ca560ec5bf603c04a5aa53dc1bc9efcab ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f9746f58e67a3ee98a58a7ffaacb348769c8c2805e6d7414cd92baa797cfe9963e27a77ea3df0f83c5 

ENGAGED - WHITE HOUSE REPORTER POWER COUPLE -- WSJ's MIKE BENDER, a Bloomberg alum, proposed over the weekend to WaPo's ASHLEY PARKER, also an MSNBC contributor and NYT alum. Pic of the newly engaged couple by Sara Murray  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4577f303ac53e4f92830dc772e15a24011ac31fd0b1b2716c3fa5a0aa03ad3900f530ee9530c82c99707d898d4584810

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Robb Watters, managing partner of the Madison Group. Some fun facts about Robb: "I will be getting my advanced rescue diving certification this year. Just sent in my paperwork. I've gone diving in stunning places like Sri Lanka, Caymans, Honduras, Marianas Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, and Blue Hole off Belize. I am also a pretty good cook, specializing in Provence style French, Northern Italian and Southern food. My smoked salmon is famous as well. If you follow me on social media, you know I have stepped up my game in the past few years." Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b69677c46bd2f0d828b00d812a54941d46aa8235a10f55831100115f4ad62cf233152363804b6bc7e37915af8a4bed72 

BIRTHDAYS: Jeanne Cummings, political editor for the WSJ ... former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark is 9-0 ... Lindsay Conwell, head of industry/nonprofits at Google ... Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) is 7-0 ... Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers, is 6-0 ... Frank Coleman, SVP of public affairs at Distilled Spirits Council ... Matt Schlapp, principal at Cove Strategies and chairman of the American Conservative Union, is 5-0. He is celebrating in Tokyo at the first-ever J-CPAC ... CNN producer Rachel Streitfeld ... Dwight Holton is 52 ... Julie Donofrio (hat tip: Tammy Haddad) ... Jennifer Scoggins Hanks, director at DCI Group ... Rich Luchette ... Politico's Andrew
 Restuccia is 32 ... IEA's Jesse Glicker ... Max Mounkhaty ... Jon Prior, reporter for the Dallas Business Journal ...

... Fred Sainz, director of corporate comms at Apple ... Sara Kamla Pasi, daughter of Peter, is 5 ... Denise Forte ... Google's Jesse Suskin ... Noam Neusner ... Micah Lasher ... Brendan Kelly ... Lee Spieckerman ... Sarah Shulman ... Deborah E. Cunningham ... Kristina Budelis ... Spencer Sharp ... AP's Will Lester is 65 ... Wes Coulam, executive director of Washington Council Ernst & Young ... Anna-Claire Whitehead ... Nicole Audet ... Tyler Lechtenberg ... Adam Phillips ... Mary Grace ... Sheena Jeffers ... movie reviewer Leonard Maltin is 67 ... Paul Cooper ... McCall Johnson ... Jim Whitney ... Wendy Strout (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

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