Subject: Playbook PM: Four campaign stops for VP Mike Pence this week
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2018 11:08:13 -0600
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Presented by BP: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Washington             Jul 23, 2018 View in browser                   
 By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman, Akela Lacy and Eli Okun 
             
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DARREN SAMUELSOHN: "Judge tells Mueller to name witnesses who got immunity": A federal judge ruled Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller must make public the identities of five witnesses that his prosecutors have granted immunity in exchange for their testimony at the upcoming criminal trial of former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

"U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III gave the order to unseal the witnesses' identities at the end of a 30-minute hearing in his Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom that primarily revolved around Manafort's motion to postpone his case until he's finished fighting a separate suite of charges brought by Mueller in Washington." POLITICO

A BUSY WEEK FOR THE VEEP ... VP MIKE PENCE will be in four states this week in four days, hoping to boost four vulnerable Republicans. Pence is going to Philadelphia today for Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), who is trying to knock off Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). He goes to Montana tomorrow for Matt Rosendale, who is running against Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). He goes to North Dakota Wednesday for Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), the GOP nominee to take on Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), and then West Virginia for Patrick Morrisey. 
          
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- SUPREME COURT WARS ... SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.) is bringing back former spokesman Max Young to help fight Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. He'll be senior communications adviser.
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Good Monday afternoon. WE DECIDED to change the name of Playbook Power Briefing to Playbook PM. It just made sense, because everyone already calls it that. 

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS is briefing at 2 p.m.

JOHN BOLTON on Iran, via the pool: "I spoke to the President over the last several days, and President Trump told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before."

LAST CHANCE to try to get into our Playbook party Wednesday. The details

WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 6:30 a.m.: "So we now find out that it was indeed the unverified and Fake Dirty Dossier, that was paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC, that was knowingly & falsely submitted to FISA and which was responsible for starting the totally conflicted and discredited Mueller Witch Hunt!"

... at 8:25 a.m.: "When you hear the Fake News talking negatively about my meeting with President Putin, and all that I gave up, remember, I gave up NOTHING, we merely talked about future benefits for both countries. Also, we got along very well, which is a good thing, except for the Corrupt Media!"

... at 9:06 a.m.: "A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy. But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!"

... at 9:21 a.m.: "The Amazon Washington Post has gone crazy against me ever since they lost the Internet Tax Case in the U.S. Supreme Court two months ago. Next up is the U.S. Post Office which they use, at a fraction of real cost, as their 'delivery boy' for a BIG percentage of their packages...."

... at 9:35 a.m.: "....In my opinion the Washington Post is nothing more than an expensive (the paper loses a fortune) lobbyist for Amazon. Is it used as protection against antitrust claims which many feel should be brought?"

-- FACT-CHECK: The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation released a report recently that refuted Trump's repeated claims on the Postal Service: "Despite assertions by President Trump that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is charging too little for package delivery, the evidence shows that package delivery is not subsidized and, in fact, that package revenue is playing a key role in shoring up shaky USPS finances." The report

TRUMP INC. -- "How a Small Bank Became a Go-To Lender to the Trump Family," by NYT's Emily Flitter and Jesse Drucker: "When Michael D. Cohen needed $17 million to buy a Manhattan apartment building in 2015, he went to Signature Bank. Signature had existed for less than two decades, and compared with some of its New York rivals, it was a small player occupying unglamorous niches.

"Yet it was a natural place to go for Mr. Cohen, who was Donald J. Trump's personal lawyer. Years earlier, he had helped initiate a relationship between Signature and Mr. Trump, and the bank became an unlikely go-to lender for the future president and his extended family. The bank lent money to Mr. Trump's Florida golf course. It lent money to Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law, and to Mr. Kushner's father, Charles. It provided Mr. Trump and his business with checking accounts. And Ivanka Trump sat on Signature's board of directors while the bank was lending to her father and her husband, Mr. Kushner.

"Signature provides a window into the intersecting financial interests of Mr. Cohen and the Trump and Kushner families. With Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner working in the White House, and Mr. Cohen under criminal investigation, Signature's interactions with some of its most famous clients are attracting attention from regulators." NYT
       
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WOMEN RULE -- PRIYA BASU, head of the World Bank Group's Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) Secretariat in the Global Themes Vice-Presidency, joins Anna on Wednesday for a networking event focused in women's unique role in entrepreneurship. Learn more

DATA DU JOUR -- "Elected Leaders Are Making the World Less Democratic," by Bloomberg's Lauren Leatherby and Mira Rojanasakul: "Brexit revealed underlying cracks in the European Union. An anti-immigration backlash led to a wave of right-wing populist victories in Europe. And U.S. voters elected President Donald Trump, who has lavished praise on several strongmen leaders. ... 

"But not all elections are equal. While voters in Hungary, Russia, Turkey and Venezuela went to the polls this year, their votes didn't count for much. Incumbent leaders in those countries only consolidated power. More elected leaders are starting to take note, implementing their own sweeping changes to weaken checks on executive power.

"Organizations that monitor the health of democracies are converging around a similar idea: On average, the world is becoming less democratic for the first time in several decades. The surprising twist is that it's happening as more and more countries hold elections." Bloomberg

2020 WATCH -- "Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan is Telling People He Will Run for President in 2020, Hoping to Win 'Yoga Vote,'" by The Intercept's Ryan Grim and Zaid Jilani: "Ryan's district is one of the few poor, majority-white districts that is represented by a Democrat. But he won't be running on a stereotypical working-class persona; instead, he believes his path to the White House runs through the 'yoga vote.'

"Ryan has long been a champion of mindfulness, meditation, and similar pursuits, and has even created a 'Quiet Time Caucus' in the House of Representatives." The Intercept

DONOR WATCH -- "There are many rich minorities. So why are there no black Koch brothers?" by Center for Public Integrity's Lateshia Beachum: "The nation's wealthiest African-Americans are decidedly reluctant campaign contributors, almost completely ceding the rarefied rank of 'political megadonor' to older, white men, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of Federal Election Commission and Center for Responsive Politics data.

"Since 2010, when the Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. FEC and opened floodgates to unlimited spending in elections, minority donors have been all but absent from every federal election's top 100 political spenders list ... There's no black analogue to [Sheldon] Adelson. Not even close." Center for Public Integrity

TRADE WARS -- "U.S. sets hearing dates for proposed new tariffs on Chinese goods," by Reuters Staff: "The U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Monday it would hold public hearings July 24 and 25 on its proposal to impose tariffs on a list of $16 billion worth of Chinese goods in response to what it claims are Beijing's unfair trade practices." Reuters 

BORDER TALES -- "Watchdog, Enforcer, Coach: The Unusual Role of Judge Dana Sabraw," by WSJ's Jacob Gershman: "Last month, Judge Sabraw made national headlines when he granted an injunction commanding the Trump administration to put an end to its practice of splitting up undocumented, asylum-seeking families streaming into the U.S. from Mexico and Central America. ... 

"As the clock has ticked toward the July 26 due date, the 60-year-old Republican has assumed an unusual role for a judge, simultaneously playing watchdog, enforcer and motivational coach in making sure his demands are met." WSJ

NYT'S PATRICIA MAZZEI in Miami: "Congratulations, You Are Now a U.S. Citizen. Unless Someone Decides Later You're Not": "United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that handles residency and citizenship, is opening a new office to investigate thousands of potential denaturalization cases, even as it approves more new citizenship applications than before. U.S.C.I.S. also intends to refer more cases for possible deportation ... 

"The renewed focus on denaturalization, and a recent uptick in the number of cases filed by the Justice Department, have deeply unsettled many immigrants who had long believed that a United States passport warded off a lifetime of anxiety over possible deportation." NYT

FOR YOUR RADAR -- Christians United for Israel's annual Washington summit kicked off Monday morning. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley will speak at 7:30 p.m. Monday night, with several members of Congress following on Tuesday, including Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.).

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- "Israel launches U.S.-backed missile shield on Syria frontier, Russia sends envoys," by Reuters' Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem: "Israel launched its newest air defense system on Monday on the Syrian frontier, where Damascus's Russian-backed forces have been routing rebels, as Moscow sent envoys for what it called 'urgent' talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Netanyahu planned to meet Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and its armed forces chief, General Valery Gerasimov, later in the day, a visit the Israeli leader said was arranged last week at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Israel is on high alert as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regains ground from rebels in the southwest of the country, bringing his forces close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights." Reuters
           
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ZINKE FILE -- "Interior Secretary Meets With Group Seeking to Drain San Francisco Reservoir," by WSJ's Jim Carlton in San Francisco: "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is interested in restoring the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park to its natural state after more than 100 years of providing water to the people of San Francisco and some suburbs. During a visit Sunday to Yosemite, Mr. Zinke met with a group called Restore Hetch Hetchy, formed about two decades ago to pursue a goal of draining the reservoir.

"'This is still just a fact-finding meeting, but the secretary is very interested in restoring the valley to its natural state,' said an Interior official. The official said Mr. Zinke wants to learn how removing the dam at Hetch Hetchy would 'contribute to the reliable operation' of an existing federal water project that supplies water to California farmers, 'in addition to the conservation benefits removal would provide.'

"The damming of the Hetch Hetchy Valley by San Francisco a century ago-burying a valley comparable in splendor to the famed Yosemite Valley-has long been regarded as one of the West's great environmental catastrophes. Restore Hetch Hetchy's plan is to drain the 360,000-acre-foot reservoir and make San Francisco store its mountain water somewhere else, perhaps even underground. ... The group had also tried to get support from Washington, asking every Interior secretary since 2000 to meet on the issue, said Spreck Rosekrans, executive director. 

"The Reagan administration had broached the idea in 1987. The administration of President George W. Bush was contemplating a feasibility study for it, but powerful San Francisco interests including Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein have helped blocked any action." WSJ

AFTERNOON READ -- "The Untold Story of Otto Warmbier, American Hostage," by Doug Bock Clark in GQ: "As the Trump administration and North Korea spun Otto's story for their own ends, I spent six months reporting-from Washington, D.C., to Seoul-trying to figure out what had actually happened to him. What made an American college student go to Pyongyang? What kind of nightmare did he endure while in captivity? How did his brain damage occur? 

"And how did his eventual death help push America closer toward war with North Korea and then, in a surprising reversal, help lead to Trump's peace summit with Kim Jong-un? The story I uncovered was stranger and sadder than anyone had known. In fact, I discovered that the manner of Otto's injury was not as black-and-white as people were encouraged to believe. But before he became a rallying cry in the administration's campaign against North Korea, he was just a kid. His name was Otto Warmbier." GQ

MEDIAWATCH -- "New York Daily News cuts half of its staff," by NBC News' Jason Abbruzzese and Claire Atkinson: "Daily News staff was notified of the cuts in an email sent by the company's human resources department that also detailed a new direction for the paper, with an increased focus on breaking news with particular attention paid to crime, civil justice and public responsibility. It will still cover local news and sports ... 

"The email also notified employees that editor-in-chief Jim Rich and managing editor Kristen Lee were among those parting ways with the company. Rich tweeted early Monday an ominous warning: 'If you hate democracy and think local government should operate unchecked and in the dark, then today is a good day for you.' Robert York will be the new editor-in-chief." NBC News

-- Josh Campbell, CNN analyst and former special assistant to James Comey, is writing a book on the FBI for Algonquin Books. The announcement 

TRANSITIONS -- Kyle Matous is now assistant director of government relations at the One Campaign. He most recently was chief of staff for Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas). ... Tom Snedeker is joining the Herald Group as chief business officer. He most recently was CFO of Bungalow and is an alum of New Media Strategies. 

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Davis Pace, legislative director for Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), married Julie Ault, senior outreach coordinator at Close Up Foundation. The couple got married at Holy Trinity Church in Northwest D.C. Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Shane Lieberman, executive director and federal affairs manager at UBS and a Vern Buchanan alum, and Ali Lieberman, associate director of product management at SoundExchange, welcomed Parker Richard Lieberman. Pic ... Another pic 

-- Greg Roumeliotis, editor-in-charge of deals at Reuters News, and Dr. Ramona Kennedy, a dentist, recently welcomed daughter Lina Kennedy Roumeliotis. Pic
               
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