Subject: Playbook PM: Rubio and Alex Jones spar
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 05 Sep 2018 10:55:00 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

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 By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman and Eli Okun 
             
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THE CIRCUS ROLLS ON ... 

-- SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FLA.) pretty much ignored Infowars' Alex Jones, who tried to bait him into a verbal altercation. Rubio's Capitol Police officer told him to get his hand off Rubio's shoulder, but Rubio said he'd take care of Jones himself. The Florida Republican ended the interaction by saying he had to go to committee, "you guys can talk to this clown." Watch this 4-minute clip

-- KIM KARDASHIAN WEST is at the White House today, talking about criminal justice reform. POLITICO

-- "Pickup driver ranting about 'treason' crashes into Fox 4 building in Dallas," by The Dallas Morning News' Loyd Brumfield: "The suspect, identified as Michael Chadwick Fry, 34, scattered papers everywhere and mentioned treason during his rants, Channel 4 reporter Brandon Todd said. He was later arrested. Dallas police spokeswoman Debra Webb said the suspect was 'obviously in an agitated state.' Channel 4 reported that he was upset about an officer-involved shooting in another city. ... Webb said the Fox 4 suspect's actions did not appear to be connected to any animosity toward the media." The Dallas Morning News

QUINNIPIAC POLL ... THE FLORIDA SENATE race is in a dead heat ... Rick Scott 49, Bill Nelson 49. More details

THREE SPEAKER PAUL RYAN COMMENTS FOR YOUR RADAR ... 

-- ON PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAYING A.G. JEFF SESSIONS SHOULDN'T HAVE INDICTED Republican members of the House because they were Republicans: "Justice is blind, justice should be blind."

-- ON WHETHER HE WILL TRY TO convince Trump that a shutdown is a bad idea this fall: "No. I don't think I have to do that. We talk all the time. This is a typical meeting that you have when you come back from recess to go through the fall agenda. There's really nothing exceptional about that. And we've had plenty of conversations about how we want to close out our agenda." Trump told The Daily Caller that he does not see "myself or anybody else closing down the country right now"

-- ON BOB WOODWARD: "I've known Bob a long time. I have not spoken to him for a few years, for the record. I haven't seen this book. Is it even out yet?"

THE CONFIRMATION HEARING -- "Kavanaugh dodges debate over subpoenaing a president," by Elana Schor: "As questioning of Kavanaugh began on the second day of his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, he told Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that he could not answer the 'potential hypothetical' of requiring a president to respond to a subpoena while in office. ... 

"'We're going to have crisis moments at the Supreme Court on things we can't even predict, and we need people on the Supreme Court who are prepared for that,' Kavanaugh - who has indicated that a sitting president cannot be indicted - told Feinstein before declining to answer her subpoena question." POLITICO ... Key moments from Rebecca Morin: POLITICO

Good Wednesday afternoon. The White House has added a 4:30 p.m. meeting today for the president with sheriffs from around the nation, with an in-house pool spray. It has also opened Trump's 3:30 p.m. meeting with GOP congressional leaders to an in-house pool spray.

FOR YOUR RADAR -- Jon Kyl is being sworn in as Arizona's newest senator this afternoon.

VALLEY TALK -- "Google's empty chair and Alex Jones: Key moments from Twitter, Facebook hearing," by Cristiano Lima: "Despite relatively staid early lines of questioning from lawmakers, the Senate Intelligence committee's hearing on foreign electioneering on social media Wednesday swiftly turned into unconventional political theater, complete with a conspicuously empty chair set aside to highlight Google's absence and a notable cameo from InfoWars leader Alex Jones. ... 

"Senate Intelligence leaders criticized Google for not sending its top executive, Sundar Pichai, to speak alongside Sandberg and Dorsey after weeks of publicly sparring with the search giant over the matter." POLITICO
       
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JOHN BRESNAHAN, JENNIFER SCHOLTES and RACHAEL BADE: "GOP leaders no on shutdown, but conservatives divided"

THE LATEST ON PAUL MANAFORT ... 

-- NPR's CARRIE JOHNSON (@johnson_carrie): "Judge presiding over Paul Manafort's DC trial denies defense motion to move case to Roanoake, Va., and bars defense from asking Manafort business partner Rick Gates about his marital infidelity, ruling that has no bearing on his credibility. Govt didn't commit to Gates testifying."

-- JOSH GERSTEIN (@joshgerstein): "Defense wants to argue that Manafort was singled out because of role on Trump campaign, but judge isn't inclined to allow it. Defense also wants to focus on lobbying firms that weren't prosecuted."

-- WASHINGTON EXAMINER's KELLY COHEN (@politiCOHEN_): "NEWS -- the judge in the DC case against Paul Manafort rules that neither the special counsel nor the defense can bring up any allegation of Russian collusion."

WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:33 a.m.: "Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost. Don't know why Washington politicians don't change libel laws?"

... at 9:20 a.m.: "Almost everyone agrees that my Administration has done more in less than two years than any other Administration in the history of our Country. I'm tough as hell on people & if I weren't, nothing would get done. Also, I question everybody & everything-which is why I got elected!"

... at 9:21 a.m.: "The Trump Economy is booming with help of House and Senate GOP. #FarmBill with SNAP work requirements will bolster farmers and get America back to work. Pass the Farm Bill with SNAP work requirements!"

... at 9:39 a.m.: "Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way? As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!"

HEADS UP -- "Red states take Obamacare back to court, picking up where Congress left off," by Paul Demko: "The latest bid to kill Obamacare begins Wednesday, when lawyers from 20 states march into a federal courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas, seeking to end the health law immediately. ... 

"An injunction is unlikely, but these first oral arguments will serve as an overture for a high-profile court battle that could reach the Supreme Court. ... Legal experts are broadly skeptical of the merits of the lawsuit ... But eight years of legal battles over Obamacare have shown that courts don't always rule in predictable ways." POLITICO

THE OBAMAS' MIDTERM PLAN ... "Obama to launch midterm campaigning this weekend," by Isaac Dovere: "Barack Obama will launch his midterm campaigning this weekend, following a speech on Friday meant to lay out the case against what he'll call Donald Trump's dangerous authoritarian politics. ... 

"[H]e'll fly to Irvine, California, for an event on Saturday highlighting all seven Democrats running in districts currently held by Republicans, but carried by Hillary Clinton ... Obama will then be in Cleveland next Thursday to campaign for Richard Cordray." POLITICO

-- BULLETIN ... "WASHINGTON (AP) - Michelle Obama is headlining voter registration rallies in Las Vegas and Miami later this month on behalf of a nonpartisan voting organization she co-chairs."

THE GOP'S COUNTER-STRIKE PLAN -- "Republicans Want An NFL 'Culture War' To Help Defeat A Blue Wave," by BuzzFeed's Tarini Parti and Henry Gomez: "Republican strategists and campaign staff tell BuzzFeed News that they see opportunities for candidates to make the NFL protests a political liability for Democrats defending seats in states President Donald Trump won in 2016. ... 

"Polling on the protests shows a huge racial and partisan divide ... And overall, public opinion is in line with the president's views, with polls showing more Americans supporting the NFL's on-hold policy than opposing it. ... So far, most Democrats in tough races have avoided the topic, and those in leadership positions have dodged." BuzzFeed

2020 WATCH -- "Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will come to Cincinnati to test presidential waters," by The Cincinnati Enquirer's Scott Wartman: The Cincinnati Enquirer

HEADLINES THE PRESIDENT WON'T LIKE -- "U.S. Trade Deficit Posts Biggest Increase in July Since 2015," by WSJ's Paul Kiernan and Sarah Chaney: WSJ

SCOOP -- "Former White House ethics lawyer joins Priebus law firm," by Daniel Lippman: "Stefan Passantino, the former top ethics lawyer in the Trump White House, is joining Reince Priebus' law firm in its government relations, public policy and compliance practice group. 

"Passantino, who served as deputy counsel and deputy assistant to the president until his departure last week, starts on Wednesday as a partner at the law firm Michael Best, where Priebus returned as president and chief strategist after his six-month stint as Trump's first White House chief of staff." POLITICO

MEDIAWATCH -- Arlette Saenz is now a politics reporter for CNN. She was previously a White House reporter/producer at ABC. ... Lauren Fox will now cover Congress and federal agencies for CNN.

NYT's MAGGIE HABERMAN: "Michael Cohen Prayed With Al Sharpton at Breakfast. But Other Democrats Stay Away": "When Mr. Cohen was considering pleading guilty, some of his associates assured him that the anti-Trump cavalry would swiftly offer him support. They suggested to him that he would be embraced as an ally in the campaign to take down the president.

"Mr. Cohen has instead remained isolated and politically toxic. ... Mr. Sharpton, who has known Mr. Cohen for many years, said Mr. Cohen seemed bewildered about how quickly his life had been upended." NYT

TRAILER DU JOUR -- Netflix will release the documentary "Reversing Roe" Sept. 13. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival this weekend. The trailer

HOLLYWOODLAND -- "Monica Lewinsky to Appear in 'The Impeachment of Bill Clinton' Docuseries," by The Hollywood Reporter's Marisa Guthrie: THR

TRANSITIONS -- Jayme Roth will be SVP for global policy and government relations at Conservation International. He previously headed government affairs for Starbucks. ... Chris Marroletti will become the director of operations for Paul Ryan's political organization, Team Ryan. Marroletti is a Boehner alum and graduate of Villanova. 

ENGAGED -- OBAMA ALUMNI -- Erica Sackin, director of political communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, got engaged to Dave Stroup, who is finishing his MFA in nonfiction writing at GMU and is an alum of Rising Tide Interactive and the DSCC. Pic ... Another pic

-- Kyle DeCant, labor policy counsel with the House Education and Workforce Committee (Dems), proposed to Rricha Mathur, counsel to Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.). He proposed during a sunrise visit to the Jefferson Memorial. Pic ... Another pic

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Rachel Ryan, a senior account supervisor at Qorvis Communications, married Charlie McKell, a media and public affairs consultant who's going to grad school this fall in London, in a wedding near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Instapics ... Pic
           
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