Subject: Playbook PM: Kavanaugh confirmation in chaos
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2018 10:58:04 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

Presented by UnitedHealth Group: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Washington                Sep 17, 2018 View in browser                   
 By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman and Eli Okun 
         
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NEW: MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC REP. DEBBIE DINGELL sent an email statement about her husband, FORMER REP. JOHN DINGELL: "It appears John Dingell had a heart attack early this morning. He's alert and in good spirits, cracking jokes like always. He's in the process of being admitted to Henry Ford Hospital. Our sincere thanks to all the medical professionals and nurses at our sides. We'll know more later." 

DIGGING IN ... BRETT KAVANAUGH released a statement saying CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD is wrong, characterizing her sexual assault accusation as "a completely false allegation." 

KAVANAUGH: "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes -- to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday. I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity."

-- THE SWING VOTE -- @SenatorCollins: "Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee."

-- CNN is reporting that Kavanaugh has hired BETH WILKINSON, a high-end D.C. attorney.

-- KAVANAUGH went to the White House this morning. 

-- MEANWHILE, DEMOCRATS are asking SENATE GOP LEADERSHIP and JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IOWA) to delay the hearing. The letter, from all 10 committee Democrats

THE POLITICO LEDE-ALL ... ELANA SCHOR and REBECCA MORIN: "Confirmation in turmoil as Kavanaugh accuser agrees to testify": "Less than 24 hours after Ford publicly came forward against Kavanaugh, her attorney said that she 'will do whatever is necessary to make sure that the Senate Judiciary Committee has the full story,' including providing testimony. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) already had begun seeking follow-up calls for senators on Ford's charges but has yet to comment Monday on potential testimony - which could further imperil a committee vote on Kavanaugh that's still set for Thursday. ... 

"Although Republicans said Sunday night that they would seek a follow-up call, Ford's attorney told CNN in a separate interview that lawmakers have yet to contact her client regarding a potential appearance before the committee." POLITICO

-- BURGESS EVERETT, "Judicial Crisis Network to launch $1.5M pro-Kavanaugh ad campaign": POLITICO

NEW: SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND, which is closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), hasn't made a decision yet on how it will engage on Kavanaugh following the allegations. The group has already run a couple of pro-Kavanaugh ads. "We are evaluating, but it's too soon to definitively state what our course of action will be," a spokesman said.

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE EDITORIAL: "Editorial: A disturbing 11th-hour allegation against Kavanaugh": "Sen. Dianne Feinstein's treatment of a more than 3-decade-old sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was unfair all around. It was unfair to Kavanaugh, unfair to his accuser and unfair to Feinstein's colleagues - Democrats and Republicans alike - on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Feinstein, a California Democrat, took the worst possible course by waiting until almost a week after Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing was completed to ominously announce that she had turned over 'information from an individual' about Kavanaugh to the FBI, and adding that she would be honoring the woman's 'strongly requested' confidentiality.

"Feinstein has been around Washington long enough to know that her opaque statement guaranteed that the contents of the letter, sent by a Stanford law professor on behalf of the accuser, would be pursued and publicized in short order. And they were." S.F. Chronicle

-- GRASSLEY STATEMENT: "The standard procedure for updates to any nominee's background investigation file is to conduct separate follow-up calls with relevant parties. In this case, that would entail phone calls with at least Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford. Consistent with that practice, I asked Senator Feinstein's office yesterday to join me in scheduling these follow-ups. Thus far, they have refused. But as a necessary step in evaluating these claims, I'll continue working to set them up."

Good Monday afternoon. THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER'S MARK PRICE: "Florence death toll rises to 19, including three young children, Carolinas officials say"
       
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WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 10:23 a.m.: "'Lisa Page Testimony-- NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION BEFORE MUELLER APPOINTMENT.' @FoxNews by Catherine Herridge. Therefore, the case should never have been allowed to be brought. It is a totally illegal Witch Hunt!"

... at 10:36 a.m.: "Immediately after Comey's firing Peter Strzok texted to his lover, Lisa Page 'We need to Open the case we've been waiting on now while Andy (McCabe, also fired) is acting. Page answered, 'We need to lock in (redacted). In a formal chargeable way. Soon.' Wow, a conspiracy caught?"

2018 WATCH ... "Gun control group's political arm pouring millions into midterm elections," by WaPo's Katie Zezima: "The fund, the political arm of the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety, plans to spend $8 million to $10 million in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and New Mexico as an initial investment in the election. It will include contributions to candidates, as well as independent expenditures such as mail, television, radio and digital ads." WaPo

 -- "Collins, under indictment, to remain on congressional ballot," by The Buffalo News' Robert J. McCarthy: "The [four] sources, who asked not to be identified, say Collins has heeded the advice of his criminal attorneys who fear the potential complications of protracted election law challenges almost sure to be initiated by Democrats if he removed his name from the congressional ballot.

"'It's very fair to say there's been a drastic shift,' said one of the sources, referring to the congressman's earlier commitment to cooperate with local GOP officials to find a substitute candidate." The Buffalo News

-- NEWSWEEK'S NICOLE GOODKIND: "Ted Cruz Campaign Is Mailing Donation Requests Disguised as Legal Summonses": "Ted Cruz's Texas senatorial campaign has sent hundreds of thousands of mailers seeking donations that are meant to look like official county summons, a high-ranking campaign official confirmed to Newsweek.

"The brown envelopes read 'SUMMONS ENCLOSED-OPEN IMMEDIATELY' in large black letters, and have a return address of 'official county summons.' While the letter inside the envelope was a donation form for the Cruz campaign, there was some fear that some voters might be confused by the mailer and believe that they were required by law to pay a fee. ... Mailers of this kind are not illegal, as long as they include a clear disclaimer that the communication was paid for." Newsweek

GALLUP'S FRANK NEWPORT: "Record-Low 12% Cite Economic Issues as Top U.S. Problem"

2020 WATCH -- "Bloomberg May Run for President as a Democrat. His Views on Policing and #MeToo Could Be a Problem," by NYT's Alexander Burns in Seattle and Sydney Ember in Las Vegas: "Michael R. Bloomberg is actively considering a campaign for president as a Democrat in 2020, concluding that it would be his only path to the White House even as he voices stark disagreements with progressives on defining issues including bank regulation, stop-and-frisk police tactics and the #MeToo movement. ... 

"Mr. Bloomberg, who has repeatedly explored running for president as an independent in the past, said in an interview that he now firmly believes only a major-party nominee can win the White House. ... Despite his obvious divergence from the Democratic Party on some key issues, advisers to Mr. Bloomberg believe he would have a plausible route to its presidential nomination if he stood out as a lonely moderate in a field of conventional liberals." NYT

-- DEMOCRATS are swearing off corporate PAC money. The party is becoming more and more liberal. Is Bloomberg the man for the moment?

TRADE WARS -- "Trump's nasty fight with China's middle class could extend the trade war," by WaPo's Danielle Paquette in Beijing: "As the trade war between the world's two largest economies unfolds on the international stage, analysts say Trump's brash approach to try to win concessions from Beijing has provoked a public fury that could ultimately thwart his efforts.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping's iron grip on power depends on healthy support from the nation's exploding middle class, and now that middle class, angered with Trump's escalating threats, expects China's leader to respond with strength. This could make finding a compromise to end the escalation even more difficult. ... Before this latest Twitter onslaught, public opinion in China appeared in recent months to be leaning in Trump's favor. ... But to some Chinese, the U.S. president just looks like a bully." WaPo

-- "For Apple, U.S.-China Trade Fight Grows Riskier," by WSJ's Tripp Mickle: WSJ

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- NYT'S DAVID SANGER, "North Korea's Trump-Era Strategy: Keep Making A-Bombs, but Quietly": "[Kim Jong Un] appears to be changing his approach, current and former American intelligence officials say, tailoring it to his reading of the man he met for a few hours three months ago in Singapore: President Trump.

"North Korea is making nuclear fuel and building weapons as actively as ever, the publicly available evidence suggests. But he now appears to be borrowing a page from Israel, Pakistan and India: He is keeping quiet about it, conducting no public nuclear demonstrations and creating no crises, allowing Mr. Trump to portray a denuclearization effort as on track." NYT

BRYAN BENDER and JACQUELINE KLIMAS: "Trump's Space Force struggling to launch": "The anti-Space Force movement - which includes generals and Republican and Democratic lawmakers - fears that carving the new branch out of the Air Force would siphon resources from other defense programs, strip them of authority or even weaken the military. They include lawmakers who serve on committees with direct jurisdiction over the issue ... 

"They pose a potentially fatal danger to the president's proposal, which needs Congress to overcome a host of financial and logistical obstacles to carry out what would be the most sweeping U.S. military reorganization since the creation of the Air Force out of the Army Air Forces in 1947. Already, some leading players are predicting Trump will not get everything he wants." POLITICO

HEADLINES THE PRESIDENT WILL LIKE -- "Bombshell Washington Post Story On Trump Passport Crackdown Withheld, Distorted Key Facts," by HuffPost's Roque Planas in Austin, Texas: "On Aug. 29, The Washington Post published a bombshell report alleging that the Trump administration had orchestrated a campaign to systematically deny passports to Latinos born along the border. ... But the Post's report withheld key data, mischaracterized information and lobbed an allegation of fraud at a deceased doctor without speaking to his family members, who complained publicly, HuffPost has found. The piece has been substantially altered three times, including Thursday after multiple queries from HuffPost.

"The paper cited a number of specific policies to support its allegation of a crackdown: supposedly heightened scrutiny of birth certificates signed by midwives suspected of peddling fraudulent documents, supposedly unprecedented passport denials to people born far from the border, and a supposedly new focus on babies delivered by one Texas doctor. All three practices predate Trump." HuffPost

SCOOP -- "WikiLeaks docs show Assange bid for Russian visa," by AP's Raphael Satter: "The Nov. 30, 2010 missive is part of a much larger trove of WikiLeaks emails, chat logs, financial records, secretly recorded footage and other documents leaked to The Associated Press. The files provide both an intimate look at the radical transparency organization and an early hint of Assange's budding relationship with Moscow." AP

WHAT MICHAEL FLYNN IS UP TO -- "Former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, who has been laying low, makes rare public speech," by ABC's James Gordon Meek and Matthew Mosk: "Flynn's remarks on Friday were notable for what they left out. He did not mention President Trump, who fired him as national security adviser three weeks into the presidency. He said nothing about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation ... Flynn's friends say his failing to generate headlines means mission accomplished." ABC

MEDIAWATCH -- Viet Dinh is now chief legal and policy officer at Fox, the new company being spun off after Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox. He previously was an independent director on the 21st Century Fox board and a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.

-- Colin Wilhelm will be a financial and economic policy reporter at the Washington Examiner. He is currently a financial services reporter for POLITICO Pro.

WEEKEND WEDDINGS -- OBAMA ALUMNI -- Paul Rosen, a partner at the law firm Crowell and Moring and former chief of staff to former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, married Casey Hernandez, VP of content strategy for Herbalife Nutrition and a former senior Treasury communications official. Pool report: "The couple's first dance was to 'California Stars' by Wilco & Billy Bragg, and guests danced to a mariachi band performing the Horah." Wedding pic ... NYT announcement

-- Marissa Padilla, VP for communications and public affairs at Global Strategy Group and a Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Obama DOT and HHS alum, married Michael Collins, a principal at Mehlman Castagnetti and former chief of staff for Sen. Udall. With a pic. NYT announcement

-- Katie Niederee, communications director for the majority staff on the Senate Finance Committee and a Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) alum, on Saturday married Jon Rosborough, program director at Statler Nagle. Wedding pic ... Another pic ... NYT announcement

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Scott Eisner, SVP of African affairs at the U.S. Chamber, and Ashley Eisner, director of events and Chamber initiatives at the U.S. Chamber, welcomed Noa Catherine Eisner, who joins big sister Olivia. Pic
           
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