Subject: Playbook PM: Trump opens up on U.S./Saudi relations
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2018 12:12:04 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

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 By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman and Garrett Ross 
             
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: DID THE CROWN PRINCE KNOW ABOUT THE KHASHOGGI MURDER? .... MAYBE SO, MAYBE NOT ... THE PRESIDENT on Saudi Arabia: "The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone. Indeed, we have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in the murder. After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his body.

"Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an 'enemy of the state' and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that - this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event - maybe he did and maybe he didn't!

"That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region. It is our paramount goal to fully eliminate the threat of terrorism throughout the world!" The full statement 

SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO will give a press briefing at 1:30 p.m. at the State Department.

THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE is down more than 430 points, 1.70%, as of publishing time. The latest numbers 

REMINDER: We still have not seen the 10% tax cut the president promised in the days leading up to Election Day. In fact, it doesn't seem like anyone is talking about it anymore.

AT THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ... GABBY ORR: "Immigration hawks fear DOJ staff exodus": "The Justice Department is facing a likely senior staff exodus once President Donald Trump taps a permanent replacement for ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, creating a leadership vacuum that has troubled hard-line immigration activists.

"According to more than a half-dozen former and current administration officials, at least four top officials - mostly Sessions loyalists - have either quit or are eyeing the exit as they await Trump's decision on who will succeed their former boss, who implemented and vigorously defended even Trump's most controversial immigration policies. ...

"The uncertainty surrounding Trump's pick for attorney general, combined with growing expectations that the White House won't announce its nominee until mid-December at the earliest, has left some fifth-floor staffers feeling as though they're in limbo, wondering whether it's time to leave the administration or worth the wait to see who takes over as attorney general. Sessions has encouraged his loyalists to stick around to see who might take over for him." POLITICO 

GRASSLEY PRESSES MCCONNELL, via NYT's Nick Fandos: "In the past three years, Senator Charles E. Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, blocked a Democratic Supreme Court nominee for more than a year, pushed through an army of conservative judges and helped cement a conservative Supreme Court by securing confirmation of the most controversial high court nominee in a generation.

"All of that has come at great personal cost, so the 85-year-old Iowan had some chits to call in when on Monday morning, he joined a private phone call with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, to discuss a bipartisan breakthrough to overhaul the criminal justice system and the nation's sentencing rules.

"I have been there for you, Mr. Grassley told Mr. McConnell, the man standing in the way of a quick vote on the measure. And I would hope this is something that you would help me make happen, according to three people familiar with the call who were not authorized to publicly discuss the conversation." NYT

WAIT A SECOND ... WESLEY MORGAN: "Military backpedals on winding down border mission": "Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, who is overseeing the controversial deployment of active-duty troops to shore up border entry points, told POLITICO in an interview Monday that he expected to send the first wave of troops home later this week after they completed stringing concertina wire and building base camps. ...

"But Tuesday, Buchanan's headquarters cast that timeline in doubt, emphasizing instead that some troops will be shifted from Texas to California as the caravans of northward-bound migrants through Mexico shift direction. 'We may shift some forces to other areas of the border to engineering support missions in California and other areas,' the statement said, where migrants on Monday forced the partial closure of a main entry point." POLITICO 

WAR REPORT -- AP: "U.S.: 2 airstrikes killed 37 al-Shabab militants in Somalia" 

CAITLIN OPRYSKO: "Trump administration slaps new sanctions to punish Iran and Syria" 

Good Tuesday afternoon. Playbook PM is going dark on Thanksgiving and Friday. Playbook will be in your inbox in the morning as usual.
       
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MCCLATCHY'S KATE IRBY: "Republican was a dirty word in California this year. Just ask Jeff Denham." 

CLICKER ... L.A. TIMES: "Photos before and after the Camp fire reveal a town destroyed" 

WHITAKER WATCH -- "Schumer demands probe on Whitaker's ties to Trump," by Marianne LeVine: "'I am particularly concerned about whether Mr. Whitaker may have shared with the White House, or could share in his new role, confidential grand jury or investigative information from the Special Counsel investigation or any criminal investigation,' Schumer wrote in a letter to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz. 

"Schumer added that disclosure of such information could 'implicate criminal contempt of court, obstruction of justice' or violate the Justice Department's policy on contact with the White House on criminal investigations. Schumer requested that the inspector general provide information on whether Whitaker had access to confidential information related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation when he was chief of staff and whether Whitaker provided any assurance to the White House that he would interfere with the Mueller investigation." POLITICO ... The letter

THE LATEST IN MISSISSIPPI ... JAMES ARKIN: "Walmart seeks refund from Hyde-Smith after 'public hanging' comment": "Walmart responded to a tweet from actress Debra Messing pointing out that the company had donated to [Sen. Cindy] Hyde-Smith said they 'completely understand' her concern.

"'Sen. Hyde Smith's recent comments clearly do not reflect the values of our company and associates. As a result, we are withdrawing our support and requesting a refund of all campaign donations,' Walmart tweeted from the official company account. Walmart gave $2,000 to the senator. Walmart is the latest of several major companies to request refunds from Hyde-Smith's campaign following the controversy over her remarks." POLITICO 

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- K-STREET FILES: PRECISION STRATEGIES, the strategic communications firm founded by Stephanie Cutter, Teddy Goff and Jen O'Malley Dillon, has recently been hired by e-cigarette company JUUL, according to two sources familiar with the work. The firm will work on reaching out to stakeholders about the company's efforts to switch adult smokers to their product and what Juul is doing to prevent underage non-smokers from using its e-cigarettes. The firm declined to comment on how long the contract is for and how much it's getting paid. Juul also declined to comment.

HOW ABOUT THAT ... SARAH KARLIN-SMITH: "The Bernie Sanders-Trump mind meld on drug costs": "Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Donald Trump are on the same page on drug pricing once again. A bill released Tuesday morning by Sen. Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to reduce U.S. drug prices takes a cue from Trump's recent proposal to reduce Medicare drug costs -- both proposals seek to lower U.S. drug costs by tying them to international prices. ... 

"The proposed legislation stands almost no chance of gaining traction in a Republican-controlled Senate and is sure to face stiff opposition from the drug industry. But its similarities to Trump's far narrower proposal for drugs administered as part of the Medicare Part B program speaks to the mounting pressure on both parties to address drug costs." POLITICO 

MIDTERM RECAP -- "How a Blue Wave Wiped Out Republicans in the Largest County in Texas," by WSJ's Dan Frosch in Houston: "An energized Democratic electorate wasn't enough to defeat Texas Sen. Ted Cruz this month, but in the state's most populous county, it created a blue landslide. Nearly every Republican in Harris County, home to Houston, was unseated on Nov. 6, including 59 judges and the top executive, Ed Emmett, a moderate who won in 2014 with 83% of the vote. ...

"More than 75% of ballots cast in Harris County were straight-ticket votes, according to the county clerk's office. Roughly 55% of those went to Democrats, giving local Republicans little chance on a lengthy ballot with more than 90 races. ... Last year, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation ending straight-ticket voting in Texas beginning in 2020." WSJ 

-- FROM FLORIDA PLAYBOOK -- per Daniel Lippman: "Gina Loudon - the Trump surrogate and conservative TV personality known as 'Dr. Gina' - was spotted wearing a lanyard that said 'Republican Attorney' at the recount in Broward County last week. But she's not an attorney. She even posted two nearly identical pictures on Instagram wearing the badge, posing shoulder to shoulder next to RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel. What's ironic is this is the second time that Loudon has attracted attention for a credential she doesn't actually have. 

"The Daily Beast reported in September that the jacket bio on her recent book said she had a 'Ph.D in psychology,' when she actually has a Ph.D. in 'human and organization systems' from the online school Fielding Graduate University. A GOP official told POLITICO that the badges that were sent down to Broward had a disproportionate number that said 'attorney' vs. 'observer'. ... 'I think the wrong shipping came down honestly. ... 95 percent of the people that showed up got an attorney credential' even though fewer than 2 percent of the approximately 150 or so Republican observers were actually attorneys." POLITICO

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- "Veteran Russian Official Nominated for Interpol Presidency," by WSJ's Amy Simmons in Moscow: "Interpol confirmed that a veteran Russian Interior Ministry official and a South Korean police commissioner had both been nominated to become its next president, amid allegations that Moscow has used the international police agency to go after political foes.

"The nomination of South Korea's Kim Jong-yang and Russia's Maj. Gen. Alexander Prokopchuk came as criticism continued to mount over the prospect that a Russian official could assume such a critical position at Interpol. The organization's general assembly will vote for the new president in Dubai on Nov. 21." WSJ 

UH OH ... "'Like a Terror Movie': How Climate Change Will Cause More Simultaneous Disasters," by NYT's John Schwartz: "Global warming is posing such wide-ranging risks to humanity, involving so many types of phenomena, that by the end of this century some parts of the world could face as many as six climate-related crises at the same time, researchers say.

"This chilling prospect is described in a paper published Monday in Nature Climate Change ... [which] projects future trends and suggests that, by 2100, unless humanity takes forceful action to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, some tropical coastal areas of the planet, like the Atlantic coast of South and Central America, could be hit by as many as six crises at a time." NYT

YIKES ... "Mother of U.S. diplomat hurt in 'health attack' speaks out," by NBC's Josh Lederman and Andrea Mitchell: "Laura Hughes, an Air Force veteran, says her daughter Catherine Werner is struggling with the effects of traumatic brain injury after experiencing strange sounds and sensations at her apartment in Guangzhou, where Werner was a foreign trade officer until being medevac'd out earlier this year.

"She's calling on the State Department to do more to solve the mystery that has eluded investigators since U.S. diplomats and spies starting getting sick in Cuba in late 2016. 'I do not believe that our military, our diplomats around the world or here at home are safe,' Hughes says in an interview with NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell. 'Because this ... weapon system is creating havoc.'" NBC 

AFTERNOON LISTEN -- NEW WOMEN RULE PODCAST: ANNA sat down with entrepreneur Gazelle Hashemian, a successful IT executive whose latest venture is the wellness company Blue Flower, to talk about her deep sense of appreciation for opportunity in the United States comes from living through the Iranian Revolution in 1979. "I wholeheartedly believed that anything I could put my mind into I could do," she said. "Being an immigrant, I so desperately wanted to do well." Listen and subscribe 

AFTERNOON READ -- DANNY VINIK for THE AGENDA: "The Gap in the GOP's Economic Plan": "As America grapples with widening inequality and deepening political polarization, a group of wonks in Washington is quietly embarking on a new national experiment to rehabilitate the country's most distressed regions. Tucked into the 2017 Republican tax law, Opportunity Zones, as the program is called, offer huge tax incentives for financiers who invest in downtrodden communities.

"The promising idea has one potentially huge flaw, however: As the Treasury Department finalizes the program's rules in preparation for its launch in 2019, researchers and economists are increasingly worried that the agency is leaving out critical requirements to track the law's effects-and as a result, we may never know if Opportunity Zones actually work. The new law has attracted attention in policy circles because it's the most specific thing the Trump administration has done to help 'left behind' areas, and could cost more than $1 billion a year, at least initially. But it's far from a sure thing." The Agenda 

VALLEY TALK -- TECHCRUNCH'S NATASHA LOMAS: "Read the mud-slinging pitches Facebook's PR firm sent us"

MEDIAWATCH -- Ali Breland will be a disinformation reporter for Mother Jones. He previously was a technology reporter at The Hill and is a POLITICO alum. ... Alex Gangitano will be a reporter covering lobbying for The Hill. She most recently was the Heard on the Hill reporter for Roll Call.

TRANSITIONS -- Jackie Schutz Zeckman will be chief of staff for Rick Scott's Senate office. She most recently was his campaign manager. ... Kathryn Rexrode is now associate director of external affairs at USCIS. She previously was communications director for the House Judiciary Committee. ... 

... Rachael Perry is now senior director at Story Partners. She previously was war room director at America Rising. 

- OBAMA ALUMNI - Price Floyd will be director of campaigns and communications at CTF Global's Washington office. He most recently was a principal at ITC Global Advisors and was head of public affairs at DOD during the beginning of the Obama administration.

ENGAGED -- Keith Sonderling, senior policy adviser at the wage and hour division at the Labor Department, proposed to Fara Klein, manager of government affairs at the American Forest and Paper Association. The couple met at a political fundraiser in Miami and were introduced by Lisa Spies. Instapics

-- Tony Trenzeluk, director of government affairs for Sentry, on Saturday proposed to Ashley Highlander, deputy finance director at Republican Attorneys General Association. The couple met on Scott Walker's 2014 gubernatorial campaign and got engaged in California. Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- OBAMA ALUMNI: Caroline Simmons, a Democratic Connecticut state representative and an Obama DHS and 2008 campaign alum, and Art Linares, a Republican Connecticut state senator, on Friday welcomed Theodore (Teddy) Arthur Linares, who came in at 7 lbs, 1 oz, and 21 in. Pic

-- HILLARY ALUMNI: Adrienne Lee Benson, a Clinton 2008 campaign and Senate Judiciary alum who spent her pregnancy clerking on the D.C. Circuit, and Nate Cushman, a newly elected partner in Nixon Peabody's affordable housing practice, welcomed Axel William Benson. Pic ... Another pic

                        
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