Subject: POLITICO Playbook: The national day of mourning
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2018 05:12:19 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

Presented by Google: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day                Dec 05, 2018 View in browser                   
 By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and Daniel Lippman 
             
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Listen to today's Audio Briefing
              DRIVING THE DAY      
TODAY is a national day of mourning for GEORGE H.W. BUSH, and much of the government is closed. Luckily for investors, the NYSE and Nasdaq are closed today.

THE STATE FUNERAL ... SPEAKERS: Former President George W. Bush, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, former Wyoming Republican Sen. Alan Simpson and historian/Bush biographer Jon Meacham. 

-- THE FUNERAL is slated to begin at 11 a.m. at the National Cathedral.

STATE AIRCRAFTS from Tennessee, Michigan, Arkansas, Kentucky and Ohio all landed at DCA yesterday. The state airplane from South Carolina is scheduled to land at 8:12 a.m.

-- @cspan: ".@SenatorDole pays respects as President George H.W. Bush Lies in State": 50-second video

NYT'S PETER BAKER: "'A Mixture of Sad and Joyful': The Old Bush Gang Gathers for a Final Send-Off": "Ron Kaufman, who was Mr. Bush's White House political director, wore a 'Reagan-Bush '84' jacket with 'Vice Squad '84 Victory Tour' emblazoned on the back in all capital letters. 'Nobody here is sad or grieving,' he noted. 'Why? Because they know the Bushes are together and if we're sad, they'll haunt us for the rest of our lives.'" NYT

SPOTTED: Joe Biden and former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) boarding a United flight together from Denver to Dulles. Pic (h/t Arlette Saenz) ... Jos&eacute; Andr&eacute;s inside the Capitol Visitor Center at 4:10 a.m. Wednesday to pay his respects to George H.W. Bush. Pic ... Denis McDonough in the public line inside the Capitol Visitor Center paying respects to Bush late Tuesday evening.

-- at a George H.W. Bush Foundation reception at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last night for friends and former staffers of Bush 41 and 43: Ron Kaufman; Neil Bush; Pierce and Sarahbeth Bush; Tom Donohue and Jared Kushner spoke to Neil and Pierce Bush; Lisa and Gordon James; Tim McBride; Dylan Glenn; Joe Hagin; Paris Dennard; Josh Bolten; Pam Patenaude; James and Elizabeth Pinkerton.

   
Good Wednesday morning. 'MR. TARIFF' PUSHES STOCKS LOWER: WSJ: "The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 800 points and bond yields plummeted as investors' doubts over the U.S.-China trade truce renewed anxieties about the pace of economic growth."

-- IN EUROPE THIS MORNING ... FT: "European stocks joined a global sell-off on Wednesday on worries that markets had overplayed signs of improved trade relations between the U.S. and China while concerns over a slowing American economy deepened. 

"The losses spread from New York, where the S&P 500 fell by over 3 per cent - a fall only matched or exceeded in eight sessions over the past five years. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 was down over 1 per, as was Frankfurt's Xetra Dax 30 and London's FTSE 100. Stocks exposed to the trade dispute were among the biggest fallers, including chipmakers and car manufacturers. 

"The Stoxx index tracking European technology was down 1.6 per cent, with that following industrial metals makers down 1.7 per cent. This followed falls in Asia where the Mainland China's CSI 300 index was off its low point for the day in late trade in Shenzhen and Shanghai, leaving it down 0.5 per cent overall. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.7 per cent." FT

WSJ BOARD WEIGHS IN: "Perhaps [markets] know that tariffs are taxes on commerce, and when you tax something you get less of it. Mr. T's unveiling also hit on the day after the yield curve on some Treasurys began to invert-which can mean trouble. The economy is still strong enough to survive some uncertainty, but Tariff Man shouldn't go to war with the laws of economics. He'll lose." WSJ

-- TRUMP ON CHINA -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:20 p.m.: "We are either going to have a REAL DEAL with China, or no deal at all -- at which point we will be charging major Tariffs against Chinese product being shipped into the United States. Ultimately, I believe, we will be making a deal -- either now or into the future...." 

... at 7:21 p.m.: ".....China does not want Tariffs!"

THE PRESIDENT is going to the Army-Navy football game Saturday in Philadelphia, per the WaPo
       
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BREAKING LAST NIGHT ... NYT'S ADAM GOLDMAN and EILEEN SULLIVAN: "Flynn Was Key Cooperator and Deserves Little Prison Time, Mueller Team Says": "Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's first national security adviser, helped substantially with the special counsel's investigation and should receive little to no prison time for lying to federal investigators, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

"Mr. Flynn was a key cooperator who helped the Justice Department with several investigations, prosecutors for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said. He sat for 19 interviews with Mr. Mueller's office and other prosecutors and handed over documents and communications, they said.

"'His early cooperation was particularly valuable because he was one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight' into the subject of Mr. Mueller's investigation - Russia's election interference and whether any Trump associates conspired, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing recommendation memorandum and an addendum that was heavily blacked out.

"In particular, they wrote, he might have prompted others to cooperate with the inquiry. 'The defendant's decision to plead guilty and cooperate likely affected the decisions of related firsthand witnesses to be forthcoming,' prosecutors said." NYT

MORE ON THE INVESTIGATIONS FRONT: "Stone pleads the Fifth to snub Senate document request," by Kyle Cheney: "President Donald Trump's longtime political ally Roger Stone invoked his Fifth Amendment protection as he declined to share documents and testimony with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to a letter posted Tuesday by the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein." POLITICO

-- BUT, BUT, BUT: DARREN SAMUELSOHN: "Roger Stone won't shut up"

-- "Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg to meet with Senate Intelligence Committee in January," by WaPo's Bob Costa

ELIANA JOHNSON: "New White House counsel to arrive as Democrats, Mueller close in": "Pat Cipollone will start his new job as White House counsel on Monday, following a nearly two-month delay since his appointment, with dwindling time to prepare for a coming onslaught of House Democratic oversight demands. President Donald Trump tapped Cipollone in early October to be the White House's top lawyer, replacing Don McGahn, who stepped down Oct. 17 after a turbulent tenure during which he clashed with the president. 

"Cipollone's start date was confirmed by two sources familiar with the timing. Even before assuming his official duties, Cipollone has reached out to several lawyers to staff an office responsible for everything from judicial nominations to federal litigation to presidential pardons." POLITICO

WHITAKER WATCH -- "Senate Democrats demand details from DOJ on any conflicts of interest for Whitaker," by Matthew Choi: "Senate Democrats asked the Justice Department on Tuesday to explain what they described as conflicts of interest involving acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.

"The letter focuses on more than $1.2 million in compensation Whitaker - President Donald Trump's choice to temporarily replace ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions - received as executive director of an organization that has sued Democratic lawmakers several times in the past, and on Benczkowski's history working on behalf of a Russian bank." POLITICO
       
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BETO WATCH ... WAPO'S MATT VISER: "Beto O'Rourke, who's pondering a 2020 presidential bid, met with Barack Obama": "Beto O'Rourke, weighing whether to mount a 2020 presidential bid, met recently with Barack Obama at his post-presidency offices in Washington. The meeting, which was held Nov. 16 at the former president's offices in Foggy Bottom, came as former Obama aides have encouraged the Democratic House member to run, seeing him as capable of the same kind of inspirational campaign that caught fire in the 2008 presidential election.

"The meeting was the first sign of Obama getting personally involved in conversations with O'Rourke, who, despite his November loss in a U.S. Senate race in Texas, has triggered more recent discussion and speculation than any other candidate in the burgeoning 2020 field." WaPo

-- "Deval Patrick to announce he won't run for president, sources say," by Natasha Korecki, Kyle Cheney and Stephanie Murray: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is calling close allies and informing them he is not running for president in 2020, sources close to the governor tell POLITICO. Patrick informed staff and advisers of his decision today, the sources say, with an announcement to come as soon as this week." POLITICO

-- WAPO'S MICHAEL SCHERER: "Wary of repeating 2016 mistakes, Democrats prepare to shake up 2020 presidential debate plan": "The [DNC] is close to finalizing a 2020 primary debate plan that would give lesser-known candidates a chance to share the same stage as the party's front-runners, avoiding the two-tier 'kiddie table' approach that divided the Republican field in the last presidential campaign. 

"Chairman Tom Perez ... has made clear to his staff that he would like the field to be presented in a way that initially mixes top-tier candidates with lesser known ones. The party's proposed solution, which will be presented to Perez for approval later this month, also would allow for other factors beyond national polling, possibly including staffing, fundraising and number of office locations, to be considered in making a cutoff for debate participation." WaPo

IMPORTANT STORY ... JULIANNA GOLDMAN in The Atlantic: "It's Almost Impossible to Be a Mom in Television News: For female television reporters, the decision to have kids can be a career-ending one."

-- NEW: WOMEN RULE PODCAST: ANNA spoke with SEN. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.VA.) on the struggles she faced as a mom with young kids after she was elected to the House and the lack of Republican women in Congress. Listen and subscribe 

TRUMP'S WEDNESDAY -- The president and first lady Melania Trump will leave the White House at 10:15 a.m. for the Washington National Cathedral to attend George H.W. Bush's funeral service. Afterward, the two are expected to return to the White House. 
                 PLAYBOOK READS         

PHOTO DU JOUR: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 800 points over a potential trade war with China on Tuesday. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images
   
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- "How Trump appointees curbed a consumer protection agency loathed by the GOP," by WaPo's Robert O'Harrow Jr., Shawn Boburg and Renae Merle: "Mick Mulvaney struck a jovial tone as he introduced the political appointees who would run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. One was nicknamed Dreamboat, he said in an email. Another was Mumbles. A third had been a 'Jeopardy' contestant. 'They are really great people,' Mulvaney, the acting director, wrote in a holiday message to the agency's 1,600 staffers last December. The levity now seems like a cruel joke to career officials.

"One year after Mulvaney's arrival, he and his political aides have constrained the agency from within, achieving what conservatives on Capitol Hill had for years been unable to do, according to agency data and interviews with career officials. Publicly announced enforcement actions by the bureau have dropped about 75 percent from average in recent years, while consumer complaints have risen to new highs, according to a Washington Post analysis of bureau data. Over the past year, the agency's workforce has dropped by at least 129 employees amid the largest exodus since its creation in 2010." WaPo

-- "Treasury proposes postal changes after Trump attacks on Amazon," by Steven Overly: "In a report released on Tuesday, the Treasury-led task force says the Postal Service should price packages 'with profitability in mind' and impose higher rates on general e-commerce goods and other non-essential items sent through the mail. Trump commissioned the report earlier this year after months of attacking Amazon for, in his view, ripping off USPS and treating the agency like its 'Delivery Boy.'" POLITICO
       
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THE HONOR CODE ... "Hill watchdog report: Rep. Garrett misused staff," by Rachael Bade: "The House Ethics Committee on Tuesday released a watchdog report accusing Rep. Tom Garrett of inappropriately using his congressional staff - allegations the panel is probing and that POLITICO first reported.

"But it is unclear that Garrett - who allegedly make staffers run personal errands for him and his wife, Flanna - will ever face consequences. Following POLITICO's story revealing that he and his wife made aides chauffeur their daughters, clean up dog poop, go grocery shopping for the family and do other personal errands for them during work hours, the Virginia Republican announced his retirement.

"That means Garrett will step down in a matter of days, when the Ethics Committee probe will officially end without a conclusion." POLITICO

-- FLASHBACK: RACHAEL BADE, ALEX ISENSTADT and KYLE CHENEY: "Ex-aides say congressman made them his servants": "'We see no reason to respond to anonymous, unfounded allegations primarily targeting Congressman Garrett's wife, made by POLITICO's 'unnamed' sources,' [spokesman Matt Missen] said. 'It is easy to spread untruths and even easier to exaggerate and imply wrongdoing when none exists.'"

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "China Maneuvers to Snag Top-Secret Boeing Satellite Technology," by WSJ's Brian Spegele and Kate O'Keeffe: "Workers at a Boeing Co. plant in Los Angeles are nearing completion of a new satellite, which uses restricted technology relied on by the U.S. military. It was ordered by a local startup that seeks to improve web access in Africa. In reality, the satellite is being funded by Chinese state money, according to corporate records, court documents and people close to the project. About $200 million flowed to the satellite project from a state-owned Chinese financial firm in a complex deal that used offshore companies to channel China's money to Boeing." WSJ

MEDIAWATCH ... NYT'S RACHEL ABRAMS and EDMUND LEE: "Les Moonves Obstructed Investigation Into Misconduct Claims, Report Says": "Facing multiple sexual misconduct allegations and fearing his career as an entertainment titan was over, Leslie Moonves, the chief executive of CBS, destroyed evidence and misled investigators in an attempt to preserve his reputation and save a lucrative severance deal, according to a draft of a report prepared for the company's board. 

"The report, by lawyers hired by the network, says the company has justification to deny Mr. Moonves his $120 million severance. Mr. Moonves reigned as one of Hollywood's most successful and celebrated executives for decades before being forced to step down in September after allegations by numerous women." NYT

-- "Fate of The Weekly Standard is uncertain, editor tells staff," by CNN's Oliver Darcy: "The fate of The Weekly Standard, the conservative magazine that has staked out a position as a publication on the right still critical of President Donald Trump, is uncertain, Editor-in-Chief Stephen Hayes told staff in a series of phone calls Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter. 

"The magazine's precarious position comes after its leadership spent months searching for a buyer ... The people explained that The Weekly Standard's leadership had butted heads with MediaDC, the current publisher of the magazine, and that the two parties had agreed to allow Hayes to search for a new owner." CNN

-- "Thomson Reuters to cut 3,200 jobs in next two years," by Reuters' Matt Scuffham in Toronto: "Thomson Reuters Corp said on Tuesday that it will cut its workforce by 12 percent in the next two years, axing 3,200 jobs, as part of a plan to streamline the business and reduce costs." Reuters

-- Elaina Plott will be White House correspondent at The Atlantic. 
                 PLAYBOOKERS      
SPOTTED: Phil Graham, Doug Band, Tom Nides, Richard Haass and Chelsea Clinton on the 6 a.m. shuttle this morning from NYC to D.C.

OUT AND ABOUT ... HOLIDAY PARTY CIRCUIT: U.S. Telecom held its 2018 holiday party at Union Stage at the Wharf last night featuring DJ Roland. SPOTTED: Jonathan Spalter, Allison Remsen, Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mignon Clyburn, Joan Marsh, Matt McMurray, David Montes, Rachael Bender, Zenji Nakashima, Jamie Susskind and Kris Monteith, Frederick Hill, John Branscome, Gail Slater, Kelsey Guyselman, Robert Fisher and Dan Rosenthal.

-- SPOTTED: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the Microsoft party at 901 K St. NW.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Lisa Spies, president of the LS Group and a GOP fundraiser. How she got her start in politics: "I attended the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!) and one day in the Union I passed by the College Republican booth and they drew me in, but probably more at that point for the social activities than the ideology. Kansas CRs created a whole new life for me and of course a great group of friends. After that, I moved back to my hometown of Milwaukee and interned for Governor Tommy Thompson, which helped me then get a job at the College Republican National Committee in D.C., and also a fellowship at the Kennedy School researching youth involvement in politics." Playbook
 Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Treasury chief of staff Eli Miller is 36 ... NYT media correspondent Mike Grynbaum ... Jamie Rhoades (hubby tip: Matt) ... photographer Paul Morse ... University of Tennessee at Knoxville's Stuart Brotman ... Evan Burfield, co-founder of startup incubator 1776 and CEO of Union, is 42 ... Andrew Williams, managing director of corporate communications at Goldman Sachs and the pride of Commerce, Texas (hat tips: Jake Siewert, Leigh Farris and Joe Wall) ... WaPo's Rachel van Dongen ... Roy Schwartz, co-founder and president of Axios, is 43 ... Moira Mack Muntz ... incoming POLITICO Europe Executive Editor Stephen Brown ... Jamie Estrada ... POLITICO's Liz Crampton ... Khorri Atkinson
 ... Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) is 62 (h/t Tim Griffin) ... 

... PBS NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown is 62 ... WRC NBC4 anchor Chris Lawrence ... Alex Simon ... Adam Casella ... Robert J. Austin ... Gray Johnson ... Yana Mayayeva ... Jeremy Thompson ... Brai Odion-Esene ... Zoey Davidson ... NBC News' Billy Koch is 24 (h/t Gary Grumbach) ... D.J. Eckert ... Ashley Selden (h/ts Blake Waggoner) ... Ruiyong Chen of Precision Strategies ... Simon Jerome ... Adam Rosenberg ... former Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.) is 72 ... Mike Platt, assistant Commerce secretary ... Chad Krilow ... Caroline Dierker Poe ... Anne Trenolone ... Porter McNeil ... Zach Drennen ... Susan Scott Neal ... Alex Traub ... Nicole Drummond ... Angelo Turner ... Mike O'Toole ... Anthony
 Bedell, deputy assistant secretary at DOT ... Arthur Colby ... Calvin Trillin is 83 ... Kim Perkins (h/t Teresa Vilmain)
               
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