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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation

By JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com; @apalmerdc) and DANIEL LIPPMAN (daniel@politico.com; @dlippman)

Visit the online home of Playbook
Driving the Day
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is at his golf club in West Palm Beach.

CHOOSE YOUR NEWS -- TRONC NEWSPAPER EDITION -- HARTFORD COURANT FRONT PAGE: "Black Friday Still a Draw" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa888852209973f309884b3a9eb1bab0dae7c5486bbbe0a170ce4f50c2eba9dfa0c056b5fa18c2c50ac2 ... L.A. TIMES: "Black Friday crowds thin out as e-commerce wins more ground" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa8828d425d5e4d7bf34f2968566deab139d6a651dc252a6e305ca0d24ad252cfeed6396fcc94e6940d8 ... CHICAGO TRIBUNE: "On Black Friday, less clamor, more computer" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa884f3c169ea16e83ecc08e69b570597ba114bb945e22ea345e4c6e6bd72505ec169141aa6852f5494b

Good Saturday morning. DRAMA IN FOGGY BOTTOM -- CNN'S MICHELLE KOSINSKI: "Tillerson's senior team planning to skip Ivanka Trump's India trip": "Days ahead of what should be a major moment for Ivanka Trump on the world stage, CNN has learned Secretary of State Rex Tillerson isn't sending a high-level delegation to support her amid reports of tensions between Tillerson and the White House.

"Multiple State Department officials, as well as a source close to the White House, have told CNN Tillerson's decision not to send senior State Department officials to this year's Global Entrepreneurship Summit, being held in India next week, is not related to his key project of slashing the Department's budget, and is more to do with the fact Ivanka Trump is leading the U.S. delegation this year. Trump was invited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, and this year's theme is supporting women entrepreneurs. ...

"'Rex doesn't like the fact that he's supposed to be our nation's top diplomat, and Jared and now Ivanka have stepped all over Rex Tillerson for a long time,' the source said. 'So now, he's not sending senior people from the State Department to support this issue. He's not supporting Ivanka Trump.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa888f6a405ab9b3ef71649a248956917e20e734af91f5c3fb614c82ddf3319a52e284479d677c3aa94c

-- BIG STORY: "Diplomats Sound the Alarm as They Are Pushed Out in Droves," by NYT's Gardiner Harris: "Of all the State Department employees who might have been vulnerable in the staff reductions that Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has initiated as he reshapes the department, the one person who seemed least likely to be a target was the chief of security, Bill A. Miller. Republicans pilloried Hillary Clinton for what they claimed was her inadequate attention to security as secretary of state in the months before the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Congress even passed legislation mandating that the department's top security official have unrestricted access to the secretary of
state.

"But in his first nine months in office, Mr. Tillerson turned down repeated and sometimes urgent requests from the department's security staff to brief him, according to several former top officials in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Finally, Mr. Miller, the acting assistant secretary for diplomatic security, was forced to cite the law's requirement that he be allowed to speak to Mr. Tillerson. Mr. Miller got just five minutes with the secretary of state, the former officials said. Afterward, Mr. Miller, a career Foreign Service officer, was pushed out, joining a parade of dismissals and early retirements that has decimated the State Department's senior ranks. Mr. Miller declined to
comment." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa887f37d6dad612deaf5078866f112a07cf45327ede0ee1a4f06a51b50ccf0af9d87711be8572c384e6

2018 WATCH -- "Republicans flee from McConnell in 2018 primaries," by Kevin Robillard: "Nobody wants to be on Team McConnell. Heading into the 2018 elections, only one Republican Senate candidate nationwide has pledged unequivocally to back Mitch McConnell as majority leader. Most Republicans facing competitive primaries are hemming and hawing, admiring McConnell's political savvy and fundraising apparatus - but also looking warily at his sinking approval ratings both with Republicans and the broader electorate. Even in some of the red and purple states represented by Democratic senators where McConnell is hoping to pad his majority - places like Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin - the
leading candidates are dodging questions about McConnell's leadership or threatening to oppose him if the GOP Congress doesn't deliver on the party's legislative priorities in the coming months.

"A few Senate candidates are outright spurning him, aligning themselves with former White House strategist Steve Bannon. Both Democrats and Republicans think President Donald Trump has simultaneously elevated McConnell in importance and blamed him for the slow pace of Republican legislating, including the failure to repeal Obamacare. The result is a GOP Senate leader few candidates want to publicly align with, even if they're likely to support him if they arrive in Washington.

"Corey Stewart, the Trump-aligned local elected official in Virginia who narrowly lost this year's GOP primary for governor and is now challenging Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, said he encountered little backing for McConnell while traveling the state. 'The guy's toxic,' said Stewart, who has courted Bannon's support. 'There's no support for him, even among the establishment. He hasn't been able to pass the president's agenda.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88c99f64c4d7bc394d1dd595d0facec76a3d91e1da8740005adb66f11f8e493555696d8095bcedfdbb

-- LOOK FOR both Republicans and Democrats to try to make congressional leaders like McConnell, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Speaker Paul Ryan an issue in individual races. Republicans have made running against Pelosi a key part of their strategy the past several election cycles.

AP'S ANDY TAYLOR -- "Looming deadlines, much unfinished business await Congress": "The crush of unfinished business facing lawmakers when they return to the Capitol would be daunting even if Washington were functioning at peak efficiency.

"It's an agenda whose core items - tax cuts, a potential government shutdown, lots of leftover spending bills - could unravel just as easily as advance amid factionalism, gamesmanship, and a toxic political environment. There's only a four-week window until a Christmas deadline, barely enough time for complicated negotiations even if December stays on the rails. And that's hardly a sure bet in President Donald Trump's capital." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa880c85d6d1395f0376381b0ad497300965c51d4e277b74baa3a2832a3fb8f2f02f55ed5f3e3def2cb8

RACHAEL BADE -- "House to vote next week on anti-sexual harassment training resolution": "The House will vote next week on a resolution requiring all lawmakers and staff to complete anti-harassment training, a new mandate following a flood of sexual harassment accusations rocking Capitol Hill. ... The resolution is a major victory for California Democrat Jackie Speier, a longtime anti-sexual harassment advocate who has tried to get Congress to adopt this very measure for years. But while lawmakers previously ignored Speier, the nation's current focus on harassment matters has given her effort enough momentum to push it over the finish line.

"It's unlikely, however, to relieve the pressure on GOP leaders to do more to address the shroud of secrecy surrounding harassment in Congress. Legislative aides have few options for recourse against fellow staffers or lawmakers who mistreat them, a problem uncovered in recent news reports, including in POLITICO. And there's a fear of retribution that has kept many victims from coming forward." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa8842f0d00c81c9a1398d051ea337ddeb99ea3041755b2e1ecd6d0be9778786e4ba3e40066668ff7b62

-- SEUNG MIN "SCOOP" KIM: "President Donald Trump will head to Capitol Hill next week to huddle with Senate Republicans as they prepare to pass their own tax overhaul when lawmakers return from the Thanksgiving break. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who chairs the Senate Republican Policy Committee, made the announcement Friday. Trump made a similar visit to the House Republican Conference shortly before that chamber passed its tax legislation last week." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa888d9edd52a7c4d5763b814fcf0d4f32cf5fa867194fc9a6818088ed50b0d458b174888da23392b343


****** A message from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation: As Washington debates tax reform, there's talk of tax cuts that will give trillions of dollars back to American taxpayers. That sounds great. But if these tax cuts aren't paid for, future generations will be stuck with the bill. Congress, tax reform should grow the economy. Not the debt. www.pgpf.org/tax-reform. ******

THE NEW JUSTICE DEPARTMENT -- "While eyes are on Russia, Sessions dramatically reshapes the Justice Department," by WaPo's Matt Zapotosky and Sari Horwitz: "From his crackdown on illegal immigration to his reversal of Obama administration policies on criminal justice and policing, Sessions is methodically reshaping the Justice Department to reflect his nationalist ideology and hard-line views - moves drawing comparatively less public scrutiny than the ongoing investigations into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin. Sessions has implemented a new charging and sentencing policy that calls for prosecutors to pursue the most serious charges possible, even if that might mean
minority defendants face stiff, mandatory minimum penalties. He has defended the president's travel ban and tried to strip funding from cities with policies he considers too friendly toward undocumented immigrants.

"Sessions has even adjusted the department's legal stances in cases involving voting rights and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues in a way that advocates warn might disenfranchise poor minorities and give certain religious people a license to discriminate. ... In meetings with top Justice Department officials about terrorist suspects, Sessions often has a particular question: Where is the person from? When officials tell him a suspect was born and lives in the United States, he typically has a follow-up: To what country does his family trace its lineage? While there are reasons to want to know that information, some officials familiar with the inquiries said the questions struck
them as revealing that Sessions harbors an innate suspicion about people from certain ethnic and religious backgrounds." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa8843b3b77336885a81ac28affdca063d2f37239f343beb8f91f4490ed82d365ed6e0ebd4857fac8c81

SPOTTED: Attorney General Jeff Sessions with his family and security on Friday afternoon at Massanutten Resort in the Virginia mountains. He'll be at the funeral of a fallen U.S. Border Patrol agent in El Paso today.

LATEST FROM ALABAMA -- "'Doug Jones's problem': African American voters not energized by Alabama's Senate race," by WaPo's Sean Sullivan in Birmingham: "With two-and-a-half weeks left until Election Day, a once unthinkable victory in the heart of the Deep South is within Jones's reach, thanks largely to a string of sexual misconduct allegations against Republican candidate Roy Moore. Jones's campaign believes he can win only if he pieces together an unusually delicate coalition built on intense support from core Democrats and some crossover votes from Republicans disgusted with Moore. Crucial to that formula is a massive mobilization of African Americans, who make up about a quarter of
Alabama's electorate and tend to vote heavily Democratic. Yet, in interviews in recent days, African American elected officials, community leaders and voters expressed concern that the Jones campaign's turnout plan was at risk of falling short." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88a3835931e81987c3c3e5ce58b290e138517ad0add02be0756e795d6c137488bcfd21bdd4df85d0e0

-- A GROUP CALLED HIGHWAY 31 dropped $1,105,510 to boost Doug Jones in the Alabama Senate race, according to an FEC report filed yesterday.

MUELLER WATCH -- "Mueller might be the one who's 'draining the swamp,'" by WaPo's Matt Zapotosky and Tom Hamburger: "Since Mueller was appointed, more people and firms have either filed or amended registrations that make public their work on behalf of foreign xinterests than had done so over the same time period in each of at least the past 20 years. Lobbyists, lawyers and public relations professionals who work for foreign companies and governments say Mueller's probe has spooked K Street, and firms are likely to be more careful in their compliance with public disclosure standards." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa889e493f8f9b42b8a4d2c861c200788c7df3878c5d8b0429b577944306a8a91c15fa0bedead474d3ba

FLYNN THE AUTEUR -- "Mueller Probe Looks at Mike Flynn's Work on Documentary Targeting Exiled Turkish Cleric," by WSJ's Dion Nissenbaum and Rebecca Ballhaus: "Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn's work on an unfinished film financed by Turkish interests as part of its wider probe into whether Mr. Flynn improperly concealed financial ties to Turkey and to Russia, according to people familiar with the matter. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation is preparing to interview consultants hired by Mr. Flynn to work on a documentary film targeting an exiled Turkish cleric who Ankara accuses of trying to overthrow the country's
president." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88b5b46a3666bf638b2816c9a6a1c8bca13160c613bbcdf831d3cc1db2377751271528c91bd3f181cd

-- ZIA WEISE in Politico Magazine: "Turkey's Torrid Love Affair With Michael Flynn": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88a990cb84a9e8441fb7607688ae80143b16d60bbfbbf9a4fd1c349018fc12c2f48042e8b167cc5ff6

SHOT -- @realDonaldTrump at 5:40 p.m.: "Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named 'Man (Person) of the Year,' like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!"

CHASER -- @TIME at 8:27 p.m.: "The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6."

REVERSAL -- "U.S. Says Palestinian Mission in Washington Will Remain Open for at Least 90 Days," by Haaretz's Amir Tibon: "The Trump administration has decided that the Palestinian diplomatic delegation in Washington, D.C. will remain open for at least the next 90 days, but its activity will be limited to actions that support efforts to renew the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The decision was announced on Friday night, a week after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a letter to the Palestinian leadership warning that the delegation might be shut down as a result of statements made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who called on the International Criminal Court to
investigate Israel and prosecute actions by Israelis." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa882082cda1f823557e47f15acb139fc331e79cc8bf4ba5e5490d32cca28990d41bcafe3c5be47df5f0

YOU'RE INVITED! -- We'll sit down next week with SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FLA.) on Wednesday at 8 a.m. at the Liaison Hotel on Capitol Hill (415 New Jersey Ave., NW). Sign up! Cameras welcome. This will fill up fast. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88fbaeff9d95b7d174f3ba429e1c76623222e3e14d4826ffdc3b472d53939d5cfe0932109787af231b

BUSINESS BURST - "Jeff Bezos's Net Worth Just Broke $100 Billion," by Bloomberg's Tom Metcalf: "The Amazon.com Inc. founder's fortune is up $2.4 billion to $100.3 billion, as the online retailer's shares jumped more than 2 percent on optimism for Black Friday sales. Online purchases for the day are up 18.4 percent over last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics, and investors are betting the company will take an outsized share of online spending over the gifting season. The $100 billion milestone makes Bezos, 53, the first billionaire to build a 12-figure net worth since 1999, when Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates hit the mark." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88600a6bfdc2ceff98c2d1c57330f0e64c796f0ee02c81ff05e2e56b6f366c90c5eba36f14aff4a853

SUNSHINE STATE WEIRDNESS -- "John Morgan: I'm leaving Democratic party, Nelson should run for governor," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon in Tallahassee: "John Morgan tossed a bomb Friday into the 2018 political landscape, saying in a post-Thanksgiving message he is leaving the Democratic Party, and that Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson should not run for re-election, but rather seek the governor's mansion so he can leave a 'legacy.' ... Morgan did not close the door on the idea of running for governor himself -- a notion supported by many in his party -- but said in his message, if he did, he would do so as an independent.

"In follow-up text messages with POLITICO Florida, Morgan confirmed he was not saying he would not run for governor, 'just not as a Dem,' he said. ... 'I believe [Nelson] should run for governor. He is the Dem's best chance and he would be happier there,' Morgan wrote in a text message to POLITICO Florida. 'In the Senate he accomplishes nothing. As governor he could have a legacy.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa885cf562084bd8e1110e5ee114ef9f2108abb019c6646a05f64c56ee1c660900ab6deb66211280df3b


Playbook Reads
THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY -- "Running for state Assembly in 'Bernie Country,' a former Hillary Clinton aide faces a battle with local contenders," by LA Times' Jazmine Ulloa: "[Buffy] Wicks, who worked as a White House aide to former President Obama and helped steer Hillary Clinton's victory in California, is now attempting to win a seat in the state Assembly. The 40-year-old Oakland resident is one of nine potential candidates in the 15th Assembly District, one of California's most diverse and politically progressive areas, covering Berkeley, Richmond and parts of Oakland. ...

"[S]he is facing some popular local contenders who see her as an outsider trying to parachute in. That assessment of her candidacy is unfair, said Wicks, calling herself tethered to the Bay Area. She worked here as a community and campaign organizer a decade ago, and she bought her home in early 2016, long before the Assembly seat opened up." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa885c8e27b0737e98aef070bf08e38dd6301881df23e7929250f6130506e24f5aa55cbbcb15bbf6f036

MULVANEY'S SECOND JOB -- "Trump taps Mulvaney to head CFPB, sparking confusion over agency's leadership," by Victoria Guida: "President Donald Trump on Friday named White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, setting up a legal clash over who is in charge of the controversial agency. The announcement came just hours after outgoing CFPB Director Richard Cordray appointed the agency's chief of staff, Leandra English, as deputy director, establishing her as his successor as he steps down today. The two moves plunged the agency into confusion over the leadership of the bureau, which was established in the wake of the financial crisis
and has become a lightning rod for attacks by Republicans and business executives for its aggressive enforcement. ...

"The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which created the CFPB, explicitly says the consumer bureau's deputy director shall 'serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director,' giving the edge to English. Yet the Federal Vacancies Act allows the president to install a temporary acting head of any executive agency who has already been confirmed by the Senate to another position, like Mulvaney has as leader of the Office of Management and Budget." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88190862fd615365bd44c51bab90f6bc0e746367a82ae0bcfdde8814a246c5d674e6c7aeb95fcdeef0 ... Cordray's departure note to staff http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa883c58dbe0e85e640c3f14e414add05b1e645106488a04813920e183dae3e24cfd223cde77693198f0 ... His resignation letter http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa884a6b44a24dc23227e477fd9b560d31b1bbb570b2dd4537e9f72bbac03e95d101890f86564a32d4e6

CAITLIN EMMA -- "How a powerful senator schooled Betsy DeVos": "Several months ago, Sen. Lamar Alexander phoned Education Secretary Betsy DeVos with a message: Back off. Alexander, the Republican chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, was furious that a top DeVos aide was circumventing a new law aimed at reducing the federal government's role in K-12 education. He contended that the agency was out of bounds by challenging state officials, for instance, about whether they were setting sufficiently ambitious goals for their students.

"DeVos' agency quickly yielded to his interpretation of the law -- and she 'thanked me for it,' Alexander told POLITICO. Alexander's heavy hand raises questions about who's calling some of the shots at the Education Department, an agency he once headed - and to which DeVos came with virtually no expertise in running government bureaucracies. DeVos has been a lightning rod in the education world and one of the most controversial members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet. She made her name as a school choice activist and billionaire Republican donor before she was nominated to run the Education Department. With Alexander running the key Senate oversight committee, observers say he's trying
to keep her agency on a tight leash." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa8821bcfaa167df61a7253a7c93c8dea303da7d33bc1729d2b77d560fea5435e8bf78b31f47a9ad1460

SYRIA UPDATE -- "U.S. cutting off its supply of arms to Kurds fighting in Syria," by AP's Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Josh Lederman in D.C.: "The United States will cut off its supply of arms to Kurdish fighters in Syria, a move by President Donald Trump that is sure to please Turkey but further alienate Syrian Kurds who bore much of the fight against the Islamic State group. In a phone call Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said he'd 'given clear instructions' that the Kurds will receive no more weapons - 'and that this nonsense should have ended a long time ago,' said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The White House confirmed the move in a cryptic
statement about the phone call that said Trump had informed the Turk of 'pending adjustments to the military support provided to our partners on the ground in Syria.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88712b2e3a3e912220ec64259ba1f560216f78fd1654153649f42f435b6e93b7afc237c8b3b5f59fd5

-- BUT, BUT, BUT -- "Pentagon likely to acknowledge 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria: U.S. officials," by Reuters' Idrees Ali: "The U.S. military had earlier publicly said it had around 500 troops in Syria, mostly supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces group of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting Islamic State in the north of the country. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon could, as early as Monday, publicly announce that there are slightly more than 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. They said there was always a possibility that last minute changes in schedules could delay an announcement. That is not an increase in troop numbers, just a more accurate count,
as the numbers often fluctuate." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa883d0e4b6d5a7119ac8d1c400d8defc04a7a8ac8f0a3dada76636f7442eeb4b2f853b292791b68f921


****** A message from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation: Washington is debating tax reform. There's talk of substantial tax cuts that will give trillions of dollars back to American taxpayers. That sounds great. But if these tax cuts aren't paid for, future generations will be stuck with the bill. Congress is right to pursue tax reform - the code is outdated, complex and unfair. Tax reform done right should be permanent, because businesses and individuals need certainty to plan and invest. It should be based on realistic, independent projections and assumptions about the effect on our economy and our fiscal outlook. And it should enjoy bipartisan support, so that it's durable over time.
Lawmakers should use the valuable opportunity presented by tax reform both to improve our fiscal outlook and strengthen the economy at the same time. Congress, tax reform should grow the economy. Not the debt. Learn more at www.pgpf.org/tax-reform. ******

MEDIAWATCH -- "Charlie Rose Has Honors From Two Journalism Schools Rescinded," by NYT's Louis Lucero II: "Arizona State University's journalism school announced it was rescinding the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism ... that it gave to Mr. Rose in 2015. Also on Friday, the University of Kansas journalism school said it was taking back its William Allen White National Citation, which it gave him this year. In a statement, Christopher Callahan, dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State, said he believed Mr. Rose's alleged transgressions were 'so egregious that they demand nothing less than a reversal of history.' This was the
first time the university had rescinded the award since it started to bestow it in 1984." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa8865cb0ed962d553b8434c0a9977bb9ed6d6f90f1c66e4b83b7192a72ff36a452e3a9579cb25d47455

CLICKER - "The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics," edited by Matt Wuerker - 12 funnies http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa880a453bab6b7819bea51b0b90f34d31f6813bf8692d0cebc5a8c8644e7605d8ee6454996371a272bb

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman, filing from Los Angeles:

-- "Can Carbon-Dioxide Removal Save the World?" by the New Yorker's Elizabeth Kolbert: "CO2 could soon reach levels that, it's widely agreed, will lead to catastrophe." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa88d9deef2068c8626bf63eb6ddfbe052329684722f89df3e41e003f9fc123234b36d08f66745cc265e

-- "What Trump Really Told Kislyak After Comey Was Canned," by Howard Blum in Vanity Fair: "During a May 10 meeting in the Oval Office, the president betrayed his intelligence community by leaking the content of a classified, and highly sensitive, Israeli intelligence operation to two high-ranking Russian envoys, Sergey Kislyak and Sergey Lavrov. This is what he told them-and the ramifications." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa888f7526e679890aad51181440930c80d71e1939aca1e14d7985061bff6dec9d735b551689d648ac36

-- "The Root of All Cruelty?" by Paul Bloom in The New Yorker: "Perpetrators of violence, we're told, dehumanize their victims. The truth is worse." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa880c611556d3dc6e388779f848cfe7271b0df7b2e6f8fa4e5e1c1ba501e5fed461c97b96b2089a8415

-- "'I am Here Only for Working,'" by William T. Vollmann in Harper's Magazine: "Conversations with the petroleum brotherhood in the UAE." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5b54c0ed4261aa8853b64542916e336cf9803f584efa43ff58e9497491a9a1a9b84a5e2a3d66c60478d794d408a5a1e7

-- "Travels in Belgium, the dysfunctional, fractured state at the heart of the EU," by Matthew Engel in the New Statesman: "Never was there a country so pointlessly annoying. I remember driving north through Wallonia heading towards a city called Anvers, obviously a place of some importance. Then it vanished, obliterated from the map, and Antwerp appeared in its place. The signs were not there to help: they were there to make a political point." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5fcbc5304c7e6e0cda8ebb8b6c2fb7924510ae14d3c914b7f337046e758be67afda4076c22581c9177

-- "The Serial-Killer Detector," by Alec Wilkinson in the New Yorker: "A former journalist, equipped with an algorithm and the largest collection of murder records in the country, finds patterns in crime." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5fc5a7f46b428648b78ca59f6ac2878dc857b28a23e526e3db109b4228a8103c5463becde9e9f37538

-- "The Making of an American Nazi," by Luke O'Brien on the cover of December's Atlantic: "How did Andrew Anglin go from being an antiracist vegan to the alt-right's most vicious troll and propagandist-and how might he be stopped?" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5f64c1c0f2e9ab57e0a1dea92ceccee8b4aff1656377e6c92cf70b6f1b064f8203c47a47f6412cf611

-- "Is This Professor 'Putin's American Apologist'?" by Jordan Michael Smith in the Chronicle of Higher Ed - per ALDaily.com's description: "Stephen F. Cohen, who says he's skeptical about everything except horses and bourbon, is oddly credulous about Putin. His enemies and friends ask the same question: Why?" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5f8034dd031e4e5da702bb5f9c1f90aee80444505c84e655411a1c50e63dfb8f1438acf7db0859c3d5

-- "The Rise and Fall of the English Sentence," by Julie Sedivy in Nautilus magazine: "The surprising forces influencing the complexity of the language we speak and write." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5f0f64e98fce4381296d87905aa6ce90238b3d638c86354e8adf32c6cae46ecb910a45cff7d1170a19

-- "Roger Goodell has a Jerry Jones problem, and nobody knows how it will end," by Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham in ESPN the Magazine: "'I'm gonna come after you with everything I have' -- Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5f64efad7a1017d45dbf706bd3e7d0b03d07b9646d59c8afec8e9bea44a0399d0a9df0ea0fd4a8a475 (h/t Longform.org)

-- "After the liberation of Mosul, an orgy of killing," by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in the Guardian: "The soldiers were killing for different reasons: because they had no trust in the judicial service, believing that detainees would be able to buy their way out, as they always had; in revenge for the atrocities committed by Isis; and because the chaos made it possible for them to cleanse the city of Isis fighters." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5fab95891b0cd3468fee20b57e3585a60f8b1cd8616032a84977157ca76f8dae44eb38991ad5a9b08d

-- "Europe's Heart of Darkness," by Alexander Clapp in 1843 Magazine - per Longreads.com's description: "In the busy Greek shipping port of Aspropyrgos, both legal and illegal trade thrives among the refineries and warehouses, and the immigrants who live here struggle to make a home in a Greece that is trying to preserve its economy and identity." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5fd62eaa30827d14c25defcc86cf921583e9a070fb62717005cd334cda1ae3d8f35f83164671368bab

-- "Why Ageism Never Gets Old," by Tad Friend in the New Yorker: "The prejudice is an ancient habit, but new forces-in Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and beyond-have restored its youthful vitality." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5f13b49691794e2dfd157ea3862df5496d7c1e9b3557a9165840108a2b10e3ea51824e052cddc38ebf

-- "The Coast Guard's 'Floating Guantánamos,'" by Seth Freed Wessler in the NYT Magazine: "In an expansion of the war on drugs, the U.S. Coast Guard is targeting low-level smugglers in international waters -- shackling them on ships for weeks or even months before arraignment in American courts." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabedf79b116cd5fbd530bf010d206c9e05b36131e90e37e032fb37ed4106dc745efe3337db42a6ffb65584e2bc160e7

Playbookers
BIRTHDAYS: Barbara and Jenna Bush are 36 ... Philippe Reines ... Lee Dunn, head of White House outreach at Google ... Politico's Brent Griffiths ... Rachel Holt, who runs the U.S. and Canada for Uber and is based in D.C. (hat tip: Chris Tucker) ... David Almacy, an Edelman and Bush WH alum now a PR and digital strategist ... Abby Phillip, CNN White House correspondent ... Bo Stern ... Lisa Borders ... Amanda Gross ... S. Yael Gordon ... Percy Sledge ... Joe Gibbs ... Jason Rae ... Steph Dodge ... Shilpa Phadke ... Robert Steurer, McConnell's communications director ... Jason Huffman of Undercurrent News ... Douglas Smith ... Charly Norton, director of market communications at Renovate
America ... former NH Gov. John Lynch is 65 ... Romney alum Alan Nguyen ...

... Colin Crowell, VP of global public policy and corporate philanthropy at Twitter (h/t Lauren Culbertson) ... Keith Sonderling, senior policy adviser for Wage and Hour at DOL, is 35 (h/t Fara Klein) ... Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) is 43 ... ThinkProgress' Kira Lerner ... Sarah Lynch, Justice Dept. reporter for Reuters in DC ... Leah Regan ... Emilie Jackson ... Kendrick Lau of Synergy Fund Management Group ... Michelle Yi ... Isaac Wright ... Alexandra Givens ... Bucky Dent ... Amy Grant ... Jeff Ballabon ... Times-Picayune's Mark Schleifstein ... Sean Durns ... Jennifer Jacques ... Bush 43 alum Christine Isett ... Donna Zaccaro ... Robin Brand ... Eric Oginsky ... Gillian Drummond (h/ts
Teresa Vilmain)

THE SHOWS:

-- ABC's "This Week": Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) ... Adm. Mike Mullen (Ret). ... Sexual misconduct panel: Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Zainab Salbi and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). ... Political panel: Rick Klein, Cokie Roberts, Perry Bacon Jr., Anna Palmer

-- CNN's "State of the Union" (guest-anchored by Dana Bash): Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) ... Tom Steyer. Panel: Nina Turner, David Urban, Bakari Sellers and Bill Kristol

-- NBC's "Meet the Press": House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ... Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) ... Anita Hill. Panel: Michael Gerson, Hugh Hewitt, Heather McGhee and Katy Tur

-- CBS' "Face the Nation": Discussion on presidential leadership: Ron Chernow, Robert Dallek, Nancy Koehn and Mark Updegrove ... Walter Isaacson. Political panel: Jamelle Bouie, Susan Page and Reihan Salam

-- "Fox News Sunday": Carly Fiorina ... Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). Panel: Marc Lotter, Catherine Lucey, Guy Benson and Marie Harf

-- Fox News' "MediaBuzz": Ellison Barber, Gayle Trotter, Joe Trippi, Frank Luntz, Liz Claman, Steve Hilton

-- Fox News "Sunday Morning Futures": Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) ... Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) ... Gordon Chang ... Rep Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.). Panel: Jessica Tarlov and James Freeman

****** A message from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation: Washington is debating tax reform. There's talk of substantial tax cuts that will give trillions of dollars back to American taxpayers. That sounds great. But if these tax cuts aren't paid for, future generations will be stuck with the bill. Congress is right to pursue tax reform - the code is outdated, complex and unfair. Tax reform done right should be permanent, because businesses and individuals need certainty to plan and invest. It should be based on realistic, independent projections and assumptions about the effect on our economy and our fiscal outlook. And it should enjoy bipartisan support, so that it's durable over time.
Lawmakers should use the valuable opportunity presented by tax reform both to improve our fiscal outlook and strengthen the economy at the same time. Congress, tax reform should grow the economy. Not the debt. Learn more at www.pgpf.org/tax-reform. ******

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