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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by Chevron

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

Listen to today's Audio Briefing | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Visit the online home of Playbook
Driving the Day
BET YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THIS TODAY -- BULLETIN at 5:06 a.m.: "BAGHDAD (AP) - Ministry of Defense says Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led coalition liberate last Iraqi town held by Islamic State group."

Good Friday morning. YES, THAT WAS A BIG WIN YESTERDAY FOR HOUSE REPUBLICANS. But don't get too comfy. DECEMBER is going to be really, really, really brutal. Spending caps deal. Government funding. Potential legislation to deal with the expiration of DACA. Action to prop up the health care law. And now, we hear that THE DEBT CEILING could be part of the mix in the final month of the year, as well. Treasury says Congress has until January to lift the debt limit, but some say if Congress is going to slap together a big package, the debt limit might as well be included. No one really wants to raise the debt limit in an election year, anyway. But the negotiations have to be going really well
for the debt limit to be included. It's not a must-pass at the end of the year, and it could just as easily slip to 2018. In other words, Republicans tell us they won't let the debt limit be a bargaining chip for Democrats who are trying to get a DACA deal.

WE ALSO HEAR Congress will pass a short-term government funding bill in time for the Dec. 8 deadline, kicking the deadline toward the end of the month in time for a large spending deal. OH YEAH -- THE WHITE HOUSE has made it clear they want tax reform done in December as well. Whoever wins the Alabama Senate race will join the chamber toward the end of December, too. THIS COULD EASILY BE the most consequential legislative month in years.

BASICALLY, what we're trying to tell you is don't make plans you absolutely can't cancel.

THE TAX REFORM TIMELINE -- PROGRESS FOR THE GOP -- The Senate Finance Committee approved its overhaul of the tax code last night along party lines 14-12. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to put the bill on the floor after the Thanksgiving break.

-- COINCIDENTALLY, last night was TAX PROM -- an annual get together of all the tax policy wonks in town. Vice President Mike Pence attended.

MORE DISASTER FUNDING NEEDED -- "White House seeks at least $44 billion in third disaster request," by John Bresnahan, Seung Min Kim and Sarah Ferris: "The White House will ask Congress on Friday to approve at least $44 billion to help storm-ravaged communities in Texas, Puerto Rico and Florida, according to three sources privy to the request. It would mark the third aid installment in three months. Congress has already approved $52 billion in response to the spate of hurricanes that killed 260 people and caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.

"The latest request falls short of what local officials had sought for their recovery, though the White House is expected to send additional aid proposals in the coming months. Texas had asked for $61 billion for reconstruction, and Puerto Rico has sought $96 billion." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be4247636e408b9577e3839580d5d01e536a7d57398a852d8b325a6d2c4163838d3086fe77f1bd8de15dcc3

NEXT POLICY MOVE AFTER TAX REFORM, per Nancy Cook ... The White House "is overhauling the welfare system through an executive order. The Deputy Director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council, Paul Winfree, laid out the argument for this idea during a panel at the Heritage Foundation on Thursday morning. Winfree said that tweaking the welfare system very much excited President Trump. Already Winfree and another member of the Domestic Policy Council had drafted the order, which would give states more flexibility in structuring their welfare programs and direct federal agencies to make regulatory changes.

'The president wants to lead on this,' Winfree told the audience. 'We are devoting lots of resources to it.' POLITICO's Andrew Restuccia wrote back in October that the White House was considering an executive order that would instruct federal agencies to review low-income assistance programs."

-- PER STEVEN OVERLY: "AT&T has hired attorney Daniel Petrocelli, who once represented President Donald Trump, in preparation for a potential legal battle with the DOJ over the company's mega-merger with Time Warner, an AT&T spokesman confirmed to POLITICO. Based in Los Angeles, Petrocelli currently leads the trial practice at O'Melveny and Myers. He defended the president in the lawsuits over the Trump University real estate seminar program."

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP on SEN. AL FRANKEN (D-MINN.) -- @realDonaldTrump at 10:06 p.m.: "The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? ....." ... at 10:15 p.m.: ".And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?"

-- Lesley Stahl? WaPo: "The 'Lesley Stahl tape' Trump mentioned in his second tweet refers to a [1995] New York Magazine story about a 'Saturday Night Live' writers discussion where Franken suggests a joke about raping Lesley Stahl, a '60 Minutes' correspondent.

"Franken is quoted in New York Magazine as saying: 'And, "I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley's passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her." Or, "That's why you never see Lesley until February." Or, 'When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be4247608a84769cde482f7897091fb3493b63f61beba03a2ad9375ffec2ae4bc8aa9486e662f0018a25008 ... The NYMag story http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424764f239306139b329a10cacd2b9adecb4facad9d3eec6dbfd24a03283909a9e3c132cfd1044bee85c7

-- TRUMP still has not weighed in on the allegations against Roy Moore. (By the way: "Poll: Moore trails Jones in Alabama Senate race," by Steven Shepard. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be4247619870029fe9c40a52270d0a22c8c80b5dd8562dbb4c1af0e7b5edf73020d1b95980da1363ea7f33e

THE NEW WORLD ORDER -- "Capitol Hill consumed by sexual harassment issue," by Elana Schor, Seung Min Kim and Kevin Robillard: "The national conversation about sexual harassment has hit the clubby halls of the Capitol with a vengeance. Democrats faced their own internal reckoning on Thursday when Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) apologized to a radio anchor who said he forcibly kissed and groped her in 2006. Once a potential presidential hopeful, Franken quickly submitted to an ethics committee investigation.

"The Franken bombshell came amid a deluge of news coverage in recent days of Alabama Senate Roy Moore, accused of harassing or sexually assaulting multiple young women. Earlier Thursday, the chief of staff to a House lawmaker leading the charge against sexual harassment in Congress resigned in the face of sexual misconduct allegations by former aides. And earlier this week, a pair of female lawmakers said there are several current members of Congress who have sexually harassed women.

"On a day when the House passed the most far-reaching tax bill in decades, and when jurors in New Jersey deadlocked in a corruption trial involving a sitting senator, Robert Menendez, Capitol Hill was consumed instead by the issue of sexual harassment. And it prompted a rare bout of soul-searching in an institution not exactly known for that. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a leading advocate for Congress' recent shift from voluntary to mandatory sexual harassment training, said it was depressing that such a move was even necessary. 'That's a sad commentary, you know, that you have to do it,' Grassley told reporters." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424768cccdfe75b8e629c12e8f65e28eac732dc109bcbb41b6e2c09d2ca3d0c3ac5971054986d6c7d0852

-- "Gillibrand Says Bill Clinton Should Have Resigned Over Lewinsky Affair," by NYT's Jennifer Steinhauer: "Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, who holds Hillary Clinton's former seat, said on Thursday that Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency after his inappropriate relationship with an intern came to light nearly 20 years ago. Asked directly if she believed Mr. Clinton should have stepped down at the time, Ms. Gillibrand took a long pause and said, 'Yes, I think that is the appropriate response.' But she also appeared to signal that what is currently considered a fireable offense may have been more often overlooked during the Clinton era."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476c0295d3be9d25e002fdf0ed76e853a7c865ee7d81b7c1c53cbc30e534b0458577a5dc82a99ca252f

-- MATT DIXON and MARC CAPUTO in Tallahassee: "Six former Florida Democratic Party staffers and consultants say that current party chairman Stephen Bittel has created an unprofessional workplace environment for women that includes persistent inappropriate comments, leering at young women and even inviting them on his private jet. The women, who were reached independently by POLITICO Florida and insisted on anonymity out of fear for their jobs, said Bittel never inappropriately touched or threatened them.

"But he made them feel so uneasy that they didn't want to be alone with him due to his body language, suggestive remarks and even the breast-shaped stress squeeze-ball he has been known to keep on his desk. Depending on the circumstance and the person discussing Bittel, they said he would make references about women cooking dinner, showing their breasts, their age, whether they wanted to ride on his plane, come to his hotel room or if they thought he was attractive. 'There was a lot of boob stuff in his office,' said a woman who was a fundraiser years ago and had to interact with him. 'I was told by other women not to go into his bathroom. I was warned.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476101954608382ab3e39d0056dc44bcf307a66722d63372ccc4155dce92916b0d37599b2c12abf5e1e

HILLARY CLINTON talks sexual harassment with NowThis http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476f6fb6dd8e636b7b328542bc3dc4e0b8c448cd25a65727eecb40c1ff3b904dd0b61231b451e998d8d

****** A message from Chevron: When an endangered butterfly was found near a Chevron refinery, we protected the habitat and still plant the only thing they eat-buckwheat. Watch the video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476078443f199ffb924d2167950729f9672c50b21b09c0c010d07c5aa59830be197ba40866e29a073c9 ******

JOSH DAWSEY in TRENTON: "Regrets? Chris Christie Has a Few": "Chris Christie had some thoughts on how I should write this article. 'You should break out of leading with 'the most unpopular governor in galactic history' and all this other shit that everybody hits F2, F3, F4 [on and] bang, bang, bang, the paragraphs flip in,' the outgoing New Jersey governor said on a recent afternoon, tapping his conference room table like a keyboard. 'You should do something different.' ...

"In the longest interview Christie has given in years, as he dropped oyster crackers into a large vat of chili, he said the story of his rise and fall had not been told accurately. He was never as good as depicted-nor as bad. 'I never felt 78, and I don't feel the 22,' he said of his approval ratings. 'What I hope at the end of the day is that this really is about my eight years, and the bridge stuff is part of that, and the Trump stuff is part of that, but it's only a part.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424763d916b2567ec72d04dee98479377648f824af3d37438f5892d289b2e17d99e6c4197c7cc07a52f1d

-- FUN: "Christie's generous interpretation of Trump's treatment of him even extends to his own ouster. Two days after Trump's surprise win, Steve Bannon and Christie were seen arguing for several hours in a glass office in the transition headquarters in New York. Bannon was firing him as chair of the transition, and Christie wasn't taking the news well. He wanted to know who was behind it, and he suspected Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose father he had prosecuted as U.S. attorney.

"'Oh, I asked,' Christie said, referring to Bannon. 'He didn't answer. But [based on] subsequent conversations I've had with the president, I just don't believe this was the president's decision.' Aides later threw his transition materials in wastebaskets.

"Christie ... insists he holds no grudges. He said the president had made a smart decision to get rid of some aides -- he named Bannon and Reince Priebus -- and said others would be soon to go. Chief of staff John Kelly, he said, was doing much better. He declined to take a shot at Kushner when asked about the Trump son-in-law's diminished White House role. 'I would never underestimate Jared's ability to be involved in whatever he wants to do be involved in,' Christie said."

JOHN BRESNAHAN -- "Menendez faces Senate ethics probe after mistrial": "The Senate Ethics Committee will resume its investigation into Sen. Bob Menendez, a move that came just hours after a mistrial was announced in the New Jersey Democrat's bribery and corruption case. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had called for an ethics probe of Menendez as soon as a mistrial was declared by U.S. District Judge William Walls. The deadlock in the criminal proceedings was a huge legal victory for Menendez, who grew emotional as he spoke about the case with reporters.

"With incoming New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and other top state officials pledging their loyalty to him -- and Menendez suddenly looking like an incumbent ready to announce his reelection rather than a criminal defendant trying to avoid prison - the ethics probe means Menendez will still have this case still hanging over him well into 2018." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476e887aae20d4ac31124f305e441fdd829f17bc4d4b3f7e9ae7c5499d5e1684161c7a6a75390db70db

RUSSIA WATCH -- "Special Counsel Mueller Issued Subpoena for Russia-Related Documents From Trump Campaign Officials," by WSJ's Rebecca Ballhaus and Peter Nicholas: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's team in mid-October issued a subpoena to President Donald Trump's campaign requesting Russia-related documents from more than a dozen top officials, according to a person familiar with the matter. The subpoena, which requested documents and emails from the listed campaign officials that reference a set of Russia-related keywords, marked Mr. Mueller's first official order for information from the campaign ... The subpoena caught the campaign by surprise."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476d9358dd68c92e08a2205ee9930dacd8d281acf56988d5db3d68fcc63e93bff384da6510a831d03ac

-- "Does cooperating witness have info on Flynn tie to Turkey?" by NBC News' Tom Winter and Julia Ainsley: "A gold trader who is close to Turkish President Recep Erdogan is now cooperating with federal prosecutors in a money-laundering case, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, and legal experts say prosecutors may be seeking information about any ties between the Turkish government and former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn. Reza Zarrab, a dual Turkish-Iranian national ... is now out of jail and speaking to prosecutors - a move President Erdogan had been desperately hoping to avoid." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476335b3a7cab68c2de69ec738cb0aaa76f50ef850287f1873a7e3566a6d703b3cd458232963e5e1f2e

HMM ... -- "Papadopoulos claimed Trump phone call and larger campaign role," by Josh Meyer: "George Papadopoulos claimed last year that Donald Trump telephoned him to discuss his new position as a foreign policy adviser to his presidential campaign and that the two had at least one personal introductory meeting that the White House has not acknowledged. Papadopoulos also claimed that he'd been given a 'blank check' to choose a senior Trump administration job and authorized to represent the candidate in overseas meetings with foreign leaders, and at a campaign event in New York." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424762c9a563992718193ceec50c742bea5c8208848aa391ec7487e609fd49879f094abaee38a1a3c157c

TELL US MORE! -- "Russian ambassador says he won't name all the Trump officials he's met with because 'the list is so long,'" by CNBC's Tucker Higgins: "Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak said on Wednesday that it would take him more than 20 minutes to name all of the Trump officials he's met with or spoken to on the phone. 'First, I'm never going to do that,' he said. 'And second, the list is so long that I'm not going to be able to go through it in 20 minutes.' Kislyak made the remarks in a sprawling interview with Russia-1, a popular state-owned Russian television channel." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424764bcb869806c1bbbddb9cde2c18e2d5ededd17bb93b10361a9ae188721a3f3b19ada26da95d1633a3

GREAT REPORTING -- "The Questionable Math Behind Manafort's Extravagant Home Renovations," by Bloomberg's Polly Mosendz, Patrick Clark and Michael Smith: "The federal indictment of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, accuses him of laundering millions in foreign payments to pursue a 'lavish lifestyle' in the U.S., especially in the Hamptons, where he has a house. What it doesn't explain -- or highlight -- are the stratospheric payments he made to home improvement companies when his renovation work was estimated at far less.

"Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in his indictment, says that a Hamptons firm got $5.4 million in wire transfers from Cyprus over 71 payments. But building permits over the same period examined by Bloomberg show that renovations by Manafort's Hamptons' contractor were estimated to cost $1.2 million. That's less than a quarter of what was ultimately sent -- an apparent discrepancy that could draw scrutiny from investigators." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424766b5932ef7a4b0b55b0677eeb8ab0ce69b7b5fff20cd97c37a77fd4056c1aa1ab1eb52737fea56be0

JARED UPDATE -- "Kushner got emails about WikiLeaks, Russia in 2016, lawmakers say," by Kyle Cheney: "Jared Kushner received emails in September 2016 about WikiLeaks and about a 'Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite' and forwarded them to another campaign official, according to a letter to his attorney from the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Kushner failed to turn over the relevant documents when they asked for them last month.

"'We appreciate your voluntary cooperation with the Committee's investigation, but the production appears to have been incomplete,' the pair wrote in a letter dated Thursday to Kushner's attorney, Abbe Lowell. ... In a section of the letter titled 'Missing documents,' Grassley and Feinstein said Kushner had handed over some materials but omitted communications that mentioned some of the people connected to the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424767ca5aff8692996edf2a82d4c39cdb1d0743ec7541e9ec61fe88029b16d8cb3575f868f02c8db15b2

--"Kushner still waiting on permanent security clearance," by Josh Dawsey: "Jared Kushner is still working with an interim security clearance 10 months into President Donald Trump's administration, according to White House officials and others with knowledge of the matter. The top adviser and Trump son-in-law, who joined Trump for part of his Asia tour this month, has continued to work on sensitive foreign policy issues and other matters while his application for a permanent clearance remains under review." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476ee47d02f6390212328e15f1c23e11a36befe4cfad6f4f68fbf8bf891877616a8013cbc3b9578b2f9 ... The letter http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476025a501878a620f195aa0dd1f04bdc922a88fcfa0a25f132603cdeeb492eeea9c656b26cf90b83d6

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Keystone pipeline leaks 210K gallons of oil in South Dakota" - AP/Amherst, S.D.: "TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil onto agricultural land in northeastern South Dakota, the company and state regulators said Thursday, but state officials don't believe the leak polluted any surface water bodies or drinking water systems. ... Discovery of the leak comes just days before Nebraska regulators are scheduled to announce their decision Monday whether to approve the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be4247653c0e87d2f49b6124bc44605dbbfa4b022c40fef28eba0a861aed6175280c8b17223dc71f9af6035

TRUMP'S FRIDAY -- Trump will host NCAA national championship teams. He is having lunch with VP Mike Pence and will meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

THE JUICE ...

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MATT BRAVO, floor director to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), is joining S-3 Group. He will start working at the firm in 2018. "Matt Bravo has been a critical part of our Whip Office team from the start, and as floor director he has helped bring about many hard-earned legislative victories to the benefit of the American people," Scalise said in a statement. "In more than a decade working on Capitol Hill, Matt has developed strong relationships with members of Congress and staff on both sides of the aisle, and while his counsel and friendship will be missed, I know Matt's experience and expertise will serve him well in the next phase of his career."

Bravo has worked in floor operations for more than a decade serving as coalitions director for Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) while he was chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and as a floor assistant to then-House Majority Leader and Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

-- UPDATE: KIMBERLEY FRITTS is starting her own lobbying firm. Via Theo Meyer: "Tony Podesta stepped down as the Podesta Group's chairman last month and tapped Fritts as his successor. But negotiations with Podesta to turn over control of the firm broke down, and Fritts quit last week, saying she'd start a new firm instead. Many of the Podesta Group's top lobbyists are following Fritts to the new firm, Cogent Strategies, along with at least 15 clients, according to a person familiar with the firm's plans. Fritts is still looking for office space for the firm." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476f93182aa858a20fd464c16e5da0d7c291175989900f8191ba9c8cd9e3209026ec0b28974f9173617

HOLIDAY PARTY SCOOPLET -- FIFTH HARMONY, the multi-platinum-winning girl group, is headlining the annual holiday charity benefit Dec. 12 at the 9:30 Club co-hosted by MUSICIANS ON CALL, RIAA and SPOTIFY. Chicago-based DJ JERZY will be the opening act.

TV TONIGHT -- PBS' "WASHINGTON WEEK" -- Jackie Calmes, Nancy Cordes, Jeremy Peters and Ed O'Keefe.


Playbook Reads


PHOTO DU JOUR: Sen. Bob Menendez fights tears as he speaks to reporters outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Courthouse in Newark, N.J. after U.S. District Judge William Walls declared a mistrial in Menendez's federal corruption trial on Nov. 16. | Julio Cortez/AP Photo

IMPORTANT -- "FCC Relaxes Media Ownership Rules in Contentious Vote," by Variety's Ted Johnson: "Broadcasters will be allowed to combine with a newspaper in the same market, and could be allowed to own two of the top four stations in a city, as the FCC on Thursday relaxed a series of long-standing media ownership regulations. The new rules, passed in a 3-2 vote, may be challenged in court, but if they survive, they will mark the most significant changes to media ownership regulations in a generation. They could lead to further consolidation and mergers among broadcasters, who have long argued that they need greater scale to compete with cable and internet companies for local ad dollars."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424769623c85a883375ce10d18e50216a345ae1437d99eef0093354b71d22ff54f2da17ce429ef2c61787

FROM MARK PRESTON -- Museum of the Bible President Cary Summers joins CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston on his SiriusXM show, "Full Stop with Mark Preston" this weekend to talk about the opening of Washington new half-a-billion-dollar, 430,000 sq. ft. museum dedicated to the Bible. The show airs Saturday at noon and Sunday at 5 p.m. on SiriusXM POTUS 124. CLIPS FOR PLAYBOOKERS: Historical accuracy http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476c4f01f0f4fc865e66f8011e24f70203078248c7995b6d3602e5f8eb4bce379a00441b38c7a0ab911 ... Hobby Lobby's affiliation http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424763bea23f4bdf857610971cc32c129b9da871ad849e8f4defb1a752f5ffae1c5426de8a667fc52d347 ... President's Bibles http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476d546f87d0f7ac64bf9a14045f59d91f33eac3b3f5261d3af5e7228de57c49d7ebf1564ced9f51659

K-FILE STRIKES AGAIN -- "Homeland Security's head of community outreach resigns over past controversial comments on black community, Islam," by CNN's Andrew Kaczynski: "Rev. Jamie Johnson resigned Thursday as the head of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships at [DHS] after a CNN KFile report revealed inflammatory past comments he made about the black community and Islam. In past radio appearances, Johnson had said the black community was responsible for turning major US cities into 'slums' and argued that Islam's only contribution to society was 'oil and dead bodies.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476f2176b6a6cd061865b23bab8d040fdf3eec82e280faf913fcd31281ba9e96705a057f617a5ae0f54

THE CABINET -- "Watchdog says Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke failed to properly document travel," by WaPo's Lisa Rein and Drew Harwell: "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has failed to keep complete records - and in some cases, kept none at all - of his travel since taking office, the agency's watchdog told department officials this week, saying that management of Zinke's travel was 'deficient' and lacked oversight. A rare alert Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall sent to the secretary's office Wednesday, obtained by The Washington Post, said her investigation into allegations of improper travel practices by Zinke has been stymied by 'absent or incomplete documentation for several pertinent
trips.' Interior lawyers and ethics officials also have not shown evidence to investigators that they have been able to 'distinguish between personal, political and official travel' or cost-analysis documents to justify his choice of military or charter flights, Kendall wrote." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424763c03c2a0abb6fc8a572ce76d7b764ac2fa144df653e207e01272ed9cb5adb0e085b69a444ff11ea4


****** A message from Chevron: This is a story about DOERS, butterflies, and buckwheat. In '75, the endangered El Segundo Blue butterfly was found near a Chevron refinery. We protected the habitat and planted the only thing they eat-buckwheat. We're still planting and keeping an eye on our littlest neighbor. Watch the video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476078443f199ffb924d2167950729f9672c50b21b09c0c010d07c5aa59830be197ba40866e29a073c9 ******

NYT MAGAZINE COVER STORY - "The Uncounted," by Azmat Khan and Anand Gopal (print headline: "The U.S.-Led Battle Against ISIS is Killing Far More Iraqi Civilians Than the Coalition Has Acknowledged"): "Our own reporting, conducted over 18 months, shows that the air war has been significantly less precise than the coalition claims. Between April 2016 and June 2017, we visited the sites of nearly 150 airstrikes across northern Iraq, not long after ISIS was evicted from them. We toured the wreckage; we interviewed hundreds of witnesses, survivors, family members, intelligence informants and local officials; we photographed bomb fragments, scoured local news sources, identified ISIS targets in
the vicinity and mapped the destruction through satellite imagery.

"We also visited the American air base in Qatar where the coalition directs the air campaign. There, we were given access to the main operations floor and interviewed senior commanders, intelligence officials, legal advisers and civilian-casualty assessment experts. We provided their analysts with the coordinates and date ranges of every airstrike - 103 in all - in three ISIS-controlled areas and examined their responses. The result is the first systematic, ground-based sample of airstrikes in Iraq since this latest military action began in 2014. We found that one in five of the coalition strikes we identified resulted in civilian death, a rate more than 31 times that acknowledged by the
coalition." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476fa20e220f9c758feb5b3325520049d317af045b5d60b575577f51d64ed8d76ba77bc23cf5bc5dece ... The cover http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476a36c7b24de281de7488792f7e49f916bc002f19d77f6f9205dc3591c5b7bf2656e58cb4a1c99f6a0

HOLLYWOODLAND -- "Comcast Has Approached 21st Century Fox About an Acquisition," by WSJ's Dana Mattioli, Keach Hagey and Ryan Knutson: "New suitors are circling 21st Century Fox Inc., affirming that the media empire built by Rupert Murdoch is now in play. Comcast Corp. has approached the media company to express interest in buying a substantial piece of it, according to people familiar with the situation. Verizon Communications Inc. is also kicking the tires on Fox assets ... And Sony Corp.'s entertainment unit has also informally approached Fox ... The takeover interest in 21st Century Fox gained steam after news last week that Walt Disney Co. recently held talks with the company but
failed to reach a deal." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424763db8b907f146c8299c638c15705fa02f29efef0e6344b0baf5cee20d1d188ffffc10346c9ae8dd9e

MEDIAWATCH -- "BuzzFeed Set to Miss Revenue Target, Signaling Turbulence in Media: Prospects for a 2018 initial public offering by the high-profile publisher now appear remote," by WSJ's Amol Sharma and Lukas I. Alpert: "Digital publisher BuzzFeed is on track to miss its revenue target this year by a significant amount, the latest sign that troubles in the online-ad business are making it tough for new-media upstarts to live up to lofty expectations. BuzzFeed, one of several digital-media outfits that have grown quickly in recent years, had been targeting revenue of around $350 million in 2017 but is expected to fall short of that figure by about 15% to 20%."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424767646fd2b784a831b8ec7f92a6a0291fc11184b66029cc354832b2400b63545bb1c9a3967f7c8861f

-- ELIZABETH DREW is joining The New Republic as a contributing editor. Drew wrote for The New Yorker for 19 years and in 2014, she reissued her book "Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixon's Downfall." ... BENNY JOHNSON is joining the Daily Caller as a reporter at large. He was most recently at IJR.

Playbookers
SPOTTED: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in first class on a three-and-a-half hour delayed Virgin America flight from DCA to SFO. The plane landed at SFO at midnight in California. ... Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) last night at Marx Cafe listening to local band "Dan Smith Trio" ... Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) at DCA yesterday.

OUT AND ABOUT -- The Federalist Society last night held their second annual Antonin Scalia memorial dinner at Union Station. Josh Gerstein's write-up -- "Gorsuch takes victory lap at Federalist dinner" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476ac6b4af0c0bae42782c1168e60694b61fa8808ad090493f028c48cad2a0b31ef925738551cdfd7dc

SPOTTED: Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Sam Alito, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Luther Strange (R-Ala.), Kellyanne Conway, Don McGahn, George Will, Maureen Scalia, Reverend Paul Scalia, David McIntosh, Don Willett, Leonard Leo, James Taranto, Josh Hawley, Ken Paxton, Lee Dunn, Suhail Khan, Lexi and Kian Hudson, Erin DeLullo, Greg Mueller, Keith Appell, Garrett Ventry and Travis Burk.

-- STEVE CLEMONS and EMILY LENZNER of The Atlantic hosted a night of hot chocolate, mulled wine, s'mores and ice skating on top of the Watergate hotel at Mel's Rink, named after Melanie Kohn -- the late ice hockey-loving daughter of Marc Kohn. SPOTTED: Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Hogan Gidley, Rakel and Jacques Cohen, Jordan Amb. Dina Kawar, Shawn Turner, Mike Castellano, Jane Mayer, Bill Hamilton, Michael Schmidt, Ben Chang, Orson Porter, Matt Wuerker, Adrienne LaFrance, Andrew Trueblood, Josh Eastright, Christina Sevilla, Kevin Baron, Jeff Dufour, Kara Ross, Patrick Mellody, Marissa Mitrovich, Fabrice Houdart, Tara McKelvey, Guneev Sharma, Meghan Dubyak, Gloria Dittus, Javier Palomarez,
Robb Harleston and Lyndsay Polloway.

-- ADFERO hosted a party last night to celebrate the opening of its new office. SPOTTED: Jeff Mascott, Gary Nuzzi, Greg Crist, Christin Baker, Katie McBreen, Jon Tripp, Kristen Smith, Jeff Solsby, Matt Wright, Margaret Zeigler, John Brandt, Megan Whittemore.

SUNDAY SO FAR - CBS' "Face the Nation": Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) ... Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). Political panel: David French, Jen Jacobs, Ruth Marcus, and Ed O'Keefe

--ABC's "This Week": Panel: Matthew Dowd, Lanhee Chen, Stephanie Cutter, and Megan Murphy

-- NBC's "Meet the Press": Panel: Bob Costa, Rich Lowry, Joy Reid and Amy Walter.

--CNN's "State of the Union": Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) ... Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

--"Fox News Sunday": Panel: Jason Chaffetz, Jessica Tarlov, Jason Riley, Juan Williams. Power Player: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)

WEDDING -- EMILY POMERANZ, the associate director of major gifts and special events at NARAL Pro-Choice America and an OFA, DNC and DSCC alum, married ROB KEITH, who works at the Wilderness Society, in a candlelit service at Christ Church in Alexandria Nov. 11. "The ceremony included a bagpiper and a reading of an excerpt from Justice Kennedy's opinion in the 2015 marriage equality decision."

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Madalene Milano, partner at GMMB

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Brian Jones, partner at Black Rock Group. A book he's been reading recently: "I recently finished 'Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love,' by David Talbot. The book chronicles how San Francisco was transformed from a scrappy immigrant town to one of the great cities of the country (and arguably the world) during a period of cultural turmoil in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s. As someone who lived in San Francisco for four years, the book shed some serious light on the city I came to know in the mid 1990s and also illustrates how a prolonged period of societal upheaval and angst can be overcome and ultimately lead to a better era."
Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be424761a2ad0c16b07630204288dadfc6e05cbbbbe8a56006333c9fa335999e8d6e271e19c0dd7d3352c49 (hat tip: Michael Meehan)

BIRTHDAYS: Jarrod Agen is 40. He celebrated with coworkers last night at Old Ebbitt, with a "long overdue" date night with his wife tonight and then having some friends over for bowling at Truman Bowling Alley in the EEOB on Saturday ... former House Speaker John Boehner is 68 ... Charmaine Yoest, assistant secretary of public affairs at HHS ... NBC News president Noah Oppenheim ... Amb. Susan Rice, former Obama National Security Adviser, is 53 ... Lorne Michaels is 73 ... Fox News' Chris Stirewalt ... Paul Lindsay ... Arielle Mueller, press aide to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), is 2-5 (h/t Megan McKinley) ... Anna Karl ... Howard Dean is 69 ... Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is 83 ... Sen. Pat
Toomey (R-Pa.) is 56 ... U.S. Amb. to China Terry Branstad is 71 (h/t Blake Waggoner) ... Quartz's Chase Purdy ... Halie Soifer ... Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is 69 ... Denver Peacock ... HuffPost global editorial director Howard Fineman ... Rick Dunham is 61 ... Mike Ricci, communications director for Speaker Paul Ryan, celebrating tax reform passage in the House with Ty Ricci (h/t Ryan comms team) ... Politico's Helena Bottemiller Evich ...

... Isaac Baker, partner at AKPD ... Linda Moore, president and CEO of TechNet, Clinton WH staffer for all eight years, and original DLC field director. She's celebrating at the #Clinton25 reunion in Little Rock (h/t Kiki McLean) ... Diana Aviv, CEO of Feeding America (h/t Jon Haber) ... Christy Osler ... Harry Jaffe (h/t Cathy Merrill Williams) ... NAM alum Lea Anne Foster ... WSJ's Felicia Schwartz is 26 ... Ralph Posner, EVP at JDA Frontline ... Chris Sloan ... Kellie Boyle... Lucas Fleischer, alum of 270 Strategies ... Gordon Whiting ... Laurie Norton Moffatt ... Pew's Erika Compart ... Marty Reiser ... Russ Grote, managing director at Hamilton Place Strategies ... Johnny VandeHei ...
Michele Tasoff, supervising talent producer of Chelsea Handler on Netflix ... Edelman's Elisa Vitalo ... journalist Martin Fackler ... Alex Gallo ... Greg Croft of ABC News ... Carly Montoya ... Owen Baynard ... TPM managing editor David Kurtz ... Andrew Hinkebein ... Mike Defilippis ... Ada Waelder ... Michael Maloof ... Allison Hayward ... Michael Ostrolenk is 47 ... Gary Duff (h/t Teresa Vilmain)

****** A message from Chevron: This is a story about DOERS, butterflies, and buckwheat. In '75, the endangered El Segundo Blue butterfly was found near a Chevron refinery. We protected the habitat and planted the only thing they eat-buckwheat. We're still planting and keeping an eye on our littlest neighbor. Watch the video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aae5ce971be42476078443f199ffb924d2167950729f9672c50b21b09c0c010d07c5aa59830be197ba40866e29a073c9 ******

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