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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by Starbucks

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


SCOOP FROM THE BEST-IN-CLASS POLITICO HILL TEAM -- "House to vote on immigration bills next week," by Seung Min Kim and John Bresnahan: "One of the bills to see a floor vote, dubbed Kate's Law, boosts penalties for immigrants who try to re-enter the United States after being deported. It is named after Kate Steinle, a young woman who was shot and killed in San Francisco by an immigrant who had been deported repeatedly yet returned. Trump frequently discussed the killing on the campaign trail last year.

"The second is legislation that goes after so-called sanctuary cities -- localities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including by refusing to hold an immigrant in jail longer just so federal officials can pick him or her up to be deported. Sanctuary cities, usually liberal jurisdictions such as New York, have also been a major Trump target." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60abd099b4ca0730237d0ff6da1275299e2618da51a8458fb59836c6f14c0b58aca28aac0072dce42e487239a3850b6de98

THIS MORNING'S STUNNING READ -- WAPO -- "Obama's secret struggle to punish Russia for Putin's election assault," by Greg Miller, Ellen Nakashima and Adam Entous: "Early last August, an envelope with extraordinary handling restrictions arrived at the White House. Sent by courier from the CIA, it carried 'eyes only' instructions that its contents be shown to just four people: President Barack Obama and three senior aides. Inside was an intelligence bombshell, a report drawn from sourcing deep inside the Russian government that detailed Russian President Vladi­mir Putin's direct involvement in a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race. But it went further. The
intelligence captured Putin's specific instructions on the operation's audacious objectives -- defeat or at least damage the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and help elect her opponent, Donald Trump....

"[A]t the highest levels of government, among those responsible for managing the crisis, the first moment of true foreboding about Russia's intentions arrived with that CIA intelligence.

The material was so sensitive that CIA Director John Brennan kept it out of the President's Daily Brief, concerned that even that restricted report's distribution was too broad. The CIA package came with instructions that it be returned immediately after it was read. To guard against leaks, subsequent meetings in the Situation Room followed the same protocols as planning sessions for the Osama bin Laden raid.

"But in the end, in late December, Obama approved a modest package combining measures that had been drawn up to punish Russia for other issues -- expulsions of 35 diplomats and the closure of two Russian compounds -- with economic sanctions so narrowly targeted that even those who helped design them describe their impact as largely symbolic. Obama also approved a previously undisclosed covert measure that authorized planting cyber weapons in Russia's infrastructure, the digital equivalent of bombs that could be detonated if the United States found itself in an escalating exchange with Moscow. The project, which Obama approved in a covert-action finding, was still in its planning stages when
Obama left office. It would be up to President Trump to decide whether to use the capability." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a27c6e8f557cd70d1648e425afb60e9b875d41a04f3f7e8a061274a3f6cb92ddc5771f5876c09a09f0547ba05a4189e1b

Good Friday afternoon. FACEBOOK IN ASPEN - per the company: "Facebook will have a big presence at the Aspen Ideas Festival this year, including a pop-up tent in the heart of the Aspen Institute's Campus featuring a Facebook Live studio, an Oculus demo, and a Facebook Journalism Project help desk. The Live broadcasts will bring the best of Aspen Ideas to the rest of the world and encourage viewers to engage directly with conference speakers.

Attendees expected to go live from the studio include: Facebook's Head of News Partnerships Campbell Brown and Civic Engagement Product Manager Samidh Chakrabarti, Cecile Richards, Pat Mitchell, Jose Antonio Vargas, and Jean Case with The Atlantic's Steve Clemons. Visit the Facebook Journalism Project Page as the Festival kicks off for the full Live lineup here": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60ae286d1756c6be6af81ba8dd6486ddf7cbb9f58b00a0e4e58d5589a27077358ce742ab15d0e8ab2b41c9957ef3ea5ae2c (Anna and Daniel will be at the festival next week. Email us at anna@politico.com and daniel@politico.com if you will be there and want to meet up.)

DRIP DRIP -- "F.B.I. Investigating Deals Involving Paul Manafort and Son-in-Law," by NYT's Mike McIntire: "Federal investigators are examining financial transactions involving Paul Manafort and his son-in-law, who embarked on a series of real estate deals in recent years fueled by millions of dollars from Mr. Manafort, according to two people familiar with the matter.

"The transactions involve the financing of apartments and luxury homes in New York and California using money from Mr. Manafort, as well as from other investors solicited by the son-in-law, Jeffrey Yohai, including the actor Dustin Hoffman and his son. F.B.I. agents have reviewed financial records related to Mr. Yohai, who has been accused in a lawsuit of defrauding investors, the sources said. It was not clear if the F.B.I.'s interest was part of the broader investigation that has ensnared Mr. Manafort, who was President Trump's campaign chairman until he resigned last August amid reports that he had received millions of dollars in off-the-book payments for his consulting work in Ukraine."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a5f25ac2ca7de761ba2e89e96180e0b4ae65c765481643077fa68757f3c23c4690487fbb3b5d65699302e471c68dccb54

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ON RUSSIA -- BRYAN BENDER in POLITICO Mag: "How a U.S.-Russia Back Channel Came to Life": "Inside the Russian-American room of the Russian Cultural Center, in a tony Washington neighborhood, negotiators from the American and Russian governments this week sipped wine and nibbled on caviar after spending the day trying to live up to that charge-a quaint reminder of the former Cold War rivals' warm relationship in the 1990s. Despite tense relations that President Donald Trump has said may be at 'an all-time low,' the small group of military and civilian officials exchanged closely held information that might help determine what happened to the thousands of U.S. and Russian military personnel
lost in conflicts stretching from World War II to the Cold War and even the fate of a Russian pilot shot down over the Republic of Georgia in 2008.

"The so-called technical talks of the U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on POW/MIAs-the first since 2005-were the result of a surprising new level of Russian willingness to engage in recent months, according to the Americans. They were also an eerie reflection of how far the relationship has fallen since 1999, when the cultural center was dedicated." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a56305683912963075b37dc5530355addc822dae1ff1519063c6d9dee655ef03e9589772f5de598dd9db7d70fa05d102b

-- "Under pressure, Western tech firms bow to Russian demands to share cyber secrets," by Reuters' Joel Schectman, Dustin Volz and Jack Stubbs: "Western technology companies, including Cisco, IBM and SAP, are acceding to demands by Moscow for access to closely guarded product security secrets, at a time when Russia has been accused of a growing number of cyber attacks on the West, a Reuters investigation has found.

"Russian authorities are asking Western tech companies to allow them to review source code for security products such as firewalls, anti-virus applications and software containing encryption before permitting the products to be imported and sold in the country. The requests, which have increased since 2014, are ostensibly done to ensure foreign spy agencies have not hidden any 'backdoors' that would allow them to burrow into Russian systems." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a2665158ff1f5cbdce917015e200a1a457dd59f9fc93dcc78fb8efb771d04dc1f1a2e79a61a040892e88ffe53a3268eb8

GOOD NEWS -- @ABC7News: "JUST IN: Hospital says Matt Mika, lobbyist who was shot in ballpark attack, is now in good condition and was visited by #Nats Jayson Werth." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a6ee4f0426b3355e284a22d8445b84f5eab8b1395bd63fb287e4f19c1ba45878b98574f50d5dd3ff9356a5dd6b2d45eb0

PROTECTING LAWMAKERS -- "Rattled by shooting, GOP lawmakers discuss beefing up security funding," by Kyle Cheney and Rachael Bade: "In a closed-door meeting of the House Republican conference, Speaker Paul Ryan discussed beefing up members' security budgets by as much as $25,000 apiece. Lawmakers exiting the meeting said the funds would likely help lawmakers hire personal protection, especially in districts where local police aren't able to provide round-the-clock security. The funds could also be used to help members pay for alarms in their homes or panic buttons if they're ever in physical danger. ...

"Members also discussed obtaining a blanket waiver from the Federal Election Commission permitting members to use campaign funds for security while conducting political business as well. Members can obtain individual waivers now, but lawmakers are interested in securing a broader standing waiver that wouldn't require them to individually seek FEC permission." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a60bb5bc7277ddf588c4806274e7dd61a678701085bc98864d4d6d7e34c9ca47f96202c032dbdd7d761923d6fcf7455c4

PAGING MITCH MCCONNELL -- @RalstonReports: "Here we go: Sandoval and Heller with joint presser on Medicaid today in Vegas."

THE OPPOSITION - NEERA TANDEN sat down for a POLITICO "PULSE CHECK" podcast to discuss how Democrats can seize on the GOP health bill. The head of the Center for American Progress tells POLITICO's Dan Diamond that progressives need to link themselves to Obamacare - and that even if they lose the health care battle now, they'll end up ahead. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a8a2111788fcee1272c9a5a55920c82954d0bfec2cab0da9fd9670b19655a205a1b819ff6ad37d2515984c9d71a103e34

JOE SCARBOROUGH'S BAND, Scarborough, had a release party for the new Mystified EP last night at The Cutting Room in New York. Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a6c1c8f83f3739c1b9d0da269b927f327e7f167106da5cfb1de5e45263954f56a0135a68466260f6223e17dea0bb57264 ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a112d8903633b3e0a27ad41f0cd3c5810318ff3ee06819b77678e45277d5faec17ccd9eb571eebc1bfedf19f8ff10a6af ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a61ee54f113b4a45fbaf83745f8cd23af457bc995a586575f8ccc23bd619b1f439f5b827b8f539ed1291505ff4b84a8ee ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a3fbcd781023ce650d2b33904ece61efab18cfa8c26d6e3294535b45be0936a8b8f4c760ec1abd3a7687f9fcac50b8516 ... The EP http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a823e68d941286710343a569ff63cf9a460d6fb328cc9d2db46a9a8131ced858acd84beda94984cdec417780bbf629329

MEDIAWATCH -- JEFF MASON, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, wrote a letter to members of the association this morning saying he met with Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders yesterday to talk about press briefing and gaggles. From the letter: "[W]e believe strongly that Americans should be able to watch and listen to senior government officials face questions from an independent news media, in keeping with the principles of the First Amendment and the need for transparency at the highest levels of government. ... we have urged the White House not to replace on-camera briefings with 'gaggles,' not-for-broadcast question & answer sessions. ...

"Sean and Sarah agreed to consider these positions, and the Board will follow up with them in the coming days. We are not satisfied with the current state-of-play, and we will work hard to change it. In the meantime, I have asked that reporters be able to use audio from all gaggles going forward. We will keep you posted as developments occur."

-- @JamilAnderlini: "At the Beijing airport where every issue of Thursday's @FT has had the comment page with my latest column ripped out" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a8186f9bb814a02d23d0621bde92ee3c4bdb1d704e3ddf4a360253f455f6033c3439888ee3f4605ecb1158cfbccf5ea24

-- "Be honest: People outside a Trump rally told us why they hate the media," by Vice News' Evan McMorris-Santoro http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a536ef3a3f5fdcf636d06d461242f436b38f9f5ff980a6f6dcd30b3896e250a184c9a15985c109bdcda908ed69e0fbef8

OUT AND ABOUT -- Bush-Cheney alums gathered at The Ritz-Carlton for a "Portraits of Courage" book signing last night with the former president. ($21.18 on Amazon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a8efac98ba333fc73a76c477f45bf3495526999462957beb52b89fd1524c3eb56e6491fa903e9c92a93072df884b6ecbe Bush ribbed Josh Bolten, his final chief of staff, saying he "thought I was a cultural cretin and wouldn't know who Bono was when I first met him." Bush called Steve Hadley "the best NSA ever, don't tell Condi." He said he hoped PEPFAR would get funded, and spoke about the work he's doing in Africa. Bush said spending money to teach democracy "is out of fashion now" but you have to give them a way to get freedom.

Asked why he isn't speaking out against this or any president, Bush said he is "muted" because actions speak louder than words. He specifically noted his democracy fund. Bush said it is impossible to garner press coverage unless you criticize the current president. He ended by urging the crowd to not take themselves too seriously, and closed with "keep laughing and thank you for serving." Pics from last night's Bush-related events http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a872bb6e9f3850cc4dbc70612af34db98dbacd85876a1921e6fa5a86c554a3c9d31359a85769993f77975e875ee1c7212 ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a8ba516abcfcd5d51da64656840f84ad146d647db2389a05d43e04ae41490ca02dcef1599ad65150f2893b123ca1549e3 ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60aa130661f1aa53447c000210b737e391ad45d04448764dfdb23d22e7769db5bf68770e9e6e06c8b57cb6dc8423a755edd ...
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SPOTTED: Josh Bolten, Steve Hadley, Joel Kaplan, Brian McCormack, Marilyn Baker, Becky Relic, Sara Fagen, Ashley and Garrett Marquis, Jeanne Phillips, former DHS secretary Michael Chertoff, former HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, Chris Frech, Holly Kuzmich, Tracy Schmitt, Tony Fratto, Jeanie Mamo, Matthew Downer, Amber Downer, Tony Fratto, Stuart Siciliano, Andrew Olivastro, Valerie Boyd, Andrea Wuebker, Nate Bailey, David McFadden, ER Anderson, Emily Miller, Judy Pino, Brian Jones, Christie Parell, Col. Mark Tillman, Eryn Witcher, Rob and Tonya Klause, David and Julie Almacy, Scott and Mary Sforza, Dan Ronayne.

--SPOTTED last night at a small dinner at the new AEI building in advance of today's Bush Institute-hosted "Stand-To" for military veterans, in which more than 70 organizations are gathering to provide best practices for education, health and employment for vets: former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Merle Bari, Steve Hadley, Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) and his wife Kathleen, Wayne and Lea Berman, William Wood, Margaret Spellings, Josh Bolten and Nick Calio.

-- EFB Advocacy hosted a party last night featuring a specially designed drink called the EGB. SPOTTED: John Easton, John and Kerry Feehery, Adam Belmar, Chris Brown, Carl Hulse, Julie Davis, Jared Rizzi, Alex Treadway, Mitch Bainwol, Ziad Ojakli, Meg Hauck, Katie Anderson, Lauren Maddox, John Scofield, Kate Dickens, Jill Kozeny, Lindsay Slater, Stacy Hughes, Jack Smedile, Doug Schwartz, Gayle Osterberg, Kathy Ramsey and Kris Jones.

SUNDAY PREVIEW -- MEGYN KELLY will interview J.D. Vance, the author of the best-selling "Hillbilly Elegy" on this week's "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly." Preview http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a938cab12505bc58a2f1387d83927e9c16045ffbee7a55312ef5399e2573cd2cf03380a538de803528c5271efc70a3d5e

-- "Food & Wine Magazine Will Leave New York for Alabama," by NYT's Stephanie Strom: "Food & Wine, the glossy, chef-focused food magazine, is moving to Birmingham, Ala., joining a stable of other publications owned by Time Inc. that includes Cooking Light and Southern Living.

Hunter Lewis, the editor of Cooking Light, will become Food & Wine's new editor in chief, replacing Nilou Motamed, who is leaving the company after a little more than a year. Ms. Motamed had taken over from Dana Cowin, who edited the magazine for more than 20 years. The magazine started in New York in 1978 as The International Review of Food and Wine." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fd6cde789d6b60a3216c20ead45414f82e926249a3baf599ee68bd431e624e36f96f0447a11392f5c497c7259f5bbc927e78a66cfa9b5be

SPOTTED: Senate Majority Whip John Coryn having lunch with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) in the Senate dining room today ... Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.) this morning wearing a light gray suit and pink tie, typing on his phone, while waiting to board American flight 1727 from DCA to Charlotte ... Ben Jacobs, glasses intact, in the second row of coach on American flight 1849 from DCA to West Palm Beach, en route to the Michelle Fields-Jamie Weinstein wedding this weekend at The Breakers in Palm Beach ... Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) was on the same flight as Ben.

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