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By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and Daniel Lippman

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Listen to today's Audio Briefing
DRIVING THE DAY
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP landed in D.C. just after 8 p.m. Thursday night, having returned from Hanoi empty-handed after negotiations with North Korea's dictator.

HERE IS WHAT AWAITS HIM:

-- THE NEW YORK TIMES dropped a four-byline bombshell (Haberman, Schmidt, Goldman, Karni) that has the president ordering high-ranking government officials to give his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a top-secret security clearance despite misgivings "flagged by intelligence officials and the White House's top lawyer." WELL, AS IT GOES, HOUSE DEMOCRATS were already probing security clearances, so this is just more fodder to make whatever hearing they might hold on this topic must-see viewing. The NYT story

-- AFTER SOMETHING CLOSE TO 30 HOURS of testimony this week, MICHAEL COHEN emerged from a closed, seven-hour House Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday accompanied by this news: He's coming back Wednesday for another hearing. The Intel Committee was primarily focused on Russia and collusion.

-- IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, six days later -- on March 12 -- INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN ADAM SCHIFF (D-CALIF.) will have FELIX SATER, who Cohen testified worked in Trump Tower and was linked to the Trump Tower Moscow project, in an open hearing.

-- CONGRESS APPEARS TO BE increasingly interested in the inner sanctum of the Trump Organization. HOUSE OVERSIGHT CHAIRMAN ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD.) has flirted with bringing ERIC, DON JR. and IVANKA TRUMP in front of his committee, and he seems nearly certain to call Allen Weisselberg -- who handled the books for Fred and Donald Trump -- to D.C. to chat with his committee.

SO, TO TAKE STOCK, THE PRESIDENT came away with no real wins from Vietnam, has no real legislative victories big or small on the horizon and is becoming completely consumed by investigations.

THE NEXT TWO WEEKS are going to be dominated by big-time, high-profile Trump oversight hearings. And the Times just put on A1 a story that will dominate the news today, and set up another hearing and another investigation shortly afterward.

NEWS ... HOUSE-SIDE DISPATCH: SCALISE TAKING A PASS ON LOUISIANA GOV RACE ... Over the past few weeks, John Bresnahan and Jake started hearing more and more buzz that Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) -- the No. 2 House Republican -- was toying with the idea of running for governor. We knew it was widespread Thursday when our Senate reporter -- Burgess Everett -- started hearing the buzz, too.

THE CRUX OF THE ISSUE: John Bel Edwards, the Democratic governor, is pretty popular, and there's a large contingent that believes Scalise is the only person who could beat him. Operatives in D.C. and Louisiana have been approaching Scalise, asking him to run.

SO, BRES SPOKE TO SCALISE on Thursday late afternoon to see what he was thinking, and he said this pretty bluntly: "I'm not running for governor."

"THERE HAVE BEEN PEOPLE who have asked me to run for a while," Scalise told Bres. "What I've told them is I appreciate their interest, but I have a job that I really enjoy." Scalise hasn't endorsed a candidate. "I know Eddie Rispone real well," Scalise said of the Baton Rouge businessman who was the first Republican to jump into the race. "I serve with [Rep.] Ralph Abraham, I know him very well. They're both very accomplished people. It's good to know there are good people running, let's see what they do."

Happy Friday morning, and welcome to March.

JOHN HARRIS in POLITICO MAGAZINE on SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR: "What's So Funny about Amy Klobuchar's Bad Temper?"

WAPO'S TOM BOSWELL on BRYCE HARPER: "Now Harper is the star who left for just a few dollars more. His final deal [of $330 million over 13 years] is, essentially, not that much better than the Nats' reported offer. And he will play in Philadelphia, a town with a team seldom if ever associated with him and his future until, one by one, the more glamorous suitors all said, 'No thanks.' And the Nats, their money spent and their roster completed, never circled back for a player who, if they met his price, might have hampered them in building competitive rosters over the next decade." WaPo

BUY YOUR MUELLER REPORT BOOK! THE AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION notes that WaPo is already planning a Mueller report book, as is Skyhorse Publishing, which will feature an introduction by Alan Dershowitz. ABA

NYT'S NICK FANDOS and CARL HULSE on A16: "After Cohen Testimony, Top Democrats Shy From Impeachment": "Democrats on Thursday emphasized their intent to explore and broadcast Mr. Trump's actions through existing investigations, believing that, lacking startling new evidence, a drawn-out gantlet of inquiries will do more damage to a president seeking re-election than a partisan impeachment that could only roil the country and energize Republicans - a thousand cuts over a swing of the ax.

"'Yes, we have unambiguous evidence that the president has committed a crime at this point, I think,' Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said in an interview. 'Do we have unambiguous evidence he has done impeachable offenses? We've got a ways to go yet.'

"Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who has steadfastly pushed back against calls to try to impeach Mr. Trump, told reporters that impeachment was 'a divisive issue in our country,' and that she was more concerned with the president's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border." NYT

SHELDON ADELSON has non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to the Nevada Independent.

A message from Everytown for Gun Safety:

The House took an important step to end gun violence in America this week by passing H.R. 8 to #UpdateBackgroundChecks. Now we look to the Senate to take action. Will they listen to the overwhelming majority of Americans who support background checks on all gun sales? Learn more here.

DAN DIAMOND and JOHN BRESNAHAN: "HHS demands apology from House Ethics chair for comments on abuse of migrant children": "Health and Human Services officials refused Thursday to meet with Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), saying the House Ethics Committee chair must first apologize for stating publicly earlier this week that HHS staff sexually abused migrant children in agency custody.

"'By deliberately or negligently mischaracterizing the data during a televised hearing, you impugned the integrity of hundreds of federal civil servants,' Jonathan Hayes, the HHS refugee director, wrote Deutch on Thursday, in a letter obtained by POLITICO. HHS has been seeking an apology for two days.

"Deutch said he stands by his remarks, arguing that he sufficiently clarified that he was referencing contractors as well as staff. Deutch added that he will keep pushing HHS for a meeting on the sexual abuse data. 'Our job is to conduct oversight,' Deutch told POLITICO. 'I've never seen a response like this, that simply refuses to come talk to members of Congress ... I think they'd be interested in discussing [this] because people are outraged.'" POLITICO

THE LATEST ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY ... BURGESS EVERETT: "Republicans pressure Trump to back down on border emergency": "Senate Republicans are offering a choice to President Donald Trump: Withdraw your national emergency declaration at the border or face a potential rebellion from the GOP. The message was delivered clearly on Thursday by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), part of an effort by senior Republicans to avoid a direct confrontation with Trump on the Senate floor.

"In a much-anticipated floor speech, the retiring senator declined to state whether he will become the deciding vote to block the president's maneuver. But he signaled broad opposition to the emergency declaration and sought to convince Trump that he has other ways to collect $5.7 billion for the border wall - the precise amount of money he demanded during the government shutdown fight." POLITICO

HANOI SUMMIT AUTOPSY ... AP'S ERIC TALMADGE in Hanoi: "Officials say Trump overstated Kim's demand on sanctions": "President Donald Trump said he walked away from his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un because Kim demanded the U.S. lift all of its sanctions, a claim that North Korea's delegation called a rare news conference in the middle of the night to deny.

"So who's telling the truth? In this case, it seems that the North Koreans are. And it's a demand they have been pushing for weeks in lower-level talks. Trump's much-anticipated meeting with Kim, held in the Vietnamese capital Wednesday and Thursday, ended abruptly and without the two leaders signing any agreements.

"Trump spoke with reporters soon after the talks broke down and said the dispute over sanctions was the deal breaker. ... [T]wo senior members of the North's delegation told reporters that was not what Kim had demanded. They insisted Kim had asked only for partial sanctions relief in exchange for shutting down the North's main nuclear complex. Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said the North was also ready to offer in writing a permanent halt of the country's nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests." AP

NYT'S DAVID SANGER: "Trump-Kim Summit's Collapse Exposes the Risks of One-to-One Diplomacy"

2020 WATCH ... ALEX ISENSTADT and GABBY ORR: "Trump's 2020 money machine in disrepair": "President Donald Trump wants to raise $1 billion for his reelection. But his top advisers worry that the super PAC at the center of that effort is hurting, lacking a high-wattage leader who can cajole millionaire and billionaire donors to fork over huge sums.

"Trump political aides, members of the president's family, and top Republicans have been considering potential candidates to spearhead America First Action's 2020 fundraising efforts. They want someone with deep ties to the president and the clubby world of major GOP donors.

"But the nationwide search has so far come up empty. Super PAC organizers at one point came up with a roster of around two-dozen names that included Robert Kraft, who was never seriously considered but was quashed anyway after the New England Patriots owner - a fixture at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort - was charged with soliciting prostitution. Another person floated for the post was GOP benefactor Kelly Craft, but she was ruled out after being nominated for United Nations ambassador." POLITICO

ALEX THOMPSON emailed us: "The RNC COMMUNICATIONS OPERATION is gearing up for the 2020 cycle. Mike Reed has been promoted to deputy chief of staff for communications. Joe Ascioti has been named research director. Cassie Smedile has been promoted to deputy communications director and Johanna Persing to deputy communications director for media affairs.

"Blair Ellis will transition to national press secretary, Michael Joyce will serve as deputy national press secretary, and Allie Carroll as assistant national press secretary. Steve Guest will be rapid response director. Kevin Fairbrother will serve as war room director, and Ryan Mahoney will transition to senior adviser." POLITICO

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK ... THE N.C. 9 SPECIAL ... THE DCCC has a poll that says Democrat Dan McCready leads a generic Republican candidate by four points, 50-46. The poll universe was based on the 2018 midterm election turnout, but with fewer millennials and more 65-and-older voters. Poll memo

-- DEMAND JUSTICE is running a digital advertising campaign praising Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) for pledging to oppose Trump's federal judicial nominees. The video

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... DARREN SAMUELSOHN and ANITA KUMAR: "Trump's money man draws unwelcome spotlight": "President Donald Trump's top money man, Allen Weisselberg, has long managed Trump's global business while shunning the blinding spotlight his boss commands.

"Now, with Democrats demanding Weisselberg come to Capitol Hill to answer their questions, Trump will need to decide whether a man who has worked for his family for more than 40 years can remain a trusted employee and intimate confidant. Last summer, federal prosecutors in Manhattan granted the 71-year-old immunity to testify in their investigation of Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. Some media reports breathlessly suggested at the time that Weisselberg might be turning against the president himself." POLITICO

THE JUICE ...

-- DOUG ANDRES is starting Monday as senior adviser for FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. Andres will handle communications. Andres is a Paul Ryan alum -- he worked for him in the speaker's office and at the Ways and Means Committee.

A message from Everytown for Gun Safety:


After 25 years, Congress finally took a step to update the federal background checks system. Now it's on to the Senate. Learn more here.

TRUMP'S FRIDAY -- The president has no public events today.

SUNDAY SO FAR ...

CBS

"Face the Nation": John Bolton ... Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) ... Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Panel: Jeff Goldberg, David Nakamura, Paula Reid and David Sanger

ABC

"This Week": Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) ... Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) ... House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Panel: Matthew Dowd, Sara Fagen, Maggie Haberman and Michael Tomasky

FOX

"FOX News Sunday": John Bolton. Panel: Ben Domenech, Jane Harman, Gillian Turner and Marie Harf

NBC

"Meet the Press": New NBC News/WSJ poll. Panel: Matt Bai, Helene Cooper, John Podhoretz and Heidi Przybyla

CNN

"State of the Union": Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) ... Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). Panel: Bakari Sellers, Amanda Carpenter, Jennifer Granholm and David Urban

CNN

"Inside Politics": Panel: Julie Pace, Lisa Lerer, Toluse Olorunnipa and Phil Mattingly
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: Michael Cohen leaves a closed-door House Intelligence Committee hearing at which he testified Thursday. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Robert Kraft's Prostitution Charges Return a Wary Palm Beach to the Tabloids," by NYT's Patricia Mazzei and Ken Belson in Palm Beach, Fla.

VALLEY TALK -- "Andrew Cuomo Speaks With Jeff Bezos, Furiously Trying to Win Back Amazon," by NYT's J. David Goodman: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who was staggered by Amazon's decision to pull out of its plans to come to New York City, is working intensely behind the scenes to lure the company back, even connecting with Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, to make a personal pitch. The governor has had multiple phone conversations with Amazon executives, including Mr. Bezos, over the past two weeks, according to two people with knowledge of the efforts.

"In those calls, Mr. Cuomo said he would navigate the company through the byzantine governmental process. Mr. Cuomo did not offer a new location but rather guarantees of support for the project, one person said. Amazon executives gave no sense the company would reconsider. The executives also learned of an open letter being arranged for publication in The New York Times on Friday, also urging Mr. Bezos, the company's chief executive, to reverse course again and build the campus in Long Island City, Queens." NYT

A message from Everytown for Gun Safety:


The House voted YES to #UpdateBackgroundChecks, requiring checks on all gun sales. Will the Senate? Learn more here.

MEDIAWATCH -- "HBO CEO Resigning Amid AT&T Restructuring," by WSJ's Joe Flint: "Two longtime executives of the entertainment empire that AT&T Inc. bought for more than $80 billion are stepping down, as the telecommunications giant gets ready to put its stamp on WarnerMedia days after the last antitrust hurdle to the deal was cleared.

"Richard Plepler, the chairman and chief executive of HBO, said he was resigning in a memo to staff Thursday afternoon. David Levy, president of Turner, the parent of cable channels CNN, TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network, is also stepping down-perhaps as early as Friday." WSJ
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) talking to Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) at DCA on Thursday ... Carlos Curbelo at DCA ... Ivanka Trump at Off the Record at the Hay-Adams Hotel on Thursday night ... Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) sitting in the second row of Southwest flight 2217 from DCA to HOU ... Connecticut Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy boarding the 3 p.m. northbound Acela at Union Station ...

... On the 10:50 a.m. Cathay Pacific flight from Hanoi to Hong Kong: Lester Holt, Kelly O'Donnell, Jon Allen, Eamon Javers, David Muir, Christiane Amanpour and Ed Henry.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- TRUMP ALUMNI: Charmaine Yoest will be VP of the Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity at the Heritage Foundation. She most recently was associate director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and also previously worked at HHS.

TRANSITION -- Anne Toulouse will be SVP of communications for Boeing. She has served in the role on an interim basis since September.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), a new board member of the Alliance for Market Solutions and a senior adviser at the Cannabis Trade Federation, is 39. What he's been reading recently: "I am about to begin reading 'The Storm Before the Storm' -- a gift from my friend Joe Noa. It is about the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic. I believe our democracy faces serious risks in the years ahead. I am not an alarmist by nature, but I think we have a lot of work to do if we are to restore the public's trust and confidence in our government institutions and heal the deep divisions in our society." Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) is 68 (hat tip: Brianna Puccini) ... Giulia Giannangeli of the WH office of legislative affairs ... John P. Holdren is 75 ... former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) is 75 ... Will Robinson (h/t Jon Haber) ... Jonathan Lipman ... Stephen Ezell, VP of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (h/t ITIF team) ... POLITICO's Lorraine Woellert (h/t Tim Burger) ... POLITICO's David Gelsomino, Hossein Fard and Ali Taki ... Sally Canfield of the Bush Institute ... Vayl Oxford, director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency ... Lauren Vicary ... Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite is 63 ... Vice News alum Nigel Duara is 36 ... Jodi Golden ... Brigitte
Harbers ... Hannah Klain is 28 ... Cheyenne Klotz ... Elizabeth Brooks, director of federal gov't affairs at CVS Health ...

... former Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) is 66 ... Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) is 53 ... Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) is 52 ... Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) is 49 ... Peter Guber is 77 ... Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell ... Marjorie Marquardt ... RNC's Maddison Stone (h/ts Allie Carroll, Brian Walsh and Christina Cameron) ... Bridget Bowman, politics reporter at Roll Call ... Tom Segev is 74 ... Zain Khan ... Natalie Szemetylo (h/t James Reed) ... Bloomberg's John Dunbar, who was really born on Feb. 29 (h/t Dave Levinthal) ... Joshua Lachter ... Avron B. Fogelman is 79 ... Ryan Little ... Aaron Sherinian, ... Sarah Nolan of UChicago ... Jonathan Krohn ... Meghan Milloy ... Biogen's Adam Brand
... Howard Altman is 59 ... Karin Roberts ... Tyler Jameson ... Jerry Regier ... Mike Bloomquist ... Laura Tucker ... Wendy Goldberg, who was born on Feb. 29 (h/t Teresa Vilmain)

A message from Everytown for Gun Safety:

This past Wednesday, a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives passed a historic bill to require background checks on all gun sales -- the first major gun safety legislation passed in Congress in 20 years. Since 1994, background checks have blocked over 3.5 million gun sales to felons, domestic abusers, and other people who aren't allowed to have guns under existing law -- but among other things, the rise of the Internet has opened up a huge loophole in the system. Updating the law to require background checks on all gun sales is a common-sense way to keep guns away from people who are legally prohibited from possessing them. The Bipartisan Background Check Act passed in the
House would close the loopholes in the system. Now, we need to ride this momentum into the Senate. Poll after poll demonstrates the public's overwhelming support. Will the Senate listen? Learn more here.

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