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Presented by Everytown for Gun Safety: Feb 27, 2019 View in browser
By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM THE MICHAEL COHEN HEARING ...

COHEN said this to Republicans: If you continue to follow PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, you will "suffer the same consequences that I'm suffering."

FIRST OF ALL, it's amazing to see members on both sides of the aisle repeatedly go down rabbit holes that elicit no new information.

SECOND POINT: Republicans mostly focused on tarnishing COHEN, highlighting that he had lied in his life, and to others to benefit himself. They didn't really focus on defending TRUMP in any material way.

THIRD POINT: Cohen said DON JR., IVANKA and ERIC know everything about the Trump Organization. Is there any way CHAIRMAN ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD.) won't call them to testify soon?

SOME DETAILS ... COHEN intimated the president lied about his net worth on a loan application to buy the Buffalo Bills. ... COHEN declined to say that Trump "colluded" with Russians to win the presidency, but said "Trump's desire to win would have him work with anyone." He also characterized ROGER STONE as a "free agent" offering "free service" to Trump during the campaign.

-- 7 TIMES ... COHEN said that's how many times he's spoken to the special counsel. COHEN said he has no book deal at the moment, but had lots of interest.

-- COHEN said he had never witnessed Trump threaten physical violence, but rather that he would "use others." He continued: "Everybody's job at the Trump Organization is to protect Mr. Trump. Every day most of us knew we were coming in and we were going to lie for him on something. And that became the norm. And that's exactly what's happening now in this country."

-- REPS. JIM JORDAN (R-OHIO) and MARK MEADOWS (R-N.C.) started trying to railroad the hearing early. Meadows tried to delay the hearing, but was defeated in a vote. And Jordan said that Democrats had to be convinced by Lanny Davis -- a longtime Clinton friend -- to hold the hearing.

-- JORDAN later questioned whether Cohen was remorseful following a back-and-forth with Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), which drew a sharp reply from Cohen: "Shame on you, Mr. Jordan. ... I take responsibility for my mistakes. I am remorseful and I am going to prison."

THE LEDEALL from ANDREW DESIDERIO and DARREN SAMUELSOHN: "Michael Cohen: Trump was told of WikiLeaks' Democratic email dump": "Michael Cohen turned over a tranche of documents to Congress on Wednesday that showed President Donald Trump's personal net worth, Trump's reimbursements for a hush-money payment, and other items that the president's former attorney and fixer say reveal the true character of the commander-in-chief.

"One of the documents, titled 'Donald J. Trump Summary of Net Worth As of March 31, 2013,' shows Trump with a net worth of approximately $8.6 billion. Cohen also provided the committee with copies of two $35,000 checks signed by Trump as reimbursement to Cohen for the $130,000 payment to buy the silence of adult-film actress Stormy Daniels." POLITICO ... Key moments from Matthew Choi ... POLITICO's livestream and live-chat

A message from Everytown for Gun Safety:

The House is about to vote on H.R. 8 -- a bill that will close dangerous loopholes in our background check system. Too many people have died and too many lives have been changed forever - now is the time for Congress to finally take action. Vote Yes on H.R. 8. Learn more here.

BUZZFEED'S ZOE TILLMAN: "Roger Stone Says Michael Cohen Is Lying About His Conversations With Trump And Wikileaks": "Stone's text, which he made clear was a 'statement,' was just the one sentence, and he did not explain what exactly about Cohen's testimony he maintained was false.

"Stone, who is facing criminal charges for lying to Congress, is under a gag order not to publicly comment on his case, special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, or any 'participants' in his case or the investigation. A spokesperson for the special counsel's office declined to comment on whether they believe Stone's statement complies with the judge's order." BuzzFeed

Good Wednesday afternoon.

LATEST FROM THE NORTH KOREA SUMMIT ...

-- ELIANA JOHNSON, ANDREW RESTUCCIA and REBECCA MORIN with a Hanoi, Vietnam, dateline: "Trump dogged by Cohen's explosive allegations as he meets with Kim": "It was a moment of diplomatic stagecraft months in the making. But it didn't take long for President Donald Trump's domestic troubles to get in the way.

"As Trump sat alongside the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, at a luxury hotel here, he was immediately confronted by the explosive allegations that his former longtime lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, planned to deliver to lawmakers in Washington later Wednesday.

"'Mr. President, any reaction to Michael Cohen and his testimony?' a reporter asked. Trump simply shook his head. 'Thank you,' he said, dismissing the reporters and photographers gathered before him." POLITICO

HEADS UP ... TRUMP will hold a press conference in Hanoi at 3:50 a.m. Eastern time early tomorrow morning.

-- KATIE GALIOTO and ANDREW RESTUCCIA: "White House boots media after Trump faced Cohen question in front of Kim"

KIM said today, according to a White House transcript: "[D]uring that 261 days since we last met, there have been some misunderstandings. There have been all these eyes from the world who are misunderstanding the situation. ... But, however, we have been able to overcome all the obstacles."

-- HMM ... NYT'S JANE PERLEZ in Seoul: "Kim Jong-un, the mysterious and mercurial leader of North Korea, has no intention of relinquishing his nuclear arsenal, a potent tool that gives him leverage abroad and authority at home, the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect in years said in an interview." NYT

JARED'S OLD PAL ... Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt and Brian Hook met with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, according to a White House readout via pooler Vivian Salama of the WSJ. They discussed cooperation, regional economic investments and the Israeli-Palestinian peace effort. The readout made no mention of Jamal Khashoggi's murder. More from Katie Galioto

MEANWHILE ... TRADE WARS -- CNBC'S KAYLA TAUSCHE (@kaylatausche): "Amb. Lighthizer says passing #USMCA is the 'top priority' for Trump Administration: 'If Congress can't do that... Everything else we talk about is a footnote.'"

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- "'Not In Compliance': Wilbur Ross, The Trump Official Who Keeps Watchdogs Up At Night," by The Center for Public Integrity's Carrie Levine and NPR's Peter Overby: "Ross continues to serve as commerce secretary without sanction even as Cabinet officials all around him have been felled by their ethical foibles. The saga showcases the weaknesses of a government ethics system that has long relied on political pressure as an enforcement mechanism and wasn't designed to police billionaires.

"The 81-year-old commerce secretary failed to divest assets when he said he would - despite telling ethics officials he had done so. Ross' inaccuracies and omissions have also prompted serious questions about whether he took official actions that could affect his personal financial interests, which would violate conflict of interest law - something he's repeatedly said he hasn't done." CPI

THE LATEST IN NORTH CAROLINA -- THE NEWS & OBSERVER'S BRIAN MURPHY (@MurphinDC): ".@RoyCooperNC sets dates for special election in #NC03: Filing: March 4-March 8. Primary: April 30. General or primary runoff: July 9. General: Sept. 10."

-- WSOC'S JOE BRUNO (@JoeBrunoWSOC9): "BREAKING: McCrae Dowless has been indicted on three counts of felonious obstruction of justice, two counts of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of absentee ballot."

CASH DASH -- MAGGIE SEVERNS: "Kamala Harris elbows out rivals as she courts California donors": "The California senator and 2020 presidential candidate has nursed connections with the state's biggest donors during three campaigns for statewide office and two more for district attorney in San Francisco. Now, Harris is working aggressively to turn those connections into commitments securing those donors before out-of-state presidential rivals have a chance. ... Harris' efforts to win over her state's money could not only boost her campaign but starve some of her rivals." POLITICO

THE 2020 SHUFFLE -- Rebecca Chalif will be deputy comms director for Sen. Kamala Harris' (D-Calif.) presidential campaign. She is an HFA and DNC alum.

ROLLING STONE'S TESSA STUART and JANN WENNER: "Nancy Pelosi: The Rolling Stone Interview: The Speaker of the House on outsmarting Republicans, skepticism of the Green New Deal and not having any regrets": Rolling Stone ... Cover with Pelosi and Reps. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)

SCOTUS WATCH -- WAPO'S ROBERT BARNES: "Supreme Court balances history and religion in deciding monument's fate": "The Supreme Court will consider Wednesday whether a towering cross in a busy highway median just outside Washington is a historic and secular monument to World War I dead or an unconstitutional government embrace of Christianity." WaPo

STEVE SHEPARD: "Report: Phone polling in crisis again": "The percentage of Americans willing to participate in telephone polls has hit a new low, according to a new report, raising doubts about the continued viability of the phone surveys that have traditionally dominated politics and elections, both in the media and in campaigns. The Pew Research Center reported Wednesday that the response rate for its phone polls last year fell to just 6 percent." POLITICO

OUT AND ABOUT -- SPOTTED at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 10th Annual Avoice Heritage Celebration, hosted by The Beat's Tiffany Cross at Eaton DC: Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).

-- SPOTTED at the Jewish Democratic Council of America's reception for the 116th Congress on Capitol Hill on Tuesday: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Andy Levin (D-Mich.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), David Trone (D-Md.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.), Dan Shapiro, Halie Soifer, Ron Klein, Barbara Goldberg Goldman, Ada Horwich, Susie Stern and Izzy Klein.

-- SPOTTED at Tracy's Kids' 14th Annual Red Carpet Movie Event at Regal Theatre Gallery Place on Tuesday: Karen Pence, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Reps. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Matt Gerson, David Cohen, Ron Klain, Tim Keating, Gary Shapiro, Gail MacKinnon, John Orlando, Reinhard Wieck and Wendy Donoho.

TRANSITIONS -- Amos Snead is now EVP at Adfero. He was a founding partner at S-3 Public Affairs. ... Ryan Davis will be public relations manager at Covington & Burling. He previously was senior public relations coordinator at Hogan Lovells.

A message from Everytown for Gun Safety:


The countdown is on. We urge Congress: pass H.R. 8 to update background checks. Learn more here.

Follow us on Twitter

Anna Palmer @apalmerdc

Jake Sherman @JakeSherman

Daniel Lippman @dlippman

Eli Okun @eliokun

Garrett Ross @garrett_ross

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