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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by Delta Air Lines

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

Listen to today's Audio Briefing | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Driving the Day
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND is going up with a $1-million ad buy opposing Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.). The group is going up on TV, radio and online with "Not Enough," an ad that says the Indiana Democrat's family business outsourced jobs to Mexico and notes that the business had "serious violations" in the workplace. The tagline: "Outsourcing jobs to Mexico, American jobs at Risk -- Joe Donnelly profits." Donnelly is running against Mike Braun, the Republican who beat out two House Republicans for the nomination. The 30-second ad http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee2ca95627978f667168f34579643a20bb8778d4a44dd51e5d4a37d51763c34e119602c1e03a6fc9e8

NEWS ... VIRGINIA GOP. REP. TOM GARRETT -- a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus -- has racked up a five-figure tax debt with the Internal Revenue Service. Garrett disclosed on his financial disclosure form that he owes the IRS between $10,000 and $15,000 for "taxes."

GARRETT didn't disclose any assets in a report released by the House yesterday, and he revealed he had $290,000 in debt. He has two student loans and two home mortgages in addition to the tax debt.

EARLIER THIS MONTH, Garrett announced he would not run again. He said he had a drinking problem. POLITICO reported late last month that Garrett turned aides into "personal servants." (https://politi.co/2L3zGRz). An aide to Garrett didn't respond to an email seeking comment about the debt.

Good Friday morning. Republicans and Democrats united last night for the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise returned to the field, but it wasn't enough for the GOP. The Democrats beat the Republicans 21-5. That's a drubbing.

-- VIDEO of Scalise throwing out Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) from his knees for the first out of the game. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee2decd88e57a0cdb07f045bb5a1eb9dc9970ba5f4400b1217e73a719b114268202c9bf56ae96efcf7

NYT'S KEVIN SACK in ATLANTA: "Candidate for Georgia Governor Bought Condo From Lobbyist": "The leading Republican candidate in Georgia's high-profile governor's race, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, bought a condominium in downtown Atlanta 10 years ago from a State Capitol lobbyist, seemingly at a discount, a New York Times investigation has found.

"Real estate records show that Mr. Cagle, who faces a runoff for the Republican nomination on July 24, purchased the one-bedroom apartment at 24 percent less than its appraised value - below comparable sales prices - and sold it last year at a 29 percent profit. He was preparing for his first run for governor when, without an agent, he negotiated the deal with Terry E. Hobbs, a longtime lobbyist who represents the natural gas marketer Scana." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee301b6fc2a96dede598da47138c70a021ef4e2bb3144b273f83380bd9285963eb6b7d28a404b82e84

JOHN "BUREAU CHIEF" BRESNAHAN: "Grimm lobs grenade into GOP primary with Trump pardon claim": "During a debate on Monday, former Rep. Michael Grimm leveled a stunning charge against his primary opponent and successor in office, fellow Republican Dan Donovan - one that would be a potential ethical violation if true.

"Grimm, who pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in 2014 and spent seven months in prison, claimed Donovan offered to seek a presidential pardon for him if he would forgo a challenge to Donovan in the Republican primary this year. Donovan has acknowledged raising the issue of a pardon for Grimm with President Donald Trump during a trip on Air Force One last summer. ...

"Grimm, the brash ex-congressman forced to resign his seat in 2015, is now trying to reclaim his old job from Donovan. GOP leaders want no part of Grimm, and the president is backing Donovan despite Grimm's attempt to portray himself as the true Trump loyalist in the race. ...

"'The guy is a confessed liar,' Donovan told POLITICO. 'My opponent is trying to interpret that I think he deserves a pardon. But I was a doing a favor for someone who used to be a friend of mine.' He was referring to Guy Molinari, a former Republican congressman from Staten Island, who was close to both Donovan and Grimm, at least until this campaign, when he sided with Grimm." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212eedb89194d58f091cea5be70fc690924c5c4b3a4511b0949c4f733f1baece4ddf9bc34e5f531c5bc21

IMMIGRATION WATCH -- STEVEN OVERLY: "Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft are among the technology companies that huddled with staff for House Republican leadership [Thursday] afternoon to discuss their immigration bill slated for a vote next week, according to sources familiar with the meeting. ...

"Their proposal would provide a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival beneficiaries and eliminate per-country caps on visas, two provisions the tech industry has pushed for. ... Other companies represented at the meeting include Apple, Google, Cisco, Cognizant and Accenture, two sources said. Officials from the National Retail Federation, Information Technology Industry Council, TechNet and the Chamber of Commerce were also present."

-- WE HEAR that tech companies aren't rushing to endorse any GOP plan with many in the industry skeptical over how they will treat Dreamers. Another source told us tech is not happy with the cuts to legal immigration.

****** A message from Delta Air Lines: At Delta, we're committed to donating 1% of our net profits to charitable organizations around the world. Delta contributed over $40 million to charities and nonprofits in 2017, and we look forward to continuing our support for years to come. For more information about Delta, visit www.delta.com. ******

OOPS -- NYT'S KEN VOGEL (@kenvogel): "NOTABLE: The TRUMP FOUNDATION statement pushing back on the @NewYorkStateAG lawsuit alleging the Trump Organization improperly controlled the Trump Foundation came from a Trump Org email address." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee7d33b8270a2cf9c90952b0decdd31617c0d9bda5539473cac64fcaffa06d53c7c1aa3a3d77aa55c0

THE I.G. REPORT...

-- WAPO'S BOB COSTA: "Trump allies seize on DOJ report as they seek to undercut Mueller probe": "The clamor over the watchdog's findings was the latest turn in the GOP's increasingly hostile and preemptive offensive against Mueller's expected report on the president's conduct. And the furor is almost tailor-made for Trump, who throughout his career has clutched onto small details and controversy as weapons he uses to define his enemies and erode trust in institutions.

"Particularly notable, from the perspective of Trump's allies, was the searing criticism in the report reserved for the conduct of one of Trump's most high-profile critics, former FBI director James B. Comey, as well as the revelation that lead FBI agent Peter Strzok had shown anti-Trump bias. 'We'll stop it,' Strzok wrote in a text message, referring to Trump's presidential campaign. ...

"Republican Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Ron DeSantis (Fla.) - all Trump supporters - sent the Justice Department a letter Thursday demanding that the inspector general turn over all previous reports to see if 'people may have changed the report in a way that obfuscates your findings.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee9aa4da8d138da6604562a291066eff9f6c9ae1d523d0b55dc6d1eeb5070cc0d347f54e4e2f4df4bc

-- "Comey Often Thought He Knew Best. That May Have Hurt the F.B.I.," by NYT's Adam Goldman: "As deputy attorney general during the George W. Bush administration, James B. Comey clashed repeatedly with the White House over its interrogation and warrantless wiretapping programs, earning a reputation of fighting for his view of what was right no matter whom he angered. That same impulse - that he knew best, no matter the consequences - underpinned Mr. Comey's decisions in 2016 to flout Justice Department norms and update the public on the investigation into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information. ...

"By trying to protect the bureau, the department's inspector general found, Mr. Comey instead damaged the F.B.I.'s reputation. 'Comey chose to deviate from the F.B.I.'s and the department's established procedures and norms and instead engaged in his own subjective, ad hoc decision making,' the report said. It added, 'The decisions negatively impacted the perception of the F.B.I. and the department as fair administrators of justice.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee3f0d2e2cbc9aca83542a357e6163bebfed57b6ae9cd99feabdcb6862495a655a613c1916519c2cf4

-- "Watchdog dings Comey's Gmail use," by Aubree Eliza Weaver: "Former FBI Director James Comey used a personal email account to conduct some government business, according to a critical government watchdog report released Thursday. A new report from the Justice Department inspector general cites five specific instances in which Comey used his personal Gmail for his work with the FBI, although does not say that any classified information passed through his private account. ... The revelation has left many people scratching their heads, given that Comey himself was tasked with overseeing the Clinton investigation." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212eea9b21c0000db46cadfbd256d8b4684c15443f56f2ea4f345b81bff974e3b4eff379bd38ae708b625

-- JAMES COMEY in the NYT, "This Report Says I Was Wrong. But That's Good for the F.B.I.": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee31931992b501d57d1dde2e14d8b7c891c9812c43b098cf4872a727a28a2a07fee47072b9e16ad0da

BEHIND THE SCENES ... WAPO'S ASHLEY PARKER, JOSH DAWSEY, CAROL LEONNIG and KAREN DEYOUNG: "'Why can't we just do it?': Trump nearly upended summit with abrupt changes": "After arriving in Singapore on Sunday, an antsy and bored Trump urged his aides to demand that the meeting with Kim be pushed up by a day -- to Monday -- and had to be talked out of altering the long-planned and carefully negotiated summit date on the fly, according to two people familiar with preparations for the event.

"'We're here now,' the president said, according to the people. 'Why can't we just do it?'Trump's impatience, coupled with a tense staff-level meeting between the two sides on Sunday, left some aides fearful that the entire summit might be in peril.

"Ultimately, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders persuaded Trump to stick with the original plan, arguing that the president and his team could use the time to prepare, people familiar with the talks said. They also warned him that he might sacrifice wall-to-wall television coverage of his summit if he abruptly moved the long-planned date to Monday in Singapore, which would be Sunday night in the United States.

"At one point, after watching North Korean television, which is entirely state-run, the president talked about how positive the female North Korean news anchor was toward Kim, according to two people familiar with his remarks. He joked that even the administration-friendly Fox News was not as lavish in its praise as the state TV anchor, one of the people added, and that maybe she should get a job on U.S. television, instead.

"At another point, Trump marveled at how 'tough' the North Korean guards seemed, noting that they were always stone-faced and refused to shake hands, the two people said. One recalled the president joking that they could probably take on White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee7ef29f7eb3b684e39f22e4e562540b62ae74965d1f8d589a17d03fe8bf131af193d057a69c211b2a

SCOOP -- "Trump Told G7 Leaders That Crimea Is Russian Because Everyone Speaks Russian In Crimea," by Alberto Nardelli and Julia Ioffe in BuzzFeed: "President Donald Trump told G7 leaders that Crimea is Russian because everyone who lives there speaks Russian, according to two diplomatic sources. Trump made the remarks over dinner last Friday during a discussion on foreign affairs at the G7 summit in Quebec, Canada, one of the diplomats told BuzzFeed News. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak on the matter.

"Russia invaded and then annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, leading to widespread international condemnation and sanctions. The move also directly led to Russia being kicked out of the then-G8. Russian President Vladimir Putin defended Russia's intervention in Crimea at the time, saying that he had the right to protect Russian citizens and Russian speakers in Ukraine. During the dinner, Trump also seemed to question why the G7 leaders were siding with Ukraine. The president told leaders that 'Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world,' the source said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212eede9fed62e15fd0d7cfa711480e34ceba2aa4e18176b835b7fdf3e2fc6257e2d2299a610da825c9fd

WEST WING DEPARTURE LOUNGE -- "White House Capitol Hill Envoy to Leave Post, Citing 'Diminishing Returns,'" by WSJ's Mike Bender: "The White House's top liaison to Capitol Hill will leave the job as early as this summer, lamenting to colleagues the 'diminishing returns' of pushing President Donald Trump's agenda through the Republican-controlled Congress as the midterm elections approach, according to people familiar with the conversations. Legislative affairs director Marc Short told White House Chief of Staff John Kelly before the president's trip to Singapore that he is likely to leave soon, according to the people. Asked to comment, Mr. Short said, 'There are so many leaks in this
building.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee51f6e2602f506e8cde669bb397db9b226b457baef6e1bea0967825574a186e2098a7084eaf38c8ef

- BLOOMBERG: "White House senior assistant press secretary Kelly Love plans to leave her job for a position [principal deputy press secretary] in the Department of Energy, becoming the latest in a series of aides to depart amid a reshuffle of President Donald Trump's press team. Love's last day in her job will be Friday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee6dd2ba5b3573e338afaa7d26cc7f39d6cfcfb7c61532b0f1cf9073bf3b91ff0d171dfa6cf8097a6c

THE INVESTIGATIONS ...

-- "Giuliani: Mueller probe should be suspended 'tomorrow'," by Brent Griffiths and Darren Samuelsohn: "President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani said Thursday evening that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe should be suspended and Friday is the last chance for Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to 'redeem themselves.'

"'I believe that Rod Rosenstein and Jeff Sessions have a chance to redeem themselves and that chance comes about tomorrow,' Giuliani told Fox News host Sean Hannity. Holding up a copy of the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General report, Giuliani argued that Mueller's probe must cease so top FBI officials named in the report can be investigated." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212eeefb1bbc12d2ff2f08dcf375726d140ac72c62c1493d51b2f99d8a6e3476f052856f612e410d960ee

-- "Prosecutors Investigating Michael Cohen for Possible Illegal Lobbying," by WSJ's Nicole Hong, Jonathan D. Rockoff and Drew FitzGerald: "Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer for Donald Trump, illegally engaged in secret lobbying, people familiar with the investigation said, as part of the government's broader probe into Mr. Cohen's business dealings. ... Investigators in the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York are examining whether Mr. Cohen violated any federal disclosure laws in connection with his consulting deals, including whether he lobbied for domestic or foreign clients without properly
registering." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee50c2629f8d3cb3924218422ce50ba4e9f81d3538a1d8176f2cb9208b3ae852395ff7d477a80c4113

-- "Cohen lawyer seeks gag order against Avenatti," by Josh Gerstein: "Attorney Michael Avenatti's months-long publicity tour attacking President Donald Trump and Trump attorney Michael Cohen could be brought to an abrupt end soon if a federal judge agrees to a new request for a gag order against the ubiquitous Avenatti. A lawyer for Cohen, Brent Blakely, asked a judge in Los Angeles Thursday to issue an order barring Avenatti from making public statements about the lawsuit Avenatti's client, porn star Stormy Daniels, filed against Trump and Cohen in March ... Blakely said an avalanche of inflammatory public comments by Avenatti-including at least 121 TV appearances and 439 tweets-is
tainting the court proceeding." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212eef003711518b522cc9b7500e47823a4cd8011298c8c41d272989e88f01d5ee44ca333aff3eb32ed82

WHAT TRADE WAR? -- "Trump approves plan to impose tough China tariffs," by AP's Ken Thomas and Paul Wiseman: "President Donald Trump has approved a plan to impose punishing tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese goods as early as Friday, a move that could put his trade policies on a collision course with his push to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. ...

"Trump met Thursday with several Cabinet members and trade advisers and was expected to impose tariffs on at least $35 billion to $40 billion of Chinese imports, according to an industry official and an administration official familiar with the plans. The amount of goods could reach $55 billion, said the industry official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the matter ahead of a formal announcement." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee1ea8c3a281cd7d10927c1c5efc03e02dd9e54f2a179efea14329f2639bb2f23543094df00721391b

GARY COHN SPEAKS OUT -- "Trade war could wipe out gains of GOP tax law, former top Trump economic adviser says," by WaPo's Jeff Stein: "An escalating trade war could wipe out the benefits of the Republican tax law passed last fall, President Trump's former top economic adviser said Thursday. ... 'If you end up with a tariff battle, you will end up with price inflation, and you could end up with consumer debt,' Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive, said at a Washington Post event. 'Those are all historic ingredients for an economic slowdown.' Asked if the trade battle could erase the gains to the American economy from the tax law, Cohn said: "Yes, it could.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee7ea499ccd0844912959345bae52ccaed0023dcf33e5b3cc83ae758951a9c63290c4eabbd8ac2ad21

ON THE HILL -- "Senate Appropriations Approves $5M to Pay Interns," by Roll Call's Alex Gangitano: "An approximate $50,000 will be allocated to each office for intern compensation with adjustments that reflect state population variation and noncontiguous state increases. For instance, Florida senators are estimated to be allocated $66,200 while Rhode Island senators are estimated to be allocated $46,000, according to the report text. The committee approved the money adopting by unanimous consent a manager's amendment during its 2019 legislative branch appropriations bill markup." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee8fa1b57395a04222a514fc5ef403dea9f5948987df6c9b00038ce9c5353f90eb8b4236a63d61fc11

POLITICO MAGAZINE'S TIM ALBERTA: "'This Is a Place That Just Sucks Your Soul'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee9ee5a978e7796a71e29caa2c9020c77b5db2130b75546d0095e84be9d6217411651c2aece4b13138

THE JUICE ...

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: KAREN FINNEY, a veteran Democratic operative and former Clinton campaign spokesman, is joining the DNC as a senior adviser for the 2018 and 2020 election cycles. This isn't Finney's first DNC stint. She previously served as DNC communications director.

TRUMP'S FRIDAY -- The president has no events on his public schedule.

SUNDAY SO FAR ... "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.). Panel: Karl Rove, Gillian Turner, Chris Stirewalt and Jane Harman.

-- CNN'S "STATE OF THE UNION": Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.). Panel: Jennifer Granholm, Rick Santorum and Ana Navarro.

-- CNN'S "INSIDE POLITICS" (hosted by Nia-Malika Henderson): Eliana Johnson, Sahil Kapur, Rachael Bade and Josh Dawsey


Playbook Reads


PHOTO DU JOUR: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is helped to second base by U.S. Capitol Police Officers David Bailey (right) and Crystal Griner during the congressional baseball game on June 14. | Alex Edelman/Getty Images

SUSAN GLASSER on NewYorker.com, "'There's No Stopping Him': Trump Insists on a Russia Summit": "A senior Administration official familiar with the internal deliberations told Glasser ... [said]: "He's going to do it. He wants to have a meeting with Putin, so he's going to have a meeting with Putin.' Two former senior U.S. officials told me that they had also been briefed on Trump's orders to his staff to plan for the Putin summit soon. One of them said it could even occur on the first leg of Trump's trip to Europe next month, before Trump attends the annual NATO meeting." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee31f5060627ac11c6d6a37de232efa289abae58ffd1e8460bc241a4c83cf98281b6d22e8483d42ef7

ALEX ISENSTADT: "McConnell zeroes in on election - his own": "On Monday morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell huddled with a few top aides at the [NRSC's] Capitol Hill headquarters - but the 2018 midterms weren't on the agenda. Instead, they pored over plans for McConnell's own far-off 2020 reelection campaign. ...

"The early discussions, which were detailed by more than a half-dozen of McConnell's closest advisers and allies, reflects the leader's long-held penchant for intensive - some would say obsessive - preparedness and planning.

"Yet it also underscores a stark reality confronting the Kentucky Republican. At a time when anti-establishment sentiment is roiling the party, the 76-year-old McConnell, who this week became the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in history, has a target on his back and is taking no chances. Polling has shown the leader's approval ratings lagging in his home state, and there is the ongoing threat of a primary challenge." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212eefc70ad7f8d1172b326269ffe356a81ef14e6cbd8959867e7b405de8498a2395a9e95b0cf4507baf1

MICHAEL HIRSH in POLITICO Magazine, "Why Trump's Movie Trailer About North Korea Was Brilliant: A president who loves to be flattered knows how to appeal to the vanity of dictators": "In the video, Trump is talking to Kim in language the two men understand. All the more so because-as the Twittersphere has sniggeringly noted-the video does resemble North Korean propaganda. ...

"What exactly do we have to lose by being nice, by stroking Kim's ego and promising him 'prosperity like he has never seen' (to quote the video) and long-sought-for acceptance? Our pride? Just about everything else has been tried-sanctions upon sanctions-and still the Kim regime has marched to the precipice of invulnerability to U.S. retaliation. It is within months of testing a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach U.S. shores, according to some reports." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212eef248785dd0aa43744e27886c0f27660a801f726ef7024cc249500cd2e4cf057091e6069eaf317c1c

ERIC WOLFF: "Pruitt faces revolt in Trump country" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee66f9a6bdc8678d55ca3d22dc8fb67e97e7fe101c78fb2fda4aa692c712877e51da19fd26f65f160d

****** A message from Delta Air Lines: At Delta Air Lines, we're proud to support the causes that shape our world by giving back to the communities where we live, work, and serve. We're committed to donating 1% of our net profits to key charities and nonprofit organizations as we strive to truly make a difference in D.C. and throughout our global communities. Our goal is to positively impact the world through continued investments in our current partners as well as contributions to our new partners. Our donations support education, promote health and wellness, and salute our armed service members and veterans. We contributed over $40 million in 2017 to charities and nonprofits around the
world, and we look forward to continuing our support for many years to come. For more information about Delta, visit www.delta.com. ******

HMM -- "State Department Tells U.S. Diplomats To Stop Evaluating Women On Their Baking Skills," by BuzzFeed's Emily Tamkin: "In March, ahead of foreign service officers' performance reviews, or 'employee evaluation reports,' the State Department sent out an email, signed off on by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and recently shared with BuzzFeed News, reminding managers of best practices. Most of the points were straightforward ... Point nine, however, told raters and reviewers to 'avoid gender normative language,' and reads, 'It is disappointing that a few raters last year mentioned female employees' baking skills, which, among other things, wasted space that could have been used to
discuss the employee's precept-linked accomplishments and potential for future advancement.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee45d7b9f1e081df78c8ebdcbe33e0f0f182132fda77edd244e873f17bd68f8458c3f98b65742aa025

VALLEY TALK - "Facebook policy and comms head Elliot Schrage will step down after a decade," by Recode's Kara Swisher and Kurt Wagner: "Elliot Schrage, the high-profile exec who heads Facebook's public policy and communications efforts, is leaving the company after a decade at the social media giant, according to a company spokesperson. Schrage, who joined Facebook from Google where he held a similar position running global communications and public affairs, will stay on at the social networking giant for a time to help hire his replacement. He'll then serve as an advisor to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee3cd71ad88688900b438b06b9cb767a0b3cb7051f0cc6548e57f98cd35b4a3e32c1dd0964fd7bb2cc

MEDIAWATCH -- "Tensions escalate between Sanders and reporters," by Jason Schwartz: "Weeks of escalating strain between press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and reporters boiled over in the White House briefing room on Thursday, as press members tussled with Sanders over immigration issues, she insulted the intelligence of one reporter, and another interrupted the proceedings with a dramatic outburst.

"Reporters have been growing frustrated with Sanders over the lack of briefings and their short length. In addition, Sanders repeatedly refused to discuss her past denials that President Donald Trump had dictated a false statement about why his son met with a Russian lawyer-since contradicted by the president's lawyers-prompting reporters to openly question her credibility." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee77e05f9c2959a90b1a90d69757d7932478ccb463217cf42846849784f9b69f4dda380802b799dcb5

-- "Top White House communications aide has history of rhetoric strongly critical of Trump," by CNN's Oliver Darcy: "Mercedes Schlapp, the White House's director of strategic communications, posted a number of tweets in 2015 strongly critical of Donald Trump and his agenda, assailing the then-presidential candidate for his hardline immigration rhetoric, his attacks on Senator John McCain and then-Fox News host Megyn Kelly, and his pledge to get along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, among other things.

"The revelation of Schlapp's critical Trump tweets, which have not previously been reported, comes two days after CNN discovered other years-old tweets in which Schlapp appeared to oppose the idea of a U.S. president's meeting with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator -- something Trump did earlier this week." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee83dd5cc7b68cc33fc7064284bbdf2f1f2879324417debffafe6263dcd52090233994bef2d679c696

-- CNN'S BRIAN STELTER (@brianstelter): "It's official: AT&T now owns Time Warner. The deal just took effect. The Time Warner name will be retired: AT&T says 'a new name for this business will be announced later...'"

-- VERNON LOEB will be the new politics editor of The Atlantic. He is currently the managing editor of the Houston Chronicle and is also a WaPo alum.
Playbookers
SPOTTED lunching outside at tables apart from each other yesterday at Woodward Table: Katrina Pierson and Mackenzie Smith with Mrs. Obama's office

SPOTTED at the Anheuser-Busch party in the PNC Diamond Club during the Congressional Baseball Game: Republican Reps. David Joyce (Ohio), Darrell Issa (Calif.), Ann Wagner (Mo.), Mike Gallagher (Wis.), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), and Democratic Reps. Terri Sewell (Ala.) and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Paul Kane, Josh Dawsey, Steve and Peter Doocy, Niels Lesniewski, Joanna Piacenza, Doug Bailey, Caitlin Hird, Zach Hartman, Sean and Rebecca Spicer, Chris Ternet, Molly Drenkard, Stef Webb, Roland Foster, Katie Pointer, Steve Troha, Alex Kisling, Dale Van Ollefen and Bryan DeAngelis.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: William Rabbe, producer at MSNBC. How he got his start in journalism: "By stalking the Kerry campaign for a documentary on the New Hampshire primary in 2004 while I was in college. We were a ragtag bunch, racing across the state between rallies while shooting DVCam on these clunky shoulder-mount cameras. It was an eye-opening experience, which ultimately helped me figure out the most effective way to cover the 2008 race for the Independent Film Channel, on a larger scale." Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212eefa98ea5e6daa04194291edc62a8a876ac80df10134ef4c00583efedec9bf9f66a141b823b4b99bfd

BIRTHDAYS: Dana Bash, CNN's chief political correspondent (hat tips: Susanna Quinn and Marc Adelman) ... Alyssa Farah, press secretary for Vice President Pence ... Adam Jentleson, public affairs director at Democracy Forward ... Dan Schwerin, Hillary Clinton's speechwriter at the State Department, director of speechwriting on the campaign, and principal collaborator on her book "What Happened" -- Schwerin's piece in Vogue on Thursday about him proposing to his wife http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28e0e8157d9212ee8aa2c3fc74244cae61ee06118a10c10b96055e7a55616aad835d836e021f0b0eb72a31aac3b9aa84 (hat tips: brother Josh and Jamie Radice) ... Sarah Hurwitz ... Becca Ginsberg Rutkoff of Google ... Ryan Chittum, reporter for International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists ... Fox News star Marie Harf, co-host of FOX News Radio's "Benson and Harf" (h/t Steve Clemons) ... AP's Evan Vucci ... former House Majority Whip Tony Coelho is 76 ... ABC News' Ali Rogin (hubby tip: Josh) ...

... Clifford Levy, NYT deputy managing editor, is 51 ... Politico's Brian Faler ... Reps. Adam Smith and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) are both 53 ... Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) is 42 ... Joseph Brazauskas ... former Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kans.) is 66 ... Becca Greenheck, global managing director of food, beverage and ag at FleishmanHillard ... Edelman's Reagan Lawn ... Susan Toffler, a CNN alum ... former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is 64 ... Tim Wilson is 37 ... Sara Libby ... Abigail Wuest ... Jana Plat ... Deborah Lukovich ... Sue Grady ... former Va. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling is 6-0 ... Morgan Feist ... Steven Stafford ... Karen Townsend ... Nick Luna ... Scott Monaghan is 6-1 ... David Dreyer
(h/t Teresa Vilmain)

****** A message from Delta Air Lines: At Delta Air Lines, we're proud to support the causes that shape our world by giving back to the communities where we live, work, and serve. We're committed to donating 1% of our net profits to key charities and nonprofit organizations as we strive to truly make a difference in D.C. and throughout our global communities.

Our goal is to positively impact the world through continued investments in our current partners as well as contributions to our new partners. Our donations support education, promote health and wellness, and salute our armed service members and veterans.

We contributed over $40 million in 2017 to charities and nonprofits around the world, and we look forward to continuing our support for many years to come.

For more information about Delta, visit www.delta.com. ******

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