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Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by Koch Industries

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


Good Wednesday afternoon. WALK BACK WEDNESDAY ...

-- REX TILLERSON, after an NBC report that he considered resigning and that he called the president a moron: "The vice president has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of state because I have never considered leaving this post." When asked if he called the president a "moron," he said "We don't deal with that kind of petty nonsense." The NBC report http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456ddf7d58c2f642c47e942e57949f0e47ddc35adcd7133dd8306ff9984eb72a9cb1f7a6310f279c05c8cfb3d9feca542a4

-- @realDonaldTrump at 6:25 a.m.: "A great day in Puerto Rico yesterday. While some of the news coverage is Fake, most showed great warmth and friendship." ... at 7:29 a.m.: "Wow, so many Fake News stories today. No matter what I do or say, they will not write or speak truth. The Fake News Media is out of control!" ... at 10:47 a.m.: "NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN. They are a disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down!" ... at 11:18 a.m.: "The @NBCNews story has just been totally refuted by Sec. Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #FakeNews. They should issue an apology to AMERICA!"

-- V.P. MIKE PENCE pushes back, via Jarrod Agen: "The Vice President values the service of the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and is grateful for his strong affirmation of President Trump's America First foreign policy agenda. The Vice President can also confirm that, as the Secretary of State asserted, at no time did he and the Secretary discuss the prospect of resignation. Any reporting to the contrary is categorically false. In addition, any assertion that the Vice President questioned Ambassador Nikki Haley's value to the Trump Administration is also categorically false. The Vice President has known Ambassador Nikki Haley for many years and holds her in the highest personal and
professional regard. The Vice President appreciates her strong contribution and service to the administration at the United Nations."

-- MICK MULVANEY on bailing out Puerto Rico: "I think what you heard the president say is that Puerto Rico is going to have to figure out a way to solve its debt problem. ... We are not going to bail them out. We are not going to pay off those debts. We are not going to bail out those bond holders." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a651404565a7c2bc1406233d0a1526495fa2c1b5138644236307ef495d728c46fb6d5f8a90c4c976a332164dfc3dc526d5d310a90

-- THAT'S not what Trump said, though.

HMM -- RICHARD HAASS, president of the Council on Foreign Relations (@RichardHaass): "Rex Tillerson has been dealt a bad hand by the Potus & has played it badly. For both reasons he cannot be effective SecState & should resign".

PRESIDENT TRUMP is wheels down in Las Vegas. He will meet with patients, doctors and first responders this afternoon.

TRUMP INC. -- "Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. Were Close to Being Charged With Felony Fraud: New York prosecutors were preparing a case. Then the D.A. overruled his staff after a visit from a top donor: Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz," by ProPublica's Jesse Eisinger and Justin Elliott and WNYC's Andrea Bernstein and Ilya Marritz: "In the spring of 2012, Donald Trump's two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., found themselves in a precarious legal position. For two years, prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's office had been building a criminal case against them for misleading prospective buyers of units in the Trump SoHo, a hotel and condo development that was failing
to sell. Despite the best efforts of the siblings' defense team, the case had not gone away.

"An indictment seemed like a real possibility. The evidence included emails from the Trumps making clear that they were aware they were using inflated figures about how well the condos were selling to lure buyers. ... On May 16, 2012, Kasowitz visited [Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr's] office at One Hogan Place in downtown Manhattan -- a faded edifice made famous by the television show, 'Law & Order.' Dan Alonso, the chief assistant district attorney, and Adam Kaufmann, the chief of the investigative division, were also at the meeting, but no one from the Major Economic Crimes Bureau attended. Kasowitz did not introduce any new arguments or facts during his session. He simply
repeated the arguments that the other defense lawyers had been making for months. Ultimately, Vance overruled his own prosecutors." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a651404563015d85f72cbdfe904d446c807830e2b0c072674e3f039befbee187793c3a45add9ab52edc58613d925358a991da688d

SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIR RICHARD BURR and vice chair Mark Warner held a press conference on the committee's Russia investigation. Burr said they "hit a wall" on the infamous Steele dossier because they have not received a response from the author. They said the investigation is ongoing.

****** A message from Koch Industries: As an employer of over 70,000 people across all 50 states, Koch companies innovate new ways to make everyday products better while using fewer natural resources. Our diverse businesses help improve basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, transportation and more. See how we are focused on the future at ChallengeAccepted.com. ******

MIDDLE EAST PEACE ALERT -- "Trump to UN Chief: Netanyahu Proving More Difficult Than Abbas in Peace Efforts," by Haaretz's Barak Ravid: "In a meeting last month with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, U.S. President Donald Trump termed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the harder side to convince in his efforts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, according to seven Western and Israeli sources who were either present at or briefed on the meeting. 'Trump said both leaders are problematic,' said one Western diplomat who was briefed on the meeting. 'But the general context was that from the two of them, Netanyahu is the bigger problem.'

"A senior White House official disputed the account of the meeting, saying, 'This was a short but productive meeting that primarily focused on UN reforms and the great job [U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki] Haley has been doing.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456691c7704fe3d608bd1b9d403bc40f74cb6711eb0053bac6b6e3d2584900dbd48cb4ad71955b7d06486a3145bd7aad11f

THE LATEST ON PUERTO RICO -- "Puerto Rico's schools struggle to recover from hurricane destruction," by Mel Leonor: "Among 1,112 public schools, just over 450 are accounted for, which means more than half haven't yet been surveyed as to their condition. Teachers and school administrators in the U.S. territory are struggling to get back on track, following the devastating landfall of Hurricane Maria on Sept. 20. ... In an attempt to kick start the recovery, education officials have asked students near the approximately 22 schools with running water and basic supplies to report back to school on Wednesday for informal classes." More for Pros http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a651404565e7b01458e72d7b3ff9e74fb41cd2d92048f72865bb9d55b63a25a52c8d15e77b19b5290cac74336b7a4711d69c9f917

NUMBERS TRUMP WON'T LIKE -- "AP-NORC Poll: Low marks for Trump's Puerto Rico response," by the AP's Laurie Kellman and Emily Swanson: "Americans are more likely to disapprove than approve of President Donald Trump's handling of the Puerto Rico hurricane relief effort. According to a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, just 32 percent approve of how Trump is handling disaster relief in the U.S. territory, while 49 percent disapprove. ...

"Trump drew better marks for his handling of the recoveries after hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Forty-eight percent of Americans approve and just 27 percent disapprove of Trump's handling of recoveries in U.S. states, including Texas and Florida. The poll was conducted before Trump on Tuesday made his first trip to Puerto Rico, an island 1,000 miles from the mainland, after Hurricane Maria roared ashore Sept. 20 and knocked out all power." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456b9eb0a16a16332555ebd94837680ce75e8d980117cb87ee4972b9fd5b7d5eb3e852e74acf954286472002ad34983c9a3

HOT DOC -- FORMER FLORIDA GOP REP. CLIFF STEARNS, who has been out of Congress since 2012, paid his wife $1,000 in both July and August, and $2,000 in September using campaign funds.

ROBOCALLS -- AMERICAN ACTION NETWORK is launching 1 million robocalls today targeting 45 districts (http://bit.ly/2fKAltG) on tax reform. Their message: the Republican plan will help put money in the middle class's pockets, will bring bring jobs back from overseas and help grow the economy. Audio example of the robocall http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456e8308f6b6bebb7ffeb7575da2e1235c35bd2ee23b662794368c0def30c8dddade4924861c1885f1335c3bbc43daab006

THINK TANK NEWS -- RETIRED GEN. JOHN ALLEN has been named the next president of the Brookings Institution. Release http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456fc91e1038a0e060ee97da26226a0c58034de481e409e8cef43e895826bc48e46683e9e739ff02e783b967391a3fa7cbd

WHAT ABOUT THE EMAILS? -- "Jared Kushner's personal email re-routed to Trump Organization computers amid public scrutiny," by USA Today's Brad Heath: "President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump re-routed their personal email accounts to computers run by the Trump Organization as public scrutiny intensified over their use of private emails to conduct White House business, internet registration records show. The move, made just days after Kushner's use of a personal email account first became public, came shortly after special counsel Robert Mueller asked the White House to turn over records related to his investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election
and possible collusion with Trump associates." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456e819a724a01e6930d6301598efad0843ed69911eb78870e934dffe27f52e3f085074953bebcb73ba4c133945c4b2d410

EDUCATION WATCH -- "DeVos Keeps Higher Ed -- and Reporters -- at Arm's Length," by the Chronicle of Higher Education's Adam Harris: "Since being confirmed as education secretary, [Betsy DeVos] has rarely given interviews. But that changes when she gets outside of the Washington, D.C., bubble, where she sits down for local television news, chats with columnists, and appears at gaggles with reporters. Journalists outside of the northeast corridor are 'more balanced and fair,' she told The Detroit News last month.

"She has, on occasion, granted interviews to national outlets -- CBS News, the Associated Press, and Fox News, among them -- but for higher-ed observers looking for details on the daily administration of federal policy, few are to be found. " http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a651404566d4323f5c35f31b3014726281cf9ecf715bf6921c1d83e1be0421ddf10b52416a96f2eba3e73a45c1dc174f55048697e

MEDIAWATCH -- "Rupert Murdoch Is The Media's Unlikely Hero In The War Against Facebook And Google," by BuzzFeed's Steven Perlberg and Mark Di Stefano: "Murdoch and his chief newspaper lieutenant, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, have taken a central role in the news industry's corporate war against Facebook and Google, technology leviathans that have eaten journalism's business model and forever changed how readers consume information. ...

"Now media executives are sensing blood in the water -- hoping that Facebook and Google's legitimate public relations nightmare might give news outlets more leverage in business negotiations, and that Washington lawmakers and the public at large will come to see tech giants as public utilities that require regulation. As the most well-connected media mogul in Washington, the news industry might need Murdoch now more than ever." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456ee37b01cee1ccb843232405b9fb8007b556e7e99a251376d71a0bc144547c374c20c4b3abbb0a2421b0ddae112e12a58

-- "Los Angeles Times Newsroom, Challenging Tronc, Goes Public With Union Push," by NYT's Sydney Ember http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a6514045686b9cb7925af8ad8cf02a10614e905d2e4e324c2ac1720cd6847de8868cb87ad8a288cb6036278ab4000dae1186c7ee9

TODAY'S BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- Illinois Republican congressional delegation slams Rauner -- Murphy leads Guadagno by 14 in new N.J. gubernatorial poll http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456fa3755dd5677d12cd97fe9695a783f281cedc5cc88753ccdee73cf21b30f452ff741596a2caee9383148d65ff59e6a06

AFTERNOON READ -- "They thought they were going to rehab. They ended up in chicken plants," by Reveal's Amy Julia Harris and Shoshana Walter: "Across the country, judges increasingly are sending defendants to rehab instead of prison or jail. These diversion courts have become the bedrock of criminal justice reform, aiming to transform lives and ease overcrowded prisons.

"But in the rush to spare people from prison, some judges are steering defendants into rehabs that are little more than lucrative work camps for private industry, an investigation by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has found. The programs promise freedom from addiction. Instead, they've turned thousands of men and women into indentured servants." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a651404569202bb6562c91562b2753bccbf98d22108e446c3cf3be26226d38a7ee34350f69dbe560c28842767e47f3e7cd0960d0f

SPOTTED: John Boehner smoking while crossing Louisiana Ave this morning ... Geraldo Rivera this morning at DCA.

TRANSITIONS -- J. Toscano has started at 76 Words, a Democratic media firm. He spent 20 years at GMMB. ... Christopher Hill was appointed chief adviser to the chancellor for global engagement and professor of the practice in diplomacy at the University of Denver. Hill, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and South Korea, was previously dean of the university's international studies school. ... Christian Marrone has been named senior fellow at GW's Center for Cyber & Homeland Security. He is currently CSRA's senior vice president and chief of staff.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - Ayesha Rascoe, White House correspondent at Reuters, and Patrick Trice on Tuesday evening welcomed Annalise Iman Trice. "She is 6lbs, 14 oz and a total sweetheart. Her father and I are over the moon about our latest addition. She joins a brother and sister at home." Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a65140456c159e5c9734e9420096174c75f1c38dbc917d88bb3d7ac13ea5cb54cfa72f5c321d0a1b7228308f4edae37d70f119ce5 ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a6514045670d99607e2bc4cce1bea96cb4a2bf42d2ecbde89992dfc35249e189cf8737bff576115a08324a59c0f921be83c38af7c

--Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and Caro Murciano, a clothing designer, have welcomed Henry Joel Levine. Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a651404568e1a0b22a204116961617b30e3863f77a0bc1217ff780955fa58296088f83bb2d597d80a3e359be481577d803e57df2c

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Sarah Hodgkins, a legislative assistant for Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), got married this weekend to Austin Ankney, a data scientist for the government. "The ceremony was at Bethany United Methodist Church in Somerset, Pennsylvania and the reception was a good old-fashioned barn party at Horizon View Farms in Rockwood, Pennsylvania. Sarah and her now husband met at Juniata College 2 months before they graduated in 2012." Pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a651404562cdcc72ca92124d22c5e8384d22cac6c3ae2a20e94e974b48e11daf9054fd5298f161754b467e1b79f897f26c48c9e93 ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=584f4c6a6514045636d2894f3d74ec9c8066050c56c689739e8d16c0f6321e0e9b7a4fa22f95c4ed9d35296a22110af4ebb7595ce533d1d5

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