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Presented by the American Beverage Association: Feb 19, 2019 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

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2020 WATCH -- HE'S RUNNING! ... HOLLY OTTERBEIN: "Sanders launches second bid for presidency": "Bernie Sanders launched his second campaign for president on Tuesday - this time as a heavyweight candidate against a crowded field of liberals, instead of the passionate underdog taking on the anointed nominee. The independent senator, running in the Democratic primary as a self-described democratic socialist, announced his campaign in an email to supporters.

"But nearly four years after he kicked off his 2016 campaign at a 10-minute press conference outside the Capitol, this time will be a lot different. He starts as a frontrunner in the polls, armed with near-universal name ID, a massive email donor list, and a digital media empire that is currently unparalleled among other 2020 candidates. His left-wing policies, dismissed as fringe in 2016, have been embraced by much of the Democratic Party." POLITICO

-- WAPO'S DAVE WEIGEL (@daveweigel) at 10:31 a.m.: "Sanders campaign says it's raised $1 million since its launch three and a half hours ago. Donations from all 50 states."

-- CNN'S DEVAN COLE: "Sen. Bernie Sanders will head to Washington next Monday for a town hall moderated by CNN's Wolf Blitzer. The Independent senator from Vermont announced his candidacy for the presidency early Tuesday and will address a host of issues at the town hall, which will air at 8 p.m. ET." CNN

Good Tuesday afternoon.

KATIE GALIOTO and GABBY ORR: "Marc Short to return to White House as Pence's chief of staff"

UNDERSTANDING TRUMP -- WAPO'S SEUNG MIN KIM and JOSH DAWSEY: "'He just picks up': Trump and the lawmakers he loves to talk to on the phone": "One surprise call came from Air Force One as President Trump was leaving Iraq, startling Sen. James M. Inhofe (R) as he was chopping wood back home in rural Oklahoma with his grandson. When Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) recently stepped off a plane, a White House voice mail was waiting for him, saying Trump was 'available for the rest of the evening' for another round of their regular phone conversations.

"Another recent call from Trump - this time, to Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) - was so unexpected that he crashed a Skype session between Manchin and a group of West Virginia high school students. The chatterbox in chief has eschewed the traditional way that presidents communicate with members of Congress, calling lawmakers at all hours of the day without warning and sometimes with no real agenda.

"Congressional Republicans reciprocate in kind, increasingly dialing up the president directly to gauge his thinking after coming to terms with the fact that ultimately, no one speaks for Trump but Trump himself." WaPo

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ON THE WORLD STAGE -- ZACK COLMAN: "House Democrats: Flynn-linked group skirted law in Saudi nuclear push": "A consulting firm once linked to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is continuing to push President Donald Trump to endorse a plan to build nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia, despite warnings from whistleblowers that their earlier efforts appeared to violate U.S. law, House Democrats said in a report Tuesday.

"The consultants from the firm IP3 International, which organized a White House meeting between the president and nuclear industry executives last week, were involved in pushing a 'Middle East Marshall Plan' in the early days of the Trump administration that sparked concerns about Flynn's conflicts of interest. That plan would have involved building dozens of nuclear reactors across the region, in a way that would have circumvented U.S. laws designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons." POLITICO

-- POLITICO EUROPE'S DAVID HERSZENHORN in Brussels: "Nancy Pelosi to Europe: Trump is not the boss": "Pelosi and a delegation of U.S. lawmakers were in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday to reassure European partners at a time when transatlantic relations have been deeply fractured by Trump's criticism of allies and his unpredictability in policymaking.

"Among the messages that Pelosi said she brought to the EU capital was that the U.S. president is not all-powerful. ... 'In terms of the question - is this a reassurance tour? I think it's a reminder tour,' [Rep. Gerry] Connolly said, 'that the United States government is not just one branch. And as the Speaker said, Article 1, the first Article in the Constitution of the United States deals with the powers of the legislative branch not the executive branch and those powers include war and peace and even direction of the armed forces.' Pelosi then leaned back toward the microphone to interject: 'And the power of the purse.'" POLITICO Europe

-- "As Allies Grapple With U.S. Pressure on NATO, Europe Pleads for Caution in Afghanistan," by WSJ's James Marson and Jessica Donati in Munich

-- NBC'S JOSH LEDERMAN in Berlin: "Trump administration launches global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality": "The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it's still illegal to be gay, U.S. officials tell NBC News, a bid aimed in part at denouncing Iran over its human rights record.

"U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort, which kicks off Tuesday evening in Berlin. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality - mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean." NBC

-- "'America First' or America alone? In debut on world stage, acting Pentagon chief must answer for Trump," by WaPo's Missy Ryan: "For the first time since becoming Pentagon chief last month, Shanahan was asked to answer for the uncertainties produced by the president's often unpopular foreign policy. The former Boeing executive, who took over in January after the abrupt resignation of his predecessor, Jim Mattis, deferred to the president's decisions and suggested, in high-level talks, steps that U.S. allies can take to adjust. ...

"As Shanahan publicly auditions to keep the military's top job, the gaps that critics have identified in his résumé could win him favor with his commander in chief: slim foreign policy experience and limited investment in the counterterrorism wars that have monopolized the military's focus for two decades." WaPo

-- WSJ'S BOJAN PANCEVSKI and SARA GERMANO in Berlin: "In Rebuke to U.S., Germany Considers Letting Huawei In": "The German government is leaning toward letting Huawei Technologies Co. participate in building the nation's high-speed internet infrastructure despite U.S. warnings about the risks posed by the Chinese tech giant, according to senior German officials. Washington had asked it to restrict Huawei from bidding for so-called 5G infrastructure contracts in Germany, but Berlin is unwilling to do so, according to officials." WSJ

SCOTUS WATCH -- WAPO'S ROBERT BARNES: "Justice Thomas calls for reexamining landmark libel decision in case involving Cosby accuser": "Justice Clarence Thomas called Tuesday for reconsidering the Supreme Court's landmark decision making it more difficult for public officials to claim defamation as the court turned down a request from an accuser of Bill Cosby. ...

"President Trump has also expressed support for making it easier to sue for defamation, most often directing criticism at the news media. Over the weekend, he complained about a 'Saturday Night Live' skit, and wondered about 'retribution.' Thomas said the court may have intruded into a space in which it was not needed with the New York Times decision." WaPo

-- JOSH GERSTEIN: "Supreme Court won't head off former Rep. Schock's trial": "The Supreme Court has turned down a request from former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) to forestall the criminal trial he's facing on corruption charges, although one justice went out of her way to caution the court handling the case to keep a tight rein on one sensitive aspect of the charges against Schock.

"In an order issued Tuesday morning, the justices rejected Schock's request that the high court hear his arguments that the case charging him with fraud, making false statements and theft of government funds unconstitutionally intrudes into the internal affairs of the legislative branch." POLITICO

-- MATTHEW CHOI: "Ruth Bader Ginsburg returns to the Supreme Court"

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... THE ATLANTIC'S NATASHA BERTRAND: "Andrew McCabe Couldn't Believe the Things Trump Said About Putin: The former deputy director of the FBI explains why the bureau felt obligated to investigate the president-and how the Mueller probe might end." The Atlantic

-- MATTHEW CHOI and DARREN SAMUELSOHN: "Federal judge says Roger Stone could be jailed after Instagram post": "The federal judge presiding over Roger Stone's case said Tuesday she's considering gagging or jailing the longtime Donald Trump associate after he posted images on Instagram targeting her.

"U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Stone to appear at a Thursday afternoon hearing in Washington, D.C., to explain why his social media posts shouldn't change the terms of Stone's bond and why she shouldn't impose harsh new restrictions on his speech." POLITICO

MORE 2020 WATCH -- HUFFPOST'S KEVIN ROBILLARD: "The ACLU Is Hitting The Road Ahead Of Its 100th Anniversary": "The august civil liberties group, whose budget and membership have exploded during Donald Trump's presidency, will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year as it tries to shape the debate between the Democratic candidates hoping to challenge the president. ...

"And it will soon get more involved in the presidential contest. The group wants to host debates and forums featuring the candidates in order to probe their stances on issues critical to the group, including criminal justice reform, voting rights and freedom of speech." HuffPost

-- CHRIS CADELAGO in Manchester, N.H.: "New Hampshire gives Harris a hard time for rarely showing up"

MEDIAWATCH -- ELIANA JOHNSON and MICHAEL CALDERONE: "Ex-Sessions spokeswoman to join CNN as political editor": "Sarah Isgur, who served as the Justice Department's leading spokeswoman under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is joining the network as a political editor next month, where she will coordinate political coverage for the 2020 campaign. ...

"While it is common for departing administration officials to join cable news networks as analysts or contributors, it is less common for them to oversee news coverage. Isgur has no experience in news but a long history as a political operative, most recently with the Trump administration and the Fiorina campaign." POLITICO

-- NYT'S DECLAN WALSH in Cairo: "Egypt Turns Back Veteran New York Times Reporter": "The move against the correspondent, David D. Kirkpatrick, is an escalation of a severe crackdown against the news media under Egypt's strongman leader, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

"Egyptian journalists have borne the brunt of Mr. el-Sisi's repression, with dozens imprisoned or forced into exile. But of late, a lack of pushback from the United States has emboldened Egypt's security forces to take stronger action against representatives of Western news outlets, including expulsion." NYT

WASHINGTON INC. -- THEO MEYER and DAVID BEAVERS: "Crowley and Shuster head to K Street": "[Joe] Crowley, a New York Democrat, and [Bill] Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican, are joining Squire Patton Boggs, one of the largest law and lobbying firms in Washington. The hiring of Crowley and Shuster gives Squire Patton Boggs a second bipartisan duo of former lawmakers, along with former Sens. John Breaux (D-La.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who joined Patton Boggs in 2010." POLITICO

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- "Republicans Leading New Charge to End the Death Penalty," by WSJ's Dan Frosch: "Republican lawmakers in at least six states are pushing to eliminate the death penalty, signaling a broader reversal by many conservatives on an issue that has long been a bedrock for their party.

"In Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana and Wyoming, Republicans in legislatures controlled by their party have sponsored bills this year to end capital punishment, citing fiscal and moral concerns. Some Republicans in New Hampshire, where Democrats dominate the statehouse, are backing a similar proposal. ... The about-face on an issue that has long been key to the GOP's tough-on-crime credo is the latest sign of a nationwide, bipartisan shift on criminal justice reform." WSJ

TRANSITION -- Alex Katz is now a VP of government affairs at Blackstone in New York. He most recently was a senior adviser at Senate Majority PAC and is a Chuck Schumer alum.

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