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Presented by Google: Mar 05, 2019 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

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BREAKING ... BBC: "Explosive packages found at Heathrow, Waterloo and London City Airport": "The 'small improvised explosive devices' were found in A4 postal bags, the Metropolitan Police said. The Met's Counter Terrorism Command is treating it as a 'linked series' and 'keeping an open mind regarding motives.' No-one has been hurt ...

"The Compass Centre in Heathrow's grounds was evacuated after a package was reported to police at about 09:55 GMT. The package has since been 'made safe,' the Met said. The device set alight when staff opened the bag, the Met said. ... A Heathrow spokeswoman said the airport would assist the police investigation into the 'criminal act.' ... The Compass Centre, which is an office for Heathrow staff rather than part of the passenger terminals, remains closed. Two more packages were found in the capital during the next three hours." BBC

BACK STATESIDE ... TRUMP'S WASHINGTON -- WAPO'S DAVID FAHRENTHOLD and JONATHAN O'CONNELL: "T-Mobile acknowledges its patronage of Trump's Washington hotel increased sharply after announcement of merger with Sprint": "T-Mobile's patronage of President Trump's Washington hotel increased sharply after the announcement of its merger with its Sprint last April, with executives spending about $195,000 at the property since then, the company told congressional Democrats in a letter last month.

"Before news of the megadeal between rival companies broke on April 29, 2018, the company said, only two top officials from T-Mobile had ever stayed at Trump's hotel, with one overnight stay each in August 2017. ... Russo said the Trump hotel received about 14 percent of T-Mobile's $1.4 million in total corporate spending on D.C.-area hotels during the 10-month period. ...

"The company's boost in spending at the president's hotel as its megamerger is being considered by the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who say it shows that Trump is profiting from his office." WaPo

NYT'S SUSAN CHIRA in Atlanta on STACEY ABRAMS: "[S]he has filled her days with activity - speeches; helping to found two organizations; revising her nonfiction book, originally titled 'Minority Leader,' for paperback release - 'and then I've got this little decision about what I'm going to do with the rest of my life that's also hanging over me like the sword of Damocles.' She said she will run for office again, and will decide whether for senator, governor or president by late March or early April." NYT

Good Tuesday afternoon. PLAYBOOK ON THE ROAD ... ANNA and JAKE are heading to Austin for SXSW this weekend and will be doing multiple events, including a social lunch followed by a PLAYBOOK EXCHANGE with SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HAWAII) on Saturday starting at 12:20 p.m. Join us for food and conversation

-- ANNA is also sitting down for a live Women Rule podcast taping at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with REPS. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-TEXAS) and TERRI SEWELL (D-ALA.). RSVP ... ANNA is also leading a conversation with REPS. WILL HURD (R-TEXAS) and ERIC SWALWELL (D-CALIF.) and DROPBOX'S LIN-HUA WU on Sunday at 5 p.m. for a conversation about "Politics in Tech: When the Bubble Bursts." Learn more

JUST POSTED ... NYT OP-ED COLUMNIST DAVID LEONHARDT: "Well Played, Madam Speaker: The Democrats are getting the balance between investigatory zeal and caution just right so far": "Nancy Pelosi is very good at her job. By now, that doesn't qualify as news, I realize. But the last few days have brought more evidence of Pelosi's effectiveness as her party's leader in the House.

"The House Democratic caucus is investigating the many Trump scandals with just the right mix of zeal and caution. After Michael Cohen's testimony last week, the Democrats yesterday released a list of people from whom they are seeking documents. The requests suggest that the Democrats will pursue every important way that President Trump may have broken the law and otherwise violated his oath of office." NYT

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WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 8:14 a.m.: "Now that they realize the only Collusion with Russia was done by Crooked Hillary Clinton & the Democrats, Nadler, Schiff and the Dem heads of the Committees have gone stone cold CRAZY. 81 letter sent to innocent people to harass them. They won't get ANYTHING done for our Country!"

... at 9:11 a.m.: "The greatest overreach in the history of our Country. The Dems are obstructing justice and will not get anything done. A big, fat, fishing expedition desperately in search of a crime, when in fact the real crime is what the Dems are doing, and have done!"

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... ANDREW DESIDERIO: "House Intel hires former Russian mob prosecutor to lead Trump probes: "The House Intelligence Committee has hired a seasoned former Southern District of New York federal prosecutor with experience going after Russian organized crime to lead its myriad investigations into President Donald Trump.

"Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced on Tuesday that Daniel Goldman joined the committee last month as senior adviser and director of investigations. Goldman, who was second-in-command at SDNY's organized crime unit, has prosecuted the Russian mob and has secured convictions for racketeering, murder and money laundering, including against the Genovese crime family. Goldman was until recently a legal analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, where he often spoke critically of the president's posture toward the investigations that have ensnared him." POLITICO

-- CNN'S KAITLAN COLLINS (@kaitlancollins): "White House officials are preparing to push back on Chairman Nadler's expansive document request to preserve what they say is the president's right to confidentiality. Part of that will likely include an effort to limit # of documents they have to produce from his time in office."

-- @kaitlancollins: "Aides expected an onslaught of investigations when Democrats won the House, but they were surprised by just how broad Nadler's request was yesterday. Those officials now say they are bracing for more, and believe an effort to go after Trump's tax returns could be next."

-- CNBC'S BRIAN SCHWARTZ: "Trump friend and inaugural chair Tom Barrack plans to cooperate with House Judiciary Committee requests"

-- "Former Trump White House lawyer calls Mueller 'American hero,' says probe is no witch hunt," by ABC's Kyra Phillips, Katherine Faulders, Matthew Mosk and John Santucci: "[A]s Mueller prepares to convey his findings to the U.S. Attorney General, [Ty] Cobb maintains a belief that his report will spare the president from any serious political harm.

"Cobb said he believes Mueller has already revealed the bulk of the findings that the investigation will produce through the sentencing memos and 'speaking indictments' issued against a group of 34 defendants that include Russian hackers and the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort." ABC

AT THE BORDER -- "Border Patrol Facilities Put Detainees With Medical Conditions at Risk," by NYT's Sheri Fink and Caitlin Dickerson in McAllen, Texas: "An average of 2,200 migrants a day are now crossing the nation's 1,900-mile border with Mexico, many after grueling journeys that leave them injured, sick or badly dehydrated. Yet most of the nation's Customs and Border Protection facilities along the border lack sufficient accommodations, staffing or procedures to thoroughly assess health needs or provide more than basic emergency care, a situation that has led to dangerous medical oversights.

"Six adults died in C.B.P. custody in the fiscal year ending in October, at least three of whom had a medical emergency shortly after being apprehended. ... A New York Times review of records and dozens of interviews with migrants, agents, researchers and health workers suggest that some of these deaths were not anomalies, but rather signs of entrenched problems that have repeatedly put detainees with medical conditions at risk." NYT

SPY GAMES -- "Chinese Hackers Target Universities in Pursuit of Maritime Military Secrets," by WSJ's Dustin Volz: "Chinese hackers have targeted more than two dozen universities in the U.S. and around the globe as part of an elaborate scheme to steal research about maritime technology being developed for military use, according to cybersecurity experts and current and former U.S. officials.

"The University of Hawaii, the University of Washington and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are among at least 27 universities in the U.S., Canada and Southeast Asia that Beijing has targeted, according to iDefense, a cybersecurity intelligence unit of Accenture Security. The research, to be published this week, is the latest indication that Chinese cyberattacks to steal U.S. military and economic secrets are on the rise." WSJ

CLIMATE FILES -- NPR'S REBECCA HERSHER and ROBERT BENINCASA: "How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich": "Disasters are becoming more common in America. ... According to the 2018 National Climate Assessment, climate change is already driving more severe droughts, floods and wildfires in the U.S. And those disasters are expensive. The federal government spends billions of dollars annually helping communities rebuild and prevent future damage.

"But an NPR investigation has found that across the country, white Americans and those with more wealth often receive more federal dollars after a disaster than do minorities and those with less wealth. Federal aid isn't necessarily allocated to those who need it most; it's allocated according to cost-benefit calculations meant to minimize taxpayer risk. Put another way, after a disaster, rich people get richer and poor people get poorer. And federal disaster spending appears to exacerbate that wealth inequality." NPR

-- WAPO'S DINO GRANDONI: "White House plans to counter climate change 'will erode our national security,' 58 former officials warn"

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- "Top US general calls for more troops and warships to counter growing Russian threat," by CNN's Ryan Browne

2020 WATCH -- MICHAEL GRUNWALD in POLITICO MAGAZINE: "How the 2020 Democrats Learned To Love Ethanol": "Democrats still seem to think they can revive their brand in farm country by pledging allegiance to the government's longstanding efforts to prop up ethanol. Iowa is America's top ethanol producer, with 44 plants that help support more than 40,000 jobs, and so far none of the Democrats competing there have broken the faith. ...

"It might seem counterintuitive that Democratic candidates would focus more on rural voters who are trending Republican than environmental voters who are key to their base. But support for ethanol is a top priority for agricultural communities, while opposition to ethanol is far down the list of priorities for environmental groups. And Iowa political operatives believe that because Democrats have done so badly in the economically depressed rural areas that helped Trump flip their state red in 2016, they feel even greater political pressure to embrace ethanol in 2020." POLITICO Magazine

-- "As 2020 nears, pressure grows to replace voting machines," by AP's Christina Cassidy in Atlanta: "Time and money are running short for states to replace aging or inadequate voting machines before the 2020 presidential primaries, according to a report released Tuesday.

"State and local election officials in 31 states say they want to replace their voting equipment before the elections, but the vast majority said they don't have enough money to do so, according to The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU's School of Law." AP

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Senior U.S. Lawmakers Call For Urgent Review Of Funding For WWF Following BuzzFeed News Investigation," by BuzzFeed's Katie Baker, Tom Warren and Emma Loop ... The original BuzzFeed report

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- WSJ'S JOSEPH DE AVILA: "Hateful Propaganda From White Supremacists Spreads": "White supremacist groups have ramped up their use of propaganda to spread racist, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic messages, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League.

"The ADL recorded 1,187 incidents of white supremacist propaganda throughout the U.S. in 2018, up from 421 incidents in 2017. The group defines propaganda as the use of fliers, stickers, banners and posters for recruitment purposes. 'It's unlike anything we've ever seen,' said Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the ADL." WSJ

WHAT STEVE BANNON IS UP TO -- POLITICO EUROPE'S MAIA DE LA BAUME and SILVIA SCIORILLI BORRELLI: "Steve Bannon's stuttering European adventure": "Donald Trump's former chief strategist was supposed to shake up European politics. But Steve Bannon's 'club' to support right-wing populist groups in the run-up to May's European Parliament election has yet to set the Continent ablaze." POLITICO Europe

MEDIAWATCH -- Nicole Gaudiano will be an education reporter for POLITICO Pro. She previously covered Congress and politics for USA Today.

-- Tara Vales is joining CNN's D.C. bureau as senior manager of public relations. She was previously communications director for Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.).

SPOTTED: Jared Kushner and Robert Lighthizer having dinner at the Metropolitan Club on Monday night. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chief Justice John Roberts and Jane Roberts, Larry Kudlow, George Will and C. Boyden Gray were also at the Met Club on Monday for a private dinner on the second floor honoring former Reagan speechwriter Peter Robinson, who wrote the "tear down this wall" speech.

SPOTTED at Washington Life's Innovation and Tech issue party at One Hill South Luxury Apartments on Monday night: Charles Rivkin and Susan Tolson, Jim Bankoff, Teresa Carlson, Marla Beck and Barry Beck, Niki Christoff, Jay Newton-Small, Tammy Haddad, Kevin Cirilli, Kate Goodall, Virginia Coyne, Soroush Shehabi, Nancy Bagley, Jayne Sandman, Catherine Trifiletti, John Arundel, Ryan Williams and John McCarthy.

TRANSITIONS -- Aneesa McMillan is joining Priorities USA as director of strategic communications. She most recently worked for NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. ... Carol Danko will be assistant director of public affairs at ICE. She previously was managing director of communications at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

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