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By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

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BOMBSHELL ... ALEX ISENSTADT and JOHN BRESNAHAN: "Exclusive: Emails of top NRCC officials stolen in major 2018 hack": "The House GOP campaign arm suffered a major hack during the 2018 election, exposing thousands of sensitive emails to an outside intruder, according to three senior party officials.

"The email accounts of four senior aides at the National Republican Congressional Committee were surveilled for several months, the party officials said. The intrusion was detected in April by an NRCC vendor, who alerted the committee and its cybersecurity contractor. An internal investigation was initiated and the FBI was alerted to the attack, said the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the incident.

"However, senior House Republicans - including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) - were not informed of the hack until POLITICO contacted the NRCC on Monday with questions about the episode. Rank-and-file House Republicans were not told, either.

"Committee officials said they decided to withhold the information because they were intent on conducting their own investigation, and feared that revealing the hack would compromise efforts to find the culprit. ... Party officials would not say when the hack began or who was behind it, although they privately believe it was a foreign agent due to the nature of the attack." POLITICO

WE WERE WAITING WITH BATED BREATH ... MICHAEL AVENATTI announced on Twitter that he will not seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. "I remain concerned that the Democratic Party will move toward nominating an individual who might make an exceptional President but has no chance of actually beating Donald Trump." Full statement

Good Tuesday afternoon. SPOTTED in the Capitol: Sully, George H.W. Bush's service dog.

MARK PRESTON has been promoted to VP of political and special events programming at CNN. From CNN: "In this new role, Mark will focus on expanding the number of CNN's live events, while remaining the network's point person on presidential debates and town halls. In addition, Mark will continue to serve as CNN's Senior Political Analyst, providing analysis and insight across all network platforms for the 2020 presidential election."

-- EVE LIEBERMAN, Jared Polis' congressional chief of staff, will move to Denver to work as his top adviser on his legislative and policy agenda. Polis is becoming governor of Colorado.

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... "Mike Flynn Report Expected to Shed Light on Mueller Probe," by WSJ's Byron Tau and Aruna Viswanatha: "In a memo, the office of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, is scheduled to report what sentence it is seeking for Mr. Flynn, who pleaded guilty last December to making false statements to federal officials about the content of his calls with Moscow's ambassador a month before President Trump's inauguration. ...

"Mr. Flynn's agreement to plead guilty and cooperate was one of the first such deals in the Mueller investigation. Since then, neither side has spoken about the extent of Mr. Flynn's involvement in the probe or what sort of information he is providing. The new filing is expected to provide an explanation of how Mr. Flynn has helped Mr. Mueller's team." WSJ

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WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 9:22 a.m.: "Looking forward to being with the wonderful Bush family at Blair House today. The former First Lady will be coming over to the White House this morning to be given a tour of the Christmas decorations by Melania. The elegance & precision of the last two days have been remarkable!"

-- ON CHINA ... at 9:30 a.m.: "The negotiations with China have already started. Unless extended, they will end 90 days from the date of our wonderful and very warm dinner with President Xi in Argentina. Bob Lighthizer will be working closely with Steve Mnuchin, Larry Kudlow, Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro....."

... at 9:55 a.m.: "......on seeing whether or not a REAL deal with China is actually possible. If it is, we will get it done. China is supposed to start buying Agricultural product and more immediately. President Xi and I want this deal to happen, and it probably will. But if not remember,......"

... at 10:03 a.m.: "....I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN"

... at 10:10 a.m.: ".....But if a fair deal is able to be made with China, one that does all of the many things we know must be finally done, I will happily sign. Let the negotiations begin. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

-- ON THE BORDER WALL ... at 11:22 a.m.: "Could somebody please explain to the Democrats (we need their votes) that our Country losses 250 Billion Dollars a year on illegal immigration, not including the terrible drug flow. Top Border Security, including a Wall, is $25 Billion. Pays for itself in two months. Get it done!"

MEGATRENDS -- "'A kind of dark realism': Why the climate change problem is starting to look too big to solve," by WaPo's Steven Mufson: "Even if the world did an unlikely series of about-faces - halting deforestation, going vegetarian, paying $50 a ton carbon taxes, boosting energy efficiency, doubling car mileage, and more - it would not be enough. ...

"Climate scientists and policy experts realize that they walk a fine line between jolting consumers and policymakers into action and immobilizing them with paralyzing pessimism ... But effective policy is lacking. [William] Nordhaus advocates a whopping carbon tax, which the Climate Interactive model shows would kill off most coal, sharply reduce driving and boost purchases of more fuel efficient vehicles." WaPo

ON THE WORLD STAGE ... @AP: "BREAKING: Secretary of State Pompeo says the U.S. is suspending its obligations under nuclear treaty over Russian violations."

-- "Mike Pompeo rips into Trump's EU critics," by POLITICO Europe's David Herszenhorn: "Trump is right, Europe is wrong, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared in a speech in Brussels Tuesday. Pompeo, who was in Europe to attend a meeting for NATO foreign ministers, said U.S. President Donald Trump was putting America's interests ahead of the international order but insisted that Washington was acting to the benefit of the entire world.

"Aside from two brief heckles, the audience responded with silence. It was a remarkably undiplomatic speech by the top American diplomat, and called into question the system of international cooperation just two days after the U.S. signed on to the latest conclusions of the G20 at a summit in Buenos Aires of leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies." POLITICO Europe

TELL US HOW YA REALLY FEEL! -- @RandPaul: "Do you want to know what the deep state is? The CIA Director is coming to the U.S. Senate and only briefing a select few members of the Senate. Why shouldn't every senator know what is going on? The deep state wants to keep everyone in the dark. This is just ridiculous!" More from Marianne LeVine

CLICKER -- "Fleeing Poverty and Violence, Central American Women Explain Why They Join Caravans," by WSJ's Juan Montes, Nadège Mazars, Nadia Shira Cohen and Erin Siegal McIntyre: WSJ

TOP-ED -- JOHN DINGELL in THE ATLANTIC: "I Served in Congress Longer Than Anyone. Here's How to Fix It: Abolish the Senate and publicly fund elections. ... An electoral system based on full participation. At age 18, you are automatically registered to vote. No photo ID, no residency tests, no impediments of any kind. ... The protection of an independent press." The Atlantic

HOW JOHN BOLTON SEES THE WORLD -- WSJ'S VIVIAN SALAMA (@vmsalama): "John Bolton, speaking at #WSJCEOCouncil, said that Khashoggi's death was a 'heinous crime... But it's region where a lot of heinous crimes are committed, by Iran, by the Assad regime by terrorists all around. So it's not a case of saying 'well, this is very distasteful.'"

-- CNN'S KAITLAN COLLINS (@kaitlancollins): "Bolton says he expects Trump's second meeting with Kim Jong Un to happen in January or February. 'They have not lived up to the commitments so far,' Bolton said during a WSJ conference. 'That's why I think the President thinks another summit is likely to be productive.'"

IMMIGRATION FILES -- JOSH GERSTEIN: "Federal appeals court rules against another immigration crackdown attempt"

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- "Google CEO Sundar Pichai will testify to Congress on December 11," by WaPo's Tony Romm: "The new hearing -- confirmed by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday -- will see Pichai field questions from Congress for the first time in response to Republicans' concerns that Google's search algorithm, and services it owns including YouTube, unfairly censor conservative-leaning users. The session initially had been scheduled for this Wednesday." WaPo

2020 WATCH -- "The Democrats' Hispanic Problem," by Michael Grunwald and Marc Caputo in POLITICO Magazine: "[T]he top-of-the-ticket losses were brutal wake-up calls for Democrats who hope to flip Florida in 2020, and are counting on the state's fastest-growing demographic to help them flip it. ... Some Democrats are leery of an overcorrection; after all, [Bill] Nelson and [Andrew] Gillum both lost by less than a half of a percentage point ...

"Still, in all-important Miami-Dade County, where Democrats are a majority of the electorate but Republicans control the mayor's office and county commission, Democrats have already held soul-searching meetings to discuss why their Hispanic margins sagged in 2018, and how they can make voting as much a cultural habit for younger Cubans and non-Cuban Hispanics as it is for the aging Cuban exiles who helped carry [Rick] Scott and [Ron] DeSantis to victory." POLITICO Magazine

-- JESUS RODRIGUEZ: "Biden: 'I'm the most qualified person in the country to be president'"

-- ROLL CALL'S SIMONE PATHE: "Elise Stefanik Wants to Play in Primaries to Help Republican Women": "Stefanik is stepping back from the NRCC to be involved where she thinks it matters. ... She plans to refocus and expand her leadership PAC to support women and what she called 'nontraditional candidates.' ...

"There's a reason Stefanik has to go outside the NRCC to do this. Unlike their Democratic counterpart, the House GOP campaign committee does not publicly play in primaries. Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the newly elected NRCC chairman, isn't interested in changing that policy. 'If that's what Elise wants to do, then that's her call, her right,' Emmer said in a Friday interview at the NRCC. 'But I think that's a mistake.'" Roll Call

-- STEFANIK is probably one of the more popular House Republicans. So picking a fight with her as the new NRCC chair is probably not the best idea. Plus, tons of Republicans actually want the NRCC to play in primaries.

DANIEL STRAUSS: "Giles Perkins, architect of Jones Senate win in Alabama, dies at 51": "Perkins was one of the main forces behind Jones' Alabama Senate campaign last year, helping raise Jones from an afterthought to a national cause and flipping the first Republican congressional seat of the Trump administration. Perkins and fellow Jones senior adviser Doug Turner were the ones who persuaded Jones to run in the special election in 2017." POLITICO

MEDIAWATCH -- Ashley Gold will be a Washington reporter for The Information. She is currently a tech reporter at POLITICO. More from Talking Biz News ... Derek Robertson is now a cybersecurity reporter at POLITICO. He was previously a POLITICO Magazine news assistant. ...

... Cindy Andrade started Tuesday as publicist for POLITICO. She most recently worked on Tim Kaine's senatorial campaign in Virginia as the political coordinator for Anne Holton and can be reached at candrade@politico.com. ... Nihal Krishan started Monday as a Ben Bagdikian reporting fellow at Mother Jones. He previously reported for The New Republic and OpenSecrets.org.

-- WAPO'S ERIK WEMPLE: "New Republic editor J.J. Gould resigns"

-- NPR'S DAVID FOLKENFLIK: "NPR CEO Jarl Mohn To Step Down After 5-year Term Ends in June": "Jarl Mohn announced Tuesday he would step aside next June at the end of his five-year term to focus on a newly created position to lead the public radio network's fund-raising drive ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2020." NPR

BOOK WATCH -- NYT's Jennifer Steinhauer is writing a book titled "The Firsts," detailing "the early days of the historic class of House freshwomen." It is set to be published in fall 2019 by Algonquin Books.

OUT AND ABOUT -- SPOTTED in NYC last night at the Hudson Institute's 2018 award gala, where U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley received the Global Leadership Award and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) accepted the Herman Kahn Award via video remarks: Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon, Todd Ricketts, Paul Singer, Ken Weinstein, Walter Russell Mead, Nadia Schadlow, Mike Doran, Scooter Libby, Brian Baker, Ben Haddad, Ann Marie Hauser, James Taranto, Charles Payne, Bill Hemmer, Jason Riley, Daniel Henninger, Jason Riley, Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.) and Rep.-elect William Timmons (R-S.C.).

-- SPOTTED at Bluelight Strategies' Hanukkah party Monday night: Steve Rabinowitz, Aaron Keyak, Omri Nahmias, Amir Tibon, Jennifer Bell, William Daroff, Danny Schwarz, Amy Rudkin, Tevi Troy, Ben Weyl, Ethan Porter, Matt Nosanchuk, Jason Epstein, Jackson Richmond, Lynn Sweet, Ira Forman, Toby Dershowitz, Jerome Socolovsky, Jennifer Bradley, Eric Cortellessa, Jonathan Beeton, Kevin Bohn, Joanne Kenen, Jerome Copulsky, Cherri Daniels, Gil Preuss, D.C. Councilwoman Brianne Nadeau, Ron Kampeas and Michael Wilner.

TRANSITIONS -- Gideon Lett is joining Monument Policy Group to head its new San Francisco office. He most recently was VP of TechNet, which will be one of Monument's clients. ... Gautam Raghavan will be chief of staff for Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). He is currently executive director of the Indian American Impact Project & Fund and an advisor to the Biden Foundation. ... Stephanie Genco will be a partner at Forbes Tate on the public affairs team. She previously was VP at S3 Public Affairs.

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Lance Frank, executive director of comms at CBS News, on Saturday married Janesia Fontenot, an assistant VP/campus recruiter at Citibank, in a ceremony at the Popp Fountain in New Orleans' City Park. The couple met in junior high school and sat next to each other in band class, and also went to high school and LSU together. Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- TRUMP ALUMNI -- Tory Sendek, managing director at Michael Best Strategies and a Trump WH alum, and Scott Sendek, VP at Cross Screen Media and a Targeted Victory alum, welcomed Isobel Catherine Sendek. Instapic ... Another Instapic

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