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Presented by The American Petroleum Institute (API): POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | | |  And after the initial wave of pieces aiming to be the first draft of history, we find ourselves awash in a torrent of analyses, reactions and articles that zoom in on particular aspects of Donald Trump's indictment that merit attention. | Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images | | The dust has yet to settle from yesterday’s earthquake indictment of former President DONALD TRUMP on charges related to Jan. 6 and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. While the charges were expected, they still came as something of a shock. (It’s worth pausing for a moment just to soak in what a bizarre fact that is: the third criminal indictment of a former president was a shock, but not particularly surprising.) And after the initial wave of pieces aiming to be the first draft of history, we find ourselves awash in a torrent of analyses, reactions and articles that zoom in on particular aspects of the indictment that merit attention. Here are the ones catching our eyes … — On the central importance of the slates of pro-Trump fake electors, AP: “The fake electors plan began in Wisconsin, prosecutors allege, with a memorandum from KENNETH CHESEBRO, an attorney who was assisting the Trump campaign at the time with legal challenges. ... After the plan was expanded to include six states, Trump and attorney JOHN EASTMAN asked RONNA McDANIEL, the chair of the Republican National Committee, to help the Trump campaign recruit the electors in the targeted states. The two men, according to prosecutors, ‘falsely represented’ to McDaniel that the electors would only be used if Trump’s lawsuits against the election succeeded. McDaniel agreed to help. ” — On the trailblazing nature of the House Jan. 6 Committee’s investigation, NYT: “[The select committee] provided a road map of sorts for the 45-page indictment Mr. Smith released on Tuesday. … Mr. Smith’s document — while far slimmer than the 845-page tome produced by the House investigative committee — contained a narrative that was nearly identical: An out-of-control president, refusing to leave office, was willing to lie and harm the country’s democracy in an attempt to stay in power. “With televised hearings drawing millions of viewers, the panel introduced the public to little-known lawyers who plotted with Mr. Trump to keep him in power, dramatic moments of conflict within the Oval Office and concepts like the ‘fake electors’ scheme carried out across multiple states to try to reverse the election outcome. Its final report laid out specific criminal charges that a prosecutor could bring against the former president.” — On former VP MIKE PENCE’s crucial role, WaPo: “Pence took ‘contemporaneous notes’ about Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the 45th president’s electoral defeat in the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, according to the indictment … The notes are explicitly cited twice in the document. The first reference highlights that Trump, on Dec. 29, 2020, allegedly told Pence that the Justice Department was “finding major infractions,” according to the notes. The second details a Jan. 4, 2021, meeting, where Trump allegedly repeated his false claims of widespread election fraud.” — On President JOE BIDEN’s reaction, CNN: “For Biden, Trump’s third indictment is undoubtedly the most personal. … Ahead of Trump’s indictment Tuesday, a Biden campaign official said the campaign once again did not intend to fundraise off a Trump indictment … How closely Biden can hew to that pledge when it comes to the latest indictment remains to be seen. Unlike the classified documents case, which Biden does not regularly reference in public, the threat to democracy is central to his reelection argument.” — On the interesting legal precedent behind one of the charges, Reuters: “Federal prosecutors base one charge, conspiring to deprive citizens of constitutional or legal rights, on a law enacted during post-Civil War Reconstruction in 1870 … Prosecutors have long used the deprivation of rights statute, known as Section 241, to fight disenfranchisement of Black voters, and a string of landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases have affirmed the law's use for that purpose.” — On how this whole situation is weighing on Judge TANYA CHUTKAN, Kyle Cheney: “U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan appeared upbeat in court on Wednesday even as she reckoned with the weight of her latest assignment: criminal proceedings against Donald Trump. During an appearance in an unrelated criminal matter, Chutkan briefly chatted with public defender EUGENE OHM … ‘How are you?’ Ohm asked Chutkan … ‘Good … I think,’ she said after a pregnant pause.” MUST-READ ON THE GOP — “State of disaster: State Republican parties across the country are struggling,” by Adam Wren, Zach Montellaro, Holly Otterbein, Lisa Kashinsky and Natalie Allison: “Michigan’s Republican party is broke. Minnesota’s was, until recently, down to $53.81 in the bank. And in Colorado, the GOP is facing eviction from its office this month because it can’t make rent. … “The demise of the GOP state parties could have a profound impact on the 2024 election. Operatives fear that hollowed out outfits in key battlegrounds could leave the party vulnerable, especially as Democrats are focusing more on state legislative races." Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line: birvine@politico.com.
| | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API): Did You Know: Americans count on oil and natural gas – made, moved and improved by nearly 11 million workers and suppliers in all 50 states, contributing trillions to communities and the U.S. economy. From Pennsylvania to California, America’s natural gas and oil workforce strengthens our nation. Our economic outlook is brighter when we lead on energy, and our dedicated workforce is a reminder that we need Washington policies to encourage investment and enable development. | | | IT’S OFFICIAL — PBS: “Jeffrey Goldberg named new moderator of Washington Week” 2024 WATCH TROUBLE IN PARADISE? — Though the conservative political group Moms for Liberty is typically an ardent supporter of Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, the organization is now at odds with the his stance on mental health initiatives in public schools, The Tallahassee Democrat’s Ana Goni-Lessan reports. “In Florida, mental health care has been a top bipartisan priority since 2018, when a shooter killed 17 children at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,” Goni-Lassan writes. “But the push to fund mental health initiatives has frustrated Moms for Liberty-Sarasota County Chapter Chair ALEXIS SPIEGELMAN and other conservative parents who consider mental health care as another version of social emotional learning (SEL) and are campaigning to remove it from schools.” Spiegelman: “Many families feel our ‘conservative majority’ is not listening to the very people that helped get them elected. The Florida Legislature along with the governor are not helping matters.” POLICY CORNER GOING DIGITAL — The IRS is now allowing every taxpayer to file documents online and is aiming to digitize its paper catalog as soon as 2025, WaPo’s Jacob Bogage reports. The agency also hopes that major improvements in their online tools could mean millions of taxpayers can get refunds up to a month sooner. “The tax agency estimates 94 percent of individual taxpayers will no longer need to send mail to the IRS once the program begins in January.” IMMIGRATION FILES — “Are the Biden administration's 'processing centers' for migrants in Latin America doing any good?,” by NBC’s Julia Ainsley and Dan De Luce: “In April, the Biden administration announced it would be opening 'processing centers' in Central and South America to allow migrants to apply to come to the U.S. without making the dangerous journey to the southern border. The plan was to get the first centers open 'within weeks,' officials told reporters, but so far none of the three centers that have opened appear to have successfully fostered legal travel to the U.S. for migrants seeking refugee status or asylum.” CONGRESS CAPITOL POLICE LOOK TO EXPAND — In their latest push to ramp up security around the country, Capitol Police are working to establish regional outposts in Milwaukee, Boston and Texas “largely in response to rising threats to members of Congress,” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Lawrence Andrea reports. A spokesperson for the department said that “Milwaukee is being looked at simply because it’s relatively central to the Midwest and has a good cost of living,” and added that the plans are “all very TBD.” BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE? — As Republicans continue to rally behind an initiative to “plant a trillion trees” to offset climate change, new scientific research shows that the plan would “have a minimal effect” on halting global warming, WaPo’s Maxine Joselow reports. “The analysis by JOHN STERMAN, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and ANDREW P. JONES, executive director of the nonprofit Climate Interactive, found that planting a trillion trees would only prevent 0.15 degrees Celsius (0.27 Fahrenheit) of warming by 2100.” For scale: “The researchers also highlighted that planting a trillion trees would require an enormous amount of land — 900 million hectares, or close to three times the size of India.” CRACKING DOWN ON CRYPTO — Some Senate Dems are urging the White House to take action as the Treasury Department continues to delay implementation of a law meant to keep crypto-currency investors from dodging taxes, WSJ’s Richard Rubin and Paul Kiernan report. “‘These new rules were urgently needed when President Biden signed them into law in 2021. Over the past two years, that urgency has only intensified,’” Sens. [ELIZABETH] WARREN (D-Mass), BOB CASEY (D-Pa.), RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.) and BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) wrote to Treasury officials. ‘Given the chance, tax evaders and the crypto intermediaries willing to aid them will continue to game the system, exploit loopholes, and siphon off billions of dollars a year from the U.S. government. You must not give them that chance.’” THE ODD COUPLE — “A Democratic and Republican battled for Congress. They became unlikely friends,” by LA Times’ Mark Barabak: The “improbably companionable” friendship between Rep. AMI BERA (D-Calif.) and GOP strategist ROB STUTZMAN comes at “a time when partisan differences run marrow-deep and many Democrats and Republicans view their parties not as vessels of collected interests but warring tribes locked in mortal conflict.”
| | | | ATTENTION PLAYBOOKERS! You need to keep up with the latest political news and nuggets, so here’s a juicy tip: You need to add California Playbook to your daily reading. We have a new team at the helm who are eager to take you inside the political arena in California, from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley and throughout the Golden State! Get the latest exclusive news and buzzy scoops from the fourth largest economy in the world sent straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | BEYOND THE BELTWAY AT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE — “UAW president reveals 'the members' demands' for Detroit Three talks,” by the Detroit News’ Breana Noble. Among the demands: “A 32-hour work week, the ability to strike when a plant closes and paid volunteer work in the event of a closure.” FROM THE SUNSHINE STATE — “Florida deviated from standard practices for key report regarding transgender care,” by The Miami Herald’s Emily Mahoney and Romy Ellenbogen: “Testimony from state employees in Florida reveal how a state agency under Gov. Ron DeSantis veered from its own procedures” to build the contentious report on transgender medical treatments under Medicaid — which has become “a major plank of the governor’s presidential campaign.” “The state employee who was the lead author of the report testified that the process began with a request from the governor’s office ... After the Medicaid report was completed, at least two Agency for Health Care Administration employees involved with it received raises well above the norm for their peers, state data show.” DEEP IN THE HEART — “On One Texas River, Four Dam Failures Show Harsh Reality of Aging Infrastructure,” by WSJ’s Joe Barrett AMERICA AND THE WORLD WAR OF WORDS — “North Korea calls US human rights envoy a ‘political housemaid’ in protest of criticisms,” by AP’s Kim Tong-Hyung COMING TO AMERICA — “Chinese Investors Warm to Sweetened U.S. Cash-for-Visa Program,” by WSJ’s Liyan Qi: “The overhauled EB-5 program, which requires a minimum investment of $800,000 for certain projects, has drawn the attention of Chinese nationals … The program is designed to allow investors to recoup their money with a modest profit. In return for their investment, foreign investors hope to win a green card. For the developers, it means cheap financing and, for the town, new jobs.”
| | | | HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — Helen and Joe Milby, Lauren Gillis, Alex Tureman, Alex Stroman and Kevin Walling hosted a book party Tuesday night for C.W. Goodyear in honor of his new book, “President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier.” ($35) SPOTTED: T.W. Arrighi, Steve Clemons, Amy Dacey, Eric Fanning, Melissa Fitzgerald, Andy Flick, Connor Goddard, Reggie Greer, Evan Hollander and Eli Yokley, Liz Johnson, Natalie Jones, John McCarthy, David Reid and Yebbie Watkins. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Alex Attebery, comms director for the House Appropriations Committee, and Lexie Attebery, business operations at Accenture Federal Services, recently welcomed Lincoln Edward Attebery. Pic BONUS BIRTHDAY: Erin Wilson of VP Kamala Harris’ office Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
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