POLITICO Playbook: Trump ratchets up fight with Congress with testimony ban Presented by Amazon

It’s difficult to adequately state how unsustainable President Donald Trump’s position is. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

DRIVING THE DAY

TRUMP DECLARES WAR ON HOUSE DEMS … WAPO’S BOB COSTA, TOM HAMBURGER, JOSH DAWSEY and ROZ HELDERMAN: “President Trump on Tuesday said he is opposed to current and former White House aides providing testimony to congressional panels in the wake of the special counsel report, intensifying a power struggle between his administration and House Democrats.

“In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said that complying with congressional requests was unnecessary after the White House cooperated with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe of Russian interference and the president’s own conduct in office. ‘There is no reason to go any further, and especially in Congress where it’s very partisan — obviously very partisan,’ Trump said. … ‘I don’t want people testifying to a party, because that is what they’re doing if they do this,’ Trump said.” WaPo

-- IT’S DIFFICULT to adequately state how unsustainable President DONALD TRUMP’S position is.

FIRST of all, Congress is always controlled by “a party,” so the idea that his aides would be testifying to a party is not really unusual -- it’s the norm.

SECOND: The White House can’t just summarily block all document production and testimony -- Congress could hold people in contempt. Most smart administrations -- Republican or Democrat -- pretend to cooperate, but slow-walk testimony and document production. That way it seems like you’re trying, but you’re actually not.

THIRD: How do you think Trump’s meeting next week on infrastructure with SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI will go if this holds up? How can Pelosi conduct any business with the president if he decides to stiff-arm the Hill? Maybe Trump wants a battering ram and doesn’t care about legislative achievements. Maybe he has decided Dems will look overzealous no matter what. More on the White House meeting from Marianne LeVine

IMAGINE Barack Obama said he was not going to send any witnesses to a Republican House and would ignore document requests. The GOP would have lit its collective hair on fire.

FROM 30,000 FEET … ANITA KUMAR and ANDREW DESIDERIO: “Three dramatic clashes between White House lawyers and congressional Democrats over the past 36 hours have created an atmosphere of total war … suggesting that even modest compromise may be impossible and that protracted court fights likely are inevitable.” POLITICO

-- DARREN SAMUELSOHN, ANDREW DESIDERIO and KYLE CHENEY: “Mueller’s done. But Trump’s still offering evidence”

-- RUDY GIULIANI: “I agree with the strategy of now fighting everything, the way Clinton did initially. … We already gave every document we have, every witness we have. I don’t think the White House should sit by and have them do it all over again.” NYT

WSJ ED BOARD: “Thank You, Don McGahn”: “President Trump should be savoring the end of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation with no charges of collusion or obstruction of justice, but as ever he can’t stand prosperity. His post-report scrap with former White House counsel Don McGahn shows how this President is so often his own worst enemy.” WSJ

WHERE THE PRESIDENT’S HEAD IS -- @realDonaldTrump at 6:43 p.m.: “You mean the Stock Market hit an all-time record high today and they’re actually talking impeachment!? Will I ever be given credit for anything by the Fake News Media or Radical Liberal Dems? NO COLLUSION!”

AHEM … WSJ FRONT PAGE WEDNESDAY: “Resurgence Puts S&P 500 and Nasdaq Back at Record Levels”

MEANWHILE … JOSH GERSTEIN: “House asks judge to halt Trump border wall funding”: “The House of Representatives has asked a federal judge to block President Donald Trump’s plan to build a border wall using Defense Department funds. On Tuesday, House lawyers requested that U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden issue a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s plan to spend about $6 billion from military construction and counter-drug accounts to build additional barriers along the U.S-Mexico border.” POLITICO

Good Wednesday morning. Anna and Jake were on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” Tuesday night to talk politics and all things “The Hill to Die On.” Clip

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FREE ADVICE FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS: TRUMP doesn’t want you to go to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, but we have a different idea: Do what you want. If you want to go -- do it. Your free time is your free time, providing you aren’t breaking the law. Just because the president seems intent on demonizing the people who cover him doesn’t mean you have to. Here’s a guarantee: You’ll be in this town a lot longer than he will, and your currency is your relationships -- including those with reporters.

MANY TRUMP OFFICIALS have great relationships with the press -- and the White House benefits from that. The president might not care, but you should.

DARE THE WHITE HOUSE TO FIRE YOU for going to a dinner celebrating the freedom of the press. We bet you he won’t. The guy didn’t fire Bob Mueller! You think he’s gonna fire you?! It’s not like people are lining up to work in this White House. … Holler and we’ll save some seats for you.

JUST WONDERING … Will this affect whether Republican lawmakers -- particularly those close to the president -- will attend the dinner?

THIS ISN’T THE FIRST D.C. DINNER the president has skipped this year. He also bailed on the 2019 Gridiron, sending his daughter Ivanka to speak instead. Back in 2018, the president attended the dinner, perhaps the most insidery-of-insider press event of all -- reporters literally dress up and perform skits while Washington potentates laugh. He took the roasting and gave as good as he got.

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2020 WATCH ... ALEX ISENSTADT and HOLLY OTTERBEIN: “Trump camp descends on Pennsylvania as alarms grow over 2020”: “Senior Trump 2020 advisers are headed to Harrisburg on Wednesday to meet with Pennsylvania GOP officials amid mounting concerns about the president’s prospects in the critical battleground state.

“Trump’s campaign is moving to shore up the state after a 2018 midterm election that saw Republicans get blown out in races up and down the ballot. … The private meeting, confirmed by a half-dozen party officials, underscores the high stakes for the president ... Trump won Pennsylvania by less than 1 point in 2016, and reelection aides view the state’s 20 electoral votes as crucial to his 2020 hopes.” POLITICO

-- AP’S JULIE BYKOWICZ and KEN THOMAS: “Joe Biden’s Expected 2020 Bid Is Likely to Rely on Big Donors”: “There is little evidence that Mr. Biden, 76 years old, has worked to foster a base of small donors in the two years since he left office. He has expressed concern to Democratic fundraisers that he won’t be able to make a splash with early online donations the way Mr. Sanders and other candidates have.

“The political action committee that Mr. Biden started in May 2017 to help Democrats spent more than $550,000 in digital consultants, but that investment barely paid off, Federal Election Commission records show. The group, American Possibilities PAC, received $923,000 from donors giving $200 or less, out of the $2.6 million it raised.” WSJ

-- NYT’S SHANE GOLDMACHER: “Even before he formally enters the race, Mr. Biden is grappling with some internal tensions as he builds an organization: A launch video crafted by his new media consultant, Mark Putnam, was not favorably received by other advisers, and the former vice president’s longtime aide Mike Donilon devised an alternative video, according to two Democrats briefed on the dispute.” NYT

-- AP’S ERRIN HAINES WHACK: “White presidential candidates face ‘woke litmus test’” (The headline was later changed to: “For white candidates, straight talk on race becoming a must”)

THE NEW IOWA … L.A. TIMES’ MICHAEL FINNEGAN: “Beto O’Rourke opens his California campaign Saturday in Los Angeles”: “The former El Paso congressman will stop at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College downtown for an outdoor rally at 4 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, O’Rourke is planning a town hall at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco, followed by multiple stops in the Central Valley on Monday. He wraps up his visit Tuesday morning with a town hall in San Diego.

“Notably absent from O’Rourke’s itinerary are the private Hollywood and Silicon Valley fundraisers that presidential candidates typically hold during visits to California. Spokesman Chris Evans said O’Rourke has held no fundraising events and has not scheduled any.” LAT

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TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY -- The president and first lady Melania Trump will leave the White House at 10:40 a.m. en route to Atlanta. They will deliver remarks at the Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta at 1:15 p.m. Afterward, they will return to D.C.

PLAYBOOK READS

PHOTO DU JOUR: Activists rally as the Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday about adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

NYT’S MARK LEIBOVICH: “The Other Resistance: President Trump is overwhelmingly popular with his base, but a handful of dissident Republicans think they know how to defeat him in a primary contest. Are they crazy?” NYT Mag

FED WATCH -- “Stephen Moore’s Columns Deriding Women Raise New Questions for Trump Fed Pick,” by NYT’s Jim Tankersley: “Stephen Moore built a career in conservative media by championing tax cuts and leaning into the culture wars, bashing ‘radical feminists’ and bloated government with equal zeal. His writings helped him land a promised nomination to the Federal Reserve from President Trump, but they could hurt his chances at Senate confirmation, if Mr. Trump officially nominates him.

“Mr. Moore’s long paper and video trail contains potential roadblocks to confirmation — particularly a history of writing about women in unflattering terms. His writings contain language that sometimes echoes Mr. Trump’s past comments about women on shock radio and on the infamous ‘Access Hollywood’ tape. Republican senators have shown less tolerance for such sentiments from some of Mr. Trump’s nominees than they have from the president himself.” NYT

BRAIN FOOD -- “Renters Are Mad. Presidential Candidates Have Noticed: Democrats court a new voting bloc: people who don’t own homes,” by NYT’s Emily Badger: NYT

-- RELATED: “What $4,900 rents in San Francisco right now”

NEW WOMEN RULE PODCAST -- ANNA spoke with BUSTLE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KATE WARD in the latest Women Rule podcast. Listen and subscribe

CONWAY VS. CONWAY -- Checks and Balances, a relatively new group of conservative lawyers led by GEORGE CONWAY, issued a statement Tuesday on the Mueller report: “The report’s details add to an existing body of information already in the public domain documenting the president’s violations of his oath, including but not limited to his denigration of the free press, verbal attacks on members of the judiciary, encouragement of law enforcement officers to violate the law, and incessant lying to the American people.

“We believe the framers of the Constitution would have viewed the totality of this conduct as evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors. Accordingly, Congress, which carries its own constitutional oversight responsibilities, should conduct further investigation.” The statement

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HOT IN DES MOINES … “Iowa lawmaker cites disapproval with Donald Trump as reason he’s leaving Republican Party,” by the Des Moines Register’s Robin Opsahl and Barbara Rodriguez: “The longest-serving Republican in the Iowa Legislature … Rep. Andy McKean, who represents Anamosa in the state House of Representatives, announced Tuesday that he plans to register as a Democrat and vote with the minority caucus.

“‘With the 2020 presidential election looming on the horizon, I feel, as a Republican, that I need to be able to support the standard bearer of our party,’ McKean said during a news conference at the Capitol. ‘Unfortunately, that’s something I’m unable to do.’” Des Moines Register

WHAT THE PENTAGON IS READING -- “Navy SEALs Were Warned Against Reporting Their Chief for War Crimes,” by NYT’s Dave Phillips

KIM SUBTWEETS TRUMP ... AP: “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia by train on Wednesday, a day before his much-anticipated summit with President Vladimir Putin that comes amid deadlocked diplomacy on his nuclear program.

“Kim, dressed in a black coat and a fedora, first met with Russian officials at Russia’s Khasan train station near its border with the North, before traveling on to the Pacific port city of Vladivostok for a summit with Putin on Thursday. ...

“Kim said on arrival that he ... would like to discuss with Putin ‘settlement of the situation in the Korean Peninsula’ as well as bilateral ties with Russia.” AP

KELLY CRAFT UPDATE -- “Months later, Trump closes in on U.N. nomination: Kelly Knight Craft’s nomination could come next week, launching a tough confirmation process,” by Nahal Toosi and Gabby Orr: POLITICO

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VALLEY TALK -- “Ireland is supposed to be the world’s privacy policeman. Instead, it’s catering to Big Tech,” by Nicholas Vinocur: “Interviews with scores of privacy experts, data watchdogs, academics and regulators in other countries reveal increasing concern that the landmark General Data Protection Regulation, the product of years of wrangling with data companies, is vulnerable because of the one provision on which the tech companies prevailed: That the lead regulator be in the country in which the tech firms have their ‘data controller’ – in most cases, Ireland.” POLITICO

-- INSIDE TRUMP’S MEETING WITH TWITTER’S JACK DORSEY … WAPO’S TONY ROMM: “A significant portion of the meeting focused on Trump’s concerns that Twitter quietly, and deliberately, has limited or removed some of his followers, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation who requested anonymity because it was private. Trump said he had heard from fellow conservatives who had lost followers for unclear reasons as well.” WaPo

-- “Why Facebook hired a Patriot Act author and privacy activist,” by Nancy Scola and Steven Overly: “The social networking giant on Monday brought on Jennifer Newstead, a Trump-appointed State Department official whose long record in Washington includes shepherding the George W. Bush-era PATRIOT Act through Congress.

“On Tuesday, Kevin Bankston, the executive director of the left-leaning Open Technology Institute, joined Facebook as director of privacy policy. Bankston, a longtime privacy advocate, once called the PATRIOT Act a ‘tremendous blow’ to Americans' civil liberties.

“The hires highlight how Facebook … is pursuing a two-track approach to Washington, tapping Republican insiders to deal with the Trump administration and GOP-controlled Senate, while scooping up privacy activists to help navigate the seemingly endless user data scandals surrounding the company.” POLITICO

MEDIAWATCH -- STEVEN PERLBERG in POLITICO Magazine: “How the Intercept Is Fueling the Democratic Civil War”: “Founded in 2014 by muckraking national security journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill, the Intercept is still best-known for its first incarnation as an obsessive anti-surveillance reporting enterprise, and an activist voice for privacy and civil liberties—more anti-government than partisan. ...

“But in the past few years, and especially in the aftermath of the 2016 campaign, the Intercept has taken a sharp turn into party politics. With a hard-charging Washington bureau chief, Ryan Grim, driving its political coverage, the Intercept has taken a more classic “gotcha” approach to campaign reporting, and landed in a unique spot in the media ecosystem—as the loudest voice attacking Democrats from the left.”

-- “Inside Brian Williams’ big comeback” -- Daniel Lippman and Paul Volpe, who are writing Morning Media this week

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Hanna Trudo will be a 2020 campaign reporter at The Daily Beast. She most recently was national politics reporter at National Journal and is a POLITICO alum.

PLAYBOOKERS

WHCD PARTY GUIDE -- THURSDAY: Playbook is hosting a “White House Correspondents’ Weekend Kick Off Celebration” at WeWork Metropolitan Square at 6 p.m. ... Gloria Dittus and Cathy Merrill Williams host their sixth annual Washington Women in Journalism Awards starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Anderson House. ... Allen Gannett, Eric Kuhn, John McCarthy and Jennifer DeCasper, with support from T-Mobile, are hosting the sixth annual “Bytes and Bylines” party from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the residence of Irish Ambassador Daniel Mulhall. ...

… FRIDAY: David and Katherine Bradley are hosting their annual pre-WHCD dinner at their home starting at 6 p.m. … RealClearPolitics, the National Restaurant Association, the Beer Institute and the Distilled Spirits Council host a reception called “A Toast to the First Amendment” from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the association’s HQ. … Roll Call is hosting a WHCD pre-party from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 801 Wharf St. SW. ... TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” hosts its second not-annual “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” at 7 p.m. at DAR Constitution Hall (the show will be broadcast Saturday). …

… Qatari Ambassador Meshal bin Hamad AlThani and the Washington Diplomat are having a party at 8 p.m. at the U.S. Institute of Peace. ... The Hill is hosting a party at 8 p.m. called “Politics Without Prejudice: A Toast to Freedom of the Press,” in conjunction with CRAFT, at the National Portrait Gallery that will feature a DJ performance from Questlove. ... UTA is having its annual WHCD party co-hosted by Jay Sures and Mediate CEO Dan Abrams at Fiola Mare from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. ...

… SATURDAY: Tammy Haddad is having her annual garden brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. that is co-hosted this year by Hilary Rosen, Jean Case, Mark and Sally Ein, Jennifer Dunn, Zac Moffatt, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Franco Nuschese and Fritz Brogan with special guest Jay Leno. ... The Daily Beast has a cocktail party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Connecticut Avenue near the Hilton. ... Robert Allbritton and Susan Zirinsky are hosting a POLITICO/CBS News reception at 6 p.m. at the Washington Hilton. ...

… Fred Ryan and The Washington Post are having a reception celebrating the Post’s Press Freedom Partnership from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Washington Hilton. ... Thomson Reuters hosts a pre-party at 6 p.m. at the Washington Hilton. … BuzzFeed News hosts a “WHCD Watch (Or Not) Party” from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bourbon on 18th Street. ... Capitol File hosts its after-party celebration hosted by Michael Kelly of “House of Cards” and Jack Ryan from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Dupont Circle Hotel. ... NBC News and MSNBC are having their after-party at the Italian Embassy. ...

… SUNDAY: CNN is having its annual “Political Hangover Brunch” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ... Robert Allbritton and Dr. Elena Allbritton host their annual brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their Georgetown home. … Thomson Reuters hosts a "Correspondents’ Brunch" at the Hay-Adams from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

SPOTTED: Don McGahn strolling past Charlie Palmer’s on Constitution Avenue (not far from the Jones Day offices). He was also spotted by a separate tipster walking along the newspapers outside the Newseum. Pic ... Reggie Love on Tuesday at the Eaton Hotel’s coffee shop.

OUT AND ABOUT -- Carly Fiorina held her only Washington event for her new book “Find Your Way” ($18.17 on Amazon) with RightNowWomen and MavPAC on Tuesday night at the offices of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers. SPOTTED: Joel Wood, Shelley Hymes, Jean Card, Lisa Spies, Marlene Colucci, Lisa Gable, Lisa Nelson, Missy Foxman, Cherylyn Lebon, Laura Cox Kaplan, Neri Martinez and Jane Adams.

TRANSITIONS -- Retired Gen. John “Mick” Nicholson Jr. will be president of the nonprofit PenFed Foundation. Nicholson previously commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan and NATO’s Resolute Support Mission. ... Rachel Rosen will be communications director for Democratic Majority for Israel. She most recently worked on comms at CAP and was a producer at CNN for more than a decade. The group also hired Joel Wanger to be political director. Wanger is a DCCC alum.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Bill Browder turned 55 … Vice News’ Jesse Seidman (hat tip: Nihal Krishan)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Ruth Guerra, managing director at CLS Strategies and a CLF/AAN and RNC alum. A fun fact about Ruth: “My friends tease me because my husband and I really enjoy cruises. We will for sure wait about 30 years to do another Viking Cruise BUT in all seriousness, I can’t think of an easier way to travel to numerous destinations with an itinerary at every stop (that I didn’t have to make) all without having to lug your suitcase from place to place. In fact, in about a month, we will be cruising on the French Riviera and Mediterranean.” Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Clay Shoemaker of the White House ... former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is 77 ... former Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny is 68 ... Peter Daou ... Michael Hirsh, senior correspondent at Foreign Policy ... former Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) is 64 ... Andrew Kirtzman ... the Library of Congress, created from an act of Congress that President John Adams signed in 1800, is 219 … Zack Roday, comms director for Republicans on House Energy and Commerce, is 33 (h/t wife Alleigh Marre) ... Michael Schneider … Bonnye Hart ... Jill Griffiths, alum of FTI Consulting ... Obama HQ alums Roz Skozen and Chris Herold ... R Street’s Clark Packard is 35 … Alyssa Betz (h/t Rhonda Foxx) … Vanuatu PM Charlot Salwai is 56 ...

… Megan Sowards Newton of Jones Day’s political law group ... Al Weaver of The Hill (h/ts Melissa Brown and Sarah Westwood) ... Larry Kramer, chairman of TheStreet ... conservative fundraiser Erin DeLullo (hubby tip: Matt Lewis) … Stuart Chapman, partner at Thorn Run Partners ... Megan Nashban … Robb Walton of BGR Group … Brandon Hertz ... Jameson Cunningham ... Megan Hannigan, manager of U.S. gov’t relations at PayPal … Edelman’s Luis Betanzo ... Gabriela Domenzain … Sal Scrimenti … Brandon Hersh ... Imani Greene ... David Botkins ... Terron Sims II ... Jesica Wagstaff … Laurie Edberg ... Hillary Lassiter … LCV’s Shaun Kelleher … Andrew Bailey (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

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