POLITICO Playbook PM: NYT digs into the Murdoch empire, Dems authorize subpoena of Mueller report and Wilbur Ross won’t testify in front of Congress Presented by Amazon

Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall attend the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 24. | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

WHAT EVERYONE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT … THREE-PART NYT MAG INVESTIGATION ABOUT THE MURDOCH EMPIRE: “HOW RUPERT MURDOCH’S EMPIRE OF INFLUENCE REMADE THE WORLD,” by Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg. Part One: “IMPERIAL REACH” … Part Two: “INTERNAL DIVISIONS” … Part Three: “THE NEW FOX WEAPON”

NEW: IVANKA TRUMP and USAID ADMINISTRATOR MARK GREEN will travel to Africa in mid-April for her first international trip to a developing country since the launch of the White House’s global women economic empowerment initiative, according to a White House official. Trump and Green will make stops in Cote d’Ivoire and Ethiopia and will be joined by OPIC acting President and CEO David Bohigian, interim President of the World Bank Group and CEO of the World Bank Kristalina Georgieva and other officials.

NEW … KYLE CHENEY: “House Judiciary Committee authorizes subpoena for Mueller report”: “The vote gives [Chairman Jerry] Nadler the discretion to issue a subpoena at any time to Attorney General William Barr, a move that likely would launch a legal confrontation between Congress and the Justice Department.

“But Nadler indicated that he won’t issue the subpoena right away. Rather, he said he intends to give Barr ‘time to change his mind’ about redacting the report before submitting it to Congress.” POLITICO

-- BLOOMBERG’S SHANNON PETTYPIECE and CHRIS STROHM: “Trump Sidelined as Barr Mulls What in Mueller Report to Release”: “Attorney General William Barr hasn’t discussed any part of Mueller’s report with the White House, according to a Justice Department official, but plans to rely instead on his own judgment in deciding whether some details in the report should be withheld under executive privilege. …

“A Justice Department official declined to say whether Barr is planning to redact material in the report that he deems sensitive regarding presidential deliberations. If he does, it’s unclear how narrowly or broadly Barr will interpret the question of executive privilege -- whether he will take it upon himself to protect Trump’s privilege and hold back a broad set of details, or err on the side of full disclosure.” Bloomberg

CAITLIN EMMA: “Wilbur Ross rejects second invite to testify before Congress”: “Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has declined a second invitation to testify on President Donald Trump’s budget request as House Democrats prepare to subpoena documents related to the escalating battle over the 2020 Census.

“In a letter to House spending leaders on Tuesday, Ross said his scheduled appearance before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday afternoon would be a distraction from the budget discussion. Lawmakers rejected his offer to send other senior agency officials as witnesses, Ross said.” POLITICO

Good Wednesday afternoon.

WHAT’S ON THE PRESIDENT’S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 9:26 a.m.: “I was never planning a vote prior to the 2020 Election on the wonderful HealthCare package that some very talented people are now developing for me & the Republican Party. It will be on full display during the Election as a much better & less expensive alternative to ObamaCare…”

… at 9:37 a.m.: “...This will be a great campaign issue. I never asked Mitch McConnell for a vote before the Election as has been incorrectly reported (as usual) in the @nytimes, but only after the Election when we take back the House etc. Republicans will always support pre-existing conditions!”

… at 9:45 a.m.: “Congress must get together and immediately eliminate the loopholes at the Border! If no action, Border, or large sections of Border, will close. This is a National Emergency!”

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ON THE WORLD STAGE -- “Rand Paul, Ocasio-Cortez praise Trump for Syria withdrawal,” by Burgess Everett: “The Kentucky GOP senator, New York Democratic congresswoman and 10 other members of both parties wrote Trump on Wednesday to offer ‘bipartisan support of your announcement of the start of a ‘deliberate withdrawal’ of U.S. military forces in Syria,’ according to a letter sent to the president.

“The group of lawmakers declares that the U.S. presence in Syria is in ‘violation of the Constitution’ because Congress never approved it and also urges Trump to wind down the war in Afghanistan.” POLITICO

-- “Turkish foreign minister says he has no idea what the U.S. policy in Syria is,” by Dave Brown

-- “World's nuclear chief says risk of weapons proliferation is rising,” by CBS’ Pamela Falk at the United Nations

THE LATEST ON VENEZUELA -- “U.S. Readies Venezuela Economic Rescue Plan Should Maduro Fall,” by Bloomberg’s Saleha Mohsin: “The U.S. is already in talks with Juan Guaido -- the Venezuelan opposition chief the U.S. has recognized as the nation’s leader -- to develop an economic rescue and restructuring plan for the country that could begin immediately, should Maduro step down or be deposed, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Wednesday at an event in Washington hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

“The U.S. Treasury, the National Security Council and the NEC are all working on the plan, Kudlow said. The U.S. aims to provide the impoverished country with cash, at least initially in dollars instead of the local bolivar. Kudlow said the goal is to put money directly into the hands of Venezuelans.” Bloomberg

HMM … THE DAILY BEAST’S BETSY WOODRUFF and ASAWIN SUEBSAENG: “On Middle East Peace, the White House Turns to ... Alan Dershowitz”: “Dershowitz said he has discussed relations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority with the president’s team. And he said he spoke with White House advisers before they rolled out some of their biggest decisions on the issue, including moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel.” The Daily Beast

CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY’S DAVE LEVINTHAL: “At The Federal Election Commission, No Watchdog For The Watchdogs”: “[T]he lack of an inspector general means no one is watching the election watchdog — at a time when few feel the FEC is functioning effectively, even as its missions are evermore important.

“The FEC’s struggles are set against the backdrop of an accelerating chase for presidential campaign cash and prominent political money scandals — alleged porn actress hush-money payments and foreign infiltration among them. Scammers are also increasingly preying on vulnerable Americans who are misled into believing they are supporting a candidate or cause — an issue the FEC has struggled to address. Some in Congress are growing impatient.” CPI

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- “Pork industry soon will have more power over meat inspections,” by WaPo’s Kimberly Kindy: “Under the proposed new inspection system, the responsibility for identifying diseased and contaminated pork would be shared with plant employees, whose training would be at the discretion of plant owners. There would be no limits on slaughter-line speeds.

“The new pork inspection system would accelerate the federal government’s move toward delegating inspections to the livestock industry. … These proposals, part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to reduce regulations, come as the federal government is under fire for delegating some of its aircraft safety oversight responsibilities to Boeing, which developed the 737 Max jets involved in two fatal crashes over the past six months.” WaPo

IN VIRGINIA -- KATIE GALIOTO: “Justin Fairfax releases polygraph tests as he fights back against accusers”

AD WARS -- “Republican leadership-affiliated group targets Ilhan Omar,” by CNN’s Michael Warren: “An official from American Action Network, a conservative advocacy nonprofit group, told CNN the organization will spend six figures on digital ads that criticize Omar for questioning the allegiance of members of Congress who support the state of Israel.

“The ads charge that Omar ‘keeps hurling anti-Semitic slurs’ and includes images of a now-deleted tweet from 2012 in which the future congresswoman stated ‘Israel has hypnotized the world.’ Calling Omar’s seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee ‘inappropriate,’ the ads call on House Democrats to ‘stand up to hate’ and remove her from the committee, an effort Republicans in the House have pushed for for months.” CNN

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2020 WATCH -- MAGGIE SEVERNS: “Black leaders blast Dem war on super PACs”: “Top black donors and operatives are calling on fellow Democrats to abandon their push against super PACs, arguing that one of Democrats’ most popular 2020 talking points will ultimately cut off much-needed resources for candidates of color.

“In a letter obtained by POLITICO, The Collective PAC — which helps elect black candidates to office — asked major liberal groups like Indivisible and Democracy for America to stop calling for Democratic presidential contenders to distance themselves from single-candidate super PACs. Such groups play an important role in electing candidates of color, they argued, especially in primaries, when the Democratic establishment has often overlooked black contenders and left it to outside donors to bolster their campaigns.” POLITICO

-- “Kamala Harris wants Dreamers to work in Congress,” by Marianne LeVine and Chris Cadelago: “On Wednesday, the 2020 contender will introduce legislation with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.) that would make Dreamers eligible to work as staffers or interns in Congress. It’s the latest move by the California Democrat to seize on an issue that her rival Beto O’Rourke has made his calling card — and to advocate for a Democratic constituency that’s often reduced to a congressional bargaining chip.” POLITICO

-- PAUL DEMKO: “Legalizing pot is the new Democratic litmus test”

-- HOLLY OTTERBEIN: “Sanders launches mega volunteer program”

CLICKER -- “Mayor Pete Buttigieg Impressed the Hell Out of Ben Folds During a Duet in 2015,” by Esquire’s Kate Story -- with a 4-min. video.

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- Fox News will host a 2020 town hall with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 15 from Bethlehem, Pa. Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will co-anchor.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- “U.S. finds ‘severe’ problems in Alabama prisons,” by AP’s Kim Chandler and Eric Tucker in Montgomery, Ala.: “The Justice Department has determined that Alabama’s prisons are violating the Constitution by failing to protect inmates from violence and sexual abuse and by housing them in unsafe and overcrowded facilities, according to a scathing report Wednesday that described the problems as ‘severe’ and ‘systemic.’ The federal government also is putting the state on notice that it may sue if officials there don’t make improvements soon.” AP

OUT AND ABOUT -- SPOTTED at a screening of the Steve Forbes-produced PBS documentary “In Money We Trust?” at the Trump Hotel on Tuesday night: Forbes, Larry Kudlow, Steve Moore, Grover Norquist, Corey Lewandowski, Jim DeMint, Alfredo Ortiz, Greg Mueller, Keith Appell, Alexandra Preate, Peter Robbio, Michael Thompson, Diana Davis Spencer, Tony Sayegh, Adam Brandon, David Metzner, Jimmy Kemp, Jim Schultz and Judy Shelton.

-- SPOTTED at the Hudson Institute’s “NATO at 70” dinner Tuesday night with the policy planning heads of the alliance’s member states: Ken Weinstein, Kiron Skinner, Benedetta Berti-Alberti, Scooter Libby, Sebastian Groth, Ezra Cohen, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Dan McKivergan, Hans Nichols, Andrew Peek, Shayna Estulin, Sorin Ducaru, Benjamin Krasna, Tom Kelly, Bulgarian Ambassador Tihomir Stoytchev, Nicolas Plexidas and Burak Akçapar.

-- SPOTTED: Mark Penn at a preview performance of “Hillary and Clinton” on Broadway Tuesday night. Penn is portrayed in the production by actor Zak Orth.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- Chad Mizelle is now deputy general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security. He most recently was associate counsel to the president at the White House. … Catherine Algeri will be VP and chief strategy officer at Chapman, Cubine and Hussey, heading a new political digital and advertising practice. She previously was integrated marketing director at the DSCC.

TRANSITIONS -- Peter Orszag will be CEO of financial advisory at Lazard. Orszag, who was director of OMB in the Obama White House, most recently was head of M&A, North America, at the firm. … Chip Fulghum has left DHS, where he was deputy undersecretary for management. He is now COO of Endeavors, a San Antonio-based nonprofit.

BONUS BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Hope Goins, majority staff director for the House Homeland Security Committee. Playbook Plus Q&A

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