ANN ROMNEY: HUGE DONOR DRAW IN DC, NYC - Obama cracks down on oil market -- Seamus 'loved' roof -- DCCC outraises NRCC - The new establishment: POLITICO, HuffPost win Pulitzers Presented by Facebook

BREAKING – “Secret Service Bragged About Protecting Obama While Partying At Colombian Brothel” – ABC/Cartagena: “Secret Service officials accused of misconduct in Colombia revealed their identities by boasting at a Cartagena brothel that they worked for President Obama. Partying at the ‘Pley Club’ Wednesday night, eleven members of the president’s advance team allegedly bragged ‘we work for Obama’ and ‘we’re here to protect him.’ The officials spent the night throwing back expensive whiskey and enlisting the services of the club’s prostitutes, according to a bouncer at the club and a police source. Sources tell ABC News several of the men agreed to pay for, and received, services from the ‘highest category’ prostitutes available at the club, who charge upwards of $200.”

--NOW AT LEAST 10 MILITARY MEMBERS SUSPECTED -- Tribune’s David S. Cloud and Kathleen Hennessey: “The Pentagon investigation is focusing on five Army Special Forces soldiers, two Marines, two Navy personnel and one member of the Air Force.”


SLIDE SHOW of MATT WUERKER political cartoons that won the Pulitzer Prize yesterday, making POLITICO the youngest news organization ever to win journalism’s top honor http://politi.co/JxbEXt

-- Full list of yesterday’s winners, including David Wood of The Huffington Post (Mr. Beth Frerking) “for his riveting exploration of the physical and emotional challenges facing American soldiers severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan during a decade of war.” http://bit.ly/J45umJ

DRIVING THE DAY – “11:10AM: THE PRESIDENT delivers a [Rose Garden] statement announcing a plan to increase oversight and crack down on manipulation in oil markets … At a time when American consumers are feeling pain at the pump, it is critically important to ensure that illegal manipulation, fraud and market rigging are not contributing to gas price increases.”

--Brendan Buck, press secretary to Speaker Boehner: “If there’s fraud going on, the administration has the tools to stop it. The truth is the President’s policies are restricting American energy production, and he’s looking for a scapegoat. The American people aren’t going to buy it.”

ANN ROMNEY drew new donors, and even a few Dems, to a high-dollar, mostly female fundraiser hosted by Catherine Reynolds, and Fred and Marlene Malek, last night at the Maleks’ home in McLean. The ladies sang “Happy Birthday” and ate cake on Mrs. Romney’s 63 rd.

--SPOTTED: Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell; Scott Romney, the candidate’s brother; former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao; Ann Hand; Abigail Blunt; Virginia Del. Barbara Comstock; Bill and Donna Marriott; Debbie Marriott; Cathy Gillespie; Judy Black; Bobbie Kilberg; Linda Bond; Bonnie McElveen Hunter; Kimberley Thune; and Mary Ourisman.

--“Trump-hosted fundraiser with Ann Romney set to raise $600K,” by Sarah B. Boxer of CBS News: Today, “she will be in New York City for a birthday luncheon hosted by Donald and Melania Trump, which has netted over $600,000 for the Romney campaign … The impending Manhattan event has proved so financially successful, says Trump spokesman Michael Cohen, that the Romney campaign asked Trump to host a similar fundraiser when Romney secures the Republican presidential nomination. According to Cohen, tickets to that event would sell for $50,000 and 50 donors have already expressed interest in attending.

“Tuesday's event at Trump's primary residence, a triplex on 5th Avenue, was originally only supposed to hold 200 people. But when capacity was filled within 48 hours of invitations going out, the campaign … asked to extend the number of people attending, which will now be 400. … [T]here will be two shifts of attendees - the first batch of 200 spending time with Ann Romney from noon to 1:15 p.m., and the second crowd coming in from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Buddy Valastro, star of the Bravo show ‘Cake Boss,’ custom designed a cake for the party.” http://cbsn.ws/HPF2vN

--MRS. ROMNEY TO DIANE SAWYER, on Seamus: “The dog loved it … He would see that crate and, you know, he would, like, go crazy because he was going with us on vacation. It was to me a kinder thing to bring him along than to leave him in the kennel for two weeks.” http://abcn.ws/HPRwlN

NEW ON THE TWITTERS -- @BethMyers2012: “As someone who has worked in partnership with @MittRomney for years, I am honored to lead his search for a VP. #Mitt2012 ”

AD DU JOUR – Tex. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for U.S. Senate, 60 sec., “Too Many … The Real Ted Cruz: A Trial Lawyer Standing with a Chinese Conglomerate to Kill American Jobs” http://bit.ly/ItJhL8

YOU’RE INVITED: POLITICO Pro Transportation launch event with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, 8 a.m. tomorrow. RSVP http://bit.ly/HPIurp #ProTI

--Our new transportation and infrastructure team: Kathryn A. Wolfe from CQ, Adam Snider from BNA, Burgess Everett from POLITICO and Jessica Meyers from The Dallas Morning News, all led by former Morning News editor Eric Nelson. For subscription info, [email protected], (703) 341-4600, or www.politicopro.com/proinfo.

WHAT REPUBLICANS ARE SAYING about the “penchant for secrecy” attack line against Romney: “These are exactly the kind of questions we asked about Obama in 2008 and were accused of race baiting, or suggesting he was somehow un-American. Now they ask it: What's his secret? It does seem like they are going after the Mormonism, right? I'd do the same thing if I was them. But we were never up on our high horse about better angels and hope and change and all that B.S..”

--From an LDS member: “[T]his is a way to talk about Romney’s Mormonism without appearing to be attacking his religion. … Because, isn’t Mormonism some mysterious cult involving secret temple rites and strange undergarments? And it just happens to dovetail with some minor points on offshore accounts, but I think the message between the lines is clear.”

--Ben LaBolt of the Obama campaign told the HuffPost's Jon Ward in November: "Attacking a candidate's religion is out of bounds, and our campaign will not engage in it." http://huff.to/HPVvhX

--David Axelrod, Obama's top strategist, said in a statement to Playbook: "Refusing to release income tax returns and the names of your fundraising bundlers, removing the hard drives from your state computers when you left the governorship, refusing to offer details of your plans -- these have noting to do with religion. George Romney was a leader on disclosure when he ran for President, releasing 12 years of returns. This is issue is about Mitt Romney, not his faith."

TOP TALKER – “'GMA' poised to snap long 'Today' winning streak,” by AP Television Writer David Bauder: “The 16-year ratings dominance of NBC's "Today" show, one of television's most epic streaks, has apparently ended. The Nielsen Co. said Monday that ABC's ‘Good Morning America’ beat NBC's morning show last week by a razor-thin margin of 13,000 viewers — and ABC owes Tim Tebow a hearty thank you. The ‘Today’ show had won 852 consecutive weeks in the ratings, a streak that began in December 1995 when Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric were the chief anchors. …

“The ‘Today’ show earned an estimated $484 million in revenue in 2011, according to Kantar Media, more than "GMA" ($298 million) and CBS' morning show ($156 million) combined. NBC this month signed ‘Today’ co-host Matt Lauer to a contract extension that reportedly makes him the highest-paid on-air talent in television news. … ‘Good Morning America’ averaged 5.147 million viewers for the week, to the ‘Today’ show's 5.134 million, Nielsen said in its fast national estimate. ABC was cautious in its response because the final ratings aren't due until Thursday and, occasionally, the numbers shift as Nielsen looks for conflicts in local markets. Co-host George Stephanopoulos tweeted [thanks to] viewers ‘for giving us a week we'll never forget,’ adding, ‘What a milestone!’”

WHAT BOSTON IS READING – “Romney’s bright electoral landscape,” by Jennifer Rubin, WashPost “Right Turn” blogger: “To … seize the presidency, Romney only needs some states that routinely went Republican before the 2008 race (Nevada, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia) and needs to hold on to a few that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) managed to win (Arizona, Missouri). ,,, Romney doesn’t need to win (but he might) in New Hampshire or New Mexico. He would love to, but isn’t required to, break through in states like Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin or Michigan. (The first and last would seem the most likely.) It may come as a shock to liberals when you break it down by the only measure that matters (electoral votes), but Romney can do worse that George W. Bush did in 2004 (when he won Iowa and New Mexico) and still win the White House.” http://wapo.st/JwGjEa

--CHASER, from a top Dem. source: “Assuming that Obama wins all the states that have been won by every Democrat for the last 20 years, including both Gore and Kerry (242 electoral votes) and Romney wins all the states that McCain won in 2008 (180 electoral votes), that leaves 10 states: CO, FL, IA, IN, NC, NH, NM, NV, OH, VA (116 electoral votes). With those ten states, there are 1,024 possible combinations (2^10 = 1,024). Out of these 1,024 scenarios, Obama wins 939 of them (91.7%) and Romney wins 85 of them (8.3%). All 85 scenarios require Mitt Romney to win Florida, a state in which Obama leads according to all the latest polls, including +7 points in the latest Quinnipiac poll and +3 points in the latest Rasmussen poll.”

FIRST LOOK: “The DCCC raised $9.8 million in March and $22.1 for Q1. We have $22.8 M COH and 0 debt. The DCCC's success is fueled by record setting DCCC grassroots support (on the GOP budget, GOP anti-women agenda, etc.), Nancy Pelosi's brutal fundraising sked, and Steve Israel's aggressive work. The NRCC raised $9.3 million in March. That means the NRCC raised $19.2 million in Q1 – nearly $3 million less than the DCCC.”

--USA Today 6A, “Dems recruit [House] candidates outside political arena,” by Susan Davis: “These ‘problem solvers,’ as [DCCC Chair Steve] Israel calls them, are intended to help Democrats draw a contrast to Republicans who have party-line voting records or are veteran incumbents at a time when the electorate has a sour view of Congress and career politicians. … Israel acknowledged parallels but said his 2012 strategy is different because he sought candidates who would appeal to independent voters, vs. Tea Party candidates who adhered to a more defined ideological line on fiscal policies. ‘The contrast is in 2010, Republicans recruited people who ran as ideologues and served as ideologues,’ Israel said.” http :// usat . ly / I 1 cM 55

TRANSITIONS: Andy Sere, who helped preside over the demise of the Southern Democrat at the NRCC in 2010, has left Capitol Hill to join the well-respected GOP media firm DMM Media. He was most recently chief of staff to freshman West Virginia Rep. David McKinley.

** A message from Toyota: Our Toyota team members don't just lend a hand in the places we call home. They lend thousands. Last year alone, Toyota's team members volunteered 100,000 hours in communities all across America. It's how we help make the great community greater still. Check out the action at ToyotaInAction.com/community. **

BIRTHDAYS: Ryan Loskarn, chief of staff to Sen. Lamar Alexander … Matthew Aks, White House Council of Economic Advisors … Clay Hanna, executive director of Cornerstone Schools of Washington … Ruby Hanna, who shares her birthday with Dad, is 3 (hat tips: Autumn) … Sandra Fluke, on Equal Pay Day … Bloomberg’s Julie Davis … Atlantic Media’s Annie Hughes (hat tip: Mom, a.k.a. Ann Compton) … Greg Lemon, Rep. Heck press secretary … Emily Cooper at NatGeo Channel, wife of Heritage's Rory Cooper (h/t: Lindlaw) … Purple's Chris Durlak turns 30, and is celebrating by condo shopping in Potomac Yards (h/t Keil) … Ken Jost of CQ Press ... Tom Giovanetti, president, Institute for Policy Innovation … House candidate Jessica Ehrlich (hat tips: Patrick Gavin) … Robin Canter … Monica Fischer (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): The Man, the Myth, the Legend – Tony Blinken is 5-0.

BIRTHWEEK (was Saturday): Adam Hodge's, a DNC Regional Press Secretary and Director of African American Media, is 30.

BIRTHDAY TOMORROW: Donovan Slack

SPOTTED, sitting together at last night’s Bruins v. Caps game: Chamber's Tom Donohue and Sen. John Kerry.

FIRST LOOK -- “CHAIRMAN RYAN WELCOMES CHAIRMAN CONRAD’S CHANGE OF DIRECTION ON BUDGETING -- Senate Budget Committee decides to consider a budget resolution – 1,085 days since the Senate last passed a budget … Yesterday, by announcing a markup of a budget resolution, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad reversed course on his insistence that the federal government didn’t need a budget resolution despite four straight trillion-dollar deficits and a looming fiscal crisis on the horizon. … ‘It is a grave disappointment that the U.S. Senate has refused to pass a budget for three consecutive years. … I remain hopeful that reformers can work together to meet our generation’s defining challenge of ensuring greater opportunities for generations to come.”

GSA SCANDAL is wood of N.Y. Post -- $SOAKED! Gov’t big takes the Fifth over $823G party” (final edition subhed: “836G hot-tub fed clams up in Congress”), by Gerry Shields: “Jeff Neely, the federal official at the center of a Wild Las Vegas spending scandal, took the Fifth Amendment before a House committee yesterday after photos surfaced showing him relaxing in a hot tub there on the taxpayer's dime. Neely, a commissioner with the General Services Administration, orchestrated the lavish $823,000 Las Vegas conference in 2010 … The somber Neely wasn’t in a party mood yesterday, sitting stoically at the witness table and asserting his constitutional right against self-incrimination as the chief investigator of the boondoggle told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he has asked the Justice Department to look into criminal charges.

“The committee released e-mails in which the brazen Neely, who earns $179,000 a year and is still being paid on administrative leave, flaunted his position as a regional commissioner and even invited friends to share in the taxpayer extravagance at the M Resort Spa and Casino, where the hot-tub photos — which first emerged on ABC News — were taken in 2009 while he took an advance trip there with his wife to check it out. ‘If you come, we typically host a nice happy hour in my suite one night (with u and the boys as part of it). I know. I am bad. But as deb and I say often, why not enjoy it while we have it and while we can. Aint going to last forever,’ Neely wrote, referring to his wife.” http://nyp.st/HQAkAg

THE GREAT RACE, with Kevin Robillard (@PoliticoKevin):

-- New Priorities USA Action ad, “Romney’s World View”: http :// youtu . be /6 Vzg 9 CsqLQA

-- “$800 Million Target for Romney Campaign and Republican Committee,” by NYT’s Nicholas Confessore: “The goals were laid out in a memorandum circulated by Mr. Romney’s top fund-raisers in recent days and on a conference call with donors late last week. The memo indicates that Mr. Romney’s top aides hope to collect a total of at least $500 million for the campaign and for the joint fund, known as Romney Victory, through a program for high-dollar donations. They are also hoping to bring in $300 million in smaller donations, an area where Mr. Romney has so far lagged well behind other Republicans.” http :// nyti . ms / HObOyv

--"Rick Santorum not endorsing yet," by Juana Summers via Maggie Haberman: "The former Pennsylvania senator, who suspended his presidential campaign last week, says he'll make an announcement 'in the next week or two' on his political future. ... During the 30-minute call that drew more than 4,000 participants according to a longtime campaign aide, Santorum focused on his future, saying that he plans to be 'active and involved in making sure the issues that we've talked about stay in the forefront.' 'We'll be active in races all across the country. We'll be active in the presidential race. There's no question that Barack Obama has to be defeated.’”

DESSERT -- Stephen Colbert on the weekend’s NRA convention: “A star-studded line-up of gun-loving Republicans, and Mitt Romney. To be fair, he does own a pastry gun, so his chef can defend him against un-rosetted cakes.”

** A message from Toyota: Our Toyota team members don't just lend a hand in the places we call home. They lend thousands. Last year alone, Toyota's team members volunteered 100,000 hours in communities all across America. It's how we help make the great community greater still. Check out the action at ToyotaInAction.com/community. **

This was updated at 11:41 a.m.

Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman