POLITICO Playbook: Assange arrested in London as Mueller report looms Presented by Amazon

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Julian Assange's arrest could scramble traditional political fault lines in Washington. | Oli Scarff/Getty Images

BREAKING … “WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Is Arrested in London,” by NYT’s Richard Pérez-Peña: “Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who released reams of secret documents that embarrassed the United States government, was taken into police custody on Thursday after being evicted from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has lived for almost seven years.

“The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that Mr. Assange had been arrested by officers at the embassy on a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in 2012, for failing to surrender to the court.” NYT … Video of his arrest



-- Quick thought: Assange's arrest suggests that the arm of the Russia probe is long indeed. It also could scramble traditional political fault lines in Washington. In the Obama days, it was the left that defended the WikiLeaks enterprise, but many Democrats had soured on Assange by the 2016 campaign -- and then they came to despise him. Meanwhile, some on the right like Fox News host Sean Hannity and candidate Donald Trump became his biggest fans. What will they say now?

THE DHS MESS ... “It’s Trump vs. Trump as immigration divides White House,” by Eliana Johnson, Nancy Cook and Anita Kumar: “As the president faces blowback from his slow motion decapitation of the Department of Homeland Security, Trump is presenting two public faces on immigration. He is offering rhetoric that undersells the dramatic moves underway in his administration to curb illegal immigration and asylum seekers from entering the country.

“And he is toggling between [Jared] Kushner, who has spent months fashioning an immigration package that can attract bipartisan support and appease the business community, and [Stephen] Miller, who as a Senate aide was notorious for killing legislation like that.” POLITICO

DHS DEPARTURE LOUNGE -- The top ranks at DHS -- so far it’s Kirstjen Nielsen (secretary), Tex Alles (Secret Service), Claire Grady (acting deputy secretary), Ron Vitiello (ICE) and most likely Frank Cissna (USCIS) -- are emptying out. NBC’s Nigel Chiwaya notes that with these changes, “12 of the 30 leadership positions on the department’s organization chart will have been vacant, replaced or filled on an interim basis.” NBC (hat tip: Ted Hesson)

TIMESTAMP: APRIL 10, 2019 -- The New York Times declares the U.S. immigration system has reached a “breaking point.” NYT

-- WAPO: “Wait times at border soar as officers are reassigned to deal with migrants”

Good Thursday morning. Blake Hounshell and Daniel Lippman here filling in for Jake and Anna, who are out today due to the launch of their terrific new book, “The Hill to Die On” (seriously, read it). The House is gone for recess and the Senate is headed out soon, but we hear that at least one key committee could return when the [redacted] Mueller report drops early next week.

Blake spoke with House Intel chair ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.) after Wednesday’s stunner from Attorney General William Barr, who claimed the FBI had been “spying” on the Trump campaign. “I thought it was a grave disservice to the men and women of the bureau,” Schiff said. “I had deep concerns about him given how he got the job, but this is far worse than I would have imagined.”

-- More Schiff: “The post-Watergate protections are being broken down one at a time. You can intervene in a case in which you’re implicated. You can fire the FBI director. You can fire the attorney general. You can hire a new attorney general who talks about how biased he is against the investigation. And when that attorney general is on the job, he can edit or redact what’s given to him by the special counsel. … It looks like the president is well on his way to having his own Roy Cohn after all.”

-- And a rocket from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, via @JonLemire: “I don’t trust Barr, I trust Mueller.” AP

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2020 WATCH -- PETE VS. THE PENCES: “Pete Buttigieg, Gay and Christian, Challenges Religious Right on Their Own Turf,” by NYT’s Jeremy Peters: “As a religious gay man who believes his party has ceded discussion of religion and spirituality to Republicans, Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic candidate for president, is talking about God and sexuality in an unconventional way: He is using the language of faith to confront the Christian right on territory they have long claimed as their own.” NYT

-- THE MONEY PRIMARY: Unofficial fundraising hauls so far for the first three months of 2019 -- Bernie Sanders: $18.2 million; Kamala Harris: $12 million; Beto O’Rourke: $9.4 million; Pete Buttigieg: $7 million; Elizabeth Warren: $6 million; Cory Booker: $5 million.

-- NEW DNC WAR ROOM … NBC’s Heidi Przybyla: “Responding to criticism that Democrats were too focused on Trump’s temperament and personal attributes during Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, the party’s main organizing arm says it’s making a major expansion of its opposition research team that will be ‘hyper-focused’ on the impact of Trump’s policies on local communities.

“A team of several dozen staffers have compiled an archive of thousands of documents obtained through local news and Freedom of Information Act requests that will be used to spotlight promises Trump made during visits to specific communities — and to ‘put a human face’ on what’s happened since then.” NBC

-- THE TRUMP MACHINE … ALEX ISENSTADT: “A pair of the president’s top lieutenants, Bill Stepien and Justin Clark, are joining [West Virginia Gov.] Justice’s campaign as advisers as the governor tries to navigate a treacherous 2020 reelection bid.

“The move illustrates how Republicans up and down the ballot are hitching themselves to Trump’s ever-expanding and newly professionalized 2020 political machine. With the president lining up a team of experienced political strategists, deploying an ambitious national field program, and exercising nearly universal control over the party apparatus, Republicans are eager to exploit his organization for their own benefit.” POLITICO

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MUELLER’S COLLATERAL DAMAGE -- “Former Obama White House Counsel Expects to Be Indicted,” by WSJ’s Byron Tau and Aruna Viswanatha: “Former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig expects to be indicted in the coming days on charges stemming from work he performed for Ukraine in 2012, Mr. Craig’s legal team said. Mr. Craig has refused to accept a plea deal, and the matter could be presented to a grand jury for indictment as soon as Thursday, people familiar with the matter say.” WSJ

-- Ken Vogel: “Craig would become the first person who made his name in Democratic Party politics to be charged in a case linked to the special counsel’s investigation.” NYT

TRUMP TAX FIGHT LATEST -- “Treasury misses congressional deadline for turning over Trump’s tax returns,” by Brian Faler: “The Trump administration missed a Wednesday deadline set by Democrats to hand over the president’s tax returns, as the two sides edge closer to an epic legal battle that could rise all the way to the Supreme Court.

“In a letter released Wednesday evening, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he needs more time to consider House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal’s demand while also making clear the administration looks dimly on the request.” POLITICO … The letter

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TRUMP’S THURSDAY -- The president and first lady Melania Trump will meet with Moon Jae-in, the president of South Korea, at 12:10 p.m. (Moon, who is also meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, is desperate to revive the stalled peace talks with North Korea.) They will take part in a larger bilateral working lunch at 12:40 p.m. Trump will then meet with World War II veterans in the Oval Office at 2:15 p.m.

VP MIKE PENCE today is visiting Nogales, Ariz., along the U.S.-Mexico border, as the administration hammers home its immigration message. Pence is due to get a briefing from CBP agents, who will “spotlight drug interdiction efforts and the growing humanitarian crisis at the border,” per an administration official. He’ll also tour existing segments of the border fence/wall and make a few remarks.

-- Note: In February, the Nogales city council passed a resolution condemning the razor wire added recently to the local stretch of border barrier as “lethal” and “inhuman.” (The city’s mayor also threatened a lawsuit, but has yet to follow through.) Back in November, Trump said, “I noticed all that beautiful barbed wire going up today. Barbed wire used properly can be a beautiful sight.”

PLAYBOOK READS

PHOTO DU JOUR: Incoming acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, outgoing Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other DHS leaders at a dedication ceremony Wednesday for a new headquarters building. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

BANNON HANDICAPS 2020 -- Our own Ben Schreckinger spent two hours with Steve Bannon on Tuesday night. The former White House chief strategist and Trump campaign CEO had a lot to say about the 2020 presidential race:

On the Democrats: “Every other day I see another person jumping into the race. I think those people are rational and the people around them are rational. They must see something in the field that makes them feel like they can make a run. … I don’t see anybody in that field as of now who can take on Trump one-on-one.”

On beating Trump: “You’re not going to beat Trump with policies, right? … Elizabeth Warren has an incredibly detailed and probably the most well thought-through set of policy prescriptions, and they keep coming every day. She’s at, what, 7%, 8%?”

On Dems drafting Hillary Clinton in 2020: “If they don’t think that they’ve got somebody that can beat him, the vampire is going to be in the bullpen. She did get 63 million votes.”

On what the president will do if he wins: “You’re going to get pure Trump off the chain. Four years of Donald Trump in payback mode.”

On Ted Cruz’s facial hair: “If he had that beard [in 2016], he might have taken Trump all the way to the convention. The beard’s badass.”

BREXIT LATEST -- The European Union set a new deadline of Oct. 31 for the U.K. government to sort out its EU exit strategy. “Please do not waste this time,” an exasperated European Council President Donald Tusk urged British pols Wednesday. More from POLITICO Europe

-- POLITICO’s @tommctague: “Conclusion from last night: Britain will never leave without a deal and the EU will never kick Britain out.”

-- @realdonaldtrump at 10:52 p.m.: “Too bad that the European Union is being so tough on the United Kingdom and Brexit. The E.U. is likewise a brutal trading partner with the United States, which will change. Sometimes in life you have to let people breathe before it all comes back to bite you!”

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THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ELECTION -- Voting begins Thursday in India, where some 900 million people (!) are eligible to cast their ballots, and continues through May 19. P.M. Narendra Modi and his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party are expected to win re-election, albeit with a smaller majority than in 2014. Could come down to crucial Uttar Pradesh state. WSJ

DEPT. OF NON-DENIAL DENIALS -- From the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association: “Mount Vernon President Doug Bradburn and Regent Sarah Coulson escorted the presidents and first ladies on a tour of the Mansion on April 23, 2018. During the tour, all parties were interested and engaged in the story of George Washington and his beloved home.

“Conversations touched on topics like business dealings, real estate, and related matters that were of relevance and interest to the touring parties, and questions were asked by both leaders with curiosity and respect. Comments pulled from sources who were not present for the tour do not properly convey the tone and context in which they were delivered.” ICYMI: Read POLITICO’s original story

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TALKER -- “It’s the Sexism, Stupid,” by Kate Manne in POLITICO Magazine: “Two white male presidential candidates — Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders — have led the Democratic field from the start, and two others — Beto O’Rourke and Pete Buttigieg — have basked in glowing coverage. Meanwhile, experienced female rivals — Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren — haven’t generated nearly the same media buzz, or led any recent polls.

“What’s going on here? The evidence is mounting that these patterns are the work of sexism and misogyny — albeit often unconscious, unwitting and the result of implicit bias.”

MEDIAWATCH -- “National Enquirer expected to be sold imminently as parent company faces pressure,” by WaPo’s Sarah Ellison and Marc Fisher: “American Media Inc. is actively seeking to sell off the National Enquirer, according to three people familiar with the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The decision to sell came after the hedge fund manager whose firm controls American Media became ‘disgusted’ with the Enquirer’s reporting tactics, according to one of these people. …

“In August, just as AMI and two of its top officers were finalizing a non-prosecution agreement with federal investigators, the company’s board of directors started looking for ways to unload the tabloid business ‘because they didn’t want to deal with hassles like this anymore,’ another person said.” WaPo

-- Amazon.com founder and WaPo owner Jeff Bezos is expected to meet with federal prosecutors about claims that his electronic devices were hacked. CNN’s Erica Orden and Shimon Prokupecz: “The meeting signals that the U.S. attorney’s office is escalating its inquiry connected to Bezos’s suggestion that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was behind a National Enquirer story that exposed his extramarital affair and his claim that the tabloid attempted to extort him.” CNN

-- Mark Magnier will be a U.S. correspondent for the South China Morning Post. He most recently was a fellow with the University of Michigan Knight-Wallace fellowship and before that was China economics editor in Beijing with the WSJ.

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED: Kirstjen Nielsen at a going-away party Wednesday night at Mission Navy Yard that drew around 50 people. … Lara Trump outside the Rosslyn Sweetgreen on Wednesday. “She was sitting and talking to … two men when [a] woman walked up and yelled ‘Congratulations.’ Presumably about the announcement of the new baby,” according to our tipster. Pic

OUT AND ABOUT -- SPOTTED Wednesday night at Sfoglina for a party celebrating Jake and Anna’s book “The Hill to Die On,” hosted by Robert and Dr. Elena Allbritton, Patrick Steel and Lee Satterfield and Maria and Fabio Trabocchi: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), John Harris, Carrie Budoff Brown, Matt Kaminski, Irene Jefferson, Patrick Mellody, Tammy Haddad, Heather Podesta, Craig Gordon, Robb Watters, Alyssa Farah, Andrew Kovalcin, Christopher Gindlesperger, Matt and Rebecca Haller, Edith Gregson, Brad Dayspring, Ron Bonjean, Dan Conston, Bennett Richardson, Eli Stokols, Annie Karni, Matt Gorman, Sudeep Reddy, Seung Min Kim and Tara Palmeri.

-- SPOTTED Wednesday night at the American Task Force for Lebanon gala: Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), who received the Habib Award for Distinguished Public Service and was introduced by former Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and HHS Secretary Alex Azar, who received the Habib Award for Distinguished Public Service and was introduced by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Also spotted: John Sununu, Ray LaHood, Peter Rahal and David Yazbek.

TRANSITIONS -- Danny Weiss has been named a senior fellow in the Century Foundation’s D.C. office. He most recently was chief of staff for Speaker Nancy Pelosi. … Jarrett Lewis has joined as a partner at survey research firm Public Opinion Strategies, where he will focus on health care. He previously was head of health policy at the Health Management Academy.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Ed Skyler, Citi’s head of public affairs and former NYC deputy mayor for operations. How he got his start in politics: “My first job was working for the New York City Parks Department during the Giuliani administration. I was hired by Henry Stern, who just passed away, and became the longest serving Parks Commissioner since Robert Moses. … I learned that fixing small problems prevents big problems -- something that I definitely applied later when I was a deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration and we had all of New York City to worry about.” Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Ethel Kennedy is 91 ... Janet Montesi, special assistant to the White House press secretary ... Meghan McCann ... Alex Phillips ... Erika Masonhall, who does comms at Netflix (h/t Tucker Bounds) ... Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) is 64 … William P. Lauder is 59 … J.D. Harrison (h/t Blair Latoff Holmes) ... former Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-Minn.), president of the University of North Dakota who is likely to become the University of Colorado’s next president, is 62 … David Wofford ... Sydney Rubin ... Castlen Kennedy (h/t Stephen Cox) ... Missi Tessier of Cogent Strategies ... Michele Ballantyne, COO of RIAA ... Marcia Hale (h/ts Jon Haber) ... Laura Braden Quigley ... Henry Gass ... Hayley Richard ... Chris Malagisi, executive director of outreach for Hillsdale’s Kirby Center ... POLITICO’s Boris Seka ... Nina Verghese ... Aaron Bennett ... Rae Robinson Trotman, SVP at SKDKnickerbker (h/t Cameron French) ...

… Marc Ross, founder of Caracal Global ... Mariel Saez ... Tucker Bourne … Manuel Ortiz ... MSNBC’s Raelyn Johnson ... Donna Borak ... Kate Warren ... Chris Gates ... Hillary Alvaré ... Benjamin Bryant ... DAGA’s Jason Bargnes is 35 (h/t Lizzie Ulmer) … Sebastian Silva ... Joshua Lapidus is 29 ... Jon Berrier, senior director of public affairs at JUUL Labs, is 37 (h/ts Josh Raffel, Tevi Troy and Matt David) … Lauren Kane ... Paul Arden ... Kevin O’Neill ... Don Graves ... Alex Douglas is 3-0 ... Vinnie Nordmann ... Mitch Carney ... CSIS’ Holly Geffs (h/t Henry Elkus) ... Jesse Dougherty ... Linda Lipsen, CEO at AAJ ... Google’s Julie Tarallo ... Sarah Beth Lowe ... Nancy Yacoub ... Jacob Peterson is 33 ... Kim Aagaard ... Julie Westfall ... Jim Parenti ... Adam Kramer ... Jake Peterson is 34 ... Elliott Suthers ... Bob Fois is 57 ... William Hamby ... Gil Gross ... Beth Osborne ... Teresa Thomas-Boyd … Ellen Goodman is 78 (h/t AP)

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