POLITICO Playbook: Will Trump participate now? Presented by Amazon

As of right now, President Donald Trump is not expected to send a lawyer to participate in next week’s Judiciary impeachment hearings. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

DRIVING THE DAY

WE HAVE SOME INTEL TO REPORT about the next phase of the impeachment inquiry, but we are going to do so with this caveat: Nailing down this White House is like trying to tack Jell-O to a wall. They are ever shifting, and they hardly stay on the same page on trivial matters, let alone decisions of the utmost import. Look no further than this week, when they couldn’t decide on a message about the gender of a dog.

SO, HERE WE GO: AS OF RIGHT NOW, people close to President DONALD TRUMP on the White House staff and on Capitol Hill do not believe he will send a lawyer to participate in next week’s Judiciary impeachment hearings, as is his right.

THIS COMES AFTER WEEKS OF COMPLAINING that the process was rigged against him because he didn’t have representation.

BUT TRUMP’S ALLIES think that the president is winning the process argument -- that impeachment is rigged, crooked, etc. -- and he should continue to sit it out. There will undoubtedly be hand-wringing about this in the five days between now and when the committee needs to know whether they should expect White House counsel.

THIS IS A BIG DECISION for Republicans. Not having a presidential attorney present would leave defending the president to the House Judiciary Committee, which includes Trump allies like GOP Reps. JIM JORDAN (Ohio), DOUG COLLINS (Ga.), JOHN RATCLIFFE (Texas) and MATT GAETZ (Fla.).

DEMOCRATS DID MAKE SURE that Trump has access to an attorney during this next set of hearings. Their guidance for the hearings says this: “The president’s counsel may question any witness called before the committee, subject to instructions from the chair or presiding member respecting the time, scope and duration of the examination.”

THE FIRST HEARING, as our colleagues KYLE CHENEY, ANDREW DESIDERIO and HEATHER CAYGLE point out here, is entitled “The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J. Trump: Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment.” This signals that the hearing will explore the legal case for impeaching the president. Of course, we anticipate these hearings will take up lots of oxygen, and will be televised live.

TO BE SURE, THIS COULD CHANGE … THE WHITE HOUSE doesn’t have a coherent impeachment strategy that we can discern -- and most of the president’s Capitol Hill allies feel the same way. So maybe they will shift strategies over this upcoming long weekend.

… BTW: Who is the president’s attorney, if he decides to send one? Would it be Rudy Giuliani? White House counsel Pat Cipollone?

HEATHER CAYGLE, SARAH FERRIS and KYLE CHENEY: “Dems see one last chance to boost public support for impeachment”

A message from Amazon: Amazon helps independent sellers grow and thrive in our store. Read the story behind the success of small- and medium-sized businesses in the Amazon store.

SO MANY GOOD STORIES IN THE LAST 12 OR SO HOURS …

NYT: “Trump Knew of Whistle-Blower Complaint When He Released Aid to Ukraine,” Mike Schmidt, Julian Barnes and Maggie Haberman: “President Trump had already been briefed on a whistle-blower’s complaint about his dealings with Ukraine when he unfroze military aid for the country in September, according to two people familiar with the matter.

“Lawyers from the White House counsel’s office told Mr. Trump in late August about the complaint, explaining that they were trying to determine whether they were legally required to give it to Congress, the people said.”

DOES THAT INSURANCE POLICY COVER GETTING THROWN UNDER THE BUS, RUDY? … BLOOMBERG: “Trump Denies Sending Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine for Biden Probe,” by Justin Sink: “‘No, I didn’t direct him, but he is a warrior, he is a warrior,’ Trump told [Bill] O’Reilly in an interview streamed on the internet on Tuesday. Giuliani has said publicly that he conducted an investigation ‘concerning 2016 Ukrainian collusion and corruption’ on Trump’s behalf.

“Asked by O’Reilly what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine, Trump said ‘you have to ask that to Rudy.’”

CAITLIN EMMA and ANDREW DESIDERIO: “White House budget officials resigned amid frustration with Ukraine aid freeze”: “Mark Sandy, whose closed-door deposition transcript was released Tuesday, said the initial concerns about the hold on military aid caused at least two officials within the Office of Management and Budget to resign.

“One of those officials, a lawyer, stepped down over concerns that the hold was violating the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which sharply curbs the executive branch’s authority to alter congressionally appropriated funds; another resigned over ‘frustrations about not understanding the reason for the hold.’” POLITICO … The transcript

ABOUT LAST NIGHT -- “At Florida ‘homecoming rally,’ Trump builds his case against impeachment,” by Nancy Cook in Sunrise, Fla., and Matthew Choi: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday spent much of his ‘homecoming rally’ here building his case against impeachment before thousands of enthusiastic supporters.

“He cast the Democrats’ inquiry as a desperate effort to win back the White House in 2020. He went so far as to call the impeachment proceedings ‘bullshit,’ prompting a new audience chant containing the expletive. And he put those proceedings in the same category as the Mueller investigation, labeling all of it a ‘scam’ and a ‘hoax.’

“‘They’re attacking me because I’m exposing a rigged system that enriched itself at your expense and I’m restoring government of, by and for the people,’ he told the crowd at the BB&T Center. ‘The radical Democrats are trying to overturn the last election because they know that they cannot win the next election,’ Trump added. ‘It’s very simple.’” POLITICO

-- “Impeachment fight leaves voters cold in contested Wisconsin,” by AP’s Alexandra Jaffe in Racine, Wis.: “There’s not a lot that Republicans and Democrats in this political battlefield agree on, but the impeachment probe into President Donald Trump may have surfaced one: The public hearings aren’t moving the needle.”

-- MICHAEL KRUSE: “Can Mikie Sherrill Keep Impeachment from Tearing Apart Her District?”

Good Wednesday morning. Safe travels to all of you who are braving the crowds and weather this Thanksgiving eve!

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- RACHANA PRADHAN, ADAM CANCRYN and DAN DIAMOND: “Clashes among top HHS officials undermine Trump agenda”: “President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Alex Azar, and his Medicare chief, Seema Verma, are increasingly at odds, and their feuding has delayed the president’s long-promised replacement proposal for Obamacare and disrupted other health care initiatives central to Trump's reelection campaign, according to administration officials.

“Verma spent about six months developing a Trump administration alternative to the Affordable Care Act, only to have Azar nix the proposal before it could be presented to Trump this summer, sending the administration back to the drawing board, senior officials told POLITICO. Azar believed Verma’s plan would actually strengthen Obamacare, not kill it.

“Behind the policy differences over Obamacare, drug pricing and other initiatives, however, is a personal rivalry that has become increasingly bitter. This fall, Azar blocked Verma from traveling with Trump on Air Force One from Washington to Florida in early October for the unveiling of a high-profile Medicare executive order — an initiative largely drawn up by Verma's agency — said six officials with knowledge of the episode, which played out over days. Only after Verma complained to White House staff was she allowed on Trump’s plane, according to seven people familiar with the situation.” POLITICO

-- S.F. CHRONICLE’S TAL KOPAN: “Exclusive: Trump’s top border official broke FBI rules to fund happy hours”: “President Trump’s top border official broke federal ethics rules in a previous job by seeking sponsors to buy alcohol and fancy food for FBI happy hours, according to a watchdog report exclusively obtained by The Chronicle.

“Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection agency, continued asking the outside entities to pay for the social events even after being warned it was against federal rules, the Justice Department’s inspector general found.

Playbook PM Sign up for our must-read newsletter on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

ATTN. KIM KARDASHIAN AND JARED KUSHNER … DAYTON DAILY NEWS: “Convicted former Dayton lawmaker wants Trump to pardon him,” by Lynn Hulsey: “Former state Rep. Clayton Luckie, who is headed to prison after pleading guilty to a federal mail fraud charge, says he did nothing wrong and will ask President Donald Trump for a pardon.

“‘President Trump, I need a pardon. Bottom line. If you care about the minority community this would be a good example to show a pardon,’ Luckie said in an exclusive interview Tuesday afternoon with the Dayton Daily News and News Center 7.

“Luckie is one of seven people indicted in a federal public corruption probe and the first to be sentenced. During two news conferences announcing the indictments, Joe Deters, acting FBI special agent in charge of the Cincinnati office, said authorities were investigating ‘a culture of corruption in Dayton area politics.’”

2020 WATCH …

-- BLOOMBERG STRATEGY: CLIP AND SAVE, via John Harris, Sally Goldenberg and Marc Caputo: “What Bloomberg contemplates is not so much an exercise in threading the political needle as pulverizing that needle as it has existed for decades.

“‘We’re just going to rewrite a new system,’ said Kevin Sheekey, a senior Bloomberg strategist. ‘Our theory of the case is that we’re going to skip the first four early states and we’re going to run as intensive a campaign’ in other Democratic states as rivals do in Iowa and New Hampshire. That plan kicks in with the March 3 run of Super Tuesday states, but won’t stop there. ‘We’re going to do it all across the country,’ Sheekey said.”

-- NYT’S LISA LERER in Henniker, N.H.: “When to Peak? Amy Klobuchar Has Given It Some Thought”: “[A]s the moderate wing of the party reasserts itself in the primary campaign, her message of plain-spoken politics is drawing greater attention. ‘What was happening early on was that there was this belief that only those guys had bold ideas,’ Ms. Klobuchar, of Minnesota, said in an interview, as she campaigned across New Hampshire this weekend. ‘I have plans, too. I have bold plans, too. And no one has a monopoly on good ideas.’ …

“Hoping to ride a wave of post-debate attention, Ms. Klobuchar planned to blaze through New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina this week, stopping briefly in Des Moines for a Thanksgiving Day celebration at the home of her campaign’s state chairwoman. ‘I’m hearing more talk about Amy. It’s picked up in the last couple weeks,’ said Laurie McCray, the Democratic Party chairwoman in Portsmouth, N.H. ‘People have heard from the other candidates and they’re still looking.’” NYT

-- “Warren nosedives in new nationwide poll,” by Caitlin Oprysko: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren's support among Democratic primary voters nationwide plunged 50 percent over the last month, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll, signaling that the shake-ups in the primary field are far from over.

“Former Vice President Joe Biden has retaken the lead in the poll after an autumn that saw him surrender his solid frontrunner status, climbing 3 points to earn 24 percent in the poll. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg surged into second, rising 6 points to 16 percent, with Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders not far behind at 14 and 13 percent, respectively.” POLITICO … The poll … More from Natasha Korecki on Warren losing her “mojo” in Iowa

TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY -- The president -- who is at Mar-a-Lago -- has nothing on his public schedule.

PLAYBOOK READS

PHOTO DU JOUR: President Donald Trump tosses a hat into the crowd at a rally in Sunrise, Fla., on Tuesday night. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo

WAPO: “NRA boosted executive pay while cutting funding for key programs, filing shows,” by Beth Reinhard: “Compensation for top officials at the National Rifle Association surged by 41 percent last year, according to a new tax filing, as the nation’s largest pro-gun organization sharply reduced spending on programs central to its mission.

“The jump from 2017 to 2018 for the NRA’s officers, directors and highly paid employees included a 57 percent increase for chief executive Wayne LaPierre that boosted his overall compensation to $2.15 million.

“The filing also shows perks for top officials that are typically associated with the corporate world, including charter and first-class travel with companions as well as dues for health or social clubs. Those costs were not detailed, though the NRA filing says housing expenses were provided for five people.

“During that same period, NRA spending plunged 22 percent for education and training, 61 percent for hunter services and 51 percent for field services, which includes organizing volunteers, fundraising for shooting sports and promoting the NRA at gun shows and other events, according to a previously released audit.” WaPo

WSJ: “Federal Prosecutors Launch Criminal Probe of Opioid Makers, Distributors,” by Corinne Ramey: “Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into whether pharmaceutical companies intentionally allowed opioid painkillers to flood communities, employing laws normally used to go after drug dealers, according to people familiar with the matter.

“The investigation, if it results in criminal charges, could become the largest prosecution yet of drug companies alleged to have contributed to the opioid epidemic, escalating the legal troubles of businesses that already face complex, multibillion-dollar civil litigation in courts across the country. Prosecutors are examining whether the companies violated the federal Controlled Substances Act, a statute that federal prosecutors have begun using against opioid makers and distributors this year.

“At least six companies have said in regulatory filings that they received grand-jury subpoenas from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York: drugmakers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Mallinckrodt PLC, Johnson & Johnson and Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc. and distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp. and McKesson Corp. People familiar with the matter said the subpoenas were in connection with the Brooklyn federal probe.”

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

THE LATEST IN IRAN -- AP’S JON GAMBRELL in Dubai, United Arab Emirates: “Iran supreme leader claims protests a U.S.-backed ‘conspiracy’”: “Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday claimed without evidence that recent protests across the Islamic Republic over government-set gasoline prices rising were part of a ‘conspiracy’ involving the U.S., as authorities began to acknowledge the scale of the demonstrations.

“Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comment while addressing members of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, which help put down the demonstrations.

“Meanwhile, one lawmaker was quoted as saying authorities arrested more than 7,000 people over the protests while a security official claimed demonstrators attempted to take over Iranian state television.” AP

-- REUTERS: “Approximately 731 banks and 140 government sites were torched in recent unrest in Iran, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said in remarks published by the official IRNA news agency on Wednesday. More than 50 bases used by security forces were attacked and approximately 70 gas stations were also burned, he said.”

A message from Amazon: Amazon Accelerate. Learn how we help small businesses.

MICHAEL FLYNN UPDATE -- “Flynn, DOJ seek sentencing delay to wait for Russia IG report,” by Darren Samuelsohn: “Attorneys for the Justice Department and Michael Flynn asked a federal judge Tuesday to postpone next month’s sentencing for the former Trump national security adviser until after the release of a much-anticipated inspector general report about the FBI’s Russia investigation.

“Flynn is on track to be sentenced Dec. 18 after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, though the retired Army general has also hired new lawyers who want the entire case dismissed because of what they say is ‘egregious government misconduct.’

“That inspector general report is expected to criticize Justice Department leaders and low-level FBI officials who worked on the Russia probe that ultimately gave way to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, according to several media reports. But it is also expected to clear top DOJ officials of abusing their powers because of bias against President Donald Trump.” The motion

THE ROOT’S MICHAEL HARRIOT: “Pete Buttigieg Called Me. Here’s What Happened.”

THE ANONYMOUS FORMER OFFICIAL who wrote the book “A Warning” about the Trump presidency did a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” chat Tuesday, writing: “As far as anonymity is concerned, I will not keep my identity shrouded in secrecy forever. I am not afraid to use my own name to express concern about the current occupant of the Oval Office.

“Donald Trump has not heard the last of me. There is more to come. Other people who are currently serving, and who have left, are also considering adding their voices before votes are cast in 2020. We talk about this with some regularity.”

MEDIAWATCH -- “Nancy Grace joins Fox Nation streaming service,” by AP’s David Bauder

-- L.A. TIMES: “More than 70 million viewers watched some portion of the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment inquiry into President Trump, according to Nielsen data. …

“Viewing of live gavel-to-gavel coverage that aired on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and the three major broadcast networks peaked on its opening day, Nov. 13, when it reached an average of 13.1 million viewers. By the fifth session on Nov. 21, the audience leveled off to 11.3 million, comparable to what a top-rated non-sports entertainment program draws in prime time. Fox News was the most-watched network each day.”

PLAYBOOKERS

Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at [email protected].

TRANSITIONS -- Jesse Garza and Joe Shashaty are joining Majority Strategies as state strategists. Garza previously was district director for former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.). Shashaty has worked on several California campaigns.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Mary Vought, executive director of the Senate Conservatives Fund. A fun fact about her: “I grew up in the great state of Alaska and enjoy fishing. I even had a fly-tying business as a kid where I’d sell my handmade lures to local fishermen.” Playbook Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) is 61 … Caroline Kennedy is 62 … Gail Sheehy … Alex Wagner, co-host and EP of Showtime’s “The Circus,” special correspondent for CBS News and contributing editor at The Atlantic (h/t Ben Chang, filing from New Orleans) … Sam Love … POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn, Fonda Fralin and Solomon Yeon … Paul Maslin (h/t Jon Haber) … Joe Solmonese (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) … Brian McCormack … Andrea Koppel-Pollack … Nick Massella, director of audience engagement and comms at “PBS NewsHour” … former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is 59 … former Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.) is 46 … Rich Verma, vice chairman at the Asia Group … Sean Bartlett … Marie Logsden … WSJ’s Katie Honan … Kaiser Health News’ Victoria Knight … Mike Cross …

… Libby Leist, EP of NBC’s “Today” show ... Nick Wittenberg, legal counsel at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy ... Simon Taylor … Michael Starr Hopkins, founding partner of Northern Starr Strategies … Daniel Ducassi … Shai Korman, communications director at the Center for a New American Security, is 4-0 … Barry Sternlicht is 59 … Sam Wainwright is 32 … Molly Logan Cox … John Aravosis ... Ashley Robinson … Susan Falconer ... Kathryn Ciano, senior regulatory counsel at Uber ... Dina Cappiello, editorial director and EVP at Edelman … Katie Campo ... Facebook’s Kaiya Waddell ... Christine Taylor ... Jess Byrne Knox ... Joe Davila ... Mary Anne Pintar ... Chelsie Jeppson ... Paul Nasella ... Sid Burgess is 38 … Jason Gold ... Victoria Lai

A message from Amazon: Amazon has invested tens of billions in infrastructure and has built hundreds of tools to help independent sellers succeed in our store. This includes data analytics for sellers to better understand and reach customers. Find out how Amazon supports small businesses with tools, insights and data.

Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman