POLITICO Playbook: Bill Barr is not going to have a good day Presented by Amazon

Attorney General William Barr appears before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday, April 10. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

DRIVING THE DAY

GIDDYUP, FOLKS.

BILL BARR is likely to get a rough ride today in his highly anticipated hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats will press the attorney general about the bombshell news -- which broke on the eve of his testimony -- that special counsel ROBERT MUELLER had sent him a previously undisclosed letter disputing Barr’s summary of his work.

Hill Democrats are blasting Barr, accusing him of misleading the public and demanding he release Mueller’s letter. Some say he should resign. They’re also insisting the special counsel testify before Congress, but say the Justice Department is slow-walking their attempts to lock in a hearing date.

DOJ, for its part, says this is all much ado about nothing. Barr’s testimony

LAST NIGHT’S BOMBSHELL -- “Mueller complained that Barr’s letter did not capture ‘context’ of Trump probe,” by WaPo’s Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky: “Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III wrote a letter in late March complaining to Attorney General William P. Barr that a four-page memo to Congress describing the principal conclusions of the investigation into President Trump ‘did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance’ of Mueller’s work. …

“A day after Mueller sent his letter to Barr, the two men spoke by phone for about 15 minutes, according to law enforcement officials.” WaPo

-- MUELLER TO BARR: “There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.”

-- WHAT DOJ IS SAYING … SPOX KERRI KUPEC: “The Special Counsel emphasized that nothing in the Attorney General’s March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the Special Counsel’s obstruction analysis. They then discussed whether additional context from the report would be helpful and could be quickly released. However, the Attorney General ultimately determined that it would not be productive to release the report in piecemeal fashion.”

“The Attorney General and the Special Counsel agreed to get the full report out with necessary redactions as expeditiously as possible. The next day, the Attorney General sent a letter to Congress reiterating that his March 24 letter was not intended to be a summary of the report, but instead only stated the Special Counsel’s principal conclusions, and volunteered to testify before both Senate and House Judiciary Committees on May 1st and 2nd.” More from Natasha Bertrand, Darren Samuelsohn, Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney

-- ELIANA JOHNSON: “How Bill Barr became a GOP heartthrob: The attorney general didn’t want to serve Donald Trump. But he did want to fight for a theory of presidential power.”

Good Wednesday morning. Blake Hounshell here with Daniel Lippman, filling in for Jake and Anna.

INFRASTRUCTURE LATEST -- “Behind the 1-day cease fire between Donald, Chuck and Nancy,” by Anita Kumar, Sarah Ferris and Burgess Everett: “[O]n Tuesday, Trump, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer did something few people expected: They got along — or at least pretended to.

“After a 90-minute Oval Office meeting to discuss a potential infrastructure bill, both sides gushed about what may have been their first point of agreement this year, on a plan to spend $2 trillion to repair crumbling roads and bridges. Never mind that they left unresolved how to foot the gigantic bill.” POLITICO

JAKE’S TAKE: The reason Congress hasn’t passed a big-time infrastructure bill for a very long time is not because the institution has enjoyed watching the nation’s bridges, tunnels and roads crumble. It’s because infrastructure is expensive, and figuring out a way to pay for it has never been easy.

THE DEMOCRATS’ POSITION seems to be, in part, a recognition of that difficulty. The president needs to figure out the $2 trillion funding stream that will get enough Senate Republicans on his side, they’re saying.

THERE HAS BEEN SOME openness to raising the gasoline tax, which hasn’t been raised in 23 years. But there’s palpable fear that hiking the tax will cause major internal strife in the Republican Party, setting up a vote that would be viewed as a tax-hike litmus test. But if President DONALD TRUMP supports a gas tax, that could help.

ONE QUESTION WE’VE GOTTEN a bunch lately, including from Kasie Hunt to Jake on MSNBC: Who wins here? If a deal comes together -- and it’s too early to say either way -- who reaps the political rewards? A successful deal would be a massive boon to Trump, who would be able to say he is the dealmaker he promised to be and can even work with Democrats, who were investigating him. If it falls apart, Trump probably also benefits: He can say Democrats couldn’t even say yes to a $2 trillion jobs project!

VENEZUELA LATEST -- “Venezuelan Opposition Leader Steps Up Pressure, but Maduro Holds On”: NYT … “Pompeo claims Russia stopped Maduro leaving Venezuela for Cuba”: CNN … “Guaido’s High-Risk Gamble Flops as Maduro Keeps Grip on Military”: Bloomberg … “Guaido calls for more street protests Wednesday”: AP

-- POMPEO to CNN LAST NIGHT: “[Maduro] had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it and the Russians indicated he should stay. … He was headed for Havana.”

NEW POLITICO/Morning Consult Poll: “Voters say Trump’s Twitter use could cost him reelection,” by Steve Shepard

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MAYOR PETE -- According to Yashar Ali’s newsletter, Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg recently dined with Oprah Winfrey. “[T]he lunch took place on Sunday at the home of a mutual friend in Los Angeles,” he writes. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Oprah says she’s reading Buttigieg’s memoir: “I call him Buttabeep, Buttaboop.” THR

A PHRASE YOU’LL HEAR OFTEN -- Previewing how Republicans will cast Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden as the candidate of the status quo, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said this on Fox News on Tuesday: “In the 40 years that Biden has been in government …”

FED WATCH -- “Stephen Moore in peril: ‘I don’t imagine he can get the votes,’” by Burgess Everett and Victoria Guida

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SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI is rolling out new, more aggressive messaging today that makes the point that Trump “is the first to issue a blanket policy of refusing to respond to Congressional inquiries on any and every issue, defying Congress’ constitutional authority and moving the nation into unchartered territory,” per her office. The document

TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY -- The president is meeting with members of Congress at 2:15 p.m. in the White House. At 6:30 p.m., he’s joining the first lady and the Pences for a dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House to mark the National Day of Prayer. Then, at 8 p.m., Fox Business Network will air Trump’s interview with host Trish Regan.

PLAYBOOK READS

PHOTO DU JOUR: An opponent to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro carrying a Venezuelan flag covers his face amid tear gas fired by soldiers loyal to Maduro during an attempted military uprising to oust Maduro in Caracas. | Boris Vergara/AP Photo

MORE OMB STAFFERS MOVE TO THE WHITE HOUSE, per Nancy Cook: Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s aides continue to stock the White House with staffers from the Office of Management and Budget, the agency he ran for roughly two years.

Among the latest hires are AJ Sugarman, who is joining the White House’s legislative affairs team, and John Gray, the budget agency’s acting chief of staff, who is moving to VP Mike Pence’s office to work on policy.

Since Mulvaney moved into the West Wing in late December, he’s now brought over 10 staffers from OMB and CFPB. White House staffers are comparing him to Trump’s first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, who went out of his way to hire operatives from the RNC.

A senior administration official said these hires were approved by longtime Mulvaney aide and principal deputy chief of staff, Emma Doyle. Mulvaney personally did not push for these hires, and they are all promotions based on merit, the official added.

Over at OMB, Wesley Denton will soon serve as the acting chief of staff in Gray’s absence until the agency can make a permanent hire. Denton recently joined the agency as a top communications staffer and previously worked for Jim DeMint’s organization, the Conservative Partnership Institute, as well as the Heritage Foundation.

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FOR YOUR RADAR -- “Congressional Democrats notch win in emoluments suit against Trump,” by Josh Gerstein: “Democratic lawmakers scored another victory Tuesday in their lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of violating the Constitution by doing business with foreign governments.

“U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected the Justice Department’s argument that the term ‘emolument’ in the Constitution should be read narrowly to apply to payments that amounted to bribes for official presidential actions.” POLITICO

DEBATE STAGE UPDATE -- Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) qualified for the early Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, with CNN’s national poll being the third qualifying poll to show him above at least 1%. Campaign Pro’s Zach Montellaro and Steve Shepard have tracked 16 candidates who have qualified so far -- but questions about the methodology for a couple of polls are leaving the fate of some borderline candidates, like Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, uncertain.

REMEMBER ROY MOORE? -- His wife Kayla sent out a fundraising email Tuesday saying he’s “seriously considering another run for the United States Senate” and that Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court suggested he could win. The email

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HMM -- “U.S. Military Stops Counting How Much of Afghanistan Is Controlled by Taliban,” by NYT’s David Zucchino in Kabul: “The American military command in Afghanistan has halted regular assessments of how many people and districts the government and insurgents there control, it emerged on Wednesday — eliminating what has long been an important public measure of progress in the war. The military said the assessments had ‘limited decision-making value’ for commanders.

“As recently as November 2017, the previous American commander in Afghanistan had called them ‘the metric that’s most telling in a counterinsurgency.’ The decision to end the assessments, which have been produced in various forms since at least 2010, was published in the latest quarterly report by the American special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction.” NYT

TRUMP INC. -- “At Trump golf course, undocumented employees said they were sometimes told to work extra hours without pay,” by WaPo’s Josh Partlow and David Fahrenthold in Hillsdale, N.Y.: “His bosses at the Trump country club called it ‘side work.’ On some nights, after the club’s Grille Room closed, head waiter Jose Gabriel Juarez — an undocumented immigrant from Mexico — was told to clock out. He pressed his index finger onto a scanner and typed his personal code, 436. But he didn’t go home. Instead — on orders from his bosses, Juarez said — he would stay on, sometimes past midnight.

“He vacuumed carpets, polished silverware and helped get the restaurant at Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briar­cliff Manor, N.Y., ready for breakfast the next day. All off the clock. Without being paid. …

“Allegations that workers were routinely shortchanged on their pay at President Trump’s suburban country club are now the subject of an inquiry by the New York attorney general, whose investigators have interviewed more than two dozen former employees. … In interviews, six former Trump workers told The Washington Post that they felt systematically cheated because they were undocumented.” WaPo

HOLLYWOODLAND -- “The Obamas and Netflix Just Revealed the Shows and Films They’re Working On,” by NYT’s John Koblin: “‘American Factory,’ a documentary that examines life in Ohio where a Chinese billionaire opened a factory in a former General Motors plant and hired 2,000 people. … ‘Bloom,’ a drama series set in post-World War II New York that will explore the ‘barriers faced by women and by people of color in an era marked by hurdles but also tremendous progress.’ … A film adaptation of ‘Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,’ the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography by David W. Blight. …

“An adaptation of a New York Times series, called ‘Overlooked,’ about people whose deaths were previously not reported by the newspaper. … A series based on ‘The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy,’ a book by Michael Lewis. … ‘Crip Camp,’ a documentary film about the origins of the disability rights movement. ... ‘Listen to Your Vegetables & Eat Your Parents,’ a half-hour series for preschoolers.” NYT

MEDIAWATCH -- MSNBC this morning is launching a new original podcast, “The Oath with Chuck Rosenberg.” The first guests will include James Comey, Preet Bharara, Andrew McCabe, Lisa Monaco and more.

-- Today is the one-year anniversary of former acting CIA Director Michael Morell’s podcast “Intelligence Matters.” He has Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on as his special guest in the latest episode.

-- MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow interviews Hillary Clinton tonight live in studio.

-- Per Morning Media: “Slate’s hit podcast ‘Slow Burn’ is returning later this year with a new host, staff writer Joel Anderson, and plans to cover the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. ...

-- “Ashley Feinberg, a senior reporter at HuffPost, announced she’s leaving the site.”

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED: Liev Schreiber at Harry’s downtown Tuesday night ... at a going-away party for Celeste Drake, AFL-CIO trade and globalization policy specialist at the Democratic Club: Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

OUT AND ABOUT -- The Atlantic Council held its 2019 Distinguished Leadership Awards at the Ritz-Carlton on Tuesday night. The event honored NATO, whose award was received by Rose Gottemoeller from retired Gen. Jim Jones; Adrienne Arsht, whose award was presented by Alonzo Mourning; Christine Lagarde, whose award was presented by Ivanka Trump; and Fred Smith, whose award was presented by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).

ALSO SPOTTED: Wolf Blitzer, Bret and Amy Baier, Colin and Alma Powell, Marillyn Hewson, Dina Powell and David McCormick, John F.W. Rogers (the incoming chairman of the board), Anthony Scaramucci, Steve Clemons, Niki Christoff, Mitch Landrieu, John Waldron, Nicole and Dave Nason, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and wife Lourdes, Sharon Rockefeller,Julie and Wynn Radford, Fred Kempe, Josh and Ali Rogin, Morgan Ortagus and Jonathan Weinberger, Stuart and Gwen Holiday, Franco Nuschese, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Wesley Clark, Anita McBride, Capricia Marshall, Sam Vinograd and many ambassadors.



WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE -- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Ryan Canfield, special assistant to the president for legislative affairs and a Hal Rogers alum, is joining GuidePost Strategies as a principal. ... Thea McDonald has left the White House, where she was director of comms for the National Space Council. She is heading back to Georgetown Law in the fall for her last year of law school.

TRANSITIONS -- Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and the chairman emeritus of the New America Foundation, is leaving Alphabet’s board of directors after 18 years. … Former Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) is joining the Pass USMCA Coalition as an honorary co-chairman. … Mercury is starting a new San Francisco office, which will be led by Jen Wlach, who has been promoted to managing director.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Blake Harris, COS for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and Holly Harris, a dietician, welcomed Peter Mitchell Harris, their third child. Pic (hat tip: Daniel Strauss)

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): veteran Democratic campaign manager Max Glass, who celebrated with friends at St. Anselm (hat tip: Daniel Strauss)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Molly Levinson, CEO of the Levinson Group. What she’s been reading recently: “I suggested ‘To The End of the Land,’ by David Grossman, to one of my best friends and then ended up getting inspired to read it again myself. It’s beautiful and one of my favorites.” Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Leonard Downie Jr. is 77 ... Ninio Fetalvo, director of strategic comms at CMS (h/ts Natalie Strom and Kelly Love) ... David Winston ... CNN alum Alex Wellen ... Tom Walsh of the DNC ... Amy Smith ... Meredith Schultz … Shivam Mallick Shah ... Michael Freedman ... Alan Kaye is 49 ... Anthony Cimino, SVP and head of government affairs at the Bank Policy Institute ... Seth London, founder of Ground Control Partners, is 34 ... Andy Mills, NYT producer and reporter (h/t Jon Haber) ... Stacie Paxton Cobos ... Rachael Dean Wilson of the Alliance for Securing Democracy (h/t Eric Wilson) ... Josh Tonsager … Shaina Goodman ... POLITICO Europe’s Emmet Livingstone ... John Bridgeland, founder and CEO of Civic ... Liz Stark ... Abby Huntsman, co-host of “The View” (h/t Rachel Adler) ... Graham Veysey, principal of North Water Partners ... Benin President Patrice Talon is 61 ...

… Maria Pica Karp, VP and general manager of gov’t affairs at Chevron ... Jeff Schapiro is 63 ... Jeff Wice ... POLITICO’s Rebecca Parker ... Ankit Desai (h/ts Erik Smith and Tim Burger) ... Ben Jacobs ... WSJ’s Julie Steinberg ... Kami Spicklemire ... Abe Foxman, national director emeritus of the ADL, is 79 … Julia Mazzone ... Megan Lowry, comms specialist at the American Public Health Association ... WaPo’s Jon Gerberg ... Caroline Chen, healthcare reporter at ProPublica ... Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) is 66 ... Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) is 58 … Kami Spicklemire ... Dawn Livingston ... Elizabeth Stanley ... Pete Jeffries is 55 ... Jessica Marie Gallo ... Arash Ghadishah ... Fox News alum Nelson Lewis is 35 ... Emily Lamont ... Susan Mudd ... Alex Cisneros ... Andrew Tyrrell … Maureen Garde ... Ellen Moran … Rebecca Carson ... Mary Hughes ... Nan Gibson ... Jake Hajdu (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

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Jake Sherman @JakeSherman