SID BLUMENTHAL WAS PAID BY CLINTON FOUNDATION while sending advice to Secretary Clinton – BIG PAYDAYS for early-state operatives – D.C. v. FIFA -- ROB NICHOLS to head American Bankers Association Presented by

By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email protected]), and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email protected])

SCOOP DU JOUR – “Clinton Foundation paid Blumenthal $10K per month while he advised on Libya: Some officials at the charity grumbled that his hiring was a favor from the Clintons,” by Ken Vogel, with Lauren French: “Sidney Blumenthal ... earned about $10,000 a month as a full-time employee of the Clinton Foundation while he was providing unsolicited intelligence on Libya to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... Blumenthal was added to the payroll of the Clintons’ global philanthropy in 2009 — not long after advising Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — at the behest of former president Bill Clinton, for whom he had worked in the White House ...


“While Blumenthal’s foundation job focused on highlighting the legacy of Clinton’s presidency, some officials at the charity questioned his value and grumbled that his hiring was a favor from the Clintons ... They say that, during a 2013 reform push, Blumenthal was moved to a consulting contract that came with a similar pay rate but without benefits — an arrangement that endured until March. ...

“The [House Benghazi] committee is said to be interested in exploring Blumenthal’s connections to any entity that may have stood to benefit from Clinton’s decisions in Libya. Benghazi Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) also wants to probe how seriously the State Department took Blumenthal’s advice ... [Blumenthal’s] lawyer, former Deputy Attorney General James Cole, told POLITICO ... that Blumenthal did not have any financial interest in the efforts of the two companies pushing to win contracts in Libya — Osprey Global Solutions and Constellations Group.” http://politi.co/1FEPH99

2016 PLAYER$ -- “Mad Rush to Hire 2016 Campaign Staff Brings Out the Beggars,” by Time’s Phil Elliott: “Promises of access to the candidate, special titles and bloated salaries are the new chits for the small subset of political professionals who have run campaigns before. ... Operatives who have networks in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina stand to be the ... most obvious profiteers. ... None of the ... candidates has filed campaign finance reports that would indicate salary levels for the 2016 race. But ... the sought-after operatives ... speculate some of the top staff hires are earning as much as $35,000 each month.” http://ti.me/1FhNCxo

QUINNIPIAC POLL, out at 6 a.m., “Rubio, Paul are only Republicans even close to Clinton”: “In a general election, ... Clinton gets 46 percent of American voters to 42 percent for Paul and 45 percent of voters to 41 percent for Rubio.” Clinton leads Christie 46–37 ... Huckabee 47-40 ... Jeb 47-37 ... Walker 46-38 ... Cruz 48-37 ... Trump 50-32.

--“[V]oters say 53-39 percent that Clinton is NOT honest and trustworthy, but say 60-37 ... that she has strong leadership qualities. Voters are divided 48-47 ... over whether Clinton cares about their needs and problems.”

--GOP FIELD, national -- 5-way tie for lead! Bush, Carson, Huckabee, Rubio, Walker: 10% each ... Rand 7% ... Cruz 6% ... Trump 5% ... Christie 4% ... Carly, Kasich: 2%

--DEM FIELD, national: Clinton 57% ... Sanders 15% ... Biden 9% ... No other candidate tops 1%; 14% undecided.” http://bit.ly/1ez0Yio

HOT IN HILLARYLAND -- “Clinton struggles to escape South Carolina scars,” by Glenn Thrush in Columbia: “It isn’t a matter of getting people here to like her ... [it’s] the necessity of transforming benign resignation about her candidacy into genuine Obama-like passion and massive turnout. In that, she faces a tall but not insurmountable task, judging from the polite, supportive but less-than-ecstatic reception she received at several low-key events in the state’s Capitol.” http://politi.co/1KqGmmk

-- “Hillary Brings Back Southern Twang for South Carolina Visit” -- 2-min. video: http://tws.io/1FhNlKX

--FIRST LOOK -- VIDEO from Rubio campaign: recap of his S.C. swing on May 9. An aide: “Unlike [Hillary yesterday], you see Marco doing local media interviews, meeting with the public, etc.” http://bit.ly/1FPOA7K

--RNC’s new chart – “‘Dead Broke’ Clintons vs. Everyday Americans”: “Check out the chart below to see how many households in each state it would take to equal the ‘Dead Broke’ Clintons.” http://bit.ly/1Avg8iE

**A message from Chase: Big news for small businesses: Mission Main Street Grants is back and 20 small businesses will each receive $100,000 from Chase. Find out how your favorite small business can apply: http://bit.ly/1H752Ns **

PLAYBOOK ON THE ROAD: We’ll be in Orlando on Tuesday to mark the launch of Florida Playbook, joining Marc Caputo for a luncheon conversation with Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Learn more about the event: http://politi.co/1HNlesU. Sign up for Florida Playbook on top right of page: http://politi.co/1PPLpUk

WORTH THE CLICK -- White House Chief Speechwriter Cody Keenan’s Commencement Address to NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service: “Cody talked about lucky breaks, the importance of taking a full swing, and the moment he learned ‘that politics is not about sexy walk-and-talks, power lunches, or using witty banter to solve the world’s problems in an hour.’” http://bit.ly/1EyXfGm Video http://bit.ly/1KqH0QK

ROB NICHOLS to succeed Frank Keating as head of American Bankers Association, with transition in late summer – “In Strategic Shift, ABA Taps Policy Pro As Next [president and] CEO,” by American Banker’s Rob Blackwell: “Rob Nichols, head of the Financial Services Forum and a former top Treasury Department official in the Bush administration, will be the next president and chief executive officer of the American Bankers Association ...

“[Nichols was Treasury] assistant secretary for public affairs from 2001 to 2005. ... Nichols' first challenge may be trying to steer passage of regulatory relief legislation through the Senate. ... A top priority will be ‘regulatory burden, particularly for community banks,’ Nichols said.” http://bit.ly/1PPJFKJ

--Brian Moynihan, Chairman of the Financial Services Forum: “Rob has been a skillful Forum leader during a consequential decade for the financial system. ... I thank Rob for his service and wish him continued success as an effective voice in Washington helping policymakers better understand the important role that banks of all sizes play in driving the U.S. and global economy.”

TIME’s new cover story, “Bungled executions. Backlogged courts. And three more reasons the modern death penalty is A Failed Experiment,” by David Von Drehle

http://time.com/deathpenalty/ Cover http://bit.ly/1JWgZe5

DATA DU JOUR: “Illegal border crossings at 20-year low” – WashPost A1, top of col. 1, by Jerry Markon: “The nation’s population of illegal immigrants, which more than tripled, to 12.2 million, between 1990 and 2007, has dropped by about 1 million ... In 2000, considered the peak of ... illegal Mexican migration, more than 1.6 million people were apprehended ... Those numbers have plunged to around 400,000 per year since 2012 and are down 28 percent in the first part of fiscal 2015 compared with last year. Even last year’s widely publicized spike in unaccompanied minors crossing the border from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras has receded dramatically.” http://wapo.st/1AzRfSN

D.C. SAYS FIFA RAID IS ONLY THE BEGINNING -- “For [Loretta] Lynch, a stunning debut on the world stage,” by Josh Gerstein: “[A]fter only a month in office she could hardly have crafted a more attention-grabbing debut than the dramatic announcement she made ... of an American-led takedown of corruption in FIFA ... ‘The pantheon of world soccer has a new hero,’ Tunku Varadarajan wrote on Politico Europe. ‘To the names of Pele, Maradona, Cruyff and Messi, add another: Loretta Lynch. The US attorney general…is destined to go down as the most consequential woman in the history of the game.’” http://politi.co/1HOdlnh Politico Europe story http://politi.co/1AzYbPN

--“Corrupt FIFA Has Clinton Foundation Ties; World Cup Host Qatar Gave Millions,” by The Daily Beast’s Jackie Kucinich: “The Clinton global charity has received between $50,000 and $100,000 from soccer’s governing body and has partnered with [FIFA] on several occasions ... [Bill Clinton] was an honorary chairman of the bid committee put together to promote the United States as a possible host nation for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. When the U.S. lost the 2022 bid to Qatar, Clinton was rumored to be so upset he shattered a mirror.” http://thebea.st/1Fc1BUr

NYT QUOTE OF THE DAY – Concierge at the Baur au Lac hotel during the arrest of FIFA officials: “Sir, I’m just calling you to say that we’re going to need you to come to your door and open it for us, or we’re going to have to kick it in.”

TWEET DU JOUR -- @Yair_Rosenberg: “From what I understand from the news, Americans are no longer content to simply mock soccer and are now arresting everyone responsible.”

LATE-NIGHT BEST – “[Jon] Stewart: ... If Only FIFA Was a Big Bank, They’d Get Away with It” -- Video http://bit.ly/1KqKVgx

FLASHBACK – “John Oliver Warned Us: FIFA Is ‘Grotesque’” – Video http://thebea.st/1BqeREi

FIRST LOOK – TargetPoint Consulting and America Rising PAC’s memo, “Recent Polling Trends Show Americans Aren’t Ready For Hillary”: “1. Candidate Clinton isn’t as popular as her campaign would like you to believe. ... 2. Secretary Clinton’s favorability has not been this low since the conclusion of her 2008 presidential run. ... 3. Clinton’s highest increase and peak in favorability came when she was appointed Secretary of State. ... 4. She hasn’t come close to those numbers since leaving office, and these latest scandals aren’t helping.” http://bit.ly/1J7EoZl

TRAIL MIX -- “Graham to exit Air Force Reserves,” by Manu Raju: “Sen. Lindsey Graham has often skipped the country during his three-decade congressional career, quietly heading to war-torn regions to handle legal matters for the Air Force Reserves. ... The South Carolina Republican will announce [today] that he will retire from the Air Force Reserves, ... after serving more than three decades in the U.S. Air Force.” http://politi.co/1PPB22K

--“Rick Santorum faces long odds — again,” by Kyle Cheney in Cabot, Pa.: “The Republican Party has a habit of rewarding its second-place finishers with a presidential nomination their next time around. But as Rick Santorum launches his second bid for the presidency, he seems poised to be an exception.” http://politi.co/1FPyICn

McCONNELL STYLE -- “Cool Mitch ... gets passionate — and pays,” by Burgess Everett and Manu Raju: “McConnell rarely goes out on a limb on issues that divide Senate Republicans. ... But the majority leader ... spoke out early and vociferously against reforming soon-to-expire PATRIOT Act provisions — and the departure now threatens to undermine the Kentucky Republican’s vow to bring more responsible governance to the Senate.” http://politi.co/1dzhIG9

TALKER – WashPost p. C1, “Chevy Chase Club: Brats not welcome” -- “The Reliable Source,” by Helena Andrews and Emily Heil: “Complaints of kids gone wild detailed in a letter from club honcho J. Gordon Vap: ‘two pre-teen girls unloading the contents of a whipping cream dispenser along the salad bar; an eight year-old standing on the armrests of two chairs while her FATHER [emphasis his] stabilized the chairs; two young boys breaking a sconce in the upper hallway with a football; goldfish crackers and crayons stuffed down our new heating vents.’ ...

“The letter underscores a tension simmering among members, some of whom complain that parents have taken to simply abandoning their children, who are left to run wild ... ‘People drop their kids off at the club — it’s like unsupervised day care,’ says one longtime member, who is a parent himself. ... ‘It’s a bunch of bratty kids running around in golf and tennis attire.’ ... ‘Going forward into summer, all members are asked to follow our Club rules,’ Vap writes. ‘Review them as a family. Stick them up on the refrigerator.’” http://wapo.st/1KrjOSH

ADIOS -- “Goodbye F.A.O. Schwarz: Toy Lovers Prepare for Store’s Closing,” by James Barron on NYT p. A19: “Toys ‘R’ Us, the chain that has owned F. A. O. Schwarz since 2009, said this month that the store would shut down on July 15, even though the lease is far from up. ... Toys ‘R’ Us said the F. A. O. Schwarz brand would continue in Toys ‘R’ Us stores and online. Toys ‘R’ Us had reportedly looked at space on the lower level of the office building at 1633 Broadway, close to Times Square, but F. A. O. Schwarz is leaving Fifth Avenue with no fixed destination.” http://nyti.ms/1eyoID6

WHAT SILICON VALLEY IS READING -- “Google SVP confirms integrated ‘Buy’ button is ‘imminent’,” by Mashable’s Lance Ulanoff: “Google is thisclose to removing one step out of your online buying process and, quite possibly, taking a chunk out of Amazon's online shopping business. Google SVP and Chief Business Officer Omid Kordestani revealed on Wednesday at Re/Code’s Code Conference that Google is planning to introduce an integrated ‘Buy’ button on mobile search results, and that its arrival is imminent.” http://on.mash.to/1Hxyuwh

MEDIAWATCH – “CBS’ Bob Schieffer is ready for retirement,” by AP’s David Bauder: “At 78, Bob Schieffer is entitled to reminisce about the ‘good old days’ of reporting. ... Schieffer will host CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday for the last time after 24 years. He’s retiring from a journalism career that began at 20 at a Fort Worth, Texas, radio station and landed him at CBS News in Washington when he walked in on someone else’s interview. He’s one of the last of a generation of reporters working at such a high level; he covered the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a story that gave him one of the biggest scoops of his career. ... Schieffer never lost his Texas twang. No need. It reinforces his signature of asking direct, to-the-point questions without getting lost in the weeds of political mumbo jumbo.” http://yhoo.it/1FPyB9J

--“Late-night TV vet Bill Maher forges ahead with hit formula,” by AP’s Sandy Cohen: “As Jon Stewart takes leave of ‘The Daily Show’ and David Letterman no longer in the late-night landscape, the 59-year-old Maher becomes its resident elder, fearlessly voicing his personal views on TV and on stage, and for the first time, taking his act overseas. ‘I’m still standing,’ Maher said. ‘I’m like the heterosexual, nonmusical Elton John.’” http://yhoo.it/1PPbX89

--“Jenna Bush Hager being considered for NBC talk show,” by N.Y. Post’s Stephanie Smith: “Bush Hager is in the running for a new NBCUniversal daytime talk show in development that could eventually replace ‘The Meredith Vieira Show’ ... The Bush daughter is one of several people testing for a panel-style chat program ... Hager, 33, was spotted out in Los Angeles last week testing for the potential pilot ... Hager, who is pregnant with her second child, is well-liked among NBC execs, having grown into her role as a contributing correspondent for ‘Today.’” http://pge.sx/1RpzVnP

MEDIAWATCH -- POLITICO to create a brand content department and data agency – AdAge’s Michael Sebastian: “Politico has hired a Dell marketing executive to help build and run a department called Politico Focus that will create content for brands ... Stephanie Losee … has joined Politico as its executive director of brand content. … Politico Focus will not only help advertisers create content but also provide services around data and research, according to Peter Cherukuri, the site’s exec VP-business development. He described Politico Focus as ‘a brand journalism and data studio that's focused on helping agencies and brands understand and engage political influencers.’ …

“Losee will oversee Politico Focus’ creative staff. Nick Yaeger, former CEO of the Nashville-based startup checkd.in, will manage the team’s data wonks. The department will employ about six full-time people to start as well as a stable of freelancers. The plan is to grow the team to 15 people.” http://bit.ly/1LLxTuX

--“BuzzFeed Plans to Go Public Someday,” by Re/code’s Kurt Wagner: “BuzzFeed ... has an IPO in its future, according to CEO Jonah Peretti. He didn’t share a time table, ... but BuzzFeed appears to be putting its ducks in a row. ‘We’re very focused on building out internationally, we’re very focused on building out across multiple different platforms, we’re very focused on building out our video business.’” http://on.recode.net/1d14sJg

WHAT SILICON VALLEY IS READING – “Amazon to offer free same-day delivery to Prime members,” by AP's Mae Anderson: “Amazon says starting [today] more than 1 million items including books, electronics and vacation gear will be eligible for same-day delivery in 14 metro areas including New York, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Atlanta. Orders over $35 are eligible for the service. They need to be placed by noon and will be delivered by 9 p.m. Orders under $35 can still have one day delivery, it just costs $5.99.” http://abcn.ws/1GFXBks

TRANSITIONS – Toby Zakaria to BPC – She took a buyout from Reuters after nearly 25 years as a correspondent there, including at the White House covering President George W. Bush’s second term. She’ll be starting next Monday at the Bipartisan Policy Center think tank as a senior advisor on the comms. team.

ENGAGED -- Philip Elwood to Lindsay Hamilton: Elwood, S.V.P. at Ipsos, proposed to Hamilton, Chief of Staff at the Center for American Progress. A terribly constructed lie lured Ms. Hamilton to the Jefferson Memorial, where she agreed to his proposal. They met on a blind date set up five years ago next month. Pic http://bit.ly/1SDsvib

BIRTHDAYS: Sen. Marco Rubio is 44 ... Katharine Weymouth … Rudy Giuliani is 71 ... Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) is 55 ... Andrew Ciafardini ... Ron Reagan ... Al From ... Pelosi alum Diane Dewhirst … Facebook’s Andy Stone, alum of Boxer, DCCC and Kerry 2004 … Lauren Mandelker, manager of the executive office at Pew Charitable Trusts … Jessica Anderson, grassroots director for Heritage Action for America (hubby tip: Brandt Anderson) … Bloomberg’s Jim Snyder ... Andrea Wuebker, senior director for corporate comms. at David’s Bridal and an alum of Ogilvy, Sens. Gregg and Coleman …

... Texas Tribune editor Emily Ramshaw … Jon Black ... Harry Weinstein turns 16 (h/t Joanne Kenen) ... Marty Kramer, former CNN producer and now comms. director for the Health Resources and Services Administration ... Joe Paulsen … Dorothy Gaumer … Alan Khazei … Adam Collins ... BBC’s Tim Willcox ... Ryan Graham ... Christy Harvey Felling of No Kid Hungry and a CAP alum ... Omid Memarian ... Breitbart’s Adelle Nazarian, a Fox News alum ... Tim Dowling ... Ron Jacobi of Bryan Cave ... Ry Triplette of Franklin Square Group, a Specter alum ... Peter Cobus ... basketball Hall-of-Famer Jerry West is 77 ... Gladys Knight is 71... Elisabeth Hasselbeck is 38 ... actor Joseph Cross is 29 (h/ts AP)

**A message from Chase: Big news for small businesses: Mission Main Street Grants is back and 20 small businesses will each receive $100,000 from Chase. Find out how your favorite small business can apply: http://bit.ly/1H752Ns **

Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman