| | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Hello and welcome to Wednesday. Unhappy Florida man — The latest hearing on the Jan. 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol — which featured the startling public testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson — apparently did not go over well with a certain Florida resident considering a run for president in 2024. Must-see TV — While there remain questions about whether the hearings are resonating with followers of former President Donald Trump, Tuesday's hearing may have been the most politically damaging. Trump himself was watching as Hutchinson talked about several key incidents, including how the president did not care that some of his supporters at the Capitol were armed. And oh yeah, there was a moment when Trump was so enraged after the Justice Department shot down his allegations of voter fraud that he hurled a plate of food at the wall. Hutchinson testified that she helped clean up the mess and found ketchup dripping on the wall. Palm Beach story — In his rebuttal, Trump contended that Hutchinson was retaliating against him because she wanted to join him at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach County. "I personally turned her request down," Trump said on Truth Social. "Why did she want to go with us if she felt we were so terrible?" He called her eye-opening testimony about how he tried to grab the steering wheel of his armored vehicle from a Secret Service detail "fake." His rebuttal on the ketchup caper was "why would she have to clean it up, I hardly knew who she was." What's next. — The big question is whether this is a pivotal moment (including for any legal consequences for Trump) and whether this is the opening for those in the Republican Party who want to move on … and maybe embrace Gov. Ron DeSantis as the new standard-bearer. P.O.V. — Rep. Stephanie Murphy, the Florida Democrat on the panel, did not dwell on some of the more colorful scenes and instead told CNN's Jake Tapper that the evidence the committee laid out illustrates that the Jan. 6th attack was "not a spontaneous riot" but an "effort to overturn the fair and free election by a sitting president." — WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis. PROGRAMMING NOTE: We'll be off this Monday for the Fourth of July but will return on Tuesday. Please continue to follow POLITICO Florida. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | |  | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | DISPATCHES — Former White House aide delivers shocking testimony about out-of-control Trump on Jan. 6 , by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney, Betsy Woodruff Swan and Nicholas Wu: "The former White House aide's remarks portrayed Trump as spiraling into an increasingly manic rage as he continued his last-ditch effort to seize a second term he didn't win. [Cassidy] Hutchinson offered some of the gravest evidence yet of Trump's awareness of the violent elements within his base that were ultimately unleashed against Congress — and his indifference to the ultimate result. And her testimony landed hard on the Hill, where some Republican lawmakers immediately pushed back. Signs of Trump's fury had been emerging for weeks, Hutchinson said, recalling that Trump once hurled a plate of food at the wall after his Justice Department batted down claims of widespread election fraud." |  WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: Cassidy Hutchinson, a top former aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, is sworn-in as she testifies during the sixth hearing by the House Select Committee on the January 6th insurrection in the Cannon House Office Building on June 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. The bipartisan committee, which has been gathering evidence for almost a year related to the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, is presenting its findings in a series of televised hearings. On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building during an attempt to disrupt a congressional vote to confirm the electoral college win for President Joe Biden. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) | Getty Images | — "Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony highlights legal risks for Trump," by The New York Times' Alan Feuer and Glenn Thrush — "Trump's had bad moments, but few worse than Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony," by Washington Post's Dan Balz — " Trump aides watch testimony and brace for damage," by The New York Times' Michael C. Bender and Maggie Haberman THREE FELONIES — " Florida man pleads guilty to role in 2021 US Capitol riot," by The Associated Press: "A Florida man has pleaded guilty to three felony charges related to the insurrection and storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. Mitchell Todd Gardner II, 34, of Seffner, Florida, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in the District of Columbia to civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon, according to court records. He faces up to 45 years in prison at his Oct. 21 sentencing."
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | QUESTIONS ABOUT CORRINE BROWN'S RETURN — Former Rep. Corrine Brown jumped into the race for Florida's 10th Congressional District at the last moment, but there are unresolved issues with her qualification for the ballot. Legal history — Brown — a longtime member of Congress who was defeated in the 2016 primary by Al Lawson after her district was reconfigured — was convicted a year later in a charity fraud case. That conviction was ultimately thrown out by an appeals court but ahead a new trial she reached a plea deal that resulted in her admitting guilt to one charge. That deal also required Brown to pay more than $62,000 in restitution. How long is 365 days? — After her initial conviction, Brown was dropped from Florida's voter rolls. But Duval County voter records show that she registered to vote again in November 2021. Why is that important? Because Brown signed a required candidate oath on June 14 that said she had been a "registered member" of the Democratic Party for 365 days before qualifying. Not our job — When asked about the discrepancy, Mallory Morgan, a spokesperson for the Department of State said in an email that "when a candidate swears or affirms to the contents of their oath, the Florida Division of Elections accepts the candidate's oath as provided to their office by the candidate. The Division of Elections neither confirms nor denies the eligibility of a candidate to run for office based on the contents of their oath." No answer — Brown's campaign manager Corey Bradford was asked about whether Brown met the requirements of the candidate oath. He has not responded to questions. Bradford also did not answer questions on whether Brown should remain eligible to vote since the former congresswoman is paying off restitution as part of her plea deal with federal authorities. Florida's voting laws concerning people with felony convictions requires that those individuals must pay off all fees, fines and restitution before becoming eligible to vote. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis are endorsing state Sen. Aaron Bean in the race for Florida's 4th Congressional District. Bean is one of three Republicans running in the GOP primary. Patronis contended that Bean will "bring our shared strong conservative principles to Washington" while Moody asserted that Bean would "stop the policies of Joe Biden and the Democrats." Bean earlier this week notched the endorsement of Sen. Marco Rubio. — " Hillary Clinton endorses Jared Moskowitz in Democratic congressional primary," by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Anthony Man
| | THE GUNSHINE STATE | | PICKED — "Jury is chosen to decide Florida school shooter's sentence," by The Associated Press' Terry Spencer: "A jury of seven men and five women was tentatively chosen Tuesday for a penalty trial to decide whether Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz should be sentenced to death or get life in prison for the 2018 attack, capping a nearly three-month winnowing process that began with 1,800 candidates. The jurors were picked from a final group of 53 candidates by prosecutors and defense attorneys. Those chosen survived three rounds of questioning that began on April 4 and dragged on through numerous delays caused by illnesses and other factors."
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | DAILY FEUD UPDATE — "Florida Dept of Health slams Rachel Levine for 'character assassination' over trans youth comments ," by Fox News' Jon Brown and Emma Colton: "The Florida Department of Health slammed U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine for 'poorly attempted character assassination' over recent comments celebrating 'gender-affirming care' for youths and decrying 'opponents of LGBTQ equality' who have 'targeted trans and queer youth to score political points.' 'The Surgeon General is opposed to experimental and irreversible medical treatments on children and teenagers that suffer from gender dysphoria,' Florida Department of Health spokesman Jeremy T. Redfern told Fox News Digital. 'The idea that this makes anyone at the Department of Health an 'opponent of LGBTQ equality' is nothing more than a poorly attempted character assassination.'"
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | MOVING AHEAD — "Feds will work to supply Florida doctors with COVID-19 vaccines for infants, toddlers," by Miami Herald's Daniel Chang: "As Florida hospitals and doctors roll out the latest FDA-authorized vaccines for children as young as 6 months old, the Biden administration said it will work to supply pediatricians and family physicians in the state who cannot access small quantities of the shots due to Gov. Ron DeSantis' decision not to provide the vaccines for infants and toddlers through county health departments. In Miami to visit Borinquen Health Care Center, a federally funded clinic, Admiral Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday that as of last week Florida medical providers had ordered 20,000 doses of the new vaccine for children younger than 5."
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | LOCKED UP — "Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years for sexually trafficking girls for Jeffrey Epstein," by McClatchy D.C.'s Ben Wieder: "[Ghislaine] Maxwell and [Jeffrey] Epstein lived a jet-setting lifestyle, flying on Epstein's private planes between his mansions in New York and Palm Beach; his ranch in New Mexico; and his private island, Little St. James, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Those luxury locales were the setting for hundreds of alleged sexual assaults and the pair wielded their power to both entice and intimidate the girls they abused. Multiple victims indicated that Maxwell and Epstein directed them to have sex with the pair's high-powered friends. Earlier this year, Britain's Prince Andrew settled a sex abuse suit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who has said that Maxwell recruited her when Giuffre was a teenage spa attendant at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and then directed her to have sex with Epstein and later Andrew, among other of the pair's prominent friends." WHAT'S GOING ON? — "Anti-Semitic fliers attacking Disney execs, lawmakers left at homes in Coral Gables, Miami ," by Miami Herald's Charles Rabin: "Dozens of homeowners in Coral Gables and Miami awoke Tuesday to plastic bags filled with corn kernels and pictures of Disney characters on their front lawns. But the package wasn't meant as a gift. It was a blatant anti-Semitic affront, with the kernels serving as weights to hold down paper pictures of the characters — six Disney World executives with blue Stars of David stamped into their foreheads and the word 'Jewish' in capital letters written under their names." Elsewhere — "Similar anti-Semitic fliers focusing on other topics like gun control and immigration were also dropped on lawns overnight. One says: 'Every single aspect of mass immigration is Jewish,' and another, with pictures of lawmakers, says the same about gun control. Law enforcement sources said the fliers showed up overnight at homes from Fort Pierce to Orlando to Jacksonville. It wasn't immediately clear how the anti-Semitic attacks were coordinated." DEADLINES LOOMING — "Planned Parenthood is rushing to perform abortions before Florida's 15-week ban," by Orlando Sentinel's Caroline Catherman: "With less than a week until Florida's 15-week abortion cutoff is set to take effect, Planned Parenthood clinics are scrambling to provide abortions to desperate women at or past 15 weeks of pregnancy while also fielding calls from patients who are concerned about what the fall of Roe v. Wade means for their future. 'The sound of panic in a patient's voice on the phone right now, it's just, it's heartbreaking. And then they ask us why, and I'm like, 'I don't know why they're doing this,' said Stephanie Fraim, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida." THE NEW WAY — "Teachers alarmed by state's infusing religion, downplaying race in civics training," by Miami Herald's Ana Ceballos and Sommer Brugal: "Several South Florida high school educators are alarmed that a new state civics initiative designed to prepare students to be "virtuous citizens" is infused with a Christian and conservative ideology after a three-day training session in Broward County last week. Teachers who spoke to the Herald/Times said they don't object to the state's new standards for civics, but they do take issue with how the state wants them to be taught. 'It was very skewed,' said Barbara Segal, a 12th-grade government teacher at Fort Lauderdale High School. 'There was a very strong Christian fundamentalist way toward analyzing different quotes and different documents. That was concerning.'" POWER PLAY — NextEra's critics question costs and conservation goals in zero carbon plan, by POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie : Florida Power & Light Co.'s biggest critics are praising its parent company's plan to eliminate carbon emissions — but some also say it fails to address the role of energy conservation and rooftop solar in the state's energy future. NextEra Energy, whose Florida-based subsidiary has 5.7 million customers in the state, announced last week that it would eliminate carbon emissions by 2045 by vastly increasing its solar production and battery storage and developing "green" hydrogen to replace gas burned in power plants. DRAWING ATTENTION — "Biden's housing chief calls Miami the 'epicenter of the housing crisis in this country,'" by Miami Herald's Douglas Hanks : "The nation's top housing official visited Miami on Tuesday and called the city the "epicenter" of a housing crisis in the United States. 'I decided I was going to Miami, to the epicenter of the housing crisis in this country,' Marcia Fudge, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said during a visit to Miami-Dade County's Liberty Square complex. For her first Miami stop, Fudge visited a redeveloped version of one of the oldest public housing complexes in the country, and a reminder of Miami's segregationist past. Liberty Square, built in the 1930s, was once marked by a concrete wall to mollify white neighbors alarmed at the construction of housing for Black residents in their neighborhood." STICKING AROUND — "Disney board renews Bob Chapek as C.E.O.," by The New York Times' Brooks Barnes: "At first, [Bob] Chapek tried not to take a side, at least not publicly, prompting an employee revolt. He then forcefully denounced the bill. Right-wing media figures and Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, began to rail against 'Woke Disney.' In April, Mr. DeSantis revoked Disney World's designation as a special tax district, a privilege that had effectively allowed the company to self-govern the 25,000-acre megaresort near Orlando since 1967. (Disney has since been working behind the scenes with Florida officials to find a tax district compromise.)" — "For print newspapers, one Florida retirement community is a better market than Atlanta, St. Louis or Portland," by Neiman Lab's Joshua Benton — " Thousands of South Florida Citizens customers to get rate break," by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ron Hurtibise — New data: Math scores rebounding in Florida as reading struggles linger , by POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "Deputies shot a bear dead to protect the public. It didn't need to happen, wildlife officials say," by South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Shira Moolten: "A young black bear that wandered into a neighborhood could've been allowed back into the woods to live out its life, state wildlife officials say. Instead, deputies shot the bear dead. The killing on June 18 didn't have to end this way: The bear appeared scared, climbing up a tree in Royal Palm Beach to get away from people, before coming back down, wildlife officials say. Experts 'never observed any indication that the bear was a threat to public safety,' according to Arielle Callender, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission." BIRTHDAYS: Micky Arison, chairman of the board of Carnival Corporation and owner of Miami Heat … Sarah Bascom, president of Bascom Communications … Christian Ulvert, president of EDGE Communications… Diane Moulton Adams, former director of executive staff for DeSantis | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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