| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
| 
Missing from the limited records that Attorney General Merrick Garland wants unsealed is the underlying evidence that provided the probable cause for the FBI search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | DONALD TRUMP will not oppose the Justice Department's motion to unseal the search warrant approved by a federal court in West Palm Beach on August 5 and a partially redacted property receipt listing the items seized during the FBI search. (The redactions, according to the government, "remove the names of law enforcement personnel who executed the search," which seems to indicate that they do not remove any information about the items seized.) Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND announced the government's filing Thursday afternoon at an unusual two-minute briefing at the Department of Justice. Garland referred to the "former president" four times, but never said his name. His reason for unsealing the documents? "The department filed the motion to make public the warrant and receipt in light of the former president's public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances, and the substantial public interest in this matter." It seems likely that Garland would not have asked the court to make the warrant and property receipt public if Trump had not gone nuclear with his accusations that the attorney general and FBI had weaponized law enforcement against him. Garland, as many observers put it, called Trump's bluff. Judge BRUCE REINHART , the magistrate overseeing the case in the Southern District of Florida, swiftly ordered the government to confer with Trump and report back by 3 p.m. today on whether the former president opposed the motion to unseal. Trump debated whether to fight Garland on the disclosure, but shortly before midnight he capitulated. "Not only will I not oppose the release of documents related to the unAmerican, unwarranted, and unnecessary raid and break-in of my home in Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago," he said in a statement, "I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents." (N.B.: Trump possesses the documents and could release them himself.)
|  | We'll be smashing the refresh button on the docket page all day until Reinhart unseals Docket Entry 17, which contains the still-secret filings. WHAT ELSE GARLAND SAID — The AG, long thought to be reluctant to pursue criminal inquiries into the misbehavior of the former president, made three other big points: — He personally approved the decision to seek the search warrant. — He made it clear that he recognized the gravity of the decision, noting that "it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search, and to narrowly scope any search that is undertaken." (Shortly after his announcement, several news organizations reported that the government had issued a subpoena to Trump in the spring asking for additional documents in his possession.) — Finally, while top Democrats largely refrained from commenting on the search and the ferocious backlash against it from the right, Garland became the first high-ranking Biden administration official to stand up for his department. "Let me address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the F.B.I. and Justice Department agents and prosecutors," he said. "I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked. The men and women of the F.B.I. and the Justice Department are dedicated, patriotic public servants. Every day, they protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. They do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. I am honored to work alongside them." ALSO ON THE DOCKET — Missing from the limited records that Garland wants unsealed will be the underlying evidence that provided the probable cause for the search. Since Wednesday, news organizations have filed a stream of motions asking the court to unseal everything in the case. A filing from The New York Times demanded the release of "(1) the search warrant itself; (2) the search warrant application; (3) any motion to seal search warrant-related records; (4) any resultant order regarding a motion to seal; (5) any search warrant returns; and (6) all probable cause affidavits filed in support of obtaining the search warrant." The Times asked for oral arguments before the judge to make its case. CBS joined that motion, while The Washington Post, CNN, NBC News and Scripps filed a similar version . Reinhart set a deadline of 5 p.m. on August 15 (Monday) for the government to respond. All of the motions to unseal share one argument in common: Trump's highly public discussion of the search merits additional transparency. "Trump can hardly claim that his reputational or privacy interests would be harmed by public review of what he characterizes as a 'witch hunt,'" the Post-CNN-NBC-Scripps lawyers wrote. THE PARAGRAPH REPUBLICANS ARE CIRCULATING — NYT : "Some senior Republicans have been warned by allies of Mr. Trump not to continue to be aggressive in criticizing the Justice Department and the F.B.I. over the matter because it is possible that more damaging information related to the search will become public." WHAT ABOUT THE INFORMANT? — Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich on why the "probable cause for search warrant 'very likely' came from" a member of Trump's Secret Service detail. (Speculative but persuasive.) THE NUCLEAR BOMBSHELL — In between Garland's afternoon dare and Trump's late night acceptance of it, much of the time was filled with a report from the Washington Post with this sensational lede : "Classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the items FBI agents sought in a search of former president Donald Trump's Florida residence on Monday, according to people familiar with the investigation." There were few other nuke details in the piece, and we've seen enough Trump scandals in the last seven years to know that sometimes potentially explosive allegations from anonymous sources fail to detonate. But Trump himself was conspicuously quiet about the story. "On the one hand, that term 'nuclear documents' is exactly the non-specific but juicy promise that always turns out to be a dud in the end," notes National Review's Michael Brendan Dougherty . "On the other, Trump is not playing this all up as hard as the rest of the right." The NYT adds that the FBI was after "documents that one person briefed on the matter said related to some of the most highly classified programs run by the United States." How classified? The Times' source says it was material from "'special access programs,' a designation even more classified than 'top secret' that is typically reserved for extremely sensitive operations carried out by the United States abroad or for closely held technologies and capabilities." CHRISTINA BOBB, one of Trump's three lawyers on the case, appeared on Fox News last night and was asked by LAURA INGRAHAM about whether her client had any nuke docs stashed at Mar-a-Lago. "I don't believe there were," she said. Ingraham interrupted and became uncharacteristically combative. "Do you know for a fact they weren't?" she asked. "Have you spoken to the president about it?" "I have not specifically spoken to the president about what nuclear materials may or may not have been in there," Bobb said. Later in the interview, Bobb added this new detail: Trump and his family watched the FBI search from New York via feeds from the security cameras at Mar-a-Lago. Trump ran for president in 2016 on a platform that emphasized the importance of punishing top officials for mishandling classified materials. His commitment to the issue was best summarized by a slogan popular at his rallies: "Lock her up!" But in office and afterwards, Trump seems to have been less than fastidious about intelligence protocols and document retention rules. "[S]ignals intelligence — intercepted electronic communications such as emails and phone calls of foreign leaders — was among the type of information that often ended up with unauthorized personnel," the Post reports, citing an anonymous former official. "Such intercepts are among the most closely guarded secrets because of what they can reveal about how the United States has penetrated foreign governments. A person familiar with the inventory of 15 boxes taken from Mar-a-Lago in January indicated that signals intelligence material was included in them." Naturally, The Onion already covered this whole story back in 2017.
| 
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Justice Department on Thursday in Washington. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo | | | A message from Facebook: Facebook is taking action to keep its platform safe
Over 40 million people use Facebook Privacy Checkup each month. That's nearly 60 times the population of Washington, D.C. That's just one example of the work we're doing to create safer connections.
Learn more about our work ahead. | | | Good Friday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade , Eugene Daniels , Ryan Lizza . | | | | A message from Facebook:   | | | | | PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S FRIDAY: The president has nothing on his public schedule.
VP KAMALA HARRIS' FRIDAY (all times Eastern):
2:05 p.m.: The VP will deliver remarks at an event with Oakland students and Mayor LIBBY SCHAAF.
3:10 p.m.: Harris will tour the Chabot Space & Science Center, where she will deliver remarks at 4:35 p.m.
5:40 p.m.: Harris will depart Oakland, Calif., en route to Los Angeles.
THE HOUSE will meet at 9 a.m. to take up the Inflation Reduction Act, with first votes predicted between 10-11 a.m., and ast votes predicted between 2:30-3:30 p.m.
THE SENATE is out. | | | | | | 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 . | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
| 
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) during her burial service at Southlawn Cemetery, in South Bend, Ind., on Thursday, Aug. 11 | Chloe Trofatter/South Bend Tribune via AP | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | CONGRESS HAPPENING TODAY — Our ace congressional colleagues Sarah Ferris and Jordain Carney have a good curtain-raiser this morning as the House prepares to take up the Inflation Reduction Act for a final vote later this afternoon. "Democrats are on the cusp of their biggest victory since taking full control of Washington 19 months ago. The November fragrance of their late political bloom remains to be seen. … Privately, many Democrats are looking to Biden for a clearer plan this August — perhaps even the kind of nationwide tour that never happened to promote Obamacare a decade ago. Biden's administration has pledged to House Democrats that they'll dispatch Cabinet officials to barnstorm during this month's abbreviated break from Washington." House Majority Whip JIM CLYBURN, acknowledging that the bill isn't everything Dems wanted: "I've always said a half loaf is better than no loaf. You come back and get the other half if we can have a successful election in November and get the numbers we need." Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus: "I do think we have a really good story to tell. And we need to sing it from every rooftop over the next couple of months." But not everyone in the caucus is so hopeful: "A bittersweet health care win for Democrats," by Alice Miranda Ollstein: "Democrats are widely expected to lose control of one or both chambers in November, and members are aware that today's vote on the Inflation Reduction Act may be their last chance for some time to enact major reforms to the U.S. health system." ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AISLE — While Republicans are expected to reject the IRA en masse, some wonder whether the auto-no votes might backfire down the line, Josh Siegel writes . "Former GOP lawmakers and Republican allied groups warn the party risks overreaching and alienating key voting groups such as young people and suburban voters who want climate action in the face of worsening wildfires, droughts and flooding. Such alienation could complicate Republican efforts to retake one or both houses of Congress, they say." REMEMBERING JACKIE WALORSKI — "Indiana Rep. Walorski's work called 'mission' during funeral," AP: "Republican House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY spoke about Walorski's work as a Christian missionary in Romania with her husband, as the director of a local humane society and as a television news reporter before entering politics. 'Tell you the truth, Jackie never had a job. She always had a purpose and a mission,' McCarthy said." ALL POLITICS MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE — First, Dems' 2022-minded messaging suggested that "Dems Deliver." Then it was focused on "Build Back Better" — but that legislation went nowhere. Then they pivoted to lambasting "Ultra MAGA" Republicans in and out of Congress. Now, "a coalition of progressive organizations has settled on what its leaders hope will be a unified pitch from the left," NYT's Katie Glueck reports : "This November, they plan to argue, Americans must vote to protect the fundamental freedoms that 'Trump Republicans' are trying to take away. That pitch is the product of a monthslong midterms messaging project called the 'Protect Our Freedoms' initiative, fueled by polling and ad testing." BIG CAMPAIGN IMPLICATIONS — "Google gets green light to exempt campaign emails from spam detection," by WaPo's Isaac Stanley-Becker A NEW YORK MINUTE — Our colleague Joe Anuta with a gem of an opening : "You've seen him on C-SPAN. Now catch him during 'Days of Our Lives.' DAN GOLDMAN , the Levi Strauss & Co. heir who gained national television exposure as counsel to House Democrats during the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, is raking in campaign cash and pumping an unusual amount into TV advertising in the race for New York's open 10th Congressional District." — "Andrew Cuomo used to run New York — now he's suing the state to cover his legal bills," by Joseph Spector WATCH: "Wisconsin's primary didn't move the needle. Here's why," by Renee Klahr and Steven Shepard
|  | | | | | A message from Facebook:   | | | THE WHITE HOUSE DOWN IN SOUTH CAROLINA — The NY Post reports that Biden isn't paying to stay at the plush South Carolina mansion with his family on vacation. "The president recently asked prominent Democratic donor MARIA ALLWIN — the widow of hedge fund founder JAMES ALLWIN — if he could stay at her nine-bedroom Kiawah Island estate, a source close to the family told The Post. 'They stayed here before and they're not paying,' the source said. 'They've never paid. They're just friends.'" JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH WHO'S TALKING — Trump-era Transportation Secretary ELAINE CHAO recently sat for an interview with the Jan. 6 select committee, CNN's Zachary Cohen, Jamie Gangel, Sara Murray and Pamela Brown scoop . Former Education Secretary BETSY DEVOS and former national security adviser ROBERT O'BRIEN are in discussions to appear before the panel soon. ABOUT THOSE MISSING TEXTS — "Read: What DHS watchdog employees wanted to tell Congress about missing Jan. 6 Secret Service texts," by Betsy Woodruff Swan BEYOND THE BELTWAY THE LATEST IN CINCINNATI — "The armed man who attempted to breach the Cincinnati FBI building in Sycamore Township Thursday was shot and killed by police after a chase and a prolonged standoff, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol," the Cincinnati Enquirer's Quinlan Bentley and Brook Endale report . The man, RICKY WALTER SHIFFER, was present at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, according to NBC , citing officials familiar. And then there's this: "A social media account bearing the name of Ricky Shiffer … made a post on [Truth Social,] the social media platform founded by Donald Trump, referencing an attempt to storm an FBI office and encouraging others online to prepare for a revolutionary-type war. The post about the FBI office attack was made minutes after the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the incident at the FBI office in Cincinnati began, shortly after 9:15 a.m.," CNN's Paul Murphy, Josh Campbell and Brynn Gingras report . Interesting observation from Jamie Dupree last night at 10:09 p.m.: "I checked the Twitter accounts of all GOP lawmakers from Ohio in Congress, as well as the Governor, Lt. Gov., and state Attorney General. No comments at all about the Cincinnati incident. No thank you notes for law enforcement. It was like nothing happened." TV TONIGHT — PBS' "Washington Week": Robert Costa, Caitlin Dickerson, Evan Perez and Philip Rucker. SUNDAY SO FAR … ABC "This Week": Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan … Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Panel: Sarah Isgur, Donna Brazile, Alex Burns and Dana Milbank. CBS "Face the Nation": Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) … Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). FOX "Fox News Sunday": Retired Gen. Jack Keane … Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). Panel: Jason Riley, Susan Page, Jonathan Turley and Marie Harf. NBC "Meet the Press": Panel: Matthew Continetti, Amna Nawaz, Eugene Robinson and Amy Walter. CNN "Inside Politics": Panel: Leigh Ann Caldwell, Laura Barrón-López, Mario Parker and Edward-Isaac Dovere.
| | | | 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 . | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Peter Navarro made a… novel argument in his criminal contempt of Congress case on Thursday: "The Capitol building has 600 rooms and the subpoena didn't specify which one" he was supposed to testify in, per Bloomberg . Steve Doocy had a tense moment with Steve Scalise after Republicans lambasted the FBI this week: "Whatever happened to the Republican Party backing the blue?" Bari Weiss told Tim Scott about an internal spat on the NYT Opinion desk over an op-ed the senator submitted in 2020. MEDIA MOVE — Shannon Bream is taking over as anchor of "Fox News Sunday," months after Chris Wallace left the network, making her the first woman to anchor the show in its 26-year history. More from USA Today STAFFING UP — Eric Van Nostrand, is joining the Treasury Department as a senior adviser on economic issues tied to Russia and Ukraine, per Bloomberg . He previously was a managing director at BlackRock. TRANSITIONS — Mahesh Ramanujam has launched The Global Network for Zero, and will serve as its president and CEO. He previously was president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council. … Jared Zambrano-Stout is now VP of government and external relations at Axiom Space. He previously was director of congressional and regulatory policy at Meeks, Butera, and Israel PLLC. … Jonathan Grella is now chief comms officer at LIV Golf Investments. He previously was president and CEO of JAG Public Affairs and is an alum of the U.S. Travel Association, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom DeLay. (Quite a journey!) WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Anna Epstein, a director at FGS Global and a Carly Fiorina, RNC and Black Rock Group alum, and Aaron Steeg, an associate at Winston & Strawn, welcomed Amelia Delmont Steeg on August 5. Pic ... Another pic — Jess Carbino , a senior researcher at Netflix, and Joel Kliksberg, who works in public affairs at Meta, welcomed Emmie Blake Kliksberg on Wednesday. Pic BIRTHWEEK (was Thursday): Luka Ignac of the Atlantic Council HAPPY BIRTHDAY: George Soros … Ed Feulner … HuffPost's Dave Jamieson … Mike Kelleher of the 2Blades Foundation … Brian Devine … Google's Brianna Puccini Duff and Nick Meads … Matt Sparks of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's office ... Casey Nelson of Rep. Ronny Jackson's (R-Texas) office (26) … Liz Hipple of the Joint Economic Committee … BuzzFeed's Nidhi Prakash … Justin Folsom of Sen. Jon Tester's (D-Mont.) office … Brandi Travis … POLITICO's Jan Byun … E&E News' Heather Richards … AgencyIQ's Scott Stephens … CNN's Kyle Blaine and Danny Allman (37) … Angela Kuefler of Global Strategy Group … CBS' Jericka Duncan … Toby Burke … Stand Up America's Kim Hall … Kelley McCormick … Tristan Fitzpatrick … Doris Truong of the Poynter Institute … WaPo's Karen Attiah … Melanie Sheppard of EY … former FHA Administrator Nicole Nason … former Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-Fla.) ... Karyn Posner-Mullen … Lesley Fulop Byers … Amazon's Molly Pfaffenroth … Pfizer's Stephen Claeys ... Dana Berardi ... Thurgood Marshall Jr. ... Christina Hartman ... WilmerHale's Bill McLucas … Uber's Tony West … BBB National Programs' Eric Reicin Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
| | A message from Facebook: We have over 40,000 people working on safety and security
That's more than the size of the FBI. And they're working to create more meaningful connections for our communities
That's just one example of the work we're doing.
Facebook is taking action to keep its platform safe.
Learn more about our work ahead. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment