| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York, Monday, April 3. Trump will arrive at the Manhattan DA’s office at 11 a.m. today ahead of an afternoon arraignment. | Bryan Woolston/AP Photo | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | SHOCKING ENDING — “Roy McGrath killed by gunfire in confrontation with FBI in Tennessee,” by the Baltimore Banner’s Tim Prudente and Justin Fenton: “Agents encountered McGrath at a commercial intersection just west of Knoxville around 6:30 p.m. and opened fire. … The former head of the Maryland Environmental Service and chief of staff to former Gov. LARRY HOGAN had been missing since March 13 when he failed to show in federal court in Baltimore for his trial on charges of fraud, theft and falsifying records.” A GUIDE TO TODAY'S CIRCUS — Should all go as planned, DONALD TRUMP will arrive at the Manhattan DA’s office at 11 a.m. today, where he will be taken into custody, read his constitutional rights and get fingerprinted ahead of an afternoon arraignment. Sometime ahead of that proceeding, New York Supreme Court Judge JUAN MERCHAN will unseal the charges against Trump —- which, according to Yahoo News’ Michael Isikoff, reportedly include 34 felony counts of falsification of business records related to his alleged STORMY DANIELS hush payments. Beyond that, many of the day’s details remain in flux. Isikoff, for instance, citing “a source who has been briefed on the procedures for the arraignment of the former president,” reports that Trump “will not be put in handcuffs, placed in a jail cell or subjected to a mug shot,” contradicting some prior reporting on the ex-president’s surrender. It also remains unclear just how much the public will see as Trump is processed (more on that in a moment). Still, the first criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president might just constitute the biggest spectacle New York’s courtrooms have ever seen. And it will take place against a decidedly mundane backdrop: Our investigations reporter Erica Orden, a denizen of Manhattan’s courthouses, described the DA’s office to us as “a pretty dingy, run-down place” and noted it’s hard to imagine any president — let alone one who spends his days surrounded by marble, brass and palm trees — getting booked there like a common criminal. The scene outside promises to be just as striking. By 5 p.m. last night, a line of reporters waiting to get into the courthouse was snaking around the block, per WaPo campaign reporter Dylan Wells, with some outlets hiring professional line holders. Meanwhile, Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) is headlining a pro-Trump rally across from the courthouse that’s set to kick off just before Trump arrives. Will Trump drop by and address the crowd? It’s hard to imagine his Secret Service detail letting that happen, but Trump might have a hard time passing up a chance to put on a show. ON BOARD TRUMP FORCE ONE: Aboard his live-televised flight from Palm Beach, our Meridith McGrath reports, Trump was joined by his son ERIC TRUMP and top aides including SUSIE WILES, CHRIS LaCIVITA, BORIS EPSHTEYN, JASON MILLER, STEVEN CHEUNG and DAN SCAVINO. TVs were tuned to Fox as Trump made tweaks to his Tuesday night remarks. After arriving at his Trump Tower penthouse, Trump consulted with his attorneys and aides through the evening — and fired off an attack on DA ALVIN BRAGG after reading Isikoff’s report on the forthcoming charges, calling for him to be indicted over the leak.
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Explore 30+ tools. | | | HOW THIS WILL GO DOWN: As we said, there’s been a lot of contradictory information. While Isikoff reported there will be no mug shot, for instance, former Trump White House spokesperson HOGAN GIDLEY promised “the most manly, most masculine, most handsome mug shot of all time.” Here’s what we do know: — Merchan ruled last night that no cameras will be allowed in the courtroom aside from a brief still-photo spray before the arraignment begins. That’s a slight departure from normal no-cameras-period procedures, but a far cry from the live video coverage that media outlets requested. It’s unclear, Erica said, whether cameras will be allowed as usual in the courthouse hallways. — At 10:30 a.m., the “Rally for Trump” organized by Greene and the New York Young Republican Club begins at Collect Pond Park across from the courthouse. — After Trump’s 11 a.m. surrender, Erica tells us, he will move to the internally connected courthouse, likely without going outside. Again, it’s unclear what access the media will have, but this is the closest thing to a “perp walk” that the public will see. Reports suggest Trump is going to play the moment up. As one Trump world figure told Rolling Stone’s Jana Winter, “It’s kind of a Jesus Christ thing. He is saying, ‘I’m absorbing all this pain from all around from everywhere so you don’t have to.’” — At 2:15 p.m., we expect Trump to plead not guilty. While arraignments are typically short and defendants rarely speak, that’s no guarantee in this case. Around this time, the indictment will be unsealed and released to the public, if it hasn’t been already. — At 3:30 p.m., Bragg will hold a news conference, speaking about the indictment for the first time. — At 8:15 p.m., after flying back to Palm Beach, Trump will deliver remarks at Mar-a-Lago. Per Meridith, lawmakers and other allies have been invited to attend, with grassroots supporters expected alongside such vocal Trump defenders as Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.). More Trump indictment reads: “He already rocked MAGA world — twice. Now he’s Trump’s judge,” by Julia Marsh … “Trump case pulls DeSantis-leaning Republicans back to MAGA fold,” by Reuters’ Tim Reid … “Unlike in Trump case, Secret Service kept this one secret,” by AP’s Del Quentin Wilber SPOTTED last night across the East River: Trump ally-turned-critic CHRIS CHRISTIE on the general admission floor of the Springsteen show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. (h/t Jon Lemire) Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | ELECTION DAY IN AMERICA — Believe it or not, important things are happening in politics outside of downtown Manhattan. Polls are opening this morning in some pockets of the country, and we caught up last night with two POLITICO colleagues covering critical races in Wisconsin and Chicago. IN THE BADGER STATE: The fight for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat has attracted $42 million in spending — what AP says is “nearly triple the previous national record for a court race” — and the Wisconsin Republican Party chair is calling it “the most consequential race facing Wisconsin in decades.” Our Zach Montellaro and Madison Fernandez explain why: Conservatives currently control the state court, so a win here by liberal Milwaukee County judge JANET PROTASIEWICZ, they note, “could provide a new check on the state GOP.” More from Zach and Madison The results, they note, will have major implications — particularly on abortion and legislative redistricting. “Democrats in the state are eager to challenge the lines, should the court flip, and Protasiewicz regularly calls the maps unfair,” they write. What Zach will be watching: The mail-in ballot count for Republicans, which has slipped following Trump’s attacks on absentee voting. “Will they match Democrats? Absolutely not,” he says. “But I'm interested to learn if the party has been successful at all in closing that gap.” Related reads: “Dan Kelly travels the state before Supreme Court election while Janet Protasiewicz is grounded by illness,” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Daniel Bice … “Wisconsin’s High-Stakes Supreme Court Race: What to Watch,” by NYT’s Reid Epstein IN THE WINDY CITY: The razor-close Chicago mayoral faceoff between progressive, Black County Commissioner BRANDON JOHNSON and centrist, white, former Chicago Public Schools CEO PAUL VALLAS has turned into “a referendum on crime and how to deal with it,” Illinois Playbook author Shia Kapos tells us. “Vallas wants to beef up the police force, and Johnson wants to put more money into social services to the root of crime,” Shia explains. But “there’s a large moderate voting bloc in the middle — many of whom voted for Mayor LORI LIGHTFOOT — that wants more policing and more social services. It’s a conundrum.” What Shia will be watching: Black voters — whom Johnson needs to win in overwhelming numbers. Republicans — who are likely to boost Vallas if they show up. And the Chicago Teachers Union — whose clout is on the line as it works to push Johnson, a former CTU organizer, over the top against Vallas, an old union nemesis. Related reads: “Mayor rivals Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas campaign down to the wire in ‘most important election in a generation,’” by the Chicago Tribune’s Hank Sanders, Alice Yin and Gregory Pratt … “Chicago chooses between progressive, moderate for mayor,” by AP’s Sara Burnett
| | BIDEN’S TUESDAY:
11:30 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief, with VP KAMALA HARRIS attending.
2:45 p.m.: Biden will meet with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1:30 p.m.
HARRIS’ TUESDAY — The VP will also preside over a promotion ceremony for JACOB MIDDLETON to the rank of brigadier general at 5:15 p.m.
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Students march on the State Capitol steps during the March for Our Lives anti-gun violence protest in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3. | George Walker IV/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH BIDEN’S BIG DECISION — Once upon a time, Biden was expected to announce his reelection bid around the start of the year. Now it’s April, and a pair of new stories from Axios’ Alex Thompson and CBS’ Ed O’Keefe and Fin Gómez indicate that we could be waiting a while yet — deep into the spring, summer or even fall. Having already cleared the field of major potential challengers, Biden now is keeping the Democratic campaign machinery on tenterhooks, though he’s still expected to jump into the race eventually. Still, the wheels are turning: Biden aides and allies are meeting as many as three times this week to discuss planning, per CBS. And there are major questions yet to be decided, including where his campaign headquarters will be, where the convention will take place and who will be campaign manager. “At the end of the day, it’ll be ANITA [DUNN] running the show,” one source says. SURVEY SAYS — A handful of new polls have mixed signals in the Republican presidential primary: Reuters/Ipsos finds a major national shift from just a few weeks ago, as Trump’s lead over Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS grew from 44%-30% to 48%-19%. … In New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College finds Trump leading DeSantis 42%-29%, per WMUR. (Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU trails with 14%.) … But in Florida, a new Mason-Dixon poll out this morning has DeSantis ahead of Trump, 44%-39%. Read it here WHERE WE’RE HEADED — “Trump’s online war machine trains its weapons on Ron DeSantis,” by NBC’s Jonathan Allen and Vaughn Hillyard … “Dems dump 500 pages of DeSantis opposition research,” by Axios’ Alexi McCammond MORE POLITICS ANNALS OF DARK MONEY — Swiss billionaire HANSJÖRG WYSS has become one of the most important Democratic megadonors, routing $73 million in 2021 to various Democratic-aligned groups, AP’s Brian Slodysko reveals. Though non-Americans can’t donate directly to political candidates, Wyss’ dark-money giving has flowed through the Berger Action Fund to groups that he says are focused on issue advocacy, especially the environment. (They aren’t required to disclose their donors.) But the line can get fuzzy: Of Wyss’ 2021 sum, $63 million “went to two groups that were focused on building public support for Biden’s agenda,” and the groups made ads that, say, lavished praise on Sen. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-N.H.). PRIMARY COLORS — “Afghanistan war veteran announces primary challenge against Santos,” by The Hill’s Mychael Schnell: “KELLEN CURRY, an Afghanistan war veteran and former vice president at J.P. Morgan, announced a primary challenge against Rep. GEORGE SANTOS (R-N.Y.) on Monday, becoming the first Republican to take on the embattled congressman.” PINK SLIPS AT ACTBLUE — “Dem fundraising giant ActBlue lays off 17 percent of workforce,” by Jessica Piper CASH DASH — “Gallego raises $3.7M in first quarter in bid for Sinema’s Arizona seat,” by The Hill’s Rafael Bernal CONGRESS BARKING BUT NOT BITING — High-profile investigative work from the new House Republican majority, particularly led by Oversight Chair JAMES COMER (R-Ky.) and “weaponization” subcommittee head JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio), has been very slow to get off the ground, Jordain Carney reports this morning. The lack of progress is irritating House Republicans, who warn that voters want results — and that it’s hard to live up to the big game Republicans talked about investigating Biden. NOMINEE TRAVAILS — “Biden’s nominee for Labor secretary on shaky ground in Senate,” by The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Al Weaver: “JULIE SU is facing an uphill climb toward confirmation … Congress heads into a two-week break with a few moderate Democrats concerned over if she’s the right person for the job.” DYNAMIC TO WATCH — “GOP’s war on the cartels,” by Axios’ Zachary Basu and Stef Kight: “Leading Republicans across the ideological spectrum are rallying behind an aggressive and controversial new approach to the fentanyl crisis: Bomb the cartels, with or without the permission of the Mexican government.” SCHATZ FIRED — “The Democratic Senator Who Says Liberals Have Lost Their Way on Housing,” by Slate’s Henry Grabar: “How Sen. BRIAN SCHATZ became a YIMBY—and how he thinks his party can see the light.” TRUMP CARDS THE $2.5 BILLION MAN — “Trump’s Net Worth Plunges $700 Million As Truth Social Flops,” by Forbes’ Dan Alexander: “The former president’s fortune dropped from an estimated $3.2 billion last fall to $2.5 billion today. The biggest reason? His social media business, once hyped to the moon, has come crashing down, erasing $550 million from his net worth — so far.” POLICY CORNER FUN ONE — “How NASA’s astronauts learned they’d been assigned to the moon mission,” by WaPo’s Christian Davenport in Houston: “The head of the astronaut corps scheduled a secret meeting to let them know, but the astronauts were all late.” DATA DIVE — “U.S. to build $300 mln database to fuel Alzheimer’s research,” by Reuters’ Julie Steenhuysen
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD REPUBLICANS HOLDING STEADY — “Congressman: U.S. support for aid to Ukraine is ‘overwhelming,’” by AP’s Elena Becatoros in Kyiv: “Rep. MICHAEL TURNER of Ohio, the Republican chairman of the [Intelligence] committee, … spoke alongside three other GOP congressmen during a brief visit to Kyiv.” Related read: “Will U.S. Support for Ukraine Outlast Biden?” by Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer and Christina Lu: “China hawks in Washington rattle nerves in Europe.” HAPPENING TOMORROW — “McCarthy to meet with Taiwanese president in visit China calls a ‘provocation,’” by NBC’s Rose Horowitch DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “Beijing and D.C.’s military honchos aren’t talking, and that’s worrying,” by Semafor’s Jay Solomon … “Congress Seeks Details on Spying Risks From Chinese Cargo Cranes,” by WSJ’s Gordon Lubold and Aruna Viswanatha THE ECONOMY SAUDI ARABIA GIVES BIDEN ANOTHER HEADACHE — “U.S. Gasoline Prices Could Hit $4 a Gallon Thanks to Surprise OPEC+ Oil Cut,” by Bloomberg’s Natalia Kniazhevich: “A rally now would come just ahead of the busy summer driving season, when demand typically peaks.” SIGNS OF SLOWDOWN — “Manufacturing comes off its high boil,” by Axios’ Neil Irwin BEYOND THE BELTWAY DeSANTIS PUSHING ON MULTIPLE FRONTS — DeSantis and Disney escalated their ongoing feud yesterday in the wake of the news that a governing board aligned with Disney had rolled Florida Republicans by circumventing their effort to seize control. The governor announced that he was ordering an investigation into the company’s actions through his chief inspector general and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, warning that the board may have committed “ethical violations,” the Tampa Bay Times’ Mary Ellen Klas reports. Meanwhile, Disney CEO BOB IGER fired back at Tallahassee over its move to punish the company for voicing opposition to anti-LGBT legislation, which he said “sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida,” per the Orlando Sentinel’s Katie Rice. Elsewhere the state’s Republicans continue pressing hard to the right. Yesterday, a six-week, near-total abortion ban passed the state Senate with just two GOP defections, the Tallahassee Democrat’s Kathryn Varn reports. It’s expected to become law, with major ramifications for abortion access across the entire South, though the ultimate decision may rest with the courts. And Senate Republicans introduced a 98-page elections bill yesterday that would make a panoply of changes, many of them getting more restrictive on voting requirements in the name of cracking down on voter fraud, Gary Fineout reports. (One thing not included, at least not yet: changing state law so that DeSantis could remain governor while running for president.) INFIGHTING ON THE LEFT — Abortion-rights groups are trying to secure ballot initiatives in more states to restore or enshrine access to the procedure, but they’re struggling with internal divisions in the movement over how far to go, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Megan Messerly report this morning. Advocates driving ballot measures in Missouri, Ohio and South Dakota are seeking essentially a return to the pre-Dobbs world, when many states could impose restrictions on abortion at some point late in pregnancy (typically at the point of viability). But others say that’s an outdated framework and want to push for zero restrictions on abortion. ON THE BRINK — “Tennessee GOP file resolutions to expel three Democrats who led gun reform chants on House floor,” by the Nashville Tennessean’s Melissa Brown and Vivian Jones SOMEWHERE IN THE SWAMPS OF JERSEY — “Gov. Murphy Signs Law Decried as a ‘Frontal Assault’ on Good Government,” by NYT’s Tracey Tully BIG SHIFT — “Millions on Medicaid May Soon Lose Coverage as Pandemic Protections Expire,” by NYT’s Noah Weiland in Kansas City, Mo. VALLEY TALK CHECK PLEASE — “Twitter Users Are Still Waiting for a Check-Mark Reckoning,” by NYT’s Kate Conger and Ryan Mac in San Francisco: “While Twitter took away the check mark from some accounts, including that of The New York Times, most verified users retained the symbols.” YOWZA — “At Elon Musk's Twitter, speech is anything but free,” by Axios columnist Ina Fried: “[T]here are a series of words that Twitter seems to want people not to use. If you use the words ‘trans’ or ‘transgender’ in a tweet, for example, the message won’t preview if you share it via direct message on Twitter. … Other terms said to be on the list are ‘bisexual,’ ‘gay,’ ‘lesbian’ and ‘queer.’”
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 4/5 FOR THE 2023 RECAST POWER LIST: America’s demographics and power dynamics are changing — and POLITICO is recasting how it covers the intersection of race, identity, politics and policy. Join us for a conversation on the themes of the 2023 Recast Power List that will examine America’s decision-making tables, who gets to sit at them, and the challenges that still need to be addressed. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | O.J. Simpson weighed in on Donald Trump’s legal troubles and the jury system. Jill Biden floated inviting both the LSU and Iowa women’s basketball teams to the White House — prompting lots of backlash from Louisiana (“#OneWinner #OneWhiteHouseVisit”). David Schweikert made a “Succession” cameo. Christopher Barnard spoke out about intervening in the random attack on his friend Phillip Todd. IN MEMORIAM — Former Rep. Ronald Sarasin (R-Conn.) died last week at 88. In addition to his time in Congress, he was the 1978 Connecticut GOP gubernatorial nominee. He also worked as chief lobbyist for the National Restaurant Association, president and CEO of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, and longtime president and CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Full obituary FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Brad Hantler has launched Woodcreek Enterprises, a public affairs and political fundraising firm. He most recently was SVP at MO Strategies, and also led national fundraising for super PACs supporting Blake Masters’ and John James’ Senate runs. MEDIA MOVE — Madeleine Ngo has rejoined the NYT as a reporter covering economics from the D.C. bureau. She previously covered economic policy, the Fed and inflation at Vox. TRANSITIONS — Greg Lemon is now comms director at Koch Industries. He previously was director of corporate comms at Targeted Victory. … Lindsay Slater is joining Trout Unlimited as VP for government affairs. He previously was longtime chief of staff for Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). … Fred Clark is now a senior consultant at Cornerstone Government Affairs. He most recently was chief counsel for the Senate Agriculture GOP. ENGAGED — Coleman Tolbert, a consultant at Deloitte and a Trump DOE alum, and Cami Connor, a customer relations specialist with Boeing’s government affairs team and a Trump White House alum, got engaged Friday at the Knickerbocker Hotel in NYC. They met in 2020 when he came to the White House for work meetings. Pic … Another pic — David Wright, a writer/producer with CNN’s political unit, and Natalie Lylo, a producer at MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” got engaged Sunday at Marion Park. The couple met at CNN, where she used to work on “The Situation Room.” Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: White House’s Michael Leach … Treasury’s Warren Ryan and Michael Halle … POLITICO’s Katie Brennan and Mike Raburn … Business Roundtable’s Molly Edwards Connor … NYT’s Jo Becker … Deloitte’s Dan Jacobs … Charles Halloran … Jake Olson … Jennifer Humphrey … Bloomberg Government’s Heather Rothman … Jeffrey Ekoma … Michael Merola of Winning Strategies Washington … GE’s Meg Thurlow … Molly Mitchell of Mitchell Media … NBC’s Joy Wang … Chris Crawford of Rep. Buddy Carter’s (R-Ga.) office … Allan Lichtman … Nick Snow and Bridget Spurlock of Targeted Victory … Ali Rubin … Elizabeth Daigneau … former Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.) … retired Adm. Bobby Ray Inman, former NSA director (92) … former Sen. Mo Cowan (D-Mass.) … Delaware AG Kathy Jennings 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 DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
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