Citizen Trump

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Feb 06, 2024 View in browser   By Eli Okun Presented by An appellate court opinion takes a legal sledgehammer to Donald Trump’s main immunity arguments. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images THE CATCH-UP IMMUNITY IDOL — In a decision that could have major reverberations for the 2024 campaign, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled that DONALD TRUMP is not immune from prosecution for crimes he’s alleged to have committed as president, Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report. Trump will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, where the big question will be whether five justices grant a stay. But the decision from a mixture of Democratic- and Republican-appointed judges “is a major win for special counsel JACK SMITH,” our colleagues write, even though it took longer than some advocates wanted. The 57-page opinion takes a legal sledgehammer to Trump’s main arguments, ruling that presidential immunity against civil suits does not include criminal prosecution or apply to former presidents. That could pave the way for the federal criminal election subversion case against Trump to proceed. “At bottom, former President Trump’s stance would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches,” Judges KAREN HENDERSON, FLORENCE PAN and MICHELLE CHILDS write in one striking passage. “For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump.” Trump allies warned that the ruling could trigger a series of political reprisals: “If this becomes the norm would a Trump DOJ prosecute [BARACK] OBAMA for droning an American?” DONALD TRUMP JR. posted on X. More on Trump’s courtroom troubles: “How using the 14th Amendment against Trump went from a ‘pipe-dream fantasy’ to the Supreme Court,” by CNN’s Marshall Cohen … “Pro-Biden super PAC set to spend up to $40M amplifying Trump’s legal woes,” by NBC’s Matt Dixon EVERYTHING IS DEAD, PART II — What if Washington ends the week with all its immigration and foreign aid efforts in the trash bin? Here’s the latest: The big supplemental: When even Sens. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.) and JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) are jumping ship on the big bipartisan deal to crack down on immigration, send aid to Ukraine and more, you know that this bill has become essentially radioactive for Republicans (at least for now). Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas), meanwhile, called for Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL to go. Impeaching DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: The margin is going to be extremely tight on House Republicans’ impeachment vote tonight, as Reps. KEN BUCK (R-Colo.) and now TOM McCLINTOCK (R-Calif.) are both opposed. Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-Wis.) voiced concerns in a conference meeting today, and Rep. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-Fla.) blew CNN’s Manu Raju a kiss when asked how she’d vote. Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-Minn.) is coming back from the campaign trail to vote for the first time in nearly two months, and with House Majority Leader STEVE SCALISE out for cancer treatment, this will be a squeaker for Speaker MIKE JOHNSON. A handful of other Republicans are still undecided, and impeachment is now “on the verge of collapse,” Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers report. Attempting to sway his colleagues, House Homeland Security Chair MARK GREEN (R-Tenn.) today called Mayorkas a “reptile with no balls.” Johnson’s Israel-only bill: This, too, is “on the brink of collapse,” per CNN, as House Democratic leaders came out sharply against it and the GOP’s right flank rebels as well. So … what next? As a policy matter, the Plan B options will gain some clarity in the hours and days ahead. But politically, the counterintuitive GOP stampede away from a conservative immigration bill could scramble the presidential election. President JOE BIDEN, for now, doesn’t seem to be giving up hope on the supplemental bill, which he’s expected to defend in public remarks shortly (though he’s already over an hour late). But if Biden can flip the script and start blaming Republicans for not acting to solve the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, that messaging — along with improving economic sentiment — would mean that “for the first time since the 2022 midterms, Mr. Biden has an unmistakable political opening,” NYT’s Nate Cohn writes. (If Biden doesn’t benefit, on the other hand, that could signal that his true political weakness is simply his advanced age.) We’re already seeing that framework start to materialize. “Will the House GOP vote with the Border Patrol to secure the border, or with Donald Trump for more fentanyl?” White House spokesperson ANDREW BATES blasted out in a memo this morning, while House Minority Whip TOM EMMER (R-Minn.) was challenged by Steve Doocy on Fox News over the Border Patrol union’s support for the bill. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com. A message from The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: Multi-cancer early detection tests have game-changing potential in the fight against cancer. By testing for dozens of cancers - including rare forms - at their earliest stages with a simple blood test, these tests could revolutionize early cancer detection once FDA-approved and clinical benefit is shown. Congress: pass H.R. 2407 and S. 2085 to create a pathway to access to these tests in Medicare to make time for patients and their families. Learn more.   8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW President Joe Biden lagged Donald Trump in small-dollar donors last year. | Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo 1. TRUMP’S DONOR ADVANTAGE: Last year, Trump pulled in small-dollar donations from about 100,000 more Americans than Biden did, NYT’s Albert Sun, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Andrew Fischer and Rebecca Davis O’Brien report in a new analysis of FEC data. That includes especially big disparities in the swing states of Nevada, Arizona and Georgia. One caveat, of course, is that Biden was not officially running for reelection until the spring, while Trump was in full swing all year. But the gap nonetheless could indicate some strengths for Trump in terms of grassroots appeal and voter excitement. 2. MUCK READ: “Mattis secretly advised Arab monarch on Yemen war, records show,” by WaPo’s Craig Whitlock and Nate Jones: “[JIM] MATTIS applied in June 2015 for permission from the Marines and the State Department to advise [Sheikh MOHAMED BIN ZAYED AL-NAHYAN] and the UAE on ‘the operational, tactical, informational and ethical aspects’ of the war in Yemen … His request was highly unusual: a legendary four-star Marine asking to work for a foreign head of state as a personal consultant about an ongoing war. … U.S. officials swiftly approved Mattis’s request. Then they fought to conceal his advisory role in the war in Yemen and his work for Mohamed.” 3. NINE YEARS LATER IN YEMEN: The devastating war in Yemen — which has killed hundreds of thousands of people — is still ongoing. And the Israel-Hamas war, along with subsequent Houthi reprisals and recent retaliatory U.S. strikes, seems to have scuttered the prospects of a U.N.-supported peace process that looked promising earlier last year, NYT’s Vivian Nereim reports. But U.S. special envoy TIM LENDERKING says the Biden administration isn’t planning to escalate by supporting the groups fighting against the Houthis in Yemen. 4. UP IN THE AIR: “Why the FAA Still Can’t Fix Boeing,” by WSJ’s Andrew Tangel: “[T]he same old questions are resurfacing about the effectiveness of the FAA and its largely hands-off regulatory system for overseeing Boeing. The agency has so few people watching over Boeing relative to the size of its production operations that a former government official familiar with the oversight likened the process to looking through a keyhole. … The system still relies on Boeing, not the FAA, to ensure that planes are produced properly.”   STEP INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter provides a front row seat to the most important political news percolating in the state’s power centers, from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley. Authors Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner deliver exclusive news, buzzy scoops and behind-the-scenes details that you simply will not get anywhere else. Subscribe today and stay ahead of the game!     5. BIDEN’S LATEST REBELLION ON THE LEFT: A new campaign called Listen to Michigan is launching today with a $250,000 budget to urge the state’s Democrats to vote “Uncommitted” in the presidential primary later this month, NYT’s Reid Epstein reports. It amounts to the most immediate and tangible form of protest over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war in Michigan, which has emerged as the hub of resistance with major Muslim and Arab American populations. Democratic Rep. RASHIDA TLAIB’s sister, LAYLA ELABED, leads the charge. 6. DIALING IT UP: “White House renews calls on Congress to extend internet subsidy program,” by AP’s Kavish Harjai: “The Affordable Connectivity Program offers qualifying families discounts on their internet bills … The one-time infusion of $14.2 billion for the program through the bipartisan infrastructure law is projected to run out of money at the end of April. … [I]t’s unclear if the program will be prioritized in a divided Congress.” 7. THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR: Republicans who have opposed Trump are beginning to fear how he’ll retaliate against them if he gets back to the White House, WaPo’s Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer report. To wit: JASON HEBERT, an ally and friend of House Speaker Mike Johnson, works for Axiom Strategies (the JEFF ROE outfit that supported Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ presidential ambitions), and a Trump ally reportedly told Johnson he shouldn’t work with Axiom — so now Hebert “is expected to start billing his work for Johnson through a company not tied to Axiom.” 8. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The big joint fundraiser with Biden, Obama and BILL CLINTON is tentatively in the works for March 28 at Radio City Music Hall in NYC, NBC’s Carol Lee, Monica Alba and Jonathan Allen scooped.   CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.     PLAYBOOKERS Janet Protasiewicz’s campaign engaged in some, uh, horseplay. Mike Reed is stepping down as the RNC’s chief of staff. Maxwell Frost could be a key surrogate for Joe Biden. John Zogby’s polling outfit is working for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Chris Christie is keeping the door open to No Labels. Andy Kim’s leadership PAC to elect more Asian Americans has under-delivered. IN MEMORIAM — “‘A great leader’: Former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey dies at age 64,” by the Des Moines Register’s Kyle Werner and Donnelle Eller: He “became the nation’s first undersecretary for farm production and conservation under then-U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, serving until 2021.” — Nick Martinelli, a longtime Democratic aide on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, died last week at 52. Full obituary WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Alethea Harney is now campaign chief of staff for the second gentleman. She most recently worked for him as senior adviser for strategic partnerships and external affairs at the White House, and is an EPA alum. TRANSITIONS — The Conservative Partnership Institute is adding Rachel Bovard as VP of programs, Phil Reboli as senior director of government relations, Sean McAndrews as deputy director of the Conservative Partnership Academy, and Adrien Borovina, Alexandra Knowles and Jeffrey Seraphine as senior advisers on the development team. Bovard most recently was executive director of the Senate Steering Committee. Reboli most recently was legislative director for Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). … WestExec Advisors is adding retired Gen. Stephen Lyons and Brent Young as senior advisers. Lyons most recently was the presidential special envoy for ports and supply chains. Young most recently was VP and head of global markets strategy at Intel. BONUS BIRTHDAY: POLITICO’s Erin Schumaker 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, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.   A message from The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: Access to multi-cancer early detection tests in Medicare can make potential precious moments possible. Pass H.R. 2407 and S. 2085. Congress: Act now.     Follow us on Twitter Rachael Bade @rachaelmbade Eugene Daniels @EugeneDaniels2 Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza Eli Okun @eliokun Garrett Ross @garrett_ross   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 politics and policy newsletters Follow us

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