| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  Special counsel Robert Hur said he had not exonerated President Joe Biden. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | HIM AND HUR — Special counsel ROBERT HUR’s report about President JOE BIDEN’s handling of classified documents managed to infuriate both Democrats and Republicans. And as he testified this morning before the House Judiciary Committee, he parried criticisms from both sides while defending his work as nonpartisan. Some of the most striking moments:
- Hur told Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) that Biden’s avowal that he didn’t share classified information was “inconsistent with the findings based on the evidence in my report.”
- When Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) said Hur’s report had exonerated the president, the special counsel shot back, “I did not exonerate him.”
- Hur also held firm that AG MERRICK GARLAND had not interfered in the report at all.
Democrats made sure to highlight the fundamental conclusion that Hur recommended no charges for Biden over the classified materials — and that Hur said Biden’s conduct wasn’t on the same level as DONALD TRUMP’s, which earned the former president criminal prosecution. Republicans, led by Chair JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio), were outraged by the disparity and grilled Hur on his decision to let Biden off. Dems, meanwhile, asked Hur — a Republican — if he was just trying to get an appointment in a future GOP administration. Hur said he has “no such aspirations,” but didn’t rule it out, per Jordain Carney. Beyond the legal ramifications of Hur’s report, of course, there was the political firestorm kicked off by his characterization of Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” which fed into one of the president’s greatest liabilities in the eyes of the public. Dems today blasted Hur for going over the top and having “smeared” the president, but Hur maintained that he wouldn’t “sanitize” his findings for political purposes. Just as notable as the hearing was the release today of the transcript of Hur’s interview with Biden: The press quickly picked through the most striking portions and found, as NBC’s Mike Memoli puts it, “a more nuanced picture on both sides.” Though Biden does forget some things or mix up some timelines, he also demonstrates sharp and detailed recall of various topics. “Biden doesn’t come across as being as absent-minded as Hur has made him out to be — and Hur doesn’t appear as crass as Biden has made him out to be,” WaPo’s Matt Viser reports. On one of the most incendiary questions — whether Biden couldn’t recall the year his son BEAU died — the transcript again offers some more shading. It was indeed Biden, not Hur, who first brought the topic up. But Biden quickly knew the date (May 30) as he tried to get the chronology of those years in order. More from the AP The transcripts also contain some lighter moments: Biden recalls his archery success in Mongolia, jokes about whether investigators found any bathing suit photos of JILL and makes car noises as he talks about electric vehicles. Check out the transcripts for yourself here and here In other Biden investigation news: “Republicans Sent Secret Subpoena For 15 Years Of Hunter Biden’s Phone Records, Democrats Reveal,” by HuffPost’s Arthur Delaney INFLATION NATION — Higher prices haven’t yet relinquished their hold on Americans’ pocketbooks — or, by extension, on Democrats’ political struggles with negative economic sentiments. In the latest consumer price data out today, February prices actually revved back up slightly, with annual inflation rising from 3.1% to 3.2% and monthly increases rising from 0.3% to 0.4%. The core inflation measure, excluding food and fuel, matched January at 0.4%. More from the AP Under the hood, higher gas prices, airfares and shelter costs helped propel inflation, though Americans got some relief at the supermarket: Overall grocery prices didn’t increase at all last month. Despite the slight disappointment of today’s report, which could reinforce the Fed’s caution around cutting interest rates, the overall inflation picture for this year remains the same: Experts think it will fall slowly if bumpily over the course of the year, ticking closer to the central bank’s 2% target. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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Protect Conservation Funding. | | | THE OCEANIA COMEBACK KID — With 99% of the vote in, there were fewer than 100 voters in the Northern Mariana Islands Democratic primary today, but Biden crushed it with 94% after his American Samoa loss. IN TRANSITION — STEPH CURRY told CBS’ Jericka Duncan that he’s a “maybe” on a future presidential bid, saying he’s open to running for elected office “if politics is a way that you can create meaningful change.” HAPPENING TOMORROW — POLITICO’s annual Health Care Summit convenes tomorrow at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, where we expect lots of news on everything from the fentanyl crisis to the war in Gaza, abortion, drug prices and even the Ozempic craze. Eugene will sit down with the White House’s NEERA TANDEN, and Ryan will interview KELLYANNE CONWAY. Other interviews include HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA, Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.), USAID Administrator SAMANTHA POWER, Reps. LARRY BUCSHON (R-Ind.), BRAD WENSTRUP (R-Ohio) and ROBIN KELLY (D-Ill.), and more. Click here for more details and RSVP
| | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  The group led by Sarah Longwell is deploying a similar voter testimonial strategy to what it used in 2020 and 2022. | Rick Bowmer/AP Photo | 1. BIG MONEY: Republican Voters Against Trump is planning a $50 million effort to again highlight testimonials from voters who have turned against the former president, NYT’s Reid Epstein reports. The major push from the group, led by SARAH LONGWELL, is deploying a similar strategy to what it used in 2020 and 2022, forgoing any focus on Biden to instead emphasize regular people’s decisions to abandon Trump. Jan. 6 and democracy are a big focus for these voters, Longwell says, while abortion is not. Republican Voters Against Trump already has commitments for $20 million. 2. WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN: “Trump asked Elon Musk if he wanted to buy Truth Social,” by WaPo’s Josh Dawsey, Drew Harwell and Jonathan O’Connell: “The overture to [ELON] MUSK [last summer] … did not lead to a deal. But the conversation, which has not been previously reported, shows the two men have communicated more than was known. The two have had other conversations, too, Trump advisers say, about politics and business.” 3. THE DISCHARGE CHARGE: The discharge petition that would force the Senate’s foreign aid bill will officially start collecting signatures of House members today — a big moment for backers of Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, though the fate of the bill is uncertain. With some progressive Democrats likely to oppose the bill, the discharge petition would have to rustle up probably a dozen Republicans or more. House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES today told his caucus they should sign on today before leaving town, per WaPo’s Leigh Ann Caldwell. The running list of signatories Using funding for which it doesn’t need Congress, the Biden administration is preparing its next tranche of military aid to Ukraine, Reuters’ Mike Stone, Idrees Ali and Patricia Zengerle scooped. It could total up to $400 million and, Lara Seligman and Alex Ward report, include multiple Army Tactical Missile Systems. As lawmakers head out of Washington, meanwhile, a House GOP retreat in West Virginia is slated to get fewer than 100 members in attendance, Olivia Beavers reports. Also not attending: LARRY KUDLOW, who was slated to speak but pulled out, per Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman.
| | | | On the ground in Albany. Get critical policy news and analysis inside New York State. Track how power brokers are driving change across legislation and budget and impacting lobbying efforts. Learn more. | | | | | 4. BATTLE FOR SEATTLE: “Serial Killer-Hunting Sheriff Wants to Flip Washington State Red,” by Bloomberg’s Anna Edgerton: “DAVE REICHERT is best known in Washington State for his two-decade pursuit of one of the country’s worst criminals: The Green River Killer, responsible for at least 49 murders. Reichert went from being the sheriff who helped catch the killer to becoming the rare Republican representing part of the Seattle suburbs in Congress. Now he faces a bigger challenge: running to be the first Republican governor of the solidly blue state in more than 40 years.” 5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: An American who was thought to be held hostage by Hamas today was confirmed killed on Oct. 7, Israel announced, per CNN. 19-year-old ITAY CHEN, a dual citizen, was mourned by Biden, who has met with Chen’s family and said in a statement that “our hearts are heavy.” On the Hill, a group of seven senators led by BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) warned that Biden is violating the Foreign Assistance Act by sending military aid to Israel as it continues to block some humanitarian aid for Palestinians, NYT’s Robert Jimison reports. Sanders and the half-dozen Democrats urged Biden to stop sending any offensive weapons to Israel until PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’s government changes course. The letter Biden did set one “red line” over the weekend, warning Israel not to invade Rafah, but NYT’s David Sanger notes that there’s a long history of presidents getting tripped up by their own foreign policy red lines: “[T]ime and again, they have come to regret it.” 6. PAGING XI JINPING: “Taiwan’s Incoming VP Is on a Low-Profile Visit to Washington,” by WSJ’s Lingling Wei and Joyu Wang: “BI-KHIM HSIAO, who served as Taipei’s representative to the U.S. from mid-2020 until late last year, is on a private trip in the U.S. capital to pack belongings she left behind to campaign with president-elect LAI CHING-TE, the people said, though she also plans to meet with U.S. officials while there.” 7. HATE WATCH: Hate crimes against LGBTQ+ kids in K-12 schools have more than quadrupled in states that have passed restrictive legislation around gender identity and sexuality, WaPo’s Laura Meckler, Hannah Natanson and John Harden report. Though these crimes are on the increase across the whole country in the past few years, they’ve risen more in this subset of states. “The Post analysis found that the number of anti-LGBTQ+ school hate crimes serious enough to be reported to local police more than doubled nationwide between 2015-2019 and 2021-2022.” Advocacy groups say they’re getting more calls from kids in crisis.
| | | | 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 | | Samuel Alito paused Texas’ immigration law for a few more days. Ruben Gallego is launching his first Senate campaign TV ads. Tom Emmer announced $1.75 million for the NRCC and House GOP candidates. Jim McGovern’s phone ringtone was revealed to be Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode.” Jim Justice somehow finds time to be a high school girls’ basketball coach. Eric Schmitt and John Fetterman had a height-off. SPOTTED: Tara Reid and Rosario Dawson having a meal at El Presidente on Saturday. OUT AND ABOUT — The new advocacy group Americans for Small Business hosted an event yesterday evening at the Capitol Hill Club introducing Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) as the new House Small Business Caucus co-chair. SPOTTED: Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), Del. James Moylan (R-Guam), Steve Abbott, Grover Norquist, Alex Vogel and Fritz Brogan. TRANSITIONS — Jon Huntsman will be vice chair and president for strategic growth at Mastercard. He’s a former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore. … Ethan Tan is joining the TSA as adviser for strategy, policy coordination and innovation. He previously was manager of policy comms and research in DHS’ Office of Public Affairs. … Keenan Hochschild is now an associate on DoorDash’s D.C. public affairs team. He previously worked on former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s comms team. 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 Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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