| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Eugene Daniels and Rachael Bade | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | |  Hunter Biden’s team needs to make a big decision this weekend: Will he testify? | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | THE OTHER TRIALS — While the federal cases against DONALD TRUMP in Florida (violating the Espionage Act, making false statements and obstruction of justice) and Washington (attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election) have been tied up with delays, the Department of Justice’s three other cases relevant to the 2024 election — all against Democrats — are chugging along. And Democrats are eager to talk about them. 1. HUNTER BIDEN: The prosecution wrapped its case yesterday and it’s close to being sent to the jury, but first Biden’s team needs to make a big decision this weekend: Will Hunter testify? The case hinges on whether Hunter was using crack cocaine in October 2018 when he purchased a handgun and signed a document attesting that he was not a drug user. On Wednesday, Hunter’s ex-wife, KATHLEEN BUHLE, testified about his years of using crack but didn’t have direct evidence of use during the critical month. ZOE KESTAN, who met Hunter at a strip club in Manhattan in 2017, also testified to his frequent drug use — he smoked what she assumed was crack during their first meeting — but when asked about what she knew of his drug use in October 2018, she replied, “No idea.” First lady JILL BIDEN has attended most of the trial. She was in court for Kestan’s salacious testimony but not during Buhle’s. On Thursday, the first lady made a quick trip to France with the president to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, so she was also spared watching testimony from HALLIE BIDEN, Hunter’s sister-in-law (she was married to his brother, BEAU) and former romantic partner. Hallie testified on Thursday that she believed that Hunter was using drugs when he purchased the firearm. According to her text messages in the days after the purchase Hunter was “waiting for a dealer named Mookie,” and said he was “sleeping on a car smoking crack.” Biden’s daughter, NAOMI, testified the next day, with the first lady back in the courtroom, that she didn’t think her dad was using in October 2018, and that he “just seemed really great” in the months prior. The trial has become a gathering place for the Biden family. Per Betsy Woodruff Swan, others in attendance have included “ASHLEY BIDEN, his half-sister; VALERIE BIDEN OWENS, his aunt; JOHN T. OWENS, Valerie’s husband and his uncle; PETER NEAL, his son-in-law and Naomi’s husband; CUFFE BIDEN OWENS, his cousin; and MELISSA COHEN-BIDEN, his wife.” JAMES BIDEN, the brother of the president, was spotted in Wilmington before his anticipated testimony, but the defense indicated he will no longer appear in court as a witness. Hunter’s weekend decision presents him with a choice similar to the one Trump had to make. Testifying could help him “win sympathy from jurors and persuade them that in October of 2018 … he was in a period of sobriety and truly believed he was not a drug addict,” Betsy writes. On the other hand, it could be risky because it could open him up to detailed questions about his drug usage and “his alleged failure to pay more than a million dollars in taxes on time.” Hunter’s second criminal trial — this one on tax charges — will begin in Los Angeles in September during the heart of the presidential campaign. 2. BOB MENENDEZ: Meanwhile in New Jersey, Ry Rivard reports that “JOSE URIBE, a New Jersey business person cooperating with federal authorities in the corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez, said Friday that he bribed the senator and his now-wife to ‘stop and kill’ an investigation that was circling his insurance business.” 3. HENRY CUELLAR: The Texas Democratic congressman has been luckier when it comes to getting his case kicked down the road. His trial on charges of bribery and money laundering was supposed to begin in July but is now scheduled for March 31, 2025. THE POLITICS OF LAWFARE: While no political party generally likes talking about all of their members who are on trial for various felonies, these federal prosecutions of Democrats are starting to be raised more and more by Democrats responding to widespread GOP accusations that President JOE BIDEN’s administration is “weaponizing” the DOJ. Ryan chatted with Biden campaign co-chair Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) this week, and he fumed about what he sees as a double standard in how the two parties are reacting to these cases. “What you don’t hear from Joe Biden is any attack on the judge, any attack on the prosecutor, any attack on the process by which his son is currently in federal court; any suggestion that he would misuse the presidential pardon power; any suggestion that his supporters should riot in the streets over it,” Coons said. “Donald Trump, on the other hand, has done all of those things, and the difference reveals the difference in their commitment to the rule of law.” But Coons betrayed some frustration that Dems are a little boxed in when it comes to crying politics! on the Hunter case, even when there’s an argument for it. “Joe Biden has never mentioned any attempt at interfering in the federal court case that is proceeding in Wilmington, Delaware, against his own son, even though the prosecutor was a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney,” Coons said. “Even though the crime charged and now prosecuted in court is one that is exceptionally rare to ever be prosecuted for a first-time, nonviolent offender. To misrepresent, allegedly, drug use on a background check form is very, very rarely prosecuted at all.” He added, “I strongly doubt that the defendant would be in court if he were not the son of the president.” Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Groundwork Collaborative: Do you think the tax code is fair? We don’t — and it’s time to fix it.
For too long, the tax code has been slanted towards the wealthy and large corporations, and the economy and our country have suffered as a result. The expiration of key provisions of the Trump tax law in 2025 is a rare opportunity to reform the tax code and ensure it is fair, raises revenue, and supports equitable economic growth. Learn more. | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Biden campaign is dropping a new digital ad later today attacking Trump for his links to JOE ARPAIO, whom Trump praised — and kissed — onstage at a rally last night in Arizona. Trump has long admired Arpaio going back to their shared pursuit of the debunked BARACK OBAMA “birther” conspiracy theory more than a decade ago. During the 2016 campaign, Trump championed the sheriff who was best known for racially profiling Latinos in Arizona. When a court intervened, Arpaio ignored a federal judge’s order and was prosecuted for criminal contempt for his “flagrant disregard” of the law. In 2017, Trump pardoned Arpaio before his sentencing. The two men were reunited on the campaign trail last night, and the Biden campaign quickly turned around the new ad running through Arpaio’s checkered past and history with Trump: saying “it’s an honor” to be compared to the KKK, targeting drivers for traffic stops based on their skin color, the guilty verdict and the pardon. The new Biden ad will target Latinos in three swing states — Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania — at a time when Biden is struggling with this demographic, especially its younger cohort. A poll this week out of the University of Chicago reported that Trump is leading Biden among young Latinos (age 18-40) by 4 points (32 percent to 28 percent), and that there is enormous interest in third-party alternatives. (Another poll this week found that Biden’s biggest threat in maintaining his 2020 levels of support among all Latinos is not from Trump but from ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.) Many younger Latino voters are less familiar with Trump’s record and his embrace of figures such as the 91-year-old Arpaio, so the Biden campaign is trying to educate them. “You are the company you keep,” said MACA CASADO, who handles Hispanic media for the campaign, in a statement that will be blasted out later today. Watch the new Biden ad: “Trump’s Love Affair” And another new ad campaign: “Biden campaign drops an attack ad on Trump from Normandy,” by Lauren Egan
| | | | A message from Groundwork Collaborative:   Do you think the tax code is fair? We don’t — and it’s time to fix it. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden is spending the day at the Elysée Palace in Paris, where he and French President EMMANUEL MACRON have already had a welcome ceremony, parade procession, working lunch and remarks to the press. Later, the Bidens will attend a state dinner. More from Eli Stokols and Clea Caulcutt VP KAMALA HARRIS is traveling to Michigan, where she’ll speak at political events in Ann Arbor and Detroit before returning to Washington.
| | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | | 
Democrats increasingly fear that President Joe Biden will get no political boost for the strength of the post-pandemic recovery. | Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP Photo | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID: The economy is still strong, prices are still elevated, Americans are still dour, and the Biden team is just about running out of ideas to change the public’s mind on the matter, Adam Cancryn reports. Instead, they’re planning to rerun old tactics, like attacking “corporate greed,” as Democrats increasingly fear that inflation won’t get any better and Biden will get no political boost for the strength of the post-pandemic recovery. On the flip side, the electorate seems not to have tuned in at all to the reality that Trump’s major economic plans would likely worsen inflation, economists tell NYT’s Charlie Savage, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. He has not gotten specific about how he would tame prices, and his most significant plans — massive deportations, tariffs and tax cuts — would worsen them by any conventional understanding of economics. (Other ideas, like boosting energy production and slashing regulations, would likely have smaller deflationary effects.) Trump’s intent to enshrine and expand tax cuts would also add trillions to the national debt, Bloomberg’s Christopher Condon and Steven Dennis report. 2. BIG SHIFT: “U.S. Considers Expanded Nuclear Arsenal, a Reversal of Decades of Cuts,” by NYT’s Julian Barnes and David Sanger: “A senior Biden administration official warned on Friday that ‘absent a change’ in nuclear strategy by China and Russia, the United States may be forced to expand its nuclear arsenal … The comments on Friday from PRANAY VADDI, a senior director of the National Security Council, were the most explicit public warning yet that the United States was prepared to shift from simply modernizing its arsenal to expanding it. They were also a warning to President VLADIMIR V. PUTIN of Russia about the likely U.S. reaction if the last major nuclear arms control agreement, called New START, expires.” 3. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: There was big news out of Israel this morning: The country rescued four hostages, alive, in an operation in central Gaza. That prompted BENNY GANTZ to delay a speech today in which the centrist was expected to announce that he was leaving Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’s government, per Reuters. But we’re now a week into the latest big U.S. effort to forge a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, and so far it hasn’t succeeded, the AP notes. In fact, Qatar and Egypt’s threats to Hamas attempting to force the militant group into a deal, at the behest of the U.S., seem to have backfired, WSJ’s Summer Said and Jared Malsin report. And a new CIA analysis about Netanyahu’s mindset concluded that he probably believes he can defy American pressure to lay out a plan for what should happen to Gaza after the war, CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Katie Bo Lillis report. Related reads: “Legacy of America’s past battles looms over Israel-Gaza crisis,” by WaPo’s Missy Ryan … “A Small American Bomb Killing Palestinians by the Dozen in Gaza,” by NYT’s Lara Jakes 4. WHAT JOSH HAWLEY IS READING: “Congress weighs spending cap on nuclear testing victims bill,” by the Washington Examiner’s David Sivak: “The idea of placing a spending cap on an expiring program for nuclear testing victims is being discussed in the House as a way to address Speaker MIKE JOHNSON’s (R-LA) reservations about the price tag of a proposed expansion of the fund. … The speaker’s office has since been in active discussions with Rep. ANN WAGNER (R-MO), who wants a House vote on the expansion crafted by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).” 5. CLIMATE FILES: For the third time in recent months, the Biden administration is cracking down much less on auto regulations than it initially indicated. In a win for Detroit automakers and a loss for environmentalists, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said yesterday its new fuel economy standards for pickup trucks and SUVs will barely rise above 2026 required levels by 2031, instead of the significant hike that was first proposed, Reuters’ David Shepardson reports. The difference will be 200 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2050, Alex Guillén reports, amid a week of big climate setbacks around the country and the world. 6. HOW TRUMP WINS: “Operatives with GOP ties are helping Cornel West get on the ballot in a key state,” by NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald: “Cornel West’s independent presidential campaign is broke. … But tens of thousands of signatures have been gathered on behalf of the famed left-wing academic in key states thanks to self-organized grassroots volunteers — and some help from outside operatives … Emails from elections officials, obtained through a request under North Carolina’s Public Records Law, show the pro-West Justice for All Party authorized three people to pick up and drop off signatures for them statewide — and all three are current or past employees of a Colorado-based Republican political firm called Blitz Canvassing.”
| | | | A message from Groundwork Collaborative:   Do you think the tax code is fair? We don’t — and it’s time to fix it. | | | 7. CHAOS AT THE WASHINGTON POST: Under heavy scrutiny over reports that he tried to intervene in editorial decision-making, WaPo publisher WILL LEWIS sent a staff note that acknowledged some discontent but doubled down on denying that he pressured SALLY BUZBEE not to publish stories. Regardless, as discontent brews at the newspaper and serious ethical questions remain in the eyes of many Post journalists, you can expect that old British media phone hacking scandal — the subject of the stories in question between Lewis and Buzbee — to get plenty of renewed attention, as NYT’s Justin Scheck, Eshe Nelson and Tariq Panja report. “Those accusations — nearly 15 years old and unproven — suddenly have fresh currency.” 8. FOLLOWING THE MONEY: “Nonprofit connected to Leonard Leo sent millions to his firm,” by Hailey Fuchs: “The Concord Fund, a Virginia-based nonprofit, paid $6 million to [LEONARD] LEO’s firm CRC Advisors between July 2022 and the end of June 2023 for ‘Consulting’ … The revelations of the large sum transferred to Leo’s firm come amid mounting questions around Leo’s advocacy activities and whether he has stood to gain financially from nonprofit groups pushing a conservative agenda around the country.” Related read: “Justice Clarence Thomas Acknowledges He Should Have Disclosed Free Trips From Billionaire Donor,” by ProPublica’s Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski 9. CONVICTION FALLOUT: Trump hasn’t budged an inch since being found guilty on dozens of felony counts, apparently judging that he doesn’t need to make any appeal to moderates by moderating his rhetoric, Lisa Kashinsky reports. Judging by the latest polls, he may be right — but some Republicans, like Nebraska Rep. DON BACON, warn that the sliver of swing voters who could be turned off is still important. On the Hill, Johnson’s leadership team is whipping Republicans for a bill in response that would seek to allow former presidents to move state charges to federal court, Axios’ Stephen Neukam and Andrew Solender report. But some moderates sound uncomfortable with the legislation. Meanwhile, Manhattan DA ALVIN BRAGG told House Republicans that he may be willing to appear at a hearing for testimony they’ve demanded — but not the date they wanted next week, per Jordain Carney. CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 funnies
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Nick Anderson - Counterpoint Media | GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — “How 1980s Yuppies Gave Us Donald Trump,” by Tom McGrath in POLITICO Magazine, adapted from his new book, “Triumph of the Yuppies” ($32): “If it weren’t for the young urban professionals of the 1980s, we’d never have MAGA.” — “Will Mexico Decide the U.S. Election?” by The New Yorker’s Stephania Taladrid: “Top officials from the two countries are wrangling over immigration policy. What they resolve will have huge implications on both sides of the border.” — “The Proud Boys are back: How the far-right group is rebuilding to rally behind Trump,” by Reuters’ Aram Roston in Bedminster, New Jersey: “The Proud Boys say recruitment is growing and they’re ready to serve again as Donald Trump’s unofficial protection force.” — “The marked man,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Christopher Spata and Dan Sullivan: “An innocent man’s exoneration after 37 years in prison revealed a rash of serial killings in 1983 Tampa.” — “The Age of the Drone Police Is Here,” by Wired’s Dhruv Mehrotra and Jesse Marx: “A WIRED investigation, based on more than 22 million flight coordinates, reveals the complicated truth about the first full-blown police drone program in the US — and why your city could be next.” — “Ibram X. Kendi Faces a Reckoning of His Own,” by the NYT Magazine’s Rachel Poser: “In 2020, the author of ‘How to Be an Antiracist’ galvanized Americans with his ideas. The past four years have tested them — and him.” — “The Prayers of Curtis Wilkie,” by Michael Oates Palmer in The Bitter Southerner: “Civil rights, presidential politics, the Middle East. For 60 years, he covered it all. Writer Michael Oates Palmer talks violent history, ignorant Republicans, journalism on the brink, Mississippi falling backward, sandwich crackers — and a few choice nitwits — with the great reporter at 83.” — “Pain and Suffering,” by Ann Neumann in The Baffler: “Demonizing opioids has unintended consequences.” — “Why Is Everyone on Steroids Now?” by GQ’s Rosecrans Baldwin: “Across the internet and in gyms everywhere, body-modifying drug use has become ubiquitous, effective and … normal. Can this really be a good thing?”
| | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Donald Trump vowed he’d “never ban TikTok” (though of course the bill already became law). Mark Meadows and Mike Roman pleaded not guilty in Arizona. Rick Scott is voting against legalizing marijuana because of his brother’s addiction struggles. Steven Spielberg helped Joe Biden prepare for his Normandy speech. Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a bipartisan Senate delegation. John Fetterman has a simple hoodie explanation. IN MEMORIAM — “David Boaz, leading voice of libertarianism, dies at 70,” by WaPo’s Emily Langer: “As a writer and scholar, he labored for decades to move libertarianism from the margins to the mainstream of American politics. … His death was announced by the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank in Washington where Mr. Boaz served at the time of his death as a senior fellow and executive vice president.” OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED yesterday evening at the Black Professionals in International Affairs’ 35th anniversary celebration, under the patronage of Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud: Angélique Pitteloud, Bonnie Jenkins, Stacey Dixon, Stan Brown, David White, Maria Detherage, U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Candace Bond, Saudi Ambassador Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Brian Nichols, Jon Finer, Brittany Masalosalo and Chidi Blyden. — SPOTTED at a “HAIppy Hour” last night at the House at 1229 hosted by the Washington AI Network, with Tammy Haddad interviewing David Ignatius: Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova and Danylo Volynets, Jen Easterly, Jane Harman, Ali Biasotti, Jon Cardinal, Dmitri Alperovitch, Maureen Hinman, Reema Dodin, Justin Fanelli, Steve Hartell and Govind Shivkumar. WEDDING — “A Mayor’s Proposal is Accepted at the White House,” NYT: “Newly elected Mayor Phillip Jones of Newport News, Va., proposed to Dr. Jamila Wynter on the balcony of second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s office on her birthday.” HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) … Cory Fritz of FTI Consulting … Matt Whitlock … Justin Peligri … former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) … POLITICO’s Mike Shaw, Emily Keith, Paola Molina, Kheri Carter and Nicole Felter … Jonathan Collegio … Lale Morrison of Rep. Jared Moskowitz’s (D-Fla.) office … Kelsey Bolar (Harkness) … Roger Hickey of Campaign for America’s Future … Erin Gorman Van Alsten … Paul Winfree … Strategic Partners & Media’s Russ Schriefer … WaPo’s Sarah Hashemi … Jennifer Dunn of Hill+Knowlton Strategies … Lindsey Wagner-Oveson of Sen. Peter Welch’s (D-Vt.) office … The Bulwark’s Hannah Yoest … Joshua Matz of Kaplan Hecker & Fink … NBCUniversal’s Amanda Kontor … Margaret Reynolds of Rep. Jared Golden’s (D-Maine) office … Julianna Margulies … Preston Bell of the House Ways & Means GOP (36) … Kris Coratti Kelly … Taylor Mason of Unite Us … Alex Daugherty THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) … Texas Gov. Greg Abbott … Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) … Gregg Jarrett … Miranda Devine … Pete Hegseth. CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) … Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) … Cindy McCain. CNN “State of the Union”: National security adviser Jake Sullivan … Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer … South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. Panel: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Scott Jennings, Karen Finney and Bryan Lanza. ABC “This Week”: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Panel: Terry Moran, Rick Klein, Asma Khalid and Susan Glasser. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) … Ralph Reed. Panel: David Drucker, Bob Cusack, Daniella Diaz and Mona Charen. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) … Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). Panel: Tammy Bruce, Harold Ford Jr. and Lee Zeldin. Sunday Special: Naor Packiarz. 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.
| | | | A message from Groundwork Collaborative: In 2017, Donald Trump gave huge tax cuts to the rich and big corporations. He said the benefits would trickle down to regular workers. They didn’t.
In 2025, a lot of Trump’s tax cuts expire. That’s our moment to fundamentally change our tax code to make it more fair, sustain the investments that will create an economy that works for all of us, and foster equitable growth and prosperity.
We’ve missed chances to fix our tax code before. Decades of tax cuts for the rich have skewed the economy in their favor and made it harder to cover the costs of the things we need as a country.
We can’t afford to miss this opportunity to restore a fair tax code, and over 100 civil society organizations agree. | | | | | | | 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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