| | | | |  | | By Ankush Khardori | Presented by Zelle® | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | CLICKERS — The POLITICO policy and politics teams have joined forces to bring you the ultimate interactive guides to who might populate the Cabinets of a President KAMALA HARRIS or a President DONALD TRUMP. A sneak peek at the many mentioned … For Trump’s secretary of State: RIC GRENELL … BILL HAGERTY … ROBERT O’BRIEN … MARCO RUBIO … MIKE WALTZ For Harris’ AG: CATHERINE CORTEZ-MASTO … DOUG JONES … CORY BOOKER … SALLY YATES … ANDY BESHEAR … VANITA GUPTA
|  The lack of new legal bombshells is a remarkable coup for Donald Trump. | Win McNamee/Getty Images | THE COURTROOM CAMPAIGN ENDS — It’s official: Trump has jumped the last major legal hurdle between now and Election Day in his bid to return to the White House. Yesterday the judge overseeing the criminal case against Trump in Washington over his alleged effort to steal the 2020 election released four appendices of evidence compiled by special counsel JACK SMITH and his team of prosecutors at the Justice Department. Despite Trump’s vigorous objections to the release, there was not much to pore over — and pretty much nothing in the way of any new revelations: “Trump’s opponents were hoping for more bombshells in Jack Smith’s final document dump before the election,”writes Kyle Cheney. “On Friday, those hopes fizzled.” It’s a remarkable coup for Trump, who a year ago faced criminal legal threats on four fronts: a New York state trial over hush money payments, a Georgia state prosecution over his post-2020 election schemes and twin federal cases led by Smith into both that election subversion and his handling of classified documents. Only the New York case has resulted in any significant consequences, and Trump’s still locked in a neck-and-neck race with Harris. And now Trump should not have to worry about the Justice Department producing any particularly new or damaging revelations before votes are counted. But one big question has loomed behind the Justice Department’s recent filings: Why haven’t there been any particularly shocking or earth-shattering revelations? Smith filed a 165-brief earlier this month arguing against presidential immunity for Trump that contained some legitimately new and notable allegations concerning both Trump’s alleged lies to remain in office and his evident willingness to let his supporters lay siege to the U.S. Capitol for several hours on Jan. 6, 2021. But the broad outlines largely tracked information that we already knew. That doesn’t mean there isn’t more damning evidence in the government’s possession, however. What it instead suggests is that the Justice Department might have been significantly constrained by the Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity — one delivered by the six Republican appointees on the court, with all three Democratic appointees dissenting — in ways that have not been wholly obvious.
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- Not only did the court hold that Trump was “absolutely immune from prosecution” for any discussions with Justice Department officials, it also ruled that courts “may not inquire into the President’s motives” when distinguishing official from unofficial conduct and that prosecutors cannot use any immune official conduct as evidence “even when an indictment alleges only unofficial conduct” (like, say, a monthslong scheme to corruptly remain in power). Many observers noted at the time that those last two evidentiary rulings were unusual — and were likely to complicate the government’s case.
- The Justice Department’s revised indictment focused on Trump’s role as a candidate and removed not just the allegations related to the Justice Department — but also allegations in the original indictment that related to Trump’s interactions with White House aides, DHS, the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
- Smith’s recent immunity brief alleged that after Trump publicly attacked then-VP MIKE PENCE on Twitter for lacking “the courage to do what should have been done,” he was told by an aide that Pence had been taken to a secure location and that Trump responded, “So what?” That portion of the government’s brief, however, was focused on keeping Trump’s public tweet in the case — not the “so what?” exchange, which Smith’s team explicitly specified they did “not plan to use” at trial.
Taken together, this all suggests that prosecutors substantially adjusted their approach to the case after the court’s ruling — and that they may have gone out of their way to largely exclude any evidence that they gathered concerning Trump’s dealings with other executive branch officials. This would help explain why, for instance, there remains very little in the government’s public filings concerning what Trump was actually being told — and what he was actually saying — during those three fateful hours during the siege of the Capitol when many of his advisers were, according to the House Jan. 6 committee’s investigation, pleading with him to step in and stop it. And it would help explain why, despite Smith’s recent filings, we have learned less than we might have expected in the way of truly new and striking information. As a practical political matter, there are several takeaways for this final stretch of the race:
- The Supreme Court’s conservative justices gave Trump’s reelection bid a major boost this year by preventing the election subversion case from going to trial;
- They may have substantively hampered the case in less obvious ways and perhaps lowered the odds of Trump being convicted at trial (if there ever is one); and
- They substantially limited the scope of potentially damaging revelations from the case, intentionally or otherwise.
Trump should be very happy about all of this — and likely is. In a matter of weeks, he could be well on his way to shutting the whole federal prosecution down entirely. Related read: “Trump calls judge overseeing his Jan. 6 case ‘the most evil person,’” by NBC’s Ryan Reilly, Kevin Breuninger and Daniel Barnes Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop me a line: akhardori@politico.com. ‘EXHAUSTING’ BUT NOT ‘EXHAUSTED’ — “Inside Trump’s Sleepless, Exhausting Mad Dash to Election Day,” by The Bulwark’s Marc Caputo: “Inside Trump world, acknowledging that the campaign’s most punishing leg may, indeed, be taking a toll on the elderly ex-president is verboten. It’s not just that Trump personally recoils at the perception that he’s anything but a horse, it’s that the workaholic, high-energy brand is central to his political appeal.” THE PERILS OF OUTSOURCING — “Pro-Trump group funded by Musk struggles with outreach targets,” by Reuters’ Rachael Levy and Alexandra Ulmer: “The political action committee funded by billionaire ELON MUSK to help re-elect [Trump] is struggling in some swing states to meet doorknocking goals and is investigating claims that some canvassers lied about the number of voters they have contacted, according to people involved in the group's efforts.”
| | | | A message from Zelle®:   Over 40 million Americans saw our safety education content in 2023. Can you spot the payment scam? Explore our tips to find out: https://www.zellepay.com/safety-education | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House President JOE BIDEN has nothing on his public schedule. On the trail Trump will hold a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, at 6 p.m. Harris will take part in a campaign event in Detroit at 2 p.m. and then fly to Atlanta, where she’ll speak at a campaign event at 6:10 p.m. Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ will travel to Chicago to speak at a fundraiser; to Omaha, Nebraska, for a meeting and then a rally at 5:15 p.m.; and finally to Freeland, Michigan.
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| |  Questions about his bullet wound haven't stopped Tim Sheehy's rise. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | BIG IN BIG SKY COUNTRY — Can anything save Democrats in Montana? The latest internal GOP polling indicates the answer might be no, Madison Fernandez reports: In the 1st District, GOP Rep. RYAN ZINKE leads by 8 points and TIM SHEEHY is ahead by 3 for Senate. (Remember: This is the half of the state that’s supposed to be better for Democratic Sen. JON TESTER.) But a pair of stories yesterday from WaPo’s Liz Goodwin and NYT’s Mike Baker and Kellen Browning raised new questions about Sheehy’s story of his bullet wound — a controversy that has previously failed to move the polls against him. A Glacier National Park ranger goes on the record with Goodwin to say that Sheehy told him he’d accidentally shot himself, including details to back up his allegation, contrary to Sheehy’s claim that the bullet wound came from his service in Afghanistan. And one of Sheehy’s former fellow Navy SEALs tells the Times that Sheehy never mentioned getting the wound in combat — which he would have done if it were true. Sheehy has stopped talking as much about the wound since it was called into question earlier this year. But he and his campaign maintain that it did actually happen in Afghanistan and that the men coming forward now are doing so because they oppose Sheehy politically. RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE THE POLICY ELECTION — Trump dangled yet another new tax proposal yesterday, saying on “Maintaining with Tyrus” that he’d “think about” ending taxes for first responders, military service members and veterans. More from Bloomberg THE SHOWDOWN IN MOTOWN — Harris and Trump squared off with dueling events in crucial Michigan yesterday, both of them trying to win over union/blue-collar workers and Muslims/Arab Americans. Harris made a direct pitch to autoworkers, per The Detroit News, playing a recording of Trump saying their work is so easy children could do it. She also seized on the news in yesterday’s Playbook to question Trump’s stamina, per Bloomberg. But many of her Michigan supporters are starting to worry and fear the election’s outcome, Adam Wren captures in Grand Rapids. Trump, meanwhile, vowed that he could turn Detroit’s “comeback” into a “stunning rebirth,” per The Detroit News . (He also hit 18 minutes of technical difficulties right when he tried to say the word “tariffs,” per the Detroit Free Press.) But his recent Detroit-bashing has been the talk of the city, WSJ’s Ken Thomas and Natalie Andrews report. Trump also responded sharply to the “exhaustion” knock. COMING ATTRACTIONS — Harris is doubling down on trying to reach centrist suburbanites next week, kicking off a series of conversations with LIZ CHENEY across the Blue Wall states. SARAH LONGWELL and CHARLIE SYKES will moderate. THE CLOSING ARGUMENT — Trump is leaning hard into immigration as his final pitch in the election, convinced (unlike some of his advisers) that it will help move voters more than focusing on the economy, NYT’s Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman and Ruth Igielnik report. THIS AIN’T GONNA CONVINCE UNDECIDEDS — Harris told NBC’s Peter Alexander and Rebecca Shabad that she’s not creating more policy distance from Biden because it’s “tradition” for VPs not to criticize their presidents in public. AFTER THE STORM — As early voting kicks off in North Carolina, NYT’s Eduardo Melina finds Democrats and Republicans energized to show up in Black Mountain despite Hurricane Helene. Notable details: One Trump supporter says she switched to Harris because he spread misinformation about the storm recovery. And a few Republicans say they’re leaving the gubernatorial race blank after MARK ROBINSON’s controversies. PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN — “Who won? How AP calls the election, in ‘single largest act of journalism,’” by WaPo’s Elahe Izadi RACE FOR THE SENATE MUCK READ — “Hogan Approved Millions for Stepmother’s Property Development as Governor,” by Time’s Eric Cortellessa: “The Crestwood Manor project is the latest example of a potential conflict of interest between [LARRY] HOGAN’s authority over Maryland housing dollars as governor and his family’s real estate businesses. … [A] Hogan spokesman, MICHAEL RICCI , says the former governor had nothing to do with selecting the Crestwood Manor project.” UP FOR DEBATE — Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.) and ERIC HOVDE sparred on stage last night, with both accusing each other of lying, AP’s Scott Bauer reports from Madison. RACE FOR THE HOUSE THE LONG SHADOW OF KATHY HOCHUL — Rep. BRANDON WILLIAMS’ (R-N.Y.) seat is considered one of the lowest-hanging fruit for Democrats to flip if they’re to retake the House. But Bill Mahoney reports from Syracuse that Republicans are working hard to tie Democratic state Sen. JOHN MANNION to the unpopular governor and Albany political hot potatoes like bail reform. WHAT EUGENE VINDMAN WON’T SAY — In a tight congressional race, Vindman is not talking much about his starring role in the Trump impeachment, WaPo’s Teo Armus reports from Wallaces Corner, Virginia. POLL POSITION National: Harris +2, per TIPP. Harris +1, per RMG Research. Harris +1, per Emerson. … Georgia: Trump +1, per American Greatness/TIPP. Trump +3, per East Carolina University. … Florida: GOP Sen. RICK SCOTT +8, per RMG Research. … Texas: GOP Sen. TED CRUZ +7, per the University of Texas.
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Khalil al-Hayya could be the next leader of Hamas. | Khalil Hamra/AP Photo | 5 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Harris and Trump both hailed the death of Hamas leader YAHYA SINWAR and said yesterday that they hoped it would pave the way toward peace in the Middle East. But it remains to be seen whether the Biden administration can help urge Israel or Hamas to land a cease-fire, which will be “a final diplomatic mission of his presidency,” NYT’s David Sanger writes. The early signals from both sides were negative. KHALIL AL-HAYYA is likely to be tapped as Sinwar’s replacement, Bloomberg’s Sam Dagher reports. He is close to Iran, and in a speech yesterday he pledged to keep on fighting without any change of plans, per the NYT. Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, whose house was targeted by a Hezbollah drone (without casualties), hasn’t indicated that he’s budging either. In fact, Israel is focused on locking in as many gains as possible along its multiple fronts of war to try to cement a new reality ahead of the next U.S. administration, Reuters’ Samia Nakhoul, Tom Perry and James Mackenzie report. Related read: “U.S. ‘Fusion Cells’ Assist in Israel’s Hunt for Hamas Leaders,” by NYT’s Julian Barnes, Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper 2. IN TRANSITION: “Trump considers bucking presidential transition system,” by Hailey Fuchs and Meridith McGraw: “Trump is weighing a go-it-alone approach to presidential transition planning, which could dramatically slow his takeover of the federal government … The decision not to take federal assistance allows them to raise unlimited funds without disclosing their donors, while avoiding oversight from federal bureaucrats … [But] it will limit the information he and his team can access to understand current federal operations and challenges.” 3. THE LAME DUCK QUACKS: Momentum is gathering among congressional leaders for some sort of artificial intelligence-focused legislative push after the election, Ursula Perano reports. Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER is leading the charge, but it remains unclear what will be able to attract bipartisan support. Bills about AI research and workforce training are probably an easier lift than those centered on misinformation or national security. The package would likely get tacked onto a government funding or defense policy bill, though passage is far from a sure thing.
| | | | A message from Zelle®:   Pay it safe with Zelle®. https://www.zellepay.com/safety-education | | | 4. RUNNING A DEFICIT: The U.S. budget deficit surged to $1.83 trillion in the last fiscal year, the highest since the Covid years, Bloomberg’s Viktoria Dendrinou and Daniel Flatley report from new Treasury data. U.S. officials said it actually would have been lower than the previous year’s deficit had the Supreme Court not blocked Biden’s student debt relief plan. Though revenues were higher, interest paid on the debt continued to be a significant burden, and the deficit now stands at an “unusually high” 6.4 percent of GDP. 5. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: “Biden expected to visit Amazon rainforest in November, sources say,” by Reuters’ Lisandra Paraguassu: “Biden is expected to visit the Amazon rainforest and meet Brazilian President LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA before they attend the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.” CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 funnies
|  Steve Kelley - Creators | GREAT WEEKEND READS: — “Between the border and the wall,” by WaPo’s Nick Miroff, Kirsten Luce, Laris Karklis and Frank Hulley-Jones in La Casita, Texas: “Expanding the border wall in South Texas would leave more U.S. land in limbo.” — “Alexei Navalny’s Prison Diaries,” The New Yorker: “The Russian opposition leader’s account of his last years and his admonition to his country and the world.” — “America Is Suffering an Identity Crisis,” by Beverly Gage in The Atlantic: “In two years, the U.S. will mark its 250th birthday, and the left doesn’t seem to care — giving up on America’s symbols and its very meaning.” — “The rise — and fall? — of the New Progressive Economics,” by Vox’s Andrew Prokop: “Progressives conquered economic policy under Biden. Would they lose it under Harris?” — “He Was a Monk, Then a Billionaire and Now an Alleged Tax Cheat,” by WSJ’s Margot Patrick: “Michigan philanthropist Manoj Bhargava made a fortune on his path to enlightenment, and he doesn’t want to share it with the U.S. government.” — “Inside the Carjacking Crisis,” by The Atlantic’s Jamie Thompson: “On the street with an elite police unit as it combats a crime wave.” — “How Alarmed Should We Be If Trump Wins Again?” by The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik: “Even many of the ex-President’s opponents haven’t grasped the scale of the man’s villainy.” — “The University of Michigan Doubled Down on D.E.I. What Went Wrong?” by the NYT Magazine’s Nicholas Confessore: “A decade and a quarter of a billion dollars later, students and faculty are more frustrated than ever.”
| | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | Donald Trump overcharged the Secret Service at his hotel, Democrats say. Nick Di Paolo wrote some jokes for Trump’s Al Smith speech — not a Fox News employee. Steve Bannon is not happy that he’s still behind bars. Calla Walsh, a former Markeyverse leader, voted Yahya Sinwar for president. Corrine Brown had a mysterious estate sale. Gretchen Whitmer tossed one back. IN MEMORIAM — “Rick Nolan, former northern Minnesota congressman, has died,” by The Minnesota Star Tribune’s Christa Lawler: “Nolan, a former Democratic congressman from Minnesota’s 8th District — remembered for his captivating speeches and personal connections, and recognized in 2015 nationally as a top 10 effective lawmaker — has died. He was 80. … Nolan entered the political ring in the 1960s, left in the 1980s, then returned in the 2010s.” — “Nicholas Daniloff, 89, Dies; Reporter’s Arrest in Moscow Ignited a Firestorm,” by NYT’s Robert McFadden: “A veteran foreign correspondent during the Cold War, he was held on trumped-up espionage charges. He credited President Ronald Reagan with fighting for his release.” WEDDING — Martine Powers, host of WaPo’s “Post Reports,” and Ted Muldoon, a senior producer at WaPo, got married Sept. 28 in Inverness, California. They met at the Post seven years ago. Pic, via Paul Gargagliano/Hazel Photo … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Sarah Wheaton … NYT’s Carl Hulse … Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform … Amy Walter … Fox News’ Steve Doocy … former RNC Chair Michael Steele … Katie Rayford of Slate … 720 Strategies’ Jeremy Gosbee … Steven Greenhouse … Kevin Keane of the American Beverage Association … Kathryn Fanlund of the Legal Services Corporation … Lauren Crawford Shaver of FTI Consulting … Andrea Bernstein … Will Cadigan of CNN … Dave Lapan … Dana Brown Ritter … Dale Brown of the Financial Services Institute … Philip Minardi … Kimberly Greenplate of the American Foreign Service Association … Marc Sklar … former Reps. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) (51) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) … Amy Carter … Shelby Coffey … Michael Paul Carey … WaPo’s Anthony Faiola … Brandon Morales of Rep. Julia Letlow’s (R-La.) office … Ximena Barreto of the Senate Homeland Security GOP … Hailey Crust … Herald Group’s Jack Magruder … DNC’s Grace Gerenday … World Economic Forum’s Satchie Snellings … Washington Examiner’s Ross O’Keefe (24) … Dory MacMillan of the Harris campaign (3-0) THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): MSNBC “PoliticsNation”: VP Kamala Harris. CNN “State of the Union”: Speaker Mike Johnson … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Panel: Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Brad Todd, Bakari Sellers and Erin Perrine. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) … Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) … Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Panel: Kevin Williamson, Tia Mitchell, David Drucker and Julie Mason. CBS “Face the Nation”: Paul Whelan … Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) … Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) … Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger … Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. ABC “This Week”: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer … Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro … Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers … New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Panel: Donna Brazile, Asma Khalid, Ramesh Ponnuru and Susan Glasser. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore … Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Panel: Francesca Chambers, Jeremy Hunt, Josh Kraushaar and Marie Harf. Legal panel: Jonathan Turley and Tom Dupree. Sunday special: Jane Goodall. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro … Steve Kornacki … Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird. Panel: Brendan Buck, Ashley Etienne, Carol Lee and Laura Leslie. 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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