| | | | | |  | | By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun | Presented by |  | | | STOP US IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE: DEMOCRATS AND THE WHITE HOUSE are still close to $1 trillion apart on their top lines for a Covid relief package, squashing any hopes that the two are moving closer to each other as election season approaches. SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI privately told Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN on Wednesday that the needs for relief have grown since the Heroes Act passed in May -- for example, airlines and restaurants need assistance. PELOSI'S last offer was around $2.2 trillion. CNN's PHIL MATTINGLY asked PELOSI at a news conference this morning if $2.2 trillion was her floor -- and she said, "it's hard to see how we can go any lower when you see the great needs." -- PELOSI THIS MORNING: "The needs have only grown -- some of the needs for small businesses, needs for restaurants, needs for transportation and the rest. So we're going to have to reallocate some of that money." THE WHITE HOUSE is at $1.3 trillion and could possibly get to $1.5 trillion -- the price tag of the plan released by the unfortunately named Problem Solvers Caucus. But here's a problem that caucus can't solve: HOUSE AND SENATE REPUBLICANS are even lower than $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion. SO, AT BEST, the two sides are $800 billion apart, but they're truly closer to $1 trillion or more apart. THIS MORNING AT THE WHITE HOUSE, Chief of Staff MARK MEADOWS met with airline CEOs and told them that he supported a stand-alone assistance package for the airline industry -- if PELOSI put it on the floor. The WHITE HOUSE tells us they are also supportive of other stand-alone economic measures -- like an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program. THE NEXT REAL THING: A STOPGAP funding bill until Dec. 18 could come to the floor by the middle of next week. ANDREW DESIDERIO: "Comey to testify before Senate Judiciary Committee": "Former FBI Director James Comey will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee later this month, Chair Lindsey Graham announced. Graham (R-S.C.), whose committee is conducting a review of the FBI's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, added that former special counsel Robert Mueller declined to appear before the panel. 'I talked to Mr. Mueller. He felt like he didn't have enough time to prepare. And I will honor that request,' Graham said on Thursday before a Judiciary Committee meeting." NEW TRUMP ACCUSATION … THE GUARDIAN: "Donald Trump accused of sexual assault by former model Amy Dorris," by Lucy Osborne: "In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Amy Dorris alleged that Trump accosted her outside the bathroom in his VIP box at the [U.S. Open tennis] tournament in New York on 5 September 1997. Dorris, who was 24 at the time, accuses Trump of forcing his tongue down her throat, assaulting her all over her body and holding her in a grip she was unable to escape from. … "Via his lawyers, Trump denied in the strongest possible terms having ever harassed, abused or behaved improperly toward Dorris. Dorris, who lives in Florida, provided the Guardian with evidence to support her account of her encounters with Trump, including her ticket to the US Open and six photos showing her with the real estate magnate over several days in New York. Trump was 51 at the time and married to his second wife, Marla Maples. Her account was also corroborated by several people she confided in about the incident." Good Thursday afternoon. | | A message from Google: A jobs program to help support economic recovery. Google is launching a new suite of Google Career Certificates in Data Analytics, Project Management, and User Experience (UX) Design. Designed and taught by Google employees, these certificates can help job seekers forge paths to high-growth careers. Learn more. | | | LUNCHTIME CLICKER … WASHINGTONIAN: "These Are the 50 Most Influential DC Restaurants of the Last Century" THE UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE … AP'S PAUL WISEMAN: "The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to 860,000, a historically high number of people that illustrates the broad economic damage still taking place nine months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the U.S. "The Labor Department said Thursday that U.S. jobless claims fell by 33,000 form the previous week and that 12.6 million are collecting traditional unemployment benefits, compared with just 1.7 million a year ago." AP INSIDE THE USPS CRISIS -- "Newly revealed USPS documents show an agency struggling to manage Trump, Amazon and the pandemic," by WaPo's Tony Romm, Jacob Bogage and Lena Sun: "Newly disclosed details of these struggles are laid bare in nearly 10,000 pages of emails, legal memos, presentations and other documents obtained by The Washington Post from American Oversight, a watchdog group that requested them under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents, which mostly span March and April, depict an agency in distress, as its deteriorating finances collided with a public-health emergency and a looming election that would be heavily reliant on absentee ballots. "During that period, the USPS occasionally relied on the legal counsel of well-connected Republicans, including Stefan C. Passantino, who once served as a top White House lawyer under President Trump. Passantino, whose role has not been previously reported, is also part of a new pro-Trump legal coalition preparing for the possibility of a contested election, a relationship that has raised new ethical flags among the administration's critics. "The records also offer fresh detail about the Postal Service's precarious position in the White House's early pandemic response. At one point in April, USPS leaders drafted a news release announcing plans to distribute 650 million masks nationwide, enough to offer five face coverings to every American household. The document, which includes quotations from top USPS officials and other specifics, was never sent." WaPo … The documents COMING ATTRACTIONS -- "Azar agrees to testify on coronavirus," by Dan Diamond: "Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will testify in front of House Oversight's select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis, the panel's chairman announced this morning. Democrats plan to ask Azar why the administration has failed to develop and implement a 'science-based national strategy' to contain Covid-19, said Rep. Jim Clyburn, the subcommittee chair. "Azar also will be pressed on examples of political appointees in his department meddling with scientific reports or seeking to muzzle government experts. … The Oct. 2 hearing will be the first time that Azar has appeared before Congress since February, Clyburn said." POLITICO -- NBC: "Former State Department official who cast doubt on Burisma claims to testify in GOP probe," by Heidi Przybyla: "A Republican-led Senate investigation of Joe Biden and his work in Ukraine as vice president will hear testimony Thursday from a former official who has told colleagues that an energy company at the heart of the inquiry was a nonfactor in U.S. policy toward Ukraine, NBC News has learned. "The man, Amos Hochstein, a former Biden adviser who was a State Department energy envoy in President Barack Obama's administration, is scheduled to testify behind closed doors Thursday in the Senate Homeland Security Committee's investigation. ... Hochstein is the only witness called by the committee known to have discussed Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, with Biden during his vice presidency." NBC | | | | CAN HEALTH APPS IMPACT THE ELECTION ? Amid persistent concerns about how the pandemic could impact voter turnout, many are overlooking one scenario – digital manipulation via health apps. Some security researchers warn that in the wrong hands, these apps could keep voters home on Election Day. How significant of a threat is this? Get insight into this and the politics, policies, and technologies driving significant change on voters' most personal issues: their health. SUBSCRIBE TO FUTURE PULSE NOW. | | | | | THE TRUMP INC. TAB -- "Trump's businesses charged Secret Service more than $1.1 million, including for rooms in club shuttered for pandemic," by WaPo's David Fahrenthold and Josh Dawsey: "The documents, including receipts and invoices from Trump's businesses, were released by the Secret Service after The Washington Post filed a public-records lawsuit. They added $188,000 in previously unknown charges to The Post's running total of payments to Trump's properties related to the presence of Secret Service agents. "In Bedminster this spring, the records show, Trump's club charged the Secret Service more than $21,800 to rent a cottage and other rooms while the club was closed and otherwise off-limits to guests. The documents don't give a reason for these rentals. Trump didn't visit the club while it was closed, but his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her family reportedly visited at least once." WaPo BARR'S CRACKDOWN -- "300 and counting: Push by feds to arrest in U.S. protests," by AP's Michael Balsamo, Alanna Durkin Richer and Colleen Long: "In a private call with federal prosecutors across the country, Attorney General William Barr's message was clear: aggressively go after demonstrators who cause violence. Barr pushed his U.S. attorneys to bring federal charges whenever they could, keeping a grip on cases even if a defendant could be tried instead in state court, according to officials with knowledge of last week's call who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. … "The Trump administration's crackdown has already led to more than 300 arrests on federal crimes in the protests since the death of George Floyd. An AP analysis of the data shows that while many people are accused of violent crimes such as arson for hurling Molotov cocktails and burning police cars and assault for injuring law enforcement, others are not." AP -- AP: "Feds explored possibly charging Portland officials in unrest," by Michael Balsamo: "The Justice Department explored whether it could pursue either criminal or civil rights charges against city officials in Portland, Oregon after clashes erupted there night after night between law enforcement and demonstrators, a department spokesperson said Thursday. "The revelation that federal officials researched whether they could levy criminal or civil charges against the officials — exploring whether their rhetoric and actions may have helped spur the violence in Portland — underscores the larger Trump administration's effort to spotlight and crack down on protest-related violence. The majority of the mass police reform demonstrations nationwide have been peaceful." AP SOUNDS FAMILIAR … KYLE CHENEY: "Wray says Russia engaged in 'very active efforts' to interfere in election, damage Biden": "[FBI Director Christopher] Wray said Russians have been using social media, as well as 'proxies, state media, online journals' and other vehicles to hurt Biden and what it views as anti-Russian factions in U.S. politics. Wray's assessment affirms the findings of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which last month described Russia's efforts to damage Biden and specifically identified Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker who has met with President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, as an agent of Russia's influence operations. "Wray's testimony to the House Homeland Security Committee affirmed that Russia is continuing to take an active role in the 2020 campaign with less than 50 days until Election Day. He offered no new specifics in the early-going of the hearing, but emphasized that the intelligence community has not seen evidence that Russia is reprising its 2016 attempt to target election infrastructure, such as voter databases." POLITICO WHEN AND HOW WILL WE KNOW? -- "Watchdogs demand election night clarity from the media," by Zach Montellaro: "The [National Task Force on Election Crises] sent letters Wednesday evening to The Associated Press, Fox News and the National Election Pool, which includes the three broadcast networks and CNN, calling for the outlets to detail four things publicly: how they're adapting their underlying exit polling data and voter surveys to account for an increase in mail ballots; how they'll contextualize discrepancies from results released on Election Day and final results; how they'll protect their decision desks from internal and external pressure on making election calls; and how they'll cover a politician who declares victory before the outlets project a winner." POLITICO | | | | The Texas Tribune Festival. At-home edition: We're proud supporters of the 2020 Texas Tribune Festival . Where else could you hear from Hillary Clinton, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Ted Cruz and Willie Nelson at one event? Join attendees from across the country to hear from and talk with politicians, activists, advocates, lawmakers, and media icons about today's biggest news. Stream TribFest, happening just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, from wherever you are. Learn more and buy tickets today HERE. | | | | | TOP-ED … DAN COATS in the NYT: "What's at Stake in This Election? The American Democratic Experiment": "I propose that Congress creates a new mechanism to help accomplish this purpose. It should create a supremely high-level bipartisan and nonpartisan commission to oversee the election. This commission would not circumvent existing electoral reporting systems or those that tabulate, evaluate or certify the results. But it would monitor those mechanisms and confirm for the public that the laws and regulations governing them have been scrupulously and expeditiously followed — or that violations have been exposed and dealt with — without political prejudice and without regard to political interests of either party. "Also, this commission would be responsible for monitoring those forces that seek to harm our electoral system through interference, fraud, disinformation or other distortions. These would be exposed to the American people in a timely manner and referred to appropriate law enforcement agencies and national security entities." NYT THE TRUMP AGENDA -- "Trump's 'Secret' Health Plan Is a Promise Voters Have Heard Before," by NYT's Sheryl Gay Stolberg: "On Tuesday night, President Trump was at it again, during a town-hall-style meeting broadcast on ABC, where he was schooled by Ellesia Blaque, an assistant professor of Africana and Ethnic Literatures at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. She told him she had a congenital illness, demanded to know what he would do to keep 'people like me who work hard' insured — and cut him off when he tried to interrupt her. "'We're going to be doing a health care plan very strongly, and protect people with pre-existing conditions,' Mr. Trump told her, adding, 'I have it all ready, and it's a much better plan for you, and it's a much better plan.' After four years, during the worst health crisis in a century, the unkept promise may be catching up to Mr. Trump. There still does not seem to be any plan, because other than abolishing the Affordable Care Act — which requires insurers to cover pre-existing conditions and which the White House is asking the Supreme Court to overturn — the Republican Party cannot agree on one." NYT AFTERNOON READ -- "Facebook Needs Trump Even More Than Trump Needs Facebook," by Bloomberg Businessweek's Sarah Frier and Kurt Wagner: "In late 2019, during one of Mark Zuckerberg's many trips to Washington to defend Facebook in front of Congress, he stopped for a private dinner with Donald Trump and offered the president a titillating statistic. 'I'd like to congratulate you,' Zuckerberg said. 'You're No. 1 on Facebook.' At least that's the story as told by Trump, on Rush Limbaugh's radio show in January. … Facebook Inc. declined to comment on whether Zuckerberg indeed told Trump he was No. 1 and, if so, in what category he meant, but it's adamant that its founder isn't playing favorites. … "Longtime current and former employees say this denial may be a bit misleading. Zuckerberg isn't easily influenced by politics. But what he does care about — more than anything else perhaps — is Facebook's ubiquity and its potential for growth. The result, critics say, has been an alliance of convenience between the world's largest social network and the White House, in which Facebook looks the other way while Trump spreads misinformation about voting that could delegitimize the winner or even swing the election." Bloomberg Businessweek BOOK CLUB -- "First volume of Barack Obama's memoir coming Nov. 17," by AP's Hillel Italie: "The first volume of former President Barack Obama's memoir is coming out Nov. 17, two weeks after Election Day. It's called 'A Promised Land' and will cover his swift and historic rise to the White House and his first term in office. The publication date for the second volume has not yet been determined. ... Obama's book, like his previous ones, will be released by Crown, a division of Penguin Random House." FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- Dolly Moorhead has left the White House, where she was a policy adviser at the Office of Science and Technology Policy and led the telehealth initiative. She has returned to the office of the surgeon general at HHS as a senior adviser. TRANSITIONS -- Alejandro Pérez is joining the World Wildlife Fund as SVP for policy and government affairs. He previously was director of federal affairs for California A.G. Xavier Becerra and is an Obama White House and Steny Hoyer alum. ... Suzi Plasencia is now a senior policy adviser at Linchpin Strategies. She previously was legislative director and deputy COS for Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas). WEDDING -- Andrew Harnik, a photojournalist for the AP, and Elizabeth Kilgallin, a producer for the Markham Group, were married Sept. 4 in the U.S. Botanic Garden by their fathers, Peter Harnik and William Kilgallin. They met at a bar at the Wharf in 2017. This May, he proposed at the Lincoln Memorial -- where her parents also got engaged -- and they decided to elope with immediate family. They'll have a larger party next September at the U.S. National Arboretum. Pic, via Jay Premack | | | | A message from Google:   Google recently announced new Career Certificates in Data Analytics, Project Management, and UX Design, funding 100,000 need-based scholarships for individuals enrolled. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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 | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
