| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | Presented by TikTok | HAPPENING SOON — President JOE BIDEN will speak at 2 p.m. about the U.S. response to recent flying objects, the White House just announced.
|  A majority of the jurors on the panel convened by Fulton County, Ga., DA Fani Willis believe that at least one witness may have committed perjury. | Ben Gray, File/AP Photo | THE INVESTIGATIONS — Part of the Fulton County, Ga., special grand jury report on DONALD TRUMP’s efforts to interfere in the state’s 2020 election was made public today — and while the omissions conceal the most important details, we did get a couple of striking takeaways. Most notably, a majority of the jurors believe that at least one witness may have committed perjury in testifying before the panel. Without specifying who, the jury “recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.” And for those who need a reminder: After hearing from 75 witnesses over eight months, the 23 grand jurors say they agreed unanimously that the state saw no widespread election fraud that would have altered the outcome in 2020. Beyond the few pages that were released lie the report’s real gold mine: recommendations on who should be criminally charged. Those crucial findings remain sealed, and the public probably won’t see them until DA FANI WILLIS makes her official indictment decisions. A judge released the excerpts after media organizations petitioned for the report’s release, which Willis had opposed. “If she decides to pursue charges, Willis must present her case before a regular grand jury,” note The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tamar Hallerman and Bill Rankin. “Under Georgia law, perjury could be tried as a standalone charge or a predicate act under the state’s anti-racketeering statute.” Read the report’s excerpts here One politician who’s not worried: After news broke of the jury’s perjury concerns, Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) told CNN’s Manu Raju that he was confident in his own testimony. BIG TECH SHAKE-UP — “YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down,” by Recode’s Peter Kafka: “SUSAN WOJCICKI, who has led the world’s largest video site for the last nine years, is stepping down from her role. She’ll be replaced by NEAL MOHAN, her longtime lieutenant. In a letter sent to YouTube’s employees, Wojcicki said she was leaving in order to ‘start a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal projects I’m passionate about.’” INTERESTING READ — “The Contradictions of Ron DeSantis,” by The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein: “Many of [Florida Gov. RON] DeSANTIS’s boosters are drawn to him as a potential Republican nominee because they believe that his record as the chief executive of an economically thriving state would position him to win back some of the college-educated suburban voters who have stampeded away from the GOP since 2016. “But DeSantis, through his escalating attacks on what he calls ‘woke’ ideology, has signaled that if he runs, as most expect, he will seek the GOP nomination by emphasizing the same cultural grievances about racial and social change that former President Donald Trump has stressed. … With that approach, DeSantis seems destined to test a question that sharply divides strategists from the two parties: Will more voters accept Trumpism without Trump himself attached to it?” Good Wednesday afternoon, and thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line with your predictions for what Biden will reveal those flying objects to be: eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from TikTok: We work hard to create a positive experience for teens. That's why accounts for anyone aged 13-15 are set to private by default without access to direct messaging. It’s also why we developed Family Pairing tools that let parents link their account to their teens’ and decide together what settings work best. Set screen time limits, decide who can comment on their content and more, so everyone can use TikTok safely and responsibly. Learn more. | | | CONGRESS PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “D.C. drama: Dems weigh veto fight with Biden over crime bill,” by Burgess Everett: “It all started when the House GOP took aim last week at a package of progressive criminal justice measures approved by the D.C. council in November. … Now, Senate Republicans are poised to force a vote next month on sending that D.C. criminal justice rollback to Biden’s desk. … With all 49 Republicans already in favor and many Democrats still undecided, Biden’s party is highly alarmed that the disapproval resolution could pass. … Biden has come out in opposition to the legislation but not made an explicit veto threat. Democratic leaders believe he is prepared to do so.” FOOD FIGHT — As Republicans gear up for legislative battles over cutting spending this year, they’re taking particular aim at slashing food stamps and imposing stricter work requirements, WaPo’s Tony Romm reports. House Budget Chair JODEY ARRINGTON (R-Texas) calls for a return to “Clinton-era welfare-to-work reforms” as he works on a balanced budget proposal. These battles could crop up in the efforts to raise the debt ceiling or to pass a new farm bill by this fall. QUOTE OF THE DAY — Asked about NIKKI HALEY’s idea that politicians over 75 should take a mental competency test, Graham told Insider’s Bryan Metzger, “I think it should be lower … Anybody dumb enough to run [for president] should have to take a test.” THE ECONOMY INFLATION NATION — The producer price index jumped 0.7% last month, higher than expected and a fresh reminder that the fight against inflation is far from over, per Bloomberg’s Reade Pickert. Economists had predicted a 0.4% rise, but energy costs in particular pushed the index higher. ALL POLITICS RATINGS ROUNDUP — The Cook Political Report’s Jessica Taylor shifted the Mississippi governor’s race from solid Republican to likely Republican. She writes that even though Gov. TATE REEVES avoided a primary challenge, Democrats have a strong recruit in conservative BRANDON PRESLEY (whom one recent poll showed in the lead). BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL indicated today on Fox News that the top tier of races where he’s focused on candidate recruitment right now is West Virginia, Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, with a focus on electability. McConnell also trumpeted the recent poll showing West Virginia Gov. JIM JUSTICE leading Manchin: “That’s certainly good news for us.” HALEY ON ABORTION — Haley’s presidential launch was notable for, like Trump’s, largely sidestepping the abortion issue. But in a “Today” show interview that aired this morning, she indicated possible support for federal restrictions on the procedure. “Not a full-out federal ban, because I don’t think that’s been put on the table,” she said. “I think what Lindsey Graham has put on the table is 15 weeks. And I think if we’re looking at 15 weeks, what we need to understand is: We are not OK with abortion up until the time of birth. And so we should at least decide: When is it OK?” 2024 WATCH — Sen. MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah) is warning his fellow Republicans that Trump is cruising to the nomination again thanks to a fractured field, and his party opponents need to shrink the race to a two-person contest, NBC’s Sahil Kapur reports. “[I]t really is up to the donors [and other] people that know the candidate, his family or her family, to say, ‘Hey, time to move on,’” said Romney, who has ruled out supporting Trump in 2024.
| | | | We’re spilling the tea (and drinking tons of it in our newsroom) in U.K. politics with our latest newsletter, London Playbook PM. Get to know all the movers and shakers in Westminster and never miss a beat of British politics with a free subscription. Don’t miss out, we’ve got some exciting moves coming. Sign up today. | | | | | THE WHITE HOUSE CHECKING UP — Biden went to the doctor today for a regular physical. The results might be more closely watched than usual given the conversation about his age as he runs for reelection, AP’s Josh Boak and Chris Megerian write. The White House will provide a summary later today. The age-old question: The president hates the constant chatter around his age, CNN’s Isaac Dovere and Phil Mattingly report. “He doesn’t want to be a grandpa,” one person who knows him says. “He wants to be a bro.” POLICY CORNER EQUITY EFFORT — Biden is signing a new executive order today that calls on federal agencies to conduct annual reviews of their efforts to rectify racial inequalities, AP’s Josh Boak and Darlene Superville scooped. He also instructs the agencies to designate senior leaders and teams focused on equity and rooting out racial bias. Other components of Biden’s order steer the federal government toward engaging more with marginalized communities, improving equity-related data and keeping abreast of possible discrimination in new technologies. AMERICA AND THE WORLD MARK YOUR CALENDARS — German Chancellor OLAF SCHOLZ will visit the White House on March 3, press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE announced. SPY GAMES — In the latest twist of the CHARLES McGONIGAL saga, Insider’s Mattathias Schwartz scooped that British authorities caught the former senior FBI official meeting with a Russian in London whom they were surveilling in 2018. “The British were alarmed enough by the meeting to alert the FBI’s legal attaché, who was stationed at the US Embassy.” That helped spur an FBI investigation. RED ZEPPELIN — In a mostly symbolic response to the U.S. shooting down its spy balloon, China today slapped new sanctions on Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, WSJ’s Dave Sebastian reports from Hong Kong. JUDICIARY SQUARE NOMINATION TRAVAILS — A Biden federal appeals court pick could be in trouble for his Senate confirmation, after MICHAEL DELANEY had a rocky hearing yesterday, CNN’s Tierney Sneed reports. At issue was Delaney’s work defending the St. Paul’s prep school in New Hampshire against a lawsuit from the family of a student who was sexually assaulted. Senate Judiciary Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) said afterward that he was undecided about supporting Delaney, as is another Democratic senator. DEMOCRACY WATCH — The 65 Project is filing complaints today against four KARI LAKE lawyers who have pushed her false voter fraud claims in court, urging legal suspension or disbarment, NBC’s Jane Timm reports. The Minnesota- and Maryland-based attorneys, who have represented Lake and MARK FINCHEM, are JESSE KIBORT, JOSEPH PULL, ANDREW PARKER and KURT OLSEN. STICKING TO THEIR GUNS — Alleged domestic abusers have been banned from having guns for almost three decades under federal law, but a Supreme Court ruling last year has opened the door for judges to challenge that ban, WSJ’s Jacob Gershman reports.
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | THE PANDEMIC WHAT COMES NEXT — “White House mulls post-Covid emergency backstop for uninsured,” by Adam Cancryn and David Lim: “The Biden administration is zeroing in on a plan to keep Covid vaccines, treatments and tests free for the uninsured into 2024, even as it plots a quicker wind-down of its broader pandemic response.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY DEATH OF THE DEATH PENALTY — Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO announced today that he won’t sign any execution warrants and will issue reprieves instead. He called on the state legislature to abolish capital punishment. ABORTION LATEST — The Kentucky Supreme Court today upheld the state’s near-total abortion ban, at least temporarily, as a lawsuit over its constitutionality proceeds, per the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Morgan Watkins. PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a Dick Gephardt staffer reunion yesterday evening at The University Club of D.C.: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jim Moran, Matt Gorman, Terry McAuliffe, David Jones, Steve Elmendorf, John and Margaret Dalton, Chrissy Gephardt, Joyce Aboussie, Matt Gephardt, Boyd Lewis, Donna Brazile, John Raffaelli, Tom McMillen, Lansing Lee, Richard Goodstein, Patrick Gorman, Noah Mamet, Jake Seher, Don Foley, Dick and Susie Wollack, Bob Nealon and Mike Wessel. — Meridian International Center hosted a “Welcome to Washington” event last night welcoming newly arrived chiefs of mission to the U.S. SPOTTED: Margaret Brennan, Bela Bajaria, Algerian Ambassador Mohammed Haneche, Colombian Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, Czech Ambassador Hynek Kmoníček, Maldivian Ambassador Thilmeeza Hussain, Moldovan Ambassador Viorel Ursu, Thai Ambassador Tanee Sangrat, Ugandan Ambassador Robie Kakonge, Yemeni Ambassador Mohammed Abdullah Al-Hadhrami, Lesothan Ambassador Sankatana Gabriel Maja and Liberian Ambassador Jeff Gongoer Dowana Sr. — APCO Worldwide hosted a Black history fireside chat this morning featuring Dionne Warwick and moderated by APCO’s Margery Kraus, Kelly Williamson and Brandon Neal. SPOTTED: Rashida Jones, Rodney Slater, Dan Glickman, Jacari Harris, Cliff Stearns, Dan Meyers, Ami Copeland, L.T. McCrimmon, Nina Verghese and Francoise Jolivet. MEDIA MOVE — Katherine Gardner is joining The New Republic as director of live events. She most recently was director of events at The Hill. TRANSITIONS — Former Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen will be state director for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. … Elisabeth Coats will be director of the Homeownership Alliance at the National Community Stabilization Trust. She previously was director of policy and advocacy at the National NeighborWorks Association. … Nathan Barker is now legislative director for Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.). He most recently was legislative director for former Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.). … Spencer Anderson is now director of data and insights at Think Big. He previously was a senior account manager at Data Trust. … The Fuller Project has added new board members Ravi Agrawal, Stacey Samuel, David Payne and Maria Liberman. BONUS BIRTHDAY: Roll Call’s Chris Marquette 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 producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
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