| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  Recent stories asking explosive ethics questions about Clarence Thomas and other justices exemplify a shift in the press. | J. Scott Applewhite, File/AP Photo | FULL COURT PRESS — Fourteen months ago, our colleagues Josh Gerstein and Alex Ward’s revelation of the Supreme Court’s draft Dobbs opinion didn’t just upend American politics and abortion policy — it also ushered in a new era for the media’s coverage of the court. No longer do SCOTUS reporters principally cover only the cases before the high court. Now they’re focused more regularly and aggressively on “the justices’ business dealings, relationships, and ethical issues,” as well as the broader politics around the high court, Vanity Fair’s Charlotte Klein reports in a new story that interviews Josh about the shift. It’s exemplified by recent stories asking explosive ethics questions about Justices CLARENCE THOMAS, SAMUEL ALITO, SONIA SOTOMAYOR and more. Top newspapers are putting more resources into this mode of reporting, including the NYT and WaPo (though the court doesn’t make it easy with access). And a recent New Republic article from Melissa Gira Grant questioning the factual foundations of the same-sex wedding website case “begs the question,” writes Klein: “Shouldn’t mainstream outlets give similar scrutiny to the origins of cases in the Supreme Court’s docket from the get-go?” The stories keep coming — as do the reverberations on and off Capitol Hill. ProPublica’s not done digging into GOP megadonor HARLAN CROW’s friendship with Thomas: A new article this morning from Paul Kiel reports that Crow might have broken federal tax laws on the yacht trips he took with Thomas. Experts say that the tax deductions he got for the superyacht might not have actually complied with the tax code. “This has the look of a textbook billionaire tax scam,” warns Senate Finance Chair RON WYDEN (D-Ore.), who calls it all the more reason for Crow to cooperate with his investigation. Crow declined to comment. Regardless of the added attention, the real estate mogul’s business is doing great, Bloomberg’s Shelly Hagan reports. Crow Holdings is growing quickly, undeterred thus far by the controversy around Crow. “The heightened scrutiny could test Crow Holdings’ ability to continue raising money across the US, especially from pension funds in blue states” — but it hasn’t been harmed yet. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are ramping up their efforts to force the Supreme Court into stricter rules for conduct, NYT’s Carl Hulse previews. The Judiciary Committee is taking up Sen. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE’s (D-R.I.) legislation on judicial ethics Thursday. The bill doesn’t really have a prayer, as Republicans in both chambers oppose the reforms and say Chief Justice JOHN ROBERTS can take his own actions to impose ethical standards on the court. But Whitehouse calls it a first step. Regardless of what happens to the bill, the issue’s ongoing prominence is a sign of just how much has changed in the media’s — and the country’s — perception of the Supreme Court over the past year-plus. BIG POLITICO NEWS — POLITICO announced today that co-founder JOHN HARRIS will take over as our first global editor-in-chief, overseeing the U.S. and European newsrooms. MATT KAMINSKI, the current U.S. editor-in-chief, will step down at the end of August. More from the NYT From CEO GOLI SHEIKHOLESLAMI’s note to staff: “John has made a long-term commitment to help me, and all of us, fulfill our commitments in the strategic plan — and to in turn make POLITICO a genuine force in the global media arena. … After Matt finishes up his managerial responsibilities as editor in chief at the end of the summer, he plans to turn to writing and working on projects that support POLITICO’s ambitions as editor at large.” From Matt’s note to staff: “At this point in my career, I’m ready for something different. The timing is good for another reason: The publication is in great shape.” Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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Take it from Darlene, a California teacher: "We depend on donations to pay for flights, but an outdated federal rule makes tickets so expensive." Hear her story. | | | THE ECONOMY COMING SOON TO A JOE BIDEN AD NEAR YOU — “Americans are still better off, with more in the bank than before the pandemic,” WaPo … “Pay Raises Are Finally Beating Inflation After Two Years of Falling Behind,” WSJ … Goldman Sachs cut its estimate of the likelihood of a U.S. recession in the next year from 25% to 20%. On the flip side: Two-thirds of Wall Street investors surveyed by Goldman still anticipate a recession in the next 12 months, per The Messenger. ALL POLITICS BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — Democrat PHIL EHR, a Navy veteran who leads the anti-disinformation George Washington Initiative, today launched a Senate campaign in Florida to take on GOP incumbent RICK SCOTT, Gary Fineout reports from Tallahassee. Ehr, who previously lost to GOP Rep. MATT GAETZ in a congressional run, is emphasizing his recent aid work in Ukraine while hammering Scott on DONALD TRUMP and his business record. Establishment Democrats are trying to get former Rep. DEBBIE MUCARSEL-POWELL to run, while several other Dems are considering jumping into the uphill battle in a reddening Florida. DEMOCRACY WATCH — “North Carolina elections at risk of chaos with Legislature’s proposed overhaul,” by NBC’s Jane Timm: “North Carolina lawmakers are considering not only a spate of new election restrictions but also a major overhaul of state and county-level election boards, alarming advocates who say some of the proposals could grind the state’s democratic apparatus to a halt.” CASH DASH — House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES raised $29 million in the second quarter, Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman and Max Cohen report. That outpaces Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY’s haul and positions Jeffries as a worthy fundraising successor to NANCY PELOSI. KNOWING GRETCHEN WHITMER — The New Yorker’s Benjamin Wallace-Wells goes to Lansing to profile the Michigan governor and examine how she’s been able to swing the state blue. Whitmer attributes her success to “an interesting combination of cold blood and genuine passion.” As Democrats have made inroads in wealthy suburbs, the state’s Republicans have lost key financial resources. The resurgence of muscular Democratic policy wins in multiple Midwestern states recently amounts to a “Tea Party in reverse,” one Whitmer aide says. Whitmer says she’s focused on resurrecting the state’s economy by attracting young people, in part through implementing socially liberal policies they want. 2024 WATCH THE REELECT — Biden’s campaign is adding CEDRIC RICHMOND as a co-chair, RUFUS GIFFORD as finance chair and CHRIS KORGE as Biden Victory Fund finance chair, CNBC’s Brian Schwartz scooped. All three are longtime Biden allies and Democratic players. ATTEMPTING A RESET — After a spate of bad press and internal struggles, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ campaign is trying to right the ship — and “[n]o campaign staffer should assume their job is safe,” Bloomberg’s Nancy Cook reports. DeSantis’ team brought donors to Tallahassee this week to try to calm fears with a briefing and reception. And big donors will have a retreat this weekend in Park City, Utah. KISSING THE RING — Iowa Gov. KIM REYNOLDS, who could be a kingmaker in the crucial GOP caucuses, is inviting every Republican presidential contender to a one-on-one public interview at the Iowa State Fair next month, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser scooped. Reynolds says the conversations aim to go beyond just campaign platforms and get to know the candidates. MAKING A LIST, CHECKING IT TWICE — VIVEK RAMASWAMY released a short list of his top conservative contenders for Supreme Court and other judicial appointments if he were elected president. JAMES HO is listed first for SCOTUS, though notably Sens. MIKE LEE (R-Utah) and TED CRUZ (R-Texas) also make the cut. WHERE KENNEDY WON’T GO — “RFK Jr. shrugs off Biden family corruption allegations: Won’t be a ‘spear tip to my campaign,’” by Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn
| | | | ATTENTION PLAYBOOKERS! You need to keep up with the latest political news and nuggets, so here’s a juicy tip: You need to add California Playbook to your daily reading. We have a new team at the helm who are eager to take you inside the political arena in California, from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley and throughout the Golden State! Get the latest exclusive news and buzzy scoops from the fourth largest economy in the world sent straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | CONGRESS TORRES VS. SANTOS, ONCE AGAIN — “House Democrats Prepare Push to Censure George Santos,” by NYT’s Nicholas Fandos: “The new measure faces long odds of passing the Republican-led House. But Democrats believe forcing a vote will help maintain political pressure on Republican leaders.” SOUND OF FREEDOM — The succession battle to replace Rep. SCOTT PERRY (R-Pa.) as head of the House Freedom Caucus is already well underway, though his term runs through the end of the year, Olivia Beavers reports. The names in the mix are Reps. DAN BISHOP (R-N.C.), WARREN DAVIDSON (R-Ohio), BOB GOOD (R-Va.), RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.) and CHIP ROY (R-Texas). Roy is seen as a frontrunner, but Bishop is the only one to admit openly yet that he’s considering a bid — and he says that a run for North Carolina AG is actually “more likely.” The race will likely turn on central questions about its tactics, particularly vis-a-vis House GOP leaders; Davidson is considered the most closely tied to leadership. INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT — “Senate panel aims to restrict DHS’s domestic intelligence gathering,” by Betsy Woodruff Swan THE NEW GOP — The Congressional Hispanic Conference has grown its ranks of Latinos in the House GOP to 18, and they’re stepping up their involvement and influence on immigration policy and other issues, WaPo’s Marianna Sotomayor reports. The members want to do more to connect the Republican Party to diverse voters — but they also say the party had to take their perspectives into account on a big border security bill this year. “[T]he group is aware it must redouble its efforts this year to reelect vulnerable incumbents in the party’s ranks, nine of whom are Hispanic, or risk shrinking their impact.” GETTING PERSONAL — “3 congressmen working high-stakes jobs at a high-stakes moment — while being treated for cancer,” by CBS’ Scott MacFarlane: “In the span of approximately 12 weeks, three House members have undergone treatment for cancer this year. Each has withstood and worked through aggressive and painful treatment. … For [JAMIE] RASKIN, [DAN] KILDEE and [JOAQUIN] CASTRO, each case is, in fact, quite different. But each has embarked on a journey that is strikingly common among Americans.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN .MIL AND .ML — “Typo leaks millions of U.S. military emails to Mali web operator,” by FT’s Jacob Judah, Chris Cook, Mehul Srivastava, Max Harlow and Felicia Schwartz: The mistake may have sent ultra-sensitive, though not classified, information to Mali’s government, which is a close ally of Russia and can newly access the emails (thanks to a domain manager change) as of today.
| | | | HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | BEYOND THE BELTWAY HAPPY MILESTONE — Since March, the average number of deaths in the U.S. have finally reverted to normal levels — one sign that the Covid-19 pandemic finally is ending, as its excess death toll subsides, NYT’s David Leonhardt reports. PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Ciel Social Club yesterday celebrating Opal Vadhan’s 30th birthday: Capricia Marshall, Peter Velz, Stephen Goepfert, Liz Allen, Nick Schmit, Tammy Haddad, Sabrina Singh and Mike Smith, Alex Hornbrook, Emilie Simons, Jamal Brown and Dan Koh. — Del. James Moylan (R-Guam) and the Guam Society of America hosted a wreath-laying ceremony Thursday at the World War II Memorial in honor of the 79th anniversary of the liberation of Guam. Guests watched a cultural performance from the Kutturan Chamoru Foundation and Uno Hit, and learned about Chamorro culture. SPOTTED: Del. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands), Reps. Keith Self (R-Texas), Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), George Santos (R-N.Y.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) and Mike Flood (R-Neb.), Carmen Cantor, Patricia Ross, Kimberly McClain and Madeleine Bordallo. TRANSITIONS — Former acting AG Jeffrey Rosen is now of counsel at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He currently is a non-resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. … Former Jacksonville, Fla., Mayor Lenny Curry is joining Ballard Partners as a partner. … Samantha Ng will be deputy White House liaison at HUD. She previously was coalitions finance manager at the DNC. … … Lee Bonner is now a government affairs specialist at Maynard Nexsen, where she’ll also assist the law firm’s PR subsidiary NP Strategy. She most recently was deputy director of scheduling for Speaker Kevin McCarthy. … Akin Gump has added Ryan Fayhee, Roy Liu and Tyler Grove as partners. They previously were partners at Hughes Hubbard & Reed. 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. Correction: Friday’s Playbook PM incorrectly described North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s wealth. He is a multimillionaire.
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