| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | |  Donald Trump is once again dominating the headlines on a day when Ron DeSantis aimed for a campaign reboot. | Charlie Riedel/AP Photo | The Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack appears on its way to a conclusion. Trump received a “target letter” from special counsel JACK SMITH’s office this weekend, the former president said in a post on Truth Social today. While the move isn’t a total surprise, given the trajectory and depth of Smith’s investigation, it is the most concrete sign that the probe is entering a new stage, with potential indictments likely to land soon. Trump said the letter offered him a chance to speak later this week to the grand jury, which meets at the federal courthouse in D.C., our colleague Kyle Cheney writes. “Targets of criminal investigations rarely speak to grand juries, and Trump has not exercised that right in the two other criminal cases in which he’s been charged.” So what are the expected charges? It’s not entirely clear which specific crimes Trump may be charged with, but Smith’s team has been looking into potential obstruction charges related to Trump’s actions in the days leading up to Jan. 6 and on that day itself. “Investigators have also examined Trump’s consideration of a plan to seize voting machines from the states, his campaign of false claims that the election was stolen and his role in advancing a plan to assemble bogus slates of presidential electors to stoke a conflict ahead of Jan. 6.” The legal cascade: Official charges in the Jan. 6 case would only add to Trump’s legal headache. His legal team will appear in court in Florida this afternoon in the classified documents case that Smith’s office has brought against him, asking for a judge to postpone the trial until after the 2024 election. Plus, Trump is also facing charges in Manhattan for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment scheme and staring down a grand jury in Fulton County, Ga., where investigators are probing his attempts to alter the 2020 election results. The DeSantis factor: Today’s news also offers an interesting split screen for the 2024 GOP presidential race. Trump will receive a torrent of negative headlines over the next 24 hours (which could be worsened if his plea for a postponed trial is rebuffed), all while DeSantis attempts to reboot his campaign direction. DeSantis is sitting down for an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper this afternoon, where he will have yet another chance to paint himself as the antidote to Trump’s antics. But Trump has, thus far, brushed off many of the legal perils he faces, wrapping himself in the shine of his frontrunner status among a crowded field of rivals. Can DeSantis break through the din of Trump coverage? It’s a tough task, AP’s Meg Kinnard writes from Columbia, S.C., where DeSantis is campaigning today. DeSantis’ camp had intended to spend the day trumpeting his official entry on the ballot in South Carolina — the first candidate to do so — and a policy proposal that he’s pushing forward. But instead, at a short news conference this morning, “the governor took only four questions, almost all of which centered on the party’s front-runner Donald Trump.” “Look, there’s a difference between being brought up on criminal charges and doing things. Like for example, I think it was shown how he was in the White House and didn’t do anything while things were going on. He should have come out more forcefully, of course,” DeSantis said in S.C. “But to try to criminalize that, that’s a different issue entirely.” FOR YOUR RADAR — A junior enlisted U.S. soldier earlier today “willfully and without authorization” crossed the border from South Korea to North Korea, where he was apprehended and taken into custody, Lara Seligman, Alexander Ward, Paul McLeary and Eric Bazail-Eimil report. The soldier was on a civilian tour of the Demilitarized Zone and not on duty at the time, sources told our colleagues. Adding to the intrigue, CNN’s team reports that the soldier had been “facing disciplinary action by the US military and was set to be sent back to the United States.” Related read: “U.S. deploys nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea in show of force against North Korea,” by AP’s Hyung-jin Kim Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line: gross@politico.com.
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Worried about potentially losing your flight out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)? Read the bill, it's purely additive and would have no negative impact on current in-perimeter service. The Direct Capital Access Act (DCA Act) will authorize additional flights and provide more options for travelers near and far. Learn more. | | | 2024 WATCH CHURCH AND STATE — “Crowded GOP field vies for the Christian Zionist vote as Israel’s rightward shift spurs protests,” by AP’s Tiffany Stanley: JOHN HAGEE and his Christians United for Israel organization “hosted several presidential contenders at their annual summit in suburban Washington this week, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador NIKKI HALEY and former Vice President MIKE PENCE. They all pledged fierce loyalty to Israel and were unified in criticizing President JOE BIDEN as weak. … “The event — and Hagee’s prominent role in it — was a reminder of how the GOP’s further embrace of Christian Zionism has been evolving from the fringe to the mainstream for years, especially after Donald Trump’s presidency reshaped the modus operandi of Republican politics. CUFI’s annual summit has become a regular stop for Republicans wishing to showcase their pro-Israel and conservative Christian bona fides to the mostly white evangelical audience.” THE DEVIL YOU KNOW — “Trump Hired Adviser He Pardoned for Campaign Finance Crimes,” by The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger: “According to new disclosures filed over the weekend, Trump’s political operation has hired JOHN TATE via his company, JFT Consulting, Inc. JFT received about $13,000 for ‘political strategy consulting’ in June — a $2,903 installment on June 6, followed by a flat $10,000 at month’s end. In 2016, a jury convicted Tate for campaign finance crimes related to a bribery scheme in support of the 2012 presidential campaign of then-Rep. RON PAUL (R-TX).” MORE POLITICS BIG BOOST — A new “hybrid PAC” with deep ties to the Congressional Black Caucus is rolling out an effort to engage Black voters with the goal of flipping the House and seeing HAKEEM JEFFRIES become the first Black speaker. NICCARA CAMPBELL-WALLACE will helm Rolling Sea Action Fund, with ambitions to spend “more than $10 million on a multipronged strategy in 2024, including advertising as well as in-person organizing and engagement in key communities,” NBC’s Ben Kamisar reports. “The group will be ‘targeting districts that have over an 8% Black voting age population in the most competitive seats in the House.’ But she didn't rule out the group playing in primary races either.”
| | | | 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 TREE’S COMPANY — “House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial,” by AP’s Stephen Groves: “The idea — simple yet massively ambitious — revealed recent Republican thinking on how to address climate change. The party is no longer denying that global warming exists, yet is searching for a response to sweltering summers, weather disasters and rising sea levels that doesn’t involve abandoning their enthusiastic support for American-produced energy from burning oil, coal and gas.” HIPAA HOOPLA — “Biden’s HIPAA expansion for abortion draws criticism, lawsuit threats,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein: “The Biden administration’s effort to wield the nation’s premier health-privacy law to protect abortion rights is under fire from Republicans who accuse the president of overreaching — and from Democrats who call it too weak.” POLICY CORNER IMMIGRATION FILES — “U.S. has welcomed more than 500,000 migrants as part of historic expansion of legal immigration under Biden,” by CBS’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez Related read: “Adult migrants are held in border facilities too long amid Biden administration policy changes, sources say,” by CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez WRITTEN IN THE STARS — “U.S. Pushes Military Cooperation in Space,” by WSJ’s Alistair MacDonald: “The U.S. military wants allies to train and plan together for space operations, in the same way that they already do in ground, air and naval combat, Gen. CHANCE SALTZMAN, chief of space operations, said in an interview. The move comes amid concerns about China and Russia’s ability to disrupt the West’s satellites and new technology the two countries have developed.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY AFTERNOON READ — Sumner County, Tenn., gets a zoom-in from The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum, who takes the latest swing at the hyperpolarization of local politics, where a cohort of so-called Constitutional Republicans rose to power with a laundry list of to-dos that extends far beyond their town. “The Sumner County commissioners can’t arrest President Joe Biden. They can’t secede. But the county’s election commission, whose members are appointed by the bipartisan state election commission, is right there. It’s a local embodiment of the broader culture they dislike and of the government they distrust.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD COGNITIVE DISSIDENTS — “Why Ukrainian activists and Russian dissidents aren’t joining forces,” by Nahal Toosi WAR REPORT — “Ukraine aims to sap Russia’s defenses, as U.S. urges a decisive breakthrough,” by WaPo’s Missy Ryan, Isabelle Khurshudyan and Michael Birnbaum PLAYBOOKERS COME ON BARBIE, LET’S GO PARTY — Warner Bros. hosted a pink-themed cocktail party for the new “Barbie” movie at the British Embassy last night, where director Greta Gerwig sat down for a brief Q&A with Abby Phillip to talk about the movie, which was filmed in the U.K. Guests were welcomed with a pink carpet and a photo opp in a life-sized Barbie box. Disco balls lined the rose bushes in the gardens and guests were treated to pink cocktails, pink tacos, pink burgers and a pink sushi station. SPOTTED: British Ambassador Karen Pierce and Sir Charles Roxburgh, Jordan Ambassador Dina Kawar, Saudi Arabian Ambassador Princess Reema Bint Bandar al Saud, New Zealand Ambassador Bede Corry, Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), August Pfluger (R-Texas), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Bruce Reed, Lynda Carter, Symone Sanders-Townsend, Goli Sheikholeslami, Maureen Dowd, Kara Swisher, Chris Wallace, Kasie Hunt, Manu Raju, Fred Ryan, Alexa Verveer, Naomi Biden Beal and Peter Beal, Barby Allbritton, Melanne Verveer, Helen Milby, Don Baer, Jim Acosta, Richard Strauss, David Leavy, Steve Clemons, Karen Finney and Tammy Haddad. Pic … Another pic TRANSITION — Erik Hadland is now director of technology policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association. He previously was a science and technology policy fellow at DOE. … Patrick Burland is now an account manager at National Public Affairs. He previously was a marketing coordinator at Red Spark Strategy. 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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