| | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff listens as President Donald Trump speaks before a lunch with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) | AP | CALL ME MAYBE: Russian senior diplomat Yuri Ushakov and other Kremlin officials suggested that yesterday's leak of his conversation with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff was an attempt to interfere in the peace talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. “It is unlikely that this is done to improve relations,” Uhsakov told Russian media this morning when asked about the leaks. The Kremlin adviser added that while he regularly speaks with Witkoff, Russian authorities were not responsible for the leaked transcripts, NBC’s Yuliya Talmazan reports. “Someone is leaking, someone is listening, but not us,” Uhsakov said. He later claimed that some of the leaks “were fake” and said he would discuss the incident with Witkoff directly. Sergei Ryabkov, another one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top lieutenants, doubled down on claims that the leaks were meant to undermine Washington and Moscow relations, arguing that “organisations were being used as part of a hybrid information war waged by European countries against Russia,” per Reuters. “Russia’s Kommersant newspaper's top Kremlin reporter, who interviewed Ushakov, headlined his story: ‘Who set up Steve Witkoff?’” The transcript of the Oct. 14 call — reported by Bloomberg — revealed Witkoff and Ushakov mapping out a peace proposal and discussing how to pitch it to Trump. Bloomberg also published a transcript of a reported strategy call between Ushakov and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev over the plan. Despite President Donald Trump’s insistence that the substance of the calls was a “standard form of negotiation,” the leaks have sparked concerns across Washington that Witkoff and the administration are too favorable to Russia. Origin story: The White House’s original 28-point plan drew heavily from a Russian document submitted to the administration back in October, Reuters’ Gram Slattery and Erin Banco scoop. The unofficial communication, “known in diplomatic parlance as a ‘non-paper,’” included language from Russia on its negotiation demands, including “concessions that Ukraine had rejected such as ceding a significant chunk of its territory in the east.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly held a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the paper, though it’s still “unclear why and how the Trump administration had come to rely on the Russian document.” But U.S. officials, including Rubio, believed the demands “would likely be rejected outright by the Ukrainians,” per Reuters. So what’s next? Russian officials confirmed that Witkoff will make a trip to Moscow next week in hopes of finalizing a deal to end the war, though they gave no specific date. Ushakov also told Russian state media that Kremlin officials haven’t “officially received the initial U.S. peace proposal,” though they obtained a copy through back channels, per AP. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today welcomed peace talks led by Trump and said Europe considers there is now “a starting point” on a plan after days of negotiations, POLITICO’s Max Griera and colleagues report. Good Wednesday afternoon. Programming note: Playbook PM will be off tomorrow and Friday for the holiday. We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
| | | | Cyber criminals defraud millions of Americans each year, but law enforcement and regulators face major hurdles bringing the problem to heel. At POLITICO's Policy Outlook: Combating Financial Cybercrime, Reps. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) as well as FBI Special Agent Jordan Jenkins, Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s Nils Mueller and AARP’s Amy Nofziger discussed what can be done to protect consumers. Watch the conversations here. | | | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | 
An Atlanta-based federal appeals court upheld a nearly $1 million penalty against President Donald Trump and attorney Alina Habba. | Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA | 1. GEORGIA ON MY MIND: The last remaining criminal prosecution against Trump related to his effort to subvert the 2020 election is officially over. Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee dismissed all remaining charges in the case today, POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report. The dismissal comes shortly after the lead prosecutor — who took over the case earlier this month — decided he could not advance it any further. “There is no realistic prospect that a sitting President will be compelled to appear in Georgia to stand trial on the allegations in this indictment,” prosecutor Peter Skandalakis wrote to the court this morning. More docket decisions: An Atlanta-based federal appeals court upheld a nearly $1 million penalty against the president and attorney Alina Habba in a separate case, “concluding they committed ‘sanctionable conduct’ by filing a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey,” Josh and Kyle report. The three-judge panel “also rejected Trump’s bid to reinstate the 2022 lawsuit targeting Clinton, Comey and others over allegations about ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.” 2. SCHOOL DAZE: Northwestern University and the White House “are finalizing a deal that would end the Trump administration’s monthslong pressure campaign against the school, restore hundreds of millions in federal funding and close a potentially onerous ongoing federal investigation,” NYT’s Michael Bender and colleagues report. “The terms of the deal have not been publicly announced. But two of the people briefed on the talks said that Northwestern would be assessed a $75 million fine to the federal government as part of the deal. That would be the second highest amount a school facing a pressure campaign from the administration had agreed to pay.” 3. TRAIL MIX: With just a week to go until the special election to fill the vacant seat in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, a new Emerson College/The Hill survey shows that Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn are locked in a statistical tie that falls within the poll’s margin of error. Among the 600 likely voters surveyed, 48 percent say they will back Van Epps in the Dec. 2 special election, while 46 percent support Behn. “When undecided voters are asked which candidate they lean toward, Van Epps’ overall support increases to 49%, and Behn to 47%.” The poll has a credibility interval of 3.9 percent. More on the data: The new numbers come as Democrats have been flooding the historically red district with funds in hopes of flipping it in their favor. They also show a stark reversal in their support of Trump, with 47 percent of those surveyed saying they approve of his work overall, while 49 percent disapprove. Trump carried the district by 22 points last year. Full toplines Empire State of mind: Liam Elkind, a 26-year-old nonprofit founder, has suspended his long-shot Democratic primary campaign to replace outgoing Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), his campaign said in an email. Elkind didn’t explain the details behind his decision, but noted in a statement that “many qualified New Yorkers” had jumped into the crowded primary. 4. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The White House has touted a decline in Thanksgiving dinner costs this year, but lower grocery prices on holiday staples is likely temporary — and unlikely to assuage voters’ larger food concerns, POLITICO’s Rachel Shin and Marcia Brown report. “[T]he hidden reality is that grocers are eating some of those costs just for the holiday season, and several food industry groups and supply chain analysts predict prices will increase as soon as January.” The White House has also “left out some key details” around the cost of a Thanksgiving meal. “For example, Walmart announced that its Thanksgiving basket could cost 25 percent less than it did last year — with the caveat that the basket is made up of fewer items, smaller quantities and cheaper brands this time around. … Retailers are incentivized to make deep cuts to turkey prices around the holiday season as they look to lure more customers and draw them to other food items, leading to a muddled picture of what standard costs actually are.”
| | | | A message from McDonald's: McDonald's is committed to providing quality food at a good value. Extra Value Meals are back, which means Americans can save when you make it a meal. This month, fans can get even deeper discounts on two of the most popular Extra Value Meals, the $5 Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles® Meal and $8 10 pc. Chicken McNuggets® Meal, for a limited time. *Prices & participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California and for delivery. | | | | 5. ON THE JOBS: The Labor Department is out today with the latest jobless data, showing that 216,000 Americans filed new unemployment claims last week — ticking down from 222,000 a week earlier, per WSJ’s Matt Grossman. Though new unemployment claims have hovered between 210,000 to 250,000 a week this year, “the number of people filing continued claims week after week has been gradually rising” and nearing the “greatest level in four years,” WSJ writes. The numbers suggest that for those who have lost work, finding a job in the current market remains a challenge. 6. RETRIBUTION ROUNDUP: Trump has targeted at least 470 of his perceived political enemies since taking office, marking “an average of more than one a day,” Reuters’ Peter Eisler and colleagues detail in a special report. In a deep dive on each target, the team found that the presidents’ “revenge tour” fell into two broad buckets: “Members of the first group – at least 247 individuals and entities – were singled out by name, either publicly by Trump and his appointees or later in government memos, legal filings or other records. … Another 224 people were caught up in broader retribution efforts – not named individually but ensnared in crackdowns on groups of perceived opponents.” More on the numbers: 269 of Trump’s targets were federal officials and 104 were former government officials. Law firms accounted for 29 of those targeted, while the rest of the numbers included state and local officials, media outlets and universities. The White House diminished the analysis: “This entire article is based on the flawed premise that enforcing an electoral mandate is somehow ‘retribution.’ It’s not,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Reuters. 7. THE AGE OLD QUESTION: Trump took to Truth Social this morning to rage against a New York Times story that suggested his age has played a role in his increasingly light public schedules and recent signs of fatigue at events: “[T]he Radical Left Lunatics in the soon to fold New York Times did a hit piece on me that I am perhaps losing my Energy, despite facts that show the exact opposite,” Trump wrote in the post. The president also pointed to a “PERFECT PHYSICAL EXAM AND A COMPREHENSIVE COGNITIVE TEST (‘That was aced’) JUST RECENTLY TAKEN.” An NYT spokesperson defended the reporting as “accurate” and “based on facts,” in a statement online: “Name-calling and personal insults don’t change that, nor will our journalists hesitate to cover the administration in the face of intimidation tactics like this.” 8. CAN I SPEAK TO THE ARCHITECT?: Trump has reportedly clashed with the architect heading up his controversial White House ballroom makeover as the president seeks to expand the project, WaPo’s Jonathan Edwards and Dan Diamond scoop. Though Trump has pushed for a larger structure, architect James McCrery, “has counseled restraint over concerns the planned 90,000-square-foot addition could dwarf the 55,000-square-foot mansion,” and overshadow the White House. Administration officials also say Trump’s involvement has amounted to “micromanagement” at times. A White House official granted that the two men disagreed at some points, but characterized the interactions as “constructive dialogue.”
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➡️ Learn more about Pro Briefings | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A longtime freelance contractor for The New York Times’ DealBook Summit is condemning former Israeli PM Ehud Barak’s invitation to speak at the Dec. 3 conference because of his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Daniel Lippman reports. “I’ll have to admit, I was surprised to see the former Prime Minister on this year’s list for the DealBook, considering the controversial role he holds … as Jeffrey Epstein’s close friend,” Ellie Leonard, who started doing transcriptions for the conference in 2017, wrote to DealBook editor Andrew Ross Sorkin this month. On Nov. 10, the Times announced that Barak will be part of a panel dubbed “The Global Re-Order” moderated by Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. “You have a chance to do something big in the course of history and take a strong stance against corruption and, simply put, the abuse of children,” she added in the email. Sorkin replied, “Thanks for your note. I hear you and I hear your perspective.” Emails from the recently released tranche of Epstein documents showed numerous communications between Epstein and Barak. Barak previously told the Times that he had met Epstein a couple dozen times over the years and was first introduced to him in 2002. But he denied any involvement with underage women connected to Epstein or knowing about the abuse allegations. When asked about Barak’s participation in the conference, NYT spokesperson Danielle Rhoades-Ha said in a statement that “the DealBook Summit is a forum for live journalism and unflinching interviews. Our role is to ask questions so the public can know the answers of consequential figures. No questions are off limits.” Barak and a spokesperson for him didn’t respond to requests for comment. Sorkin and Kristof referred requests for comment to the Times. TRANSITIONS — Jessica Riedl is now a budget and tax fellow at Brookings’ Tax Policy Center. She previously worked at the Manhattan Institute. … Luis Botello Faz is now comms director for Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas). He previously worked for NASA. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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