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RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST …
- IN THE WEST: The U.S., EU and G-7 international locations are revoking “most favored nation” commerce standing for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. President JOE BIDEN will announce the transfer right this moment, per the AP.
- IN RUSSIA: As he faces down sanctions which can be bruising the Russian economic system, President VLADIMIR PUTIN on Thursday “opened the door to nationalizing the assets of Western companies pulling out of Russia and exhorted senior officials to ‘act decisively’ to preserve jobs,” per NYT’s Anton Troianovski. In response, White House press secretary JEN PSAKI warned by way of Twitter that the transfer “will ultimately result in even more economic pain for Russia.”
- IN UKRAINE: “Missile strikes were reported overnight in places far from the Russians’ main advance,” per the NYT, together with two cities within the nation’s western reaches. “Refugees from cities under bombardment have been fleeing to Ukraine’s west believing it was safer,” notes the BBC. As of this morning, the U.N. estimates that the variety of refugees from Ukraine has hit 2.5 million.
THE NYT’S PROJECT VERITAS QUAGMIRE — At a Thursday lunch within the New York Times Washington bureau, upset reporters pressed govt editor DEAN BAQUET about a current sting operation focusing on nationwide safety reporter MATTHEW ROSENBERG, in accordance with two folks current.
Project Veritas, a bunch that has singled out journalists and Democrats in undercover operations, posted a pair of movies this week exhibiting Rosenberg divulging particulars about delicate newsroom dynamics and disparaging his colleagues. Rosenberg advised that the media was overhyping the siege on the Capitol on Jan. 6, scoffing at colleagues who had been there that day who stated they had been traumatized, and blasted what he referred to as left-leaning youthful Times reporters wrapped up in a “woke” tradition influencing protection.
The movies instantly triggered tensions to flare amongst Times workers, in accordance with greater than a half-dozen reporters who had been granted anonymity to talk candidly. During the Thursday lunch, a number of reporters stated they had been upset about Rosenberg dissing their very own protection and badmouthing his coworkers.
Baquet, the Times staffers informed us, responded by criticizing Rosenberg for being careless and silly. But he stated that Project Veritas is attempting to “make our heads explode” and divide the Times, and that they need to not play into the group’s palms.
The Times comms workers declined to remark, and Rosenberg didn’t reply to requests for remark. But as WaPo’s Jeremy Barr tweeted final night time, Baquet has blasted Project Veritas earlier than. In 2017, he chided the group for ensnaring a junior-level worker. While the reporter stated “really stupid stuff,” Baquet stated on the time, he pinned a lot of the blame on Project Veritas.
“The greater sin wasn’t his, it was theirs,” he stated. “They’re just awful.”
Those feedback replicate the blended emotions over the present scenario amongst many reporters on the Times. While some reporters informed us that administration wants to handle this challenge and even wish to see Rosenberg punished, there’s deep concern about fueling Project Veritas’ work.
The group has used hidden cameras and/or false identities in an try and catch members of the media or Democrats saying embarrassing issues. It has not too long ago singled out New York Times reporters who have written about the group’s ways in addition to an ongoing Justice Department investigation over how the group obtained Biden’s daughter ASHLEY’s diary.
Those reporters embrace ADAM GOLDMAN, MICHAEL SCHMIDT and MARK MAZZETTI.
Project Veritas has additionally sued the New York Times for defamation.
Many on the Times — even these sad with Rosenberg — view the newest Project Veritas hit as an try at intimidation. And they’re loath to be seen as reacting to such ways, which they are saying have crossed a line into harassment.
Complicating the scenario additional, the group previously has launched movies that had been later discovered to be selectively edited or deceptive. That has led some on the Times to wish to give Rosenberg the good thing about the doubt.
– This merchandise was reported and written by Rachael and White House reporter Max Tani.
Happy Friday. Thanks for studying Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
FIGHTING FOR UKRAINE ON THE HILL — Even because the U.S. has opposed navy intervention in Russia’s struggle on Ukraine, there’s one group aiming to vary that: lobbyists. Or, extra exactly, lobbyists for Ukrainian causes. This week, Ryan talks it by with somebody who does simply that — DANIEL VAJDICH, president of Yorktown Solutions — and will get an insider’s view of how the job has modified because the invasion. Listen and subscribe to Playbook Deep Dive
BIDEN’S FRIDAY:
— 9 a.m.: The president will obtain the President’s Daily Brief.
— 10:15 a.m.: Biden will announce actions in opposition to Russia.
— 10:40 a.m.: Biden will depart the White House en path to Philadelphia, the place he’s scheduled to reach at 11:45 a.m.
— 12:15 p.m.: Biden will ship remarks on the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference.
— 2:10 p.m.: Biden will tour an elementary college.
— 3:50 p.m.: Biden will depart Philadelphia en path to Camp David.
Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES will gaggle aboard Air Force One en path to Philadelphia.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ FRIDAY (all occasions Eastern):
— Earlier right this moment, the VP met with troops from the U.S. and Poland and departed Warsaw en path to Otopeni, Romania.
— 7 a.m.: Harris will take part in an official arrival ceremony with Romanian President KLAUS IOHANNIS.
— 7:40 a.m.: Harris will take part in a bilateral assembly with Iohannis.
— 8:50 a.m.: Harris will take part in a information convention with Iohannis.
— 10:30 a.m.: Harris will meet with workers from the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest at Henri Coanda International Airport.
— 11:10 a.m.: Harris will depart Otopeni to return to D.C.
THE SENATE is in. THE HOUSE is out.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
CHECK THIS OUT — POLITICO’s The Recast has named the 40 energy gamers of 2021. From strategists to politicians, activists to influencers, they undeniably made an influence on the intersection of race, politics and coverage. Explore the complete checklist right here. And don’t neglect to publish about the checklist in your socials — you should utilize #TheRecast40 — or in your group chats.
ALL POLITICS
A NEW HOPE, OR WISHFUL THINKING? — Our David Siders is up with a brand new story about Democrats seeing a midterm hope in Biden’s current bounce within the polls — optimism being touted by the president himself. “Biden told a ballroom full of DNC members at a Hilton in Washington, ‘we are in the strongest position we’ve been in in months.’ Democrats, he said, could keep the House. … [W]ith Biden’s poll numbers ticking up in recent days — after his State of the Union and with the country rallying ever so slightly behind his handling of the war in Ukraine — even skeptical Democrats are feeling oddly optimistic that a Biden rebound might last and that the party’s midterm losses might not be so severe.”
FROM THE HOUSE DEMS’ RETREAT — “Bracing for Losses, Democrats Look to Biden for a Reset,” by NYT’s Annie Karni
WHO IS ERIC ADAMS? — Ruby Cramer has a rollicking profile of Adams up this morning. In it, the eccentric NYC mayor deems himself the “face of the Democratic Party,” and Ruby writes that “it’s one of the few labels he is willing to embrace, but there’s no easy way to nail down what it will mean today, tomorrow, or the day after that.” Some highlights:
— Inside Adams’ favourite hangout: “You see him at Zero Bond, the members-only social club in NoHo where the mayor is a regular (though not a paying member). … You want a selfie with Adams at the club? No problem. The other day he was about to take one, holding a Tito’s and soda, when someone interrupted the photo opp: ‘OK, but you gotta take the Tito’s out’ — to make sure the mayor didn’t look bad. But no, Adams said, the Tito’s can stay. ‘Like, why?’ he tells me later. ‘I drink Tito’s and seltzer!’”
— On this “love at first sight” with Biden: “You see [Adams] behind the darkened windows of the presidential motorcade, riding thigh-to-thigh with Joe Biden himself. Sitting in the backseat, Adams felt it was ‘love at first sight.’ That this was a guy who gets it. ‘He pulled out his lunch,’ the mayor says. ‘A peanut butter and jelly sandwich — and he said, “You want half?”’”
— And this response from Schumer: “When I reached [Senate Majority Leader] CHUCK SCHUMER to talk about Adams, the New York senator praised the mayor’s confidence and work ethic. … When I asked if he agreed that Adams is the new face of the party, Schumer cut me off before I could finish the question. ‘Yeah, I’m not going to comment on that.’ I asked if there was a reason he was not going to comment on that. ’No,’ he replied, and the call ended moments later.”
CRUZ CRUISES WITH CONVOY — The “People’s Convoy” — the group of truckers protesting protecting pandemic measures across the Beltway — acquired a go to from Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) on Thursday. Cruz dropped in on the group “at the Hagerstown Speedway, telling crowds their voice was being heard,” WaPo’s Ellie Silverman, Karina Elwood, Dana Hedgpeth and Luz Lazo write. “He then boarded a truck and detoured just past noon to head into Washington, where he and convoy organizers called for an end to such mandates.” The convoy’s influence: “Law enforcement authorities in Virginia and Maryland said there have been no major incidents from the convoy’s circling of the Beltway other than some minor congestion.”
PHEW, THIS ONE’S A DOOZY — ELENA BRANSON, aka ELENA CHERNYKH, is a Russian American nationwide who “stands accused of illegally pushing pro-Russia policies in the United States for nearly a decade, at the direction of top Kremlin officials, without registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), according to a criminal complaint federal prosecutors filed this week in the Southern District of New York,” The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger and Shannon Vavra report.
“But, in all her time lobbying for Russian goals, she gave money to just one federal candidate: [former Democratic Hawaii Rep. TULSI] GABBARD. … While the combined total of those donations isn’t colossal by any means — a whopping $59.95 — they do raise questions about why an alleged Russian agent, tasked with currying favor with U.S. politicians, would zero in on Gabbard, and only Gabbard.”
VALLEY TALK
AMAZON’S ‘F-U APPROACH’ — WSJ’s Dana Mattioli has a giant learn on Amazon’s standing in Biden’s Washington. The conclusion: The mega-company is “facing a multifront battle with the U.S. government — with few allies.” That’s led Amazon execs to deploy a “combative strategy” that has “alienated many of Amazon’s executives in Washington, causing a number of departures at its D.C. offices.” Some highlights:
— JAY CARNEY, the previous Biden aide turned coverage chief at Amazon, “hasn’t appeared to hold much sway at the White House. Since Mr. Biden’s inauguration, he has visited the White House only once, according to White House visitor logs. … Last year, Mr. Carney directed a frustrated message at [RON] KLAIN, the White House chief of staff, after Mr. Biden hosted the CEOs of Walmart Inc., Gap Inc., Lowe’s Cos. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., said people familiar with the exchange. Amazon wasn’t invited, and Mr. Carney pleaded for Amazon to be considered for future events, the people said. In December, Mr. Carney messaged Mr. Klain questioning him about a Politico article stating that Mr. Biden was embracing Amazon rival Walmart, said one of the people.” ICYMI, the POLITICO article in query, by Hailey Fuchs
— “The public-policy team has a strategy called ‘watering the flowers,’ said the current and former employees. An internal database tracks employee interactions with policy makers, keeping notes on meetings and talking points, to ensure that everyone important for Amazon’s agenda is getting sufficient attention.
“While the D.C. team was metaphorically watering flowers, they complained of Amazon executives in Seattle ‘stomping them out,’ one of the people said. Last March, for example, Amazon’s public-relations account on Twitter posted a series of aggressive tweets directed at the politicians Amazon’s D.C. team meets with. … The tweets departed from the tone of traditional corporate public-relations accounts. Unlike most tweets from Amazon’s news account, these tweets were crafted by executives including [JEFF BEZOS] and Carney, said people at Amazon.”
— “‘Amazon had the biggest middle-finger-to-Congress approach that I’ve ever seen with any company I’ve ever dealt with,’ said GARRETT VENTRY, former chief of staff to Rep. KEN BUCK of Colorado, a ranking Republican member on the Antitrust Subcommittee. Since hiring Mr. Carney, Amazon has expanded its lobbying operations. … Amazon also has built a sizable policy team of employees who once worked at agencies such as the FTC and Congress, many of whom have deep experience navigating the nuances of Washington relationships. But headquarters often marginalized that team’s work, said several current and former employees on Amazon’s public-policy team.”
CONGRESS
SHUTDOWN AVERTED — “Senate gives final OK to $1.5T government funding bill,” by Burgess Everett and Jennifer Scholtes with the newest
GRASSLEY GUMS UP GEARS FOR GARCETTI — Sen. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) is throwing up a roadblock on ERIC GARCETTI’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to India. Megan Wilson and Christopher Cadelago scoop that Grassley’s workplace is probing what the Los Angeles mayor “knew of longtime political adviser and City Hall confidant RICK JACOBS’ inappropriate behavior toward women and men in and around City Hall. They have also spoken to whistleblowers about the matter. And according to a document obtained by POLITICO, they have asked Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL (R-Ky.) to try and halt the nomination until their investigation is concluded.”
JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH
COMMITTEE LATEST — MICHAEL FLYNN pleaded the Fifth throughout an look Thursday earlier than the House’s Jan. 6 committee, his lawyer stated. More from ABC
POLICY CORNER
IMMIGRATION FILES — The controversial Trump-era Title 42 border coverage may come to an finish as quickly as subsequent month, in accordance with a draft DHS doc that will warn Mexico the change may immediate a surge of immigrants, BuzzFeed’s Hamed Aleaziz experiences.
BULKING UP FOR TAX SEASON — The IRS stated Thursday it plans to “hire 10,000 new workers to help reduce a massive backlog that the government says will make this tax season the most challenging in history,” AP’s Fatima Hussein writes.
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
SANCTIONS GALORE — The Biden administration right this moment will announce new sanctions on North Korea as officers warn of harmful new missile exams from KIM JONG UN. The U.S., South Korea and Japan have concluded that two current North Korea launches examined a brand new intercontinental ballistic missile system. Though U.S. officers have downplayed the hazard of North Korean exams as not too long ago as final month, they stated the newest information constituted a “serious escalation.” More from CNN
FOR YOUR RADAR — “ISIS Names a New Leader, but Says Little About Him,” by NYT’s Ben Hubbard
WELCOME TO THE PARTY — The U.S. stated it will formally acknowledge Colombia and Qatar as “major non-NATO allies” Thursday as Colombian President IVÁN DUQUE MÁRQUEZ visited the White House. “The designation will give Colombia special access to military and economic programs but does provide security guarantees like those extended to NATO members,” per NBC’s Carmen Sesin.
TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week”: Sahil Kapur, MJ Lee and Nick Schifrin.
SUNDAY SO FAR …
Gray TV “Full Court Press”: House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) … Franklin Graham.
FOX “Fox News Sunday,” guest-anchored by Bret Baier: Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) … retired Gen. Jack Keane. Panel: Jason Chaffetz, Steve Harrigan, Susan Page and Marie Harf.
MSNBC “The Sunday Show”: German Ambassador Emily Haber … Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) … Max Boot … Ruth Ben-Ghiat … Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen … Gary Locke.
CBS “Face the Nation”: Albert Bourla.
ABC “This Week,” with co-anchor Martha Raddatz reporting from Lviv, Ukraine: Panel: Mary Bruce, Jane Coaston, George Will and Heidi Heitkamp.
CNN “Inside Politics”: Panel: retired Gen. Mark Kimmitt, David Sanger, Julia Ioffe, Rachael Bade, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Margaret Talev.
NBC “Meet the Press”: Panel: Peter Baker, Helene Cooper, Rich Lowry and Kimberly Atkins Stohr.
Tucker Carlson delivered one of the best splitscreen of the night time in devoting a phase of his primetime present to discussing spiders with “Billy the Exterminator,” who contrasted Tucker’s suit-tie combo along with his personal accoutrement that advised a mixture of the Road Warrior and Slash.
Chris Hayes shared his “dream in life”: opening his personal sandwich store. (Honestly, it sounds extra enjoyable than internet hosting a day by day TV present.)
Bernie Sanders inveighed in opposition to “baseball oligarchs” (aka group homeowners) because the MLB lockout got here to an finish.
Madison Cawthorn referred to as Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug.”
Lindsey Graham referred to as Madison Cawthorn an “outlier.”
Karen and Mike Pence joined Samaritan’s Purse chief Edward Graham on a go to with Ukrainian refugees alongside the Polish border.
SPOTTED at ServiceNow’s annual Federal Forum on the Renaissance Hotel on Thursday: Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) and Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), Defense Information Systems Agency Director Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, retired Gen. Stan McChrystal, Norma Krayem, Geoff Browning, Nichole Francis Reynolds, Nick Tzitzon, Chris Bedi and Keven Haverty.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Thomas Becket Adams is becoming a member of the National Journalism Center as program director. He beforehand was a media and marketing campaign reporter and commentary author on the Washington Examiner.
TRANSITIONS — Carahna Magwood, Cassidy Geoghegan and Lisa Prandy have joined Bully Pulpit Interactive. Magwood will likely be a inventive director and beforehand was inventive director on the White House. Geoghegan will likely be affiliate director and beforehand was deputy states comms director for the DNC. Prandy will likely be director of content material and beforehand was a senior digital advertising and marketing and content material strategist at AARP. …
… Jack Coogan is now a analysis coordinator at Cygnal. He beforehand was a finance knowledge analyst for the RNC. … Clark Mica is now president of the Institute of Makers of Explosives. He beforehand was VP of presidency relations on the Fertilizer Institute. … Talia Davis is becoming a member of Kia Corporation’s D.C. workplace as supervisor of branding and comms. She beforehand was nationwide political packages director at AIPAC.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Liz Crampton, a state coverage reporter at POLITICO, and Andrew Bahrenburg, a legislative assistant for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), welcomed June Lucille Bahrenburg on Feb. 28. Pic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:Rupert Murdoch (91) … Ben Becker of Precision Strategies … Michael Holley … Claire Burghoff of Cornerstone Government Affairs … Curt Cashour … NBC’s Miguel Almaguer … Perri Peltz … MSNBC’s Christina Arvanites and Erin Clifford … Matt Sobocinski … Joe Quinn of the Aluminum Association … Alice Stewart … DOD’s Jeff Hayes … HHS’ Carrie Pugh … Lauren O’Brien of Sen. Todd Young’s (R-Ind.) workplace … Suzanne Hammelman … Tim Mack of Rep. Madeleine Dean’s (D-Pa.) workplace … Amy Weiss of Weiss Public Affairs … Nikki Budzinski … Libby Marking of the National Audubon Society … CNN’s Emily Riley … Micaela Rodríguez … Jon Cohen of Momentive … former Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (6-0) … Sam Donaldson … former Interior Secretary Gale Norton
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