| | | | |  | | By Mike DeBonis | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | JMART’S HOLIDAY PLEA — “To Departing House Members: Don’t be a Bunch of Turkeys,” by Jonathan Martin: “The collective exodus — November has brought the most congressional retirements in any single month for over a decade — poses a direct threat to the institution. The more capable people like you who leave, the more you’re consigning the fate of Congress to those who have no business being there at all. … “[T]his does not apply to Mr. [GEORGE] SANTOS of New York. You’re good to go.”
|  Today’s Thanksgiving gathering comes at a particularly anxious moment for Evan Gershkovich. | Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images | THANKSGIVING IN RUSSIA — Today in Philadelphia, those closest to WSJ reporter EVAN GERSHKOVICH will gather and begin a difficult first holiday season without their son, brother and friend, who has now spent nearly eight months in a Moscow prison awaiting trial on trumped-up spy charges. Today’s Thanksgiving gathering comes at a particularly anxious moment. There have been scant recent signs of progress toward freeing Gershkovich, 32, who continues to await trial. The Ukraine war, the geopolitical backdrop of his March arrest in Yekaterinburg, grinds on without an obvious path to resolution. And now world attention has been drawn to another global crisis in the Middle East, with a hostage crisis now seizing public attention. Back here in Washington, a team of editors, lawyers and executives have been hard at work trying to make sure Gershkovich is not forgotten — by the government officials who will ultimately have to secure his release, by his fellow journalists and by the public at large. “I liken it to keeping the altitude in the balloon,” said PAUL BECKETT, a former WSJ Washington bureau chief now working full time for Gershkovich’s release. “We’ve got to keep it up there or it will fizzle, and the longer it goes on, the harder it gets." To that end, Beckett & Co. are asking Americans today to “save a seat for Evan” at their holiday tables. And here at Playbook, we’re pleased to save space in this holiday edition to recognize that effort and give our thanks for the reporters like him who do their work under much greater peril than we do. By all accounts, Gershkovich has handled his incarceration with unusual strength. “He works very hard at that,” Beckett said. “He exercises, he meditates, he reads, he writes, he keeps himself active to make sure that he keeps his health and composure.” He meets regularly with his Russian lawyers and occasionally with U.S. diplomats. He trades letters with his sister, DANIELLE, that run toward celebrity gossip and recounting old episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” And he waits patiently for the kind of breakthrough that so far has been elusive. Dow Jones lawyers and executives continue to push officials in President JOE BIDEN’s administration for progress, including the lead official on hostage matters, Special Presidential Envoy ROGER CARSTENS. “We’d like to see more being done,” said Beckett, whose brief includes exploring what he called “interesting, asymmetrical ways” that could secure Gershkovich’s release: “What are ways in which they could release an innocent man in return for something that isn’t just trading a Russian convict somewhere in the world? It may come to that — that’s the way that these things have been done before — but what are other possibilities?” The unfortunate truth, he said, is that he’s working not only for his own reporter’s release, but for the end to a cycle of incarceration and negotiation that shows no sign of stopping. Gershkovich was arrested less than four months after WNBA star BRITTNEY GRINER was released in a Russian prisoner swap.
| | A message from National Retail Federation: The new CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, provides a more accurate look at monthly retail sales. The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor uses anonymized, real-time debit and credit card purchase data to provide more accurate and timely insights into retail sales activity across all U.S. sectors, categories and markets. All information produced by Affinity Solutions is anonymized and aggregated and does not include any personally identifiable information of an individual consumer. Learn more. | | | Businessman PAUL WHELAN, meanwhile, has spent nearly five years in Russian custody, and another reporter — ALSU KURMASHEVA, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — was arrested in Kazan last month. There’s also the overlapping fraternity of newsrooms who have seen a journalist unfairly detained for doing their jobs. Beckett said he has consulted closely with and benefited from the advice of, among others, former WaPo Tehran bureau chief JASON REZAIAN, who spent more than 500 days in Iranian custody before he was released in a 2016 prisoner swap. Beckett and others advocating for Gershkovich have, in turn, advised those who are now seeking to free Kurmasheva. “It’s a sad, poignant little club,” he said, where membership means dealing with a lot of frustration — with opaque foreign justice systems, with slow-motion diplomacy and with persistent questions that have no obvious answers. “It’s just very, very hard to know what [the Russians] were thinking when they did this, when they knowingly took an accredited journalist that they knew wasn’t spying and charged him with espionage,” Beckett continued. “It’s happening against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, but does something need to happen in the Ukraine war before this gets resolved? I certainly hope not.” While they await a breakthrough, Beckett and his Journal brethren are doing what they can to keep Gershkovich in the public eye. He is due back in a Russian court in the coming days for a new detention hearing. Next week, he’ll be honored in absentia at the National Press Club’s annual gala. And early next month, the Journal is planning a media blitz around his 250th day in captivity. Ironically, Beckett himself has never met Gershkovich, who was hired shortly before the Ukraine war broke out and did his reporting in Russia and Europe. But WSJ editor EMMA TUCKER tapped him to lead the newsroom’s efforts given his experience managing reporters in sensitive situations as Asia editor and reporting in South Asia around the time of DANIEL PEARL’s 2002 kidnapping and execution. “I didn’t have to know him,” he said, “for this to matter a huge amount to me.” Happy Thanksgiving from your friendly neighborhood Playbook editor! I’m grateful as always for the extended Playbook crew, who make it possible to deliver 12 newsletters and six podcasts to you (almost) every week: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Andrew Howard, Bethany Irvine, Alex Keeney, Ryan Lizza, Eli Okun, Annie Rees, Garrett Ross, Zack Stanton, Kara Tabor and Callie Tansill-Suddath. And I'm thankful for you, dear reader/listener, for your kind patronage. Drop me a line and let me know how we’re doing and what you’re giving thanks for. WALK ON THE WILDERS SIDE — Far-right populist GEERT WILDERS landed a surprise victory in the Netherlands yesterday, sending political shock waves through Europe. Wilders’ party more than doubled its showing in the last election, though an uncertain coalition-building process awaits. Reporting from The Hague, our European colleagues Tim Ross, Pieter Haeck, Eline Schaart and Jakob Hanke Vela call Wilders “the EU’s worst nightmare”: A referendum on leaving the bloc, or “Nexit,” was a key piece of his campaign pitch. And even if the Dutch were to remain — polls suggest that is likely — Wilders’ presence on the Euro stage will “transform the dynamic” around issues ranging from support for Ukraine to climate action. Though Wilders has pulled back recently on some of his most extreme anti-Islam positions, like banning mosques, he’s poised to veer the country in a new direction on everything from Ukraine aid to climate action to what he called the “asylum tsunami.” More from the AP
| | | | A message from National Retail Federation:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden and first lady JILL BIDEN are on Nantucket, where they’ll call military service members at 10 a.m. to thank them for their service. VP KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will do the same at 2:45 p.m. Eastern time.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO 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. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | |  An incident at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, New York, yesterday killed two people. | WKBW-TV via AP Photo | 9 THINGS WE’RE WATCHING 1. AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW BRIDGE: A car crash at the U.S.-Canadian border yesterday triggered a fireball and a massive law enforcement response, but after a few hours authorities deemed it simply an accident, not a terrorist attack, The Buffalo News’ Ben Tsujimoto, Maki Becker and Jerry Zremski report. The incident at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, New York, which happened near a customs booth, killed two people in the car. There’s tons of uncertainty in a breaking news environment, of course. But several outlets and politicians who initially leaned hard into speculation about terrorism got egg on their face or were forced to walk back claims, including Fox News, KARI LAKE, Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) and VIVEK RAMASWAMY, who earned a vivid rebuke from CHRIS CHRISTIE. 2. BACKING DOWN FROM NEVER BACK DOWN: “DeSantis Super PAC C.E.O. Resigns,” by NYT’s Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher: “Gov. RON DeSANTIS’s political orbit confronted fresh upheaval on the eve of Thanksgiving as the chief executive of the super PAC that has effectively taken over his presidential campaign resigned after days of infighting … In a statement from [CHRIS] JANKOWSKI issued by the group, he described his differences with [the board] as ‘well beyond a difference of strategic opinion.’ … KRISTIN DAVISON would now serve as chief executive.” 3. LATEST IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Though the pause in the Israel-Hamas war has yet to begin, U.S. officials are already working on how to use the respite to make further progress in pushing Israel, NYT’s Edward Wong and Michael Crowley report. Potential goals include getting Israel to lengthen the pause in exchange for the release of more hostages, creating safe areas in Gaza, providing more humanitarian aid and generally mitigating the dire impact on innocent Palestinians. A tick-tock of how the deal came together from AP’s Colleen Long, Seung Min Kim, Sam Magdy and Julia Frankel includes the interesting revelation that a handful of U.S. officials had secret, direct negotiations with Hamas. Political fallout: As progressives rage against Democratic leaders over the war, Sen. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-Pa.) has become an unlikely target. But Holly Otterbein reports that anyone watching his style or his history on the issue, which is particularly shaped by the Tree of Life synagogue massacre, shouldn’t be surprised by his defiant pro-Israel stance. … Biden’s handling of the war could seriously imperil his fortunes next year with young voters, WaPo’s Dylan Wells reports from Ann Arbor, Michigan. … Senate Foreign Relations Chair BEN CARDIN (D-Md.) gets Isaac Chotinered in The New Yorker, saying that he doesn’t know whether Israel is operating according to the rules of war.
| | | | A message from National Retail Federation:   | | | 4. STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: “Conservative Group Accidentally Reveals Its Secret Donors. Some of Them Are Liberal Orgs,” by The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger: “[T]he Omidyar Network has contributed a total of [$500,000] to American Compass since 2020. … The Hewlett Foundation — a longtime supporter of National Public Radio — has accounted for more than one-third of American Compass’ total public support, giving a combined $1,486,000 over the same period … The donations are striking because American Compass is a partner organization in Project 2025, a controversial right-wing think tank that has been building the policy and personnel firmament for a second [DONALD] TRUMP administration.” 5. TUMBLING OFF THE CLIFF: Biden could face political blowback from the unwinding of several generous social safety net programs and other benefit cliffs that are making Americans’ lives harder, Garrett Downs, Olivia Olander, Michael Stratford and Marcia Brown report. The resumption of student loan payments, the end of a daycare support fund, food stamp restrictions, threats to WIC — the “collective impact [is] a cascading set of new financial burdens that are disproportionately affecting women, young people and people of color.” Democrats will try to claw back some benefits in the spending fight next year. “But at best it will be a partial reprieve.” 6. SPEAKER NOW: “Johnson Learns on the Job, Drawing the Ire of the Republican Right,” by NYT’s Annie Karni: Speaker MIKE JOHNSON “has struggled to adjust to the new level of scrutiny that has come with his sudden ascent to the post second in line to the presidency. … [His allies] argue he is running the House in a far more functional way than his predecessor did — and even demonstrating courage in doing so. … Mr. Johnson also is developing a reputation for a more collaborative approach than his predecessor’s.” 7. POLITICAL VIOLENCE WATCH: Judge ARTHUR ENGORON, who’s overseeing the Trump business fraud civil trial in New York, and his law clerk ALLISON GREENFIELD have gotten hundreds of “serious and credible” threats or harassment, a court official said in a filing yesterday, per CNN’s Kara Scannell. They ramped up after Trump excoriated the clerk on social media. The harassment campaign, which has gotten worse since a gag order was lifted last week, includes “dozens of messages daily, phone doxing and the increased use of antisemitic language.” One of Trump’s Thanksgiving messages today was a classic screed against Engoron, Greenfield and New York AG TISH JAMES. 8. KNOWING APOORVA RAMASWAMY: “Beside Ramaswamy, a Doctor Who Listens More and Debates Less,” by NYT’s Anjali Huynh: “New to the public eye, Dr. Ramaswamy, 34, holds many titles: Yale-educated surgeon, cancer researcher and professor, mother of two. … Dr. Ramaswamy has balanced weekdays making hospital rounds with weekends on the trail, adapting to an everywhere-all-the-time campaign … Dr. Ramaswamy is a warm and patient listener, leaning in, looking for common ground, and always smiling.” 9. IRA IMPACT: “In Biden’s Climate Law, a Boon for Green Energy, and Wall Street,” by NYT’s Jim Tankersley and Lauren Hirsch: “The 2022 climate law has accelerated investments in clean-energy projects across the United States. It has also delivered financial windfalls for big banks, lawyers, insurance companies and start-up financial firms by creating an expansive new market in green tax credits.”
| | | | GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Dean Phillips apologized to Kamala Harris, though he also said Democrats were spreading misinformation about his comments. Jamaal Bowman won’t be investigated by House Ethics for the fire alarm incident. Elon Musk’s Thanksgiving present to us: Headlines are coming back for links on X. Stuart Seldowitz was arrested after viral videos showed the former Obama NSC staffer making Islamophobic comments. Joe Biden will go to the memorial service for Rosalynn Carter, who spent her last moments with Jimmy. Ryan Binkley made the Florida presidential primary ballot in a surprise. IN MEMORIAM — “Jerry Doolittle, who wrote White House jokes and murder mysteries, dies at 90,” by WaPo’s Brian Murphy: “A former Post journalist, Mr. Doolittle left the diplomatic corps after helping disclose details of the U.S. bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War.” TRANSITIONS — Austin Bone has been named government affairs director at Vulcan Materials Co. He previously was government affairs senior director for the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association. … Ted Sorrell is now government affairs representative for Adams Outdoor Advertising. He most recently was chief of staff for Virginia state Del. Jeion Ward. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer … Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) (7-0), Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.) … NYT’s Carolyn Ryan … DOJ’s Sheria Clarke … former Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) … former Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) … Amy Schatz of Glen Echo Group … GEG Strategies’ Rick Gorka … Matt Dennis … Katie Wall of True Anomaly … Suzanne Kianpour … AFP’s Bill Riggs … Geoff Mackler … Jeremy Slevin of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) office … Colby Nelson … Richard Hunt of the HuntGroupDC … POLITICO’s Phelim Kine, Ally Moore and Ryan Niblock … Robin Roberts … Mary Rutherford Jennings … Danny Cevallos … Sheara Braun … former Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle … Alan Rosenberg of RG Group … Geoff Morrell … Charlie Goodyear … Adam Belmar … Zack Laven of Fulcrum Public Affairs … Elizabeth Taylor 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, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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