| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | |  Attorney Todd Blanche shouted that Michael Cohen had committed outright perjury on the stand in the Donald Trump trial. | Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP Photo | As closing arguments unfolded in Manhattan today, DONALD TRUMP’s lawyers mounted a forceful and wide-ranging defense of the former president against criminal charges related to alleged business fraud and hush money payoffs, zeroing in on MICHAEL COHEN’s credibility. He’s the “MVP of liars” and the “GLOAT: Greatest Liar of All Time,” attorney TODD BLANCHE said — and shouted that Cohen had committed outright perjury on the stand in this trial. “It. Was. A. Lie.” (We would have gone with “Cohen lies; the case dies.”) Over multiple hours, Blanche tried to demolish the prosecution’s arguments along several axes.
- He maintained that Trump’s payments to Cohen were reimbursements for valid legal work.
- He took aim at the idea of a conspiracy to influence the 2016 campaign by arguing that the alleged falsification of records happened after Election Day — and said there was no evidence of Trump’s involvement.
- He sought to cast doubt on the veracity of a recording in which Trump purportedly talks about burying the KAREN McDOUGAL story.
- He argued that the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape was not actually a crisis from which the Trump campaign was scrambling to recover. (Come on.)
- And he said STORMY DANIELS was just trying to extort Trump.
Insta-analysis: “Mr. Blanche’s argument was sometimes perplexing,” write NYT’s Jonah Bromwich and Ben Protess. “He sometimes called extra attention to elements of the prosecution’s case and repeatedly emphasized Mr. Cohen’s position as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer even as he was impugning his character. Timing update: Prosecutors are kicking off their closing arguments shortly. They’re expected to go for four hours or more, but Justice JUAN MERCHAN indicated that jurors will stay late to try to wrap arguments all up by the end of the day. Live updates from our colleagues in NYC If Trump gets convicted, don’t be so sure that he’ll avoid time behind bars, Betsy Woodruff Swan reports in a striking new story. Of course, that would only play into the “outlaw image” that he’s increasingly cultivated during the trial, as NYT’s Maggie Haberman and Bromwich capture. The counterprogramming: The JOE BIDEN campaign — which, like the White House, has mostly been loath to touch the Trump trial so far — made a splashy break from the norm today in staging a press conference outside the courtroom. ROBERT DE NIRO and former Capitol Police Officers HARRY DUNN and MICHAEL FANONE blasted Trump as a perilous threat to American democracy. De Niro warned that Trump would try to become a “dictator for life.” It was a “notable escalation for the Biden team,” Elena Schneider writes, and perhaps a sign that they know Trump has suffered little political penalty from the trial. Dunn and other Jan. 6 cops will campaign across the country for Biden, per CNN’s Kayla Tausche. The other Trump trial: Drawing Judge AILEEN CANNON for his classified documents criminal case continues to prove a stroke of luck for Trump. She denied special counsel JACK SMITH’s request for a gag order against Trump, saying prosecutors hadn’t sufficiently conferred with the defense on the matter. More from Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney A tough precedent for Trump: An appeals court panel, including two Trump appointees, ruled today that D.C. is not an inherently unfair trial venue/jury pool for Jan. 6 defendants just because the city’s residents are mostly liberal, per Kyle and Josh. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com. BAD GOOD NEWS — Trump announced he’s backing JOHN McGUIRE’s primary challenge to Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.), the Freedom Caucus chair who’s under fire for helping depose KEVIN McCARTHY as speaker and endorsing Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS over Trump. Good has recently tried to get back in Trump’s good graces, but it proved too little too late. Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) will campaign for McGuire, per Punchbowl’s Mica Soellner. SCOTUS WATCH — The Supreme Court said it will take up San Francisco’s challenge to an EPA pollution rule under the Clean Water Act. Much to Justice NEIL GORSUCH’s consternation, it did not take up a challenge to six-person juries in Florida. More from Amy Howe MIDDLE EAST LATEST — “U.S. aid deliveries to Gaza by sea suspended after damage to temporary pier,” by NBC’s Raf Sanchez and Courtney Kube … “Israeli tanks hit evacuation zone west of Rafah,” by Reuters’ Nidal Al-Mughrabi
| | | | A message from PhRMA: The 340B drug pricing program is supposed to help vulnerable patients access medicines at qualifying hospitals and clinics. It’s meant to be a safety net for those who really need it. So why is the 340B program padding profits for large hospitals, PBMs and chain pharmacies? Let’s fix 340B so it can help the patients that need it most. Let’s fix 340B. | | | | | 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Whether to pay for extending Donald Trump's tax cuts is becoming a big question for Republicans. | Julia Nikhinson-Pool/Getty Images | 1. PROMISES, PROMISES: It’s not just oil executives: Trump has repeatedly urged megadonors to make huge contributions to his campaign as he dangles the prospect of favorable policy changes, WaPo’s Josh Dawsey reports. His eye-popping lede features Trump recounting the story of telling a donor that he needed to bump up from $1 million to $25 million, and arguing that wealthy Republicans need to pony up to preserve their Trump-era tax cuts. “By frequently tying the fundraising requests within seconds of promises of tax cuts, oil project infrastructure approvals and other favorable policies and asking for sums more than his campaign and the GOP can legally accept from an individual, Trump is also testing the boundaries of federal campaign finance laws,” Dawsey writes. As the Supreme Court has raised the bar for public corruption prosecutions much higher in recent years, and the FEC is gridlocked, there would likely have to be a specific/explicit quid pro quo for Trump’s actions to be deemed illegal or lead to official scrutiny. But they could provide political grist for Biden to paint him as rather swampy. Speaking of those tax cuts … Whether to pay for extending them is becoming a big question for Republicans, especially if they control Washington when the cuts expire next year, WSJ’s Richard Rubin writes. They would cost the U.S. $4 trillion over a decade, and conversations are starting to heat up about potential pay-fors, which could pit deficit hawks against those who believe tax cuts pay for themselves. 2. THE NEW VOTING RESTRICTIONS: “Voter outreach groups targeted by new laws in several GOP-led states are struggling to do their work,” by AP’s Ayanna Alexander: “Florida is one of several states, including Kansas, Missouri and Texas, where Republicans have enacted voting restrictions since 2021 that created or enhanced criminal penalties and fines for those who assist voters. The laws have forced some voter outreach groups to cease operations, while others have greatly altered or reduced their activities.” 3. HOUSE OF CARDS: One of the economy’s most stubborn inflation drivers — high rents and home prices pinching Americans — could become a crucial decision point in the election, WaPo’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports from Las Vegas. Though Biden’s policy plans to tackle the prices are more detailed than Trump’s, he’s clearly suffering a political penalty for being the incumbent as the situation gets worse: In Clark County, for instance, rent is up 30 percent from right before the pandemic, mainly due to insufficient supply. Black people are hit disproportionately hard. And some frustrated voters are thinking about sitting November out. To wit: New data shows that home prices across the country hit an all-time high in March, per CNN’s Bryan Mena. 4. DEEP DIVE: “The Untold Story of the Network That Took Down Roe v. Wade,” by Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer in the NYT Magazine, adapted from their new book, “The Fall of Roe”: “The story of how an elite strike force of Christian lawyers, activists and politicians methodically and secretly led the country down a path that defied the will of a majority of Americans, who wanted abortion to remain legal, has been hidden until now. The ultimate aim of this behind-the-scenes conservative coalition, which powered one of the most significant political resurgences the United States has ever seen, went far beyond questions of when — and if — a pregnancy can be legally ended. “For them, the fall of Roe was not an end but a beginning in their effort to make all abortion illegal and, in effect, roll back the sexual revolution. It was not only a political battle but a spiritual mission, rooted in their Christian faith and their belief that they were fighting for the highest moral stakes of the modern age.”
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | 5. THE VP PROSPECT DEMOCRATS FEAR: Some Latino Democrats are worried that picking Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) as his running mate could give Trump a significant leg up with Hispanic voters, Adrian Carrasquillo reports in Vanity Fair. The “bilingual, bicultural MAGA minister” with establishment GOP credentials “could upend the dynamics of the election” — if he can just get around that pesky residency requirement to join Trump’s ticket. One source says Rubio is pondering whether to move out of Florida. And at a time when Biden is struggling mightily with Hispanic voters, Democrats worry Rubio “could saturate Univision’s and Telemundo’s airwaves” with the same kind of misinformation he’s been spreading lately. 6. THE DECIDERS: “Eyeing Trump, but on the Fence: How Tuned-Out Voters Could Decide 2024,” by NYT’s Katie Glueck and Nick Corasaniti: “They are fueling Mr. Trump’s current polling leads but in many cases hail from traditionally Democratic communities, giving Mr. Biden a chance to win some of them back — if he can get their attention. … But reaching them is a problem. Campaigns up and down the ballot are operating in an ever-more-fragmented media landscape where misinformation thrives — spread especially by Mr. Trump and his allies — and basic facts are often ignored, disputed or filtered through a partisan lens.” 7. KNOWING JOE NEGUSE: The Colorado congressman is widely seen as a rising Democratic star, who’s already joined the ranks of party leadership in the House, NBC’s Scott Wong and Rebecca Kaplan report in a new profile. As assistant leader currently, he has been “taking the job in a new and more visible direction.” He’d likely be assistant speaker if Dems retake the chamber, and colleagues call him a savvy leader and “talented orator.” But it’s not clear where Neguse can go from here: try to make a play for a higher spot in leadership, or perhaps decamp for a gubernatorial or Senate run? 8. CLIMATE MOVES: The White House today laid out a new initiative to step up modernization of the electric grid, a crucial step in making sure the U.S. has enough capacity to cement the green energy transition, per CNN’s Ella Nilsen. The Biden administration will work with nearly half the states to speed up the building and upgrading of transmission lines, offering technical help, federal funding and political pressure for state legislatures to act. The Biden administration also rolled out new guidelines to make sure that carbon credits being sold are legit, per The Hill’s Rachel Frazin. 9. IMMIGRATION FILES: “Biden administration tries to plug border loophole that released migrant linked to terrorism into the U.S.,” by NBC’s Julia Ainsley: “The Biden administration is giving immigration judges and asylum officers more access to classified information to help them determine which migrants might have ties to terrorism or pose a threat to public safety.”
| | | | LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Melinda French Gates is spending $1 billion on women and families, including abortion rights efforts in the U.S. Rasmussen landed four Pinocchios for spreading misinformation about Dominion. Vivek Ramaswamy wants major layoffs and more conservatives at BuzzFeed. MEDIA MOVE — Bryn McCarthy is joining NewsNation’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert” as senior booking producer. She most recently was booking producer for Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier.” TRANSITION — Ladan Ahmadi is joining Elevance Health as government relations director. She most recently has been VP of government relations and public affairs at Tiger Hill Partners, and is a Third Way alum. ENGAGED — Charalampos “Harry” Andreades, an advanced nuclear energy consultant at Booz Allen currently working for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, proposed to Elise Sidamon-Eristoff, a senior consultant working for federal clients at Ernst & Young, on Friday at their home in Logan Circle. They met on Bumble and had their first date at Bluestone Lane. Pic … Another pic — Timothy Patterson, senior specialist for external affairs at Philip Morris International, proposed to Sallie Collamore, senior specialist for business development at Latham & Watkins, on Saturday in Easton, Maryland. They met on a blind date. Pic 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 Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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