| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  The Alto Lee Adams Sr. United States Courthouse where U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is overseeing hearings in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | | Good morning from Fort Pierce and welcome to Wednesday. Had everything gone as scheduled, Donald Trump would be more than one month into a trial in Florida over classified documents he took to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency. Instead, yesterday wrapped up a three-day marathon of hearings dealing with arcane legal arguments not related to the substance of the charges against him. Neither Trump nor his co-defendants were present, nor were they required to be. Most reporters opted to sit in the spillover room to watch the deliberations on a TV screen rather than try to battle it out for a seat in the courtroom. No one showed up to protest. The trial was initially supposed to kick off May 20, but has been indefinitely postponed as Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon continues to hold hearings on numerous motions. In recent days, the defense tried to have the case thrown out or evidence suppressed, while the prosecution aimed to change the term’s of Trump’s bail by having Cannon consider a gag order so Trump’s social media posts don’t risk inflaming threats or violence toward law enforcement involved in the Mar-a-Lago raid. During these hearings, Trump is not on trial and instead Cannon is making most of the headlines for fiery clashes she has with prosecutors or issuing decisions many legal experts find puzzling. What this all means is that the details of the classified documents case — one some legal experts consider to be far more serious than the hush-money case in Manhattan that resulted in the former president being found guilty — are unlikely to spill into public view before the 2024 election. Trump is heading into his first debate of the 2024 campaign against President Joe Biden on Thursday night, with a clearer schedule that isn’t keeping him tied up in court anymore. Most of the coverage around his campaign has been about ginning up curiosity regarding who he’ll pick as his running mate. Should the topic of the classified documents investigation come up in the debate, Biden won’t be able to draw on new material about Trump’s conduct that would have been front and center in the public psyche if the trial were going on right now. Trump has also argued that the case is politically motivated and he’s no different from Biden, who also improperly kept classified documents after his vice presidency, though a special counsel didn’t recommend charges and Biden, unlike Trump, is not accused of trying to thwart the investigation against him. Not all aspects of the legal run-ins have been bad for Trump (though the criminal conviction does appear to have affected his polling with independents). Throughout the New York trial, the former president paraded political loyalists with him into the courtroom — culminating in a welcoming reception on Capitol Hill. By the end of it all, it was the guilty conviction in the hush money trial that resulted in a $140 million donation windfall for the campaign, obliterating Biden’s cash advantage. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com
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Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. | Getty Images | TO DO LIST — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ final verdict on the 2024 session will unfold in the next few days — and he’s left a handful of the most contentious bills of this year for the closing act. DeSantis has until July 2 to act on the 18 bills left on his desk. Lawmakers passed more than 300 pieces of legislation during the session that ended back in early March. DeSantis on Tuesday evening signed two more bills into law and vetoed legislation that would have made sure that someone remains eligible for in-state tuition rates even if they are serving a sentence in federal or state prison. The vetoed bill (SB 62) sailed through the Legislature with only a handful of no votes. But in his veto letter DeSantis said that “we should not reward criminal activity by providing inmates with the same benefits as law-abiding citizens.” DeSantis has now vetoed 8 bills in 2024, which marks the second highest number of vetoes he has given out during his five years as governor. He vetoed a total of 11 bills in 2022. There’s a chance that DeSantis could come close to hitting that number this year. There has been a veto push to nix a bill dealing with vacation rentals (SB 280) and another one (SB 770) that attempts to make changes to a loan program that helps homeowners make improvements to their property. A third bill (HB 1347) that drew strong opposition from some Republican senators increases the interest rates that can be charged on short-term loans. — Gary Fineout FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Shein, the controversial fast fashion retailer founded in China, has hit a snag in its efforts to get into the Florida Retail Federation. Company officials were hoping and expecting for their application to be considered at a board meeting of the association last week, but they didn’t even get a discussion on the application’s merits, let alone a vote to get in, according to a retail industry source familiar with the matter. For the last half year, Shein, now headquartered in Singapore, has been trying to get into the country’s largest state retail association to increase its presence in Florida’s capitol and to look out for its public policy interests. Even though Chinese retail behemoth Alibaba is a member of the National Retail Federation, the NRF also has repeatedly rejected Shein’s membership application amid concerns about the company’s origins and an effort by China hawks to persuade trade associations not to let in Chinese-linked companies. Spokespeople for Shein and the Florida association declined to comment. — Daniel Lippman OUSTED — “DeSantis suspends Hialeah councilwoman following multimillion-dollar fraud charges,” reports the Miami Herald’s Verónica Egui Brito. “Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Hialeah Councilwoman Angelica Pacheco from office on Tuesday, days after she was indicted on healthcare fraud charges. Seven months and 12 days after she was sworn in as a councilwoman in Hialeah following four runs to win a council seat, Pacheco was removed from office after she was accused of falsely billing private insurers millions of dollars for medically unnecessary services at her addiction treatment center.” DATA POINTS — “After a flurry of executions during his presidential campaign, DeSantis now pauses,” by John Kennedy of USA Today Network — Florida. “When Gov. Ron DeSantis was seeking the Republican presidential nomination last year, he ratcheted up the pace of executions, overseeing six – the most in Florida in almost a decade. But by the time DeSantis’ presidential bid ended in January, his fervor for executions had abated, continuing into a layoff that is now prompting questions about just what powered last year’s surge.” SNOWBALLING PROBLEM — “‘Waiting to get pulled over’: In Florida, driver’s license suspensions keep people in a spiral of debt, recidivism,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Shira Moolten. “In a state that relies on driving, license suspensions keep people out of work, unable to get to doctor’s appointments or drop their kids off at school. Some say the system is necessary to keep dangerous drivers off of the streets. But license suspensions rarely have to do with a person’s driving ability. Instead, courts overwhelmingly issue them as punishments for failure to pay fines, meaning a traffic ticket can quickly turn into a criminal record, jail time and thousands of dollars down the drain.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | SCHOOLHOUSE RULES — “Another Florida university tweaks its rules for student protests,” reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. “University of Central Florida on Tuesday became the latest state school to tighten its rules surrounding campus protests on the heels of pro-Palestinian demonstrations earlier this year. UCF trustees approved several tweaks to university regulations for campus events, such as formally banning camping on school grounds and adding new time constraints for ‘expressive activities’ like assemblies, exercises of free speech, protests and parades. Florida State University just last week adopted a similar slate of restrictions for how and when students are allowed to demonstrate, as state officials continue to take a hard line on protests that disrupt campus.” LOW CAPACITY — “Florida districts are closing under-used schools. Pinellas and Pasco aren’t. Why?” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Jeffrey S. Solochek. “The two Pinellas high schools within three miles of each other — Gibbs and Boca Ciega — [are] half full while St. Petersburg High, also within three miles, hovers around 98 percent capacity. Few in the community would entertain closing the ‘cultural institution’ that a high school represents to its neighborhoods, superintendent Kevin Hendrick said. Conversation over whether to close Pasco’s rural Lacoochee Elementary, also half full and shrinking, ran into a wall six years ago and has not returned to the school board, which considers the idea harmful to the community the school serves.” — “Hope, then heartbreak, as first ‘spinning’ sawfish dies in Tampa Bay,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Max Chesnes.
|  President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference on the day after Venezuelans voted in the referendum about the border conflict with neighboring country Guyana about the potential oil-rich Esequibo region on December 4, 2023 in Caracas, Venezuela. | Gaby Oraa/Getty Images | JULY 28 ELECTION — “How Venezuela’s leader could stay in power, no matter what voters want,” by The New York Times’ Julie Turkewitz and Anatoly Kurmanaev. “Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, faces a watershed moment that will determine the fate of his rule and the course of his troubled country … [Maduro is] a skilled political operator who for years has overcome his unpopularity by tilting the ballot box in his favor. He could use the same tactics to eke out another victory. Yet, there is a wild card: He could also lose, negotiate a peaceful exit and hand over power. Few Venezuelans expect him to do that. Instead, political analysts, election experts, opposition figures and four former senior officials in Mr. Maduro’s government interviewed by The New York Times believe, based on his past record, that he is probably mulling multiple options to retain power.” — “Florida woman charged in Cuban migrant smuggling trip that ended with 16 drowning deaths,” reports the Miami Herald’s Jay Weaver.
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
HELP WANTED — The Republican organization dedicated to down ballot and legislative races is calling on supporters to help it raise $38 million as a part of an overall plan to keep state legislatures from flipping from Republican to Democrat and to hold onto existing supermajorities.
The memo put together by the Republican State Leadership Committee points out that Democrats only need to flip five legislative chambers to regain a majority in the country. The RSLC says “the greatest long-term threat to our party is undoubtedly the possibility that Democrats this year could regain control of the majority of our nation’s state legislative chambers for the first time since 2010.” The memo doesn’t go into a lot of details on individual states, but asks donors for help — including defending current supermajorities in states such as Florida. — Gary Fineout FLORIDA VOTERS AGAINST EXTREMISM — “Multiple Catholic dioceses donate to anti-abortion committee,” reports Robert Haughn of Florida Politics. “From June 1 to June 14, the anti-Amendment 4 committee raised $107,560. A significant portion of that came from multiple Catholic dioceses.” FAMILY FEUD — “Florida candidate Joe Saunders is suing to get his aunt, ‘Moe Saunders,’ off the ballot,” reports the Miami Herald’s Aaron Leibowitz. “Florida House candidate Joe Saunders is suing his estranged aunt to try to prevent her from running against him under the name ‘Moe Saunders’ calling it ‘a deliberate attempt to deceive, mislead and confuse voters.’ Earlier this month, Maureen Saunders Scott filed to run as a no-party candidate against her nephew Joe, a Democrat and former state representative, for a Florida House seat that covers Miami Beach and other coastal cities. Scott later said she would be running under the nickname Moe Saunders, raising alarm bells among Democrats who saw it as an attempt to confuse voters and thwart efforts to unseat the controversial Republican incumbent, Fabian Basabe.”
| | DATELINE D.C. | | PROBE CONTINUES — “Ethics Committee expands inquiry into Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick,” by Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The U.S. House Ethics Committee said Tuesday it is expanding its investigation into U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. It’s unknown just what the committee is looking at. The announcement suggested it could involve a range of questions involving official business or the Democratic lawmaker’s reelection campaign.” SOUVENIR FROM EL SALVADOR? — “Matt Gaetz introduces bill to allow Bitcoin payments on federal income tax,” by Daniel Chaitin of the Daily Wire. “The legislation, if enacted, would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with language ordering the Treasury secretary to develop a plan for accepting the popular decentralized digital currency.”
| | | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | | DEBATE NIGHT — The Trump campaign is hosting a roundtable with Black business leaders on Thursday afternoon ahead of the debate in Atlanta. Among the participants will be Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). VEEPSTAKES — “Trump's VP announcement could come as early as this week,” reports NBC News. “Former President Donald Trump could announce his vice presidential pick as early as this week, possibly ahead of Thursday's debate, according to four people familiar with the situation … NBC News reported Friday that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio were still high on the list of potential VP picks.”
| | TRANSITION TIME | | DESANTIS ALLY HEADS TO BALLARD — Scott Wagner, a long-time friend and associate of Gov. Ron DeSantis, is joining Ballard Partners as a partner in the firm’s Tallahassee and Miami offices. Wagner is an attorney based in South Florida who helped lead Never Back Down, the super PAC that aided DeSantis’ presidential campaign. Wagner also worked as co-chair of DeSantis’ 2022 transition team and was appointed by the governor to the board of the South Florida Water Management District. "Scott's deep knowledge of Florida's legal and political landscape, combined with his passion for public service, will be invaluable to our clients,” said Brian Ballard, president and founder of Ballard Partners. “He is a respected leader in Florida, and we are confident that he will make significant contributions to our firm." — Gary Fineout
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | PARTY TIME — “Panthers to host Stanley Cup victory parade in Fort Lauderdale this weekend,” via CBS News Miami. “The Cats will host their Championship Celebration on Sunday at 11 a.m. starting with a parade along A1A. It will kick off on Riomar Street and end just north of Fort Lauderdale Beach Park at SE 5th Street, just across from Hotel Maren, where there will be a formal victory rally.” BIRTHDAYS: Florida first lady Casey DeSantis … state Rep. Dianne Hart … state Rep. Mike Beltran … state Rep. Lawrence McClure … Tami Fillyaw with Amazon Web Services … Jessica Palombo, editorial director at WJCT … former Rep. Pete Peterson … Lydia Claire Brooks with the Florida Justice Association. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
