From: The Washington Post <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: The Daily 202: Marianne Williamson wants to remember the ladies in Afghanistan Sent: Tue. 20 Aug 2019 14:37:22 +0000 If you're having trouble reading this, click here. Share: InListen to The Big Idea Marianne Williamson wants to remember the ladies in Afghanistan Women attend a rally for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's reelection campaign in Kabul on Aug. 5. He is seeking a second term on promises of ending the 18-year war, but he's been largely sidelined over the past year as the United States negotiated directly with the Taliban. (Rafiq Maqbool/AP) BY JAMES HOHMANN with Mariana Alfaro THE BIG IDEA: In 1776, Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her husband as the colonists prepared to declare independence. "And. by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make. I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors," the future first lady pleaded to John Adams. "Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember. all men would be tyrants if they could." Imagine how much greater a country we might be today if the Founding Fathers had heeded her call to "remember the ladies" EFTA00046763

from the get-go. Their failure to do so was one of America's original sins. Instead, women would not be guaranteed the right to vote for another 143 years. Things have improved significantly, but the pay gap and sexual assault remain endemic. Marianne Williamson is alarmed that the mistakes made at the dawn of our republic will be repeated in Afghanistan as the United States negotiates a troop drawdown with the Taliban. While her fellow Democratic presidential candidates tout their desire to end America's longest war as soon as possible, the author and self-help guru has emphasized more than any of her rivals the need to use the leverage that comes with a large troop presence to extract enforceable security guarantees for women and girls. She says a gentleman's agreement is not good enough. The 67-year-old said during an interview yesterday afternoon that she's been concerned about the subjugation of Afghan women since long before the U.S. invasion in the wake of 9/11. "This has been a feminist issue since before 2001," Williamson told me as she drove from Sioux City, Iowa, to Des Moines. "One positive thing that's come from us being there has been the lessening of brutality towards women and the rights of women that came into full expression as a result of liberation." Schoolgirls study near their temporary homes on the outskirts of Kabul. Attacks on schools in Afghanistan tripled in 2018, according to the United Nation's children's agency. (Rahmat Gut/AP) Williamson expresses visceral concern that conditions for women will revert to the way they were during the last time the Taliban dominated if President Trump agrees to a bad deal. Women were not allowed to attend school before. Today, about 3.5 million are enrolled in primary and secondary schools. Women were routinely flogged for not wearing full-body burgas or if they went outside without a EFTA00046764

male chaperone. Today, women can vote. In fact, they constitute a larger share of the parliament in Afghanistan than of the Senate in the United States. Williamson said she's been closely tracking coverage of the ongoing negotiations, and she finds it "very disturbing" that safeguarding the gains made by women over the past 18 years has not been a top priority. "I know some people seem to think that this new generation of Taliban leadership is somewhat more lenient towards women, but that to me is not enough," she explained. "I want to see that subject front and center as part of America's official negotiating posture." She would not have excluded the Afghanistan government from the bilateral U.S. talks with the Taliban. Williamson said she would consult closely with Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, who is a woman, and speak directly with other female leaders in Kabul's civil society to get their input on what a workable deal might look like. "If we're going to talk about moving forward in a new direction, then we have to start now," she said. "The rights and the protections of the women of Afghanistan in current negotiations with the Taliban is a perfect example. We must not wait and do these kinds of things later." Marianne Williamson delivers a campaign speech. (Alex Welsh for The Washington Post) To be sure, Williamson is still a dove at heart. On Monday, for example, she unveiled a detailed plan to create a Department of Peace. But while her odds of winning the nomination certainly remain slim to none, the first-time candidate is devoting a ton of time on the trail to talking about a profoundly important issue that, frankly, seems like an afterthought for the top-tier candidates. It's always a crowd-pleaser when the various candidates promise to "end the endless wars." Trump does it at his rallies, as well. But the degree to which Williamson emphasizes that a pullout must be done in a EFTA00046765

thoughtful manner is striking. For folks who know only the reductionist caricature of her that they've seen during the first two debates, it's also surprising. Williamson chastises her fellow Democrats for leaning on talking points when it comes to matters of war and peace. "'Bring them home' is a slogan. It's how we bring them home and under what conditions do we bring them home," she told me. "I wouldn't be running if I thought that everything that needed to be said was already being said about this and so many other things. ... "Large groups of desperate people should be seen as a national security risk," she continued. "Large groups of desperate people are more vulnerable to ideological capture by genuinely psychotic forces. Until we have a fundamental break with the thinking and the behavioral patterns of the past, all we're doing is removing a symptom that will almost inevitably morph into another one down the road." Women listen to a speech during the closing ceremony of the Afghan government's loya jirga, which translates to grand assembly, in Kabul this spring. (Jawad Jalali/EPA-EFE) Giving women seats at the table would be a central aim of Williamson's foreign policy doctrine. "Over and above the fact that we're half the human race, and violence against women is as egregious a human rights violation as could possibly exist on the planet, there is no serious path forward for peace on Earth that does not include much greater attention given to the rights and the protection of women," she said. "There are four factors which, when present, statistically raise the probability of peace and decrease the probability of conflict. Number one is an expansion of economic opportunities for women. Number two is the reduction of violence against women. Number three is the expansion of educational opportunities for children. And number four is the amelioration of unnecessary human suffering." EFTA00046766

Williamson said that the voters she's been talking with seem to appreciate her nuanced views vis-a-vis Afghanistan. She said she doesn't discuss the country because she thinks it will garner support but because she thinks the issue is critically important. "It is my experience that the American people are so much smarter than the conventional political establishment seems to think," she said. "I don't think the role of leadership is to wait to be told what you should talk about. I think the role of leadership is to say what needs to be said." Subscribe on Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod and other podcast players. Welcome to the Daily 202, PowerPost's morning briefing for decision-makers. Sign up to receive the newsletter. What Trump has said about expanding gun background checks THE DOMESTIC AGENDA: -- Lucy and the football, cont.: The inside story of how Trump caved to the National Rifle Association yet again on taking meaningful action to curb gun violence. Josh Dawsey and David Nakamura report: "Since the shootings, NRA officials have repeatedly told the president and senior White House officials that universal background checks won't do much to prevent mass shootings, according to people familiar with the private conversations. NRA officials also have lobbied Vice President Pence's office and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, as well as governors and EFTA00046767

lawmakers who face potentially difficult reelection races in 2020. ... White House aides and NRA officials have pointed out to Trump that many of the states he needs to win next year have a strong contingency of NRA members who would be frustrated if Trump made any drastic moves on gun control. ... "Trump's campaign commissioned a poll on guns after this month's shootings, and his political advisers warned him that there is little support for significant action among Republican voters, and even some Democrats, people familiar with the conversations said. 'He is going to be very careful,' said one person close to the president ... 'He isn't inclined to do much right now.' ... "Some Republicans noted that Trump has shown no inclination to lead an effort on any legislation opposed by the GOP base. Last year, he floated support for offering a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants in exchange for billions in funding for a border wall but quickly backed off in the face of a conservative backlash. In February 2017, a week after taking office, Trump rolled back Obama-era regulations aimed at making it more difficult for mentally ill people to buy firearms. [He did so at the behest of the NRA.] "Behind the scenes, Trump's communication with key lawmakers, including Sen. Joe Manchin III, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia who has sought to develop bipartisan gun-control measures, has gone mostly cold, according to Capitol Hill aides. ... [Mitch] McConnell has rebuffed calls to bring the Senate back to Washington to deal with the issue, and his advisers acknowledged that he is unlikely to act without Trump's leadership. McConnell has told advisers that he would push legislation only if the president were fully on board." -- Meanwhile, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) co-sponsored the Democratic EFTA00046768

bill to ban assault weapons. "They are weapons of mass slaughter," he told the New York Daily News. "I don't see any need for them in everyday society." King said he hopes other House Republicans follow him, but he's not optimistic. -- A group of states is preparing to move forward with a joint antitrust investigation of big technology companies. From the Wall Street Journal: "The effort involving state attorneys general is expected to be formally launched as soon as next month. It is likely to focus on whether a handful of dominant technology platforms use their marketplace powers to stifle competition. As part of the probe, the states are likely to issue civil investigative demands, similar to subpoenas, to tech companies and other businesses. The new investigation could dovetail with plans by the Justice Department, which last month announced its own antitrust review that will focus on tech companies including Alphabet Inc.'s Google unit and Facebook Inc. ... The political makeup of the multistate group isn't set. A bipartisan probe could give the investigation broader leverage and help insulate GOP officials from questions over whether their actions are motivated by political concerns, such as how online platforms treat conservative speech." -- Planned Parenthood officially pulled out of a federal family planning program rather than abide by a new Trump administration "gag rule" prohibiting clinics from referring women for abortions. From the AP: "Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood's acting president and CEO, said the organization's nationwide network of health centers would remain open and strive to make up for the loss of federal money. But she predicted that many low-income women who rely on Planned Parenthood services would 'delay or go without' care. 'We will not be bullied into withholding abortion information from our patients,' said McGill Johnson. 'Our patients deserve to make their own health care decisions, not to be forced to have Donald Trump or Mike Pence make those decisions for them.' ... Planned Parenthood was not the EFTA00046769

only organization dropping out. Maine Family Planning, which is unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood, also released its letter of withdrawal Monday. The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, an umbrella group for family planning clinics, is suing to overturn the regulations." Conway: The fundamentals of our economy are very strong' -- The White House is eyeing a temporary payroll tax cut as a way to reverse the economic slowdown. Damian Paletta reports: "The talks are still in their early stages and have included a range of other tax breaks. The officials also have not decided whether to formally push Congress to approve any of these measures ... But the White House increasingly is discussing ideas to boost a slowing economy ... Even though deliberations about the payroll tax cut were held Monday, the White House released a statement disputing that the idea was actively under 'consideration.' ... Workers pay payroll taxes on income up to $132,900, so cutting the tax has remained a popular idea for many lawmakers, especially Democrats seeking to deliver savings for middle- income earners and not the wealthiest Americans. "But payroll tax cuts can also add dramatically to the deficit and — depending on how they are designed — pull billions of dollars away from Social Security. The payroll tax cuts during the Obama administration reduced taxes by more than $100 billion each year, but the administration directed revenue to Social Security programs so those initiatives did not lose money. The cuts added to the deficit, however. If Washington implemented a similarly sized reduction, the tax cut could equate to a bigger tax break for many families than the 2017 tax law." (Economics correspondent Heather Long prepared 15 charts to compare the Trump economy to the Obama economy.) EFTA00046770

-- Nearly 3 out of 4 economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics predict a recession in the United States by 2021. Jonnelle Marte reports: "The outlook reflects growing skepticism among economists and investors that the U.S. economy will be able to withstand a protracted trade war with China without serious harm amid a weakening global outlook. ... The survey of 226 economists was conducted from July 14 to Aug. 1, before Trump announced the latest round of tariffs against China and before the last bout of market volatility. The report reinforced the pessimism seen earlier this year, illustrating that for many economists the question is not so much whether the U.S. economy will enter a recession but when. Some economists delayed the timeline for when they expect a slowdown to start. The share of economists expecting a recession this year dropped to 2 percent from 10 percent in February. In addition, 34 percent now expect a recession in 2021, up from 25 percent in February. Still, about 4 out of 10 economists expect a slowdown in 2020, roughly unchanged from the previous report." -- Trump called on the Fed to cut interest rates by at least 100 basis points while attempting to play down the risk of a recession. He also pinned the blame for a potential economic downturn on the central bank and its chairman, Jerome Powell. Felicia Sonmez and Damian Paletta report: "The Fed funds rate, which Trump is trying to tell central bankers to cut, is currently set at 2.25 percent. Slashing it 100 basis points would lower this rate to 1.25 percent, giving them very little additional wiggle room to maneuver if a full-fledged recession began. ... Fed officials have said they do not make decisions based on political pressure, but Trump has taken his attacks on the central bank to new extremes, particularly this month amid numerous signs that the U.S. economy is weakening more than expected. ... Trump's Twitter posts on Monday marked a new wrinkle in his push for the Fed to cut interest rates. In the past, he has said such a move is necessary to help the EFTA00046771

U.S. economy. But on Monday, he said it would be necessary to help the world economy. Other central banks, however, have already begun cutting interest rates, and it's unclear why Trump believes that specific actions by the Fed would be enough to lift countries such as Germany out of a downturn." -- Trump's industrial policy takes a hit: U.S. Steel plans to lay off hundreds of workers in Michigan. From Reuters: "In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed on Aug. 5, the Pittsburgh- based company said it expects to let go fewer than 200 workers following its decision to halt production at the Michigan facility. In mid- June, the company said it would idle two blast furnaces at its Great lakes and Gary Works plants, citing lower steel prices and softening demand. U.S. Steel said the lay-offs at the Michigan plant could last beyond six months. They will impact nearly every area of the facility, from blast furnace to finishing operations, a company spokeswoman told Reuters." -- Another sign of an economic slowdown: RV shipments are slipping. Elkahrt, Ind., the capital of the country's recreational-vehicle industry, is often watched by economists and investors for early indications of waning consumer demand for luxury items — an early sign of economic anxiety. (Wall Street Journal) -- But resilient U.S. earnings buck recession fears, per the Financial Times: "Earnings season in the US has gone better than analysts anticipated. Despite early forecasts for dismal second-quarter results, earnings for S&P 500 constituents are down just 0.4 per cent as of Monday." -- Global stocks paused this morning as investors took a wait-and- see approach to trade developments and the Fed's next moves, per the Wall Street Journal: "The Stoxx Europe 600 ticked up 0.1%, with rises in its health-care constituents mostly offset by losses in its basic- EFTA00046772

resources sector. ... Shares in the world's largest miner, BHP Group, dropped 1% after Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said the trade dispute between the world's two largest economies had clouded the company's outlook. In Asia, major indexes were mostly positive or flat, though Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.2% as recent political protests put pressure on the city's government to enter talks. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.6% and the Korean Kospi jumped more than 1%. ... Investors will pay close attention to the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting on Wednesday, as well as any statements from Chairman Jerome Powell ahead of the economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., starting on Friday. The U.S. dollar was unchanged on Tuesday, holding on to its recent gains." -- The bigger threat: Climate change could cost the U.S. economy up to 10.5 percent of its GDP by 2100, according to a new study published yesterday. Andrew Freedman reports: "At a time when there's concern about a global economic downturn, the new study, published as a working paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research, warns of a far bigger cut to economic growth if global warming goes unchecked. ... The study found that continued temperature increases of about 0.072 degrees per year (0.04 Celsius) under a roughly `business as usual,' or high-emissions, scenario would yield a 7.2 percent cut to GDP per capita worldwide by 2100. (This is relative to a world in which countries see temperature increases equal to their 1960 to 2014 rate of change.) In contrast, if countries were to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement, then such effects could be limited to closer to a 1.1 percent loss in GDP per capita." -- The White House has mounted an effort to prevent any more automakers from joining a pact with California to oppose the president's auto emissions rollbacks. From the Times: "Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors were all summoned by a senior Trump EFTA00046773

adviser to a White House meeting last month where he pressed them to stand by the president's own initiative, according to four people familiar with the talks. But even as the White House was working to do this, it was losing ground. Yet another company, Mercedes-Benz, is now preparing to join the California agreement, according to two people familiar with the German company's plans. Mr. Trump, described by three people as 'enraged' by California's deal, has also demanded that his staffers step up the pace to complete his plan. His proposal, however, is directly at odds with the wishes of many automakers, which fear that the aggressive rollbacks will spark a legal battle between California and the federal government that could split the United States car market in two." Garner family reacts to NYPD firing of the officer whose chokehold led to Eric Garner's death -- The New York Police Department fired the officer who was caught on video with his arm around the neck of 43-year-old Eric Garner just before he died five years ago. Devlin Barrett reports: "NYPD Commissioner James P. O'Neill announced the decision Monday, weeks after a departmental disciplinary judge recommended the officer, Daniel Pantaleo, be terminated. Pantaleo's union said they would try to overturn the decision. 'In this case the unintended consequence of Mr. Garner's death must have a consequence of its own,' said O'Neill. 'It is clear that Daniel Pantaleo can no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer.' O'Neill called the decision `extremely difficult,' acknowledging that the move probably would anger rank-and-file officers. 'If I was still a cop, I'd probably be mad at me,' he said." EFTA00046774

-- Attorney General Bill Barr has replaced the head of the Bureau of Prisons in the wake of Jeffrey Epstein's death in federal custody. Devlin Barrett reports: "Hugh J. Hurwitz, the agency's acting head, will be replaced by Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, who served as Bureau of Prisons director from 1992 to 2003. Barr also appointed Thomas R. Kane to serve as her deputy, a position currently vacant. ... Even before Epstein's death, Justice Department officials privately expressed frustration with senior officials at the Bureau of Prisons, but the apparent management flaws found since have angered the department's leaders, including the attorney general. ... The Justice Department sent additional Bureau of Prisons personnel from across the country to buttress the workforce [at the Manhattan correctional center], and a suicide reconstruction team was sent to the facility to determine exactly how Epstein died." -- Epstein signed his will just two days before his suicide, leaving behind a nearly $600 million fortune, according to court documents obtained by the New York Post: "The court document, filed in the US Virgin Islands, where the convicted sex molester owned two isles ... was filed Aug. 8. The 66-year-old former hedge-fund manager was worth $577,672,654, or about $18 million more than he previously stated in court papers while futilely trying to land bail on federal sex-trafficking charges, the new documents show. He put all of his holdings in a trust, called The 1953 Trust, after the year he was born. ... Epstein's will was filed with court officials in St. Thomas. One of the two Brooklyn lawyers listed as witnessing its signing is Mariel A. Colon Miro — an attorney for drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. Miro was once accused of flouting court rules by passing a phone to Chapo's wife so the spouse could communicate with her imprisoned husband. Miro has denied the claim. II -- Two members of the far-right Proud Boys were convicted of assault for fighting with members of a leftist group in New York EFTA00046775

last year. Eli Rosenberg reports: "A jury found Maxwell Hare, 27, of Harrisburg, Pa., and John Kinsman, 39, of Morristown, N.J., guilty of attempted gang assault, three charges of attempted assault and rioting. Hare and Kinsman were among 10 members of the Proud Boys charged after the October street fight. All but three of them pleaded guilty to various charges; one faces trial later." Warren apologizes for Native American claims MORE ON 2020: -- While raising money from some of the nation's richest people in the Hamptons, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) distanced herself from the Medicare-for-all plan that she co-sponsored with Bernie Sanders. From the Daily Beast: "I think almost every member of the United States Senate who's running for president, and many others, have signed on to a variety of plans in the Senate. And I have done the same,' Harris said, according to remarks provided by her campaign. 'All of them are good ideas, which is why I support them. And I support Medicare-for-all. But as you may have noticed, over the course of the many months, I've not been comfortable with Bernie's plan.' ... That the senator now has reservations about the legislation was not, her campaign argued, a matter of political convenience but, rather, the end product of having worked on the issue more." -- Harris, who emphasized to the Hamptons crowd that she believes in capitalism, also held finance events on Martha's Vineyard. She wasn't the only candidate trying to curry favor with moneyed elites. From Bloomberg News: "Harris's event on Sunday night went head to head with one at musician Jon Bon Jovi's house for Cory Booker. Pete Buttigieg will be in the Hamptons over Labor Day weekend. Joe Biden, who'll be in the Hamptons next weekend, has EFTA00046776

already hit up Cape Cod, Aspen and Sun Valley, Idaho. In the woods of Water Mill, at the home of public-relations executive Michael Kempner, Aretha Franklin and Alicia Keys songs played in the background as former Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards, Centerview Partners' Blair Effron and Citigroup's Ray McGuire waited to hear Harris's pitch while would-be donors grazed on mini pizza." -- Sanders fired back: -- But Harris is not the only Democrat backing off her support from Medicare-for-all. Chelsea Janes and Michael Scherer report: "In recent months, amid polling that shows concern among voters about ending private insurance, several of the Democratic hopefuls have shifted their positions or their tone, moderating full-throated endorsement of Medicare-for-all and adopting ideas for allowing private insurance in some form. ... Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, who in 2017 embraced Medicare-for-all as the `best way,' now similarly supports a plan that would preserve the current employer-based insurance system. ... Five of the seven U.S. senators in the race have co-sponsored the Medicare-for-all bill drafted by [Sanders]. But they have begun to shade their messages, suggesting that the bill represents a long- term vision rather than an immediate plan. Many of the candidates are now focusing on steps they say would push the country closer to universal health care without a major disruption, such as creating a 'public option' that would let people join Medicare without making it mandatory. Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), for example, co-sponsored the Sanders bill and emphasizes that he still supports it, but he describes himself as a 'pragmatist' who would focus on `the immediate things we would do,' which do not include eliminating private health insurance." -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren opened her remarks at a Native American presidential forum with a more straightforward version of the EFTA00046777

apology she has offered in the past for identifying as a Native American for two decades while she was a law professor. "I want to say this, like anyone who's been honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes," Warren (D-Mass.) said. "I am sorry for harm that I have caused. I have listened, and I have learned a lot, and I am grateful for the many conversations that we've had together." "Warren used her appearance Monday to try to pivot toward policy — she recently released a lengthy proposal about how she would try to help close health, income and wealth disparities in Native American communities," Annie Linskey and Holly Bailey report. "The bulk of her appearance focused on parts of that plan, which would provide tribal leaders with far more influence than they now have over federal policy that affects their land. She was introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), one of the first two Native American women to be elected to Congress and a lawmaker who has worked with Warren on part of her proposal. Haaland called it the 'boldest' plan yet to 'address the promises that have been broken and the need in our communities.- -- After a series of racist incidents that have shaken the state, liberals in New Hampshire are grappling with reparations and racial justice. Julie Zauzmer reports: "That's a major shift from the past, says Gibson's Bookstore owner Michael Herrmann. Herrmann's quaint shop in Concord has served as a pit stop for politicos for years. ... [Buttigieg, Harris, Booker, Beto O'Rourke and Julian Castro] have stopped by in the past few months. And white voters have asked them about their stance on reparations. When candidates visited in 2016, reparations never came up, Herrmann said. Now, it's part of the conversation. `It's taken seriously in a way it wasn't just four years ago,' he said. ... JerriAnne Boggis, the executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, said she has seen an uptick in interest from white residents who want to learn about race. Her organization convenes lea talks' on subjects like disenfranchisement or the role of religion in EFTA00046778

racism. A few years ago, an average talk drew 40 attendees. Recently, 300 people showed up to hear 'Black Girl in Maine' blogger Shay Stewart-Bouley." -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) would not say if she would oppose a political comeback by former senator Al Franken, whose resignation she demanded amid allegations of sexual misconduct. She did say, however, that she believes there is "always room for redemption." Bob Costa reports: "And should her campaign fail to win the Democratic nomination, Gillibrand said she'd be willing to serve as the party's vice-presidential nominee. 'Of course,' she said. 'I will do public service in all its forms.- -- Former housing and urban development secretary Julian Castro became the first 2020 candidate to introduce a comprehensive and detailed animal welfare plan. From HuffPost: "Castro's plan calls for $40 million in federal funding for a 'Local Animal Communities Grant Program,' which would help defray the costs of vaccinating, spaying and neutering animals. The money would also go toward programs that promote animal adoption. The plan also says that new affordable housing units will be pet-friendly. As part of his campaign, Castro has laid out a housing plan that would create 3 million new affordable housing units over 10 years. Castro also says he will work with homeless shelters that receive federal support to `ensure pets belonging to homeless individuals seeking refuge are not prohibited entry.- -- Castro qualified for the September Democratic debates after getting 2 percent in a CNN poll. -- Hotel assignments for the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee next summer could stretch as far as Chicago's O'Hare airport. From the Journal Sentinel: "Many of the delegates will be housed in hotel clusters in downtown Milwaukee, near Mitchell International Airport and in Brookfield, convention organizers have said. EFTA00046779

The hotels around O'Hare come into play because of their size and ability to handle large group bookings. Organizers have noted that drive times to Milwaukee are expected to be shorter in duration than trips to conventions in Philadelphia in 2016 and Charlotte, N.C., in 2012. Convention organizers are responsible for setting up a shuttle bus system to get delegates to and from Fisery Forum." -- Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director, says he was wrong about Trump all along in an op-ed for today's newspaper: "This isn't a Road to Damascus moment; my concerns have been building publicly for a while. And I'm not seeking absolution. I just want to be part of the solution. The negatives of Trump's demagoguery now clearly outweigh the positives of his leadership, and it is imperative that Americans unite to prevent him from serving another four years in office. When I decided to support Trump's candidacy and later to work in his administration, it wasn't because I agreed with all of his policies or liked every aspect of his personality. "My public praise of the man was over the top at times, but my private estimation of him was more measured," the Mooch asserts. "I thought Trump, despite his warts, could bring a pragmatic, entrepreneurial approach to the Oval Office. ... I naively thought that, by joining the administration, I could counteract the far-right voices in the room. I thought wrong. And, yes, many of you told me so. ... As we lie on the bed of nails Trump has made, it's often difficult to see how much the paradigm of acceptable conduct has shifted. For the Republican Party, it's now a question of whether we want to start cleaning up the mess or continue papering over the cracks." -- Trump's base probably will not be enough to carry him in the 2020 election. From the Atlantic's Ron Brownstein: "The latest such evidence comes in a new study released today by Navigator Research, a consortium of Democratic research and advocacy groups. The report EFTA00046780

... examines a group that many analysts in both parties believe could prove to be the key bloc of 2020 swing voters: Americans who say they approve of Trump's management of the economy but still disapprove of his overall performance as president. And it shows Trump facing significant headwinds among that potentially critical group, partly because of the divisive language and behavior he's taken to new heights, or lows, since last weekend— tweeting about the congresswomen and encouraging his supporters to attack them as well. ... In Navigator's polling, the economy emerges clearly as Trump's greatest advantage. ... For now, these conflicted voters give the president a crushing 55 percentage-point edge over congressional Democrats when asked which side they trust more to handle the issue ... But on every other front, Trump faces headwinds. In the surveys, these voters prefer congressional Democrats over Trump to handle taxes (by nine points), immigration (by 10 points), and health care (by 34 points)." Tlaib: Netanyahu took 'page out of Trump's book' -- Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) blasted Israel for blocking their visit. Rachael Bade reports: "Speaking to reporters at the Minnesota state house in St. Paul, Omar called into question the millions of dollars in U.S. aid given to Israel each year and encouraged other lawmakers to visit in their stead to see first-hand the humanitarian conditions of Palestinians on the ground, a top goal of their upended trip. ... Tlaib, speaking at times through tears, took a more personal approach, expressing remorse about not being able to visit her grandmother who lives in the West Bank. After Israel blocked their official visit, Tlaib (D-Mich.), a Palestinian American, made an appeal to Israel officials to allow her to visit her relatives. Israeli officials agreed, but would have required her to sign a promise restricting her EFTA00046781

speech and her movement. Tlaib ultimately declined to go. `My grandmother said ... I'm her bird. She said I'm her dream manifested,' Tlaib said, her voice growing angry as she started to cry. `I'm her free bird, so why would I come back and be caged and bow down when my election rose her head up high, gave her dignity for the first time?- -- Months before blocking the congresswomen's entry into Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter opposing both Democrats to Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). Adam Taylor reports: "The letter reveals that Netanyahu had long identified Tlaib and Omar — fierce critics of Israeli policy on Palestinians — as a problem for his government. At the heart of his opposition was the idea that they support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Netanyahu's letter shows how the BDS movement and its growing support could become a wedge between the Israeli government and Democrats." -- In June, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) clashed with her left flank after she and other moderates voted to approve $4.6 billion in emergency aid for migrants at the border. She learned sometimes your biggest foes are in your own party. Jenna Portnoy reports: '"That week showed me that for some people, ideology matters more than putting food in the mouth of a child,' she said. `And that was stunning to me.' In the eight months that Spanberger has served in Congress, she has been a lawmaker in the middle. ... As she steers through the political divisions within her swing district, Spanberger is also trying to navigate conflicts inside her own party. ... Spanberger and other moderates thought an alternative bill had little chance of getting through the Senate. ... The humanitarian aid package was just the sort of hard-fought accomplishment that made it worth it to leave a good- paying job at an education company and upend a stable suburban family life, Spanberger said ... Then she read the torrent of insults EFTA00046782

directed at lawmakers like her." -- Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, became the highest-ranking House Democrat to endorse impeachment proceedings against Trump. He likely did this to boost himself in a competitive primary for Senate in his home state. (Politico) -- Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who appears vulnerable to a primary challenge, said the media and GOP leaders owe him an apology after he said that humanity might not exist if it weren't for rape and incest. Felicia Sonmez reports: "He took aim at the Des Moines Register, which broke the news of King's remarks, as well as the Associated Press, which also reported on them. ... The Des Moines Register did correct another quote it ran on King's remarks. But the part about rape and incest was reported accurately." Pouring rain soaks massive Hong Kong protest THE NEW WORLD ORDER: -- Twitter and Facebook said they took action against China for using hundreds of fake accounts to sow discord in Hong Kong. Marie C. Baca and Tony Romm report: This marks "the first time the social media giants had identified Beijing directly for spearheading such an operation. Twitter said it was suspending nearly a thousand Chinese accounts and banning advertising from state-owned media companies, citing a `significant state-backed information operation' related to protests in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Facebook said it was removing five Facebook accounts, seven pages and three groups after being tipped off to the use of 'a number of deceptive tactics, including the use of fake accounts.' ... Facebook said that the pages it removed had about 15,500 accounts following one or more, while 2,200 accounts joined at EFTA00046783

least one of the groups. The company said its investigation had found `links to individuals associated with the Chinese government.' Though Facebook is not considering a ban on advertising from state-sponsored media, the company said it is working on additional transparency measures." -- Hong Kong's leader said she will try to have a dialogue with protesters who want her gone, but didn't offer any specifics. From the AP: "Chief Executive Carrie Lam also said the city's police watchdog will carry out a fact-finding study of the protests and related incidents as it looks into 174 complaints about police behavior. The movement held a massive but peaceful rally on Sunday after earlier protests had been marked by violence. The government has conditioned dialogue on the leaderless protest movement remaining peaceful. Lam didn't say that the communication platform will be used to specifically contact protesters. It will be used for `open and direct' dialogue with people from all walks of life, she told reporters, while giving few specifics on how it would work. ... Lam's comments fell short of the protesters' five demands, which include her resignation and an independent inquiry into what they say was police brutality." -- Flexing its muscle, a rising China is investing heavily in Central Europe. But there are lots of strings attached, and some countries are already coming to regret the relationship. Michael Birnbaum reports: "Czech President Milos Zeman has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping eight times — an unusual amount of face time for the leader of 10 million people. Zeman has welcomed Chinese investment and tried to position his country as China's portal to Europe. He even appointed a Chinese business tycoon, Ye Jianming, as an economic adviser. ... The relationship has hit some serious bumps." -- A British consular official was detained by Chinese authorities while returning from a trip to China, the British government said. EFTA00046784

Gerry Shih reports: "Simon Cheng, a 28-year-old trade and investment officer at the consulate, planned to attend a technology conference in the border city of Shenzhen on Aug. 8 and return to Hong Kong the same day by high-speed train, his girlfriend told Hong Kong news website HK01.com. ... Cheng's disappearance threatens to further strain China's already tense relations with the West. Beijing, locked in an increasingly bitter trade dispute with the United States, has accused Washington and London of fomenting protests that have convulsed Hong Kong, a former British colony." -- Democracy in retreat: Turkey suspended three of its mayors over allegations that they're linked to Kurdish militants. Kareem Fahim reports: "The suspension came five months after the mayors won landslide victories in local polls. Opposition parties criticized the move as anti-democratic, saying it was the latest evidence that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is intent on marginalizing pro- Kurdish voices. The mayors — of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van provinces — are members of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, a pro-Kurdish party. Between them, they won nearly a million votes in local elections held in March — easily defeating candidates from Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. Erdogan has frequently accused the HDP of links to the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish government." -- India loosened its clampdown on Kashmir, but the region's leaders remain detained. Joanna Slater and Niha Masih report: "Residents of Srinagar, the Kashmiri capital, confirmed that the authorities had reconnected some landlines, although many were still unreachable. Mobile connections and Internet access remained severed, and hundreds of local politicians were being held incommunicado. Most schools remained closed. ... It is not clear how long the clampdown will last. ... A top local bureaucrat had pledged EFTA00046785

Friday that within days, life in Jammu and Kashmir, as the region is officially known, 'would become completely normal.' But there was little sign of that Monday." -- "A young Indian couple married for love. Then the bride's father hired assassins," Slater reports: "Pranay Perumalla strode into the wedding hall in a midnight blue suit, his face lit by a grin as he clasped the hand of his bride, Amrutha Varshini. ... One bright afternoon less than a month later, the couple left a doctor's appointment in the small southern Indian city where they grew up. A man came up behind them carrying a large butcher knife in his right hand. He hacked Pranay twice on the head and neck, killing him instantly. Pranay, 23, was a Dalit, a term used to describe those formerly known as 'untouchables.' Amrutha, 21, belongs to an upper caste. Her rich and powerful family viewed the couple's union as an unacceptable humiliation. Her father, T. Maruthi Rao, was so enraged that he hired killers to murder his son-in-law, court documents say." -- A woman in El Salvador who was charged in the death of her stillborn baby was acquitted by a judge, a ruling that advocates say is a win in a country with one of the world's most severe abortion bans. Michael Brice-Saddler reports: "A judge's decision to acquit 21-year-old Evelyn Hernandez marks the culmination of a tragic saga that began when she was raped at the age of 18, her lawyers said. Those close to Hernandez say she didn't know she was nearly 34 weeks pregnant in 2016, when she walked into a latrine and delivered a stillborn child. Her mother found her, bleeding and unconscious, before rushing her to a hospital. Paula Avila Guillen, director of Latin America Initiatives at the Women's Equality Center, said a doctor concluded that Hernandez's condition was a result of an "incomplete abortion." Police discovered her fetus in the latrine and charged Hernandez with aggravated homicide. In 2017, she was handed a 30-year prison EFTA00046786

sentence." -- The U.S. warned Greece against hosting the Iranian tanker that was released by Gibraltar a few days ago. From the Wall Street Journal: The United States said "those who facilitate the vessel, which is carrying oil deemed illicit, would face immigration and potential criminal consequences. `We have conveyed our strong position to the Greek government on the matter, as well as all ports in the Mediterranean that should be forewarned about facilitating this vessel,' the State Department said. The Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously called the Grace 1, was moving eastward toward Kalamata, Greece, and is expected to arrive there on Monday, according to shipping tracker MarineTraffic. The tanker left Gibraltar's waters late Sunday after the territory's Justice Ministry rejected a warrant from the U.S. Justice Department seeking its seizure for alleged violations of American sanctions. Gibraltar officials said the territory follows the European Union's laws, not the U.S.'s." -- Australian Cardinal George Pell, the highest Vatican official jailed for child abuse in the Catholic Church's 2,000-year history, appealed his guilty verdict. A. Odysseus Patrick reports: "Pell will appear before three judges of the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday morning in Australia, and learn if he has been able to overturn a conviction for sexually assaulting two choir boys. Justices Anne Ferguson, Chris Maxwell and Mark Weinberg could uphold the conviction, order a retrial, or dismiss some or all of the charges and allow the 78 year-old to walk out of the court building in downtown Melbourne a free man. ... Lawyers said it was impossible to predict if the cardinal's appeal would succeed." SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ: Trump coopted this Greenland meme: EFTA00046787

Hillary Clinton hit back at Trump, who shared a misleading study about the results of the 2016 election: In Minnesota last night, Elizabeth Warren drew what appears to be the biggest crowd of her whole campaign: Meanwhile, another presidential candidate from Warren's home state got carded in Iowa. He just cannot catch a break: Kamala Harris's husband shared a picture from the beach, where they snuck in some time after a fundraiser: Mayor Pete Buttigieg is leading in a very Hamptons-specific poll: A number of Sinclair Broadcast Group stations ran and promoted stories on their websites about new Trump campaign merchandise: After the leaders of the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed Trump's reelection, one of its members (a former chair of the New Hampshire GOP) stepped down in protest: EFTA00046788

The president once again lashed out against one of his former aides: Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary since journalist James Foley was murdered by ISIS in Syria: QUOTE OF THE DAY: "So yes, you know, your candidate might be better on, I don't know, health care than Joe is, but you've got to look at who's going to win this election, and maybe you have to swallow a little bit and say, 'Okay, I personally like so and so better,' but your bottom line has to be that we have to beat Trump," said Jill Biden, the wife of Joe Biden, during a campaign event in New Hampshire. "You may like another candidate better, but you have to look at who's going to win. And Joe is that person." (NBC News) VIDEOS OF THE DAY: Joe Biden is going on the air with his first ad in Iowa: The White House shared a video of workers, speaking Spanish, putting up portions of the border fence: In a widely circulated speech, former congressman Beto O'Rourke spoke to Arkansan voters about the ubiquitous presence of racism in EFTA00046789

America's history: Hasan Minhaj investigated why America's public transit systems aren't the best: And Trevor Noah explored the concept of "Donsplaining": You received this email because you signed up for The Daily 202 or because it is included in your subscription. Manage my email newsletters and alerts Unsubscribe from The Daily 202 Privacy Policy I Help @2019 The Washington Post I 1301 K St NW. Washington DC 20071 EFTA00046790

The Daily 202: HopeHicks's FBI interviews underscore Trump's impulse to stonewall and hold back damaging info From The Washington Post To Charisma Edge, The Washington Post Date 2019/12/03 11:25 Subject: The Daily 202: 1-lopeHicks's FBI interviews underscore Trump's impulse to stonewall and hold back damaging info Attachments: TEXT.htm, Mitne.822 If you're having trouble reading this click here. The Daily 202 Share: Listen to The Big Idea Hope Hicks's FBI interviews underscore Trump's impulse to stonewall and hold back damaging info President Trump kisses Hope Hicks goodbye on her last day as White House communications director on March 29, 2018. (Andrew Harnik/AP) BY JAMES HOHMANN with Mariana Alfaro THE BIG IDEA: What emails about Ukraine does President Trump think, or hope, will never get out? During two interviews with FBI agents and members of Bob Mueller's team last year, former White House communications director Hope Hicks recounted the president's reaction to the discovery of damning Page 17280 EFTA00046791

emails about the meeting his son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort took with a Russian emissary at Trump Tower in June 2016. "Throughout Hicks' conversations with Trump, it was clear to her that Trump did not think the emails would get out," according to the FBI's summary of her first interview, which was released on Monday night in response to an open-records lawsuit. "Hicks' impression was Trump meant the emails would not get out to the press, but he did not say that explicitly." Hicks said she thought the messages would come out eventually and warned Trump that they would become "a massive" story." She wanted "Junior" — as the FBI summaries refer to the president's eldest son — to give an interview to a friendly media outlet, where he could take "softball questions," to minimize the fallout. "The President said they should not do anything, asked why so many people had the emails, and said they needed to let the lawyers deal with it," Hicks recalled to the FBI. There are no fresh bombshells in these new summaries. The juiciest material appeared in Mueller's 448-page report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. But the memos about Hicks's FBI sit-downs, which both occurred in March 2018, offer a revealing window into how Trump tries to control bad news. Trump's unwillingness to rip off the Band-Aid and get out in front of bad facts has resulted in a drip, drip, drip of revelations that have clouded most of his tenure in office. -- Hicks's comments are newly relevant against the backdrop of the impeachment inquiry. The White House's categorical refusal to Page 17281 EFTA00046792

comply with subpoenas for documents, from phone records to emails, has made it harder for investigators to corroborate sworn testimony from witnesses about the alleged campaign to coerce Ukraine's new president to announce an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden in exchange for a White House meeting and nearly $400 million in military aid that had already been approved by Congress. A confidential White House review of Trump's decision to freeze the aid has turned up hundreds of documents that reveal extensive efforts to generate an after-the-fact justification for the decision and a debate over whether the delay was legal, three of my colleagues reported last week. But none of those emails have been turned over to investigators. Trump appointees at the departments of State, Energy and Defense have also defied subpoenas and refused to produce documents that get at the heart of the impeachment inquiry. They have justified doing so by making absolutist claims of presidential privilege that have led to protracted litigation in the courts. The White House is refusing to participate at all in the House Judiciary Committee's first impeachment hearing on Wednesday. For her part, Ivanka Trump repeatedly conducted official government business on her personal email account throughout much of 2017, sending hundreds of emails in potential violation of federal recordkeeping rules. The White House adviser did so after her father made Hillary Clinton's private email use as secretary of state a centerpiece of his stump speech, egging on crowds as they chanted "Lock her up." The House Oversight Committee has unsuccessfully sought to subpoena Ivanka Trump's emails. Page 17282 EFTA00046793

Hope Hicks testifies during a closed-door hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on June 19. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) -- House Democrats are also quietly debating whether they should expand articles of impeachment to include charges stemming from the Mueller report, including the episode Hicks discussed with the FBI. "Members of the House Judiciary Committee and other more liberal-minded lawmakers and congressional aides have been privately discussing the possibility of drafting articles that include obstruction of justice or other 'high crimes' they believe are clearly outlined in [the Mueller report] — or allegations that Trump has used his office to benefit his bottom line," Rachael Bade reports. "The idea, however, is running into resistance from some moderate Democrats wary of impeachment blowback in their GOP-leaning districts, as well as Democratic leaders who sought to keep impeachment narrowly focused on allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals ... The debate is expected to play out in leadership and caucus meetings this week." When the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Hicks to appear for a closed-door interview this June about the possible instances of obstruction of justice outlined in the Mueller report, the former White House communications director refused to answer any question related to her interactions with Trump after Election Day in 2016. Citing a directive from White House lawyers, Hicks declined to answer 155 different questions from lawmakers, according to a transcript. BuzzFeed News and CNN filed lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act to force the release of these FBI notes, known as "302 reports," that were created as part of the two-year Mueller probe. The 295-page tranche that went out last night is quite Page 17283 EFTA00046794

repetitive, and the interviews are still mostly whited out. The media outlets pledged to challenge the heavy redactions as part of the ongoing litigation to obtain records. Hicks left the White House last year and now works at the Fox Corporation in Los Angeles as a public relations executive. During another closed-door deposition in February 2018, while she was still employed by the White House, Hicks acknowledged that she occasionally told "white lies" for Trump. Hicks was advised at the beginning of both her interviews that it is a crime to lie to the FBI in the course of an investigation, which she acknowledged. -- Hicks told the FBI agents that "Trump was angry, surprised, and frustrated" when Mueller was appointed as special counsel in May 2017. "The only other time she had seen Trump like that was when the Access Hollywood tape came out during the campaign," according to the FBI notes. "Trump thought the fact that the intelligence community assessed the Russians had interfered in the 2016 election was his Achilles heel," she added, according to the summary. "Even if it had no impact on the election, Trump thought that was what people would think. He thought the assessment took away from what he did." CONTENT FROM PARTNERSHIP FOR AMERICA'S HEALTH CARE FUTURE Stop one-size-fits-all new government insurance systems Independent analysts estimate the cost of some one-size-fits-all health care proposals could more than double income taxes for every American family. We can't afford a new government insurance system. Page 17284 EFTA00046795

Hope Hicks confers with Trump in the Oval Office on June 16, 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) -- Hicks was treated like family during her time as a member of the Trump inner circle. The president referred to her affectionately as "Hopey." He called her more often than his chief of staff at the time. The onetime fashion model from Greenwich, Conn., whose dad was a top executive at the NFL, was tight with the president's kids, who she had gotten to know during her work for the Trump Organization before the presidential campaign. That's how she ended up in the White House residence on the morning of June 22, 2017, with only Trump, Kushner and Ivanka Trump. "Kushner had a manila folder with documents with him and said to the President that they had found one thing that the President should know about, but it was not a big deal," according to Hicks' account. "Kushner told Trump that he, Don Jr. and Paul Manafort had attended a meeting during the campaign. When he started to open the folder, Hicks said, the president stopped him and said he did not want to know about it." Hicks believed Kushner's folder included emails about the June 2016 meeting. The next week, on June 28, Kushner asked Hicks and his spokesman Josh Raffel to go to the offices of someone whose name has been redacted (perhaps a lawyer) to review documents. "Hicks was shocked by the emails concerning the meeting she and Raffel reviewed," the FBI write-up says. "She thought Page 17285 EFTA00046796

they looked really bad." The next day, on June 29, Hicks joined Kushner, Ivanka Trump and the president in his personal dining room to discuss about the emails. "Hicks' initial reaction was that they should get in front of the emails," according to the FBI summary. "Kushner responded that it wasn't a big deal, just a meeting about Russian adoption. Kushner reminded the president that he had previously mentioned a meeting, and the President said he did not want to know about it." When Hicks said the story was going to become "massive," the FBI summary says, "the President did not want to talk about it and did not want details." Trump then asked Kushner when his document production was due. Kushner told him it would be a couple of weeks. "Then leave it alone," Trump told Kushner, according to Hicks. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump board Air Force One in October. (Andrew Harnik/AP) Fast forward a week to July 7. Kushner and Ivanka Trump came to Hicks's hotel room in Germany to confer about how to respond to a story the New York Times was working on about the Trump Tower meeting. The next day, while they were all at the G-20 summit, Hicks alerted Trump about what the Times was chasing. The president told her not to comment. Hicks and Trump talked again later that day. "The President asked what the meeting was about. Hicks told him Kushner and Junior had told her the meeting was about Russian adoption," according to the FBI summary. "The President said words to the effect of, 'Then just say Page 17286 EFTA00046797

that,' and dictated what she should say." When they got to Air Force One for the flight back, one of Junior's representatives texted Hicks the statement that the president's son wanted to provide to the media. "She took that to the President's cabin and read him Junior's statement," according to the FBI summary. "He told her they should not respond. Hicks advocated for providing the full story. The President did not say what was wrong with Junior's statement, but just felt they were giving the media too much. ... After meeting with Trump about Junior's statement, Hicks returned to a seat and started texting with Junior. They worked on the statement for a period and ultimately settled on the statement that went to the press." During that flight back to Washington, Hicks also went to Trump's cabin to tell him that then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus knew about the emails. There are four redacted paragraphs about what happened next. -- A reminder of what was in the emails: British music publicist Rob Goldstone, who Don Jr. knew from the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, emailed the candidate's son to say that he knew a person who wanted "to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father." Goldstone explained: "This is part of Russia and its government's support of Trump" "[I]f it's what you say I love it," Don Jr. replied, "especially later in the summer." Page 17287 EFTA00046798

That's how the Trump Tower meeting got set up. It wasn't adoption. During the transition, Hicks told reporters in a statement that the Trump campaign had "no contact" with "any foreign entity," including the Russians. She told the FBI that she recalled talking about this with fellow advisers Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller, Jason Miller and "probably" Kushner. "Hicks told the group she was planning to respond to the press and there was no hesitation or pushback from any of them," according to the FBI notes. President Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One on Monday. (Andrew Harnik/AP) -- Other takeaways from the FBI notes released last night: 1. Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, told FBI agents in November 2018 that he informed Trump during the campaign that he had spoken with a "woman from the Kremlin" about the plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. "Cohen told Trump he spoke with a woman from the Kremlin who had asked specific and great questions about Trump Tower Moscow, and that he wished Trump Organization had assistants that were that good and competent," according to the FBI summary. "He also said that in his letter to Congress about the development, he initially wrote that he had 'limited contact with Russian officials.' But that line was struck from the letter. Cohen said he did not know who specifically struck it," BuzzFeed notes. "It was the decision of the JDA to take it out," the document says, referring to lawyers from the Joint Defense Aareement who represented the Trump family. Cohen. and Page 17288 EFTA00046799

Kushner, "and Cohen did not push back." Cohen also told the FBI that he spoke with Trump's attorney Jay Sekulow about pardons after his home and office were raided. Sekulow told the AP that Cohen's statements were false. 2. Former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates told the FBI that, if Rudy Giuliani had been the attorney general, some in the president's orbit believed he wouldn't have recused himself, as Jeff Sessions did, from the Russia investigation. "After the recusal, he recalled conversations where people offered their opinion that had Rudy Giuliani been attorney general, he would not have recused himself," according to the FBI summary. "Gates knew Giuliani had been the first choice for attorney general, but turned it down because he wanted to be Secretary of State instead." 3. Former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein told the FBI he was "angry, ashamed, horrified and embarrassed" at how Jim Comey was fired as FBI director. "Rosenstein said he was asked during a White House meeting one day before Comey's firing to produce a memo laying out his concerns with the FBI chief. He said he knew when he left the office that day that Comey would be fired, though he said he did not expect for his memo to be immediately released, and was surprised by the portrayal in the media that the termination was his idea instead of the White House's," the AP reports. "Rosenstein said he expected Comey would be contacted by either Trump or Sessions so a meeting could be scheduled and he could be fired in person. Comey instead learned of his firing from television while speaking with agents in Los Angeles. "At one point during the interview, as Rosenstein was describing how Page 17289 EFTA00046800

Ile nau altilfclyS IIKUU JIM t.Airriey out ClIbi:lyf eeLl WWI Ills UMISICHIS Ill the Clinton case, the deputy attorney general 'paused a moment, appearing to have been overcome by emotion, but quickly recovered and apologized,' according to the FBI." -- The Post just published a six-part digital series to go along with the illustrated Mueller report. This is drawn directly from episodes detailed in the report in which prosecutors found possible evidence of obstruction of justice, as well as congressional testimony and Washington Post reporting. Dialogue is taken from text messages, contemporaneous notes and interviews conducted by Mueller's team and the FBI. The digital project pairs with a graphic nonfiction book being published today by Scribner. -- Crowd-sourcing a Big Idea: I'm planning to write an edition of the Daily 202 later this week on the 10 biggest storylines of the 2010s, based on reader input. If you could sum up this decade in one word or phrase, what would it be? Besides Trump, what do you think was the single most important story or issue of the decade? How will history remember "the teens"? Message me at [email protected], and I'll highlight some of the most thoughtful emails. Thanks to everyone who wrote in yesterday. So many smart answers! Attorney General William Barr listens as Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Nov. 26. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) THE LATEST ON THE INVESTIGATIONS: -- Attorney General Bill Barr has told associates he disagrees with the npnartmpnrc incnprttnr npnpral nn nnp of the Page 17290 EFTA00046801

key findings in an upcoming report about the FBI's Russia investigation. Barr appears to disagree "that the FBI had enough information in July 2016 to justify launching an investigation into members of the Trump campaign," Devlin Barrett and Karoun Demirjian scoop. "The Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, is due to release his long-awaited findings in a week, but behind the scenes at the Justice Department, disagreement has surfaced about one of Horowitz's central conclusions on the origins of the Russia investigation. ... The inspector general report, currently in draft form, is being finalized after input from various witnesses and offices that were scrutinized by the inspector general. Barr or a senior Justice Department official could submit a formal letter as part of that process, which would then be included in the final report." -- The Ukrainian government became aware of Trump's freeze on military aid in July, according to former deputy foreign minister Olena Zerkal. From the Times: "'We had this information,' Ms. Zerkal said in an interview. 'It was definitely mentioned there were some issues.' ... Ms. Zerkal's account is the first public acknowledgment by a Ukrainian official that senior figures in Kyiv knew about the aid freeze during the Trump administration's pressure campaign — and that the Zelensky administration sought to keep that fact from surfacing to avoid getting drawn into the American impeachment debate. She said her own government blocked a trip she had planned to Washington to meet members of Congress in October, worried she would discuss matters related to impeachment and drag its president into an inquiry he has been eager to avoid. 'They worried about this,' she said of Mr. Zelensky's advisers. 'They said, 'This is not the time for you to travel to D.C." The cancellation of her trip was confirmed by Page 17291 EFTA00046802

Iy1 CbSICH -- The Ukraine pressure campaign began as an effort to undermine the Mueller investigation. Rosalind S. Helderman reports: "As 2018 came to a close, the special counsel investigation was bearing down on [Trump.] ... It was in this uncertain moment that [Giuliani] said he had the idea to focus on Ukraine. ... The direct connection between the Mueller investigation and the Ukraine pressure campaign, often lost as the administration has reeled from controversy to controversy, shows the deep imprint the Russia investigation has had on the president. ... Giuliani has repeatedly said the public does not appreciate the extent to which his work in Ukraine was driven by the Mueller investigation, rather than — as Democrats have alleged — as an effort to bolster Trump's 2020 reelection." -- The Senate Intelligence Committee already investigated allegations of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 campaign. From Politico: "Trump's allies have defended his demand for political investigations from Ukraine by claiming that the government in Kyiv tried to sabotage his candidacy ... But the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee thoroughly investigated that theory, according to people with direct knowledge of the inquiry, and found no evidence that Ukraine waged a top-down interference campaign akin to the Kremlin's efforts to help Trump win in 2016. The committee's Republican chairman, Richard Burr of North Carolina, said in October 2017 that the panel would be examining `collusion by either campaign during the 2016 elections.' But an interview that fall with the Democratic consultant at the heart of the accusation that Kyiv meddled, Alexandra Chalupa, was fruitless, a committee source said, and Republicans didn't follow up or request any more witnesses related to the issue." Page 17292 EFTA00046803

-- House Republicans said Trump acted out of "genuine" concern about corruption in Ukraine and wariness about foreign aid in a preemptive rebuttal to Democratic allegations that Trump abused his power. Mike DeBonis reports: "In a 123-page draft report, GOP investigators assert that Democrats failed to make the case that Trump committed impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors ... Nor, the Republicans say, do Democrats have a basis for impeachment in Trump's decision to spurn House document requests and witness subpoenas pertaining to Trump's Ukraine dealings. Instead, the draft GOP report contends, the impeachment effort is 'an orchestrated campaign to upend our political system' ... The Republican report will serve as an initial blueprint for the GOP defense of Trump..." -- House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D- Calif.) said the majority's report will be released publicly today. "We are putting the finishing touches on the report," he told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. The panel is scheduled to vote this evening to approve its public release ahead of tomorrow's Judiciary hearing. -- Federal prosecutors will probably bring more charges against Giuliani's associates Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas. From NPR: "A superseding indictment — which could add to or modify the existing charges - is likely, prosecutors said on Monday, but also adding that they're continuing to evaluate the case. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and FBI investigators are making their way through what prosecutor Douglas Zolkind called a 'voluminous' amount of evidence in the case — around 9 gigabytes' worth. Clearing their way through that material — which includes Page 17293 EFTA00046804

CIMAItil Ill. UeVII...eb, pi Itil IC I CLAJI UJ, Uc11 IN I etAil Lib cll IU 11101 e — WUUIU set the stage for the next steps." -- The IRS whistleblower who raised concerns about political interference in the presidential audit program declined to voluntarily appear for a transcribed interview with the Senate Finance Committee, possibly because he was threatened with retaliation by his superiors. From CNN: "After raising concerns over the summer, the whistleblower met in November with Republican and Democratic staffers on the committee but has declined an invitation to appear for a follow-up [T]he whistleblower declined the transcribed interview after an official informed the whistleblower that it could be considered a violation of IRS code to provide the committee with any information related to an individual taxpayer. Under IRS code 6103, IRS employees can be fired, fined or even jailed for disclosing taxpayer information. It is unclear what next step the committee will take. One option would be to issue a subpoena, but it is not clear that is the route the committee would take." -- Commentary from The Post's opinion page: • Columnist Dana Milbank: "Pat Cipollone is the dog that caught the car." • The Editorial Board: "If Trump has a substantive defense, he should send advisers to testify." • Deputy editorial page editor Ruth Marcus: "Impeachment feels a lot like Kavanaugh 2.0." • Columnist Catherine Rampell: "The more love Always Trumpers show, the more dangerous Trump becomes." Page 17294 EFTA00046805

Subscribe on Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod and other podcast players. Welcome to the Daily 202, PowerPost's morning briefing for decision-makers. Sign up to receive the newsletter. Duncan Hunter leaves federal court after a hearing in San Diego.(Denis Poroy/AP) DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS THAT SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED: -- Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) plans to plead guilty to misusing campaign funds at a hearing set for 1 p.m. Eastern. "I think it's important not to have a public trial for three reasons. And those three reasons are my kids," Hunter said in an interview with San Diego- based TV station KUSI. In July, federal prosecutors alleged that the congressman used campaign donations to finance extramarital affairs -- including trips, dinners and drinks -- with at least five women, including three lobbyists, a woman who worked in his congressional office and another who worked for a member of House leadership. Hunter told the local TV station that he "did make mistakes" but that "not a single dime of taxpayer money is involved in this." He said he will plead guilty to only one of four counts against him as part of the deal. "Whatever my time in custody is, I will take that hit," he said. Page 17295 EFTA00046806

When he was first indicted last summer, Hunter called this a politically motivated witch hunt and said he was looking forward to the trial so he could fully vindicate himself. Initially, Hunter and his wife were charged with using more than $250,000 in campaign funds to pay for personal expenses including family vacations, theater tickets and school tuition. The couple allegedly agreed in electronic communications to claim that some of the expenses were intended to help veterans, even though they weren't. Then, in June, Margaret Hunter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with her husband to spend $25,000 in campaign funds for personal use. As part of the plea deal, she flipped on her husband and agreed to testify against him. Today's plea deal means that the first two members of Congress to endorse Trump for president in 2016 will be convicted criminals. Hunter and Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) came out for Trump in February of that year, about a week before Jeff Sessions became the first senator to endorse Trump. Earlier this year, Collins resigned from Congress and pleaded guilty to insider trading charges. The crime he confessed to occured while he was standing on the White House lawn at a picnic hosted by Trump. These episode underscore just how swampy Trump's Washington has been. Hunter didn't say whether he will resign as part of the plea deal, but that seems like a safe assumption. He's already facing serious primary challenges from former congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and former San Diego city councilman Carl DeMaio, Felicia Sonmez notes. Hunter won the congressional seat after his father, Duncan Hunter Sr., retired from it to run for president in 2008. -- The North Dakota company that Trump urged military officials to hire for border wall construction received a $400 million Page 17296 EFTA00046807

contract to build a span of new barriers across an Arizona wildlife refuge. Nick Miroff and Josh Dawsey report: "North Dakota- based Fisher Sand and Gravel won the contract to build in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Yuma County, Ariz., the Defense Department said, with a target completion date of Dec. 30, 2020. Trump has repeatedly pushed for Fisher to get a wall-building contract, urging officials with the Army Corps of Engineers to pick the firm — only to be told that Fisher's bids did not meet standards. Trump's entreaties on behalf of the company have concerned some officials who are unaccustomed to a president getting personally involved in the intricacies of government contracting. "Trump has been enamored with Tommy Fisher, the company's chief executive, who has made multiple appearances on Fox News to promote his firm and insists that it would do a better job than those the government had already chosen. ... Fisher has worked with some Trump allies — including former Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach and ex-White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon — to build border fencing on private land using private donations. ... Trump has pledged to complete 450 to 500 miles of new border barriers by the end of next year. So far his administration has built about 85 miles of fencing, almost all of it in areas where tall steel bollards are replacing smaller, older structures that were there before he took office." -- A new biography of Melania Trump by CNN's Kate Bennett reveals that the first lady doesn't just live in her own bedroom. She actually lives on a different floor of the White House than the president: "Melania Trump has her own quarters in the White House. ... It is true the first couple doesn't share a bedroom, according to several sources, and the first lady prefers her own large, private space Page 17297 EFTA00046808

in a suite of rooms on a separate floor." Bennett also reveals that the first lady was "beside herself with guilt" after her speech at the Republican National Convention was criticized for including parts from a speech given by Michelle Obama: "Not only did Melania Trump feel badly for her speechwriter, she also felt she had let down her husband on what should have been her most triumphant speaking engagement to date. The truth was, sources conclude, it was Donald Trump that let down Melania Trump. A skeleton staff of political neophytes neglected to read Melania Trump's speech, much less vet it for content." -- According to the new book, the first lady suspects that longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone was behind the release of nude photos from her modeling days during the 2016 campaign. From the Guardian: "Bennett also writes that the first lady 'still refuses to believe' her husband played a role in the release. ... Stone denied Bennett's claim while the White House poured scorn on her book." -- The Supreme Court heard a Second Amendment case for the first time in a decade, but the debate ended up being on whether a case concerning gun restrictions is still worth considering. Robert Barnes reports: "The controversy involves now-rescinded restrictions unique to New York City about whether citizens who have a license to keep a gun in their homes may transport them to firing ranges outside of the city or to a second home in the state. After the Supreme Court took the case to decide whether those restrictions violated the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, the city got rid of them. Then the state of New York passed a law that would keep them from being reenacted. The unstated purpose of both the city and state actions might have been to make the case moot and deny a• Page 17298 EFTA00046809

IJCI VVILIVVJ Vll LI IC LAJUI t d 1,.1IVII WI lell ICI LI ICI V IJ d I iyi IL to carry a gun outside the home. ... The arguments Monday suggested that New York would have had trouble defending the old regulations. But most of the hour-long discourse was consumed with questions about whether the court still has a live controversy before it, a requirement for rendering an opinion. The court denied New York's earlier plea to dismiss the case as moot. It said it would consider the question after argument." -- Barr's Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to let federal executions proceed next week by "setting aside" a district court's injunction that blocks it from carrying out lethal injections as planned. Mark Berman reports: "This request, which came hours after an appeals court blocked a similar application, marked an escalation of the administration's push to restart federal executions after a nearly two-decade hiatus. .... The Justice Department argued in its 38-page filing Monday that the judge's interpretation of the law is 'implausible.' The filing, signed by Noel Francisco, the solicitor general, dismissed what it called a 'flawed injunction against the implementation of lawful executions.' [Barr], in announcing plans to resume executions, had said the department owes it to victims to carry out the sentences, though some relatives of the first inmate facing execution have urged the administration to call off the lethal injection and sentence him to life in prison instead." -- The Senate confirmed Trump's pick to replace Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Several Democrats joined Republicans in approving Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette's promotion, 70- 15. (AP) -- Trump recently gave states the power to ban refugees. But Page 17299 EFTA00046810

deeply conservative and devout Utah wants more of them. Griff Witte reports: "The governor, a Republican who aligns with Trump on most issues, wrote the president a letter in late October. He didn't want to keep refugees out. He didn't want to reduce their numbers. He wanted Trump to send more. 'We empathize deeply with individuals and groups who have been forced from their homes and we love giving them a new home and a new life,' Gov. Gary R. Herbert wrote. Such newcomers, he added, have become 'productive employees and responsible citizens.' They have been an asset to Utah, he said, not a liability. Republicans in the state legislature quickly backed up their governor, daring to defy a president who has repeatedly shown an unwillingness to tolerate intraparty dissent. So did Republican members of the state's congressional delegation. So did Republicans in city halls. Democrats across Utah added their support. 'I have to be honest: I don't have any idea why it's a partisan issue nationally. It's never been one here,' said Brad Wilson, the state's Republican speaker of the House. 'Regardless of political party, we value these people.", -- Ballroom dancers say a clampdown on immigration is hurting business. From the AP: "When no Americans replied to her ads seeking a dance instructor, studio owner Chris Sabourin looked overseas. But she was stymied again by a federal tightening of visa application rules she and others contend is hampering the ballroom dance industry. ... Federal records ... show a slight uptick since 2017 in initial denials of O-1 visa applications from individuals with 'extraordinary ability or achievement' — the visa that many of the foreign dancers seek — as well as for O-1 visa applicants who were given a second chance to meet eligibility requirements. Representatives of the dance industry say they've seen the processing Page 17300 EFTA00046811

times for those nonimmigrant visas, which allow the dancers to work in the U.S. for up to three years, increase from weeks to months, with uncertainty the application will be approved." -- A janitor working for the Border Patrol saved and photographed migrants' belongings that were thrown away by U.S. officials. From the Los Angeles Times: "While working as a janitor at the same facility from 2003 to 2014, photographer Tom Kiefer secretly collected the belongings and later began shooting them. ... The first items to pull Kiefer's attention were 15 to 20 toothbrushes. At the time, he didn't think about photographing them. He just felt compelled to remove them from the trash. 'When I started seeing a rosary, or a Bible, or a wallet, I realized that no one would believe me if I had not collected these items.' It took about six years of collecting — blankets, cellphones, toilet paper, depression medication, shoelaces — before Kiefer began photographing. ... Kiefer estimates he has more than 100,000 items collected and stored in his studio and other spaces around Ajo. The word he uses to describe how he copes with the magnitude of his collection: compartmentalize. ... `Our government is actually taking away a Bible or rosary," he said. "I mean, how twisted is that?" -- The United Auto Workers has bolstered its financial controls in an effort to prevent embezzlement and bribery that was uncovered as part of a federal probe of the union. From the AP: "The moves announced Monday by Secretary-Treasurer Ray Curry come after last month's resignation of President Gary Jones, who has been implicated in the scandal. Several other union officials have been charged or implicated in the probe, which embarrassed the union leadership and angered many of its 400,000 members when it became Page 17301 EFTA00046812

public starting in zoi i. curry says tne retorms will put cnecKs ana balances in place to prevent financial misconduct." -- Former president Jimmy Carter was hospitalized again to treat a urinary tract infection. Michael Brice-Saddler reports: "The Carter Center says 'he is feeling better and looks forward to returning home soon.' The incident comes three weeks after Carter was hospitalized ahead of a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain caused by a subdural hematoma, a collection of blood outside the brain, spurred by his recent falls. He was released from the hospital on Wednesday, in time for Thanksgiving, and there were no complications from the surgery." This is an aerial view of a lake on the Greenland Ice Sheet before, left, and after drainage, right. (Thomas R. Chudley) THE NEW WORLD ORDER: -- Cracks in the Greenland ice sheet are producing massive waterfalls, raising scientists' concerns for sea level rise. Andrew Freedman reports: "A cerulean lake consisting of glacial meltwater on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet, located about 18 miles from where the Store Glacier meets the sea in west Greenland, briefly became one of the world's tallest waterfalls during the course of five hours in July 2018. The waterfall, like many others on the ice sheet's surface, was triggered by cracks in the ice sheet. In the case of this one meltwater lake that scientists closely observed in July 2018, the water cascaded more than 3,200 feet to the underbelly of the glacier, where the ice meets bedrock. There, the water can help lubricate the base of the ice sheet, helping the ice move faster toward the sea. The Page 17302 EFTA00046813

observations of scientists, armed with aerial drones and other high- tech equipment, of the partial lake drainage that resulted could help researchers better understand how surface melting of the ice sheet could affect its melt rate, and improve global sea level rise projections. "Scientists are keenly interested in how meltwater on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet — the largest contributor to global sea level rise — acts to speed up the movement of ice toward the sea by lubricating the underside of the ice surface. The new study, published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that scientists are underestimating the number of melt ponds that partially, and rapidly, drain into the ice sheet each year. This means tweaks may be needed to the computer models used to predict sea level rise from Greenland. This is the first study to show that partial lake drainage can occur through cracks in the ice, rather than overtopping or other mechanisms, which was previously the assumption. This means even more water is reaching the base of the ice sheet than previously thought." -- Trump revved up his global trade war yesterday by not only announcing tariffs on metals from Brazil and Argentina, but also by threatening even harsher penalties on dozens of popular French products. David J. Lynch, Rachel Siegel and Terrence McCoy report: "The administration said the moves were necessary because U.S. trading partners were acting unfairly to disadvantage both the country's traditional economic pillars as well as its best hopes for future prosperity. ... The unexpected announcement upends the Latin American countries' 2018 agreement with Trump to accept quotas on their shipments to the United States instead of the import taxes. ... Later, Robert E. Lighthizer, the president's chief trade • • • Page 17303 EFTA00046814

negotiator, reieasea me results of a nve-montn investigation tnat concluded a French digital services tax discriminated against American Internet companies and should be met with tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion in products such as cheese, yogurt, sparkling wine and makeup. The proposal, which awaits a presidential decision, threatens to intensify simmering transatlantic trade friction ... "Fallout from the president's renewed embrace of tariffs could cloud prospects for future or ongoing talks with countries in Asia and Europe. ... Administration officials worry that the French tax could set a precedent for other countries. Lighthizer said he may open investigations into similar taxes in Austria, Italy and Turkey. ... The president's enthusiasm for tariffs is not shared by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell, who has said they are making executives so uncertain about the outlook that companies are delaying investments and slowing the economy. ... Typically, the United States provides businesses with some warning of tariff changes, delaying their effective date to allow goods in transit to arrive at American ports without being taxed. But the president tweeted that his tariff order was `effective immediately.- -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, hit with the new tariffs, has learned the hard way what so many others have discovered before him: A good personal relationship with Trump has its limits. David Nakamura and Anne Gearan report: "Bolsonaro and his country's diplomats in Washington were blindsided after Trump issued a pair of early morning tweets announcing punishing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports ... For Bolsonaro, a far-right leader who had patterned his campaign after Trump's and aggressively sought to ingratiate himself with the White House, the tariffs represented an Pmha rra cc i nn rpalitv r hprk nn his stratpnv of namhlinn his Page 17304 EFTA00046815

administration's foreign policy largely on good personal chemistry with a president who craves validation — but who views virtually all relationships as transactional and, potentially, disposable." -- This is not the first time that Bolsonaro has gotten burned by Trump. Terrence McCoy reports: "Over and over in recent months, Bolsonaro has been surprised and stung by Trump's slights and about- faces. Trump told Bolsonaro this year he would back Brazil's bid to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — a promise Bolsonaro then touted as a political achievement. But then the U.S. recommendation letter leaked, showing that the Trump administration was supporting Romania and Argentina for membership, not Brazil. A few weeks later, the U.S. government refused Bolsonaro's request to lift its ban on Brazilian imports of beef over safety concerns — again taking his administration by surprise. Now Trump is targeting one of the most important industries in Brazil, at a time when unemployment is above 10 percent and the economy has stalled." -- Stocks sank amid disappointing manufacturing and construction data and Trump's escalating trade wars. Taylor Telford and Thomas Heath report: "'All this trade friction is weighing on the manufacturing sector, reminding us that protectionism is not a victimless crime,' said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco. Nine of 11 stock market sectors declined Monday, with industrials, information technology and real estate leading the slide. All but seven of the Dow 30 blue chips finished in negative territory, with Boeing, American Express and United Technologies the biggest drags." -- The Trump administration quietly released more than $100 •••• •••• • . • . . .. .. , Page 17305 EFTA00046816

million in military assistance to Leoanon aver montns or unexplained delays that led some lawmakers to compare it to the frozen aid for Ukraine that prompted the impeachment inquiry. From the AP: "The $105 million in Foreign Military Financing funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces was released just before the Thanksgiving holiday and lawmakers were notified of the step on Monday, according to two congressional staffers and an administration official. ... The money had languished in limbo at the Office of Management and Budget since September although it had already won congressional approval and had overwhelming support from the Pentagon, State Department and National Security Council. The White House has yet to offer any explanation for the delay despite repeated queries from Congress." -- China is using DNA to map faces as Beijing's pursuit of control over a Muslim ethnic group continues pushing the rules of science and consent. From the Times: "With a million or more ethnic Uighurs and others from predominantly Muslim minority groups swept up in detentions across Xinjiang, officials in Tumxuk have gathered blood samples from hundreds of Uighurs — part of a mass DNA collection effort dogged by questions about consent and how the data will be used. In Tumxuk, at least, there is a partial answer: Chinese scientists are trying to find a way to use a DNA sample to create an image of a person's face. The technology, which is also being developed in the United States and elsewhere, is in the early stages of development and can produce rough pictures good enough only to narrow a manhunt or perhaps eliminate suspects. But given the crackdown in Xinjiang, experts on ethics in science worry that China is building a tool that could be used to justify and intensify racial profiling and other state discrimination against Uighurs." Page 17306 EFTA00046817

-- North Korea said that dialogue with the U.S. has been nothing but a "foolish trick" and warned Washington that it could be on the receiving end of an unwelcome Christmas gift. Simon Denyer reports: "The North Korean regime has given the United States until the end of the year to drop its 'hostile policy,' come up with a new approach to talks and offer concessions in return for its decision to end nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in 2018. But a recent decision by the United States to postpone a joint air drill with South Korea clearly hasn't satisfied Pyongyang. Ri Thae Song, vice foreign minister in charge of U.S. affairs, accused Washington of trying to buy time by calling for a 'sustained and substantial dialogue,' but he rejected this approach. ... 'The DPRK has done its utmost with maximum perseverance not to backtrack from the important steps it has taken on its own initiative,' he said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. 'What is left to be done now is the U.S. option and it is entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get.' North Korea has a history of timing launches with an eye on international developments and even U.S. holidays." -- On the first day of the NATO Summit, Trump slammed French President Emmanuel Macron's criticism of NATO as "very, very nasty" and "disrespectful." Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker and Michael Birnbaum report: Referring to comments Macron made "last month in an interview with The Economist — in which Macron described the 'brain death' of NATO due to lack of American support — Trump attacked Macron during his first remarks on the first day of the NATO 70th anniversary summit in London, calling the comments 'very insulting.' You just can't go around making statements like that about NATO,' Trump said, sitting next to NATO Secretary-General Jens CfnItonhorn at a nnea-nn-rena mceatinre hail/in:eon tho twr 'random Ti hacriaw Page 17307 EFTA00046818

ILJVI LAI. VI VI IV VI I VI IV I ',VIA, VVLYVVVI I LI LYVV S.A...4,1,0 • I morning. Though Trump himself has long been a vocal critic of NATO — a combative stance that has alarmed Western allies and seemed to prompt Macron's comments — Trump took umbrage at the French assessment of the alliance, and depicted France as the beneficiary of American largesse. 'I would say that nobody needs NATO more than France,' Trump said." -- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pair of bills. One requires all consumer electronic devices sold in the country to be pre-installed with Russian software. Another will require individual journalists to register as foreign agents. From Fox News: "Government officials say the law will help Russian IT firms compete with foreign companies, which dominate Russia's mobile phone market, Reuters reported. Another law signed by Putin Monday is a bill that gives the government the right to register bloggers, journalists and social media users as foreign agents. The bill is an extension of an existing law adopted in response to the U.S. Justice Department's 2017 decision to label the Russian state-funded network RT as a foreign agent. The new law applies to anyone who distributes content produced by media outlets registered as foreign agents and receives payments from abroad. Individuals registered as foreign agents will be subject to additional government scrutiny." -- The American woman who claims convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have sex with Britain's Prince Andrew told the BBC that the episodes were "disgusting" and asked for support from the British public. William Booth and Karla Adam report: "'This is not some sordid sex story, this is a story of being trafficked, this is a story of abuse, and this is a story of your guys' royalty,' told the BBC in an hour-long Page 17308 EFTA00046819

documentary that aired Monday night. ... — now 35 and a mother of three — told the BBC that she was passed around to Epstein's rich and powerful friends `like a platter of fruit.' She said she was trafficked to Andrew three times in 2001 and 2002: once in London at the home of Epstein's girlfriend, once at Epstein's New York mansion and once on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein. 'It didn't last long,' she said of the first of three alleged encounters with the prince. 'He got up, and he said thanks, I sat there in bed, just horrified and ashamed and felt dirty,' said." The prince has denied that he had sex with her. -- The rape and killing of a veterinarian on her way home from work have shaken India. Joanna Slater reports: "The killing of the 26- year-old veterinarian in the South Indian city of Hyderabad last week has provoked outrage and anguish across India, the latest in a series of gruesome, high-profile crimes against women and girls. Police arrested four men and said they had confessed to the killing. Speaking in Parliament on Monday, India's defense minister called it an `inhuman' crime that has 'brought shame to the entire country.' ... After news of the veterinarian's killing spread, demonstrations erupted in Hyderabad over the weekend. Thousands of people protested at a police station near where the woman's body was found and outside the gated compound where her family lives. In New Delhi, a young woman was arrested for holding a sign in a high-security area outside Parliament that read, `Why can't I feel safe in my own India?" -- The Pacific island nation of Samoa will shut down government services for two days so civil servants can focus on a nationwide immunization drive as the country struggles to end a measles Page 17309 EFTA00046820

outbreak that has so far claimed more than 50 lives, most of them children. From NPR: "Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi announced the closure on Monday, saying the government is relying on 'village councils, faith-based organizations, and church leaders, village mayors and government women representatives' to persuade the public to get vaccinated. As a result, he said, all but public utility government services will be shuttered Dec. 5 and 6. More than 3,700 measles cases have been reported since the outbreak began in October, with 198 recorded within a 24-hour period. Fifty- three people have died and of those, 48 are children under 4 years old." -- The Post today launched the first episode of its Spanish- language podcast, "El Washington Post." Our podcast will round up a panel of renowned journalists who will explore the top international headlines in twice-weekly episodes. An aerial view shows the Biden campaign bus as it travels from a campaign stop in Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) 2020 WATCH: -- Joe Biden may lose the Iowa caucuses. But, by betting on strong support from black voters in Southern states and urban areas, he may still secure the 1,990 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination. From the Times: "If Mr. Biden retains his strength with black voters, he'd have a structural advantage in the nomination race that is greater than his uneven lead in national polls suggests. ... While Iowa and New Hampshire may generate political momentum for a winner because they vote first, the two states award Page 17310 EFTA00046821

very few delegates. By contrast, a candidate who is popular in California, Texas and predominantly black districts in the South could pick up big shares of delegates. A recent poll shows Mr. Biden at 44 percent among black voters in South Carolina, the early voting state with a majority-black Democratic electorate, and a historic harbinger for how the South will vote. The same poll had Mr. Biden's next closest competitor, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, trailing him by more than 30 percentage points among black voters. ... "Some of the most delegate-rich districts in Southern states like Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina have large shares of black Democratic voters. (Vermont is an exception; its population is largely white, but it has only one district with 11 Democratic delegates.) Under party rules, more delegates are awarded in districts with high concentrations of Democrats. Because black people overwhelmingly vote Democratic, areas with many black residents tend to have higher numbers of Democratic delegates. This is a big reason why black Democrats are so sought-after in the race for the party's nomination. Historically, black Democratic primary voters have tended to back a single candidate, helping thrust the voting bloc to the forefront in Southern states where black voters make up the majority of the Democratic electorate. If a single candidate can get huge vote margins with black Democrats, like Barack Obama did in 2008 and Hillary Clinton did in 2016, he or she can amass a big delegate lead over other candidates." -- In a wide-raging interview aboard the "No Malarkey" bus, the former vice president said he doesn't need Obama's endorsement, scoffed at the idea that Elizabeth Warren is building enthusiasm and accused Pete Buttigieg of stealing his Page 17311 EFTA00046822

plans. From Politico: "Biden reiterated that he asked Obama not to endorse him, and he stuck by that stance even when asked whether he'd want Obama's backing if the field narrowed to three people. 'No, because everyone knows I'm close with him,' Biden said. 'I don't need an Obama endorsement.' ... Biden was asked about a POLITICO Magazine article that recently reported how Obama had confided in another candidate that his former vice president 'really doesn't have it' when it comes to an intimate connection with voters. 'He may have said that. And if it's true, and he said it, there's truth to it,' Biden acknowledged on Monday before saying that he has 'mostly campaigned for other people in the time I've been here. And I've never been in a position seeking the nomination where I have had the money and the organization to be able to get open headquarters all over the state.' ... "Biden lamented media coverage that he said initially dismissed the durability of his candidacy because he was too moderate and didn't embrace policies like Medicare for All. Biden said the field was now moving closer to his views and away from the left. When asked whether he unintentionally set the stage for Buttigieg, who is leading in the polls in Iowa, Biden grew animated. 'Set it up? He stole it! Set it up?' Biden said of the mayor of South Bend, Ind. ... The former vice president then accused the media of going too easy on Buttigieg, saying his opponent had once supported a more liberal health care plan but then pivoted ... When asked about another polling leader in Iowa and elsewhere — Warren — Biden dismissed her rise and the notion that she had momentum behind her. 'Look at the polling everywhere. Tell me. Tell me where the polling has manifested itself,' he said. 'She lives in Massachusetts, she's invested millions and millions of dollars in New Hampshire, why shouldn't she be known Page 17312 EFTA00046823

there?" -- Three state lawmakers acknowledge that lobbyists helped craft their op-eds attacking Medicare-for-all. Jeff Stein reports: "Montana state Rep. Kathy Kelker (D) and Sen. Jen Gross (D) acknowledged in interviews that editorials they published separately about the single- payer health proposal included language provided by John MacDonald, a lobbyist and consultant in the state who disclosed in private emails that he worked for an unnamed client. Gross said MacDonald contacted her on behalf of the Partnership for America's Health Care Future, a multimillion-dollar industry group founded in 2018 and funded by hospitals, private insurers, drug companies and other private health- care firms. Additionally, an aide to Ohio state Sen. Steve Huffman (R) confirmed in a brief interview that the lawmaker's op-ed criticizing Medicare-for-all was written with the help of Kathleen DeLand, an Ohio-based lobbyist. None of the lawmakers' columns discloses that they were written with the help of a lobbyist." -- The Trump campaign denied credentials to journalists from Bloomberg News, accusing the organization of "bias" against the president. Kayla Epstein and Derek Hawkins report: "Bloomberg News faced a journalistic quandary when its owner, former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, decided to jump into the 2020 Democratic primary last month. In a widely criticized decision, editor in chief John Micklethwait announced that the newsroom would continue its tradition of not investigating Bloomberg's personal life and finances, and would extend the same policy to his Democratic opponents. The move was intended to avoid conflict of interest in the Democratic primary. Micklethwait noted, however, that Bloomberg News would continue to investigate the Trump administration. After the Trump campaign • • ^ . ' Page 17313 EFTA00046824

announcea its aecision monaay to oar tsioomperg News, vresiaent Trump took to Twitter to attack the news outlet and the New York Times for their coverage of him." -- The New York Times is overhauling its traditional closed-door endorsement process for Democratic presidential candidates and will instead conduct interviews with the contenders on the record and air parts of the discussions — along with the editorial board's final decision — on its show "The Weekly." (Politico) -- A month after ending his presidential campaign, Beto O'Rourke is setting his focus on flipping the Texas state house. From the Houston Chronicle: "With Texas Democrats nine seats away from retaking the majority of seats in the Texas House, O'Rourke is trying to convince his donor base to send money to an organization called Flip The Texas House, which has targeted 17 House Districts in which Republican candidates won by fewer than 10 percentage points last year. More than half are districts in which O'Rourke won the majority of votes as he ran for U.S. Senate." -- With just a week remaining before the deadline to run for office in Texas next year, some of O'Rourke's supporters are still hoping to see him jump into the race to unseat Sen. John Cornyn (R). They even commissioned a poll that shows he'd sail through the Senate primary were he to join the race. From the Dallas Morning News: "The poll also shows him in a near-tie, trailing Cornyn 46-42 at this point, which is far stronger than others already seeking the nomination. O'Rourke's campaign operation has gone dormant. He didn't respond to messages on Monday and hasn't said lately whether he's interested. ... During his presidential campaign, O'Rourke said flatly and repeatedly that he would not even consider Page 17314 EFTA00046825

running for the Senate in 2020 ... 'I know it's a bit of a longshot to try and convince Beto to do this, but it is clear to a lot of people in Texas that that would be the best thing for us,' said Alan Metni, executive director of the Democratic Policy Institute, the group that commissioned the new poll." -- Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp isn't expected to nominate Rep. Douglas Collins, Trump's pick, for a soon-to-be- open Senate seat. He's now facing heavy backlash — including threats of a primary challenge. Seung Min Kim reports: "Kemp is expected to tap business executive Kelly Loeffler for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Johnny lsakson (R) ... The public outcry against Kemp and Loeffler from Trump allies has led some of them to threaten a primary challenge against the first-term governor, and they have urged the president's supporters to flood Kemp's office with calls pushing him not to select Loeffler. ... Conservative radio host Mark Levin derided Kemp as 'another Romney,' referring to the 2012 GOP presidential nominee and current senator from Utah, Mitt Romney, as he accused the Georgia governor of being on the precipice of appointing a 'RINO,' a Republican in name only ... The formal announcement from Kemp is expected on Wednesday, the officials said, so as to not interfere with Isakson's farewell address on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon." -- In a big break for Republican hopes of holding the Senate, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) no longer faces a primary challenge in his reelection bid. From the News & Observer: "Raleigh retired businessman Garland Tucker is ending his campaign for the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate ... Tucker invested more than $1.5 million of his own money to challenge Tiflis, who is seeking a A 4 • '1!1'1!1 1114.4.44.41.-... .44.4..41..4.4 ♦L... 14.......:-...4:.44. ....f 414., nryln c i:...... Page 17315 EFTA00046826

beWl IU lCl I l I III ZULU. IVIUI lUely I I ICI IkeU LI IC UCyll II III ly UI LI IC ZULU period in North Carolina. Tucker, who joined the race in May, opted not to file. ... The letter cited the attention on the ongoing impeachment inquiry into [Trump] as well as role as one of his defenders in the Senate as a reason for Tucker's decision to end his campaign." -- An outspoken Holocaust denier, activist anti-Semite and white supremacist filed again for a Chicago-area House seat. From the Chicago Sun-Times: "Arthur Jones, of suburban Lyons, won the GOP nomination in 2018 because he was the only Republican on the 3rd District primary ballot. In the general election, he was easily beaten by Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-III., but received about 26 percent of the vote even after his views were exposed." SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ: George Conway, husband of Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway and a conservative critic of the president, replied to one of her tweets: He also retweeted this: A former Justice Department spokesman notes that Duncan Hunter's guilty plea will come as a relief to quite a few people: From the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, who was fired by Trump: Page 17316 EFTA00046827

Amy Klobuchar attacked Senate Republicans for not taking up bills that have passed the House, a talking point intended to push back on the GOP talking point that impeachment is distracting Democrats from getting anything done: Trump once again went after the two FBI officials whose texts were selectively leaked by his appointees at the DOJ. A Los Angeles Times reporter noted the irony of the president's line of attack: From a former federal prosecutor: A former senior lawyer for the National Security Agency, who is now at Brookings, chastised Barr: A former Republican congressman who is now an independent shared this thought: And Trump's former national security adviser, who is now a convicted fellon, has a holiday wish: Page 17317 EFTA00046828

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "What would you have done to me? You would have torn my ears off," Joe Biden told reporters after accusing Pete Buttigieg of stealing his health-care plan. "I would be a plagiarizing, no good, old man who did bum bum bum." (Politico) VIDEOS OF THE DAY: Over the past three years, Trump and some of his allies have at times sounded like Vladimir Putin when talking about election interference: When Republicans have sounded like Vladimir Putin on election interference Hasan Minhaj discussed why billionaires won't save the world: Trevor Noah had a bit of fun talking about Joe Biden's "malarkey" bus: You received this email because you signed up for The Daily 202 or because it is included in your subscription. Manage my email newsletters and alerts I Unsubscribe from The Daily 202 Privacy Policy I Help @2019 The Washington Post I 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071 Page 17318 EFTA00046829

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