The Playbook Podcast

Breaking — Kyle Cheney: “Former President Donald Trump’s attorney Justin Clark interviewed with federal investigators two weeks ago, the Justice Department revealed in a court filing early Monday morning, a significant development that could reverberate in multiple investigations facing Trump’s inner circle.”Siren for House Dems — “House GOP marches into deeper blue terrain as Dem prospects fade,” by Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris.Siren for Senate Repubs — “Candidate challenges, primary scars have GOP worried about Senate chances,” by WaPo’s Michael Scherer, Colby Itkowitz and Josh Dawsey.Siren for Biden — “Most Democrats Don’t Want Biden in 2024, New Poll Shows,” by NYT’s Shane Goldmacher.Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Last year, the White House convened a bipartisan commission of legal experts and academics to study the Supreme Court and make recommendations on whether (and how) to reform it.The resulting recommendations were fairly moderate in scope, focusing on matters of transparency and ethics. And in the eyes of some progressives agitating for major changes to the judiciary, one big recommendation was noticeably absent: court packing. Now, a growing number of critics on the left say that President JOE BIDEN, who remains opposed to adding seats to the court, is — sound familiar? — failing to meet the moment and respond with the urgency it demands. (Just published: Playbook's Eugene Daniels’ new story on this topic)Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

First in Playbook — Playbook has obtained a trailer for Alex Holder's “Unprecedented,” the British filmmaker’s upcoming Discovery+ docuseries about the Trump family.The two-minute-plus trailer, which you can watch here, was included among the hours of footage that Holder turned over to the House Jan. 6 committee under subpoena. (Holder gave testimony to the committee behind closed doors on June 23.)The new video highlights Holder’s unique access to the former president and his family, and includes unseen footage of Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, each of whom is shown in outtakes from their sitdown interviews.Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

If you want to get a full sense of why so many Democrats seem to be frustrated with President Joe Biden at the moment, here’s one piece you need to read: “Is Biden a Man Out of Time?” by The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein.Whether the specific issue is abortion rights, court reform, voting rights, the filibuster, or the DOJ’s investigation into Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, “[m]any Democrats share a sense that … Biden and his team have been following, not leading. And that tendency points to an enduring question about Biden, who was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and was shaped by a clubbier, more cooperative Washington. Can he be the inspirational leader his party needs to counter the aggressive moves by Republicans in Congress and in the states, together with their appointees on the Supreme Court, to reverse long-held civil rights and even threaten democracy itself?” Listen to  POLITICO Playbook Deep Dive:  Why haven’t there been more Cassidy Hutchinsons?Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

It’s hard to imagine how Tuesday’s surprise hearing of the House Jan. 6 committee could’ve been more damning for President Donald Trump.With vivid stories told in measured tones, Cassidy Hutchinson, a former special assistant to the president and aide to chief of staff Mark Meadows, “stitched together every element of the panel’s case against Donald Trump,” our Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu write. “The Capitol riot committee has painted the former president’s potential criminal culpability for his effort to overturn the election in stark hues: investigators have portrayed Trump fuming atop an increasingly conspiracy-addled West Wing and working to corrupt the peaceful transfer of power at any cost.”Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

On Monday afternoon, the House Jan. 6 committee, which was supposed to be on a hiatus for the next two weeks, abruptly announced it would be holding a hearing today at 1 p.m. “to present recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony.” The star witness is expected to be Cassidy Hutchinson, a former executive assistant to ex-chief of staff Mark Meadows who has testified three times behind closed doors, in February, March and May.Hutchinson knows a lot. Before, on, and after Jan. 6, she had close proximity to both Meadows and then-President Donald Trump.“Almost all, if not all, meetings Mr. Trump had, I had insight on,” she told the committee in March.Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

The Biden White House’s plan for this week, as of one week ago: Spend the end of June focusing on foreign policy, making use of a pair of European summits (the G-7 and NATO) to rally support for the hard-fought international coalition that formed in opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The Biden White House’s plan for this week, as of now: Scrap that. Yes, the summits will go on but the big story will be the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade — which eliminated the right to an abortion, and may have dramatically changed American politics in doing so.Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

On Thursday night, the Senate passed a bipartisan gun safety bill in a 65-33 vote that saw 15 Republicans join all 50 Democrats to support the bill.— How it happened: “In a Washington run by Baby Boomers and octogenarians, it took two 40-something Democrats with a yin-and-yang approach to get a gun safety deal done,” Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine write in a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the compromise.Listen to Playbook Deep Dive: New Jan. 6 witness: Trump had mystery call with PutinRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Recall that in the first hearing of the Jan. 6 committee, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said, “Donald Trump oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated seven-part plan to overturn the presidential election and prevent the transfer of presidential power.”Each day of hearings has been devoted to covering one or two of the seven dramatic episodes of that overall plot: (1) Trump’s misinformation campaign, (2) his effort to find a pliable A.G., (3) his pressure campaign on then-VP Mike Pence, (4) his pressure campaign on state officials, (5) his legal team’s effort to create fake slates of electors, (6) his assembling and directing the Jan. 6 mob, and (7) his refusal to call off the violent mob as it sacked the Capitol.Today is devoted to Part 2, a deep dive into how Trump pressured Department of Justice officials to advance what committee members have repeatedly called an attempted coup.Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletterRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Since we scooped on Tuesday morning that documentarian Alex Holder was subpoenaed by the House Jan. 6 committee seeking previously unreported footage he recorded over several months of full access to Donald Trump, his adult kids and VP Mike Pence, more details have emerged about what’s on the tapes. And, Trump loses bigly in Georgia: “Georgia Republican voters rebuked Donald Trump for the second time in a month Tuesday by rejecting his picks for a pair of open U.S. House seats,” writes AJC’s Greg Bluestein.Gordon Rhoden, chair of Georgia’s Athens-Clarke County GOP: “At this point in time, the Trump endorsement is neutral. It’s not a plus and it’s not a negative. … People are moving beyond that.”