Document kDkj7xG8rgM2agRL55daLjyNn

To: Jackson, Ryan[jackson.ryan@epa.gov] From: Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman Sent: Thur 10/5/2017 10:40:17 AM Subject: POLITICO Playbook, presented by Koch Industries: NEW NARRATIVE: Republicans signal they'll target bump stocks - Frustrated GOP donors say they'll stop giving to Republican lawmakers - FEW CLUES in Vegas - TRUMP meeting with Tom Cotton today View .onhne^yerejon | Add to your address book. Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by Koch Industries By JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com; @apalmerdc) and DANIEL LIPPMAN (daniel@politico.com; @dlippman) Listen to today's Audio Briefing | Subscribe on iTunes | Visit the online home of Playbook Driving the Day Good Thursday morning. THE NEW NARRATIVE: At 9:26 p.m. last night, the New York Times alerted a story with this headline: "Top Republicans, long resistant to gun regulations, said they may be open to banning a rapid-fire device used by the Las Vegas gunman." (The Times story http://nyti.ms/2hOWdbA) The Times is spot on. This is a major topic of conversation on the Hill. WHY? Many lawmakers privately tell us they know have to do something this time around. Most every Republican aligns with the NRA. But a device that allows anyone to mow down dozens of people is a different story. Anna was saying yesterday on the way to the Capitol that this would be the biggest gun control measure in years, and it would be tough for the NRA to stand in the way. Check out these quotes: - SENATE MAJORITY WHIP JOHN CORNYN (R-TEXAS) to the NYT: '"I own a lot of guns, and as a hunter and sportsman, I think that's our right as Americans, but I don't understand the use of this bump stock. It seems like it's an obvious area we ought to explore and see if it's something Congress needs to act on." - SENATE HOMELAND SECURITY CHAIRMAN RON JOHNSON (R-WIS.) in a good story by John Bresnahan, Seung Min Kim and Burgess Everett: "Automatic weapons are illegal. If that facilitates that, to me it would be subject to the same ban. If that actually gets on the Senate floor, I'd vote for it." -- SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) to Bres, Burgess and SMK: "I think it's something we ought to look into. I don't know a lot about them, and I'm somebody who, I'd like to think, is fairly familiar with a lot of firearms and you know, the use of those. And that incident out there is something that I think we need to take a look at." http://politi.co/2y2t9TI Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00001 - REP. BILL FLORES (R-TEXAS) to the Hill: "I think they should be banned. There's no reason for a typical gun owner to own anything that converts a semiautomatic to something that behaves like an automatic." - SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OKLA.) told CBSN he is open to the possibility of bump stock legislation. http://cbsn.ws/2yZz9e8 -- REP. TOM ROONEY (R-FLA.) pinged us yesterday and said: "Trump needs to take the lead on this bump stock issue. He's the only one that can." MIGHT THIS FALL FLAT? Sure, the details are very, very important. And betting against the NRA on Capitol Hill in recent years hasn't been a good bet. The group has a massive war chest and an active membership that it has employed on multiple occasions. --WSJ EDITORIAL: "The Gun Control Mirage: More gun laws won't stop mass shootings by determined killers": "Ah, but what about so-called bump stocks, which Paddock used to simulate quick, automatic-style fire? Outright modification of a firearm into an automatic is already a federal felony punishable by 10 years in prison. Congress could outlaw bump stocks, but how does it outlaw a technique? The practice of quickly 'bumping' a trigger with one's finger to engage in rapid fire long predates bump stocks or other accessories." http://on.wsi.com/2z0kzTF ALERT -- THE HOUSE will vote on their budget today. It's expected to pass, and it paves the way for tax reform. Read AP's Andy Taylor for the details http://bit.ly/2wvPyV8 NEW - DCCC NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN - "Never Stop" - featuring Paul Ryan as the Democrats' 2018 punching bag ... 30-second spot https://youtu.be/LTmx1 hfEwWk SCOOP - ALEX ISENSTADT and GABE DEBENEDETTI: "Angry GOP donors close their wallets": "Republicans are confronting a growing revolt from their top donors, who are cutting off the party in protest over its inability to get anything done. Tensions reached a boiling point at a recent dinner at the home of Los Angeles billionaire Robert Day. In full view of around two dozen guests, Thomas Wachtell, a retired oil and gas investor and party contributor, delivered an urgent message to the night's headliner, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: Just do something. "Wachtell, who has given tens of thousands of dollars over the years to Senate Republicans, recalled that McConnell responded defensively. Passing legislation takes time, the Republican leader responded, and President Donald Trump didn't seem to understand how long it required. 'Anybody who was there knew that I was not happy. And I don't think anybody was happy. How could you be?' said Wachtell, who has previously given over $2,000 to McConnell but recently stopped donating to Senate GOP causes. 'You're never going to get a more sympathetic Republican than I am. But I'm sick and tired of nothing happening.' Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00002 "With the GOP's agenda at a virtual standstill on Capitol Hill, the party is contending with a hard reality. Some of the party's most elite and influential donors, who spent the past eight years plowing cash into the party's coffers in hopes of accomplishing a sweeping conservative agenda and undoing Barack Obama's legislative accomplishments, are closing their wallets. The backlash is threatening to deprive Republicans of resources just as they're gearing up for the 2018 midterms. "Party officials are so alarmed that North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who oversees fundraising for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told his colleagues at a recent conference meeting that donations had fallen off a cliff after the Obamacare flop. The committee's haul plummeted to just $2 million in July and August, less than half of what it raised in June." http://politi.co/2fSLQ5W - - THIS TRACKS what we have been hearing for weeks. GOP lawmakers are increasingly nervous about their chances for keeping their Congressional majorities. Behind the scenes, aides and operatives regularly say that if Republicans can't pass tax reform, they will likely lose the House. - - NEXT UP: "Roy Moore's disruption of Washington has already begun, and more is on the way," by WaPo's Sean Sullivan: http://wapo.st/2yqcdb7 THE LATEST IN LAS VEGAS ... -- "Clues few and elusive for motive of Las Vegas gunman," by AP's Ken Ritter and Michael Balsamo in Las Vegas and Sadie Gurman in D.C.: "Those seeking to know the motive of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock have had little more to chase than hints and shadows. Paddock led such a low-key, private life that no one seemed to know him well, and those who did had no sense he was capable of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. "Where other mass killers have left behind a trail of plain-sight clues that help investigators quickly understand what drove them to violence, Paddock, 64, had nearly no close friends, social media presence or other clear connections to the broader world. Even the No. 2 official in the FBI said Wednesday he was surprised investigators have not uncovered more about why a man with no obvious criminal record would cause so much bloodshed. 'There's all kinds of things that surprise us in each one of these events. That's the one in this one, and we are not there yet,' FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said. 'We have a lot of work to do.'" http://bit.lv/2hOXiEf NYT FRONT PAGE includes a reconstruction of the shooter's room, stitching together photos - - "Girlfriend of Las Vegas gunman says she had no idea he was planning attack," by WaPo's Mark Berman and Matt Zapotosky: "The girlfriend of Stephen Paddock, the gunman who opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas earlier this week, said Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00003 Wednesday she had no warning about his plans to carry out the massacre and pledged to cooperate with authorities struggling to determine what sparked the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. 'I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man,' Marilou Danley, Paddock's girlfriend, said in a statement read by her attorney. 'He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen.'" http://wapo.st/2hNC6u7 - - "Las Vegas Gunman Chased Gambling's Payouts and Perks," by NYT's John Branch, Serge Kovaleski and Sabrina Tavernise: "The video poker machines that Stephen Paddock liked were the ones that did not draw attention. They had few look-atme flashing lights or listen-to-me bells. He would sit in front of them for hours, often wagering more than $100 a hand. The way he played -- instinctually, decisively, calculatingly, silently, with little movement beyond his shifting eyes and nimble fingers - meant he could play several hundred hands an hour. Casino hosts knew him well. '"Not a lot of smiles and friendliness,' said John Weinreich, who was an executive casino host at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nev., where Mr. Paddock was once a regular and where he met his girlfriend. ... His methodical style and his skill level allowed him to gamble, and occasionally win, tens of thousands of dollars in one sitting, collecting payouts and hotel perks in big bunches. Last week, as a reward for his loyalty and gambling, Mr. Paddock stayed free of charge on the 32nd floor in one of the elite suites of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino." http://nvti.ms/2xiiUvJ ****** a message from Koch Industries: Koch has been the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) first- or second-ranked company for pollution prevention initiatives since 2012. What's more, since 2012, we have implemented more than 1,000 pollution prevention activities across the United States. See how at ChallengeAccepted.com. IF YOU CLICK ONE THING - "How Las Vegas Police Scrambled to Find the Gunman" -- WSJ: "The following recordings are selected police radio communications from when the shooting started on Sunday shortly after 10:00 p.m. through 11:30 p.m. when police entered the sole shooter's hotel room. This audio reveals the chaos and confusion officers faced while tracking the gunman's location." http://on.wsi.com/2kq9s3e PIC DU JOUR -- @colincampbell: "Air Force One departs Las Vegas past the broken windows on the Mandalay Bay hotel. (Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters)" http://bit.lv/2y1aSGc FOR YOUR RADAR -- "OPEC Pushes Russia to Continue Helping on Oil Prices," by WSJ's Benoit Faucon and Summer Said: "Saudi Arabia and OPEC are lobbying Russia to stay on board with their efforts to raise oil prices, amid signals that Moscow wants to end its participation in costly petroleum-production cuts. The efforts culminate Thursday with a meeting between Saudi King Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the first-ever visit by a Saudi monarch to Moscow. According to people familiar Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00004 with the matter, the king will ask Mr. Putin to remain for longer than planned in a coalition led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that has withheld almost 2% of global oil supply from the market in 2017." http://on.wsi.com/2wzp6Lr - - "3 Special Forces Troops Killed and 2 Are Wounded in an Ambush in Niger," by NYT's Eric Schmitt: "Three United States Army Special Forces were killed and two were wounded on Wednesday in an ambush in Niger while on a training mission with troops from that nation in northwestern Africa, American military officials said. ... All five American soldiers were Green Berets, said two United States military officials. The attack took place 120 miles north of Niamey, the capital of Niger, near the border with Mali, where militants with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, an affiliate of Al Qaeda, have conducted cross-border raids.... The deaths represent the first American casualties under hostile fire in a mission in which United States Special Forces have provided training and security assistance to the Nigerien armed forces." http://nyti.ms/2wyslCD MORE TRAVEL QUESTIONS FOR ZINKE - "Interior secretary draws flak for mixing politics, official travel," by Ben Lefebvre and Esther Whieldon: "Republican donors paid up to $5,000 per couple for a photo with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke at a fundraiser held during a taxpayer-funded trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to documents reviewed by POLITICO - raising questions about his habit of mixing official government business with political activism. "The new details about Zinke's March trip to the Caribbean, including the previously undisclosed invitation to the Virgin Islands Republican Party fundraiser, emerged after weeks of scrutiny of the former Montana GOP congressman's travels. The nearly twohour event was one of more than a half-dozen times Zinke has met with big donors or political groups while on department-paid trips, Interior travel records and other documents show. "Ethics watchdogs say Zinke is combining politics with his Interior duties so frequently that he risks tripping over the prohibitions against using government resources for partisan activity, even though his appearance at the Virgin Islands event seems to have been legal. Democrats have also seized on the issue, including 26 House members who wrote in a letter Tuesday that Zinke's travels 'give the appearance that you are mixing political gatherings and personal destinations with official business.' Zinke has said all his actions have obeyed the law, dismissing concerns about his travel as 'a little B.S.'" http://politi.co/2xVbknA FOGGY BOTTOM WATCH -- '"Death spiral': Tillerson makes nice but may not last long with Trump," by WaPo's Anne Gearan, Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker: "But Tillerson's move on Wednesday to reassure Trump of his convictions may well be too little and too late for the long term, according to the accounts of 19 current and former senior administration officials and Capitol Hill aides ... The already tense relationship between the two headstrong men - one a billionaire former real estate developer, the other a former captain of the global oil industry -- has ruptured into what some White Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00005 House officials call an irreparable breach that will inevitably lead to Tillerson's departure, whether immediately or not. Tillerson's dwindling cohort of allies say he has been given an impossible job and is doing his best with it." http://wapo.st/2yJhAhE -- NYT's Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush: "[T]he deliberate, slowtalking oil executive has little personal chemistry with the quick-talking, impulsive Mr. Trump. Mr. Tillerson has avoided expressing his pique to the president. But aides and Trump associates who have been in the room with them said Mr. Tillerson's body language, eye rolling and terse expressions left little doubt that he disapproves of Mr. Trump's approach. Mr. Trump, they said, has noticed how Mr. Tillerson slouches in his presence, particularly when he disagrees with a decision. When overruled, Mr. Tillerson often says, 'It's your deal,' to the president's irritation, according to two former administration officials." http://nyti.ms/2yJGQUV RICH LOWRY, "Why Tillerson Can't Stay: If he believes what he said about his boss's goals, his best move is to step aside": "Even before his unusual apology speech Wednesday morning, he had become the nation's least influential top diplomat in recent memory. His relationship with the president of the United States is strained at best, he has no philosophy or signature initiative, he has barely staffed his own department, and he's alienated the foreign service. The former CEO of ExxonMobil has taken one of the power positions in the U.S. government and made it an afterthought. ... "The secretary of state dodged questions about whether he had, indeed, as NBC reported, called Trump a 'moron' - almost certainly the first time in U.S. history a Cabinet official has been asked about personally insulting the president he works for and apparently not been able, in good conscience, to deny it. At his appearance, Tillerson issued a stilted endorsement of the president's 'America First' agenda that felt as if it had been written by someone else or was the product of an internal negotiation." http://politi.co/2wz8OCa --@cspan: ",@SenBobCorker: 'I think Sec. Tillerson, Sec. Mattis and Chief of Staff Kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos.'" http://bit.ly/2yJSail ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST - "Embattled GOP Rep. Tim Murphy to retire," by Rachael Bade, Elena Schneider, and John Bresnahan: "Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of his term, after allegations that the married lawmaker, who opposes abortion rights, asked his mistress to terminate a pregnancy. Murphy (R-Pa.) admitted several weeks ago to an affair with forensic psychologist Shannon Edwards - news that came to light during the woman's divorce proceedings with her husband. "'After discussions with my family and staff, I have come to the decision that I will not seek reelection to Congress at the end of my current term,' Murphy said in his statement. 'I plan to spend my remaining months in office continuing my work as the national leader on mental health care reform, as well as issues affecting working families in southwestern Pennsylvania.' Murphy added: 'In the coming weeks I will take Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00006 personal time to seek help as my family and I continue to work through our personal difficulties and seek healing. I ask you to respect our privacy during this time.' "Murphy met privately with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) before his retirement announcement, as well as Pennsylvania GOP Reps. Bill Shuster and Charlie Dent. A number of top Republicans said privately that Murphy should retire or resign in light of the scandal." http://politi.co/2y18U99 DRIP, DRIP, DRIP -- "IRS defends Equifax contract amid Hill outcry," by Nancy Scola and Steven Overly: "The IRS on Wednesday sought to justify its new $7.2 million, no-bid contract with the credit reporting company Equifax, describing it as a short-term arrangement needed to keep vital tools for taxpayers from going offline during a dispute with the firm. "But its explanations didn't appear to satisfy either Democrats or Republicans in Congress, who continued to express astonishment at the agency's decision to continue partnering with a troubled company that recently suffered a massive breach of sensitive consumer data on as many as 145 million Americans. The IRS quietly awarded the contract Friday afternoon and posted notice of it the next day, as POLITICO first reported Tuesday. '"You can't make this stuff up,' Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told reporters Wednesday after a hearing about Equifax's data breach. 'This is like a bad movie. I am stunned that in the middle of this crisis the IRS would decide that it wants to trust Equifax as a business partner. It makes no sense to me. I want to find out what's going on here.'" http://politi.co/2xVp-'' I d -- "Liberal groups got IRS scrutiny, too, inspector general suggests," by WaPo's Mike DeBonis: "A federal watchdog has identified scores of cases in which the Internal Revenue Service may have targeted liberal-leaning groups for extra scrutiny based on their names or political leanings, a finding that could undermine claims that conservatives were unfairly targeted under President Barack Obama. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reviewed cases between 2004 and 2013, which includes the period TIGTA previously examined in a 2013 report that faulted the IRS for using inappropriate political criteria to select groups for heightened scrutiny." http://wapo.st/2fMlrTr TRUMP'S THURSDAY -- Trump will receive an intel briefing and meet with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) this morning. He is meeting with RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel in the afternoon. He will also be briefed by senior military leaders. Trump and the First Lady will have dinner with senior military leaders and their spouses. HAPPENING TOMORROW -- "Trump to resume tax cut push in Oval Office meeting with W. Va company - but not Manchin," by Heidi Przybyla in USA Today: "President Trump will resume his push for tax cuts on Friday with an Oval Office meeting designed to highlight the manufacturing industry, including in the state of a Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00007 vulnerable incumbent Democratic senator: Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Trump will host more than a dozen manufacturing industry employees and executives and issue a proclamation making Oct. 6 'National Manufacturing Day,' according to a White House statement provided to USA TODAY. "One key person who won't be there: Manchin. Manchin, who met with White House legislative affairs director Marc Short on Tuesday, can't support the plan outlined last week by GOP congressional negotiators, according to a Manchin aide not authorized to speak publicly. The senator believes the proposed plan differs from the one Trump described during a dinner earlier this month with moderate Democrats and Republicans at the White House, the aide said. The current plan, Manchin believes, benefits the wealthy more than the middle class." https://usat.ly/2xilFMc THE JUICE ... --AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY is launching a $4.5 million cable and local network ad buy over the next three weeks, urging Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Joe Donnelly (D-lnd.) to support tax reform. -- POLITICO 50 -- On Oct. 12, POLITICO will host our annual 50 Celebration to honor the POLITICO 50, our list of the thinkers, doers and dreamers reshaping American politics in 2017 - and beyond. Learn more: http://bit.lv/2xdK7Q7 Playbook Reads PHOTO DU JOUR: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers a statement at the State Department on Oct. 4 in Washington, D.C. Tillerson denied recent news reports that he had weighed resigning from his post. | Win McNamee/Getty BANNON'S NEW GUY - MICHAEL GRIMM http://politi.co/2xi7lj1. Grimm is coming off an eight-month term in federal prison. YIKES -- "NKorean workers prep seafood going to US stores, restaurants," by AP's Tim Sullivan and Hyung-Jin Kim in Hunchun, China and Martha Mendoza in California: "The workers wake up each morning on metal bunk beds in fluorescent-lit Chinese dormitories, North Koreans outsourced by their government to process seafood that ends up in American stores and homes. Privacy is forbidden. They cannot leave their compounds without permission. ... And they are paid a fraction of their salaries, while the rest - as much as 70 percent - is taken by North Korea's government. "This means Americans buying salmon for dinner at Walmart or ALDI may inadvertently have subsidized the North Korean government as it builds its nuclear Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00008 weapons program, an AP investigation has found. Their purchases may also have supported what the United States calls 'modern day slavery' - even if the jobs are highly coveted by North Koreans." http://bit.lv/2xUmmMI RUSSIA WATCH -- "Sally Yates, Preet Bharara Stress High Bar for Criminal Charges in Russia Probe," by WSJ's Erica Orden: '"I know a lot of people are sort of putting all their hopes into Bob Mueller. And I've got tremendous confidence in Bob Mueller,' said Ms. Yates [at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit], in one of the few public interviews she has given since she was fired in January ... 'But the fact of the matter is, he's going to determine whether there's proof beyond a reasonable doubt that felonies were committed, that crimes were committed that can be used for prosecution or impeachment,' she said of Mr. Mueller. That, she suggested, is but one standard by which to judge the president's conduct, drawing a distinction between criminal behavior and otherwise objectionable conduct." http://on.wsi.com/2gcGuzp FIRST PERSON - DAN DIAMOND and RACHANA PRADHAN in Politico Magazine, "How We Found Tom Price's Private Jets: A tantalizing tip, followed by months of painstaking reporting, revealed the HHS secretary's extravagant travel habits": "[l]n September, we received an official notice from HHS that Price would be traveling to the Philadelphia area to meet with people affected by addiction to opioid painkillers. By the morning of Sept. 15 - when Price took a private jet to travel between Washington and Philadelphia, a distance of roughly 125 miles - we had figured out that Price was using the private jet terminal at Dulles International Airport, 28 miles outside of Washington. "That Friday morning, we camped out at the Dulles charter terminal. A little after 8 a.m., we saw two SUVs and a police escort roll directly onto the tarmac, as the cars discharged passengers who then boarded a distinctive 30-seat charter plane with a golden belly. "By 8:30 a.m., we watched the charter jet take off, heading directly north, and tracked it to Philadelphia using FlightAware, an airline tracking website. It was strong, but it wasn't enough. We hadn't seen the faces of Price or the other passengers including White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who went on that opioid trip. Using social media and help from sources, we kept tabs on the movements of Price and Conway in Philadelphia, tracing when they wrapped up the event and headed to the airport. By the time Price boarded the private jet at Philadelphia International Airport for the return trip to Dulles in early afternoon, we had figured out how to get the best view of the Dulles tarmac: "Rachana drove by the charter jet terminal, timing her approach so she could best see the jet field, while Dan stood in the airport's main terminal, tracking the plane through his phone and counting down its arrival to Rachana, before hustling out to a patch of concrete that offered a view of the tarmac, too. It was enough. We saw the distinctive golden plane taxi around to the private-jet terminal. We saw a man with Price's build and shock of white hair walking across the tarmac. We saw the SUVs and police escort come out to greet him and the other passengers before speeding them Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00009 away." http://politi.co/2xVV9GK --"Stakeout at Dulles Airport launched Politico bombshell on Tom Price's charter flight scandal," by WaPo's Erik Wemple: http://wapo.st/2yJY9VX ****** & message from Koch Industries: It's one thing to say we're committed to environmental responsibility. But quite another to demonstrate it. This year, Koch was named the EPA's ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year. The award recognizes organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. To-date we've invested $600 million into energy saving initiatives. And over the last five years, we've saved enough energy to power 360,000 households for an entire year. See our contributions at ChallengeAccepted.com. ****** HOLLYWOODLAND - "Harvey Weinstein Lawyers Up for Bombshell New York Times, New Yorker Stories," by Variety's Brent Lang, Gene Maddaus and Ramin Setoodeh: "Harvey Weinstein has hired a high-powered team of attorneys to push back on soon-to-be-published bombshell stories from the New York Times and the New Yorker detailing sexual allegations and improper workplace behavior against him. Some women making the charges are believed to be on the record. Weinstein, the indie mogul and founder of the Weinstein Company, has retained star litigator David Boies, as well as attorneys Lisa Bloom and Charles Harder in an effort to rebut the claims. Jodi Kantor, an investigative reporter who wrote about harsh working conditions at Amazon, is working on the story for the Times, along with Megan Twohey ... "Ronan Farrow, the former MSNBC host, is doing the story for the New Yorker, according to multiple individuals with knowledge of the situation. One individual said that at least one of the stories could be published as early as this week. In a brief interview on Wednesday, Weinstein declined to comment on the charges. ... 'Why don't I get, since I must have these high-priced lawyers, let me get them back to talk to you," said Weinstein. Weinstein later issued a statement through a spokesperson, as did Bloom. 'The story sounds so good I want to buy the movie rights,' said Weinstein." http://bit.lv/2yJXUKx MEDIAWATCH - "Fox News Expands 'Fox & Friends,' Starting 'First' Broadcast at 4 AM" - Variety: http://bit.lv/2xWWNIc - From Michael Calderone's Morning Media: "ADAM ENTOUS TO THE NEW YORKER? I'm hearing that star Washington Post national security reporter Adam Entous is heading to The New Yorker as a staff writer. The award-winning journalist joined the Post a year ago from The Wall Street Journal. Entous declined to comment." -- CHUCK TODD in NYT Magazine http://nyti.ms/2gdnQra -- NEWSWEEK RETRACTION - "Newsweek has retracted its story that reviewed public records of Marilou Danley, the girlfriend of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock [and was headlined ['Paddock's Girlfriend Used Two Social Security Numbers and Was Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00010 Married to Two Men at the Same Time']. The initial report was based on the marriage record of Danley, who was known under a different name when she married Geary Danley in Clark County, Nevada. Newsweek mistakenly matched that record to a second public record of a different person. The mistake was revealed when a Newsweek reporter re-interviewed a person who had initially declined to comment for our story. ... Newsweek regrets the error." http://bit.lv/2xZTqlL Playbookers SUNDAY SO FAR - "Fox News Sunday": Tom Rogan, Julie Pace, Gillian Turner, Juan Williams SPOTTED -- REP. LOU BARLETTA enjoying wine and a cigar outside Wednesday night. http://bit.ly/2xSScZR WELCOME TO THE WORLD - Saul Hernandez, deputy chief of staff to Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), and Brittany Johnson Hernandez, deputy director of federal affairs at the March of Dimes, welcomed Elise Ileana Hernandez, who arrived at 6:57 p.m. on Oct. 3. 7 lbs. 6 oz and 20.5 inches long. Pic http://politi.co/2yqSsQv TRANSITIONS -- WARREN BASS, former director of speechwriting and senior policy adviser to Susan Rice at the United Nations, has been named executive editor of Penguin Press. Bass most recently worked as senior editor of the Wall Street Journal's "Review" section. BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is 45. How he got his start in journalism: "I graduated from college in 1994 with a communications major and journalism minor. After college I worked as a one-man-band in Maryland. My first BIG break came in 1996. The news director at KNSD (NBC O&O in San Diego) took pity on me and offered me a job in the tapes feed room. The majority of my 20+ years in broadcasting are aligned with NBC." Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2fMqeo2 -Jonathan Darche, executive director of the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board how he thinks the Trump Presidency is going: "I worry that our institutions are not strong enough to withstand the stresses the administration is placing on the rule of law and that last century's progress towards a more just society are being reversed." Q&A: http://politi.co/2gdDxOK BIRTHDAYS: Catherine Hicks, White House press aide, is 24 (hat tip: Matt Nussbaum) ... Alexandra Pelosi... Mandy Grunwald (h/t Jon Haber)... Michael Morrell... Mark Paoletta, chief counsel for Vice President Pence, is 55 ... Teresa Heinz Kerry ... Jon Banner, EVP at PepsiCo and an ABC News alum, is 5-0 ... Samsung's Megan Pollock (h/ts Jack Smith and Meredith McPhillips)... Dr. James Hamblin, senior editor at The Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906 ED_001523_00002874-00011 Atlantic, is 35 ... Carolyn Weyforth Glanville ... Bob Geldof... Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is 74 ... former Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) is 62 ... Sloane Potter, a POLITICO alum who is director of strategic partnerships at Techweek ... Amanda Harris ... Josh Althouse, conservative outreach director for Speaker Ryan ... Taylor Frechette ... Peter Schottenfels, press secretary at Airbnb and an OFA alum ... Jim Demers, NH state chair for Clinton 2016 and Obama 2008 (h/t Erik Smith)... Karina Petersen, comms director for Sen. Murkowski (R-Alaska)... Brayden McCarthy of fintech start-up Fundera, celebrating in Paris this weekend with boyfriend Joshua Rogers (h/t Alex Levy)... Banks Woodruff, director at In Pursuit Of (h/t James Davis)... Matt Parker, Bush 43 WH alum ... Elisabeth Leoni, managing editor of Google's The Keyword blog ... AEl's Joseph Kosten ... Emily Gribble ... Alison Young ... AP's David Klepper... Caitlin Offingerof BerlinRosen ... Andrea Samuelsen ... Lainie Ori... Jill Giuliani Kennedy ... Fabien Levy ... CBS News' Whitney Bright... Kevin Hall, Sen. Warner's comms, director... Erick M. Sanchez, senior advisor at Frontier Solutions ... John Boccieri... Mike Petruzzello, managing director at Qorvis (h/t Kevin Chaffee)... Chris Michel... Ashton Theodore Randle of GovPredict... Will Keesee ... Julie Copeland, executive director at Emerge Virginia ... Bianchi Bettina Cosio ... John Herzog ... Hasib Alikozai... Michael Tardif... John Jasik, judicial liaison at State ... Doug Bailey ... Peggy Suntum ... Jess Vilsack ... Jim Cavanaugh (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ****** & message from Koch Industries: At Koch, we work to create more value, using fewer resources than the day before. With more than 300 manufacturing sites across the United States, we're one of America's largest manufacturers. 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