Presented by

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

THE ‘O’ WORD — Just minutes before a midnight deadline, the Justice Department filed a stunning response to former President DONALD TRUMP’s request for an independent review of the documents seized from his Florida home earlier this month.

The 36-page document is chock-full of previously unknown information, providing an extensive timeline of how the government worked to recover classified material before the unprecedented search of Mar-a-Lago. It is the clearest and most detailed account yet offered of what preceded the Aug. 8 seizure and forcefully rebuts attacks from Trump and his allies — going so far to claim that “government records were likely concealed” from prosecutors and “efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”

The DOJ filing says Trump’s request for a special master “is unnecessary and would significantly harm important governmental interests,” dismissing it as an attempt to slow down the investigation. It also claims Trump has no standing to sue because the records belong to the government, not to him. And, notably, prosecutors placed a photo of some of the seized documents — strewn across a Mar-a-Lago carpet with their classified markings plain to see — into the public court record.

Trump and his allies have claimed executive privilege over the documents, but prosecutors rejected that assertion — arguing that executive privilege is usually invoked to protect communications from the legislative or judicial branch, not within the executive branch itself. The prosecution team, led by DOJ counterintelligence chief JAY BRATT, also points out that Trump never once asserted executive privilege or declassified the documents prior to the search.

As our Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney write, “Even if there were circumstances in which a former president could assert privilege, Bratt argues, this scenario would not come close. Intelligence officials are currently reviewing the recovered files to assess risks to national security, and any disruption to that could jeopardize the review DOJ contends.”

In an eye-popping statement that underscores how sensitive the documents were, the prosecutors write that “even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents.”

An interesting nugget from NYT’s Glenn Thrush, Charlie Savage, Alan Feuer and Maggie Haberman: “The department’s decision to use a court filing as a vehicle to provide a more extensive explanation of the government’s actions — and a rebuke of Mr. Trump’s rotating roster of legal representatives — evolved over the last few days and lawyers wrangled over small details until moments before it was filed, according to people familiar with the situation.”

The most serious revelation … In the filing, the DOJ says the reason they sought a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago in the first place was only after (1) they obtained evidence that classified material was likely moved and concealed and (2) Trump’s lawyers worked to mislead the government about their cooperation in identifying and recovering the sensitive docs.

“That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the ‘diligent search’ that the former President’s counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter,” Bratt wrote, referring to an unnamed Trump rep’s affidavit.

The filing also challenges Trump allies’ claims that the former president’s team was cooperative, asWaPo’s Devlin Barrett writes: “In parts of the filing, using only their job descriptions, prosecutors paint Trump’s lawyer, EVAN CORCORAN, and custodian of records, CHRISTINA BOBB, as so uncooperative as to lead agents to suspect the Trump team might be obstructing the investigation.”

News broke Tuesday that Trump has brought on CHRIS KISE, a former Florida solicitor general, to represent him in the criminal case stemming from the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago. “Kise is leaving the firm of Foley & Lardner — where he had briefly represented Venezuela’s government two years ago when hostilities with the United States ran high — to take the job,” writes NBC’s Marc Caputo, who had the scoop.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Rep. LIZ CHENEY will headline the American Enterprise Institute’s annual Constitution Day Lecture on Sept. 19. The Wyoming Republican’s speech will focus on why ABRAHAM LINCOLN’s “call for a patriotism grounded in ‘reverence to the Constitution’ is essential in protecting our inheritance of liberty, and why we must resist the rise of a ‘mobocratic spirit.’”

Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

CRISIS IN MISSISSIPPI — Biden declared a federal emergency late Tuesday night as the scale of the drinking-water woes in Jackson, Miss., continued to mount. “Gov. TATE REEVES said he can’t say when Mississippi’s capital city will have clean, plentiful drinking water on tap again,” Mississippi Today’s Geoff Pender reports. More from NYT and AP

GOODBYES FOR GORBY — News of the death of MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, the last Soviet premier, reverberated Tuesday as the world took stock of a history-making titan whose efforts to shake up a sclerotic communist system resulted in its peaceful dissolution — but could not ultimately move Russia away from its authoritarian legacy. Here are some of the tributes that stuck with us:

His biographer William Taubman in POLITICO Magazine: “He tried to reform the USSR, eventually to democratize it, but was overwhelmed by the people and forces he freed. More than any other world leader, he helped end the Cold War; but he lived to see it replaced by a new one. He went to great lengths to avoid the use of force and violence at home and abroad; his once-removed successor, VLADIMIR PUTIN, has relied on repression and violent aggression.”

NYT: “Few leaders in the 20th century, indeed in any century, have had such a profound effect on their time. In little more than six tumultuous years, Mr. Gorbachev lifted the Iron Curtain, decisively altering the political climate of the world. At home he promised and delivered greater openness as he set out to restructure his country’s society and faltering economy. It was not his intention to liquidate the Soviet empire, but within five years of coming to power he had presided over the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.”

WSJ: “Mr. Gorbachev’s rejection of force to crush the push for freedom in the Soviet bloc, the easing of censorship in the media and cultural life, and his support of a landmark nuclear arms control agreement with the U.S. won him much praise abroad, and he was awarded the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

“But such warm sentiments weren’t felt at home, where many blamed the Soviet leader for the poverty and economic hardship that came with his loosening of centralized control of some businesses and in agriculture and manufacturing, for allowing the rise of nationalism in former Soviet republics, and for the loss of the U.S.S.R.’s status as a superpower.”

A tribute from JAMES A. BAKER III: ““History will remember Mikhail Gorbachev as a giant who steered his great nation toward democracy. He played the critical role in a peaceful conclusion of the Cold War by his decision against using force to hold the empire together. I found him to be an honest broker and could count on his word despite domestic pressure in Moscow. The free world misses him greatly.”

SURVEY SAYS— Seven days ago, President JOE BIDEN announced he would cancel up to $20,000 in student loans for some borrowers, extend the pause on student loan payments and make other changes to the repayment system. A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll finds voters are giving Biden’s plans pretty high marks:

• Forty-eight percent approve of the debt cancellation, 43% disapprove;
• Fifty-six percent approve of Biden extending the pause on student loan payments; 
• Fifty-four percent approve of Biden decreasing the amounts student loan borrowers need to pay back each month;
• And 55% approve of covering borrower’s unpaid monthly interest as long as they are making monthly payments.

BIDEN’S WEDNESDAY: The president will receive the President’s Daily brief at 9 a.m.

VP KAMALA HARRIS’ WEDNESDAY: The VP has nothing on her public schedule.

Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 2:45 p.m.

HEADS UP — Biden will travel to Boston to discuss infrastructure on Sept. 12, the White House announced.

THE HOUSE and THE SENATE are out.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

THE WHITE HOUSE

THE BIDEN BOUNCE — Biden is coming out of August with a bout with Covid behind him, a string of legislative successes and the hope that the worst is behind him and the fear of infection gone, Jonathan Lemire and Chris Cadelago write, as the White House plots its next moves ahead of the midterms. “It’s part of a blitz of upcoming travel, with aides wanting Biden to hit the road two or three times a week. Already, three stops have been planned for Pennsylvania alone, showcasing the importance of the battleground state for Democrats in both their 2022 state house and Senate bids, as well as in 2024 for, potentially, Biden’s own.

“It will culminate in what has become a totem for the president: the Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh. Biden marched there twice before when presidential speculation swirled around him, in 2015 and 2018. His appearance Monday, aides concede, will be closely watched for any possible hints about one last campaign.”

ALL POLITICS

ART OF THE DEAL —Puck’s Theodore Schleifer has an incisive look at the tug-of-war between PETER THIEL and MITCH McCONNELL as their respective teams haggle over which will account for the needed money to the cash-strapped campaigns of BLAKE MASTERS in Arizona and J.D. VANCE in Ohio. “The relationship between Thiel, the consummate contrarian, and McConnell, the consummate pragmatist, has now unexpectedly become one of the most important storylines in the G.O.P. financial universe. I am told that McConnell and Thiel have spoken directly and frankly about the situation over the course of the summer. Some sources I talk to swear we are on the cusp of an imminent breakthrough. Others are more dour and think this months-long stalemate may not be resolved until the fall.”

— In September 2021, ADAM LAXALT — the former state AG who is running to unseat Sen. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO (D-Nev.) — asked a county election official in Nevada to conduct an audit of the 2020 election results, The Nevada Independent’s Jacob Solis reports. Douglas County Clerk-Treasurer AMY BURGANS “recounted telling Laxalt that the signatures could not be released under state law. Laxalt then, per the email, said he had not heard of such a provision, and declined an offer by Burgans to later receive the relevant statute over email.”

WHERE RANKED CHOICE IS HEADED — As Alaska prepares to decide its first election under the ranked-choice voting format, wealthy donors and other advocates of the system are already planning to spread it to new states — chief among them is Nevada, a perennial battleground, Madison Fernandez reports. “Ranked choice advocates are putting a ballot measure before Nevada voters this fall that would impose a similar system to Alaska’s in future elections. All candidates would run on one open primary ballot under the proposal, with the top five contenders regardless of party advancing to a ranked choice general election.”

2022/2024 WATCH — Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1): “Sources tell @FoxNews that [MIKE PENCE] to return to New Hampshire 9/14 (the day after Primary Day) to attend a fundraiser in Wilton for the eventual #GOP #nhsen nominee in race against Democratic [MAGGIE HASSAN].”

JUST POSTED — “The Extremely Online Rise of Doug Mastriano,” NYT

ABORTION FALLOUT

WORLD IS WATCHING — A U.N. council called out the Biden administration over abortion, asking U.S. officials to “address a host of concerns, including imperiled abortion access for minorities, curbs on voting rights and the country’s ‘increasingly militarized approach’ to immigration,” NYT’s Nick Cumming-Bruce reports. “The White House did not immediately comment on the report by the panel, which said it expected the United States to respond to its findings within one year.”

IN THE STATES — “SC House advances near-total abortion ban with rape, incest exceptions up to 12 weeks,” by The State’s Maayan Schechter

— “ACLU, Planned Parenthood sue Indiana over new abortion restrictions,” by Indy Star’s Shari Rudavsky

POLICY CORNER

CANARY IN THE COAL MINE? — Amid all of the debate over whether the country is already plunged into a recession, one industry is already on the road there: “The housing market has cooled so much as the Fed withdraws its support for the economy that some analysts say it may be in a slump,” Katy O’Donnell reports. “That’s a big deal because spending on housing accounts for as much as 18 percent of GDP, and the sector typically leads recoveries. So, even as the Biden administration touts the strength of the labor market and consumer spending holds up, a prolonged downturn in the housing market could deepen any potential recession on the horizon for the U.S. economy.”

“U.S. Army Grounds Entire Fleet of Chinook Helicopters,” WSJ

“Death in Navy SEAL Training Exposes a Culture of Brutality, Cheating and Drugs,” NYT

AD ASTRA (AGAIN) — “NASA now targeting Saturday for Artemis I launch to the moon,” by Florida Today’s Emre Kelly

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

GUNS IN AMERICA —CNN’s Scott Glover and Curt Devine have an exclusive new report on automatic weapons with some staggering statistics: “The number of shootings involving automatic weapons in the US has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting a troubling resurgence in the use of machine guns by criminals, according to an analysis provided exclusively to CNN.”

STATE OF THE STATES — Between soaring tax revenues and one-time federal aid, states including Massachusetts, New York and California were flush with cash. But even as they approve record spending plans and tax rebates to combat inflation, lawmakers and governors are quietly squirreling away billions of dollars into rainy day funds as comptrollers and economic analysts warn of recession, Lisa Kashinsky reports this morning.

CLIMATE FILES — “After a Quiet August, Hurricane Forecasters Are Monitoring a Potential Storm,” NYT

— “A prolonged and record heat wave builds over the West this week,” CNN

MEDIAWATCH

TOP TALKER — NYT’s Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson have a deeply reported piece on the latest woes at WaPo as tensions between publisher FRED RYAN and the newsroom flare. The story is full of tidbits about the strife that the organization has faced in the post-Trump years and why some are turning on Ryan.

— Running in the red: “The organization is on track to lose money in 2022, after years of profitability, according to two people with knowledge of the company’s finances. The Post now has fewer than the three million paying digital subscribers that it had hailed internally near the end of 2020, according to several people at the organization.”

— Cuts looming: “Fred Ryan, the chief executive and publisher, in recent weeks has floated with newsroom leaders the possibility of cutting 100 positions, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions.”

— The Ryan backlash: “Some top executives are concerned that Mr. Ryan, picked by Mr. Bezos to be the publication’s top business executive, hasn’t moved decisively enough to expand coverage. Some have also become irritated by the company’s halting marketing efforts, which are guided by Mr. Ryan, and inconclusive talks about acquiring another large news organization. Mr. Ryan’s focus on productivity and office attendance in the newsroom has also been a source of tension.”

BEHIND THE SCENES — “‘The Only Question Isn’t Who Gets More Votes’: Behind The New York Times’ New Politics Podcast,” Vanity Fair

Micky Dolenz of The Monkees has filed a lawsuit against the DOJ requesting FBI records related to the band.

Herschel Walker revealed photographic evidence that he was once a “special deputy sheriff” of Cobb County, Ga.

Joe Biden said of John Fetterman, “I wouldn't screw with him if I had a sledgehammer.”

Joe Cunningham was flattered after Henry McMaster included a photo of him with a couple of hip hop legends in an new attack ad.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Bipartisan Policy Center, Unite America and Smerconish.com are teaming up to launch the “Un-Convention,” a “day-long series of candid conversations featuring viewpoints from across the political spectrum” on Oct. 7 at the National Constitution Center. Speakers include retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, a conversation with Jeff Zucker and Phil Griffin, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh Chapman, Amber McReynolds, Tara Setmeyer, David Thornburgh, Stephen Richer and Salena Zito.

WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Anne Filipic is joining Share Our Strength as CEO. She previously was assistant to the president and director of management and administration at the White House.

TRANSITIONS — Allison Crittenden is now senior director of government affairs at JBS USA . She previously was director of government affairs with the American Farm Bureau Federation. … Merav Ceren is now senior professional staff member for the House Oversight GOP. She most recently was SVP at Bullpen Strategy Group. … J. Philip Ludvigson is joining King & Spalding as a partner on the international trade team. He previously was director of CFIUS’ Office of Investment Security. …

… Kari Bingen is joining the Center for Strategic and International Studies as senior fellow and director of the Aerospace Security Project. She previously was chief strategy officer at HawkEye 360 and is a DoD alum. … Shayla Moon is now a senior director of housing & economic policy at the National Urban League. She previously was a senior legislative & intergovernmental affairs specialist at the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency. … Jim Billimoria is now VP at Rational 360. He most recently was director of B2B communications at American Express and is a Trump SBA, Bill Shuster and Dave Camp alum.

ENGAGED — Joe Francescon, an investor in national security technologies at High Point Aerotech and a DOD and NSA alum, on Friday proposed to Millicent Hennessey, who recently started as senior manager for public policy at Samsung Semiconductor, on the summit of their favorite hike in Acadia National Park. The two met while serving on the National Security Council at the White House. Pic

WEDDINGS — Mikayla Bouchard, a managing editor for CNN Politics and a NYT alum, and Maj. Kohl Hensler of the U.S. Air Force got married on Saturday in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., with a reception at the Bloomfield Hills Country Club. The couple met on Hinge in August 2019. Pic ... Another pic

— Nick Simmons, senior adviser to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and a Ned Lamont alum, and Rachel Munsie, founder and CEO of Ounce and a Goldman Sachs alum, got married recently in Massachusetts. The couple met in NYC six years ago right before he left for graduate school at Harvard. Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Laura Nahmias, a senior reporter for Bloomberg News and a POLITICO alum, and Matt Mittenthal, VP of comms for BuzzFeed and a Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Michael Bloomberg alum, recently welcomed Margot Jane Mittenthal. Pic ... Another pic

— Joshua Matz, partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink, and Hillel Smith, artist and graphic designer, welcomed a child on Aug. 19.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Tommy Vietor of Crooked Media … Ryan Ellis … Brian Johnson of Veterans Guardian … DHS’ Ramzi Nemo … Scott Shalett … Lauren Fine of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) office … NYT’s Tom Kaplan and Patrick Healy … Kim Hefling … Ed Goeas of the Tarrance Group … Mattie Duppler of Amazon … Targeted Victory’s Alex Schriver … Justin Myers of Blue Leadership Collaborative … Leland Vittert of NewsNation … States Newsroom’s Jennifer Shutt … CNN’s Josh Campbell … Kaylin Minton … Bennett Resnik … Andy Richards of the AFL-CIO … Kent Klein … former Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) … Neil Alpert … Elizabeth Pemmerl 

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.

CORRECTION: Due to a data interpretation error, an earlier version of this newsletter misstated the level of support for President Joe Biden's student debt cancellation plan in the new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. It is 48 percent of voters.