IVANKA TRUMP and MEGYN KELLY were spotted Friday having a late breakfast meeting at the Four Seasons in New York. The two chatted for roughly two and a half hours. Picture of the pair http://bit.ly/2f236Rk
GOOD SUNDAY MORNING. There are just 9 DAYS until Election Day and North Carolina is already approaching half the total 2012 vote: http://bit.ly/2eo18cR (h/t @AdamPlatt1999)
CBS BATTLEGROUND TRACKER: PENNSYLVANIA -- Clinton 48, Trump 40 … NORTH CAROLINA -- Clinton 48, Trump 45 … COLORADO -- Clinton 42, Trump 39 … ARIZONA -- Trump 44, Clinton 42. http://cbsn.ws/2eWAN9n … 71% in the “Battleground Tracker” poll say Jim Comey’s statement doesn’t change their mind about who to vote for.
DONALD TRUMP has taken a four-point lead (46-42) in the most recent NYT Upshot/Siena poll of Florida. “The survey is Mr. Trump’s best recent poll in Florida, and it should be interpreted with caution. In general, it is best to look at an average of polls. Mrs. Clinton still leads in an average of recent Florida surveys by nearly three points.” http://nyti.ms/2f0Iw46
--@Timodc: “Fun reminder. Even if Trump is up 4 in Florida he still needs to win Pennsylvania or Colorado or New Hampshire to be President”
-- NBC/WSJ/MARIST: FLORIDA -- Clinton 45, Trump 44, Johnson 5, Stein 2 … N.C. -- Clinton 47, Trump 41, Johnson 8 (both pre-Comey) http://nbcnews.to/2f5Eshw
MEANWHILE, IN ALASKA -- CRACIUN RESEARCH POLL: Clinton 47, Trump 43, Johnson 7 http://bit.ly/2eb1y8R (Note: Alaska is notoriously difficult to poll.)
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WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE… --@CNNPolitics: “VP Joe Biden on not running for president: ‘I thought I could beat Hillary’” http://bit.ly/2elGIkN
-- @NYTnickc: “Guy chants ‘Jew-S-A’ in front of press pen” http://bit.ly/2eIVPb5… Jake Tapper gets Kellyanne Conway to respond http://bit.ly/2f5Iw1k … Ben Schreckinger from the scene, w/ video http://politi.co/2eUWDda
THE LATEST -- MICHAEL ISIKOFF on Yahoo, “FBI still does not have warrant to review new Clinton emails”: “[B]efore agents were able to review any of the material because the bureau had not yet gotten a search warrant to read them … As of Saturday night, the FBI had still not gotten approval from the Justice Department for a warrant that would allow them to read any of the newly discovered Abedin emails, and therefore are still in the dark about whether they include any classified material that the bureau has not already seen. Top Justice Department officials were described by a government source as ‘apoplectic’ over the letter.” https://yhoo.it/2dZ3ga5
-- CLINTON CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL: “If the FBI has not even obtained permission to look at these emails, that means that Director Comey sent his letter without at all knowing what's in them. It proves that he has little idea of the relevance of these emails, let alone their significance. For all he knows, they could be personal in nature, or be duplicative of emails that have already been reviewed. This makes Director Comey’s actions all the more questionable, and perhaps explains why his superiors at the Justice Department urged against him sending this letter to Congress.”
SUNDAY BEST -- MIKE PENCE to Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday”: “We commend the director of the FBI and the FBI for following through on their work before the Congress that if there was new pertinent information sufficient to reopen this investigation that they would inform Congress of that fact and they would move forward. Look, this is clearly a very serious matter and we respect the institution of the FBI and we are confident that they'll handle this in a professional and timely way.”
-- HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN DEVIN NUNES to Wallace, who asks him: “Would it be fair to say that if Clinton wins and if Republicans hold on to the House, you continue to be the chair of House Intelligence for instance, there will be investigations, more investigations of the woman who could be our next president-elect?” NUNES: “We will clearly investigate all of the information that we have as it relates to classified information being put on unclassified networks where Russians, Chinese, other bad actors could get ahold of the information. And look, I know this is—” WALLACE: “Even if she’s the president-elect? Chairman?” NUNES: “Look, I know this is rhetoric. But this is Secretary Clinton’s fault.”
WHAT BROOKLYN’S THINKING -- “How Clinton plans to deal with Comey’s October surprise,” by Gabe Debenedetti in Daytona Beach, Florida: “In the hours after FBI Director James Comey threw a wrench into Hillary Clinton's home-stretch plans, her campaign launched into an uncharacteristic frenzy of activity, quickly trying to turn the development into a base-energizing tool. But in her New York headquarters and her battleground state outposts, the news sent shivers down operatives’ spines, and immediately had them scrambling to gauge the effect on voters they need most. …
“Clinton’s strategists have projected a confident front, shrugging off any possible impact from Friday’s bombshell news and pointing to weeks of strong early voting and persistent polling leads, even as they blast Comey for re-injecting the email issue into the race with his cryptic letter to Congress. Their goal is now to convert Democrats’ anxiety over the FBI chief’s move into a fury and a rallying point for a base that has flirted with overconfidence in recent weeks.” http://politi.co/2f5opzZ
--NYT A19, “A Scandal Too Far? Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton, and a Test of Loyalty,” by Amy Chozick and Mark Landler: “On Friday, several of Mrs. Clinton’s friends and allies suggested she distance herself from Ms. Abedin, a painful prospect given that Mrs. Clinton has described Ms. Abedin as a surrogate daughter and has relied on her more than anyone else during her nearly two-year pursuit of the White House. The two women’s closeness has both intimidated those in the Clinton circle of status-conscious advisers and caused envy. ...
“Mrs. Clinton played a part in introducing Ms. Abedin and Mr. Weiner ... In August 2001, the young congressman asked Ms. Abedin, then an aide to Mrs. Clinton in the Senate, if she would go out for a drink. Standing behind Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin waved her arms at her boss and shook her head ‘no.’ ‘Of course all you young people should go out,’ Mrs. Clinton said. ... [S]ome senior Democrats are now wondering whether, if Mrs. Clinton is elected, she will be able to bring Ms. Abedin along with her for what was once widely expected to be a senior role in the White House. … On Saturday, Ms. Abedin was working from the campaign’s Brooklyn headquarters rather than traveling with Mrs. Clinton on a campaign swing in Florida. [Philippe] Reines, who is not officially on the campaign’s staff was, however, accompanying Mrs. Clinton.” http://nyti.ms/2fjFBXt
-- “Clinton aide Huma Abedin has told people she doesn’t know how her emails wound up on her husband’s computer,” by WaPo’s Matt Zapotosky, Tom Hamburger and Karen Tumulty: http://wapo.st/2eZM3Qk
DAILY DONALD -- “Trump boasts about his philanthropy. But his giving falls short of his words,” by WaPo’s David Fahrenthold: “For as long as he has been rich and famous, Donald Trump has also wanted people to believe he is generous. He spent years constructing an image as a philanthropist by appearing at charity events and by making very public — even nationally televised — promises to give his own money away. It was, in large part, a facade. A months-long investigation by The Washington Post has not been able to verify many of Trump’s boasts about his philanthropy.
“Instead, throughout his life in the spotlight, whether as a businessman, television star or presidential candidate, The Post found that Trump had sought credit for charity he had not given — or had claimed other people’s giving as his own. It is impossible to know for certain what Trump has given to charity, because he has declined to release his tax returns. In all, The Post was able to identify $7.8 million in charitable giving from Trump’s own pocket since the early 1980s.” http://wapo.st/2f0J2i7
#2016 -- AP: “House Speaker Ryan to stump for Montana candidates”: “U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan was scheduled to appear in Billings Sunday for a rally with fellow Republicans who are seeking election on November 8. Ryan was to be joined [by] Rep. Ryan Zinke, who is being challenged by Democrat Denise Juneau, the superintendent of the state school system. Juneau has criticized Zinke for his strong support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.” http://bit.ly/2f0UFpD
HAPPENING TODAY -- DONALD TRUMP is in Las Vegas at the Venetian at 11 a.m. Then he goes to Greeley, Colorado, for a 4 p.m. rally at the University of Northern Colorado. At 7 p.m., Trump has his third event of the day in Albuquerque, New Mexico. MIKE PENCE will be in Rochester, New Hampshire.
HILLARY CLINTON is in Florida, where she will appear at the Community in Unity rally in Wilton Manors at 2 p.m. TIM KAINE is in Taylor and Warren, Michigan. BILL CLINTON is in North Carolina.
PLAYBOOKER HALLOWEEN COSTUMES: Send Daniel pictures of the best political costumes you saw (or wore) this weekend and we’ll feature some in Playbook tomorrow: daniel@politico.com
SWING STATE FRONTS -- Cleveland Plain Dealer (top of the page, three columns), “Justice warned FBI about Comey’s plans” http://bit.ly/2fjJDiK … Miami Herald (bottom of the page), “Supporting Clinton a hard sell for some Haitian Americans” http://bit.ly/2eo5uAH … Orlando Sentinel (two columns, middle of the page), “Clinton slams FBI chief at Volusia rally” http://bit.ly/2eWGjZG
#YOLO OBAMA – Deadline’s Greg Evans: “After nearly a year of on-air pleading and a national petition at whitehouse.gov, Bill Maher has landed President Barack Obama as a guest for his HBO program Real Time With Bill Maher. Maher will interview the president at the White House this week for airing next Friday, Nov. 4.” http://bit.ly/2fhfrF1
SPOTLIGHT STRIKES AGAIN -- “Law firm ‘bonuses’ tied to political donations,” by the Boston Globe and Center for Responsive Politics’ Andrea Estes and Viveca Novak: “Jon Tester didn’t come all the way from Montana for the scrambled eggs and bacon. The US senator, virtually unknown in Boston, was in a conference room at the Thornton Law Firm that June morning to cash in at one of the most reliable stops on the Democratic fund-raising circuit, a law firm that pours millions into the coffers of the party and its politicians … The personal injury lawyers listened politely for a few minutes, then returned to their offices. And Tester walked away with $26,400 in checks.
“But a striking thing happened the day Tester visited in 2010. Partner David C. Strouss received a payment from the firm labeled as a ‘bonus’ that exactly equaled his $2,400 contribution to Tester’s campaign, the maximum allowed. A few days later, partner Garrett Bradley — until recently the House assistant majority leader on Beacon Hill — got a bonus, too, exactly matching his $2,400 gift to Tester. This pattern of payments — contributions offset by bonus payments — was commonplace at Thornton, according to a review of law firm records by the Spotlight Team and the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based nonprofit that tracks campaign finance data.” http://bit.ly/2eWvCX1
WEST COAST WATCH -- “A $72-million apartment project. Top politicians. Unlikely donors: Who wrote the checks to elected officials weighing approval?” by LA Times’ David Zahniser and Emily Alpert Reyes: Victor “Blanco is among more than 100 campaign contributors with a direct or indirect connection to Samuel Leung, a Torrance-based developer who was lobbying public officials to approve a 352-unit apartment complex, a Times investigation has found. Those donors gave more than $600,000 to support Hahn, Mayor Eric Garcetti and other L.A.-area politicians between 2008 and 2015, as Leung was seeking city approval for the $72-million development in L.A.’s Harbor Gateway neighborhood, north of the Port of Los Angeles, The Times found. …
“The fundraising effort is a case study in the myriad ways money can flow to City Hall when developers seek changes to local planning rules. The pattern of donations from unlikely sources, some of whom profess to have no knowledge of contributions made in their name, suggests an effort to bypass campaign finance laws designed to make political giving transparent to the public.” http://lat.ms/2e10eSI
CHAD GRIFFIN on Medium, “An Open Letter: [Human Rights Campaign] Revokes Endorsement Following Senator Mark Kirk’s Racist Comments”: “After careful consideration, HRC’s Public Policy Committee of the Board of Directors has taken the unprecedented step—a first in our 36-year history—of revoking an endorsement. ... On Thursday night, Senator Kirk’s comments about his opponent’s heritage were deeply offensive and racist. His attempt to use Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth’s race as a means to undermine her family’s American heritage and patriotism is beyond reprehensible.” http://bit.ly/2f5ybCj ... Americans for Responsible Solutions also pulled their endorsement http://bit.ly/2eRcHtx
SOUTH CAROLINA’S THE STATE endorses Hillary – “Why conservatives have no option but to support Clinton”: “This is the first time our editorial board has endorsed a Democratic presidential nominee since Jimmy Carter in 1976.” http://bit.ly/2eRcSp0
GLENN THRUSH for POLITICO Magazine: “How the GOP Can Survive Trump,” a conversation moderated by Thrush with Mike DuHaime, Sarah Isgur Flores, David Kochel and Terry Sullivan. “All top operatives for Trump’s primary season opponents, the four of them watched from the front row as the real estate mogul tore through decades of Republican gospel to emerge as the party’s nominee in July.” http://politi.co/2fjCsqL
HAMBY AND CONROY GO HOLLYWOOD -- page 8 of NYT’s Sunday Styles, “Fast Times on the Campaign Trail in ‘Embeds’,” by Ashley Parker: “This month, a group of 20-somethings assembled in Des Moines to sustain themselves on gas station pizza; cover the Faith, Freedom, Family and Fudge Pops Forum; chase a long-shot presidential candidate who irons his own bluejeans; and huddle at a rotating cast of hotel bars each night. But unlike their real-life counterparts, these campaign reporters (‘embeds,’ in political parlance) were part of a fictional comedy set to debut in January with a six-episode run.
“‘Embeds,’ which will be available on go90, Verizon’s mobile streaming platform, is the brainchild of Scott Conroy and Peter Hamby, who met as young network political reporters in 2008 (Mr. Conroy for CBS and Mr. Hamby for CNN). At its core, the 30-minute show promises a coming-of-age tale set against the high-pressure backdrop of covering a presidential campaign, all through the eyes of sleep-addled, overly ambitious, sex-hungry reporters whose first job just happens to be helping to the determine the next leader of the free world.” http://nyti.ms/2f0O52v
TV TONIGHT – The second season of the Emmy award-winning NatGeo climate change series “Years of Living Dangerously” premieres tonight at 8 p.m. Correspondents this season include Jack Black, Gisele Bündchen, James Cameron (also an executive producer), Don Cheadle, America Ferrera, Tom Friedman, David Letterman, Aasif Mandvi, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cecily Strong, Sigourney Weaver and Bradley Whitford. Trailer http://bit.ly/2fq9Vir ... 3-min. preview clip, “David Letterman Goes to India” http://bit.ly/2dQPIC0
BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:
--“The end of adolescence,” by Paula S. Fass in Aeon Magazine: “In the 20th century it offered a bridge from the innocence of childhood to the responsibilities of adult life. Not any more.” http://bit.ly/2f0qFZv
--“The Gone Girl With The Dragon Tattoo On The Train,” by Emily St. John Mandel in FiveThirtyEight – per The Browser’s description: “Analysis of 800 popular recent novels with ‘girl’ in the title. In two-thirds of the books the titular ‘girl’ is in fact a woman. Four-fifths of the ‘girl’ books are written by women; but the ‘girl’ is three times as likely to get killed or to disappear in the course of the story if the author is a man.” http://53eig.ht/2eNAqej
--“King-Killers in America (and the American Who Avenged the King),” by Michael Walsh and Don Jordan in Longreads, in an excerpt from “The King’s Revenge: Charles II and the Greatest Manhunt in British History”: “When Charles II regained the throne, he launched a global manhunt for the judges who had sentenced his father to death.” http://bit.ly/2eQ72ah ... $20.12 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2fqcEII (h/t Longreads.com)
--“Inside the Frozen Zoo That Could Bring Extinct Animals Back to Life,” by Zach Baron in GQ: “All around us, every day, things are disappearing—birds, butterflies, coral reefs, islands. ... But what if there was a way to bring some of it back? ... A few miles north of San Diego, scientists are gathering up specimens of every living thing they can get their hands on in a last-ditch effort to save the planet from an unstoppable predator: us.” http://bit.ly/2fon9wl (h/t Longform.org)
--“Bookish fools,” by Frank Furedi in Aeon Magazine: “The book has always been a sign of status and refinement; a declaration of self-worth – even for those who hate to read.” http://bit.ly/2dPHrhS
--“A Precarious Alliance Takes on Islamic State,” by Christoph Reuter in Der Spiegel: “The battle for Mosul, a key city for Islamic State, has begun. On one side, a fragile alliance with conflicting political goals, and on the other, a ruthless enemy who might go to extreme lengths to defend the Iraqi metropolis -- including chemical weapons.” http://bit.ly/2f0qbCC
--“Lonely Hunters,” by Mark O’Connell in Slate: “Emily Witt’s Future Sex irresistibly explores the mournfulness and hopefulness of singledom today.” http://slate.me/2eNAkDi … $20.50 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2fgLuEO
--“The Publisher Who Rejected Jane Austin,” by Shelley DeWees in LitHub: “Well that was a mistake, wasn’t it?” http://bit.ly/2ejSDiW
--“Uncertain Death,” by Diego Gambetta in Boston Review: “Critics and biographers take for granted that Primo Levi killed himself. But doubts remain.” http://bit.ly/2dPN0ww
--“Murderous Games: Gladiatorial Contests in Ancient Rome,” by Keith Hopkins in History Today: “Gladiatorial shows turned war into a game, preserved an atmosphere of violence in time of peace, and functioned as a political theatre which allowed confrontation between rulers and ruled.” http://bit.ly/2foowLA
--“We should remember HG Wells for his social predictions, not just his scientific ones,” by Simon John James in The Conversation: “No writer is more renowned for his ability to foresee the future than HG Wells. His writing can be seen to have predicted the aeroplane, the tank, space travel, the atomic bomb, satellite television and the worldwide web. His fantastic fiction imagined time travel, alien invasion, flights to the moon and human beings with the powers of gods.” http://bit.ly/2eYj0vT
--“The Weird Economics Of Ikea,” by Oliver Roeder in FiveThirtyEight: “The home furnishing company uses 1 percent of the planet’s lumber, it says, and the 530 million cubic feet of wood used to make Ikea furniture each year pulls with its own kind of twisted gravity.” http://53eig.ht/2dUFI5S
--“What to Make of T. S. Eliot?” by Garrick Davis in the Fall issue of Humanities: “Beneath the formal exterior of a banker-scholar beat the heart of a tormented poet.” http://bit.ly/2e5Hi8C (h/t ALDaily.com)
--“Philippa Levine recommends the best books on Eugenics” – FiveBooks: “The term ‘eugenics’ elicits queasiness amongst those who associate it with the Nazis. But Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw and Margaret Sanger were among its many proponents in the interwar period.” http://bit.ly/2ejTXCr
SPOTTED: On Saturday night at The Washington International Horse Show at the Verizon Center: former Sen. John Warner, a former competitor in the event, praising the show’s donations to veterans groups: http://bit.ly/2eRfT8x ... Georgina Bloomberg, daughter of the former NYC mayor, competing in the Grand Prix on her horse, Crown ... Jessica Springsteen, daughter of the Boss, competing in the Grand Prix on her horse ... John Kerry on a Saturday riding his bike up MacArthur Blvd, with his security detail trailing in a black Suburban.
OUT AND ABOUT IN NYC -- Connie Milstein and Robin Dearden hosted a book party last night in New York to celebrate Bryan Cranston’s NYT best-selling autobiography “A Life in Parts” and honor the work of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Tammy Haddad interviewed Cranston at Milstein’s West Village home. $16.07 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2enTlf3
SPOTTED: Joel Benenson, Steve Kroft, Mitchell and Candy Moss, Harvey Weinstein, Robert Schenkkan, Brian and Jamie Stelter, Gayle King, Beth Comstock, Katie Thomson and Drew Conrad, Joanna Milstein and Bjorn Skarrup, Kirk, Amy and Taylor Cranston, David Adler, Jacquie Bloom, Peter Baca, Rachel Greenberg, Michelle DeLaune, Joy Messenger and Gavin Portnoy from NCMEC.
WEEKEND WEDDINGS – Julia Edwards and Newman Ainsley got married at Christ Church yesterday in D.C. She covers counterterrorism, immigration and criminal justice for Reuters, and he manages an orthopedic practice affiliated with GW. They met five years ago at Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown through mutual friends. He is from Richmond, she’s from Raleigh, and they both came to D.C. for their master’s degrees and ended up staying much longer than they thought. Their reception was at Decatur House by the White House where they brought in a band from Charlotte, N.C. to play Carolina Beach Music, a touch of their Southern roots. They also served bourbon and sweet tea. Pic http://bit.ly/2f23mji
-- Andrew Laidlaw, director of campaign communication at the consulting firm Crosby Textor in Sydney, this weekend married Alice Victoria Strapp, who works for investment firm Perpetual Limited in Sydney. “Alice is originally from Melbourne, but she also grew up as an expat in Hong Kong. Her dad, Guy Strapp, is based there as CEO of Eastspring Investments: Global. We met three years ago at a summer party that I was hosting in Sydney. Hit it off straight away.” Pic http://bit.ly/2dSAlJA
SPOTTED in the stands last night at Wrigley field: 96-year-old former Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens, who sat behind third base when the Cubs were in the 1929 (!) World Series.
BIRTHDAYS: Andrea Mitchell, who was surprised with a cake after "Meet the Press" this morning -- pic of the cake http://bit.ly/2e1hNBW ... Ivanka Trump is 35 ... Maggie Haberman! … former Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) is 59 … Scott Fay (h/ts Jon Haber) ... Twitter’s Nu Wexler ... Mitch Stewart, founding partner at 270 Strategies, battleground states director for the 2012 Obama for America campaign, and former senior advisor to Ready for Hillary (h/t Heather Purcell) ... DHS chief of staff Paul Rosen, who was recently profiled in USC’s law mag (http://bit.ly/2dPLjiK) (h/t Casey Hernandez) ... Rebecca Schieber, central Pennsylvania field director for Pat Toomey and Carly Fiorina’s former body woman, is 24, who celebrated with dinner in Harrisburg last night and today is cranking out voter contacts and then watching the Eagles crush the Cowboys (h/t boyfriend Fred Brown) ... Lauren Zelt, deputy comms director for Sen. Ayotte (h/t Daniel Strauss) ... Capitol File’s Laura Mullen ... David Beckwith … former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) is 63 … former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.) is 6-0 … Jeff Larson, who served as CEO for the RNC’s 2016 National Convention … David Krone … Lizette Alvarez, Miami bureau chief of the New York Times ... Politico’s Bill Mahoney ...
… Alexandra Viers, pride of Atlanta, W&L, GWU’s Elliott School, and a program manager and research associate for the China Power Project at the CSIS, recently back from Taipei and Beijing, is a quarter century (h/t her biggest fan) ... Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) is 55 ... Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) is 65 ... Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) is 61 ... AARP’s Josh Rosenblum … Christine Zdelar, product manager at TrackMaven and a Politico alum ... Connor Brantley is 19 … Jeremy Seth Gold is 41 … James Richardson, managing director at Dentons … Edwin Foulke ... Michael Petricone, SVP of gov’t affairs at the Consumer Electronics Association (h/t Kurt Bardella) ... Romney alum Samantha Turner … Media Matters alum Jeremy Holden ... Joe Sterling is 66 … Brian Schildroth … Justin Hage … Ian Millhilser, justice editor at Think Progress … Lauren Callahan … Sam Bilotta ... Evan Reese, son of Beth Frerking ... Nicholas Watson (h/t Teresa Vilmain) ... Christine Holbrook … actor Gael Garcia Bernal is 38 ... actor Matthew Morrison is 38 (h/ts AP)