Albuquerque mayor files complaint against city council over AFR staffing ordinance
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After a heated and lengthy council meeting earlier this month, council voted 7-2 to pass R-25-122. The bill codified the current staffing requirement of having two paramedics on AFR rescue units. It came after AFR Chief Emily Jaramillo rolled out a pilot that would have a firefighter with basic EMT training take the place of one of the two fully-trained paramedics when responding to calls. The chief said this would allow at least one paramedic at more calls across the city and noted the department's challenge in recruiting paramedics.
Though the ordinance is now in place, its future could be uncertain. Instead of vetoing the bill, Mayor Tim Keller has filed a legal complaint against the council asking a court to at least put a pause on the ordinance.
It claims that after AFR leadership and the firefighters union, International Association of Fire Fighter 244, disagreed on that staffing change, the union conspired with city councilors to get their preference through legislation. The complaint claims this violated the city's Labor Management Rights Ordinance.
The complaint also accused city council of violating the separation of powers set forth by state and city law, by intruding on the executive branch's authority of determining staffing.
Personnel disputes need to be resolved by the labor board and through the courts, not by politicians including me. Until then, I'm confident our Fire Chief and our firefighters will keep doing what they do best, protecting our city and serving those in need.
Mayor Tim Keller
But in another statement tonight Councilor Dan Lewis, who was one of the sponsors of the bill along with Councilor Joaquin Baca, argued otherwise. The councilor maintained that the city charter grants council the power to 'adopt all ordinances conducive to the welfare of the people of Albuquerque,' and that this action was fully within that authority.
'While Mayor Tim Keller fights the International Association of Fire Fighters, the City Council is listening to the union and the paramedics in the field who are saving lives,' said Councilor Lewis in an emailed statement. 'Having two paramedics on a rescue unit increases the chances of someone surviving a heart attack or serious injuries from an automobile accident.'
There is no hearing date set yet on the complaint. Chief Jaramillo sat down with News 13's New Mexico News Insiders podcast. To listen to her in-depth interview on this issue, you can listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts starting on March 25, 2025.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Politico
15 hours ago
- Politico
Playbook: Six months in
Presented by With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco Happy Sunday. This is Zack Stanton. Get in touch. THE CONVERSATION: Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) is a lawyer, former state attorney general and a skilled navigator of the old — and new — wings of the Republican Party. He also has another title: White House whisperer. On today's episode of 'The Conversation,' Schmitt joins Playbook's Dasha Burns to talk about his closeness with the Trump administration, driving the Senate's $9.4 billion rescissions bill, his involvement with passing Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' his belief in Medicaid reform, the controversy over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and what he describes as his 'America First' — but not isolationist — foreign policy approach. Watch the full episode on YouTube … Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify DRIVING THE DAY SIX MONTHS IN: Welcome to the six-month mark of President Donald Trump's second term. How Americans see it: A new poll from CBS News/YouGov finds 42 percent of Americans approve of Trump's job performance, while 58 percent disapprove. One big number to watch: 64 percent disapprove of his handling of inflation — up 10 points from March — and with more tariffs due to kick in a few weeks from now, that number may well rise as prices go up. How Trump wants them to see it: This has been 'one of the most consequential periods of any President,' he wrote in a Truth Social post this morning. 'In other words, we got a lot of good and great things done, including ending numerous wars … Six months is not a long time to have totally revived a major Country.' One thing complicating that: 'Trump would like nothing better than to point to successes in his second term, and he has had some,' WaPo's Dan Balz writes this morning. 'The swirling Epstein controversy makes that difficult.' If you survey the headlines this morning, you'll see precious few of the six-months-in prewrites that assignment editors like to tee up. Instead, the space is filled with stories about Epstein and Trump — including the top above-the-fold article on the front page of the Sunday NYT. Even so, 'there is no indication so far that this is the scandal that will sink Trump any more than the 'Access Hollywood' tape of 2016, or being found guilty in a criminal trial last year over hush money payments to a porn star,' WaPo's Natalie Allison writes. But: 'If it continues to grab public attention, it could pose a more significant threat at a time when Trump's standing with the public already has been on the decline, though polling shows him steady with his own party.' On that front, the Epstein story is a massive liability. CBS/YouGov finds 75 percent of Americans disapprove of the administration's handling of matters related to Epstein, and 89 percent want the Justice Department to release all the information it has on the case. There's no reason to think this story won't continue to hoover up attention. Partly, that's because it's a topic where there's so much left to be reported out — the contents of the so-called Epstein files, the DOJ's handling of them, the internal dynamics at the White House around the topic, the media angle amid Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, and so on. It's incredibly fertile ground for news. But its staying power is also due, at least in part, not just to the particulars, but to the broader dynamics fueling interest. 'The very tools that helped win Trump two terms — the openness to conspiracy, the distrust of elites, the eruption of a viral moment — have now turned to bedevil him,' USA Today's Susan Page writes. In that way, the Epstein story is a problem for Trump because it lights up preexisting pathways for many on the MAGA right. 'This is primarily a within-MAGA problem,' Whit Ayres, a longtime Republican pollster, told WaPo. 'The vast majority of Americans don't spend every waking moment wondering what happened to Epstein.' It's even dividing the MAGA bot networks. NBC's Kevin Collier reports that 'with the MAGA movement split' over the Epstein story, one network of hundreds of reply bots on X has found its 'messaging has broken, offering contradictory statements on the issue and revealing the AI-fueled nature of the accounts.' In terms of MAGA, the hope for Trump is this: If some amount of interest in the story is at least in part due to conspiracy and a distrust of elites, then he may be able to change the target of that suspicion to the media, as in his lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on Trump and Epstein. 'MAGA is now united, because they can see there's a common enemy,' Steve Bannon told WaPo. 'They see exactly what the reality is — it's the Deep State, with their media partners, led by [Rupert] Murdoch, that's out to destroy Trump.' SUNDAY BEST … — Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on AG Pam Bondi and the release of the Epstein files, on ABC's 'This Week": 'I think her communication with us early on was not as good. I mean that the binder, for instance, that she put out, I was very excited about that. But then I found the contents of it. … I think if she turns a corner, I have a saying: 'It's not how you start; it's how you finish.' If she finishes strong on this, then, then I'm all for it.' — Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) on the NYT report on Democrats' post-mortem of 2024 not including former President Joe Biden's decision to run, on CNN's 'State of the Union': 'An autopsy should address the actual cause of death. And I felt like if the Democratic nominee, including Vice President [Kamala] Harris, had had the benefit of a full primary process, she would have emerged from it a better candidate.' — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on the potential criminal prosecution of former Obama administration officials, on FOX News' 'Sunday Morning Futures': '[The] intelligence showed that, again, Russia did not have either the intent nor the capability to be able to impact the outcome of the United States' election. … [There's] no question in my mind that this intelligence community assessment that President Obama ordered be published which contained a manufactured intelligence document — it's worse than even politicization of intelligence. … Next week, we will be releasing more detailed information about how exactly this took place.' — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, on CBS' 'Face the Nation': 'I think the president is absolutely going to renegotiate USMCA, but that's a year from today. … He doesn't want cars built in Canada or Mexico when they can be built in Michigan and Ohio. It's just better for American workers.' — Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on the Epstein file controversy, on CNN's 'State of the Union': 'The president blaming Democrats for this disaster, Jake, is like that CEO that got caught on camera blaming Coldplay. … OK, like this is his making. He was president when Epstein got indicted for these charges and went to prison. He was president when Epstein committed suicide. … The people that have been fomenting this are right-wing influencers, members of Congress, people who have a reason that they want to know what's in there … They believed the president when he said there's stuff in there that people should see.' TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week's must-read opinion pieces. 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. IMMIGRATION FILES: With new billions in funding, ICE is expanding its detention space with temporary tents — or 'hardened soft-sided facilities' — to ramp up deportations as quickly as possible, WSJ's Michelle Hackman and Elizabeth Findell scoop. The first up would be a 5,000-bed tent city at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. But approval over Trump's mass deportations is still on a downward streak, with CNN polling this morning reporting 55 percent of Americans believe Trump has gone too far on immigration, a 10-point spike since February. On the ground: After the sweeping raids in Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass is once again 'the face of a city under siege' as fear and anxiety grows, POLITICO's Melanie Mason reports. … Online activists have launched websites to report ICE activity and arrests in surrounding areas, garnering thousands of followers and the DOJ's ire, WaPo's Robert Klemko writes. … Immigrants in Minnesota, Illinois and California are losing healthcare under Democratic leadership that once championed their care, per AP's Tran Nguyen and Devi Shastri. The men freed from CECOT: 'A Kite Surfer, Navy SEAL and Makeup Artist: Freed in a U.S.-Venezuela Swap,' by NYT's Julie Turkewitz: 'The American kite surfer, Lucas Hunter, 37, worked in finance in London and had gone on vacation in Colombia … The Navy SEAL, Wilbert Castañeda, 37, spent his adult life in the U.S. military and had gone to Venezuela to see a romantic partner … The makeup artist, Andry Hernández Romero, fled persecution for his political opinions and sexual orientation … The seller of bicycle parts, Alirio Belloso, 30, left because he could not afford school supplies for his 8-year-old daughter or medicine for his diabetic mother.' 2. FOR PETE'S SAKE: Another senior staffer at the Pentagon has been ousted, CBS' Jennifer Jacobs and colleagues scooped yesterday. Justin Fulcher came to the DOD as a DOGE employee, then became one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's senior advisers. Fulcher took on that leadership role in the DOD reorganization following Signal-gate, and he's the latest in a string of top-level staffers to exit the Pentagon following the chaotic leak. 'As planned, I've completed 6 months of service in government to my country. … I will continue to champion American warfighters in all future endeavors and remain impressed by the work of the Department of Defense,' Fulcher's statement released by the DOD said. 3. TECH SECTOR: The Trump administration reviewed SpaceX's contracts and determined cutting them would be detrimental to the Defense Department and NASA, WSJ's Brian Schwartz and colleagues scooped last night, as 'breaking up with Elon Musk is easier said than done.' Meanwhile, the administration is 'trying to woo China' by reversing restrictions on trading advanced AI chips, NYT's Ana Swanson and Tripp Mickle write. Not so happy about that: China hawks, who worry China will now make a stronger play over U.S. technology controls. 4. 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ON THE HILL: Polarization over Trump's legislative agenda has splintered Congress so deeply that NBC's Sahil Kapur and Frank Thorp V write that the 'last vestige of the bipartisan funding process is at risk of dying,' with the appropriations process growing even more dicey and Democrats blasting Trump for interfering in Congress' budget authority. The tension has exploded in shouting matches, committee walkouts and abandoned deals last week, NYT's Carl Hulse reports. No August recess?: Trump is calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to cancel the off-year break (and long weekends!) to finish getting his nominees confirmed. There's no decision on that yet, but there's been chatter about canceling the first week, POLITICO's Jordain Carney notes on X. That August recess could be a crucial moment for Republicans to sell the massive megabill to their continents. On that megabill: The cuts to SNAP and other federal food programs will decimate local grocery stores in low-income communities that turned out for Trump in 2024, POLITICO's Rachel Shin reports. And the break for states with the highest rates of waste in SNAP benefits, who wouldn't have to pay for those costs until 2030, could end up discouraging those states from correcting the errors, WaPo's Mariana Alfaro writes. 7. FROM THE WILDERNESS: As the calls get louder for redistricting Texas ahead of next year, Democrats are betting that Republicans will bite off more than they can chew. Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez — whose Texas border district could be a potential target —told AP's Nicolas Riccardi and Nadia Lathan that Dems are already recruiting challengers to seize 'pickup opportunities' in the new map. It comes as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democrats are weighing a similarly risky move to redraw maps in California, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Washington, CNN's Manu Raju and Sarah Ferris report this morning. 2026 watch: Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) is preparing to launch a run against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) next year, per AJC's Greg Bluestein. 2028 watch: Many Democratic presidential hopefuls — among them Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — have flocked to South Carolina to make their pitch in a state that will be crucial in the primaries, POLITICO's Brakkton Booker and Elena Schneider write from Pawleys Island. 8. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: More than 60 people were killed today in northern Gaza as Israel launched an attack on the crossing where humanitarian aid trucks enter the strip, NYT's Isabel Kershner and Aaron Boxerman report. The shooting followed an evacuation order for Palestinians to leave parts of central Gaza that have had yet to be targeted. The plan to move into these previously untouched central cities comes as Israel accuses Hamas of stonewalling a ceasefire, Bloomberg's Dan Williams and Fares Alghoul write. Meanwhile in Iran: Iran reached an agreement in principle for nuclear talks with France, Germany and the UK and could possibly begin last week, per Bloomberg's Arsalan Shahla. A Sunday read: 'Vodka Toasts With the Dictator of Belarus: How Diplomacy Gets Done in Trump 2.0,' by POLITICO's Amy Mackinnon 9. JUDICIARY SQUARE: 'After a Chaotic Start, a U.S. Attorney's Time May Be Running Out,' by NYT's Jonah Bromwich and Tracey Tully: '[Alina] Habba is among the most high-profile of the new U.S. attorneys appointed by a president who has taken closer control of the Justice Department than any other in the past half century. … Her tenure has also shattered morale inside the U.S. attorney's office and left many prosecutors looking for a way out … Prosecutors have chafed at her availability to defense lawyers. She disbanded the office's Civil Rights Division and killed the office's longest-running prosecution just days before it was scheduled to go to trial. … Habba acknowledged that she was unlikely to be appointed by the judges and offered an emotional, pre-emptive farewell.' TALK OF THE TOWN BLACKOUT: Large swaths of Dupont Circle are experiencing yet another power outage this morning. Pepco reports power may not be restored until 9 p.m. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, PART I: Zohran Mamdani is traveling to Uganda to celebrate his marriage to Rama Duwaji with their friends and family. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, PART II: Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo told business leaders yesterday that he will move to Florida if Mamdani wins the mayoral election. Cuomo's team later said he was joking. IN MEMORIAM — 'Award-winning former AP photographer Jo Ann Steck is remembered for her wit and leadership,' by AP's Safiyah Riddle: 'Award-winning photo journalist Jo Ann Steck — who broke barriers in male-dominated newsrooms by capturing some of the most notable moments in recent United States history — has died. She was 73.' TRANSITIONS — Fernando Brigidi De Mello is now senior campaign strategist for ACLU's new Abuse of Power team. He was previously with VP Kamala Harris's White House office and 2024 campaign, and is a Pete Buttigieg alum. WEDDING — Annika Nordquist, an incoming PhD candidate in government at Georgetown and daughter of Nels and DJ Nordquist, and Ryan McGregor, partner at Architect Capital, were married last Saturday in Alexandria. They met at a Georgetown house party during the fall of 2020, when Annika was home from Stanford and Ryan was working for Numinar, a political startup. Pic ... Another pic — Evan Swarztrauber, principal at CorePoint Strategies, and Carolyn Mahoney, an attorney advisor in the space bureau, satellite programs and policy division of the FCC, got married on Saturday in Block Island, Rhode Island. They originally met in 2018 as work friends and reconnected at The Hamilton in 2022. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) … Tom Friedman … Franklin Foer … CNN's David Chalian … Texas state Rep. Katrina Pierson … WaPo's David Lynch … Anita Decker Breckenridge … Patrick Kelly … King & Spalding's Justin Dews … Jamal Simmons … Hunter McKay of KRC Research … former Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) … Meta's Don Seymour … Leah Grace Blackwell … Paula Cino … Cornerstone's Max de Vreeze … Tristan Breaux of Rep. Shomari Figures' (D-Ala.) office … Liam Fagan of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) office … former FCC Chair Dick Wiley (91) … Sharon Copeland of the Herald Group … MSNBC's Joya Manasseh Dioguardi … POLITICO's Kevon Eaglin … Sydney Poindexter … Aloise Phelps Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Lynch: Normalizing the abnormal is happening on both sides of the gate at the Open
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The concept of 'normalization' wasn't invented in Northern Ireland but it was perfected here. From the 1970s, the British government worked tirelessly to present the image of an otherwise ordinary society being wrecked by mindless terrorists, conveniently positioning itself as a defender of norms instead of an active belligerent in a conflict that killed 3,500 people. Almost three decades after the Good Friday accord largely ended the violence, normalizing the abnormal continues, inside and outside the gate of Royal Portrush, where the 153rd Open is taking place. The R&A altered third-round tee times and logistics because the town of Portrush is hosting a band parade by pro-British Protestant loyalists that will begin as spectators are leaving the course Saturday evening. The Open was announced four years ago, so the parade's scheduling isn't accidental. Nor was there a debate about which one would give way when a major sports event with a global audience clashed with a parochial, coat-trailing parade. After all, this is a place where the government census asked those who identified as atheist to declare their family's historic religious affiliation, literally demanding to know if one is a Protestant or Catholic atheist. Loyalist parades are a staple of Northern Irish summers. The intent is to claim ownership of the street. Most are organized by the Orange Order, a fraternal group founded to maintain Protestant supremacy. They're frequently controversial and have often sparked violence when the Order insisted on marching through predominantly Catholic neighborhoods. Enormous bonfires are another feature of the festivities, and last week two drew widespread condemnation. One was built close to an electricity substation that powers Belfast's two main hospitals, another was topped with an effigy of migrants in a raft — a brazen example of the far-right racism that underpins much of loyalist sentiment. Organizers rejected calls to remove either and the government sat idle. Naked bigotry normalized as an expression of culture. The R&A's chief executive, Mark Darbon, was diplomatic when asked about the need to accommodate a loyalist parade during the Open: 'We are a guest in the community in which we operate,' he said, revealing that the R&A contributed to the cost of trying to ensure both events happen seamlessly. 'Security and the safety of your guests and the experience of your guests is always a prime consideration. This is no different,' he added. Lynch: With Open returning to Royal Portrush, tales of redemption sweep aside reality The parade organizers, the Portrush Sons of Ulster, informed followers on social media that 'we don't have as much control of the town as we usually would … We hope everyone understands what we're up against.' Uninitiated visitors in town for the Open — and some unaligned locals — will view the parade as a source of entertainment or amusement, jaunty flute music performed by ruddy-faced men gussied up in sashes and costumes, the entire spectacle suggesting a prank pageant for guys who'd struggle to get a dog to bark at them on dating apps. The Open largely exists outside of this binary guff that defines so much of life in Northern Ireland. It's unifying, a cause for celebration among people who for too long had more cause to commiserate. But even the Open is becoming a platform for normalizing the deplorable. The R&A deals with the Sons of Ulster by necessity. It deals with the Saudis by choice. LIV Golf has a hospitality location directly across the street from the Royal Portrush clubhouse, but then the R&A's writ doesn't extend beyond the perimeter of the course. It does, however, have control over what happens inside. Qiddiah, the entertainment mega project under construction in Saudi Arabia, has a hospitality presence on site and one of its representatives will be playing Royal Portrush on Monday as a guest of the R&A. Qiddiah is bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund and overseen by Yasir Al-Rumayyan, LIV's founding benefactor. Graeme McDowell, a popular native of Portrush, is working here as a commentator on the world feed for Sky Sports while wearing his LIV team apparel and regularly name-checking his employer. He was hired by IMG, which has deep business ties to the R&A. Coincidences? Possibly. Or perhaps the R&A is eager to position itself as more ally than antagonist to the Saudis. The process of normalizing the Kingdom's ambitions in golf began two years ago during the Open at Royal Liverpool, when Darbon's predecessor, Martin Slumbers, lamented the cash arms race in one breath while in the next attempting to cut to the head of the line for handouts. 'We have a number of large corporate partners that help us make this thing happen,' he said when asked if the R&A would accept a Saudi partnership in some form. 'The world of sport has changed dramatically in the last 12 months, and it is not feasible for the R&A or golf to just ignore what is a societal change on a global basis. We will be considering within all the parameters that we look at all the options that we have.' As of now, there exists no formal commercial relationship between the R&A and the Saudis, but if we're debating which parties on the board of the Official World Golf Ranking are compromised when it comes to deciding on LIV's application for recognition, there's circumstantial reason for concern about the R&A as much as the PGA Tour. The R&A is trying to be subtle, but that seldom works with the Saudis, and never in Northern Ireland.
Politico
2 days ago
- Politico
Playbook: Trump's Epstein evolution
Presented by With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco Good Saturday morning. This is Ankush Khardori. Get in touch. COMING TOMORROW: Where some hear 'America First,' others hear 'isolationist' — a label that Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) says sounds like 'a slur' to him in today's political climate, he tells Playbook's Dasha Burns on this week's episode of 'The Conversation.' 'I don't want to withdraw from the world,' Schmitt said. 'I think that it's viewing the world as it is, understanding what our core national interests are, using diplomacy first. And if we have to engage, it's with overwhelming force. It's kind of a Jacksonian view of foreign policy. And I think that is where the people are at. If you get across this country, especially on the Republican voters, that's where a majority of Republican voters are at.' The full episode drops tomorrow. Watch the clip DRIVING THE DAY UNDER SIEGE: It's the story that continues to grip Washington: the Trump administration's handling of the so-called Epstein files. If the White House was hoping to move on quickly from the controversy, that became harder this week after The Wall Street Journal published a story about a suggestive letter that President Donald Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein over 20 years ago. Trump immediately and strenuously denied the report, and yesterday followed through on his threat to sue the Journal. POLITICO hasn't independently verified the letter. The potential ripple effects could be significant. Trump's lawsuit could become the most important legal clash yet between Trump and the press, as well as a test of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (the parent company of the paper) as a media institution. Trump has recently managed to secure settlements in litigation against ABC and CBS' parent company. Given that backdrop and Trump's history of litigiousness, it is likely the Journal's story was heavily lawyered. A spokesperson for the paper said in a statement: 'We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.' Trump's lawsuit carries two potential downsides for the president: (1) the story will stay in the news as long as the case continues; and (2) the Journal's lawyers may seek to depose Trump and question him under oath if the case proceeds to discovery. On top of that, the ongoing controversy threatens some of Trump's greatest political strengths — his ability to influence political narratives and, in particular, his ability to position himself as a political outsider, as Michael Kruse writes for POLITICO Magazine. 'The Epstein story isn't going away (or at least wasn't?) because it complicates this superstory,' Michael writes, and because it 'suggests to the legions who've been partial to Trump that actually maybe that's not right — that actually maybe he's less one of us and more part of them.' The rolling controversy and the Journal's story also raise questions about what the heck is actually going on here. There are three potential scenarios, as your author wrote earlier this week: (1) There's an actual cover-up at hand; (2) Trump officials really believed the Epstein conspiracy theories until they got into government; or (3) they never believed them and were always misleading voters. There are other possibilities — for instance, that Trump is protecting an ally — but they tend to require more elaborate and questionable assumptions. (There are also variations. Maybe some of them believed the theories and others didn't … you get the drift.) The second scenario remains firmly in play. Perhaps Trump — as well as VP JD Vance and FBI Director Kash Patel, among others — were sincere in their questions about what is in the government's investigative files and the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death, but they have now discovered their concerns were misguided. The third scenario also cannot be ruled out. Epstein was a subject of great interest among Trump's supporters, and there was apparent political upside in indulging their theories. But what about that first scenario? Let's be very clear: There's no direct evidence of an intentional cover-up on the part of Trump, the White House or the DOJ. You can also credibly argue — as Trump has — that if there were damaging revelations about him in the government's files, someone might have leaked them to the press during the Biden administration. The Trump possibility has been the subject of hushed discussions this week in Washington, both among some members of the political class and — as your author can attest — some former DOJ lawyers, who are temperamentally skeptical and professionally trained to ask difficult and at times uncomfortable questions, including questions that ultimately go nowhere. Here are some potentially relevant data points that raise serious questions about Trump's evolving statements: (1) the existence of the letter at issue in the Journal story (assuming, of course, that it was accurately attributed to Trump, which again he has denied); (2) Trump's effort to turn the page at a Cabinet meeting last week by saying people should ignore the conspiracy theories and move on (at least on its face, this is hard to square with Trump's history of developing and pursuing baseless conspiracy theories and his persistent interest in years-old matters like the Steele dossier); (3) Trump's effort to pin the blame on Democrats, notwithstanding the fact that interest in Epstein has largely been driven in political circles by the right, including by Trump, Vance and Patel, among others; (4) Trump's qualified statements indicating that he supports the release of only 'credible' information and only 'pertinent' grand jury testimony, as well as his unprompted suggestion in an interview last year that there might be 'phony stuff' in the government's files (these are not qualifiers that you tend to hear from Trump in other situations); and (5) Trump's instruction to AG Pam Bondi to seek the release of 'any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.' The DOJ officially sought the release of that grand jury testimony yesterday, citing 'the public interest' in the government's investigative work. It remains to be seen what the court will do, but as Erica Orden and Kyle Cheney write for POLITICO, the grand jury testimony likely represents only a small fraction of what is in the government's investigative files. The points above at best comprise limited circumstantial evidence, but in a highly charged political environment, Trump's words matter, and the goalpost-shifting from the administration over the last week or so begs close scrutiny of the president's words. In response to a request for comment, White House comms director Steven Cheung provided the following statement: 'This is another bullshit story that amounts to nothing more than a leftist journalist working in conjunction with the Democrats to publish fake news in an attempt to smear President Trump just like they did with the now proven Russian Collusion Hoax.' 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. FOR YOUR RADAR: The Trump administration completed a large-scale prisoner swap with Venezuela yesterday, sending about 250 Venezuelans who had been deported and imprisoned in El Salvador back to their home country in exchange for 10 U.S. nationals, CNN's Kristen Holmes and colleagues report. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X that the released Americans were 'on their way to freedom,' adding 'Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland.' Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said in a separate post has approved the release of 'all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.' More details: Mellissa Harper, the acting assistant director of enforcement and removal operations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, revealed in legal papers filed to a federal judge that 'the Trump administration 'obtained assurances' from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government that it would permit its citizens to return to the United States for legal proceedings, if required by a court,' POLITICO's Kyle Cheney reports. 2. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The director of Israel's Mossad spy agency asked White House special envoy Steve Witkoff this week for U.S. help convincing countries, including Ethiopia, Indonesia and Libya, to take hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza, Axios' Barak Ravid scoops. In their meeting, Mossad spy chief David Barnea 'suggested that the U.S. offer incentives to those countries and help Israel convince them, though 'Witkoff was non-committal, and it's not clear if the U.S. will actively weigh in on this issue.' The push from Israel comes after Trump walked back a proposal in February to remove two million Palestinians from Gaza following significant pushback from Arab countries. Meanwhile, a Hamas spokesperson said yesterday that while the group would prefer reaching an interim truce with Gaza 'it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict,' if the latest round of negotiations falters, per Reuters. 'Hamas has repeatedly offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.' Elsewhere in the region: 'Israel and Syria agree to ceasefire, US ambassador to Turkey says,' by Reuters' Jasper Ward: 'The ceasefire announcement came after the U.S. worked to put an end to the conflict. … It also followed what appeared to be a de-escalation of the conflict after government troops withdrew from Sweida, where violence had been centered.' 3. THE ODD COUPLE: 'A Kentucky Republican and a California liberal: The unlikely alliance pushing Trump on Epstein,' by POLITICO's Liz Crampton and colleagues: 'Leading the charge for Congress to vote on publicizing Epstein-related records are Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). The odd couple — a libertarian from rural Kentucky and a progressive from Silicon Valley — is piecing together Republican and Democratic support for the House to take an up-or-down vote on releasing the so-called Epstein files. If successful, their efforts would further complicate Trump's ability to move on from the spiraling scandal that has angered his political base.' Bipartisanship lives: 'I do believe that there are issues that populists on the right and left can collaborate on,' Khanna said in an interview. 'In this case, it's about going after the corruption in our government. Rich and powerful men shouldn't have impunity from accountability. And that's something that both people on the left and right are sick of.' 4. DEEP IN THE HEART: With Texas AG Ken Paxton facing scrutiny for his divorce, and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn slipping in primary polling — Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) is seemingly testing the waters of the heated Texas Senate race. Though the Houston-area Republican has yet to formally announce a bid, he's launched a new six-figure ad buy in the Houston and Dallas media markets marketing himself 'as a family man, showing himself with his wife and three young children,' Axios' Alex Isenstadt reports: 'Hunt has been running a separate ad in the Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Waco, and Amarillo areas highlighting his military background.' In the blue corner: 'Joe Rogan's Latest Guest Might Turn Texas Blue,' by Adam Wren for POLITICO Magazine: 'State Rep. James Talarico opens up about what it's like to go on the most coveted podcast in politics, his potential run for Senate and how his party needs to change.' 5. HITTING REWIND: U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe formally dismissed Trump's 2023 lawsuit against veteran journalist Bob Woodward and publishing house Simon & Schuster yesterday, CNN's Brian Stelter reports. Though Trump alleged in the 2023 suit that Woodward released audio from their interviews without his consent, Gardephe argued 'it appears unlikely' that Trump 'can adequately plead a plausible copyright interest in 'The Trump Tapes.'' Trump had initially sought around $50 million in damages, claiming Woodward's interviews were 'protected material, subject to various limitations on use and distribution.' 6. TALES FROM THE CRYPTO: The House's approval Thursday of a bill laying out a regulatory framework for the crypto token known as stablecoins could prove whether the rapidly growing crypto industry can be seen as a financial disruptor, POLITICO's Declan Harty reports. 'The crypto faithful have long held the market up as the next frontier of finance,' though the 'the industry's ambitions have faced repeated roadblocks, including, until now, a reluctance among policymakers to legitimize it with new, tailored regulations.' 7. LOST IN THE WILDERNESS: The DNC's planned audit of the party's 2024 losses will largely 'steer clear of the decisions made by the Biden-turned-Harris campaign and will focus more heavily instead on actions taken by allied groups,' NYT's Reid Epstein and Shane Goldmacher report. The so-called after-action review is expected to side step questions around whether former President Joe Biden 'should have run for re-election in the first place, whether he should have exited the race earlier than he did and whether former Vice President Kamala Harris was the right choice to replace him.' What to expect: 'Party officials described the draft document as focusing on the 2024 election as a whole, but not on the presidential campaign.' Though, 'D.N.C. officials cautioned that interviews were still taking place and the report's conclusions might change before it is released this fall.' 8. BEYOND THE BELTWAY: Nevada could bear the brunt of Trump's megabill, with up to 100,000 residents facing a loss of insurance coverage as a result of some of the tax and Medicaid measures, NBC's Adam Edelman reports. 'Unlike some other states, which may be able to shift funds around in their budgets to build financial support for affected residents, Nevada's hands are largely tied … It has no state income tax and has a state constitutional provision requiring a two-thirds majority to raise revenue.' 9. AI LOOK AHEAD: 'Trump set to unveil AI orders to boost US edge over China,' by Semafor's Gina Chon: 'Pushing for speedier permitting for data center buildouts, promoting US tech exports, and other moves that would facilitate the nation's advancements are expected to be part of [next week's White House] rollout. … Trump is also expected to give a speech on his AI vision after months of private discussions between administration officials, tech executives, think tanks, and others.' CLICKER — 'The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics,' edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS: — ''Great Enough to Blow Any City Off the Map': On Site at the First Nuclear Explosion,' by Garrett Graff for POLITICO Magazine: 'The men who set off the nuclear age tell the tale in their own words.' — 'The Canadians Are Furious,' by N.Y. Mag's Simon van Zuylen-Wood: 'Trump accomplished what was once considered impossible: Our northern neighbors have united against us.' — 'Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War?' by The New Yorker's Dexter Filkins: 'With global conflicts increasingly shaped by drones and A.I., the American military risks losing its dominance.' — 'A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Chinese Hackers,' by ProPublica's Renee Dudley: 'The Pentagon bans foreign citizens from accessing highly sensitive data, but Microsoft bypasses this by using engineers in China and elsewhere to remotely instruct American 'escorts' who may lack expertise to identify malicious code.' — ''Even God Cannot Hear Us Here': What I Witnessed Inside an ICE Women's Prison,' by Rümeysa Öztürk for Vanity Fair: 'Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up for the first time about her shocking arrest and 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility. She recalls the generous and compassionate women who helped her through this harrowing ordeal.' — 'Kansas City poured millions into a grocery store. It still may close,' by WaPo's Annie Gowen: 'More cities and states are experimenting with the concept of city-owned grocery stores, but these experiments often don't account for social issues.' TALK OF THE TOWN IN MEMORIAM — David Mazzarella, a reporter, editor and newspaper executive for 45 years, has died, his family announced. 'Over the course of his career, Mazzarella was editor at four newspapers, including USA TODAY at a time when it was one of the most widely circulated daily newspapers in the United States. At various times he was also a foreign correspondent, a publisher, a regional circulation director and head of an international newspaper operation,' his family writes. 'In an article for Brill's Content magazine on the improvements happening at that time at [USA TODAY], media critic Howard Kurtz suggested that Mazzarella may be 'the best newspaper editor in America no one's ever heard of.'' — Ed Feulner, founder, trustee and longest serving president of The Heritage Foundation has died, the organization announced. After founding the organization in 1973, Feulner served as president for 37 years, and 'What started as a small outpost for conservative ideas became — under Ed's tireless leadership — the intellectual arsenal for the Reagan Revolution and the modern conservative movement,' the organization said in a statement. TRANSITION — Kara Lynum has launched KML Strategies, a law firm helping other firms, organizations, and individuals navigate immigration policy changes. Lynum previously served as the DHS' acting general counsel and deputy general counsel and is a Senate Judiciary Committee alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Ron Estes (R-Kan.) … WSJ's Rebecca Ballhaus … WaPo's Isaac Arnsdorf … Capitol Counsel's Lyndon Boozer … UL Standards & Engagement's Jeff Marootian … LSG's Ben Jenkins … Larry McCarthy … Rick Dearborn … Eric Lichtblau (6-0) … Andrea Porwoll … POLITICO's Rachael Bade, Lauren Gardner, Luis Pinto de Sa, Gregory Svirnovskiy, Massimo Artista and Matt Comer … Joe Goetz … Kelly Magsamen … Lindsee Gentry Towers … Maria Giannopoulos … former Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) (7-0) … NBC's Alex Johnson … Stephen Ching … Stephanie Valencia … Atossa Araxia Abrahamian … The Hill's Rema Rahman … Mary Newman Fox … Andrew Mizsak of Main Street Consultants … Ron Faucheux … Ruby Gordon of Carbon Solutions Group … Ron Brown of Heidrick & Struggles … Jim Davenport of Thorn Run Partners … Rachel Robinson (1-0-3) THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): ABC 'This Week': Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) … LA Mayor Karen Bass. Panel: Donna Brazile, Reince Priebus, Sarah Isgur and Molly Ball. FOX 'Fox News Sunday': Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) … Sen. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) . Panel: Michael Allen, Marie Harf, Doug Heye and Annie Linskey. CBS 'Face the Nation': Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick … Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) … acting ICE Director Todd Lyons … LA Mayor Karen Bass. Polling special: Anthony Salvanto. CNN 'State of the Union': Beto O'Rourke … Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.)… Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) … Adam Boehler. Panel: Bryan Lanza, Karen Finney, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). NewsNation 'The Hill Sunday': Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) … Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) … Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) Panel: Yoni Appelbaum, Jessica Taylor, Tia Mitchell and Michael Warren. Fox News 'Sunday Morning Futures': Senate Majority Leader John Thune … David Sacks … Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.). Panel: Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Curtis Sliwa. MSNBC 'PoliticsNation': Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) … Adelita Grijalva. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
