POLITICO Playbook: Hunter Biden goes on offense

By RACHAEL BADE 

Updated

Presented by

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

DRIVING THE DAY

In a private strategy session last September, friends of President JOE BIDEN’s embattled son HUNTER started girding for war, according to a rather scoopy read by WaPo’s Matt Viser and Michael Scherer that popped this morning.

— Hollywood attorney KEVIN MORRIS, Hunter’s friend and financial benefactor — who was reported to have paid off Hunter’s alleged $2 million delinquent tax bill that is under investigation — told the room he thought they should be suing Fox News as well as people like ERIC TRUMP, RUDY GIULIANI and Hunter’s other critics for defamation.

— Morris also “outlined extensive research on two potential witnesses against Hunter … a spurned business partner named TONY BOBULINSKY and a computer repairman named JOHN PAUL MAC ISAAC,” who Fox News has called the “Hunter Biden laptop whistleblower.”

Hunter called into the discussion via video, Viser and Scherer report. And well-known liberal activist and Clinton family defender DAVID BROCK also attended, as he prepared to help the administration counter the House GOP’s onslaught of investigations.

That’s just the lead anecdote of what we’re calling the must-read of the morning, which you should click not only because the Republican House will make probes of Hunter central to its agenda in 2023, but also because of the apparent disagreement in Biden world about how to handle it.

According to the story, there are two competing approaches that are already colliding and will almost certainly raise tensions in Democratic circles in the coming months:

— Approach 1: Be more aggressive. Hunter and his close friends like Morris want to actively go after the Republicans who go after him. In addition to discussing the idea of suing his critics, they apparently have a “team of researchers” at the ready and are working with attorneys JOSHUA A. LEVY, who will run interference with House probes, and CHRIS CLARK, who is dealing with the federal investigations.

In recent weeks, Hunter has been intentionally taking on “a more prominent public role,” Viser and Scherer write, including showing up at the White House more frequently of late, often with his toddler son, BEAU.

Then there’s this juicy nugget: At the state dinner with French officials a few days ago, Hunter even walked right up to GOP Speaker-nominee KEVIN McCARTHY to say hello and chat with him and his mother. Ballsy.

— Approach 2: Have Hunter keep his head down. Reportedly, this is the approach the White House prefers as it tries to argue that Hunter is a private citizen and thus an “inappropriate target” for Republicans. Under this line of thinking, the more Hunter engages publicly, the more the GOP will argue they have justification for coming after him, which — given his past issues with substance use and his messy business connections — could blow back on the president himself.

“Some involved in these efforts argue that Hunter Biden and Morris should stay out of the limelight so Democrats can focus on painting the Republican investigations as a partisan political exercise,” Viser and Scherer write. “‘No one thinks this strategy of putting Hunter Biden front and center is smart,’ said one Democrat involved in the broader effort. … ‘No one, including the White House.’”

Moreover, the idea of going after witnesses who might be called to testify before a Republican House could also cause more political headaches for Biden. DONALD TRUMP wanted to — and often did! — do something similar to Democratic investigators’ probes. Back then, Democrats had a two word response: “witness tampering.” Expect Republicans to say the same.

To make sure its responses hit the right notes, Viser and Scherer reveal that the White House has tapped BOB BAUER, a prominent attorney and former White House counsel for BARACK OBAMA. Bauer, who obviously knows this space well, will represent Biden “in a personal capacity should the need arise.”

Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Which strategy seems smarter to you? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Judge declines DOJ request to hold Trump team in contempt over classified documents,” by ABC’s Katherine Faulders, John Santucci, and Alexander Mallin: “A federal judge in Washington declined to hold former President Donald Trump or his legal team in contempt of court following a court hearing Friday as the Justice Department had requested, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

“The judge instead urged the Justice Department and Trump’s legal team to resolve the dispute themselves, the sources said. The DOJ had urged the judge to hold Trump’s team in contempt over failure to fully comply with a May subpoena for documents with classified markings that was directed to Trump’s custodian of records — a person the Trump legal team has not identified.”

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PLAYBOOK READS

9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US

1. SINEMATOGRAPHY: “Don’t worry, be a majority: Dems shrug off Sinema’s switch,” by Burgess Everett: “[Arizona Sen. KYRSTEN] SINEMA is a central part of a rotating cast of centrists that have cut deals on new infrastructure, gun safety and marriage equality laws. Sinema’s also worked with Sen. MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah) to raise the minimum wage and is in negotiations with Sen. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.) on an immigration package. She calls her work with Sen. ROB PORTMAN (R-Ohio) on that infrastructure proposal a ‘perfect example of how I approach legislating’ — seeing what’s available at the moment rather than concentrating on just one or two issues for years and years. She’s going to keep trying, even if the odds only grow more difficult.”

2. McCARTHY DRAMA LATEST: “McCarthy’s Speaker Bid Struggles To Combat ‘Unnecessary Chaos,’” by the Daily Caller’s Michael Ginsberg and Henry Rodgers: “In order to placate the doubters, McCarthy and his allies have commenced a substantial whipping operation, several sources with knowledge of his efforts told the Daily Caller. The Republican leader is prepared to offer the holdouts prized committee seats through the Steering Committee. …

“McCarthy hopes that House Freedom Caucus (HFC) chairman SCOTT PERRY of Pennsylvania will support his bid, and other members of HFC will follow, another House aide, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Daily Caller. The Republican Steering Committee’s assignment of committee memberships for the 118th Congress will be another key way for McCarthy to shore up support, the aide added.”

3. LAKE SUES TO OVERTURN ARIZONA ELECTION: “Kari Lake alleges ‘intentional misconduct’ in lawsuit that seeks to overturn election loss to Hobbs,” by the Arizona Republic’s Stacey Barchenger and Robert Anglen: “[Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate KARI] LAKE’s 70-page lawsuit includes a laundry list of problems and allegations related to the Nov. 8 election, including echoing many claims she has raised in recent weeks over long lines and printer issues creating ‘chaos’ at voting locations. She claims ‘hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election in Maricopa County.’ The lawsuit also references issues that were raised, and repeatedly debunked, in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential contest and the subsequent Arizona Senate review of the Maricopa County election.”

4. HUMAN TOLL OF THE CULTURE WARS: “Transgender Americans Feel Under Siege as Political Vitriol Rises,” by NYT’s Maggie Astor: “Over the past couple of years, it has become routine for conservatives to liken transgender people and their allies to pedophiles, and to equate discussion of gender identity with ‘grooming’ children for sexual abuse — part of an intensifying push, reminiscent of campaigns against gay rights dating back to the 1970s, to turn increasing visibility of transgender Americans into a political wedge.”

5. GRINER COMES HOME: “After release from Russian custody, focus is on providing Brittney Griner and her family additional support, officials say,” by CNN’s Aya Elamroussi: “[BRITTNEY] GRINER arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday – the next leg of a journey back on American soil following what the US government described as wrongful detainment that had often left her family and loved ones with little information or consolation. … Officials have not specified for how long Griner will be at the medical center, but the basketball star was ‘in good spirits’ and ‘incredibly gracious’ following her release, National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY told CNN.”

— Related reads: “In freeing Griner, Biden faced resistance abroad and at home,” by WaPo’s John Hudson, Devlin Barrett, Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan … “Blowback Over Griner’s Release Exposes Depth of America’s Divisions,” by NYT’s Jonathan Weisman and Ken Bensinger … “The Other American Jailed in Russia on Marijuana Charges,” by Ian Ward for POLITICO Magazine: “The case of 61-year-old Marc Fogel has eerie parallels to that of Brittney Griner. But there’s little sign Fogel will be released any time soon.”

6. LAME-DUCK DREAMING: “Business groups optimistic Congress may finally strike immigration deal,” by NBC’s Shannon Pettypiece and Scott Wong: “Some of the largest business groups in Washington are making a last-ditch effort to get Congress to pass immigration legislation before the end of the year and are optimistic a bipartisan agreement could fall into place. Companies in a range of industries, from agriculture to technology, have long urged Congress to make changes to the immigration system to allow for more foreign-born workers and thereby address widespread worker shortages.”

7. PUTIN ON THE RITZ: “A Chatty Putin’s Underlying Message: I’m Still in Charge,” by NYT’s Anton Troianovski: “In a string of appearances, it wasn’t so much what the Russian leader said, much of it false, as it was his apparent need to demonstrate that he is healthy, alert and in control.”

8. WAR IN UKRAINE: “The Air Force wants to send its Reaper drones to Ukraine. The Pentagon’s not so sure,” by Paul McLeary and Lee Hudson: “The Air Force made the pitch to send its older Reaper drones to Ukraine about a month after Russia invaded in late February. But concerns over the transfer of sensitive technology, and the fact that some would almost certainly be shot down, has led to a months-long stalemate, according to four people familiar with the issue.”

9. HOLLYWOODLAND: “Karen Bass comes home to LA — and all its problems,” by Lara Korte and Alexander Nieves in Los Angeles: “[KAREN] BASS has represented Los Angeles in Sacramento and Washington for decades, but she’s never taken on a task as daunting as this one. The born-and-raised Angeleno returns to a city mired in scandal whose residents are frustrated by the spread of homelessness and uptick in crime. The City Council remains divided after the release of a recording that captured several members plotting to shift political boundaries to their advantage in a conversation that included racist remarks.”

— Related reads: “LA City Council members walk out as embattled colleague tries to return amid outrage over leaked audio,” by Lara and Alexander … “L.A. Councilman Kevin de León in physical fight with activist during holiday toy giveaway,” by L.A. Times’ Gregory Yee

CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza:

— “The Cienfuegos Affair: Inside the Case that Upended the Drug War in Mexico,” by Tim Golden for ProPublica/NYT Magazine: “How the U.S. painstakingly built a case against a Mexican general suspected of links to organized crime — and then decided to let him go.”

— “The ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Liar Confesses it All,” by Peter Kiefer for The Ankler: “Elisabeth Finch, disgraced and in exile, explains what made her do it.”

— “Andrew Luck finally reveals why he walked away from the NFL,” by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham: “The former Colts QB was on a Hall of Fame track, but a harsh look in the mirror pushed him toward another path.”

— “The Emancipators’ Vision,” by Sean Wilentz for the New York Review: “Was abolition intended as a perpetuation of slavery by other means?”

— “France’s Mr. Privacy turns cybersnooper,” by POLITICO’s Elisa Braun: “How the disgraced co-founder of France’s answer to Google moved into the murky world of cybersurveillance.”

— “Unmasking ‘The Scholar’: The Colorado woman who helped a global art smuggling operation flourish for decades,” by the Denver Post’s Sam Tabachnik: “An investigation into how Emma C. Bunker helped Douglas Latchford sell stolen Cambodian antiquities.”

— From the archives: “What’s Kyrsten Sinema Up To? It’s Pretty Obvious,” by Hank Stephenson for POLITICO Magazine in October 2021: “Both allies and enemies say her time in the Arizona state Legislature showcased a commitment to personal ambition over party loyalty.”

PLAYBOOKERS

Rudy Giuliani is losing an honorary law degree.

IN MEMORIAM — “Soccer Journalist Dies at World Cup After Collapsing at Argentina Game,” by NYT’s Kevin Draper and Alan Blinder: “Grant Wahl, a highly regarded soccer journalist who wrote extensively on the game, died Friday in Qatar, where he was covering the World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands. Wahl’s agent, Tim Scanlan, confirmed the death in a phone interview on Friday night. Scanlan said that Wahl had been in the press box in the closing minutes of the match when he went into acute distress.”

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at VP Kamala Harris’ official residence Friday night for a party with a group of friends from her home state: Shaun Robinson, Kal Penn, Sophia Bush and Grant Hughes and Pam Moore.

— SPOTTED at the D.C. home of Ginny Grenham and Paul Zevnik, who hosted a party celebrating Molly Jong Fast’s new role at Vanity Fair — and, of course, the holiday season on Friday night: Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), David Frum, Kathy Baird, Elizabeth Bagley, Jane Mayer, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, Felix Sanchez, Kristen Holmes, Mary Jordan, Kevin Sullivan, Tyler Pager, John Hudson, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Katie Benner, Abby Tracey and John Donovan.

— SPOTTED at Matt and Mercy Schlapp’s annual Christmas party at their Alexandria home on Friday night: Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Ginger Gaetz, Sean Spicer, Alex Acosta, Sebastian Gorka, Stephen and Katie Miller, Chad Wolf, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Laura Schlapp and Bryan Wells, Brendan Carr, Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.), Erin and Nick Perrine, Erik Prince, Ziad Ojakli, Peter Davidson, Steve Holland and Ben Terris.

— SPOTTED at Christina Sevilla and Steve Rochlin’s annual holiday party at their Arlington home on Friday night: Belgian Ambassador Jean-Arthur Régibeau, Ron and Sara Bonjean, Molly Ball and David Kihara, David Corn, Kimball Stroud and David White, Amanda Macias, Nihal Krishan, Amirah Sequeira, Ali Dukakis, Tom Williams, Meridith McGraw, Nina and Matt Rees, Mark Paustenbach, Ben Chang, Neil Grace, Jennifer Renteria and Sara Cook.

— SPOTTED at Meridian International Center’s holiday reception at the Blair House on Friday night: Rufus Gifford, Marisa Lago, Stuart and Gwen Holliday, Ann and Stuart Stock, Mitch Landreiu, Marie and Ed Royce, Dwight Bush, Bart and Leslie Gordon, Lisa and Jeffrey Ross, Heather Florance, Idit and Modi Ferder, Robert Abernethy, John Phillips and Linda Douglass, Roxanne Roberts, Natalie Jones, Francesca Craig, Kristin Solheim and Manny Ortiz and Puru Trivedi.

TRANSITIONS — Ellie Schaack Landes has joined USAID as director of speechwriting for Administrator Samantha Power. She previously was a senior director at West Wing Writers. … Kelly Poulsen is joining Responsibility.org as senior VP of government relations. She previously was VP of federal government relations at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Charles Faulkner, homeland security and cyber executive at strategic consulting and comms firm ICF and a former State Department and DHS official, and Emily Faulkner, an autism and special education teacher, on Nov. 21 welcomed Thomas Rawleigh Faulkner, who came in at 8 lbs, 8 oz and 23 inches tall. Pic

— Bennett Resnik, SVP at Venn Strategies, and Lauren Resnik welcomed Orleigh Maeve Resnik on Nov. 20. Pic … Another pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) … Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Austin Scott (R-Ga.) … Symone Sanders-Townsend … NBC’s Andrea Canning … CNN’s Kristin Wilson … Alex Koppelman … Fox News’ Mike Emanuel … Patrick O’Neill of Public Strategies Washington … Hope Hodge Seck … Mike Shields of Convergence Media … POLITICO’s Katie Fossett, Erin Durkin, Lulu Parajuli, Joseph Levin-Manning and Katherine Warren … Christina Coloroso of Analyst Institute … Kieran Mahoney … Ellie Cohanim … David French of the National Retail Federation … Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List … Nathan Daschle of the Daschle Group … former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) … former Reps. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) and Harley Rouda (D-Calif.) … Megan Whittemore ... Marc Mezvinsky ... Matt Huckleby of the Indiana GOP ... U.S. News & World Report’s Susan Milligan ... David Kieve … Jess Peterson … Kip Wainscott … Jorge Neri … Alice Cohan … Steve Johnston of Pioneer Fund

THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here):

ABC “This Week”: John Kirby … Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) … Vanessa Wyche. Panel: Cecilia Vega, Rachel Scott, Chris Christie and Heidi Heitkamp.

NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) … Preet Bharara. Panel: Cornell Belcher, Sara Fagen, Garrett Haake and Kristen Welker.

FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Mike Pompeo … John Kirby. Panel: James Gagliano and Ted Williams. Panel: Marc Short, Francesca Chambers and Juan Williams.

CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Roger Carstens. Panel: Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), David Urban, Jane Harman and Kristen Soltis Anderson.

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, digital editor Garrett Ross and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of Playbook mispelled Jane Mayer’s name. It also misstated Alex Koppelman’s work affiliation.