Playbook: Inside the latest Fox document dump

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

UP IN SMOKE — “Oklahoma weed legalization referendum defeated,” by Paul Demko: “Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly rejected recreational marijuana legalization at the ballot on Tuesday, hitting the brakes on what’s become the country’s wildest weed market over the last five years.” More from The Oklahoman on the 62%-38% blowout

NINA JANKOWICZ SPEAKS — “‘A surreal experience’: Former Biden ‘disinfo’ chief details harassment,” by Heidi Przybyla: In her first interview since the dissolution of the federal Disinformation Governance Board she led, Jankowicz details ”a year of intense public and online harassment spurred, she said, by conservative media attacks and emblemized by the self-styled citizen-journalist who repeatedly stalked her, doxxing and recording her without her consent.”

DOMINION OVER MURDOCH’S CREATION — A new trove of exhibits unearthed as part of Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News was released on Tuesday, including emails, text messages and transcripts from depositions by numerous Fox News personalities and executives.

There are lots of interesting details in the documents that reinforce the allegations made in Dominion’s recent motion for summary judgment. But the main takeaways are:

1. Most corners of Fox News — from reporters and producers to primetime hosts to the most senior executives — knew that the claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election put forward by DONALD TRUMP, his lawyers and their political allies were bogus. 
2. Despite this, Fox News executives and primetime hosts leaned into the election conspiracy theories after they realized their Trump-loving viewers were abandoning the network for more right-wing alternatives.
3. The news and opinion divisions at Fox News, never great allies even in less stressful times, went to war with each other in the post-election period. 
4. TUCKER CARLSON hates Trump.

Here are some of the most illuminating nuggets from the new material, which Fox says is part of a campaign of “distortions and misinformation” by Dominion:

RUPERT MURDOCH, chair of Fox Corp.:

• On his opinion of the folks at Fox News who were about to call the race for JOE BIDEN: “I hate our Decision Desk people! And pollsters! Some of the same people I think. Just for the hell of it still praying for [Arizona] to prove them wrong!”
• On two of Fox News’s primetime hosts, SEAN HANNITY and LAURA INGRAHAM, spreading false information about the election: “Maybe Sean and Laura went too far. All very well for Sean to tell you he was in despair about Trump but what did he tell his viewers?”
• On Trump and RUDY GIULIANI, after watching a November 2020 Giuliani news conference: “Both increasingly mad. The real danger is what he might do as president.”
• On how he believed Trump’s influence was waning (sent Nov. 23, 2020): “In another month Trump will be becoming irrelevant and we’ll have lots to say about Biden, Dems, and appointments.”
• On his relationship with Trump: “I was not close to him.”

— Also, from the WSJ’s coverage of the Dominion documents: “During questioning by a lawyer, [Murdoch] acknowledged helping to edit a New York Post editorial that suggested Mr. Trump should stop claiming the election was stolen, even catching typos. … Mr. Murdoch testified that he reads newspapers more than he watches television, at one point testifying that he never watches Fox Business Network.” More from NYT, WaPo and AP

LACHLAN MURDOCH, executive chair and CEO of Fox Corp.:

• On Ingraham attending a watch party for Trump: “I don’t want to put words in her mouth, but she’s a reporter and opinion host. So I would have preferred that she wasn’t at a watch party.”
• On the possibility that Trump might win the electoral college and lose the popular vote: “If that happens, god willing, we will have to defend the electoral college aggressively.”

RAJ SHAH, an SVP at Fox Corp.:

• On how to respond to a post-election ratings plunge: “We are not concerned with losing market share to CNN or MSNBC right now. Our concern is Newsmax and One America News Network …I’d like to get honest/deeper feedback from Fox viewers on the brand, the handling of the election, if they feel like they have been somehow betrayed by the network.”
• On Trump lawyer SIDNEY POWELL’s allegations of fraud: “MIND BLOWINGLY NUTS.”

BRET BAIER, host of Fox’s 6 p.m. news show:

• On why, two days after the election, he wanted the Fox News decision desk to retract its (accurate) call of Arizona: “I keep on having to defend this on air. And ask questions about it. And it seems we are holding on for pride (I know the confidence you say you had and the numbers — but it’s at least within the realm of possible that he closes the gap now). And It’s hurting us.”

INGRAHAM:

• On Fox News’ decision desk, which correctly called the election for Biden: “We are all officially working for an organization that hates us.”

BILL SAMMON, former Fox News VP and top Washington editor:

• On Fox News giving credence to “supposed election fraud” (Sammon’s words): “In my 22 years affiliated with Fox, this is the closest thing I’ve seen to an existential crisis — at least journalistically.”

CHRIS STIREWALT, former Fox News political editor: 

• Responding to Sammon: “What I see us doing is losing the silent majority of viewers as we chase the nuts off a cliff.”

CARLSON:

• On Trump’s behavior after the election: “Disgusting.”
• On Trump generally: “We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait. … I hate him passionately.”
• On Trump’s four years in office: “We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest. But come on. There really isn’t an upside to Trump.”

But perhaps the exchange that is most relevant to this week’s other Fox News news — more on that in a moment — comes from the deposition of top FNC exec DAVID CLARK. During a back and forth about Fox’s primetime hosts, Clark said that Hannity and Carlson’s show are not “credible.”

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

NIP/TUCKER — Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY’s decision to fork over Jan. 6 footage to Carlson continued to reverberate around Capitol Hill yesterday following the Fox host’s first big dispatch, which drew prominent rebukes from Democrats and Republicans. It was “a headache of [House Republicans’] own making,” write Sarah Ferris, Olivia Beavers and Kyle Cheney, one that “reopened a painful fault line that his party has repeatedly tried to mend.”

Beyond the House GOP, reactions were much sharper: Capitol Police Chief THOMAS MANGER issued an uncharacteristically forceful statement that decried Carlson’s “offensive and misleading conclusions” that “conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video.”

Senate Republicans, led by Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL, largely lined up with Manger: McConnell held up his statement on paper at a news conference. “To somehow put [Jan. 6] in the same category as a permitted peaceful protest is just a lie,” admonished Sen. KEVIN CRAMER (R-N.D.). More from WaPo

But McCarthy told reporters yesterday evening that he didn’t regret handing the footage over to Carlson, continuing to frame it as a matter of transparency — even though he didn’t share it widely with the press beyond Carlson’s show.

Mediaite notes that Fox News’s senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram delivered a report on Baier’s show Tuesday that repeatedly aired criticism of Carlson’s Monday night presentation, included facts that contradicted several of Carlson’s claims and showed McConnell calling the show “a mistake.”

When the report ended, Baier said, “To be clear no one here at Fox News condones any of the violence that happened on January 6.”

PHOTO OF THE DAY

2024 WATCH

BIG DEMOCRACY READ — “A Troubling Sign for 2024,” by The Atlantic’s Barton Gellman: “The midterms were a welcome reprieve for democracy. But the story of BILL GATES, an Arizona election official, suggests that we might not be so lucky in next year’s presidential election.”

THIRD PARTY ALERT — “No Labels Party qualifies for Arizona ballot in 2024,” by The Hill’s Jared Gans

DOOR OPEN JUST A CRACK — “Larry Hogan won’t close the door on third-party presidential bid in 2024,” by ABC’s Tal Axelrod: “[LARRY] HOGAN … would not definitively say he would not wage one depending on who the Democratic and Republican nominees are.”

DOOR CLOSED — Could recent White House chief of staff RON KLAIN mount a Senate run in Indiana? Some Democrats in the state have been urging him to consider it … but Klain says he’s a firm no, Adam Wren scooped from Indianapolis for West Wing Playbook.

NRSC UNCORKED — Responding to Holly Otterbein’s reporting that DOUG MASTRIANO is thinking about a Pennsylvania Senate run, NRSC Chair STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.) didn’t mince words: “We need somebody who can win a primary and a general election. His last race demonstrated he can’t win a general.”

HEEL TURN — “Trump-DeSantis Feud Over Heeled Boots Spills Into Real Life,” by The Daily Beast’s Jake Lahut and Zachary Petrizzo

MORE POLITICS

PIGS FLYING IN KENTUCKY — “Is a Democrat really the favorite in the Kentucky governor race?” by Zach Montellaro: “[Gov. ANDY] BESHEAR is riding into his reelection bid with sky high popularity, not just for a Democratic governor in a state that Donald Trump carried by nearly 26 points in 2020, but for any governor generally. Republicans believe Beshear is beatable, but they admit it will be tough.”

AD WARS — “Seven-figure ad campaign exposes billions in Biden’s Medicare cuts after accusations GOP wants to slash,” by Fox News’ Houston Keene: “[T]he American Action Network (AAN), a conservative issue advocacy organization, launched a northward of $2 million ad campaign hitting 14 blue congressional districts.” The ad highlights Medicare Advantage changes made in the Inflation Reduction Act.

RECENT HISTORY — “Michelle Obama opens up about her ‘uncontrollable sobbing’ on day of Trump’s inauguration,” by CNN’s Shawna Mizelle

THE WHITE HOUSE

BUDGET BURST — Another piece of the White House’s proposed fiscal 2024 budget is clicking into place ahead of tomorrow’s announcement: They’ll ask for $835 billion in Pentagon spending, Bloomberg Government’s Roxana Tiron scoops this morning. That would be the largest non-inflation-adjusted defense budget in history, indicating that despite some chatter to the contrary, most everybody in Washington will protect military spending from cuts again this year.

Related read: “Biden Is Set to Detail at Least $2 Trillion in Measures to Reduce Deficits,” by NYT’s Jim Tankersley

CONGRESS

CRIME DOESN’T PAY — The Senate is expected to vote today on the Republican bill blocking D.C.’s local criminal code changes. You can anticipate a big tally in favor, after Biden threw his support behind the nullification: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER said yesterday that he’d decided to vote yes, though “it was a close question.” More from Bloomberg

SISYPHUS ON THE HILL — “Washington teeters on the brink of a Cold War over Social Security,” by Burgess Everett: “Congress, whose members struggle to accomplish simple tasks like funding the government and raising the debt ceiling, is suddenly talking about changes to Medicare and Social Security. There’s plenty of reasons to be skeptical that any of that big talk will pay off.”

BRENDAN BOYLE BUCKLES UP — “New Deal Believer Takes Point for Biden on Debt Limit Standoff,” by Bloomberg’s Erik Wasson: “The House Democrat leading his party’s debt-limit fight with Republicans has a warning for US markets: prepare for a summer plunge because Democrats are going to the mat to stop the GOP from using the ceiling to enact spending cuts.”

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT — “Meet the Anti-Semitic Spiritual Guru on Cori Bush’s Payroll,” by The Washington Free Beacon’s Andrew Kerr

AIR JORDAN — “‘Our staff is working their tail off’: Jim Jordan responds to critics of his probe’s slow start,” by Semafor’s Kadia Goba

SWORN IN — “McClellan becomes 1st Black woman for Virginia in Congress,” by AP’s Stephen Groves

TRUMP CARDS

TRUMP INC. — “The Trump Organization Finds a Way to Keep Its 2022 Finances Secret,” by The Daily Beast’s Jose Pagliery: “The Trump Organization says it ended a tumultuous 2022 without telling anyone outside the company how business is doing.” That could either be “an indication of its looming financial difficulties” or a way of keeping investigators “from getting a clear picture of whether the real estate firm has continued lying to banks about its property values.” Or both.

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

WOWZA — Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) is working with House Oversight Chair JAMES COMER (R-Ky.) and committee staff to have a congressional delegation visit Jan. 6 defendants in jail, Jordain Carney reports.

AT THE PROUD BOYS TRIAL — “Anger at police, and hints of a plan, as Proud Boys marched toward Capitol,” by Kyle Cheney

POLICY CORNER

SOHN CLOSE BUT SOHN FAR — FCC nominee GIGI SOHN officially withdrew from contention yesterday after Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) joined Republicans in signaling his opposition, WaPo’s Cat Zakrzewski scooped. It’s been 16 months since Sohn was first nominated, but the White House couldn’t rally enough support as conservatives hammered Sohn for her liberal affiliations and assertive tweets. In pulling out, Sohn blasted the “unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks.”

EAST PALESTINE FALLOUT — “Federal safety board to investigate Norfolk Southern after train derailments,” by NBC’s Mirna Alsharif: “The agency said it would be looking into the railroad’s safety practices and culture.”

TALES FROM THE CRYPTO — “SEC’s Gensler rejects crypto’s threat to move overseas,” by Sam Sutton and Declan Harty

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “U.S., China Plunge Further Into a Spiral of Hostilities,” by WSJ’s James Areddy and Charles Hutzler: “Just a few weeks ago, China and the U.S. were tiptoeing toward something akin to a diplomatic cease-fire. … On Tuesday, [the] new foreign minister, QIN GANG, followed up with a warning that unless the U.S. changes course ‘there will surely be conflict and confrontation.’”

Related read: “McCaul, Meeks trigger sanctions review for Chinese firm,” by Roll Call’s Rachel Oswald

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

BACK TO SCHOOL — “Biden failed on universal pre-K. Governors are struggling to make it work,” by Mackenzie Wilkes: “Governors have big plans for the nation’s youngest learners, pressing universal pre-K as a way to both get parents back to work and shore up a pandemic-rattled early childhood education system. What those governors lack are the people to do the job.”

DeSANTIS DIGEST — “‘Very intimate knowledge’: What Ron DeSantis saw while serving at Guantánamo,” by the Miami Herald’s Michael Wilner: “Interviews with over a dozen former Navy officers and personnel, defense attorneys and former detainees shed light on the access [RON] DeSANTIS would have had to the men held captive on the base, suspended in a legal and ethical gray zone during a turbulent phase in the camp’s history. … DeSantis came away from his time at Guantánamo Bay advocating for the camp to remain open, convinced that its inhabitants were terrorists at a time when hundreds of detainees were being released by a Republican president after years of imprisonment and without ever facing charges.”

REGULATION STATION — “Ron DeSantis leads charge for more coercive conservative government,” by WaPo’s Michael Scherer

THE STATE OF THE STATE THAT WAS — “DeSantis declares Florida ‘No. 1 state in the nation’ in speech,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Jeffrey Schweers and Skyler Swisher

THE STATE OF THE STATE THAT WASN’T — “Gavin Newsom won’t be delivering a State of the State speech this year. Here’s why,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Maggie Angst

VALLEY TALK

MUSK READ — The FTC has stepped up its scrutiny of ELON MUSK’s Twitter, writing in letters that the company needs to fork over info about him, layoffs, press access and Twitter Blue, WSJ’s Ryan Tracy scooped. The agency wants to depose Musk for questioning. The letters were sent over the past few months and made public yesterday by House Judiciary Republicans, who criticized the FTC for overstepping its bounds.

TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK — The White House threw its support behind a bipartisan bill introduced by Sen. MARK WARNER (D-Va.) yesterday, CBS’ Caitlin Yilek reports. The bill could eventually give the administration the power to ban TikTok or other tech products tied to China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela on the basis of national security. Watch JC Whittington’s video report from Warner’s presser

Dianne Feinstein is home from the hospital after a brief stay for shingles.

Hillary Clinton was named global ambassador for heat, health and gender at the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center.

Kelli Ward is launching a sailing charter business.

Annie Kuster doesn’t want tomatoes on her sandwich.

OUT AND ABOUT — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) hosted her first annual policy summit at the Salamander hotel Monday and yesterday, featuring performances by Walker Montgomery and Frank Myers and discussions with Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jason Thielman and Ward Baker. Also SPOTTED: Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), Van Hilleary, Lindsey Dickinson, Malloy McDaniel, Brian McGuire, Frank Cavaliere, Rob Chamberlin, Kelly Cole, Greta Joynes, Ted Lehman, Peter Lewis, Sam Olswanger and Jeff Walter.

— George Washington University hosted an event yesterday honoring Ted Turner and introducing the first Ted Turner professor of environmental media, with displays of some of his CNN assignments collection. SPOTTED: Chris Licht, Wolf and Lynn Blitzer, Kris Coratti, Cynthia Steele, Frank Sesno, Cissy Baker, Chris Guarino, Steve Redisch, Pam Benson, Kevin Bohn, Rebecca Cooper, Christiane Amanpour, Nancy Baker, Jody Hassett, Rick Davis, Vito Maggiolo, Linda Roth, Elissa Free, Pamela Stevens and Teddy Turner.

— The Flex Association hosted a mixer at Sonoma Wine Bar last night for its one-year anniversary. SPOTTED: Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.) and Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.), Steve Benjamin, Bob Holste, Eric Mitchell, Kristin Sharp, Ryan Thornton, Taylor Bennett and Shadawn Reddick-Smith.

FOGGY BOTTOM SHUFFLE — Ned Price will leave his role as State Department spokesperson to move to a policy position working directly for Secretary Antony Blinken, NBC’s Abigail Williams and Andrea Mitchell scooped.

MEDIA MOVE — Kristin Roberts will be chief content officer for Gannett/USA Today Network. She previously was chief content officer at McClatchy, and is a POLITICO alum.

TRANSITIONS — Mark Halperin is leaving No Labels, where he’s been a senior comms adviser, Daniel Lippman scooped. … Matthew Pagano is now senior political strategist at TLC Political. He most recently was VP at Camelback Strategy Group, and is an Arizona RNC and Minnesota GOP alum. … Christina Lotspike will be director of government relations at Procter & Gamble. She most recently was senior manager of federal affairs at Instacart, and is a U.S. Chamber of Commerce alum. …

… Kate Stotesbery is joining the German Marshall Fund as government relations manager. She previously was deputy chief of staff and comms director for Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas). … Nick Raineri will be legislative adviser to the Office of Strategic Capital at the Pentagon. He most recently was senior adviser to Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). … Katie Tomarchio is now lead director for state government affairs for CVS Health. She previously was senior manager for public policy at ChargePoint.

ENGAGED — Henry Rodgers, chief national correspondent at the Daily Caller, proposed to Annabel Scott, VP of operations at the Daily Caller, yesterday in St. Pete Beach, Fla. They met through mutual friends when she was at Fox News. Pic … Another pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) (5-0) … NBC’s Lester Holt … World Bank President David Malpass … Adrian Saenz … Taylor Lustig … Evan Feigenbaum … Mallory Carroll … Drew Nirenberg … Andrew Koneschusky … Tom Cellucci … Micah Barbour … Shanon Henry … Alex Tureman … DNC’s Grace Evangelista … Sarah Rogers … AARP’s Ashley Wolos … Jeff Sonderman … former Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) … former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) … Robert Wolf … POLITICO’s Emily Solomon … Stephen Perkins of the American Conservation Coalition … Kristian Denny Todd … Maggie Moore of the Partnership for Public Service

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.

Corrections: Monday’s Playbook misstated the ages of Alan Greenspan and William Webster. They turned 97 and 99 this week, respectively.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this newsletter misreported the name of Pam Benson.