DoJ Seized AP Phone Records; Paulsen Won't Run for SEN or GOV; Christine Quinn's Bulimia Confession

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • DoJ "secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a 'massive and unprecedented intrusion' into how news organizations gather the news" (AP). The AP "and its reporters and editors are not the likely targets" of the underlying investigation "into the disclosure of classified information about a failed" al-Qaida terror "plot last year" (Washington Post).

  • Asked Monday about reports that the IRS targeted conservative groups for special attention, Pres. Obama twice "called it 'outrageous'" (National Journal). IRS officials in DC "and at least two other offices were involved ... making clear that the effort reached well beyond the branch in Cincinnati that was initially blamed" (Washington Post).

  • At three fundraisers Monday in NYC, Obama "raised more than" $2M for the DNC and "at least" $1M in a joint event for the DSCC and DCCC (CNN).

  • Boston Mayor '13: 24 candidates filed to run to succeed retiring Mayor Tom Menino (D) before Monday's deadline, including Suffolk Co.'s "top prosecutor," a "powerful" state rep., and five city councilors. Roughly half "are expected to fail" to make the ballot (Boston Globe).

  • NYC Mayor '13: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D) opened up about "her bulimia and the alcoholism that accompanied it" in an interview last week, "as her aides try to soften her often rough-edged political image and build a campaign that draws heavily on her personal appeal to women" (New York Times).

  • GA SEN: Businessman David Perdue (R), cousin of ex-Gov. Sonny Perdue (R), "announced the formation" of an exploratory cmte on Tuesday and "said he'll spend the next few weeks meeting with voters" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

  • MN SEN: Rep. Erik Paulsen (R) "has taken himself out of the running" for SEN or GOV, leaving the GOP "still casting about for a high-profile challenger" to Sen. Al Franken (D), "once seen as a top" GOP target (Minneapolis Star Tribune).

  • SD SEN: Ex-Senate Maj. Leader Tom Daschle (D) endorsed ex-aide Rick Weiland (D) after ex-Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin's (D) announcement Monday that she wouldn't run (Sioux Falls Argus Leader).

  • IL GOV: Ex-WH CoS Bill Daley (D) is "trying to stamp out rumors that he was definitely out of the running," saying "he didn't see money as an impediment to a run" (Chicago Sun-Times).

  • MA GOV: "Eager for substantive debates he says are lacking on Capitol Hill," Rep. Michael Capuano (D) "said Monday he is closer to his own decision on whether to run" for GOV (State House News Service).

  • MI GOV: Ex-Rep. Mark Schauer (D) said "that he loves his job helping construction trade unions find more work," but being gov. "would be an opportunity to 'fight for an economy that works for everyone'" (AP).

  • DC Mayor '14: Councilmember Tommy Wells (D) will "formally launch" his campaign this Saturday at a rally "at the eastern end of the rapidly developing H Street Corridor" (Washington Post).

  • WH '16: Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-FL) PAC, Reclaim America, "will begin running a TV ad Tuesday" defending Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), "whose votes on gun background checks have haunted her back at home" in the first-in-the-nation primary state (CNN).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Wave goodbye to the DISCLOSE Act. The IRS has just handed Mitch McConnell the glue he'll need to hold the Senate GOP together on campaign finance for, what, 5 years? 10?

• Paulsen opting out of a statewide bid isn't surprising, nor is it devastating for the MN GOP. First of all, it keeps his CD -- which went for Obama in 2008 and 2012 -- in relatively secure shape. Second, while Paulsen may have made a better candidate than Mike McFadden or Scott Honour, the party can't be too upset with a pair of wealthy finance executives on its statewide ticket. With the MN GOP in financial rebuilding mode, nominating two big self-funders could help the party conserve its resources.

• How quickly things change: Little over a year ago, Eric Swalwell was running an upstart intra-party campaign against Obama- and Pelosi-endorsed veteran Pete Stark. Now ensconced in Congress and the Democratic power structure, as part of the whip team, Swalwell has Pelosi's endorsement and financial support for 2014 and none of Stark's baggage ahead of a possible challenge.

• Daley says he still hasn't decided against an IL GOV bid -- but though he didn't explicitly rule it out, it looks very unlikely he'll run if Lisa Madigan gets in the contest. He noted it would be "very hard" to win a three-way race.

• Capuano sounds awfully tired of serving in the minority in the House. With no clear frontrunner on the Dem side, a GOV bid appears increasingly likely.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • MN on Monday became "the first Midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage by legislative vote." Gov. Mark Dayton (D) "will sign the bill at 5 p.m. Tuesday, on the Capitol steps, kicking off a parade that will take supporters to a massive downtown St. Paul celebration" (Minneapolis Star Tribune).

  • After Carlos Rivas begged Reps. Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) and Marc Veasey (D-TX) to halt his father's impending deportation Monday at "an immigration forum" Wilson hosted in North Miami, FL, Wilson "delivered, getting the deportation stopped with hours to spare" (Miami Herald).

  • "I don't watch MSNBC that much, but I was doing my exercise and happened to turn it on. From time to time, I kind of want to get their slant on things. And they definitely have a slant" -- TX Gov. Rick Perry (R), on "The Daily Rundown"'s coverage of the IRS scandal (National Review).

  • "It's a spiritual endorsement. Why? Because everything I do I always get God involved" -- North Miami mayoral candidate Anna Pierre, whose campaign posters "tout that she was endorsed by Jesus Christ" (WPLG-TV).

  • "This device is something new and different. I've been calling it a hand-held computer, but I decided that's misleading" -- Ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R), discovering smartphones (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

  • Pablo Pantoja, who was appointed by the RNC "to oversee Hispanic outreach" in FL last year, "has decided he's more comfortable joining" the Dem Party (Tampa Bay Times).

  • "If, in the process of explaining what went wrong, I am labeled 'disloyal' by the guild of political hacks who want to keep working in future campaigns without any accountability for their failures, so be it" -- Ex-Romney WH '12 senior adviser Gabriel Schoenfeld, on criticism he said he's received over his new book (National Review).

  • "9 Times Obama Spoke Out for Freedom of the Press" (Buzzfeed).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Buzz Aldrin's mother's maiden name was "Moon."

  • The winner is Cameron Sullivan, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "What famous DC building features a sculpture of Darth Vader?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"[Gabriel] Gomez says he doesn't need help from Washington GOP" (Boston Globe, 5/13).

...CHASER

"John McCain to raise money for Gabriel Gomez in Boston" (Boston Globe, 5/13).

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor