ARREST DEVELOPMENT — It’s been a whirlwind day of fallout since news broke that DONALD TRUMP has been criminally indicted, a historic moment in American politics and law. Everybody’s mostly waiting for Tuesday now, when the charges are expected to be unsealed and former president is expected to surrender, but there were some developments today: The Tuesday timing and logistics: The arraignment hearing in Manhattan is expected to take place at 2:15 p.m., a court spokesperson told multiple outlets. Trump lawyer JOE TACOPINA told CBS that he expects Trump not to be handcuffed, in line with Secret Service protocols, but that’s not up to his legal team. The Secret Service is meeting today with police, court and DA officials to iron out the logistics, per CNN. Tacopina described Trump as “upset, angry,” but “not worried at all.” Braggadocio: Manhattan DA ALVIN BRAGG’s office once again hit hard at House Republicans for their efforts to wade into the case. In a new letter, general counsel LESLIE DUBECK accused House GOP committee chairs who have asked for information of making a move to “collaborate” with Trump through their “unlawful political interference” in the criminal justice system. More from WaPo Not wading in: President JOE BIDEN and VP KAMALA HARRIS both declined to comment on the developments today. Biden demurred four separate times as reporters peppered him with questions on his way out of the White House. Very much wading in: Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) tried to mobilize Trump supporters to demonstrate in NYC on Tuesday, saying she’d be there: “We MUST protest the unconstitutional WITCH HUNT!” Related read: “Many Democracies Have Prosecuted Ex-Leaders. The Politics Can Be Tough,” by NYT’s Richard Pérez-Peña BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE — The Treasury Department put out its much-anticipated rules for electric vehicle tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act, trying to strike a balance between moving fast to tackle climate change and bolstering domestic manufacturers. James Bikales breaks down the details, which “will make it harder for many electric vehicles to qualify for federal tax breaks — but could, over the long term, foster the growth of entire new U.S.-based industries based on clean energy.” One major question is whether the sourcing requirements will hamper the industry so much that they prevent a rapid transformation to EVs. But the political fallout is already intense, and for Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.), the rules on domestic production aren’t nearly strict enough. “It is horrific that the Administration continues to ignore the purpose of the law,” he said in a statement, warning that it “further cedes control to the Chinese Communist Party.” Tanya Snyder has a rundown of the winners and losers from today’s “watershed” announcement: a win (eventually) for Europe, a grudging win for automakers, a partial win for consumers, a mixed result for the climate and the critical mining industry, and a loss for Manchin. News you can use: “You only have until April 17 to get a hot deal on an EV before stricter tax credit rules go into effect, making some models ineligible,” Insider’s Alexa St. John warns. Among the vehicles that could partially lose their subsidies: the Tesla 3. Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com (or Venmo me so I can afford a Tesla).
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AMERICA AND THE WORLD EVAN GERSHKOVICH LATEST — POLITICO banded together with Bloomberg, the NYT and WaPo today to put out a statement condemning the WSJ reporter’s detention in Russia and calling for his release. “Evan’s detention is intended to have a chilling effect on independent journalism and deprive the public of essential news,” they warned. “Let him go,” Biden said as he was leaving the White House this morning. First person: “The arrest of an American journalist in Russia is awful. For me, it’s also painfully personal,” by The Guardian’s Margaret Sullivan … “The Unimaginable Horror of a Friend’s Arrest in Moscow,” by The New Yorker’s Joshua Yaffa VP ABROAD — “China’s global influence looms over Harris trip to Africa,” by AP’s Chris Megerian, Cara Anna and Andrew Meldrum with a Lusaka, Zambia, dateline: “When Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she touched down at an airport that’s doubled in size and features glittering new terminals. Rather than a symbol of promising local development, it’s a reminder of China’s deep influence. Beijing financed the project.” THE ECONOMY INFLATION NATION — We got some better news in the fight against inflation today: The Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, which is the Fed’s favored metric for inflation, slowed to 5% growth year over year in February, lower than economists expected and down from January’s 5.3%. Inflation hasn’t been this low since September 2021. The index was up only 0.3% month over month, half the rate of January’s increase. And the core measure of inflation, excluding fuels and food, dropped to 4.6% annually and 0.3% on the month. Despite the positive trend, inflation is still running more than double the Fed’s target, and high prices continue to pinch Americans across an array of daily purchases. So central bankers will have to weigh the conflicting signals as they consider next steps at April’s meeting. More from the NYT In another sign of slowdown, consumer spending ticked up just 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, way down from January’s big 2% leap. Accounting for inflation, consumer spending actually fell 0.1%. More from the WSJ
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PLAYBOOKERS IN MEMORIAM — “Nick Galifianakis served NC in Congress, had history-making clash with Jesse Helms,” by The News & Observer’s Rob Christensen: “At one time, Galifianakis was regarded as the hope of the moderate-to-progressive wing of the Democratic Party — a big strapping ex-Marine who could barely contain his exuberance for life or politics.” Fun fact, per Daily Kos Elections Editor Jeff Singer: “The congressman’s nephew got a small measure of revenge on Jesse Helms in his 2012 movie ‘The Campaign.’ The racist father of Zach Galifianakis’ character just happened to be a former operative for none other than Helms.” SPOTTED: Megyn Kelly dining at BLT yesterday with Ruthless Podcast hosts Josh Holmes, John Ashbrook, Michael Duncan and Comfortably Smug. … Don Baer, Geoff Morrell and Dianna Dunne, Patrick Steel, Alexis Williams, Bennett Richardson, Roy Schwartz, Brendan Sullivan and Andrew Friedman eating breakfast at various tables at the Four Seasons today. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at American Global Strategies’ annual conference yesterday at the St. Regis: Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Reps. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) and Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Robert O’Brien, Alexander Gray, John Ratcliffe, Philippe Etienne, Todd Chapman, Allison Hooker, Brian Cavanaugh, Shigeru Kitamura, Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud and Lord Mark Sedwill. — The Best Friends Foundation hosted its “Make Music Not Madness” 35th anniversary benefit last night at the Four Seasons, with entertainment from Dionne Warwick. SPOTTED: Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), David Rouzer (R-N.C.), Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), Bill Bennett, Alma Powell, Caroline Aderholt, LeeAnn Johnson, Debbie and Mark Meadows, Marlene Malek, Marty Makary, Aldona Wos, Todd and Vicki Tiahrt, Bill O’Reilly, John and Krista Bennett, Kara Krause and Barbara Harrison. — Last night at Christie’s at Rockefeller Center, NBC News hosted a celebration to honor longtime journalist Martin Fletcher and a new exhibit featuring digital images from his nearly 40-year career there. Rebecca Blumenstein, Lester Holt and Andrea Mitchell were among those who spoke to celebrate Fletcher. Also SPOTTED: Morgan Chesky, Brian Cheung, Rehema Ellis, Tom Llamas, Joe Fryer and Steven Romo. — SPOTTED at an interfaith iftar last night hosted by the UAE Embassy and Ambassador Yousef Al-Otaiba: Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Deborah Lipstadt, Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog and Shirin Herzog, Rashad Hussain, Aaron Keyak, Shelley Greenspan, Max Neuberger, Frank Luntz, Hans Nichols, Tala Alrajjal, Norman Brownstein and Levi Shemtov. — The Plant Based Products Council hosted its inaugural conference on the state of the bioeconomy at the JW Marriott from Monday to Wednesday, with speakers including Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Reps. David Scott (D-Ga.) and Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-Pa.) sharing remarks on the next farm bill. Also SPOTTED: Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Xochitl Torres Small, Dominique Carter, John Bode, Jessica Bowman, Erica Stark, Alexa Combelic and Josie Montoney-Crawford. — Future Forum Foundation celebrated its relaunched program at Officina last night recognizing its new chair, former Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), and executive director, Molly Allen. SPOTTED: Reps. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Macey Matthews, Justin German, Isabel Sanchez, Paige Hutchinson, Liz Amster, Yardena Wolf, Xenia Ruiz, Kana Smith, MacKensie Kvalvik and Mitchell Rivard. TRANSITIONS — Anastasia (Kessler) Dellaccio is now SVP for external affairs for the Export-Import Bank. She most recently was director of public policy and stakeholder engagement at Core Scientific and was on the Biden campaign’s national finance committee. … Dwayne Clark will be a professional staff member for the House Foreign Affairs GOP handling export controls. He currently is national security adviser for Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.). … Nicholas Gladd is now senior counsel in Wilson Sonsini’s energy and climate solutions practice. He most recently was at Pierce Atwood, and is a FERC alum. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com 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: Yesterday’s Playbook PM misstated Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga’s party affiliation. He is a Republican. It also misspelled Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s (D-Ill.) name.
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