Just checking on this. :)
Mark Paustenbach
National Press Secretary &
Deputy Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
W: 202.863.8148
paustenbachm@dnc.org
From: Kate Houghton
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 3:04 PM
To: Tracie Pough
Cc: Paustenbach, Mark; Ryan Banfill; Walker, Eric; Miranda, Luis; Davis, Marilyn
Subject: Re: FOR DWS Review: North Carolina Voting Rights Statement
Adding Marilyn.
On Apr 26, 2016, at 2:02 PM, Tracie Pough
> wrote:
Kate- we need to have her call rev barber and see how they are pushing back on this.
- TP
On Apr 26, 2016, at 2:00 PM, Paustenbach, Mark
> wrote:
Washington, D.C. - Today, voting rights activists are pursuing an appeal of a U.S. District Court's decision to uphold North Carolina's onerous election law H.B. 589, which ushered in a spate of restrictions designed to make it harder to vote. The Democratic Party believes that voting is our most fundamental rights and is deeply committed to protecting the right to vote.
DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued the following statement in light of the new developments in North Carolina:
"While we are disappointed in the U.S. District Court for upholding North Carolina's H.B. 589, the DNC is confident that the courts and the American people will ultimately see these laws for what they are - a cynical political ploy to make it harder for women, people of color, students, the elderly and working families to cast a ballot. These groups of voters represent the Democratic core constituency - and also represent the majority of Americans.
"North Carolina had one of the strongest rates of voter participation in the nation before H.B. 589 was signed into law. The law rolled back the early voting period, eliminated same-day registration, and imposed restrictive photo ID requirements.
"Sadly, North Carolina is joined by several other states making it harder to cast a vote. Make no mistake, this is part of a consistent and concerted effort by Republicans to silence voters who do not agree with the Republicans' extreme agenda.
"As students at a Marquette University polling station faced two hour wait times to vote earlier this month, a Wisconsin Congressman told reporters that the state's restrictive photo ID law would help the GOP defeat Democrats in the fall. That may explain why Republican Senator Ted Cruz recently filed an amicus brief supporting Texas' restrictive photo ID law.
"This is nothing new from Republicans.  We all remember just four years ago when the Pennsylvania Republican House Leader announced that the state's restrictive photo ID law was 'gonna allow Governor Romney to win the State of Pennsylvania.'
"There is ample evidence to suggest that these GOP-backed laws are meant to silence the voices of certain segments of our society that are inconvenient to them on Election Day. While Democrats have gone to court in Arizona to reverse this culture of discrimination and disenfranchisement, Republicans are going to court to defend laws designed to decrease voter turnout - because they believe that when fewer people vote, they have a better chance of winning.
"We are fully confident that these laws, like the one passed in Pennsylvania, will ultimately be declared unconstitutional.  But our work is never finished. The DNC and Democrats across the nation will not waver in defending the right to vote - the most fundamental of all of our rights."


Here's the chaser if we want to do a shot/chaser
The Hill: Trump not planning to change tone for general election
From: Lykins, Tyler
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2016 9:51 AM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Time: Donald Trump Must Change His Tone, GOP Chairman Says
Donald Trump Must Change His Tone, GOP Chairman Says
Time // Zeke Miller
Trump is not the head of the Republican Party, GOP Chairman Reince Priebus says
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Friday that Donald Trump is not the head of the Republican Party, while calling on the presumptive nominee to do more to change his tone to reach out to minority voters this fall.
Hours after House Speaker Paul Ryan refused to embrace Trump, Priebus, who has appealed for GOP unity, acknowledged that significant gaps remain between Trump and the Republican Party on policy and style. Priebus said the GOP does not endorse Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration and said Trump must adjust the way he presents himself to the Latino community.
"It's not something that I believe in or our party believes in," Priebus said of the Muslim ban. "I believe our party is the party of the open door. Our party is the party of opportunity and freedom and equality and it always will remain such."
A longtime Ryan ally, Priebus said he thought the Speaker was "being honest about how he feels" about Trump, while expressing confidence that Ryan will ultimately back the party's nominee. He added that he is helping to broker a meeting between Ryan and Trump next week to start bridging the divide. Trump called Priebus within minutes of Ryan's critical comments Thursday to express concern and to discuss how to best win Ryan over.
Speaking at a Politico breakfast in Washington, Priebus said Donald Trump is not the head of the Republican Party. "It's the party's party," he said.
Priebus said he believes Trump understands that he has to adjust his tone for the general election, saying that behind closed doors Trump is "far more gracious and personable than I think you see at rallies."
"You also need to have the tone at the top that people obviously believe that you like them," Priebus said of reaching out to minority voters. "Because if they don't think you like them, they aren't going to vote for you. I think there's work to do. I think there's work on tone to do. I've been clear about that."
Asked about Trump's tweet of a taco bowl on Cinco de Mayo, which provoked an internet backlash, Priebus said he thinks that was an effort on Trump's part to broaden his appeal.
"He's trying," Priebus said with a laugh. "Honestly I think he's trying. And I honestly think he understands that building and unifying and growing the party is the only way we're going to win."
Acknowledging that many conservatives are still wary of his nomination, Priebus said it would be a "smart thing" for Trump to release five to 10 names he would consider for the Supreme Court to allay those concerns.
Reflecting on the nominating process, Priebus said he believes that in the next cycle the RNC will have "even more control" of the system. After taking over the debate calendar in unprecedented fashion, Priebus said he'd like to move to a system where the party owns the rights to the nominating process and sells them to television networks like professional sports leagues. Priebus, who has served three consecutive terms as RNC chairman, didn't rule out seeking a record fourth term in January.


Thank you for this, and for your call.
From: Miranda, Luis
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2016 6:41 PM
To: Ken Vogel
Cc: Paustenbach, Mark
Subject: Following up...
Hi Ken, good talking with you. Here's a quote you can attribute to me if you do have any follow up:
The suggestion there's anything unusual about our joint victory funds has no basis in the law or reality, as recognized by numerous independent experts that have looked at this. The fact is both campaigns signed on to similar agreements. While only one campaign is currently using their joint victory fund we encourage both of our campaigns to identify opportunities to support the national and state Democratic parties now so that we can continue to build the infrastructure to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot in November.
[SigDems]
Luis Miranda, Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
202-863-8148 - MirandaL@dnc.org
- @MiraLuisDC


Luis,
How do you feel about doing a national press call ahead of the NRA Leadership Forum on Friday? The messaging would be that Trump, McConnell, Ryan et al are in the pockets of the NRA.
We reach out to Rep. Esty who represents parts of Newtown, CT; Rep. Aguliar who represents parts of San Bernardino, CA; and a Rep from Chicago to speak on the call.
Please let me know if this is a go!
Deshundra
[SigDems]
Deshundra Jefferson, Southern Regional Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
JeffersonD@dnc.org
| (202) 863-8112


Trump
Demonstrations disrupting campaign?
I didn't see the riot,
They were professional agitators
An amazing evening
Where we had 31,000 people
Record setting crowd
You have angered a lot of people. Hispanics have a 15% favorable...
Those numbers are going up
I have knocked off people like Jeb Bush.
Once I start on Hillary these numbers will change
One by one, I won
Watch what happens with Hillary and watch what happens with my numbers
Kasich and Cruz haven't been hit with ads
Last two polls have me tied with Hillary and one has me winning
Women on Trump. 24% favorite, 75% unfavorable. Plays clip of the women card.
I only tell the truth.
With all of the polls coming out, I win with the women
But aren't you being dismissive of her record?
Bernie Sanders has said worse than that.  He shouldn't even be running because of what she said
Even women don't like her
She is playing the women's card
I don't think she will play it well, I will let you know in six months
Foreign policy speech. Mixed reviews. One was a contradiction on how you handle the Middle East.
You have a big fat mess.
We have spent $4B from when the first gunshot was fired.
Our country is becoming third world.
Long Island Railroad is a mess.
Keep the oil. ISIS has Libyan oil.
Every move we have made in the middle east has been wrong.
You sound like a liberal democrat when you want to spend money at home rather than overseas. As a general election candidate, it sounds like you would be criticizing Hillary Clinton from the left.
I want to take care of our country. Education, vets, infrastructure.
Will HRC be the hawk in this race?
No, I will be much tougher than her, and I will have much more respect than her.
We are defending South Korea and others with nothing in return.
POTUS took shots at you last night at WHCD. He said you could close Guantanamo because you are good at running waterfront properties into the ground.
Well I guess I am good at something bc I made $10B with a $1M loan.
He did a nice job, but it was fun.
Plays clip of Cruz discussing Mike Tyson. Which is interesting, reaction?
Just shows what a liar he is. It was just an internet endorsement.
This is why we call him Lyin' Ted Cruz.
Look we have Bobby Knight's endorsement
Mike Pence gave ME more of an endorsement than Ted Cruz
Indiana?
The race is already over


Hey Jonae! A few questions for you.
-Who is advising the ASDC meeting? Is it our press team? Is there a credential process?
-Luis will likely be attending. What time should he arrive and when would be a good time to leave?
-Do you need any other press staffers there to do press-check in, in addition to Luis?
Rachel
--
[DNC]
Rachel Palermo
Democratic National Committee
PalermoR@dnc.org
202-863-8041


Obamacare brings record low for US health uninsured rate
CNBC
How low can Obamacare go?
Fewer than 1 in 10 Americans lacked health insurance in 2015, the first time ever in the nation's history that the uninsured rate has fallen so low, and a clear sign of Obamacare's impact.
The U.S. uninsurance rate fell to 9.1 percent last year, according to data released Tuesday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It was the first time the percentage of people without some form of health coverage has gone into single digits, and a 2.4 percentage point drop from 2014.
The number of people uninsured in 2015 was 28.6 million, which was 7.4 million fewer than 2014, according to the CDC.
Since 2011, when the uninsured rate stood at 15.1 percent, that rate has fallen 6 full percentage points, according to the CDC's National Health Interview Survey.
Obamacare began going into full effect in 2014, which was the first year that people could have private health insurance plans purchased on government-run marketplaces. That was also the first year that nearly all Americans were obligated to have some form of health insurance or face a possible tax penalty.
Before that, the Affordable Care Act had for the first time allowed adults under the age of 26 to stay on their parents' health plans, which was another factor that has played a role in driving down the uninsured rate.
A third factor in bringing down the uninsured rate has been the expansion of Medicaid benefits in a majority of states to cover many more poor adults than had been eligible under that joint federal-state health insurance program before the ACA became law.
The Obama administration has said more than 20 million Americans have gained health insurance coverage since the ACA became law in 2010.
The new report Tuesday was warmly greeted by the Obama administration, which last week lost a key court decision that, if upheld, could damage the Obamacare program.
A federal court judge ruled that the administration violated the law by giving insurers money, without congressional approval, to offset the cost of covering subsidized out-of-pocket health costs of many Obamacare customers.
The administration also has been dealing with a flurry of news stories detailing possibly steeper Obamacare rate hikes for 2017, and the departure of some insurers from various markets across the nation.
Sylvia Burwell, secretary of health and human services, said, "Today's report is further proof that our country has made undeniable and historic strides thanks to the Affordable Care Act."
"The report documents the progress we've made expanding coverage across the country," Burwell said.
"Meanwhile, premiums for employer coverage, Medicare spending and health-care prices have risen at exceptionally slow rates. Our country ought to be proud of how far we've come and where we're going," she said.
The CDC's survey found that among adults aged 18-64, the percentage who were uninsured decreased from 16.3 percent in 2014 to 12.8 percent last year.
"A corresponding increase was seen in the percentage having private coverage, from 67.3 percent to 69.7 percent, respectively," the report said.
"Among children aged 0-17 years, the percentage who were uninsured decreased from 5.5 percent in 2014 to 4.5 percent in 2015," the report said.
"Among those under age 65, the percentage with private coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace [the federal Obamacare exchange HealthCare.gov] or state-based exchanges increased from 2.5 percent (6.7 million) in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 3.4 percent (9.1 million) in the fourth quarter of 2015," according to the CDC.
The report said that In 2015, adults between the ages of 25 and 34 were more than twice as likely as adults aged 45 to 64 to lack health insurance coverage - 17.9 percent compared with 8.8 percent.
"In 2015, 27.7 percent of Hispanic, 14.4 percent of non-Hispanic black, 8.7 percent of non-Hispanic white, and 7.9 percent of non-Hispanic Asian adults aged 18-64 lacked health insurance coverage at the time of interview," the report said.
"Significant decreases in the percentage of uninsured adults were observed between 2013 and 2015 for Hispanic, non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic Asian adults," the report said.
"Hispanic adults had the greatest percentage point decrease in the uninsured rate between 2013 and 2015," falling from 40.6 percent to 27.7 percent, according to the report.


Trump fundraising operation ramping up with Los Angeles kick-off
By Matea Gold
, Robert Costa
and Philip Rucker
An ambitious fundraising effort that aims to collect as much as $1 billion to support presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee is taking form, with plans to kick off an aggressive schedule of finance events in Los Angeles at the end of this month.
Investor Thomas Barrack Jr., who did real estate business with Trump in the 1980s
, is scheduled to host a campaign fundraiser honoring the candidate on May 25, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans. The gathering at Barrack's home is set to include a photo line, cocktails and dinner. A spokesman for Barrack declined to comment and referred questions about the event to the Trump campaign. A campaign aide confirmed the event was taking place.
The dinner fundraiser is set to be the first of as many as 50 finance events that the campaign and party are racing to set up as they try to rapidly build out a structure to appeal to major donors. Trump's willingness to participate in the functions - after months of bashing other candidates for their ties to wealthy contributors - represents a dramatic shift in his posture
.
The Trump campaign, which has no apparatus to solicit contributions, is now finalizing plans with the RNC to participate in a joint fundraising committee that can accept large contributions. The so-called victory fund is expected to be led by a group of senior party financiers,including Ray Washburne
, a former RNC finance chairman, according to several people familiar with the plans. Washburne left his RNC post last year to serve as finance chairman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's presidential campaign. In a brief phone conversation, Washburne declined to comment.
It remains unclear who else will be part of the effort, but GOP officials are working to bring together a group of heavyweight party fundraisers with strong ties to major Republican donors in hopes of winning over reluctant contributors.
Trump faces an incredibly steep climb
to raise the $1 billion that he has said is needed before November. While he has secured the backing of some prominent donors and fundraisers, including New York investor Anthony Scaramucci
, many top GOP bundlers have been privately discussing their reservations about helping the real estate magnate raise funds. The angst is so acute that some have offered to quietly send over a list of the donors they know, but do not even want to be assigned a bundler number to get credit for the checks they bring in.
One exception is Barrack, a prominent real estate investor, founder and executive chairman of Colony Capital and a longtime Trump friend. He is not new to politics, having served as a deputy undersecretary at the Interior Department in President Ronald Reagan's administration.
In February, Barrack endorsed Trump, showering praise on his friend. "His mastery of financial, political and economic intellectual complexity combined with his charm and emotional intelligence when partnering with New York labor unions, governmental regulatory bodies, Wall Street lenders, sophisticated institutional global investors, demanding developers, global media and entertainment companies and hard-working employees, is a dynastic art form," Barrack said in a statement issued by the Trump campaign.
Barrack's event is expected to kick off a series of fundraisers for the campaign and the still-forming joint fundraising committee. Such a fund is one of the most lucrative ways for a presidential candidate to scoop up big donations for the fall general election battle. That's because a victory fund can take contributions many magnitudes greater than the $2,700 an individual can give to a candidate's campaign per election. The additional funds are routed into party coffers, which then use the money to finance national get-out-the-vote operations.
In 2012, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney raised nearly $500 million through a joint fundraising agreement with the three national Republican party committees and four state parties, an effort that began in early April 2012. Because of all the committees involved, an individual donor could give nearly $135,000. By the end of June 2012, Romney Victory had already scooped up $140 million.
Now, such joint fundraising efforts can solicit even larger amounts
, thanks to the Supreme Court's 2014 decision inMcCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. That did away with an aggregate cap on how much individual donors can give to federal campaigns, parties and PACs in one year. In addition, a measure tucked into a 2014 appropriations bill allowed national parties to collect separate checks for convention, legal and building expenses.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has pursued this strategy most aggressively
. In the fall, she set up a victory fund with the Democratic National Committee and a record 32 state committees that can accept up to $356,100 per donor per year.
--
Walter Garcia
Western Regional Press Secretary
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
Email: GarciaW@dnc.org
Twitter: @WalterGarcia231
[SigDems]


I'll reach out to Jonae.
From: Helmstetter, TJ
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 9:34 AM
To: Regional Press
Subject: ASDC mtg in philly
Is it open press? Who is running point for reporters? Thanks
TJ Helmstetter
Deputy Director of Regional and Specialty Media
Democratic National Committee
202.863.8022 - desk
973.464.9224 - cell
HelmstetterT@DNC.org


Here
From: Bennett, Eric
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 8:47 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Video Request: Fiorina on Mark Levin
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: YouTube
>
Date: April 27, 2016 at 7:33:15 PM EDT
To: ericbennett12@gmail.com
Subject: Ted Cruz just uploaded a video
Ted Cruz
has uploaded Carly Fiorina on the Mark Levin Show | April 27, 2016 | #CruzCarly
Learn more about Ted Cruz: ...
[Image removed by sender.]
________________________________
Ted Cruz
has uploaded Carly Fiorina on the Mark Levin Show | April 27, 2016 | #CruzCarly
[Image removed by sender.]
Carly Fiorina on the Mark Levin Show | April 27, 2016 | #CruzCarly
[Image removed by sender.]
Ted Cruz
Learn more about Ted Cruz: www.tedcruz.org
Follow Ted: twitter.com/tedcruz
Like Ted: fb.com/tedcruzpage
Ted’s Instagram: instragram.com/cruzforpresident
Donate: tedcruz.org/donate
Volunteer: tedcruz.org/volunteer
Download the app: tedcruzapp.org
Ted on Snapchat: Cruz4President
© 2016 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066
You were sent this email because you chose to receive updates from Ted Cruz
. If you don't want these updates anymore, you can unsubscribe here
.


LGBT:

-----Original Message-----
From: Jefferson, Deshundra
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2016 4:41 PM
To: Manriquez, Pablo
Cc: Regional Press
Subject: Re: Specialty media lists
Hispanic media lists, AAPI, LGBT. I shared the Af-Am list but can re-circulate.
Sent from my iPhone
> On Apr 28, 2016, at 4:35 PM, Manriquez, Pablo
wrote:
>
> What are specialty media lists?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Apr 28, 2016, at 4:34 PM, Jefferson, Deshundra
wrote:
>>
>> As per our meeting, please share your speciality media lists with the group.
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone


Luis, Democrats all over the country are standing up to
beat whoever the GOP nominates and take back Congress
in November -- and they need your support.
According to our records for mirandal@dnc.org, you
haven't chipped in yet this election cycle.
We can elect Democrats in November who will protect the
President's progress, but only with your help.
So will you pitch in $3 or more before tomorrow's deadline?

--------
If you've made a recent online contribution, contributed by check or
by mail, or made a purchase at store.democrats.org, this may not be
reflected in your online donor record -- but thank you for your support!
**************************************************************
Paid for by the Democratic National Committee,  430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington DC 20003 and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Contributions or gifts to the Democratic National Committee are not tax deductible.
**************************************************************
This email was sent to mirandal@dnc.org.
If this isn't the best email address at which to reach you, update your contact information at  Our email list is the best way we have of staying in regular contact with supporters like you across the country and letting you know about the work President Obama and other Democrats are doing. Visit  to unsubscribe from our supporter list. If you like staying in touch, but want to receive only the most important messages, go here:  Go here to unsubscribe from our supporter list:  but if you leave, it will be harder for you to stay involved in the organization that you've been such a critical part of. This organization is powered by you, and we'd love to hear your ideas. Send us any comments, criticisms, or feedback:  or just reply to this email! Thanks for supporting President Obama and other Democrats.


Saved here
From: Manriquez, Pablo
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 4:33 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Video Request: National Latino Outreach Update Call
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Lorella Praeli
>
Date: April 25, 2016 at 4:09:25 PM EDT
Subject: National Latino Outreach Update Call
Buenas Tardes Familia,
Please join us on Wednesday, April 27th at 4:00 PM ET for a Latino outreach update call and post-primaries recap. Please RSVP using this link
.
Abrazos,
Lorella Praeli
--
Lorella Praeli
National Director of Latino Outreach || Hillary for America
@lorellapraeli


Can we isolate just Luis's answer to the second question?
Mark Paustenbach
National Press Secretary &
Deputy Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
W: 202.863.8148
paustenbachm@dnc.org
From: Bhatnagar, Akshai
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2016 3:38 PM
To: Manriquez, Pablo; Comm_D
Subject: RE: Video Request: Luis on MSNBC
Watch here
-----Original Message-----
From: Manriquez, Pablo
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2016 3:15 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Re: Video Request: Luis on MSNBC
after this commercial break
Sent from my iPhone
> On May 4, 2016, at 3:14 PM, Manriquez, Pablo
> wrote:
>
> In 3-4 mins.
>
> Sent from my iPhone


This Mother's Day will be our last with Michelle Obama
in the White House. Add your name to help make this a
special day for our First Lady:

**************************************************************
Paid for by the Democratic National Committee,  430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington DC 20003 and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
**************************************************************
This email was sent to mirandal@dnc.org.
If this isn't the best email address at which to reach you, update your contact information at  Our email list is the best way we have of staying in regular contact with supporters like you across the country and letting you know about the work President Obama and other Democrats are doing. Visit  to unsubscribe from our supporter list. If you like staying in touch, but want to receive only the most important messages, go here:  Go here to unsubscribe from our supporter list:  but if you leave, it will be harder for you to stay involved in the organization that you've been such a critical part of. This organization is powered by you, and we'd love to hear your ideas. Send us any comments, criticisms, or feedback:  or just reply to this email! Thanks for supporting President Obama and other Democrats.


I won’t send this around to video until Luis approves. Can you all make sure there is a youtube ask in the video request for Luis’s interview today so at least that one is done today.
On May 19, 2016, at 10:23 AM, Palermo, Rachel
> wrote:
This sounds good to me. I’ll chat with luis when he gets back from fox and get the ok from him. THANK YOU!
--
Rachel Palermo
Democratic National Committee
PalermoR@dnc.org
202-863-8041
From: Corinne Matti
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2016 10:20 AM
To: Palermo, Rachel
Cc: Miranda, Luis; Price, Jenna; Dillon, Lauren; Paustenbach, Mark; Freundlich, Christina
Subject: Re: New Youtube/ dncpress twitter protocol
One thing to flag is these titles are going to be to long in most cases. Why do you all have such long names? :)
Please take a look at my edit in red before I send this to my team.
The title of the links can all be in this format:
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz on (NETWORK NAME) (SHOW NAME)
DNC National Press Secretary Mark Paustenbach on (NETWORK NAME) (SHOW NAME)
DNC Communications Director Luis Miranda on (NETWORK NAME) (SHOW NAME)
If the title is too long remove the interviewee’s name. For example, DNC Chair on MSNBC Morning Joe.
If the interview is longer then 15 mins please ask comms to choose the timestamps they would like to include.
On May 19, 2016, at 10:11 AM, Corinne Matti
> wrote:
This is doable on my end.
On May 19, 2016, at 10:08 AM, Palermo, Rachel
> wrote:
Hi everyone,
Starting today, Luis would like all interviews from DWS, Mark, or Luis, to have YouTube Links tweeted out from @dncpress within 30 minutes of when the interviews air. To speed up this process, we would like YouTube links (on DNC clips) to be sent with the vantage link to comm_d in reply to the video request.
The title of the links can all be in this format:
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz on (NETWORK NAME) (SHOW NAME)
DNC National Press Secretary Mark Paustenbach on (NETWORK NAME) (SHOW NAME)
DNC Communications Director Luis Miranda on (NETWORK NAME) (SHOW NAME)
After I receive the links, I will send them around to the twitter approval chain.
Please chat with Luis if you have questions. Thanks! I really appreciate it.
Rachel
--
Rachel Palermo
Democratic National Committee
PalermoR@dnc.org
202-863-8041


Y’all —
This is my last day at the DNC—though, I should note that’s actually a thing I’ve said that before.
The first time, I spent almost two years here. It’s been almost three years since I showed up again in 2013. I’ve been out of college for 11 years, which means I’ve spent a little under half of my career working at 430 South Capitol Street.
But I love this place, and every job I have will always be measured against the experience of working with all of you.
So before I actually walk out the door one last time, I want to say thank you for making this place so special to me.
Cheers,
Matt


Starting soon!
From: Price, Jenna
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 10:49 AM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Video Request: VA Voting Rights Call Today at 2:30 PM
Participant Dial-In
(888) 710-8192
Conference ID
12308960
Jenna Price
Democratic National Committee
pricej@dnc.org
215-578-9696
[SigDems]


The Man Who Beat Donald Trump
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.—Sitting here the other day in the library of his house with 40 rooms, 11 fireplaces, four pianos, a wine cellar, a movie theater and an elevator, Marvin Roffman talked about the time Donald Trump tried to destroy him for telling the truth.
“Brutal,” said Roffman, 76, wearing loafers, khaki shorts and a pink polo, his elaborate gardens and the sixth hole of the Kings Creek Country Club golf course visible through the windows.
“I’m telling you,” he said. “Trump is a brutal guy.”
This was March of 1990. Roffman was a veteran securities analyst. He had focused on the gaming industry in Atlantic City since the first casinos opened in 1978. He knew the market as well as anyone and had watched closely as Trump made a typically bold entrance with Trump Plaza and Trump’s Castle in 1984 and ‘85. Now the New York real estate tycoon was about to open his third casino, by far his biggest, most lavish and most shakily financed one yet, the Trump Taj Mahal. Roffman was skeptical. He told a reporter from the Wall Street Journal the Taj would fail.
What happened next was straight out of Trump 101. The “people I don’t take too seriously,” he had written in 1987 in The Art of the Deal, “are the critics—except when they stand in the way of my projects.” Roffman was in the way. Trump bombarded him with invective, threatened to sue his employer, demanded his firing and then publicly assailed him some more. That Roffman’s assessment was grounded in reality—that he would prove to be right—didn’t stop Trump from attacking Roffman. It was the reason for it.
Three days after the quote in the Journal, Roffman was fired. What happened after that, though, was unusual. In the long history of the leading Republican presidential candidate’s use of disparagement, intimidation and forceful warnings of litigation, there is no person quite like Roffman. He sued Trump and won a clear victory—a fat check drawn on a Donald Trump account.
How does one beat Trump? For Roffman, it took time and money, gumption and conviction. Trump v. Roffman was a noisy, blustery harangue in the court of public opinion. Marvin B. Roffman v. Donald J. Trump and Trump Organization, Inc., on the other hand, was a longer, fact-based slog in an actual court.
“If you have a brand that strong, associated with success, power and class, that brand name must never be tarnished, ever,” Roffman told me, attempting to explain Trump’s motive for trying to ruin the life and reputation of a person he knew was right. “You must defend it. You must protect it. I was the monkey wrench in the gears. I was the monkey wrench threatening the integrity of the brand.”
[Roffman's 40-room house in Delaware includes 11 fireplaces and an eight-seat movie theater.]
Roffman's 40-room house in Delaware includes 11 fireplaces and an eight-seat movie theater. | Matt Roth for Politico Magazine
Roffman smiled. “I’m glad I did it. Otherwise,” he said, “I wouldn’t be sitting here in this chair.”
***
“Marvin,” Trump said.
It was the middle of that March. “I know you’re down on the Taj,” Trump said over the phone from New York, according to Roffman’s recollection.
“He said, ‘I want you to see this property in its full splendor,’” Roffman recalled. “‘I’m going to have someone call you and arrange a tour of the Taj. And after the tour, I want you to call me. And I know what you’re going to tell me. You’re going to tell me you have just seen the greatest property ever.’ I swear to God. That’s what he said.”
The tour was set for March 20.
That morning, the Journal ran an article about Trump and the much-anticipated early April opening of the 1,250-room, 120,000-square-foot Taj, which had 70 eye-catching minarets on its roof and a payroll of some 6,500 employees. Roffman, then working for a Philadelphia brokerage firm called Janney Montgomery Scott, was quoted prominently.
“When this property opens,” Roffman told the Journal, “he will have had so much free publicity he will break every record in the book in April, June and July. But once the cold winds blow from October to February, it won’t make it. The market just isn’t there.” He called Atlantic City in general “an ugly and dreary kind of place.”
[Trump's Taj Mahal casino, the biggest and most shakily financed of his three, opened in 1990.]
Trump's Taj Mahal casino, the biggest and most shakily financed of his three, opened in 1990. | AP Photo
When Roffman arrived at the casino for his tour that day, Trump’s brother, Robert, stopped him at the door and cursed him—“I’d never heard so many four-letter words in my entire life,” Roffman told me at his house—and yelled at him to “get the fuck off the property.”
Back in Philadelphia, on the fax machine at Janney’s offices, a letter arrived from Trump Tower.
Trump in the letter called Roffman “hair-trigger” and “somewhat unstable in his tone and manner of criticism.” He continued, without regard for spelling: “For Mr. Roffman to make these statements with such definity is an outrage. I am now planning to institue a major lawsuit against your firm unless Mr. Roffman makes a major public apology or is dismissed. For a long while I have thought of Mr. Roffman as an unguided missle.”
Roffman by this point had been a securities analyst for 25 years and at Janney for 16, developing a reputation as an outspoken, tell-it-like-it-is analyst. Trump had noticed, according to Roffman, calling on occasion to quiz him about competing casinos and other executives.
In 1987, Trump even had hired Roffman as an expert witness. In testimony in front of New Jersey’s Casino Control Commission, Roffman acknowledged the “tremendous risk” involved with the Taj because of its size and cost—it was more than two years from completion—but he also told the agency’s members he was “excited” about its prospects. He called Trump’s first two casinos, the Plaza and the Castle, “very efficient” and “well managed,” according to a transcript of the hearing. He believed the Taj, he said, could help finally revitalize the perpetually downtrodden small city on the shore.
That fall, though, Wall Street crashed. The gaming industry started to stall. Roffman grew pessimistic. He warned in a report for Janney clients in May 1988 of “Trouble Ahead With A Capital ‘T’”—a reference to Trump and the Taj. “Trump has only experienced an economy that is growing. Let’s see how he does in a real turndown,” he told the Boston Globe that October. “Donald Trump’s style is not cash, it’s to borrow,” he said in December to the Associated Press, noting that Trump now was shouldering more than a billion dollars of debt just with his casinos. The Taj debt was $675 million in junk bonds, the only form of financing he could secure. For the Taj to service its debt and simply break even, Roffman calculated, the operation would have to take in around $1.3 million a day, unprecedented in the history of casinos.
Throughout 1989—in reports for clients, speeches to trade groups and conversations with reporters—Roffman said versions or in some cases nearly word-for-word previews of what would run in the Journal the following March. He even had said similar things earlier in the month in other high-profile publications. “I have serious reservations about the financial success of the Taj Mahal,” he told Newsday. Trump “will have to do over steady basis something no other casino in the world has ever been able to do,” he told Newsweek. If Trump had been angered by these comments, he never complained privately to Roffman, nor did he bother to publicly rebut them.
It was the March 20 story in the Journal that triggered Trump’s wrath.
He was on edge already.
[“I’ve got some fabulous things,” Roffman says.]
“I’ve got some fabulous things,” Roffman says. | Matt Roth for Politico Magazine
Trump at the time was the subject of relentless, tabloid-led coverage of the disintegration of his marriage to Ivana Trump, the mother of his first three children, in part because of his affair with his younger, leggy mistress, Marla Maples. For going on six weeks, the drama had been front-page fodder for New York’s tabloids. LOVE ON THE ROCKS. WAR OF THE TRUMP$. IVANA IN TEARS. MARLA RAGES!
Trump was asked by the New York Post if he considered adultery a sin. “I don’t think it’s a sin,” he said, “but I don’t think it should be done.”
He told the Journal the crush of publicity about his personal life was actually good for his bottom line, citing 1,500 requests from reporters to cover the opening of the Taj. “A divorce is never a pleasant thing,” he said, “but from a business standpoint, it’s had a very positive effect.”
It was a bluff. Almost everybody was fixated on his personal failings; almost nobody knew the perilous state of his finances. Trump had racked up massive debt—not only with his casinos, but in 1988, too, with a manic jag of buying trophy properties
, such as Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel and the Eastern Air Shuttle, which he renamed the Trump Shuttle. With the onset of a recession, it was becoming unsustainable.
“He had to know it,” Roffman told me. “But he didn’t want anybody else to know it.”
Hence the hostile letter.
The next day, Jim Meyer, Janney’s director of research, detailed in an internal memo Roffman’s punishments: He was to have “no direct contact with members of the press,” no possibility of a bonus to his base salary in 1990 and a review of his employment status at the end of the year. Edgar Scott, the chairman of the board, called Trump, according to court records, informing him of the nature of the censure. He asked Trump what kind of apology he wanted. Trump, according to the records, directed that Roffman write him a letter saying the Taj would be “the greatest success ever.” Roffman didn’t want to write a letter like that. His bosses did it for him. The obsequious letter said the opening of the Taj “unquestionably” would be “the grandest and most successful” in the annals of Atlantic City. “I do hope that you will let me continue to cover your companies,” it read. Roffman wanted to save his job. He reluctantly signed it. He was “a team player,” he said later in a deposition. “I wanted to go long with the firm because I liked working there.”
After a sleepless night, Roffman got a call from Trump’s secretary, according to court records. Trump, she said, wanted him to make some adjustments to the letter. He wanted, for instance, the phrase “every hope that the Taj will ultimately be very profitable” changed to “every expectation,” Roffman said. Roffman stewed. That afternoon, he wrote a new letter to Trump, a letter of his own.
“I did not write the letter,” Roffman wrote. “I retract the letter.”
Roffman showed the letter to Meyer, according to court records, saying he was going to send it to Trump. Meyer logged his response in an internal memo: “Regarding the proposed attached letter to Donald Trump, after discussion with senior management of our firm, we are directing you not to send the attached letter to Mr. Trump while you are an employee of this firm. As long as you remain an employee of ours we insist on the right to review and authorize all correspondence of yours related to anything or anybody associated with the casino industry.”
Around 4:30, Roffman sent it, anyway.
Trump’s response was quick and terse. “Only a fool, a highly unstable one at that, would send a letter such as your second one negating your original letter. You have proved by these strange and irrational actions to be a great liability to your firm,” he wrote to Roffman. “I look forward to seeing you and your firm in court.” That was March 22.
Roffman was fired on March 23.
“Because I wanted to tell the truth,” he told a United Press International reporter.
Wrong, according to Janney. Roffman was let go, according to company documents, because he gave his opinion about the Taj in a quote to a reporter before writing a report for paying clients—a dubious assertion considering he had been saying pretty much the same thing for weeks at least—and “for failure to follow his supervisor’s direct instruction.”
From Barron’s to Fortune, from Institutional Investor to Vanity Fair, from the New York Post to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Trump in the wake of Roffman’s firing unleashed a torrent of criticism against him, calling him “a bad analyst,” “a very unprofessional guy,” “a totally mediocre guy with no talent,” “not a good man,” “a man of little talent,” and “a disgrace to his profession.”
“I have a right to be a critic of a critic,” Trump said to Institutional Investor.


As you can see it's too generic
Sent via the Samsung GALAXY S®4, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: "Banfill, Ryan"
Date: 05/13/2016  16:06  (GMT-09:00)
To: Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Cc: "Miranda, Luis"
, steve@dwsforcongress.com, "Paustenbach, Mark"
Subject: Progressive Points for AK Party
Here's a draft of the progressive points we prepared for the Alaska party. I will upload this to your review file.


Well done
Sent via the Samsung GALAXY S®4, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: "Wei, Shu-Yen"
Date: 04/27/2016 9:05 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: "Bennett, Eric"
Cc: Comm_D
Subject: Re: AP: Cruz co-chair in Virginia travels to Syria, praises Assad
Just saw this, VA dems pitched the story!
On Apr 27, 2016, at 6:05 PM, Bennett, Eric
> wrote:
H/t Brinster
Cruz co-chair in Virginia travels to Syria, praises Assad

Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign co-chairman in Virginia has traveled to Syria and promised support for the government of President Bashar Assad, who U.S. officials have repeatedly said has lost the legitimacy to rule the war-torn country.
Virginia state Sen. Dick Black's trip to a Middle Eastern country in the midst of a civil war and his comments in the face of official U.S. foreign policy are highly unusual for a state lawmaker.
Black, an outspoken Republican, is a part-time state senator who has no role in official U.S. foreign policy. Still, he has met with Assad government officials and said he would advocate for better relationships between Assad and the U.S., according to the official Syrian news agency.
"I will be Syria's voice," Black said, according to the news agency.
Unlike his GOP rivals, Cruz has been less than eager to use military force to take out the Assad government.
"If we are to defeat our enemies we need to be clear-eyed that toppling a government and allowing radical Islamic terrorists to take over a nation is not benefiting our national security interests," Cruz said at the Republican Jewish Coalition forum in December, referring to President Barack Obama's Syria policy goals. "Putting ISIS or Al Qaeda or the Muslim Brotherhood in charge of yet another state in the Middle East is not benefiting our national security."
The Cruz campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Black's trip to Syria.
Black was also recently elected to be a Virginia delegate at the Republican National Committee's convention this summer. He is one of the most vocal social conservatives in Virginia's General Assembly, and has drawn national attention for his opposition to abortion and gay rights. The former Vietnam War veteran and military lawyer dismayed Republican leaders in 2003 by sending fellow lawmakers small, plastic likenesses of a fetus to underscore his opposition toward abortion.
The state senator raised eyebrows in 2014 when he sent a letter to Assad praising him. It was posted on the Syrian president's Facebook page.
Black is expected to meet with Assad during his visit, the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reported.
Syria's conflict began with mostly peaceful protests in 2011, but a brutal government crackdown and the rise of an armed insurgency eventually plunged the country into a full-blown civil war. The fighting has killed more than 250,000 people, according to the United Nations, which stopped tracking casualties several months ago.
Black has said Assad protected Christians and fought terrorist groups. On his Twitter account, Black said he supported Assad because he is stemming the growth of the Islamic State, sometimes called ISIS.
"If Assad falls, ISIS will secure Syria and march on Europe," the tweet said.
Last year, Black said the Virginia Capitol Police alerted him to a threat against him by the Islamic State for his support of Assad. The state senator was featured in a magazine published by the Islamic state.
Black posted a link on Twitter on Wednesday to article written by an Iranian state-run TV news agency, which quoted Black as saying the Syrian civil war would "come to an end if the U.S. stops training terrorist in Jordan, Saudi Arabia" and other countries.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Black "is entitled to his views, but they do not reflect this administration's policy on Syria."
Black met with a Lebanese Christian politician allied with the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, which is fighting alongside Assad's forces in Syria, the TV news agency reported.
Both the Iranian state-run TV news agency and the official Syrian news agency erroneously referred to Black as a U.S. senator.
Word of Black's travels drew mockery from political opponents.
"Doesn't surprise me one bit," said Virginia Senate Minority Leader Dick Saslaw. He added that Black shouldn't be trying to meddle in foreign affairs and said Republicans "would be raising holy hell if the situation was reversed."


One more here
Texas Dems file FEC complaint over Ted Cruz fundraiser
By Brian M. Rosenthal
, Houston Chronicle
The Texas Democratic Party filed a complaint Monday with the Federal Election Commission alleging U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign broke the law by soliciting donations for a supportive super PAC.
The complaint alleges that prominent Cruz campaign supporter Keet Lewis suggested attendees at a campaign fundraiser contribute the maximum amount to the campaign and then start donating to the super PAC, "a blatant violation" of rules prohibiting coordination between a campaign a super PAC.
POLITICO reported earlier this month
about the fundraiser, which took place Dec. 30 in Dallas and was attended by Cruz and his wife, Heidi. The article quoted Lewis as saying, "If you hit your max then we have a table for you that is the unlimited table. "It can take corporate dollars, it can take partnership dollars, and that's the super PAC, Stand for Truth, so pick up some of that information."
In response, Lewis told the publication that he did not view himself as an agent of the campaign.
The complaint filed Monday noted that Lewis has been named a "national co-chair" of the campaign, as well as a leader of the "Small Business For Cruz Coalition."
The complaint urges the Federal Election Commission to fine Cruz, his campaign, Lewis and the super PAC.
A Cruz spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Read the complaint here
.
From: Garcia, Walter
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 2:40 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Dallas Morning News: Texas Democrats allege Cruz campaign violated federal election laws during Dallas fundraiser
Boom
Texas Democrats allege Cruz campaign violated federal election laws during Dallas fundraiser
Katie Leslie
Texas Democrats have filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz and his associates violated campaign finance laws.
The complaint, dated April 22, asserts that Cruz national co-chairman, J. Keet Lewis, broke election laws at an official campaign fundraiser in December by asking attendees to donate unlimited amounts, as well as to make corporate contributions to the pro-Cruz Stand for Truth PAC.
Cruz and his wife, Heidi, reportedly attended the Dec. 30 event in Dallas.
Federal law prohibits coordination between candidates and Super PACs. While a candidate or agent of a candidate can solicit donors to a PAC, it is illegal for them to solicit unlimited contributions or corporate contributions to a Super PAC. They can only solicit up to $5,000 from individuals.
The Texas Democrats say Lewis clearly violated those terms when he told donors "If you hit your max then we have a table for you that is the unlimited table. It can take corporate dollars, it can take partnership dollars, and that's the Super PAC, Stand for Truth..." according to the complaint.
Lewis also said "The method to our madness is this: You max out and then get engaged in the Super PAC," the filing states.
Lewis has denied wrongdoing and told Politico, which reported the potential violation earlier this month, that he is not an agent of the campaign under federal standards. Lewis was one of roughly 50 co-hosts. Texas Democrats argue that he is,
given his national co-chair role
.
Neither the Cruz campaign nor Lewis could be reached for immediate comment Monday.
The FEC had not received a copy of the complaint by Monday morning. In addition to Cruz and Lewis, the complaint lists Cruz for President treasurer Bradley Knippa and Stand for Truth Treasurer D. Eric Lycan as respondents.
It's the latest FEC complaint filed against Cruz's presidential campaign.
In January, the left-leaning group Texans for Public Justice filed a complaint alleging Cruz purposely hid more than $1 million
in loans from major banks during his 2012 Senate campaign.
In response, Cruz noted that he reported the loans on personal financial disclosure forms filed with the Senate and asked the FEC for guidance on how to amend the campaign reports in question.
--
Walter Garcia
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
GarciaW@dnc.org
@WalterGarcia231
[SigDems]


Here’s the morning joe link on Vantage—I think you need to make a youtube request if you want the link (starts around 7:33)
From: Paustenbach, Mark
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 11:57 AM
To: RR2
Subject: FOR RR2: Donald Trump’s Ongoing Support for a Muslim Ban
SL: Donald Trump’s Ongoing Support for a Muslim Ban
Donald Trump’s ongoing support for his dangerous and divisive ban on Muslims entering the United States remains strong, despite broad agreement that such a despicable measure would only make America less safe.
·         When asked whether he would stick by his ban in the general election, Trump said, “I don't care if it hurts me. I'm doing the right thing when I do this.” [Do we have a link? … Morning Joe, MSNBC, 5/4/16]
·         According to interviews
with The New York Times, Trump plans to have his immigration Muslim ban in place within his first 100 days as President.
·         Trump’s website still notes
that he “is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on. According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim populations.”
·         Trump has said
he did not care if his call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States was “politically incorrect.” He argued that, “We Have No Choice. We Have. No. Choice.”
·         This week, after Donald Trump reiterated his plan to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., London’s newly-elected mayor Sadiq Khan rejected
the insulting idea that he could be one of Trump’s “exceptions.” [New link too]