NotedDC — Classified material raises pressure on Garland

More pressure is building on Attorney General Merrick Garland to charge former President Trump after the Department of Justice (DOJ) asserted that documents at the former president’s Florida estate were likely shielded from federal investigators.

The DOJ’s most recent court filing, detailing how federal officials’ attempted to recover records and classified documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, revealed that Trump’s team “likely concealed and removed” documents to obstruct the probe.

The classified documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January included secrets related to foreign intelligence, as our colleagues Rebecca Beitsch and Morgan Chalfant reported. While it is unclear what intelligence the documents contained, experts are concerned about whose hands they fell in.

“Documents so sensitive, so protected that senior FBI agents and DOJ attorneys couldn’t even initially review them, were kept at a public resort,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) tweeted Wednesday. “Potentially available to God knows who.”

The DOJ has prosecuted individuals for unauthorized disclosures of intelligence, in line with the federal government’s strict rules governing classified information, though Garland has treaded carefully given the case involves a former president.

Prosecutors are likely to hold off on unveiling any charges until after the midterms,  Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Prosecutors are barred from taking action that might impact an election 60 days before the election, which would be Sept. 10.

Garland was already under pressure from Democrats to charge Trump as part of the DOJ’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the Capitol, following a series of revelations unveiled by the House select committee. 

And as The Hill has reported, any indictment made against the former president would have to meet an extremely high standard of evidence — one that the DOJ would feel certain would end in a conviction.

Welcome to NotedDC: Your guide to politics, policy & people of consequence in D.C.

In today’s issue: Glimpses of Democratic optimism over Florida and the latest GOP hopeful making his way to New Hampshire. Plus: Federal support for Jackson, Miss.

🐊  Dems see sunny midterm forecast in Florida

Democrats are fighting to make the Sunshine State a bit bluer this November, ramping up their campaigns to oust Sen. Marco Rubio (R) and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in a state former President Trump won twice.

Here’s where the races stand: 

CRIST GOES ALL IN

Rep. Charlie Crist, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Florida, has given up his House seat as he seeks a return to the governor’s mansion.

The move, which gives Democrats a smaller majority in the House, puts an emphasis on Crist’s gubernatorial ambitions and campaign to take on DeSantis.

• Crist, who switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party in 2012, was previously the governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2014 and was elected to the House in 2016.
  
• Crist said in a statement that he felt it was “an honor and a privilege” to serve in Congress and “these achievements start and end with you, the people — my bosses — who have guided my work in Congress since Day One.” 

DEMS TARGET RUBIO

Democrats are hopeful that Rep. Val Demings‘s (D-Fla.) large fundraising numbers and profile can help take down Rubio, who has served in the Senate since 2010.

Demings, once on the list of President Biden’s potential vice presidential picks, is seen as a rising star in the party, our colleague Max Greenwood writes.

• More Democrats are paying attention to the swing state after Demings outraised Rubio by more than $10 million, seeing her numbers as an impressive feat.
  
• Demings’s allies also argue that she is a strong candidate to promote the party’s message of being pro-law enforcement against Republicans’ attacks that Democrats still want to “defund the police” because of her own career as Orlando’s police chief. 

But it will be an uphill battle: “Unlike Republican Senate nominees in several other battleground states — like Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia — Rubio is a seasoned politician with a track record of winning statewide by wide margins, and the vast majority of public polling in the race between him and Demings shows Rubio in the lead.” 

2024 WATCH

Pence heads to New Hampshire 

Former Vice President Mike Pence (R) is headed to New Hampshire in September as he flirts with a White House bid.

This will be his second visit in the span of a month to the Granite State, which holds the first-in-the-nation primary. He’s also traveled to South Carolina and Iowa, both early-voting states, too.  

Our colleague Brett Samuels reports that he will stump for Republican candidates in hopes to oust Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) and flip the two congressional seats. 

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu is also up for reelection in the state, declining to run for Senate, which has fueled speculation that he could run for president in 2024. He recently made headlines after he condemned President Biden for equating the MAGA wing of the Republican Party to “semi-fascism.”

WASHINGTON MOVES

The campaign trail isn’t the only area seeing fresh faces. The Hill’s Karl Evers-Hillstrom has a weekly roundup of where people are moving in the lobbying world (and you can send us your professional updates, too!). Here are some highlights:

Erin Polton joined e-commerce company Shopify as vice president of communications and public affairs, previously serving as special assistant to President Biden and chief of staff at the White House Domestic Policy Council. 

Reggie McCrimmon joined Google as government affairs and public policy manager, previously serving as a public policy manager at Twitter. 

Allison Crittenden joined JBS USA as senior director of government affairs, previously serving as director of government affairs at the American Farm Bureau Federation. 

Mike Romanowski joined Archer Aviation as head of government relations, previously serving as director of policy and innovation at the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Stewart Alvarez rejoined the Travel Technology Association as interim president and CEO, coming out of retirement to lead the firm he founded. 

WATER CRISIS

Biden offers federal help for Jackson, Miss.

President Biden has issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi over the unfolding water crisis in its capital of Jackson.

• Some 180,000 people are without access to clean drinking water in the city after flooding along the Pearl River threw a hobbled treatment plant offline.
  
• Biden’s declaration, issued Tuesday, means the Federal Emergency Management Agency can provide assistance and coordinate disaster relief efforts while the issue is being addressed.
  
  

🩺. Workers honored for COVID-19 response

The Department of Labor is inducting the “Essential Workers of the Coronavirus Pandemic” into the Labor Hall of Honor on Thursday. 

The Department of Labor Hall of Honor, created in 1988, recognizes people who have made significant contributions to working Americans. 

• The event will take place at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Frances Perkins Building at 11 a.m.
  
• People who want to nominate a worker who contributed to the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic can go here to submit their info. 
  

Have some news, juicy gossip, insight or other insider info? Send us tips: Elizabeth Crisp and Kelsey Carolan. And encourage friends to sign up here: digital-release.thehill.com/noted.

We’ll see you tomorrow!

VIEW THE FULL EDITION HERE