About Washingtonian Today
Washingtonian Today is not just another political news roundup. Instead, this daily morning brief provides local context on national news, catches you up on what’s happening at Washingtonian, points you toward super duper awesome things to do around town, and lets you in on some special events going on in-house. Sign up here to receive Washingtonian Today in your inbox every morning.
Oh, jeez. Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen is reportedly going to tell Congress that, among other things, the President made racist comments about African-Americans, was aware of Roger Stone‘s efforts to connect with WikiLeaks, and was active in schemes to help keep his extramarital affairs quiet. According to Axios, a $35,000 hush money check signed by Trump on August 1, 2017, will be on display during the House Oversight Committee testimony today. Here’s a full copy of Cohen’s prepared remarks. It’s going to be a humdinger of a day, and Trump has already fired back: “He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time,” the president (who’s currently in Vietnam) tweeted early this morning. Oh, and because political drink specials are extremely #Washington, a ton of bars are opening early for Cohen testimony watch parties.
We’ve once again entered the “is Joe Biden really going to run?” news cycle. A recent Politico story quotes Biden mulling over his popularity during a University of Delaware panel: “We’re also taking a hard look at whether or not this alleged appeal I have, how deep does it run? Is it real?” The former vice president’s allies and some Dem donors certainly like the idea of him running, and if he jumps into the race he’ll likely be the front-runner. Also, I believe Biden and Bernie Sanders may be the only 2020 hopefuls with ice cream flavors named after them?
I’m your author, Brittany Shepherd. Email me at bshepherd@washingtonian.com and follow me on Twitter. Subscribe to the newsletter and I’ll promise to never testify about you before the House Intelligence Committee.
Tonight’s the night—my live Q&A with Brad Jenkins, a veteran of the Obama administration and Funny or Die DC. We have a few tickets left to the event, where we’ll knock back a few beers, chat about how Americans get their information differently, how to make policy entertaining, and dish on who is doing stuff wrong. The bar will be open, the laughs will be plentiful, and the karaoke (mostly) optional. Plus you get to meet me, which is often a memorable experience. Get tickets here.
What’s on my mind: Truly, how is Connecticut doing?
What we have cooking at Washingtonian:
- Dacha is finally coming to Navy Yard, which means I can spot all the Vineyard Vines wearers in their natural habitat very, very soon.
- Navy Yard’s also getting a new taco spot: Él Bebe, a cute new place where I can gorge myself on churros without fear of being judged. U-S-A!
- Park sex was definitely a thing people were doing back in the ’70s. We chatted with the Blackbyrds about their song that quite literally goes “Doing it in the park / Doing it after dark.”
- Who is this new Saudi Ambassador, Princess Reema? We took a closer look.
- And the story you’ve all been waiting for: why did no human intervene with Justice and Liberty’s eggs?
Our pick for things to do around town:
ART Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is hosting a reception and viewing of the art exhibit “Emergence Sea: The Identities of Black American Descendants of Slaves.” The exhibit features portraits of everyday black life from local artists and couple James Terrell and Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell. Free to attend (with registration), 5 PM.
Good reads:
I want you to unplug from politics for a few minutes. Take a moment to read the story on the integration of co-working spaces into corporate work culture, by Gideon Lewis-Kraus. (New York Times Magazine)
Big events from Washingtonian:
I told you once but just in case you forgot: Get tickets to tonight’s event here.
Food critic Ann Limpert can tell you the very best places around DC to eat a salad with a comb.
Brittany Shepherd covers the societal and cultural scene in political Washington. Before joining Washingtonian as a staff writer in 2018, Brittany was a White House Correspondent for Independent Journal Review. While she has lived in DC for a number of years now, she still yearns for the fresh Long Island bagels of home. Find her on Twitter, often prattling on about Frasier.
