Good Tuesday morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook audio briefing. Stay tuned

after the show for a message from pharma. And I'm Jake Sherman. What we learned yesterday is that any

hearing about Bob Mueller and obstruction is going to turn into a partisan food fight and war between

Republicans and Democrats. Republicans tried to discredit John Dean as a money-hungry fame-seeking crook.

The top of Monday's hearing didn't even get aired on live TV because the helicopter crash in New York.

Unless President Donald Trump allows some of his associates to testify, it's going to be very tough for these hearings to break through.

John Favro, the former Obama speechwriter turned podcast superstar, said this.

Impeachment hearings are the only way to ensure television coverage of Trump investigations.

It's the only way to take the microphone away from Trump.

If you're still against it, fine, but don't expect regular hearings to command the same

kind of media attention.

Meanwhile, the New York Times' columnist Jam Jamil Bowie, wrote that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are playing too nice.

While Andrew Desiderio, Heather Kagle, and John Bresdenahan have a piece up on Pelosi

and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler's strained alliance with their divide over

impeachment strategy.

Joe Biden spoke to a room of Washington donors and some lobbyists last night.

He pushed back on criticism against him for not going to Iowa.

Biden said, my granddaughter was graduating. It was my daughter's birthday.

I would skip inauguration for that, according to White House Pooler, Alexei McCamond.

Biden also continued to attack to the middle saying that once Trump is gone, things are going to change because Republicans know this

isn't what they are supposed to be doing. Iowa split screen today, Trump and Biden will be campaigning

...