Good Monday morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing. Stay tuned

after the show for a message from Amazon. And I'm Jake Sherman, the Washington Post, David Ignatius,

whose father was Secretary of the Navy from 1967 to 1969, waited on the firing or dismissal,

depending how you look at it, of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and seems to have some good

inside reporting. After Trump's tweet Spencer cautioned Mick Mulvaney that he would not overturn

the planned sealed peer review and privately told associates if such an order came, he might resign

rather than carry it out. While the chairman of the Joint Chiefs' staff spoke to the White

House late Thursday and tried to de-escalate the situation, it was not successful. The New York Times is reporting that Gallagher will be able to keep

his trident pin now, the symbol of his membership in the seals, because it would be impossible for him

to get an impartial hearing. ABC News is reporting that the House Intel Committee is in possession

of videos and audio recordings provided by Rudy Giuliani's

associate Lev Parnas. And The Washington Post has a piece up that a White House review of emails

shows an extensive effort by acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and White House budget

officials to provide an explanation for the withheld funds for Ukraine.

And the Wall Street Journal is reporting that two Giuliani associates try to recruit a Ukraine energy

official. Herb Wesson, the president of the Los Angeles City Council, is running to be L.A.

County supervisor and has an ad made by Mark Putnam that shows him looking for his crack-addicted

son on the streets of

L.A. On the 2020 front, the Times is reporting that Joe Biden is struggling in Iowa, and his supporters

and operatives believe it's because Biden's organization is scattershot, and in some places not present

and his events are typically small. Natasha Correcti emails us that Iowa Dems have received

173 applications for

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