Playbook: Senate staffer out after sex tape scandal

With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine

WHAT EVERY D.C. GROUP CHAT IS TALKING ABOUT — We’ve had a lot of drama on Capitol Hill this fall. A House speaker ousted for the first time in history, followed by a brutal succession fight. A serial liar of a congressman expelled from his post — and now banking thousands of dollars a day doing Cameo videos.

And now there’s this: “Senate Staffer Caught Filming Gay Sex Tape In Senate Hearing Room (GRAPHIC),” by The Daily Caller’s Henry Rodgers.

First off, please know, when they say “GRAPHIC,” they mean it.

The video, which Rodgers reports was shared in a group chat with gay men in politics, shows two men having sex in what appears to be Hart 216, the cavernous room that has played host to Supreme Court nominees, the 9/11 Commission hearings and former FBI Director JAMES COMEY’s blockbuster 2017 testimony on DONALD TRUMP.

The, um, action takes place on the dais — right between where Sens. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.) and CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) were sitting at a recent Senate Judiciary Committee markup, in case you were wondering.

The Daily Caller did not name the staffer, but conservative outlets identified the person responsible as AIDAN MAESE-CZEROPSKI, an aide to Sen. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.).

Cardin’s office, after not commenting yesterday on what it called a “personnel matter,” this morning tells Playbook in a statement that “Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by the U.S. Senate.”

“We will have no further comment on this personnel matter,” the statement added.

Playbook also reached out to Capitol Police this morning to see if an investigation is underway and did not get a response. Senate leadership aides also declined to comment.

Our attempts to reach Maese-Czeropski this morning did not immediately succeed, but he posted the following to LinkedIn last night: “This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda. While some of my actions in the past have shown poor judgement, I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace. Any attempts to characterize my actions otherwise are fabricated and I will be exploring what legal options are available to me in these matters.”

Yeah, we’d definitely advise finding a lawyer.

Now on to more serious business …

BORDER TALKS UPDATE — Senate negotiators trying to strike a deal on U.S.-Mexico border policy emerged last night continuing to sing a positive tune. Here’s a sampling our colleague Burgess Everett graciously shared with Playbook after the meeting broke up:

— Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.) said they’re making headway now that the White House is more involved. “We made really good progress today. We’re moving forward on big issues.”

— Sen. JAMES LANKFORD (R-Okla.) said “we’ve got a long way to go,” but added that the White House was actually putting proposals on paper, a good sign following GOP complaints that they hadn’t been.

— Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) says his goal is to get the deal done before leaving for the holidays: “I’m not going back home … All I know is we’re trying to get a vote on this before we leave. That’s my only goal.”

Negotiators are back to work again this morning and possibly tomorrow, which shows just how much work they have to do if they want to wrap by Christmas.

Meanwhile, pressure continues to build on the administration to do something about the border. Yesterday, Arizona Gov. KATIE HOBBS (D) signed an executive order deploying the state’s National Guard to help deal with the surge in migrant crossings, the Arizona Republic reports. “I am taking action where the federal government won’t,” she said in a statement.

Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE IS READING — From WSJ’s Annie Linskey: “President [JOE] BIDEN heads into the end of the year with deepening Democratic worries about his re-election, as his effort to aid allies in two wars hangs in the balance on Capitol Hill and an impeachment inquiry into him and his family moves forward. …

“Those with concerns include former President BARACK OBAMA, who ‘knows this is going to be a close race’ and ‘feels that Democrats very well could lose’ the 2024 election.”

WHAT KEVIN McCARTHY IS READING— “McCarthy protégé deemed ineligible for Congress bid,” by Melanie Mason and Jeremy White: California legislator VINCE FONG “had already qualified to run for Assembly, and state law bars a candidate from withdrawing after last Friday’s filing deadline. He decided to forge ahead [with a congressional run, regardless, filing his candidacy with Kern County election officials, and McCarthy swiftly endorsed him.”

WHAT DEL RAY RESIDENTS ARE READING — “Caps, Wizards complex in Virginia could get largest arena subsidy ever,” by WaPo’s Jonathan O’Connell, Teo Armus, Laura Vozzella and Sam Fortier: “The net cost to taxpayers would ultimately reach an estimated $1.35 billion, according to the study. That includes $1.15 billion directly for the project — more than any comparable facility on record, according to J.C. BRADBURY, a Kennesaw State economics professor who studies sports facilities and reviewed the study for The Post.”

At the White House

Biden has nothing on his public schedule.

VP KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will travel to Atlanta to attend the Cricket Celebration Bowl, where Harris will be interviewed by ESPN, before returning to Washington.

On the trail

Trump will head to New Hampshire today for his first event there in more than a month as he seeks to stop NIKKI HALEY’s momentum, CNN’s Aaron Pellish previews.

9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US

1. JUDGMENT DAY: A federal jury in D.C. yesterday ordered RUDY GIULIANI to pay a whopping $148 million in damages for defaming Georgia poll workers RUBY FREEMAN and SHAYE MOSS as he spread falsehoods about the 2020 election, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David Wickert reports. It’s just the latest of a wave of legal punishments for people who tried to undermine the election, though Giuliani has continued to maintain that he believes the allegations were true. (They weren’t.) He also pledged to appeal, citing “the absurdity of the number” — which his well-documented financial struggles of late might make it difficult to become reality. But Freeman and Moss said they felt vindicated.

2. HOW THE DOOMERS GOT A WIN: “Billionaire-backed think tank played key role in Biden’s AI order,” by Brendan Bordelon: “The provisions advanced by [the RAND Corporation] in the October executive order included a sweeping set of reporting requirements placed on the most powerful AI systems, ostensibly designed to lessen the technology’s catastrophic risks. Those requirements hew closely to the policy priorities pursued by Open Philanthropy, a group that pumped over $15 million into RAND … Open Philanthropy is a major funder of causes associated with ‘effective altruism’ … Effective altruists now focus much of their attention on AI and are increasingly pushing Washington to address the technology’s apocalyptic potential.”

3. THE HONEYMOON ENDS: “GOP pushes Speaker Johnson to start picking sides in its endless battles,” by Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney: “Conservatives aren’t close to entertaining an effort to oust [Speaker MIKE] JOHNSON, given that McCarthy’s departure will soon shrink their majority to just two seats. But GOP hard-liners are clearly displeased with his attempts to stay above the fray, and they’re poised to make real trouble for him if he doesn’t start making hard calls. Of course, even if he does start choosing sides, he risks blowback of a different kind.”

4. NOT READY FOR AI: At the state level, most of the country is lagging in protecting political campaigns from a surge of deepfakes and artificial intelligence-generated trickery, NBC’s Adam Edelman reports. Few states have even tried to navigate the thicket of complex issues raised by regulation, even as experts warn about the potential for disinformation to spread rapidly. Only Michigan, Minnesota and Washington state passed legislation on the matter this year — which experts say is all the more important because the federal government hasn’t taken action.

5. NOMINATION WOES: The State Department is stepping up its agitation about 43 diplomatic nominees whom Republicans have blocked in the Senate, from would-be Deputy Secretary of State KURT CAMPBELL on down, NYT’s Edward Wong and Michael Crowley report. If they don’t get through by the holidays, they’ll have to be renominated next year. The Biden administration warns that the holdup damages American national security and foreign policy. But Republican senators who have placed the holds — especially J.D. VANCE (Ohio) and RAND PAUL (Ky.) — either have ideological concerns about the nominees or are seeking separate policy concessions in exchange.

6. THE 14TH AMENDMENT QUESTION: “Attorneys spar over whether Trump can appear on Maine’s presidential primary ballot,” by the Portland Press Herald’s Rachel Ohm in Augusta: “The eight-hour hearing was held at the…