Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. Send tips | Subscribe here| Email Alex | Email Max Since at least Dec. 1, White House reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CBS News, and POLITICO have been receiving emails from several different accounts all with the same tip: JOVANNI ORTIZ, the manager of community outreach and engagement for the Department of Public Safety at Hofstra University, is being eyed for a senior role in Vice President KAMALA HARRIS’ office. On Dec. 3, soon after top Harris communication aides announced their departure, The Hill wrote a story with a headline saying Ortiz was “in talks for potential Harris job,” citing two sources. The story described Ortiz, who told us his last full-time political job was as a communications director for a New York state assemblyman in 2019, as “a long-time communications official in Democratic circles.” The Hill also reported that Ortiz was “in touch” with top former White House aide ANITA DUNN “about joining the administration.” The piece was republished in local newsoutlets across the country. Harris’ office denied to The Hill that Ortiz was a serious contender for a top job in her office. And Dunn couldn’t remember if The Hill reached out to her about the story, although she wasn’t quoted in the piece. She told West Wing Playbook that "Jovanni (who I do not know) had emailed me and I passed it on to PPO, which is what I do with folks I don’t know who send me resumes.” She added that, “The Hill is not entirely inaccurate - but not much to differentiate Jovanni from many other people who contact me about their interest in jobs, and could also say, ‘had been in touch’ with me, since I try to be responsive to folks who reach out." The vice president’s office told us they stood behind their original denial. The Hill did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether the organization stood by its story about Ortiz. But the story itself, along with the behind-the-scenes campaign to get Ortiz’s name listed as a potential Harris hire in other outlets, raises questions about who exactly is the source or sources of this information. After the Hill published its story, the tips about Ortiz kept filling the inboxes of reporters across Washington. The messages contained similar, if not identical, phrases but came from four different email addresses. One email from “Mike Cristofu” told a reporter Ortiz was being considered for a job in a “senior comms capacity.” Another message from “Jess Ceballos” said they heard Ortiz “may take on [Chief of Staff] job.” A letter from “Jon DiMasi” noted that they heard there was “some hesitancy in the White House about him given Ortiz’s apparent loyalty to the Vice President–He was an early supporter of her presidential campaign and pushed hard for her selection as Biden’s running mate.” “Cristofu” sent a similar message to a POLITICO reporter in December, saying Ortiz’s potential hiring was “allegedly causing a bit of worry in the WH - concern is that he is too loyal to Harris.” And a recent missive from “Steve Krup” said he heard “Mr. Ortiz is back at the table because his hiring would likely sit well with Latinos” after Harris’ new communications director, JAMAL SIMMONS , had drawn flack for old tweets he has written about undocumented immigrants. In at least one case, Krup and Ceballos sent the exact same message to different reporters. At another point, Ceballos shared with a reporter a screenshot of a @JovanniOrtiz46 Twitter account created in January 2022 and noted it “could be an official WH acct.,” given that all White House Twitter accounts end with the number “46.” As of this writing, the account either doesn’t exist or was deleted. In two emails shared with West Wing Playbook, Ceballos and Krup sent the same phone number as their contact. Calls to that number were not answered, leading only to a generic voicemail without a name listed on the recording. In subsequent text messages, they said they couldn’t talk on the phone, but could text message. Krup texted us that he works for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus but, according to Legistorm, there is no one by that name who works for or has worked for the caucus. A CHC spokesperson said they weren’t aware of anyone with that name or a similar name who works for the CHC. “I haven’t heard of that person at all before,” KELLY O’KEEFE, communications director for CHC Chairman Rep. RAUL RUIZ (D-Calif.), told us. As we asked more questions, Krup asked to go off the record. Asked why Krup’s number was the same as Ceballos’, Krup stopped responding. “The emails are constant and looked fishy from the beginning, mostly because the strategy of sending a carbon-copy tip to multiple reporters, then attaching a name and number, then sending the whole thing again from someone with a different name and number is not something that happens a lot,” said one White House reporter. “About once a week the White House reporters are having to swat it down when someone in our bureau inevitably becomes the newest tip target.” It’s not unusual in Washington for people to try to get their names floated for prominent positions that they are very unlikely to get — being considered for such a position is a validator. It’s part of the reason most politicians like to be mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate. In a journalism world that loves such bits of intel, loosely sourced “floats” sometimes get published. And in an online world where identities can be readily hidden, this political art form has evolved, even if it’s done sloppily. This morning, we asked Ortiz, who is an enthusiastic Twitter supporter of Harris going back to her 2020 presidential campaign launch, if he had time to talk today. “Getting a bunch of inquiries as I’m sure you can imagine and you probably know more than I do!” he wrote back. When asked about all the emails from various addresses touting his White House job prospects, Ortiz texted that he didn’t know anything about it: “Really? No idea. Sounds a bit sketchy.” TEXT US — Are you actually MIKE CRISTOFU, STEVE KRUP, JON DIMASI, or JESS CEBALLOS? Send us an email or text and we will try to include your thoughts in the next day’s edition. Can be anonymous, on background, etc.Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427.
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