Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Tuesday, April 17, 2018
From: "Kathy Chung" <[email-masked]>
To: "Ashley Blazer Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jill Tracy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jimmy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Valerie Biden Owens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2018 09:33:24 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Tuesday, April 17, 2018 7:58 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, April 17, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=000-38e&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=001-dfa&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, April 17, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Hannity Revealed To Be Cohen’s Third Client. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• White House: US To Decide In “Near Future” On More Russia Sanctions. <#S2>

• US, UK Accuse Russia Of Launching Global Cyber Attack. <#S3>

• Media Analyses: Abe Meeting Trump Today Amid Domestic Political
Challenges. <#S4>

• Senators To Introduce New AUMF Resolution. <#S5>

• EU Fails To Agree On New Iran Sanctions. <#S6>

• Niger Ambush Suspect May Be In Custody. <#S7>

• Trump: Russia, China Playing “Currency Devaluation Game.” <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Administration, Republicans Blast Comey’s Character, Credibility. <#S9>

• At Florida Roundtable, Trump Touts Tax Cuts, Economy. <#S10>

• GAO: $43,000 Soundproof Phone Booth In Pruitt’s Office Violated Law.
<#S11>

• Interior Department IG: Zinke Took Unnecessary $12,000 Charter Flight.
<#S12>

• Full Senate Confirmation Vote For Pompeo Planned, Even If Committee
Rejects Him. <#S13>

• Trump To Nominate Clarida, Bowman To Fed Board Of Governors. <#S14>

• Nearly 50 Republicans Back Move To Hold Votes On Immigration Bills. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Clinical Trials: Immuno-Chemotherapy Lung Cancer Treatment Could Boost
Survival. <#S16>

• FDA Approves Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Combination Treatment. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Local TV Stations Highlight Biden Remarks Made In MSNBC Interview About
Potential Bid. <#S20>

• Biden To Speak About Cancer Research During Friday Visit To Salk
Institute. <#S21>

• Vanderbilt Chancellor Highlights Biden’s Exhortation To Community
Involvement. <#S22>

• Univ. Of Miami Student “Beyond Thrilled” About Introducing Biden At “It’s
On Us” Rally. <#S23>

• Biden, Elena Delle Donne Cross Paths At Delaware Golf Course. <#S24>

• Article Highlights Dr. Jill Biden’s April 13 Keynote Address At
Pittsburgh YWCA Gala. <#S25>
Leading the News
Hannity Revealed To Be Cohen’s Third Client.

Coverage of the court appearance by President Trump’s personal attorney
Michael Cohen, and Twitter discussion of the subject, focuses almost
entirely on the revelation that Fox News host Sean Hannity was the
previously unnamed third client that Cohen represented during the past
year. Broadcast reports also highlight the circus-like atmosphere outside
the court building, and most outlets give only scant attention to the issue
at hand in the hearing: whether prosecutors will be able to review
materials seized by federal agents from Cohen one week ago.

        All three broadcast networks opened their newscasts with the story.
On ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=002-d8f&t=c>
(4/16, lead story, 4:20), David Muir reported that Cohen is “now trying to
protect what was swept up in the raid.” ABC’s Keira Phillips: “A crush of
cameras as Stormy Daniels arrived in federal court today. ... Less fanfare
for Michael Cohen, the President’s long-time personal lawyer, who paid for
Daniels’ silence.” A court filing revealed that Cohen “did work for three
clients over the past year: Donald Trump, Republican fundraiser Elliott
Broidy, and a third client Cohen said wanted to remain anonymous. ...
Today, the judge ordering the name of Cohen’s third client be revealed: Fox
News anchor Sean Hannity.” ABC played a clip of Hannity responding on his
radio show: “It’s very strange to watch my own television network having my
name up as a lower third in terms of it being a story. ... Michael never
represented me in any matter. I never retained him in the traditional
sense, as retaining a lawyer.”

        On the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=003-295&t=c>
(4/16, lead story, 2:25, Glor), Jeff Pegues reported, “Cohen was peppered
with questions as he arrived at the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
He and his lawyers, as well as attorneys for President Trump, told [US
District Judge] Kimba Wood that documents and data seized in FBI raids last
week are protected by attorney-client privilege and should not be read by
prosecutors.” In addition, Daniels “appeared at the courthouse despite not
being directly involved in today’s proceedings.” Daniels: “For years, Mr.
Cohen has acted like he is above the law. That ends now.” Pegues: “In a bit
of courthouse drama, Cohen was forced to reveal his client list. ... To
audible gasps in the courtroom,” Cohen’s lawyer said the third client “was
Fox News host and staunch Trump supporter Sean Hannity.”

        On NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=004-d36&t=c>
(4/16, lead story, 2:50), Lester Holt called it “a wild scene outside the
federal courthouse...as the key players in the latest legal bonfire
surrounding the President, including Stormy Daniels, appeared before a
critical hearing. ... The surprise disclosure that Fox News commentator and
Trump loyalist Sean Hannity was also one of Cohen’s clients added yet
another wrinkle to this case.”

        In addition to defending himself on his radio show, Hannity tweeted
about the matter six times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=005-590&t=c>
on Monday, most significantly writing
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=006-aba&t=c>,
“Michael Cohen has never represented me in any matter. I never retained
him, received an invoice, or paid legal fees. I have occasionally had brief
discussions with him about legal questions about which I wanted his input
and perspective,” then adding
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=007-d1b&t=c>,
“I assumed those conversations were confidential, but to be absolutely
clear they never involved any matter between me and a third-party.” Hannity
later said on Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=008-39a&t=c>
(4/16), “Michael Cohen never represented me in any legal manner. I never
retained his services. I never received an invoice. I never paid Michael
Cohen for legal fees. I did have occasional brief conversations with
Michael Cohen – he is a great attorney – about legal questions I had or I
was looking for input and perspective. ... In response to all the wild
speculation, I want to set the record straight here tonight. I never asked
Michael Cohen to bring this proceeding on my behalf. I have no personal
interest in this legal matter.”

        But frequent guest Alan Dershowitz, appearing on Fox News’
Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=009-665&t=c>
(4/16), told the host, “You should have disclosed your relationship with
Cohen when you talked about him on this show. You could have said just that
you had asked him for advice or whatever. But I think it would have been
much, much better had you disclosed that relationship.” On Facebook
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=00a-e7d&t=c>,
the New York Daily News said of Dershowitz’s comments, “Hannity got
destroyed... on his own show!” In its own Facebook post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=00b-3c7&t=c>,
Mediaite said of Dershowitz’s comments, “Well, this was awkward.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=00c-823&t=c>
(4/16) reports that Wood rejected Cohen’s “efforts to mask the identity of
Hannity, a client Cohen had said wanted to avoid publicity.” Wood said, “I
understand if he doesn’t want his name out there, but that’s not enough
under the law.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=00d-b19&t=c>
(4/16, Orden) reports that the names of the clients were at issue because
of Cohen’s motion seeking a temporary restraining order concerning material
that was seized. Wood instructed Cohen’s attorneys to provide information
about the clients and attorneys that Cohen had considered privileged.

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=00e-10f&t=c>
(4/16, McCoy, Korte) reports, “As one of Trump’s most vocal supporters –
and one who reportedly speaks to the president frequently – Hannity
attacked the FBI for the raid on Cohen’s offices last week without
disclosing that Cohen was also one of his lawyers.” Callum Borchers of
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=00f-2bc&t=c>
(4/16) writes, “Hannity’s denial is a bit confusing. Hannity sought Cohen’s
legal counsel only on matters involving Hannity and himself? It is also
unclear why, if Cohen’s work for Hannity was innocuous, the two men sought
to keep their relationship secret.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=010-523&t=c>
(4/16, Tanfani) reports, “On his Fox show, where Cohen has been a guest,
Hannity had harshly criticized the government’s decision to raid Cohen’s
office and had not disclosed any attorney-client relationship the two may
have had.” The New York Daily News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=011-9ee&t=c>
(4/16, Sommerfeldt) also reports that Hannity “repeatedly blasted federal
prosecutors in the wake of a raid at Michael Cohen’s office last week – but
didn’t mention that he has taken legal advice from the longtime Trump
attorney for years.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=012-d41&t=c>
(4/16, Hays, Neumeister) called the Hannity revelation “a surprise twist.”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=013-e1b&t=c>
(4/16, Feuer, Grynbaum) reports that Fox News anchor Shepard Smith, in
reporting the news, said “that it was time for him to address ‘the elephant
in the room.’” Smith continued, “Hannity’s producers are working to contact
him. Since it’s now a part of the story, we’ll report on it when we know
the rest of it. A lot of people here know his number, so we’ll get on that
in just a second.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=014-252&t=c>
(4/16, Calderone) reports under the headline “Hannity’s Ethics Under Fire”
that Hannity “has wavered over the years on whether he is a journalist or
conservative activist, but ethics specialists say that whichever hat the
Fox News host was wearing” when he condemned the Cohen raid, “he should
have disclosed that he’s a client of Cohen’s.” Indira Lakshmanan of the
Poynter Institute said, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a newspaper reporter
or an opinion journalist. If you want to maintain credibility with an
audience, and be honest with them, you have to disclose all facts.”

        In an analysis that led the CNN Money
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=015-fcc&t=c>
(4/16) website on Monday evening, Brian Stelter wrote, “Fox is not a normal
newsroom. And Hannity’s viewers are not typical news viewers. ... Hannity,
an entertainer at heart, blurs the lines all the time – for example by
calling his show ‘real news’ and by asserting that he has anonymous
sources. Now it’s even blurrier.” George W. Bush Administration ethics
counsel Richard Painter tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=016-d3a&t=c>,
“FOX News: Fair and Balanced. And lawyered up with Trump.” Amanda Terkel of
the Huffington Post tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=017-ff6&t=c>,
“Sean Hannity was apoplectic over the FBI raid of Michael Cohen. On April
9, the day of the raid, he said the media should stop focusing on it. Now
we know why.” New York Magazine asked on Facebook
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=018-47b&t=c>,
“Will Sean Hannity’s pristine reputation ever recover from this?” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=019-bab&t=c>
(4/16, Sakoui, Palmeri), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=01a-b7b&t=c>
(4/16, Samuels), and the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=01b-ca6&t=c>
(4/16, Caruso) also report on the Hannity revelation.

        *Judge Rejects Cohen Effort To Block Prosecutors From Reviewing
Seized Materials. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=01c-b34&t=c>
(4/16, Weiser, Feuer) reports in a brief item that Wood rejected an attempt
by Cohen “to block prosecutors in Manhattan from reviewing a trove of
materials seized in F.B.I. raids last week on Mr. Cohen’s office, home,
hotel room and safe deposit box.” The Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=01d-290&t=c>
(4/16, Briquelet), in a story that led the Drudge Report on Monday evening,
reported that Cohen “had asked a federal judge for a temporary restraining
order to stop federal prosecutors in Manhattan from viewing the information
seized by the FBI until an independent third party, called a ‘special
master,’ be allowed to sort out what is protected by attorney-client
privilege.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=01e-ec0&t=c>
(4/16, Bump, Barrett) reports that Wood said “that to address concerns
about ‘fairness’ raised by Trump and Cohen’s attorneys, ‘a special master
might have a role here. Maybe not the complete role, but some role.’”

        *AP: Trump, Allies Concerned About What Might Be In Seized
Materials. *In an analysis, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=01f-a77&t=c>
(4/17, Lemire, Lucey) writes that “Trump and his allies have hit a new
level of anxiety” after the Cohen raid, “fearful of deeper exposure for
Trump, his inner circle and his adult children – and more than concerned
that they don’t know exactly what is in those records and electronic
devices seized last week.” There is also some worry that Cohen “may strike
a deal with prosecutors out of concern about his own prospects.” Attorney
Joseph Cammarata, who represented Paula Jones in her sexual harassment suit
against President Clinton, told the AP, “I think it’s a huge minefield for
Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. I think this is on its own track
and this train is coming down the track with brute force.”

        *Politico: Trump’s Legal Team Short-Handed At Crucial Time. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=020-298&t=c>
(4/16, Samuelsohn) reports on the Trump legal team’s “sudden enlistment” of
attorney Joanna Hendon, writing that it “underscores Trump’s scramble to
manage an expanding array of legal crisis with a bare-bones legal team that
has lacked a quarterback for nearly a month.” Trump’s legal team “has in
effect been improvising for the last several weeks, a dangerous dynamic
given his mounting woes.” Paul Rosenzweig, a former senior counsel to
Whitewater independent counsel Ken Starr, said, “Would you help him?
Everyone who works for Trump has a big ‘T’ burned on their forehead for the
rest of their life.”

        *Ex-Playboy Playmate Claims 1993 Affair With Then-Engaged Trump. *The
Daily Mail (UK)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=021-226&t=c>
(4/16, Parry) reports that ex-Playboy Playmate Barbara Moore claims that
she had a six-month affair with Trump when he was engaged to Marla Maples,
who was pregnant with daughter Tiffany at the time. Moore shared
photographs of herself in Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago with the
Daily Mail.

        *Mueller’s Office Says “Many” Stories About Russia Probe Are
Inaccurate. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=022-1e8&t=c>
(4/16, Scarborough) reports that special counsel Robert Mueller’s office
warns that “many” news stories about the Trump-Russia investigation have
been wrong. A statement from a Mueller spokesperson said, “What I have been
telling all reporters is that many stories about our investigation have
been inaccurate. ... Be very cautious about any source that claims to have
knowledge about our investigation and dig deep into what they claim before
reporting on it. If another outlet reports something, don’t run with it
unless you have your own sourcing to back it up.”

        *Politico: At Mar-A-Lago This Week, Trump Will Have Time To
“Seethe” Over Grievances. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=023-938&t=c>
(4/16, Restuccia, Nelson) reports that while he spends the week at
Mar-a-Lago, aides expect Trump will “find plenty of time to seethe over his
ever-growing list of grievances.” Politico cites “three outside advisers”
who say people close to Trump “are bracing for a potentially tumultuous
trip” as visits to Mar-a-Lago “often bring out an even more unfiltered
Trump.” Trump “was already fuming” before he left on Monday and “five days
at Mar-a-Lago, where he often spends even more time watching cable news and
talking to friends, could send his frustrations to new heights.”
Foreign Policy
White House: US To Decide In “Near Future” On More Russia Sanctions.

On the day Ambassador Haley said the Administration would announce new
sanctions against Russia for its support of Syria, the White House said the
sanctions are still under consideration. A number of media reports indicate
that President Trump stopped the announcement, while others suggest Haley
misspoke and the announcement was never planned.

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=024-c18&t=c>
(4/16, story 3, 0:35, Muir) briefly reported that “after...Haley said that
the White House would impose new sanctions on Russia, the White House [is]
now saying they are considering the move.” According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=025-cf7&t=c>
(4/16, Rucker, Leonnig, Troianovski, Jaffe), Trump “put the brakes” on the
plan, “walking back” Haley’s Sunday announcement. Trump, it says, had
“conferred with his national security advisers later Sunday and told them
he was upset the sanctions were being officially rolled out because he was
not yet comfortable executing them, according to several people familiar
with the plan.” The Post says “the Trump team decided to publicly
characterize Haley’s announcement as a misstatement,” but “privately,
another White House official said Haley got ahead of herself and made ‘an
error that needs to be mopped up.’” A White House official, however, told
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=026-b6a&t=c>
(4/16, Restuccia) that Trump “had not signed off on the sanctions, despite
Haley’s Sunday comments.” Said the official, “The sanctions were always
something that was just under consideration,” but added, “We would not have
rolled out sanctions through somebody saying them on a Sunday show.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=027-e07&t=c>
(4/16, Baker) also reports Trump “rejected for now imposing a fresh round
of sanctions against Russia,” calling it a “course change that underscored
the schism between the president and his national security team.” White
House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement, “We are
considering additional sanctions on Russia and a decision will be made in
the near future.” However, “another White House official...said Mr. Trump
had decided not to go forward with the sanctions” after he “concluded that
they were unnecessary because Moscow’s response to the airstrike was mainly
bluster.” To the Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=028-e2e&t=c>
(4/16, Desiderio), “the White House threw Haley under the bus” on Monday.
According to the Beast, “sources familiar with the sanctions rollout
process described a chaotic back-and-forth,” so “it was unlikely that
Haley...would have misspoken so egregiously if a sanctions regime was not
already in the works.”

        To the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=029-678&t=c>
(4/16, Yen, Burns), the White House “scrambled Monday to walk
back...Haley’s weekend announcement...but stressed the penalties are still
being considered.” Sanders “tried to clarify the situation,” but the AP
says “her explanation created more confusion and led to suggestions
that...Trump had personally intervened to halt the sanctions from taking
effect Monday.” The two officials “said Haley had misspoken,” and “said the
administration had no plans to announce Syria-related sanctions on Russia
this week.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=02a-fca&t=c>
(4/16, Mohsin) similarly says Haley “caused a stir” with her remarks
Sunday. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=02b-31c&t=c>
(4/16, Beavers) too says the White House “appears to be walking
back...Haley’s announcement,” as does Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=02c-f66&t=c>
(4/16, Barkoukis). The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=02d-6db&t=c>
(4/16, Boyer) reports Trump “ordered a hold on new economic sanctions,” in
a “reversal” that “seemed to underscore Mr. Trump’s continued ambivalence
over the way forward in Syria.”

        *US Accuses Russia Of Blocking Investigators, Tampering With
Evidence. *NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=02e-a95&t=c>
(4/16, story 7, 1:35, Holt) reported that the US is “accusing Russia of
blocking international inspectors of entering the site of the suspected
chemical attack” earlier this month. Bill Neely said inspectors “have
waited three days to get into” Douma, “where Russian troops patrol and
rebels fled. But Russia and Assad’s regime said it’s too dangerous and the
inspectors need more permits.” The US also said Russia “may be tampering
with evidence.” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert: “Russia has
probably messed with that site and tried to degrade what is at the site
right now.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=02f-111&t=c>
(4/16, Barnes, Fassihi) reports that during a meeting of the Organization
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at The Hague on Monday, US
Ambassador Kenneth Ward said “it is our understanding” that Russians may
have visited the site of the attack, and “we are concerned they may have
tampered with it with the intent of thwarting the efforts of the OPCW
fact-finding mission to conduct an effective investigation.”

        Russia, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=030-366&t=c>
(4/16) reports, “denied the charge and blamed delays on retaliatory US-led
missile strikes on Syria” over the weekend. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=031-367&t=c>
(4/16, Mroue) reports that instead of granting the OPCW inspectors access,
Syrian authorities “offered them 22 people to interview as witnesses.” On
the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=032-73c&t=c>
(4/16, story 2, 3:20, Glor), Seth Doane reported from Douma, “Nine days
have already passed since that suspected chemical attack, and if weapons
experts do make it” into the city, “they’ll find a scene that could have
been tampered with, and eyewitness accounts that can be confusing and
contradictory.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=033-06a&t=c>
(4/16, Sly, Ajroudi) reports that “pro-government media broadcast
interviews with doctors from the area saying no such attack had occurred
and that the victims they treated were suffering from asthma.”

        *White House: Coalition Came Together Despite Tensions. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=034-7d0&t=c>
(4/16, Bender) reports White House officials said Monday that the
three-country coalition that launched airstrikes in Syria came together
despite tensions, because of good relations between President Trump and
French President Emmanuel Macron. The coalition was also made possible by
Trump’s joining with British Prime Minister Theresa May last month to expel
Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy,
White House officials said.

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=035-df3&t=c>
(4/16, Castle), meanwhile, reports Prime Minister Theresa May “faced
criticism from lawmakers on Monday, with many of them seeming to resent
being bypassed over the decision, more than the strikes themselves.”
Speaking in Parliament, May argued that the “limited, targeted and
effective” attack sent a message that the use of chemical weapons would not
be tolerated by the international community. Labour Party leader Jeremy
Corbyn, however, questioned the justification of the strikes under
international law, telling May she was accountable to Parliament and “not
to the whims of the US president.”

        White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said on Fox News’
Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=036-183&t=c>
(4/16), “The President wanted to accomplish a couple of things. One of
those was to completely destroy Assad’s chemical weapons depot. That is
exactly what he did. The strike was surgical. It was strategic and it was
appropriate. It accomplished everything he wanted to do. Assad used
chemical weapons on his own people. It was disgusting and grotesque. The
President saw the opportunity and he took it. Past presidents have drawn
red lines in the sand and watched as other nations went right past those
and didn’t do anything about it. This President said, ‘No more. We are
going to put an end to this right now.’ And that is exactly what he did.”

        Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=037-3c1&t=c>
(4/16), “We have got a really good commander-in-chief in Donald Trump,” but
“he needs to reconsider his position regarding Assad in Syria. ... If you
were Assad, you heard our President saying, ‘I am going to make you pay a
big price. You are an animal.’ What did Assad see? A military strike that
didn’t change his life at all. So, Assad wakes up the next day and goes
back to work.”

        Sen. Joni Ernst said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=038-0c0&t=c>
(4/16), “I’m glad we took the actions we did, finally. But, very
importantly, we were involved with these actions with the United Kingdom
and with France. Kudos to our President for actually involving allied
nations in this strike. But, going forward, we do have to have those
discussions in Congress.”

        Michael Gerson writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=039-d98&t=c>
(4/16) column that Trump “seems committed to the norm that chemical weapons
attacks against civilians should bring kinetic consequences,” which is
“superior to President Barack Obama’s version, in which chemical attacks
brought only unenforced threats.” But Gerson says the “outcome in Syria
that would have best served US values and interests” is a “well-armed
coalition of moderate rebels forcing the regime to the negotiating table,
resulting in a coalition government that includes some regime elements but
not Assad.” Unfortunately, Gerson argues, “this mission was never even
attempted.”

        *White House: Trump Still Intends To Pull Troops Out Of Syria As
Soon As Possible. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=03a-e18&t=c>
(4/16, Deyoung, McAuley, Booth) reports the White House said Monday that
President Trump “still intends an early exit for US troops in Syria, as
French President Emmanuel Macron attempted to walk back his suggestion that
he had convinced Trump to keep them there for the ‘long term.’” Macron’s
remarks Sunday “had hinted at a major policy shift for Trump,” but White
House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted Monday that “our policy hasn’t
changed.”

        Another Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=03b-18b&t=c>
(4/16, McAuley) report says Macron “attempted Monday to walk back
surprising comments.” At a news conference with New Zealand Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern, Macron “took pains to emphasize a common strategy in Syria
between France and the Trump administration.” Said the French leader, “I
did not say that either the US or France will remain militarily engaged in
the long term in Syria. We have a military objective in Syria and one only:
the war against ISIS.”

        *Officials: US Seeking Arab Force, Funding For Syria. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=03c-a13&t=c>
(4/16, A1, Gordon) reports on its front page that US officials said the
Administration is seeking to assemble an Arab force to replace US troops in
Syria and help stabilize the northeastern part of the country after the
defeat of ISIS. The Journal says Trump alluded to the push Friday night
when he announced the missile strikes, saying, “We have asked our partners
to take greater responsibility for securing their home region, including
contributing larger amounts of money.”
US, UK Accuse Russia Of Launching Global Cyber Attack.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=03d-e13&t=c>
(4/16) reports the US and UK on Monday accused Russia of launching cyber
attacks “on computer routers, firewalls and other networking equipment used
by government agencies, businesses and critical infrastructure operators
around the globe.” In a joint alert, the two nations said the “campaign by
Russian government-backed hackers was intended to advance spying,
intellectual property theft and other ‘malicious’ activities.” The Kremlin
did not immediately respond to the allegations. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=03e-1e7&t=c>
(4/16, Kirkpatrick, Nixon) says that while Washington and London “have
known for decades that the Kremlin was trying to penetrate their computer
networks, the joint warning appeared to represent an effort to deter future
attacks by calling attention to existing vulnerabilities, prodding
individuals to mitigate them and threatening retaliation against Moscow if
damage was done.” Calling it an “unusual public warning,” the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=03f-10a&t=c>
(4/16, Nakashima) reports it is the result of “monitoring the threat dating
back more than a year,” and is “unrelated to the administration’s recent
strikes in Syria, which Russia condemned.”
Media Analyses: Abe Meeting Trump Today Amid Domestic Political Challenges.

Media coverage of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s meeting today with
President Trump tends to focus on Abe’s domestic political troubles and
whether he will continue to hold his position in the future. The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=040-7a3&t=c>
(4/16, Rich) reports Abe’s visit with Trump “kicks off a frenzy of
diplomacy” that will include a later meeting with Chinese President Xi
Jinping and possibly one with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. When he meets with
Trump, Abe “will be looking to make sure Japan’s security is not
inadvertently compromised in any Trump-Kim discussions” and is expected “to
urge Mr. Trump to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” However, “Abe may
not stay in power long enough” to make all the other meetings, as he faces
growing opposition, with his political standing damaged by “leaks of
tampered files and previously missing documents” that raise “sharper
questions about whether Mr. Abe helped friends at two educational
institutions gain preferential treatment from the government.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=041-405&t=c>
(4/16, Fifield) reports Abe “can’t even play up his strong ties with Trump
because the American president has been publicly attacking Japan over trade
and did not grant Japan the exemption to new steel tariffs that was given
to other allies.” The Post adds that both Trump and Abe face “a storm of
relentless political onslaughts.” Domestically, “polls published Monday
showed Abe’s steadily tanking ratings have fallen further in recent days,”
and over the weekend, tens of thousands of demonstrators called for him to
resign.

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=042-12e&t=c>
(4/16, Lee) reports that Abe will be “chastened and anxious” going into his
meeting with Trump, given recent events: Trump’s sudden announcement he
would meet with Kim Jong Un without warning or consultation with Japan, as
well as Japan being “the only major American ally not promised an exemption
from Trump’s hefty new tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=043-5fd&t=c>
(4/16, Reynolds) also covers this story.

        *WSJournal: Trump Should Follow Abe’s Lead On TPP. *In an
editorial, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=044-930&t=c>
(4/16) writes that President Trump should follow Prime Minister Abe’s lead
on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. While Abe’s precarious
domestic position prevents him from making concessions in a bilateral trade
agreement, his embrace of the TPP shows, according to the Journal, Abe’s
commitment to opening his country to foreign competition. Trump can make a
strong case that the TPP addresses the trade issues he has with Japan, and
it would also pull in foreign support for dealing with China’s trade
behavior.
Senators To Introduce New AUMF Resolution.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=045-7d6&t=c>
(4/16, Mascaro) reports that the leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee are “set to unveil a bipartisan resolution authorizing the use of
military force overseas, accelerating a debate that Congress has been
reluctant to have, but that’s taking on new urgency” after Friday’s strikes
on Syria. The resolution from Sens. Bob Corker and Tim Kaine is expected to
“revisit the broad authorizations Congress approved in 2001 and 2002 for
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,” which a “growing number of critics say
Congress should no longer be using” as legal underpinnings for the fight
against extremist groups such as ISIS. According to the AP, the new
resolution could be introduced “as soon as Monday.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=046-6a2&t=c>
(4/16, Dinan) reports that under the new measure, US troops “could continue
fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda and would be given explicit new
permission to battle the Islamic State – but would not be authorized to
attack the capabilities of any nation state, such as Syria.”
EU Fails To Agree On New Iran Sanctions.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=047-82a&t=c>
(4/16) reports, “The European Union failed to agree new sanctions against
Iran,” with some diplomats predicting that the bloc may not meet President
Trump’s May 12 deadline on changing the Iran nuclear deal. In an effect to
respond to Trump’s criticism of the deal, “France, Britain and Germany
proposed directing sanctions at Iranian ‘militias and commanders’ fighting
on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,” But Italy, backed by
Austria, opposed the move, “fear[ing] that punishing Tehran for its missile
program and regional role would not stop” Trump from withdrawing from the
nuclear deal. A diplomat said that with the nuclear agreement possibly
dead, “why risk emboldening the radicals in Iran and undermining our
chances to win contracts there?”

        In contrast, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=048-e83&t=c>
(4/16, Norman) reports that EU diplomats said support is growing for
imposing new sanctions, with an agreement to impose them nearing.
Separately, diplomats involved in the talks between the US, France, the UK,
and Germany say there has been significant progress on agreeing how to
constrain Iran’s activities, although European officials close to the talks
say it isn’t clear an agreement would convince Trump to remain in the Iran
nuclear deal.
Niger Ambush Suspect May Be In Custody.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=049-f38&t=c>
(4/16, Schmitt, Callimachi) reports, “Nigerien forces apprehended a man who
matches the description” of a terrorist known as Doundoun Cheffou, whom
American soldiers were seeking when they were fatally ambushed six months
ago. Col. Maj. Moussa Salaou Barmou, the head of the Nigerien Special
Forces, said the man has been, in the Times’ words, “turned over to a
special counterterrorism police unit in the country’s capital, Niamey,
where agents are working to identify him.” US Ambassador to Niger Eric P.
Whitaker said in an interview, “It is still under investigation” and “held
up both hands with his fingers crossed to indicate his hopes that the
suspect is confirmed to be Mr. Cheffou.”
Trump: Russia, China Playing “Currency Devaluation Game.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=04a-fec&t=c>
(4/16) reports President Trump on Monday accused Russia and China on Monday
of devaluing their currencies while the US raises interest rates. On
Twitter, Trump said
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=04b-bd9&t=c>,
“Russia and China are playing the Currency Devaluation game as the U.S.
keeps raising interest rates. Not acceptable!” Trump’s tweet, reports
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=04c-002&t=c>
(4/16, Paletta), was “delivered without any evidence or corroboration,” and
“directly contradicts a report issued Friday by Trump’s Treasury
Department, which did not accuse either country of artificially lowering
the value of its currency.” However, Reuters says the tweet “could serve as
Trump’s first criticism – even if done indirectly – of new Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome H. Powell.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=04d-a1d&t=c>
(4/16) similarly says that while Treasury “opted on Friday not to label
China a currency manipulator, finding that it was not improperly devaluing
the yuan,” Trump “directly contradicted” those findings. Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=04e-090&t=c>
(4/16, Mohsin) likewise reports Trump “[broke] from his own Treasury
chief’s view that no major trading partners are currency manipulators,” and
“didn’t provide any evidence to substantiate his claim.”

        An AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=04f-d9f&t=c>
(4/16, Yen, Crutsinger) “Fact Check” says Trump’s claim “misstates the
current economic situation and contradicts his own Treasury Department.”
China’s currency, it reports, “has actually been rising in value and now
stands at the highest levels against the dollar in about three years.” By
contrast, Russia’s ruble “has been falling against the dollar and did
plunge sharply last week” in the wake of new economic sanctions imposed by
the US. In a report headlined “Trump Breaches Precedent By Commenting On
Currency Values,” the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=050-116&t=c>
(4/16, Timiraos) reports Trump’s comments also deviated from a White House
tradition of avoiding comments on the dollar or the Federal Reserve.

        *Sources: US Weighing New Trade Action Against China Over Tech
Curbs. *According to the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=051-a6a&t=c>
(4/16, Davis), the Administration is mulling possible retaliation against
Beijing’s restrictions on US tech companies. Source say the US Trade
Representative’s office is preparing a trade complaint, likely under
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, arguing that Beijing unfairly
restricts US trade in high-tech services. The USTR, however, has yet to
decide whether to pursue the complaint, the sources said.

        *US Bans American Companies From Selling Parts To Chinese Phone
Maker ZTE. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=052-93f&t=c>
(4/16, Stecklow) reports the Department of Commerce on Monday banned US
companies from selling components to Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE
“for seven years for violating the terms of a sanctions violation case.”
The Chinese company pleaded guilty last year in federal court in Texas for
conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran, and $890 million in fines and
penalties. As part of the agreement, ZTE “promised to dismiss four senior
employees and discipline 35 others by either reducing their bonuses or
reprimanding them, senior Commerce Department officials told Reuters.” But
the company “admitted in March that while it had fired the four senior
employees, it had not disciplined or reduced bonuses to the 35 others.” A
senior Commerce Department official said ZTE “provided
information...basically admitting that they had made these false
statements. That was in response to the US asking for the information.”

        On its front page, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=053-7cc&t=c>
(4/16, A1, Douglas, Wall) reports British officials on Monday also warned
UK phone carriers to avoid using ZTE’s equipment and services, citing
national-security concerns. ZTE did not comment on either move.
Domestic Policy
Administration, Republicans Blast Comey’s Character, Credibility.

Media coverage of former FBI Director James Comey’s interview with ABC News
and the White House reaction to it continue to generate heavy media
coverage. Reporting focuses heavily on statements from President Trump, the
White House, and Republicans calling their comments an “all out assault” on
Comey’s credibility and character.

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=054-b52&t=c>
(4/16, story 6, 2:15, Holt) described a “war of words” between Trump and
Comey, while Jonathan Karl said on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=055-e56&t=c>
(4/16, story 2, 4:45, Muir) that the White House has launched an “all-out
assault on Comey’s character, rather than going through and offer a point
by point rebuttal. The White House strategy here has been to issue a
blanket denial and to say Comey simply is not credible.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=056-2a6&t=c>
(4/16, Wagner, Zapotosky) reports that Trump “took fresh aim” at Comey
Monday, “lambasting his handling of the investigation into Hillary
Clinton’s email server and asserting again that Comey and another FBI
official had committed crimes.” Trump complained in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=057-4a4&t=c>
that Comey “drafted the Crooked Hillary exoneration long before he talked
to her” and that in determining how to handle the case, Comey “based his
decisions on her poll numbers.” The tweet “also accused Comey of lying to
‘Senator G,’” an apparent reference to “Comey’s May testimony before the
Senate Judiciary Committee” when he told Sen. Charles Grassley that he had
“never” been “an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to
the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation” or “authorized
someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the
Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation.”

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=058-0a2&t=c>
(4/16, Fabian, Samuels) reports that the White House “renewed its attacks”
on Comey Monday. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump watched “bits and
pieces” of the interview, which underscored his belief that Comey has a
“lack of credibility.” Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway told CNN’s
New Day
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=059-e26&t=c>
that Trump believes Comey is spreading “revisionist history.” Conway said,
“I saw a man last night very shaky and unsure to answer questions, not even
under oath. ... But we know that when Comey was under oath that he had a
very difficult time telling the truth.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=05a-877&t=c>
(4/15, Strohm) reports that Conway told Fox Business Mornings with Maria[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=05b-e7f&t=c>
that “the fix was in” against Trump. Conway said, “This man’s trying to
sell books not save the country. ... You’re not under oath when you give TV
interviews” or write books. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=05c-ede&t=c>
(4/16, Restuccia, Nelson) says that on ABC’s Good Morning America[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=05d-9df&t=c>,
Conway “was unflinching in her own evaluation of the former FBI director’s
performance,” saying Comey “struggled to answer basic questions and he
looked a little shaky.”

        White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said on Fox News’
Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=05e-3f3&t=c>
(4/16), “James Comey is a disgraced, disgruntled, discredited individual,
fired from the FBI for lying and leaking to completely go against
everything he was put in power to do. And only in Washington, DC could a
proven admitted liar and leaker be paraded around town as though he were
the paragon of virtue. It is, quite frankly, disgusting.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=05f-01a&t=c>
(4/16) reports that the RNC also “escalated their attacks” against Comey.
Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told CNN’s New Day[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=060-491&t=c>
(4/16), “This is somebody who wants a payday. ... He has taken his private
conversations with the president and monetized them. I think that is
something that is discrediting and we’re going to push back.”

        Rep. Jim Jordan said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=061-ebf&t=c>
(4/16), “I don’t think James Comey has much credibility. I thought he was
wrong on July 5 when he did his press conference, I thought he was wrong
when he reopened the case. I thought he was wrong throughout the
investigation. I said so both times. ... I thought he screwed this thing up
from the get-go and I don’t think he has a lot of credibility.”

        Rep. Charlie Dent was asked on CNN’s New Day[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=062-b78&t=c>
(4/16), “It just seems to me that politics was taken into account with some
of these decision making that Director Comey took on. Instead of acting as
Director of FBI he was acting as the Attorney General. His original
mistake, in my view, was publicly giving his opinion in July of 2016. Then
he compounded that mistake again when he reopened the case. He should have
followed FBI protocols and guidelines and let Attorney General Lynch make
the decisions even though she fouled her own nest when she had that meeting
with President Clinton on the tarmac.”

        Andrew Napolitano said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=063-b60&t=c>
(4/16) that the “most dangerous” thing Comey said in the ABC interview were
“his comments about obstruction of justice. Why do I think that’s
dangerous? Because he talks to Mueller and because he knows Bob Mueller’s
thinking on this. We don’t care if Jim Comey thinks the President may have
obstructed justice. But if he is sending a signal that Mueller and company
thinks that, they think it on the basis of some evidence and that’s
potential.”

        Addressing the Steele dossier on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=064-5ac&t=c>
(4/16), Sean Hannity said, “George Stephanopoulos. Where is the follow-up?
Why didn’t you ask Comey to confirm if that dossier was used as the primary
piece of information to obtain a FISA warrant on a Trump campaign associate
weeks before the election? Why didn’t you ask him, did he lie to the FISA
court? Did he withhold the sensitive nature that this document was in fact
unverified, not corroborated? Why was it ever presented to a FISA court?
Did you ever mention it, that Trump’s political opponent in an election
year paid for this thing, full of Russian lies?”

        Former US Attorney Joe DiGenova said on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=065-497&t=c>
(4/16), “This tortured and troubled man, who you saw last on television,
America’s dirty cop, has destroyed the integrity, the reputation, and the
legitimacy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation single-handedly by his
outrageous performance last night on ABC. It is inconceivable to me that
anyone can now think that he performed a legitimate law enforcement
function during the investigation of Hillary Clinton. It is quite obvious
that the dossier was a fake document, that it was absolutely purposefully
used illegally by senior officials of the FBI and the Department of
Justice. Mr. Comey lied repeatedly last night and regrettably, he lied to
the FISA court, he encouraged others to lie to the FISA court, and
regrettably, I think Mr. Comey has to be charged with crimes for falsely
presenting information to a FISA court and for apparently lying regularly
to Congress.”

        Alan Dershowitz said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=066-7e0&t=c>
(4/16), “I agreed with one thing he said and that is let’s leave it to the
voters. Let’s not go to impeachment. Let’s not try to criminalize political
difference.” Dershowitz added, “I really thought he demeaned the FBI by
leaking material about unsubstantiated allegations, by trafficking in
gossip, I call it the leak leak. ... He had no courage or guts to speak
himself in front of the TV. He laundered it through a law professor and
gave the worst excuse last night. He said, ‘Well, there was so many
journalist, I didn’t want to give it to one journalist, I leaked it through
my law professor friend to The New York Times.’ ... You know what it showed
last night? This is a man without courage.” Dershowitz said on Fox News’
Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=067-b8f&t=c>
(4/16), “I don’t want to charge Comey with crimes. I agree with Comey when
he said that he doesn’t think that Trump should be impeached. We should
leave it to the public. We should leave it to the public to decide whether
to read his book, whether to be critical of him, and the public can judge.”

        Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said
on Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=068-cc4&t=c>
(4/16) that Comey “lacks some level of self-awareness. He literally has a
journalist explain to him what the defects are, what the flaws are in
thinking process and how he is going through his analysis of things. I
don’t think the President obstructed justice and I certainly don’t think
the President was involved in anything that was collusive. I think all of
that will come out. I think if you are the President, you would have to be
very frustrated by what he is describing as a witch-hunt. I talked to the
President on Saturday morning. I think he is very, very confident that he
is going to be exonerated.”

        *WExaminer Analysis: Comey Interview Had “No Revelations.”
*The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=069-f10&t=c>
(4/16, Scarry) reports in an analysis that while the Comey interview
“received extensive coverage in the national press for Comey’s sharp
rebukes of President Trump,” there were “almost no revelations in his
answers, and some critics said Comey came across as self-serving.” Maggie
Haberman of The New York Times said Comey’s book “does not appear to
contain a ton of news in terms of revelations,” and described the ABC
interview as “much lower grade burn than I thought it would be, certainly,
and than I think [Trump’s] advisers thought it would be.” CNN political
commentator Ana Navarro tweeted, “Maybe it’s just me... the more I hear
from Comey, the more conflicted I feel. ... I want to believe him that this
is all about loyalty to country and inviolable respect for the truth. But
damn, the guy has a big ego, is selectively inconsistent. I find him
obnoxiously self-righteous.”

        *Daily Caller: Comey Made “Glaringly False Claim” About Steele
Dossier. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=06a-1e6&t=c>
(4/16, Ross) reports that Comey “made a glaringly false claim about the
infamous Steele dossier” in the ABC interview. Comey said “that the FBI was
unaware of the salacious and unverified dossier until after the bureau
formally opened its counterintelligence investigation of President Donald
Trump’s campaign,” which occurred on July 31, 2016. There has been
“extensive reporting that dossier author Christopher Steele provided the
FBI with information from his dossier on July 5, 2016.” The DC says is not
clear “why Comey got the timeline so wrong.”

        *Comey Interview Averaged 9.8 Million Viewers. *The Hollywood
Reporter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=06b-897&t=c>
(4/16, O'Connell) reports that the interview “averaged 9.8 million viewers
and a 2.4 rating in the news demo of adults 25-54” for ABC, but CBS “was
unbeatable during primetime,” as the ACMAs “average[d] 12.1 million
viewers.”

        *NYTimes, USA Today: Comey Risks Undermining His Image,
Credibility. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=06c-e05&t=c>
(4/16, Davis, Martin) reports in analysis that while Comey has “cultivated
an image of purity as a lawman who stood above politics and politicians,”
with the release of his book, he “has veered onto risky terrain, shedding
the trappings of a high-minded referee and looking instead like a combatant
in the country’s partisan battles.” Comey’s “personal potshots in
particular have surprised some former colleagues who thought of Mr. Comey
as relatively sober and serious.” According to “observers on both the left
and right,” Comey “may be undercutting his own indictment of the
president’s character and conduct.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=06d-5a9&t=c>
(4/16, Johnson, Page) says the book “is raising questions about the former
director’s credibility as a critical witness against the president.” Paula
Reid said on the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=06e-3bf&t=c>
(4/16, story 3, 1:30, Glor) that Comey’s admission that he “leak[ed] his
memos in the hopes of triggering a special counsel...could also be used to
potentially undermine the legitimacy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.”

        *Clinton Spokesman Blasts Comey. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=06f-6a2&t=c>
(4/16, Lima) reports that Hillary Clinton’s “longtime spokesman” Nick
Merrill on Monday criticized Comey in a series of tweets
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=070-d07&t=c>
Monday “slamming him for ‘profiting’ off his tangled relationship with
investigations into Clinton and President Donald Trump.” Merrill write that
Comey creat[ed] a “public spectacle of the conclusion of the email
investigation,” and “griped that Comey’s memoir and remarks during an
exclusive interview with ABC News” created “more questions than when we
started and fewer answers.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=071-078&t=c>
(4/16, Shear) says Clinton’s “former aides and advisers are still too angry
at Mr. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, to see past what they view as
egregious actions that handed the White House to Mr. Trump.” The Times says
“Team Hillary is using Mr. Comey’s tell-all book to re-litigate their
grievances, even at the risk of undermining Mr. Comey’s credibility and
handing Republicans – and Mr. Trump himself – more ammunition to question
the character of one of the president’s most high-profile political
adversaries.”
At Florida Roundtable, Trump Touts Tax Cuts, Economy.

Media coverage of President Trump’s business round-table event in Hialeah,
Florida on Monday focuses on Trump’s discussion of the Republican tax bill
and the strength of the economy while stressing the importance of the bill
to Republican hopes in the midterm elections and Trump’s efforts to appeal
to Hispanic voters in the state.

        WFOR-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=072-075&t=c>
Miami (4/16, 5:01 p.m. EDT) reported that Trump discussed “tax cuts and the
economy before a wildly enthusiastic crowd clearly in his corner.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=073-fa8&t=c>
(4/16, Miller) says that Trump “praised the strength of the economy at a
business round-table in a predominantly Latino Miami suburb,” saying the
country is “starting to really rock” with “businesses coming back to the
country and corporations facing fewer regulations.” The AP adds that the
event “underscor[ed] the importance of the tax law and the business climate
to Republicans’ midterm election hopes.” The Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=074-4d3&t=c>
(4/16, Smiley) says the “NAFTA-smacking, Democrat-whacking talk during a
roundtable Monday with Cabinet members and local entrepreneurs was the kind
of message Republicans are hoping to stress as they head into election
season that has the minority party surging.”

        The WPLG-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=075-a19&t=c>
Miami (4/16) reports that Republicans “are placing their midterm election
hopes on selling the benefits of the law to Americans,” while the Palm
Beach (FL) Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=076-5b7&t=c>
(4/16) says the event, which was part of Trump’s official schedule, “had a
campaign feeling at times.” Trump “alluded to the 2018 midterm elections,
jabbing three-term Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who is being
challenged by Republican Florida Gov. and Trump friend Rick Scott.” Said
Trump, “We didn’t get one Democrat to vote for (tax cuts) and Sen. Nelson
was hostile to it. And let me tell you if for any reason they get in,
meaning the Democrats, they will raise your taxes way up high.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=077-94c&t=c>
(4/16, Nakamura) reports that Trump joked, “Are there any Hispanics in the
room? ... No, I doubt it,” at the event, which “served an ulterior purpose
– to appeal to the sliver of crucial Hispanic voters in this important
swing state who are most receptive to the policies of a president who has
alienated large swaths with his anti-immigration message.” Trump told the
group, “For Hispanics, we have the lowest level ever recorded. ... I’m
really proud of it.” WLRN-FM
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=078-15e&t=c>
Miami (4/16, Green) reports on its website that Trump “heard Cuban-American
business owners heap praise on him for his $1.5 trillion tax cut package.”
They “praised Trump’s tax reform package for making their companies more
profitable and therefore able to hire more employees.”

        WPLG-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=079-c89&t=c>
Miami (4/16, 6:06 p.m. EDT) reported that “it was all about business, small
businesses, to be exact. The small business that is the backbone of the
business economy in this community, like so many around the United States.
And the people here today formed the backbone of the President’s support in
south Florida.” WTVJ-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=07a-55a&t=c>
Miami (4/16, 6:05 p.m. EDT) reported that Trump discussed “taxes, the
economy, and an improved business climate he says all a result of his
GOP-backed tax plan.” WTVJ added that the “Republican-friendly crowd liked
what they heard.” WSVN-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=07b-b09&t=c>
Miami-Dade, FL (4/16, 6:05 p.m. EDT) reported that before a “friendly
crowd,” Trump talked about “the topic he hopes will carry the Republicans
through the midterm and that is tax cuts.” The South Florida Sun Sentinel
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=07c-f5d&t=c>
(4/16, Swisher) reports that Trump “praised US Sen. Marco Rubio,” who also
participated in the roundtable, calling him “a great friend.”

        *Miami Mayor Not Invited To Greet Air Force One. *The Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=07d-821&t=c>
(4/16, Hanks) reports that Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez (R) wanted to be at
Miami International Airport to meet Air Force One on Monday, but “the White
House wouldn’t give him an invitation.” Gimenez “suggested through a
spokeswoman he was snubbed by the White House during a rare visit to Miami
by the president.” A spokeswoman said, “The mayor is a bit befuddled by the
whole thing. ... They had a certain set of people they wanted there. And we
honored their request.” The Herald says the “apparent snub may be evidence
of a lasting grudge between Trump and Gimenez, who tried to distance
himself from his fellow Republican at a time when the 2016 presidential
campaign overlapped with the mayor’s own reelection bid.”

        *NYTimes: Americans Appear To Be Losing Interest In Tax Bill. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=07e-94b&t=c>
(4/16, Tankersley, Russell) reports in an analysis that while “a brief
flurry of activity is planned this week by supporters and opponents of the
new law, to coincide with Tuesday’s filing deadline for 2017 income taxes,”
otherwise, “by all sorts of metrics, Americans aren’t talking very much
about a law that Republicans had hoped to make a centerpiece of their
midterm election message.” When Republicans were moving the bill through
Congress, “CNN, Fox News and MSNBC routinely devoted 10 percent of their
daily coverage to tax issues, according to data from the Gdelt Project.”
But “several topics” including Stormy Daniels, trade, and tariffs “have
displaced taxes” on cable. The Post adds that even the President “has
struggled to keep his focus on tax issues since signing the bill,” tweeting
“the word ‘tax’ about as much from January through the end of March as he
did in December alone.”

        *WSJournal/NBC Poll: 27% Say Tax Law Is “Good Idea,” 36% Say “Bad
Idea.” *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=07f-4a4&t=c>
(4/16, Hook) reports that in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=080-b45&t=c>
of 900 adults nationwide – conducted April 8-11 – 27% of respondents said
they think the new tax law is “a good idea,” 36% said they think it is “a
bad idea,” 34% had no opinion on it, and 3% said they didn’t know.
Meanwhile, 35% said they think Republicans would be better at handling the
economy, while 28% said Democrats would be better.

        *Trump Directs EPA To Ease Air Quality Rules. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=081-fd1&t=c>
(4/16, King) reports Trump’s “latest effort to boost the nation’s
manufacturing sector is an industry-friendly rewrite of air quality
regulations” that he says pose “unnecessary and outdated barriers to
growth.” In a statement accompanying the order, Trump said, “These actions
are intended to ensure that EPA carries out its core missions of protecting
the environment and improving air quality in accord with statutory
requirements, while reducing unnecessary impediments to new manufacturing
and business expansion essential for a growing economy.” Environmental
advocates, however, “warn it would be another damaging step by an
administration obsessed with deregulation at the expense of hard-fought
public health protections.”
GAO: $43,000 Soundproof Phone Booth In Pruitt’s Office Violated Law.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=082-747&t=c>
(4/16, Dennis, Eilperin) reports that the GAO said Monday that the “nearly
$43,000 soundproof phone booth Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Scott Pruitt had installed in his office last year violated
federal spending laws.” GAO general counsel Thomas Armstrong wrote in a
letter to lawmakers that the EPA “failed to notify lawmakers that it was
exceeding the $5,000 limit for agency heads to furnish, redecorate or
otherwise make improvements to their offices.” Moreover, Armstrong said EPA
violated the federal Antideficiency Act, “because EPA obligated
appropriated funds in a manner specifically prohibited by law.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=083-141&t=c>
(4/16) reports that spokeswoman Liz Bowman said the EPA was “addressing
GAO’s concern, with regard to Congressional notification about this
expense, and will be sending Congress the necessary information this week.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=084-ea4&t=c>
(4/16, Biesecker) reports that Sen. Tom Udall, who requested the GAO
review, “said the finding was yet another example of the embattled EPA
administrator flouting federal spending rules.” Udall said, “An illegal
privacy booth to conduct secret discussions with his polluter friends does
nothing to help our health or environment. ... Scott Pruitt is behaving
like swamp emperor rather than EPA administrator — he has shown a shocking
lack of regard for public health and safety, ethics and fairness. He has
been a disaster, and it’s past time for him to go.”

        *EPA IG: Pruitt Chief Of Staff Approved Big Raises For Political
Appointees. *Meanwhile, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=085-52e&t=c>
(4/16, Friedman) reports that a report Monday from the EPA’s inspector
general “published records showing that Mr. Pruitt’s chief of staff signed
off on hires and thousands of dollars in raises for political appointees
under a provision of a clean water law.” The report “did not draw any
conclusions as to whether Mr. Pruitt or his chief of staff, Ryan Jackson,
violated laws in using the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 to hire
officials and award raises,” but “provided more than 80 pages of ‘requests
for personnel action’ showing that Mr. Jackson, often with the signed
authorization of Mr. Pruitt, handled most of the paperwork associated with
the employees.”

        In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=086-7f3&t=c>
(4/16) says the reports “underscore the swampy behavior Mr. Trump appears
willing to tolerate and excuse.” The Post adds that “it becomes ever more
astonishing that an administrator so clearly unfit for service continues to
lead a crucial federal agency.”
Interior Department IG: Zinke Took Unnecessary $12,000 Charter Flight.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=087-c7d&t=c>
(4/16) reports that the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General
said Monday that Interior Secretary Zinke “took an unnecessary charter
flight in June that cost taxpayers over $12,000.” The trip was “linked to
his visit to a professional hockey team in Nevada.” The report said, “We
determined that Zinke’s use of chartered flights in fiscal year (FY) 2017
generally followed relevant law, policy, rules, and regulations. ... We
found, however, that a $12,375 chartered flight he took in June 2017 after
speaking at the developmental camp for the Golden Knights, a professional
hockey team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, could have been avoided.” The
report comes “amid mounting pressure on Trump Cabinet officials over their
ethics and spending habits while in office.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=088-289&t=c>
(4/16, Daly) says the report said the flight “was reviewed and approved by
department ethics officials without complete information, because staff who
helped schedule the trip did not provide sufficient details.” Zinke, the
report states, “never mentioned the Interior Department or his role as
secretary in the June 2017 speech to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, instead
focusing on his experience as a former Navy SEAL.” An ethics official “told
investigators she did not know that the team’s owner had donated to Zinke’s
congressional campaign until it was reported in a newspaper article after
the speech.”

        *NYTimes: Zinke Favors Land Protections In Montana That He Opposes
Elsewhere. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=089-daf&t=c>
(4/16, Turkewitz) reports that Zinke “has torn up Obama-era rules related
to oil, gas and mineral extraction and overseen the largest reduction of
federal land protection in the nation’s history.” Yet, says the Times, in
his home state of Montana, he “has struck a different note.” Instead, he
“has halted the sale of oil and gas leases near Yellowstone National Park,
opposed gold mining in that area, and urged the president to protect one
national monument, Montana’s Upper Missouri River Breaks, while creating
another, the Badger-Two Medicine.” Zinke, however, objected to the idea
that he is treating Montana differently, “pointing out that he recently
halted the sale of oil and gas leases near New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon and
pushed for coastal redevelopment in Louisiana.” The Times says Zinke is
thought to be interested in Montana’s governorship in 2020.
Full Senate Confirmation Vote For Pompeo Planned, Even If Committee Rejects
Him.

Bloomberg Politics
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=08a-b07&t=c>
(4/16, Litvan) reports the Senate Foreign Relations Committee “appears
increasingly likely to” disapprove of Secretary of State-Designate Pompeo,
“but Republican leaders say they still plan to hold a full Senate
confirmation vote.” It is “extremely rare for a nominee to be rejected by a
committee and then to go on to full Senate confirmation,” and “it would be
unprecedented for a secretary of state nominee to lack enough support on
the committee.” Even should the vote go to the full Senate, Republican Rand
Paul opposes Pompeo’s confirmation, and so, with Sen. John McCain of
Arizona out for brain cancer treatments, “Pompeo would need at least one
Democrat to back him if everyone else voted.”
Trump To Nominate Clarida, Bowman To Fed Board Of Governors.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=08b-c40&t=c>
(4/16) reports President Trump said Monday he plans to nominate Richard
Clarida, “an economist who advises fund manager Pimco,” and Michelle
Bowman, a Kansas banking regulator, for two key positions at the Federal
Reserve. According to a White House statement, if confirmed, Clarida would
serve as vice chairman of the Board of Governors and Bowman would become a
member of the board. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=08c-c70&t=c>
(4/16, Tankersley) says Clarida’s nomination “was widely expected,” and
“won quick applause from Fed watchers and some economists, who cast him as
a serious thinker who is unlikely to pull the central bank radically away
from its gradual approach to raising interest rates as the economy
continues to heal from the financial crisis.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=08d-a0e&t=c>
(4/16, Crutsinger) reports that while Trump was “highly critical of the Fed
during the 2016 presidential campaign, his selections for Fed jobs so far
have come from mainstream economists rather than the ranks of conservative
economists who have been highly critical of the central bank’s actions in
the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.”
Nearly 50 Republicans Back Move To Hold Votes On Immigration Bills.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=08e-69d&t=c>
(4/17, Fram) reports Rep. Jeff Denham (R) “has gathered nearly 50 GOP
co-sponsors” for a plan to hold votes on four immigration bills, which, the
AP says, would include: “a conservative package that would limit legal
immigration, a Democratic plan helping young ‘Dreamer’ immigrants win
citizenship and a bipartisan compromise.” House Speaker Ryan has opposed
voting on bills the President will not sign. The AP adds, “Trump has backed
the conservatives’ proposal, but it lacks the votes needed to clear the
House.” While House leadership is not expected to hold votes, the effort,
says the AP, gives “Denham, an immigration moderate with many Hispanic
residents in his district, a chance to show he’s tried pushing the issue.”
Democrats may push for a discharge petition, because the AP says,
“Democrats think the issue could help them in districts with large numbers
of immigrants and with moderate suburban voters.”

        *Administration Says California Rejected Terms Of National Guard
Border Deployment. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=08f-af8&t=c>
(4/16, Spagat, Lugo) reports that the Administration said Monday that
California Gov. Jerry Brown “rejected terms of the National Guard’s initial
deployment to the Mexican border.” Ronald Vitiello, US Customs and Border
Protection’s acting deputy commissioner, told reporters, “The governor
determined that what we asked for is unsupportable, but we will have other
iterations.” However, a spokesman for the California National Guard said
“state officials have not rejected anything” since Brown “proposed a formal
agreement Wednesday with the Homeland Security and Defense Departments that
prohibits any involvement in immigration.” The Dallas Morning News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=090-a66&t=c>
(4/16, Gillman) says Brown “pledged last week to provide 400 troops on
condition they not be used to support immigration enforcement.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=091-1d5&t=c>
(4/16, Miroff) calls California’s rejection of the Administration request
“the latest sign of persistent tension with the White House over
immigration enforcement.”

        *Officials Disclose Rules Governing National Guard Near Border. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=092-178&t=c>
(4/16, Dinan) reports that according to Vitiello and officials from the
Defense Department, the “National Guard troops deployed to the US-Mexico
border will be allowed to carry weapons – but they will not, under any
circumstances, be allowed to enforce immigration laws nor will they be put
in a position where they’re likely to encounter illegal immigrants.” So
far, there are over 900 “on the border,” including 650 in Texas, 60 in New
Mexico, and roughly 250 in Arizona.

        *Local Governments Rejecting California’s “Sanctuary State” Law. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=093-e65&t=c>
(4/16) reports that more of California’s local governments, particularly in
“pockets where Republicans still dominate,” are “saying they don’t want to
be part of the state’s efforts to resist the Trump administration’s
immigration crackdown.” According to the AP, “at least a dozen local
governments have voted to either join or support the lawsuit or for
resolutions opposing the state’s position.” Leaders of the city of Los
Alamitos were “scheduled to vote Monday on a proposal to exempt the
community of 12,000 from the state law,” and the San Diego County Board of
Supervisors is meeting Thursday “to consider joining the Trump
administration lawsuit” against the state over its “sanctuary state” law.

        *Non-Citizens Reportedly Afraid Of Census Citizenship Question. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=094-969&t=c>
(4/16, Sacchetti) reports that in Langley Park, Maryland, 58 percent of the
residents are non-citizens, with higher rates among adults, and “many are
undocumented.” The Post says they are unlikely to answer the census because
of “a citizenship question...that federal officials say will result in a
more accurate understanding of the US population.” The question, says the
Post, “has generated alarm in ethnic media and in states where many
noncitizens live.” While Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has supported the question,
“other elected leaders, including more than 160 mayors, some of them
Republicans, have condemned the idea.”

        *Miliband Urges US To Continue Refugee Resettlement. *David
Miliband, former British foreign minister and current president and chief
executive of the International Rescue Committee, writes in the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=095-44a&t=c>
(4/16), accusing the Administration of having “animus towards” the refugee
resettlement program. Miliband adds that under the program, since 1980 “an
average of 95,000 refugees per year have been allowed to come and settle in
the United States” from a worldwide refugee population of “more than 25
million.” President Trump, adds Miliband, “has decreed” that will be
reduced to 45,000, and Miliband expects it to turn out that “only around
20,000 are allowed to come here in that period.” Miliband urges Congress to
ask “the administration to expedite refugee interviews to hit the 45,000
target,” and urges Homeland Security to “speed up the process for vetting
refugees.”
Cancer Research
Clinical Trials: Immuno-Chemotherapy Lung Cancer Treatment Could Boost
Survival.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=096-b46&t=c>
(4/16, McGinley) reports two clinical trials found that immunotherapy plus
chemotherapy could increase survival in patients with advanced lung cancer.
One clinical trial tested Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab), while the other
tested Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab). NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=097-a77&t=c>
(4/16, story 9, 1:50, Holt) called it “a major breakthrough in the fight
against lung cancer.” NBC News medical correspondent John Torres, MD, was
shown saying, “Today’s studies presented at a major conference shows it
stops tumors and stops it from spreading. One study looked at Keytruda
[pembrolizumab] and found, combined with chemo, the risk of dying was cut
in half.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=098-908&t=c>
(4/16, Loftus, Rockoff) reports the results of the two clinical trials were
presented at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting
in Chicago and also published
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=099-22b&t=c>
in the New England Journal of Medicine. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=09a-a02&t=c>
(4/16, Grady) reports, “The findings represent another step forward for
immunotherapy, which has been making steady gains against a number of
different cancers.” The article points out that “lung cancer is the leading
cause of cancer death globally, causing 1.7 million deaths a year. In the
United States, it is expected to kill more than 154,000 people in 2018.”

        CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=09b-922&t=c>
(4/16, Tirrell) reports that Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck both released
the “highly anticipated” results of clinical trials testing their competing
immunotherapy drugs, and while both companies “surpassed expectations,”
Merck did so “even more than Bristol.” Pembrolizumab “reduced the risk of
death in the trial by 51 percent when combined with chemotherapies, versus
chemo alone,” while nivolumab and ipilimumab “reduced the risk of cancer
progression or death in its study by 42 percent when compared with chemo.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=09c-f3b&t=c>
(4/16, Marchione) reports all three immunotherapy drugs are checkpoint
inhibitors, which “remove a cloak that some cancer cells have that hides
them from the immune system.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=09d-cd6&t=c>
(4/16, Berkrot) reports the combination of Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab)
and chemotherapy “significantly improved overall survival in
newly-diagnosed patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer in a
closely-watched study, cementing its lead position over Bristol-Myers
Squibb Co and others in the most lucrative oncology market.” The article
reports that pembrolizumab “plus chemotherapy cut the risk of death by 51
percent compared with chemotherapy alone, according to data presented at
the American Association of Cancer Research meeting in Chicago on Monday.”

        Meanwhile, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=09e-c31&t=c>
(4/16, Hopkins) reports “patients with advanced lung cancer [with highly
mutated tumors] who got a combination of Bristol-Myers’ drugs Yervoy
[ipilimumab] and Opdivo [nivolumab] were 42 percent less likely to have
their disease progress, compared to patients on chemotherapy alone,
according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research
meeting in Chicago.” The article explains that “the results validate a
change the company made midway through the trial,” when the company
“decided to target patients whose tumors have high levels of mutations,
known as tumor mutation burden, or TMB.”
FDA Approves Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Combination Treatment.

Medscape
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=09f-4a2&t=c>
(4/16, Mulcahy) reports that the FDA “has approved the immuno-oncology (IO)
combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab...as an initial treatment for
advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) that is of intermediate or poor risk.”
OncLive
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a0-5c5&t=c>
(4/16, Broderick) reports, “The approval is based on the phase III
CheckMate-214 trial, in which frontline treatment with the combination of
nivolumab and ipilimumab reduced the risk of death by 32% compared with
sunitinib (Sutent) for patients with metastatic RCC.” Meanwhile, “the risk
reduction was 37% in patients with intermediate- and poor-risk RCC, who
constituted about 75% of the intent-to-treat (ITT) population.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Modi’s Long Silence As Women In India Are Attacked.”* In an editorial,
the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a1-d40&t=c>
(4/16) criticizes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not “speaking out
about the dangers faced by women and minorities who are frequent targets of
the nationalist and communal forces that are part of the base of his
Bharatiya Janata Party.” His Friday denunciation of such attacks “ring[s]
hollow because he waited so long to talk about the cases and spoke in broad
generalities.” The Times condemns Modi’s “deeply worrying” “pattern of
silence and deflection.” The Times concludes that the attacks “are part of
an organized and systematic campaign by nationalist forces that want to
terrorize women, Muslims, Dalits and other underprivileged citizens,” and
chastises Modi that “the prime minister has a duty to safeguard and fight
for all of the people of India, not just those who are allied with him
politically.”
Washington Post.

*“The Latest Pruitt Revelations Are The Swampiest. He Should Be Long Gone.”*
In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a2-d50&t=c>
(4/16) says two recent reports criticizing EPA Administrator Pruitt’s
spending “underscore the swampy behavior Mr. Trump appears willing to
tolerate and excuse.” The Post adds that “it becomes ever more astonishing
that an administrator so clearly unfit for service continues to lead a
crucial federal agency.”

        *“Russia’s Frantic Parade Of Lies.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a3-e33&t=c>
(4/16) editorializes that in “two recent incidents involving the use of
outlawed chemicals, Russia’s answer has been a frantic parade of lies,
bizarre explanations and attempts to distract from finding the truth.” The
Post argues that its response “says a lot about the new world disorder
Russia is working to create.”

        *“Trump Breaks His Tax Returns Promise – For The Third Year In A
Row.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a4-e60&t=c>
(4/16) in an editorial charges the President with “brazenly defying
expectations” with respect to his federal income tax returns, and having
“gotten away with it.” The Post alleges that “Donald Trump repeatedly
promised to let the public see his tax forms,” but “has yet to do so.” The
Post suggests that Congress or the states should require presidential
candidates to release their returns and even suggests that New York might
release Trump’s state returns. The Post also accuses the President of
showing “contempt” for his fellow Americans and “for the norms that promote
trust in government.”
Biden in the News
Local TV Stations Highlight Biden Remarks Made In MSNBC Interview About
Potential Bid.

Several local TV stations across the US highlighted remarks made by former
Vice President Joe Biden, during his interview with MSNBC’s Rev. Al
Sharpton, about a possible 2020 presidential bid. Typical of the coverage,
WCSC-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a5-27d&t=c>
Charleston, SC (4/16) reported that Biden “says he has not ruled out a
presidential run in 2020. He made the comment during an interview yesterday
morning with the Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC’s ‘Politics Nation.’ According
to the Washington Post, Biden says he will make his decision by the end of
this year. He says he’s still struggling to recover from the death of his
son, Beau Biden. Beau died from cancer in 2015.” 12-TV[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a6-7fd&t=c>
Long Island, NY (4/16) reported similarly, “The Washington Post says Joe
Biden is considering a White House run to challenge President Trump, should
he run for a second term. 12-TV added that Biden opted out of running last
time because he was grieving over the death of his son, Beau.”

        CLTV-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a7-7d9&t=c>
Chicago (4/16) reported that Biden “might not make a decision about running
for president until January. He told MSNBC that he hopes some other
Democrats who are capable of beating President Trump will step up. Biden
says right now he’s focused on helping Democrats win the midterm
elections.” KDVR-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a8-884&t=c>
Denver (4/16) offered a near verbatim report on Biden and his focus on the
midterms.
Biden To Speak About Cancer Research During Friday Visit To Salk Institute.

The San Diego Union-Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0a9-3f6&t=c>
(4/16, Robbins) reports that former Vice President Joseph Biden “will visit
the Salk Institute in La Jolla on Friday to talk about national efforts to
greatly improve the ability of scientists and physicians to diagnose, treat
and prevent cancer. Biden has long been a proponent of investing larger
amounts of public funds into fighting cancer, a disease that claimed the
life of his son, Beau, in 2015.” Biden, who “has been teaming up with
industry and biomedical institutes like the Salk to work on a so-called
‘Cancer Moonshot,’” will “speak on a panel that will discuss ways to better
understand the underlying causes of the five deadliest cancers:
triple-negative breast, brain, pancreatic, lung and ovarian.”
Vanderbilt Chancellor Highlights Biden’s Exhortation To Community
Involvement.

In his Vanderbilt University (TN) News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0aa-d1e&t=c>
(4/16) column, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos said that
former Vice President Joe Biden – who recently visited the university –
“used Plato to urge the audience, largely made up of Vanderbilt students,
to get involved in their communities, saying, ‘If you won’t get involved,
the penalty is to be governed by people worse than you.’ I agree with him.
We all have the power to change our society, but that requires us to not
just be informed, but to be engaged.”
Univ. Of Miami Student “Beyond Thrilled” About Introducing Biden At “It’s
On Us” Rally.

My Central Jersey
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0ab-723&t=c>
(4/16, Makin) ran a piece focusing on University of Miami sophomore Renu
Nargund (D), who on March 20 introduced former Vice President Joe Biden “at
a rally at her school. That left her ‘beyond thrilled.’ Called the ‘It’s On
Us’ rally, the event came out of the It’s On Us movement that Biden founded
while he was a senator after drafting the Violence Against Women Act.” The
article added, “Nargund said that when Biden commented at the rally that it
was ‘about changing the culture in America,’ it really resonated with her.
‘By shifting the mindset about sexual assault, we can help millions of
women who are suffering from trauma and prevent the billions of other women
from having to know what that feels like,’ she said.”
Biden, Elena Delle Donne Cross Paths At Delaware Golf Course.

espnW
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0ac-f10&t=c>
(4/14, Maine) reported that WNBA player Elena Delle Donne “was casually
enjoying a round of golf in her home state of Delaware over the weekend
when she ran into the state’s other famous resident,” former Vice President
Joe Biden, who “just happened to be golfing at the same course at the
time.” The brief article added that Biden and Delle Donne “stopped to catch
up and take a few photos.” The report includes a photo of Biden and Delle
Donne together.
Article Highlights Dr. Jill Biden’s April 13 Keynote Address At Pittsburgh
YWCA Gala.

Writing for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041701biden&r=email-611f&l=0ad-975&t=c>
(4/16), Joanne Klimovich Harrop discussed Dr. Jill Biden’s “keynote speech
at the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh’s 150th anniversary gala on April 13 at
the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Pittsburgh. The evening celebrated the
organization’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women and
promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.”

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