Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday, May 11, 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: Fri, 11 May 2018 09:33:29 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Friday, May 11, 2018 7:52 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
May 11, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=000-926&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=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=001-ad0&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, May 11, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• In Wake Of Prisoner Release, Trump Announces Date Of Summit With Kim.
<#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Media Analyses: Israeli Bombings In Syria Tied To Trump’s Exit From Iran
Deal. <#S2>

• US Preparing For Monday’s Opening Of Embassy In Jerusalem. <#S3>

• Pentagon Releases Report On Deadly Niger Ambush. <#S4>

• Five ISIS Leaders Captured On Iraq-Syria Border. <#S5>

• Iraq To Hold Elections Tomorrow. <#S6>

• Merkel: Europe Can’t Count On US Military Protection. <#S7>

• Mexican Minister Says Fate Of NAFTA Talks Will Be Clear Within Days. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Pence Says Of Mueller Probe: “It’s Time To Wrap It Up.” <#S9>

• Trump To Deliver Speech Today On Lowering Drug Prices. <#S10>

• NYTimes: Nielsen Nearly Resigned After Trump “Berated” Her At Cabinet
Meeting. <#S11>

• Pelosi Says She’ll Seek To Revise Tax Cut Bill If Elected Speaker. <#S12>

• White House Calls For “Hands-Off” Approach To Regulating AI Technology.
<#S13>

• Pruitt Says EPA Will Overhaul How Clean Air Act Regulations Are Enforced.
<#S14>

• HUD To Reconsider Obama-Era Housing Discrimination Protections. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Survey: Many Oncologists Say They Don’t Know Enough About Medical
Marijuana. <#S16>

• Study: MRI-Targeted Biopsies Better At Diagnosing Prostate Cancer. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden, Chertoff, Rasmussen Team Up To Combat Russian Meddling. <#S20>

• Jill Biden Delivers Bishop State Community College Commencement Address.
<#S21>

• In Stanford Cubberley Lecture, Jill Biden Discusses Student Well-Being.
<#S22>
Leading the News
In Wake Of Prisoner Release, Trump Announces Date Of Summit With Kim.

President Trump continues to receive positive media coverage in the wake of
Wednesday’s release of three Americans from North Korea. He followed up
with an announcement Thursday morning on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=002-914&t=c>
that he plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on
June 12. The developments led all three networks Thursday evening.

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=003-dcd&t=c>
(5/10, lead story, 2:20, Holt) opened its broadcast with “new images of
that middle of the night homecoming for three Americans set free by North
Korea. President Trump greeting them on the plane,” and announcement of a
“historic summit” between the President and Kim. The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=004-187&t=c>
(5/10, lead story, 1:55, Glor) said Trump announced the summit with Kim on
Twitter saying, “We will both try to make it a very special moment for
World Peace!’ The tweet came hours after Mr. Trump led a dramatic overnight
welcome ceremony for three Americans released by North Korea,” a move
Administration officials “consider...an encouraging signal ahead of next
month’s summit.” On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=005-b44&t=c>
(5/10, lead story, 2:40, Muir), Jonathan Karl said, “Just hours after his
dramatic 3:00 a.m. welcome ceremony for the prisoners freed from North
Korea, President Trump tweeted a ‘save the date’ for his meeting with Kim
Jong-un.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=006-717&t=c>
(5/10, Bender) reports Secretary of State Pompeo said the Singapore summit
will consist of one or two days of meetings. According to the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=007-7e2&t=c>
(5/10, Nakamura, Wagner), “White House aides have been eyeing Singapore,”
which “maintains diplomatic relations with North Korea” and “has been the
site of other high-profile summits,” and Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=008-f5c&t=c>
(5/10) says Singapore’s government “has a history of putting together
high-profile diplomatic events at short notice.” To Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=009-bc2&t=c>
(5/10), the “choice of Singapore will put the summit on friendly turf for
Trump, as the island nation is a strong US ally and the US Navy frequently
visits its port.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00a-7c3&t=c>
(5/10, Meyers) reports another consideration was “how far Kim’s plane can
travel.” Beijing-based analyst Yanmei Xie said, “Singapore is a destination
that Kim’s airplane is believed to be able to reach without refueling,” and
it “has the infrastructure to accommodate the security and publicity needs
of the US president.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00b-a7d&t=c>
(5/10, Nelson) likewise says the location “has virtues for both sides,” and
Tom Rogan of the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00c-3b6&t=c>
(5/10) writes that the “best argument in Singapore’s favor is that it isn’t
the Korean demilitarized zone.”

        According to the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00d-b85&t=c>
(5/10, Miller, Colvin, Lee), Singapore “emerged as the likely host of the
summit after Trump yielded to the concerns of his aides and backed off his
desire to hold the meeting at the inter-Korean demilitarized zone.” The AP
says Trump made the announcement “hours after suggesting that the release
of three Americans held in the North heralded a potential breakthrough
toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00e-483&t=c>
(5/10, Sullivan) says the release of the three Americans “removed a
significant obstacle for Mr. Trump as he heads into the peace talks,” and a
“senior United States official” later confirmed their release was an
American condition to the talks.

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00f-64b&t=c>
(5/10, Forgey) reports that during a rally in Elkhart, Indiana on Thursday
evening, Trump “refrained from any campaign-style bombast in describing his
outlook” for the summit, telling the crowd, “I think it’s going to be a
very big success. But my attitude is: And if it isn’t, it isn’t. OK? If it
isn’t, it isn’t.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=010-607&t=c>
(5/10, Wadhams, Talev) reports that while Trump “has already outdone his
predecessors on North Korea by pulling together a global coalition to
tighten sanctions, winning the release of three US prisoners and arranging
for a summit with Kim Jong Un,” the “measure of success is no longer merely
having a meeting, but what results” from next month’s talks.

        An AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=011-8cc&t=c>
(5/10, Lucey, Lemire, Thomas) analysis says the upcoming summit “is only
the latest example of the President’s go-big strategy. From tax reform to
international trade to foreign policy, Trump has pursued a high-risk,
high-reward approach that advisers say can help produce results on
longstanding problems – and that critics warn could trigger dangerous
repercussions all the way from a trade war to global conflict.” Trump, says
the AP, views the upcoming summit “as a legacy-maker for him, believing
that the combustible combination of his bombast and charm already has led
to warmer relations between North and South.”

        Eugene Robinson writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=012-b01&t=c>
(5/10) column that Trump “is making rash and risky moves that promise
either brilliant success or catastrophic failure. Given that it’s Trump
we’re dealing with, I do not like the odds.” David Ignatius writes in
his Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=013-d07&t=c>
(5/10) column that “Trump’s tumultuous first year as president
unfortunately convinced him that his trademark disruptive approach is a
success. He thinks his bullying of North Korea has worked, as has his
trade-war rhetoric with China and his hectoring of Germany and other key
European allies. So, of course, he overturned the Iran nuclear agreement,
too. The strangest aspect of Trump’s gamble on Iran is that it’s so
reminiscent of President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
We’re doing it again – transforming a manageable problem into a
freewheeling, uncontrolled one.”

        *Pence: Trump’s Diplomacy Succeeding Because He Has “Offered No
Concessions.” *Vice President Pence appeared on several morning shows
Thursday to tout the release of three Americans by North Korea. On ABC’s
Good Morning America
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=014-a0b&t=c>
(5/10), Pence said, “What you’re seeing is diplomacy, but diplomacy that
has followed the United States of America speaking truth. It will no longer
tolerate the path that North Korea’s been on with regard to nuclear
missiles. What’s different today is that the United States has offered no
concessions, nothing in exchange. ... We see signs that this may be
different and it’s all a result of President Trump’s leadership.”

        Pence told CBS This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=015-496&t=c>
(5/10, Dickerson), “When negotiations for denuclearization of North Korea
failed in the past, the parties came together, promises were made, and then
promises were broken. But the promises weren’t made by North Korea until
there were concessions.” Asked by Margaret Brennan if he sees the upcoming
summit as a concession, Pence replied, “What I see is when the South
Koreans came with the request for a meeting, and said that Kim Jong-un had
said he was prepared to suspend ballistic missile testing, suspend nuclear
testing, not object to American military exercises, and was requesting a
summit, I was sitting next to the President when virtually on the spot he
said, ‘Yes, we’ll do it.’ I think it’s because the President senses an
opening that may result in a historic agreement.”

        On NBC’s Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=016-ab2&t=c>
(5/10), Pence said, “From very early in this Administration, President
Trump changed the policies of the United States from an era of strategic
patience with North Korea to move toward the kind of campaign that would
bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear, while reserving all other
options.” Pence added, “We do believe that the regime in North Korea has
taken steps that indicate this may be an opportunity for a breakthrough,
the kind of breakthrough that has eluded the United States and the world
community for more than 20 years.”

        *Schumer Warns Trump Against “Quick” Deal With North Korea. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=017-f0b&t=c>
(5/10) reports Senate Minority Leader Schumer said Thursday that the
release of three detained American citizens was “no great accomplishment”
for Kim and that Trump “was weakening US foreign policy by exalting the
release.” Schumer said on the Senate floor, “Their release should not be
exalted, it should be expected. It is no great accomplishment of Kim
Jong-un to do this.” He also called on Trump to seek strong, verifiable
commitments from North Korea to disarm. Added Schumer, “I worry that this
president, in his eagerness to strike a deal, and get the acclaim and a
photo op, will strike a quick one and a bad one, not a strong one, not a
lasting one.”

        *Families Thankful For Men’s Release. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=018-339&t=c>
(5/10, Balsamo) reports that family and friends of the three American men
who were held in detention in North Korea “said Thursday that they are
thankful for their release and grateful to have them back in the US.” Tony
Kim’s family said in a statement that they were grateful and “thanked Trump
for engaging directly with North Korea.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=019-9ae&t=c>
(5/10, lead story, 2:20, Holt) reported, “Kim Dong-Chul of Virginia told
the President being home is like a dream, recounting the three-year of
imprisonment.” CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01a-548&t=c>
(5/10, O'Keefe) reports online that State Department official Brian Hook,
who traveled with Pompeo to North Korea, said the three men are in good
health, and are “trying to return to a normal life. That’s going to take
time. And right now we’re just taking it one day at a time.” Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01b-f57&t=c>
(5/10) reporter Carol Morello details her trip to North Korea with Pompeo,
which she says had little planning.

        *Korean-American Opinion Divided On Trump. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01c-ac7&t=c>
(5/10, Medina) reports the summit is “the most promising sign in years for
stability in the region, which has prompted an outpouring of support and
celebration among many Korean-Americans. But many others – particularly
younger Korean immigrants and the children of immigrants – are more focused
on the fight against his domestic agenda.”

        *Damage To North Korean Nuclear Test Site Worse Than Previously
Thought. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01d-9f2&t=c>
(5/10, Page) reports that damage to North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test
site, which Kim has promised to shut down, is more extensive than earlier
assessments indicated, according to a new study by a team of international
scientists. Radar showed that a much larger part of the test site has caved
in, according to a study published in Science magazine on Thursday.

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01e-859&t=c>
(5/10, Fifield, Taylor), meanwhile, reports that North Korea “could be
taking preliminary steps to close” the test site, according to “new
satellite images that suggest Kim...might be making good on one of the
surprising pledges he’s made over the past month.” According to the Post,
satellite images taken “since last month’s inter-Korean summit show a
steady reduction in the number of buildings” around the site.

        *Moon Provided Kim With Digital Road Map To Advance North Korean
Economy. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01f-94e&t=c>
(5/10, Choe) reports that when the two leaders met last month, South Korean
President Moon Jae-in gave Kim a USB drive that contained documents and
charts laying “out a ‘new economic map for the Korean Peninsula,’ including
new railways and power plants for the impoverished North, should Mr. Kim
abandon his nuclear weapons, according to South Korean officials.” Moon
based his “sales pitch on the belief that Mr. Kim wants to become the North
Korean equivalent of Deng Xiaoping, who oversaw the economic liberalization
of China.”
Foreign Policy
Media Analyses: Israeli Bombings In Syria Tied To Trump’s Exit From Iran
Deal.

Media coverage of Thursday’s airstrikes by Israeli forces targeting Iranian
military sites in Syria suggests Israel timed the attacks to coincide with
President Trump’s announcement earlier this week that the US is withdrawing
from the 2015 nuclear deal. Reports also warn that Israel’s actions
threaten to escalate tensions in the region. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=020-89e&t=c>
(5/10, El Deeb, Heller), for example, says Israel “has been emboldened
by...Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this week, and
the latest escalation seemed to signal a potentially coordinated surge in
military activity targeting Iran.”

        All three networks covered the strikes last night. Reporting on the
“direct confrontation” between Israel and Iran. On ABC World News
Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=021-ed9&t=c>
(5/10, story 3, 1:50), David Muir said, “Remember, President Trump pointed
to Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation of evidence against Iran as
part of his reason for pulling out” of the nuclear deal. ABC (Pannell)
added, “These attacks certainly seem like a reaction by Iran to that
decision.” Calling the strikes a “dramatic escalation,” the CBS
Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=022-fc1&t=c>
(5/10, story 3, 2:00, Glor) reported that “overnight, rockets were fired
from Syria into the Golan Heights,” and the Israelis “blame[d] Iran and
wasted no time firing back.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
“said Iran’s first-ever direct attack against Israeli military positions
crossed a red line.” CBS said the timing of the escalation “has
many...worried. It comes after the US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal
with active support from the Israeli government,” and amid “the
controversial moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.” NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=023-f68&t=c>
(5/10, story 2, 1:40, Holt) said the “growing confrontation” comes “just
days after President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. ... And
adding fuel to the fire, a political challenge from the United States.
Today, the sign came down from the US Consulate in Jerusalem. It will
officially become the American Embassy on Monday.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=024-79f&t=c>
(5/10, Tarnopolsky) calls the Thursday’s strikes “the most serious military
confrontation between the two bitter enemies in decades,” and the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=025-f7d&t=c>
(5/10, Morris, Eglash, Loveluck) reports that while Israeli officials
“downplayed a link between the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and
the immediate escalation in tensions...Israelis on the Golan Heights were
ordered to open their bomb shelters at the very moment Trump made his
announcement.” The White House, reports Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=026-9b5&t=c>
(5/10, Dopp), said Thursday that it supports Israel’s right to defend its
citizens from Iran’s “provocative” rocket attacks. In a statement, the
White House “said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bears
responsibility for “reckless actions” and called on that force as well as
its proxies, including Hezbollah, to make no additional provocations.”

        According to the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=027-441&t=c>
(5/10, Kershner), “European countries and many analysts had seen [the
nuclear deal] as a crucial element holding Iran and Israel, implacable
foes, from all-out conflict.” The Times says that “in the aftermath of the
president’s decision, the rhetoric between the two sides has heightened
sharply.” According to the Times, “Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal
could rekindle the appetite of...Netanyahu...to carry out military strikes
against Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

        Amos Yadlin, the former head of Israeli military intelligence,
tells the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=028-28c&t=c>
(5/10, Fitch, Lieber, Schwartz) that the Netanyahu government is committed
to making sure Iran has no permanent military infrastructure in Syria, like
it does already in Lebanon. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=029-642&t=c>
(5/10) reports that Israeli officials said the IDF “attacked nearly all of
Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria on Thursday after Iranian forces
fired rockets at Israeli-held territory.” According to Reuters, Israel says
it has “destroyed dozens of Iranian military sites in Syria, as well as
Syrian anti-aircraft units that tried unsuccessfully to shoot down Israeli
planes.” Reuters notes that the White House released a statement
“condemn[ing] Iran’s ‘provocative rocket attacks’ from Syria and said it
supported Israel’s right to defend itself.” Reuters says “expectations of a
regional flare-up...were stoked by” President Trump’s announcement this
week on the Iran deal.

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02a-5ef&t=c>
(5/10, El Deeb, Heller) says “the scope of the attacks – which Israel
called its largest in Syria since the 1973 Mideast war – raised the specter
of a full-fledged war between Iran and Israel in Syria, a conflict that
could potentially drag the militant Hezbollah and Lebanon into the mix with
devastating effects, although both sides appeared to signal they wanted the
confrontation to remain contained, at least for now.”

        *Khamenei Reveals Private Letter Trump Sent To Arab Allies.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02b-bde&t=c>
(5/9, Taylor) reports Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly
revealed “an unpublicized letter sent recently by President Trump to
countries in the Middle East, raising questions about how” the Iranian
leader “came to know about private correspondence between the US leader and
his allies in the region.” Khamenei said in a tweet that Trump had written
a letter to leaders of Persian Gulf Arab states “a few days ago” that
demanded they do more in the region. “I spent $7 trillion and you must do
something in return,” the Iranian leader claimed the letter stated.

        *Report: White House Examining Plan For Regime Change. *According
to a copy obtained by the Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02c-947&t=c>
(5/10, Kredo), the Administration is “examining a new plan to help Iranians
fighting the hardline regime...that could topple a regime already beset by
protests and a crashing economy.” The “three-page white paper being
circulated among National Security Council officials in the White House
offers a strategy by which the Trump administration can actively work to
assist an already aggravated Iranian public topple the hardline ruling
regime through a democratization strategy that focuses on driving a deeper
wedge between the Iranian people and the ruling regime.” The plan is
authored by the Security Studies Group, “a national security think-tank
that has close ties to senior White House national security officials,
including National Security Adviser John Bolton.”

        Fareed Zakaria writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02d-0e0&t=c>
(5/10) column, “Jeb Bush said Donald Trump would be a ‘chaos president.’
And this week, President Trump lived up to the billing, choosing to defy
virtually the entire world, including America’s closest European allies,
and raising tensions in the most unstable part of the globe, the Middle
East. It is hard to understand the rationale behind Trump’s decision to
withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal,” but it “there is a strategy behind
Trump’s move, it is probably regime change.”

        *Pompeo To Hold Talks With Allies On Iran Negotiations. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02e-88c&t=c>
(5/10) reports that Secretary of State Pompeo “will embark on talks to
persuade allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to press Iran to return
to negotiations over its nuclear and missile programs.” According to
Reuters, “The open question is whether the allies, and above all Iran, will
agree to resume full-fledged talks, having just seen the United States
withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and renege on its promises under
the landmark arms control accord.” The US hope, it says, “is that Iran will
be dragged to the table by the resumption of US sanctions – and possibly
the imposition of more.”

        *Treasury Imposes Sanctions On Companies, Individuals Tied To
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02f-e41&t=c>
(5/10) reports the Treasury Department announced Thursday that it has
“imposed sanctions...against six individuals and three companies it said
had funneled millions of dollars to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite
Qods Force.” According to Reuters, Treasury “said it was acting with the
United Arab Emirates to disrupt the network and accused Iran’s central bank
of actively helping the group to access US dollars held in foreign bank.”
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=030-b94&t=c>
(5/10, A1, Talley) quotes Treasury Secretary Mnuchin as saying, “Countries
around the world must be vigilant against Iran’s efforts to exploit their
financial institutions to exchange currency and fund nefarious actions of
the IRGC-QF and the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=031-568&t=c>
(5/10, Erdbrink) reports Iranians now “face new rounds of sanctions, along
with an economy already riddled with corruption and mismanagement. Normal
people tried to go on with their lives,” whole others “blamed both Mr.
Trump and their own leaders for their misery.”

        *Trump Criticizes “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer” Over Past Opposition To
Nuclear Deal. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=032-d35&t=c>
(5/10, Lima) reports Trump on Thursday “slammed” Senate Minority Leader
Schumer over his recent criticism of the US pulling out of the Iran nuclear
deal, claiming the lawmaker “doesn’t really believe” the agreement should
remain in place after previously voting against it. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=033-cb1&t=c>,
“Senator Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fought hard against the Bad Iran Deal, even
going at it with President Obama, & then Voted AGAINST it! Now he says I
should not have terminated the deal – but he doesn’t really believe that!”
In response, Schumer retweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=034-d49&t=c>
the President’s remarks along with the words “Be Best,” a reference to
First Lady Melania Trump’s anti-bullying initiative. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=035-22e&t=c>
(5/10) also reports the Twitter exchange.

        *Experts Warn Iran Likely To React With Cyberattacks. *McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=036-48c&t=c>
(5/9, Johnson) reports cyber experts warned this week that “US banks,
utilities and airports may want to buckle up for retaliatory Iranian
cyberattacks following the US pullout” from the nuclear accord. Iran,
McClatchy notes, “has a history of unleashing its hackers at moments of
geopolitical tension and has displayed a willingness to deploy broadly
destructive attacks.”
US Preparing For Monday’s Opening Of Embassy In Jerusalem.

NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=037-490&t=c>
(5/10, story 2, 1:40, Holt) reported, “Today, the sign came down from the
US consulate in Jerusalem. It will officially become the American embassy
on Monday. Palestinians who clashed with Israeli forces today said the
symbolic US embassy moved any hopes of Israeli-Palestinian peace.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=038-01e&t=c>
(5/9, Plachta) reported that while US Ambassador David Friedman and a small
group of staff will move to the Arnona site, “most of the 850 embassy
workers in Tel Aviv will not move to Jerusalem until a new building is
constructed, which could take up to nine years.” Deputy Secretary of State
John Sullivan is expected to lead the US delegation to Monday’s embassy
ceremony. Others attending will include members of Congress, Ivanka Trump
and her husband Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, and US Middle
East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt. Meanwhile, “Israeli police are bracing
for demonstrations in Jerusalem, as Palestinian leaders express their anger
ahead of the move.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=039-a08&t=c>
(5/10, Tarnopolsky) reports, “About 800 guests, including a large
congressional delegation, members of the Republican Jewish Coalition and
leaders of American Orthodox Jews, will be crammed into what has until now
been a consulate serving US citizens and visa applicants.”

        *Politico: Pompeo Asserting Himself Over Kushner In Middle East. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03a-a94&t=c>
(5/10, Karni) reports that while “Jared Kushner has served as the
administration’s point person in the Middle East,” with Politico saying he
was “seen as a shadow secretary of state,” despite Kushner championing the
embassy move “behind the scenes,” he will be an attendee when it opens, not
the leader of the US delegation. This has been “interpreted by tea-leaf
readers in the region as a sign that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans
to assert himself in the Middle East in a way that his predecessor, Rex
Tillerson, never did.” An adviser close to Pompeo said he “has a great
relationship with Jared and with the President. Because of that, the State
Department is going to be relevant in all foreign policy matters, including
this.”

        *Hamas Leader Raises Possibility Of Mass Swarming Of Border Fence. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03b-7d8&t=c>
(5/10, Akram, Federman) reports Hamas leader Yehiyeh Sinwar, while saying
that “protesters in a mass demonstration along the Israeli border next week
will be unarmed and peaceful,” also “held out the possibility that tens of
thousands of people could burst through the fence and swarm into Israel.”
Sinwar “claimed that Israel’s borders are not internationally recognized
and do not have to be respected.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03c-5fb&t=c>
(5/10, Halbfinger, Abuheweila) reports “a climactic confrontation” is
expected, and Sinwar “offered little hope for a bloodless encounter,” with
the Times saying he only “offered lip service to nonviolence.” The day
before, speaking to hundreds of Gaza young people, Sinwar said, “we would
rather die as martyrs than die out of oppression and humiliation,” and
adding, “We are ready to die, and tens of thousands will die with us.”
Pentagon Releases Report On Deadly Niger Ambush.

NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03d-7bf&t=c>
(5/10, story 4, 1:40, Holt) reported, “More than seven months after the
ambush in Niger that claimed the lives of four American soldiers, the
Pentagon released the most detailed account yet of the attack. And while
the report cites series of failures, ultimately it does not assign blame.”
Army Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, US Africa Command Chief of Staff: “The
direct cause of the enemy attack at Tongo Tongo is that the enemy achieved
tactical surprise there, and our forces were out numbered approximately
3-1.” The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03e-d1a&t=c>
(5/10, story 4, 2:25, Glor) said the Pentagon’s report cited “multiple
failures, including a lack of proper training,” which “led up to the deadly
ambush.” Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, Commander of US Africa Command:
“They had never seen anything in this magnitude, numbers, mobility, and
training. It was a total tactical surprise.”

        Fox News Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03f-569&t=c>
(5/10) reported that senior Pentagon officials “say that multiple failures
are to blame,” including the “team’s deliberate decision to go after a
high-level” ISIS group “without proper command approval.” [image: Image
removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=040-369&t=c>
(5/10, story 6, 0:25, Muir) noted that the Pentagon’s report included “this
animation detailing how the convoy met with overwhelming firepower from
ISIS-linked fighters, and how the four American soldiers who died fought to
the end, saying their heroism should be officially recognized.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=041-e73&t=c>
(5/10, Baldor) reports that the review released by the Pentagon “includes
recommendations to improve mission planning and approval procedures,
re-evaluate equipment and weapons requirements, and review training that US
commandos conduct with partner forces.” According to the AP, Defense
Secretary Mattis “directed Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of US Africa
Command, to take immediate steps to address shortfalls.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=042-1de&t=c>
(5/10, Cooper, Gibbons-Neff, Schmitt) reports that “were it not for the
arrival of French Mirage aircraft that made low, roaring passes in a show
of force that scattered the extremists, far more Americans and their
Nigerien partners likely would have been killed. ... ‘Nigerien and French
units assisted without hesitation,’ according to the investigation’s
eight-page executive summary that the Pentagon released on Thursday.” The
reports says allied forces “very likely saved the lives of US and Nigerien
soldiers, several of whom were wounded in the attack.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=043-4dc&t=c>
(5/10, Lamothe, Ryan) says the Pentagon is “withholding thousands of pages
of witness statements, maps and other documents and a longer report of
about 180 pages.” According to the Post, “The US military often releases
those materials at the conclusion of an investigation, but said it is still
working to declassify additional information.” The Post notes, “Killed in
the battle were Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39; Staff Sgt. Bryan C.
Black, 35; Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29; and Sgt. La David T. Johnson,
25. Black and Wright were Special Forces soldiers, while both Johnsons were
conventional soldiers assigned to the same 3rd Special Forces Group team.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=044-bc2&t=c>
(5/10, Bacon) reports Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of US Africa
Command said that “a full report will be released in the future.” He also
“said changes already have been made to better prepare and protect US
troops across Africa.”
Five ISIS Leaders Captured On Iraq-Syria Border.

The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=045-519&t=c>
(5/10, story 5, 2:15, Glor) reported that five senior ISIS leaders have
been captured in an “elaborate intelligence operation run by Iraq and the
United States.” Ismail al-Eithaway, described as a close aid to ISIS leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was captured first. Then US and Iraqi forces “used an
app on Eithawy’s mobile phone to lure the other men across the Syrian
border and into Iraq, where they were arrested.” After interrogating the
men, the Iraqi government used the information obtained to launch strikes
that “it claims killed another 40 ISIS terrorists.” CBS said this was “the
latest defeat for the extremist group, which has lost nearly all of the
territory it once held in Iraq and Syria.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=046-eab&t=c>
(5/10, George, Lederman) reports coalition spokesman Army Col. Ryan Dillon
called the captures a “significant blow to Daesh,” using the Arabic acronym
for IS. Pentagon spokesman Marine Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway said,
“These arrests are a significant blow to ISIS as we continue to remove its
leadership and fighters from the battlefield.” President Trump “tweeted
about the anti-IS raid Thursday, saying those arrested were the ‘five most
wanted’ IS ‘leaders.’” Reuters adds that “it was unclear what criteria, if
any, Trump was using to describe the IS operatives as the ‘five most
wanted.’”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=047-689&t=c>
(5/10, El-Ghobashy, Salim) calls it “a breakthrough in the hunt for
Baghdadi, experts said Thursday and underscores the deep security
cooperation within the American-led coalition against the Islamic State
despite political tensions roiling the region.” Jennifer Griffin reported
on Fox News Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=048-f16&t=c>
(5/10) that the arrests were the result of a three-month operation that
included intelligence sharing between US, Turkish, and Iraqi officials. The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=049-6bf&t=c>
(5/10, George, Lederman) notes that President Trump “tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04a-a7a&t=c>
about the anti-IS raid Thursday, saying those arrested were the ‘five most
wanted’ IS ‘leaders.’” Reuters adds that “it was unclear what criteria, if
any, Trump was using to describe the IS operatives as the ‘five most
wanted.’”
Iraq To Hold Elections Tomorrow.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04b-3c9&t=c>
(5/10) reports that on Saturday Iraq will hold its first elections “since
driving out Islamic State.” Reuters predicts the election’s results “will
shape attempts to heal the country’s deep divisions and could shift the
regional balance of power.” Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi
“cannot rely solely on votes from his community as the majority Shi’ite
voter base is unusually split this year,” so “he is looking to draw upon
support from other groups.” Many “Sunnis see Abadi as a less sectarian
alternative to his two main Shi’ite rivals and credit him with liberating
their areas from Islamic State.” However, the Kurds oppose Abadi because
“Baghdad imposed sanctions on the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region
following its failed independence bid last year.” Abadi’s two main
challengers “are his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki and Iranian-backed Shi’ite
militia commander Hadi al-Amiri,” both of which “have a more passionate
voter base than Abadi, who is mostly appealing to more pragmatic voters.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04c-ea5&t=c>
(5/10, Szlanko, Al-Saleh) reports a question about the election is whether
the winners will “be more inclusive toward the Sunnis, whose
marginalization partly fueled the rise of the extremists.” The “enormity”
rebuilding in the wake of the IS’s military defeat, “the entrenched
corruption and the past experience of marginalization has led some Sunnis
to say they simply will not bother to vote.” However, despite previous
Sunnis boycotts of elections, “they appear more interested in partnering
with Shiites this time. “
Merkel: Europe Can’t Count On US Military Protection.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04d-ed2&t=c>
(5/10, Delfs, Viscusi) reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a speech
honoring French President Emmanuel Macron, at a prize ceremony in Aachen,
Germany, said, “It’s no longer the case that the United States will simply
just protect us.” She added, “Europe needs to take its fate into its own
hands.” Her statements “a theme she first sounded last year in response” to
President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and “hectoring” of NATO
members over their defense spending.

        *Press Identifies Russians Involved In Ukraine Civilian Artillery
Deaths. *McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04e-5c3&t=c>
(5/10, Hall) reports a joint reporting team including Bellingcat and
McClatchy, using “raw video, cellphone intercepts and information gleaned
from social media and military websites,” identified nine Russian officers
directly involved in “the indiscriminate shelling in January 2015 of” the
Ukrainian town of Mariupol, which “left at least 29 civilians dead.” One of
those officers, Major Gen. Stepan Stepanovich Yaroschuk, is “now believed
to be helping lead his country’s missile and artillery efforts in Syria.”
The officers’ identification “is key because even if Russia does not
extradite them to face justice, their travel abroad will be curtailed
because of their penetration into a sovereign nation.”
Mexican Minister Says Fate Of NAFTA Talks Will Be Clear Within Days.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04f-258&t=c>
(5/10) reports that earlier today, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso
Guajardo said he “expected to find out within the next two days if a new
NAFTA deal with the United States and Canada was possible in the short
term.” According to Reuters, “As time runs out to secure some kind of
agreement, major differences remain between the three members of the North
American Free Trade Agreement after more than eight months of
negotiations.” Reuters goes on to report that “a source close to the talks
said US officials have told Canada and Mexico that May 17 or 18 is the
deadline for a deal that could be dealt with by the current US Congress.”
Reuters says “a second source confirmed that those dates had been
discussed.”

        *Toomey Warns Administration Against NAFTA Ultimatum. *Sen. Pat
Toomey, in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=050-121&t=c>
(5/10), warns the Administration against seeking to pressure pro-trade
Republican to support a revised NAFTA agreement that diminishes free trade
by threatening to withdraw from the agreement entirely. Toomey warns he
would vote “no” in the face of such an ultimatum and argues that the
Constitution does not give the President the power to drop out of NAFTA on
his own. Toomey calls one Republicans to oppose such a move, acknowledging
the political difficulty in doing so but casting it as necessary to avoid
economic harm and executive overreach. He concludes that the Administration
should instead take the advice of many members of Congress and update NAFTA
by expanding trade opportunities.

        *NYTimes: Trump Trade Policies Could Hurt US Automakers. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=051-705&t=c>
(5/10, Tankersley, Swanson) reports that, in spite of his rhetoric about
reviving the American auto industry, President Trump’s trade policy may
hurt US automakers, whose chief executives are scheduled to meet with the
President on Friday. Due to is “increasingly global” production and sales,
“the auto industry is among the sectors most vulnerable to trade
disruptions,” and Administration “efforts to renegotiate the North American
Free Trade Agreement, to impose tariffs on imported aluminum and steel and
to reduce America’s trade deficit with China could limit the reach of
companies that produce cars in the United States and depend on access to
growing markets outside the country.”

        *AP: Chinese Tech Firm’s Collapse Evidence Of Brewing US-China
Trade War. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=052-3c2&t=c>
(5/10, Chan) reports on “the early signs that the widening trade dispute
between China and the US is exacting a toll on both sides.” The AP notes
that on Wednesday, ZTE, “the tech giant, telecommunications equipment and
smartphone maker,” said “it’s ceasing ‘major operations’ after the US last
month banned it from doing business with American suppliers for seven years
as a punishment for illegal exports.” At the same time, according to the
AP, “businesses and officials reported that American products are running
into delays in customs clearance because of stepped-up inspections at
Chinese ports, suggesting Beijing may be making life tougher for US
companies as the dispute drags on.”

        *Tightened Chinese Inspections Of US Goods Causing Delays. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=053-55f&t=c>
(5/10, Craymer, Chiu, Kubota) reports that increased inspections have US
goods piling up at Chinese ports. Business groups say this is the country’s
way of reminding the US of its market’s importance, as well as identifying
sectors that could be used to pressure the US to change its polices. The
delays are causing concerns that some produce will spoil before it can be
sold.

        *Hearing On Proposed US Tariffs On Chinese Goods Extended. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=054-cbc&t=c>
(5/10, Niquette) reports the US extended by two days “a public hearing on
the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese
goods” to accommodate the approximately 130 companies and industry groups
who want to testify. “The meetings are part of the process for imposing
tariffs...to punish China for its alleged theft of intellectual property
and unfair trade practices.” While business is “generally supportive of US
action to level the playing field on trade and investment with China,” many
want talks between the two “to focus on resolving differences rather than
the pursuit of tariffs.”

        *China Clamping Down On Risky Lending. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=055-ba6&t=c>
(5/10, Stevenson) reports, “Faced with the looming consequences of a
decade-long borrowing binge, the Chinese government is intensifying its
efforts stamp out risky lending and speculative froth,” clamping down on
its “unruly shadow banking sector,” as well as “making public spectacles of
the worst offenders.” The sentencing of Wu Xiaohui, founder of Anbang
Insurance Group, to 18 years in prison caps “a monthslong effort by Beijing
to make Anbang an example for other big Chinese conglomerates that borrowed
heavily to buy up high-profile trophy assets,” and is “the most recent and
visible sign” of the government’s efforts. Other signs include an increase
in companies’ load defaults and rising interest rates.
Domestic Policy
Pence Says Of Mueller Probe: “It’s Time To Wrap It Up.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=056-c04&t=c>
(5/10, Wagner) reports that Vice President Pence is urging Special Counsel
Robert Mueller “to bring his investigation into Russian election
interference to a close, saying ‘it’s time to wrap it up.’” In an interview
with NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=057-670&t=c>
(5/10), Pence said, “Our Administration has been fully cooperating with the
Special Counsel and we’ll continue to. What I think is it’s been about a
year since this investigation began. Our Administration has provided over a
million documents. We fully cooperated in it. In the interest of the
country, I think it’s time to wrap it up.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=058-a4d&t=c>
(5/10, Greenwood) reports that Pence “said the Trump administration has so
far been fully cooperative with Mueller’s probe, and that it would continue
to be.” But Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=059-b31&t=c>
(5/10, Nelson) reports that “despite prodding from the vice president and
others in Trump’s orbit, Mueller’s probe...has shown no signs of winding
down.”

        *Meadows To Seek GAO Audit Of Mueller’s Team. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05a-f4a&t=c>
(5/10, Morton) reports that Rep. Mark Meadows (R), who heads the House
Freedom Caucus, “wants to see special counsel Robert Mueller’s books.” In
an interview that will air on C-SPAN this weekend, Meadows said he will ask
the Government Accountability Office to conduct an audit of Mueller’s team.

        *Economist/YouGov Poll: 61% Of “Conservatives Voters” Think FBI
Framing Trump. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05b-d96&t=c>
(5/10, Atkinson) reports, “A new Economist/YouGov survey
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05c-4e8&t=c>
found that 61% of conservative voters believe that President Trump is being
framed by the FBI.” Among Democrats, “only 7% say the FBI is going after
Trump, and 78% believe he’s not being framed.”

        *Pence, Giuliani Distance Administration From Cohen’s Business
Relationships. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05d-1dc&t=c>
(5/10, Nelson) reports that in his NBC interview, Pence called Michael
Cohen’s business relationships a “private matter.” Pence said, “What I can
say is that that private matter is something I don’t have any knowledge
about. I think the White House issued a statement saying the same.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05e-e45&t=c>
(5/10, Stanage) reports that Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said Thursday
“that the media ought to ‘calm down’ in their coverage of money paid” to
Cohen. Giuliani said, “It doesn’t involve us at all. There is no suggestion
that it does.” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05f-acc&t=c>
(5/10, Bash, Foran) reports on its website that Giuliani told CNN “that
Trump ‘wasn’t aware’ [that] Cohen pitched his access to the President to
potential clients following the 2016 election.”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=060-926&t=c>
(5/10, story 8, 3:00, Muir) reported that Cohen, “the President’s embattled
attorney and friend,” is “facing questions over millions paid to a shell
company. ... That money coming in after the election from major companies,
even a firm with close ties to a Russian oligarch.” ABC’s Tom Llamas: “The
web of companies that hired Cohen’s firm are explaining why they got into
business with him. A spokesman for Korean Aerospace Industries told the
Washington Post, KAI was unaware of Essential Consultants’ ties to Trump.
But the company tells ABC News it wanted Cohen’s LLC for consulting on
international financial reporting standards. It’s unclear what Cohen’s
expertise in this type of accounting is. In another case, pharmaceutical
giant Novartis, who did business with Cohen, points out any agreements with
Essential Consultants were entered into before their current CEO took
office in February of this year. Novartis said they did pay Cohen $1.2
million for healthcare policy matters, and access to the new
Administration, but that Cohen was not able to provide these services. They
have called the agreement ‘clearly a mistake.’” The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=061-085&t=c>
(5/10, story 6, 0:40, Glor) reported that Cohen is taking legal action
against attorney Michael Avenatti, who “released what he said are bank
records detailing payments to Cohen from corporate clients shortly after
the election.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=062-875&t=c>
(5/10, Brody, Allison) reports that AT&T paid Cohen “up to $600,000 for
insights into how the new administration might handle matters affecting its
business, according to a person familiar with the matter. That’s about
$400,000 more than the figure alleged” by Avenatti. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=063-ad3&t=c>
(5/10, Helderman, Fung, Hamburger) reports that AT&T turned to Cohen “for
help on a wide portfolio of issues pending before the federal government –
including the company’s proposed merger with Time Warner, according to
documents obtained” by the Post. It is “unclear what insight Cohen – a
longtime real estate attorney and former taxi cab operator – could have
provided AT&T on complex telecom matters.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=064-f00&t=c>
(5/10, Schouten) reports that “watchdog group” Public Citizen has filed
complaints with Congress and the Justice Department, saying that Cohen
“broke federal ethics and lobbying laws by failing to register as a
lobbyist while collecting big sums from companies with business” before the
Administration.

        Catherine Rampell writes in her Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=065-3b0&t=c>
(5/10) column, “The GOP is no longer the Party of Reagan. It’s the Party of
Michael Cohen.” Reagan “and his acolytes preached that the way to get ahead
in the United States was to work hard and never rely on government to help
you out.” The “Cohen blueprint for achieving the American Dream” is to
“work minimally, if you can, and leverage government connections whenever
possible.”

        *Giuliani Leaves Manhattan Law Firm. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=066-27f&t=c>
(5/10) reports that Giuliani is leaving Manhattan law firm Greenberg
Traurig. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=067-67b&t=c>
(5/10, Schmidt, Haberman) reports that Giuliani took a leave of absence
from the firm last month, “in a statement released by the firm, Mr.
Giuliani said it ‘is in everyone’s best interest that I make it a permanent
resignation’ so he can focus on the special counsel’s investigation.”

        *Nunes, Gowdy Say They “Had A Productive Discussion” With
Intelligence Officials. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=068-6bc&t=c>
(5/10, Barrett) reports that House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes
“backed away from an open confrontation with the Justice Department on
Thursday after a private meeting with senior intelligence officials who
said they could not give him top-secret information about an intelligence
source” who had aided Mueller, “according to people familiar with the
matter.” Following their meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein and other officials, Nunes and House Oversight and Government
Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy said in a statement, “We had a productive
discussion...in which we raised questions related to information requested
from the Intelligence Community. The officials committed to holding further
discussions of these matters, and we look forward to continuing our
dialogue next week to satisfy the Committee’s request.” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=069-6ac&t=c>
(5/10, Cohen) headlines its report “Devin Nunes, Trey Gowdy Back Off
Justice Department After Classified Briefing,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06a-d9a&t=c>
(5/10, Cheney) also reports on the meeting.

        *House Intelligence Committee Democrats Release Russian-Backed
Facebook Ads. *The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06b-689&t=c>
(5/10, story 7, 1:40, Glor) reported, “Democrats on the House Intelligence
Committee today released about 3,500 Russian-backed Facebook ads that were
aimed at stirring up anger during the 2016 presidential elections. Facebook
said they were purchased by Russian agents posing as Americans.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06c-7b2&t=c>
(5/10, Guynn, Weise, Kelly) reports, “Facebook pages with points of view
that span the political spectrum from ‘Blacktivist’ to ‘Heart of Texas’
bought ads.” Many of the ads “didn’t endorse a specific candidate but
spread inflammatory messages on sensitive subjects such as immigration and
race to amplify fault lines in American life.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06d-0c2&t=c>
(5/10, Romm) reports that the ads, “from mid-2015 to mid-2017, illustrate
the extent to which Kremlin-aligned forces sought to stoke social, cultural
and political unrest on one of the Web’s most powerful platforms. ...
Russia’s online army reached at least 146 million people on Facebook and
Instagram.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06e-5e9&t=c>
(5/10, Seetharaman, Wells, Tau) reports that only a fraction of the ads
directly mentioned the 2016 election, with most of those targeting Hillary
Clinton from both right and left.

        *Russian Aluminum Tycoon Forced By US Sanctions To Return Leased
Jets. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06f-14a&t=c>
(5/10) reports that “Russian tycoon” Oleg Deripaska “has handed back three
private jets he was leasing because US sanctions imposed on him last month
make it impossible to keep using the planes. ... They are now on sale, with
the asking price for two of them set at $29.95 million each.” According to
Reuters, “The return of the aircraft is an indication of how deeply the
sanctions have affected Deripaska’s business empire, extending beyond the
direct impact on his Rusal aluminum firm, whose sales and supply chains
have been heavily disrupted.”
Trump To Deliver Speech Today On Lowering Drug Prices.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=070-444&t=c>
(5/10, Perrone) reports President Trump today “is scheduled to give his
first speech on how his administration will seek to lower drug prices.”
While he pledged as a candidate “to use the power of the federal
government’s Medicare health program to directly negotiate lower prices
with drugmakers,” since taking office, “he has backed away from major
reforms and staffed his administration with appointees who have deep ties
to the industry.” However, Administration officials “ratcheted up the
rhetoric ahead of Trump’s speech.” HHS Secretary Azar “promised bold
action,” and FDA Commissioner Gottlieb “hinted at a plan to ‘dismantle’ the
convoluted system of discounts and rebates between drugmakers and health
care middlemen.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=071-83c&t=c>
(5/10) reports that with Trump expected to deliver the “highly anticipated
speech” on Friday, “investors are bracing for widespread volatility in
healthcare stocks.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=072-6b6&t=c>
(5/10, Cancryn, Pittman) reports that during a call with reporters,
Administration officials pitched “the most comprehensive” drug price plan
in presidential history, it will “stop short of radically overhauling the
health care system by allowing Medicare to directly negotiate with drug
makers – a step that Trump once endorsed on the campaign trail but later
backed off.” The Administration will instead “push for a slew of smaller
administrative and legislative actions affecting all parts of the
pharmaceutical landscape, floating a series of reforms to Medicare that
officials said will allow the government to secure lower prices and reduce
incentives for doctors to prescribe high-cost medications.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=073-ef5&t=c>
(5/10, Armour, Radnofsky, Burton) reports that the effort is eliciting
skepticism from industry experts and Democrats who contend it will have
little impact. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=074-3fc&t=c>
(5/10, Pear) says Democrats “said they would like to work with Mr. Trump on
plans to rein in drug costs, but they predicted that his proposals would be
inadequate.”

        *Azar Defends Trump’s Push For Short-Term Health Insurance Plans. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=075-7ba&t=c>
(5/10, Howell) reports that in testimony to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, HHS Secretary Azar defended Trump’s push to let Americans
abandon Obamacare “for cheaper, skimpier plans.” Amid “Democratic fears
that people will blindly opt into ‘junk’ insurance and further deplete
Obamacare’s wobbly markets,” Azar “said those fears are overblown.”
According to Azar said that more than eight in 10 exchange customers
receive subsidies, and are unlikely to give them up by leaving the
exchanges. Azar said, “What’s been proposed on the short-term plans is to
restore what President Obama had in place until the eve of his retirement
from office. ... We’re just trying to make options available.” The Times
adds that Azar “had to fend off Senate Democrats who say the White House is
focused on tanking their signature health program.”

        *HHS Wants States To Decide On Medicaid Work Requirements For
Native Americans. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=076-8ac&t=c>
(5/10, Diamond, Pradhan) reports that HHS officials “want states to settle
the contentious question of whether Native Americans should get jobs in
order to keep their health care.” While the tribes sought an exemption
“from new Medicaid work rules being introduced in several states, citing
their sovereign status,” in a decision “driven by the HHS Office of General
counsel,” the Administration “rejected the request, saying in January it
amounted to an illegal racial preference.” However, CMS Administrator Seema
Verma “is ‘fine’ with giving the tribes an exemption, according to three
people who have spoken with her.” Politico adds that HHS Secretary Azar
“and other political appointees have similarly been frustrated with the HHS
general counsel’s office, which is limiting the agency’s options as more
than a dozen, mostly Republican-led states seek to institute Medicaid work
requirements.”
NYTimes: Nielsen Nearly Resigned After Trump “Berated” Her At Cabinet
Meeting.

Citing “several current and former officials familiar with the incident,”
the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=077-7c2&t=c>
(5/10, Shear, Perlroth) reports that DHS Secretary Nielsen has “told
colleagues she was close to resigning after President Trump berated her on
Wednesday in front of the entire cabinet for what he said was her failure
to adequately secure the nation’s borders.” The Times says Nielsen “has
drafted a resignation letter but has not submitted it, according to two of
the people.” According to the Times, “Trump’s anger toward Ms. Nielsen at
the cabinet meeting was part of a lengthy tirade in which the president
railed at his entire cabinet about what he said was their lack of progress
toward sealing the country’s borders against illegal immigrants.” Jonathan
Karl said on ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=078-26f&t=c>
(5/10, story 2, 0:50, Muir) that “this was such a tongue-lashing that it
struck several in the cabinet meeting as over the top.”

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=079-b6d&t=c>
(5/10, Samuels) reports that DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton “denied the
report” in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=07a-a8e&t=c>,
writing, “The @nytimes article alleging that the Secretary drafted a
resignation letter yesterday and was close to resigning is false. The
Secretary is hard at work today on the President’s security-focused agenda
and supporting the men and women of @DHSgov.” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=07b-090&t=c>
(5/10, Collins, Zeleny, Watkins, Kopan) reports Nielsen issued a statement
saying “that she shares Trump’s frustration about the border, blaming it in
part on ‘congressional inaction.’” Nielsen said in the statement, “The
President is rightly frustrated that existing loopholes and the lack of
congressional action have prevented this administration from fully securing
the border and protecting the American people. I share his frustration. ...
Border security is the most basic and necessary responsibility of a
sovereign nation. These are complex issues and I will continue to direct
the Department to do all we can to implement the President’s
security-focused agenda.” Ed O’Keefe said on the CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=07c-5ce&t=c>
(5/10, story 2, 0:50, Glor) that Nielsen’s statement “doesn’t entirely deny
this report.”

        *Ryan Wants Immigration Vote Before November, Dismisses Discharge
Petition Drive. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=07d-114&t=c>
(5/10) reports House Speaker Ryan said Thursday that “he wants a bipartisan
immigration bill enacted before November congressional elections by
addressing young illegal ‘Dreamer’ immigrants as well as border security
issues.” Ryan said, “I want to fix this problem, so I would like to have an
immigration vote before the midterms.” According to Reuters, Ryan “has
previously expressed support for helping Dreamers. But he has not given the
go-ahead for debating any bill.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=07e-1a0&t=c>
(5/10, Wong) reports that Ryan “reiterated that the immigration legislation
would need to get President Trump’s endorsement first,” which The Hill says
is “a tall order given the inability of Trump and Democrats to agree on an
immigration compromise.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=07f-d39&t=c>
(5/10, Debonis) casts Ryan’s desire to hold a vote later this year as an
effort “to put down a brewing rebellion in the Republican ranks.” His
comments came “one day after 17 Republicans signed a petition that would
force votes on a number of immigration bills.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=080-879&t=c>
(5/10, Fram) says Ryan “mocked” the “effort by breakaway Republicans to
force election-year votes on rival immigration proposals as a drive that
would produce ‘show ponies,’ not legislation the president would sign into
law.” According to the AP, Ryan “said...that since he’s been unable to
craft an immigration bill that could pass with GOP votes alone, the path to
success requires legislation that gets support from both parties and White
House.”

        According to NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=081-fad&t=c>
(5/10), the petition “would force a vote on bipartisan legislation unveiled
in March that would allow for consideration of four different proposals,
including a conservative immigration bill” proposed by House Judiciary
Chairman Bob Goodlatte, “a bipartisan version of the Dream Act and a
bipartisan bill to protect people covered by the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program while enhancing border security.” NBC
says “the effort would likely need all Democrats to sign on to the
discharge petition, along with at least 25 of the 236 members of the GOP
caucus,” and “as of Thursday afternoon, 18 Republicans had signed on.” An
unidentified “GOP Lawmaker” tells the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=082-aa1&t=c>
(5/10, Ferrechio) that “the discharge petition could easily gain 250
signatures with Democratic support.”

        *GOP Leaders Urge Members To Drop Discharge Petition. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=083-e1f&t=c>
(5/10, Wong, Bernal) reports that on Wednesday, “GOP leaders...made a
public plea for members to abandon the petition, calling it the wrong
approach. ‘I don’t believe in discharge petitions. You’re turning the floor
over. I think it’s better to use the legislative process,’” House Majority
Leader McCarthy, “who controls what bills come to the House floor, told
reporters.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=084-65d&t=c>
(5/10, Dinan) says Ryan and GOP leaders “have reason to be concerned, given
some 30 to 40 other Republicans have previously signaled they wanted to see
the debate happen, creating a pool of likely candidates to sign the
discharge petition.”

        *Judge Allows Lawsuit Against US Border Searches Of Phones To
Proceed. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=085-aef&t=c>
(5/10) reports that US District Judge Denise Capser in Boston on Thursday
“rejected the Trump administration’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit challenging
the federal government’s growing practice of conducting warrantless
searches on phones and laptops of Americans stopped at the border.” Judge
Capser “ruled that the lawsuit by 11 travelers had raised a plausible claim
that such border searches violate the US Constitution’s Fourth Amendment
protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.” According to
Reuters, while Judge Capser “described the law as unclear, she said the
issue was not unlike a major privacy rights case the US Supreme Court
decided in 2014 in which it held police must obtain a warrant to search an
arrested suspect’s cellphone.” The judge “said that Supreme Court ruling
‘indicates that electronic devices implicate privacy interests in a
fundamentally different manner than searches of typical containers or even
searches of a person.’”

        *DHS Expected To Issue Nearly 15,000 Additional H-2B Visas This
Summer. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=086-356&t=c>
(5/10, Meckler) cites lawmakers and aides who say the Administration will
likely make nearly 15,000 additional H-2B visas available for low-skilled
foreign workers this summer. While DHS Secretary Nielsen has not publicly
announced whether she will issue the additional visas, the Journal says she
has told several lawmakers that she will do so.

        *WTimes: Half Of Americans Live In “Sanctuary” Jurisdictions.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=087-d70&t=c>
(5/10, Dinan) reports that a tally of jurisdictions from the Federation for
American Immigration Reform says that “about half of all Americans now live
under sanctuary policies that shield illegal immigrants from law
enforcement.” According to FAIR, “there were 564 states and municipalities
that refuse some level of cooperation with federal immigration authorities
as of April 1, up more than 200 since President Trump took office and up
more than 500 compared with a decade ago.” The Times calculated that
“combined, the sanctuaries on FAIR’s list cover 49 percent of the country’s
population.”

        *Pew Report: Program Has Allowed 1.5 Million Foreign Students To
Stay In US After Graduation. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=088-486&t=c>
(5/10, Baron) reports that nearly 1.5 million foreign students have been
allowed to remain and work in the US after graduation as part of the
Optional Practical Training program, which “now is larger than the
controversial H-1B program for highly skilled foreign workers.” According
to a new report from the Pew Research Center, the “number of students in
the science, technology, engineering and math fields who are authorized to
work under” the program “has soared 400% since 2008, when the federal
government increased the amount of time graduates in those fields could
stay in the US and work.”

        *Hungarian Passport Fraud Allowed Dozens To Enter US Under False
Identities. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=089-d46&t=c>
(5/9, Hudson, Petho) reports that US officials “have uncovered a fraud
scheme that has allowed foreign nationals to enter the United States under
false identities, a troubling security breach resulting from a
vulnerability in Hungary’s passport system.” According to the Post, “about
700 non-Hungarians have fraudulently obtained authentic Hungarian passports
and assumed the identities of the original passport holders, according to a
DHS document obtained by The Washington Post,” and “of that group, at least
85 attempted to travel to the United States, and 65 successfully entered
through the US visa waiver program.” The Post adds that “as of October, 30
remained in the country despite DHS efforts to find and deport them,” and
that “experts said the fraudulent use of authentic passports poses a
serious threat to the United States and other countries.”

        *Pittsburgh Program Matches Newly Arrived Immigrants With Local
Residents. *Lester Holt reported on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=08a-ea2&t=c>
(5/10, story 9, 2:40) that a program in Pittsburgh called Hello Neighbor
“is easing the challenges faced by newly-arrived immigrants and refugees by
matching them with locals who very much want them to be their neighbors.”
Pelosi Says She’ll Seek To Revise Tax Cut Bill If Elected Speaker.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=08b-610&t=c>
(5/10, Wasson) reports that House Minority Leader Pelosi told the Peterson
Foundation Fiscal Summit Thursday that if Democrats retake the House
majority and she is elected Speaker, “she will seek to revise the GOP’s tax
cut bill to reverse its estimated $1.9 trillion increase to federal budget
deficits.” Pelosi said, “We want to revisit in a way that puts the middle
class first and reduces the debt.” Pelosi added that she wants a tax bill
that “promotes growth, generates jobs and reduces the deficit.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=08c-e0b&t=c>
(5/10, Sherfinski) says Pelosi argued that Democrats “are winning the
public relations battle over the law and are prepared to take their case to
the public ahead of the fall midterm elections.” Pelosi said, “They’re
losing the public relations fight. They won the vote … but they have not
won the public opinion of it because the experience people have is
something very contrary to misrepresentations they have made about it.”

        *Budget Surplus Sets Record In April. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=08d-57b&t=c>
(5/10, Mohsin) reports that the Treasury Department said in its monthly
budget report Thursday that the US posted a record monthly budget surplus
of $214 billion in April. April tax receipts “totaled $510 billion, about
12 percent more than the same period last year, while outlays increased by
8.4 percent to $296 billion.” The CBO said the surplus “reflected stronger
economic activity over the past year.”
White House Calls For “Hands-Off” Approach To Regulating AI Technology.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=08e-ebd&t=c>
(5/10, Brody, Olorunnipa) reports that in a meeting with tech industry
executives on Thursday, White House officials “unveiled a hands-off
regulatory approach to foster the development of artificial intelligence.”
White House Science Adviser Michael Kratsios “told representatives of
companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Facebook Inc., Goldman Sachs
Group Inc. and Boeing Co. that they’ll have the greatest possible latitude
to develop AI,” adding that “erecting barriers to innovation does not stop
the future.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=08f-98b&t=c>
(5/10, McKinnon) says Administration officials vowed that the US would
remain in the lead on developing AI technologies. Kratsios said the
Administration would make advancing AI research a priority.
Pruitt Says EPA Will Overhaul How Clean Air Act Regulations Are Enforced.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=090-547&t=c>
(5/10, Knickmeyer) reports that EPA Administrator Pruitt “is overhauling
the way his agency sets pollution limits under the Clean Air Act,
announcing Thursday that regulators will seek input on the economic impact
of enforcing the landmark federal law.” According to the AP, the EPA “will
ask its advisory committees to consider how enforcement affects the
economy, and will seek input from state and local government, tribes and
others.” In a statement, Pruitt said, “The principles laid out in this
memorandum will reform the process for setting national air quality
standards in a manner consistent with cooperative federalism and the rule
of law.”

        *Administration Unhappy With Car Makers’ Stance On Fuel-Economy
Requirements. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=091-dff&t=c>
(5/10, Puko, Dawson) reports that the President and his senior advisers are
unhappy with the lukewarm support car makers are giving to its initiative
to roll back Obama-era emissions regulations. The big three US automakers
will meet with Administration officials at the White House Friday to craft
a common position on the issue.
HUD To Reconsider Obama-Era Housing Discrimination Protections.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=092-951&t=c>
(5/10, Hurley) reports that the Administration signaled Thursday that it
may reverse Obama-era anti-housing discrimination protections “that exposed
companies to a broad range of legal claims under federal law.” HUD said it
will reconsider a 2013 “that laid out when so-called disparate impact
claims can be brought against lenders, insurers and other major players in
housing under federal fair housing law.”
Cancer Research
Survey: Many Oncologists Say They Don’t Know Enough About Medical Marijuana.

HealthDay
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=093-cab&t=c>
(5/10) reports that according to a study
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=094-b25&t=c>
published Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, many oncologists
“say they don’t know enough about medical marijuana to provide an informed
opinion to patients.” Researchers “surveyed a nationally representative
random sample of 400 oncologists,” and found that 70% “said they aren’t
informed enough about the risks and benefits of medical marijuana to
recommend its use to patients.” However, 80% “said they’ve discussed
medical marijuana with patients in the past year, and 46 percent have gone
so far as to recommend its use in cancer treatment.” Of the 46%
recommending it, 56% said “they did not consider themselves well-informed
enough to have done so.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=095-f4e&t=c>
(5/10, Johnson) reports that lead study author Dr. Ilana Braun of
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said, “The big takeaway is we need
more research, plain and simple.”
Study: MRI-Targeted Biopsies Better At Diagnosing Prostate Cancer.

The Radiology Business Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=096-6cf&t=c>
(5/10) reports that according to a study
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=097-16c&t=c>
published in the New England Journal of Medicine, “risk assessment with MRI
followed by an MRI-targeted biopsy may be superior to an ultrasound-guided
biopsy for prostate cancer diagnosis.” Researchers compared the treatments
by conducting the PRECISION trial, collecting “data from 25 sites in 11
countries from February 2016 to August 2017” on 500 participants, 252 of
whom “were assigned to the MRI-targeted biopsy group” and 248 of whom “were
assigned to the standard biopsy group.” Results showed that “clinically
significant cancer was detected in 38 percent of patients in the
MRI-targeted biopsy group and 26 percent of the standard-biopsy group.”
additionally, “a median of 4 biopsy cores were obtained in the MRI-targeted
biopsy group,” compared to a 12 core median for the standard group.
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“When Jurors Are Silenced.”* The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=098-7d8&t=c>
(5/10) editorializes that in 48 states and in federal trials, a unanimous
jury vote is necessary for a guilty verdict in a felony case, but “two
states, Oregon and Louisiana, continue to hold out against this fundamental
principle,” as “both permit juries in felony trials to return guilty
verdicts even if one or two jurors vote to acquit.” Louisiana “goes
further, allowing split verdicts in murder cases, where convictions can
result in sentences of life without parole.” The Times adds that “the few
remaining defenders of this practice claim that it’s necessary for the
‘efficient’ functioning of the legal system,” but, the Times argues, “when
48 states and the federal government disagree with you, it’s worth
considering the possibility that you might be wrong.” The Times contends
“majority rule is good when it comes to the democratic process, but it’s
not enough when someone’s constitutional rights and liberty are at stake.”
Washington Post.

*“DC Inmates Are Getting Out Of Jail Free.”* The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=099-0b3&t=c>
(5/10) editorializes that US District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan “has ordered
D.C. officials to explain a string of unauthorized early releases of
inmates facing charges.” The Post notes that “it’s not the first time city
officials have been hauled into court by federal judges irate about
record-keeping at the D.C. jail,” and that “such cases stretch back as far
as two decades; and what’s most troubling is that the same explanations –
confusion over orders, human error, inadequate staff – seem to recur.” The
Post concludes, “no doubt it is a hard job,” but “that can’t excuse holding
innocent people, nor turning dangerous ones loose.”

        *“Gina Haspel Fails The Test.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=09a-863&t=c>
(5/10) editorializes that CIA Director-designate Gina Haspel “faced a clear
test when she appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee” to “make
clear that she will never again accept orders to carry out acts that so
clearly violate American moral standards. ... Haspel did not meet that
test.” The Post says this is important when the US “is led by a president
who has cheered for torture [and] who lacks respect for the rule of law.”
Biden in the News
Biden, Chertoff, Rasmussen Team Up To Combat Russian Meddling.

In his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=09b-393&t=c>
(5/10) column, Josh Rogin says, “To counter Russian interference of all
kinds, Democrats, Republicans and like-minded Europeans must work together
to...coordinate our actions. Former vice president Joe Biden, former
Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff and former NATO secretary
general Anders Fogh Rasmussen are teaming up to do just that.” Rogin says
that after Rasmussen “read Biden’s essay last December in the journal
Foreign Affairs, where Biden called for a 9/11 Commission-style panel on
Russian interference, to fill the gap where the US government was failing,”
he phoned the former Vice President “and suggested that they work together
to create just such a commission, but with a multilateral emphasis.” Later,
“they met and decided to form the Transatlantic Commission on Election
Integrity,” which, according to Biden “will work toward finding best
practices and policies among the” US “and its European allies to thwart
subversive measures by Russia and any other countries that may want to
interfere.”
Jill Biden Delivers Bishop State Community College Commencement Address.

WALA-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=09c-921&t=c>
Mobile, AL (5/10) reported that Dr. Jill Biden on Thursday delivered the
commencement address at Bishop State Community College’s graduation
ceremony in Mobile, Alabama. WALA-TV broadcast Dr. Biden telling the
students, “I know a little bit about the mix of excitement and nerves, and
the relief – the relief that you made it, that you got here today.” WALA-TV
also broadcast Dr. Biden telling the students, “The world is before you –
go change it for good. We’re behind you, all of us, every step of the way.
Congratulations!” In an online article, WALA-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=09d-1ee&t=c>
Mobile, AL (5/10, Thornton) reported that Biden “said she didn’t want to
try and teach graduates anything. She just wanted to remind them of what
they already know. ‘Who ever you are know this, if you can walk across this
stage, you can do anything.’”
In Stanford Cubberley Lecture, Jill Biden Discusses Student Well-Being.

The Stanford University (CA) Daily
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=09e-0ad&t=c>
(5/10, Racker) reported that on Wednesday at Stanford University, Dr. Jill
Biden “spoke on campus for the Graduate School of Education’s Centennial
Year Cubberley Lecture.” Biden “focused on the need for educators to
consider students’ circumstances outside of the classroom to improve their
work within it,” discussing “how larger institutions, like schools, could
begin to help students tackle their personal challenges. She praised one
school she had visited which provided medical, dental and mental health
services on campus. The school even had resources for its numerous homeless
students.” The Stanford University News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=09f-5a7&t=c>
(5/10, Wilcox) quoted Biden as saying, “Education teaches us compassion and
kindness, connection to others. Education doesn’t just make us smarter. It
makes us whole.”

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