Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Wednesday, May 16, 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: Wed, 16 May 2018 09:02:40 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Wednesday, May 16, 2018 7:52 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, May 16, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=000-afe&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=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=001-3c1&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, May 16, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• North Korea Threatens To Cancel US Summit Over Military Drills, Calls For
Denuclearization. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Lawmakers Of Both Parties Reject Trump’s New Stance On ZTE. <#S2>

• Haley Praises Israeli “Restraint” After Deadly Gaza Protests. <#S3>

• US Imposes Sanctions On Head Of Iran’s Central Bank. <#S4>

• Taliban Overruns Parts Of Farah City. <#S5>

• Sadr Courts Partners To Form Governing Coalition. <#S6>

• Report: Hezbollah Laundering Money In South America. <#S7>

• Putin Opens Russia-Crimea Bridge. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Haspel Confirmation Assured As More Democrats Announce Support. <#S9>

• Meeting With Trump, Senators Don’t Mention Sadler’s Comment About McCain.
<#S10>

• Trump Honors Fallen Police Officers, Calls On Congress To Secure Border.
<#S11>

• Grassley Threatens To Call For Pruitt’s Resignation Over RFS Waivers.
<#S12>

• NSC Confirms White House Has Eliminated Cybersecurity Post. <#S13>

• Giuliani: Trump, Team Will Use Anniversary Of Mueller Probe To Call For
Its End. <#S14>

• Democratic Women Rack Up Pennsylvania Primary Wins. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Janssen, Pharmacyclics Decide Not To Boost Price Of Cancer Drug. <#S16>

• Study: People With Nonadvanced Polyps May Face No Higher Risk For
Colorectal Cancer. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden, Moniz Discuss Energy Issues. <#S20>

• Biden Endorses Cordray In Ohio Governor’s Race. <#S21>

• In PSA, Biden Urges Men “To Confront” Friends On Sexual Assault. <#S22>

• CBS’ Rahn: “Personality Scenario” Would Give Biden Chance To Win 2020
Nomination. <#S23>

• Jill Biden Speaks At Rural College Access And Success Summit In Kentucky.
<#S24>
Leading the News
North Korea Threatens To Cancel US Summit Over Military Drills, Calls For
Denuclearization.

There is extensive media coverage of North Korea’s threat to withdraw from
the upcoming summit between leader Kim Jong-un and President Trump over
joint military drills between the US and South Korea and what it referred
to as US calls for “unilateral nuclear abandonment.” Reports cast the
Administration as surprised by the announcement. NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=002-739&t=c>
(5/15, story 3, 1:40, Holt), for example, said the North’s announcement is
“catching the White House off guard,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=003-643&t=c>
(5/16, Kim, Klug) refers to a “surprise declaration,” and the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=004-d9e&t=c>
(5/15, Choe, Landler) says the warning “caught Trump administration
officials off guard and set off an internal debate over whether Mr. Kim was
merely posturing.” CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=005-ba9&t=c>
said one senior Administration official is “telling us the President was
made aware of this news through news reports, not an official announcement
coming from Pyongyang.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=006-37d&t=c>
(5/15, story 5, 2:25, Muir) called it “a setback” for the White House and
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=007-43c&t=c>
(5/15) says “any cancellation of the June 12 summit...would deal a major
blow to Trump’s efforts to score the biggest diplomatic achievement of his
presidency.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=008-f79&t=c>
(5/15, story 3, 1:40, Holt) reported North Korea “may have thrown an
unexpected wrench into the plans for the summit...scheduled for June 12 in
Singapore.” North Korean state media is “reporting the North is threatening
to back out” of the summit, “blaming joint US-South Korea air combat drills
under way...as a provocative military ruckus.” North Korea has also
indefinitely canceled high-level talks with South Korea, “notifying them by
fax hours before a scheduled meeting at the Peace House along the DMZ.” The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=009-90d&t=c>
(5/16, Kim, Klug) reports the North said the US “must carefully contemplate
the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit amid the provocative military
ruckus that it’s causing with South Korean authorities. We’ll keenly
monitor how the United States and South Korean authorities will react.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00a-6ab&t=c>
(5/15, story 2, 2:20, Golodryga) said that when Trump “accepted Kim’s
invitation to meet back in March, then-CIA director, now-Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo was under the impression Kim would not object to the drills.”
Pompeo was shown saying, “He has allowed us to continue our exercises on
the peninsula, something that’s been fought over for decades.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00b-e60&t=c>
(5/15) reports South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong also
“said after meeting Kim in early March that the North Korean leader
understood that ‘routine’ joint military exercises between South Korea and
the United States would continue in spite of warming ties.” Reuters says
the move “could be aimed at testing Trump’s willingness to make concessions
ahead of the summit.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00c-1cb&t=c>
(5/15, Fifield) reports that North Korea later “expand[ed]” its threat to
cancel the Trump-Kim summit, “saying it will reconsider if US demands
country give up nukes.” The statement by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan
“quoted in North Korea’s state media comes after North Korea said joint air
force drills taking place in South Korea were a ‘provocation’ that could
affect the fate of the summit.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00d-4a7&t=c>
(5/15, Choe, Landler) also reported that North Korea threw the summit “into
doubt...threatening to call off the landmark encounter if the United States
insisted on ‘unilateral nuclear abandonment.’” In a statement Wednesday,
Vice Foreign Minister Kim “rejected the administration’s demand that it
quickly dismantle its nuclear program...singling out” National Security
Adviser Bolton “for condemnation.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00e-5cb&t=c>
(5/16, Cheng, Gordon, Youssef) quotes the statement from Kim as saying, “If
the US is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear
abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot
but reconsider our proceeding to the DPRK-US summit.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00f-19e&t=c>
(5/15, Jackson) says that while North Korea “broadened its threat,” the US
“downplayed the sudden uncertainty.”

        In response to the North’s earlier warning, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=010-cf1&t=c>
(5/15, Fifield) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the
US “will look at what North Korea has said independently and continue to
coordinate closely with our allies.” At the State Department, spokeswoman
Heather Nauert said the US had not received notice of any change or
cancellation of the summit. CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=011-201&t=c>
(5/15) showed Nauert saying, “Kim Jong-un had said previously that he
understands the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic
of Korea continuing in its joint exercises. They are exercises that are
legal and planned well, well in advance. We have not heard anything from
that government or the government of South Korea to indicate that we would
not continue conducting these exercises or that we would not continue
planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un next
month.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=012-3ac&t=c>
(5/15, Lima) also reports the comments by Sanders and Nauert, and adds that
in a statement, the Pentagon said the drills were part of the “routine,
annual training program to maintain a foundation of military readiness” by
US and South Korean forces. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=013-8c7&t=c>
(5/15) says the Pentagon “played down ongoing military exercises with South
Korea, saying they were routine and defensive in nature.”

        Bret Baier began Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=014-7c3&t=c>
(5/15), “There appears to be a major setback in what has been widely
perceived as progress towards peace and of the of nuclear weapons on the
Korean Peninsula. ... It could very well be a wake-up call to some who
thought that things had completely changed between Pyongyang and
Washington.” Jonathan Karl reported on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=015-d23&t=c>
(5/15, story 5, 2:25, Muir) that the North’s announcement is “a setback,
but it’s hard to tell how big a setback. ... The White House raised
expectations for the summit, even though it is only scheduled to last for a
single day.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=016-205&t=c>
(5/16, Kim, Klug) says the move “appears to cool what had been an unusual
flurry of outreach,” the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=017-f9d&t=c>
(5/15, Fredericks) refers to “a blow to Team Trump,” and Bloomberg Politics
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=018-b07&t=c>
(5/15, Sharp, Wadhams, Kong) says the warnings by the North are “tamping
down hopes of a breakthrough at the historic summit.” South Korea
“expressed regret over the cancellation and urged North Korea to resume
talks.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=019-fee&t=c>
(5/15, Taylor) reports South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Baek
Tae-hyun “didn’t directly say Wednesday whether Seoul thinks the Trump-Kim
summit is in jeopardy.”

        Sen. Rand Paul said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01a-966&t=c>
(5/15) that he’s “hoping” the North’s announcement is a “temporary
setback,” adding, “I’m still optimistic” a summit will happen, “and I’m
optimistic” that the meeting will produce peace. He said that addressing
the North’s concerns about the military exercises can only come through
diplomacy – “talking and figuring out what their grievance is because I
think we need to figure that out in order to move forward.”

        *CNN: Trump Sought To Evacuate Military Families From South Korea
Before Olympics. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01b-c7c&t=c>
(5/15, Diamond, Liptak) reports that “earlier this year, just weeks before
the Winter Olympics in South Korea that served as a critical diplomatic
opening with Pyongyang, the President ordered his top national security
officials to prepare to evacuate the families of all US military personnel
living in South Korea, four current and former administration officials
said.” CNN said the order was “a provocative step that, had it been fully
implemented, would have heightened tensions with North Korea and could have
sent the region spiraling closer to war.” It also calls the order “the
clearest indication yet that Trump viewed war with North Korea as a real
possibility, even as recently as the beginning of this year.”

        *South Korean Report: North Korea Has Secret Enrichment Facility. *
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01c-736&t=c>
(5/15) reports that while North Korea has vowed to shutter its nuclear test
site at Punggye-ri, the South Korean newspaper Joongang Ilbo reported
Tuesday “that North Korea has maintained a secret uranium enrichment
facility independent of the supplies found at Punggye-ri.” According to the
report by Joongang Ilbo, US intelligence sources “are aware of the site and
will demand that its contents be part of any deal to denuclearize the
country.”

        *Defector: Kim Will Never Give Up His Nukes. *The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01d-882&t=c>
(5/15, Steinbuch) reports Kim “is ‘hot-tempered and violent’ and will never
give up his nukes – despite what he says ahead of his landmark summit with
President Trump, a top defector said Monday.” Thae Yong Ho, the North’s
former deputy ambassador to the UK, said, “In the end, North Korea will
remain ‘a nuclear power packaged as a non-nuclear state.” Thae – who fled
with his family to South Korea in 2016 – “made his explosive comments”
during a press conference in which he unveiled his new memoir, “The Secret
Code of the 3rd Floor Room.”

        *WFP Director: North Korean Officials Feeling “Tremendous Sense Of
Optimism.” *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01e-558&t=c>
(5/15, Choe) reports that according to David Beasley, Executive Director of
the World Food Program, “North Korean officials have a ‘tremendous sense of
optimism’ about their country’s recent turn toward diplomacy and have
promised to work more openly with humanitarian aid groups.” Beasley also
said “he saw no evidence” of malnutrition during his recent four-day visit
to the nation. Said Beasley, “What I did not see was starvation. I saw none
of that. Is there undernutrition? Of course there is.”
Foreign Policy
Lawmakers Of Both Parties Reject Trump’s New Stance On ZTE.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01f-682&t=c>
(5/15) reports that “lawmakers on Tuesday rejected any plan” by President
Trump to ease restrictions on ZTE, “calling the telecommunications firm a
security threat and vowing not to abandon legislation clamping down on the
company.” Sen. Marco Rubio said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee
hearing, “I hope the Administration does not move forward on this supposed
deal I keep reading about.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=020-d01&t=c>
(5/15, Peterson) reports that Senate Minority Leader Schumer and fellow
Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden wrote to Trump urging him to
reconsider, writing that national security “must not be used as a
bargaining chip in trade negotiations.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=021-96c&t=c>
(5/15, Klimasinska, Tiron) reports that House Armed Services Chairman Mac
Thornberry said that “he doesn’t ‘see a growing movement in the House’ to
remove language in the defense authorization bill that would ban government
agencies from using technology made by ZTE,” and added, “I confess I don’t
fully understand the Administration’s take on this at this point.”

        *Democrats Suggest Trump Benefiting Financially From Change In ZTE
Policy. *Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=022-d01&t=c>
(5/15) that by reversing course on ZTE, Trump is “putting Chinese workers
who were working to undermine the United States and also who pose a
security threat to or troops...ahead of American workers and our own
security. The only explanation...is he financially benefits from it.”
Swalwell continued, “We’ve seen this before. Why did he draw so close to
Russia? He has been close to them in investments. Why is he such a fan of
President Erdoğan in Turkey? He has a Trump property there.” Rep. Tim Ryan
(D) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=023-9da&t=c>,
“If anyone’s curious about how much American national security costs, it’s
$500 million. The ZTE lifeline is only about one thing: Trump enriching
himself. I guess it’s Trump First, China Second, America Third.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=024-713&t=c>
(5/15, Stevenson, Paddock) reports that the Trump Organization’s “partner
in a lavish Indonesian development project” has just announced a deal with
“a Chinese state-owned company.” The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=025-289&t=c>
also reports on the Trump Organization partnership and adds that Rep. Adam
Schiff (D) commented on the revelation during an appearance on CNN’s
New Day[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=026-4ba&t=c>
(5/15). Schiff said, “Early on, the President considered doing away with
One China policy, something very important to China. Now he later abandoned
that, and when he abandoned that, magically, mysteriously, China gave the
Ivanka brand trademarks that it had long sought. ... Similarly here, I
can’t imagine China going forward with this transaction, helping a
Trump-branded property in Indonesia to the tune of half a billion, if the
President continued the sanctions on ZTE.”

        *NCSC Nominee Evanina Says He Would Not Use A ZTE Phone. *Catherine
Herridge reported on Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=027-bf3&t=c>
(5/15) that President Trump’s “nominee to track terrorist and communist
threats” seems to be “against the President’s decision to reverse course on
tough penalties” against ZTE. NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=028-289&t=c>
(5/15, Dilanian) reports on its website that Bill Evanina said at his
confirmation hearing to head the new National Counterintelligence and
Security Center that “U.S. intelligence agencies are on record as assessing
that Chinese telecommunication firms are used as a vehicle by the Chinese
government to conduct espionage” and that he “would never use a ZTE phone.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=029-67e&t=c>
(5/15) editorializes that Trump “overlooked genuine national security
concerns with his sudden announcement that he’s reconsidering newly imposed
sanctions on ZTE. ... If the words ‘national security’ mean anything, they
define a policy concern that takes precedence over everything else, even
jobs or farm exports.”

        *Kudlow Says ZTE Issue Is About Enforcement, Not Trade. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02a-9fb&t=c>
(5/15) reports that National Economic Council Director Kudlow said at an
Axios event in Washington that it is “far from certain what steps the US
government would take” on ZTE. Kudlow said, “This is principally an
enforcement issue, by the way. It’s really divorced from the trade story.
... I think the issue here is how harsh the remedies, how harsh the
enforcement.”

        *Liu To Meet With Mnuchin For Trade Talks. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02b-366&t=c>
(5/15) reports that Liu He, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s top economic
adviser, “will spend four days in the U.S. for trade talks” with Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin, “his second visit this year.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02c-e5b&t=c>
(5/15, Wiseman) reports that Liu is seeking “a resolution to the trade
dispute. A similar high-level U.S. delegation made a trip to Beijing
earlier this month and returned empty-handed.”

        *Kudlow Links NAFTA Talks To Avoiding “Trade War” With China.
*Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02d-e3f&t=c>
(5/15, Olorunnipa, Leonard) reports Kudlow said an agreement on a new NAFTA
“would demonstrate the U.S. can avoid a trade conflict with China.” At a
Washington event, Kudlow said, “I don’t want a trade war, I don’t expect
one. I think this is all going to get resolved, I really believe, over
time. ... I think if we can get a deal on renewing NAFTA and changing NAFTA
to our liking, that really would be a very good kind of foundation to move
on.” But the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02e-e9d&t=c>
(5/15, A1, Harrup, Whelan) reports on its front page that Mexican Economy
Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said that he does not expect NAFTA talks to be
completed by Thursday, the deadline House Speaker Ryan has set to ensure
legislative action before the midterm elections.

        *WTO Ruling On Airbus Subsidies Could Lead To US Sanctions. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02f-9db&t=c>
(5/15, Alderman) reports that the World Trade Organization has “opened the
door for the Trump administration to impose billions of dollars in
retaliatory sanctions on European imports” by ruling that the EU “had
illegally subsidized the aircraft giant Airbus to the detriment” of Boeing.
The WTO ruling “could further strain on trans-Atlantic trade relations.”
Haley Praises Israeli “Restraint” After Deadly Gaza Protests.

NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=030-786&t=c>
(5/15, story 5, 2:05, Holt) reported on the “fallout from the deadly
clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians protesting the opening of
the new US embassy in Jerusalem.” While “UN human rights officials are
criticizing Israel for using lethal force against protesters, Israel and
the Trump Administration are blaming Hamas for sparking the latest round of
violence.” UN Ambassador Haley told the UN Security Council, “No country in
this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.” Jeff Glor
reported on the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=031-c49&t=c>
(5/15, story 3, 2:05, Golodryga) from Jerusalem that “Israeli forces killed
two Palestinians today as protests continued over the relocation of the US
Embassy yesterday, and the anniversary of the formation of a Jewish state,
which was 70 years ago today. ... The US, like Israel, blames the violence
on Hamas.” CBS also reported Haley’s comment, but said other nations,
“including some US allies and United Nations officials, have criticized
Israel for what they say was a disproportionate use of force.”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=032-1f8&t=c>
(5/15, story 7, 2:15, Muir) said the Administration is “standing 100%
behind Israel amid calls for an investigation of the violence,” and Haley
is “rejecting any suggestion that Israeli forces may have used excessive
force. ... Then, as the Palestinian ambassador prepared to speak, Haley
walked out.” Haley, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=033-466&t=c>
(5/15, Morello) reports, also “dismissed suggestions the violence was
caused by the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.” The Ambassador “told
the Security Council that Hamas...had incited the violence by urging
protesters over loudspeakers to burst through the fence separating the
borders and flying kites into Israel with Molotov cocktails attached.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=034-34b&t=c>
(5/15, Peltz) reports that the UN’s Middle East envoy, Nikolai Mladenov,
said there was “no justification for the killing” and “no excuse” for
Monday’s killings of more than 50 Palestinians by the Israeli military, and
“several Security Council members called for an independent investigation,
but the council had no unified message Tuesday as the US said Israel had
acted with ‘restraint.’” Kuwait, which requested Tuesday’s meeting, also
“tried to get council members to sign...a statement that would have
demanded that all countries comply with a decades-old Security Council
resolution that called on them not to have embassies in contested
Jerusalem.” The US, however, “blocked it.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=035-f95&t=c>
(5/15, Gehrke) too says Haley “blocked a call for an international
investigation into Israel’s tactics.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=036-cfc&t=c>
(5/15, Fassihi) reports Kuwait also said it planned to circulate a
resolution Wednesday condemning the violence and calling for international
protection of Palestinians, but the US is expected to veto it as well.

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=037-dd9&t=c>
(5/15, Ramadan, Wainer) says “diplomatic pressure on Israel mounted”
Tuesday “with Turkey expelling the Israeli ambassador and criticism in
European capitals spreading even as the violence ebbed.” The Turkish
Foreign Ministry said Israeli Ambassador Eitan Na’eh was ordered to leave
“for a while,” a day after Ankara recalled its envoy from Israel. Belgium
and Ireland also “summoned Israel’s envoy to protest the killing of 60
Palestinians,” while France called the Israeli military response
“unacceptable” and the UK termed it “shocking.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=038-1bc&t=c>
(5/15, Erlanger) reports that the “European response to the bloodshed in
Gaza has been to criticize Israel for what Ireland’s foreign minister,
Simon Coveney, called a ‘disproportionate use of force’ against mostly
unarmed protesters,” and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called
on Israel to show “utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life.” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=039-79b&t=c>
(5/15, Ravid) reports Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also recalled
“the head of the PLO office in Washington in protest,” and the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03a-b3a&t=c>
(5/15, Fahim) reports that Turkey has also recalled its envoy in
Washington, marking “one of the strongest diplomatic responses after
Monday’s deadly confrontations along the border fence” in Gaza.

        In Gaza on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03b-dae&t=c>
(5/15, Zavis) reports, “at least two more fatalities...were
reported...pushing the death toll for Monday and Tuesday to 64 . Israel’s
military also said scattered clashes broke out in the West Bank.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03c-242&t=c>
(5/15) reports that Tuesday’s protests were “on a smaller scale than the
day before.” According to a “well-informed Middle Eastern government
official...Hamas officials had been surprised by the number of casualties
on Monday.”

        However, in an interview with the CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03d-700&t=c>
(5/15, story 4, 4:45, Glor), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
claimed, “Hamas is...paying these people, so it’s not the peaceful
demonstration that you think about. ... They’re trying to incur casualties
in order to put pressure on Israel, which is horrible.” CBS (Glor): “You
said they want kids to die?” Netanyahu: “Yes.” Glor then asked if Israel’s
army went “too far.” Netanyahu: “I don’t know of any army that would do
anything differently if you had to protect your border against people who
say, we’re going to destroy you and we’re going to flood into your country.
... You try non-lethal means and they don’t work, so you’re left with bad
choices.” Glor later asked, “Will you target Hamas leaders at this point?”
Netanyahu: “We don’t think that anyone is immune if they dispatch
terrorists to kill us.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03e-d05&t=c>
(5/15, Kershner, Halbfinger) reports that “Israelis grappled in different
ways with the staggering casualty reports from the Gaza protest on Monday.”
Israel “said that only a small number of those shot had been armed,”
eliciting “responses of defiance or defensiveness in some, shame in others,
and a healthy dose of served-them-right in some corners.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03f-6f7&t=c>
(5/15) editorializes that “with the White House’s strong support, Mr.
Netanyahu will likely shrug off the international onslaught” of criticism
following Monday’s deadly protests, but “he shouldn’t. As the Palestinians
well understand, Israel can ill afford further damage to its standing.
Sympathy for it is dangerously eroding on US campuses and among Democratic
voters – not to speak of in other Western countries. President Trump’s
embrace of controversial pro-Israel initiatives, such as the move of the US
Embassy to Jerusalem, may in time produce its own backlash.”

        Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=040-3b4&t=c>
(5/15) columnist Kathleen Parker writes that the relocation of the US
Embassy “has everything to do with the Palestinian protests. Blaming Hamas
for organizing the protests is like blaming Republicans for electing Trump.
Did anyone really think there would be no protests against a move that
essentially ends the bilateral peace process? Moving the embassy may have
been the right thing to do – and maybe no time would be right – but we
shouldn’t delude ourselves. The embassy was moved because it served Trump.”

        *NYTimes: Embassy Move A Sign Of Trump’s Commitment To Evangelical
Supporters. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=041-029&t=c>
(5/15, Dias) reports that “the opening of the American Embassy in Jerusalem
has triggered violence,” and “also stands as a sharp reminder of the close
ties between the Trump administration and evangelical Christians.”
According to the Times, “Against a backdrop of violence on the Gaza border,
with Israeli soldiers killing dozens of Palestinians, a who’s who of Mr.
Trump’s evangelical backers were present in Jerusalem to celebrate the
formal relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv on Monday.”
US Imposes Sanctions On Head Of Iran’s Central Bank.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=042-15e&t=c>
(5/15, Lederman) reports the US imposed anti-terror sanctions on Valiollah
Seif, the governor of the Iranian central bank, “barring anyone around the
world from doing business with him,” increasing pressure on Iran, and
dealing “a further blow to European hopes of salvaging the Iranian nuclear
deal.” Ali Tarzali, who works in the central bank’s international division,
also was named a “specially designated global terrorist.” The sanctions
“could significantly increase Iran’s isolation from the global financial
system” as any transaction that involves Seif’s signature “could
potentially run afoul of the sanctions.” Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said,
“The United States will not permit Iran’s increasingly brazen abuse of the
international financial system.” He added, “The global community must
remain vigilant against Iran’s deceptive efforts to provide financial
support to its terrorist proxies.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=043-85e&t=c>
(5/15, Gordon) reports the Treasury Department said that Seif sent, on
behalf of Iran’s Quds Force, millions of dollars to Hezbollah an Iraqi
bank, the al-Bilad Islamic Bank. Also covering this story are the New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=044-7a4&t=c>
(5/15, Sullivan) and Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=045-bef&t=c>
(5/15, Mohsin).

        *Zarif Meets With Counterparts From UK, France, Germany. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=046-a89&t=c>
(5/15) reports that “Europe and Iran sought a common front on Tuesday to
save the nuclear deal without the United States, although some diplomats
doubted privately it can survive the reimposition of U.S. sanctions ordered
by President Donald Trump.” Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif “arrived in
Brussels for a meeting with his British, French and German counterparts,”
and said he “held a ‘good and constructive’ meeting with European Union
foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, adding that talks with the three
European countries would continue in the next two weeks.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=047-a68&t=c>
(5/15, Casert, Cook) reports that both “major European powers and Tehran
committed Tuesday to keep working together to save the Iran nuclear deal.”
The EU “hopes that diplomacy and the promise of economic benefits might
keep Iran in the fold of a nuclear deal that Europe sees as essential to
security” even as European diplomats seek “to show they weren’t gullible
and wouldn’t drop other divisive issues with Tehran, including its role in
the Syria conflict.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=048-d46&t=c>
(5/15, Erlanger) reports that in the wake of the US dropping the Iran deal,
“European foreign ministers have begun a scramble to contain the fallout to
their own interests, global institutions and stability in the Middle East.”
However, those efforts “showed that the allies might now be working at
cross-purposes with the United States, further straining years of
international consensus.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=049-7b8&t=c>
(5/15, Birnbaum) reports that “in Tuesday’s meetings, Europe and Iran
sought to preserve the landmark agreement.” British Foreign Secretary Boris
Johnson is quoted as saying, “The U.K. and our European partners continue
to view the nuclear deal as vital for our shared security, and remain fully
committed to upholding it.” According to the Post, Johnson “said that he
would work to protect European businesses from being hit by U.S. measures
if they continue to trade with Iran.”

        *Iran Oil Exports Face Insurance Obstacles Due To Pending Renewal
Of US Sanctions. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04a-63d&t=c>
(5/15, Longley) reports that among the issues EU officials will “need to
consider is the insurance of oil tankers hauling” Iranian crude, because
beginning in early November, sanctions imposed by the US “will likely
prevent members of the International Group of P&I members from covering the
global tanker fleet against risks including spills if they’re moving oil to
or from Iran, Mike Salthouse, the chair of a sanctions committee for the IG
Group, said on Monday.”

        *Netanyahu: Iran is “At War With Us.” *The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04b-144&t=c>
(5/15, story 4, 4:45, Glor) reported on an interview with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked if Israel is at war with Iran,
Netanyahu said, “They’re at war with us. We never sought any enmity with
Iran. They openly declared that their goal is to annihilate us. Every day.”
Glor: “It’s open war though now, more so than before?” Netanyahu: “Because
what has happened is that Iran proved part of its army into Syria with new
weapons that are specifically aimed at being fired at us. So obviously what
choice do we have? We try to defend ourselves.” Glor: “If they restart the
nuclear program and, in fact, pick up the pace, will you launch strikes?”
Netanyahu: “I have said that we will not let Iran develop a nuclear weapon,
and I stand by that.”

        *Paul Supports Direct Talks Between Trump, Rouhani. *Sen. Rand Paul
was asked on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04c-327&t=c>
(5/15) about his support for direct talks with Kim Jong-un, with Wolf
Blitzer asking if he’d also support direct talks between the US and Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani. Paul said he supports “more discussion at a
higher level” with both Iran and North Korea, “and I think the one thing
that we have to offer the Iranian people is the amazing amount of trade
that the world could bring to Iran. Same thing with North Korea.” Blitzer
followed up by asking, “Just to be precise...you would support direct talks
between Trump and President Rouhani?” Paul replied, “Sure, but I think
we’ve taken a step backwards in getting out of the” Iran nuclear deal.

        *Panetta: US Isolated Itself From Allies By Withdrawing From JCPOA.
*Former CIA Director Leon Panetta was told on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04d-e9e&t=c>
(5/15) that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says talks with European
leaders to maintain the Iran nuclear deal without the US are “on the right
track, his words. What does this say about America’s standing in the world
right now?” Panetta replied that the US has “pretty much isolated itself
from our allies and from the role the US traditionally plays as a world
leader.” Panetta added, “I regret” that Trump withdrew from the agreement;
“what he should have done...is extended it for another 90 days in order to
see” if the US could work with its allies to “put together some kind of
revised agreement with Iran.”

        *NYTimes Editorial Urges Europeans To Stand Up To Trump. *In an
editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04e-141&t=c>
(5/15) writes, “President Trump’s rejection of the Iran nuclear deal,”
combined with his “disdain for the priorities of America’s traditional
allies,” has resulted in “a rare fury in Europe,” with “many
Europeans...furiously proclaiming the trans-Atlantic relationship dead.”
The Times questions “whether Europeans are prepared to, or even able to,
stand up to the bully across the sea,” given the US economic clout and
Europe’s lack of a “big stick that would compel Mr. Trump to listen to
reason.” Still, the Times concludes, Europe needs to stand “firm against
Washington’s bullying” and preserve “the Iran deal – and all the other
aspects of the international order Mr. Trump has tried to destroy.”

        *Ignatius: Draw On Lessons Of Reagan In Dealing With Iran. *David
Ignatius, in his column in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04f-cc7&t=c>
(5/15), writes that any “serious strategy to roll back Iran would begin”
with maintaining a strong US military position in Syria, and Moqtada
al-Sadr’s electoral victory in Iraq “may offer the best chance of
maintaining an Arab Iraq, as opposed to a Persian-dominated one.”
Additionally, “getting both Iran and Saudi Arabia out of Yemen would help.”
Ignatius adds that to contain Iranian meddling Russian help is probably
needed. Drawing on President Reagan’s dealing with the USSR, Ignatius
argues that dealing with Iran will require “combating regional meddling,
plus maintaining arms control.”
Taliban Overruns Parts Of Farah City.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=050-151&t=c>
(5/15) reports, “The Taliban launched attacks from multiple directions on”
Farah city, in western Afghanistan. Fared Bakhtawer, head of the Farah
provincial council, said, “Security checkpoints around the city have
collapsed into the hands of the Taliban, causing high casualties among
security forces.” Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish “said commando
units and other reinforcements had been sent in, with the support of Afghan
warplanes.” NATO said in a statement that US forces “stand firm beside our
Afghan partners and will continue to reinforce this Afghan-led offensive.”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=051-f89&t=c>
(5/15, Sukhanyar, Nordland) reports, “Only the provincial governor’s
compound remained in government hands after a long day of fighting, which
continued into the night, according to numerous residents and some local
officials.” Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi issued a statement on
WhatsApp “claiming that the insurgents had taken ‘most parts of Farah
city.’”

        However, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=052-4f5&t=c>
(5/15, Constable) reports Taliban fighters “were reportedly repelled by
late evening” by Afghan ground troops backed by US and Afghan airstrikes,
and “by late evening, Afghan officials said the insurgents were confined to
isolated pockets.”

        *US Forces Preparing To Fight IS Over Mohmand Valley. *In a
front-page article, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=053-aeb&t=c>
(5/15, A1, Phillips) reports US forces are preparing for a battle with
Islamic State over the Mohmand Valley in Afghanistan, where militants have
been probing positions and hiding weapons caches. Allied troops took the
valley from IS last year, and regaining it would be a symbolic victory for
IS.
Sadr Courts Partners To Form Governing Coalition.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=054-68a&t=c>
(5/15, Coker) reports, “Populist Shiite cleric” and Iraq electoral
front-runner Moktada al-Sadr “wasted little time trying to prove to
potential allies that he is serious about shaking up the government and
cleaning up corruption as he worked to cobble together a governing
coalition.” Sadr spokesman Saleh al-Obeidi said in an interview that Sadr
is seeking allies who agree with, in the Times’ words, “ending the practice
of awarding ministries on sectarian quotas, fighting corruption and
allowing independent technocrats to manage key government agencies.”
However, “there is no guarantee that the party that wins the most seats in
Parliament will get the first shot at forming a government.” Additionally,
politicians “believe that the government formation will take weeks if not
months, given the number of political players, possible combinations of
alliances and entrenched interests.”
Report: Hezbollah Laundering Money In South America.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=055-0f2&t=c>
(5/15, Talley) reports a report by political risk consultancy Asymmetrica,
funded by the Counter Extremism Project, says that Hezbollah laundering
money in the tri-border region linking Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay that
has an estimated $43 billion a year illicit economy of money laundering,
the black market, narco-trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal arms
sales that has attracted criminal organizations globally. The activities
are partly driven by Venezuela’s political crisis, Argentine inflation,
institutionalized corruption, and lax law enforcement. The report says that
the situation is an escalating risk to US national security.
Putin Opens Russia-Crimea Bridge.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=056-336&t=c>
(5/15) reports Russian President Vladimir Putin “unveiled the auto section
of a new road-and-rail bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean
peninsula.” Putin drove an orange heavy KAMAZ dump-truck 12 miles across
the bridge. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said, “The illegal
construction of the Kerch bridge is the latest evidence of the Kremlin’s
disregard for international law.” Russia’s move “drew criticism from the
West.” State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement that
the “bridge serves as a reminder of Russia’s ongoing willingness to flout
international law” and called it an attempt by Russia “to solidify its
unlawful seizure and its occupation of Crimea.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=057-d6b&t=c>
(5/15, Macfarquhar) reports the bridge “tighten[ed] Moscow’s claim to the
disputed territory.” The Times calls the opening “more theatrical than
real,” as the highways feeding it on both sides are not yet complete.
Locals “were ecstatic” over the opening, which “lifted the sense of
isolation that they have felt since Ukraine cut off railroad links and made
the border crossing difficult in the wake of the annexation.” Crimeans had
been dependent on airplanes or a ferry to cross the Kerch Strait.

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=058-c6f&t=c>
(5/15, Troianovski) calls the opening “a propaganda victory” for Putin and
“the latest demonstration of his personalized system of power.” The Post
adds it “represents a milestone in Putin’s efforts to show the world – and
his people – that the annexation of Crimea was irreversible.” The role of
Arkady Rotenberg, Putin’s former judo partner, “as the builder of the
bridge showed how Russia’s billionaires have been able to leverage their
closeness to Putin to further enrich themselves.”

        *CNBC: Russian Hypersonic Weapon Will Be Ready By 2020. *CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=059-f27&t=c>
(5/15, Macias) reports sources with direct knowledge of American
intelligence reports say that a Russian hypersonic glide vehicle, a weapon
that could carry a nuclear warhead and that “the U.S. is currently unable
to defend against,” will be ready for war by 2020. Russian President
Vladimir Putin previously “touted his nation’s growing hypersonic arsenal
as ‘invincible.’”

        *Navalny Sentenced To 30 Days In Jail. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05a-81e&t=c>
(5/15, Nechepurenko) reports, Russian opposition figure Aleksei A. Navalny
was sentenced to 30 days in jail “for organizing a rally not sanctioned by
the government.” Hundreds were arrested at the demonstration, which took
place two days before President Vladimir V. Putin’s inauguration for a
fourth term
Domestic Policy
Haspel Confirmation Assured As More Democrats Announce Support.

ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05b-f77&t=c>
(5/15, story 8, 0:25, Muir) reported in a brief item that “President
Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, Gina Haspel, is on track tonight now to be
confirmed, after she criticized the Bush-era enhanced interrogation
program. She refused to say that during her Senate hearing, but in a letter
to a committee member, she wrote, ‘The enhanced interrogation program is
not one the CIA should have undertaken. The United States must be an
example to the rest of the world.’ Tonight, more Democrats say they will
vote to confirm her.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05c-74e&t=c>
(5/15, Mascaro, Riechmann) reports that Haspel, “who was involved in
supervising a secret CIA detention site in Thailand, wrote that she had
learned ‘hard lessons since 9/11.’ In comments aimed at clarifying her
position on now-banned torture techniques, Haspel said that she would
‘refuse to undertake any proposed activity that is contrary to my moral and
ethical values.’” Sens. John McCain (R) and Rand Paul (R) oppose the
nomination, but Sens. Joe Donnelly (D), Heidi Heitkamp (D), Joe Manchin
(D), Bill Nelson (D), and Mark Warner (D) have announced they intend to
support Haspel’s confirmation.

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05d-70b&t=c>
(5/15, Schor) reports that Haspel has now “locked in the necessary support”
to be confirmed. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05e-9b0&t=c>
(5/15, Boylan) reports that Senate Majority Leader McConnell “added to the
momentum by saying the full Senate would consider Ms. Haspel’s confirmation
earlier than expected with a vote at the end of this week.” The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05f-b88&t=c>
(5/15, Savage) reports that in her letter to Warner, the top Democrat on
the Intelligence Committee, Haspel wrote, “While I won’t condemn those that
made these hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence
collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our
standing in the world. With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a
senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the
C.I.A. should have undertaken. The United States must be an example to the
rest of the world, and I support that.”

        *Paul Letter Asks Haspel About CIA Surveillance Of US Presidential
Candidates. *McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=060-978&t=c>
(5/15, Clark) reports that “in a letter sent just days before the Senate is
expected to vote” on Haspel, Paul asked her by letter for “clarification’
on CIA practices” relating to CIA surveillance of eight 2016 presidential
candidates, including President Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Paul himself.
Paul asked, “Under what circumstances does the CIA trail, monitor, or
otherwise collect information on the communications and movements of U.S.
presidential candidates, both domestically and while they are traveling
outside of the United States?” His letter also asked “whether Haspel or
‘anyone else’ at the CIA ever cooperated with foreign intelligence services
to monitor or collect information on Trump during his travel outside the
United States in the past five years.”

        *Senate Confirms Two Circuit Court Judges, Bringing Trump’s Total
To 21. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=061-304&t=c>
(5/15, Swoyer) reports that the Senate on Tuesday confirmed Joel Carson III
to the Third US Circuit Court of Appeals and John Nalbandian to the Sixth
US Circuit Court of Appeals, bringing President Trump’s “total to 21
circuit judges placed on the bench in his 16 months in office. President
Obama only had nine circuit court judges approved at this point in his
tenure.”

        *Trump Considering Two Retired Generals For VA Secretary. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=062-fb1&t=c>
(5/15, Nicholas) reports that President Trump is considering retired Army
Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie Hawkins to
head the VA, according to a White House official, who also said that Ron
Nicol of Boston Consulting Group is still under consideration but is not a
likely pick. Chief of Staff Kelly is reportedly not under consideration.

        *Trump Nominates CEO With Family Ties To McConnell, Chao To Lead
Pension Agency. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=063-e31&t=c>
(5/15, Sink, Olorunnipa) reports that President Trump has nominated
software company CEO Gordon Hartogensis, “a self-described entrepreneur”
who is the brother-in-law of Senate Majority Leader McConnell and
Transportation Secretary Chao, to head the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, “the federal agency that pays worker pensions when employers
terminate their retirement plans.”
Meeting With Trump, Senators Don’t Mention Sadler’s Comment About McCain.

The controversy over comments made by a White House aide about Sen. John
McCain’s opposition to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel overshadowed other
agenda items in coverage of President Trump’s meeting with Senate
Republicans today, although the topic was never raised, according to
senators present. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=064-ce0&t=c>
(5/15, Carney) reports that Republican senators “didn’t raise controversial
comments a White House staffer made about” McCain. Tuesday’s meeting came
“amid a days-long firestorm over comments...from White House special
assistant Kelly Sadler, who dismissed McCain’s opposition to” Haspel’s
nomination “by saying McCain is ‘dying anyway.’” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=065-63f&t=c>
(5/15, McCaskill) says Senate Majority Leader McConnell told reporters,
“The person who said that should apologize and should apologize publicly.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=066-236&t=c>
(5/15, Mascaro, Flaherty) says that Tuesday’s lunch “comes as the White
House and its GOP allies are trying to coalesce around a political message
ahead of the midterm elections,” but “much like when Trump was headed to
the GOP Senate lunch to talk policy in October 2017, the White House agenda
was eclipsed by another story.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=067-b95&t=c>
(5/15, Weaver) says Republicans “have been quick to back the president on
key issues since the beginning of 2018,” but “the backlash to the McCain
remark has been swift from the GOP.” However, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=068-1bf&t=c>
(5/15, Kim) reports while that GOP senators “had publicly rallied” to
McCain’s defense for six days, none who attended Tuesday’s lunch “brought
up the McCain smear – or the steadfast refusal by Trump and the White House
to apologize for it.” The Post says it “illustrate[s] how reluctant most
Republicans have become about directly challenging Trump,” who is “viewed
as a critical asset as the GOP seeks to retain House and Senate majorities
this November.”

        In a conversation transcribed on the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=069-78f&t=c>
(5/15) website, Gail Collins said that “if the president had the least
shred of decency he’d have said something to make it clear he didn’t
approve of what Sadler said. I suspect the reason he didn’t is that he did
approve of what Sadler said.” Bret Stephens said, “I’d be surprised if
Trump offered anything that sounded even remotely like an apology. His
consistent take on McCain is that the senator is a loser. Gets shot down,
is a prisoner of war, fails to win the presidency. And that’s a view shared
by the Trumpified G.O.P., which has given up on McCain’s old-fashioned
concepts of virtue and honor to a cause in favor of the ethics of
whatever-it-takes.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06a-71f&t=c>
(5/15, Everett, Caygle, Johnson, Schor) says Trump showed the senators “how
to wage a filibuster” during the meeting. Trump “spoke for nearly an hour,
essentially uninterrupted,” and “managed to sidestep all controversy.”
Instead, the meeting “was something of a campaign rally, for an audience of
50 VIPs.” It was, the AP adds, “another step in Trump’s takeover of the
Republican Party, where his internal critics are increasingly shying away
from direct confrontation with him.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06b-b92&t=c>
(5/15, Davis, Fandos) cites “several people present and others briefed on
the meeting,” who said Trump’s “monologue...was part political update, part
celebration and part comedy routine,” during which the President “steered
clear of contentious topics, like an aide’s controversial remark about
Senator John McCain” and “no senators asked him about it.”

        However, Amber Phillips of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06c-957&t=c>
(5/15) says, “Senate Republicans and Trump also have some serious rifts on
policy, none more dramatic than on tariffs that the administration has
imposed on a number of countries’ steel and aluminum exports.” Phillips
adds, “Related to this is Trump’s about-face over the weekend on trade”
when he tweeted that he is “working to save jobs at the Chinese telecom
company ZTE, which has been crippled by US sanctions.” According to
Phillips, “Trump’s softer approach was a departure from his own
administration’s tough tactics and caught many Senate Republicans off
guard.”
Trump Honors Fallen Police Officers, Calls On Congress To Secure Border.

President Trump addressed the 37th annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial
Service in Washington Tuesday, where he decried a growing “anti-police
prejudice” and called on Congress to secure the US border. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06d-bb7&t=c>
Tuesday morning, “Today is one of the most important and solemn occasions
of the year – the day we pay tribute to the Law Enforcement Heroes who gave
their lives in the line of duty. They made the ultimate sacrifice so that
we could live in safety and peace. We stand with our police (HEROES) 100%!” Fox
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06e-ab2&t=c>
(5/15) reports on its website that Trump “honored fallen officers...telling
stories of some of those who gave their lives,” and saying, “Today every
American heart bleeds blue.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06f-31d&t=c>
(5/15, Lima) says Trump “lamented what he called the spread of a ‘dangerous
anti-police prejudice’ in the U.S.,” and “vowed his administration would
work to protect law enforcement officers.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=070-659&t=c>
(5/15, Colvin, Superville) says Trump, “who likes to project an image of
strength and has been criticized for failing to bring the nation together
at times of tragedy, made a rare showing of public empathy as he shared the
stories of some of the families gathered in the crowd.” He “invited onstage
the elderly mother and other loved ones of a slain police officer from his
native New York City.”

        ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=071-e72&t=c>
(5/15, McGraw) reports on its website that Trump “condemned violence
against police by the MS-13 gang and said that he’s calling on Congress to
secure the border, support border agents, and stop sanctuary cities. ‘We
don’t want it any longer. We’ve had it. Enough is enough,’ Trump said.”
Likewise, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=072-c5d&t=c>
(5/15, Klein) reports Trump “called on Congress to ‘secure our borders,
support our border agents, stop sanctuary cities, and shut down policies
that release violent criminals back into our communities,’ touting his
administration’s policy to allow local police access to surplus military
equipment to protect their law enforcement agents.” CNN notes that Trump
“also called for the death penalty for criminals who kill police officers.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=073-2b8&t=c>
(5/15, Boyer) reports Trump “cited the death of a Border Patrol agent...as
an example of the need for tougher immigration policies, declaring ‘enough
is enough.’” Trump called the death of Agent Rogelio Martinez in Texas
“horrific” and “violent,” and said, “Roger said he wanted to prevent
terrorists and drugs from coming into our country. ... That is why we are
calling on Congress to secure our borders, support our border agents, stop
sanctuary cities and shut down policies that release violent criminals back
into our communities. ... We don’t want it any longer. We’ve had it. Enough
is enough.”

        *Administration Making Plans To Hold Immigrant Children At Military
Bases. *In what the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=074-20a&t=c>
(5/15, Miroff, Sonne) calls “the latest sign the government is moving
forward with plans to split up families who cross the border illegally,”
the Administration “is making preparations to warehouse migrant children on
military bases, according to Defense Department communications.” An email
notification sent to Pentagon staff says HHS will visit “four military
installations in Texas and Arkansas during the next two weeks to evaluate
their suitability for child shelters.” The email, which “characterized the
site visits as a preliminary assessment,” said, “No decisions have been
made at this time.” The Dallas Morning News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=075-219&t=c>
(5/15, Email) says the Texas bases are the Fort Bliss Army base, Goodfellow
Air Force Base, Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene. In Arkansas, Little Rock
Air Force Base will be evaluated.

        The site visits come as the Administration plans to separate more
children from parents caught entering the US illegally, the Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=076-06c&t=c>
(5/15, Caldwell) reports. The children will be treated as unaccompanied
immigrant children, and HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement will care for
them, a policy the Journal says will add thousands of children to the
child-welfare system.

        *Nielsen Defends Practice Of Separating Families. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=077-2c1&t=c>
(5/15, Fram) reports that DHS Secretary Nielsen on Tuesday defended the
“practice of separating children from parents when the family is being
prosecuted for entering the U.S. illegally,” telling the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee “that removing children from
parents facing criminal charges happens ‘in the United States every day.’”
The AP says Nielsen, who “came under attack by Democratic senators,” said
in a “contentious exchange” with Sen. Kamala Harris that “her department
was not taking children from parents as a way to deter illegal
immigration,” but if a person crosses the border illegally, “We will refer
you for prosecution. You’ve broken US law.”

        *Trump Renews Call For Crackdown On Illegal Immigration. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=078-cf2&t=c>
(5/15, Fabian) reports that in his remarks at the National Peace Officers’
Memorial Service on Tuesday, President Trump “renewed his call for a
crackdown on illegal immigration.” Trump “called on lawmakers to fund his
proposed border wall, pass new measures cracking down on so-called
sanctuary cities and end what he called ‘catch and release’ immigration
laws.” Trump said, “We don’t want it anymore. We’ve had it. Enough is
enough.”

        *Immigration Officials Crack Down On Employers Who Hire
Undocumented Immigrants. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=079-3f2&t=c>
(5/15, Racke) reports that along with “crack[ing] down on illegal
immigrants,” immigration authorities have “stepped up worksite enforcement
against the businesses who hire them.” According to statistics released
Monday by ICE, “employer audits and investigations into workplace
immigration violations have surged in fiscal year 2018.” Between Oct. 1 and
May 4, there were “2,282 employer audits,” which is “about a 60 percent
increase from the 1,360 audits opened between October 2016 and September
2017.” In addition, “ICE’s criminal investigators have opened 3,510
worksite investigations so far this fiscal year, compared to 1,716 for all
of fiscal year 2017.”

        *Ninth Circuit Judges Skeptical Of Administration’s DACA Argument. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=07a-bee&t=c>
(5/16, Thanawala) reports that three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals “appeared skeptical Tuesday of the Trump administration’s claim
that courts don’t have the power to review the president’s decision to end”
the DACA program. The judges heard “focused on the administration’s
rationale for ending the program and whether they had authority to
intervene rather than the merits of allowing hundreds of thousands of young
immigrants to remain in the U.S. under DACA.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=07b-87c&t=c>
(5/15, Rosenberg) says the judges “asked the federal government to defend
its decision” to end the program, as they consider “whether to uphold a
lower court’s nationwide injunction ordering the government to keep” the
program in place “while litigation challenging its termination proceeds.”

        *National Guard Troops On Border Prohibited From Monitoring
Activities In Mexico. *Under the headline “National Guard Has Eyes On The
Border. But They’re Not Watching Mexico,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=07c-3d1&t=c>
(5/15, Fernandez) reports that “the hundreds of National Guard troops
deployed by President Trump in April are now busy securing the southern
border,” but “the troops operating and monitoring high-tech surveillance
equipment along the border have been told they are prohibited from using it
to look into Mexico.” The Times says “the troops face other limitations:
They are prohibited from performing law-enforcement duties, making arrests
or interacting with migrants. And while troops are allowed to look across
the border with their eyes, the rules on electronic surveillance place a
significant restriction on the monitoring capability that federal officials
have said is key to preventing illegal entries from Mexico.”

        *Brat: Trump Should Champion Goodlatte Bill. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=07d-b11&t=c>
(5/15, Munro) reports that Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) argues that President
Trump “can win in November by touting his record of growing voters’ wages,
not by signing a bad amnesty bill.” Brat told Breitbart, “It is better to
have wages going up. ... The last thing you want to do is damage that
[before the election] by adding a massive inflow of illegal immigration and
adding to the chaos at the border.” Brat says Trump “should press GOP
leaders to pass the immigration bill” drafted by House Judiciary Chairman
Bob Goodlatte. According to Breitbart, House Speaker Ryan “has repeatedly
called for a pre-November amnesty for the DACA population,” and has
indicated that his “priority is...delivering workers to CEOs,
not...delivering higher wages to voters.”
Grassley Threatens To Call For Pruitt’s Resignation Over RFS Waivers.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=07e-319&t=c>
(5/15) reports that Sen. Charles Grassley, “a leading supporter of
corn-based ethanol, says he’ll call for [EPA] Administrator Scott Pruitt’s
resignation if Pruitt doesn’t work to fulfill federal ethanol mandates.”
According to the AP, Grassley is “showing frustration with Pruitt’s lack of
action to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standards law,” and “on a conference
call with agriculture reporters,” Grassley said Pruitt “had better follow
through with ethanol mandates or ‘I’m going to be calling for Pruitt to
resign because I’m done playing around with this.’” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=07f-63a&t=c>
(5/15, Dlouhy, Parker) reports Grassley’s threat “comes amid mounting
farm-state frustration” regarding the implementation of a campaign
statement by Trump that “the EPA should set biofuel blending targets at
statutory levels set by Congress.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=080-e06&t=c>
(5/15, Renshaw) says “corn state senators...have been infuriated by the
EPA’s decision to provide an unusually large number of waivers from the US
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to refineries in recent months, freeing them
from their obligation to blend biofuels like ethanol into the nation’s
fuel.” Reuters adds that Grassley wrote on Twitter: “I’ve supported Pruitt
but if he pushes changes to RFS that permanently cut ethanol by billions of
gallons he will have broken Trump promise & should step down & let someone
else do the job of implementing Trump agenda.”

        *EPA IG To Look Into Pruitt’s Use Of Non-Public Email Accounts. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=081-ab3&t=c>
(5/15, Adragna) reports EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins wrote to the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in response to concerns
raised regarding Pruitt’s use of nonpublic email accounts. The letter,
dated May 2, was released by Sens. Tom Carper and Jeff Merkley on Tuesday.
The letter said that the IG would “look into whether Pruitt is properly
preserving email records as required under federal law and whether the
agency is properly searching all of his accounts in response to public
records requests.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=082-7cb&t=c>
(5/15, Siegel) reports that with the latest, “there are now 12 federal
investigations involving Pruitt’s spending, ethics, hiring, and security
decisions.”

        *Administration Reportedly Will Not Work With California On Vehicle
Emissions Targets. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=083-023&t=c>
(5/15, Puko, Spector) cites unnamed people in reporting that the
Administration will not give California a privileged voice in drafting
vehicle emissions, as have previous Administrations, and as President Trump
had suggested he was considering. The Journal adds that the Administration
and California are at odds as the Administration plans to back off
emissions targets set by the Obama Administration, while California is
expected to keep the higher targets. The Journal also reports that the
Administration will take comments from California and all other states
after it completes its proposal. Because of concerns that California and
other states that follow its lead would have different standards from the
US, automakers met with the President and at that meeting, it is reported
that EPA Administrator Pruitt and Transportation Secretary Chao were given
responsibility for negotiating with California.

        *Alaska Developing Plan To Address Climate Change. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=084-eeb&t=c>
(5/15, Plumer) reports Alaska “is crafting its own plan to address climate
change” through “cuts in state emissions and a tax on companies that emit
carbon dioxide.” The reason, adds the Times, is that “Alaska is already
seeing the dramatic effects of global warming firsthand” in thawing
permafrost, and “at least 31 coastal towns and cities may need to
relocate.” A task forced headed by the Lieutenant Governor proposed the
state “get 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources like solar,
wind, hydropower, geothermal and biomass by 2025.” The Times also reports
that Alaska’s emissions have been cut “by 25 percent since 2005.”
NSC Confirms White House Has Eliminated Cybersecurity Post.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=085-30e&t=c>
(5/15) reports that National Security Council spokesman Robert Palladino
confirmed that the White House has eliminated the position of cybersecurity
coordinator after Rob Joyce left the post last week. The position was
established during the Obama Administration “and was aimed at harmonizing
government policy on cybersecurity and digital warfare.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=086-fe6&t=c>
(5/15, Geller) reports that NSA Bolton had maneuvered “to cut the cyber
coordinator role, in a move that many experts and former government
officials criticized as a major step backward for federal cybersecurity
policy.” A Bolton aide said the decision would eliminate an unnecessary
layer of bureaucracy. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=087-b10&t=c>
(5/15, Chalfant) reports that in response, Reps. Jim Langevin (D) and Ted
Lieu (D) are introducing legislation to create a permanent “high-level
cyber advisory position within the Executive Office of the President.”
Giuliani: Trump, Team Will Use Anniversary Of Mueller Probe To Call For Its
End.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=088-d52&t=c>
(5/15, Pettypiece) reports that President Trump and his legal team “are
planning to use the one-year anniversary this week of Robert Mueller’s
appointment to ratchet up pressure on the special counsel to close his
investigation,” according to Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. In an interview,
Giuliani said, “We are going to try as best we can to put the message out
there that it has been a year, there has been no evidence presented of
collusion or obstruction, and it is about time for them to end the
investigation.”

        Rep. Mike Quigley (D) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=089-95f&t=c>,
“A Year In Review: Guilty pleas from/indictments against Michael Flynn,
George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Richard Pinedo, Alex van
der Zwaan, 13 Russian nationals & 3 Russian companies. ... but
@realDonaldTrump will still call it a Witch Hunt.”

        *Nunes Wants To Know How DOJ Decided Special Counsel Was Needed. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=08a-92b&t=c>
(5/15, Persons) reports that House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said
on Fox News on Tuesday “that he wants to find out how the Department of
Justice decided a special counsel was necessary to investigate the Trump
campaign.” Appearing on Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=08b-efa&t=c>
(5/15), Nunes said Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS, which compiled the
so-called dossier of allegations against Trump, has acknowledged in
testimony that “there was a source within the campaign.” Nunes added, “If
the campaign was somehow set up, I think that would be a problem. ...
Because we have yet to see any credible evidence or intelligence that led
to the opening of this investigation.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=08c-9d2&t=c>
(5/15, Ross) reports that Nunes’ committee is “taking a fresh look at
testimony provided in 2017” by Simpson.

        Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=08d-7a2&t=c>,
“Mueller is continuing to pursue facts and evidence while @HouseGOP and
@SenateGOP try to undermine the legitimacy of the Special Counsel and
protect @realDonaldTrump. #WhatAreYouHiding”

        *Judge Rules That Mueller Had Authority To Prosecute Manafort. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=08e-413&t=c>
(5/15, Day) reports that US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=08f-0b8&t=c>
Tuesday that Mueller “was working within his authority when he brought
charges” against Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=090-475&t=c>
(5/15) reports that Jackson ruled that Deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein “had followed all the Justice Department’s rules when he hired
Mueller and Mueller’s case against Manafort is not overly broad or
improper.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=091-501&t=c>
(5/15, Voreacos, Harris) reports Jackson wrote, “Manafort was, at one time,
not merely ‘associated with’ but the chairman of the presidential campaign
and his work on behalf of the Russian-backed Ukrainian national party and
connections to other Russian figures are matters of public record. It was
logical and appropriate for investigators tasked with the investigation of
‘any links’ between the Russian government and individuals associated with
the campaign to direct their attention to him.”

        *White House Official Thought Papadopoulos Emailed Him About
Russian Dirt On Clinton. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=092-91e&t=c>
(5/15, Fandos, Schmidt) reports under the headline “Tantalizing Testimony
From A Top Trump Aide Sets Off A Search For Proof” that in closed-door
testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March, White House
official John Mashburn said that he “thought he had received an email in
the first half of 2016” from adviser George Papadopoulos “alerting the
Trump campaign that Russia had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.”
While “such an email could have proved explosive, providing evidence that
at least one high-ranking Trump campaign official was alerted to Russia’s
meddling,” investigators have yet to find such a message.

        *Qatari Investor Referenced By Avenatti Confirms He Attended Trump
Tower Meeting. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=093-8da&t=c>
(5/15, Lee) reports on its website that Qatari investor Ahmed Al-Rumaihi,
“referenced in a series of tweets” from Stormy Daniels attorney Michael
Avenatti this week, “confirmed to CNN through a spokesperson on Tuesday
that he did attend meetings at Trump Tower in December 2016” because he
“wanted face time with Trump transition officials.”

        CNN’s MJ Lee tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=094-aac&t=c>,
“According to a person familiar with the Qatari delegation’s meetings at
Trump Tower that day: ‘There were several meetings that took place between
the delegation and Trump transition officials. During one, Michael Cohen
briefly popped in.’”

        *DOJ, FBI Reportedly Investigating Cambridge Analytica. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=095-6f8&t=c>
(5/15, Rosenberg, Confessore) cites “an American official and other people
familiar with the inquiry” in reporting that the US Department of Justice
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are “investigating” Cambridge
Analytica. The Times adds that it “appears to be in its early stages,” and,
the Times reports, “appears to focus on the company’s financial dealings”
as well as “how it acquired and used personal data pulled from Facebook and
other sources.” The Times also reports, “one of the prosecutors involved is
the assistant chief of the Justice Department’s securities and financial
fraud division, Brian Kidd.” Christopher Wylie, a former Cambridge
Analytica employee, said, “I can confirm that I’ve been contacted by the
F.B.I. and the Department of Justice, and answered preliminary questions.”

        *Facebook Releases Data On Posts It Has Taken Down. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=096-97e&t=c>
(5/15, Frenkel) reports that in response to “pressure” Facebook, Tuesday,
“published numbers for the first time detailing how much and what type of
content it takes down from the social network” described “in an 86-page
report.” Overall, the company reported, “it deleted 865.8 million posts in
the first quarter of 2018, the vast majority of which were spam, with a
minority of posts related to nudity, graphic violence, hate speech and
terrorism.” Facebook also reported “it removed 583 million fake accounts”
during the quarter. Facebook vice president of data analytics Alex Schultz
said, “If we do our job really well, we can be in a place where every piece
of content is flagged by artificial intelligence before our users see it.”
Democratic Women Rack Up Pennsylvania Primary Wins.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=097-75e&t=c>
(5/15, Gabriel) reports that four female candidates “won Democratic House
primaries on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, where a record number of women ran
for House seats in a year of intense political enthusiasm among female
Democrats.” The Times discusses the Democratic primary wins yesterday of
state Rep. Madeleine Dean (D) in the PA4, Wallingford-Swarthmore School
Board member Mary Gay Scanlon (D) in the PA5, ex-Allentown City Solicitor
Susan Wild (D) in the PA7, and Air Force veteran Chrissy Houlahan (D) –
running unopposed – in the PA6. In the general election, Houlahan will face
tax attorney Greg McCauley (R) in the open-seat contest. The Times says,
“Their primary victories raise the likelihood of women cracking the state’s
all-male congressional delegation.” Indeed, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=098-297&t=c>
(5/15, Epstein) reports that Dean, Houlahan, and Wild enter the general
election as favorites. Under the headline “Women Sweep To Victory In House
Primaries,” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=099-cef&t=c>
(5/15, Schneider, Shepard) also reported on the success of female House
candidates in Tuesday’s primary elections in Pennsylvania.

        *Trump Supporter Barletta Wins Pennsylvania GOP Senate Primary To
Challenge Casey *Rep. Lou Barletta (R) on Tuesday “handily defeated” state
Rep. Jim Christiana (R) in Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary, winning the
right to take on Sen. Bob Casey (D) in November’s election, the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=09a-13f&t=c>
(5/15, Mauriello) reports. The article describes Barletta as one of
President Trump’s “first and staunchest supporters.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=09b-8ee&t=c>
(5/15, Levy) reports that in his victory speech, Barletta “appealed to the
voters who helped Trump win the state in 2016’s presidential election. He
said Casey has tried to ‘resist, reject and obstruct every step this
president has taken.’” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=09c-a50&t=c>
(5/15, Boyer) reports that Barletta led Christiana by 22 points, “with
nearly three-fourths of the votes counted.” CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=09d-9b8&t=c>
(5/15, Bowman) reported, “Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates
the Pennsylvania Senate race Likely Democratic.”

        *PA1: Democrat Wallace To Face Off Against Now-PA8 Rep. Fitzpatrick
*Philanthropist Scott Wallace (D) on Tuesday won the PA1 Democratic
primary, and will now face off against Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R), “who
handily won the Republican primary,” the Philadelphia Inquirer
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=09e-7c4&t=c>
(5/15, Vargas) reports. Fitzpatrick had represented the PA8, but is seeking
reelection in the redrawn PA1. The Inquirer adds, “While it will be welcome
news to the Democratic Party that Wallace has plenty of cash to spend on
the race – his wealth is estimated to be at more than $100 million – it
will likely be used against him by the Fitzpatrick campaign.”

        *PA4: Dean Wins Democratic Primary, Favored In General Election *The
Pottstown (PA) Mercury
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=09f-6ad&t=c>
(5/15, Brandt) reports that state Rep. Madeleine Dean (D) on Tuesday
cruised to victory in the three-way PA4 Democratic primary. Dean, who will
face businessman Daniel David (R) in the redrawn PA4, is “the favorite to
win the seat in November.” The Mercury adds, “Democrats hold the advantage
in the district based on registered voters.”

        *PA5: Scanlon Wins Crowded Democratic Primary; GOP Expected To Lose
Seat *The Philadelphia Inquirer
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a0-475&t=c>
(5/15, Otterbein) reports that Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board member
Mary Gay Scanlon (D) on Tuesday won the crowded PA5 Democratic primary. The
redrawn PA5 is an open seat, after Rep. Pat Meehan (R), who had represented
the PA7, “announced in January that he would not run for reelection after
it was revealed that he used tax dollars to settle a sexual harassment
claim from an ex-aide.” The Inquirer says, “The Cook Political Report rates
Pennsylvania’s new Fifth District as ‘likely Democratic.’” Scanlon will
battle former Senior Deputy Attorney General Pearl Kim (R) in the general
election.

        *PA7: Progressive Wild Defeats Centrist Morganelli In Democratic
Primary *CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a1-0e4&t=c>
(5/15, Bowman) reported that ex-Allentown City Solicitor Susan Wild (D) on
Tuesday won the PA7 Democratic primary, defeating her closest opponent,
Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli (D), by about three
points. The redrawn PA7 is an open seat, after ex-PA15 Rep. Charlie Dent
(R) opted against seeking reelection and resigned. Roll Call said that
Morganelli “opposes abortion rights and so-called sanctuary cities.” Roll
Call added, “Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the general
election contest Tilts Democratic.”

        *PA9: Republican Meuser, Democrat Wolff To Face Off In General
Election *Ex-state Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser (R) and ex-state Ag
Secretary Denny Wolff (D) on Tuesday won their respective primary elections
in the redrawn PA9 and will now face off in the general election, the
Wilkes-Barre
(PA) Weekender
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a2-d8b&t=c>
(5/15) reports. The candidates are vying to succeed Rep. Lou Barletta (R),
who is running for Senate this fall. In his victory speech, Meuser said,
“We need someone in Congress who will be on the side of President Trump’s
agenda – and I will be because I believe it’s a winning plan.”

        *PA10: Scott Wins Democratic Nomination, Will Battle Rep. Perry In
General Election *The Carlisle (PA) Sentinel
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a3-ea2&t=c>
(5/15, Vaughn) reports that retired US Army Col. George Scott (D) on
Tuesday won the PA10 Democratic primary. In the general election, Scott
will face now-PA4 Rep. Scott Perry (R). While Perry romped to victory in
2016, “the partisan divide in the new” PA10 “appears to be much tighter.”
President Trump “held a roughly 8 point lead over Democrat Hillary Clinton
in the major party vote for the newly formed district in 2016, according to
an analysis of voting records conducted by The Sentinel.”

        *PA12: Rep. Marino Handily Wins GOP Primary; Democratic Race To
Close To Call *Rep. Tom Marino (R), who had sat in the PA10, but is seeking
reelection in the redrawn PA12, on Tuesday “cruised” to victory in the GOP
primary, the Sunbury (PA) Daily Item
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a4-3eb&t=c>
(5/15, Scarcella) reports. The Democratic primary “was too close to call
late Tuesday night. At 11:30 p.m., Penn State professor Marc Friedenberg
held about a 1,000 vote lead over Judy Herschel on the Democratic side with
about 5 percent of the vote to count.”

        *PA13: Shuster-Backed Joyce Wins Crowded GOP Primary *Dermatologist
John Joyce (R) on Tuesday won the PA13 GOP primary and will now face off
against St. Francis University professor Brent Ottaway (D) – who “ran
unopposed on the Democratic side” – in the general election, the Johnstown
(PA) Tribune-Democrat
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a5-a8e&t=c>
(5/15, Sutor) reports. The redrawn PA13 is an open seat, after Rep. Bill
Shuster (R), who had represented the PA9, opted against seeking reelection.
The redrawn PA13 is “rated Republican+22 by the Cook Political Report
Partisan Voter Index, meaning that during the past two presidential cycles,
the” district’s “GOP vote total outperformed the nationwide party by an
average of 22 percentage points.”

        *PA14: Reschenthaler Defeats Saccone In GOP Primary *In an online
article, WESA-FM
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a6-430&t=c>
Pittsburgh (5/15, Herring, Potter) reported that state Sen. Guy
Reschenthaler (R) on Tuesday defeated state Rep. Rick Saccone (R) “by a
margin of over 10 percent” in the PA14 GOP primary. Earlier this year,
Saccone beat Reschenthaler in the GOP primary in the closely watched PA18
special election, before going on to suffer a “stunning loss” at the hands
of Conor Lamb (D) in a district that “had long been a Republican
stronghold.” The redrawn PA14 “favors Republicans even more heavily than
the former [PA18] did.”

        *PA15: Democrat Boser To Face Rep. Thompson In General Election *In
an online article, WJAC-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a7-34a&t=c>
Johnstown, PA (5/15) reported that college professor Susan Boser (D) on
Tuesday won the PA15 Democratic primary. Boser will now face off against
now-PA5 Rep. Glenn Thompson (R).

        *PA16: DiNicola Wins Democratic Primary, Will Take On Rep. Kelly *On
its website, WKBN-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a8-e8b&t=c>
Youngstown, OH (5/15) reported that attorney Ronald DiNicola (D) on Tuesday
won the PA16 Democratic primary. He’ll face off against now-PA3 Rep. Mike
Kelly (R).

        *“Brash” State Sen. Wagner Wins GOP Primary To Challenge Gov.
Wolf *State
Sen. Scott Wagner (R) on Tuesday defeated attorney Laura Ellsworth (R) and
ex-healthcare systems consultant Paul Mango (R) in Pennsylvania’s GOP
gubernatorial primary, and will now face off against Gov. Tom Wolf (D) in
November’s election. Wagner took 44% of the vote, to Mango’s 37% and
Ellsworth’s 19%. The York (PA) Daily Record
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0a9-14c&t=c>
(5/15, Segelbaum, Mahon) reports, “People have drawn comparisons between
[Wagner] and President Donald Trump, citing their backgrounds in business,
brash personalities and personal lives that include multiple marriages. In
fact, Wagner told” a local TV station “that ‘Donald Trump is actually a
mini-Scott Wagner.’”
Cancer Research
Janssen, Pharmacyclics Decide Not To Boost Price Of Cancer Drug.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0aa-564&t=c>
(5/15, Johnson) reports that last week,” two drug companies that jointly
sell a blood-cancer drug made a rare decision: to not move forward with
changes that would have effectively tripled the cost of a lifesaving
medicine for some patients.” According to the Post, “Oncologists were
critical of the changes” before Janssen and Pharmacyclics “announced they
were reversing course.” The Post notes that “the announcement came as the
Trump administration unveiled its plan to lower drug prices.” The Post
reports that on Monday, HHS Secretary Azar “warned that in addition to
policy levers the administration plans to use, President Trump may use the
bully pulpit.” Azar is quoted as saying, “I can imagine he is going to be
very interested in the next company that takes a price increase not
justified by inflation or change in clinical benefit. I can tell you I
wouldn’t have wanted to be the one to do that.”
Study: People With Nonadvanced Polyps May Face No Higher Risk For
Colorectal Cancer.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0ab-8aa&t=c>
(5/15, Templeton) reports researchers found “advanced polyps larger than 1
centimeter put the person at 2.5 times the risk for developing colorectal
cancer as compared to a person with no polyps at all,” and “that people
with nonadvanced polyps – polyps less than 1 centimeter – face no higher
risk of colorectal cancer than people with no polyps.” MedPage Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0ac-8ec&t=c>
(5/15, Ingram) reports the study’s conclusions were drawn from a “new
analysis of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer
screening trial.” The findings
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0ad-171&t=c>
were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The
National Cancer Institute funded the study.
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“An Indecent Disrespect.”* In an editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0ae-8ee&t=c>
(5/15) writes, “President Trump’s rejection of the Iran nuclear deal,”
combined with his “disdain for the priorities of America’s traditional
allies,” has resulted in “a rare fury in Europe,” with “many
Europeans...furiously proclaiming the trans-Atlantic relationship dead.”
The Times questions “whether Europeans are prepared to, or even able to,
stand up to the bully across the sea,” given US economic clout and Europe’s
lack of a “big stick that would compel Mr. Trump to listen to reason.”
Still, the Times concludes, Europe needs to stand “firm against
Washington’s bullying” and preserve “the Iran deal – and all the other
aspects of the international order Mr. Trump has tried to destroy.”

        *“To Honor Eric Garner’s Life, Reform The Police.” *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0af-54f&t=c>
(5/15) in an editorial says “Eric Garner has been denied justice even in
death,” as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “is expected to reject
federal civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer
whose use of a chokehold on Mr. Garner led to his death on a Staten Island
street in 2014.” The Times urges New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police
Commissioner James O’Neill to fire Pantaleo. The Times says that de Blasio
“has not done enough to hold the police accountable for misconduct and
abuse.” The Times urges de Blasio to “make it clear that New York City will
hold the rest of its 36,000 police officers accountable and will work to
make that discipline public if they abuse their powers and violate the
public trust.”

        *“A Teenager Starting Over In Canada.” *Former US Ambassador to the
UN Samantha Power, in an op-ed in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b0-fdd&t=c>
(5/15), reacts to a short documentary on Ibraheem, a teen refuge from
Syria. Power met Ibraheem in 2014 when “he had already endured more as a
12-year-old than most of us could ever imagine.” Half the Syrian population
has been displaced, with almost half of those children. Power concludes
that Ibraheem, through the documentary “gives a voice to these millions of
kids whose stories we will never know.”
Washington Post.

*“Hamas Has Launched Another War. Israel Needs A Better Response.”*
The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b1-b35&t=c>
(5/15) editorializes that “with the White House’s strong support,” Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will likely shrug off the international
onslaught” of criticism following Monday’s deadly protests, but “he
shouldn’t. As the Palestinians well understand, Israel can ill afford
further damage to its standing. Sympathy for it is dangerously eroding on
US campuses and among Democratic voters – not to speak of in other Western
countries. President Trump’s embrace of controversial pro-Israel
initiatives, such as the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, may in time
produce its own backlash.”

        *“On Trade And National Security, Trump Twice Gets It Wrong.” *In
an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b2-407&t=c>
(5/15) criticizes several of the President’s recent actions as detrimental
to national security. The Post says that Trump’s “threat to impose tariffs
on steel and aluminum from allies such as Canada and Japan spuriously
invoked national security as a pretext.” In addition, the President
“overlooked genuine national security concerns with his sudden announcement
that he’s reconsidering newly imposed sanctions on ZTE.”

        *“The White House Looks Secretive And Uncaring About Americans’
Health.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b3-ecf&t=c>
(5/15, Board) in an editorial says that the White House and officials at
HHS and the EPA have “suppressed” a study of “per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances,” and that as a result, “communities across the country may be
exposed to unhealthful levels” of the chemicals with “thyroid conditions,
weakened immune systems, developmental defects and other health problems.”
The Post says that as a result, “the administration looks both secretive
and uncaring.” The EPA, adds the Post, had concluded that “drinking-water
concentrations above 70 parts per trillion are dangerous,” but the HHS
report would “conclude that the threshold for concern should be much, much
lower.”
Biden in the News
Biden, Moniz Discuss Energy Issues.

The Wilmington (DE) News Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b4-1f3&t=c>
(5/15, Neiburg) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden and former
Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz on Tuesday discussed “energy and innovation”
during an event at the University of Delaware that “was a partnership
between the Biden Institute and the Delaware Environmental Institute.” The
pair spoke “about the state of energy and innovation in the” US “and
discussed a potential path forward for industries with changing futures.”
Biden is quoted as saying, “We have to know how woefully behind our energy
infrastructure is.” In a brief article, Delaware Public Media
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b5-a3e&t=c>
(5/15, Schmidt) reported on its website that Biden and Moniz spoke “about
the need for updates and repairs to the nation’s energy infrastructure.”

        WPVI-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b6-b8c&t=c>
Philadelphia (5/15) reported, “In what is a very timely subject, Mr. Biden
says our national resources need protection from the fierceness of mother
nature.” Biden was shown saying, “Between 2003 and 2012, an estimated 679
widespread power-outages due to severe weather cost the US economy between
$18 and $33 billion every single year. And it’s going to get worse.”
WPVI-TV added that Biden “says things will only get worse, if we don’t act
now, and that our infrastructure desperately needs updating.” In a brief
segment, WCAU-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b7-70e&t=c>
Philadelphia (5/15) reported that Biden “says investing in basic
infrastructure will give the US a tremendous opportunity to lead the world
in clean energy.”
Biden Endorses Cordray In Ohio Governor’s Race.

The Columbus (OH) Dispatch
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b8-135&t=c>
(5/15, Ludlow) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday
endorsed former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard
Cordray’s (D) 2018 bid to succeed term-limited Gov. John Kasich (R).
Cordray is battling state Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) in the general
election. The Dispatch says that Biden’s “promise to help Cordray win” this
fall “is the first from what likely will include other high-profile
Democrats, including former President Barack Obama.” The Cleveland Plain
Dealer
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0b9-06c&t=c>
(5/15, Richardson) reports that a number “of Cordray’s initial campaign
staff members were closely linked to Biden, fueling speculation an
endorsement was imminent.” The Plain Dealer adds that Biden “is very
popular among Democrats and should boost fundraising for Cordray, which
he’ll need to counter DeWine’s ability to raise money.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0ba-d8a&t=c>
(5/16) reports, “It was not immediately clear whether Biden planned to
campaign for Cordray heading into November’s election.”

        In an online article, WKYC-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0bb-1fc&t=c>
Cleveland (5/15, Carey) reported that in response to the endorsement,
Cordray said, “Vice President Biden has an unparalleled record of standing
up for working families and fighting to make sure they are treated fairly.
I was proud to serve with him in the Obama administration as we worked to
take on the special interests, and get our economy working again for the
middle-class – and I’ll be honored to continue that fight as Ohio’s next
Governor.” In its report on the endorsement, the Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0bc-1cf&t=c>
(5/15, Alic) said that Biden is “a potential challenger to President Donald
Trump in 2020.”
In PSA, Biden Urges Men “To Confront” Friends On Sexual Assault.

Nylon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0bd-6f7&t=c>
(5/15, Nazim) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden “is urging men
to call out the predatory behavior of their friends.” Biden has “teamed up
with It’s On Us, a campaign he and former president Barack Obama launched”
in 2014 “to create awareness around sexual assault on college campuses. In
a new video titled ‘Three Dots,’” Biden talks about “the importance of
intervention and the need to address the way people view and discuss sexual
assault. ‘Guys, if you know someone who’s had sex with a girl who didn’t or
couldn’t consent, it’s on you to confront him,’ he says in the video. ‘Fear
is no excuse. You can help put an end to sexual assault.’” The article
describes the video as a “PSA,” or Public Service Announcement.
CBS’ Rahn: “Personality Scenario” Would Give Biden Chance To Win 2020
Nomination.

Writing on the website of CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0be-0c0&t=c>
(5/16), Will Rahn discusses four scenarios regarding the 2020 Democratic
presidential race, including one of which he says “lets allow that the
Democratic electorate” in 2020, “like the Republican electorate in 2016,
may be less ideological, or at least policy-driven, than most observers
assume. Perhaps, like the GOP’s voters last cycle, they’re more attracted
to a candidate’s emotional pull. Let’s call this the personality scenario.”
Rahn says that that in the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination, Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I) “could...win if Democrats are looking need a candidate
they can appreciate on a visceral level. But this might also be the
scenario in which Joe Biden, who’s leading in early polls, triumphs.” Rahn
adds that Biden’s “charm and personal history, not to mention his perceived
ability to win back the white working class voters that helped give Trump
the presidency, are strong advantages.”
Jill Biden Speaks At Rural College Access And Success Summit In Kentucky.

In an online article, WTVQ-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0bf-399&t=c>
Lexington, KY (5/15) reported on Tuesday in Lexington, Kentucky, Dr. Jill
Biden delivered the keynote address at the “Rural College Access and
Success Summit hosted by Berea College.” WTVQ-TV said, “The purpose of this
conference was to talk about rural communities and how to make sure that
students in those communities are ready for college.” WTVQ added that Biden
“says college and career readiness is necessary for success and it’s
teachers’ jobs to make sure they’re ready.” Biden “says educators are in
the best position to make a change in someone’s life, and to help students
succeed.”

        In a broadcast, WTVQ-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=0c0-19b&t=c>
Lexington, KY (5/15) reported that Biden “says some rural parts of Kentucky
have increased the number of high school graduates that are college-ready
from 49 percent to 70 percent since 2013.” WTVQ-TV then showed a clip of
Biden saying, “But if we want to make these gains sustainable, we need to
expand our strategies to pre-k and elementary level as well. We must focus
on the whole picture and see our kids as complex human beings even before
they can tell us their thoughts.”

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