Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Wednesday, June 6, 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, 06 Jun 2018 09:06:29 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Wednesday, June 6, 2018 8:00 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, June 6, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=000-fdb&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=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=001-274&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, June 6, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• After Canceling Eagles’ Visit, Trump Hosts “Celebration For America” At
White House. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• CNN: Pompeo Urged Trump To Sideline Bolton Ahead Of Singapore Summit.
<#S2>

• Iran Says New Natanz Centrifuge Assembly Center Is Complete. <#S3>

• Pentagon: No Way To Know Exact Civilian Casualty Numbers In Fight Against
ISIS. <#S4>

• Putin Says He “Regularly” Talks With Trump. <#S5>

• Kudlow: Trump Considering Separate NAFTA Talks With Canada, Mexico. <#S6>

• OAS Paves Way For Venezuela’s Possible Expulsion. <#S7>

• Facebook Gave Chinese Firm Flagged By US Intelligence Access To User Data.
<#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Sessions Defends Separating Families At Border. <#S9>

• Reports: Medicare, Social Security Face Worsening Financial Outlook.
<#S10>

• Blagojevich Formally Asks Trump To Commute Prison Sentence. <#S11>

• White House Aide Who Joked About McCain Illness No Longer With
Administration. <#S12>

• Administration Delays Announcement On Renewable Fuels Standard. <#S13>

• Manafort Given Until Friday To Respond To Witness Tampering Allegations.
<#S14>

• Tuesday Primaries Give Both Parties Reasons For Relief. <#S15>

• Ellison Announces Bid For Minnesota Attorney General <#S16>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Childhood Cancer Treatment Advocates Cheer Passage Of Expanded Access
Bill. <#S17>

• Study: Personalized Vaccine Could Add Years To Glioblastoma Patients’
Lives. <#S18>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S19>

• Washington Post. <#S20>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden Brings “American Promise Tour” To New Orleans. <#S21>

• The Hill: Some Democrats Think Biden Right Choice To Battle Trump In 2020.
<#S22>

• Author Brower: Biden Discusses Foreign Leaders With Pence. <#S23>
Leading the News
After Canceling Eagles’ Visit, Trump Hosts “Celebration For America” At
White House.

To mostly unfavorable media coverage, President Trump yesterday hosted a
“Celebration for America” at the White House after canceling a visit from
Super Bowl champs Philadelphia Eagles. Trump, says the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=002-2e2&t=c>
(6/5, Shear), “his hand over his heart, sang along as the United States
Marine Band and the Army Chorus performed the national anthem on the South
Lawn.” After that, “in brief remarks, Mr. Trump did not mention the Eagles
as he urged Americans to always stand for the anthem.” To the Times, “the
message from the president was clear: a denunciation of football players
who knelt during the anthem or have said they would stay in the locker room
when it is played.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=003-c2d&t=c>
(6/5, Holland) quotes him as saying, “We stand to show our love for our
fellow citizens and our magnificent Constitution.”

        All three major network newscasts reported on the event. The CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=004-3ed&t=c>
(6/5, story 2, 2:15, Morgan) showed Trump saying, “We love our country. We
respect our flag, and we always proudly stand for the National Anthem.” NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=005-b48&t=c>
(6/5, story 4, 2:30, Alexander) showed footage of White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders denouncing “a political stunt by the Eagles
franchise,” while ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=006-610&t=c>
(6/5, lead story, 3:50, Karl), which led with the story, reported that “the
White House said the Eagles ‘disagree with their President because he
insists they proudly stand for the National Anthem,’” though “the Eagles
were one team where no players ever knelt for the National Anthem last
season.”

        In tweets earlier yesterday, Trump wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=007-a24&t=c>,
“We will proudly be playing the National Anthem and other wonderful music
celebrating our Country today at 3 P.M., The White House, with the United
States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus. Honoring America!
NFL, no escaping to Locker Rooms!” Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=008-39e&t=c>
(6/5, Lockie) said “Trump’s mention of ‘Locker Rooms’ recalls a new NFL
rule that says all players must either stand on the field during the anthem
or wait in the locker room.” Trump “celebrated the NFL rule at the time.”
Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=009-505&t=c>,
“We have had many Championship teams recently at the White House including
the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Penguins, New England
Patriots, Alabama and Clemson National Champions, and many others.”

        On NBC’s Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=00a-072&t=c>
(6/5, 7:02 a.m. EDT, Kotb), Hallie Jackson said that “rather than facing
the spectacle of getting snubbed,” Trump “pulled [an] abrupt about-face,
uninviting the team itself, but allowing fans to visit.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=00b-4df&t=c>
(6/5, Fabian) said, however, that “the event...had a slapdash feeling,” as
“several attendees who spoke to reporters did not appear to have ties to
Philadelphia or the Eagles, even though the White House said the event was
organized for fans of the team.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=00c-361&t=c>
(6/5, Karni, Cadelago) casts “the change of plans” as “a setback for a
White House that has until now viewed its culture war with the National
Football League as a winning issue with its base.” Politico adds “the
internal reaction to the change of plans was also the latest example of the
siege mentality that grips many of the staffers around the president – that
it’s the ever-shrinking West Wing staff against the world.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=00d-2bc&t=c>
(6/5, Colvin, Lemire) says Trump “stoked fresh controversy over players who
protest racial injustice by taking a knee during the national anthem,” and
the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=00e-40c&t=c>
(6/5, Dawsey, Lowery) that he opened “a new salvo in his culture war over
National Football League players standing for the national anthem.” To Rolling
Stone
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=00f-b87&t=c>
(6/5, Bort), “what used to be routine, apolitical visits from America’s top
athletes are now mired in controversy, if they even happen at all,” and Sports
Illustrated
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=010-cea&t=c>
(6/5, Kahler) reported that “Trump’s ego might have been bruised by the
report that fewer than 10 Eagles players would be attending, so rather than
host a sparsely attended ceremony he uninvited the whole organization.”
Trump’s “vitriol could also be partly motivated by revenge against Eagles
owner Jeff Lurie, who has spoken out against Trump.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=011-be7&t=c>
(6/5, Parker) reports that “Trump’s roughly five minutes of remarks Tuesday
on the South Lawn of the White House in honor of the Philadelphia Eagles
never mentioned the reigning Super Bowl champions by name but seemed
determined to answer some age-old etiquette questions: Is a party really a
party if none of the special guests show up? Or if the host...abruptly
disinvites the special guests in a fit of pique?” To the Post, “the answer,
it appears, is a resounding ‘sort of’ – a gathering more of circumstance
than pomp.” Another Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=012-1df&t=c>
(6/5, Kane) piece notes “just two members of Congress” – Reps. Lou Barletta
(R) and Mike Kelly (R) – attended, and Trump “used some of his 4 minutes of
remarks to promote Barletta’s candidacy in the Senate race against [Sen.
Robert] Casey.”

        Under the headline “With No Eagles Around, Trump Acts A Turkey,”
Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=013-20d&t=c>
(6/5), “Patriotism, Samuel Johnson told us long ago, is the last refuge of
a scoundrel. GPS now provides specific coordinates for that refuge: 38° 53’
47.76” north latitude, -77° 02’ 11.76” west longitude. The South Lawn of
the White House.” Trump “ordered the US Marine Band and the U.S. Army
Chorus to ‘loudly and proudly play the national anthem’ – or, presumably,
face court-martial if they played pianissimo.” Milbank adds “Trump used his
solemn patriotic address to give a campaign speech from the White House:
urging the election of a Republican Senate candidate from Pennsylvania,
taking credit for low unemployment and boasting that he has the approval of
deceased Americans.”

        Kirsten Powers of USA Today said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=014-f63&t=c>
(6/5), “This is the same thing we see over and over, which is it is the
politics of grievance.” Trump “is always peddling grievance, that he’s been
wronged by people.” Powers added that Trump “should be speaking for
everybody and bringing people together, but the way he won was by dividing
and the way he’ll stay in power is by dividing and that is why he does
this. He does this to stoke grievance and in this case he’s stoking
grievance against black people which is what he does.”

        Tom Rogan of the Washington Examiner said on Fox News Special
Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=015-996&t=c>
(6/5), “This is not something that anyone comes well out of. The President
doesn’t come out of this well because he misrepresented the facts in terms
of what happened and that he seems to be reacting in a way that was purely
personal.” The Eagles “don’t come out of this well, at least at the
organizational level, because they were unwilling to come to the White
House. ... One of the issues for the President in terms of having this
back-and-forth is that in a quite obvious way it makes him seem a little
bit petulant unnecessarily.”

        An unnamed “source” told Don Van Natta from ESPN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=016-efc&t=c>
(6/5, McManus) that “five or fewer Eagles players [had] committed to attend
the White House ceremony,” whereas the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=017-126&t=c>
(6/5, Dawsey, Lowery) cites a “senior administration official” who “said
the Eagles promised to have about 70 people there last week,” but by Monday
said “only 10 to 12 people might come,” thus “creating a meager
celebration.” According to “aides,” Trump “deemed the smaller crowd
unsatisfactory.” A “second senior administration official” said “some
players had told the White House that they were angry about new NFL rules
on the national anthem, and that spurred their skipping the event.” The
Post adds that Kellyanne Conway, “a die-hard Eagles fan, was helping to
plan the event, according to two White House officials.”

        Conway said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=018-98d&t=c>
(6/5), “The President could not be more clear on his position on the
National Anthem. He’s made a simple request that people should stand for
the flag.” Conway added, “I think the President was focused on the right
number and that was the 1,000 eagles fans that RSVPed responded to the
White House, many of whom we were told were already in town expecting to
come to the White House. So, he decided to respect their effort in coming
and their excitement and still welcome them to the White House and convert
it into a celebrate America event. ... But look, there were a lot of Eagles
players who voted for...Trump and support many of his policies. They just
don’t come forward and say that.”

        The Philadelphia Inquirer
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=019-270&t=c>
(6/5, Tamari) reports Sanders “said that 81 players, personnel, coaches and
support staff had been confirmed late last week to attend Tuesday’s
gathering...along with more than 1,000 fans – but that the team tried to
reschedule when it became clear many players wouldn’t attend.” Said
Sanders, “Unfortunately, the Eagles offered to send only a tiny handful of
representatives, while making clear that the great majority of players
would not attend the event, despite planning to be in D.C. today. In other
words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans.”
The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=01a-80f&t=c>
(6/5, Boyer) also reports the White House said “Trump bent over backwards
to accommodate the Eagles for a celebration.” To the Harrisburg (PA)
Patriot-News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=01b-fae&t=c>
(6/5, Kasinitz), the White House “lashed out against the Philadelphia
Eagles.”

        *Two Took Knee During Rendition Of National Anthem. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=01c-bf4&t=c>
(6/5, Schad) reports that “according to a video and photos posted to social
media, at least two...attendees at” the White House “celebration decided to
take a knee.” A TV reporter for “SVT, Sweden’s national public television
broadcaster, posted a video of the event Tuesday in which a man in a
light-blue shirt is kneeling as the United States Marine Band plays The
Star-Spangled Banner.” A CNN reporter “later posted a picture of a second
man and reported that he kneeled during the anthem before yelling at Trump,
which drew boos from other attendees nearby. The second man also could not
be immediately identified.”

        *During Last Season, Trump Mused About Using Tax Plan To “Punish”
NFL. *In a story about yesterday’s White House event, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=01d-f54&t=c>
(6/5, Dawsey, Lowery) recounts that “when some players continued to kneel
during the anthem” during the NFL’s last season, Trump “told White House
officials they should punish the NFL as part of a GOP-tax plan, according
to White House and Hill aides.” The Post adds that “some aides even began
researching how to punish the lucrative league, and ideas trickled over to
Capitol Hill.” While “a White House spokeswoman declined to
comment...another White House official noted that Trump’s ideas were never
implemented and described his orders more as venting.”

        *Philadelphia Mayor: Trump “A Fragile Egomaniac” And “Not A True
Patriot.” *Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=01e-8a4&t=c>
(6/5, Leblanc) reports that Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) criticized
Trump Tuesday “as a ‘scary guy’ who had led the United States into ‘a bad
time in our country,’” telling CNN’s New Day[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=01f-448&t=c>
(6/4, 7:59 a.m. EDT, Berman), “Hopefully by the time he’s gone, we can
recover from this mess.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=020-8bc&t=c>
(6/5, Boyer) notes Kenney also said, “Disinviting them from the White House
only proves that our president is not a true patriot, but a fragile
egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of
throwing a party to which no one wants to attend.”

        The Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=021-b23&t=c>
(6/5, Miceck) reports that former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell also weighed
in, saying “the president’s decision was ‘bordering on idiotic.’” Added
Rendell, “The President should have expected this when he called some of
the players ‘sons of b----es’ and saying they were dishonoring the
military. ... This has nothing to do with the military.”

        *Hannity Says He’s “Done” With NFL Until It Gains “Respect For The
Flag.” *Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=022-199&t=c>
(6/5), “The President was right to cancel this event. ... You know what?
I’ve had it. I am supposed to tune into a football game and watch a bunch
of people that make a lot of money making a statement. ... Let me be clear,
I am done with my Jets. In fact, I am done with the NFL. My football day is
Saturday. I like college football and until and unless members of the
National Football League gain the respect for the flag and this country and
those that have sacrificed, bled, and died fighting under that flag, I am
finished.”

        *NFL Players Union Announces Cancellation Of DC-Area “Player-Led
Community Service Events.” *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=023-097&t=c>
(6/5, Middlehurst-Schwartz) reports that the NFL Players Association said
in a statement, “Our union is disappointed in the decision by the White
House to disinvite players from the Philadelphia Eagles from being
recognized and celebrated by all Americans for their accomplishment. ...
This decision by the White House has led to the cancellation of several
player-led community service events for young people in the Washington, DC
area.”

        *Fox News Apologizes For Use Of “Unrelated Footage” Of Eagles
Kneeling. *The Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=024-9c6&t=c>
(6/5, Gallen) reports “Fox News apologized Tuesday for using photos of
Philadelphia Eagles kneeling in prayer in a context that implied they were
kneeling during the national anthem.” On Monday night’s FOX News @ Night
with Shannon Bream, “the network aired photos of multiple Eagles, including
Zach Ertz and Jordan Matthews, kneeling in pregame prayer while Bream spoke
about...Trump rescinding the team’s invitation to visit the White House.”
The clip “seemed to insinuate the players were kneeling during the national
anthem.” Instead, noted Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=025-1f8&t=c>
(6/5, Lauletta), it “showed players kneeling in prayer.”

        *James, Curry Say NBA Winners Will Not Visit White House. *The
Hollywood
Reporter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=026-48f&t=c>
(6/5, Parker) reports that “the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry on Tuesday said separately that
neither of their NBA Finals team would visit the White House after winning
the championship.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=027-5cf&t=c>
(6/5, Reynolds) quotes James as saying of Trump, “I’m not surprised. It’s
typical of him. ... I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants the
invite anyway. So it won’t be Golden State or Cleveland going.”

        *CNN Commentator: National Anthem “Problematic.” *The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=028-737&t=c>
(6/5, Lim) reports “CNN political commentator Angela Rye suggested Tuesday
the national anthem itself is ‘problematic,’ while responding to a
report...Trump plans to continue complaining about national anthem protests
during the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections.” Said Rye, “The national
anthem is problematic in and of itself. ... There’s a second verse that
Colin Kaepernick brought attention to that has yet to be discussed on broad
platforms.”

        *Democratic House Members Press Bears Chairman On Stance On NFL
Anthem Policy. *The Chicago Sun-Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=029-cd5&t=c>
(6/5, Finley) reports “four Chicago-area Democratic House members are
asking Bears chairman George McCaskey if the team voted for the NFL’s new
national anthem policy and have requested a meeting with the McCaskey
family to discuss free speech issues.” The Sun-Times adds that Reps. Bobby
Rush (D), Danny Davis (D), Robin Kelly (D), and Jan Schakowsky (D) “dated
the letter May 30. They defended the players’ right to protest during the
anthem.” Asked the lawmakers, “Did you vote to affirm this policy, did you
abstain or were you not present at the meeting?” The Chicago Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=02a-c8f&t=c>
(6/5, O'Connell) further quotes from the letter, “It is disappointing that
your franchise voted to silence the players you employ, during this
important national dialogue.” The Bears “declined to comment.”
Foreign Policy
CNN: Pompeo Urged Trump To Sideline Bolton Ahead Of Singapore Summit.

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=02b-bd3&t=c>
(6/5, Liptak, Zeleny, Diamond, Kosinski) reports on its website that within
the Administration, “the voices advocating most forcefully to tighten the
noose on Pyongyang have been sidelined as Trump seeks out a history-making
handshake.” National Security Adviser Bolton was not in the Oval Office
last week when President Trump met with Kim Yong Chol, “Kim Jong Un’s
right-hand man,” but Secretary of State Pompeo was. Citing “two people
familiar with the matter,” CNN reports that Pompeo “told Trump it would be
‘counterproductive’ to allow Bolton to attend the...meeting.” CNN says
Trump was “furious after Bolton raised the so-called ‘Libya’ model to
describe US intentions in North Korea,” and that “the remarks about Libya
also infuriated Pompeo, who angrily confronted Bolton in a heated
conversation at the White House.” According to CNN, Chief of Staff Kelly
“has remained in line with Pompeo, and has come to rely on his ability to
guide the President.”

        Jake Tapper said on CNN’s
The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=02c-e69&t=c>
(6/5), “Several sources tell CNN that State Department officials believe
that [Bolton] made those Libya model remarks deliberately to get the talks
off-track.” Jeff Zeleny said Trump “was caught off guard by all of this
when he saw his new National Security Adviser on television talking about
this. He was surprised by it. He wasn’t sure why he was doing it.”

        Erik Levitz of New York Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=02d-181&t=c>
(6/5) says that when the President temporarily cancelled the summit, it was
a “victory” for Bolton, who “had publicly argued that diplomacy with
Pyongyang was futile – and that the United States needed to deter its
nuclear program militarily, as soon as possible.” Levitz goes on to write
that “some congressional Democrats are hoping to make” the summit “into a
political loss for Trump, by adopting Bolton’s view that anything short of
‘the dismantlement and removal of all chemical and biological as well as
nuclear weapons from North Korea’ is unacceptable.”

        *White House Announces Summit To Be Held On Sentosa Island. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=02e-483&t=c>
(6/5, Holland, Aravindan, Sim) reports the White House announced Tuesday
that the June 12 summit between Trump and Kim “will be on Singapore’s
southern island of Sentosa.” Singapore’s government on Monday “declared a
central region that is home to its foreign ministry, the U.S. embassy and
several hotels, as a special zone from June 10 to 14.” In its “online
gazette, the Singapore government amended the area to include Sentosa and
an area of the sea stretching more than 1 km (0.6 mile) off its
southwestern shore.” Via Twitter, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
said “the venue for the Singapore summit between @POTUS and Leader Kim Jong
Un will be the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island. We thank our great
Singaporean hosts for their hospitality.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=02f-2bb&t=c>
(6/5, Miller, Lucey) reports that the White House revealed that the venue
will be the Capella Hotel, “a luxury resort on Sentosa Island for nuclear
talks next week in Singapore.” According to the AP, Trump “hopes to secure
a nuclear deal with the North Koreans, seeking for Kim to give up his
nuclear program, though he stressed last week that the process would likely
take longer than a single meeting.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=030-1c7&t=c>
(6/5) reports that Kim Chang Son, director of North Korea’s state affairs
commission secretariat, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Joe Hagin
“met at the hotel in late May to work out security and logistics measures.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=031-62c&t=c>
(6/5, Forgey) says various media reports “in recent days had honed in on
the island – home to the Universal Studios Singapore theme park – as a
likely meeting place for the two world leaders after hotels there
experienced heightened security activity.” Singapore’s government “also
recently declared the posh tourist sector a ‘special event area’ in
anticipation of the Trump-Kim meeting.” Still, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=032-e4b&t=c>
(6/5, Swoyer) says, the choice of venue “bucked expectations that Mr. Trump
and Mr. Kim would conduct their historic meeting in the Shangri-La Hotel
that regularly hosts high-level political gatherings.” The Capella Hotel
does, however, place “the summit in a luxurious setting and one that is
easily locked down.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=033-2d2&t=c>
(6/5, Quinn) notes the two leaders “are scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. local
time, and in anticipation of the summit, Trump has started receiving daily
briefings on Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, the White
House said.”

        A Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=034-680&t=c>
(6/4, Tweed, Kong) analysis outlines key differences between the US and
North Korea on the issue of denuclearization, and how overcoming those
disagreements is “key to reaching a historic outcome.” Bloomberg says
“Kim’s regime is looking for a reduction in US troops, the curtailment of
the U.S.-South Korean military drills, a peace treaty to formally end the
Korean War, US diplomatic recognition and the easing of sanctions that are
starting to hit its economy.” Perhaps most importantly, Bloomberg adds,
“Kim’s regime wants its security guaranteed.” The US, meanwhile, “has long
been concerned that North Korea was developing a nuclear program that would
threaten its allies in the region and eventually America itself.”

        A USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=035-0c4&t=c>
(6/5, Dorell) analysis argues that Trump and Kim will “need to get a few
things right for their June 12 summit in Singapore to be considered a
success,” with the first goal being “‘that the summit not fail,’ former
U.S.-Korea negotiator Robert Gallucci said Monday at a press briefing by 38
North.” Gallucci also said both sides must agree on a clear definition of
denuclearization that should detail the removal of all aspects of North
Korea’s nuclear program, including its uranium enrichment capabilities.
Suzanne DiMaggio of the New America think tank said the best – and most
realistic – outcome would be “a general statement that identified
denuclearization as an end goal of a process to be determined.” Then,
DiMaggio said, Trump should “step back from the process and hand it over to
the professional diplomats and negotiators to work out these details.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=036-4d2&t=c>
(6/5, Nakamura) reports that South Korean President Moon Jae-in “has
lobbied to meet Trump and Kim for a trilateral summit the following day,
but the White House has not confirmed such a meeting.” The Post notes that
US negotiators “have continued to meet with their North Korean counterparts
in the Korean Peninsula’s demilitarized zone to hammer out the agenda for
the meeting.”

        *Former Officials Caution Against Raising Human Rights At Summit. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=037-644&t=c>
(6/5, Demirjian) reports Joseph Yun, a former US special representative for
North Korea policy, and Victor Cha, a former National Security Council
official, warned lawmakers Tuesday “against prioritizing human rights
concerns or other non-nuclear matters” at the summit. They said the talks
“cannot reasonably be considered a success unless North Korea agrees to
make a full, detailed declaration of all its nuclear sites and fissile
material.” Sen. James Risch agreed, saying, “We’re all about human rights,”
but “if you try to overload this and try to resolve all these things at
once, I think you’re just setting things up for failure.” The
Administration “has come under fire for not prioritizing the global
promotion of human rights and for distancing itself from like-minded allies
when dealing with aggressor nations,” prompting several lawmakers to raise
“concerns that Trump’s team might similarly sideline the interests of South
Korea and Japan, or give Kim a pass on North Korea’s other aggressive
actions.”

        *Mattis: US Troops Stationed On Korean Peninsula “Not Going
Anywhere.” *Jennifer Griffin reported on Fox News Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=038-377&t=c>
(6/5) that Defense Secretary Mattis on Tuesday departed a defense
conference in Singapore, where he “spent much of his time reassuring allies
the US would not be discussing the removal of US military forces from South
Korea in exchange for North Korea shuttering its nuclear program.” Fox
showed Mattis stating that US troops stationed in the Korean peninsula are
“not going anywhere. It’s not a subject of discussion.”

        *Rodman Will Reportedly Be In Singapore During Summit. *The New
York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=039-1bc&t=c>
(6/5, Moore) reports that former NBA star Dennis Rodman “will be in
Singapore during” the summit next week, “and sources said he could even
play some sort of role in the negotiations.” The Post notes that Rodman,
“who has struck up an unlikely bromance with” Kim, “has visited the rogue
regime five times in the past,” and “took some of the credit for getting
the two leaders together.”

        *China Expected To Expand Dominance Of North Korean Economy If
Sanctions Are Lifted. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=03a-2a0&t=c>
(6/5, Perlez) reports while China has “at least officially enforced the
international sanctions that have been imposed on the North to curtail its
nuclear weapons program,” on its border with North Korea, the signs of that
country’s “economic dependence on China are evident in a shadow economy of
cash couriers, short-term workers and gray-market trading that has
persisted despite the sanctions.” With the June 12 summit “back on track,
excitement is growing about the opportunities that could open up should the
sanctions be eased.” If the summit results in a deal that ends sanctions,
China is “ready to extend its dominance over the North’s small and decrepit
economy, where signs of an emerging market economy are also strengthening
China’s hand.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=03b-17c&t=c>
(6/4, Lee) says China is “controlling some of the key action” in the run up
to the June 12 summit and “may help dictate the ending.” In the short term,
US observes say China’s leaders “feared they might be left on the sidelines
while North Korea’s seemingly impetuous leader struck some kind of deal
with Trump that would change the strategic status quo on the Chinese
border.” While that could “bolster Washington in the contentious trade
disputes that have roiled relations between U.S. and China,” what is “more
worrisome for U.S. policy makers” is that China “seems to have concluded
that any potential nuclear disarmament deal would require some U.S.
concessions – and those are likely to weaken America’s military posture on
the Korean peninsula and throughout Asia.”

        *Reuters: Peace Declaration Could Erode US Leverage If North
Doesn’t Budge On Nukes. *In an analysis, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=03c-338&t=c>
(6/5, Spetalnick) says that if the Trump-Kim summit “produces a peace
declaration formally ending the Korean War as he has suggested, it could
give the U.S. president a big headline-grabbing, made-for-TV moment on the
world stage.” However, US officials and analysts say the “public relations
value of such a historic event could quickly fade if Trump fails, in
return, to wring any significant concessions from Kim toward the
dismantling of his nuclear arsenal.” Experts warned that an “end-of-war
declaration – even if short of an actual treaty – could erode U.S. leverage
in future negotiations if North Korea does not give ground on nuclear
issues.”
Iran Says New Natanz Centrifuge Assembly Center Is Complete.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=03d-661&t=c>
(6/5, Erdbrink) reports Iran announced today that it has “completed a new
centrifuge assembly center at the Natanz nuclear site, in a first step to
increasing its enrichment capacity.” Officials said Iran would continue to
abide by the limits on nuclear enrichment set out in the 2015 Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, but the “center’s opening seemed to signal
that it could swing to industrial-level enrichment if that agreement, which
the United States withdrew from last month, should further unravel.” Ali
Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, “told
state television that the center’s construction had been ‘in line with our
safeguard commitments but not publicly announced.’”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=03e-e2f&t=c>
(6/5, Dehghanpisheh) reports Salehi said the Natanz construction “did not
violate the nuclear deal but that it marked an increase in the pace of the
nuclear programme.” Salahi said, “If we were progressing normally, it would
have taken six or seven years, but this will now be ready in the coming
weeks and months.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=03f-449&t=c>
(6/5) reports Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran, said Tehran has informed the International Atomic
Energy Agency that it “will increase its nuclear enrichment capacity within
the limits set by the 2015 agreement with world powers.” The AP adds that
the “modest steps announced Tuesday appeared to be mainly aimed at
signaling that Iran could resume its drive toward industrial-scale
enrichment if the nuclear accord comes unraveled.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=040-c5f&t=c>
(6/5, Murphy) reports the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has
informed it that it has “‘tentative’ plans to produce the feedstock for
centrifuges.” An IAEA spokesman said, “The Agency received a letter from
Iran on 4 June informing the Agency that there is a tentative schedule to
start production of UF6.” The statement referred to “uranium hexafluoride,
the feedstock for centrifuges.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=041-c28&t=c>
(6/5, Morello) notes Salehi’s remarks “came one day after Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei ordered preparations for increasing uranium enrichment if the
nuclear agreement disintegrates” and “vowed not to accept limits on Iran’s
ballistic missile testing.” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert did
not comment on Tehran’s apparent threat to begin enriching more uranium,
but said if “the IAEA believes that that is taking place, we believe that
the IAEA will report that back to its board of governors, and also, to the
United Nations, so we’ll just await that, if that has, in fact, ended up
happening in Iran.” The Post says while the “modest planning steps” that
Salehi “announced do not immediately violate the landmark nuclear deal but
would if new centrifuges were assembled and put into operation,” Tehran’s
“decision sends a strong signal of Iran’s intentions if the deal falls
apart under US pressure, and it complicates the task for Europeans trying
to salvage the agreement after the US pullout.”

        *Netanyahu Calls On France To Address Iranian Aggression. *Benjamin
Hall reported on Fox News Special
Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=042-c22&t=c>
(6/5) that Tehran’s announcement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu visited Europe for talks centered on Iran. At a joint press
conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu asserted: “The
greatest threat to the world today in my view is nuclear weapons in the
hands of a radical Islamic regimes like Iran.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=043-83c&t=c>
(6/5, Lewis, Irish) says Netanyahu met Tuesday with Macron in Paris “as
part of a tour to persuade the European signatories – Britain, France and
Germany – to follow Washington’s lead in pursuing a tough stance on Iran
after it pulled out of the accord and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.”
Netanyahu told reporters that he did not need to ask France to withdraw
from the accord because it “is basically going to be dissolved by the
weight of economic forces” anyway, so France should instead address Iran’s
aggression in the Middle East. The French president “did not appear
receptive to Netanyahu’s argument,” however. Macron said he told Netanyahu
“of my deep conviction, which is shared with our European partners, that
the accord needs to be preserved to ensure control of nuclear activity.” He
also called “on all sides to stabilize the situation and not give into
escalation which will lead to one thing: conflict.”

        *Treasury Official Urges US Allies To Block Iranian Attempts To
Access Financial Networks. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=044-122&t=c>
(6/5) reports that earlier today, Under Secretary of the Treasury Sigal
Mandelker “called on U.S. allies, partners and the private sector to work
harder to ensure Iran does not exploit them to fund what it described as
Iran’s ‘nefarious activities.’” Mandelker is quoted as saying, “You must
harden your financial networks, require your companies to do extra due
diligence to keep them from being caught in Iran’s deceptive web, and make
clear the very significant risks of doing business with companies and
persons in Iran.”
Pentagon: No Way To Know Exact Civilian Casualty Numbers In Fight Against
ISIS.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=045-375&t=c>
(6/5, Sonne) reports US Army Col. Thomas Veale, the spokesman of the US-led
coalition against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, “said Tuesday that the US
military will never know the exact number of civilians it has killed in the
fight against the Islamic State, an admission that comes as the human
rights group Amnesty International accuses the United States and its allies
of having recklessly killed thousands of civilians in the battle to retake
the Syrian city of Raqqa.” Veale also “said the report’s authors failed to
check the public record, get facts straight or consult the military on
their conclusions,” and that “his biggest objection was the prima facie
argument that the United States had violated international law.”

        *Iran-Backed Militias Reportedly Objected To Russian Troop
Movements In Syria. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=046-1c0&t=c>
(6/5, Perry) reports that “a Russian troop deployment in Syria near the
Lebanese border this week caused friction with Iran-backed forces including
Hezbollah which objected to the uncoordinated move.” According to Reuters,
“The situation was resolved on Tuesday when Syrian army soldiers took over
three positions where the Russians had deployed near the town of Qusair in
the Homs region on Monday.” Reuters says “it appeared to be a rare case of
Russia acting out of sync with President Bashar al-Assad’s Iran-backed
allies in the war.”

        *Syrian Kurdish Forces To Leave Manbij Under Fragile US-Turkey
Deal. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=047-af1&t=c>
(6/5, Lederman, Issa) reports the US-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia
“said Tuesday it will leave the strategic town of Manbij under a delicate
US-Turkey deal that could ease tensions between the NATO allies and force a
realignment of troops along the volatile Syria-Turkey frontier.” The deal
meets “a long-standing demand by Ankara, which considers the militia a
terror group tied to a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey’s borders.”
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess
Mitchell “said Tuesday that the Trump administration was trying to
‘stabilize the [US-Turkey] relationship’ with concrete, near-term steps, in
hopes of avoiding a wider breach that he warned could ‘do multigenerational
damage’ to ties between the allies.” At the same time, Mitchell “put Ankara
on notice that its partnership with the U.S. on the F-35 fighter jet
program could be imperiled if it goes through with the Russian purchase.”
Putin Says He “Regularly” Talks With Trump.

Brian Todd reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=048-757&t=c>
(6/5) that in a wide-ranging interview this week, Russian President
Vladimir Putin “suggests he is tighter with Trump than many realize.” CNN
showed Putin saying, “We regularly talk over the phone,” and “our foreign
affairs departments and special services are working fairly well together.”
Todd said Putin also “blamed” the ongoing special counsel investigation
into Russian meddling in the 2016 election “as the reason why he and the
President have not had a one-on-one summit, saying Trump is, quote, ‘coming
under attack.’” Meanwhile, Putin, “criticized at home and abroad for
running sham elections, responded harshly when asked if he is a czar.” CNN
showed him saying, “It is false and completely detached from reality,
because Russia is a democracy.”

        *Mattis Expected To Urge NATO Allies To Do More To Counter Threat
From Russia. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=049-c0e&t=c>
(6/5, Emmott) reports that the Trump Administration is “pressing its
European allies to get more NATO battalions, ships and planes ready for
combat, officials say, in a fresh move to shore up NATO’s deterrence
against any Russian attack.” According to Reuters, Defense Secretary Mattis
“will seek broad agreement for the plan in Brussels on Thursday when
alliance defence ministers meet, laying the ground for endorsement by NATO
leaders at a summit in July.” Reuters says the plan “lays down a challenge
for European governments, pilloried by” President Trump “for slashing
military spending after the Cold War.”

        *Austrian Chancellor, Putin Express Hope That Sanctions On Russia
Will Be Lifted. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=04a-ad5&t=c>
(6/5, Isachenkov, Jenne) reports that in Austria today, Russian President
Vladimir Putin said “sanctions against Russia haven’t worked and both
Moscow and the West would benefit from lifting them.” According to the AP,
Putin “said the restrictions are ‘harmful for everyone – those who
initiated them and those who are targeted by them.’” The AP says Austrian
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz “said his country...stands by EU sanctions but
‘will work to improve relations between the European Union and Russia.’”
Kurz said, “In particular, we hope that there will be progress in eastern
Ukraine, so that sanctions can be removed step by step in accordance with
the Minsk agreement.”

        *Putin Dismisses Possibility Of Crimea’s Return To Ukraine.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=04b-28e&t=c>
(6/5, Blake) reports Russian President Vladimir Putin “unequivocally ruled
out returning Crimea to Ukraine” and “subsequently doubled-down on Russia’s
annexation, labeling it a legally sound response” to the 2014 uprising that
resulted in the ouster of “Kremlin loyalist” and former Ukrainian President
Viktor Yanukovych. Putin, “during an interview with Austria’s state
broadcaster aired before his trip to Vienna on Tuesday,” said Crimea gained
independence not because of a Russian military invasion, “but through the
will of the people of Crimea expressed in an open referendum.”

        *Macron Compares Calls With Trump To Making Sausages. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=04c-d06&t=c>
(6/5, Rose, Irish, Pennetier) reports that at a joint press conference
Tuesday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French
President Emmanuel Macron “was asked about a CNN report on Monday saying
that a phone call between the French leader and Trump last week had been
‘terrible.’” Macron responded, “As Bismarck used to say, if we explained to
people how sausages were made, it’s unlikely they’d keep eating them.” He
continued, “So I like it when people see the finished meal, but I’m not
convinced the kitchen commentary helps with delivering the meal or eating
it.” Macron also told reporters “that he would have a ‘useful’ and ‘frank’
exchange with Trump at the next G7 summit in Canada on June 7-8 about both
issues on which they agree and those where they disagree.”

        *State Department Defends Grenell After Backlash Over Remarks On
European Politics. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=04d-329&t=c>
(6/5, Greenwood) reports State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert
“defended US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell on Tuesday after he said
in an interview that he wanted to ‘empower’ conservatives in Europe.” She
“told reporters in a press briefing that Grenell ‘was merely highlighting
that there are some parties and candidates in Europe who are doing well
right now.’” The Hill says “Grenell’s comments, made in an interview with
the conservative Breitbart News, were highly unusual,” as “American
diplomats rarely if ever weigh in on the domestic politics of the countries
where they are posted.”
Kudlow: Trump Considering Separate NAFTA Talks With Canada, Mexico.

Appearing on Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=04e-2bb&t=c>
(6/5), National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said that President
Trump “is very seriously contemplating kind of a shift in the NAFTA
negotiations. His preference now – he asked me to convey this – is to
actually negotiate with Mexico and Canada separately. He prefers bilateral
negotiations and he is looking at two much different countries. Canada is a
different country than Mexico; they have different problems and...he has
believed that bilateral have always been better.” Kudlow also said Trump
“will not withdraw from NAFTA. He is just going to try a different
approach.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=04f-80b&t=c>
(6/5, Wiseman, Superville) reports that Kudlow “said Trump doesn’t plan to
abandon NAFTA” but he “is just going to try a different approach.” However,
the AP says it is unclear “that separate discussions by the United States
with Mexico and Canada could leave the three-nation NAFTA deal altered but
intact.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=050-dec&t=c>
(6/5, Swanson, Tankersley) says Kudlow’s comments, which “echo previous
musings by Mr. Trump,” are “only likely to inflame tensions with Canada and
Mexico, which are already reeling from Mr. Trump’s imposition of steel and
aluminum tariffs and his suggestion that tariffs on autos might come
next.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=051-553&t=c>
(6/5) cites a “Canadian government official” who said that Trump “has
regularly raised the prospect of a bilateral deal so Tuesday’s comments
aren’t new.”

        *Mexico Releases List Of US Goods Facing Retaliatory Tariffs. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=052-de7&t=c>
(6/5, Harrup, Pérez) reports that the Mexican government has published a
list of US goods that will face retaliatory import tariffs as a result of
US tariffs on steel an aluminum. Mexico’s Economy Ministry said the duties
will remain in place as long as the US continues to impose tariffs on
Mexican steel and aluminum.

        *China Offers To Buy $70 Billion In US Goods To End US Tariff
Threat. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=053-5c8&t=c>
(6/5, Wei, Davis) reports that China has offered purchase nearly $70
billion in US goods in exchange for the Trump Administration suspending
threatened tariffs. During talks with US negotiators in Beijing over the
weekend, Chinese negotiators proposed a package that would have Chinese
companies buy more US soybeans, corn, natural gas, crude oil, coal and
manufactured goods. However, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=054-109&t=c>
(6/5, Swanson) says the offer “could fizzle quickly” as Chinese officials
“have said publicly that any agreements would be void if the United States
continued with plans to impose tariffs and other restrictions, and American
officials have given no indication so far that they intend to halt the
tariffs.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=055-5d2&t=c>
(6/5, Kasperowicz) cites “a government source familiar with the talks,” who
“said that the U.S. side didn’t offer anything to China in order to
generate that offer, and that no agreement has yet been struck.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=056-dc7&t=c>
(6/5) reported Tuesday afternoon that the President was expected to “meet
with his trade advisers” to discuss the offer.

        *Corker To Unveil Bipartisan Bill That Would Block Trump From
Imposing Tariffs. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=057-7f7&t=c>
(6/5, Zengerle) reports that Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker
said that Senate Republicans and Democrats “plan to introduce...that would
force” President Trump “to obtain Congress’ approval before imposing
tariffs on national security grounds.” Corker “said legislation would be
introduced on Tuesday or Wednesday that would pare back the president’s
authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.” According
to Reuters, Corker “declined to say how many other senators supported the
legislation, but said there was ‘a big list’ of both Republicans and
Democrats.” The Tennessean
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=058-651&t=c>
(6/5, Collins, Collins) reports that Corker, who “pitched the proposal to
his fellow Republicans during their weekly policy luncheon on Tuesday,”
told reporters “that the legislation had been well-received by several GOP
senators.”

        *WPost Editorial: Congress Should Show Some Leadership On Trade. *In
an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=059-b54&t=c>
(6/5) says the tariffs are a threat to “vital economic and political
relationships,” and calls on Congress to “show some independence and
leadership” on trade.

        *Ignatius: Trump Tariffs Are An Opportunity For His Political
Opponents. *David Ignatius writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=05a-d1e&t=c>
(6/5) that Trump’s “tariffs on America’s allies” are “a showy attempt to
stoke his base.” Ignatius adds that Trump has created “a big opportunity”
for his opponents, but “the politicians calling for sane trade policies are
mostly Republican. The Democrats need to find their voice on tariffs, too –
and start crafting a trade policy that’s about the future, not the past.”

        *Navarro Defends Steel, Aluminum Tariffs. *White House Director of
Trade Policy Peter Navarro said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=05b-80a&t=c>
(6/5), “As President Trump has said, without steel and aluminum industries
in this country, we don’t have a country. So the challenge we faced from a
policy point of view is how do you do that? The problem we had is that we
have about 20 countries flooding our markets with steel and about 15
flooding our markets with aluminum. So tariffs were the answer. These
tariffs are not aimed at any individual country, whether it is a strategic
rival like China or an ally and friend like Canada. They’re simply a
defensive measure in order to bring about a strong stand.”

        *Trump, GOP Senators Discuss Bill To Tighten CFIUS Oversight. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=05c-f57&t=c>
(6/5, Cowan) reported Tuesday afternoon that according to Senate Majority
Whip Cornyn, President Trump and Republican senators were to meet at the
White House “to discuss a measure before Congress aimed at tightening
investment rules to better protect national security.” The measure “to
tighten oversight by the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in
the United States, or CFIUS,” is “aimed at keeping China from acquiring
high-end U.S. technology.” It “has been put into a must-pass defense policy
bill called the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA.”

        *Reuters: ZTE Signs Agreement In Principle To Lift Commerce
Department Ban. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=05d-313&t=c>
(6/5, Freifeld) reports that ZTE Corp “has signed an agreement in principle
that would lift a US Commerce Department ban on buying from US suppliers.”
According to “sources,” the deal “includes a $1 billion fine against ZTE
plus $400 million in escrow in the event of future violations.” The
agreement would allow ZTE, which “ceased major operations and has been on
life support since the seven-year ban was imposed in April,” to “get back
into business.”

        In the wake of the Reuters story, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=05e-296&t=c>
(6/5, Behsudi) reports, a spokesman for the Commerce Department said the
Administration has not reached a “definitive” deal that would roll back the
sanctions on ZTE. A spokesman for the Department said in a statement, “No
definitive agreement has been signed by both parties. ... We have no
updates at this time.”
OAS Paves Way For Venezuela’s Possible Expulsion.

The Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=05f-0d6&t=c>
(6/5, Emmott) reports the Organization of American States passed a
resolution Tuesday that “paved the way to expel Venezuela.” It also said
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected in a vote that “‘lacks
legitimacy’ and represents an ‘unconstitutional alteration of the
constitutional order.’” After the Tuesday vote, Venezuelan Foreign Minister
Jorge Arreaza denounced the US “and Vice President Mike Pence for
‘extorting’ members to sign onto the resolution, which he called
‘fraudulent.’” He also announced that Venezuela will withdraw from the OAS,
which he said “has never done anything for our people of the Americas,” and
accused representatives of “supporting military intervention.” Carlos
Trujillo, the US representative to OAS, “said the region’s firm stance
against Venezuela was long overdue,” and that “he was sorry that the
Venezuelan delegation hadn’t stayed to hear his comments.” Noting Venezuela
was not up-to-date on its OAS membership dues, Trujillo added, “I’m more
upset that they left without paying their bill.”
Facebook Gave Chinese Firm Flagged By US Intelligence Access To User Data.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=060-ea5&t=c>
(6/5, Laforgia, Dance) reports, “Facebook has data-sharing partnerships
with at least four Chinese electronics companies” – Huawei, Lenovo, Oppo,
and TCL – that date to at least 2010 and gave them access “to some user
data.” Huawei “has been flagged by American intelligence officials as a
national security threat.” In an interview, Facebook officials “said...that
the company would wind down the Huawei deal by the end of the week.” Senate
Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner said, “I look forward to learning
more about how Facebook ensured that information about their users was not
sent to Chinese servers.”

        *NYTimes Editorial Suggests Breaking Up Facebook. *In an editorial,
the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=061-846&t=c>
(6/5) calls Facebook “the most powerful communications and media company in
the world,” and says “that power is being abused.” The Times says that
while the company “has adamantly argued that it treats our data, and who
has access to it, as a sort of sacred trust,” it has “continued to
undermine privacy by making it cumbersome to opt out of sharing, trying to
convince users that we actually do want to share all of our personal
information (and some people actually do) and by leaving the door unlocked
for its partners and clients to come in and help themselves.” The Times
suggests the company could use some competition, citing the government’s
break-up of the telephone system in 1984, says that “at some point a
government agency might be willing to break away some of its components and
chop it down to size.”
Domestic Policy
Sessions Defends Separating Families At Border.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=062-f72&t=c>
(6/5, Hesson) reports Attorney General Sessions “defended the increase in
family separations” at the border, telling conservative radio host Hugh
Hewitt, “[Y]ou can’t be giving immunity to people who bring children with
them recklessly and improperly and illegally.” Meanwhile, President Trump
“repeated his baffling Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=063-240&t=c>
claim that the” family separation policy was caused by “bad legislation
passed by the Democrats.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=064-55d&t=c>
(6/5, Rosenberg) reports Sessions, in a lengthy interview, “delivered a
vigorous defense of the hard-line Trump administration policy.” Sessions
told Hewitt, “If people don’t want to be separated from their children,
they should not bring them with them.” He added, “We’ve got to get this
message out. You’re not given immunity.” Hewitt said he was “disturbed” by
the separations and added, “I think it’s traumatic and terribly difficult
on the child.” Sessions also “tried to draw a parallel to how the legal
system dealt with American citizens,” saying that when American citizens go
to jail, “they’re separated from their children.”

        *Hundreds Of Migrant Children In Crowded Facilities. *NBC Nightly
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=065-c45&t=c>
(6/5, story 5, 1:40, Holt) reported, “Hundreds of children are stuck after
many were separated from their parents.” NBC (Almaguer) added that hundreds
of migrant children “are in facilities so crowded, they often lack adequate
bedding, nutritional and medical supplies.” A document obtained by NBC News
indicates that almost 300 of the 550 children in custody as of Sunday
“spent more than 72 hours at border stations,” exceeding government time
limits. Additionally, “two US officials tell NBC News that Health and Human
Services wasn’t given proper warning of the new” zero-tolerance
border-crossing policy “and was caught unprepared.”

        *Merkley Pressuring Administration On Migrant Children. *Tom Llamas
reported on ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=066-199&t=c>
(6/5, story 5, 2:30, Muir) on the “new pressure on the Trump Administration
and their zero-tolerance policy for illegal immigration.” Sen. Jeff Merkley
unsuccessfully sought over the weekend “to get inside this government
facility he says is holding children who are separated from their parents
after crossing the border illegally.” Meanwhile, for a separated family ABC
previously profiled, mother and son are reunited “after eight months of
separation.” Llamas added, “The Trump Administration has taken a lot of
offense to [Merkley’s] trip and what he said there on the border, saying he
did not follow the proper protocol, in some cases, not giving those
facilities advance notice so they could accommodate him once he arrived.”

        *Haley Slams UN “Hypocrisy” After Rights Office Criticizes US
Immigration Policies. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=067-e50&t=c>
(6/5, Cumming-Bruce) reports that the UN Human Rights Office says “the
Trump administration’s practice of separating children from migrant
families entering the United States violates their rights and international
law,” and “urg[ed] an immediate halt to the practice.” The Times says UN
Ambassador Nikki Haley “clearly showed American irritation with the
accusation in a statement released a few hours later.” Haley’s statement
reads, “Once again, the United Nations shows its hypocrisy by calling out
the United States while it ignores the reprehensible human rights records
of several members of its own Human Rights Council. ... Neither the United
Nations nor anyone else will dictate how the United States upholds its
borders.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=068-46b&t=c>
(6/5, Gehrke) quotes an UNHRC spokesperson as saying earlier yesterday,
“The US should immediately halt this practice of separating families and
stop criminalizing what should at most be an administrative offense – that
of irregular entry or stay in the US ... We call on the US authorities to
adopt non-custodial alternatives that allow children to remain with their
families and fulfill the best interests of the child, their right to
liberty and their right to family life.”

        *ICE’s Homan: “Clean” DACA Speculation Encourages Illegal
Immigration. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=069-359&t=c>
(6/5, Dinan) reports that earlier today, Acting US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Director Tom Homan warned that “passing a ‘clean’ Dream Act to
legalize illegal immigrant ‘Dreamers’ will spur a new wave of illegal
immigration and create a new population that will need an amnesty 10 or 20
years in the future.” Homan “said even the talk of a renewed immigration
debate on Capitol Hill will entice people to make the perilous journey to
try to jump the border,” according to the Times. Homan is quoted as saying,
“It certainly increases illegal crossings, that’s been proven for the last
three decades I’ve been around.”

        *DACA Discharge Petition Needs Just Three More Signers. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=06a-b79&t=c>
(6/5, Debonis) reports that “two of three Democrats who have so far refused
to sign a discharge petition that would set up votes on immigration
legislation in the House this month said Tuesday that they had changed
their minds and would support the effort.” Reps. Vicente González (D) and
Filemón Vela (D), “who both represent border districts in southern Texas,
said Tuesday that they planned to sign the petition.” According to the
Post, “Their decision leaves the petition supporters three signatures short
of success.”

        *DeVos Walks Back Comment On Educators Calling ICE On Students. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=06b-a70&t=c>
(6/5, Balingit) reports Education Secretary DeVos “walked back
controversial remarks she made to Congress two weeks ago” that schools can
alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement about students who might be
undocumented. After being pressed on her remarks five times by Sen. Chris
Murphy during a hearing of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, DeVos said
“I don’t think” federal law allows teachers or principals to call ICE on a
student.

        *Records Show Increased Prosecution Of Border Crossers. *The Washington
Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=06c-5ee&t=c>
(6/5, Lehman) reports an analysis by the Transactional Records Access
Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University found that “federal
prosecutions of illegal border crossers rose 60 percent in April compared
to January, reflecting the Trump administration’s new ‘zero-tolerance’
policy for illegal border crossers.”

        *Georgia County Accounts For One Fifth Of 287(g) Encounters. *The CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=06d-243&t=c>
(6/5, story 5, 5:15, Glor) reported on the “nationwide crackdown on illegal
immigration.” An immigration raid on a landscaping company in Ohio lead to
114 arrests. CBS (Begnaud) added, “Federal immigration officials point to
Georgia of being a model state when it comes to successfully cracking down
on illegal immigration.” CBS focuses on Gwinnett County, Georgia, which
“accounted for 20 percent of all” encounters last year under the 287(g)
program, which “deputizes local law enforcement to act as ICE agents.” The
number is “by far the most nationally.”

        *Before Graduation, Student Crosses Border To See Deported Father. *NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=06e-93c&t=c>
(6/5, story 10, 0:20, Holt) reported on an “emotional reunion going viral”:
Leslie Silva “crossed the border at El Paso to see her father” hours before
she graduated. He couldn’t attend the event, as he had been “found living
illegally in the US and deported to Mexico three times.”
Reports: Medicare, Social Security Face Worsening Financial Outlook.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=06f-04d&t=c>
(6/5, Pear) reports “the financial outlook for Medicare’s Hospital
Insurance Trust Fund deteriorated in the last year, and Social Security
still faces serious long-term financial problems, the Trump administration
said on Tuesday.” The projections, “the first from the administration since
President Trump signed a $1.5 trillion tax cut into law in December,” show
“no sign that a burst of economic growth will dramatically improve the
finances of the government’s largest entitlement programs.” Administration
officials, however, “are counting on a strong economy to improve the
solvency of Social Security and Medicare.” Said Treasury Secretary Mnuchin,
“The administration’s economic agenda – tax cuts, regulatory reform and
improved trade agreements – will generate the long-term growth needed to
help secure these programs.” HHS Secretary Azar, “a trustee of Medicare and
Social Security,” warned yesterday, “The current trajectories in health
spending are both unsustainable and unmatched by increases in quality.” The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=070-f00&t=c>
(6/5, Alonso-Zaldivar, Taylor) quotes Mnuchin as stating, however, that
“the programs remain secure,” and Medicare “is on track to meet its
obligations to beneficiaries well into the next decade.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=071-a93&t=c>
(6/5, Edney) notes “the main trust fund behind Medicare, the US health-care
program for the elderly and disabled, will be exhausted in 2026, three
years earlier than was projected a year ago,” and that “Medicare’s Board of
Trustees blamed the earlier depletion forecast on expectations of lower
payroll taxes and less revenue from taxing Social Security benefits, both
the result of the tax overhaul signed by... Trump.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=072-38f&t=c>
(6/5, Howell, Dinan) reports, meanwhile, that “Social Security [is] now
running a deficit” and “will spend more than it takes in. ... For Social
Security, the last time the program ran an annual deficit was in 1982,
before President Reagan signed changes that set it on firmer footing for
the next 30 years.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=073-de4&t=c>
(6/5, Demko) indicates the report found “Social Security faces depletion in
2034.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=074-878&t=c>
(6/5, story 9, 0:20, Holt) also noted the “new government report”
indicating “the costs of Social Security will be greater than the amount
the program takes in this year. ... It means the program will have to take
money from its $3 trillion reserve fund to cover benefits.”
Blagojevich Formally Asks Trump To Commute Prison Sentence.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=075-866&t=c>
(6/5, Madhani) reports from Chicago that former Illinois Gov. Rod
Blagojevich’s attorneys “filed official paperwork Tuesday with the Justice
Department formally asking President Trump to commute his 14-year prison
sentence on public corruption charges.” According to USA, “the paperwork
requesting executive clemency was filed with DOJ’s Office of Pardon
Attorney, said Adam Farragut, a spokesman for the ex-governor’s legal team
confirmed in an email.” The request “by the former politician who was once
a contestant on the president’s reality TV show, Celebrity Apprentice,
comes as Trump in recent days has spoken about Blagojevich’s sentence as
being overly harsh and suggested he’s considering commuting the former
Illinois governor’s sentence.” Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on 18
charges “for a scheme to use his powers as governor to extract favors and
campaign cash from other political operators.”

        The Chicago Sun-Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=076-340&t=c>
(6/5, Seidel, Sweet) reports that “for roughly a year now, Blagojevich has
had no formal request on file with the Office of the Pardon Attorney
because he had not exhausted his appeals,” but “as former Illinois First
Lady Patti Blagojevich has pointed out, Trump can do ‘anything he wants,
whenever he wants’ when it comes to clemency,” and “a White House official
told the Sun-Times the work of the Pardon Attorney is ‘a procedural
process.’” Blagojevich’s attorney, Leonard Goodman, “said the document
filed Tuesday afternoon totals 53 pages with exhibits,” and “if granted,
the commutation would not erase Blagojevich’s convictions, but if Trump
shortened his sentence to time served, Blagojevich could walk free in a
matter of days.”

        *Kelly, Kushner At Odds As Trump Weighs Pardon Backed By
Kardashian. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=077-68d&t=c>
(6/5, A1, Parker, Costa, Dawsey) reports that Trump is “privately telling
aides that he is strongly considering pardoning Alice Marie Johnson, a
63-year-old woman serving a life sentence, after meeting with Kim
Kardashian to discuss her case.” According to the Post, “The pardon for
Johnson could come as early as Tuesday, and the paperwork was being
finalized Tuesday morning.” However, the Post goes on to report that Chief
of Staff Kelly “has reviewed Johnson’s background and her 1996 conviction –
she was sentenced to life in prison on drug possession and money laundering
charges – and is not convinced she deserves a pardon.” On the other hand,
the Post says Jared Kushner, “who helped arrange the meeting with
Kardashian in the Oval Office last week, has heavily pushed for a pardon
for Johnson within the West Wing.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=078-e60&t=c>
(6/5, Muñoz) says “Trump has been vocal about his favor for Ms. Kardashian
West and her husband, musician Kanye West. In April, Mr. Trump and Mr. West
publicly expressed admiration for each other over Twitter and in person.”

        *Kobach Applauds Trump’s Pardon Of D’Souza. *In an opinion piece
for Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=079-42b&t=c>
(6/5), Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach writes that “last week,
President Trump pardoned Dinesh D’Souza – an accomplished conservative
author, pundit, filmmaker, and scholar,” a move which Kobach calls “a
perfect example of how the pardon power is supposed to be used.” Kobach
argues that “it appears that D’Souza had been selectively targeted for
prosecution because he was such an outspoken conservative commentator,” as
“the White House declared in a written statement, ‘Mr. D’Souza was, in the
President’s opinion, a victim of selective prosecution for violations of
campaign finance laws.’” Kobach adds that “this is only the sixth pardon of
Trump’s presidency,” but “his early start and his willingness to right the
wrongs of the Obama Justice Department bode well for the future.”
White House Aide Who Joked About McCain Illness No Longer With
Administration.

The Arizona Republic
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=07a-1eb&t=c>
(6/5, Hansen) reports that White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said
that Kelly Sadler, the White House special assistant who dismissed Sen.
John McCain as “dying,” is “no longer employed within the Executive Office
of the President.” The statement leaves it unclear “whether Sadler quit or
was fired, the reason for her departure or her immediate future.” The
Washington Post reported Sadler departed after accusing “her now-former
boss, Mercedes Schlapp, of leaking the comment to the media.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=07b-5cc&t=c>
(6/5, Dawsey) reports, “An official said the departure was not spurred by
her McCain comments but instead was fueled largely by an internal dispute
with the White House director of strategic communications, Mercedes
Schlapp, over the fallout from the comment about McCain.” Similarly, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=07c-655&t=c>
(6/5, Rogers, Haberman) reports to two people familiar with the situation
“suggested that Ms. Sadler was pushed out over reports that she had told
Mr. Trump that Mercedes Schlapp, the White House strategic communications
director, had been the one leaking to the news media.”

        Jeff Zeleny said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=07d-9b5&t=c>
(6/5), “Our Pamela Brown is reporting there were lawyers in her office this
afternoon and she has been taken off the White House grounds, as is usual
for former employees of the White House.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=07e-b99&t=c>
(6/5, Miller) and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=07f-444&t=c>
(6/5, Cook, Restuccia) also cover this story.
Administration Delays Announcement On Renewable Fuels Standard.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=080-978&t=c>
(6/5, Dlouhy, Parker, Jacobs) reports on Tuesday, the White House
“indefinitely delayed” an announcement of a “deal to revamp U.S. biofuel
policy.” The delay, adds Bloomberg, “may mark the end of the latest effort
to overhaul the American renewable fuel mandate.” Sen. Charles Grassley
“cheered the proposal’s apparent failure,” calling it “GREAT NEWS” in a
post on Twitter. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=081-9ff&t=c>
(6/5, Renshaw, Prentice) reports the Administration delayed the
announcement “under pressure from corn state lawmakers.” Grassley and Sen.
Joni Ernst “both praised President Donald Trump on Twitter on Tuesday
evening.” Ernst wrote, “Thank you Mr. President.”
Manafort Given Until Friday To Respond To Witness Tampering Allegations.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=082-3e7&t=c>
(6/5, Gerstein, Samuelsohn) reports that US District Court Judge Amy Berman
Jackson has set a Friday deadline for former Trump campaign chairman Paul
Manafort to respond so special counsel Robert Mueller’s “claims that he
sought to tamper with the testimony of two potential witnesses for his
upcoming trial on charges of money laundering and failing to register as a
foreign agent.” Jackson did not indicate “how seriously she views the
allegations, but she set a hearing on the matter for June 15.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=083-4bf&t=c>
(6/5, Day, Tucker) says that Mueller’s team alleges that “Manafort and one
of his associates ‘repeatedly’ contacted two witnesses in an effort to
influence their testimony.” On ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=084-3b6&t=c>
(6/5, 7:02 a.m. EDT, Stephanopoulos), Pierre Thomas reported that
prosecutors “are making the case that Manafort is an increasing flight
risk, alleging that he made those secret contacts even as he was trying to
get the courts to loosen the restrictions on his home confinement.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=085-07a&t=c>
(6/5, Lynch) reports that Manafort’s spokesman Jason Maloni “denied the
allegations,” saying in a statement, “Mr. Manafort is innocent and nothing
about this latest allegation changes our defense. We will do our talking in
court.”

        Rep. Adam Schiff (D), ranking member on the House Intelligence
Committee, said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=086-2ae&t=c>
(6/5), “The fact that Manafort would go to this length, that he would
potentially be risking a revocation of his bail, additional charges...tells
you how desperate Paul Manafort is. I have to think he is merely digging
the hole deeper. Quite naive to think Bob Mueller is not going to be on top
of this.”

        Sen. Ron Wyden said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=087-1a6&t=c>
(6/5), “The fact that Mr. Manafort feels free to engage in witness
tampering while he is being watched by federal authorities certainly raises
questions about whether the President promised Mr. Manafort that he would
never face justice.” Wyden added, “What we’re looking at are dangerous
times for democracy. Mr. Manafort and this Administration have shown
contempt for the special counsel, contempt for checks and balances,
contempt for the rule of law, and it does raise questions in my
mind...about whether the President made promises to Mr. Manafort that he
would not face justice.”

        Commentary focuses heavily on what is described as growing pressure
from Mueller for Manafort to cooperate with his investigation in exchange
for a plea deal. Amber Phillips of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=088-3b9&t=c>
(6/5) writes, “The more legal pressure there is on Manafort, the more
pressure he’ll face from...Mueller to sign a plea deal,” and “any plea deal
would likely offer Manafort a reduced jail sentence in exchange for sharing
what he knows about the investigation into whether the Trump campaign
worked with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election.” David Muir said
on ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=089-f95&t=c>
(6/5, story 4, 2:30) that Manafort “is facing mounting pressure here:
possible jail, fight this, or flip for Robert Mueller?”

        On MSNBC’s Morning Joe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=08a-15c&t=c>
(6/5), John Heilemann said there is a “possibility” that Manafort “may end
up deciding to cooperate with...Mueller’s team and turn against the
President, if he has the capacity to do that.” Heilemann said Manafort’s
“potential time in jail is rising now, apparently by the day and by the
hour, which all adds up to bad news for Donald Trump, because the more
years that Paul Manafort potentially faces behind bars, the higher
incentive he has eventually to cooperate.” Gloria Borger said on CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=08b-dae&t=c>
(6/5), “I think he has got to think about what his next moves are. It’s
clear that the special counsel is putting all this pressure on him for a
reason and the reason may be to get him to flip.”

        *CBS: “Sources” Say Manafort Is Banking On A Presidential Pardon. *On
CBS This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=08c-a57&t=c>
(6/5, 7:09 a.m. EDT, Dickerson), Paula Reid asserted that Manafort “has so
far refused to cooperate in the special counsel’s investigation in the hope
that he would receive a presidential pardon if he is convicted.” According
to Reid, “Sources tell CBS News that Manafort is banking on a presidential
pardon if he is convicted, but there’s no evidence he’s been promised one.”

        *Graham Suggests Rosenstein Recuse Himself From Mueller Oversight. *The
Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=08d-357&t=c>
(6/5, Cohen) reports that Sen. Lindsey Graham “has asked Deputy Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein if he thinks he should recuse himself from oversight
of special counsel Robert Mueller.” In a May 31 letter, Graham “asked
Rosenstein if he considers himself a potential witness in Mueller’s
investigation.” Graham wrote, “If not, why not?. .. If so, should you
recuse yourself from further interactions with and oversight of the Mueller
investigation?”

        *Papadopoulos’ Wife Says He Deserves A Pardon. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=08e-209&t=c>
(6/5, Helderman) reports that Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos, wife of former
Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos said Tuesday that special
counsel Robert Mueller threatened to charge her husband with “acting as an
unregistered agent of Israel.” According to Mrs. Papadopoulos, Mueller’s
office “office claimed to have evidence that [George] Papadopoulos had
worked on behalf of Israel without registering as a foreign agent while he
was serving as an energy consultant before he joined the Trump campaign.”
She said her husband, who “pleaded guilty in October to lying to the FBI,”
deserves a presidential pardon. She said he is “a victim, honestly. ... He
made a mistake. He pleaded guilty for that mistake. It would make sense for
the president to pardon him.”

        *Sanders Accused Of Giving The Press False Account Of “Infamous”
Trump Tower Meeting. *On ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=08f-40d&t=c>
(6/5, 7:02 a.m. EDT, Stephanopoulos), George Stephanopoulos said the White
House is being “forced to confront questions...on repeated false statements
about the President’s role in putting out a cover story for the infamous
Trump Tower campaign meeting with Russians.” Cecilia Vega went on to report
that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders is “refusing to say whether
she misled the press corps...or whether she was misled herself.”
Stephanopoulos said, “It’s hard to know what to do in the briefing room.
Sarah Sanders made a statement that not true and now won’t even explain
it.” Vega added, “It’s very frustrating for the reporters in there. I was
there yesterday...and people were pushing and pushing and not getting
answers. It’s a really frustrating experience.”

        On CBS This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=090-217&t=c>
(6/5, 7:09 a.m. EDT, Dickerson), Paula Reid reported that last night, Rudy
Giuliani “defended...Sanders and the President’s other attorneys over
statements they made alleging the President had no role in crafting a
misleading statement about his son’s 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a group
of Russians.” Reid added, “We now know the President actually dictated that
statement, but Giuliani said Sanders and the other attorneys weren’t lying,
they were merely mistaken.”

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=091-cd1&t=c>
(6/5, Fabian) reports that during Tuesday’s White House press briefing,
Sanders “refused to discuss her misleading claim,” but “defended herself”
as an “honest person” whose “credibility is probably higher than the
media’s.” Sanders said, “I think you all know I’m an honest person who
works extremely hard to provide you with accurate information at all
times.” Asked why reporters “should trust her claims,” Sanders said,
“Frankly I think my credibility is probably higher than the media’s and I
think in large part that’s because you guys spend more of your time focused
on attacking the President than reporting the news.”

        *Trump Again Criticizes Sessions Over Recusal In Russia Probe. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=092-909&t=c>
(6/5, Nelson) reports that President Trump on Tuesday “lashed out once
again” at Attorney General Sessions, “blaming his recusal from all
investigations related to the 2016 election for the ‘Russian Witch Hunt
Hoax.’” Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=093-4c3&t=c>,
“The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax continues, all because Jeff Sessions didn’t
tell me he was going to recuse himself...I would have quickly picked
someone else. So much time and money wasted, so many lives ruined...and
Sessions knew better than most that there was No Collusion!” The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=094-f82&t=c>
(6/5, Baker) says the tweet “encapsulated the essential contradictions of
Mr. Trump’s arguments.” Trump “acknowledged perhaps as explicitly as he
ever has that the reason he is mad at Mr. Sessions is that the attorney
general did not shut down the investigation into Mr. Trump’s campaign. To
critics, that is all but an admission of obstruction of justice, or at
least the desire to obstruct justice.” But, since Trump’s lawyers argue
that he “is singularly empowered to end the investigation himself,” then
“why lay responsibility on Mr. Sessions? Because, it seems, he has become
the president’s favorite whipping boy for not doing what Mr. Trump himself
has so far not dared to do.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=095-4b1&t=c>
(6/5, Zapotosky, Horwitz) describes a “toxic relationship” between Trump
and Sessions. While Trump “airs his rancor on Twitter, and it rockets
across the Internet,” Sessions “goes about his work, his counterattacks so
muted that it is nearly impossible to identify them as such.” The Post says
those who know the Attorney General “say that he has long loved the Justice
Department and that he is intensely motivated to keep working there.”

        Rep. Adam Schiff (D), ranking member on the House Intelligence
Committee, said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=096-85c&t=c>
(6/5), “What is telling to me about that tweet is the President continues
to provide evidence to special counsel Bob Mueller. Here he is basically
telling us about this corrupt intent of his, that if he had known that
Sessions would not be there to run interference on the Russia
investigation, to curtail the Russia investigation before it was over, he
would have never appointed him.”

        *Scope Of Trump’s Executive Powers Debated. *Elizabeth Drew,
writing in the New Republic
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=097-63e&t=c>
(6/5), cites the letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=098-506&t=c>
from Trump’s lawyers to Mueller as evidence that Trump “is claiming powers
that are clearly extra-constitutional.” However, “the real worry is that
the goalposts have already been moved; that heretofore unthinkable
presidential powers are being claimed by the president and his attorneys;
that previously off-limits actions that have already been taken might just
be the warm-up.” Drew adds that “many of the president’s strong followers,
at least in some free-floating way, believe the president’s assertions, as
well as the essence of the protective arguments made by his lawyers on his
behalf. Thus, it’s now out in the bloodstream of America that, in effect,
the president is indeed above the law.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=099-8e4&t=c>
(6/5) makes a similar argument, saying in an editorial, that with his
“increasingly outlandish ideas about the sweep of his presidential powers,”
Trump is “channeling” Britain’s King George III.

        In an opposing op-ed for USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=09a-3df&t=c>
(6/5), Jennifer Kerns, a Republican strategist and former spokesman, argues
that “Trump’s legal team rightfully asserts the Constitution grants broad
powers to the president to, ‘if he wished, terminate the (special
counsel’s) inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon.’”

        *Trump Questions Delays In DOJ IG Report On Clinton, Comey.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=09b-132&t=c>
(6/5, Swoyer) reports that President Trump questioned whether Justice
Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on the FBI’s
investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server is delayed
because it is being altered. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=09c-a5a&t=c>,
“What is taking so long with the Inspector General’s Report on Crooked
Hillary and Slippery James Comey. Numerous delays. Hope Report is not being
changed and made weaker! There are so many horrible things to tell, the
public has the right to know. Transparency!” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=09d-bcc&t=c>
(6/5, Wagner, Zapotosky) says the IG report “is certain to provide Trump
fodder for his criticism of federal law enforcement as the Russia
investigation continues and for his ongoing war of words with James B.
Comey, the FBI director whom Trump fired and who oversaw the Clinton email
investigation.”

        *McCabe To Invoke Fifth Amendment Before Senate Judiciary
Committee. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=09e-7fb&t=c>
(6/5, Schor) reports that former FBI Director Andrew McCabe’s attorney,
Michael Bromwich, told Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley that his
client “will have no choice but to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege” if
he is called before Grassley’s panel unless he is granted immunity against
the use of his testimony in criminal prosecution. Grassley “sought McCabe’s
testimony at a hearing scheduled for next week about a much-anticipated
probe by the Justice Department inspector general into the FBI’s conduct
during its investigation of Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 election.”
But in a letter to Grassley, Bromwich wrote that because McCabe “is subject
to a referral for criminal prosecution stemming from the inspector
general’s conclusion that he had lied to investigators, immunity would be
required in order to secure his testimony.”

        *Miller Was Invited To 2016 Event Where FBI Informant Contacted
Page. *According to the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=09f-ab5&t=c>
(6/5), Carter Page “was not the only Trump campaign adviser invited to a
July 2016 event at the University of Cambridge...where ‘Spygate’ is
believed to have originated.” The Daily Caller reports that “an invitation
to attend the campaign-themed event was extended to Stephen Miller, another
Trump campaign adviser who currently serves in the White House.” The Daily
Caller says Miller did not attend. J.D. Gordon, the director of the
campaign’s national security advisory committee, says he “believes the
invitation from Cambridge to Miller was sent in May 2016,” which was “a
month before a graduate assistant of FBI informant Stefan Halper sent an
invitation to Page to visit the campus.” The Daily Caller says “the
three-day Cambridge conclave was where Page first met Halper, a former
Cambridge professor who turns out to have also been working for the FBI as
part of a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign.”

        In a front-page story, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a0-7be&t=c>
(6/5, Hamburger, Costa, Nakashima) profiles Halper, whose “perch as a
Cambridge professor gave Halper, a veteran of three Republican
administrations, the chance to mingle with figures such as then-Defense
Intelligence Agency chief Michael Flynn and Vyacheslav Ivanovich Trubnikov,
former director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.” The Post
adds, “It also gave him a valuable cover to assist the FBI in a secret
operation: investigating Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016
campaign.”
Tuesday Primaries Give Both Parties Reasons For Relief.

Voters went to the polls yesterday in California, Montana, New Jersey,
Alabama, Iowa, South Dakota, and New Mexico, to decide numerous
closely-watched primary races. In some cases Democrats had reasons for
relief and optimism – such as party-backed candidates winning in four key
New Jersey House races – and Republicans did in other cases, such as
businessman John Cox (R) secured the second spot in the California
gubernatorial general election.

        *Democrat Newsom, Republican Cox Advance To California
Gubernatorial General Election *The San Jose (CA) Mercury News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a1-735&t=c>
(6/5, Tolan) reports that Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and businessman John
Cox (R) on Tuesday finished first and second, respectively in the open
gubernatorial primary, advancing to the general election, in which Newsom
“will be heavily favored.” However, “the results were a relief for
Republican leaders, who had fretted for months that their top candidates
might get completely shut out of the general election.” Ex-Los Angeles
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) finished in third place after over “$23
million in outside funding from pro-charter school billionaires spent on
his behalf wasn’t enough to make up for Newsom’s wide lead and Cox’s
success at consolidating Republican support.” The candidates are vying to
succeed term-limited Gov. Jerry Brown (D).

        *Democrats Seem To Have Avoided Shut Out In Critical House
Races *Heading
into Tuesday’s primary elections in California, a major concern of
Democrats was the possibility – under the state’s top-two, open primary
system – of being locked out of the general election in several races key
to the party’s effort to retake the House majority this fall. However, it
appears that Democrats are likely to avoid that scenario, though various
media outlets caution that the results are far from final. The particularly
key races in question are those to succeed retiring CA39 Rep. Ed Royce (R)
and retiring CA49 Rep. Darrell Issa (R), as well as the reelection contest
of CA48 Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R).

        The San Francisco Chronicle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a2-0f8&t=c>
(6/6) reports, “Democrats anxious to know if they can avoid being shut out
in some closely watched House races faced a long night Tuesday. In 10
congressional districts Democrats” are targeting this fall, “GOP incumbents
had comfortable leads in eight of them. And in two others where Republican
incumbents retired, GOP challengers were running on top.” In an number of
those contests, “the runner-up spot would not be decided until early
Wednesday morning, or even later in the week as the late ballots are
counted. But as of late Tuesday night, Democrats were number two in all
those targeted races.”

        Under the headline “Democrats Seem Poised To Avoid Getting Shut Out
Of Key California House Races,” the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a3-bed&t=c>
(6/5, Mai-Duc) reports that Democrats’ “most pressing concern throughout
the primary season was whether the party’s wide, boisterous field of
candidates would get locked out of multiple races due to the state’s unique
primary, which advances the two candidates with the most votes regardless
of party. With a large portion of the votes counted, Democrats appeared
poised to capture second place in most of the races where the risk was
acute, but it could be days before those results are certain.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a4-e5b&t=c>
(6/6, Bernstein) reports that in Tuesday’s primary elections, “California
Democrats overcame quirks in the state’s electoral system and managed to
mount challenges to Republicans in most key Congressional races.” Reuters
adds, “In some areas, the large number of Democratic candidates risked
splintering the party’s vote.” Ultimately, however, “Democratic candidates
made it through to the” general election. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a5-47d&t=c>
(6/6, Weigel) reports, “With nearly every precinct counted in Orange
County, Democrats are growing confident of getting candidates into every
competitive congressional district in southern California – preventing a
‘lockout’ that the national party had spent millions of dollars to
prevent.”

        *CA10: Battle For Second Slot In General Election Too Close To Call
*While CA10 Rep. Jeff Denham (R) finished first in Tuesday’s primary with
38%, Josh Harder (D) led Ted Howze (R) by just over 600 votes in the race
for the second slot, with 71% of votes tallied.

        *CA25: Knight’s Democratic Rival Unclear *CA25Rep. Steve Knight (R)
topped Tuesday’s primary field with 54% of the vote, but with two-thirds of
votes counted, it remained unclear whether Katie Hill (D), at 20%, or Bryan
Caforio (D), at 19%, would finish second. Both are Democrats.

        *De León Appears To Advance To California Senate Runoff Against
Feinstein *Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) topped a California Senate primary in
which 14 candidates each received at least one percent of the vote. With
81% of precincts reporting, Feinstein had 44% of the vote. State Senate
President Kevin De León (D) was in second with 11%, and businessman James
Bradley (R) was at 9%, with the other candidates trailing in the lower
single digits. The San Diego Union-Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a6-c96&t=c>
(6/6) reports that the likely result “would make it the second time in a
row Republicans have been shut out of a California U.S. Senate race because
of the state’s unusual primary system.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a7-e85&t=c>
(6/6) reports that De León, “the heavy favorite to finish second,” was
“less than 100,000 votes ahead of little-known” Bradley.

        *Trump-Supporter Rosendale Wins Montana GOP Primary To Challenge
Sen. Tester *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a8-7e5&t=c>
(6/5, Volz) reports that state Auditor Matthew Rosendale (R) on Tuesday won
the crowded GOP Senate primary, earning the right to face off against Sen.
Jon Tester (D) this fall. The AP adds, “The race between Rosendale and
Tester will be under a spotlight. President Donald Trump vowed to make
Tester pay for sinking his nominee to lead the US Department of Veterans
Affairs.” Tester “is one of 10 Senate Democrats facing election in states
that Trump won in 2016.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0a9-1e9&t=c>
(6/6, Bland) reports that Rosendale “ran as an ardent supporter of...Trump,
including one ad in which Rosendale said: ‘I’ll stand with President Trump,
we’ll get tough and we’ll build that wall.’” CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0aa-a2a&t=c>
(6/6, Pathé) reports that Tester begins the general election “with a
significant financial advantage. He ended the pre-primary reporting period
with $6.4 million in the bank compared to Rosendale’s $392,000. Inside
Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race Tilts Democratic.” The Helena
(MT) Independent Record
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0ab-8e1&t=c>
(6/6) reports, “Early results in Montana showed nearly 39,500 more people
voted in the US Senate GOP primary than the five-way Democratic primary for
US House. Turnout was near 34 percent.”

        *MT-AL: Williams To Take On GOP Rep. Gianforte In General Election.
*CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0ac-70a&t=c>
(6/6, Pathé) reported that ex-state Rep. Kathleen Williams (D) on Tuesday
“won the Democratic nomination for Montana’s at-large House seat.” In the
general election, Williams will face off against MT-AL Rep. Greg Gianforte
(R), “who’s running for his first full term in November after being elected
in a May 2017 special election.” CQ Roll Call adds, “Inside Elections with
Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race Likely Republican.”

        *Democratic Establishment-Backed Candidates Win Four Key New Jersey
Primary Races *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0ad-590&t=c>
(6/5, Corasaniti, Flegenheimer) reports, “With the path to a possible
Democratic takeover of the House in November running through suburban
districts in blue states like” New Jersey, “several candidates in” the
Garden State “on Tuesday officially earned their spot on the front lines,
winning their party’s nomination for critical contests this fall.” In the
race to succeed retiring NJ11 Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R), former Navy
pilot Mikie Sherrill (D) won the Democratic primary, the Times says. And in
the race to succeed retiring NJ2 Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R), state Sen. Jeff
Van Drew (D) won the Democratic nomination, according to the Times.
Meanwhile, NJ7 Rep. Leonard Lance (R) this fall will face off against
ex-assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski (D), who won Tuesday’s
Democratic primary.

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0ae-c34&t=c>
(6/5, Barrón-López) reports, “Every establishment-backed Democrat advanced
in their races to flip four GOP-held New Jersey House seats Tuesday.” In
addition to the aforementioned races, the Examiner says that NJ3 Rep. Tom
MacArthur (R) will face off in the general election against Andy Kim (D),
who was unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0af-b08&t=c>
(6/5, Pathé) reported that in the NJ11 contest, Sherrill will face off
against Assemblyman Jay Webber (R), who won Tuesday’s GOP primary. The Press
of Atlantic City (NJ)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b0-222&t=c>
(6/6, DeRosier, Serpico) reports that in the NJ2 general election, Van Drew
will face off against attorney Seth Grossman (R), who on Tuesday cored “a
stunning upset over” businessman Hirsh Singh (R) in the GOP primary.

        *Sen. Menendez, Hugin To Face Off In General Election *As expected,
ex-Celgene CEO Bob Hugin (R) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D) won their respective
primaries on Tuesday night and will now face off in the general election.
The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b1-ddd&t=c>
(6/5, Catalini) reports, “Democratic voters picked Menendez just weeks
after the Senate Ethics Committee rebuked him for accepting valuable gifts
and failing to report them while using his position to advance the donor’s
personal business interests.” NJ News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b2-3b4&t=c>
(6/6, Salant) reports that Menendez “won his Democratic primary Tuesday but
faced a surprisingly strong challenge from an opponent who reported
spending no money.” He “was receiving less than 60 percent against
community newspaper publisher Lisa McCormick with nearly half of the
precincts counted.”

        *AL2 Rep. Roby Forced Into GOP Primary Runoff *Alabama Live
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b3-982&t=c>
(6/5, Kingsley) reports that AL2 Rep. Martha Roby (R) on Tuesday was forced
into a runoff after she “failed to win a majority of votes” in the GOP
primary election. Roby will face off against ex-Rep. Bobby Bright (R) – a
former Democrat – “who she defeated to win the seat in 2010. Bright served
one term in Congress as a Democrat but switched parties to run against Roby
in this year’s Republican primary.” Alabama Live adds that Roby drew
“national attention when she said in 2016 she wouldn’t vote for Donald
Trump after a recording of him bragging about grabbing women became public.
Her Republican opponents hammered her for insufficient loyalty to the
president throughout the campaign.” CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b4-0ac&t=c>
(6/5, Bowman) reported, “In Congress, Bright was a conservative Democrat,
voting against President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. But his
vote for...Pelosi as speaker dogged him in his re-election race in 2010 and
will likely be an issue in the runoff against Roby.”

        *AL: Ivey, Maddox To Face Off In General Election *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b5-6d5&t=c>
(6/5, Chandler) reports that Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Tuesday won her GOP
primary election. In the general election, Ivey will face off against
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox (D), who won Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Ivey is seeking “to win the office outright after her appointment 14 months
ago, when predecessor Robert Bentley resigned in the fallout of a
sex-tinged scandal.”

        *Finkenauer Wins Democratic Nod To Take On Vulnerable IA1 Rep. Blum
*The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b6-4c0&t=c>
(6/5, Pitt) reports that that state Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D) on Tuesday won
the IA1 Democratic primary, advancing to a general election matchup against
IA1 Rep. Rod Blum (R). The AP says that Finkenauer, “who would be the
youngest woman elected to Congress,” if she unseats Blum, defeated “three
other candidates” in the Democratic contest. CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b7-4c6&t=c>
(6/5, Bowman) reported that President Obama won the IA1 “twice by double
digits, before it backed Trump by 3 points in 2016. Inside Elections with
Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race a Toss-up.” The Des Moines (IA) Register
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b8-1a3&t=c>
(6/6) reports that Roll Call earlier this year “listed Blum as the most
likely U.S. House member to lose in the November election.”

        *Sanders 2016 Iowa Coordinator Axne Wins Primary To Challenge IA3
Rep. Young *The Des Moines (IA) Register
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0b9-da7&t=c>
(6/6, Petroski, Norvell, Ta) reports that small business owner Cindy Axne
(D) on Tuesday won the IA3 Democratic primary, defeating two other
candidates, Pete D’Alessandro (D), “a veteran political operative who
directed US Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign in Iowa.” In
the general election, Axne will face off against IA3 Rep. David Young (R). CQ
Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0ba-fb7&t=c>
(6/5, Bowman) reported that President Trump won the IA3 “by 3 points in
2016, after it backed Obama twice. Inside Elections rates the race Likely
Republican.”

        *Hubbell Wins Democratic Primary To Challenge Gov. Reynolds *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0bb-ad0&t=c>
(6/5, Pitt) reports that retired businessman Fred Hubbell (D) on Tuesday
“easily won the five-way” Democratic gubernatorial primary, earning the
right to face off against Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) this fall. The AP says that
Hubbell “succeeded in getting significantly more votes to clear the 35
percent threshold needed to avoid a Democratic state convention. Early vote
totals had him exceeding 50 percent of the vote.”

        *Noem Wins South Dakota GOP Governor’s Primary, Favored In November
*The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0bc-c99&t=c>
(6/6) reports that Rep. Kristi Noem (R) on Tuesday defeated state Attorney
General Marty Jackley (R) in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Noem, who will
face state Sen. Billie Sutton (D) in the general election, is now “the
favorite to become the state’s first female governor.” The candidates are
vying to succeed term-limited Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R).

        *Reps. Lujan Grisham, Pearce To Face Off In New Mexico Governor’s
Race *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0bd-17b&t=c>
(6/5, Lee) reports that Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Tuesday won the
three-way Democratic gubernatorial primary in this fall’s race to succeed
term-limited Gov. Susana Martinez (R). In the general election, Lujan
Grisham will face off against Rep. Steve Pearce (R), who ran unopposed in
Tuesday’s GOP primary election.

        *NM2: Herrell, Torres Small Win NM2 Primaries *State Rep. Yvette
Herrell (R) on Tuesday won the four-way GOP primary in NM2 with 49% of the
vote. Attorney Xochitl Torres Small (D) won the Democratic primary with
73%. The pair will now face off in the general election race to succeed NM2
Rep. Steve Pearce (R), who is running for governor this year. The Albuquerque
(NM) Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0be-74b&t=c>
(6/6) reports that though the NM2 “has been a Republican stronghold for
decades,” Democrats see a chance to flip it this year.

        *NM1, SD-AL: Haaland, Johnson Heavy Favorites In Open-Seat Races. *On
its website, KDLT-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0bf-7ec&t=c>
Sioux Falls, SD (6/5) reported that ex-Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty
Johnson (R) on Tuesday won the three-way GOP primary in the race to succeed
SD-AL Rep. Kristi Noem (R), who is running for governor this year. Johnson
will be a heavy favorite in the general election. CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c0-79a&t=c>
(6/6, Bowman) reported that Johnson and ex-state Democratic Party chief Deb
Haaland (D), who on Tuesday won the Democratic primary in the race to
succeed NM1 Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), “are likely heading to
Congress next year, with their general election races rated safely their
party’s column.” Lujan Grisham is running for governor this fall.

        *Media Analyses: Recess Cancellation Hinders Vulnerable Senate
Democrats’ Campaigns. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c1-6a5&t=c>
(6/5, Fram) reports that Senate Majority Leader McConnell announced that he
is “canceling most of the Senate’s time-honored August recess, an
election-year move that could help lawmakers clear extra work while keeping
vulnerable Democratic senators off the campaign trail.” McConnell “said he
wants to pass as many annual spending bills as possible before the Sept. 30
end of the federal fiscal year.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c2-5ef&t=c>
(6/5, Luke) quotes McConnell as saying, “Due to the historic obstruction by
Senate Democrats of the President’s nominees and the goal of passing
appropriations bills prior to the end of the fiscal year, the August recess
has been canceled.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c3-322&t=c>
(6/5, Sherfinski) indicates that “Trump has been supportive of the idea of
shortening or canceling the August break, citing the need to get next
year’s spending bills done – including more money for his US-Mexico border
wall – and get through a backlog of his nominees.” Democrats, meanwhile,
“have said there should be enough time in the schedule to get next year’s
spending bills done before the next government funding deadline comes on
Sept. 30.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c4-25e&t=c>
(6/5, Everett) says McConnell “was under enormous pressure from his own
caucus as well as the president to cancel as much of the recess as
possible,” and that he “also saw an opportunity to unite Republicans and
annoy incumbent Democrats.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c5-61a&t=c>
(6/5, Sullivan) describes the recess cancellation as “an election-year move
that will force vulnerable Democratic senators to shuffle their campaign
schedules,” and the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c6-5b0&t=c>
(6/5, Kaplan, Fandos) as “a move that could keep vulnerable Democrats
tethered to Washington as the midterm elections approach.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c7-d99&t=c>
(6/5) also says the cancellation “will have a lopsided effect on
Democrats.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c8-03b&t=c>
(6/5, Collins) also reports that “if lawmakers have to be in Washington to
vote in August, that’s less time those up for re-election – particularly
the 10 Democrats up in states...Trump won in 2016 – are home talking to
voters.” CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0c9-a82&t=c>
(6/5, Lesniewski), Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0ca-cdd&t=c>
(6/5, Caplan), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0cb-d99&t=c>
(6/5, Carney), Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0cc-a85&t=c>
(6/5, O'Brien), and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0cd-f79&t=c>
(6/5, Peterson, Andrews), among other news outlets, run similar stories
about the canceled recess.

        *McConnell: Senate To Take Up Farm Bill “Around July 4th.” *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0ce-f33&t=c>
(6/5, Cornwell) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell “said on Tuesday
the chamber would likely take up a massive farm bill around the July 4
holiday.” Said McConnell, “In the short term, we’re going to turn to a
defense authorization bill and the farm bill before, the one week around
July 4th.”
Ellison Announces Bid For Minnesota Attorney General

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0cf-f75&t=c>
(6/5, Wagner) reports that MN5 Rep. Keith Ellison (D), the deputy chairman
of the Democratic National Committee, on Tuesday announced a bid for state
attorney general, the last day for filing and “one day after the Democratic
incumbent, Lori Swanson, announced that she would run for governor.” The St.
Paul (MN) Pioneer Press
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d0-caf&t=c>
(6/5, Orrick) reports that Ellison was “the first Muslim elected to
Congress. President Donald Trump’s policies related to Muslims or
immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries are among the reasons
Ellison cited for deciding to run statewide – an undoubtedly more
challenging proposition than winning the liberal” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d1-8d5&t=c>
(6/5, Dovere) reported that Ellison “won’t leave Congress immediately, but
he will not run for reelection. He will also remain deputy chair of the
[DNC] during his campaign.”
Cancer Research
Childhood Cancer Treatment Advocates Cheer Passage Of Expanded Access Bill.

CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d2-f0e&t=c>
(6/5, Siddons) reports childhood cancer treatment advocacy groups are
applauding the imminent ratification of a bill by President Trump which
would expand children’s access to experimental treatments. The measure
“would let the Health and Human Services Department set up demonstration
projects for childhood cancer survivors,” and “would renew and tweak
several programs at the National Institutes of Health” by allowing the NIH
“to make grants for collecting medical specimens related to the childhood
cancers with the least effective treatments available.” The piece adds that
many cancer advocates have denounced the recent passage of the “Right to
Try” bill, although FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said at American
Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting, “There are critics who say
we should hold drugs back from the market, and demand more pre-market
studies proving overall survival endpoints, before we consider approving
new drugs. ... I disagree. And I suspect some of the patients who face long
odds...might also disagree.”

        Congressional Quarterly
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d3-c7b&t=c>
(6/5, Siddons) also reports.
Study: Personalized Vaccine Could Add Years To Glioblastoma Patients’ Lives.

The New York Daily News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d4-817&t=c>
(6/5, Scotti) reports that “a new way of treating glioblastoma...with a
personalized vaccine is giving some patients in a clinical trial more
time.” This vaccine, “called DCVax-L, is made out of a patient’s own cells
and uses them to jumpstart the immune system and attack the tumor.”
Researchers found in a trial that “some patients survived for more than 36
months – more than a year and a half longer than current life expectancy
after glioblastoma diagnosis.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Grifters Gonna Grift.”* In an editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d5-e77&t=c>
(6/5) writes, “This is shaping up to be another red-letter week for
Draining the Swamp. ... The mattress caper was, at least, more exotic than
[EPA Administrator Scott] Pruitt’s usual shopping misadventures,” but “as
delicious as Chick-fil-A may be, using the agency’s staff to run one’s
personal errands is, of course, a breech of ethics rules.” To the Times,
“whatever his intentions, the Trump era is proving to be a master class in
the many ways to abuse power — and the many ways to get busted for it.”

        *“Can Facebook Be Cut Down To Size?” *In an editorial, the New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d6-a09&t=c>
(6/5) calls Facebook “the most powerful communications and media company in
the world,” and says “that power is being abused.” The Times says that
while the company “has adamantly argued that it treats our data, and who
has access to it, as a sort of sacred trust,” it has “continued to
undermine privacy by making it cumbersome to opt out of sharing, trying to
convince users that we actually do want to share all of our personal
information (and some people actually do) and by leaving the door unlocked
for its partners and clients to come in and help themselves.” The Times
suggests the company could use some competition, citing the government’s
break-up of the telephone system in 1984, says that “at some point a
government agency might be willing to break away some of its components and
chop it down to size.”

        *“Upheaval In Italy And Spain.” *In an editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d7-0e9&t=c>
(6/5) writes Italy’s and Spain’s new governments are “each a curious mix of
disparate parties and neither particularly stable.” In Spain, Prime
Minister Pedro Sánchez, “is not likely to do anything to destabilize the
economy or challenge Spain’s place in the European Union, if only because
he doesn’t have the parliamentary votes for it,” but for Italy’s populist
coalition “blaming the E.U. is central to their message.” While the Times
acknowledges “there’s plenty of reason for the rest of Europe to be wary
and watchful,” but warns Brussels against “petty tutelage” The Times notes,
“running a government...has a way of moderating populist bluster” and
concludes, “This is a tale of two democracies working out their own
problems.”
Washington Post.

*“It’s Time For Congress To Take Back Trade.”* In an editorial, the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d8-274&t=c>
(6/5) says President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs are a threat to
“vital economic and political relationships,” and calls on Congress to
“show some independence and leadership” on trade.

        *“Another Win For Erdogan Is No Longer A Foregone Conclusion.” *In
an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0d9-c30&t=c>
(6/5) welcomes signs that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “and his
party are facing unexpected head winds.” Voters rejecting “Erdogan’s
illiberal autocracy” and showing their support for democracy would be
“refreshing” and could “slow Turkey’s drift away from Europe and the United
States.” While Erdogan “should not be underestimated...a backlash may be
brewing,” which is “good reason” for Western governments “not to write off
the Turkish election as a foregone conclusion but to follow it closely –
and insist that the votes be counted fairly and the results respected.”

        *“Why David Blair Makes Sense For Montgomery County.” *In an
editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0da-a4a&t=c>
(6/5) lauds Montgomery County, Maryland, county executive candidate David
Blair for “an insistently positive, upbeat and serious campaign” in a race
that “has assumed a slightly surreal aspect.” The Post adds, “Blair makes
the most convincing case for his ability to attract jobs and spur economic
vitality” for a county “whose prospects look shaky.” While many voters,
“weary of traffic, are skeptical of additional development,” the Post casts
as “folly” the assumption that impeding growth will lead to success, as
“without vibrant new businesses and the revenue they produce” the county
will have to reduce spending on public education, affordable housing,
health services, and other amenities creating “a recipe for long-term
decline.”
Biden in the News
Biden Brings “American Promise Tour” To New Orleans.

WDSU-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0db-0b3&t=c>
New Orleans' News at 10PM (6/5) reported that former Vice President visited
New Orleans on Thursday to promote “his new book. He was welcomed on stage
with a standing ovation at the Saenger Theatre. New Orleans native and
journalist Cokie Roberts joined him on stage to talk about his late son,
Beau Biden, who passed away from brain cancer. Biden’s memoir is titled,
‘Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose.’ Political analysts
think he may decide on another presidential bid by the end of the year.”

        Writing for Gambit Best Of New Orleans
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0dc-4c4&t=c>
(6/5), Kat Stromquist said, “If Joe Biden ran for president, who would vote
for him? Judging from the enthusiasm of the crowd at” last night’s event,
“one of whom called out to Biden ‘We need you!’, a lot of people. The warm
room turned out for Biden’s New Orleans appearance, which was sold as a
book tour.” However, “the subtext to it all – Roberts joked that she’d have
her journalist credentials revoked if she didn’t ask about it – was the
prospect of a Biden campaign in 2020.” Biden “said he’d need to make a
‘family decision’ by the end of the year, while he tries to remain
‘fastidious’ about not mixing discussions of his book, which reflects on
his son’s death, with politics.”

        *Biden To Speak In Durham, North Carolina Today. *WTVD-TV[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0dd-1c6&t=c>
Raleigh-Durham (NC)'s News at 11PM (6/6) reports that Biden “is making a
stop at the DPAC in Durham [today]. It’s part of his ‘American Promise
Tour.’ The tickets begin at $49 each. That event begins at 7:30 pm.” Charlotte
(NC) Spectrum News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0de-1eb&t=c>
(6/6) reports that Biden is bringing “his 30-city tour to Durham. his
‘American Promise Tour’ takes place today at the DPAC. Biden kicked off the
tour late last year in New York City to support his book ‘Promise Me Dad: A
Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose.’ The book chronicles his son Beau’s
fatal battle with brain cancer as Biden pondered whether to run for the
presidency in 2015. The tour stops in Charlotte next week.”
The Hill: Some Democrats Think Biden Right Choice To Battle Trump In 2020.

Under the headline “Dems Say Biden’s Stock Is Rising,” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0df-669&t=c>
(6/6, Parnes) reports, “After a stunning 2016 election defeat, Democrats
have been looking for new faces and new leadership. But one Democrat in
particular has run counter to that idea: Joe Biden.” The Hill says, “Some
Democrats are becoming increasingly convinced that the plain-spoken” Biden
– “decidedly not a fresh face for the party after serving eight years as
vice president – nonetheless is the one to take on President Trump in the
next election.” For example, ex-New York Democratic Party Executive
Director Bill Smikle, a Democratic strategist, told The Hill, “A fresh face
is important, but Democrats need three things: someone to win the White
House, someone who can elevate the rest of the ticket and a candidate who
understands and appreciates governance where this president has shown
disdain for it. Biden fits that bill.”
Author Brower: Biden Discusses Foreign Leaders With Pence.

Kate Andersen Brower, author of “First in Line: Presidents, Vice
Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power,” was asked during a Tuesday
appearance on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0e0-a9d&t=c>
(6/5) to talk about the relationship between Vice President Mike Pence and
former Vice President Joe Biden. Brower said that “Biden told me he talks
to Mike Pence at least once a month, and that he’s kind of a conduit
between the Trump Administration and foreign leaders. Because Biden was in
the Senate for almost four decades – great relationships with people around
the world. So, he will call...Pence before he has a meeting with a foreign
leader...and give them a readout after the meeting. He says there are a lot
of world leaders who are somewhat diffident, he put it, concerned about
Donald Trump. He told me Trump doesn’t have the bandwidth to deal with
foreign affairs. So, that is why he goes to...Pence, who is easier to deal
with.”

        *Brower Discusses “Evolution” Of Biden-Obama Relationship. *During
her appearance on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060601biden&r=email-c3e1&l=0e1-23e&t=c>
(6/5), Brower was also asked about the “evolution” of Biden’s relationship
with now-former President Barack Obama. Anderson said, “I interviewed all
six living former vice-presidents for the book. And one thing that I
noticed again and again is the relationships tend to disintegrate over
time.” However, the Biden-Obama relationship “is one of the few that grew
stronger,” though “it was difficult at first. I was surprised by that. It
wasn’t this bromance from the very beginning. Biden didn’t like having a
boss. He had never had one before. But over time, especially the experience
of Biden’s son, Beau, and his cancer diagnosis, it brought them much
closer. Biden told me, in fact, at the these weekly lunches, he stopped
bringing up Beau’s name, because President Obama was so upset about it and
he would start tearing up at these lunches. ... It brought them closer
together.”

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