Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday, June 15, 2018
From: "Kathy Chung" <[email-masked]>
To: "Ashley Blazer Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jill Tracy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jimmy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Valerie Biden Owens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2018 08:53:28 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Friday, June 15, 2018 7:53 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
June 15, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=000-a24&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=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=001-57d&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, June 15, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden Cancer Initiative Announces FiERCE Awards. <#S1>

• Biden To Visit Memphis Tonight On American Promise Tour. <#S2>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• DOJ IG Slams Comey, Notes Strzok Vowed To “Stop” Trump From Becoming
President. <#S3>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Pompeo: Sanctions On North Korea To Remain Until “Complete
Denuclearization.” <#S4>

• Trump Expected To Announce Tariffs On Chinese Goods Today. <#S5>

• NSC Official Says US, Russia Exploring Trump-Putin Meeting. <#S6>

• US Appears Poised To Withdraw From UN Human Rights Council. <#S7>

• Major Offensive On Port City Risks Escalating Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis.
<#S8>

• State Department To Release $6.6 Million For Syria’s White Helmets. <#S9>

• Kenyan Village Tied To Obama Seeks Revival In Former President’s Visit.
<#S10>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• White House Blames Democrats For Immigrant Children Separated From
Parents. <#S11>

• New York AG Files Lawsuit Against Trump, Trump Foundation. <#S12>

• Broad Range Of Healthcare Constituencies Oppose Lawsuit Challenging ACA.
<#S13>

• IMF: Tax Cuts Eventually Will Slow US Economic Growth. <#S14>

• Comptroller Of The Currency Acknowledges Lending, Housing Discrimination.
<#S15>

• Bankruptcy Judges Beginning To Offer Relief From Student Debt. <#S16>

• High Court Strikes Down Minnesota Law Banning Political Apparel At
Polling Places. <#S17>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Higher Concentrations Of Vitamin D In Blood May Lower Colorectal Cancer
Risk. <#S18>

• Researchers Examine Detection Tools For Gasdermin E. <#S19>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S20>

• Washington Post. <#S21>
Biden in the News
Biden Cancer Initiative Announces FiERCE Awards.

Writing for Fortune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=002-8a2&t=c>
(6/14), Clifton Leaf said the Biden Cancer Initiative on Thursday
“announced a new program, called the FiERCE Awards, intended to honor
individuals and organizations that are having ‘a transformative impact on
the lives of cancer patients’ and it’s” seeking “nominations.” Biden Cancer
Initiative President Greg Simon is quoted as saying, “VP Biden and Dr.
Biden started the Biden Cancer Initiative to address what is wrong with our
current cancer research and care systems. But we know there are people and
organizations doing wonderful things across the country we don’t know about
– and we hope these awards will bring attention to people in all walks of
life caring for others with cancer.” Leaf urged readers to submit their
nominations for the awards, and then offered one of his own: Dr. Harold P.
Freeman, for the award honoring “the person who has done more to
demonstrate the power of ‘patient navigation.’”
Biden To Visit Memphis Tonight On American Promise Tour.

WHBQ-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=003-a67&t=c>
Memphis (TN)'s Good Morning Memphis (6/15) reports this morning that former
Vice President Joe Biden “will be in Memphis today. He’s going to be at the
Orpheum [Theatre] tonight – part of his ‘American Promise Tour.’ The show
is set to start at 8 p.m. We checked overnight and there are still tickets
available...starting around $45.” In another broadcast this morning,
WATN-TV[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=004-7df&t=c>
Memphis, TN (6/15) reports that Biden “plans to talk about the biggest
political moments of his career, the loss of his son, Beau, and finding his
purpose. Biden has not formally declared his intention to run in 2020,
although there has been speculation – and he says he hasn’t ruled it out.”
In a piece highlighting a number of upcoming events in Memphis, the Memphis
(TN) Daily News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=005-43e&t=c>
(6/15) briefly reports that Biden “brings his American Promise Tour to
Memphis Friday, June 15, at 8 p.m. at The Orpheum Theatre.” He “will reveal
the big political moments of his career, the life-altering choices he made,
and the key traits that have helped him persevere through challenges.
Tickets start at $45.”

        *Biden’s Thursday Visit To St. Louis Draws Minimal Local Media
Coverage. *There is extremely little local media coverage of Biden’s
Thursday visit to St. Louis. In an online article ahead of the event,
KTVI-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=006-6fd&t=c>
St. Louis (6/14) reported that Biden’s visit to St. Louis is “part of his
American Promise Tour. Biden will be at the Peabody Opera House Thursday
night at 7:30 pm. He’ll discuss the big political moments of his career,
life-altering choices he made, and the traits that have helped him
persevere through challenges.”
Leading the News
DOJ IG Slams Comey, Notes Strzok Vowed To “Stop” Trump From Becoming
President.

Much of the coverage of the release of the Department of Justice Inspector
General Michael Horowitz report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=007-9b8&t=c>
on the FBI’s handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s mishandling
of classified information focuses on the criticism of former FBI director
James Comey, and notes a previously undisclosed text from FBI agent Peter
Strzok in which he vows to block then-candidate Trump from getting elected.
Though Horowitz ruled out political bias as Comey’s motivation, the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=008-090&t=c>
(6/14, Barrett, Demirjian, Wagner, Zapotosky) notes that the IG found that
“some senior bureau officials...exhibited a disturbing ‘willingness to take
official action’ to hurt Trump’s chances to become president,” and the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=009-b3e&t=c>
(6/14, Schmidt) that “the FBI agent overseeing the investigation into
President Trump’s campaign pledged to stop Mr. Trump from becoming
president.”

        Moreover, as the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=00a-2c5&t=c>
(6/14, Dinan) reports, the IG found that “while bias didn’t appear to
affect the big decisions in the handling of the initial investigation into
Hillary Clinton’s email practices, investigators couldn’t rule out a role
for bias in the final days of the campaign, when the FBI chose to focus on
the Russia probe rather than speedily review a new set of emails found on
the laptop of Anthony Weiner.” Ultimately, says USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=00b-33c&t=c>
(6/14, Kelly, Johnson), “the inspector general’s report did not address
whether any of its findings would be referred to federal prosecutors for
possible criminal action.”

        Charles Hurt, opinion editor for the Washington Times, said Fox
News Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=00c-0cc&t=c>
(6/14), “I think the most interesting thing is, top line, you have people
saying there is no evidence of political bias in the whole process, which
is strange credulity to think about that. There is no smoking gun where
James Comey said blatantly, ‘I want to rake this thing so that Hillary
Clinton wins and Donald Trump loses.’ But all throughout – this whole
report shows at rampant political bias, all up and down the system.”

        Tucker Carlson, in his opening monologue on Fox News’ Tucker
Carlson Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=00d-97b&t=c>
(6/14), said, “Within minutes of [the IG report’s] release, the hair-spray
geniuses of cable news had it neatly summarized for the rest of us. ‘It was
a tough day for the FBI,’ they said. ‘Here’s the bottom line: A month’s
long investigation found no evidence that political bias played any role in
this high profile criminal investigation.’” Carlson added that “if you are
looking to understand what’s actually happening in this country, always
assume the opposite of what they are telling you on the big news stations.
And that’s certainly the case here. They are lying.”

        On the other hand, justice reporter Laura Jarrett said on CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=00e-9fa&t=c>
(6/14), “We’ve heard an uninterrupted narrative from...Trump that the
entire investigation was rigged in Clinton’s favor and this report says ‘No
it wasn’t.’” Justice correspondent Evan Perez said CNN’s Situation Room[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=00f-d9b&t=c>
(6/14), “I think...the people at the justice department, people at the FBI
who were very concerned about how this would come across have to be
relieved.”

        To the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=010-977&t=c>
(6/14, story 2, 1:30, Brennan), meanwhile, “neither Republicans nor
Democrats can claim total vindication, because...there is no evidence of
political bias that would have influenced the investigation into Hillary
Clinton’s email server.” In its lead story, the CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=011-a07&t=c>
(6/14, lead story, 3:20, Glor) said the IG found “some FBI agents showed
anti-Trump bias, but that bias did not affect the case.” Also in its lead, NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=012-7e2&t=c>
(6/14, lead story, 2:45, Holt) described the report as “providing ammo for
all sides on the partisan war over the integrity of the FBI,” as it
“brought to light some FBI investigators did have politics on their minds.” ABC
World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=013-3f1&t=c>
(6/14, lead story, 4:25, Thomas) said, meanwhile, “the Inspector General
concludes there was ‘no evidence’ that the decision to clear Hillary
Clinton ‘was influenced by political preferences’ or bias,” and directs
“perhaps” its “harshest criticism...at two senior FBI officials who
exchanged blatantly anti-Trump text messages during the 2016 campaign,
including two new ones we saw today for the first time.”

        Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=014-b56&t=c>
(6/14, Pappas) reports that in his “comprehensive and at-times scathing
report,” Horowitz “exposed extraordinary text messages by a top FBI
official vowing to ‘stop’ Donald Trump.” According to Fox, “one of the most
stunning findings concerns texts between” Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page.
According to the report, Page “texted Strzok in August 2016 and said:
‘[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!’” Strzok
replied, “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it.” Fox notes that Strzok “was a
lead investigator on the Clinton case and later worked the Russia
investigation before being removed from that assignment.” The IG report
says, “In particular, we were concerned about text messages...that
potentially indicated or created the appearance that investigative
decisions were impacted by bias or improper considerations.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=015-181&t=c>
(6/14, Apuzzo, Fandos, Savage) reports Horowitz “said that, because of his
views, Mr. Strzok may have improperly prioritized the Russia investigation
over the Clinton investigation during the final weeks of the campaign.”
However, “the report did not cite evidence that Mr. Strzok had acted
improperly or influenced the outcome of the investigation.” The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=016-63e&t=c>
(6/14, Baker) says in an analysis piece, moreover, that the IG report
“undercut Mr. Trump’s narrative. Whatever the agent, Peter Strzok, meant,
the F.B.I. did not ‘stop’ Mr. Trump, nor did the inspector general find
evidence it tried.”

        The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=017-f42&t=c>
(6/14, Kerr) noted the report stated that Strzok’s texts are “not only
indicative of a bias state of mind but, even more seriously, it implies a
willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate’s
electoral prospects.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=018-919&t=c>
(6/14, Mason) reports that “the exchange would have taken place during the
2016 campaign as Strzok and Page were both working on the Clinton email
probe.”

        Sean Hannity said in his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=019-cc7&t=c>
(6/14), “This is, sadly, a swamp document. Now, the swamp always protects
the swamp. ... And tonight we’ll highlight the stark difference between two
investigations. You get the white glove special treatment for Hillary
Clinton and then the heavy handed tactics all in against Donald Trump. ...
The hatred of Donald Trump from the left in the media in this country knows
no bounds.”

        Along those lines, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=01a-06a&t=c>
(6/14, Halper) reports “Trump’s allies quickly seized on those texts as
evidence for his claim that people within the FBI have conspired against
him.” On the other hand, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=01b-00b&t=c>
(6/14, Gerstein, Cheney) reports its story “Watchdog Rips Comey But Says
Bias Didn’t Taint Clinton Probe,” and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=01c-3a6&t=c>
(6/14, Wilber, Viswanatha, Gurman) titles its report “DOJ Clinton Report
Blasts Comey, Agents, But Finds No Bias In Conclusion.”

        *In Tweets Today, Trump Slams Strzok, Page, Comey, Lauds Wray. *Trump
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=01d-d01&t=c>
this morning, “FBI Agent Peter Strzok, who headed the Clinton & Russia
investigations, texted to his lover Lisa Page, in the IG Report, that
‘we’ll stop’ candidate Trump from becoming President. Doesn’t get any lower
than that!” Trump added in a second tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=01e-68f&t=c>,
“The IG Report is a total disaster for Comey, his minions and sadly, the
FBI. Comey will now officially go down as the worst leader, by far, in the
history of the FBI. I did a great service to the people in firing him. Good
Instincts. Christopher Wray will bring it proudly back!”

        *Page Urged Colleges To Go Easy On Clinton, Who “Might Be Our Next
President.” *The Federalist
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=01f-6eb&t=c>
(6/14, Stotzfoos) notes, meanwhile, that the report disclosed that “Page
instructed her colleagues to go easy on Hillary Clinton during the FBI’s
email investigation, because ‘she might be our next president.’” Page
texted, “One more thing: She might be our next president. ... The last
thing you need us going in there loaded for bear. You think she’s going to
remember or care that it was more doj than fbi?”

        *Another Lead FBI Attorney On Probes Also Was Dropped From Mueller
Team For Anti-Trump Texts. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=020-e55&t=c>
(6/14, Ross) notes the IG report reveals that “an FBI attorney who worked
on the special counsel’s Russia investigation until earlier this year sent
anti-Trump text messages to a colleague, including one exclaiming: ‘Viva le
Resistance.’” According to the Daily Caller, “The lawyer is not identified,
but he worked on the Hillary Clinton email investigation and was the FBI’s
lead attorney on the investigation into Russian election interference. He
was assigned to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation soon after
it began in May 2017 and left in late February of this year after some of
his private messages were shared with the special counsel.”

        *“Agent 1” And “Agent 5” Also Exchanged Texts Expressing Political
Support For Clinton. *To the Weekly Standard
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=021-13f&t=c>
(6/15, Felten), “perhaps the most shocking information in the IG’s report
is the revelation that...Page and...Strzok were not the only amorous agents
with a habit of texting. There were also ‘Agent 1’ and ‘Agent 5,’ who were
involved in the Clinton investigation and, according to the IG’s report
‘were in a relationship at the time and are now married.’” In his texts,
Agent 1 “not only expressed his political support for Clinton, he advocated
against subjecting Hillary to an FBI interview.” Agent 5, meanwhile texted
after “completing the questioning of Clinton: ‘done interviewing the
President.’ She also texted, ‘You should know; … that I’m … with her.’ (The
IG helpfully adds in a footnote that ‘“I’m with her” was one of the Clinton
campaign slogans.’)”

        *White House: Report “Reaffirmed” Trump’s “Suspicions.” *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=022-a56&t=c>
(6/14, Fabian) reports the White House “on Thursday touted the results” the
investigation, with White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying the
report “reaffirmed the President’s suspicions about Comey’s conduct and
about the political bias of some members of the FBI.”

        *In Wake Of IG Report, FBI Institutes “Political Bias Training.” *The
Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=023-7d6&t=c>
(6/14, Cohen) reports “the FBI said it has accepted the findings of an
inspector general report that faulted actions taken by top officials during
the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server, and is developing a
training purpose to eliminate bias within its ranks.” Said the FBI, “The
FBI is instituting new political bias training, drawing from, among other
sources, the training, guidance, and practices of the federal judiciary.”
FBI Director Wray “will require all employees to ‘undergo similar training
to reinforce the importance of maintaining a work environment free from
political bias.’” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=024-ab4&t=c>
(6/14, Dinan) says the FBI’s decision followed the release of the
“devastating report.” Wray writes in USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=025-1bd&t=c>
(6/14), “While the Inspector General didn’t find any evidence of political
bias or improper consideration impacting the investigation under review,
all of us at the FBI take this report seriously, and we accept its findings
and recommendations”

        *Giuliani, Republicans: After IG Revelations, Mueller Should
Suspend His Investigation. *Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Fox News’
Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=026-aba&t=c>
(6/14), “I do believe this impacts whether or not the Mueller investigation
at its foundation, considering it’s the same people involved, now should
all go away as a result. .. We have investigation, in the words of
President Donald Trump, from the very beginning has been a fix, a frame-up
and a witch-hunt.” He added, “Mueller should suspend his investigation and
the Deputy Attorney General and Attorney General Sessions, who should now
step up big time to save his department, should suspend that investigation.
Throw out all the people is that have been involved in the phony Trump
investigation and bring in honest FBI agents from the New York office who I
could trust implicitly.” He also said, “I feel that this whole thing has
made fools of all of us.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=027-0b9&t=c>
(6/14, Datoc) runs a story on Giuliani’s comments.

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=028-a34&t=c>
(6/14, Costa) says the IG report “gave new and potent ammunition to...Trump
and his allies in their ongoing efforts to undermine special counsel Robert
S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference during the 2016
presidential campaign.” Republicans “quickly seized on the report as a
meaningful development that they believe will further bruise Mueller’s
credibility with the public and bolster the president, whose administration
has long been gripped by the probe.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=029-f33&t=c>
(6/14, Cheney, Schor) also indicates that “though Democrats insisted that
the new report...should have no bearing on Mueller’s work, Republicans
across the ideological spectrum appeared increasingly emboldened in their
assertions that the special counsel’s investigation had been damaged –
perhaps irreversibly so.”

        Donald Trump Jr. said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=02a-ca0&t=c>
(6/14), “It probably doesn’t go far enough as it relates to what was really
going on. I think real America, and what I have been saying for weeks and
last time I was on with you, real America sees what’s going on here. They
see that these phony players at the top of the FBI.” He added, “These
lawyers at the top were trying to influence an election and then undermine
a presidency. ... When I see what’s gone on, I think I see what everyone
else in America is seeing and they should be disgusted.”

        House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy said on Fox
News Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=02b-530&t=c>
(6/14) that the report “changes a lot going forward. Russia did something
to our country in 2016. It was serious, it deserved to be investigated and
it deserved to be investigated by a fair FBI agent who was not talking
about impeaching the person that he was investigating.” He added[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=02c-9fa&t=c>,
“It just so happens that the one picked to follow up and lead the Russian
investigation has manifest animus and can’t think of a single person to
vote Donald Trump. So those two are inextricably intertwined. Most of my
fellow citizens would say, ‘I want to know what Russia was doing to us in
2016, but I also want the person that is finding out and investigating it
to be free of bias and free of taint.’”

        House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said on Fox News’ Ingraham
Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=02d-e3e&t=c>
(6/14), “These are text messages that clearly were pertinent to our
investigation and to FISA abuse and the Russian investigation, whether or
not there was collusion. These are emails or text messages that somebody
held a from us. Every day that goes by, there’s a new example of
obstruction of the congressional investigation.” He added, “I think the
same people in charge today still believe they can run the clock out and
they are trying to run the clock out for the rest of the Congress that we
can’t finish our investigations.”

        House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte said on Fox News Special
Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=02e-953&t=c>
(6/14) comparing how the Clinton investigation was improperly handled to
how “the investigation has been handled in the so-called Trump-Russia
collusion, and you have contrast that is shocking in terms of how they
handled one presidential campaign compared to another. It’s got to be
investigated further, changes have to be made.”

        Rep. Jim Jordan (R) said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=02f-1d1&t=c>
(6/14), “We have caught [DOJ] hiding documents. How about the fact, Tucker,
we have seen all these text messages, thousands. The Attorney General said,
I forget, 50,000 text messages between Strzok And Page. The one most
telling was the one that says we’ll stop Trump. We don’t see that one until
today? ... We have caught them trying to hide information from us.”

        *IG: Comey “Insubordinate” When He Decided Not To Consult With
Lynch About Clinton Probe. *Under the headline, “Watchdog Sees Errors, Not
Bias, In Comey’s Clinton Probe,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=030-483&t=c>
(6/14, Tucker, Day) reports that the DOJ IG concluded that Comey “was
‘insubordinate’ in his handling of the...Clinton email investigation during
the 2016 presidential election.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=031-1ba&t=c>
(6/14, Lynch) says Horowitz “did not contest the decision not to prosecute
Clinton for the email affair,” but he “sharply criticized Comey for
violating Justice Department policies and accused him of usurping the
authority of then Attorney General Loretta Lynch.” Reuters notes that Comey
has said Lynch “forced his hand when she did not recuse herself from the
Clinton probe, even after a June 2016 meeting with former President Bill
Clinton aboard her plane raised concerns she was conflicted.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=032-b92&t=c>
(6/14, Strohm) notes that the FBI “said in a statement included in the
inspector general’s report that Comey’s handling of the Clinton findings
may have violated regulations on releasing information and that his letter
disclosing reopening of the inquiry shortly before the election ‘was a
serious error in judgment.’” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=033-9af&t=c>
(6/14, Williams) calls the report “highly critical” of Comey, and the Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=034-938&t=c>
(6/14, Hasson) that it found he “acted like the rules didn’t apply to him.”

        *IG: Comey Used Personal Gmail Account To Conduct FBI Business. *
CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=035-fa7&t=c>
(6/14) reports that the IG revealed that Comey “used a personal Gmail
account to conduct FBI business on numerous occasions when he was director
of the bureau – even though he had bluntly warned FBI workers they would be
in ‘huge trouble’ for doing the same thing.” The IG said Comey’s “frequent
use of a personal email account for unclassified FBI business was
‘inconsistent with’ Justice Department policy.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=036-8ca&t=c>
(6/14, Athey) and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=037-8a2&t=c>
(6/14, Samuels), among other news outlets, also note Comey’s email use.

        *Report: FBI Employees Received “Free Perks” From Journalists.
*The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=038-f3e&t=c>
(6/14, Simonson) notes the report “identified a number of instances where
FBI employees regularly spoke with members of the media and received a
number of free perks from journalists including meals and tickets to
various events.” The IG “implies that such benefits could have encouraged
various agents to leak information to the press.” According to the Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=039-95f&t=c>
(6/14, Cohen), the IG found that “so many FBI officials are talking to the
press and attending ‘social events’ with the media that it’s impossible to
say who might have leaked confidential information to the media during the
investigation into...Clinton’s private emails.”

        *Comey: Findings “Reasonable,” But Nothing To Indicate He Should
Have Acted Differently. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=03a-14e&t=c>
(6/14, Thomsen) says Comey responded to the reports by calling its
conclusions “reasonable” but adding nothing in it “makes me think we did
the wrong thing.” Comey wrote on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=03b-b16&t=c>,
“I respect the DOJ IG office, which is why I urged them to do this review.
The conclusions are reasonable, even though I disagree with some. People of
good faith can see an unprecedented situation differently. I pray no
Director faces it again. Thanks to IG’s people for hard work.” The New York
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=03c-3d3&t=c>
(6/14, Fredericks) and Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=03d-6f1&t=c>
(6/14, Lim), among other news outlets, also report Comey’s tweets. In a New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=03e-611&t=c>
(6/14, Comey) op-ed, Comey further states the report endorsed much of his
work in the Clinton probe, and concludes, “Our nation’s institutions of
justice are up to the task of protecting the rule of law and defending
truth and transparency. All of us should stand up and support them.”

        *Report Finds Comey Did Not Know Abedin Was Married To Weiner.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=03f-38e&t=c>
(6/14, Dinan) reports that “in one striking finding, Mr. Comey says he
didn’t know Ms. [Huma] Abedin – who had been a key figure in the
investigation – was married to Mr. Weiner, a prominent former congressman
who was being investigated for sending sexually-focused messages to an
underage girl.”

        *WPost, WSJournal Editorials Reach Different Conclusions On IG
Report. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=040-4ae&t=c>
(6/14) editorializes that the IG report found that the FBI violated the
public’s trust in a manner not seen since the J. Edgar Hoover era, and
urges Wray and Sessions to take drastic measures to restore confidence in
their agencies.

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=041-bd9&t=c>
(6/14) editorializes that “the first thing to note is that the report
provides no support for the theory of a broad anti-Trump plot. True, the
inspector general uncovered private messages between...Strzok and...Page,”
but he “concluded that Mr. Strzok ‘was not the sole decisionmaker’ and, in
fact, ‘advocated for more aggressive investigative measures’ against Ms.
Clinton.” To the Post, “the valid, nonpolitical lesson arising from the
inspector general’s report is that the FBI needs to be better prepared to
handle politically sensitive investigations. The agency must take special
care not to affect elections. ... As for FBI officials, they can have
personal views, but they should refrain from saying careless things even in
private.”

        *House Memo: “Foreign Actors” Accessed Clinton Email Marked
“Secret.” *Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=042-4e5&t=c>
(6/14, Herridge) reports that, “according to a new memo from two GOP-led
House committees and an internal FBI email,” some unidentified “‘foreign
actors’ obtained access to some of former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton’s emails – including at least one email classified as ‘secret.’ ...
‘Documents provided to the Committees show foreign actors obtained access
to some of Mrs. Clinton’s emails – including at least one email classified
“Secret,”’ the memo says, adding that foreign actors also accessed the
private accounts of some Clinton staffers.”

        *NYTimes’ Cohn: “Unclear” Whether Comey’s October 2016 Letter Cost
Clinton The Election. *Writing in “The Upshot” on the website of the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=043-f8b&t=c>
(6/14), Nate Cohn said that in the closely contested 2016 presidential
election, “anything and everything could have been decisive.” Cohn says the
letter then-FBI Director James Comey sent to Congress in October 2016 about
Hillary Clinton’s emails “is one of these potential factors,” though “it is
still unclear whether [it] cost her the presidency.” When Comey sent the
letter, “most polling averages showed Mrs. Clinton ahead by around six
percentage points in national polls. A week later, her lead had declined to
three points,” a swing “against her...often attributed to Mr. Comey’s
letter – three points being more than enough to cover Donald J. Trump’s
narrow margins in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.” However, says
Cohn, “Clinton’s support was probably already in decline before the Comey
letter,” making “it harder to claim definitively that [the] letter was
responsible for any subsequent decline.”

        *Trump Denounces Mueller “Witch Hunt” Over “Phony Crime.” *Ahead of
the release of the DOJ IG report yesterday, Trump took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=044-f24&t=c>
to denounce the Mueller investigation, writing, “Now that I am back from
Singapore, where we had a great result with respect to North Korea, the
thought process must sadly go back to the Witch Hunt, always remembering
that there was No Collusion and No Obstruction of the fabricated No Crime.
...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=045-224&t=c>
So, the Democrats make up a phony crime, Collusion with the Russians, pay a
fortune to make the crime sound real, illegally leak (Comey) classified
information so that a Special Councel will be appointed, and then Collude
to make this pile of garbage take on life in Fake News!”

        *Trump Jr.: Trump Should Not Answer Mueller’s Questions. *Asked, on Fox
News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=046-2e6&t=c>
(6/14), if he thinks his father should submit to questions from Robert
Mueller, Donald Trump Jr. said, “I don’t trust these people as far as I can
throw them. I wouldn’t sit down with them. ... The reality is, the greatest
investigative bodies of the world have been looking for two years...and
they have come up with nothing.” Trump added, “We’re not talking about
Russian collusion anymore because they have given up on that.”

        *Percentage Of Voters Who Believe Probe Conducted Unfairly Up Six
Points. *Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=047-7b9&t=c>
(6/14, Benson) reports “voters interviewed for the Politico/Morning Consult
poll...have changed direction on whether they think the Mueller
investigation has been on the up and up.” Townhall notes that “in the
latest survey, 40 percent of voters said it had been handled unfairly,
compared to early February when 34 percent said the probe wasn’t being
handled fairly.”
Foreign Policy
Pompeo: Sanctions On North Korea To Remain Until “Complete
Denuclearization.”

Secretary of State Pompeo was in South Korea and China on Thursday, where
he said UN sanctions would remain on North Korea until Pyongyang completely
abandoned its nuclear program and weapons. [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=048-f4b&t=c>
(6/14, story 6, 2:25, Muir) reported North Korean state media had reported
that President Trump “pledged to quote, ‘lift sanctions as mutual relations
improve through dialogue and negotiation.’” On Thursday, however, Pompeo
“said that’s not actually the case.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=049-728&t=c>
(6/14, Perlez, Sang-Hun) reports Pompeo “told Asian powers on Thursday that
President Trump was sticking to demands that North Korea surrender its
nuclear weapons, as he sought to hold together a fragile consensus on
maintaining tough sanctions against the North despite Mr. Trump’s
declaration that it was ‘no longer a nuclear threat.’” In Seoul, Pompeo
“softened some of the president’s recent comments – but did not retract
them – and insisted that United Nations sanctions would remain in place
until North Korea had accomplished ‘complete denuclearization.’” Pompeo
made the “same point later Thursday in Beijing, where he met with China’s
president, Xi Jinping.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=04a-9bc&t=c>
(6/14, Lederman, Bodeen) reports that in his meeting with South Korean and
Japanese officials in Seoul, Pompeo “put a more sober spin on Trump’s
summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after the president’s comments
fueled unease in Washington, Tokyo and Seoul.” Pompeo said Trump’s “curious
claim that the North’s nuclear threat was over was issued with ‘eyes wide
open,’ and brushed off a North Korean state media report suggesting Trump
would grant concessions even before the North fully rids itself of nuclear
weapons.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=04b-c21&t=c>
(6/14, Kim) reports Pompeo told reporters, “President Trump has been
incredibly clear about the sequencing of denuclearization and relief from
the sanctions,” but the US is “going to get complete denuclearization; only
then will there be relief from the sanctions.” While “Pompeo insisted
Pyongyang was committed to giving up its nuclear arsenal,” he also “said it
would ‘be a process, not an easy one.’” Pompeo continued, “It could be the
case that our effort won’t ... work but we are determined to set the
conditions so that we can right this failure of decades and reset the
conditions for North Korea’s participation in the community of nations.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=04c-4e0&t=c>
(6/14, Gearan, Hudson) says Pompeo’s “stop in China, which also covered
U.S. trade disputes, was largely intended to ensure Beijing remains
committed to enforcing sanctions on North Korea, its neighbor and ally.”
Pompeo asserted, “China has reaffirmed its commitment to honoring the U.N.
Security Council resolutions. Those have mechanisms for relief contained in
them, and we agreed that at the appropriate time that those would be
considered.” He added, however, that “we have made very clear that the
sanctions and the economic relief that North Korea will receive will only
happen after the full denuclearization, the complete denuclearization, of
North Korea.” Rich Edson reported on Fox
News Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=04d-10e&t=c>
(6/14) that China also “approves” of Trump’s decision to halt military
exercises with South Korea.

        *Trump Nominee To Be South Korean Ambassador: North Continues To
Pose Nuclear Threat. *Pompeo’s comments come after Trump “tweet[ed] North
Korea is no longer a nuclear threat,” reported [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=04e-548&t=c>
(6/14, story 4, 1:45, Holt), which added, “That was news to Admiral Harry
Harris, the administration’s long awaited nominee to be Ambassador to South
Korea.” During his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, Harris “said he backs halting major military exercises
on the Korean Peninsula, but said he suspects some readiness exercises will
continue as the U.S. and North Korea attempt to hammer out a
denuclearization deal,” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=04f-ad9&t=c>
(6/14, Murray) reports. The retired admiral “highly praised Trump’s
historic meeting earlier this week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,
saying the world is in ‘a dramatically different place’ after the summit,”
but he “expressed hesitancy about halting all training.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=050-374&t=c>
(6/14, Muñoz) quotes Harris stating: “I think we are in a dramatically
different place. I think the whole landscape has shifted and I believe that
we should give exercises, major exercises, a pause, to see if Kim Jong-un,
in fact, is serious.” Harris added, “I’m convinced that our alliance
commitments to South Korea remain ironclad and have not changed.” The Times
says Harris’ comments “are the latest example of the thawing of relations
between Washington and Pyongyang in the wake of Tuesday’s summit in
Singapore,” as the Pentagon and State Department were “seemingly caught
unaware of Mr. Trump’s cancellation of U.S. military drills on the
peninsula.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=051-e98&t=c>
(6/14) similarly says Harris may have “endorsed Trump’s plan to pause major
military exercises with South Korea,” but his remarks are “at odds with
Trump’s tweet on returning from his summit with Kim Jong Un, that there is
‘no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.’”

        Separately, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=052-b87&t=c>
(6/14) runs a primer on the joint-US South Korea military exercises, which
take place annually in spring and summer.

        *Trump’s Image Transformed In North Korean Media. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=053-1eb&t=c>
(6/14, Talmadge) reports North Korea’s official media are giving Trump an
image make-over. The “post-summit transformation of North Korea’s official
version of Trump, who’s now being shown by state media looking serious and
almost regal, underscores the carefully choreographed reality show the
government has had to perform to keep its people, taught from childhood to
hate and distrust the ‘American imperialists,’ ideologically on board with
the tectonic shifts underway in their country’s relationship with
Washington.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=054-16e&t=c>
(6/14, Taylor) reports North Korean state television “aired a 42-minute
documentary on Thursday that offered a different view of Kim Jong Un’s
meeting with President Trump in Singapore.” The documentary “appears to
have captured several scenes that international news organizations missed –
including one awkward moment when Trump was saluted by a North Korean
military leader,” who then returns the salute. Jean H. Lee, a North Korea
scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, said, “This is a moment that will be
used over and over in North Korea’s propaganda as ‘proof’ that the American
president defers to the North Korean military.” The Post adds that although
it is “shown from the North Korean perspective, the documentary largely
presents Trump in a flattering light – at one point,” presenter Ri Chun Hee
“describes the president and Kim as ‘two supreme leaders’ of their
countries.”

        *Abe Considering Summit With Kim To Address Abductee Issue. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=055-cdf&t=c>
(6/14, Gale) reports Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering
meeting with Kim to address Japanese claims that Pyongyang kidnapped
Japanese citizens. A Japanese government spokesman said the two countries
should meet in a summit to address unresolved issues between them. Japanese
media report Abe and Kim could meet in August or September.

        *North Korea’s Tourism Plans Underway. *In an online video, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=056-db1&t=c>
(6/14, Times) reported “live fire drills were conducted” along the coast of
North Korea’s Wonsan “as recently as 2017,” but “that didn’t stop President
Trump, a former real estate developer, from spotting the potential.” He
told reporters, “You could have the best hotels in the world right there.”
In fact, Kim “was already on the case,” and he “made those beach condos a
priority” in a 2018 New Year’s address. Satellite imagery reveals heavy
construction along the coastline, signaling the project is already
underway. Pyongyang has said once complete, the tourist zone could attract
up to one million visitors annually; however, the Times says, with North
Korea’s reputation for “prison camps, purges, and poverty, it is unclear
where these tourists will come from.” Nonetheless, Pompeo recently
suggested that Americans could help with the project.

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=057-eac&t=c>
(6/14, Sharp) reports on investment prospects for North Korea, noting that
“pristine coastline” isn’t its “only untapped asset. The country boasts
vast stores of minerals – including iron and rare earths – which could be
worth $6 trillion, according to a 2013 estimate by the North Korea
Resources Institute in Seoul.” There are “also unconfirmed reports of oil
and gas deposits in the East and West seas,” and the country’s “working-age
population of about 17 million” is “another potential asset in the eyes of
businesses in Japan, South Korea, and China, where labor forces are graying
and shrinking.” Since UN sanctions barred foreign investment in 2006, to
some, “North Korea is still the ultimate frontier market, a place with
extra-large opportunities – and similarly sized risks.”

        *Video Shows Trump Saluting North Korean General. *ABC World News
Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=058-874&t=c>
(6/14, story 6, 2:25, Muir) reported North Korean state media broadcast a
42-minute documentary of the Singapore summit in which Trump, “called the
‘Supreme Leader’ of the United States, [was] shown offering his hand to a
North Korean general. The general salutes instead, and the President
salutes right back.” NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=059-1b3&t=c>
(6/14, story 4, 1:45, Holt) reported there is “uproar” over Trump’s salute,
which is “now being used as propaganda on North Korean State TV.” Brian
Todd reported on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=05a-897&t=c>
(6/14) that that the images in the documentary “seem to underscore another
propaganda win for Kim, making him appear, as one expert says, to be the
one in the driver’s seat.” Ret. Gen. Barry McCaffrey said, “The political
optics of it were bad. This is a murderous, brutal regime. He should have
just nodded his head and shaken his hand.” CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=05b-155&t=c>
(6/14) said a “US official told CNN the President was briefed on the
protocol...not to salute other countries.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=05c-06e&t=c>
(6/14, Hafner, Today) says some social media users “decried Trump’s
gesture, claiming it gave North Korea’s government more reason to claim
legitimacy on the global stage,” while others “urged understanding, calling
it a relatable snafu.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=05d-fa2&t=c>
(6/14, Rogers) reports the gesture “put the White House on the defensive
Thursday and drew questions about whether a high-ranking officer of a
militaristic dictatorship deserved to be on the receiving end of a gesture
meant to symbolize respect, camaraderie and reverence.” White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders clarified to reporters, “It’s a common courtesy
when a military official from another government salutes that you return
that.” Sanders added, “It’s possible that it was just instinctive and he
didn’t think it through,” but “that doesn’t mean it’s not consistent with
everything he’s believed the whole time.”

        *White House Denies Trump Downplayed North Korea’s Human Rights
Record. *ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=05e-ce5&t=c>
(6/14, story 6, 2:25, Muir) said, “The President’s gushing praise for
Kim...is raising eyebrows. Six months ago, he said this --” Trump: “No
regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the
cruel dictatorship in North Korea.” Vega: “But now?” Trump: “I think we
understand each other.” Fox News’ Bret Baier: “But he has still done some
really bad things.” Trump: “Yeah, but so have a lot of other people done
some really bad things.” Sanders dismissed the notion that Trump downplayed
what “human rights groups say” is the Kim regime’s “torture, forced
starvation and systemic murder of thousands. Why is he now downplaying
North Korea’s horrific atrocities?” The White House is also “insisting”
Trump raised human rights in his meeting with Kim.

        Commentator Angela Rye, when asked about President Trump’s praise
for Kim, said on CNN’s The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=05f-343&t=c>
(6/14), “I think he may not know protocol, he may not be reading briefing
documents and unfortunately he makes for a very embarrassing
commander-in-chief. I think our reality is Donald Trump calls things
‘tough’ that many of us including kids we might mentor or who may be our
own call bullies. I think of people who are resilient and have overcome
tremendous oppression and struggle and for whatever reason that doesn’t
resonate with Donald Trump. What resonates are people who make it
impossible and hard. I think he may admire the fact this person is a
dictator and that’s a platform he doesn’t have in this country thanks to
democracy.”

        Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=060-921&t=c>
(6/14) columnist Josh Rogin says President Trump has undermined “his own
goal” of transforming “North Korea into a modern economy” by “taking human
rights off the table.” Rogin argues that for real economic change to take
place, North Korea must “elevate the rights and status of its people, which
Kim will do only if pushed. Unfortunately, Trump has taken the opposite
approach.” By ignoring the issue, Rogin writes, Trump has not only damaged
“America’s image as a champion of human rights worldwide,” but also harmed
his “own ability to get what he wants, namely real change in North Korea.”

        *WPost Analysis: Trump Allegedly Pushed To Hold Summit Early.
*A Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=061-912&t=c>
(6/14, Parker, Dawsey, Leonnig, Deyoung) analysis says “Trump’s impatience,
coupled with a tense staff-level meeting between the two sides on Sunday,
left some aides fearful that the entire summit might be in peril.” Upon his
arrival in Singapore, “an antsy and bored Trump urged his aides to demand
that the meeting with Kim be pushed up by a day – to Monday – and had to be
talked out of altering the long-planned and carefully negotiated summit
date on the fly, according to two people familiar with preparations.”
Pompeo and Sanders ultimately “persuaded Trump to stick with the original
plan, arguing that the president and his team could use the time to
prepare, people familiar with the talks said.” The Post says the
“behind-the-scenes flurry of commotion” underscores “the ad hoc nature of
the summit, which was abruptly announced, called off and then reinstated
all before either leader had touched down in Singapore.”

        *White House Spokesman Discusses Post-Summit Bilateral Relations. *In
an interview with NPR
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=062-081&t=c>
(6/14, Cornish), White House spokesman Raj Shah conceded that North Korea
“hasn’t acted in great faith over the last several decades,” but “the
President has, you know, extracted at least some good-faith signals from
North Korea and from Kim Jong Un.” Shah said he believes the “initial
statement” between Trump and Kim centered on “intent and about goals,” and
that “we’re going to move forward over the next few weeks and months toward
more concrete steps” on “verifiability, how you get to irreversible are
things that are tangible.” He added that “it will take a lot more than one
meeting to sort out” such details. On the issue of human rights, Shah said
the matter is “a priority,” but he stressed that “the core issue, as the
press secretary said today, is denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and
stopping a situation in which millions or tens of millions of people can be
killed almost instantly.”

        *Zakaria: Trump’s Summit Performance A Gift For China. *Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=063-e1f&t=c>
(6/14) columnist Fareed Zakaria says the “real headline of the Trump-Kim
summit” should “have been: ‘U.S. weakens its 70-year alliance with South
Korea.’” At the same time, Zakaria says, Trump’s summit performance
strengthens the perception that for China in particular, “the Trump
administration has been the gift that keeps on giving.” Zakaria explains,
“The most striking elements of Trump’s initiative were not simply that he
lavished praise” on Kim, “but also that he announced the cancellation of
military exercises with South Korea, adopting North Korea’s own rhetoric by
calling them ‘provocative.’” Worse still, Zakaria argues, “Trump signaled
that he would like to end the U.S. troop presence in South Korea.” Zakaria
cautions, “The long game for the United States over the next few decades is
how to handle the rise of China. And right now, we are quitting the field.”

        *Marcus: Trump’s Praise Of Kim Culminates A “Sickening” Week.
*Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=064-958&t=c>
(6/14) columnist Ruth Marcus says many weeks “in the age of Trump are
depressing,” but the latest week “has been sickening.” Marcus asserts that
“Trump’s consistent, unnecessary, escalating praise for Kim merits the word
‘sickening,’” as such “language about Kim represents a nauseating betrayal
of American values – and a telling exposure of Trump’s own.” Marcus writes,
“Trump’s North Korea performance is bad enough on its own,” but the week
was made worse by his “jarring, unwarranted mistreatment of our closest
allies, before, during and after the Group of Seven summit,” along with
“the jarring, unwarranted suggestion that Russia” should rejoin the group.
Marcus says “if your stomach isn’t already churning,” also add “what is
happening on the home front” regarding illegal immigrant family
separations, and the “word ‘sickening’ is not strong enough.”
Trump Expected To Announce Tariffs On Chinese Goods Today.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=065-9c6&t=c>
(6/14, Lynch, Paletta) reports, “President Trump on Friday will announce a
25 percent tariff on $50 billion of Chinese products, the latest move in
his intensifying campaign to rewrite the rules of global trade.” These
“trade barriers mark a historic change after three decades of deepening
ties between the world’s two largest economies.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=066-2ab&t=c>
(6/14, Davis, Nicholas) reports Trump’s approval came after a 90-minute
meeting of senior White House officials; national-security officials; and
senior representatives of the Treasury Department, Commerce Department, and
US Trade Representative’s Office.

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=067-25f&t=c>
(6/14, Rappeport, Swanson) reports the White House could soon impose
tariffs – a final list of Chinese goods that would be subject to them is
expected to be released on Friday – “potentially reigniting a trade war
that had been on the back burner while President Trump engaged in delicate
nuclear diplomacy with North Korea.” China threatened “retaliatory tariffs
on American goods, including soybeans, pork and steel,” to which “Trump
responded by saying his administration would consider levies on another
$100 billion in Chinese products.” Trump and his advisers believe the
tariffs give the United States leverage in negotiations with Beijing,
although people familiar with the Administration’s plans say it may phase
them in “to allow for continuing discussions.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=068-ed3&t=c>
(6/14) reports Trump “approved a plan to impose punishing tariffs on tens
of billions of dollars of Chinese goods as early as Friday.” The AP adds
that Wall Street worries the tariffs “could strangle the economic growth
achieved during Trump’s watch and undermine the benefits of the tax cuts he
signed into law last year.” Also covering the expected tariff announcement
are the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=069-3d9&t=c>
(6/14, Miller) and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=06a-a63&t=c>
(6/14, Palmer).

        *Supreme Court Sides With Administration In Antitrust Case With
China. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=06b-20f&t=c>
(6/14, Chung) reports the Supreme Court “sided with the Trump
administration and against China on Thursday on a disputed aspect of their
fraught trade relationship,” holding 9-0 that the Second US Circuit Court
of Appeals “gave too much deference to Chinese government filings
explaining China’s regulatory policy” when it threw out $148 million in
damages won by two American companies against two Chinese vitamin C makers
who violated American antitrust law. Writing for the court, Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg said that despite giving “respectful consideration” to
foreign governments’ interpretation of their own law, US courts are not
“bound to accord conclusive effect to the foreign government’s statements.”

        *As China Curbs Borrowing, Growth Shows Signs Of Faltering. *GDP
growth in China appears to be slowing, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=06c-5eb&t=c>
(6/14, Bradsher) reports, as efforts to rein in rapidly rising debt in the
country start to bite into the real economy. Data from the National Bureau
of Statistics showed that investment, retail sales, and industrial
production all slowed in May, while small businesses face difficulty
borrowing. Ratings agencies including S&P Global Ratings have taken note of
the challenges ahead for Chinese policymakers and downgraded China’s
sovereign rating last year, citing concerns about the debt overhang.

        *Trump Reportedly Wants 25% Tariff On Foreign Cars Before Midterms.
*Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=06d-ca8&t=c>
(6/14, Behsudi, Cook) reports that Trump wants to move ahead on imposing 25
percent tariffs on foreign cars “before the midterm elections in a bid to
score points with his political base, according to administration and auto
industry officials.” One “senior administration official” said, “Trump sees
the auto tariffs as part of his midterm strategy, a way to position
Republicans and the White House as pro-worker. He views it as part of the
broader story about to helping to revitalize the American-based economy.”

        *Cohn: Trade War Could Cause Recession. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=06e-3c1&t=c>
(6/14, Stein) reports that former NEC director Gary Cohn warned yesterday
that “an escalating trade war could wipe out the benefits of the Republican
tax law passed last fall.” According to the Post, Cohn “said that
retaliatory tariffs between countries could drive up inflation and prompt
American consumers to take on more debt, possibly pushing the country into
another economic downturn.” Cohn is quoted as saying, “If you end up with a
tariff battle, you will end up with price inflation, and you could end up
with consumer debt. Those are all historic ingredients for an economic
slowdown” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=06f-e30&t=c>
(6/14, Talev) reports that in reference to recessions, Cohn said, “You
never know what leads you in ‘til you’re in it.” Bloomberg notes that Cohn
also remarked, “I have always said a trade deficit doesn’t matter.”

        *EU Unanimously Approves Plan To Retaliate Against US Tariffs. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=070-417&t=c>
(6/14, Blenkinsop) reports that the EU “unanimously backed a plan to impose
import duties on 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion) worth of U.S. products
after Washington hit EU steel and aluminum with tariffs at the start of
June.” Reuters notes that “the measures still need to be adopted by the
European Commission, whose next scheduled meeting is June 20,” but “should
be in place by late June or early July.” Reuters says the EC “has proposed
setting 25 percent duties on U.S. goods such as orange juice, bourbon,
jeans [and] motorcycles” that were “chosen...to target states of senior
Republicans.”

        *Juncker Says Trump Referred To Him As “Brutal Killer.” *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=071-673&t=c>
(6/14, Stearns, Sachgau) reports that European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker said in a speech Thursday, “Trump told me last week
‘you are a brutal killer.’ That’s the first time that Luxembourg has grown
into such a threat to the US. I think he meant it as a compliment, but I’m
not so sure.”

        *Senators Ask Council Of Economic Advisers To Release Analysis Of
Tariffs’ Effect. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=072-7a2&t=c>
(6/14, Rappeport) reports that Sens. Ron Johnson and Claire McCaskill
yesterday requested that the White House Council of Economic Advisers “turn
over an analysis that shows the administration’s tariffs would slow
economic growth.” According to the Times, “The internal
analysis...contradicts the public statements of several Trump
administration officials who have said that Mr. Trump’s plan to impose
tariffs on aluminum, steel and a broad array of Chinese products will not
dampen economic growth.”

        *Canadian Foreign Minister Suggests NAFTA Talks Will Not Conclude
This Year. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=073-539&t=c>
(6/14, Ljunggren) reports that Canada yesterday “agreed with the United
States...that slow-moving talks to update NAFTA should continue although
they did not set a date for the next round,” which Reuters says
“cast...further doubt on the chances of a deal this year. ... ‘We decided
... to continue our negotiations on NAFTA,’ Canadian Foreign Minister
Chrystia Freeland said in Washington” after she met with US Trade
Representative Lighthizer.

        *Teamsters Call For End To Steel, Aluminum Tariffs On Canada.
*The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=074-b68&t=c>
(6/14, Strauss) reports the Teamsters union is calling for an end to
President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. The union said in a statement
it is joining “our Canadian brothers and sisters in calling for an end to
the personal attacks on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a permanent
exemption of tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel.” The union, “echoing
the concerns of corporate executives and economists,” also said, “The
implementation of these tariffs and the inevitable retaliatory tariffs by
Canada will immediately harm workers in both nations.”

        *Canadians Boycotting US Products, Trips. *The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=075-426&t=c>
(6/14, Moore) reports that, according to Canadian network CTV News,
“Canadians have taken to practicing pocketbook diplomacy” with boycotts of
American products and canceling trips to the US.

        *Senate Blocks CFIUS Legislation Opposed By Administration.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=076-21f&t=c>
(6/14, Werner) reports that the Senate yesterday “sided with the Trump
administration...to vote down a GOP plan that would have given Congress
greater oversight over deals between foreign and U.S. firms that could
affect national security.” According to the Post, the legislation, pushed
by Sen. Patrick Toomey, “failed to clear a procedural hurdle when the
Senate blocked it with a 35-to-62 vote.” The Post says Toomey’s legislation
“involved the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States,” which
“conducts national security reviews of attempted takeovers of U.S. firms by
foreign companies.” The Post notes that “earlier this week, GOP leaders
blocked an amendment” by Sen. Bob Corker “that would have given Congress
veto power over certain tariff decisions by the administration.”
NSC Official Says US, Russia Exploring Trump-Putin Meeting.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=077-7ce&t=c>
(6/14, Morin) reports that the White House and the Kremlin are “exploring”
a possible meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir
Putin, according to Richard Hooker of the National Security Council. He
told Russia’s TASS, “I think that both sides are exploring an opportunity
to meet, yes. I don’t think any decisions have been made, or details have
been worked out, but I believe both sides are exploring an opportunity to
try to do that.”

        *Russia Objects To Increase In US Troop Presence In Norway. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=078-e27&t=c>
(6/14) reports that Russia has “vowed...to retaliate for a plan by Norway
to more than double the number of U.S. Marines stationed there.” Reuters
notes that on Tuesday, the Norwegian government “announced...that it would
ask the United States, its NATO ally, to send 700 Marines to train in
Norway from 2019, against 330 at present, and said the additional troops
would be based closer to the Russian border.” As statement issued by the
Russian government says, “We see it as clearly unfriendly, and it will not
remain free of consequence.”
US Appears Poised To Withdraw From UN Human Rights Council.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=079-638&t=c>
(6/14, Nebehay) reports negotiations between the US and United Nations
members on how to reform the Human Rights Council “have failed to meet
Washington’s demands, activists and diplomats say, suggesting that the
Trump administration will quit the Geneva forum whose session opens on
Monday.” Ambassador Haley “publicly told the Council a year ago that
Washington might leave the body unless a ‘chronic anti-Israel bias’ were
removed,” and “Washington says the Council is stacked with opponents of
Israel and boycotted it for three years under President George W. Bush
before rejoining under Barack Obama in 2009.” The Administration “has yet
to announce a decision,” but Reuters says “any suspension or withdrawal
would be the latest U.S. rejection of multilateral engagement after pulling
out of the Paris climate agreement and the deal with world powers over
Iran’s nuclear program.”
Major Offensive On Port City Risks Escalating Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis.

NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=07a-716&t=c>
(6/14, story 7, 1:50, Holt) reported that at least 2,000 Saudi- and
UAE-backed fighters are advancing by ground, sea, and air on Yemen’s port
city of Hodeidah for a “potentially decisive battle to drive out rebels
holding the port.” The offensive puts the “world’s worst” humanitarian
crisis “on the verge of becoming a catastrophe,” because “70% of
humanitarian supplies come in through this now nearly impassable war zone.”
Said Jolien Veldwijk, the assistant country director of CARE International
in Yemen, “Eight million people, even before this morning, were already at
risk of starvation. If the port is closed even for a day...these people
will die.” Correspondent Richard Engel said the US bears “some
responsibility,” because “while the Pentagon says it is not involved in the
offensive, the US has quietly backed Saudi and Emirati forces.” The
Pentagon on Thursday “called for maximum efforts to avoid civilian
casualties and for all sides to be involved in negotiations.”

        Meanwhile, in a confidential June 12 biannual report on the
implementation of the world body’s sanctions on Iran obtained by Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=07b-d70&t=c>
(6/14, Nichols), United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said
debris obtained “from five missiles fired at Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthi
group since July 2017 ‘share key design features with a known type of
missile’ manufactured by Iran and some of the components were manufactured
in Iran.” The UN could not “determine when the missiles, components or
related technology were transferred from Iran and if they violated U.N.
restrictions, Guterres said.” Reuters says the report delivers “a further
blow to U.S. efforts to hold Iran accountable over accusations it violated
U.N. resolutions on Yemen and Iran by supplying weapons to the Houthis.”

        *US Declines UAE Request For Assistance In Hodeida Offensive.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=07c-98b&t=c>
(6/14, Deyoung, Fahim) reports the US “on Thursday turned down a request
from the United Arab Emirates to provide intelligence, overhead
reconnaissance and mine-sweeping aid to a newly launched military offensive
against the rebel-occupied Yemeni port of Hodeida, according to Emirati and
U.S. officials.” While the US military has “provided intelligence and
aerial refueling for the coalition, which administration officials said is
continuing,” the Administration “is under pressure from lawmakers to limit
U.S. support for the three-year-old war being conducted by a regional
coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the Emiratis against the Iranian-backed
Houthi rebel forces.” The Post explains most of those concerns stem “from
the high civilian casualty rates caused by Saudi airstrikes throughout the
war.”
State Department To Release $6.6 Million For Syria’s White Helmets.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=07d-191&t=c>
(6/14, Kelly) reports the State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert
announced Thursday that “it will release $6.6 million in financial aid to
the Syrian Civil Defense, commonly referred to as the White Helmets, a
group which has gained international attention for working to save
civilians trapped in the aftermath of air strikes and bombings carried out
by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and its Russian allies.”
Some of the funds will “be directed to the United Nation’s International,
Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM),” which investigates and
prosecutes people suspected of “war crimes and crimes against humanity that
have occurred in Syria’s seven-year civil war.” The Times adds that it is
“unclear how much money will go to the White Helmets and how much to the
IIIM, which has received pledges from 39 countries for up to for $14.5
million for 2018.”
Kenyan Village Tied To Obama Seeks Revival In Former President’s Visit.

According to the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=07e-74a&t=c>
(6/14, Times), “Perhaps none were so openly heartbroken” over former
President Obama’s departure from the White House as the residents of
Kogelo, a small Kenyan village that enjoyed “boom times” from the
“international attention, hordes of tourists, and money for social welfare,
scholarship and development programs all tied to Mr. Obama’s international
celebrity and open pride in his Kenyan roots.” Kogelo residents are now
“hoping for a revival in tourism and donor largesse next month when they
welcome Mr. Obama back to his ancestral homeland – his first visit to this
village since before his presidency.” The Times says while “Obama has been
to Africa multiple times and visited Kenya once as president in 2015,” he
had “bitterly disappointed villagers in this village close to Kenya’s
western border with Uganda by not including them on his itinerary.”
Domestic Policy
White House Blames Democrats For Immigrant Children Separated From Parents.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=07f-fa8&t=c>
(6/14, Miller) reports, “The White House on Thursday blamed Democratic
lawmakers for the increase in the separation of illegal immigrant parents
from their children.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, “The
Democrats have failed to come to the table, failed to help this president
close these loopholes and fix this problem.” However, the Times notes, an
increase in immigration prosecutions “by the Trump administration resulted
in the higher rate of family separation.” According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=080-a42&t=c>
(6/14, Debonis), “under the policy rolled out in April” by Attorney General
Sessions and DHS Secretary Nielsen, “anyone who crosses into the United
States illegally will face criminal prosecution.” The Post says, “in most
cases, that means parents who arrive with children stay in federal jails
while their children are sent to HHS shelters.”

        In a “Fact Check,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=081-678&t=c>
(6/14, Woodward, Spagat) reports, “The Trump administration’s ‘zero
tolerance’ policy is responsible for spurring family separations.” Contrary
to claims by House Speaker Ryan, “court rulings do not mandate that
course”; they just allow the government to keep parents imprisoned when
children are released. Additionally, “bad legislation passed by the
Democrats” – which Trump refers to as the cause of the issue – “passed
unanimously in Congress and was signed by a Republican president.”
Furthermore, “it does not call for family separation,” but for “freeing and
otherwise helping children who come to the border without a parent or
guardian.”

        Anderson Cooper, in his “Keeping Them Honest” segment of CNN’s
Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=082-300&t=c>
(6/14), said, “The Administration saw this coming, but are now blaming it
on a law they, and they alone, chose to enforce. Now, you can agree or
disagree with the policy. That’s a policy matter. You can’t blame it on
preexisting law. Long term, it’s going to deter parents from endangering
their kids by coming to the US illegally. Some were saying, ‘Separating
kids from adults was a feature of the policy.’” When talking about
separating migrant children from their parents, Jeffery Toobin said on CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=083-bcd&t=c>
(6/14), “Even Donald Trump recognizes how immoral this is. That’s why he is
coming up with the phony explanation of blaming the Democrats. The fact
that our government is separating parents and children is something that is
growing as an issue in the country and, frankly, it’s an abomination.”

        In an editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=084-08c&t=c>
(6/14, Board) criticizes the Administration for its “malicious” and
“mind-boggling” heartlessness of having “hundreds of children...snatched
from their parents, frequently under false pretenses, often screaming, and
placed in vast warehouselike centers.” In response to criticism, the
Administration offers “a mix of just-following-orders and falsehoods,”
unable to understand “that this is not about crime or security, but about
the most elemental human values” and that its policies contradict
“fundamental American values.” The Times offers concrete actions for those
seeking to get the Administration to “do the right thing,” including
calling Congress, protesting, donating to legal and humanitarian efforts,
and voting, which the Times calls “the most important tool Americans have
to seek change in how their government operates – and the values it
espouses.”

        Eugene Robinson, in a column in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=085-727&t=c>
(6/14, Robinson), criticizes “the unconscionably cruel policy of ripping
the children of would-be immigrants away from their parents at the border,”
which “officials do not even try to hide” as being an attempt “to instill
fear.” Robinson compares the practice to slavery and suggests it is in line
with “monstrous totalitarian regimes such as the one led by President
Trump’s ‘talented’ new friend, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.” He also
blasts the “anti-immigrant xenophobe” Sessions for “abusing his authority
over the nation’s immigration courts” to declare that asylum claims on the
grounds of gang or domestic violence will not qualify. Robinson concludes
by saying that the children affected by these policies end up in detention
centers which are “prison for Spanish-speaking children.”

        *Sessions Cites Bible In Defending Splitting Immigrant Families. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=086-181&t=c>
(6/14, Long) reports that Sessions cited the Bible when defending “his
border policy that is resulting in hundreds of immigrant children being
separated from their parents.” Speaking in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sessions
said, “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command
in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained
them for the purpose of order.” Sanders said, “I can say that it is very
biblical to enforce the law. That is actually repeated a number of times
throughout the Bible.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=087-9ac&t=c>
(6/14, Zauzmer, McMillan) reports that while Sessions was “suggesting that
God supports the government in separating immigrant parents from their
children,” the verse that he cited, Romans 13, “is an unusual choice,” as
the main times it was invoked in American history were by those opposing
the American revolution and later those defending slavery, according to
John Fea, a professor of American history at Messiah College in
Pennsylvania. He added that after the Civil War, “historians don’t see many
references to Romans 13, because the essence of the passage – submission to
authority – is regarded as un-American.” Meanwhile, “other religious groups
and individuals have cited the Bible as well, to take the opposite side,”
including the Migrants and Refugees Section at the Vatican, which tweeted a
verse of Deuteronomy: “The Bible teaches that God ‘loves the foreigner
residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love
those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.’”
Similarly, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=088-bed&t=c>
(6/14, Fritze) reports, Daniel DiNardo, president of the US Conference of
Catholic Bishops and cardinal of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, said
in a statement, “Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and
is immoral.”

        *Facility Housing Migrant Children In Spotlight. *Tom Llamas
reported on ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=089-928&t=c>
(6/14, story 5, 3:10, Muir) on one of the immigration detention centers for
children separated from their parents that used to be a Walmart
Supercenter. The children “spend just two hours a day outside” and are
“granted just two phone calls a week.” A child’s “average stay in
facilities like this” is 56 days. Llamas added, “There are more than 100
facility across the US they’re reaching capacity. They’ll have to open
emergency and temporary shelters.” Jacob Soboroff reported on NBC Nightly
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=08a-317&t=c>
(6/14, story 2, 2:05, Holt) that touring the facility was “shocking and
frankly overwhelming.” The children there “are controlled by the government
24 hours a day.” An “official asked us literally to smile at the children
because they feel like they are animals locked up in cages. Those are the
words she used.” While “the conditions are relatively good...it’s an
unbelievable experience they are going through.”

        On ABC’s Good Morning America
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=08b-d94&t=c>
(6/14), Llamas reported from a shelter in Brownsville, Texas where young
illegal immigrants are being held that “several House Democrats joined
protesters outside the Customs and Border Patrol headquarters demanding an
end to the Trump Administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy, which has led to
families being separated at the border.” Llamas noted that Franklin Graham,
who Llamas said is “one of the President’s biggest supporters,” is
“breaking with him.” Graham was shown saying, “I think it’s disgraceful,
it’s terrible to see families ripped apart and I don’t support that one
bit.” Llamas went on to report that “a change could be coming” because the
House is set to vote on immigration-reform and border-security legislation
including “a provision prohibiting the separation of children and parents
at the border.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=08c-27b&t=c>
(6/14, Fernandez) reports the facility is “a warehouse for nearly 1,500
boys aged 10 to 17 who were caught illegally crossing the border.” The
Times calls it “a model of border life in Trump-era America, part of a
growing industry of detention centers and shelters.” This shelter and
others in and near Brownsville, Texas “have become big business, employing
thousands of residents and bringing abandoned stores, schools and other
buildings back to life.” However, “numerous shelters that care for
unaccompanied migrant youth in Texas,” including this one, “have been cited
by state child care facility regulators for dozens of violations in recent
years,” and “what happens to children in these federally sponsored shelters
has had little public scrutiny.”

        NBC’s Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=08d-ba1&t=c>
(6/14) also had a report from the same “detention facility for migrant
children” in Brownsville, Texas. Soboroff reported that “if the Trump
Administration is successful in implementing its policy of prosecuting 100%
of illegal immigrants, everyone will be separated. The kids will come to a
place like this.” Soboroff said, “For all intents and purposes, the quality
of the care is good.” Kris Van Cleave reported on the CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=08e-8c0&t=c>
(6/14, story 6, 2:35, Glor) that a newly released government video offers
“the first look inside one of these shelters since the Trump Administration
instituted a zero tolerance immigration policy.” The video of inside the
former Walmart “selectively highlights young kids doing outdoor activities,
receiving medical care, even the residential pet dog.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=08f-bcb&t=c>
(6/14, Caldwell) calls the shelter many boys’ first home in the US and that
during their stay, they will study and adjust to the country. The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=090-df0&t=c>
(6/14, Miller, Brown, Davis) also profiles the facility.

        *Former Shelter Worker Describes Conditions. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=091-a66&t=c>
(6/14, Hennessy-Fiske) reports Antar Davidson quit his job as a youth care
worker at Estrella del Norte, a government-contracted shelter in Tuscon,
Arizona. He left due to the Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” policy
sending to the shelter children separated from their parents, and “decided
to speak out about his experiences there in hopes of improving a system
often shielded from public scrutiny.” His comments “offer a rare look into
the operation of a migrant shelter.” According to Davidson, in the words of
the Times, “the caseload is straining a facility he described as
understaffed and unequipped to deal with children experiencing trauma.”
Children at the shelter “were running away, screaming, throwing furniture
and attempting suicide, Davidson said.” However, “a spokeswoman for
Southwest Key, the Austin-based nonprofit operating the shelter, disputed
those allegations.”

        *Ryan, Other Republicans Not Comfortable With Separating Immigrant
Families. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=092-d3d&t=c>
(6/14, Caygle, Bade) reports that Ryan “said he’s not comfortable with the
Trump administration’s push to separate migrant children from their parents
at the U.S.-Mexico border.” He also “refused to blame President Donald
Trump on the issue,” instead “arguing that the courts were at fault and
that legislation was needed to stop” the practice. However, “the policy
stems from the White House,” and it is “unclear” whether the bill Ryan
referred to has the votes to pass the House. Under the headline,
“Republicans’ Unease Grows Over Trump Policy Separating Families at
Border,’” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=093-9f9&t=c>
(6/14, Litvan, Edgerton) reports that Senate Majority Whip Cornyn “said
he’ll push legislation to keep parents and children together while the
children await expedited status hearings.” Bloomberg notes Senate Judiciary
Chairman Charles Grassley tweeted, “I want 2 stop the separation of
families at the border.” However, Bloomberg says the Republicans “stopped
short of criticizing” the Trump Administration, “instead saying a 1997
court settlement is forcing the administration to separate many families.”

        Rep. Jim Jordan (R) said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=094-800&t=c>
(6/14), “No one wants to separate families.” He added, “Eighty percent of
the people seeking asylum, 80% aren’t legitimate. ... For those who are, we
want to keep the families together. And those who are truly being
persecuted, not ones coached to say the right things so they get to the
country. ... Let’s do the right things and what we told the American people
we were going to do. Build the border wall, end sanctuary cities.” He added
that addressing the issue has to be done “in a bigger piece of
legislation.”

        *Conservative Religious Leaders Rebuke Administration For
Separating Families. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=095-7ab&t=c>
(6/14, Goodstein) reports conservative religious leaders are “issuing sharp
rebukes of the Trump administration for immigration policies that tear
families apart or leave them in danger.” Some of those critics are the
“evangelicals and Roman Catholics who helped President Trump to build his
base and who have otherwise applauded his moves to limit abortion and
champion the rights of religious believers,” such as the Rev. Franklin
Graham, a son of evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham “and an outspoken
defender of President Trump,”

        *Arpaio: Parents To Blame For Bringing Kids To US. *Arizona
candidate for US senate and former sheriff Joe Arpaio said on CNN’s Cuomo
Prime Time
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=096-7d9&t=c>
(6/14), “What about the thousands and thousands of people I locked up in my
58-year-long law enforcement career, taking the parents out of the houses
for drugs or whatever, leaving the kids separated?” He added, “Everybody
forgets the big problem here. Central America, Mexico, they have tough
laws. Why aren’t they stopping these kids and their parents or whatever
crossing our border?” Arpaio also asked, “Why don’t we blame the families,
the adults for taking the chance, violating the law, coming across our
border with these young kids? They’re the ones that should held
responsible.”

        *Demonstrators Protest Family-Separation Policy. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=097-4fb&t=c>
(6/14, Cockrel) reports on the Families Belong Together rallies,
demonstrations in 50 cities on Thursday night protesting “the separation of
migrant families under President Trump’s zero-tolerance crackdown on
illegal immigration.” Shannon McClain, a marketing specialist from New York
who has helped coordinate the campaign, said, “Our goal is to shine a light
on the family separation happening at the border and other points of entry
into the United States and about the trauma that family separation inflicts
on these children and their families and how wrong and, frankly un-American
that is.”

        *Pelosi: Administration Policy Could Cause “Uprisings.” *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=098-6f2&t=c>
(6/14, Ernst) reports House Minority Leader Pelosi said, “I just don’t even
know why there aren’t uprisings all over the country” over immigrant
children being separated from their parents. She added, “Maybe there will
be when people realize that this is a policy that they defend.”

        *Ryan Releases Draft Immigration Bill That Funds Border Wall. *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=099-8b1&t=c>
(6/14, Collins, Shesgreen) reports that House Speaker Ryan and the House
Republican leadership “released a draft of immigration legislation that
would provide legal protections for undocumented young people known as
DREAMers while also providing $23.4 billion for a wall along the border
with Mexico,” which “will be combined with $1.6 billion already
appropriated to reach President Trump’s required $25 billion.” USA Today
adds “a vote is likely next week, but it is unclear if the legislation has
the votes to pass or if President Trump will back it.” USA Today says the
White House “did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the
GOP proposal.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=09a-ff7&t=c>
(6/14, Kaplan, Stolberg) says “the draft bill, circulating among lawmakers
on Thursday afternoon and up for a vote next week, closely adheres to
President Trump’s vision for an immigration overhaul.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=09b-31f&t=c>
(6/14, Debonis) reports, meanwhile, that the measure would “end the Trump
administration’s practice of separating immigrant children from their
families when they are apprehended at the border – one that would, in
effect, allow children to be detained alongside their parents.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=09c-2af&t=c>
(6/14, Cornwell, Becker) reports that Ryan said he “could not guarantee
passage of legislation in coming days that some lawmakers hoped would
address the uncertain status of hundreds of thousands of young ‘Dreamer’
immigrants.” According to Reuters, “In the latest push for a solution, Ryan
plans to bring up two bills for House votes next week, but prospects of
passage for both were not encouraging.” Reuters describes the one bill as
“a hardline conservative Republican measure that would sharply reduce legal
immigration, build a wall on the Mexican border and deny Dreamers the
chance of citizenship.” The alternative “is meant to be a bipartisan
compromise.”

        *Scalise: House Leadership Intends To “Fund The President’s Wall.” *On
Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=09d-539&t=c>
(6/14), House Majority Whip Scalise said that as House Republicans discuss
the immigration legislation they will be voting on, their priority is to
“secure the border, fund the President’s wall,” and “then close the
loopholes.” According to Scalise, “There are so many interior loopholes
where Secretary Nielsen of Homeland Security in many case can’t even deport
somebody who committed a felony in America when they get out of jail. They
have to get permission from the country they came from. Those are the
things we have got to fix.” Scalise said the House leadership also intends
to “fix DACA” and “get rid of chain migration and these visa lotteries.”

        *DOJ May Take Sanctuary Dispute With Chicago To Supreme Court.
*The Chicago
Sun-Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=09e-8d2&t=c>
(6/14, Seidel) reports that “with his patience apparently running thin,”
Attorney General Sessions “tried to set a deadline Thursday for an
appellate court to make a ruling in his months-long fight with Chicago over
sanctuary city policies,” and “it worked – the court shot him down within
hours.” Now, Sessions “could be taking the feud to the U.S. Supreme Court,”
and in the meantime, “judges here apparently think the high court’s ruling
in President Donald Trump’s travel ban case could have implications for
Sessions’ legal battle with Chicago.” A nationwide injunction handed down
by US District Judge Harry Leinenweber “is blocking Sessions from applying
new conditions to grant money in order to force cities to cooperate with
immigration authorities.” The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals “said this
month it would reconsider whether the injunction should apply nationwide,”
but Sessions “had also asked the 7th Circuit...to limit it to Chicago while
his appeal plays out.”

        *CBP Refusing To Transfer Suspects Wanted By California Law
Enforcement. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=09f-d41&t=c>
(6/14, Marosi) reports that, in a move “escalating tension between the
federal government and California,” US Customs and Border Protection agents
are breaking “long-established law enforcement custody protocols” by
refusing “to transfer some suspects wanted by California law enforcement
agencies for crimes including sexual assault and drug possession.” Instead,
federal authorities deport some suspects or charge “them with
immigration-related criminal offenses, which places them in federal
custody.” While “federal authorities blame” a state law restricting “local
agencies from assuring that suspects will be transferred back into federal
custody after their state cases are resolved,” California officials argue
that “federal authorities exaggerate and distort the effects of the law.”
New York AG Files Lawsuit Against Trump, Trump Foundation.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a0-c8d&t=c>
(6/14, Peltz) reports that New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has
sued President Trump and the Trump Foundation, “accusing him of illegally
using the charity’s money to settle disputes involving his business empire
and to promote his political fortunes during his run for the White House.”
The AP adds that the lawsuit “seeks $2.8 million in restitution, additional
unspecified penalties and the dissolution of the foundation, which Trump
had already pledged to dismantle.” Underwood “referred her findings to the
IRS and the Federal Election Commission for possible further action.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a1-aba&t=c>
(6/14, Hakim) also reports on the “scathingly worded lawsuit,” which “seeks
to dissolve the foundation and bar...Trump and three of his children from
serving on nonprofit organizations,” and calls it “an extraordinary rebuke
of a sitting president.”

        All three major network newscasts reported the story. The CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a2-7cc&t=c>
(6/14, story 3, 2:25, Werner) said “the AG pointed to this campaign event
in Iowa, in January 2016. Candidate Trump, skipping a Republican debate,
raised millions of dollars for veterans instead,” but “after the event, the
lawsuit says campaign staff, not the Trump Foundation, dictated how the
funds were disbursed, amounting to illegal coordination between a campaign
and nonprofit.” NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a3-f71&t=c>
(6/14, story 3, 2:10, Welker) also reported “the suit says foundation
donations were used to boost the campaign,” and ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a4-9a7&t=c>
(6/14, story 4, 2:35, Phillips) showed footage of “Trump proudly presenting
at least five $100,000 grants to Iowa charities just day before the Iowa
caucuses,” and saying, “With 100,000 you can do a lot.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a5-7f3&t=c>
(6/14, Stempel) reports that Underwood wants “to ban Trump, his sons Donald
Jr. and Eric, and his daughter Ivanka from holding leadership roles in New
York charities.” The President, meanwhile, “attacked the lawsuit in a
series of posts on Twitter that blamed Democratic politicians in his home
state.” Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a6-da3&t=c>,
“The sleazy New York Democrats, and their now disgraced (and run out of
town) A.G. Eric Schneiderman, are doing everything they can to sue me on a
foundation that took in $18,800,000 and gave out to charity more money than
it took in, $19,200,000. I won’t settle this case!” Trump added in a second
tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a7-cee&t=c>,
“Schneiderman, who ran the Clinton campaign in New York, never had the guts
to bring this ridiculous case, which lingered in their office for almost 2
years. Now he resigned his office in disgrace, and his disciples brought it
when we would not settle.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a8-4f2&t=c>
(6/14, Fahrenthold) notes Underwood “was promoted to attorney general only
weeks ago, succeeding” Schneiderman “after he resigned following
allegations that he had physically abused several romantic partners.”

        POLITICO New York
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0a9-df4&t=c>
(6/14, Samuelsohn) reports “Trump launched his nonprofit charity in 1987
and served as the foundation’s president until three days after his White
House inauguration in January 2017.” Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and
Ivanka Trump “all became foundation board members in 2006,” but “while
Trump’s sons remain in those positions, Ivanka stepped down with her father
when she joined his White House as an adviser.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0aa-94b&t=c>
(6/14, Thomsen), Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0ab-240&t=c>
(6/14, Swoyer) and Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0ac-10f&t=c>
(6/14, Ramey), among other news outlets, also report the story.

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0ad-489&t=c>
(6/14) editorializes that “it’s long been clear that...Trump’s family
foundation, the Trump Foundation, is not a generous and ethical charity,
but just another of his grifts.” The Times adds that “most of...Trump’s
scams – from bankrupt casinos to phony universities – never really
pretended to be in the public interest. But his foundation, like his
presidency, does. And like everything else with the Trump name slapped on
it, neither is remotely what it purports to be.”

        *Trump Jr.: Suit Timed To Coincide With DOJ IG Report. *Donald
Trump Jr. said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0ae-552&t=c>
(6/14), “It’s nonsense. ... They do this on the day the IG report to be
able to dominate the news cycle. Guess what? Most of the media will carry
baggage and run with it like it’s a big thing. It really isn’t. This is a
money that went to good and charitable causes. Half of which was funded
zero expense ratio. Didn’t have employees. Wasn’t sending people on G-5s
all over the world like the Clinton Foundation at 90% expense ratio. That’s
the standard and the double standard by which we have to live and we’ll
keep doing that and keep fighting.”

        *Trump Development Gives Another Contract To Company Owned By
Chinese Government. *McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0af-285&t=c>
(6/14, Kumar) reports that, in a move “further raising questions about
potential conflicts of interest between Donald Trump’s presidency and his
vast real estate empire,” China State Construction Engineering Corp., a
major construction company owned by the Chinese government, received
“another contract this week to work on the Trump golf club development in
Dubai.” Jordan Libowitz, spokesman for Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington, said, “It raises serious questions as to whether his
loyalties are divided. Will American foreign policy be impacted by the
actions of foreign governments towards his personal business empire?”
Broad Range Of Healthcare Constituencies Oppose Lawsuit Challenging ACA.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0b0-d76&t=c>
(6/14, Goldstein) reports, “Hospitals, doctors, medical schools,
patient-advocacy groups, the health insurance industry and others filed
briefs in” to oppose a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act,
“forming an uncommonly united front against a decision by the Trump
administration not to defend significant parts of the law.” The
friend-of-the-court briefs argues that ruling in favor of the plaintiffs
would devastate doctors, patients, and the American healthcare system. “The
government’s position, contrary to Trump’s promises to preserve such
popular protections, surprised even the administration’s allies in Congress
and kicked up a political ruckus.”

        In an editorial, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0b1-b4a&t=c>
(6/14) writes that while the Administration is seeking to end the mandate
for insurers to cover pre-existing conditions, the measure is supported by
“92% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans.” The issue is not only “a matter
of basic fairness and survival,” but “hands Democrats another issue to use
in their battle to win back the House and the Senate in November’s
elections.” Robert Henneke of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, who
represents two men challenging the Affordable Care Act, argues in an
accompanying op-ed in USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0b2-f7f&t=c>
(6/14) that congressional removal of the penalty for not purchasing health
insurance means the ACA is no longer constitutional and should be repealed.
IMF: Tax Cuts Eventually Will Slow US Economic Growth.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0b3-f24&t=c>
(6/14, Crutsinger) reports that also today, the IMF “believes the US
economy will post solid growth this year and next, helped by a sizable
boost from tax cuts,” but “then it says growth will slide as huge budget
deficits drag growth far below the Trump administration’s goals.” According
to the AP, “In its annual assessment of the U.S. economy, the IMF says
growth will hit 2.9 percent this year and 2.7 percent next year,” but then
“forecasts growth will slow steadily in future years, dropping to 1.4
percent in 2023.”

        *In Tweet Today, Trump Touts Job Numbers, Takes Swipe At Democrats.
*Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0b4-452&t=c>
this morning, “U.S.A. Jobs numbers are the BEST in 44 years. If my opponent
(the Democrats) had won the election, they would have raised taxes
substantially and increased regulations – the economy, and jobs, would have
been a disaster!”
Comptroller Of The Currency Acknowledges Lending, Housing Discrimination.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0b5-d50&t=c>
(6/14, Thrush) reports that one day after Comptroller of the Currency
Joseph Otting told the House Financial Services Committee that he had never
personally “observed” lending or housing discrimination, when “sharply
criticized” by Democrats during hearings before the Senate Banking
Committee, he “pulled back on his previous comments,” saying he believes
such discrimination exists and “distancing himself from other Trump
administration officials who have publicly and privately rejected the idea
that racial, ethnic and gender prejudice is an endemic part of the nation’s
housing and banking systems.” Otting said, “I think there is disparate
impact that occurs in America,” citing the theory the Obama Administration
used “as its main tool to enforce the Fair Housing Act, arguing that
lenders and landlords could be guilty of discriminatory practices by
failing to be cognizant of prevailing prejudices.” Trumps appointees, “led
by his budget director, Mick Mulvaney...have sought to reverse those
policies.”
Bankruptcy Judges Beginning To Offer Relief From Student Debt.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0b6-7a7&t=c>
(6/14, Ferek) reports in a change from decades of practice, some bankruptcy
judges are part of a bipartisan push to allow the reduction of student
loans for those struggling to repay their debt. US student debt – now at
$1.4 trillion – is now the largest source of consumer debt after mortgage
but, unlike almost every other kind of debt, is largely unable to be
reduced through bankruptcy. However, interviews with more than 50 current
and former bankruptcy judges, says that frustration with people leaving
courtrooms with six-figure debts has judges more willing to address the
issue. Although cancellation of the debt is still rate, judges are turning
to other tools, including encouraging lawyers to represent borrowers pro
bono and debt-relief techniques that make repayment more affordable such as
canceling future related tax bills.
High Court Strikes Down Minnesota Law Banning Political Apparel At Polling
Places.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018061501biden&r=email-e724&l=0b7-296&t=c>
(6/14, Golden) reports the US Supreme Court yesterday “struck down a
Minnesota law that prohibits people from wearing political clothing or
buttons at polling places.” In its 7-2 ruling, the court “found that the
state’s law violates voters’ First Amendment right to free speech, and is
too broad – but that states may have more specific rules about apparel
that’s acceptable at the polls.” The New York Times
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(6/14, Liptak) notes “the case started when members of the Minnesota Voters
Alliance, which says it works to ensure ‘election integrity,’ turned up at
Minnesota polling places wearing T-shirts bearing Tea Party logos and
buttons saying ‘Please I.D. Me.’” The Washington Post
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(6/14, Barnes), AP
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(6/14, Gresko), Washington Times
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(6/14, Swoyer) and Reuters
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(6/14, Chung), among other news outlets, run similar reports this morning.
Cancer Research
Higher Concentrations Of Vitamin D In Blood May Lower Colorectal Cancer
Risk.

NBC Nightly News
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(6/14, story 8, 1:35, Holt) reported, “Researchers found Vitamin D can play
a key role in lowering your risk of colon cancer.” In “To Your
Health,” the Washington
Post
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(6/14, McGinley) reports researchers at the National Cancer Institute and
other institutions found “higher concentrations of vitamin D circulating in
the bloodstream are linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer.” The
findings
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were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. NPR
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(6/14, Neighmond) reports on its “All Things Considered” program and its
“Shots” blog that the study “provides the strongest evidence yet that
vitamin D may indeed be protective against colorectal cancer and that a
deficiency may increase the risk of this cancer.”
Researchers Examine Detection Tools For Gasdermin E.

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
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(6/15) reports on new research examining how gasdermin E (GSDME) has “been
found to be directly involved in cancer and tumor suppression.” The
research indicates “GSDME has an activated form that can induce
pyroptosis,” and among “GSDME-expressing cells, chemotherapy drugs or
inflammatory factors that normally activate apoptosis-mediated cell death
may switch to the activation of pyroptosis,” which “contributes to the
cytotoxicity of chemotherapy drugs in normal tissues.” The piece adds that
recombinant rabbit monoclonal GSDME antibodies researchers produced “were
capable of detecting GSDME at very low levels and helped characterize GSDME
expression across a range of cell types, including normal noncancer cells
and NCI-60, which is a panel of 60 diverse human cancer cell lines used by
the U.S. National Cancer Institute to screen and evaluate anticancer
drugs.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Adem Bunkeddeko In The Ninth District.”* In an editorial, the New York
Times
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(6/14) writes, “Longtime Democratic members of Congress in New York City
are facing something new this year: healthy competition,” although “the
scheduling of this month’s primaries, on the last day of school, and nearly
three months before the more widely publicized primaries for governor and
other statewide offices, seems designed to depress turnout and protect
incumbents.” The Times argues that increased competition “could help stir
interest in the races and make these Democratic races more democratic.” The
Times concludes by endorsing community organizer Adem Bunkeddeko in the
primary in NY9.

        *“Seizing Children From Parents At The Border Is Immoral. Here’s
What We Can Do About It.” *In an editorial, the New York Times
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(6/14, Board) criticizes the Administration for its “malicious” and
“mind-boggling” heartlessness of having “hundreds of children...snatched
from their parents, frequently under false pretenses, often screaming, and
placed in vast warehouselike centers.” In response to criticism, the
Administration offers “a mix of just-following-orders and falsehoods,”
unable to understand “that this is not about crime or security, but about
the most elemental human values” and that its policies contradict
“fundamental American values.” The Times offers concrete actions for those
seeking to get the Administration to “do the right thing,” including
calling Congress, protesting, donating to legal and humanitarian efforts,
and voting, which the Times calls “the most important tool Americans have
to seek change in how their government operates – and the values it
espouses.”

        *“Donald Trump’s Charity Begins, And Ends, At Home.” *The New York
Times
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(6/14) editorializes that “it’s long been clear that...Trump’s family
foundation, the Trump Foundation, is not a generous and ethical charity,
but just another of his grifts.” The Times adds that “most of...Trump’s
scams – from bankrupt casinos to phony universities – never really
pretended to be in the public interest. But his foundation, like his
presidency, does. And like everything else with the Trump name slapped on
it, neither is remotely what it purports to be.”
Washington Post.

*“How To Make Voting More Democratic.”* In an editorial, the Washington Post
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(6/14) calls for localities to institute ranked-choice voting, citing
crowded fields in local primary elections that make it “likely that
candidates will win crucial Democratic primaries – tantamount to election
to office in this predominantly Democratic county – despite being opposed
by most voters.” The technique, which “has been used successfully in other
countries as well as a growing number of U.S. cities,” has the votes for
losing candidates go to other candidates selected by voters in order of
preference and requires a majority of votes to win. The Post argues this
leads to “more positive campaigning by candidates who recognize the need to
earn second- and third-choice backing of voters who support their rivals; a
more engaged and informed electorate; and voters freed from having to weigh
their preference against their calculation of who has a chance to win.”

        *“There Was No Anti-Trump FBI Conspiracy.” *In an editorial,
the Washington
Post
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(6/14) editorializes that “the first thing to note is that the report
provides no support for the theory of a broad anti-Trump plot. True, the
inspector general uncovered private messages between” Peter Strzok and Lisa
Page, but he “concluded that Mr. Strzok ‘was not the sole decisionmaker’
and, in fact, ‘advocated for more aggressive investigative measures’
against [Hillary] Clinton.” To the Post, “the valid, nonpolitical lesson
arising from the inspector general’s report is that the FBI needs to be
better prepared to handle politically sensitive investigations. The agency
must take special care not to affect elections. ... As for FBI officials,
they can have personal views, but they should refrain from saying careless
things even in private.”

        *“A Chance To End An Impasse.” *A Washington Post
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(6/14) editorial says Macedonia’s decision to “formally change its name to
the Republic of North Macedonia” may seem like a minor concession to
Greece, “but the agreement is in fact a significant breakthrough in a
diplomatic stalemate that had threatened Macedonia’s NATO and European
Union ambitions.” The Post says “the battle for this compromise is far from
over,” however, because for the “change to become official, it will have to
be approved by the Greek and Macedonian parliaments and by the Macedonian
public in a referendum.” The tasks “are weighty obstacles,” and
“international stakeholders and policymakers should support the peacemakers
in Macedonia and Greece as they push for parliamentary ratification and a
fair referendum process.”

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