Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Thursday, August 23, 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: Thu, 23 Aug 2018 11:03:57 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Thursday, August 23, 2018 7:54 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, August 23, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=000-447&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=001-0d1&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, August 23, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Axios’ Allen: Biden Lauded Former JSOC Chief Who Rebuked Trump. <#S1>

• Rasmussen Poll: Biden Remains Democrats’ Top Pick To Take On Trump In
2020. <#S2>

• Ex-Rep. Israel Touts Biden As Democrats’ Best Option To Face Trump. <#S3>

• Gambling Website Pegs Trump As Heavy Favorite In 2020; Biden In Fourth.
<#S4>

• Biden To Be Honored At National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Awards Oct.
17. <#S5>

• Biden To Kick Off University At Buffalo’s Distinguished Speaker Series
Oct. 25. <#S6>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Mocks Cohen, Says Charges To Which He Pleaded Guilty “Not A Crime.”
<#S7>

• Trump Praises Manafort For Refusing To “Make Up Stories In Order To Get A
‘Deal.’” <#S8>

• Media Analyses: Midterms May Decide Trump’s Fate As Impeachment
Speculation Grows. <#S9>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Putin Calls Helsinki Summit “Positive And Useful” Ahead of Bolton Visit.
<#S10>

• Bolton: Putin Would Be “Content” If All Iranian Forces Exit Syria. <#S11>

• Bolton: Sanctions Working, US Not Seeking Regime Change In Iran. <#S12>

• Trump Awards Medal Of Honor To USAF Sergeant Killed In Afghanistan. <#S13>

• USA Today: Declining Arab Enthusiasm For Trump Middle East Peace Deal.
<#S14>

• Saudi Arabia Planning To Execute Female Human Rights Activist. <#S15>

• Satellite Imagery Indicates North Korea Halted Dismantling Of Launch Site.
<#S16>

• US, Mexico Reportedly Getting Close To NAFTA Deal. <#S17>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Democrats Want To Delay Kavanaugh Hearings In Wake Of Cohen Guilty Plea.
<#S18>

• Media Analyses: Tibbetts’ Murder Could Become Campaign Issue. <#S19>

• NYTimes: New EPA Rule Will Barely Slow Decline Of US Coal Industry. <#S20>

• Fed Signals Openness To Further Rate Increases If Economy Remains Strong.
<#S21>

• DeVos Mulls Letting Schools Use Federal Funds To Buy Guns. <#S22>

• Trump: 80% Of Media Is “Fake News,” Singles Out NYTimes “Lunatics.” <#S23>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Mast Wants HHS To Examine Possible Glioblastoma Cluster In Florida. <#S24>

• Pfizer, Astellas Revise Two Cancer Drug Trial Protocols To Expedite
Results. <#S25>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S26>

• Washington Post. <#S27>
Biden in the News
Axios’ Allen: Biden Lauded Former JSOC Chief Who Rebuked Trump.

Writing for Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=002-0bb&t=c>
(8/23), Mike Allen reports this morning that former Vice President Joe
Biden on Sunday “reached out to William McRaven – former commander of the
US Joint Special Operations Command, who oversaw the SEAL raid that killed
Osama bin Laden – after McRaven dared President Trump to revoke his
clearance, too.” Allen says, “Biden’s rough message to McRaven: ‘It is
presumptuous of me to say, but I’m so incredibly proud of you. I saw up
close your physical courage, including your incredible calm during planning
for the Bin Laden raid. As RFK said: ‘Moral courage is the rarer commodity
than bravery in battle.’” Biden is further quoted as saying, “I have never
met anybody whose moral courage equaled their physical courage in your
category. I’m proud to know you and be associated with you.”
Rasmussen Poll: Biden Remains Democrats’ Top Pick To Take On Trump In 2020.

Rasmussen Reports
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=003-d22&t=c>
(8/22) says that former Vice President Joe Biden “remains the clear
favorite among Democrats to be their presidential nominee in 2020,” with
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “a fading second,” according to a Rasmussen
Reports nationwide poll of 1,000 US likely Democratic voters, taken Aug.
20-21. In the poll, 37% of those surveyed selected “Biden first out of a
field of six early contenders for the nomination when asked which of them
best represents the party and would make the best candidate against
President Trump if he runs for reelection in 2020.” The brief article
provides no further information about the results of the poll.
Ex-Rep. Israel Touts Biden As Democrats’ Best Option To Face Trump.

In an op-ed that appears on the website of The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=004-98d&t=c>
(8/22), ex-Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), a former Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee chief, says that former Vice President Joe Biden “may be
the best” Democrat to face off against President Trump in 2020. Israel says
that Biden has strong appeal in states such as “Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Michigan, Florida, [and] Wisconsin,” where there are “pools of once-blue,
middle-class districts” that have been shifting “towards the Republicans.”
Israel says Biden has the ability to connect “with these communities,”
reversing “the Trump tide.” For a Democrat to defeat Trump, adds Israel,
“the path is in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. It’s in Michigan, Ohio,
Wisconsin, Florida. It’s uphill, uneven – and well travelled by Joe Biden.”
Gambling Website Pegs Trump As Heavy Favorite In 2020; Biden In Fourth.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=005-43f&t=c>
(8/22, Bedard) reported, “Despite a wave of troubling headlines, President
Trump’s odds of winning re-election have surged and are far higher than any
challenger, according to a leading online gambling site.” According to
“BetOnline.ag, more gamblers are betting on a Trump victory than on every
single other competitor of either party, of which the site lists 45. Trump
currently stands as a 3/2 bet to win re-election. His closest challenger is
California Sen. Kamala Harris, listed at 10-1,” followed by “Sen. Bernie
Sanders, 14-1, former Vice President Joe Biden, 16-1,” and Sen. Elizabeth
Warren, 20-1.
Biden To Be Honored At National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Awards Oct. 17.

The Memphis (TN) Commercial Appeal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=006-fba&t=c>
(8/22, Moore) reports, “Former Vice President Joe Biden, civil rights icon
the Rev. Jesse Jackson and entrepreneur and philanthropist Pitt Hyde are
the honorees for the 2018 National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Awards.
... The ceremony is Oct. 17. As this year the museum remembered the 50th
anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination in Memphis, 1968 was
also an important year for each of the honorees,” according to NCRM
President Terri Lee Freeman, who said, “Joe Biden was a law clerk in 1968
when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. He actually identified Kennedy as his
personal hero.”

        In a brief, online article, WREG-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=007-028&t=c>
Memphis, TN (8/22) reported, “This year’s 27th annual award ceremony...will
also feature a special tribute to Aretha Franklin. The theme is ‘1968.’
Writer, commentator and activist Michaela Angela Davis will host the
ceremony. Biden will be recognized for his work in criminal justice and
international affairs, Jackson as founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and
for his work as a civil rights activist and political leader and Hyde for
his local philanthropy work as trustee of the Hyde Family Foundation.” On
its website, WMC-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=008-0d1&t=c>
Memphis, TN (8/22, Nunley, Poindexter) reported that Biden “was selected
because of his tireless work on criminal justice reform and his impact on
US foreign policy.”
Biden To Kick Off University At Buffalo’s Distinguished Speaker Series Oct.
25.

The Buffalo (NY) News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=009-ba2&t=c>
(8/22, Watson) reports, “Former Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice and Ronan Farrow, the New Yorker writer who
shared a Pulitzer Prize for his investigation into claims against Harvey
Weinstein, headline” the University at Buffalo’s “2018-19 Distinguished
Speaker Series.” The “series kicks off with likely its biggest draw, Biden,
who will speak on Oct. 25.” Buffalo (NY) Business First
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=00a-31d&t=c>
(8/22), WIVB-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=00b-9b8&t=c>
Buffalo, NY (8/22, Anstey), WKBW-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=00c-b8a&t=c>
Buffalo, NY (8/22), and WGRZ-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=00d-d3a&t=c>
Buffalo, NY (8/22) offer similar reports.
Leading the News
Trump Mocks Cohen, Says Charges To Which He Pleaded Guilty “Not A Crime.”

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=00e-d5d&t=c>
yesterday, “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly
suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!” Trump also
wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=00f-98d&t=c>
that Cohen “plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that
are not a crime. President Obama had a big campaign finance violation and
it was easily settled!” Moreover, in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=010-265&t=c>
addressing Paul Manafort’s conviction, Trump praised his former campaign
chairman for refusing to “make up stories in order to get a ‘deal’” – an
apparent reference to his former lawyer. In addition, the Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=011-00e&t=c>
(8/22, Morrongiello) notes that in an interview which aired this morning on
Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” Trump “denied that campaign funds were ever used
to arrange hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had affairs
with him prior to the 2016 presidential election.” Trump said “he knew of
the payments...’later on,’ but claimed they were not funded by his
campaign.”

        In an online story this morning which includes video of the
interview, Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=012-999&t=c>
(8/23) reports that “Trump blasted his former attorney, Michael Cohen, for
‘flipping’ on him and praised another ex-lieutenant with legal trouble,
Paul Manafort, in an exclusive ‘Fox & Friends’ interview with Ainsely
Earhardt.” Trump is shown saying,”[Cohen] makes a better deal when he uses
me, like everybody else. And one of the reasons I respect Paul Manafort so
much is he went through that trial—you know they make up stories. People
make up stories. This whole thing about flipping, they call it,” and “it
almost ought to be outlawed. It’s not fair.” Fox adds that Trump “went on
to criticize Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying he ‘never took control
of the Justice Department.’ When asked whether he would fire Sessions or
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he maintained that he wants to
‘stay uninvolved’ with the DOJ.” Trump also said, “If you look at Hillary
Clinton’s person, you take a look at the people that work for Hillary
Clinton, and look at the crimes that Clinton did with the emails and she
deletes 33,000 emails after she gets a subpoena from Congress, and this
Justice Department does nothing about it and all of the other crimes that
they’ve done.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=013-e46&t=c>
(8/22, Ahmann) quotes Trump as saying during the Fox interview that the
funds “weren’t taken out of campaign finance. ... They didn’t come out of
the campaign; they came from me.” Also yesterday, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=014-acf&t=c>
(8/22, Heavey, Oliphant) reports in a separate story, “the White House
pushed back forcefully...against suggestions that a plea deal struck
by...Cohen implicated Trump in a crime.” Said White House Press Secretary
Sarah Sanders, “As the President has said, we’ve stated many times, he did
nothing wrong. There are no charges against him.”

        Most mainstream media reports sounded a decidedly unfavorable note
on Trump’s comments. Wolf Blitzer, for example, said on CNN’s
Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=015-a66&t=c>
(8/22), “The President clearly lied...in that latest interview of Fox News
when he said he didn’t know about the payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen
McDougal until, quote, later on after the fact. But here he is on this
audio tape with...Cohen talking about the payment in advance before the
payment was made.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=016-11f&t=c>
(8/22, lead story, 3:20, Vega) described the White House as “embattled and
under fire,” with Trump “now blasting his one-time right-hand man,” while
the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=017-dcd&t=c>
(8/22, Miller, Lemire, Superville) casts Trump as “facing a growing threat
to his presidency” and adds that “regardless of how Cohen was reimbursed,
corporations are not permitted to contribute to campaigns and money
intended to influence an election must be reported to federal authorities.”

        Under the headline “Not Just Misleading. Not Merely False. A Lie,”
Glenn Kessler says in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=018-119&t=c>
(8/23, Kessler) that “every answer” Trump has given on this matter “was
false. Trump knew about the payment, he knew Cohen made the payment as part
of an effort to kill damaging stories, and he knew Cohen was reimbursed.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=019-206&t=c>
(8/22, Fabian) reports Trump “falsely claimed that hush-money payments
arranged by” Cohen “did not break the law,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=01a-247&t=c>
(8/22, Morin) that “the crimes” to which Cohen pleaded guilty “carry a
maximum sentence of 65 years.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=01b-bcb&t=c>
(8/22, Jackson) says, meanwhile, that Trump criticized Cohen despite having
“praised” him “profusely in the past,” arguing that his “reputed ‘fixer’”
is “now making up stories to protect himself.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=01c-d60&t=c>
(8/22, lead story, 3:00, Jiang) reported that Trump’s remarks to Fox News
amount to his “third version of the story. First, he denied knowing about
the hush money. ... Then he admitted to reimbursing his former personal
attorney,” and “now he says that since the cash came from his own pocket,
he did not violate any campaign finance laws.” The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=01d-d7c&t=c>
(8/22, story 2, 0:45, Reid) also said “prosecutors have, of course, noticed
that the President’s story on this has evolved,” and “if they get the
chance to sit down with him or ask him questions, this is going to be
something they’ll want to nail down with him.” Along similar lines, NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=01e-1e7&t=c>
(8/22, lead story, 3:10, Holt) told its viewers that Trump “may have dug
himself in a little deeper by contradicting his original story of what he
knew and when he knew it, as Cohen signals he has plenty more to say.”

        To USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=01f-21b&t=c>
(8/22, Page), “the sense of accelerating peril around Trump rivals the most
disruptive days of the scandals of his predecessors – of the turning points
in the Watergate scandal that forced Richard Nixon’s resignation, and in
the Monica Lewinsky affair that led to Bill Clinton’s impeachment.” Along
similar lines, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=020-c4d&t=c>
(8/22, Lauter) refers to the Cohen saga as “the clearest sign yet of the
political and legal peril that is increasingly threatening Trump’s
presidency,” and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=021-b6e&t=c>
(8/22, Ballhaus), among other news outlets, runs a similar analysis this
morning.

        Renato Mariotti, in a Politico Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=022-9b5&t=c>
(8/22) piece titled “Trump Was Winning. Until Tuesday,” writes that “Cohen
upended a months-long strategy by Trump to undermine the investigation by
special counsel Robert Mueller, and for the first time presented a path to
the end of the Trump presidency.” The conservative Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=023-630&t=c>
(8/22, Enjeti) reports, meanwhile, that “Cohen’s guilty plea places Trump
in the position of being an un-indicted co-conspirator in the campaign
finance violation.” The “violation could prove politically precarious for
the president with critics already advocating for his impeachment in
Congress.”

        On Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=024-d9d&t=c>
(8/22), Sean Hannity previewed excerpts from this morning’s Fox and Friends
interview with Trump. Trump is asked about his relationship with Cohen, and
he said, “He was a lawyer for me for – one of many. They would say the
lawyer and then they like to add the fixer. I don’t know if he was a fixer.
I don’t know where that term came from. But, he has been a lawyer for me.
Didn’t do big deals, did small deals. Not somebody that was with me that
much. They make it sound like I didn’t live without him. I understood
Michael Cohen very well. It turned out he wasn’t a very good lawyer,
frankly. But he was somebody that was probably with me for about 10 years
and I would see him sometimes.” Ainsley Earhardt, who interviewed Trump for
Fox, said on Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=025-636&t=c>
(8/22) that she asked him how Cohen was able to “get a plea bargain. He was
facing 65 years behind bars in prison. How did he go from 65 years possibly
max to three to five years? If it wasn’t illegal, why are they using that?
He said because if there something negative that they can say about me they
will use that and they will lessen their sentence. That extreme number just
because they hate me.”

        Asked on CBS This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=026-e95&t=c>
(8/22) whether Cohen has evidence that Trump violated campaign finance
laws, Cohen attorney Lanny Davis said, “This is one thing I’d like to do
this morning above all, which is, it’s not about ‘evidence.’ It is
definitive, indisputable, that Donald Trump’s lawyers said in a letter to
the special counsel that President Trump ‘directed’ – the same word that
Michael Cohen used in court yesterday under oath – ‘directed’ Michael Cohen
to make illegal payments. It’s not a dispute; it’s not about credibility.
His own lawyers used the word ‘directed. ... His lawyers are the witnesses
against him that he directed Michael Cohen. There’s no dispute on that.”
Davis added, “Yes, [Trump] committed a crime. He should be indicted.”

        Davis said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=027-214&t=c>
(8/22), “It took me a while to talk and get to know Michael and his
decision to change his life and as he said to me, hit the reset button and
recognize you can’t get a redo in life when you make mistakes and some of
the things that he did for Mr. Trump he talked to me about not being
particularly proud of or things that he said that weren’t true on camera he
is not particularly proud of.” Asked if Cohen’s change of heart came only
after he realized he is facing jail time, Davis said, “Sure. But when we
talked, it was mostly about his feelings about Mr. Trump, his positions on
issues, his conduct of the presidency and what I found after quite a long
period of time talking to him, a sincere conviction that Mr. Trump
represented a danger to the country.”

        *Dershowitz, ACU Chairman, Ex-FEC Head: Violations To Which Cohen
Pleaded Guilty Not Crimes. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=028-d6a&t=c>
(8/22, Nelson) reports “many legal experts say Cohen didn’t actually commit
a campaign finance crime, leading to speculation about why he pleaded
guilty, and what his confession may mean for Trump.” The Examiner adds that
“skeptics say silencing the women may have helped Trump during the 2016
campaign, but also protected Trump’s family and company from embarrassment,
meaning it wasn’t an election contribution.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=029-09c&t=c>
(8/22, Boyer) reports American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp
“said on CNN Wednesday that the campaign finance violations to which Cohen
pleaded guilty are not crimes.” Alan Dershowitz also “said Cohen’s guilty
plea to the campaign-finance violations doesn’t put Mr. Trump in legal
jeopardy, because candidates can contribute any amount to their own
campaigns.”

        Dershowitz said on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=02a-1a8&t=c>
(8/22), “I challenge any of those who are saying it’s a crime to find me
anything in criminal law that would make it a crime for a President
personally or a candidate personally to pay in order to save his own
election. It’s just not against the law.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=02b-053&t=c>
(8/22, Kasperowicz) reports Dershowitz also “said Wednesday he sees no
threat of impeachment against...Trump based on claims from his former
lawyer that Trump directed the payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels.” Said
Dershowitz, “We’re far away from impeachable offense or criminal offense on
the part of the President.”

        Bradley Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election
Commission, now chairman of the Institute for Free Speech and a visiting
fellow in the James Madison Program at Princeton, asks in a Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=02c-9c1&t=c>
(8/22) op-ed, “If a candidate for public office decided to settle a private
lawsuit to get it out of the news before Election Day, would that be a
campaign expenditure? If a business owner ran for political office and
decided to pay bonuses to his employees, in the hope that he would get good
press and boost his stock as a candidate, would that be a campaign
expenditure, payable from campaign funds?” To Smith, “regardless of what
Cohen agreed to in a plea bargain, hush-money payments to mistresses are
not really campaign expenditures. ... Laws, once stretched from their
limited language and proper purpose, are difficult to pound back into
shape. We should proceed with caution here.”

        *Penn: Cohen Plea Deal Is Part Of Plot To Oust Trump. *Mark Penn,
longtime strategist for President Clinton and Hillary Clinton, writes in The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=02d-3a1&t=c>
(8/22, Penn), “The plot to get...Trump out of office thickens, as Cohen
obviously was his own mini crime syndicate and decided that his betrayals
meant he would be better served turning on his old boss to cut the best
deal with prosecutors he could.” That “was clear the minute he
hired...Davis, who does not try cases.” Penn goes on to “contrast what is
going on here with the treatment of the millions of dollars paid to a
Democratic law firm which, in turn, paid out money to political research
firm Fusion GPS and British spy Christopher Steele without listing them on
any campaign expenditure form, despite crystal clear laws and regulations.”
To Penn, “There is no question that hiring spies to do opposition research
in Russia is a campaign expenditure, yet no prosecutorial raids have been
sprung on the law firm, Fusion GPS or Steele. The reason? It does not ‘get’
Trump.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=02e-39e&t=c>
(8/22, Pollak) notes Penn’s op-ed on its site.

        *Obama Campaign Paid Large Fine For Campaign Finance Violations. *In
one of his tweets
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=02f-02d&t=c>
yesterday, Trump noted that Barack Obama’s campaign was accused of a “big
campaign violation,” but that in his case, the issue was “easily settled.”
The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=030-000&t=c>
(8/22, Sonmez) notes “Trump in his tweet did not spell out what he was
referring to regarding...Obama, but he elaborated a bit more on Fox,
saying, ‘If you look at President Obama, he had a massive campaign
violation, but he had a different attorney general, and they viewed it a
lot differently.’” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=031-6d6&t=c>
(8/22, Kight) confirmed that “Obama’s 2008 campaign did have to pay one of
the largest fines of any presidential campaign for failing to give adequate
notice of around 1,300 campaign contributions totaling more than $1.8
million, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=032-43f&t=c>
reported at the time.” However, says Axios, “that’s a very different kind
of violation than using campaign funds as hush money for women accusing the
candidate of having an affair.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=033-d5f&t=c>
(8/22, Morin) noted yesterday “Obama’s campaign paid $230,000, with the
Democratic National Committee paying the rest of the amount.”

        Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=034-141&t=c>
(8/22, Spiering) also reports the story under the headline “‘Not A Crime’ –
Donald Trump Points To Massive Barack Obama FEC Settlement.” Phillip Bump
of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=035-76b&t=c>
(8/22) asks, however, “So what did Obama do? Well, Obama didn’t do
anything, really. His campaign...failed to report 1,300 contributions
within 48 hours as required by law,” and it also “received some campaign
contributions that exceeded allowable limits from a donor for a campaign
cycle and others that had incorrect dates.”

        *Davis: Given Questions About Trump’s “Loyalty” To US, Cohen Would
Not Accept Pardon. *Asked, on CNN’s New Day[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=036-7c9&t=c>
(8/22), if Cohen is hoping for a pardon from President Trump, Davis said,
“The answer is definitively ‘no, Under no circumstances, since he came to
the judgment after Mr. Trump’s election to the presidency of the United
States that his suitability is a serious risk to our country. And certainly
after Helsinki created serious questions about his loyalty to our country,
his answer would be, ‘no, I do not want a pardon from this man.’” The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=037-9e0&t=c>
(8/22, Stanley-Becker) reports that Davis told NPR in a separate interview,
“I know that Mr. Cohen would never accept a pardon from a man that he
considers to be both corrupt and a dangerous person in the Oval Office. ...
Mr. Cohen is not interested in being dirtied by a pardon from such a man.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=038-fb0&t=c>
(8/22, Hayes) also notes Davis’ comments to NPR, and the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=039-2ec&t=c>
(8/22, Jaeger) says “the lawyer for convicted hush-money hustler...Cohen
says his client will never accept a pardon from ‘dangerous’ and
‘corrupt’...Trump.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=03a-c09&t=c>
(8/22, Heavey, Lambert) reports, meanwhile, that “representatives for the
White House did not immediately response to a request for comment on
whether Trump would consider pardoning Cohen.”

        *Davis: Helsinki “A Turning Point” For Cohen. *In an
appearance on NBC’s
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=03b-787&t=c>
(8/22), Davis also said Cohen believes Trump is “unsuitable to hold the
office.” Davis added, “After Helsinki, he worried about the future of our
country with somebody who was aligning himself with Mr. Putin in denying
what his entire intelligence community, his own appointees, have said is an
indisputable fact – that Putin interfered with our presidential election on
behalf of Donald Trump – and he still denies that. That’s the kind of thing
that caused...Cohen to change his mind and decide to dedicate himself to
telling the truth to the American people.” Likewise, on MSNBC’s
Morning Joe[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=03c-1f8&t=c>
(8/22), Davis said, “I can tell you that Helsinki was a significant turning
point as [Cohen] worried about the future of our country with the President
of the United States aligning with somebody who everybody in his
intelligence community, who he appointed, including Dan Coats, said that
Putin interfered and tried to help Trump get elected – and Trump is the
only one left denying that. And that shook up Mr. Cohen.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=03d-3ef&t=c>
(8/22, Stanley-Becker) also reports that “in multiple interviews, Davis, a
Democrat who formerly served as special counsel to President Bill Clinton,
relayed that Cohen grew disillusioned with Trump after watching his
friendly demeanor toward...Putin at their July summit in Helsinki.”

        *New York State Investigators Subpoena Cohen About Trump
Foundation. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=03e-2c7&t=c>
(8/22, Wang) reports that New York state investigators have subpoenaed
Cohen for documents related to the Donald J. Trump Foundation, “an
escalation” of the investigation “into whether the president’s charity
violated tax laws. After receiving the subpoena, Mr. Cohen called the
investigators in the state Tax Department to ask when they could talk,
according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.”

        *Davis: Dossier Makes 13 False Claims About Cohen, Including That
He Met With Russians In Prague. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=03f-353&t=c>
(8/22, Ross) reports that in an interview with Bloomberg TV[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=040-9ba&t=c>
(8/22), Lanny Davis “dropped a bombshell” when he said Michael Cohen has
never been to Prague, despite the fact that the so-called “dossier”
prepared for the Clinton Campaign by former British spy Christopher Steele
claimed Cohen went there at Trump’s behest. Steele wrote that “Cohen and
three associates visited Prague in order to meet with Kremlin officials as
part of a conspiracy to pay hackers to obtain dirt on former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton.” Davis is quoted as saying, “Thirteen references to
Mr. Cohen are false in the dossier, but he has never been to Prague in his
life.” According to the Daily Caller, “The statement is a significant
denial given that, according to Davis, Cohen has turned over a new leaf by
deciding to discuss his work on behalf of” Trump.

        *Davis Appears To Walk Back Claim Trump Knew About Trump Tower
Meeting In Advance, Approved It. *Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=041-102&t=c>
(8/22, Ross) points out that Davis said yesterday morning that “there is a
‘complication’ to the bombshell story...that...Cohen claims...Trump had
prior knowledge of the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.” In “two separate
interviews with CNN,” Davis “said there is ‘some truth’ to reports that
Cohen is willing to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump knew
about the meeting,” but “there was a ‘complication’ in the reporting that
Cohen’s legal team was ‘never able to correct.’”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=042-d69&t=c>
(8/22, story 3, 2:50, Llamas) reported that Cohen’s attorney is “now
suggesting his client has information about whether Donald Trump knew in
advance about the Russian hacking – when Democrats e-mails were later
distributed by Wikileaks.” On ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=043-01b&t=c>
(8/22), Davis was asked if Cohen is “prepared to tell everything he knows
about...Trump to...Mueller and other prosecutors.” Davis responded, “Yes,
100 percent. That’s the decision he made and that led to what happened
yesterday. ... President Trump committed a criminal act that corrupted our
democracy. That’s what the campaign finance laws are about. The same way
that the Russians [did], complicit with Wikileaks” – and there is “evidence
that members of the campaign at least facilitated that conspiracy.”

        Phillip Bump of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=044-385&t=c>
(8/22) says that during his “media blitz,” over the past 24 hours, Davis
has “made one consistent claim,” which is that Cohen has “knowledge about
the computer crime of hacking and whether or not Mr. Trump knew ahead of
time about that crime and even cheered it on.” Bump adds, “To The
Washington Post, Davis elaborated somewhat,” saying, “If there is a
conversation and a plan for there to be dirt on Hillary Clinton, and then
someone knows the way you’re willing to get the dirt is a Russian agent
called WikiLeaks...and then WikiLeaks hacks into an email account, which is
a crime, then you have committed a crime of conspiracy.”

        On MSNBC’s Morning Joe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=045-72c&t=c>
(8/22), Donny Deutsch, who said he spoke with Cohen “at length” on Tuesday,
predicted that Cohen will be “a pivotal, not ‘the’ pivotal figure that will
bring down the presidency.” Deutsch added that Cohen “really is looking
forward to talking with Mueller,” and “will be able to tie Trump to those
meetings and to collusion.” Emily Jane Fox of Vanity Fair, who also spoke
with Cohen on Tuesday, said, “No one forced him to implicate the President.
... Implicating the President in counts seven and eight was a deliberate
choice.” Fox said Cohen decided to “throw his boss...under the bus.”

        *WSJournal A1: Talk With Father, Concerns About Wife Helped
Convince Cohen To Plead Guilty. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=046-bee&t=c>
(8/22, O'Brien, Hong, Palazzolo) runs an 1,800-word front-page piece
headlined “Why Michael Cohen Agreed To Plead Guilty – And Implicate The
President” that says that while Cohen originally seemed unlikely to turn
against Trump, a June conversation with his father, a Holocaust survivor,
about protecting the family name began to change his mind. Cohen’s sense
over the following weeks that Trump would not defend him, as well as
concerns that his wife might also be implicated, are among the reasons
Cohen decided to cooperate with prosecutors, the Journal says.
Trump Praises Manafort For Refusing To “Make Up Stories In Order To Get A
‘Deal.’”

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=047-c2d&t=c>
yesterday, “I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family.
‘Justice’ took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied
tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to ‘break’
– make up stories in order to get a ‘deal.’ Such respect for a brave man!”
Added
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=048-178&t=c>
Trump, “A large number of counts, ten, could not even be decided in the
Paul Manafort case. Witch Hunt!” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=049-784&t=c>
(8/22, Mazzetti) reports, “That the charges against Mr. Manafort had
nothing to do with Russian interference in the election opened Mr.
Mueller’s team to a barrage of attacks by Mr. Trump and his allies that the
special counsel had embarked on a crusade to discredit the administration.”
However, “the fact that a jury returned a guilty verdict on eight counts
bolsters the credibility of the special counsel’s pursuit of Mr. Manafort’s
financial crimes.”

        Beyond the arguments contained in the NYTimes report, media
analyses highlighted Trump’s praise for Manafort’s refusal to “break,” and
saw his tweets as suggesting he may pardon him. In fact, Ainsley Earhardt,
who interviewed Trump for Fox, said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=04a-0dc&t=c>
(8/22) that Trump “mentioned pardoning Manafort” and “said that he would
consider that. I think he feels bad for Manafort. They were friends. He
didn’t work for him for very long. Worked for him for basically 100 days.
The President didn’t know about all of this tax stuff. Of course, he
wouldn’t know about that. And he did say, he said keep in mind who worked
for Reagan for a long time.”

        To Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=04b-a33&t=c>
(8/22, Kight), Trump yesterday “seemed to open the possibility of a pardon
for...Manafort – which would likely only increase suspicion of wrongdoing
by the president.” On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=04c-8bd&t=c>
(8/22, lead story, 3:10, Holt), Hallie Jackson reported “the White House is
not ruling out a pardon for...Manafort,” while ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=04d-0cb&t=c>
(8/22, story 2, 1:10, Vega) indicated that “so far,” Trump “says he is not
thinking about a pardon for...Manafort, but in a matter of weeks, Manafort
faces a second set of charges, potentially even more time behind bars. So,
the pressure right now is on. Does he plead guilty as part of a deal for
leniency...or does he hold out hope for a presidential pardon? We’ll soon
find out.”

        To Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=04e-40c&t=c>
(8/22, Oprysko), meanwhile, Trump “has long put a high price on loyalty,”
and “after two of his closest associates got slammed with bank and tax
fraud violations” he “is staying true to form.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=04f-d76&t=c>
(8/22, Sonmez) says “Trump sought to contrast Manafort’s posture with that
of Michael Cohen, the president’s former attorney and fixer, who on Tuesday
entered a guilty plea in a Manhattan federal court on eight counts.”
Likewise, the Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=050-e66&t=c>
(8/22, Cawthorne) reports Trump “defended his former campaign chairman,”
and the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=051-219&t=c>
(8/22, Sullivan) points out that “in the president’s view, Mr. Manafort is
‘brave,’ and Mr. Cohen is a bad lawyer who, Mr. Trump incorrectly asserted,
pleaded guilty to ‘violations’ that ‘are not a crime.’”

        On Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=052-bcb&t=c>
(8/22), Sean Hannity previewed excerpts from this morning’s Fox and Friends
interview with Trump. Trump is asked whether he is considering pardoning
Manafort, and Trump said, “I have great respect for what he’s done in terms
of what he’s gone through. He worked for Ronald Reagan for years. He worked
for Bob Dole. I guess his firm worked for McCain. He worked for many, many
people. Many, many years, and I would say what he did, some of the charges
they threw against them, every consultant, every lobbyist in Washington
probably does. If you look at Hillary Clinton’s person, you take a look at
the people that work for Hillary Clinton. Look at the crimes that Clinton
did with the emails and she deletes 33,000 emails after she gets a subpoena
from Congress and this Justice Department does nothing about it? And all of
the other crimes that they’ve done.”

        Justice reporter Laura Jarrett said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=053-689&t=c>
(8/22), “It certainly seems like he’s at least giving him a little bit of
credit for staying loyal. ... But to take a step back, it is somewhat
ironic to see the President praising someone who has now been convicted by
a jury when this is supposed to be the law and order Administration.”

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=054-93d&t=c>
(8/22, Bolton, Carney) reports “Senate Republicans are warning President
Trump that it would be a serious mistake to pardon...Manafort.” Said Sen.
Susan Collins (R-ME), “It would be an enormous mistake and misuse of his
power to pardon.” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) “said he is not aware of any
mitigating circumstances related to Manafort’s case that would warrant a
pardon,” and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker “warned that
pardoning Manafort ‘would be very damaging to the presidency and to his
position as president.’” Senate Majority Whip Cornyn “said that pardoning
Manafort ‘would be a mistake.’” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=055-487&t=c>
(8/22, Pace) points out, however, that “the political calculus for
Republicans is clear.” GOP lawmakers “see little incentive to distance
themselves from Trump when even his most egregious statements do little to
shake his support from Republican voters.” In an interview with McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=056-0d9&t=c>
(8/22, Dumain), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said “it’s ‘too early to tell’
if the public was starting to turn against...Trump in such a way as to make
impeachment politically tenable,” a “view at odds with most Republicans’
insistence that such a step shouldn’t even be a talking point.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=057-4e2&t=c>
(8/22, Zapotosky), meanwhile, reports “legal analysts said Manafort’s
eight-count conviction amounts to a win for Mueller, even while it raises
additional questions. Why, for example, did jurors convict Manafort of
defrauding two banks...but not of conspiring to commit those crimes?” That
“could mean at least some jurors felt Manafort acted alone, the analysts
said, though such an interpretation is difficult to resolve with the
testimony of Manafort’s former right-hand man, Rick Gates, who admitted to
being part of a conspiracy.” Jurors also “did not convict Manafort on three
of the four charges of failing to report a foreign bank account.”
Media Analyses: Midterms May Decide Trump’s Fate As Impeachment Speculation
Grows.

A day after Michael Cohen promised to incriminate President Trump, media
coverage of the fallout of Cohen’s plea deal, and, to a lesser extent, Paul
Manafort’s guilty verdict, portrays Trump as reliant on continued
Republican control of Congress in order to stave off a wave of
investigations that are likely to culminate in his impeachment. The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=058-3a5&t=c>
(8/22, Sullivan) states outright that Trump’s “fate rests with Congress,”
and adds, “if Democrats win back the majority in the House, impeachment
proceedings against the president could begin next year.” The CBS Evening
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=059-fd4&t=c>
(8/22, lead story, 3:00, Jiang) also reported “some Democrats have already
brought up impeachment hearings if they take control of the House after the
midterms.”

        James Hohmann of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=05a-67e&t=c>
(8/22, Hohmann) writes, “Democrats look increasingly well positioned to
pick up the 23 seats they need to win control of the House. If they do,
putting the possibility of impeachment aside, they will have subpoena power
and can schedule hearings to investigate potential misdeeds of the
president.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=05b-ab0&t=c>
(8/22, Holland, Oliphant) cites “one source close to the president” as
saying that Trump’s “legal woes could depress voter turnout and increase
Republicans’ risk of losing their 23-seat majority in the House of
Representatives in November’s congressional elections.” Said the “source,”
“This hurts our midterm prospects.” Reuters adds “a Democratic victory in
November would limit Trump’s ability to push through legislation and
increase the risk of calls for his impeachment.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=05c-a2c&t=c>
(8/22, Costa, Dawsey) that “inside Trump’s orbit, there is a debate: Some
confidants see this week as an unsettling inflection point,” but “others
see yet another round of problems that are vexing but not a danger to break
Trump.” Says one “White House official,” “We’ve been through everything;
the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape when almost everyone walked away. ... This is
nothing. He’s fine.” The Post adds “at a morning meeting with top advisers,
Trump gathered Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, press secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders, counselor Kellyanne Conway, and Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Shine
and sought out their candid take on the fallout, according to two people
briefed on the discussion.” Trump “was mostly calm, frequently distracted
by the Cohen and Manafort cases but insisting that Democrats could overplay
their hand if they seize on those issues ahead of this year’s midterm
elections, the people said.” Jared Kushner “told others Wednesday that
Trump had withstood bigger crises.”

        According to the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=05d-70e&t=c>
(8/22, Miller, Lemire, Superville), “Trump allies such as former strategist
Steve Bannon seek to frame the election as a referendum on the potential
impeachment of the president.” The AP says “Trump confidants have long
argued that the president’s fate in such a scenario would ultimately be
more a matter of politics than law.”

        Under the headline “With Cohen Implicating Trump, A Presidency’s
Fate Rests With Congress,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=05e-01c&t=c>
(8/22, Fandos, Martin) says Trump’s fate “rests, in all likelihood, in the
political arena centered in the halls of Congress” because, “with only
weeks until the midterm elections, the question will soon be put before
voters, who will decide whether to hand Congress – and the power of
investigation, subpoenas and, possibly, impeachment – to the Democrats.”

        *Trump Tweeted “NO COLLUSION” Early Today. *At 1:10 a.m. today,
Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=05f-97b&t=c>,
“NO COLLUSION – RIGGED WITCH HUNT!”

        *Media Analyses: Republicans Largely Standing By Trump. *The CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=060-dd4&t=c>
(8/22, story 3, 0:55, Garrett) reported that “the message from the White
House to Republicans, so far largely successful,” is “hold the line, there
is no crime. But we’ve been told by sources that this week’s headlines have
upset major party donors, which could jeopardize midterm fund-raising.”
Under the headline “As Bad News Piles Up, Senate Republicans Hardly
Flinch,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=061-e54&t=c>
(8/22, Hulse) reports that “for those wondering if the latest disclosures
from the Trump legal file are finally weighty enough to cause top
congressional Republicans to break from the president, the answer is no.”
The Times adds “in addition to crediting Mr. Trump’s presidential
performance, other top Republicans suggested that Mr. Cohen was not to be
believed and that this was a matter for the courts – not Congress – to
explore.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=062-698&t=c>
(8/22, Everett, McCaskill) similarly reports that “twenty-four hours after
one of the most damaging days for Donald Trump’s presidency, the Republican
wall of support around him shows no signs of crumbling.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=063-8be&t=c>
(8/22, story 3, 1:45, Holt) said, however, that “a number of Republicans”
are “seeking to distance themselves from the President and from his former
associates turned felons.” The story featured criticism of Trump from Sen.
Bob Corker (R-TN), and showed Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) saying, “There is no
good news in what is happening, obviously. This is very, very unfortunate
and very serious. I want to see this go through our judicial system.”
The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=064-637&t=c>
(8/22, Scherer) reports, meanwhile, “Republicans are bracing for it. Donald
Trump’s lawyer is warning about it. But Democrats running in the most
crucial midterm races have refused to threaten impeachment for the
president after his former lawyer implicated him Tuesday in directing the
commission of a crime.” The Post adds Republicans “have been happy to warn
about the danger of impeachment to drive up fear, and thus turnout, among
Trump’s most loyal voters.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=065-383&t=c>
(8/22, Mordock) reports “Mueller has now won or assisted in guilty pleas or
convictions against a number of figures in the president’s inner circle
during the 2016 campaign – but has yet to prove a more fundamental case of
Russia-Trump collusion.” The Times adds “Mueller has yet to tie together
the two ends: Russian meddling and Trump campaign chaos.” Solomon L.
Wisenberg, who “served on independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr’s
investigation into President Clinton,” tells the Times, “Success is doing
justice, not just going out to get someone. ... Mueller has gotten some
guilty pleas, but none of those guilty pleas get him any closer to
collusion and conspiracy with Russian actors and people in the Trump
campaign.”

        *Graham: “Anything Short” Of Collusion Will “Fall Into Partisan
Camps.” *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=066-ca6&t=c>
(8/22, Fandos, Martin) quotes Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as saying,
“Campaign finance violations – I don’t know what will come from that, but
the thing that will hurt the President the most is if, in fact, his
campaign did coordinate with a foreign government like Russia. Anything
short of that is probably going to fall into partisan camps.”

        *Earhardt: Trump Expects Democrats To Impeach If They Win In
Midterms. *Ainsley Earhardt, who interviewed Trump for Fox, said on Fox
News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=067-8d2&t=c>
(8/22) that she said to Trump that if Democrats win in the midterms “their
agenda is going to be to impeach because there’s no Russia collusion at
least so far. So what’s the next step if they hate you so much? What are
they going to do? And he agreed that...they are going to try to impeach and
he says he basically expects that.”

        *WPost: Trump In “Foul Mood” Tuesday, “Seemed Sightly Deflated” In
West Virginia. *In a story about White House insiders’ views of the current
controversy, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=068-ae7&t=c>
(8/22, Costa, Dawsey) reports “Trump was in a foul mood on Tuesday as he
boarded the short flight to his rally in West Virginia and incensed by the
wall-to-wall news coverage of his former associates who were convicted in
federal courts hours earlier,” and “later, Trump seemed slightly deflated
as he spoke to the thousands of supporters gathered before him in
Charleston.” Along similar lines, writing for Politico Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=069-811&t=c>
(8/22), Michael Kruse said that “for 16 or so hours after Tuesday’s
double-barreled bombshell news,” Trump “couldn’t even publicly say Michael
Cohen’s name. That was the first signal he had been wounded by his former
fixer’s guilty plea.” Cohen “is not Rosie O’Donnell. Cohen is not Omarosa.
And Trump seems to know it. ... His conspicuous stretch of silence
concerning Cohen was the loudest sound yet.”

        *Axios’ Swan: Trump “Was Incredibly Calm” Tuesday During Trip.
*Jonathan
Swan of Axios said on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=06a-be6&t=c>
(8/22), “I spoke to two sources who were on Air Force One with Trump” as he
flew to West Virginia Tuesday afternoon and the news of Cohen’s plea was
breaking. The sources “said that he was incredibly calm. There was not a
hysterical situation going on. ... Towards the end of the trip it became
clear to the people traveling with Trump that he was going to A, attack
Michael Cohen’s credibility, B, he was going to make the argument that he
was my lawyer and it is up to my lawyer to make these kinds of decisions,
and C, he was going to minimize the violation itself, which is what we have
seen.”

        *Trump: “Only Thing I Have Done Wrong Is To Win An Election.” *Trump
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=06b-9bc&t=c>
on Wednesday night, “The only thing that I have done wrong is to win an
election that was expected to be won by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the
Democrats. The problem is, they forgot to campaign in numerous states!”

        *Giuliani Believes Mueller “Has To Be Winding Down.” *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=06c-68f&t=c>
(8/22, Samuels) reports, “Rudy Giuliani told The Washington Post on
Wednesday that he believes...Mueller ‘might be at the end’ of his
investigation into Russian interference after his prosecutors won a
conviction against...Manafort.” Post reporter Richard Costa wrote on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=06d-d95&t=c>,
“Giuliani, calling Post from golf course in Scotland, says he has spoken
with POTUS today and deliberated over what it all means – Manafort, Cohen,
etc. Says, optimistically, they believe Mueller ‘might be at the end now.
He has to be winding down. What else is there? Near the end.’” Costa also
wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=06e-122&t=c>,
“Giuliani adds that Trump legal team is looking into its options re Cohen
tapes and whether they can release audio of some of his conversations with
reporters about the payment since they believe they can use Cohen’s own
words to counter his latest claims.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=06f-ee5&t=c>
(8/22, Costa, Dawsey) “Giuliani said the president was upbeat as they spoke
by phone Wednesday morning.” Giuliani “urged calm and talked up Trump’s
political standing, and the president bantered back.” Said Giuliani in a
phone interview, “I told him, ‘We might be at the end now. He has to be
winding down.’” The Post adds “Giuliani’s rosy view of Mueller’s imminent
wrap-up was offered without evidence.”

        *GOP Pollster: Criminal Probes Won’t Affect Trump In Long Term. *The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=070-ede&t=c>
(8/22, Manchester) reports “Republican pollster Brett Loyd said Wednesday
that...Trump’s long term approval rating likely will not be affected
negatively despite two of his former confidants being found guilty or
pleading guilty in criminal probes on Tuesday.” Loyd told Hill. TV, “We
might see his approval dip a couple of points. This isn’t going to be
something sustained. ... I don’t foresee this being a lead into the
election type of conversation that we should be having.”

        *NYTimes, WPost Editorials Call For Congressional Probe Of Cohen
Charges. *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=071-e92&t=c>
(8/22) says “Congress should be demanding information and launching its own
inquiry” into Cohen’s charges against Trump, adding that “if congressional
Republicans will not set aside partisan loyalties and start digging, voters
will have reason to replace them in November.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=072-91f&t=c>
(8/22) also editorializes that GOP lawmakers must start distancing
themselves from Trump, and “Congress needs to open investigations into the
campaign finance violations to which Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty and said Mr.
Trump directed.” GOP “lawmakers need to buck up, remind themselves of their
constitutional responsibilities and erect some basic guardrails to ensure
that – in a fit of rage, panic or mere pique – this president does not wake
up one morning and decide to drive American democracy off a cliff.”

        *Stephens, Boot, Todd Call For Impeachment Proceedings To Get
Underway Now. *In the aftermath of Michael Cohen’s plea and Paul Manafort’s
conviction, a number of high-profile media commentators are calling on
Congress to begin impeachment procedures against the President. Bret
Stephens writes in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=073-fdd&t=c>
(8/22), “The Constitution’s standard for impeachment is ‘Treason, Bribery,
or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.’ The standard is now met.” Max Boot
writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=074-823&t=c>
(8/22) that “even more than Nixon, Trump is now an illegitimate president
whose election is tainted by fraud.” Boot adds that “if Trump had an iota
of decency, he would resign – but he doesn’t,” and “a responsible Congress
would have by now already convened an impeachment inquiry. But that is not
the Congress we have.”

        On NBC’s Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=075-c3c&t=c>
(8/22), Chuck Todd said, “You now have President of the United States
accused of committing a federal crime. The way a functional Washington
would work...the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives would
begin to look to see if there’s enough evidence to start investigating and
drawing up articles of impeachment, but this is not a functional Congress.
This is a Congress controlled by Republicans.” Todd added, “I think Paul
Ryan needs to think long and hard about the future of the Republican Party.
This is your last chance off this train. And it looks like Manafort and
Cohen only have more to say, only may cooperate more. This could get worse.
Ryan is retiring. I think he actually could do the party a favor, and if
you just start the procedure in the House Judiciary Committee, you give
some place for Republicans getting nervous to say, ‘Hey, you know what,
let’s start an investigation and we’ll go from there.’”

        *NYTimes: Cohen Charges May Warrant Impeachment. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=076-a15&t=c>
(8/22, Liptak) reports “the campaign finance violation...Trump’s former
lawyer accused him of on Tuesday – arranging to pay hush money to influence
an election – may nonetheless be precisely the sort of offense that the
drafters of the Constitution meant to cover in granting Congress the power
to impeach and remove a president.” The Times adds “legal scholars said
that committing crimes aimed at undermining the integrity of an election
could well satisfy the constitutional standard for impeachment, which is
set out in Article II, Section 4.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=077-532&t=c>
(8/22, Rutenberg, Ruiz) also analyzes the charges against Cohen, saying
they originated “in the unlikeliest of places: the world of supermarket
tabloids” and says “the documents filed in New York also entangle several
unidentified people in Mr. Trump’s business and from his campaign.” Another New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=078-028&t=c>
(8/22, Rashbaum) piece indicates “two senior Trump Organization executives
had involvement in the financial arrangements, according to the 22-page
court filing.” The Times adds that “separately, one or more members of the
2016 Trump campaign were cited as having worked to identify stories about
Mr. Trump’s romantic entanglements ‘so they could be purchased and their
publication avoided,’ the filing said.”
Foreign Policy
Putin Calls Helsinki Summit “Positive And Useful” Ahead of Bolton Visit.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=079-887&t=c>
(8/22, Nikolskaya, Devitt) reports that the Russian government said that it
“needed to understand if there was political will in Washington to
cooperate with Russia as it prepared for a meeting” between National
Security Adviser Bolton and his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev, who
“plans to bring Bolton a set of proposals on cooperation between Moscow and
Washington and is optimistic about the reaction from the American side.”
According to Reuters, Patrushev said “themes like ‘strategic stability,
regional security,’ the situations in Syria and Ukraine as well as
bilateral relations between Russia and the United States are expected to be
discussed during the meeting.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is quoted as
saying, “The worsening of bilateral relations is continuing, we need to
identify some kind of areas for cooperation and also to understand if there
are any such areas and whether our counterpart (the United States) has a
desire for this.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=07a-c74&t=c>
(8/22, Isachenkov) reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin argued
that US sanctions against Russia are “senseless,” and “described last
month’s Helsinki summit...as positive.” Putin is quoted as saying. “As for
our meeting with Trump, I view it as positive and useful. No one expected
that all disputed issues could be settled during a two-hour meeting, but a
direct conversation and exchange of opinions are always useful.”

        *UK FM Praises Trump’s Efforts To Engage With Russia. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=07b-3b0&t=c>
(8/22, Lawler) reports that new UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says “his
early interactions with President Trump lead him to believe Trump ‘is
actually trying to do something quite different from what a lot of people
think.’” Hunt is quoted as saying, “I think he absolutely understands the
importance of the international order as we know it. You don’t have to
persuade him that Russia is up to nefarious activity. ... The traditional
western foreign policy has been that if we disapprove of something
someone’s done, we don’t just take action but we stop the engagement as
well. He takes the view that actually you need to engage with people. I
think it’s a business mentality. He’s always looking for a way to re-cast
the deal.”
Bolton: Putin Would Be “Content” If All Iranian Forces Exit Syria.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=07c-0ae&t=c>
(8/22, Troianovski) reports National Security Adviser Bolton on Wednesday
said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him and President Trump
that Iran’s presence in Syria doesn’t align with Russia’s interests, and
that he would be content to see all Iran-linked forces leave Syria. The
Post quotes Bolton paraphrasing Putin as saying, “Iranian interests in
Syria were not conterminous with Russian interests in Syria and that he
would be content to see the Iranian forces all sent back to Iran. It was
not a question of where they might be inside Syria. We were talking about a
complete return of both the regular and irregular Iranian forces.” However,
Bolton added that Putin said that “I can’t do it myself” and that a “joint
US-Russia effort” may be needed.

        According to the Telegraph (UK)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=07d-13d&t=c>
(8/22, Ensor), Bolton “warned Russia there would be no deal on Syria unless
Iranian troops withdrew from the country,” which “marked the first time
Washington had issued such a direct ultimatum.” The article quotes Bolton
as saying, “We’re going to see what we and others can agree in terms of
resolving the conflict in Syria. But the one prerequisite there is the
withdrawal of all Iranian forces back in Iran.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=07e-201&t=c>
(8/22, Williams) reports Bolton also said the US has leverage over Moscow
because “the Russians are stuck there at the moment. And I don’t think they
want to be stuck there. I think their frenetic diplomatic activity in
Europe indicates that they’d like to find somebody else, for example, to
bear the cost of reconstructing Syria – which they may or may not succeed
in doing.”

        Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=07f-a69&t=c>
(8/22, O'Connor) reports that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov “rejected
this assessment, however, saying: ‘It is not correct for anyone, let alone
our counterparts in Washington, to claim that Russia has stuck up
someplace,’ according to the state-run Tass News Agency.” In fact, Newsweek
says, as Bolton made his comments, “Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel
General Alexander Fomin met with his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General
Qassem Taqizadeh to discuss expanding their cooperation against terrorism
in the region.” Fomin said Tuesday: “This threat can never be
underestimated, we need to strengthen our cooperation and team up in the
fight against this evil.”

        Meanwhile, The Times (UK)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=080-768&t=c>
(8/22, Spencer) reports that Bolton “appeared to rule out chances of a
swift US withdrawal from Syria, as previously demanded by his boss.”

        *Syria Pressing US-Backed Kurds To Cede Control Of Territory. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=081-760&t=c>
(8/22, Abdulrahim) reports the Syrian government is pressing the US-backed,
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council, which helped the US fight against
the Islamic State, to relinquish control of its territory, which
encompasses much of northern and eastern Syria. With the US commitment to
Syria questionable, President Bashar al-Assad is offering the group the
options of negotiating or dealing with military force. The Journal predicts
any deal would boost Russia’s position as the arbiter in Syria as well as
harm Kurdish aspirations for their own homeland – a goal that Turkey
opposes.

        *Baghdadi Releases Taped Speech. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=082-c5e&t=c>
(8/22, Sly) reports Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released a
54-minute “message marking the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in which he urged
his followers to keep up the fight and to wage lone-wolf attacks in the
West.” The message’s references to recent developments “suggest that he was
alive at least until very recently.” Much of the speech “focused on
descriptions of the decline of American influence around the world, for
which he claimed credit on behalf of the Islamic State.” He “did not
directly address the fact that the Islamic State has now lost around 95
percent of the lands it seized in 2014,” but attributed Islamic State
setbacks to Sunni Muslims collaborating with the West.
Bolton: Sanctions Working, US Not Seeking Regime Change In Iran.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=083-a67&t=c>
(8/22) reports National Security Adviser Bolton said Wednesday at a news
conference in Jerusalem that “regime change in Iran is not American policy.
But what we want is massive change in the regime’s behavior.” Another
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=084-a31&t=c>
(8/22, Reuters) piece says Bolton was responding to a question about
whether the US “had discussed any plans with Israel on how to capitalise on
economic protests in Iran and if the demonstrations posed any tangible
threat to the Tehran government.” Bolton did however say that “the
reimposition of the sanctions, we think, is already having a significant
effect on Iran’s economy and on, really, popular opinion inside Iran. ... I
think the effects, the economic effects certainly, are even stronger than
we anticipated.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=085-b4d&t=c>
(8/22, Frantzman) reports Bolton said that, in the words of the Times, “the
U.S. will aggressively counter Iran’s attempts to carve out an arc of
influence.” While Bolton insisted the Trump Administration does not seek
regime change, “Washington wants to see ‘massive change in the regime’s
behavior,’ including a permanent end to Tehran’s nuclear weapons programs,
ballistic missile testing, support for terrorist groups, and destabilizing
moves in the region.” The Times casts Bolton’s visit to Israel as “part of
an accelerating pressure U.S. campaign against Tehran.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=086-73f&t=c>
(8/22) has video of Bolton’s remarks on Iran.

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=087-ae3&t=c>
(8/22, Schwartz) reports Bolton said the Trump Administration wants to
impose a tougher sanctions regime than the pre-deal restrictions, and wants
to not grant any waivers. Bolton said, “We’re not just going to stop at
where the sanctions were in 2015, our goal, our objective really is
essentially we’d like to say no waivers to the sanctions.”

        *Iranian Cleric Warns US That Price Of War Would Be “Very
High.” *According
to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=088-571&t=c>
(8/22, Sharafedin, Williams), “Iran warned on Wednesday it would hit U.S.
and Israeli targets if it were attacked by the United States after” Bolton
“said Washington would exert maximum pressure on Tehran going beyond
economic sanctions.” Senior Iranian cleric Ahmad Khatami Khatami, “seen as
close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” said, “They know if they
harm this country and this state in the slightest way the United States and
its main ally in the region, the Zionist regime (Israel), would be
targeted.” Khatami “also said Trump’s offer of talks was unacceptable as he
was demanding Tehran give up its ballistic missile program and scale back
regional influence. Neither issue was covered by the 2015 agreement.”

        *Iranian Revolutionary Guards Says It Will Continue Strengthening
Defensive Systems. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=089-2f8&t=c>
(8/22, Sharafedin) reports the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) said “on Wednesday it will continue increasing the country’s
defensive capabilities, and will not surrender to pressure over its missile
program.” In a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, The IRGC said,
“(Iran’s) missile program has turned into the main challenge of the enemies
of the Iranian nation, especially the United States, the Zionist regime (of
Israel) and the Saudi rulers.”

        *British Experts To Help Iran Redesign Arak Reactor. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=08a-ba1&t=c>
(8/22) reports Iran says Britain “has stepped in to help it redesign a
reactor following the U.S. withdrawal from Tehran’s nuclear agreement with
world powers.” Under the JCPOA, “experts from the United States and China
were to help Iran redesign the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor to limit
the amount of plutonium it produces as a byproduct.” Ali Akbar Salehi, the
head of Iran’s nuclear agency, was “quoted by state TV on Wednesday as
saying British experts would fill in for the American ones.”
Trump Awards Medal Of Honor To USAF Sergeant Killed In Afghanistan.

NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=08b-12c&t=c>
(8/22, story 9, 3:40, Holt) reported the medal of honor was awarded to
“Sgt. John Chapman, a special tactics combat controller who gave his life
in a chaotic fight in Afghanistan in 2002.” President Trump presented it to
Chapman’s widow. Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, Commander of the US Air Force Special
Ops Command, said, “That’s not a surprise that John Chapman was leading a
charge with a single minor purpose of closing with and defeating the enemy
to try to rescue his comrade.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=08c-8a0&t=c>
(8/22, Lamothe) reports Trump credited Chapman “with fighting to the death
and then handed a frame holding the award to Chapman’s widow, Valerie
Nessel.” Trump said, “Through his extraordinary sacrifice, John helped save
more than 20 American service members, some of whom are here today.”
Chapman is the first member of the Air Force since the Vietnam War to
receive the Medal of Honor. The ceremony ends “a years-long discussion of
whether Chapman had been appropriately recognized for his valor.” Former
Air Force secretary Deborah James “accused senior U.S. Special Operations
officers of slow-rolling Chapman’s upgrade out of concern for how it would
reflect on the SEALs,” which withdrew, thinking Chapman was dead. The CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=08d-71c&t=c>
(8/22, story 6, 2:30, Glor) and ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=08e-e52&t=c>
(8/22, story 10, 1:10, Muir) also covered this story.

        *US Commander Insists Trump’s Strategy For Afghanistan Is Working. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=08f-60f&t=c>
(8/22, Ali, Landay) reports that General John Nicholson, commander of NATO
forces in Afghanistan, says that “even after a string of deadly Taliban
attacks,” Trump’s “strategy of an open-ended deployment was making
progress.” Nicholson is quoted as saying, “I believe the strategy is
working. ... The reconciliation progress is significant and ultimately wars
end with a political settlement.” However, Reuters adds that “an inspector
general report released this week said that despite Trump’s new strategy,
the Taliban continue to launch attacks across the country.” Reuters notes
that Nicholson, “who after more than two years has become the
longest-serving U.S. commander of international forces, is going to be
replaced by Army Lieutenant General Scott Miller next month.” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=090-eb1&t=c>
(8/22, McIntyre) reports that while Nicholson “acknowledg[ed] that little
ground has changed hands in the past year,” he “told reporters in a
briefing from Kabul that military pressure on the Taliban has nevertheless
produced progress toward reconciliation, which is the ultimate goal of the
strategy.” Nicholson said, “I think we are seeing the strategy is
fundamentally working in advancement toward reconciliation, even though it
may not be playing out the way we anticipated.”

        *Commander Of Forces In Afghanistan Okay With US-Taliban Talks If
“Necessary.” *On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=091-797&t=c>
(8/22, story 7, 2:50, Muir), Ian Pannell reported from Afghanistan, “inside
one of the most dangerous prisons in the world.” Pannell: “Pul-e-Charkhi
prison is dangerous, overcrowded, home to thousands of death row
terrorists. Home to America’s sworn enemy for the last 17 years, the
Taliban.” According to Pannell, the Taliban “now have control or influence
over more than half the country, with their own government, police,
courts.” Reporting that the State Department has “quietly initiat[ed] talks
with the Taliban,” Pannell was shown asking four-star Gen. John Nicholson,
commander of NATO and US forces in Afghanistan and “the man in charge of
trying to beat” the Taliban, how he feels about such talks. Nicholson: “We
want to end this war. We want to end it on terms that protect our nation,
our homelands and provide a lower level of violence for the Afghans. So, if
that were necessary, then absolutely.”

        *US, Afghan Governments Will Not Send Representatives To Moscow
Summit. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=092-bd1&t=c>
(8/22, Pennington) reports that the Trump Administration “has rejected an
invitation to join Russia-led talks on Afghanistan, saying they are
unlikely to help bring peace.” The AP notes that the Russian government has
announced that the Taliban “will be joining the Sept. 4 talks in Moscow,
along with representatives of several neighboring countries.” According to
the AP, “A State Department spokesman said Wednesday that said that as a
matter of principle, the U.S. supports Afghan-led efforts to advance a
peace settlement.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=093-b99&t=c>
(8/22, Jain) reports that the Afghan government announced that it will not
send a delegation to the Moscow summit “just hours after Afghanistan’s top
security official said he hoped Russia could press the Taliban insurgents
into joining peace talks with the Kabul government.”
USA Today: Declining Arab Enthusiasm For Trump Middle East Peace Deal.

In an analysis, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=094-ded&t=c>
(8/22, Wirtschafter, Nader) reports, “It’s increasingly clear that Arab
enthusiasm to partner with President Donald Trump on a Palestinian-Israeli
peace agreement is faltering,” as “American envoys Jared Kushner and Jason
Greenblatt have failed to convince Egypt or other key Arab states that the
U.S. can broker a fair solution.” USA Today adds, “The central thrust of
the plan – which Arab leaders have reportedly asked the Trump
administration to withhold – is to focus first on an economic development
program for Gaza” while only offering similar incentives to the West Bank
“if Palestinians concede permanent control over Jerusalem with large
settlement zones for Israelis and a limited sovereignty arrangement that is
several steps short of full independence.” However, “critics of the
emerging deal say detailed planning for a free trade zone or building power
and desalination plants in Gaza before tackling the political questions of
Jerusalem, borders and refugees is sidestepping core Arab concerns.”

        *US Officials Seek To Contain Fallout From Trump’s “Higher Price”
Comment On Israel. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=095-03d&t=c>
(8/22, Ravid) reports, “U.S officials are trying to extinguish a
mini-political fire in Israel” following Trump’s statement at a political
rally in West Virginia, “In the negotiation, Israel will have to pay a
higher price because” he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. National
Security Adviser Bolton, when asked about the statements, “tried to play
them down by saying that Trump is a dealmaker who hoped the Palestinians
would ask to get something from the U.S. after the Jerusalem announcement –
instead of disengaging.”
Saudi Arabia Planning To Execute Female Human Rights Activist.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=096-158&t=c>
(8/22, Kirkpatrick) reports that the government of Saudi Arabia, “which has
one of the highest execution rates in the world, is taking the rare step of
seeking the death penalty for a 29-year-old female activist accused of
encouraging demonstrations for greater rights for the Shiite Muslim
minority.” According to the Times, “Saudi Arabia has executed many women,
and Shiite activists convicted of terrorism or political crimes have been
sentenced to death as well. But calls for capital punishment for a woman in
a case of nonviolent political crime are highly unusual.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=097-197&t=c>
(8/22, Taylor) reports that “among those being targeted is Israa
al-Ghomgham, who Saudi groups say would be the first female human-rights
activist to be put to death in the Saudi kingdom if the execution
proceeds.” According to Human Rights Watch, “Ghomgham is among five
activists for whom Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecution office is seeking the
death penalty.” The Post says all five “are being tried in the country’s
terrorism tribunal for what their supporters say was peaceful activism.”
Satellite Imagery Indicates North Korea Halted Dismantling Of Launch Site.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=098-43f&t=c>
(8/22, Brunnstrom, Spetalnick) reports, “Satellite photos from last week
indicate North Korea halted work to dismantle a missile engine test site in
the first part of August, in spite of a promise” to President Trump at his
June summit with Kim Jong-un. The 38 North project, a “Washington think
tank” focused on North Korea, “said commercial satellite imagery of the
Sohae Satellite Launching Station taken on Aug. 16 indicated ‘no
significant dismantlement activity’ at either the site’s engine test stand
or launch pad since Aug. 3.”

        *Top US Commander Backs South Korean Plan To Reduce DMZ Outposts. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=099-166&t=c>
(8/22, Smith) reports US Gen. Vincent Brooks, the top commander of American
troops in South Korea, “said on Wednesday he supports moves to withdraw
some outposts along the fortified border with North Korea, despite the
risks.” The South Korean Defense Ministry “has said it plans to reduce
guard posts and equipment along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on its border
with North Korea as part of efforts to reduce tension and build trust with
its northern neighbor.” Brooks said while he has “some concerns about what
that means militarily for the ability to defend along the Military
Demarcation Line,” the “risk is ‘a reasonable degree’ and the move
represents a good opportunity to reduce tensions.” Asked whether he knew
about President Trump’s decision to cancel or delay joint US-South Korea
military drills prior to the June announcement, Brooks responded: “I
received no order to become unready.” He added, “Nobody told me to stand
down.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=09a-896&t=c>
(8/22, Jeong) reports Brooks said South Korea’s plans to remove some of the
border defenses will result in heightened risks. Brooks said, “I have some
concerns about what that means militarily for the ability to defend along
the Military Demarcation Line. I believe there is a reasonable amount of
risk involved in this, not an excessive amount.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=09b-dae&t=c>
(8/22, Tong-Hyung) reports Gen. Brooks said he is “cautiously optimistic
nuclear diplomacy will work out with North Korea,” but he “also said Seoul
and Washington must continue to apply pressure so that ‘there’s not a
reason or even an ability’ for the North to back out.” Brooks said, “While
I do seek to have empathy to understand why North Korea is doing what it’s
doing and where it’s coming from, nevertheless, this is a condition North
Korea created for itself. They will have to take the risk to move into the
direction toward peace, given that they created the circumstances we are
in.”

        *South Korean Adviser Playing Key Role In Advancing US-North Korea
Talks. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=09c-70d&t=c>
(8/22, Jeong) reports the South Korean government is relying on Moon
Chung-in, a special adviser to President Moon Jae-in, to keep talks between
North Korea and the US on track. Moon said he believes the discussions are
currently stalled, and that the South Korean government wants to push them
forward toward a peaceful outcome. Moon is respected by both the US and
North Korea.

        *Reunited Families Separated By Korean War Say Goodbye To Each
Other. *The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=09d-8f6&t=c>
(8/22, story 8, 1:40, Glor) reported on the 89 families from North and
South Korea that were “briefly” reunited this week “for the first time
since the Korean War separated them nearly seven decades ago.” They had to
say goodbye on Wednesday.
US, Mexico Reportedly Getting Close To NAFTA Deal.

In a report posted early Wednesday afternoon, the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=09e-824&t=c>
(8/22, Higgins) cited “a source with knowledge” of the NAFTA talks between
the US and Mexico who says the two nations “are close to reaching a
bilateral deal to update sections” of the agreement. Meanwhile, a Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=09f-9a9&t=c>
(8/22, Angulo, Aeppel) report updated later in the day said that although
officials “are close to resolving remaining bilateral issue... hopes of
squaring away differences on Wednesday were booted to at least later this
week.” Jesus Seade, chief negotiator of Mexican President-elect Andrés
Manuel López Obrador, told reporters, “We are already looking at all the
issues. We might close this, not in a matter of hours, but these days. We
still have next week.” Earlier Wednesday, both Seade and Mexican Economy
Minister Ildefonso Guajardo “said a breakthrough could be only a matter of
‘hours’ away.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a0-610&t=c>
(8/22, Pérez) says that while US officials did not respond when asked for a
comment, Politico reported Tuesday that Administration officials are
hopeful that a “handshake deal” could be announced Thursday.

        *NYTimes: Kentucky Aluminum Smelter Doing Well Due To Trump
Tariffs. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a1-17d&t=c>
(8/22, Rappeport) reports that while President Trump’s aluminum tariffs
“have rattled global businesses, set off retaliatory levies and started to
eat into profits of some major American companies,” they have “provided a
lifeline to other United States businesses, like Century Aluminum, the
struggling smelter in Kentucky that is at the heart of Mr. Trump’s trade
fight.” The company “is planning to invest over $150 million to more than
double output at the plant, and add 275 jobs in the process. The average
salary and benefits package for a worker is $90,000 a year.” Commerce
Secretary Ross on Wednesday “took a victory lap to mark the revival of
Century, which is reaping the dividends of Mr. Trump’s trade war.” Ross
told workers at the plant, “It’s days like this that I hoped would happen
when I took the job in Washington. ... We’re going to keep going, despite
what the naysayers say.”

        *Reuters: Resumption Of US-China Trade Talks Unlikely To Stop US
Tariffs Due Thursday. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a2-253&t=c>
(8/22, Lawder) says that while US and Chinese officials met Wednesday “for
the first time in more than two months to try find a way out of their
deepening trade conflict,” there was “no evidence that the low-key
discussions would halt a new round of U.S. tariffs due on Thursday.” John
Carney of Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a3-f2d&t=c>
(8/22, Carney) writes, “The breakdown of talks with China has strengthened
the position of trade hawks in the administration, according to people
familiar with the matter. Even self-styled free traders like White House
economist Kevin Hassett now sound decidedly hawkish on China.”

        *Video From Chinese State Media Mocks Trump. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a4-137&t=c>
(8/22, Hernández) reports that a “sarcastic” video released by Chinese
state media titled, “Thanks Mr. Trump, you are GREAT!” thanks the President
“for helping make China stronger.” The video, which shows Trump “in
unflattering poses, his brow furrowed and his mouth agape,” portrays him
“as a bumbling man indirectly advancing China’s interests.” The Times says
the video “reflected the escalating anger in China over the tariffs of as
much as 25 percent imposed on tens of billions of dollars worth of Chinese
goods, including steel, aluminum and a variety of technology products,” but
adds that as “quickly as it began attracting attention, it was gone, pulled
from YouTube and Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform.”

        *Bloomberg News: Trump Makes Errors Casting Chevrolet As Victim Of
Trade Barriers. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a5-6b9&t=c>
(8/22, Lippert) says Trump’s attempt “to portray Chevrolet as being dogged
by Europe and China’s unfair trade practices,” showed that he needs to
“brush up on the state of General Motors Co.’s all-American brand.” At a
rally in West Virginia on Tuesday, Trump “lamented” that there are few
Chevy’s being driven in Berlin due to Europe’s trade barriers, but he “left
out any mention that GM abandoned the European market almost entirely last
year, and withdrew the Chevy brand years earlier.” In addition, Trump
claimed the Chevy Camaro costs up to $119,000 in China due to “taxes and
taxes and taxes,” but “the company sells the vehicle for 399,900 yuan –
about $58,000.”

        *NYTimes: New York Farmers Struggling Due To Weather, Trump
Tariffs. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a6-4b3&t=c>
(8/22, Pager) reports that New York state farmers have had a “difficult
season” due to “extreme weather this summer,” but they “say President
Trump’s trade war and his administration’s crackdown on immigration have
made a bad summer far worse.” Across the country, farmers are “endur[ing]
economic losses because of Mr. Trump’s trade policies.” A report from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign estimates “a roughly $3 billion
loss in value for soybean and corn crops across the country since May,” and
the National Milk Producers Federation “estimates that the tariffs will
cost American dairy farmers $1.8 billion.” The Times adds that “the
combination of the administration’s policies and the weather is threatening
to decimate” New York’s “$37 billion agriculture and food-processing
industry.”
Domestic Policy
Democrats Want To Delay Kavanaugh Hearings In Wake Of Cohen Guilty Plea.

Senate Democrats yesterday urged Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley
to delay the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice-designate
Brett Kavanaugh in the wake of Michael Cohen’s plea deal. Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a7-391&t=c>
(8/22, Treene) reports that heretofore “Democrats’ arguments for blocking
Kavanaugh’s nomination previously focused mostly on partisan arguments
surrounding hot-button policy issues,” but “Cohen’s plea provides them a
procedural foundation on which to build their opposition.” Axios, however,
quotes an unnamed “GOP strategist” as saying, “This isn’t going anywhere.
It’s just the latest in a series of spaghetti-on-the-wall tactics that fall
flat and make them look silly. Maybe next they’ll threaten to boycott the
hearings. This actually makes things even more difficult for red-state
Democrats and further energizes the Republican base.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a8-752&t=c>
(8/22, Debonis) notes Democrats “argued that a new justice could be forced
to decide questions directly relating to Trump, including whether he must
comply with a subpoena from prosecutors and whether he can be indicted
while in office.” Senate Minority Leader Schumer said, “The prospect of the
President being implicated in some criminal case is no longer a
hypothetical that can be dismissed.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0a9-e3a&t=c>
(8/22, Carney) quotes Schumer as saying, “At the very least, the very
least, it is unseemly for the President of the United States to be picking
a Supreme Court justice who could soon be effectively a juror in a case
involving the President himself.” Schumer also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0aa-a6b&t=c>
yesterday, “Judge Kavanaugh’s refusal to say a POTUS must comply w a duly
issued subpoena & Mr Cohen’s implication of POTUS in a federal crime make
the danger of Kavanaugh’s nomination to the SCOTUS abundantly clear. It’s a
game changer & Chairman Grassley should delay confirmation hearings.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0ab-52a&t=c>
(8/22, Kelly) notes that Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) “announced Wednesday that
she was canceling her meeting with Kavanaugh because...Trump ‘does not
deserve’ a meeting with his nominee in the wake of Tuesday’s news about
[Paul] Manafort and Cohen.” She also “called Trump ‘an unindicted
co-conspirator,’ apparently referring to the Cohen case,” and argued
Kavanaugh “was selected by Trump to ‘protect, as we say in Hawaii, his own
okole.’” Okole “is a Hawaiian term for a person’s rear end.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0ac-09b&t=c>
(8/22, Muñoz, Swoyer) indicates Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) also “said
the Judiciary Committee should push back...Kavanaugh’s confirmation
hearing, slated for early September, in light of ‘bombshell convictions of
key Trump cohorts.’” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0ad-8e9&t=c>
(8/22, McCaskill) notes Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) also “said Wednesday that he
won’t meet with Kavanaugh,” saying, “His nomination is tainted and should
be considered illegitimate.” Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Jeanne Shaheen
(D-NH) “later joined Schumer’s call for a delay.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0ae-c91&t=c>
(8/22, story 3, 0:55, Garrett) reported that “as for impeachment, this
White House does not fear Republicans but knows that this week’s events
have vastly complicatedly the push to confirm...Kavanaugh...and begin talks
to avert a government shutdown. Both intensify next month.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0af-90b&t=c>
(8/22, Muñoz, Swoyer) reports that Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) “pushed back
against calls to derail Judge Kavanaugh, saying these are the same
allegations Democrats made against Justice Neil M. Gorsuch last year in an
attempt to delay his nomination.” Said Tillis, “The Mueller investigation
doesn’t hinder President Trump’s constitutional power to nomination Judge
Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The deputy attorney general who oversees
the Mueller probe has told the President on many occasions he is not under
investigation.” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah,
meanwhile, “said this push from Democrats won’t stop the president’s pick
from securing the nomination in a few weeks.” Said Shah, “Frankly, this
latest attempt looks increasingly desperate.”

        *Senate Democrats Eye Kavanaugh’s Contacts During Starr Probe.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b0-a34&t=c>
(8/22, O'Harrow) reports that Senate Democrats are exploring whether
Kavanaugh “crossed a line in his private communications with outsiders”
during Kenneth Starr’s investigation of President Clinton. At the time,
“there were loud objections and even lawsuits filed over the fact that
information meant to be kept secret was being leaked to the press by
Starr’s staff,” and senators now want to know if Kavanaugh “revealed
grand-jury testimony related to [Clinton aide Vince] Foster’s suicide or
other matters then under scrutiny.”

        *NYTimes: Kavanaugh Will Be “Decisive Brick” In Conservative
Supreme Court Wall. *An analysis in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b1-665&t=c>
(8/22, Bazelon) considers, “What happens when the Supreme Court becomes
significantly more conservative than the public?” The Times says Kavanaugh
“represents the fulfillment of the dearest political wish for two
generations of the conservative movement. Kavanaugh is a D.C. insider who
has taken conservative positions as an appellate judge, and he has been a
member of the Federalist Society since 1988.” With his nomination, “the
fifth and decisive brick of a conservative Supreme Court wall is about to
be put into place. In the controversial cases that shape the public’s
perception of the court, we can expect to see a full-blown partisan divide,
with the conservative bloc, all Republican appointees, facing off against
four liberal-moderates chosen by Democratic presidents.”

        *NYTimes Magazine: Republicans Transforming Federal Judiciary. *A
more than 8,000-word piece in the New York Times Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b2-4fd&t=c>
(8/22, Zengerle) says “the G.O.P is carrying out a sweeping transformation
of the federal judiciary.” The story reports that during an event at the
Mayflower Hotel last November, White House Counsel Don McGahn “told the
Federalist Society, Trump was going to make their wildest dreams come
true.” McGahn explained that “he had drawn up two lists of potential
judicial appointments.” One included “the kind of folks that will get
through the Senate and will make us feel good that we put some pragmatic
folks on the bench,” while the second included people “that make some
people nervous.” McGahn said Trump decided to throw the first list “in the
trash,” an he resolved to put the second before the US Senate. McGahn, who
“has exercised an unprecedented degree of control over judicial
appointments,” added that the President is “very committed to...nominating
and appointing judges that are committed originalists and textualists.”
Media Analyses: Tibbetts’ Murder Could Become Campaign Issue.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b3-915&t=c>
(8/22, Korecki) reports that “for more than a month, Iowans have been
gripped by the mysterious and highly publicized disappearance of a local
college student,” Mollie Tibbetts, “who left for a run in her rural Iowa
community and never returned,” and “now the case is poised to explode
across the midterm election map.” The President mentioned the matter
Tuesday night in West Virginia, saying, “We’ve had a huge impact, but the
laws are so bad, the immigration laws are such a disgrace.” Trump “isn’t
the only one weighing in publicly on the Tibbetts case,” though “so far,
it’s surfaced mainly on the GOP side: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Vice
President Mike Pence, Donald Trump Jr., and Iowa Congressman Steve King are
among those who have commented.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b4-56b&t=c>
(8/22, story 5, 2:10, Holt) showed Trump saying, “You heard about today
with the illegal alien coming in very sadly from Mexico and you saw what
happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman. Should have never
happened.” The President also posted a video on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b5-666&t=c>
where he linked the murder to the country’s immigration laws, and called on
the public to support his agenda for the border, including “the wall.” The CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b6-c7a&t=c>
(8/22, story 4, 2:25, Glor) reported, “The President has been very vocal
about the murder of Mollie Tibbetts,” and added that “the case has sparked
outrage from lawmakers.” Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) was shown saying,
“It’s the duty of this senator and every other senator to act to prevent
further tragedies like this one.” CBS also reported that “Tibbetts’ family
wasn’t in court, but they did release a statement. They didn’t touch on the
political discussions.”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b7-72b&t=c>
(8/22, story 4, 1:45, Perez) did not address the story’s political
ramifications in its report, saying that a judge ordered Cristhian Rivera,
the man accused in the Tibbetts’ murder case, “be held on $5 million cash
bond.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b8-608&t=c>
(8/22, Wootson) similarly indicates the suspect “was in the country
illegally and appears to have used a stolen identification card to satisfy
a federal immigration background check by his employer through the
Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system,” according to “a law
enforcement official.” The Post says that “conservatives” are using “the
killing to bolster their arguments for harsher immigration policies.”

        The Des Moines (IA) Register
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0b9-ac6&t=c>
(8/22, Cannon) reports that Rivera “worked for an Iowa farm owned by the
brother of a prominent Iowa Republican.” The Register adds that “Dane Lang,
of Yarrabee Farms,” said in a statement “Rivera was an ‘employee in good
standing’ and was ‘shocked to hear’ Rivera was implicated in the death of
Mollie Tibbetts.” Tibbetts’ family, the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0ba-628&t=c>
(8/22, Italiano) reports, said in a statement, “Our hearts are broken. ...
On behalf of Mollie’s entire family, we thank all those from around the
world who have sent their thoughts and prayers for our girl.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0bb-8cb&t=c>
(8/22, Foley) reports that Allan Richards, the attorney for Rivera,
“challenged the government’s statement Wednesday that the suspect has been
living in the United States illegally.” Richards “stated that an employer
has said Rivera has legal permission to be in the US.” Richards also
“sought a gag order and said comments about the case by...Trump would
‘poison the entire possible pool of jury members.’” The AP adds Trump
“seized on the man’s arrest on Tuesday to call the nation’s immigration
laws ‘a disgrace’ that will only be fixed by electing more Republicans.”

        *Warren “Sorry” About Tibbetts’ Death, But Says Focus Should Be On
“Real Problems” At Border. *The Federalist
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0bc-2b6&t=c>
(8/22, Payon) reports that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “said Wednesday
she’s ‘sorry’ Mollie Tibbetts is dead, but urged her family and friends to
remember to focus on the ‘real problems’ at the border, where parents are
being temporarily separated from their children.” Warren told CNN[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0bd-98f&t=c>
(8/22), “I’m so sorry for the family here and I know this is hard not only
for her family but for the people in her community, the people throughout
Iowa. ... But one of the things we have to remember is we need an
immigration system that is effective, that focuses on where the real
problems are.” Added Warren, “I think we need immigration laws that focus
on people who pose a real threat and I don’t think mamas and babies are
where we should be spending our resources. ... Separating a mama from a
baby does not make this country safer.”

        *Donald Trump Jr. On Warren: “You Can’t Make This Crap Up.” *During
the interview, says the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0be-3d5&t=c>
(8/22, Chasmar), Warren “dodged a question about...Tibbetts,” leading
Donald Trump Jr. to tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0bf-c7a&t=c>,
“Yea the real problem is not the murder of a young American girl. ... You
can’t make this crap up. Is the left’s platform really defend anyone but
actual Americans? I don’t know how to interpret it any other way.”

        *MSNBC Guest: Tibbetts “A Girl In Iowa” That “Fox News Is Talking
About.” *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c0-ad2&t=c>
(8/22, Baker) reports that “Tuesday on MSNBC’s ‘The Beat,’ Fordham
University professor Christina Greer noted how Fox News Channel is talking
more about ‘a girl in Iowa’ than the Paul Manafort conviction and Michael
Cohen plea.” Said Greer, “I’m sure we’ll hear what [Trump] has to say about
this at his rally, but Fox News is talking about, you know, a girl in Iowa
and not this, right?”

        *Previously Deported Man Charged With Murder In Minnesota. *
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c1-1f7&t=c>
(8/22, Binder) reports that Fraider Diaz-Carbajal, “a previously deported
illegal alien” from Mexico, has been charged with murdering his
ex-girlfriend “with a knife before slashing his own throat,” according to
Shakopee Police, Minnesota police. On Monday, ICE “put an immigration hold
on Diaz-Carbajal, indicating that he is illegally in the U.S. from Mexico
and revealing a lengthy record with law enforcement.”

        *Trump Says Democrats Want To Abolish ICE, He Wants To Abolish
ISIS. *Just after noon on Wednesday, President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c2-b1b&t=c>
a 14-second video in which, addressing a camera on the White House lawn, he
said, “Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats want to abolish the brave men and
women of ICE. What I want to do is abolish the killers in ISIS. You know
who’s going to win? We are.”

        *Grassley Requests DHS, State Information On How ISIS Fighter
Entered US As Refugee. *Katie Pavlich reports in Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c3-722&t=c>
(8/22) that “last week federal law enforcement authorities arrested Omar
Ameen in California after it was discovered he was an ISIS and Al Qaeda
fighter.” Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley is asking DHS
Secretary Nielsen and Secretary of State Pompeo “how Ameen was able to get
into the United States by lying about his ‘refugee’ status.” Grassley “is
seeking documentation on Ameen’s immigration and refugee status, including
any vetting information from the Visa Security Unit.”

        *Detroit Federal Judge Directs ICE To End Harassment Of Iraqi
Detainees. *The Detroit Free Press
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c4-4c8&t=c>
(8/22, Warikoo) reports that in Detroit on Wednesday, US District Court
Judge Mark Goldsmith “slammed ICE for threatening some Iraqi detainees with
solitary confinement and for pressuring them to drop out of a lawsuit filed
on their behalf by the ACLU.” Goldsmith “said that ICE staff or staff in
Calhoun County jail in Michigan would ‘frequently tell detainees that they
are still being detained’” because of the suit filed by the ACLU last year
on behalf of Iraqi detainees. He ordered ICE to inform jail authorities “to
be aware of and follow” his June order “forbidding harassment of Iraqi
detainees.”

        *Trump Thanks Democratic Assemblyman For Praise Over Nazi’s
Deportation. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c5-f23&t=c>
yesterday, “Thank you to Democrat Assemblyman Dov Hikind of New York for
your very gracious remarks on @foxandfriends for our deporting a longtime
resident Nazi back to Germany! Others worked on this for decades.” The
Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c6-4d8&t=c>
(8/22, Chasmar) notes “Hikind appeared on ‘Fox & Friends’ earlier Wednesday
saying he had lobbied for Mr. Palij’s deportation for more than a decade
and thanking Mr. Trump for ‘getting things done’ on the issue.” Hikind
wrote on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c7-7f7&t=c>,
“14 years of promises from others… But was delighted to wake up to a call
from DOJ with great news… Ambassador @RichardGrenell at the direction of
President @RealDonaldTrump DELIVERED JUSTICE! THANK YOU FOR MAKING AMERICA
NAZI-FREE AGAIN!”

        Hikind was asked on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c8-2e3&t=c>
(8/22) why it took so long to deport Palij. Hikind said, “I would have to
say that it wasn’t taken seriously enough. Talk is cheap. You had eight
years of Obama. You had Bush before that. Everybody said, ‘Yeah, we have
got to get rid of this guy but nobody wants him.’ But, the bottom line is
if you make this a priority – it’s a moral issue. Okay? And President
Trump, God bless him. ... You can talk and talk is cheap. Getting things
done is what President Trump just did. It is huge and it’s not about being
a Democrat or Republican. As a Democrat, I say to my fellow Democrats, stop
this nonsense. Stop making everything into a political thing. When the
President does something huge, like getting rid of the last Nazi from
Queens, New York, say, ‘Thank you, Mr. President for doing an amazing
thing.’ God bless the President.”
NYTimes: New EPA Rule Will Barely Slow Decline Of US Coal Industry.

Brad Plumer of the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0c9-83f&t=c>
(8/22) writes in an analysis that while “America’s ailing coal industry was
buoyed” Tuesday when the EPA “unveiled a proposal to relax pollution
regulations on coal-fired power plants,” the reality on the ground for the
nation’s coal industry remains bleak, Plumer adds that “at best, if
finalized, the E.P.A.’s newest rollback could help a small number of those
endangered coal plants stave off retirement for a bit longer, albeit at the
expense of increased air pollution. But even in that scenario, the agency’s
own analysis showed, coal power would still decline by 20 percent between
now and 2030 and coal mining would drop by one-third.”

        In an editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0ca-446&t=c>
(8/22) says the Administration’s “plan to weaken regulations of coal-fired
power plants” is “wrongheaded on every level.” The plan “favors an old,
dirty fuel and does nothing to accelerate the push toward the cleaner,
renewable fuels on whose development the world is depending for real
progress against global warming.” The Times says the plan is “another sign
– the latest of many – that the president has no remorse for abdicating the
leadership America once claimed in the struggle against climate change.”

        *Pelosi Criticizes Coal “With All Due Respect To West Virginia.” *The
Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0cb-fb2&t=c>
(8/22, Morefield) reports that during a discussion about energy policy at
the Public Policy Institute of California on Wednesday, House Minority
Leader Pelosi had “a good laugh with her audience about the use of coal
power,” before “mockingly” giving “all due respect to West Virginia.”
Pelosi said, “And it really is a moral issue if you believe as I do that
this is God’s creation [and] we have to be good stewards of it. ... We have
evangelicals and others with us – er, some, those who believe in God’s
creation. So, in any case this was a big thing for us. I had to fight some
Democrats. Sen. Byrd had a coal powered plan fueling the Capitol, you know
I [unintelligible] that’s gonna go, with all due respect to West Virginia
we’re not gonna have a coal power plant floating around.”
Fed Signals Openness To Further Rate Increases If Economy Remains Strong.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0cc-5d0&t=c>
(8/22, Torres) reports that the Fed is “ready to raise interest rates again
so long as the economy stays healthy,” according to the minutes of the most
recent Federal Open Market Committee. The minutes read in part, “Many
participants suggested that if incoming data continued to support their
current economic outlook, it would likely soon be appropriate to take
another step in removing policy accommodation.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0cd-c2c&t=c>
(8/22, Lange) reports, “Fed officials also generally expected the economy
would grow at a fast enough rate to put upward pressure on inflation, which
recently has come close to the central bank’s target.” The Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0ce-0fb&t=c>
(8/22, Timiraos) reports that a new rate hike could come next month.

        *Regulators Ease Municipal Securities Liquidity Rules. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0cf-b55&t=c>
(8/22, Schroeder) reports in a brief item that “U.S. banking regulators
said on Wednesday they were easing liquidity rules on the treatment of
municipal securities, allowing banks to count more of the assets against
certain liquidity requirements.” The interim final rule “allows banks to
treat ‘investment grade’ municipal securities as ‘high quality liquid
assets’...in order to comply with rules requiring banks to hold easily sold
assets as a cushion against future downturns.”
DeVos Mulls Letting Schools Use Federal Funds To Buy Guns.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d0-4d3&t=c>
(8/22, Green) reports in a brief item that Education Secretary DeVos “is
considering whether to allow states to use federal funding intended to
increase academic and enrichment opportunities to purchase guns for
educators, according to multiple people with knowledge of the plan.” The
Times says “such a move appears to be unprecedented, reversing a
longstanding position taken by the federal government that it should not
pay to outfit schools with weapons.” Gabrielle Giffords tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d1-f8a&t=c>
a link to the story and wrote, “Teachers are not bodyguards. The Trump
Administration’s latest plan to allow more teachers to walk around with
guns in order to make kids feel safe is absurd – and dangerous.”
Trump: 80% Of Media Is “Fake News,” Singles Out NYTimes “Lunatics.”

The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d2-379&t=c>
(8/22, Rutz) reports that during his “Fox & Friends” interview aired this
morning, President Trump said that “80 percent of the media was ‘fake
news,’” and that the New York Times in particular is “a ‘crazed’ outlet.”
Asked whether “the press” is “enemy of the people,” Trump replied, “No, not
at all, but the fake news is, and the fake news is comprised of – it’s a
lot. It’s a big chunk. ... Somebody said, ‘What’s the chunk?’ I said, ‘80
percent?’ It’s a lot. It’s a lot. If I do something well, it’s not
reported, other than in the 20 percent.” Added Trump, “I mean, the New York
Times cannot write a good story about me. ... They’re crazed. They’re like
lunatics.”
Cancer Research
Mast Wants HHS To Examine Possible Glioblastoma Cluster In Florida.

WPTV-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d3-0a8&t=c>
West Palm Beach, FL (8/22) reports Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) “is asking the
federal government to do more to get to the bottom of” concerns about “a
seemingly high number of glioblastoma cases” in St. Lucie County, with
“more than 50 cases” in the past six years. Mast said that 2016’s Trevor’s
Law was a mandate for “Health and Human Services and Disease Control and
other federal entities [to] go out there and they work together with the
states to provide that research” into cancer clusters to see if there is an
identifiable cause. On Tuesday, he wrote HHS Secretary Azar requesting him
to “expedite implementation of Trevor’s Law,” with respect to St. Lucie
County to determine whether the Glioblastoma cases there “qualifies as a
cancer cluster.”
Pfizer, Astellas Revise Two Cancer Drug Trial Protocols To Expedite Results.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d4-3f9&t=c>
(8/22, Mathias) reports that Pfizer and Astellas Pharma said Wednesday they
would “change protocols for two late-stage trials testing prostate cancer
drug Xtandi to speed up completion.” The companies now expect the ARCHES
trial to end late this year, ahead of the previously anticipated completion
date of April 2020, and the EMBARK trial to complete by mid-2020, earlier
than the prior goal of March 2021, according to Reuters. Both trials are
testing Xtandi in men with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Congress, Do Your Job.”* The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d5-f0d&t=c>
(8/22) editorializes that GOP lawmakers must start distancing themselves
from President Trump, and “Congress needs to open investigations into the
campaign finance violations to which [Michael] Cohen pleaded guilty and
said Mr. Trump directed.” GOP “lawmakers need to buck up, remind themselves
of their constitutional responsibilities and erect some basic guardrails to
ensure that – in a fit of rage, panic or mere pique – this president does
not wake up one morning and decide to drive American democracy off a
cliff.”

        *“A Black And Sooty Mess.” *In an editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d6-43e&t=c>
(8/22) says the Administration’s “plan to weaken regulations of coal-fired
power plants” is “wrongheaded on every level.” The plan “favors an old,
dirty fuel and does nothing to accelerate the push toward the cleaner,
renewable fuels on whose development the world is depending for real
progress against global warming.” The Times says the plan is “another sign
— the latest of many — that the president has no remorse for abdicating the
leadership America once claimed in the struggle against climate change.”
Washington Post.

        *“Republicans Should Send Duncan Hunter Packing.” *A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d7-fa8&t=c>
(8/22) editorial says House Republican leaders “should make clear” to Rep.
Duncan Hunter (D-CA), who was indicted Tuesday along with his wife on
charges “ranging from illegal use of campaign funds to conspiracy, wire
fraud and falsifying records,” that “he needs to go. If not, it will be up
voters in his California district to make that happen.”

        *“How Far Will Myanmar Go To Cover Up An Atrocity?” *In an
editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082301biden&r=email-781b&l=0d8-501&t=c>
(8/22) that a year after Burma’s army “launched a murderous campaign of
ethnic cleansing against the country’s Rohingya minority,” the outside
world “is only beginning to grapple with the legacy of those crimes.” While
the Administration has “finally imposed sanctions on four military and
police commanders and two army units involved in the campaign,” and the
State Department “is soon expected to issue a report,” so far “it has
declined to state the obvious: that the assaults on the Rohingya qualify as
crimes against humanity, and should be addressed as such.” The US “has
played down its reaction to the Rohingya atrocities in the hope of
maintaining working relations with the elected government of Aung San Suu
Kyi,” who “continues to defend the ethnic cleansing as a response to
terrorism.”

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