Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Thursday, September 6, 2018
From: "Kathy Chung" <[email-masked]>
To: "Ashley Blazer Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jill Tracy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jimmy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Valerie Biden Owens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2018 09:04:51 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Thursday, September 6, 2018 8:01 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, September 6, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=000-05d&t=c>
mobile-optimized online version, including download options and an audio
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=001-eb9&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, September 6, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Stumping For Sherrill, Biden Blasts Trump, GOP. <#S1>

• Biden Backs Kohl’s Bid To Unseat WI6 Rep. Grothman. <#S2>

• Instinct Magazine Highlights Biden’s Efforts To Boost LGBTQ+ Community.
<#S3>

• Video Said To Show Biden Calling Tracker A “Prick.” <#S4>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Op-Ed Another Bombshell For White House; Trump Says “Swamp Is Trying To
Fight Back.” <#S5>

• Trump, Administration Continue To Dispute Veracity Of Woodward Book. <#S6>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• UK Charges Two Russian Intelligence Officers With Poisoning Former Spy.
<#S7>

• Trump Open To Meeting With Rouhani At UNGA. <#S8>

• Trump Warns Syria Against “Slaughter” In Idlib. <#S9>

• Paraguay Moves Embassy In Israel Back To Tel Aviv. <#S10>

• Pompeo, Khan “Optimistic” After Talks. <#S11>

• South Korean Envoys: Kim Reiterates Denuclearization Pledge. <#S12>

• Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Require US To Develop Strategy To Support
Taiwan. <#S13>

• Trump: US, Canadian Officials Engaged In “Intense” Trade Negotiations.
<#S14>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Questions On Presidential Powers Dominate Second Day Of Kavanaugh
Hearings. <#S15>

• Graham Says Next AG Will Have To Pledge To Allow Mueller To Finish Probe.
<#S16>

• Trump Leaves Door Open To Government Shutdown Over “Border Security.”
<#S17>

• Trump Says Nike “Getting Killed” After Kaepernick Ad Campaign. <#S18>

• Federal Judge Skeptical ACA Can Stand Without Individual Mandate. <#S19>

• Lawmakers Threaten Facebook, Twitter Executives With Regulation. <#S20>

• Sanders-Khanna BEZOS Bill Targets Big Companies Over Worker Benefits.
<#S21>

• Media Analyses: Today’s Carper Primary May Be Next To Shake Establishment
Democrats. <#S22>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Startup Aims To Connect Cancer Patients With Novel Therapies. <#S23>

• Chi-Med’s Colorectal Cancer Drug Wins Chinese Approval. <#S24>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S25>

• Washington Post. <#S26>
Biden in the News
Stumping For Sherrill, Biden Blasts Trump, GOP.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s Wednesday appearance in New Jersey in
support of attorney Mikie Sherrill’s (D-NJ) bid to succeed retiring NJ11
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) generated significant media coverage.
Reports focused on Biden’s criticism of President Trump and Congressional
Republicans. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=002-88c&t=c>
(9/5) reports, “Shouting at points during a 40-minute speech for” Sherrill,
Biden “made it clear that he was unhappy with the direction of the country
under President Donald Trump.” Speaking at Montclair State University,
Biden said, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired of what’s going on
in this country.” In addition, Biden emphasized “to the crowd that the
upcoming November midterm elections are ‘the most important election any of
us have voted in so far.” The AP adds that Biden “didn’t focus much of his
attention on Sherrill during his speech, taking a more national tone at
times.”

        NJ News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=003-3e1&t=c>
(9/5, Johnson) reports Biden “gave New Jerseyans a (sometimes loud) taste
Wednesday of what his speeches might sound like if he” takes on “Trump in
two years.” Biden “tore into Trump’s handling of America” and criticized
Trump’s “fellow Republicans who lead Congress for ‘staying silent.’”
The Morristown
(NJ) Daily Record
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=004-fc8&t=c>
(9/5, Pugliese, Martin) reports that Biden “laid into the Trump
administration’s ‘naked nationalism’ and asserted that ‘we’re in a battle
for the soul of America.’ Biden urged the hundreds of students and
supporters” at the event “to ‘build up a bulwark against the erosion of
American values by winning back the Congress.’” The Morristown (NJ) Green
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=005-972&t=c>
(9/5, Coughlin) reports that Biden blasted “Trump’s ‘phony populism’” and
“urged young Americans to ‘get off your rear ends’ this November to vote in
what he said could be the most important election of their lifetimes.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=006-84e&t=c>
(9/5, Friedman) quoted Biden as saying, “If we don’t build up a bulwark
against the erosion of our American values by winning back the Congress,
God forbid what happens in 2020.” Politico added that Biden “said Democrats
need to take control of the House in order for Republicans to stand up
to...Trump. ‘What has become of us? My Republican colleagues know better,
but they’re silent. They’re afraid,’ Biden, who referred to” Sherrill’s
general election foe, Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-NJ), “as a ‘Trump acolyte,’
told the crowd. ‘This is not who we are as a country. Where are they? Where
are they?’”

        In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=007-951&t=c>
(9/5, Memoli) reported that Biden said “that as a young senator more than
four decades ago, he saw as Republican senators like Barry Goldwater helped
push Richard Nixon to ultimately resign during the Watergate scandal. But
too many in the GOP are silent today, afraid of the backlash that would
inevitably come if they spoke out about what they believed was wrong.” Said
Biden, “You’ve got to give these Republicans who know better – and most of
them do – the courage to stand up.” On its website, CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=008-894&t=c>
(9/5, Pramuck) reported that Biden’s address “embodies the middle
class-focused message he will take around the country as he tries to boost
House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates in tight midterm races this
year. It also previews the ways in which Biden could rebut Trump if he
chooses to challenge the president in 2020.”

        The Montclarian
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=009-e5f&t=c>
(9/5, Caraballo) reports Biden “believes that Sherrill is the type of
person America needs at the moment. ‘The reason I’m here is because Mikie
gets it,’ Biden said. ‘We need men and women of character.’” On its
website, NJTV Trenton (NJ)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=00a-778&t=c>
(9/5, Aron) reported that Biden “spoke at length about American values and
lambasted Republicans for wanting to cut Medicare, he said, by $650
billion.” Among the local TV stations offering broadcasts on Biden’s
appearance were 12-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=00b-597&t=c>
New Jersey (9/5), NJTV Trenton (NJ) News with Mary Alice Williams[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=00c-390&t=c>
(9/5), WABC-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=00d-342&t=c>
New York (9/5), and a second broadcast from 12-TV[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=00e-890&t=c>
New Jersey (9/6). In addition, MSNBC’s First Look[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=00f-e35&t=c>
(9/6) this morning also broadcast a segment on Biden’s appearance.

        *Fallon Jokes About Biden Decision On Running. *Jimmy Fallon said
during his opening monologue last night, “I read that Joe Biden will decide
whether he’s running for president in 2020 by this January. He said he’s
going to take a coin and say, ‘Heads, I run. Tails, I flip again until I
get heads.’”
Biden Backs Kohl’s Bid To Unseat WI6 Rep. Grothman.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=010-ba6&t=c>
(9/5) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday endorsed
attorney Dan Kohl’s (D-WI) bid to oust Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) in the
WI6. Biden said “in a statement that Kohl is an ‘independent voice’ who can
‘create an economy that works for every Wisconsin family.’”
Instinct Magazine Highlights Biden’s Efforts To Boost LGBTQ+ Community.

Writing for Instinct Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=011-ab5&t=c>
(9/6), Victor Rocha highlighted a Politico story
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=012-b82&t=c>
– covered in yesterday’s briefing – that reported former Vice President Joe
Biden “has agreed to keynote the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner
which helps the nation’s biggest and most politically active LGBTQ+
advocacy organization continue its push into the midterms.” Rocha says
Biden “is no stranger to being an ally for the LGBTQ+ community,” having
“previously appeared at the dinner in 2015 while he and Obama were still in
office. During their presidency,” Biden “was the first to speak out in
favor of legalizing gay marriage and was responsible for pressing...Obama
to speak out himself.” In addition, Biden in August launched “an LGBTQ+
family acceptance campaign.” Rocha adds that Biden’s “help to the LGBTQ+
community is a small ripple in the river but it is always refreshing to see
a politician who puts his money where his mouth is.”
Video Said To Show Biden Calling Tracker A “Prick.”

In a very brief item, Politico Playbook
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=013-e91&t=c>
(9/6, Palmer, Sherman, Lippman) reports, “WELCOME TO 2020, VEEP … AMERICA
RISING has a clip in which it says JOE BIDEN called his tracker a ‘prick.’
Decide for yourself. 15-second clip
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=014-af6&t=c>.”

Leading the News
Op-Ed Another Bombshell For White House; Trump Says “Swamp Is Trying To
Fight Back.”

Yesterday afternoon, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=015-9a1&t=c>
(9/5) published an op-ed titled, “I Am Part Of The Resistance Inside The
Trump Administration” purportedly written by a “a senior official in the
Trump administration,” who claims that “many Trump appointees have vowed to
do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr.
Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.” The anonymous
official adds, “The root of the problem is the president’s amorality.
Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first
principles that guide his decision making.” The fallout from the op-ed led
all three major network newscasts last night and generated extensive cable
and print coverage, most of which cast the Administration in an extremely
negative light. Typical of the tone of the coverage is the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=016-c60&t=c>
(9/5, Baker, Haberman) itself, which refers to a “surreal struggle between
Mr. Trump and at least some members of his own team” that “has
characterized his tenure from the beginning” and now simply has “spilled
into public view.” To the Times, it has done so “in a way that raised
questions about the president’s capacity to govern.”

        Late last night, Trump wrote on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=017-3a9&t=c>,
“I’m draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Don’t
worry, we will win!” Trump initially tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=018-45c&t=c>
video of his response to the controversy, which showed[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=019-21e&t=c>
him saying during an event with law enforcement officers, “Someday when I’m
not President, which hopefully will be in about six-and-a-half years from
now, the New York Times, CNN, and all these phony media outlets will be out
of business, folks.” He added, “So they don’t like Donald Trump. I don’t
like them because they are very dishonest people. ... Remember this also
about the New York Times. When I won, they were forced to apologize to
their subscribers. They wrote a letter of apology. It was the first time
anybody has ever done it because they covered the election incorrectly. So
if the failing New York times has anonymous editorial, can you believe it?
Anonymous. Meaning gutless. A gutless editorial.”

        Trump later had a cryptic message for the anonymous official,
tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=01a-aa6&t=c>,
“TREASON?” In a third tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=01b-bcb&t=c>,
Trump wrote, “Does the so-called ‘Senior Administration Official’ really
exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?
If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for
National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!”

        Reporting Trump’s comments, White House Correspondent Kaitlan
Collins said on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=01c-93a&t=c>
(9/5) that he was “going after the New York Times...and then listing off,
in a bizarre sense, his list of accomplishments so far in the time he’s
been in office and then going on to say that he’s going to win re-election
in 2020.” Wolf Blitzer said Trump was “exploding in anger” and “ranting. It
sort of underscored that he was saying all sorts of wild things, several of
those things clearly not true.” CNN Political Director David Chalian said
on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=01d-075&t=c>
(9/5), “This is a big one. Don’t just trust me when I say that, look at the
President’s reaction, himself. When the President in the White House...went
and stared right into the camera, not only could you see his visible anger,
but you see the unraveling, you see a President who sort of is losing it
right before the American people.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=01e-201&t=c>
(9/5, lead story, 3:10, Glor) reported, meanwhile, that Press Secretary
Sarah Sanders “said the author is a selfish coward who should resign.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=01f-3c6&t=c>
(9/5, Cummings) notes Sanders also said in a statement that “the
administration was ‘disappointed, but not surprised’ that The Times ‘chose
to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed. This is a new low
for the so-called “paper of record”’ and it should issue an apology.’”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=020-a38&t=c>
(9/5, Dawsey) cites “two people familiar with his private discussions” who
said Trump “reacted to the column with ‘volcanic’ anger and was ‘absolutely
livid,’” and “told confidants he suspects the official works on national
security issues or in the Justice Department.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=021-9e5&t=c>
(9/5, Restuccia, Johnson, Cadelago, Karni) quotes “one senior
administration official” as describing “a White House in ‘total meltdown’
by Wednesday evening.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=022-626&t=c>
(9/5, Miller, Lucey) reports “the essay immediately triggered a wild
guessing game as to the author’s identity on social media, in newsrooms and
inside the West Wing, where officials were blindsided by its publication.”
The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=023-f32&t=c>
(9/6, Li) says that “as soon as the bombshell article was published, West
Wing officials huddled behind closed doors to work up a list of roughly a
dozen theories – and names – of the potential Trump traitor,” and that
“speculation ran rampant from even the smallest of clues.” The Post adds
that “one was when a New York Times tweet of the piece called the Trump
insider ‘he.’” Vice President Pence also “drew some attention because the
author used the word ‘lodestar’ – a rarely used term that Pence has used in
speeches.” The Post adds that “Lynne Patton, a HUD official and former
Trump party planner, wrote on Instagram that the leak will easily be
found.” Wrote Patton, “It’s hardly breaking news to anyone with half a
brain that ‘Never Trumpers’ have been employed within our walls from the
outset. ... And yes, we know who they ALL are, including this author.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=024-d00&t=c>
(9/5, Bender) also reports on White House efforts to identify the official,
while USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=025-af0&t=c>
(9/5, Hayes) says “it’s a true whodunit case and it seems like the entire
nation is hot on the trail.”

        White House Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said on Fox
News’ The Ingraham Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=026-fbd&t=c>
(9/5), “The President said something...that really rang true. The New York
Times apologized to its readers because they got the election story wrong.
But he said he many people don’t understand how he got here and what he’s
done since he got here and what it all means to people. And that’s
incredibly important.” Conway also said on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=027-100&t=c>
(9/5), “I’m not sure it matters, there are op-eds like that every day in
the New York Times.”

        Rudy Giuliani said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=028-542&t=c>
(9/5), “Well, number one, I don’t know how much of it to believe. Is it a
Trump appointee? Is he in the White House? Is he phonying it up? How much
is the ‘Times’ complicit?” He added, “I don’t trust anything I read
anymore, not after the stuff that’s been done to me.” The writer of the
op-ed “is obviously an unhinged guy. A guy without many morals, without any
principle.” He added, “The guy, in my book, is a weasel.” Giuliani said,
“If the guy would do this to protect the country in his estimation, who
gives him the right to decide that? He could leak – easily leak national
security information. Easily.”

        Asked on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=029-b63&t=c>
(9/5) about Trump tweeting “TREASON?” Sen Lindsey Graham said, “This is not
treason under the Constitution. This is not a treasonous act against the
nation. It’s a disloyal and cowardly act against the President.” Graham
said on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=02a-255&t=c>
(9/5), “Mr. President, if you are watching here tonight, if I were you I
would ignore the article and ignore the book and how the American people
what I’ve done and what I’m going to do.” Graham also told Fox News’ The
Ingraham Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=02b-73b&t=c>
(9/5), “Bottom line if this person says Trump is not serving the Republic
well. Where I live in South Carolina, people are extremely pleased. ... So
this person’s view of the President he is serving is out of sync with the
people who elected him.”

        House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Fox News’ The Ingraham
Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=02c-0cf&t=c>
(9/5), “This man is a coward.” He added that “he or she is such an elitist
that they know better than the voters, that they are protecting the voters
in some way? I agree with the President, I think he should come clean.”

        Sen. Ted Cruz said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=02d-10a&t=c>
(9/5), “At one level this is nothing new, with every Republican
administration there are Democrats burrowed in the Administration that have
fought against good and positive policy for the country. ... There are
people throughout the administration burrowed in that are fighting against
all of that but the American people are seeing the results of these
victories.”

        Sean Hannity said in his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=02e-a21&t=c>
(9/5), “Once again, the disgusting underbelly of the Washington, DC, swamp
and a sewer and a deep state is being exposed. ... As we speak, we have
unelected bureaucrats all over our nation’s capitol. They have been and
continue to work actively to undermine your 2016 vote.”

        Tucker Carlson, in a monologue on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson
Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=02f-0e8&t=c>
(9/5), said that the op-ed’s two main points were first that “the President
is unpredictable and mercurial boss who is light on policy detail and given
to saying outrageous things. That is true. Sorry, it is true. ... The other
point of the piece is Trump’s view on policy differ from those who permeate
Washington – therefore the presidency is illegitimate.” Carlson added,
“Trump’s attempts to do what he promised to do on the campaign are not a
travesty. They are a sign the system is working as designed,” but “in
Washington, that is considered shocking. That is the real problem with this
piece.”

        In its lead story, ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=030-134&t=c>
(9/5, lead story, 5:40, Karl) called it “an historic act of defiance from
somebody who works for the President,” a “devastating attack from within”
that “comes just 24 hours after a first look at a Bob Woodward book that
paints a similar portrait.” To NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=031-a46&t=c>
(9/5, lead story, 3:05, Holt), meanwhile, “Trump is confronted...with what
may be the most daunting opposition he’s faced yet,” and “this time it’s
coming from within his own ranks.” NBC (Jackson) called the op-ed “an
extraordinary alarm” that “sounded from the inside out,” with “jaw dropping
charges against the President by someone who says they work for him.”

        On NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=032-e49&t=c>
(9/5, story 2, 1:00, Holt), Chuck Todd said, “The portrait that’s being
painted is a President that is not fit to run the country. That’s what this
senior administration official is saying. Let me emphasis a couple things.
I think it matters how senior this person is. I think it matters that they
need to answer why they chose to do it now. Did something happen recently
that makes them think they need to do this now? Is this timed on purpose
with the Woodward back to say ‘hey, I’m just here to confirm everything
you’re saying about the Woodward book’? I think a lot of things need to be
known about the person.” Todd added that “Congress at a minimum needs to
get some answers as to why that happened.” The CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=033-136&t=c>
(9/5, lead story, 3:10, Glor) reported that “everyone, of course, wonders
who wrote this op-ed,” and added (Garrett) that “we don’t know, and it is,
for the moment, Washington’s central obsession, lots of speculation around
it. One problem” is “the elastic definition here in Washington of who
qualifies as a senior administration official. Hundreds upon hundreds might
fit that bill.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=034-95d&t=c>
(9/5, Bierman) reports “the latest attack on his fitness for office offered
twin targets to Trump, a man who is prone to telling supporters he is a
victim of a conspiracy between a ‘deep state and media ‘enemies of the
people’ to destroy his presidency.” However, “the published indictment from
an official within his administration was an all but unprecedented act
against an incumbent president.”

        Sen. Dick Durbin said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=035-d11&t=c>
(9/5), “Many of us are hoping that there are steady hands in the White
House and throughout this Administration that will stop this President, if
he does something that is really the best interest of the United States.
... But it basically says that when it comes to this President, it’s like
the basic rule that parents follow: don’t leave sharp objects near small
children.” He added, “We don’t have to rely on whispered secrets. We just
read his tweets on a day-to-day basis. We know the workings of his mind. We
know how he thinks and how he quickly reacts and overreacts. And I can
imagine if you are in the White House, close to the President, and see him
in action on a day-to-day basis, there’s a genuine, real concern.”

        Former Secretary of State John Kerry said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper
360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=036-9b9&t=c>
(9/5), “We have a presidency which is off the rails. We have a presidency
in which the President is clearly now, according to this op-ed, which ‘The
New York Times’ knows who the author is, we have a President who is not
capable of doing the job, who clearly has these temper tantrums, doesn’t
know enough to be making many of the decisions he makes.” He added, “This
is a genuine constitutional crisis, and the crisis is heightened by the
fact that my former colleagues in the United States Senate on the
Republican side who have taken an oath of office to defend the Constitution
and the institutions of our country as a whole, which are embraced in that
oath are defending instead not the Constitution, not the institution in the
Senate.”

        Ohio Gov. John Kasich said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=037-6bb&t=c>
(9/5), “It’s like there’s a tornado every day. Now, that’s fine if that’s
the way he wants to run it. But what I can tell you is when you have all
that chaos how do you solve the biggest problems? When everybody’s trying
to put out fires and there’s this happening and that happening. ... So
that’s what I’m really concerned about, is that things aren’t getting
done.”

        *Trump Tweets “Deep State...The Left, And Their Vehicle, The Fake
News Media, Are Going Crazy.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=038-258&t=c>
this morning, “The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake
News Media, are going Crazy – & they don’t know what to do. The Economy is
booming like never before, Jobs are at Historic Highs, soon TWO Supreme
Court Justices & maybe Declassification to find Additional Corruption.
Wow!”

        *Democrats Call On Cabinet To Remove Trump Via 25th Amendment.
*The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=039-4e2&t=c>
(9/5, Hasson) reports “some Democrats in Congress quickly used” the op-ed
“to demand his cabinet remove him from office via the 25th Amendment.” Rep.
Jackie Speier “wrote on Twitter that the anonymous official and ‘colleagues
of like mind must come forward to Congress,’” adding, “We cannot afford to
allow [Trump] to use his impulsive instincts and send us to another war!
Your duty is to the country, not an unfit and unstable [president].” In a
statement, Rep. Jamie Raskin “touted a bill he previously introduced that
would establish a body of ‘elder statesmen’ to determine the president’s
fitness for office in coordination with the vice president.” Rep. Pramila
Jayapal “similarly used the Times’ op-ed to tout Raskin’s legislation.”

        *MyBookie Gives 2-To-3 Odds Pence Penned Op-ed. *The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=03a-f84&t=c>
(9/5, Li) reports “Pence – and ‘the field’ – lead offshore bookmaking picks
as the White House mole behind the anonymous bombshell New York Times
op-ed.” Pence “was listed at 2-to-3 odds on the site MyBookie as the fifth
column official who claims to be working behind the scenes to stop some of
Trump’s policies that they find wrongheaded.”

        *Op-Ed Sparks Debate Within NYTimes. *ABC World News Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=03b-daa&t=c>
(9/5, lead story, 5:40, Karl) reported that the NYTimes “says the official
wanted to remain anonymous, and they believed publishing the essay
anonymously was quote, ‘the only way to deliver an important perspective to
our audience.’” According to the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=03c-eca&t=c>
(9/5, story 2, 1:20, Glor), however, “the Times is also dealing with sharp
reactions to the article from inside and outside the newspaper.” CBS
(Duncan) added, “We are outside of the headquarters here in Manhattan,
where people on the inside are reacting to ‘The New York Times’ decision to
publish this anonymous piece, and it’s sparking immediate reaction within
the newsroom. ... Investigative reporter Jodie Cantor, maybe best known for
her work on Harvey Weinstein, said, ‘So basically, ‘Times’ reporters now
must try to unearth the identity of an author that our colleagues in
opinion have sworn to protect with anonymity.’” CBS added that “the
internal feud within the paper again has compelled former ‘Times’ public
editor Margaret Sullivan to tweet, ‘It’s a good day not to be the public
editor of ‘The New York Times.’ She was asked by a colleague on Twitter,
‘What would you say?’ She replied, ‘I would carefully talk to all parties
and then come to a tough but fair conclusion. Silly.’ We did reach up on
the to ‘The New York Times’ for comment on this and have not heard response
yet.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=03d-c81&t=c>
(9/5, Calderone, Schwartz) reports “one Times reporter said colleagues were
already volleying back and forth with sources, trying to guess the writer’s
identity.” But “for others, a sense of annoyance quickly set in, with some
journalists frustrated about the position the Times’ editorial page had put
the news section in.” Adds Politico, “Ethical questions aside, there might
also be strategic concerns for reporters,” because “news and opinion
sections operate separately,” and “that point could be lost on potential
sources, who could be spooked by Times news reporters working to reveal a
Times editorial source.”
Trump, Administration Continue To Dispute Veracity Of Woodward Book.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=03e-016&t=c>
yesterday, “Isn’t it a shame that someone can write an article or book,
totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally
the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or
cost. Don’t know why Washington politicians don’t change libel laws?” Trump
went on to tweet emphatic denials by Chief of Staff John Kelly
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=03f-81f&t=c>
and Defense Secretary Mattis
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=040-c5e&t=c>
of comments derisive of Trump that Bob Woodward cites in his new book,
“Fear.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=041-3b2&t=c>
(9/5, Jackson) describes Trump as “stung by the latest tell-all book to hit
his White House” and “suggesting Wednesday that the government tighten
libel laws – though the president’s role in doing that is probably
nonexistent.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=042-b5d&t=c>
(9/5, Wagner) casts Trump’s tweet as “part of an aggressive effort by the
White House to discredit Woodward’s...book,” which “paints a harrowing
portrait of the Trump presidency, based on in-depth interviews with
administration officials and others.”

        Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=043-9a9&t=c>
(9/5, Kight) notes, meanwhile, that “following a meeting with the emir of
Kuwait,” Trump “told reporters on Wednesday that...Woodward’s upcoming book
is ‘a work of fiction,’ saying ‘if you look back at Woodward’s past, he had
the same problem with other presidents. He likes to get publicity, sell
some books.’” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=044-d1a&t=c>
(9/5, Boyer) points out Trump also said the book was “timed to mess foul up
the [Brett] Kavanaugh confirmation this week in the Senate Judiciary
Committee.” Said Trump, “It was put out to interfere, in my opinion, with
the Kavanaugh hearings.” Trump, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=045-95c&t=c>
(9/5, Holland) reports, also said “he did not discuss assassinating Syrian
leader Bashar al-Assad.” Trump said, “That was never even contemplated, nor
would it be contemplated.”

        White House Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said last
night on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=046-135&t=c>
(9/5), “The one thing I don’t see in the Woodward book is Russia collusion.
Why is that relevant? ... The media spent more time on that story, and in
other words if you are a journalist who took down Richard Nixon, if you are
deeply respected in many corners in Washington, DC, wouldn’t someone who
had evidence of that come to you? But that’s important, because they are
going to say why did she talk about that? Because when they have nothing to
say they move to the next.” She added, “so much of the book is not new,
it’s a fourth consecutive book that I can see where certain people are
trying to feed their own emotions and egos about how brilliant they were on
the campaign.”

        On the major network newscasts last night, the Woodward book was
largely overshadowed by the publication of the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=047-0b5&t=c>
op-ed purportedly written by a “senior administration official.” Woodward’s
book was, however, a major topic of discussion on most – but not all –
morning TV shows. While the book received extensive coverage form the
networks and the other cable news channels, Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=048-af7&t=c>
(9/5) only mentioned it in passing a few times during the first 90 minutes
of its broadcast before having White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on
to refute its allegations. Sanders said, “We have seen...the things that
have come out...from General Mattis, General Kelly pushing back on these
fictitious claims that this book seems to be filled with. ... You have the
accounts from people first hand...and they are on the record, which is very
different than what this book is filled with. It’s full of anonymous quotes
from disgruntled former employees versus people who have been in the
administration from day one.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=049-a82&t=c>
(9/5, Oprysko) refers to “an increasingly aggressive pushback campaign
against...Woodward’s new book,” while on ABC’s Good Morning America[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=04a-94e&t=c>
(9/5), meanwhile, George Stephanopoulos said Woodward portrays Trump’s
aides as “struggling constantly, sometimes secretly, to rein trump in.” In
an interview with Stephanopoulos, Sanders said Woodward “may have hundreds
of hours of tapes, but I think most of those probably come from disgruntled
former employees. It’s a lot of anonymous sources.” In reference to Mattis
and Kelly, Sanders said, “I would certainly rather take the word of those
two individuals than a couple of disgruntled former employees that are
anonymously attacking the President, trying to make him look bad for no
other reason other than to build themselves up.”

        On NBC’s Today Show
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=04b-f92&t=c>
(9/5), on the other hand, Chuck Todd said the book shows that “maybe there
was a good reason” for capable people who had been critical of Trump to
nevertheless “go into the White House and be a guardrail.” Todd added, “Say
what you will about whether these people are ‘enablers’ or not, at least
according to the Woodward book, Gary Cohn, Jim Mattis, John Kelly,
all...stopped the President from doing something crazy.”

        Mika Brzezinski, on MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=04c-74c&t=c>
(9/5), said Woodward’s book shows that at the White House “there are some
patriots hanging in there trying very hard to keep this thing together and
I guess we owe them a debt of gratitude.” Brzezinski added, “Sometimes you
really can’t imagine what you would do if you’re in that position, in the
position of Secretary Mattis, or in the position of Gary Cohn taking papers
away to try and prevent something from happening. They’re basically trying
to handle someone who is unhinged and not well, and not thinking in the
best interests of our country.” Willie Geist said the book is further proof
that “people inside the White House, in fact the people closest
with...Trump...believe he is not capable of handling this job and that they
are guardrails around the Presidency of the United States.”

        *Despite News Reports, Trump Insists Mattis Is Staying. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=04d-524&t=c>
(9/5, Rampton) reports Trump said yesterday that Mattis “will remain in his
job, a day after a report, denied by Mattis, that he had made disparaging
remarks about the president.” Reuters adds that “asked by reporters at the
White House whether he was considering replacing Mattis, Trump said: ‘He’ll
stay right there. We’re very happy with him. We’re having a lot of
victories.’” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=04e-2d9&t=c>
(9/5, Ryan, Lamothe) reports that while “Mattis vigorously denied insulting
the president...the reporting from one of America’s most respected
journalists nevertheless adds urgency to a question that has been building
across Washington in recent months: How long will Trump remain comfortable
with a Pentagon chief with a reputation for keeping him in check?”

        In his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=04f-351&t=c>
(9/5) column, however, Josh Rogin writes that “well before this week’s
revelations about...Trump’s interactions with...Mattis in Bob Woodward’s
new book, officials inside the White House have been actively discussing
who will replace Mattis at the Pentagon – whenever he might step down.” A
“senior White House official” tells Rogin, “The speculation about who
replaces Mattis is now more real than ever. ... The president has always
respected him. But now he has every reason to wonder what Mattis is saying
behind his back. The relationship has nowhere to go but down, fast.” Rogin
adds that “at the top of the list:” of potential replacements “is retired
four-star Army Gen. Jack Keane.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=050-7fb&t=c>
(9/5, Correll) says “other potential candidates include former Treasury
Department official David McCormick and Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., although Graham has stated on multiple occasions he
is not interested in serving in the Cabinet.”

        *CBS’ Martin: Woodward Did Not Interview Mattis For Book. *On CBS
This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=051-9bd&t=c>
(9/5), David Martin discussed Woodward’s methods at length, including his
practice of recording deep-background interviews, and getting access to
sources’ contemporaneous “diaries and notes.” Martin said Woodward “stands
by his reporting.” Asked if he thinks Mattis “spoke with...Woodward on deep
background,” Martin answered, “No. In fact, I know he didn’t speak with Bob
Woodward on any ground rules.” Martin added that Mattis “comes across here
as sort of the ‘Trump whisperer’ in this Administration – the one official
who somehow knows how to handle Trump, and he does that by essentially
agreeing with whatever the President says.”

        *Giuliani Disputes Book, Says Woodward Never Contacted Him. *Addressing
events described in Woodward’s book, Rudy Giuliani said on CNN’s Cuomo
Prime Time
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=052-a97&t=c>
(9/5), “I’m telling you it never happened. I have at least up to eight
witnesses now who confirm it.” He added, “The word ‘diaper,’ the word
‘baby,’ criticism, no,” none of that happened. Giuliani added, “Woodward
never sought to contact me about this. He has some gutless wonder who told
him this lie. ... He never interviewed me or any of the other eight
witnesses who were there because he had a nice juicy little thing he could
use to promo his book, make money, and this is the Woodward scheme. ...He
doesn’t want to get it contradicted.”

        *Graham Emerges As Trump Defender In Response To Woodward
Allegations. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=053-ef3&t=c>
(9/5, Wagner) reports that Sen. Lindsey Graham, “who once called...Trump
‘unfit for office,’ emerged as one of his staunchest defenders in Congress
in the 24 hours after the first reports about Trump’s harrowing portrayal
in...Woodward’s new book.” The Post says that “in a string of tweets and on
television, Graham sought to minimize the impact of the book and lavished
praise on Trump for a string of achievements.” The Post notes that Graham
“also distributed by Twitter an account of a television appearance of his
Tuesday night on Fox News in which he called Trump the ‘big winner’ at the
Senate hearing the day before on Kavanaugh’s nomination.” Tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=054-22a&t=c>
Graham, “President @realDonaldTrumps fate will be determined by the results
he achieves for the American people, not by a book about the process. ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=055-0cb&t=c>
By any reasonable measure we have one of the strongest economies in modern
history, President Trump has rebuilt a broken military, and we are pushing
back hard against America’s enemies.”

        *WPost Editorial Calls Trump “Ignorant, Impulsive And Dishonest
Narcissist.” *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=056-a67&t=c>
(9/5) says the book “does not paint a different picture of the early Trump
White House than the one that has already emerged from credible news
organizations,” but it does fill in “details of a presidency led by an
ignorant, impulsive and dishonest narcissist – and the people around him
who enable or restrain his worst instincts.” The Post adds that Trump and
his aides “will have trouble impugning” Woodward’s “credibility,” because
his “reputation precedes him. So does Mr. Trump’s.”

        *Scarborough Says Trump Aides Told Him In 2015 He Was In “Early
Stages Of Dementia.” *On MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=057-d26&t=c>
(9/5), Joe Scarborough alleged yesterday that in 2015, some of Trump’s
aides told him that Trump was “in the early stages of dementia.” In
his Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=058-02b&t=c>
(9/5) column, meanwhile, Scarborough does not repeat his allegation, but
says “every damning and depressing detail” in the book “is made more
damning and depressing by the fact that the abhorrent behavior chronicled
in crisp detail will come as no surprise to anyone who has served...Trump
in the West Wing, or carried his political water on Capitol Hill.”

        *NYTimes Gives “Fear” Mixed Review. *Reviewing the book, Dwight
Garner writes in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=059-f6a&t=c>
(9/5) that “Woodward has never been a graceful writer, but the prose here
is unusually wooden,” as though “he wants to make a statement that, at this
historical juncture, simple factual pine-board competence should suffice.”
Garner adds that “if this book has a single point to drive home, it is that
the president of the United States is a congenital liar. I wish ‘Fear’ had
other points to make. I wanted more context, more passion, a bit of irony
and certainly more simple history.” Ultimately, the book “picks up little
narrative momentum. It’s a slow tropical storm of a book, not a hurricane.
You turn the pages because Woodward, as he accumulates the queasy-making
details, delivers on the promise of his title.”

        *New Book Titled “Commander In Cheat” Examines Trump’s Golf Game. *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=05a-cd9&t=c>
(9/5, Woodard) reports “longtime sportswriter Rick Reilly has a new book
set for release unlike anything he’s written before.” Commander in Cheat:
How Golf Explains Trump “will be released in May, Hachette Books announced
on Wednesday.” The book “is based off interviews with and observations from
former playing partners and caddies of President Trump over the years.”
Foreign Policy
UK Charges Two Russian Intelligence Officers With Poisoning Former Spy.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=05b-81d&t=c>
(9/5, Lawless) reports the UK “deepened its diplomatic feud with Moscow on
Wednesday, charging two men it says are Russian military intelligence
officers with the nerve-agent poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a double agent
who betrayed the service by spying for the West.” Prime Minister Theresa
May “said the use of a chemical weapon in the city of Salisbury, which left
a British woman dead and four people, including Skripal and his daughter,
seriously ill, was carried out by officers of the GRU intelligence service
and almost certainly approved ‘at a senior level of the Russian state.’”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=05c-b6b&t=c>
(9/5, Pérez-Peña, Barry) reports May “said the nerve agent attacks were of
a piece with a long string of Russian operations spearheaded by the G.R.U.,
including the seizure of Crimea, incursions into eastern Ukraine, the
downing of a civilian airliner in Ukrainian airspace, and an attempted coup
in Montenegro.” The Times says the allegation of “specific G.R.U.
involvement in the use of the nerve agent adds to the heightened tensions
between Moscow and the West.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=05d-212&t=c>
(9/5, Onyanga-Omara) reports Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner
Neil Basu “said authorities were seeking to circulate Interpol red notices
about the two suspects, who he said are aged about 40 and likely to have
traveled under aliases,” and Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=05e-234&t=c>
(9/5, Holden, Faulconbridge) says police “released security camera images
of the two suspects and outlined a three-day mission that took them from
Moscow to London to Salisbury, where they sprayed poison on Skripal’s door
before flying back to Moscow hours later.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=05f-8bf&t=c>
(9/5, story 9, 1:30, Holt) reported that “despite evidence, including
surveillance video, it’s unlikely they will face justice” because “Russia
denies involvement. A top agent of Vladimir Putin said, ‘We saw those
names, they mean nothing to us’.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=060-b4c&t=c>
(9/5, story 8, 0:20, Muir) likewise reported the “Russian government,
despite these photos, still denying it.”

        According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=061-a34&t=c>
(9/5, Booth), “Russian officials on Wednesday denied any responsibility and
repeated assertions that the British were putting out false claims and
refusing to allow Russia to see evidence. ‘We believe this is a
provocation,’ Alexander Shulgin, Russia’s permanent representative to the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, told state television
Wednesday.” The Post says “Britain will present its evidence that Russia
was behind the attack at a UN Security Council meeting Thursday.”

        On its editorial page, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=062-adc&t=c>
(9/5) says the two suspects “probably won’t be extradited to Britain, just
as the killers of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko escaped
punishment for fatally poisoning him in 2006 with polonium in his tea in a
London hotel cafe. Predictably, Russia is issuing blanket denials.” Still,
the Post says that after Litvinenko died, “Britain did not do enough to
make sure it would not happen again. Now it has, and the response must
measure up to this bald banditry.”
Trump Open To Meeting With Rouhani At UNGA.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=063-d1c&t=c>
(9/5) reports President Trump “suggested Wednesday that he would be open to
meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month” on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Speaking to reporters at the White
House, Trump said, “Whether they want to talk or not, that’s up to them,
not up to me. I will always be available. But it doesn’t matter one way or
the other. We’ll see what happens.” He also “seemed to argue that his
administration has helped to destabilize and weaken Iran’s regime,” saying,
“Iran is a very much different place from when I first took office. Iran is
in turmoil right now. They’re in total turmoil. When I took office, it was
just a question of how long until they took over the entire Middle East.
Now they are just worrying about their own survival as a country.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=064-5ac&t=c>
(9/5, Holland) also briefly reports the remarks, which Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=065-077&t=c>
(9/5, Sink) says “echo[ed] comments” he made “in a Bloomberg interview last
week saying the Iranian regime may collapse because of his administration’s
policies.”

        *Iran Sets November 4 Deadline For Europe To Offset US
Sanctions. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=066-3cd&t=c>
(9/5, Nasseri) reports Iran has “given European parties to the nuclear deal
until Nov. 4 – the start of US sanctions against its vital oil industry –
to come up with ways to offset the impact, suggesting it may otherwise pull
out.” In remarks on state TV, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said
Tehran “has ‘clearly announced’ to European nations that if its ‘main
interests’ in the nuclear agreement are not served, ‘staying in the deal
will not benefit us anymore. ... They have a deadline of Nov. 4 and from
then on, any action by them would be useless.”

        Meanwhile, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=067-7d6&t=c>
(9/5, Gambrell) reports Iran’s “rial fell to a record low on Wednesday as
worried residents of Tehran lined up outside beleaguered moneychangers,
part of a staggering 140-percent drop in the currency’s value since America
pulled out of the nuclear deal only four months ago.”
Trump Warns Syria Against “Slaughter” In Idlib.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=068-910&t=c>
(9/5, Boyer) reports on Wednesday, President Trump warned Syria against a
“slaughter” in Idlib, saying, “If it’s a slaughter, the world is going to
get very, very angry and the United States is going to get very angry, too.
I am watching that very closely.” Trump added, “You have 3 million, at
least, innocent people there. And you have to be very, very careful.” The
Times also reports in that in his new book, Bob Woodward said that Trump
asked Defense Secretary Mattis “to kill Assad after a chemical-weapons
attack in Syria in April 2017,” but the President said Wednesday, “The book
is fiction. That was never even contemplated, nor would it be contemplated.
And it should not have been written about in the book.”

        *Russia Continues Airstrikes Ahead Of Anticipated Syrian Offensive.
*The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=069-d93&t=c>
(9/5) reports Russia “says it has launched airstrikes targeting militant
infrastructure” in Idlib, where the Syrian government “is expected to
launch a major offensive against the rebels’ last major stronghold.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=06a-63e&t=c>
(9/5, McDowall) reports the Russian Defense Ministry “said it had targeted
buildings used to store weapons and explosives including a facility used to
assemble explosive-packed drones that rebels have used to attack Russian
planes stationed at Hmeymim air base.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=06b-eda&t=c>
(9/5, Hacaoglu) says “Syrian troops are preparing an offensive” against
Idblib, “an assault that could draw in the US, displace hundreds of
thousands of civilians and cement President Bashar al-Assad’s hold over the
country after seven years of war.” The offensive, which “is expected soon,”
will “top the agenda on Friday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin meets
his counterparts from Iran and Turkey.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=06c-3c2&t=c>
(9/5), meanwhile, says the “10 elected members of the UN Security Council
are calling for stepped up efforts to find a peaceful solution” in Idlib
province, issuing a “joint statement Wednesday expressing deep concern that
a full-scale military operation in Idlib will lead to ‘a humanitarian
catastrophe.’” Ambassador Haley, the current council president, also
“announced that an informal council meeting will be held Friday on Idlib’s
deteriorating humanitarian and security situation.”

        *Mattis Rejects Claim Syrian Opposition Plans To Stage Chemical
Attack. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=06d-a26&t=c>
(9/5, Capaccio) reports Mattis said Wednesday that the US has “zero
intelligence” to support Russian charges that Syrian opposition groups
“possess chemical weapons that they are ready to use – a claim that could
be used to justify or cover up a chemical attack by President Bashar
al-Assad’s regime.” Mattis told reporters traveling with him to India that
the US has “fairly good penetration of many of the opposition groups,” and
that after previous evidence of chemical weapons use by Assad’s forces, “we
have made it very clear that by putting out innuendo that somehow any
chemical weapons use coming up in the future could be ascribed to the
opposition – well, we want to see the data.”
Paraguay Moves Embassy In Israel Back To Tel Aviv.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=06e-f6d&t=c>
(9/5, Servin) reports Paraguay announced Wednesday it “would immediately
move its embassy in Israel out of Jerusalem and back to Tel Aviv, less than
four months after opening the new mission.” The AP says the move “presents
an embarrassing diplomatic setback for Israel.” Paraguay’s Foreign Minister
Luis Alberto Castiglioni said at a news conference that he hoped “the
friends of Israel will not be bothered” by his nation’s reversal and
expressed hope for “excellent ties of friendship and cooperation” with both
“the states of Israel and Palestine.” However, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=06f-d32&t=c>
(9/5, Sawafta) reports that in response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu ordered the closure of Israel’s embassy in Paraguay, highlighting
“its sensitivity over the status of Jerusalem.”
Pompeo, Khan “Optimistic” After Talks.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=070-209&t=c>
(9/5, Stewart) reports Secretary of State Pompeo met new Pakistani Prime
Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday, saying he was hopeful of “a reset of
relations.” Pompeo’s visit, “the first high-level US mission to the new
government,” was “aimed to smooth over tensions” after President Trump
“took a tough new line towards Pakistan over longstanding accusations it is
not doing enough to root out Afghan Taliban fighters on its territory.”
After talks with Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Army Chief
Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pompeo told reporters, “We talked about their new
government, the opportunity to reset the relationship between our two
countries across a broad spectrum,” including business ties and ending the
war in Afghanistan. “And I’m hopeful that the foundation that we laid today
will set the conditions for continued success as we start to move forward.”
Calling it a “shift in tone,” AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=071-c32&t=c>
(9/5) likewise reports Pompeo said he was “hopeful” of resetting relations
with Pakistan.

        Echoing Pompeo, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=072-5ae&t=c>
(9/5, Gannon) reports, Khan said after the talks that he was “optimistic”
he could reset the relationship with Washington. Said Khan, “You know I’m a
born optimist. A sportsman always is an optimist. He steps on the field and
he thinks he’s going to win.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=073-50d&t=c>
(9/5, Wadhams, Dilawar) reports that the “US and Pakistan both said they
are pushing to ‘reset’ a fraught relationship that saw the Trump
administration cut security funding, citing a lack of progress in clamping
down on terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan.”

        In less upbeat reporting, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=074-1e9&t=c>
(9/5, Shah, Youssef) reports Pompeo also told reporters that the nations
still have a long way to go to reset troubled ties. Pompeo said there were
“a lot more discussions to be had,” adding, “We need to begin to do things
that will actually on the ground deliver outcomes so that we can build
confidence and trust. That was the focus.” Along similar lines, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=075-122&t=c>
(9/5, Abi-Habib, Masood) says in a report headlined “Pompeo Offers Pakistan
A Reset, But Skepticism Is Rife” that while the Secretary said he is
“hopeful,” Pakistani “officials and army officers are deeply mistrustful of
the United States,” and “say they are being made a scapegoat for the
American military’s failure in Afghanistan.” At the same time, the Times
says US officials “know they can push their Pakistani counterparts only so
far.”

        According to the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=076-5f5&t=c>
(9/5, Bengali), Pompeo used Wednesday’s meetings with Pakistani officials
“to renew demands that they do more to stamp out Islamist militants and
support a fledgling US peace effort with the Taliban in Afghanistan.”
However, the meetings “were brief – less than half an hour at Khan’s
official residence and an additional 40 minutes at the Foreign Ministry –
and appeared to have achieved little of substance.”

        *Khalilzad Raises Concerns In Region Over Tough Stance On Pakistan.
*The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=077-b92&t=c>
(9/5, Gannon) reports, “The choice of Zalmay Khalilzad as a US special
envoy to Afghanistan has raised some hackles in the region, with many
saying the veteran diplomat’s tough stance on Pakistan could hinder his
mission to convince a resurgent Taliban to engage in peace talks.” The AP
notes that “in the past, Khalilzad has called on the US to declare Pakistan
a terrorist state, saying it harbors insurgents.” Khalilzad, AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=078-949&t=c>
(9/5) reports, is “a blunt negotiator with a history of hawkish foreign
policy views.” AFP also says that the Ambassador has been “a fierce critic
of Pakistan,” which “has won him few friends over the years in Islamabad.”

        *Suicide Attack Kills 20 In Kabul As US Servicemember’s Remains
Flown Home. *The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=079-e35&t=c>
(9/5, story 5, 3:10, Glor) reported that “a brutal attack in Afghanistan
today killed 20 and shed new light on the difficulties faced by the US
military in its 17-year war.” The attack comes as the remains of Army
Command Sergeant Major Timothy Bolyard were flown home after he became the
second American servicemember killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan in
the last six weeks. Wednesday’s attack involved a suicide bomber blowing
himself up at a sports club, and then a second suicide bomber doing the
same as “rescuers and journalists rushed to the scene.” CBS (D’Agata) added
that the “Pentagon watchdog says a resurgent Taliban has left only 56
percent of the country under government control. The attack here in Kabul
was a reminder that nowhere is safe.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=07a-97d&t=c>
(9/5, Salahuddin) reports, “At least two local journalists and 20 other
civilians were killed” in the explosions, which it describes as “part of a
string of deadly strikes in Kabul in recent months.” The Post adds that “a
second explosion, possibly a car bombing, occurred some distance away,”
though the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=07b-daf&t=c>
(9/5, Abed, Faizi) reports “as emergency medical workers and journalists
rushed to the scene, a second, much larger explosion went off” with at
least 20 dead and at least 70 injured.
South Korean Envoys: Kim Reiterates Denuclearization Pledge.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=07c-c82&t=c>
(9/5, Shin, Lee) reports South Korea on Thursday “said its envoys met with
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Wednesday to prepare for a
third inter-Korean summit later this month, with hopes of putting momentum
back into stalled talks between the North and the United States on
denuclearization.” The South Korean delegation was “led by the national
security chief at the presidential Blue House, Chung Eui-yong, and the
delegation included director of the National Intelligence Service, Suh
Hoon.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=07d-916&t=c>
(9/5) reports Chung said Thursday Kim “told him that dismantling work at
his main rocket launch site meant the ‘complete suspension’ of all future
long-range ballistic missile tests.” Chung told reporters Kim “made the
comments while reaffirming his commitment to denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula.” A separate AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=07e-549&t=c>
(9/5, Kim) report says North Korean state media also reported Thursday that
Kim “reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and the
suspension of all future long-range missile tests and said he had faith to
continue working” with President Trump.

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=07f-8e4&t=c>
(9/5, Choe) reports that “besides discussing obstacles to progress with the
United States,” the South Korean delegation “also hoped to set a date and
agenda for Mr. Moon’s meeting with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, later
this month in Pyongyang.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=080-84d&t=c>
(9/5, Denyer, Kim) says Moon “is playing a delicate balancing act, trying
to improve relations with the North, while not getting too far ahead of
Washington as its parallel peace process with Pyongyang is faltering.”

        *In Tweet Today, Trump Thanks Kim For Declaring His “Unwavering
Faith” In Trump. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=081-08e&t=c>
this morning, “Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims “unwavering faith in
President Trump.” Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!”

        *NBC: China Relaxing Restrictions On North Korea Trade To Undermine
Trump. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=082-446&t=c>
(9/5, Taylor) reports that according to NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=083-d16&t=c>,
“nearly three dozen North Korean cargo ships were spotted pulling into coal
docks at the Chinese port of Longkou during May and June.” The report
“claimed Beijing has allowed increased trade with Pyongyang just as
President Trump has tried to maintain economic pressure on Kim Jong-un’s
regime.” The report says China relaxed “restrictions on things like coal
purchases from North Korea in a manner that has undercut Mr. Trump’s
leverage in diplomacy with Mr. Kim.”

        *Peace Declaration Now Key Sticking Point For US, North Korea. *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=084-a46&t=c>
(9/5, Shesgreen) reports a “peace declaration in the 65-year-old” Korean
war “now appears to be a central sticking point in the US-North Korea
nuclear negotiations.” Michael Fuchs, a former deputy assistant secretary
of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs in the Obama Administration,
said, “North Korea for decades has wanted to talk about a peace treaty, or
a peace regime, to end the war officially. So it seems very likely that the
North Koreans are making this a top ask.” However, USA Today adds,
Secretary of State Pompeo’s answer “for now, is no,” as he “wants North
Korea to give up its nuclear weapons first.”

        *Trump Says He May Sign New South Korea Trade Deal At UNGA. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=085-5bc&t=c>
(9/5, Sink, Mayeda) reports President Trump said Wednesday that “he has
finished negotiating a new trade deal with South Korea and may sign it” at
the UN General Assembly later this month. “The deal is done,” Trump told
reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “It’s been done with South Korea
for a long time. It’s been done for about two months. We’ll do a ceremonial
signing over the next very short period of time.”
Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Require US To Develop Strategy To Support
Taiwan.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=086-da4&t=c>
(9/5, Zengerle) reports on bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate
by Republican Sens. Cory Gardner (CO) and Marco Rubio (FL) and Democratic
Sens. Ed Markey (MA) and Bob Menendez (NJ), following El Salvador’s recent
decision to drop its recognition of Taiwan in favor of the People’s
Republic of China, to “authorize the State Department to downgrade US
relations with any government,” including suspending or altering
assistance, that abandons formal or informal relations with Taiwan in favor
of the People’s Republic of China. The bill would also require the US to
develop a “strategy to engage with governments to support Taiwan’s
diplomatic recognition or strengthen unofficial ties with Taiwan.” Reuters
adds that “several members of Congress...have expressed frustration with
what they see as President Donald Trump’s failure to adopt a strategy for
Taiwan.”
Trump: US, Canadian Officials Engaged In “Intense” Trade Negotiations.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=087-784&t=c>
(9/5, Salama) reports President Trump said Wednesday that US and Canadian
officials are engaged in “intense” negotiations as they seek to reach a
trade deal. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said, “If it
doesn’t work out, it’ll be fine for our county but it won’t be OK for
Canada. I think they will treat us fairly.” He went on to call NAFTA “a
very stupid deal.”

        *Canadian Officials Remain Optimistic About Talks. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=088-5f0&t=c>
(9/5, Lange, Ljunggren) reports that Canadian officials “insisted there was
still room to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement after talks
on Wednesday with the United States and said both sides would meet again
later in the day after separate discussions on this morning’s proposals.”
However, Reuters says “there were few signs...that a deal was close to
being struck and comments by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on
Tuesday indicated there would be little compromise from Ottawa on its
red-line issues.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=089-2c0&t=c>
(9/5, Rappeport) similarly says that as the talks resumed, “leaders of both
countries continued to insist they would not concede on their key
priorities.” Over the weekend, Trump” repeated his threat to leave Canada
out of a revised Nafta and move ahead with just Mexico,” while Trudeau
“also insisted this week that he was not willing to relent on some areas of
disagreement between the two countries.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=08a-5e2&t=c>
(9/5, Behsudi, Rodriguez) reports the two sides “have yet to agree on
nettlesome issues such as opening up Canada’s dairy markets to US exports,
patent protections for certain drugs and language on how to resolve some
disputes.” According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=08b-495&t=c>
(9/5, Lynch), “few analysts expect a quick resolution to the talks,” and
the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=08c-a8c&t=c>
(9/5, Miller) reports that after yesterday’s talks, Canadian Foreign
Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters they were “constructive,” but had
yet to hit upon a deal. She added, “We continue to work hard. The
atmosphere continues to be constructive and positive. There is good faith
and good will on both sides.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=08d-b8c&t=c>
(9/5, Gillies), meanwhile, profiles Freeland, whom it describes as “an
unusual choice to lead Canada’s negotiations over a new free trade deal
with a surprisingly hostile US administration. ... ‘She is everything the
Trump administration loathes,’ said Sarah Goldfeder, a former official with
the US Embassy in Canada.”

        *Boot: Trump “Insists On Treating Canada As The Enemy.” *Max Boot
writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=08e-964&t=c>
(9/5, Boot) column that “Trump insists on treating Canada as the enemy,
imposing steel and aluminum tariffs to protect US ‘national security,’” but
it is “hard to know what’s behind Trump’s enmity against Canada, unless he
simply resents the fact that its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is
younger, smarter and handsomer.”

        *Trump: US Not Ready To Make Trade Deal With China. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=08f-604&t=c>
(9/5, Rampton) reports Trump also said Wednesday that his Administration is
“not yet ready to come to an agreement over trade disputes with China but
he said talks would continue.” Speaking to reporters at the White House,
Trump said, “We’ve done very well in negotiations with China but we’re not
prepared to make the deal that they’d like to make. We’ll continue to talk
to China. I have great respect for President Xi, but right now we just
can’t make that deal.”
Domestic Policy
Questions On Presidential Powers Dominate Second Day Of Kavanaugh Hearings.

Coverage of the second day of the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court
Justice-designate Brett Kavanaugh touches on a variety of subjects
including abortion and the Second Amendment, but primarily deals with
questions from Democratic senators about whether a president can be
subpoenaed or self-pardon. ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=090-ffb&t=c>
(9/5, story 2, 3:20, Muir) reported on the “heated confirmation hearing”
for Kavanaugh, who was asked by senators, “Does a president have to comply
with a subpoena, and can a president pardon themselves?” ABC’s Terry Moran:
“The dominant issue today, the shadow looming over Kavanaugh for many
Democrats: whether President Trump picked him so he would to rule in the
President’s favor in any cases stemming from Special Counsel Robert
Mueller’s investigation. Kavanaugh offered a personal declaration of
independence.” Kavanaugh: “No one is above the law in our constitutional
system.” Moran: “Democrats weren’t satisfied, and they drilled down. What
if the President himself is subpoenaed to testify? Kavanaugh ducked.”

        On the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=091-fa5&t=c>
(9/5, story 3, 2:50, Glor), Jan Crawford reported, “Kavanaugh fielded
questions on the major issues, from abortion rights to presidential
pardons. But taking a page from the playbook of past nominees, he refused
to speculate on how he would rule in future cases.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA): “You can’t give me an answer on whether a president has to respond
to a subpoena from a court of law?” Kavanaugh: “My understanding is that
you’re asking me to give my view on a potential hypothetical.” Sen. Patrick
Leahy (D-VT): “President Trump claims he has an absolute right to pardon
himself. Does he?” Kavanaugh: “The question of self-pardons is something I
have never analyzed. It’s a question that I’ve not written about.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=092-613&t=c>
(9/5, story 3, 2:05, Holt) reported, “Fireworks and frustration from
Democrats getting the first crack at the President’s Supreme Court pick. A
barrage of questions, but no definitive answers in the hot button issues,
including whether any president could be forced to answer questions in a
criminal case.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=093-f37&t=c>
(9/6, Sherman, Mascaro) reports that Kavanaugh “repeatedly stressed the
importance of judicial independence,” but he “declined to address whether
Trump could be subpoenaed or could pardon himself.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=094-c63&t=c>
(9/5, Stohr, Litvan) reports that Kavanaugh also “refused to promise he
would disqualify himself should the Supreme Court consider a criminal or
civil case directly affecting Trump.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=095-d26&t=c>
(9/5, Fredericks) reports that Kavanaugh “refused to say whether he
believed that a sitting president could be forced to testify in a criminal
case.”

        The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=096-6d5&t=c>
(9/5, Kruta) reports that when Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) “asked what loyalty
Kavanaugh might feel” to Trump, Kavanaugh’s “response was immediate. Waving
his own copy of the Constitution for emphasis, he said, ‘Senator, if
confirmed to the Supreme Court, and as a sitting judge, I owe my loyalty to
the Constitution. That’s what I owe loyalty to. The Constitution
establishes me as an independent judge bound to follow the law as
written.’” But Senate Minority Whip Durbin said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=097-a29&t=c>
(9/5) that Kavanaugh “avoided some of the tougher questions,” adding,
“Those unanswered questions are haunting his nomination.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=098-43f&t=c>
(9/5, Hurley, Gibson), the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=099-f49&t=c>
(9/5, Quinn), Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=09a-3d2&t=c>
(9/5, Schor), and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=09b-775&t=c>
(9/5, Carney) also focus their reporting on the exchanges about the issue.

        *Harris Presses Kavanaugh On Possible Discussions Of Mueller Probe.
*The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=09c-6f8&t=c>
(9/5, Viebeck) reports, “In a tense exchange,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)
“pushed Kavanaugh repeatedly on whether he has discussed special counsel
Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation with anyone at Kasowitz, Benson and
Torres, a law firm with close ties to Trump. ... A Democratic aide said
following the exchange that Harris has ‘reason to believe’ a conversation
occurred between Kavanaugh and an attorney at the firm, but did not provide
specifics, saying they were continuing to pursue it.” Kavanaugh said he is
“‘sure I’ve talked to fellow judges’ about the Mueller investigation,
considering the newsworthiness of the probe into Russian interference in
the 2016 election and possible coordination with Trump associates.”

        *Kavanaugh Says He Respects “Precedent” Regarding Abortion. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=09d-61c&t=c>
(9/5, Liptak, Stolberg, Savage, Shear) reports, “Kavanaugh, under attack
from progressives and Democrats who say he will roll back abortion rights,
asserted that he understood the significance of the issue and would respect
the Supreme Court’s ‘precedent on precedent.’” He said Roe v. Wade “was
‘settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court,’ and as such, deserves
respect from judges who took note of it.” But he also “noted a subsequent
case, the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which narrowed the
scope of Roe, at the same time that it reaffirmed Roe as a precedent.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=09e-b53&t=c>
(9/5, Cummings) reports that during an exchange about abortion, Feinstein
“mistakenly sa[id] 200,000 to 1,200,000 women died” in illegal abortions
before Roe, citing the total number of annual illegal abortions performed
during the 1950s and 1960s.

        *Feinstein Questions Kavanaugh About Semi-Automatic Rifles.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=09f-ff8&t=c>
(9/5, Swoyer) reports that Feinstein “probed” Kavanaugh “about his views on
the Second Amendment and the legality of semi-automatic rifles.” She asked
Kavanaugh “about a dissent he wrote in a case where his colleagues on the
federal appeals court upheld a ban on semi-automatic rifles in D.C.” He
said in his dissent that “semi-automatic rifles are in ‘common use’ and
protected by the Second Amendment.” He told Feinstein, “They are widely
possessed in the United States, senator, and they are used and possessed.”

        *Booker Uses Still-Private Documents In Questioning Kavanaugh.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a0-84a&t=c>
(9/5, Swoyer) reports that Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) “demanded [Kavanaugh]
explain emails from 2002 where he said the Supreme Court nominee discussed
racial profiling,” but those emails “are among tens of thousands that have
been turned over to the Judiciary Committee, though they are not yet
public. That left the nominee struggling to answer, and Republicans
complaining of unfair treatment.”

        *Daily Caller: “Liberal, Feminist Lawyer” Testifies In Favor Of
Kavanaugh. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a1-d58&t=c>
(9/5, Johnson) reports, “Self-described ‘liberal, feminist lawyer’ Lisa
Blatt, who voted for Hillary Clinton and is an advocate of Roe v. Wade, sat
before the Senate Judiciary Tuesday and gave a more powerful and
full-throated endorsement of Brett Kavanaugh than anyone else the entire
day.” Blatt said, “I’m here today to introduce Judge Kavanaugh and urge the
Senate to confirm him as a next associate justice of the Supreme Court.
Judge Kavanaugh is clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.” Blatt
“said she has known Kavanaugh for over a decade and called him a mentor.”

        *Kavanaugh, Garland Voted Together 93% Of Time On Circuit Court. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a2-68c&t=c>
(9/5, Swoyer) reports that Kavanaugh “voted 93 percent of the time with his
colleague Judge Merrick Garland, who President Obama unsuccessfully
nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016, when they both heard cases
together” on the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

        *Graham Predicts At Least Four Democrats Will Vote For Kavanaugh. *
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a3-333&t=c>
(9/5, Moran) reports Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) predicted Wednesday that
Kavanaugh will win the support of “at least four or five vulnerable
red-state Senate Democrats.” Graham said, “You’re probably going to get 55
votes, 54 to 56, or 57. I don’t know what the number will be.” Graham said
on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a4-5e0&t=c>
(9/5), “Kavanaugh’s a great choice and he’s going to be confirmed soon.” He
added, “He’s done so well, you could not have chosen a better person –
highly qualified, 12 years on the bench, just an epitome of what a
conservative judge should look like.”

        *Schumer Shuts Down Senate To Protest Kavanaugh Hearings. *The
Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a5-257&t=c>
(9/5, Dinan) reports, “Senate Democrats closed down the chamber floor
Wednesday to protest the confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
The hearings were able to continue, but only after the GOP agreed to quit
floor business for the rest of the day.” Under Senate rules, “committees
need consent from both sides of the aisle to meet into the afternoon when
the floor is also in session,” and Senate Minority Leader Schumer refused
consent, “saying he was fed up with the push to confirm the judge to the
vacant seat on the Supreme Court.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a6-2ec&t=c>
(9/5, Kasperowicz) also reports on the move.

        *Groups Urge Disruption Of Kavanaugh Hearings. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a7-c4c&t=c>
(9/5, Bomey) reports that “a coalition of groups” opposing the Kavanaugh
nomination “urged protesters to travel from throughout the U.S. to disrupt
his Senate confirmation hearings this week.” Protest organizers “defended
their intentionally disruptive strategy as vital to preserving civil rights
and democracy.” Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a8-e8d&t=c>
(9/5), “Violent protest is never acceptable, and the best protest – the
kind registered at the polls – hopefully will occur in November. The
popular fury at the Kavanaugh hearing is irritating and inconvenient. But
it is also entirely American – and fully justified.”

        Senate Majority Leader McConnell said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0a9-e29&t=c>
(9/5), “You’ve seen the antics...all the hooting and hollering and
misbehavior. But none of that has making a difference.” Rudy Giuliani said
on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0aa-f1b&t=c>
(9/5), “I can’t help but thinking we are now seeing the total end of any
kind of civil United States Senate.” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) writes in the Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ab-f28&t=c>
(9/5) that Supreme Court confirmation hearings will continue to be
politicized because the legislature has ceded authority to the executive
branch, putting the three branches of the federal government into an
imbalance that has politicized the courts.

        *Professor Says Kavanaugh Must Explain His Interest In Foster
Suicide. *In a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ac-b3e&t=c>
(9/5) op-ed, Princeton history professor Sean Wilentz writes that his study
of Kavanaugh’s files in the Office of Independent Counsel records from
Kavanaugh’s time aiding then-IC Ken Starr shows that Kavanaugh “flagrantly
breached his role as a neutral public servant and followed the imperatives
of a political operative.” Kavanaugh convinced Starr “to reopen what he
called a ‘full-fledged’ investigation” of the suicide of Clinton
Administration staffer Vince Foster, and “apparently took a special
interest in Hillary Clinton’s bruited affair with Mr. Foster, a popular
rumor in the fever swamps of the right.” Wilentz says Kavanaugh “owes the
Senate and the American public an explanation.”
Graham Says Next AG Will Have To Pledge To Allow Mueller To Finish Probe.

Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ad-15f&t=c>
(9/5) that Attorney General Sessions “had to recuse himself, but there’s a
lot deeper stuff than just that. All I would tell the President, if you
want to replace Jeff Sessions after the election, there are people that
could take this job that I think would get confirmed. But here’s the bottom
line: Nobody is going to replace Jeff Sessions unless they promise the
nation to protect Mueller and let him do his job. That’s the price of
admission to be the next attorney general.” However, Graham added that
while “political figures are not above the law,” there is “a long-standing
policy when it comes to prosecuting public officials, don’t try to
interfere with the election. I think that’s what the President’s main
point” in objecting to the accusations against two GOP congressmen.

        *McConnell Praises Sessions, Says He Hopes He Will Stay On. *Senate
Majority Leader McConnell said on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ae-106&t=c>
(9/5), “I’m a huge supporter of Jeff sessions, I think is done a great job
and I hope he stays where he is.”

        *Ryan Distances Himself From Trump Criticism Of Sessions, DOJ.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0af-dbc&t=c>
(9/5, Wagner) reports House Speaker Ryan said Wednesday “that ‘justice
should be blind,’ distancing himself from President Trump’s criticism of
the Justice Department for bringing charges against two Republican
congressmen ahead of midterm elections.” Asked about the President’s
criticism of Attorney General Sessions and the Justice Department over the
indictments of Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan D. Hunter, Ryan told
reporters, “Justice is blind. Justice should be blind. I think it’s very
important that we respect that fact that justice should be blind.”

        *Sasse: Trump’s Comments Are “Dangerous.” *Asked about Trump’s
comments on MSNBC’s Morning Joe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b0-4d1&t=c>
(9/5), Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) said, “The things that the President...is
dangerous stuff, because in our country we believe justice is blind. I came
here because I want to drain the swamp. I don’t care whether the
congressman who is doing insider trading or embezzling campaign funds” is a
Republican or a Democrat. Sasse added, “If you want swamp draining, you
don’t want two tiers of justice for the majority party and the minority
party. I want people who work at the Justice Department to believe in the
rule of law.”

        *Giuliani “Hopeful” Trump Will Answer Mueller’s Questions In
Writing. *Asked about a potential interview by President Trump with Special
Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, Rudy Giuliani said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime
Time[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b1-379&t=c>
(9/5), “I’m hopeful that maybe we’re going to get a ‘yes’ [on doing written
questions], in which case we can probably move forward with written
questions and see if that doesn’t satisfy them and satisfy us.” He added,
“If they bring him in for a question they know the answer to and they
already don’t believe him on that answer, then that’s a perjury trap.”
Giuliani said, “I’m not worried about anything. I don’t want ten months of
a long protracted impeachment investigation when you don’t need one if
you’re just careful as a lawyer.”

        *Graham: I Have Seen “No Evidence Of Collusion.” *Sen. Graham also
said on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b2-db3&t=c>
(9/5), “If there’s credible evidence that this President or his team, and
he should have known about it, colluded with the Russians, to get a benefit
from their attack on our democracy, that would be it.” He added, “All I can
say about Mueller, I don’t know what he’s going to find. I have seen no
evidence of collusion, that this President and his team sat down with the
Russians in an inappropriate way to actually collude with them. But Mueller
will tell us, all I can promise you and your audience, is that when it
comes to Mueller, I’m dead set on him finishing his job.”

        *Journalist Corsi To Testify Before Mueller Grand Jury About
Interactions With Stone. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b3-cdb&t=c>
(9/5, Haberman) reports that journalist and author Jerome Corsi, described
by the Times as “a conspiracy theorist...with connections to the former
Trump adviser Roger J. Stone Jr., has been subpoenaed to testify on Friday
before the grand jury in the special counsel investigation into Russia’s
election interference and whether Trump associates conspired with the
effort.” Corsi’s lawyer, David Gray, “said that he anticipates that
investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, plan to ask
Mr. Corsi about his discussions with Mr. Stone, who appeared to publicly
predict in 2016 that WikiLeaks planned to publish material damaging to
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.” According to the Times,
“Mueller’s team appears to be zeroing in on Mr. Stone as a possible nexus
between the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks,” and “another former associate of
Mr. Stone, the New York political gadfly Randy Credico, is also expected to
testify before the grand jury on Friday.”

        *Stone: Trump “Makes Nixon Look Like A Cream Puff.” *Michael Kruse
writes for Politico Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b4-303&t=c>
(9/5) that while “Donald Trump seems to be on the precipice of disaster
like never before in his administration and even his life,” he is “not
unused to this sort of moment. He’s not even uncomfortable with it.” Former
campaign adviser Roger Stone told Kruse in a text Wednesday, “He is
fearless. He is tough as nails.” Trump, he added, “makes Nixon look like a
cream puff. Nixon was smarter, but Trump is tougher.”

        *GOP House Members Urge Trump To Declassify More Documents In FBI’s
Russia Probe. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b5-611&t=c>
(9/5, Cheney) reports that the President’s “top congressional allies are
calling on him to release reams of classified documents connected to the
FBI’s Russia probe.” Republican Reps. Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz
and Lee Zeldin are “asking Trump to declassify additional portions of the
application the FBI submitted to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter
Page in late 2016,” as well as “all of the official notes filed by top
Justice Department official Bruce Ohr.” According to Politico, the
lawmakers “intend to formally announced their push on Thursday at a press
conference.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b6-c80&t=c>
(9/5, Correll) reports Meadows also wants the Justice Department and the
agency’s inspector general to examine whether the FBI and the Justice
Department “potentially broke from established protocol to further their
investigation of the Trump campaign.” In a letter sent to Attorney General
Sessions and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, Meadows “says that a
recent transcribed interview with...Ohr ‘flagged’ situations where the
agencies may have violated protocol.” The letter urges Horowitz and US
attorney John Huber to examine Ohr’s “role as a conduit” between the FBI
and Christopher Steele.
Trump Leaves Door Open To Government Shutdown Over “Border Security.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b7-b26&t=c>
(9/5, Rampton) reports President Trump “said on Wednesday he would be
willing to shut down the US government over border security issues.”
Questioned by a reporter, Trump said, “If it’s about border security, I’m
willing to do anything. We have to protect our borders.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b8-9b7&t=c>
(9/5, Thomas) notes Trump also said, “If it happens, it happens. ... If
it’s about border security, I’m willing to do what has to be done.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0b9-a1b&t=c>
(9/5, Elis, Wong) reports “Trump’s comments came just hours after his
budget director, Mick Mulvaney, trekked to Capitol Hill and personally
assured lawmakers in the conservative Republican Study Committee that Trump
did not want to shut down the government, according to sources in the
room.” Mulvaney also “told his former House colleagues that he advised
Trump that a shutdown would be a bad idea.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ba-8d6&t=c>
(9/5, Bresnahan, Scholtes, Bade) says, meanwhile, that “Trump and key House
Republicans insisted on Wednesday that they don’t want a government
shutdown before Election Day, although some conservative hardliners want a
fight over border wall funding now.”

        *Jordan: Republicans Need To Make Good On Commitment To Build
Border Wall. *On Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0bb-afc&t=c>
(9/5), Brian Kilmeade reported Rep. Jim Jordan “says it’s time for
Republicans to make good on their promise to fund the wall.” Jordan told
Kilmeade, “All I’m saying is we should do what we said. What was probably
the single biggest promise Republicans made to the voters in 2016? It was
the border security wall. So let’s get that done here before the end of the
fiscal year. Let’s do what we said and head into the election and keep the
majority.” Asked whether he thinks Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell “have that same agenda,” Jordan replied, “I’m not sure.”

        *Sheriffs Honor Trump For Fighting Illegal Immigration. *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0bc-1e9&t=c>
(9/5, Miller) reports that “dozens of sheriffs from across the country came
to the White House on Wednesday to thank Present Trump for supporting law
enforcement and fighting illegal immigration.” Sheriff Thomas Hodgson of
Bristol County, Massachusetts said Trump had “reestablish the rule of law.”
Hodgson added, “We have been for 20 years asking Congress to move on the
security aspects of immigration reform and nothing has happened.” The Times
says that earlier in the day, “the 45 sheriffs held a press conference at
the Capitol to call on lawmakers to take action on border security and
illegal immigrant crime.”

        *Iranian Christians Stranded In Austria After US Asylum Claims
Denied. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0bd-62e&t=c>
(9/5, Parvini) reports that “even as it cracked down on immigration from
predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa, the Trump
administration stressed that the safety of Christians in the region would
be a priority.” In recent months, however, “dozens of religious minorities
from Iran have seen their asylum claims denied despite a decades-old
program designed to help them.” As a result, “many have been left stranded
in Austria, unable to go home and unsure whether they’ll ever make it to
the US.” According to the Times, the Administration in February “rejected
the cases of 87 Iranian refugees – an unprecedented move for a program with
a near 100% acceptance rate” – but did not provide a reason for the
denials, saying it was “a matter of discretion.”
Trump Says Nike “Getting Killed” After Kaepernick Ad Campaign.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0be-08b&t=c>
yesterday, “Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is
getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any
idea that it would be this way? As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find
it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0bf-fd2&t=c>
(9/5, Spiering) said that “Trump pointed to the devastating effect on Nike
after the sports brand endorsed...Kaepernick’s protests against law
enforcement.” Nike stock “fell 3 percent on Tuesday after announcing their
campaign with Kaepernick over Labor Day weekend.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c0-76c&t=c>
(9/5, story 7, 1:30, Holt) reported, however, that “facing threats of
boycotts, Nike is doubling down on the face of its controversial new ad
campaign.” NBC (Almaguer) added that “since the announcement, Nike has been
mentioned more than six million times on Twitter,” and “while there was
backlash, experts say many of Nike’s consumers are millennials who want
brands to be transparent on their stances on social issues.” ABC World News
Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c1-5e8&t=c>
(9/5, story 7, 1:20, Pilgrim) said the “controversial new ad is out,” with
“Kaepernick voicing the new campaign called ‘Dream Crazy,’ standing in
front of the flag.” Nike is “defending their choice of Kaepernick, saying
he is, quote, one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c2-c4a&t=c>
(9/5, Draper) similarly reports that “any questions about whether Nike
might quickly back away from its decision to embrace the polarizing
quarterback Colin Kaepernick amid threats of a boycott and criticism
from...Trump dissipated on Wednesday when the company released a two-minute
advertisement narrated by him and announced plans to have it run during the
N.F.L.’s first telecast of the regular season.” The Times adds “Greg
Hughes, a spokesman for NBC Sports, confirmed that Nike had purchased
airtime on Thursday’s N.F.L. game.”

        *National Police Organization Calls For Nike Boycott. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c3-d32&t=c>
(9/5, Huston) reports, “The National Association of Police Organizations is
calling for a boycott of sportswear giant Nike, incensed by its latest
‘Just Do It’ ad campaign featuring...Kaepernick.” The police group “sent a
letter to Nike Chairman and CEO Mark Parker saying that the choice of
Kaepernick as their public face is an ‘insult’ to police officers
everywhere.”

        *Vox Populi Poll: 57% Consider NFL Player Protests Unpatriotic. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c4-4ff&t=c>
(9/5, Richardson) reports “Nike’s decision to make...Kaepernick the new
face of the brand comes even though most voters say the NFL player protests
during the national anthem are unpatriotic, according to a newly released
poll.” In the Vox Populi Pop Polling (R) survey of 894 registered voters
nationwide – conducted Aug. 27-29 – “57 percent surveyed agreed the refusal
to stand for the anthem is unpatriotic, while 43 percent disagreed.” The
Times notes, “Vox Populi Polling, which runs Pop Polling, was founded in
2014 by Republican strategists, including Mary Cheney, daughter of former
Vice President Dick Cheney.”
Federal Judge Skeptical ACA Can Stand Without Individual Mandate.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c5-630&t=c>
(9/5, Howell) reports US District Court Judge Reed O’Connor “was skeptical
Wednesday about whether Obamacare should stand without an actual penalty
for shirking insurance under its ‘individual mandate,’ according to reports
from the courtroom.” O’Connor, “presiding in Fort Worth had pointed
questions for Democratic attorneys general who stepped in to defend
Obamacare, after the Trump administration sided with 20 GOP-led states who
said the program’s legality depended on the collection of a mandate tax,
which will sink to zero next year.” Said O’Connor, “It appears to me that
every single justice who considered this essentially says Congress is
clear…you cannot separate [the] individual mandate from community rating,
guaranteed issue.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c6-024&t=c>
(9/5, Goldstein) reports “the latest legal threat to the 2010 law, which
the Supreme Court has upheld twice, arises from a lawsuit filed in February
by the Texas attorney general and 19 of his GOP counterparts.” The suit
“alleges that the ACA is unconstitutional because of a recent change in
federal tax law that will soon end a penalty for Americans who violate the
law’s requirement that most people carry health insurance.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c7-da4&t=c>
(9/5, Sullivan) points out, however, that “legal experts, including many
conservative ones, say the lawsuit is unlikely to ultimately succeed and is
based on a far-fetched legal theory.” They “say even if the district judge
rules to strike down ObamaCare, a higher court, perhaps eventually the
Supreme Court, would likely uphold the law.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c8-cb9&t=c>
(9/5, A1, Goodnough) reports “the case has become not simply a threat to
the landmark legislation.” Democrats “have sought to make it both a flash
point in the battle over whether to confirm Judge Kavanaugh and a crucial
prong in their strategy to retake control of the House and Senate in the
midterm elections.” The Times adds “it has already made some Republicans
jumpy, especially those in tight re-election contests, because the Trump
administration explicitly said in a legal filing in June that it agreed
with the argument of Texas and 19 other Republican-controlled states.”

        *McConnell Signals Senate Won’t Attempt To Repeal ACA Before
Election. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0c9-9c6&t=c>
(9/5, Bolton) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell “signaled to
reporters on Wednesday that he doesn’t have any plans to move again this
year to repeal ObamaCare, even though Republicans might now have a better
chance of success after Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) was sworn in.” Senate
Republicans “view Kyl as someone more likely to vote with GOP leaders on
health care reform legislation than was late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.),
the maverick whom Kyl replaced after his death.” However, “taking another
stab at an ObamaCare repeal before the end of the year would be a herculean
task as Senate Republicans would have to first pass a budget to set up a
special process allowing such a bill to pass with a simple majority.” Said
McConnell, “The agenda for the month is already set. We have our plate full
through the end of the fiscal year.” McConnell similarly said on Fox News’
Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ca-0a9&t=c>
(9/5), “For this Congress, it would be difficult to achieve. I think
whether we can achieve it later depends upon the results this fall and the
American people have a chance to decide what kind of Congress they want to
have coming into the next two years.”

        *WSJournal: DOJ Preparing To Approve Healthcare Mergers. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0cb-e39&t=c>
(9/5, A1, Kendall, Mathews, Terlep) reports people familiar with the matter
say the Justice Department is preparing to approve CVS’ planned purchase of
health insurer Aetna and Cigna’s planned acquisition of Express Scripts.
People familiar with the discussions say that CVS and Aetna may be required
to sell off assets related to Medicare drug coverage to resolve competition
concerns, while the Cigna-Express Scripts deal may not have any such
conditions. The Journal says the deals indicate the changing nature of the
healthcare industry as large players seek to have multiple lines of
business.
Lawmakers Threaten Facebook, Twitter Executives With Regulation.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0cc-e09&t=c>
(9/5, Guynn) reports lawmakers “raised the prospect of greater scrutiny of
social media companies, ushering in a new era of accountability for the
nation’s powerful internet platforms.” During hearings on Capitol Hill,
Senate and House Republicans and Democrats “applauded efforts by Facebook
and Twitter to root out foreign election meddling,” but they “warned that
regulation may loom for social media companies, which are largely
unfettered by the kinds of rules that govern other large consumer
companies.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0cd-7ac&t=c>
(9/5, Dennis, Frier, Wang) likewise says lawmakers “raised the prospect of
regulating social media platforms as they confronted Twitter Inc.’s Jack
Dorsey and Facebook Inc.’s Sheryl Sandberg over their companies’ efforts to
stop foreign meddling and deceptive messages.” Committee Chairman Sen.
Richard Burr (R-NC) said, “If the answer is regulation, let’s have an
honest dialogue about what that looks like.” Bloomberg goes on to report
that Twitter’s stock “fell as much as 6.7 percent as Dorsey testified,
saying that there will be ‘massive shifts’ in how Twitter and other social
media companies operate.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ce-eea&t=c>
(9/5, Timberg) reports that Sandberg and Dorsey testified that their
companies are “better prepared to combat foreign interference on their
platforms, even as Democrats and Republicans alike expressed doubts that
the social media giants had fully cleaned them up ahead of the midterm
elections.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0cf-2e0&t=c>
(9/5, Pierson) reports lawmakers “had no shortage of complaints for
Facebook and Twitter...decr[ying] the platforms’ vulnerability to foreign
influence, their arcane handling of user data and the perception that they
buried conservative voices. But members of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence agreed the companies deserved credit for at least one thing:
they showed up. The same couldn’t be said for Google.”

        The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d0-e42&t=c>
(9/5, Kredo) reports the executives “defended their practices of censorship
and sharing personal data with third parties,” while Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d1-615&t=c>
(9/5, McCabe) says “Republicans raised concerns about a recent instance in
which certain conservatives were not included in the auto-fill feature of
Twitter’s search.” Democrats, however, “pushed back on the bias
allegations,” with Rep. Frank Pallone saying that Republicans were “trying
to rally their base by fabricating a problem that simply does not exist.”

        *DOJ, State AGs To Discuss “Stifling” Of Free Speech By Social
Media Companies. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d2-2a3&t=c>
(9/5, Zengerle) reports the Justice Department announced Wednesday that DOJ
officials and state attorneys general “will meet this month to discuss
concerns that social media platforms are ‘intentionally stifling the free
exchange of ideas.’” While the DOJ statement “did not name Facebook and
Twitter...the firms have been harshly criticized by President Donald Trump
and some other Republicans for what they see as an effort to repress
conservative voices.” A DOJ spokesman said Attorney General Sessions
“convened the meeting ‘to discuss a growing concern that these companies
may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of
ideas on their platforms.’”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d3-37f&t=c>
(9/5, Guynn) says the announcement “escalate[s] recent charges of
anti-conservative bias” by President Trump and some Republican lawmakers,
while the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d4-868&t=c>
(9/5, Fung) notes it “comes a week after the White House said it would
explore regulating Google – and minutes after senior executives from
Facebook and Twitter finished testifying before a Senate panel on the
companies’ efforts to stem the tide of misinformation on their platforms.”
DOJ spokesman Devin O’Malley “said the meeting also will consider whether
tech platforms ‘may have harmed competition’ with their actions, a hint
that the Justice Department may be weighing antitrust action against the
firms.” The Post says the announcement “significantly heightens the stakes
for the tech companies in Washington, where policymakers have widely
criticized the digital platforms but have refrained from passing
legislation or launching probes into their conduct.”

        To The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d5-e77&t=c>
(9/5, Chalfant, Neidig), the move “DOJ’s move is the first sign of the
administration taking concrete action to address alleged bias,” while
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d6-cf5&t=c>
(9/5, Scola, Lima) reports the Department “gave no date for the session.”
Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d7-238&t=c>
(9/5, McCabe), however, says the meeting will take place “this month.” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d8-0d8&t=c>
(9/5, Seetharaman, Volz, McKinnon) and Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0d9-b65&t=c>
(9/5, Caplan), among other sources, similarly report the announcement.

        *Trump Accuses Social Media Companies Of Election Interference. *In
an interview with the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0da-97a&t=c>
(9/5, Coglianese, Enjeti),President Trump “accused social media companies
of interfering in both the 2016 and 2018...elections.” Regarding
interference by social media companies in this year’s midterm elections,
Trump said, “I think they already have.” He then “pivoted to 2016,” saying,
“I mean the true interference in the last election was that — if you look
at all, virtually all of those companies are super liberal companies in
favor of Hillary Clinton.” He continued, “Maybe I did a better job because
I’m good with the Twitter and I’m good at social media, but the truth is
they were all on Hillary Clinton’s side, and if you look at what was going
on with Facebook and with Google and all of it, they were very much on her
side.”
Sanders-Khanna BEZOS Bill Targets Big Companies Over Worker Benefits.

CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0db-bc3&t=c>
(9/5, D'Onfro) reports, “Sen. Bernie Sanders’ criticism of Amazon peaked
Wednesday as he and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced legislation to tax
corporations for every dollar that their low-wage workers receive in
government health-care benefits or food stamps. The bill, pointedly called
the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies, or BEZOS, Act, is aimed at
shaming companies like Amazon and Walmart, whose workers rely on public
assistance.” CNBC adds that under the measure, “for example, if an Amazon
worker received $2,000 in food stamps, Amazon would be taxed $2,000 to
cover that cost.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0dc-97f&t=c>
(9/5, Greene) reports that while Sanders said the bill isn’t aimed solely
at Amazon, that was the only company he called out in announcing his Stop
Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act, which he calls the BEZOS Act.
Sanders has cast Amazon as emblematic of wealth inequality in the country,
saying it underpays its workers relative to its wealth.

        Khanna said on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0dd-7ee&t=c>
(9/5), “The idea is really simple, taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill
to subsidize the wages of employees who are working at multibillion dollar
corporations. The basic idea for a free market is if you work hard and are
smart enough to pick a company that does well, you should make enough to
put food on the table, and it’s absurd that the taxpayers are having to
subsidize these employees.” He added, “This is not radical; this is the
type of policy that built America. If someone is working hard and picking
the right company, they should be rewarded.” He also said that companies
“want that money for stock options for their executives. I’m sure the
lobbyists got to people, and there is rational people for this. It’s just
fear of offending these companies that have a huge foothold in our
politics.”
Media Analyses: Today’s Carper Primary May Be Next To Shake Establishment
Democrats.

McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0de-a62&t=c>
(9/5, Roarty) reports that Army veteran Kerri Evelyn Harris (D), who is
mounting a primary challenge to Sen. Tom Carper (D), views Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) surprise primary victory win over Rep. Joseph
Crowley (D-NY) “as only the start of the progressive insurgency against her
party.” In today’s primary election, Harris is “trying to do her part to
make history.” McClatchy says that while Harris’ odds of victory “are
difficult to predict,” Ocasio-Cortez “was once regarded as a longshot, as
was another Democratic candidate, Ayanna Pressley, who pulled off a shocker
of her own Tuesday when she defeated longtime incumbent Rep. Michael
Capuano in Massachusetts.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0df-85f&t=c>
(9/5, Epstein) likewise compares Harris to Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley. In
an interview Wednesday, Harris said her race is about “breaking up the
establishment” that has long ruled Delaware’s politics. “If we only depend
on pipeline politicians and people who have law degrees from certain
schools, we’re going to continue to have legislation that forgets the rest
of us,” she said.

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e0-d9d&t=c>
(9/5, Martin) reports that “as with many of the generational, racial and
ideological challenges rippling through her party, Ms. Harris’s bid is
premised on the idea that a platform of pork-barrel projects, congeniality
and constituent services is no longer sufficient to the moment.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e1-f48&t=c>
(9/5, Chase) reports that Harris, “whose resume includes loading giant Air
Force cargo planes, frying chicken at a convenience store chain and working
as an auto body mechanic,” said in an interview, “We absolutely are
fighting for the soul of the Democrat Party.” Harris, adds the AP, “is
among a wave of young activist Democrats, emboldened by the 2016
presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders,” who’ve “sent shock
waves through the party establishment around the US, starting in June with”
Ocasio-Cortez’s win.

        CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e2-7bc&t=c>
(9/5, Lesniewski) reported, “There’s precedent in Delaware for a political
outsider unexpectedly winning a party primary. Former House member and Gov.
Michael Castle, a Republican, was the favorite to win the Senate seat
vacated when Joseph R. Biden, Jr., left to become vice president.” However,
“tea party-backed” Christine O’Donnell (R) upset Castle in the GOP primary,
before being “trounced in the general election by Democrat Chris Coons, who
still holds the Senate seat.”
Cancer Research
Startup Aims To Connect Cancer Patients With Novel Therapies.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e3-556&t=c>
(9/6) reports on Driver, a physicians’ startup that is “developing
technology to give cancer patients more control over their care.” The
company “begins formally signing up patients in China and the U.S. this
week, after a 17-month trial run with several hundred people.” Driver will
use its labs in the US and China to “analyze patient tumors, DNA and other
medical records,” and, through their app, “shows patients the best
treatments and clinical trials globally that match their specific tumors.”
The company’s first major partnership, China’s National Cancer Center, next
week “plans to officially announce its use of Driver’s platform to manage
the more than 200 clinical trials it has running at any one time.” The
National Cancer Institute has also “signed up to be Driver’s partner,
making information on its clinical trials available on the startup’s
platform. It’s also validated Driver’s treatment matching system.”

        *NCI Director Vouches For Driver, *STAT
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e4-513&t=c>
(9/6, Robbins) reports Driver will charge cancer patients $3,000 up front
plus a $20 fee for its service. The company even arranged for NCI Director
Dr. Ned Sharpless to speak “in positive terms about Driver” in a phone call
with STAT, “saying he was hopeful that the company’s product would help
with the metric NCI cares most about: increasing the number of patients
enrolling in trials being run by NCI and its designated cancer centers.”
Sharpless told STAT that Driver “has one potential problem that concerns
me, which is the potential to create disparities.” He added: “If there’s
this access to better care because patients can pay an extra bit and get
this double secret better treatment, then that would be bad for the
majority of patients that couldn’t afford the extra treatment.”
Chi-Med’s Colorectal Cancer Drug Wins Chinese Approval.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e5-3d3&t=c>
(9/5, Hirschler) reports Chinese regulators have approved a new cancer
drug, Elunate (fruquintinib), for colorectal cancer. Hutchison China
MediTech – also known as Chi-Med – collaborated with Eli Lilly on the drug.
It is the “first China-discovered and developed mainstream cancer drug to
win unconditional approval following a randomized clinical trial.” Fierce
Pharma
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e6-8bc&t=c>
(9/5, Liu) reports the drug is an A tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and
“works by selectively inhibiting VEGFR 1, 2 and 3 without hurting other
functional kinases.” In its phase 3 study in Chinese patients, “it improved
overall survival by a median 9.3 months, compared with 6.6 months for
patients on placebo.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Albany Is A Mess. Grab A Broom.”* In an editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e7-ea0&t=c>
(9/5) writes, “Albany is broken,” both with corruption and “the influence
of powerful players funneling political contributions to lawmakers through
limited liability companies that avoid restrictions on corporate donations,
and through personal donations for which the state sets an excessively high
limit.” The Times calls for voters to “demand reformist candidates who can
effect sweeping change.” In particular, the Times calls for tighter
campaign finance laws, increasing lawmakers’ pay while banning outside
income, and creating an independent ethics body. The Times concludes,
“Fixing this perverse political culture demands that people show up to the
polls on Sept. 13 and remind Albany that it works for them.”

        *“Myanmar Jails 2 Reporters. But It Can’t Lock Up The Truth.” *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e8-355&t=c>
(9/5) editorializes that conviction of two Reuters reporters in Burma “was
a crude crackdown on the news media masquerading as ‘justice,’ a charade
that Myanmar’s authorities – including the once-respected Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, the head of the civilian government – must immediately abandon.”
Washington Post.

*“All The President’s Men.”* In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0e9-00e&t=c>
(9/5) says Bob Woodward’s new book “does not paint a different picture of
the early Trump White House than the one that has already emerged from
credible news organizations,” but it does fill in “details of a presidency
led by an ignorant, impulsive and dishonest narcissist – and the people
around him who enable or restrain his worst instincts.” The Post adds that
Trump and his aides “will have trouble impugning” Woodward’s “credibility,”
because his “reputation precedes him. So does Mr. Trump’s.”

        *“No Relief.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ea-021&t=c>
(9/5) in an editorial says that President Trump’s decision to move the US
Embassy to Jerusalem was touted as a means “to jolt Middle East diplomacy
out of a deep rut”, but did not do so. The Post expects a similar or worse
result from the President’s decision to end US support for the UN Relief
and Works Agency. Indeed, the Post says that “Israel’s security
establishment has viewed the prospect...with alarm” as likely to worsen
relations between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. The Post says the
decision “will serve only to further diminish U.S. influence in the Middle
East – if it does not precipitate a disaster.”

        *“Russia’s Hit Squad.” *On its editorial page, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0eb-93b&t=c>
(9/5) says the two suspects identified in the “nerve-agent attack on former
Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury,
England” are unlikely to be “extradited to Britain, just as the killers of
former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko escaped punishment for fatally
poisoning him in 2006 with polonium in his tea in a London hotel cafe.
Predictably, Russia is issuing blanket denials.” Still, the Post says that
after Litvinenko died, “Britain did not do enough to make sure it would not
happen again. Now it has, and the response must measure up to this bald
banditry.”

        *Samuelson: Economy Doing Well, But Caution Needed. *Robert J.
Samuelson, in a column in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018090601biden&r=email-998a&l=0ec-568&t=c>
(9/5), writes, “The world economy seems to be repairing itself.” A report
by the McKinsey Global Institute “summarized the financial changes, for
good and ill, that have occurred in these 10 years,” and “on balance the
pluses seem to prevail.” However, all the “improvements need to be
qualified. There are still many negatives.” Furthermore, Samuelson warns,
“There are definitely grounds for worry, including the unknown.”

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