Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Tuesday, September 25, 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: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 10:17:11 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Tuesday, September 25, 2018 7:58 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, September 25, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=000-899&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=001-f38&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, September 25, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden Postpones Trips To Stump For Georgia, South Carolina Gubernatorial
Candidates. <#S1>

• Biden Endorses Underwood’s Bid To Unseat Hultgren In IL14. <#S2>

• Biden To Attend Fundraiser For NJ3 Hopeful Kim On Friday. <#S3>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Stands By Kavanaugh, Says Allegations “Totally Political.” <#S4>

• Media Analyses, Including NYTimes, Criticize New Yorker Story On Ramirez.
<#S5>

• Kavanaugh Categorically Denies Allegations Against Him. <#S6>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump Optimistic About Second Summit With Kim; Pompeo To Return To
Pyongyang. <#S7>

• 130 Countries Sign Nonbinding US Pledge To Fight Drugs. <#S8>

• May Praises Her “Special Relationship” With Trump. <#S9>

• Rouhani No Longer Rules Out Talks With US. <#S10>

• Bolton: US Forces To Stay In Syria Until Iran, Its Proxies Depart. <#S11>

• Haspel: CIA Focusing On Nation States In Addition To Terrorists. <#S12>

• As Tariffs Take Effect, China Accuses US Of “Economic Bullying.” <#S13>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Urging “Transparency,” Trump Says He Will Meet With Rosenstein On
Thursday. <#S14>

• Spending Bill’s Fate Uncertain Due To Trump’s Anger Over Border Wall
Funds. <#S15>

• Trump Says He Is Opposed To Statehood For Puerto Rico. <#S16>

• Dimon: It Will “Be 25 Years” Before Public Forgives Wall Street For
Bailouts. <#S17>

• Drug Industry Seeks To Insert $4 Billion “Technical Correction” Into
Opioid Bill. <#S18>

• FBI Data: Number Of Violent Crimes Fell Slightly Last Year. <#S19>

• Gallup Poll: GOP’s Favorability Rating Hits Highest Point Since 2011.
<#S20>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• FDA Approves Blood Cancer Drug Duvelisib. <#S21>

• NIH, NCI Grant Helps Test Scalable Diet, Exercise Interventions For
Cancer Survivors. <#S22>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S23>

• Washington Post. <#S24>
Biden in the News
Biden Postpones Trips To Stump For Georgia, South Carolina Gubernatorial
Candidates.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=002-0c2&t=c>
(9/24, Barrow) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden “is putting off
a campaign trip” aimed at boosting ex-state Rep. Stacey Abrams (D), who is
bidding to succeed term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal (R-GA). Biden “had planned
to come Thursday to Georgia, but the Abrams campaign and Biden’s office say
he will reschedule for October during the closing stretch of her” race
against Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R). The AP says, “A Biden aide cited
a scheduling conflict.” The AP says the “delay almost certainly will help
Biden and Abrams avoid competition for attention, in Georgia and beyond.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear Thursday from Supreme
Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford on her allegations
that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when he was in high school.” In a
brief report, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=003-e8e&t=c>
(9/24, Bluestein) says that Biden “has rescheduled his visit to Georgia,”
though it’s unclear when he will travel to the state. The AJC adds that “an
Abrams spokeswoman said [Biden] postponed his trip to October due to a
scheduling conflict.” On its website, WXIA-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=004-63b&t=c>
Atlanta (9/21, Padgett) offered a similar report, and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=005-2a1&t=c>
(9/24, Hagen) also reported on the delay, drawing from the AP story.

        Meanwhile, the Columbia (SC) State
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=006-9af&t=c>
(9/24, Schecter) reports that Biden on Monday “postponed his Wednesday
swing through South Carolina” in support of state Rep. James Smith’s (D)
bid to oust Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC). Smith campaign spokesman Brad
Warthen “cited an unspecified scheduling conflict for Biden as the reason
for postponing” and “said the staffs for Biden and Smith are working to
re-schedule the trip.” The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=007-a55&t=c>
(9/24, Kropf) reports Biden “cancelled his planned trip to Charleston” in
support of Smith, whose campaign “said Biden’s office told them Monday
there was a scheduling conflict and that hopefully the visit will be
rescheduled for some time in October.” In an online article, WIS-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=008-a09&t=c>
Columbia, SC (9/24, Greene) reported, “Sources close to Biden say they’re
working on setting a later date for his South Carolina visit. There is a
possibility it could be this weekend.”
Biden Endorses Underwood’s Bid To Unseat Hultgren In IL14.

The Northwest (IL) Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=009-0cf&t=c>
(9/24, Gaitan) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday
backed ex-Obama Administration official Lauren Underwood’s (D) bid to
unseat Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) in the IL14. Biden is quoted as saying of
Underwood in a statement, “I’m inspired by her commitment to public service
and thankful for her work to make high-quality, affordable health care
available to millions of families across the country. Our health care is
not the only issue on the ballot this fall. The Violence Against Women Act
is up for reauthorization. We need representatives like Lauren, people of
character and conviction, who will continue the work of changing the
culture around sexual assault.”
Biden To Attend Fundraiser For NJ3 Hopeful Kim On Friday.

The New Jersey Globe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=00a-99c&t=c>
(9/25, Wildstein) reports that ex-Obama Administration official Andy Kim
(D), who is challenging Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) in the NJ3, “will get
some help from his former boss. Former Vice President Joe Biden will appear
at a fundraiser on Friday for” Kim “at the Philadelphia Convention Center
at 11:30 AM.”
Leading the News
Trump Stands By Kavanaugh, Says Allegations “Totally Political.”

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=00b-c47&t=c>
last night to write, “The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful
man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme
Court Justices ever, with an array of False Accusations the likes of which
have never been seen before!” Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=00c-bc8&t=c>,
“REMEMBER THE MIDTERMS!”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=00d-420&t=c>
(9/24, lead story, 4:28, Moran) reported that Trump is “standing by his
nominee,” Brett Kavanaugh. Trump was shown saying yesterday, “I am with
Judge Kavanaugh. And I look forward to a vote and for people to come out of
the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago and never mention it and
all the sudden it happens, in my opinion, it’s totally political. It is
totally political.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=00e-a89&t=c>
(9/24, Cowan, Hurley) also reports that “Trump, himself accused during the
2016 presidential race of sexual misconduct with numerous women, remained
steadfast in his support for Kavanaugh.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=00f-c79&t=c>
(9/24, Fritze, Shesgreen) notes Trump said between meetings at the UN, “I
am with him all the way. ... We certainly hope he’s going to be confirmed,
and quickly. His family has suffered. ... Hopefully he will be confirmed
quickly.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=010-ca2&t=c>
(9/24, Stokols) quotes Trump as further stating, “There’s a chance that
this could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a
candidate for anything. ... But I am with Judge Kavanaugh and I look
forward to a vote.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=011-8d5&t=c>
(9/24, Baker, Sullivan) reports that “in a radio interview” yesterday,
Trump “acknowledged that he would most likely not be able to persuade any
Democrats to vote for...Kavanaugh, meaning that he would have to hold
nearly every Republican to win confirmation in the narrowly divided
Senate.” Trump told
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=012-7b6&t=c>
“Geraldo Rivera for the debut show of ‘Geraldo in Cleveland’” on WTAM
radio, “We may get a couple in states where I won by many, many points –
you understand that – but we’ll essentially get no Democrat.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=013-041&t=c>
(9/24, story 2, 1:23, Jiang) noted that “on CBS This Morning, Senior
Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway called the claims a ‘left-wing
conspiracy.’” Conway was shown saying, “I just don’t think one man’s
shoulders should bear decades of the #MeToo movement.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=014-034&t=c>
(9/24, Selk) reports that “if the White House had qualms about openly
challenging the first woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett M.
Kavanaugh of sexual assault, its reservations disappeared the instant a
second accuser spoke up.” The Post refers to “a night-and-day difference
from the restraint the White House showed when Kavanaugh’s first accuser
went public a week earlier – when...Trump’s surrogates urged her to tell
her story to the Senate panel reviewing the nomination. But then,” adds the
Post, “Kavanaugh’s confirmation seemed in less danger at the time.”

        *Trump Sidesteps Question About Roe V. Wade. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=015-353&t=c>
(9/24, Wagner) reports that in his interview for Rivera’s radio show,
Trump, “who as a candidate said he would appoint Supreme Court judges who
would overturn Roe v. Wade, hedged...when asked whether the landmark
abortion decision should be scuttled.” Rivera asked Trump, “Do you believe
that Roe v. Wade should be overturned?” Trump replied, “Yeah, I don’t want
to talk about it now, because that’s a controversy that I’m going to leave
to the courts.”

        *Collins Says She Doesn’t Believe Kavanaugh Would Overturn Roe V.
Wade. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=016-2e6&t=c>
(9/24, Leonard) reports, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), “a pivotal vote on”
Kavanaugh’s confirmation, “said she doesn’t believe that he would vote to
overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing abortion nationwide.”
Said Collins, “I do not believe he’s going to repeal Roe v. Wade.” The
Examiner adds “Kavanaugh has not said how he would rule on abortion, but
Collins told reporters previously that he told her he considered it
‘settled law.’” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=017-b59&t=c>
(9/24, story 2, 2:31, Bruce) reported, “For...Collins, the political
pressure...came right to her doorstep” as protesters rallied outside her
office “demanding she vote no on Brett Kavanaugh or else.” ABC added that
“even before a second accuser came out alleging sexual misconduct by
Kavanaugh, Collins said she wouldn’t be rushed.” Collins was shown saying,
“Do I feel pressure? Sure, but I don’t feel pressure to make a decision
until I’m ready. And, by the way, there are, like, seven of us that are
undecided, it’s not just me.”
Media Analyses, Including NYTimes, Criticize New Yorker Story On Ramirez.

A number of news accounts are taking issue with the quality of the
reporting behind the New Yorker
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=018-102&t=c>
story containing Deborah Ramirez’s explosive accusations against Judge
Brett Kavanaugh. Conservative outlets and White House adviser Kellyanne
Conway highlighted, in particular, a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=019-262&t=c>
(9/23, Stolberg, Fandos) analysis that indicated the paper had considered
the story but found no corroboration for Ramirez’s claims – and that she
had told others that she was not certain about her allegations. The Times
said it “interviewed several dozen people over the past week in an attempt
to corroborate her story, and could find no one with firsthand knowledge.”
Moreover, added the Times, “Ms. Ramirez herself contacted former Yale
classmates asking if they recalled the incident and told some of them that
she could not be certain Mr. Kavanaugh was the one who exposed himself.”
The Times also pointed out that “the New Yorker did not confirm with other
eyewitnesses that...Kavanaugh was at the party.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=01a-af4&t=c>
(9/24, lead story, 2:46, Alexander) similarly reported that “the New Yorker
has not confirmed with other eyewitnesses Kavanaugh was present at the
party, and two of the male classmates who Ramirez alleged were involved and
the wife of a third dispute Ramirez’s account.” The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=01b-f2a&t=c>
(9/24, lead story, 3:30, Cordes) also said that “classmates who were at the
party told The New Yorker they don’t recall Kavanaugh doing that, but
Kavanaugh’s Yale roommate, James Roche, a software CEO, told a San
Francisco reporter...that Kavanaugh was frequently drunk and incoherently.”
He “said he never saw Kavanaugh engage in sexual misconduct but called the
story believable.” On CBS This Morning[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=01c-5e3&t=c>
(9/24), Gayle King noted that Farrow and Mayer acknowledge that “no
eyewitnesses have confirmed that [Kavanaugh] was even at the party.”
However, Nancy Cordes went on to report that “some” of Ramirez’s classmates
“confirmed...they were told at the time about [the incident], while others
said they had ‘zero recollection.’”

        Tucker Carlson said on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=01d-4eb&t=c>
(9/24), “It turns out she didn’t actually remember what happened. None of
the people she said were in the room remember what happened either. Yet
after talking to her lawyer for a week she suddenly remembers it. That’s
enough for CNN. String them up, guilty as charged.”

        On MSNBC’s Morning Joe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=01e-f98&t=c>
(9/24), Commentary’s Noah Rothman maintained that “the story in The New
Yorker questions itself on several occasions: Can’t put Brett Kavanaugh in
the room, notes that...the allegations were made after six days of
‘interrogating her own memories’ with the help of her attorney, which is
itself something that’s a little suspicious considering that Ramirez,
according to the New York Times, told her friend that she wasn’t sure
whether Brett Kavanaugh was there or not. ... Anybody who is leaping to
collusions is doing so, I think, for politically motivated reasons. We
don’t have enough information to draw a conclusion.”

        Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=01f-c7e&t=c>
(9/24), NBC News’ Kasie Hunt said, “I had one top Republican aide send me a
paragraph from the New York Times story off of The New Yorker story looking
at how they had trouble finding somebody who had a firsthand account that
lined up with Mrs. Ramirez’s story that she told in The New Yorker.” Hunt
suggested that the new unsubstantiated allegations against Kavanaugh may
“ultimately pull Republicans together, harden them, make them want to fight
for Brett Kavanaugh.” Joe Scarborough added, “Certainly I would think that
its hardened the position of Democrats who were considering supporting
Brett Kavanaugh. ... I don’t think we will see the four, five, six
Democrats that were considering crossing over doing that now.” Scarborough
went on to complain about “so many on the left and some former
Republicans...making terrible accusations about Judge Kavanaugh, one saying
that he’s a ‘serial sexual predator.’”

        Appearing on CBS This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=020-52d&t=c>
(9/24), Conway said, “Indeed, it’s starting to feel like a vast left-wing
conspiracy. The New York Times said they interviewed dozens of people over
the last couple weeks trying to verify the second accusation and they
couldn’t go forward with their reporting. ... In fact, the New York Times
also reports that Ms. Ramirez was asking people if they remembered and
telling them that she couldn’t be sure either.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=021-894&t=c>
(9/24, Muñoz) points out “Conway said The Times’ made that point in the
article, ‘Not because they are supportive of the president’s Supreme Court
nominee, but because they have some standards.’”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=022-d82&t=c>
(9/24, Morin) reports that “when asked whether she believes Ramirez made up
her claim, Conway said she has ‘no idea,’ adding that The New Yorker
article even mentioned that Ramirez said she couldn’t be sure herself.”
Added Conway, “She has said there are gaps in her own knowledge, that...she
was inebriated as well.” Added Conway, “I do think it’s very circular,
though, to have a New Yorker story come out with much thinner evidence than
Ronan Farrow is used to having in his articles ... And then the Democrats
saying, ‘Oh my God, look at this. We have to investigate.’ So, there’s a
great deal of suspicion.”

        David Marcus writes for the Federalist
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=023-ced&t=c>
(9/24, Marcus), “So bereft of evidence is the story that The New York
Times, along without other outlets, investigated the story and found it too
wanting of evidence to publish.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=024-b27&t=c>
(9/24, Athey) also notes the NYTimes analysis, and highlights that Ramirez
“told The New Yorker that there are significant ‘gaps’ in her memory of the
incident and that it took six days of consulting her memory for her to be
sure that Kavanaugh was at the alleged party.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=025-e98&t=c>
(9/24, Scarry) runs a similar story. The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=026-c4f&t=c>
(9/24, Moore) also reports the Times “said it had interviewed a number of
people to corroborate...Ramirez’s story but couldn’t find anyone with
firsthand knowledge of the incident.”

        Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=027-56e&t=c>
(9/24, Nolte) says, “The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow and his co-author Jane
Mayer are under fire for publishing a second allegation of sexual
misconduct against...Kavanaugh,” and “when you look at how thin the story
is, that criticism might be valid.” However, adds Breitbart, “were it not
for the New Yorker, we would not have learned how Democrats are willing to
manipulate events behind the scenes in their ongoing effort to destroy
Kavanaugh with unsubstantiated allegations from more than 30 years ago.”

        Farrow appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=028-7b7&t=c>
(9/24) to discuss his new piece with Mayer alleging that Kavanaugh exposed
himself to a fellow Yale student 35 years ago. Farrow said “there is a
coalition of former Yale students working with Brett Kavanaugh’s office. A
number of them...pushing back against Ms. Ramirez’s claim are individuals
she alleged to be participants in this attack on her, which Brett
Kavanaugh’s office seemed surprised by.” Farrow added, “The point I want to
make here is this: it is not accurate to say those who knew him at the time
dispute this. We talked to a roommate...who was living with [Kavanaugh]
when this alleged incident took place who said he was indeed frequently
drunk, that he took part in activity that made him unsurprised by this
claim and found this woman credible.”

        Asked, on NBC’s Today Show
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=029-37f&t=c>
(9/24), why Ramirez waited 35 years to make her allegation, Mayer said,
“People remember, at the time, a classmate at Yale remembers this. He heard
about this that night, I think, right after or the next day. She didn’t
come forward with it. What happened was, the classmates at Yale were
talking to each other about it. They were e-mailing about it back in July,
before Christine Blasey Ford came forward, and eventually the word spread.
It spread to the Senate and to the media.” Mayer said Ramirez “wants...to
bring in the FBI.” Mayer added, “There are at least two of the males at the
party who signed a letter that said that it didn’t happen. She feels
disappointed and kind of betrayed by them, and she would like them to say
that to the FBI under oath.”

        *No Witnesses Cited By Ford, Ramirez Are Backing Their Stories. *
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=02a-489&t=c>
(9/24, Nolte) reports “the two women making sexual misconduct allegations
against...Kavanaugh claim to have witnesses, but so far, all of their
witnesses back Kavanaugh’s claim that nothing happened.” Breitbart adds
that “by submitting their respective statements to the Senate Judiciary
Committee,” the Ford “witnesses did so under penalty of imprisonment, and
all three have zero recollection of the house party in question.”

        *Hannity: “Guilt By Accusation” Should “Not Happen In This
Country.” *Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=02b-34a&t=c>
(9/24), “Democrats, people on the left, they have already convicted Judge
Kavanaugh. According to them, he has no presumption of innocence, no right
to be heard, no reason to be believed, no due process. Actually, there are
lawmakers, lawmakers that are throwing law out the window and claiming his
guilt by accusation. This should not happen in this country.”

        *WPost Editorial: FBI Should Investigate Ford, Ramirez Claims. *Citing
Ramirez’s allegations and Kavanaugh’s denial of them, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=02c-2b9&t=c>
(9/24) argues in an editorial that if Kavanaugh “is telling the truth, he
and his allies should want a professional, impartial investigation to
gather what facts exist.” The Post says “calling in the FBI would assure
the public that the Senate is taking all reasonable steps to get at the
truth. Mr. Kavanaugh and his Republican backers should want that as much as
Ms. Ford and the Democrats calling for FBI involvement.”
Kavanaugh Categorically Denies Allegations Against Him.

In an interview on Fox News The Story
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=02d-8db&t=c>
(9/24), an emotional and visibly distraught Supreme Court Justice-designate
Brett Kavanaugh said last night, “I have never sexually assaulted anyone,
not in high school, not ever. I have always treated women with dignity and
respect. Listen to the people who have known me best through my whole life.
The women who have known me since high school.” Asked if he remembers ever
being at a party with Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh said, “I do not.
This was an allegation about a party in the summer of 1982 with five people
present. I was never at any such party. The other people who alleged to be
present said they do not remember any such party. A woman who was present,
who is Dr. Ford’s lifelong friend, said she doesn’t know me and never
remembers being at a party with me at any time in her life. All I am asking
for is a fair process where I can be heard.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=02e-e8e&t=c>
(9/24, Grynbaum) says, “The interview, recorded at a Washington hotel on
Monday afternoon, was arranged by White House aides looking to salvage
Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, which has teetered in the wake of
allegations of sexual impropriety that he has denied.” The Times adds, “The
platform of Fox News offered Judge Kavanaugh a prime opportunity to make
his case directly to President Trump and his supporters. Not only is Mr.
Trump an avid watcher, but his deputy chief of staff, Bill Shine, was
formerly a co-president of the channel.”

        Kavanaugh was asked on Fox News The Story[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=02f-3b9&t=c>
(9/24) whether he and his wife ever thought, “This is enough. This is not
worth it.” Kavanaugh said, “I am not going to let false accusations drive
us out of this process. We are looking for a fair process where I can be
heard and defend my integrity, my lifelong record of promoting dignity and
equality for women starting the women who knew me when I was 14 years old.
I am not going anywhere.” Asked on Fox News The Story[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=030-2ed&t=c>
(9/24) about Deborah Ramirez’s allegations, Kavanaugh said, “I never did
any such thing. Never did any such thing. The other people alleged to be
there don’t recall any such thing. If such a thing had happened, it would
have been the talk of campus. The women I knew in college and the men I
knew in college say it is inconceivable that I could have done such a
thing.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=031-cdd&t=c>
(9/24, Barnes) describes Kavanaugh as “defiant and at times emotional,” and USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=032-cf5&t=c>
(9/24, King) reports he said “he’s resolute about not letting ‘false
accusations’ force him to withdraw.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=033-b26&t=c>
(9/19, Freking) reports “Kavanaugh was asked if there was any chance Ford
misunderstood an exchange between them.” Kavanaugh replied, “I have never
had any sexual or physical activity with Dr. Ford.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=034-790&t=c>
(9/24, Swoyer) reports Kavanaugh also “indignantly denied the allegation
from Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn star Stormy Davis, who is
herself engaged in a legal battle with President Trump, who says he has a
client who is willing to detail instances of Judge Kavanaugh and a high
school friend using drugs and alcohol to try to lure women into sex.”

        Kavanaugh’s wife, Ashley, was asked on Fox News The Story[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=035-e76&t=c>
(9/24) how this process has been for her and her family. She said, “It’s
very difficult to have these conversations with your children, which we had
to have – some broader terms for our youngest. But, they know Brett. They
know the truth. We told hem at the very beginning of this process, this
will be not fun sometimes. You are going to hear things that people feel
strongly. You need to know that. Just remember, you know your dad.”

        Kavanaugh also made his case in a letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=036-12b&t=c>
to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=037-545&t=c>
(9/24, Swoyer) reports he “said...that he’s the victim of attempts at
‘character assassination’ but said he won’t be intimidated into withdrawing
his nomination.” Kavanaugh also “said he is looking forward to defending
himself at a hearing Thursday,” and “refuted a new accusation in The New
Yorker this weekend that he exposed himself to a classmate at Yale
University, also in the 1980s.” Wrote Kavanaugh, “There is now a frenzy to
come up with something – anything – that will block this process and a vote
on my confirmation from occurring.” But “I will not be intimidated into
withdrawing from this process. The coordinated effort to destroy my good
name will not drive me out.”

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=038-c52&t=c>
(9/24, Golding) reports Kavanaugh also wrote, “These are smears, pure and
simple. And they debase our public discourse. But they are also a threat to
any man or woman who wishes to serve our country.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=039-567&t=c>
(9/24, Johnson) called it “a defiant letter,” and Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=03a-d8b&t=c>
(9/24, Spiering) said that Kavanaugh “responded to the latest allegations
of sexual misconduct...by denouncing them as smears.” To USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=03b-3d9&t=c>
(9/24, Collins), meanwhile, “Kavanaugh’s letter is a summation of
Republican talking points over the last week that have only grown louder in
the face of the new allegations.”

        *Kavanaugh On Trump’s Support: “I Know He’s Going To Stand By
Me.” *Kavanaugh
was also asked on Fox News The Story
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=03c-7ac&t=c>
(9/24) if he believes Trump will stand by him. Kavanaugh said, “I know he
is going to stand by me. He called me this afternoon and said he is
standing by me.” Ahead of the interview, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=03d-a84&t=c>,
“Brett Kavanaugh and his wife, Ashley, will be interviewed tonight at 7pmE
on @marthamaccallum @FoxNews. This is an outstanding family who must be
treated fairly!”

        *Kavanaugh Says He Was A Virgin During Years In Question. *Kavanaugh
said on Fox News The Story
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=03e-472&t=c>
(9/24), “I didn’t have anything close to sexual intercourse in high school
or for many years thereafter. The girls from the schools I went to and I
were friends.” Asked if he was a virgin through all the years in question,
Kavanaugh said, “That’s correct.” Asked if that includes high school and
college, he said, “Many years after. I will leave it that. Many years
after.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=03f-51e&t=c>
(9/24, Barnes) reports, meanwhile, that “neither of Kavanaugh’s accusers
have said their encounters with him included sexual intercourse.”

        *McConnell Denounces Anti-Kavanaugh “Smear Campaign” Orchestrated
By Democrats. *In the aftermath of the allegations against Kavanaugh, media
reports describe Republicans as standing by the nominee and accusing
Democrats of orchestrating the attacks to keep the Senate from confirming
him. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=040-135&t=c>
(9/24, Mascaro, Jalonick, Lemire) reports Republicans yesterday “thundered
into an all-out campaign to save...Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination,”
and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=041-d1c&t=c>
(9/24, Kim) offers a similar account, saying the President and other
Republicans “dug in Monday in their support for” Kavanaugh. The Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=042-71a&t=c>
(9/24, Andrews, Peterson) also notes Republicans came together yesterday in
defense of the nominee. Sean Davis writes for the Federalist
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=043-333&t=c>
(9/24, Davis) that “the rubber is about to meet the road for Senate
Republicans. They have a simple choice: they can vote to
confirm...Kavanaugh, thereby ending the baseless and unsubstantiated
Democrat- and media-fueled smear campaign against him, or they can kiss
House and Senate majorities goodbye for the next decade, if not longer.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=044-69c&t=c>
(9/24, lead story, 3:30, Cordes) reported that “Republicans insist they are
not rattled” and “strongly reiterated their support for Kavanaugh,” and
showed Senate Majority Leader McConnell saying on the Senate floor,
“Another orchestrated, last-minute hit on the nominee.” ABC World News
Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=045-d9a&t=c>
(9/24, story 2, 2:31, Bruce) said that McConnell was “defiant” yesterday,
“blasting Democrats for playing politics.” McConnell was shown saying,
“This is what the so-called resistance has become. A smear campaign, pure
and simple. Aided and abetted by members of the United States Senate.”
The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=046-152&t=c>
(9/24, Johnson) quotes McConnell as saying, “Even by the far-left’s
standards, this shameful, shameful smear campaign has hit a new low.”

        Meanwhile, the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=047-e08&t=c>
(9/24, Golding) indicates McConnell “accused his Democratic counterparts
Monday of throwing ‘all the mud they could manufacture’ to try to derail”
the nomination, and added, “Senate Democrats and their allies are trying to
destroy a man’s personal and professional life on the basis of decades-old
allegations that are unsubstantiated and uncorroborated.” McConnell “read
excerpts from a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=048-c84&t=c>
(9/23, Stolberg, Fandos) report that...raised questions about claims by
Deborah Ramirez, who has accused Kavanaugh of drunkenly exposing himself to
her during a dorm party while they were freshman classmates at Yale
University.”

        The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=049-247&t=c>
(9/24, Johnson) notes McConnell said, “According to the reporter of this
second allegation, the accuser ‘came forward because Senate Democrats began
looking,’ and now they are calling for even further delays and further
obstruction over a second decades-old allegation that is so thin and so
unsupported that the New York Times refused to even run a story about it.”
McConnell “cited that The New York Times passed on the story because they
could not pin down any witnesses to corroborate the story.” Added
McConnell, “Oh, but that hasn’t stopped Judiciary Committee Democrats from
shoveling it onto their smear campaign and demanding for further delays.
... They just wanted it to wind up in the press. Another orchestrated
last-minute hit on the nominee.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=04a-888&t=c>
(9/24, Dennis, Litvan, Kapur) reports “Republicans are scrambling to save
Kavanaugh’s nomination as...McConnell promised he will get a floor vote
soon.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=04b-cb4&t=c>
(9/24, Ferrechio) points out, however, that “McConnell would not respond to
a question...about the specific timing of a vote, or whether it would take
place before the start of the Oct. 1 high court term.”

        Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume said on Fox News’
Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=04c-ec9&t=c>
(9/24), “McConnell has been saying in other forums that Judge Kavanaugh
will be confirmed. He didn’t go that far” Monday “and that may tell us
something. I think this matter is still up in the air and everything will
depend on Thursday’s testimony by the two players here.” Along those lines,
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=04d-f9b&t=c>
(9/24, Everett, Bresnahan) reports that “Senate Republicans have gone from
confidently predicting the confirmation of...Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court
to a new message: It all comes down to Thursday.”

        *Hatch: “Not Untypical” For Democrats “To Pull This Kind Of Crap.” *ABC
World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=04e-89f&t=c>
(9/24, story 2, 2:31, Bruce) reported that “Republicans are plowing ahead.”
Sen. Orrin Hatch “says the latest allegations are, quote, phony.” Hatch was
shown saying, “Well, it’s amazing to me that these allegations come out of
nowhere at the last minute.” The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=04f-825&t=c>
(9/24, lead story, 3:30, Cordes) showed Hatch also saying, “It’s not
untypical for our friends on the other side to pull that kind of crap.”

        *Cornyn: “Only A Partisan” Would Judge Allegations Credible. *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=050-3d2&t=c>
(9/24, Collins) reports that Sen. John Cornyn tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=051-73b&t=c>
about the allegations against Kavanaugh, writing, “Only a partisan would
claim these credible without evidence.” Cornyn also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=052-c3c&t=c>
yesterday, “Ramirez told ex-classmates she couldn’t be certain Kavanaugh
was the one who exposed himself.”

        *Cotton Blames Democrats, Calls For Vote “This Week.” *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=053-904&t=c>
(9/24, Stolberg) reports GOP Sen. Tom Cotton agreed with this GOP
colleagues on the Kavanaugh controversy, saying yesterday, “The Democrats
are engaged in a campaign of delay and character assassination against
Judge Kavanaugh. ... It’s time to vote this week.”

        *Graham: Allegations “Collapsing,” But Left Sees “No Boundaries”
When Attacking Trump. *Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=054-7f4&t=c>
(9/24) that the Democrats knew about the allegations “since July 30th. They
chose to do nothing about it. For them to complain about the process is
like an arsonist complaining about a fire. The allegations against Judge
Kavanaugh are collapsing. This has been the worst low point in the Senate
for me and that is saying a lot. I never thought it would get this bad. We
will have a hearing Thursday and have a vote soon thereafter. I look
forward to supporting this good man. The take away for me is that when it
comes to Donald Trump, there are no boundaries, there are no rules.
Whatever you need to do to destroy him and his agenda is ok and that is
very sad.”

        *Caddell: “Everyone Is Roadkill” To Democrats Seeking To Torpedo
Kavanaugh Nomination. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=055-472&t=c>
(9/24, Kraychik) reports that pollster and political analyst Pat Caddell
said on Monday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with Breitbart
News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow that Democrats view “everybody as
roadkill” on the road to block Kavanaugh’s nomination. Caddell said, “It is
frightening how people’s lives are damaged, I mean, are thrown away. ...
Everybody is roadkill when it comes to their desire to succeed in their
goal, which is to beat Kavanaugh, whether it destroys him, his family,
whatever — whether the charges are real or spurious. … [This will cause]
people to not want to be in public life. Who wants this done to them? All
in the name of a political goal.”

        *Biggs: Democrats’ Goal Is To Stop Any Trump Nominee. *In an op-ed
for USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=056-4ed&t=c>
(9/24, Biggs), GOP Rep. Andy Biggs, a member of the House Judiciary
Committee argues that even before Kavanaugh’s nomination was announced,
Democrats made clear “stated that their mission was to stop any nomination
by President Trump, no matter how qualified, because they hate Donald
Trump.” Biggs argues that because Kavanaugh “has demonstrated his veracity
and character publicly, and the Democrats have shown that they don’t care
about him except as a means to thwart President Trump’s agenda, the Senate
Judiciary Committee should quickly hear Ford’s story in a public hearing,
allow the judge to testify in response, and immediately vote.”

        *Bill Bennett: Kavanaugh Clash Is “Culture War On Steroids.” *To
the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=057-6b6&t=c>
(9/24, Costa), “the battle over...Kavanaugh has inflamed the culture wars,
with conservatives casting their support for the nominee as a stand against
the forces of political correctness and liberals striking back with a
passionate mantra: ‘Believe women.’” Said Bill Bennett, “It’s the culture
war on steroids, an incredible divide and intense to the point where people
won’t talk to each other in some cases. ... You have the anti-Trump
resistance, the MeToo movement and the Supreme Court making for a perfect
storm of controversy.”

        *Ford Says She Will Answer Committee Questions Despite Fear.
*The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=058-769&t=c>
(9/24, Quinn) reports that in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Grassley which was made public Monday, Ford “vowed...she will
testify and answer questions from members of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, despite her fear of doing so.” Ford wrote, “While I am
frightened, please know, my fear will not hold me back from testifying and
you will be provided with answers to all of your questions. ... I ask for
fair and respectful treatment.” She added, “I hope that we can find such a
setting and that you will understand that I have one motivation in coming
forward — to tell the truth about what Mr. Kavanaugh and his friend Mark
Judge did to me. ... My sincere desire is to be helpful to persons making
the decision.”

        *Democrats Say They Had To Weigh Politics Against Respecting Ford’s
Privacy. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=059-83c&t=c>
(9/24, Mascaro) reports on Senate Democrats handling of Ford’s accusation
against Kavanaugh. The AP says that Democrats “have faced fierce criticism
from Republicans for keeping their secret until what they say was the
eleventh hour.” While “the timing suggests a coordinated ploy to sabotage a
conservative jurist they oppose,” Democrats “argue they were pulled between
the politics and the need to respect Ford’s privacy.”

        *John Yoo: Senate Panel Should Ensure Justice Fairness For Ford,
Ramirez, Kavanaugh. *In an op-ed for the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=05a-09b&t=c>
(9/24, Yoo), John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California at
Berkeley, who served as general counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee
from 1995 to 1996, writes that “the Senate should demonstrate its fitness
to perform its constitutional duty of advice and consent by enforcing basic
standards of justice and fairness. The Judiciary Committee should be fair
to Ford and Ramirez. It must be no less fair to Kavanaugh.”

        *Tumulty: Ford, Ramirez, Kavanaugh Deserve “A Fair Hearing.” *Karen
Tumulty writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=05b-5bf&t=c>
(9/24, Tumulty) that Ford and Ramirez “are coming under blistering
criticism from Kavanaugh supporters over their failure to produce witnesses
who could substantiate their claims.” While it is “easy to understand why
Ford would be unable to find that kind of corroboration, given that she has
alleged a furtive assault in a bedroom while a party was going on in
another part of a house,” Ramirez’s “inability to find people who can back
up her account of an episode she claims happened during a drinking game in
the common room of a dormitory suite” is “less explicable.” Tumulty adds,
“Evidence doesn’t always come delivered in neat, watertight packages. It is
in everyone’s interest — including Kavanaugh’s — that it be given a fair
hearing.”

        *Avenatti: Third Kavanaugh Accuser To Come Forward In Next 48
Hours. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=05c-10c&t=c>
(9/24, Woodyard, Ortiz) reports that Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael
Avenatti says a third woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct “will
come forward in the next 48 hours.” Avenatti “told reporters he has been
hired by a former employee of both the State Department and the US Mint who
has information of a sexual nature about Kavanaugh and his high school
friend Mark Judge.” According to Avenatti, “It will relate to how they
behaved at countless house parties.” Avenatti also told reporters the
woman, who has multiple security clearances will “literally risk her life’’
by coming forward. He added that she is “100 percent credible,’’ and has
multiple witnesses to corroborate her story. Avenatti said on CNN Cuomo
Prime Time
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=05d-876&t=c>
(9/24), “If anyone has been paying attention over the last six to seven
months, they know that I do not traffic in rumor and nonsense. I state
facts and I have evidence to back it up. I made a lot of predictions over
the last six, seven months. I’ve been proven right time and time again. And
I would not make these accusations lightly. I understand the magnitude of
the water, if you will, that we’re in presently. So I’m highly confident in
the accusations that are going to be made and the statements that are going
to be made by my client.”

        Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=05e-dc1&t=c>
(9/24, Caplan) reports that Avenatti “asked Monday for the Senate Judiciary
Committee to investigate text in Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s high school
yearbook for evidence of sexual predation.” In an email to Mike Davis,
Chief Counsel for Nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee, he
“called on the panel to ask Kavanaugh about the meaning of a caption
reading ‘FFFFFFFourth of July’ — a code, the lawyer claims, means ‘Find
them, French them, Feel them, Finger them, F*ck them, Forget them.’”
Avenatti wrote, “We have reason to believe” that interpretation, and added,
“We request that Mr. Kavanaugh provide an answer as why these entries were
made and what they stand for.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=05f-d32&t=c>
(9/24, Korecki)says Avenatti has again “found a way to claw his way into
another major scandal, potentially making a bad situation even worse for
the Trump White House.” Politico adds that “his efforts have shaped a
profile resembling a Democratic anti-Trump — a character brazen, pugilistic
and media-savvy enough to go toe-to-toe with Trump, whom Democrats have
struggled to message against.”

        In a separate story, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=060-f0b&t=c>
(9/24, Schor, Bade) reports that while “most Democrats are taking Ramirez’s
allegation seriously — if not to the extent they’re publicly backing Ford —
they’re stopping far short of giving the same treatment to a third,
undisclosed woman linked to the nominee and represented by celebrity lawyer
Michael Avenatti.” Democrats “are treading lightly on the claims from
Avenatti.”

        *Kavanaugh’s Yearbook Includes “Hurtful” Reference To Female
Student. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=061-f69&t=c>
(9/24, Kelly, Enrich) reports that along with “reminiscences about sports
and booze” in Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook “is a mysterious entry:
‘Renate Alumnius.’” The word “Renate,” is “a reference to Renate Schroeder,
then a student at a nearby Catholic girls’ school.” According to two of
Kavanaugh’s classmates, “the mentions of Renate were part of the football
players’ unsubstantiated boasting about their conquests.” Renate Schroeder
Dolphin, who was among the women signed a letter attesting to Kavanaugh’s
character, was not aware of the yearbook references when she signed the
letter. In a statement to the Times, she said “I don’t know what ‘Renate
Alumnus’ actually means. I can’t begin to comprehend what goes through the
minds of 17-year-old boys who write such things, but the insinuation is
horrible, hurtful and simply untrue. I pray their daughters are never
treated this way. I will have no further comment.”

        *Dozens Of Anti-Kavanaugh Protesters Arrested On Capitol Hill. *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=062-214&t=c>
(9/24, Bacon) reports “dozens of protesters were arrested outside the
Capitol Hill offices of multiple senators Monday while women across the
nation staged walkouts as opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett
Kavanaugh grew stronger amid accusations of sexual assault as a young man.”
USA Today adds that “protesters carrying signs and chanting slogans filled
hallways outside the offices of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., and other lawmakers.” Eva Malecki, communications
director for Capitol Police, “confirmed the arrests were made at the
Dirksen Senate Office Building but would not say how many.”

        Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=063-59b&t=c>
(9/24, House) also says “more than one hundred purported Yale Law students
are on Capitol Hill Monday to protest...Kavanaugh, a Yale undergraduate and
law school alumnus,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=064-1c1&t=c>
(9/24, Svrluga) that “more than 100 students traveled Monday to Washington
to protest at the Supreme Court and to meet with senators, while others
staged a sit-in at the law school.” In DC, “students held umbrellas and
signs aloft outside the Supreme Court in the rain, while on campus in New
Haven, they filled the hallway of the law school.” The Post adds “more than
30 professors canceled classes Monday.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=065-b5a&t=c>
(9/24, Salam, Chokshi) also points out that “survivors of sexual assault
and their supporters stood shoulder to shoulder on the steps of New York’s
City Hall on Monday, holding signs that read ‘I believe Christine,’
‘Misogyny bores me’ and ‘Block InJustice Kavanaugh.’” Those rallies and the
ones on Capitol Hill “were part of a series of protests across the country
to show solidarity with Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez.”

        *Anti-Kavanaugh Protesters Chase Cruz Out Of DC Restaurant. *The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=066-d1b&t=c>
(9/24, Athey) reports that video posted on Twitter purports to show Sen.
Ted Cruz (R-TX) being chased out of a DC restaurant Monday night. Two
videos posted by “Smash Racism DC” show “a large group of protesters
chanting ‘We believe survivors’ in reference to sexual assault allegations”
against Kavanaugh.

        *Hollywood Stages Walkout In Support Of Ford. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=067-552&t=c>
(9/24, Hill) reports that Hollywood showed its support for Ford on Monday
“as people took to the sidewalks in an organized walkout.” For the walkout,
“people were encouraged to wear black and walk out of wherever they were at
10 a.m. PDT in a silent show of support.” The Times adds, “Social media
quickly filled with examples of celebrity participants in the movement,
including Debra Messing, Emmy Rossum and Kerry Washington.”

        *#MeToo PAC Targeting Accused Politicians Excludes Democrats.
*The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=068-b8b&t=c>
(9/24, Hasson) reports that the Enough Is Enough Voter Project, a PAC
“affiliated with Women’s March is targeting 2018 political candidates
accused of sexual misconduct, harassment or other offenses against women.”
However, “so far the PAC’s list of targeted candidates only includes
Republicans and excludes several prominent Democrats accused of sexual
misconduct, domestic abuse or covering up harassment.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Optimistic About Second Summit With Kim; Pompeo To Return To
Pyongyang.

The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=069-eeb&t=c>
(9/24, story 3, 0:45, Glor) reported that at the UN General Assembly in New
York on Monday, President Trump signed a trade deal with South Korea, “but
the focus, he says, remains on North Korea.” Trump is “very optimistic”
about a second summit with Kim Jong-Un “and says he thinks it will happen
in the not-too-distant future, although he did not reveal possible dates or
locations. He also talked about the great progress the two countries have
made. In fact, just a year ago here at the UN, the President called Kim
‘Little Rocket Man’ and said he would ‘totally destroy’ North Korea.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=06a-ea1&t=c>
(9/24, Nakamura) reports Trump told reporters that he “expects to meet
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ‘quite soon,’ expressing optimism that his
efforts to negotiate a denuclearization deal are still on track.” Trump
said the talks “are ‘moving very well’ and that the two sides are making
‘tremendous progress,’ even though he had abruptly canceled a visit from
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang earlier this month.” Trump said
Kim “had sent him a letter requesting a second meeting. ‘We’ll be doing
that,’ he said.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=06b-548&t=c>
(9/24, Lemire, Miller) says it was South Korean President Moon Jae-in who
delivered the “personal message to Trump from Kim after their inter-Korean
talks last week in Pyongyang.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=06c-5ee&t=c>
(9/24, Mason, Alexander) quotes Trump as saying, “Chairman Kim has been
really very open and terrific, frankly. I think he wants to see something
happen.” Calling Trump’s tone “far less ominous” than a year ago, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=06d-475&t=c>
(9/24, Lemire, Miller) reports that the President said “preparations are
underway” by Pompeo to organize the second presidential meeting.

        Brian Todd of CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=06e-67b&t=c>
(9/24) said Trump’s “confidence in his personal dynamic with” Kim and
optimism about the denuclearization process came despite “strong
indications” that the North continues to produce fissile material for
nuclear bombs and has “failed to commit to letting UN weapons inspectors
into the country.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=06f-cb6&t=c>
(9/24, Shesgreen, Fritze) says Trump’s “effusive praise for Kim” and
assertions that “the negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear arsenal have
resulted in ‘tremendous progress’” were “rejected by several outside
experts and even some of Trump’s own advisers.” Pompeo, meanwhile, “sounded
a tougher note” than Trump during the Monday meetings, telling reporters
that the US still expects the “full, complete, verified denuclearization of
North Korea.” Until that is achieved, “he said, the US will not ease the
crippling economic sanctions against the Kim regime.” Nonetheless, “Pompeo
defended the prospect of a second summit, saying it’s a new strategy after
years of failed negotiations.”

        “We’ve been at this the other way an awfully long time and failed,”
Pompeo told reporters, adding, “‘We tried to do details, we tried to do
step for step,’ but those were unsuccessful,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=070-cc7&t=c>
(9/24) reports. Pompeo continued, “We’re bringing the two senior leaders,
the individuals who can actually make the decisions that will move this
process forward” and secure a breakthrough. Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=071-566&t=c>
(9/24, Wadhams, Olorunnipa) reports that Pompeo said he is “confident” that
a second summit will happen, and that he expects to “be traveling to
Pyongyang before too long as well to make the final preparations for the
second meeting between the two leaders.”

        In an analysis, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=072-006&t=c>
(9/24, Taylor) says Trump “may be known for clashing with the United
Nations” by withdrawing the US from its various programs, but he began this
year’s UNGA session “on a positive note” with his optimistic remarks on
North Korea. According to this aides, Trump “is poised to capitalize on his
unconventional personal diplomacy to forge a new relationship with
Pyongyang.” According to the Times, “Uncertainty looms over the extent to
which” Kim “is serious about abandoning his nuclear weapons,” but US
officials “hope the prospect of progress overshadows other vexing issues on
the table this week in New York.”

        Still, a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=073-070&t=c>
(9/24, Schwirtz) analysis says, Trump’s “decision to conduct a session of
the Security Council this week” has “been a source of anxiety and
confusion” for many diplomats. The Times says this year’s UN General
Assembly session comes “against the backdrop of global calamities,” and
“American leadership, many argue, is a prerequisite for solving each of
these crises. But in case after case, critics say, American leadership is
lacking.” The US under Trump is moving “deeper into going it alone at the
United Nations, withdrawing from some important agencies and defunding
others,” while the Administration “also has pursued what it calls an
America First agenda that critics, among them close allies, say has
exacerbated crises.” In private, “some United Nations officials are even
willing to consider the possibility that the disruptions caused by the
Trump administration could do some good,” but “nearly two years into his
presidency, Mr. Trump remains for much of the world a source of
bewilderment.”

        *Bolton: Trump Has Succeeded In Getting Kim To Commit To
Denuclearization. *Appearing on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=074-e46&t=c>
(9/24), National Security Adviser Bolton said, “The President’s policy of
economic pressure through sanctions and military pressure brought Kim Jong
Un to the table,” and “pledged...to denuclearize North Korea and that’s
what we are working on.” Asked if he is concerned that the government of
South Korea is moving ahead with negotiations that do not include the US,
Bolton said, “We have always tried to stay as close as we can to our allies
in South Korea and need to keep our focus on denuclearization as the
priority. That’s priority one, two and three for us.”

        *Haspel: Kim Won’t Easily Give Up Nuclear Weapons. *John
Roberts of [image:
Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=075-b6c&t=c>
(9/24) reported that in a rare public appearance, CIA Director Haspel
outlined her concerns about the progress of North Korean denuclearization.
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=076-d28&t=c>
(9/24, Barnes) reports Haspel “said on Monday that the North Korean leader,
Kim Jong-un, will not give up his nuclear weapons easily, seeing them as
crucial leverage to preserve his government.” Haspel said North Korea has
“spent decades building its weapons program, and noted that the government
in Pyongyang had said it was ‘essential to their regime’s survival.’” The
Times adds Haspel was “careful to say the dialogue begun by Mr. Trump had
improved the situation with North Korea. She said Mr. Kim wants to better
the economic situation in his country, and that the C.I.A. is working to
support Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Ms. Haspel’s predecessor as head of
the agency.”

        *US, South Korea Sign Free Trade Agreement. *At the UN on Monday,
Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed an update to an
existing US-South Korea free-trade agreement. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=077-cc2&t=c>
a video of his remarks at the signing ceremony, as well as a joint statement
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=078-82f&t=c>
from the two nations.

        National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro said on CNBC’s
Closing Bell
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=079-063&t=c>
(9/24) that the agreement is “a very bullish signal to the markets for
certain industrial sectors but also more broadly for the validation of the
Trump trade strategy. Basically, you’ll see more cars, more ag, more pharma
coming from the US soil going over to south Korea. This is kind of a
special deal for me in a sense that I go back during the campaign to the
President’s job speech in June of 2016, where he promised to do exactly
what he did today which was take that 2012 South Korean deal, which he
rated, rightly, as one of the worst that we’ve ever signed and fix it. I
think what Americans love about this President is he keeps his promises.
So, check another box there.”

        *WTimes: North Korean Embassies Pose Potential Risk To US. *A
Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=07a-bc9&t=c>
(9/24, A1, Taylor) analysis says if talks with the US “play out the right
way,” North Korea “could emerge swiftly as a normalized global power,”
which could be problematic because it “maintains embassies in nearly 50
nations.” US analysts warn that these embassies “have long been used not
for traditional diplomacy but for illicit activities, including blackmail,
cybercrime and drug trafficking,” and “it’s a pipe dream to think they can
be transformed quickly into aboveboard, traditional diplomatic outposts.”
According to the Times, “The notion that serious North Korean diplomatic
reform might be possible is tantalizing in intelligence circles, where
officials are aware that Pyongyang’s foreign operatives” stationed at the
diplomatic outposts – and particularly those conducting business with
American adversaries – “could be turned into invaluable sources for
American spies if relations are ever fully normalized with Washington.”
130 Countries Sign Nonbinding US Pledge To Fight Drugs.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=07b-e5f&t=c>
(9/24, Nichols, Mason) reports 129 countries at the UN signed on to a
US-drafted pledge to fight the global drug problem on Monday that President
Trump “warned presented a public health and national security threat.” In
order to attend the “brief UN event with Trump, countries had to sign the
one-page ‘call to action on the world drug problem.’” Countries signing the
“nonbinding US statement pledged to develop national action plans to reduce
demand for illicit drugs through education, expand treatment efforts,
strengthen international cooperation on justice, law enforcement and
health, and cut off the supply by stopping production.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=07c-cff&t=c>
(9/24, Fritze, Shesgreen) reports Trump called on world leaders to deal
with “the scourge of drug addiction.” In “brief remarks” to representatives
of the 130 nations that signed the pledge, Trump said, “If we take these
steps together we can save the lives of countless people in all corners of
the world. All of us must work together to dismantle drug production and
defeat drug addiction.” On Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=07d-b92&t=c>,
the President wrote, “Today, we commit to fighting the drug epidemic
together! #UNGA,” along with a video of his remarks.

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=07e-cfb&t=c>
(9/24, Taylor) reports that while “130 signed the document,” 63 countries
did not, “including US allies and major European nations like Spain,
Germany and the Netherlands.” According to the Post, “most of the countries
that did not sign have not publicly commented on the issue,” but the
“representative of one such country” said “many of the non-signatories view
the US-led document as too narrow compared with previously agreed upon UN
provisions on drugs and are concerned that it left out considerations about
human rights and appropriate punishments for drug offenders.”

        *Trump Meets Macron On Sidelines Of UNGA. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=07f-40e&t=c>
on Monday, “It was my great honor to welcome President @EmmanuelMacron of
France to the United States, here in New York City, this evening! #UNGA”

        *Trump, Al-Sisi Hold Talks On Sidelines Of UNGA. *Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=080-485&t=c>
on Monday evening, “It was my great honor to welcome President
@AlsisiOfficial of Egypt to the United States this afternoon, in New York
City. Great meetings! #UNGA”
May Praises Her “Special Relationship” With Trump.

Asked on CBS This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=081-b54&t=c>
(9/24) about her interactions with President Trump, British Prime Minister
Theresa May said, “We have very good discussions. The point of the special
relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, in a sense,
is that we can have those frank and open discussions.” Asked “do you trust
him?” May responded, “Well, yes. I mean, we work together. We have a
special relationship. This is two people reflecting, as leaders of their
two countries, the relationship that those two countries have and have
built up over a number of years.”
Rouhani No Longer Rules Out Talks With US.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=082-da7&t=c>
(9/24, Hafezi) reports that while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani “warned”
the US on Monday “against pursuing hostile policies toward Tehran, saying
preventing Iran from exporting oil would be ‘very dangerous,’” he “did not
rule out talks between the two countries.” Iran’s students News Agency ISNA
quoted Rouhani as saying, “Imposing sanctions on Iran to prevent us from
selling our oil will be very dangerous ... and it cannot succeed.” Rouhani
also “said Iran would only talk to Trump if his administration proved its
trustworthiness.” Said Rouhani, “If Trump wants to talk to Iran, then he
first should return to the nuclear deal.”

        Rouhani was asked on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=083-f5e&t=c>
(9/24, story 4, 2:40, Holt) if he plans to meet with President Trump this
week. Rouhani (through a translator): “There is no such program for a
meeting. Mr. Trump did not create conditions necessary to bring about the
atmosphere conducive to a meeting.” Asked about statements from Iranian
officials that indicate that Iran might try to block all exports from the
Persian Gulf, Rouhani said, “If the United States wishes to use force in
order to sanction the petroleum industry of Iran, it will certainly see the
appropriate response. We do have the power to secure our own waterways, and
keep our waterways free. ... This is not a warning. This is a reality.”

        *In Tweet Today, Trump Says He Has No Plans To Meet With Rouhani,
But “Maybe Someday.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=084-d87&t=c>
this morning, “Despite requests, I have no plans to meet Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani. Maybe someday in the future. I am sure he is an absolutely
lovely man!”

        *Pompeo: Trump To Urge “Every Country” To Join Pressure Campaign
Against Iran. *John Roberts reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=085-304&t=c>
(9/24) reported President Trump “will take a stick to Iran on Wednesday” at
the UN General Assembly. Fox then showed Pompeo saying that Trump “will
call on every country to join our pressure campaign in order to thwart
Iran’s destructive activity.” Pompeo “say[s] President Trump is willing to
meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and would even meet with the
Ayatollah.” Pompeo’s comments came as Rouhani, in an event in New York,
“spoke about the importance of peaceful coexistence, a statement that White
House officials found rich as they again reminded the world that Iran
remains the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.”

        *AB Volvo To Stop Building Trucks In Iran. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=086-664&t=c>
(9/24) reports a spokesman for Swedish truckmaker AB Volvo said the company
“has been forced to stop assembling trucks in Iran as it can no longer get
paid with US sanctions having hit the country’s banking system.” Volvo
spokesman Fredrik Ivarsson said “due to the sanctions Volvo could no longer
get paid for any parts it shipped and therefore had taken the decision to
not operate in Iran after the US decided to reimpose economic sanctions on
August 6.”

        *Sanctions Cause Diaper Shortage In Iran. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=087-876&t=c>
(9/23, Bengali) reports that “hyperinflation and a shortage of raw
materials have made infant and adult diapers costly and exceedingly scarce,
prompting some parents to revert to old-fashioned cloth diapers. Imported
alternatives have tripled in price from a few months ago.” It is “just one
more vivid sign of economic distress as Iran grapples with a currency
crisis brought on by years of fiscal mismanagement and accelerated by the
Trump administration’s decision to renew harsh sanctions over what it
describes as the Islamic Republic’s malign influence in the Middle East.”

        *Iranian Oil Minister Says US Won’t Reduce Iranian Oil Exports To
Zero. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=088-a1e&t=c>
(9/24) reports Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said the US “will not
succeed in its plans to halt Iranian crude exports even as he acknowledged
that South Korea has stopped buying oil from Tehran, Iranian media reported
on Monday.” The oil ministry’s website, Shana.ir, quotes Zanganeh, as
“saying the ‘US dream of getting Iran’s oil exports (effectively) to zero
won’t come true.’”

        Meanwhile, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=089-6ea&t=c>
(9/24, Resnick-Ault) reports oil prices “jumped more than 2 percent to a
four-year high on Monday after Saudi Arabia and Russia ruled out any
immediate increase in production despite calls by US President Donald Trump
for action to raise global supply.” Gene McGillian, director of market
research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, said, “The market’s still being
driven by concerns about Iranian and Venezuelan supply.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=08a-d78&t=c>
(9/23, Blas) reports three new mega-refineries are coming online in Asia as
the US is seeking to curb Iran’s output, creating additional demand as
international supply falls.

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=08b-907&t=c>
(9/24, Talley, Norman) reports European officials who hope to keep the 2015
nuclear deal alive are hoping it is preserved by demand for Iranian crude
oil from China, India, and Turkey. Western officials say Europe’s efforts
to preserve the pact in the face of renewed US sanctions will be limited,
and the pact may depend on whether the Iran’s three largest non-European
clients continue to buy crude.

        However, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=08c-5cf&t=c>
(9/24, Irish, Emmott) reports European diplomats say the EU has “failed to
design a workable legal shield for its companies in Iran to beat the global
reach of the US financial system and defy President Trump.” Instead, Europe
is “engaging with Russia and China to show that it is at least searching
for ways to ensure Tehran gets some benefits from its oil sales so Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani has a reason to keep to the accord, according to
seven European officials and diplomats.”

        *Mattis: Iran’s Claim US Involved In Parade Attack “Ludicrous.” *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=08d-fa4&t=c>
(9/24, Sharafedin) reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei “said Monday the attackers who killed 25 people at a military
parade had been paid by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and that
Iran would ‘severely punish’ those behind the bloodshed.” Also Monday, the
deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards “accused the United States and
Israel of involvement in the attack and said they should expect a
devastating response.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=08e-0c8&t=c>
(9/24, Nordland) reports the attack was a “humiliating blow” for the
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, “and on Monday the elite military unit
and its allies vowed revenge against Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United
States and even the United Arab Emirates.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=08f-2f3&t=c>
(9/24, Muñoz) reports that Defense Secretary Mattis said the US and it
sallies were not involved in the attack and any suggestion otherwise is
“ludicrous.” Mattis “brushed off Tehran’s idle threats of retaliation while
roundly dismissing Iran’s claims of U.S. involvement in the attack.” he
told reporters, “Clearly they do not know what happened, and it is
ludicrous to say we had anything to do with it.”

        *ISIS Video Shows Gunmen Who Carried Out Attack On Iranian
Military. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=090-1c1&t=c>
(9/24, Muñoz) reports that a new video released Monday by ISIS “features
the three gunmen purportedly responsible for executing a deadly attack
against Iran’s elite military units over the weekend, leaving 25 people
dead.” The video “featured three armed men wearing military uniforms,”
which “reportedly match those found on the bodies of the slain gunmen after
Saturday’s terror attack in the Iranian city of Ahvaz. The video was
allegedly shot moments before the ISIS fighters arrived at the city.”

        *Trump Sets Up Drama For UN Security Council Meeting On Iran.
*Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=091-3e4&t=c>
(9/24, Wainer, Sink) reports Trump will “address the full General Assembly
on Tuesday and then host a UN Security Council session on Wednesday.”
Bloomberg adds Trump “threw a wrench into the works on Friday by tweeting
that the subject of the Security Council meeting would be Iran, after White
House aides had insisted the agenda would broadly address proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction.” That decision “opens the prospect that
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may attend and confront the US president
face-to-face,” but that “may be a drama the president welcomes.” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=092-8f6&t=c>
(9/23, Fassihi, Gordon) reports Trump and top Administration officials plan
to the UN General Assembly as a forum to denounce Iran. European leaders
will seek to bolster the Iran nuclear deal, while Iran will seek to use its
compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal to drive a wedge between Europe and
the US.

        *Iran Allowing More Public Dissent, But Repression Continues. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=093-ba5&t=c>
(9/24, Gambrell) reports ahead of “the 40th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic
Revolution, the country’s government is allowing more criticism to bubble
up to the surface.” Analysts say that “may serve as a relief valve in this
nation of 80 million people, which already has seen widespread, leaderless
protests rock the country at the start of the year,” but “limits still
clearly exist in Iran’s Shiite theocracy, ensnaring lawyers, activists and
others in lengthy prison terms handed down in closed-door trials. And the
frustration people feel may not be satiated by complaining alone,
especially as US sanctions on Iran’s oil industry take effect in November.”

        *Experts Fear Overuse Of Sanctions By Administration. *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=094-86f&t=c>
(9/24, Boylan) reports that “since the start of his term, President Trump
has aggressively employed one of the most potent weapons of international
statecraft to bolster his ‘America first’ foreign policy, but analysts
worry that sanctions have been so overused by Democratic and Republican
administrations that their effectiveness is blunted.” While Administration
officials “credit a US-led campaign for international sanctions for helping
bring North Korea to the bargaining table over its nuclear weapons,”
skeptics say there is “a sense of overkill and that Washington often
targets foreign figures and organizations that have minimal or nonexistent
ties to the US economy.”
Bolton: US Forces To Stay In Syria Until Iran, Its Proxies Depart.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=095-d50&t=c>
(9/24, Ryan) reports National Security Adviser Bolton said Monday that the
US will not withdraw its troops from Syria “so long as Iranian forces
continued to operate there, suggesting the Trump administration had
embraced an expanded mission in the embattled country beyond the defeat of
the Islamic State.” Bolton made the comments to reporters ahead of
President Trump’s speech today to the UN General Assembly, “directly
linking any future withdrawal of American troops from Syria to the
departure of Iranian forces from the nation.” Hours later, Defense
Secretary Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon that the US military’s
mission in Syria remained focused solely on the defeat of ISIS.

        *Putin, Netanyahu Talk Following Announcement Russia Will Supply
Syria With Advanced Missiles. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=096-eeb&t=c>
(9/24, Vasilyeva) reports Russia announced Monday that it will “supply
Syria’s government with sophisticated S-300 air defense systems after last
week’s downing of a Russian plane by Syria forces responding to an Israeli
air strike, a friendly fire incident that stoked regional tensions.” The AP
notes that “earlier in the war, Russia suspended a supply of S-300s, which
Israel feared Syria could use against it.” After the Russian announcement,
Russian President Vladimir Putin received a call from Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Kremlin says Putin told Netanyahu that the
decision regarding the missiles is “aimed primarily at fending off any
potential threat to the lives of Russian servicemen.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=097-39e&t=c>
(9/24) reports that Netanyahu warned Putin “that supplying advanced weapon
systems to ‘irresponsible players’ would increase dangers in the region,”
but “also agreed with Putin on continued coordination between the two
countries’ armed forces.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=098-240&t=c>
(9/24, Sly) reports that the Russian reconnaissance plane was “shot down by
a Syrian missile, but Russia faulted Israel for the crash because an
Israeli fighter jet allegedly had used the Russian plane as a screen
against Syria’s air defenses.” Israel, on the other hand, says its air
force “had not violated any agreements with Russia and that Israeli jets
had already returned to Israeli airspace when the missiles were launched.”
The Post notes that Russia also announced today that it will “also jam
military aircraft communications in the airspace next to Syria over the
Mediterranean Sea, while upgrading Syria’s air-defense command systems.”

        In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=099-550&t=c>
(9/24) calls Russia’s announcement just the latest sign that Russian
President Vladimir Putin has no desire to work with the US or its allies,
including Israel, to push Iran out of Syria. The Journal adds that the move
significantly raises the stakes for Israel because it will significantly
embolden Iran as it pursues its regional ambitions.

        *Al Qaeda-Linked Militants Mulling Russian-Turkish Idlib Deal. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=09a-d6b&t=c>
(9/24) reports that Tahrir al-Sham, “the main jihadist group in northwest
Syria will announce its position on a Turkish-Russian deal over Idlib in
the next few days...with its acceptance or rejection vital to the success
of efforts to contain the war.” Reuters adds that Tahrir al-Sham’s
acceptance “will be critical to last week’s deal which has, for now,
averted a full-scale Syrian government offensive in Idlib, which along with
adjacent areas of the northwest is the rebels’ last major foothold.” Tahrir
al-Sham “was formed in early 2017 as an alliance of jihadist factions
including the former al Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front and it has a large
armed presence throughout Idlib, including along the Turkish border.”
Reuters adds that “a smaller, harder line jihadist faction in Idlib, Huras
al-Din, has rejected the agreement and urged rebels to launch new military
operations.”
Haspel: CIA Focusing On Nation States In Addition To Terrorists.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=09b-15d&t=c>
(9/24, Schreiner) reports that in a speech at the University of Louisville
on Monday, CIA Director Gina Haspel said a “top priority is to invest more
heavily in collecting intelligence against nation state adversaries as well
as Islamic extremists.” Haspel is quoted as saying, “Our efforts against
these difficult intelligence gaps have been overshadowed over the years by
the intelligence community’s justifiable heavy emphasis on counterterrorism
in the wake of 9/11. Groups such as the so-called Islamic State and
al-Qaida remain squarely in our sights, but we are sharpening our focus on
nation state adversaries.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=09c-f90&t=c>
(9/24, Harris) also reports that “in her first public remarks since being
confirmed in May,” Haspel “laid out her plan to return the agency to the
work that was at the heart of its espionage mission before the attacks on
Sept. 11, 2001, which transformed the CIA into a paramilitary organization
that conducted lethal operations against terrorists around the word.”
According to the Post, “Haspel’s remarks amounted to public affirmation of
a transformation that has been underway for the past few years as the CIA
attempts to shift from a consuming focus on terrorism.”
As Tariffs Take Effect, China Accuses US Of “Economic Bullying.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=09d-ebb&t=c>
(9/24, Boylan) reports that as “trade tariffs on $200 billion worth of
Chinese made goods came into effect” Monday, Beijing accused Washington of
“economic bullying.” In a “hard-hitting attack on President Trump,” the
Xinhua news agency released a white paper which “features Beijing’s
argument that the U.S. is intimidating other countries through economic
measures, damaging the global economy and using ‘trade bullyism
practices.’” The White paper “keeps with Beijing’s stance of not
personalizing the conflict by never mentioning Mr. Trump by name,” but it
does “lash out” at the Administration’s “America first” economic policies,
“criticizing them for threatening the world’s established multilateral free
trade agreements and restating Beijing’s position that the only way to stop
the battle is through cooperation.”

        Meanwhile the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=09e-851&t=c>
(9/23, Fifield) reports that the “increasingly common theory percolating in
Beijing these days” is that the trade war is less about trade than “the
United States trying to contain China and counteract its rise.” While
Washington “might see this as straightforward economic rebalancing,”
Beijing “looks at it in the wider context of Trump’s relative friendliness
toward Taiwan, the prospect of U.S. sanctions over its treatment of Uighur
Muslims, and the American decision to exclude China from Pacific Rim
military exercises this year. Taken together, there is a strong whiff of
conspiracy.”

        National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro said on CNBC’s
Closing Bell
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=09f-ff7&t=c>
(9/24), “We’re happy to listen to the Chinese whenever they want to talk.
The Chinese are well aware of the problems which we’ve raised. ... We’d
love to have China come into the world of free, fair and reciprocal trade
and behave in a way where our other trading partners in the world behave.”
Navarro added that China knows “what needs to be done. The challenge, of
course, is that they engage in so many egregious practices that it’s far
more difficult to get a deal with China than it would be with Mexico and
there it is. But at the end of the day, at the end of the day, if we can
get a structural realignment of the global economy where all players that
we trade with engage in free, fair and reciprocal trade, and we have
balanced trade, that’s a global economy that will prosper for the next 50
years.”

        *Dow Down Nearly 182 Points As China Tariffs Take Effect. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a0-1f0&t=c>
(9/24, Carew) reports, “The S&P 500 and the Dow closed lower on Monday
after a new round of US-China trade tariffs kicked in, dampening last
week’s hopes for talks between the two countries, and as investors awaited
a widely expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Seven of the
S&P’s 11 major sectors lost ground after U.S. tariffs on some $200 billion
worth of Chinese goods took effect, along with Beijing’s retaliatory
duties.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 181.45 points at
26,562.05, while the S&P 500 was down 10.3 points to 2,919.37. The Nasdaq
gained 6.29 points to close at 7,993.25.

        *P&G Says New Tariffs Will Hurt Sales, Raise Prices, Endanger Jobs.
*The Cincinnati Enquirer
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a1-a92&t=c>
(9/24, Coolidge) reports that Procter & Gamble says Trump’s latest round of
tariffs against China will hurt its sales, “endanger jobs and risk higher
prices for the U.S. consumer.” In a letter to the US Trade Representative
sent before the new tariffs took effect, P&G’s Selina Jackson, a vice
president of government relations and public policy wrote, “These imports
are necessary to P&G’s ability to delight consumers and meet their needs.
... Higher costs from tariffs may also translate into higher prices, reduce
P&G sales, and undermine American jobs in P&G U.S. operations.”

        *China Willing To Resume Trade Talks, But Doesn’t Expect Them Until
After Midterms. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a2-0c3&t=c>
(9/24, Lee, Zhang) reports that the US and China “imposed fresh tariffs on
each other’s goods on Monday” and “showed no signs of backing down from an
increasingly bitter trade dispute that is expected to knock global economic
growth.” According to Reuters, “Soon after the new duties went into effect,
China accused the U.S. of engaging in ‘trade bullyism’ and said it was
intimidating other countries to submit to its will.” However, China’s
Xinhua news agency said the government of China is “also...willing to
restart trade negotiations with the United States if the talks are ‘based
on mutual respect and equality.’”

        On the other hand, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a3-a98&t=c>
(9/24) reports that increasingly in Beijing, “the consensus” is that
“substantive discussions will only be possible after U.S. midterm elections
in November.” Bloomberg adds that, for his part, President Trump appears
intent on “ignoring the warnings of business leaders and economists,” and
“isn’t backing down from his plan to confront China over what he argues are
its unfair trading practices and abuse of U.S. intellectual property.”

        *Trump Pursuing Trade Deals In Asia, Europe Amid Tensions With
China. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a4-6cd&t=c>
(9/24, Schlesinger, Salama) reports that the Administration is seeking to
secure trade deals with allies in Asia and Europe amid tensions in US
relations with China. President Trump on Monday signed a revised free-trade
pact with South Korea, and hopes this week to persuade Japan to enter
formal bilateral trade talks. Administration officials also have meetings
planned with EU officials this week on the sidelines of the UN General
Assembly to advance a trade framework unveiled in July.

        *NYTimes: Foreign Firms Reliant On China’s Workforce,
Infrastructure. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a5-71c&t=c>
(9/24, Stevenson) reports in an analysis that “the worsening trade war
between the United States and China has intensified pressure on companies
to leave China” and “rethink their supply chains.” The Times adds that
“many companies are considering cheaper places to make their products, like
Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Ethiopia.” However, according to the
Times, China “will be hard to quit” because “from zippers and rivets on
jackets and jeans to the minerals used in iPhones, China makes or processes
many of the ingredients that go into today’s consumer goods.” In addition,
“It has a dependable source of workers who know how to hold down factory
jobs,” as well as “reliable roads and rail lines connecting suppliers to
assembly plants to ports.”
Domestic Policy
Urging “Transparency,” Trump Says He Will Meet With Rosenstein On Thursday.

A flurry of conflicting news accounts yesterday indicated that the
resignation or firing of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was
imminent. Later coverage, however, said his status will not be decided
until he meets with President Trump on Thursday at the White House. The
latest controversy involving Rosenstein stems from a weekend New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a6-f2e&t=c>
story that claimed the DOJ official had discussed secretly recording Trump
and recruiting Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him
from office. As The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a7-9c3&t=c>
(9/24, Fabian, Chalfant) and many other news outlets point out, “Rosenstein
has aggressively denied the report as inaccurate.” On CBS This Morning[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a8-f00&t=c>
(9/24), however, Kristen Welker reported that the Times article has “given
fresh ammunition to the President and Republicans who say some law
enforcement officials are working against Mr. Trump,” while on MSNBC’s
Morning Joe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0a9-78e&t=c>
(9/24), Joe Scarborough pointed out that over the weekend, several of
Trump’s supporters on Fox News, including Sean Hannity, argued that the
article was a “deep-state setup” and counseled Trump not to fire
Rosenstein.

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0aa-651&t=c>
(9/24, Stohr, Strohm) reports that “after a person familiar with the matter
said Rosenstein told Chief of Staff John Kelly that he was resigning,”
Trump said yesterday “he’s looking forward to meeting with...Rosenstein on
Thursday to discuss his future.” Said Trump, “We’ll be determining what’s
going on. ... We want to have transparency, we want to have openness and
I’m looking forward to meeting with Rod at that time.” Bloomberg adds that
Trump, in New York for meetings at the UN, “didn’t answer a question about
what may happen to Rosenstein,” saying instead, “I spoke with Rod today and
we’re going to have a meeting on Thursday when I get back to the White
House.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ab-75b&t=c>
(9/24, Mordock) reports Trump also “addressed the report during a radio
interview with Geraldo Rivera that aired Monday morning before Mr.
Rosenstein appeared at the White House.” Trump “stressed[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ac-df3&t=c>
that his Attorney General Jeff Sessions was responsible for hiring Mr.
Rosenstein, which was a decision he claimed not to be a part of.” Trump
also said
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ad-420&t=c>,
“Well, I think it’s a very sad story. ... We’re looking into it, but it’s a
very sad state of affairs when something like that can happen.” Trump went
on to state “he didn’t want to comment on potentially firing the deputy
attorney general until he had all the facts about the situation.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ae-6f2&t=c>
(9/24, Johnson, Jackson) says “Rosenstein’s fate remained in doubt,”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0af-889&t=c>
(9/24, Cheney, Samuelsohn, Gerstein) that “it is unclear what” his “fate
will be following” his meeting with Trump, and NBC Nightly News that[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b0-f9a&t=c>
(9/24, story 2, 1:53, Williams) “Rosenstein’s future is in doubt and there
are growing signs that Attorney General Jeff Sessions will step down after
the November elections.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b1-8d5&t=c>
(9/24, Viswanatha, Bender, Gurman) runs a similar report. Ahead of Trump’s
comments, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b2-c9d&t=c>
(9/24, Megerian) reports, “White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders...issued a statement
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b3-91b&t=c>
saying Trump...would meet with Rosenstein when he returns to Washington.”
Sanders also “said the president already had ‘an extended conversation’
with Rosenstein.”

        Jonathan Swan of Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b4-29b&t=c>
(9/24, Swan) reported late yesterday afternoon that “shortly after” it
published an earlier story “saying that...Rosenstein had ‘verbally resigned’
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b5-155&t=c>
to...Kelly,” DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores “drafted a statement that
would announce Rosenstein’s departure, written in the voice of Attorney
General...Sessions” According to Swan, “The statement does not include the
words ‘resignation,’” although Rosenstein reportedly told Kelly that he was
“willing to resign.”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b6-b9e&t=c>
(9/24, story 3, 3:25, Karl) also reported it “has learned Rosenstein had
offered to resign over the weekend, but could not agree with the White
House on the specifics of his resignation.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b7-733&t=c>
(9/24, Shear, Davis, Haberman) similarly indicates that “over the weekend,
Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering
quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning,” and
the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b8-c68&t=c>
(9/24, Parker, Helderman) that “multiple officials said that during a
series of conversations over the weekend between and among White House and
Justice Department officials, it appeared Rosenstein planned to resign on
Monday.” The Post adds that “during some of those conversations, Rosenstein
indicated that his resignation might be warranted to end the controversy,”
and “when Rosenstein went to the White House Monday morning, senior Trump
advisers expected him to resign.” On the other hand, an anonymous Justice
Department official tells the Post that Rosenstein “had no intention of
resigning but went there with the expectation he would be fired.”

        Along the latter lines, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0b9-a08&t=c>
(9/24, Miller, Tucker) reports that “his future hanging in the balance over
revelations that he had discussed possibly secretly recording the
president, Rosenstein expected to be fired as he headed for the White House
on Monday for what was later described as a prescheduled meeting.” The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ba-d1d&t=c>
(9/24, Balz) similarly reports that “Trump faces an obvious dilemma.
Allowing Rosenstein to remain in place provides a shield for Mueller to
keep his investigation on track, an investigation that continues to cause
Trump heartburn,” whereas “firing Rosenstein would produce a backlash that
could cost Republicans more seats in November, and thus potentially put
Trump under investigation by a Democratic-controlled House.”

        Rep. Adam Schiff (D), ranking member of the House Intelligence
Committee, was asked on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0bb-836&t=c>
(9/24) why he is believes Rosenstein should force the President to fire him
rather than resigning. Schiff said, “If he does resign, if he’s somehow
cajoled into resigning, then the President can slot someone into that
position under the Vacancies Act that could control the Mueller
investigation, and the President has made it very clear he wants his own
Roy Cohn to do his business, never mind the interest of justice.” Schiff
added, “The other consideration here is if the President fires Rod
Rosenstein, it is exhibit B in the obstruction of justice case against him,
exhibit A being the firing of James Comey.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said on CNN’s
Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0bc-597&t=c>
(9/24), “If Donald Trump fires Rod Rosenstein, for the purpose of
protecting himself from the Mueller investigation, that would represent
high crimes and misdemeanors.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0bd-506&t=c>
(9/24, story 4, 2:13, Reid) reported that for Rosenstein, overseeing the
Mueller probe is “an enormous amount of power.” It “means he has final
approval of any charges that are brought. He will decide to make the final
report whether to make that public, and perhaps most importantly, and
what’s unique about a Special Counsel, is he will have the final decision
if there is any evidence of criminal wrongdoing about the President whether
or not to recommend that to Congress for possible impeachment proceedings.”

        *Trump Attorneys: “Review” Of Russia Probe Needed If Rosenstein
Leaves Post. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0be-8e5&t=c>
(9/24, Jackson, Johnson) reports that “an attorney for...Trump called
Monday for ‘a review’ of the Russia election investigation if...Rosenstein
leaves his post.” Said Jay Sekulow, “I think it’s really important that
there be a step back taken here, and a review.” Sekulow added that “a
Rosenstein replacement should conduct a review ‘that has to be thorough and
complete,’” calling it “basically a time-out of this inquiry.” The New York
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0bf-b62&t=c>
(9/24, Fredericks) notes that “during his radio show, Sekulow endorsed an
effort by Trump-supporting Sen. Lindsey Graham to appoint a second special
counsel to investigate the first special counsel.” The Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c0-e98&t=c>
(9/24, Markay) reports that Rudy Giuliani said in an interview “that he
agrees with Sekulow’s call for a cessation of the investigation
by...Mueller, in the event of Rosenstein’s ouster.”

        *If Rosenstein Leaves DOJ, Solicitor General Would Supervise
Mueller Probe. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c1-d7f&t=c>
(9/24, Shear, Davis, Haberman) reports that if Rosenstein is removed or
resigns, Solicitor General Noel Francisco “would assume oversight of the
Russia investigation.” However, “critics have said that Mr. Francisco, a
former lawyer for the Jones Day law firm, cannot oversee the Russia
investigation without a waiver from the White House because the firm is
representing the Trump campaign in the investigation, creating a conflict
of interest.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c2-717&t=c>
(9/24, King) points out, however, that while Francisco “was at the firm
when it represented the president’s 2016 campaign...there’s no evidence he
worked on any campaign-related matters.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c3-b3c&t=c>
(9/24, Mordock) reports Francisco “hasn’t publicly addressed the probe, but
has had harsh words for Mr. Mueller’s close friend, ex-FBI boss James
Comey.” Francisco “blasted...Comey for ‘heavy-handed’ tactics in the
bureau’s probe of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican. Mr.
McDonnell’s conviction was vacated by the US Supreme Court in 2016.”
Francisco “has also accused Mr. Comey of using ‘kid gloves’ in the
investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while
secretary of state.”

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c4-ee1&t=c>
(9/24, Moore) reports Francisco “was confirmed to the post in September
2017 by a 50-47 vote in the Senate.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c5-62e&t=c>
(9/24, Johnson) says “Francisco has rock-ribbed conservative credentials,”
and CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c6-c25&t=c>
(9/24, Lesniewski) that he “has strong conservative credentials. He clerked
for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, was an associate White
House counsel in the George W. Bush administration and also worked in the
Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel for two years during the Bush
administration.” Roll Call adds that “before getting to his current job,
Francisco had already argued three cases before the Supreme Court, all
frustrating the Obama administration. He successfully challenged President
Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.”
Moreover, says McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c7-aa3&t=c>
(9/24, Daugherty), Francisco “once worked for President George W. Bush’s
team during the 2000 Florida recount that ultimately resulted in Bush
becoming president over then-Vice President Al Gore.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c8-4b5&t=c>
(9/24, Freifeld, Lynch) reports that if Rosenstein resigns, Trump “has more
leeway on replacing him while firing him would make it harder for Trump to
designate a successor.”

        *McCabe “Deeply Concerned” If “Rumors” Are True. *CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0c9-f32&t=c>
(9/24) reports that “Andrew McCabe, whom Trump fired over allegations he
had leaked sensitive information to the media and lied about it, released a
statement about the situation at the same time begging off any interview
requests.” Said McCabe, “There is nothing more important to the integrity
of law enforcement and the rule of law than protecting the investigation of
Special Counsel Mueller. ... If the rumors of Deputy AG’s Rosenstein’s
departure are true, I am deeply concerned that it puts that investigation
at risk.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ca-ca4&t=c>
(9/24, Lynch) reports McCabe “was fired by...Sessions in March after the
Justice Department’s internal watchdog accused him of misconduct.” McCabe
“charged that he was targeted for being a witness into whether...Trump
tried to obstruct the probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016
presidential election.”

        *Pompeo Chides CNN’s Acosta Over “Ludicrous” 25th Amendment
Question. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0cb-0e0&t=c>
(9/24, Chasmar) reports Secretary of State Pompeo yesterday “scolded CNN
chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta for asking a ‘ludicrous’
question about Cabinet members allegedly discussing invoking the 25th
Amendment against...Trump.” Acosta “asked UN Ambassador Nikki Haley if she
ever heard of such discussions taking place inside the Trump
administration.” Said
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0cc-6ff&t=c>
Haley, “I have never once been in the White House where that conversation
has happened. ... It is completely and totally absurd. No one is
questioning the president at all.” Pompeo “added that he also had never
heard any such discussion within the administration,” telling[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0cd-78f&t=c>
Acosta, “I find the question ludicrous. ... I’ve never heard anyone talk
about it, whisper about it, joke about it in any way. I’ve been in a lot of
meetings with a lot of senior officials from this government.”

        *NYTimes’ Schmidt: Rosenstein Not Joking Or Sarcastic About
Secretly Recording Trump. *Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ce-5aa&t=c>
(9/24), the New York Times’ Michael Schmidt, who reported on Friday that
Rosenstein has discussed ousting Trump and secretly recording meetings with
him, was asked if it is possible that Rosenstein was being “sarcastic.”
Schmidt replied, “That’s not what the depth and breadth of our reporting
showed. It showed that in the meeting, Rosenstein had been asked whether he
was joking, he said he was not, and then raised a new prospect of wiring up
FBI agents who were going into the Oval Office to meet with the President
about being the next director. Also, [there has been] no push back from the
Justice Department on whether the comment about the 25th Amendment was
‘sarcastic.’”

        *Meadows Says He Will Move To Impeach Rosenstein If He Refuses To
Testify. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0cf-e1f&t=c>
(9/24, Chaitin) reports “House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-NC,
said Monday evening he and a ‘number’ of colleagues are prepared to take
action toward impeaching...Rosenstein if he doesn’t submit to testimony
under oath to explain reports that he potential spoke about
undermining...Trump.” Meadows told Fox News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d0-e5c&t=c>,”We
are pushing very hard to make sure that he comes in under oath to Congress
and let the American people judge for themselves. ... I can’t tell you that
if he does not, there are a number of us that are standing by really with
impeachment documents, that said, we cannot have this kind of activity
continue at DOJ.”

        *WPost Editorial: Republicans Should “Insist That Mr. Trump Leave
Mr. Rosenstein Alone.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d1-4e1&t=c>
(9/24, Board) editorializes, “Between now and Thursday, lawmakers should
insist that Mr. Trump leave Mr. Rosenstein alone, making clear that a move
against the deputy attorney general would provoke a backlash at least as
damaging as Mr. Trump’s 2017 firing of Mr. Comey.” The Post adds that
“Republicans in Congress previously refused to pass legislation insulating
the Mueller probe from Mr. Trump’s wrath, arguing that it was not
necessary. That argument was never plausible, and lawmakers may be nearly
out of time.”

        *Goldstone Described As “Go Between” For Trump Campaign, Russian
Oligarch. *On NBC’s Today Show
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d2-1c1&t=c>
(9/24), Savannah Guthrie said Rob Goldstone served as the “go-between” for
the Trump Campaign and “one of Russia’s wealthiest oligarchs,” and was “at
the center of this Trump Tower meeting that has become so infamous.”
Cynthia McFadden, who interviewed Goldstone, said Goldstone “says he
thought the meeting had been an utter disaster, but despite that, the
Russians pushed for more meetings after President Trump was elected
President. Goldstone says doesn’t think they ever happened.” McFadden said
on NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d3-6bb&t=c>
(9/24, story 8, 2:32, Holt), “Goldstone says no dirt was given” at the
meeting. McFadden: “It was a dirty offer?” Goldstone: “Yes.” McFadden: “It
was a dirty offer that they accepted?” Goldstone: “Yes, that is true that
didn’t materialize but yes, it’s the willingness to accept it.” McFadden
added, “And that Goldstone says was a central focus for the grand jury.”
Goldstone was also interviewed on CNN Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d4-21d&t=c>
(9/24).

        *Mueller Team Says Steele’s Actions Do Not Compare To Russian
Company’s. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d5-f35&t=c>
(9/24, Correll) reports that special counsel Robert Mueller’s team argued
in a court filing Friday that the actions of anti-Trump dossier author
Christopher Steele do not “remotely compare” to those of a Russian
company’s in the 2016 elections. They wrote, “Acting as an anonymous source
for media articles is not similar to conducting ‘information warfare
against the United States of America.’” The filing was “in response to the
Russian company Concord Management, charged earlier this year by Mueller
for using fake U.S. social media profiles in an attempt to harm ‘the lawful
functions of the United States government.’” Concord’s lawyers said that
“Steele contacted with members of the media to talk about his work for the
dossier and his communications with the Justice Department — leading to the
FBI cutting him as a source — but Mueller’s team said they failed to
describe how Steele’s actions would ‘implicate’ government operations.”
Spending Bill’s Fate Uncertain Due To Trump’s Anger Over Border Wall Funds.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d6-d5b&t=c>
(9/24, Daly, Freking) reports that “neither party wants the government to
close ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of
Congress,” but President Trump “has made clear his frustration at the lack
of additional money for his long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico
border,” and “says it is ‘ridiculous’ the wall has yet to be fully funded.”
The AP adds, “With less than a week before a Sept. 30 deadline for a
partial shutdown, Republican leaders hope they can get Trump to set aside
his frustration about the wall and sign legislation that funds the military
and a host of civilian agencies for the next year.” The AP adds that House
conservatives are “voicing displeasure that money is included for Planned
Parenthood but not the wall.”

        *Poll: 36% Of Latinos “Less Likely To Vote” For Candidates Who Want
To Abolish ICE. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d7-09b&t=c>
(9/24, Lee) reports that a new poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d8-ef3&t=c>
has found that “a plurality of Latino voters are ‘less likely to vote’ for
a candidate in the 2018 midterm elections who supports abolishing
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).” According to an NBC News/Wall
Street Journal/Telemundo poll, 36% of Hispanic voters said they are “less
likely to vote” for a candidate who “favors abolishing ICE,” while 33% said
they are “more likely to vote.” Another 26% said there is “no difference”
and 5% said they were “not sure.”

        *GAO: ICE Running Short On Cash Before Transfer From FEMA. *
McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0d9-98e&t=c>
(9/24, Lowry) reports the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency “keeps
running short on cash, so federal officials keep taking money from other
government sources — notably the agency that handles hurricane relief — to
pay the bills. It’s a practice that’s come under sharp criticism” from the
Government Accountability Office. Over the summer, lawmakers approved “a
$169 million transfer” to ICE from “other agencies, including $10 million”
from FEMA. But even before that transfer, the GAO “was wary of ICE’s
finances. It found in April that ICE was often unable to provide
documentation to justify its budget proposals.” The GAO wrote that “without
a documented review process for reviewing the accuracy of its budget
request, ICE is not positioned to ensure the credibility of its budget
requests.” ICE spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea “told McClatchy that forecasting
the ICE budget was an imprecise science.”

        *IG Report: ICE Program To Recruit Local Police Overextended Under
Trump. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0da-e2e&t=c>
(9/24, Dinan) reports the Administration has “overextended a program
designed to recruit local police departments to assist in immigration
enforcement, shirking the planning and technology needed to make the
operation work,” the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general
said Monday. Known as 287(g), the program has “more than doubled under
President Trump, from 36 to 76 local departments that were participating as
of this spring.” But the inspector general found ICE “has botched the
expansion, allowing police to sign up without ensuring they’ve been
trained, and failing to get them the computers they need to identify and
detain illegal immigrants.”

        *H-2B Workers Sue Yellowstone Club For Wage Theft, Poor Treatment. *
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0db-cc4&t=c>
(9/24, Binder) reports that a “ski resort frequented by billionaires like
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates is being sued by a group of
Jamaican nationals who were brought to the United States to take
blue-collar seasonal jobs.” The Yellowstone Club in Montana has been “hit
with a lawsuit by a group of foreign workers in the country on H-2B visas
that were hired by the resort for allegedly cheating them out of tips and
pay.” The H-2B foreign workers “also claim they were treated worse than
other employees at the resort.”

        *Nations Hosting Refugees Say Rich Countries Have Let Them Down. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0dc-9fd&t=c>
(9/24, Morello) reports that the “plight of refugees was center stage at
the United Nations in 2016, as dozens of countries attending a US-led
summit pledged to admit many more people. Two years later, the optimism
born of that summit has been replaced by bitterness and uncertainty as the
number of refugees worldwide has soared and far fewer are being resettled
in other countries.” Nations hosting millions of refugees “said they had
been let down by the world’s richest countries and were facing serious
problems as a result.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mehmet Cavusoglu, for
example, said, “Unfortunately, the heavy burden of humanitarian
consequences of the Syrian crisis has been left on Turkey’s shoulders,”
estimating that his country has spent $32 billion feeding, sheltering and
educating refugees.
Trump Says He Is Opposed To Statehood For Puerto Rico.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0dd-6f7&t=c>
(9/24, Thomas) reports that in a radio interview with Geraldo Rivera on
Monday, President Trump “declared himself an ‘absolute no’ on statehood for
Puerto Rico as long as critics such as San Juan’s mayor remain in office.”
Trump “lobbed fresh broadsides at San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, a
critic of his administration’s response to hurricanes on the island last
year.” Said Trump, “With the mayor of San Juan as bad as she is and as
incompetent as she is, Puerto Rico shouldn’t be talking about statehood
until they get some people that really know what they’re doing. ... With
people like that involved in Puerto Rico, I would be an absolute
‘no.’” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0de-42b&t=c>
(9/24, Wagner) says Trump’s “assessment brought a rebuke from Ricardo
Rosselló, the governor of the commonwealth, who has been making a
stepped-up effort to persuade Trump and Congress to support statehood in
the wake of the first anniversary of the storm.” In a statement, Rosselló
said, “This is an insensitive, disrespectful comment to over 3 million
Americans who live in the US territory of Puerto Rico.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0df-9f9&t=c>
(9/24, Muñoz) reports Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez, the congresswoman for Puerto
Rico, “also countered the president’s statements on Twitter,” writing
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e0-ea8&t=c>,
“Equality 4 Puerto Ricans shouldn’t be held up by one bad mayor who’s
leaving office in 2020 & do not represent the people who voted twice for
statehood. In 2012 61%, and 97% in 2017. Equality & statehood are much
bigger than any lousy & temporary politician. Equality transcends.”
Dimon: It Will “Be 25 Years” Before Public Forgives Wall Street For
Bailouts.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e1-aee&t=c>
(9/24) reports that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon “doesn’t expect Wall
Street to be forgiven anytime soon by Americans still angry about the
financial-crisis bailouts.” Speaking at a Monday event in Philadelphia,
Dimon said, “It’s going to be 25 years.” He still believes “the government
‘did the right thing’ to avoid a disaster.”
Drug Industry Seeks To Insert $4 Billion “Technical Correction” Into Opioid
Bill.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e2-8c2&t=c>
(9/24, Pear) reports that “a move by the pharmaceutical industry to grab $4
billion from the federal Treasury in a bill that is supposed to address the
nation’s deadly opioid epidemic is meeting fierce resistance.” At issue is
“a small measure that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America, or PhRMA, has deemed a ‘technical correction’ to a bipartisan
budget law signed by President Trump in February.” The law required drug
manufacturers to provide “deeper discounts to Medicare beneficiaries whose
spending on prescription drugs falls within a range called the coverage
gap.” The change sought by the drug industry “has nothing to do with the
scourge of opioids, but such provisions are often tucked quietly into
popular, swiftly moving bills, then discovered months later.” Opponents
said Monday “that they were confident they could block the relief sought by
drug companies, at least for now.”

        *Gilead To Sell Cheaper Versions Of Its Hepatitis C Drugs. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e3-074&t=c>
(9/24, Spalding) reports that Gilead Sciences Inc., will sell cheaper
versions of its hepatitis C drugs Epclusa and Harvoni, “the original
versions of which sparked widespread debate about US pharmaceutical costs
when they were introduced at a price of more than $1,000 a pill.” The
company said in a statement Monday that the new versions of the drugs will
cost $24,000 for a course of treatment. Gilead will sell the new version of
the drugs, which are known as “authorized generics,” through “a new
subsidiary called Asegua Therapeutics.”

        *AP: Drug-Price Cuts Promised By Trump Have Failed To Materialize. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e4-d08&t=c>
(9/24, Johnson, Forster) reports that President Trump “made reducing drug
prices a key promise during his election campaign,” and in May, “promised
that drug companies would be announcing ‘massive’ voluntary drug price cuts
within two weeks.” However, according to the AP, “In the two months after
Trump’s announcement, there were more than 16 price hikes for every
decrease,” while “over the first seven months of the year, there were 96
price increases for every cut.” HHS Secretary Azar “conceded in a recent AP
interview that it will be a while before drug prices fall.” Azar is quoted
as saying, “I am not counting on the altruism of pharma companies lowering
their prices.”

        *Jindal Named To Board Of WellCare Health Plans. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e5-bb5&t=c>
(9/24, Herman) reports that former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) “has
been named to the board of directors at WellCare Health Plans, a publicly
traded health insurance company that mostly operates state Medicaid
programs.”
FBI Data: Number Of Violent Crimes Fell Slightly Last Year.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e6-9a7&t=c>
(9/24, Berman) reports that according to new data from the FBI, “the number
of murders and other violent crimes dipped slightly in the United States
last year.” The numbers “suggest the rise of violent crimes in recent years
may be ending.” According to the Post, “Rapes rose 3 percent in
2017...while cases of manslaughter and murder decreased 0.7 percent
compared with the previous year. Aggravated assault cases increased 1
percent, while overall violent crimes dropped 0.2 percent.” The Post says
“the figures suggest that a rise in violent crime in 2015 began to reverse
in 2017,” but the number of violent crimes was still well higher than in
2014. The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e7-96c&t=c>
(9/24, Gutowski, Lehman) reports Attorney General Sessions “said the
Department of Justice has increased its efforts in prosecuting violent and
gun crimes,” and “credited those efforts with having an effect on crime in
the United States.”
Gallup Poll: GOP’s Favorability Rating Hits Highest Point Since 2011.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e8-caf&t=c>
(9/24, Lim) reports the Republican Party’s favorability ratings “are at a
seven-year high, according to a new Gallup poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0e9-1f9&t=c>”
released Monday. Forty-five percent of adults now perceive the GOP in a
positive light, the party’s “highest rating since January 2011” and “nearly
a double-digit percentage-point improvement from 2017.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ea-466&t=c>
(9/24, Fordham) reports the poll “also showed the Democratic Party’s
favorability rating at 44 percent.” Gallup attributed the Republicans’
rating “to the growing economy and the middle-class-friendly tax reforms
passed in December.”

        *In Tweet Today, Trump Touts GOP Favorability In Poll. *Trump
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0eb-368&t=c>
this morning, “Republican Party Favorability is the highest it has been in
7 years – 3 points higher than Democrats! Gallup”

        *Poll: Surge In GOP Voter Enthusiasm, “Nearly Matching” Democrats. *The
Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ec-4b0&t=c>
(9/24, Bedard) reports that Republicans “appear to be rallying to embattled
President Trump and his call for a ‘red wave’ of voters at the polls this
fall, according to a new national survey that finds GOP ‘enthusiasm’ for
the midterm elections surging.” While the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll
found “a significant, potentially overwhelming, 12-point lead for Democrats
in the congressional preference, both outlets noted that Republican voters
are stirring.” The Journal said, “The poll, while outlining challenges for
the GOP, included some good news for Republicans. The party is closing an
enthusiasm gap, with 61 percent of Republican voters now expressing high
interest in the election, nearly matching the 65 percent of Democrats.”

        *NBC News/WSJournal Poll: 19% Of Voters Have Positive View Of
Socialism. *In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ed-abd&t=c>
(9/24, Coulter) reported, “Despite some well-publicized victories by
self-described Democratic socialists in Democratic primary” contests this
year, “fewer than one in five Americans have a positive view of socialism,
according to a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll” of 900
voters nationwide, taken Sept. 16-19. The poll “found that fully half of
voters – 52 percent – have a negative view of socialism, compared with just
19 percent who view it positively. But when asked about their feelings
towards capitalism, 52 percent of voters said they felt positively, while
just 18 percent said they view it negatively.”
Cancer Research
FDA Approves Blood Cancer Drug Duvelisib.

The Boston Globe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ee-033&t=c>
(9/24, Saltzman) reports the FDA approved Verastem Oncology’s drug Copiktra
(duvelisib) to treat “chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic
lymphoma in adult patients who relapse or don’t get better as a result of
at least two prior therapies.” The FDA also approved it for patients with
“follicular lymphoma who have already been treated with at least two other
therapies.” MedPage Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0ef-4d9&t=c>
(9/24, Ingram) reports that the dual Pl3k inhibitor was approved for three
indications: chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma
(CLL/SLL) and follicular lymphoma.
NIH, NCI Grant Helps Test Scalable Diet, Exercise Interventions For Cancer
Survivors.

The Birmingham (AL) Business Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0f0-45e&t=c>
(9/24, Patchen) reports University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
researchers “have received a five-year $11.7 million grant from the NIH and
National Cancer Institute to test effective and scalable diet and exercise
interventions among underserved cancer survivors in Alabama, Tennessee,
Mississippi and North Carolina.” Principal investigator and professor Wendy
Demark-Wahnefried “said she and her team will recruiting over 600
participants...for three separate initiatives that test three distinct
diet” and web-based exercise interventions with assessments that “will take
place in the field.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Giving The College Profiteers A Free Hand.”* New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0f1-efd&t=c>
(9/24) says a federal judge “sent the right message last week when he
blocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s suspension of an Obama-era rule
that allows students defrauded by for-profit colleges to have some or all
of their federal student loans forgiven.” The Times argues that “the next
step should be to order the department to grant debt relief to the
thousands of student borrowers who have applied and are clearly eligible
under the original rule.”
Washington Post.

*“Trump’s Child Separation Policy Pales In Comparison To China’s.”* In an
editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0f2-9d8&t=c>
(9/24) says the Administration “was rightly excoriated and forced to
retreat when it adopted the tactic of separating the children of
undocumented immigrants from their detained parents earlier this year. Yet
this cruel and since-rescinded practice pales beside China’s ongoing
mistreatment of children in its western Xinjiang province.” The Post says
that while the Administration “was forced to end its separations of migrant
families by lawsuits and intense publicity,” there is “no rule of law in
Xinjiang, and the regime has done its best to stifle reporting on its
repression.” More, it argues, “must be done to call attention to these
extraordinary violations of human rights; perhaps Mr. Xi, like President
Trump, can be shamed into changing course.”

        *“Yet Another Reason To Call The FBI.” *Citing Deborah Ramirez’s
allegations against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Kavanaugh’s
denial of them, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0f3-0b5&t=c>
(9/24) argues that if Kavanaugh “is telling the truth, he and his allies
should want a professional, impartial investigation to gather what facts
exist.” The Post says “calling in the FBI would assure the public that the
Senate is taking all reasonable steps to get at the truth. Mr. Kavanaugh
and his Republican backers should want that as much as Ms. Ford and the
Democrats calling for FBI involvement.”

        *“Trump Should Leave Rod Rosenstein Alone.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092501biden&r=email-40b2&l=0f4-344&t=c>
(9/24, Board) editorializes, “Between now and Thursday, lawmakers should
insist that Mr. Trump leave Mr. Rosenstein alone, making clear that a move
against the deputy attorney general would provoke a backlash at least as
damaging as Mr. Trump’s 2017 firing of Mr. Comey.” The Post adds that
“Republicans in Congress previously refused to pass legislation insulating
the Mueller probe from Mr. Trump’s wrath, arguing that it was not
necessary. That argument was never plausible, and lawmakers may be nearly
out of time.”

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