Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Tuesday, October 23, 2018
From: "Kathy Chung" <[email-masked]>
To: "Ashley Blazer Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jill Tracy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jimmy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Valerie Biden Owens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2018 10:56:55 -0400

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Tuesday, October 23, 2018 8:01 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, October 23, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=000-0de&t=c>
mobile-optimized online version, including download options and an audio
reader.*

[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=001-200&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, October 23, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden Rallies Support For Gillum, Nelson In Florida, Blasts Trump. <#S1>

• Tickets No Longer Available For Biden’s Friday Appearance For Delgado.
<#S2>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Praises Ex-Rival Cruz, Calls Himself A “Nationalist” At Houston
Rally. <#S3>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump Won’t Back Endins Saudi Arms Sales, Calls Khashoggi Murder “Plot
Gone Awry.” <#S4>

• Trump Reiterates Threat To Withdraw From INF As Bolton Visits Russia.
<#S5>

• US Army’s Study Of Iraq War Remains Unpublished Two Years After
Completion. <#S6>

• Coalition Soldier Killed In Afghan Insider Attack. <#S7>

• US Outpost Along Key Highway Assumes Larger Role In Trump’s Syria
Strategy. <#S8>

• Trump: Foreign Nations Now “Pay A Big Price For Doing Business” With US.
<#S9>

• Xi-Abe Meeting Expected To Showcase Closer China-Japan Relationship.
<#S10>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Media Analyses: Trump Fear-Mongering Over Caravan For Midterms Gain.
<#S11>

• Report On Proposed HHS Gender Definition Prompts Protests. <#S12>

• Trump Announces Push For 10% Tax Cut For “Middle-Income People.” <#S13>

• White House Readying New Zero-Tolerance Plan For Border Security Before
Midterms. <#S14>

• Plan Released By White House Would Break Up OPM. <#S15>

• White House Encouraging Tech Giants To Share Workers With Government.
<#S16>

• House Panels To Interview Rosenstein, Papadopoulos This Week. <#S17>

• At Las Vegas Rally, Obama Slams Congressional GOP, Trump. <#S18>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Maine Cancer Initiative Expanding Patients’ Access To Treatments, Trials.
<#S19>

• NCI Grant Supports CAR-T Cell Research At UPenn’s Abramson Cancer Center.
<#S20>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S21>

• Washington Post. <#S22>
Biden in the News
Biden Rallies Support For Gillum, Nelson In Florida, Blasts Trump.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s Monday visit to Florida, where he stumped
for Sen. Bill Nelson (D) and gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Gillum (D), drew
widespread coverage from the media in the Sunshine State. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=002-55d&t=c>
(10/22) reports that Biden, appearing at the University of South Florida in
Tampa, “called the upcoming midterm elections a fight for ‘the soul of
America’” and added “that America has a chance to reset ‘the moral compass
of this country’ and that President Trump’s actions at home and abroad
didn’t reflect basic American values of decency and pluralism.” Biden is
quoted as saying, “Folks, these values have always held us together. Today,
they are being shredded. We have a president who pushes his own selfish
interests ahead of the country.”

        The Tampa Bay (FL) Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=003-210&t=c>
(10/22, Contorno) reports, “As vice president...Biden leaned in to the
goofy ‘Uncle Joe’ caricature of memes and satirical news stories.” However,
during yesterday’s event at the University of South Florida, “the audience
saw a different side of Biden. ‘Listen,’ he said over and over when the
crowd wanted to laugh or cheer. ‘This is not a joke.’ ‘I think there’s
something different about this election,’ Biden said. ‘This election is
bigger than politics. For real. This goes well beyond.’”

        The News Service of Florida
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=004-1db&t=c>
(10/22, Kam) reports, “Likening the November election to ‘reclaiming
America’s soul, for real,’...Biden held a crowd of supporters spellbound
Monday as he shared a stage with” Gillum and Nelson “as early voting
started in many parts of the state.” Biden, who Gillum introduced “as ‘the
coolest man on Planet Earth,’” delivered “a 30-minute speech in which he
hammered President Donald Trump, [GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ron]
DeSantis and Gov. Rick Scott, who is trying to unseat Nelson.” On its
website, WTSP-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=005-163&t=c>
St. Petersburg, FL (10/22, Glasser) reported that Biden “called the
upcoming election the most important in our lifetime and a referendum
on...Trump. ‘Don’t tell me things can’t change. Don’t tell me this man
can’t be elected,’ Biden said gesturing toward Gillum. ‘Don’t tell me that
will not happen. Don’t tell me!’”

        The Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=006-20c&t=c>
(10/22, Pantazi) reports that later in the day, Biden also rallied support
for Gillum and Nelson during a visit to the University of North Florida in
Jacksonville, where the former Vice President “called Gillum ‘one of the
most exciting and dynamic candidates’ and said Nelson showed political
courage when he voted for the Affordable Care Act at a time when that
carried electoral risk. ‘I’ve campaigned for a lot of people all over this
country,’ Biden said. ‘The American people are looking for people with
character. ... I haven’t served with anyone with more character and more
decency than Bill Nelson.’”

        Florida Politics
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=007-4dc&t=c>
(10/22, Gancarski) reported that Biden leads “many polls of 2020 hopefuls
for the party’s nomination for President,” and added that the former Vice
President’s “two-day, three-stop Florida swing is intended to boost
candidates and remind Florida voters that despite his age, the Delaware
Democrat is a major player.” Under the headline “Democrats Roll Out Joe
Biden For Andrew Gillum And Bill Nelson As Early Voting Starts In Florida,”
the Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=008-373&t=c>
(10/22, Date) also reported on Biden’s Monday visit to Florida, saying, “As
many polling places opened for early voting Monday, Democrats rolled out
one of their big guns” in Biden.

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=009-863&t=c>
(10/22, Anapol) reported that Biden “joked about the viral memes about his
friendship with former President Obama,” saying, “All those memes? All
those memes are basically true.” A number of local TV stations broadcast
segments on Biden’s appearances, including WTVJ-TV[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=00a-650&t=c>
Miami (10/23), WTVT-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=00b-40b&t=c>
Tampa (FL)'s Good Day Tampa Bay, 6AM (10/23), 9-TV[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=00c-a9d&t=c>
Tampa (FL) News at 6AM (10/23), WJXT-TV[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=00d-67c&t=c>
Jacksonville (FL)'s News at 6AM (10/23), and WESH-TV[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=00e-80f&t=c>
Orlando (FL)'s Early Sunrise (10/23).

        Under the headline “Familiar 2016 Figures Deployed As Midterms Hit
Last 2 Weeks,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=00f-e1a&t=c>
(10/22, Thomas) highlights Monday’s campaign activity by major party
figures, saying that Trump stumped for Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in Houston, and
“Democrats dispatched former President Barack Obama to Las Vegas to help
Nevada Democrats while...Biden was barnstorming Florida. Vermont Sen.
Bernie Sanders, who tried to wrestle the 2016 Democratic nomination from
Hillary Clinton, was in Wisconsin, one of the states that propelled Trump
to his stunning upset. And California Sen. Kamala Harris, a potential 2020
presidential candidate, was kicking off a two-day trip to Iowa.”

        *Politico: Biden’s Florida Visit High-Profile; Hillary Clinton’s To
Be Under Radar. *Meanwhile, in a report that was published early Monday
morning ahead of Biden’s Florida appearances, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=010-52c&t=c>
(10/22, Dixon) said that he would “serve as a prominent hype man for
Florida Democrats. When Hillary Clinton comes to Florida next week, she’ll
hardly be seen publicly.” While Biden was “scheduled to hold rallies in key
cities across” Florida, Clinton “will join a few closed-door fundraisers
for Gillum but make no public appearances for” him or Nelson. Politico
added, “The starkly different treatment of the longtime major players in
the Democratic establishment comes as the party grapples with how to square
Clinton’s continued interest in playing a prominent role in politics with a
future that’s likely to be shaped by younger, more liberal voters.”
Tickets No Longer Available For Biden’s Friday Appearance For Delgado.

The Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=011-efa&t=c>
(10/22) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden’s slated appearance in
Kingston, New York “on Friday is ‘at capacity’ and ‘tickets are no longer
available,’ according to the campaign website of Antonio Delgado. Biden is
scheduled to be at the Senate Garage on North Front Street in Uptown
Kingston at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26, to stump for Delgado,” a Democratic
attorney who is challenging NY19 Rep. John Faso (R).
Leading the News
Trump Praises Ex-Rival Cruz, Calls Himself A “Nationalist” At Houston Rally.

Coverage of President Trump’s appearance before a crowd of more than 18,000
at the Toyota Center in Houston on behalf of Sen. Ted Cruz (R) focuses on
the formerly strained relationship between the two men, and on Trump’s
continued focus on the migrant caravan moving through Mexico. Some reports
also highlight Trump’s embrace of the term “nationalist” to define his
policies, after previously shying away from the word.

        Before the event, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=012-1c1&t=c>
a video of the “massive crowds inside and outside” the venue. He later
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=013-94a&t=c>
the full video of the event, followed by a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=014-9c4&t=c>
of photos from the event with the words “THANK YOU HOUSTON, TEXAS. Get out
and http://Vote. GOP ! #JobsNotMobs”. A final tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=015-3c0&t=c>
from the event read, “At stake in this Election is whether we continue the
extraordinary prosperity we have achieved – or whether we let the Radical
Democrat Mob take a giant wrecking ball to our Country and our Economy!
#JobsNotMobs”. The Cruz campaign tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=016-f85&t=c>
multiple comments and images from the event.

        The Houston Chronicle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=017-2f4&t=c>
(10/22, Scherer) reports Trump called Cruz’s opponent, Rep. Beto O’Rourke
(D-TX), “‘a stone-cold phony’ and took a few sharp jabs” at him, “but
otherwise focused on national issues while praising Cruz and a laundry list
of Texas Republicans.” Trump also encouraged the crowd to vote for Rep.
John Culberson (R-TX), “acknowledging the nine-term Republican faces a
tough re-election challenge.” The Texas Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=018-b28&t=c>
(10/22, Platoff) reports that “at an uproarious rally,” Trump “cast his
2016 battle [with Cruz] as a thing of the past.” Trump told the crowd, “We
had our little difficulties. It got nasty, and then it ended. And I’ll tell
you what – nobody has helped me more with your tax cuts, with your
regulations, all of the things we’ve been doing with your military and your
vets, than Sen. Ted Cruz.” KRIV-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=019-a79&t=c>
Houston (10/22, 10:00 p.m. CDT) reported that Trump “totally packed” the
Toyota Center “and proceeded to job number one, which was delivering the
Trump bump to Ted Cruz.”

        The Austin (TX) American Statesman
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=01a-5d2&t=c>
(10/22, Tilove) reports that though “Trump and Cruz were archrivals at the
bitter end of the 2016 Republican primary contest...both men said they have
buried the hatchet and are now staunch allies in Washington, with Trump
giving Cruz credit for passing his agenda of tax cuts and reduced
regulation, and standing down Democratic opposition to the appointment of
Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.” KTBC-TV[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=01b-052&t=c>
Austin, TX (10/22, 10:11 p.m. CDT) reported that Trump and Cruz “touched on
the successes they say they’ve seen since being in office.” KXAN-TV[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=01c-fa7&t=c>
Austin, TX (10/22, 10:11 p.m. CDT) said Trump “left his mark in Texas
tonight. ... This was just as much a rally for Donald Trump as it was for
Ted Cruz.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=01d-bcc&t=c>
(10/22, Lucey) reports, “Cruz made clear that their conflict was behind
them and that the two were working together. His biggest applause came when
he predicted that ‘in 2020, Donald Trump will be overwhelming re-elected.’”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=01e-dbd&t=c>
(10/22, Baker) writes, “Even in the no-permanent-enemies world of
campaigning, rarely have two politicians been so vitriolic toward each
other only to turn around and present a unified front as if they really
were friends all along.” During the 2016 campaign, Trump “mocked the
appearance of Mr. Cruz’s wife and linked Mr. Cruz’s father” to the JFK
assassination. Trump “nicknamed Mr. Cruz ‘Lyin’ Ted’ and called him
‘unhinged,’ ‘a little bit of a maniac’ and ‘a totally unstable
individual.’” Cruz called Trump “a ‘sniveling coward,’ a ‘pathological
liar,’ a ‘serial philanderer,’ a ‘braggadocious arrogant buffoon’ and a
‘narcissist at a level I don’t think this country has ever seen.’” The
Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=01f-e42&t=c>
(10/22, Donachie) reports that “the two could not have been more fond of
one another” at the rally. The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=020-231&t=c>
(10/22, Enjeti) reports that on his way to the rally, Trump said, “He’s not
Lyin’ Ted anymore. He’s Beautiful Ted, he’s Texas Ted.”

        The Dallas Morning News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=021-e1f&t=c>
(10/22, Gillman) reports, “Over the course of a 76-minute stem-winder on
the same day early voting began in Texas, Trump drew cheers for demands for
a border wall, boos at mentions of O’Rourke and of the ‘caravan’ of Central
American migrants marching through Mexico toward the United States.”
KVII-TV[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=022-090&t=c>
Amarillo, TX (10/22, 10:12 p.m. CDT) said Trump “had a strong message about
the migrant caravan and what is at stake in the upcoming election.”
Addressing the migrant caravan, Trump “continued to blame the Democrats
without any proof.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=023-def&t=c>
(10/22, Spiering) reports in a brief item that Trump “condemned...the
caravan of over 7,000 migrants.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=024-cfe&t=c>
(10/22, Fritze, Jackson, Page) reports, “Trump repeated a claim that ‘the
Democrats had something to do’ with the caravan,” and also “touted a
proposed new round of tax cuts, an idea he first raised over the weekend.
Trump said he is aiming for a 10 percent reduction in taxes for middle
class families, though he offered little detail about the timing or the
specifics of that proposal, which appeared to catch congressional
Republicans off guard.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=025-2f0&t=c>
(10/22, Kim, Sonmez) reports that Trump also “proclaimed himself a
‘nationalist’” during his remarks. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=026-73e&t=c>
(10/22, Boyer) quotes Trump saying, “A globalist is a person that wants the
globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much. You know
what I am? I’m a nationalist okay? Nationalist. Use that word, use that
word.” The Times writes that while Trump “swept into office on an ‘America
First’ agenda, he typically has avoided the term ‘nationalist.’” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=027-410&t=c>
(10/22, Forgey) reports that the term is “a designation some of his
fiercest critics have previously wielded against him as an attack on what
they deem nativist policy pursuits by his administration.”

        Prior to the rally, both ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=028-0a3&t=c>
(10/22, story 6, 2:50, Muir) and the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=029-674&t=c>
(10/22, story 4, 2:00, Glor) ran profiles on the race. ABC’s Paula Faris
said that Cruz “is banking on Trump to rev up the Republican base,” because
O’Rourke, “with his cheering crowds, is energizing Democrats.” CBS’ Nancy
Cordes said that Trump won Texas by nine points in 2016; the latest RCP
average
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=02a-a97&t=c>
has Cruz ahead by seven points. The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=02b-b25&t=c>
(10/22, story 5, 3:40, Glor) also profiled Culberson’s TX7 race, with
Cordes concluding, “If you think independent voters [are] key, like
Culberson, you will keep your distance from President Trump. If, like Ted
Cruz, you think that the key is turning out the base, well, there are few
people like President Trump who can bring thousands of people out 12 hours
ahead of time.”

        S.E. Cupp said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=02c-e2b&t=c>
(10/22), “The great emasculation of Trump one-time enemies...is I think a
bigger picture telling a bigger story of the great emasculation of the
Republican Party in general by Trump. To see Ted Cruz – Chris Christie was
the first – Rand Paul, turn tail and adore a person that you know
fundamentally they don’t trust, they dislike, they disagree with him so
obsequiously, is really upsetting, disturbing, troubling.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Won’t Back Endins Saudi Arms Sales, Calls Khashoggi Murder “Plot Gone
Awry.”

In an interview with USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=02d-dde&t=c>
(10/22, Jackson, Page), President Trump “questioned the account Saudi
officials have given him about the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi but
said he still believed it was ‘a plot gone awry.’” Trump also “indicated he
would oppose efforts to cease arms sales to the kingdom in response,”
adding “there are ‘many other’ potential penalties” and that he “would be
guided by consultations with key members of Congress in settling on the
appropriate response.” USA Today adds that “in characterizing the Khashoggi
incident as a ‘plot gone awry,’ Trump indicated that he thought the
journalist wasn’t deliberately lured into the consulate to be murdered.”
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=02e-0dc&t=c>
(10/22, Chiacu, Dolan) reports that Trump also said yesterday he is “still
not satisfied with what he has heard from Saudi Arabia about the killing of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but did not want to lose investment from
Riyadh.” In addition, Trump said he spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman “and that there are Americans in Saudi Arabia and US intelligence
officers in Turkey working on the Khashoggi case.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=02f-f8a&t=c>
(10/22, Fritze) notes that “as he departed the White House for a campaign
rally in Texas,” Trump said, “I am not satisfied with what I’ve heard. ...
We’re going to get to the bottom of it.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=030-e7b&t=c>
(10/22, Moore) recounts Trump said US “intelligence officials in Turkey”
are “expected to return Monday or Tuesday,” and added, “I’ll know a lot
more tomorrow.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=031-e76&t=c>
(10/22, Ballhaus) runs a similar story.

        *Kushner: White House Has “Eyes Wide Open” About Saudis, But Still
Gathering Facts. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=032-d33&t=c>
(10/22, Riechmann) reports that Jared Kushner told CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=033-6c4&t=c>
(10/22) yesterday that the “White House has their ‘eyes wide open’ about
the Saudis’ Khashoggi murder investigation.” Kushner is quoted as saying,
“We’re getting facts in from multiple places and once those facts come in,
the Secretary of State will work with our national security team to help us
determine what we want to believe, what we think is credible and what we
think is not credible.” According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=034-8f5&t=c>
(10/22, Cunningham), Kushner “declined to say whether he believes Saudi
Arabia’s account that Khashoggi died accidentally inside the Saudi
Consulate in Istanbul.” Kushner, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=035-9b8&t=c>
(10/22, Haberman) reports, said “the White House is still ‘fact-finding’ on
the circumstances of...Khashoggi’s death.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=036-19d&t=c>
(10/22, Haberman) reports that Kushner “has talked to Prince Mohammed
several times in the last week, and has come under criticism amid reports
that he has advised Mr. Trump to wait before jumping to conclusions related
to Mr. Khashoggi’s death.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=037-d1d&t=c>
(10/22, Chiacu, Dolan) reports that Kushner said he has told MBS “to be
fully transparent” because “the world is watching.” Reuters adds that when
“asked how the prince responded, Kushner said: ‘We’ll see.’” The New York
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=038-279&t=c>
(10/22, Steinbuch), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=039-268&t=c>
(10/22, Birnbaum) and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=03a-6e6&t=c>
(10/22, Lee), among other news outlets, also note Kushner’s comments
yesterday.

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=03b-761&t=c>
(10/22) reports, meanwhile, Saud al-Qahtani, “a top aide” to MBS,
“masterminded the arrest of hundreds of his country’s elite,” and,
“according to two intelligence sources, he ran journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s
brutal killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by giving orders over
Skype.” Reuters says Qahtani “is one of the fall guys as Riyadh tries to
stem international outrage at Khashoggi’s death.” On Saturday, “Saudi state
media said King Salman had sacked Qahtani and four other officials over the
killing carried out by a 15-man hit team,” according to Reuters. However,
Reuters says “Qahtani’s influence in the crown prince’s entourage has been
so vast over the past three years...that it will be hard for Saudi
officials to paint Qahtani as the mastermind of the murder without also
raising questions about the involvement of Prince Mohammed.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=03c-b8f&t=c>
(10/22, story 3, 2:40, Glor) reported “Turkey’s ruling party said” Monday
“that what happened to Jamal Khashoggi was ‘planned in a bloodthirsty
manner.’ That directly contradicts the Saudi version of events that
Khashoggi died apparently accidentally after getting into a fight inside
the Saudi consulate.” However, “Kushner said...that the administration is
still in a ‘fact finding’ phase.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=03d-1b9&t=c>
(10/22, story 3, 3:30, Muir) likewise reported that Trump and Kushner are
“both saying they want more information. But also insisting they don’t want
to walk away from a key ally.” Trump: “I am not satisfied with what I’ve
heard. I don’t want to lose all of that investment that’s being made in our
country. I don’t want to lose the million jobs.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=03e-533&t=c>
(10/22, story 5, 1:45, Holt) also reported, “Turkey has been revealing
damning information about its old regional rivals Saudi Arabia day by day,
but the White House says it needs more time to examine the facts.”

        Richard Engel reported on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=03f-7a5&t=c>
(10/22, story 5, 1:45, Holt) that “Saudi Arabia denies it ordered Jamal
Khashoggi to be killed...but tonight” there are “reports an advisor to the
Saudi crown prince was on Skype with the killers giving orders. The adviser
was fired last week. ... And tonight, a pro-government TV station aired”
what it says are “Saudi officials burning documents at their consulate
after Khashoggi’s murder.”

        Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=040-aa4&t=c>
(10/22) that she is “embarrassed that we have our allies around the world
that have stopped the shipment of arms, that have stopped any kind of
engagement and are calling back their ambassadors, and yet we sit
here...talking about the long-term relationship.” She continued: “This ally
is an ally of convenience,” and “we ought to remember that 15 out of the 19
hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi Arabian. And they play a very dirty game and
we’re seeing it play out right now.”

        Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=041-80d&t=c>
(10/22) he doesn’t think the Saudis will be transparent regarding their own
investigation because “they lied for two weeks. They let” Secretary of
State Pompeo “go over, stand next to the crown prince,” and “they told
him,” Trump, “and the world that [Khashoggi] walked out of that consulate
alive. They killed him. ... It was intentional. That’s what the facts will
eventually be.”

        *Mnuchin, MBS Meet To Discuss Joint Efforts To Counter Iran’s
Influence. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=042-1d9&t=c>
(10/22) reports that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin met with MBS in Riyadh on
Monday. Reuters notes that Mnuchin announced last week that he “would not
attend a major investment conference to be hosted in Riyadh this week,” but
said he would still “hold talks on joint efforts toward countering
terrorist financing and curbing Iran’s military and political influence.”
The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=043-c7c&t=c>
(10/22, Paletta) notes “Tony Sayegh, Mnuchin’s top spokesman,” took to
Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=044-5ec&t=c>
on Monday “but did not specifically reference the gathering with the Crown
Prince,” writing, “To make clear @stevenmnuchin1 canceled his speaking
engagement at Saudi investment conference. He is in Saudi (as part of 6
country Middle East trip) visiting the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center
and having meetings in preparation for Iran sanctions.” Sayegh later tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=045-a1e&t=c>,
“In his meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince, @stevenmnuchin1 addressed
combating terrorist financing, implementing Iran sanctions, Saudi economic
issues and the Khashoggi investigation.”

        *Haspel Travels To Turkey. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=046-11c&t=c>
(10/22, Dawsey) reports “CIA Director Gina Haspel departed for Turkey on
Monday amid a growing international uproar over Saudi Arabia’s explanation
of the killing.” Haspel’s visit “comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan in a speech planned for early Tuesday vows to reveal the full
extent of what his aides are calling a Saudi-directed murder and attempted
coverup.” The Post adds “the arrival of the director suggests an effort by
the U.S. intelligence community to assess the information the Turks have.”

        *Erdoğan Says Khashoggi Was Victim Of “Ferocious” Planned Slaying. *
CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=047-23b&t=c>
(10/23) reports on its website that Erdoğan said Tuesday that he “rejects
Saudi Arabia’s explanation that the killing of Khashoggi was an accidental
result of a discussion that went awry, saying it was a pre-planned and
‘ferocious’ murder.” Erdoğan “said Saudi consulate cameras were removed
before Khashoggi’s arrival. ‘We have very strong leads that this was not
accidental, but that it was planned,’ he said.”

        *Video Shows Member Of Saudi Hit Squad Wearing Khashoggi’s Clothes
After He Was Murdered. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=048-7bc&t=c>
(10/22, Fraser, Wieting, Gambrell) reports that “just hours
after...Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, a man
strolled out of the diplomatic post apparently wearing the columnist’s
clothes as part of a macabre deception to sow confusion over his fate.” The
AP adds, “Surveillance video on CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=049-db0&t=c>
showed the man in Khashoggi’s dress shirt, suit jacket and pants.”
According to the AP, Turkish media reports “cited a Turkish official as
describing the man as a ‘body double’ and a member of the Saudi team sent
to Istanbul to target the writer.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=04a-8a7&t=c>
(10/22, Hubbard) says that “the ruse – acknowledged by a Saudi official and
another Saudi briefed on the investigation into Mr. Khashoggi’s killing –
added to the numerous doubts about the kingdom’s explanation of how”
Khashoggi died. The Times says “the use of a ‘body double’ suggests a
premeditated plan to make Mr. Khashoggi disappear, through death or
abduction, and to cover it up – possibly contradicting the Saudi insistence
that his death was the accidental result of an altercation.”

        *Saudi FM: Facts Will Show “Saudi Government Had Nothing To Do”
With Khashoggi’s Death. *Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=04b-350&t=c>
(10/22) reported on an interview Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign
Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who “denied that the crown prince had any
knowledge of the operation.” When asked about what this could do to
US-Saudi relations, al-Jubeir said, “First of all I believe that when the
facts are out...people will realize the Saudi government had nothing to do
with it. This was a rogue operation by people who exceeded their
authorities and tried to cover up their crime.” He went on to say that the
relationship between the two countries is “one of huge strategic value.” He
cited the “great trade relationship,” the “very strong” energy ties, and
how “we work close together on extremism.”

        Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on CNN’s OutFront[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=04c-928&t=c>
(10/22), “A little too many coincidences to think this was just an
accidental death. You send a forensic pathologist with a bone saw just in
case you might have a fist fight where you have to dismember somebody. How
horrific. Then, also having a body double. I think there’s a lot of reasons
to think this was planned. And I think because they have such an
authoritarian government, nothing over there happens that’s not directed
from above. You don’t act without orders. So it stretches credulity to
think that the Crown Prince was not involved in this.”

        *UK FM: Saudis’ Claim About Khashoggi’s Murder “Does Not Amount To
A Credible Explanation.” *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=04d-45f&t=c>
(10/22, Schomberg) reports that British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said
Monday that it is “not credible for Saudi authorities to claim that
journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in a fight.” Hunt is quoted as saying, “The
claim that Mr Khashoggi died in a fight does not amount to a credible
explanation.”

        *Saudi Investment Forum To Go On Without Many Prominent Guests. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=04e-4c8&t=c>
(10/22, Batrawy) reports that Saudi Arabia is “moving ahead with plans to
hold a glitzy investment forum, despite some of its most important speakers
pulling out in the global outcry over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi.” According to the AP, the Future Investment Initiative “was
intended to draw leading investors who could help underwrite” MBS’
“ambitious plans to revamp the economy. But after the wave of
cancellations, it could instead highlight the kingdom’s growing isolation
and the damage inflicted on the prince’s reputation – as well as
potentially his political future.”

        *WPost Editorial Urges US To Condemn Yemen War. *In an editorial,
the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=04f-d49&t=c>
(10/22) calls for Khashoggi’s to “spark a long-overdue recalibration of US
relations with Saudi Arabia and its reckless de facto leader, Mohammed bin
Salman,” and argues that “the best place to start the US readjustment
is...with the disastrous war in Yemen.” The Post further states that “the
Trump administration’s unquestioning support for what amounts to a
sectarian crusade by Sunni Saudi Arabia against Shiite Iran needs an
adjustment,” as efforts to contain Iran “can be achieved without buying
into Mohammed bin Salman’s own imperial – and unachievable – ambitions.”

        *Krugman: Saudis “Continuing To” Funnel “Millions” To “Trump
Personally.” *Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=050-99c&t=c>
(10/22) that “Trump’s attempt to head off retaliation for Saudi crimes by
claiming that there are big economic rewards to staying friendly with
killers – and the willingness of his political allies to embrace his logic
– nonetheless represents a new stage in the debasement of America.” Krugman
adds that “Trump’s claims about the number of jobs at stake...are lies,”
but “even if” they “were true, we’re the United States; we’re supposed to
be a moral beacon for the world, not a mercenary nation willing to abandon
its principles if the money is good.” To Krugman, “a president who
proclaims that the news media are ‘enemies of the people’ may feel that
torturing and murdering a critical journalist is not such a bad idea,” plus
“the Saudis have funneled tens of millions of dollars to Trump personally,
and are continuing to do so.”

        *NYTimes Publishes Khashoggi’s Remarks On Why Arab World Needs
Democracy. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=051-646&t=c>
(10/22, Khashoggi) publishes excerpts from a speech that Khashoggi made in
April about why Arab nations desire – and are ready for – democracy. The
Times quotes Khashoggi as saying that post-Arab Spring elections in Tunisia
and Egypt “clearly demonstrated that the people of the Arab world were
ready for change.” Khashoggi said as Saudi Arabia purses modernity,
however, “the Saudi leaders are still not interested in democracy.”
Khashoggi said Saudi leaders are not “advancing the old, lame excuse that
democracy is not compatible with Islam” – they are “saying that absolute
monarchy is our preferred form of government.” Khashoggi clarified that
“there are serious reforms that Prince Mohammed is leading,” and “I do
support them,” but the limited scope of the reforms “and the general
political condition of the Arab world today are adding strength to the
argument of the anti-democracy forces.”
Trump Reiterates Threat To Withdraw From INF As Bolton Visits Russia.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=052-1d6&t=c>
(10/22, Mason) reports President Trump “warned on Monday that the United
States intended to build up its arsenal of nuclear weapons to pressure
Russia and China.” Trump also “repeated his contention that Russia was not
abiding by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which he has
threatened to abandon.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=053-131&t=c>
(10/22, story 7, 1:15, Holt) broadcast Trump stating, “Russia has not
adhered to the agreement. This should have been done years ago. Until
people come to their senses, we have more money than anybody else. We’ll
build it up.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=054-e98&t=c>
(10/22, Boyer) reports Trump had “essentially called Moscow’s bluff,”
saying that “Russia and other nations can’t match America’s wealth and
ability to build new weapons systems.” He added, “It’s a threat to whoever
you want, and it includes China. It includes anybody else that wants to
play that game. You can’t play that game on me.” Trump clarified, however,
that “when Russia agrees to honor such a weapons treaty, ‘we’ll all stop
[building up the nuclear arsenal]. Not only stop, we’ll reduce, which I
would love to do.’”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=055-6f9&t=c>
(10/22, Vasilyeva, Isachenkov) reports Trump’s remarks came as National
Security Adviser Bolton met separately with “his Russian counterpart,
Security Council chairman Nikolai Patrushev,” and Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov. Bolton and Patrushev “discussed arms control agreements, Syria,
Iran, North Korea and the fight against terrorism, according to the
Security Council.” Patrushev “emphasized the importance of maintaining” the
INF, and “reaffirmed Russia’s ‘readiness for joint work to consider mutual
complaints regarding the treaty’s implementation,’ the Security Council
said.” Bolton and Patrushev “also discussed a possible five-year extension
of another pivotal arms control agreement between Russia and the U.S. – the
New START Treaty that went into force in 2011 and is set to expire in 2021,
the statement said.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=056-54c&t=c>
(10/22) reports Bolton told Russian officials that the US has “yet to
finalize its position on extending the New START arms control treaty.”

        Kaitlin Collins of CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=057-878&t=c>
(10/22) reported Bolton received a “frosty welcome” from Lavrov, who is
“demanding an explanation” for Trump’s threat to withdraw from the INF “and
warning Russia will retaliate.” CNN showed Lavrov saying, “Any action in
this area will be met with counter action.” Bolton “said Russia was
violating its commitments under the pact,” and “denied Russian allegations
the United States was using the threat of treaty withdrawal to blackmail
Russia,” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=058-c82&t=c>
(10/22, Osborn, Rodionov) reports. Meanwhile, “Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov called Trump’s withdrawal plan a matter of deep concern for Moscow,”
and “said President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly warned that the demise of
the treaty would compel Moscow to take specific military steps.”

        Brian Todd of CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=059-372&t=c>
(10/22) said Trump’s remarks on Monday “could be the first real sign” that
he “is souring on” Putin. Todd added that “analysts say...privately, Putin
is happy the US will get out of” the agreement, because “now he will have
an excuse to build up his weapons and do it more openly than before.”

        A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=05a-b76&t=c>
(10/22, Cameron) analysis says that a US withdraw from the INF “is likely
to be controversial with U.S. allies in NATO, further splitting the
alliance at a difficult time for transatlantic relations.” On Monday,
“German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas described Trump’s announcement as
‘regrettable’ and has urged Moscow to resolve its compliance issues,” while
“British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson declared Britain stands with
the United States but also hopes the treaty will ‘continue.’” According to
the Post, “Central and Eastern European states may align more closely with
Trump’s stance, though their positions are unclear.”

        *China Urges Trump To Reconsider Treaty Exit. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=05b-a95&t=c>
(10/22, Tweed) reports that the Chinese government has “called on the U.S.
to reconsider pulling out of a three-decade-old arms control treaty with
Russia, saying the move would generate ‘multiple negative effects.’ ... ‘I
want to stress that it is completely wrong to use China as an excuse for
pulling out of the treaty,’ Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told
reporters Monday in Beijing.” According to Bloomberg News, “The prospect of
a U.S. weapons buildup would underscore concern in Beijing that the U.S. is
intent on thwarting China’s rise, be it via a trade war or a systematic
program of military containment.”

        In an analysis under the headline “Trump May Revive The Cold War,
But China Could Change The Dynamics,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=05c-c09&t=c>
(10/22, Sanger, Erlanger) says, “Over the past few days the shape of what
many in Europe and the United States call a new Cold War has begun to
emerge – with threats and nuclear weapons that resemble the old one,
punctuated by new dynamics, in part because of the rise of a rich,
expanding and nationalist China.” According to the Times, Trump “argued
correctly that the arms treaty...left China free to build up its own
nuclear and conventional missiles of all ranges.” The Times adds, “And
while China appears to be the reason for Mr. Trump’s decision to pull out
of the missile treaty with Russia, it is causing new anxieties in a Europe
already mistrustful of Mr. Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign and trade
policies.”

        *Bolton To Russians: Meddling Had No Real Effect On 2016 Election. *NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=05d-fdc&t=c>
(10/22, story 7, 1:15, Holt) reported Bolton is “raising eyebrows” after
telling Russian officials in Moscow that “he does not think their meddling
in the 2016 election had any real effect.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=05e-87f&t=c>
(10/22, Rodionov) reports Bolton asserted, “Today, I told our Russian
colleagues that their meddling in our election process had hardly had any
real effect.” Bolton stressed, however, that “the important thing is the
desire for interfering in our affairs itself arouses distrust in Russian
people, in Russia. And I think it should not be tolerated, it should not be
acceptable.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=05f-ee8&t=c>
(10/22, Kramer) reports that in an interview with Russia’s Echo of Moscow
radio station, “Bolton said he had been blunt with the Russians, according
to a transcript of his interview, which the radio station translated into
Russian for broadcast and posting on its website.” Bolton said that the US
had indicted Russians for the election interference, and that such a
“coldblooded, blatant intrusion into the electoral process will be
discussed with American legal entities.”
US Army’s Study Of Iraq War Remains Unpublished Two Years After Completion.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=060-140&t=c>
(10/22, Gordon) examines the history of the US Army’s study of the Iraq
War, ordered in 2013 by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno. The report
was supposed to be unclassified, and as part of work towards the project he
had 30,000 pages of documents declassified. Over the next three years,
teams examined these documents and conducted more than 100 interviews,
until a 1,300-page, two-volume history was ready in June 2016. The work
remains unpublished, in part due to Gen. Odierno’s retirement, which led
the work to remain under review. Then, new leadership at the Pentagon meant
shifting priorities towards China and Russia. Debate has continued in
recent months among top Army officials over whether the study should be
disavowed or supported. As of last month, orders were issued to remove a
forward that indicated the Army commissioned the study, along with other
signals the work had had high-level supporters.
Coalition Soldier Killed In Afghan Insider Attack.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=061-2f1&t=c>
(10/22, Constable) reports that “a soldier from the U.S.-led military
coalition in Afghanistan was killed Monday and two others were injured in
an apparent insider attack by a member of the Afghan security forces.”
According to the Post, “The victims were not immediately identified, and no
other details of the incident were released.” The Post adds that “Afghan
military sources said they were trying to confirm reports that an Afghan
special operations forces commando had opened fire on US. troops in the
Shindand region of western Herat province, killing one.” However, a
Pentagon spokesman “said later that the fatality in Herat was not an
American,” according to the Post.

        *Pentagon Expresses Confidence in Afghan Security Forces Despite
Latest Insurgent Attack. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=062-080&t=c>
(10/22, Muñoz) reports that despite recent news of “another insurgent
attack against US. and NATO coalition troops,” the Department of Defense is
“standing firm behind Afghanistan’s security forces, saying the country’s
military and police are successfully containing the Taliban through the
ongoing parliamentary election process.” Monday’s attack in the western
Afghan province of Herat left one coalition member dead and three others
wounded, and followed another insurgent attack against coalition forces in
Afghanistan less than a week prior. Still, in comments to reporters at the
Pentagon, Col. Rob Manning “said efforts by the Afghan security forces to
maintain order in the country were succeeding.”
US Outpost Along Key Highway Assumes Larger Role In Trump’s Syria Strategy.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=063-61d&t=c>
(10/22, Ryan) reports that the Tanf outpost in Syria, strategically located
along a highway that links “the Syrian regime in Damascus to its backers in
Tehran,” is now a possible “locus in White House plans to confront Iran’s
reach across the region.” US Central Command leader Gen. Joseph Votel
“described Tanf as a key element in the continuing military mission to
extinguish the Islamic State and ensure that the group cannot stage a
comeback.” In comments at the base on Monday, Votel “said it also had
additional benefits in hindering Iran, as the U.S. presence there makes it
harder for Tehran to build up its military presence in Syria and help the
Assad regime claw back areas outside its control.”

        *US-Led Coalition Once Again Strikes Mosque Used By ISIS. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=064-c05&t=c>
(10/22) reports that “the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State
militants in Syria said it struck a mosque on Monday that was being used by
the group as a command center, the second such incident in less than a
week.” Reuters adds that on Sunday, the coalition announced it “had killed
militants in eastern Syria by striking a mosque that Islamic State used as
a base.”
Trump: Foreign Nations Now “Pay A Big Price For Doing Business” With US.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=065-45f&t=c>
yesterday, “The Fake News Media has been talking about recent approval
ratings of me by countries around the world, including the European Union,
as being very low. ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=066-99e&t=c>
I say of course they’re low – because for the first time in 50 years I am
making them pay a big price for doing business with America. Why should
they like me? – But I still like them!”

        *Merkel Embraces US LNG Imports. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=067-45c&t=c>
(10/22, Pancevski) reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided
to support efforts to open her country to US LNG. The move is a win for
President Trump, who is looking to divert European natural gas reliance
away from Russia. Merkel said her government will co-finance the
construction of a $576 million LNG shipping terminal in north Germany, and
that LNG cooperation with the US will pay off in the long term. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=068-d5a&t=c>
(10/22, Keller) adds that “a German government spokesman told the Journal
that the move was made because of Germany’s economic interests, not US
pressure.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=069-af7&t=c>
(10/22, Parkin, Shiryaevskaya) reports that “two small Elbe River ports are
competing to build Germany’s first liquefied natural gas import terminal
and help shake up Europe’s biggest gas market.” The ports, Stade and
Brunsbuettel, are “battling for federal approval and hundreds of millions
of euros in investment.” The German government “may announce a winner next
year, ending dithering about the need for such a facility and pressure by
President Donald Trump to import US fuel to cut reliance on Russian gas.”
Trump’s pressure on Germany “to dump its support for Russia’s Nord Stream 2
pipeline project in favor of US shale gas in ships is a boon to ports
jockeying to become a LNG hub.”

        *Canada Declined To Invite US Officials To Meeting On WTO Updates. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=06a-f06&t=c>
(10/22, Keaten) reports that amid the trade war between the US and China,
Canada and the European Union are “quietly working to update the laws of
international commerce, which have not been changed since the internet
boom.” The AP says later this week, Canadian officials will host their
counterparts from the EU, as well as “about 12 other countries.” According
to the AP, Canada “said it wants a meeting of ‘like-minded people’ – and
didn’t invite the United States.” However, the AP says the US has “largely
self-exiled itself in the process,” and is “sitting back as others work on
a compromise.”

        *WSJournal: Steel Industry Finds Success At Receiving Requested
Tariff Line Removals. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=06b-b44&t=c>
(10/22, Pacheco, Zumbrun) reports that data indicate the US steel industry
has been more effective than other industries at lobbying for the removal
of trade tariffs. In September, the steel industry sought relief on 132
tariff lines from the US Trade Representative, largely involving chemicals
and raw materials imported from China and used to make steel. The industry
was able to receive 66 of the tariff line removals it sought. All told, the
US removed almost 300 tariff lines from its final list, meaning the steel
industry had about 20 percent of all removals. Comparing other industries,
the Journal’s data analysis indicates the National Association of Home
Builders received only two of almost 500 requested exemptions, while the
National Retail Federation and National Restaurant Association were granted
less than five percent of their requests.

        *Ford Executive Complains About High Cost Of US Steel, Aluminum Due
To Tariffs. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=06c-111&t=c>
(10/22, Klayman) reports that Ford Motor Co EVP Joe Hinrichs says Ford “has
seen higher steel and aluminum costs driven by trade tariffs bite into
profit, but is hopeful the United States and China can avoid further
tensions that could make things more costly.” According to Reuters,
Hinrichs says “US. steel costs are higher than anywhere else in the
world.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=06d-e4c&t=c>
(10/22, Naughton, Deaux) also covers Hinrichs’ comments.

        *Democratic Majority In House Or Senate Could Alter Path Forward
For US-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal. *CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=06e-3f4&t=c>
(10/22, Ferguson) reports that a Democratic majority in the Senate or House
following the midterm elections may make for a “more complicated” process
moving forward with the new US trade deal with Mexico and Canada. President
Trump will likely “sign the agreement in principle on Nov. 30 and send
implementing legislation to Congress sometime later.” However, many
Democrats in Congress could seek leverage on the issue of trade if they win
control of either chamber. For example, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) anticipates
being the Senate Finance Committee chair should Democrats gain control of
the Senate, and “has shown a willingness to needle Trump.” He introduced
legislation “that would require a president at the start of US trade
negotiations with a country to disclose personal business or other economic
interests in that country.”

        *Journal Sentinel: Tariffs Affecting Wisconsin Manufacturers.
*The Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=06f-e18&t=c>
(10/22, Barrett) reports on the concerns of Wisconsin manufacturers as US
trade tariffs linger. Several companies are highlighted in the piece,
including the Marquis-Larson Boat Group, located in Pulaski, which makes
Carver yachts. Boat building materials now cost as much as 40 percent more,
sending “a shock wave” through the industry and leading to order
cancellations. The manufacturer employs around 450 people in a town with
3,600 residents. Great Northern Distilling in Plover, which makes a bourbon
infused with ginseng, has been “clobbered” by tariffs China has implemented
on US bourbon and ginseng. The company has lost 25 percent of its sales.
While some manufacturers in the state “say they’re planning for the worst,
not knowing whether the new tariffs are temporary or permanent.”

        *Trade War Affecting Chinese Pet Owners’ Ability To Buy US-Made
Cat, Dog Food. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=070-d9f&t=c>
(10/22, Tang, Bradsher) reports that the trade war is affecting the ability
of dog and cat owners in China to purchase US-made pet food brands like
Canidae. In addition to Chinese officials “delaying shipments at customs
since May to get back at the United States,” a new round of tariffs
implemented in July “also made imported pet food more expensive.” Although
“choosy pet owners” may be “a small minority in China,” the Times reports
that “their pain could presage broader tensions as the trade war deepens,”
and “China’s retaliatory tariffs” affecting things like meat and soybean
prices “in a country that depends on imports for many of its food needs.”
Xi-Abe Meeting Expected To Showcase Closer China-Japan Relationship.

Under the headline “Japan’s Prime Minister, A Trump Buddy, Now Tries To
Cozy Up To China’s President,” the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=071-99c&t=c>
(10/22, Denyer) reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to meet
with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday “for their first
bilateral meeting in more than seven years.” According to the Post, on
Thursday Xi and Abe “will have a day of meetings...during which they will
pledge to work together on economic cooperation projects in third countries
such as Thailand.” The Post adds, “It’s a far cry from 2014, when friction
over a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea raised fears the two
countries would become involved in a military conflict.” The Post says that
“over the past year, the two countries have started to repair their
relationship, at least superficially.”

        *US Navy Ships Travel Through Taiwan Straight. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=072-dc3&t=c>
(10/22, Lee, Ali, Stewart) reports that the US Navy “sent two warships
through the Taiwan Strait on Monday in the second such operation this year,
as the U.S. military increases the frequency of transits through the
strategic waterway despite opposition from China.” Reuters adds, “The
voyage risks further heightening tensions with China but will likely be
viewed in self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support” from the Trump
Administration, “amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing.”

        *WPost: Xi’s Intensified Anti-Corruption Crackdown Heightens
Anxiety Among Chinese Leaders. *A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=073-548&t=c>
(10/22, Shih) analysis says the string of arrests, investigations, forced
disappearances, and “posthumous humiliations” reported under “eye-catching
headlines coming out Beijing in October is a reminder that President Xi
Jinping’s hallmark anti-corruption drive is showing few signs of letting up
in its sixth year.” While the targeting of “suspected fraudsters, influence
peddlers and others remains popular with the public,” Xi’s campaign also
unveils “other tumult within the upper ranks of China’s leadership,
business world and security apparatus.” The Post says Chinese leaders are
“grappling” with the “internal upheavals at a time when Beijing is juggling
mounting challenges, from trade frictions with Washington to economic
stress at home.”
Domestic Policy
Media Analyses: Trump Fear-Mongering Over Caravan For Midterms Gain.

Media reports cast strong doubt on President Trump’s claims about
“criminals and unknown Middle Easterners” being part of the migrant caravan
making its way to the US border, and accused Trump of exacerbating tensions
over “immigration and race” in order to help Republicans in the upcoming
midterm contests. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=074-fe1&t=c>
(10/22, Burns, Herndon) reports, for example, that Trump “sharply
intensified a Republican campaign to frame the midterm elections as a
battle over immigration and race, issuing a dark and factually baseless
warning that ‘unknown Middle Easterners’ were marching toward the American
border with Mexico.” It was, to the Times, “an escalation of Mr. Trump’s
efforts to stoke fears about foreigners and crime ahead of the Nov. 6 vote,
as he did to great effect in the presidential race.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=075-402&t=c>
(10/22, Parker, Rucker, Dawsey) says, in a similar analysis, that Trump
“has settled on a strategy of fear – laced with falsehoods and
racially-tinged rhetoric – to help lift his party to victory in the coming
midterms.”

        All three major network newscasts led with the story last night. NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=076-90c&t=c>
(10/22, lead story, 1:50, Holt) reported that “Trump, sensing a winning
issue,” said “without evidence that there are unknown Middle Easterners
among the migrants” and called the caravan “a national emergency.” NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=077-3ab&t=c>
(10/22, story 2, 1:45, Welker) later said “Trump is seeking to use the
specter of that caravan of migrants to energize the base,” and reiterated
its claim that he is “contending without any evidence” that “criminals and
unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in.” The CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=078-2c0&t=c>
(10/22, story 2, 2:00, Jiang) said Trump “repeated the unsubstantiated
claim,” and that “with midterm elections two weeks away and the Republicans
in jeopardy of losing the House,” he “has ramped up the rhetoric on
immigration, a tactic he also used during the 2016 campaign.” Noting
Trump’s admonition to reporters to take their cameras into the caravan to
check his assertions, ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=079-960&t=c>
(10/22, lead story, 3:15, Gutman) said, “We took our cameras into the
middle of the caravan, and what we found were desperate families.”

        Along similar lines, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=07a-ff9&t=c>
(10/22, Miller) says Trump “is seeking to re-inject immigration politics
into the national conversation in the closing weeks of the midterm
elections,” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=07b-279&t=c>
(10/22, Olorunnipa, Wadhams, Martin) that he “has sought to escalate
undocumented immigration as an issue ahead of pivotal midterm congressional
elections,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=07c-ea7&t=c>
(10/22, Sullivan, Nakamura) that “Democrats are struggling to respond
to...Trump,” as they are “deeply divided on immigration” and “trying to
maintain a laserlike focus on health care and the GOP threat to protections
for people with preexisting medical conditions, envisioning that as the
issue that will determine control of Congress.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=07d-685&t=c>
(10/22, Dinan, Miller), in its analysis, says Trump “is working hard to
make the US-bound migrant caravan into an election issue, but so
far...Democrats have been able to shrug off the issue.”

        Kaitlin Collins reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=07e-631&t=c>
(10/22) that when asked if Trump has “credible evidence there’s Middle
Easterners in this caravan,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
“said absolutely, and I’m quoting her now: ‘We have ten individuals –
suspected or known terrorists – that try to enter our country every day.’
But Wolf, in the President’s tweet, he didn’t say there were terrorists in
the caravan. He said there were Middle Easterners.” CNN’s Anderson Cooper
360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=07f-7de&t=c>
(10/22) reported that a “senior US counterterrorism official tells us”
there’s “no evidence of terrorist infiltration in the migrant caravan.”
Anderson Cooper quoted the “official” as saying, “While we acknowledge
there are vulnerabilities...we do not see any evidence that they’re trying
to infiltrate the southern border.”

        White House correspondent Abby Phillip said on CNN’s Situation
Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=080-530&t=c>
(10/22), “The President is willing to use whatever tools are in his arsenal
to get his base riled up, whether it’s fear mongering about ISIS criminals
in the caravan, about immigrants in general, or about inflating job numbers
that are associated with the Saudi deal. But, he’s also realizing, I think,
that once he puts these falsehoods out there, that’s the first thing that
most people are going to see. ... I think that he’s banking on the idea a
lot of people are not going to not see him being corrected with the truth
here. I think that two weeks before election day, that’s a bet he’s willing
to make, that it is going to penetrate – whatever his version of the truth
is and not the real version of what’s happening out there.”

        To the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=081-9bd&t=c>
(10/22, Sullivan), meanwhile, “the ‘unknown Middle Easterners’ Mr. Trump
mentioned are a new cohort on the president’s recent list of ‘bad people’
he says want to cross the border into America.” The Times further accuses
Trump of attempting “to stoke fear about the caravan and urge voters to
blame Democrats – even as his own party, Republicans, controls the House
and the Senate – repeating what the president has pitched as a Republican
mantra just two weeks ahead of the midterm elections.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=082-20f&t=c>
(10/22, Moore) says Trump made the assertion about criminals and Middle
Easterners “without offering any evidence,” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=083-637&t=c>
(10/22, Lee) that he “offered no evidence,” and the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=084-3df&t=c>
(10/22, McDonnell) that the President’s “claim...is dubious,” as the
caravan “appears to be made up almost entirely of people from Honduras.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=085-ea9&t=c>
(10/22, Samuels) reports, meanwhile, that “Trump has for days characterized
the caravan as a horde of criminals in cahoots with the Democrats while
providing no evidence for his claims.”

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=086-143&t=c>
(10/22, Samuels) says “Trump’s suggestion that Middle Easterners had joined
the group came shortly after a guest on ‘Fox & Friends’ raised the specter
of ISIS fighters embedding themselves in the group.” The guest, Peter
Hegseth, “cited quotes attributed to Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales but
acknowledged the claims were not verified.” The President “is known to
watch the show regularly and often comment about segments on Twitter.”
Hegseth said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=087-53d&t=c>
(10/22), “You got the President of Guatemala saying to a local newspaper
down there just last week, they caught over 100 ISIS fighters in Guatemala
trying to use this caravan. He talked to their local newspaper. We don’t
know. It hasn’t been verified. But even one poison pill is too many in a
caravan like that.”

        At any rate, Trump took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=088-ca6&t=c>
yesterday to write, “Sadly, it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are
unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United
States. Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have
alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy. Must
change laws! ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=089-d78&t=c>
Every time you see a Caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to
come, into our Country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not
giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws! Remember the
Midterms! So unfair to those who come in legally.” Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=08a-3d5&t=c>,
“Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of
stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S.
We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive
foreign aid routinely given to them.”

        The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=08b-3a1&t=c>
(10/22, Johnson) reports “Trump had advice for reporters asking for
‘evidence’ that there were terrorists embedded in the migrant caravan
currently in Mexico and heading to the US.” ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked him,
“Do you have any evidence that there are terrorists part of this caravan?” ABC
World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=08c-7f1&t=c>
(10/22, lead story, 3:15, Gutman) showed Trump replying, “Take your camera,
go into the middle and search. You’re going to find MS-13, you’re going to
find Middle Eastern, you’re going to find everything. And guess what? We’re
not allowing them in our country.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=08d-a07&t=c>
(10/22, Dinan) notes that, as he prepared to leave for Texas for a campaign
event, Trump also said of Central American countries, “We give them
hundreds of millions of dollars, they do nothing for us.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=08e-766&t=c>
(10/22, Nakamura) reports “it was not immediately clear what payments Trump
was alluding to or the extent to which he could act without congressional
approval.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=08f-e34&t=c>
(10/22, Jackson, Page, Fritze) reports that in an interview on Air Force
One, Trump “vowed to send as many troops as necessary to the...border to
block a growing caravan of Central American migrants, calling their trek
‘an assault on our country.’” Trump also reiterated that “there were
‘people from the Middle East’” in the caravan, though he “declined to say
whether his assertion was based on intelligence agencies or some other
source.” USA Today adds “the caravan could be seen on a TV, tuned to Fox
News, on the wall of his office aboard the presidential aircraft.” Trump
said, “I think this could be a blessing in disguise because it shows how
bad our laws are. ... The Democrats are responsible for that.”

        Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=090-f7d&t=c>
(10/22), “The President is in a terrible position. He can’t have thousands
of illegal immigrants rushing across our border. Mexico must not allow this
group to walk through its country unabated. If we had the fully
constructed, robust wall, guess what? The risk for all on both sides would
be mitigated. But here we are in a showdown once again. Why? Because of the
Democratic Party.”

        *Estimates Of Caravan’s Growing Size Range From 7,200 To 14,000
People. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=091-d5c&t=c>
(10/22, Stevenson) reports, “The caravan’s numbers have continued to grow,
and the United Nations estimated that it currently comprises some 7,200
people, ‘many of whom intend to continue the march north.’” The Washington
Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=092-cf5&t=c>
(10/22, Alic) reports the caravan is “now estimated to be 7,000 strong,”
and the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=093-26c&t=c>
(10/22, Dinan) that “Mexican police, who failed to stop them at that
country’s border with Guatemala, now serve as escorts for the caravan as it
barrels north, its members clear that they have no intention of staying in
Mexico, and have eyes only for the US.” The Times adds “new estimates cited
by El Universal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=094-218&t=c>
(10/22, Pérez), a Mexican newspaper, say the caravan now has 14,000 people,
many of them already in Mexico while others still wait.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=095-336&t=c>
(10/22, Montes) noted Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto yesterday
criticized the caravan for crossing into Mexico illegally, saying, “They
will hardly achieve their goals of migrating to the US or stay in Mexico if
they continue with this attitude.” However, Interior Minister Alfonso
Navarrete also said, “They won’t be deported or repatriated. ... We want to
exhaust dialogue with those who joined the caravan.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=096-f05&t=c>
(10/22, Ahmed, Dickerson) reports “the rush of migrants in the last week
has overwhelmed Mexico’s Southern Border Plan.” Since “most are not
applying for asylum,” they leave “Mexico with a tough choice. Do they
apprehend thousands of migrants, creating a humanitarian crisis – not to
mention a public relations one? Or do they simply accompany the exodus to
ensure an orderly passage?” The Times adds that “it seems, for the moment,
that the government has chosen the latter.”

        Traveling with the caravan, Adriana Diaz reported on the CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=097-d3c&t=c>
(10/22, lead story, 3:10, Glor) that “the US embassy in Honduras released”
a “video urging people the turn back or face detention. But the caravan is
rumbling forward.”

        *Cruz Calls Caravan “Serious Threat,” Says It Must Be Stopped.
*The Texas
Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=098-9e3&t=c>
(10/22, Aguilar) reports Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) yesterday “suggested beefing
up resources on the southern border to help thwart a ‘serious threat’ from
thousands of Central American migrants who recently entered Mexico and are
making their way toward the US border.” Said Cruz, “I think this caravan is
a serious threat. When you see thousands of people pledging to come violate
US law, to cross into this country illegally, we have to treat that
seriously. We have to stop it. ... Whether that means putting Border Patrol
at the border to stop them or whether that means calling up the National
Guard, which President Trump has done before, which President Bush has done
before – that even President Obama called up the National Guard.” The El
Paso (TX) Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=099-cd4&t=c>
(10/22, Mekelburg) also reports Cruz “said the government should enhance
security at the nation’s shared border with Mexico in response to the
‘serious threat’ posed by the” caravan.

        *After Soledad O’Brien Criticism, AP Apologizes For Calling Caravan
“Ragtag Army Of The Poor.” *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=09a-35c&t=c>
(10/22, Concha) reports “the Associated Press apologized on Monday for its
‘poorly chosen’ words in a tweet that described a migrant caravan traveling
through Mexico toward the U.S. border as being ‘like a ragtag army of the
poor.’” The AP tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=09b-2a5&t=c>
yesterday, “We’ve removed an @AP tweet from Oct. 21 that said a migrant
caravan in Mexico was ‘like a ragtag army of the poor.’ ... That wording
was poorly chosen and has been removed from our coverage of the caravan.”
The Hill adds “the removal came not long after former CNN morning anchor
Soledad O’Brien scolded the news organization for applying the word ‘army’
in describing the caravan of thousands of people.” O’Brien said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=09c-464&t=c>,
“Hey @AP – it’s not an army. Really inappropriate to call it as such. Do
better.”

        *WPost Editorial Urges US To “Double Down On US Aid Programs.”
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=09d-725&t=c>
(10/22) editorializes that “judging from Mr. Trump’s Twitter feed, the
president seems more inclined to exacerbate the problem – by cutting off US
aid to Central America, thereby deepening insecurity and misery there.
Those are the very factors that have driven the recent spike in migration,
especially by parents and children.” To the Post, “a more rational policy
would double down on US aid programs, with a focus on crime-fighting and
security, while allowing would-be migrants to apply and be screened for
asylum in their home countries.”

        *NYTimes Editorial: “Trump Is Lyin’ Up A Storm.” *Under the
headline “Donald Trump Is Lyin’ Up A Storm,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=09e-5b4&t=c>
(10/22) editorializes, “With Republicans struggling to keep their grip on
Congress,” Trump “is dialing up the demagogy,” and “as is so often the
case” he “is not letting reality interfere with his performance.” The Times
adds, “In particular, the caravan of Honduran migrants making its way north
has emerged as a focus of his fantasies,” as the President “has repeatedly
implied that Democrats are paying Honduran youth to join the caravan. On
Monday, he claimed, based on nothing, that the caravan is awash in
‘criminals and unknown Middle Easterners.’”
Report On Proposed HHS Gender Definition Prompts Protests.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=09f-6d4&t=c>
(10/22, Crary, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that “LGBT leaders across the US
reacted with fury Monday to a report that the Trump administration is
considering adoption of a new definition of gender that would effectively
deny federal recognition and civil rights protections to transgender
Americans.” The “activist leaders, speaking amid posters reading
‘#Won’tBeErased,’ later addressed a protest rally outside the White House.”
The AP notes that on Sunday the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a0-4c5&t=c>
reported that HHS “was circulating a memo proposing that gender be defined
as an immutable biological condition determined by a person’s sex organs at
birth,” and “would define sex as either male or female” with “any dispute
about one’s sex...to be clarified through genetic testing.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a1-728&t=c>
(10/22, story 7, 0:20, Glor) also reported that “according to a draft memo
obtained by CBS News from the advocacy group, the administration proposes
categorizing people for federal programs by the gender on their birth
certificate.” NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a2-613&t=c>
(10/22, story 8, 1:35, Jackson) said that “during his campaign,
then-candidate Trump promised protection. Now – ‘But what about your
promise to protect the LGBTQ community?’” Trump was shown saying, “I’m
protecting everybody.” NBC added that “HHS is citing a 2016 federal court
ruling on discrimination that describes sex as separate from gender
identity. It’s not clear whether the agency will move forward with the more
restrictive definition.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a3-752&t=c>
(10/22, Borter, Goldberg) runs a longer version of Trump’s comments, “We
have a lot of different concepts right now. They have a lot of different
things happening with respect to transgender right now. ... I’m protecting
everybody. I want to protect our country.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a4-c3d&t=c>
(10/22, Sun) reports Trump also said “his administration is ‘seriously’
considering changing the way it treats transgender people under the law,
confirming what administration officials describe as a debate about whether
to define a person’s sex as a biological fact determined at birth.”
However, according to “administration officials,” the Education Department
“is not eager to follow HHS’s lead, and the Justice Department is deferring
to HHS.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a5-dbb&t=c>
(10/22, Mervosh, Hauser) reports that “L.G.B.T. activists mobilized a fast
and fierce campaign that included a protest outside the White House on
Monday to say transgender people cannot be expunged from society, in
response to an unreleased Trump administration memo that proposes a strict
definition of gender based on a person’s genitalia at birth.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a6-a39&t=c>
(10/22, Stanley-Becker) reports that the American Civil Liberties Union has
“threatened legal action.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a7-ef4&t=c>
(10/22, Emma) reports “Chloe Schwenke, an author, a former Obama political
appointee with USAID and a transgender woman, stood outside the White House
with other advocates.” Politico also reports “Robyn McCutcheon, who came
out as transgender woman in 2010 while serving as an American diplomat in
Romania, said she still works for the State Department and has drafted a
letter of resignation twice,” but “friends have convinced her not to quit,
she said.”

        *ACLU Official: Democratic House Would Pass Equality Act. *The Los
Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a8-859&t=c>
(10/22, Newberry) reports that “if there is a silver lining to this
development, transgender rights advocates say, it is that it could motivate
a newly impassioned Democrat base to vote in the midterm election on Nov.
6.” Ian Thompson, senior legislative representative for the American Civil
Liberties Union, “said Monday in a telephone conference call with reporters
that, if Democrats win the House in November, he expects the Equality Act
would be ‘a very high priority’ looking ahead to next year.” The act “would
provide LGBTQ people across the country with comprehensive
nondiscrimination protection by explicitly adding sexual orientation and
gender identity to the existing federal civil rights statutes.”
Trump Announces Push For 10% Tax Cut For “Middle-Income People.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0a9-885&t=c>
(10/22, Mason) reports that “speaking to reporters at the White House as he
left on a campaign trip to Texas,” President Trump “said on Monday his
administration planned to produce a resolution within two weeks calling for
a 10 percent tax cut for middle-income people.” Said Trump, “We’re putting
in a resolution sometime in the next week or week-and-a-half, two weeks.
... We’re giving a middle-income tax reduction of about 10 percent. We’re
doing it now for middle-income people.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0aa-8a0&t=c>
(10/22, Fabian) quotes Trump as adding, “This is not for business, this is
for middle,” and “we’ll do the vote after the election.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0ab-269&t=c>
(10/22, Wilhelm) says “Trump’s call for a new, loosely defined tax cut
caught allies on Capitol Hill and elsewhere off guard,” because “though the
president teased a vote for after midterm elections, there’s no current
legislation to do that, and such a bill would require major procedural
maneuvering.” CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0ac-02c&t=c>
(10/22, Bennett) reports, meanwhile, that “Trump’s remarks amounted to a
presidential clarification of his own vague comments on Saturday, when he
told reporters Republicans are ‘looking at putting in a very major tax cut
for middle-income people.’” Roll Call adds, however, that “no one seems
particularly clear on what sort of tax cut the president was referring to.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0ad-56b&t=c>
(10/22, Werner) reports “Republican legislative leaders, who would need to
guide any tax cut through Congress, appeared caught off guard once again by
Trump’s comments.” The Post adds that “at a rally in Texas Monday evening,
Trump said he had been working on the new tax-cut plan for several months
with [House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin] Brady,” but Brady “has not
mentioned anything about such a plan in public.” The Post also reports
“legislation enacting such a cut has not been planned on Capitol Hill, and
congressional Republicans were privately skeptical that a vote could happen
during the post-election lame duck session, which might be dominated by a
fight over Trump’s border wall.”

        To Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0ae-bb9&t=c>
(10/22, Faler), meanwhile, Trump’s comments “appear designed to rally GOP
voters ahead of next month’s election and come amid mounting frustration
among some Republicans that their tax cuts last year are not resonating
with the public like they had hoped.” Politico adds “polls show Democrats
have won the battle over public perceptions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
with many believing the law was overly generous to the rich and to big
corporations.”

        *In Op-Ed, Steyer Calls For “Wealth Tax” On Top One Percent. *In a USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0af-8b8&t=c>
(10/22) op-ed, billionaire activist and possible Democratic presidential
candidate Tom Steyer, described by the newspaper as “the founder of NextGen
America and Need to Impeach,” writes that after “30 years in finance,
trusted mostly by colleges and foundations to invest their money so they
could expand their goals and secure their futures,” he is “urging Congress
to begin the work of restoring fairness to our system, by passing a 1
percent wealth tax. ... The top 0.1 percent – people like me – have amassed
nearly as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent of Americans. ... It’s time
for Washington to stop working for corporate lobbyists and the wealthy, and
start fighting for the interests of working Americans again.”
White House Readying New Zero-Tolerance Plan For Border Security Before
Midterms.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b0-1f9&t=c>
(10/22, Jordan, Dickerson, Shear) reports that the Trump Administration is
“weighing an array of new policies that it hopes will deter Central
Americans from journeying north.” According to the Times, “Each of the
policies, which range from a new form of the widely criticized practice of
family separation to stricter requirements on asylum, would face
significant legal and logistical challenges.” The Times goes on to report
that “the architects of the family separation approach have been hard at
work on alternatives,” and “their goal is to announce a plan before the
November elections that can withstand the legal challenges that crippled
the administration’s previous attempts.” The Times adds, “The group’s
charge from the White House is simple and explicit: Replace what the
administration describes as ‘catch and release,’ the practice of releasing
immigrants from detention while they wait for court hearings.”

        *Byrne Measure Would Use Reconciliation Process To Provide Border
Wall Funding. *CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b1-1c4&t=c>
(10/22, McPherson) reports Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL) announced Monday that
he has introduced legislation to use budget reconciliation to provide
funding to build the President’s border wall before the end of his first
term. The measure, which has 15 House Republican co-sponsors, “would allow
the GOP to pass wall funding with a simple-majority vote in the Senate by
using the reconciliation process.”

        *Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Ross Deposition On Census
Question. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b2-2fb&t=c>
(10/22, Liptak) reports that on Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily
barred a court order mandating Commerce Secretary Ross from being deposed
in a suit challenging a 2020 census question on citizenship. The brief
provided no rationale for the court’s decision, which it said would remain
in effect until the resolution of a Trump Administration petition. A trial
in the case is set to start next month. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b3-14b&t=c>
(10/22, Bahrampour) reports that the court ruling comes after the
government requested the Court “block questioning of Ross as part of a
lawsuit filed by several states, including New York, and civil rights
groups.” The case is one of six pending legal challenges to the question,
which Ross on March 26 announced would be part of the survey to aid Voting
Rights Act enforcement. The Post reports that “the unsigned order” from the
Supreme Court “seemed like an attempt by the court to avoid a 5-to-4 split
in its first politically significant action since the addition of new
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.”

        *Undocumented Immigrant Detained While Delivering Pizza Accused Of
Assault. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b4-98f&t=c>
(10/22, Goldbaum) reports Pablo Villavicencio Calderon, an undocumented
immigrant who was taken into custody by immigration authorities in June
while delivering a pizza to an Army base in Brooklyn and was then ordered
released by a judge, “has been arrested and charged with criminal mischief
in the assault of his wife.” According to court documents, Villavicencio
“pushed his wife against a wall and slapped her Thursday at their home on
Long Island. He then took her cellphone to prevent her from calling the
police.”
Plan Released By White House Would Break Up OPM.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b5-3c5&t=c>
(10/22, Yoder) reports that a gathering of federal workforce experts
convened by the White House “produced suggestions that could be turned into
policy initiatives and it also lent support to one already being pursued,
to break up the Office of Personnel Management and have it focus only on
policy, the acting director of that agency said Monday.” Under a government
reorganization plan the White House released in the summer, the GSA “would
run the federal employee insurance and retirement programs as well as the
personnel services that OPM provides to agencies.” DOD “would take over
responsibility for conducting background checks, and OPM would become a
policy arm of the White House.” The ideas “have proven controversial and
have raised questions regarding whether a change in law requiring the
consent of Congress would be needed.”
White House Encouraging Tech Giants To Share Workers With Government.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b6-5c5&t=c>
(10/22, Romm) reports that the White House had plans to convene technology
giants including Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft on Monday “and urge
them to make it easier for their workers to leave behind their big
paychecks and snazzy office perks and do brief tours of duty in
government.” For the Trump Administration, “the hope is that private
companies might encourage employees to take leaves of absence to help
modernize state and federal agencies – bringing a Silicon Valley
sensibility to challenges like improving veterans’ health care and
combating cybersecurity threats.”

        *Documentary Examines Tech Firms’ Influence On Democracy. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b7-1f9&t=c>
(10/22, Nolan) has a feature on “The Creepy Line,” a new documentary “that
explores how Silicon Valley tech companies can use their vast influence to
crack down on speech and undermine democracy. The film focuses specifically
on Facebook and Google, and analyzes exactly what these companies do once
they have unlimited access to user’s data.”
House Panels To Interview Rosenstein, Papadopoulos This Week.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b8-ab6&t=c>
(10/22, Demirjian) reports leaders of the House Judiciary and Oversight
Committee on Wednesday are scheduled to hear “closed-door testimony from
Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein,” and on Thursday, “committee
members are set to interview George Papadopoulos, a former adviser to
Trump’s campaign who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.” Congressional
committees looking into Russian election interference “have wanted to speak
with Papadopoulos about his outreach to two Russian nationals during the
campaign, as well as his interactions with a London-based professor, Joseph
Mifsud” for more than year. Meanwhile, Rosenstein’s interview “is expected
to focus in part on reports that he suggested taping the president’s
conversations or seeking to use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from
office.”

        *Butina’s Attorneys Say Prosecutors Are Withholding Evidence.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0b9-4d1&t=c>
(10/22, Mordock) reports in a court filing Monday, lawyers for accused
Russian agent Maria Butina said federal prosecutors are withholding
evidence that could undermine the case against their client. In a letter to
Assistant US Attorney Erik Kenerson, Butina’s attorneys wrote that the
evidence “would undermine the allegations in the indictment, attack the
credibility of the government’s case, impeach government witnesses and
demonstrate that Maria Butina was, in fact, nothing more than a student
with lofty aspirations who was acting on her own and not as a foreign
agent.”

        *Speier: Stone Probably Lied To House Intelligence Committee. *Rep.
Jackie Speier (D-CA) was asked on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0ba-c52&t=c>
(10/22) if she believes Stone will be indicted. Speier said, “Well I don’t
know, like everyone else. He struck me as kind of a carnival barker when he
testified before the Intelligence Committee. I think he was not forthcoming
before the committee. I think the subpoena that was never issued for
documentation and direct messaging, was something of a hole in that whole
report that was done by the Intelligence Committee. That’s why I think that
we need to go deeper into his activities.” Asked if Stone lied to the
committee, Speier said, “I think he probably did lie to us, yes.”

        *Smith: “Considerable Evidence” Of Connection Between Trump
Campaign People And Russia. *Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) was asked on CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0bb-709&t=c>
(10/22) if Stone knowing in advance about the release of Clinton’s emails
would rise to the level of collusion. Smith said, “Conspiracy is the actual
crime. It quite possibly rises to that level. Keep in mind, that is what we
are trying to figure out here. Was there coordination between people in the
Trump campaign and the Russians with the Russian effort to hack emails and
otherwise influence our election.” Smith added, “There’s considerable
evidence of a connection there. I think that’s what special counsel Mueller
is trying to determine. If he does, then that shows a conspiracy. At this
point, there’s no evidence that President Trump himself knew about this.
But, there is considerable evidence that people high up in his campaign
did.”

        *Cobb: Mueller Investigation Is Not A “Witch Hunt.” *The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0bc-b4c&t=c>
(10/22, Correll) reports that former White House lawyer Ty Cobb said Monday
that he does not believe special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is
a “Witch hunt.” Speaking at CNN’s Citizen Conference, Cobb said, “I don’t
think it’s a witch hunt.” Cobb added that Mueller is “an American hero in
my view.”
At Las Vegas Rally, Obama Slams Congressional GOP, Trump.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0bd-e9d&t=c>
(10/22, Price) reports that during a Monday appearance in Las Vegas, former
President Obama “delivered a biting critique of Republicans in Washington
and President Donald Trump’s administration,” though he “avoided mentioning
his successor by name.” Rallying support for Democratic candidates, Obama
“said Republicans had promised to ‘fight for the little guy’ but instead
helped corporations and sowed divisions in America.” Obama said
“Republicans in Congress ‘bend over backwards’ instead of being ‘a check or
a balance on this kind of corrupt politics.’”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0be-0d8&t=c>
(10/22, Arkin, Morin) reported that addressing “an energetic crowd of about
2,000 supporters on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas,”
Obama warned “of dangerous consequences if they failed to turn out the
vote” in the midterm elections, saying, “The consequences of anybody here,
not turning out and doing everything you can to get your friends,
neighbors, family to turn out, the consequences of you staying home would
be profoundly dangerous to this country, to our democracy.” Obama touted
the candidacy of Rep. Jacky Rosen (D), who is challenging Sen. Dean Heller
(R), calling her “a good bet.”

        The Las Vegas Sun
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0bf-581&t=c>
(10/22, Gonzalez) reports that Obama “said GOP leaders handed out $1.5
trillion in tax cuts to push up the deficit. He said Republicans, who have
so far failed to repeal and replace Obamacare as they have long promised,
want to balance those cuts on the backs of people who rely on programs like
Social Security and Medicaid. ‘As the person who actually passed the law
that prevents people with pre-existing conditions from being discriminated
against, I can tell you that they have no way of protecting pre-existing
conditions with anything they’ve proposed,’ Obama said. ‘They’re just
saying it, they’re just making it up.’”

        The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c0-7c4&t=c>
(10/22, Bobic) reported that Obama “urged the audience to ‘remember who
started’ the ongoing economic recovery Republicans are touting ahead of the
November elections, noting that Democrats had to deal with a recession upon
his election 10 years ago when the GOP ran ‘things into the ground.’”
Though Obama “is viewed as a liability for Democrats in pure red states
where Trump is overwhelmingly popular, he could help the party close the
gap with young and Latino voters in a purple state like Nevada following
some signs of lagging Latino enthusiasm in recent months.”

        *Obama On Strong Economy: “Remember Who Started it.” *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c1-d00&t=c>
(10/22, Morton) reports Obama, during his Nevada appearance, also “took
credit Monday for what he called the ‘economic miracles’ happening under
President Trump.” Obama “derided Mr. Trump, without naming him, as merely
being handed off a booming economy by the previous president and contrasted
that with his own inheritance on the economy.” Obama said, “By the time I
left office wages were rising...poverty was falling and that’s what I
handed off to the next guy. So when you hear all this talk about economic
miracles right now. Remember who started it. Remember who started it!
C’mon!”

        *Bernie Sanders Predicts “Very, Very Close” Election, Doesn’t
Believe In “Blue Wave.” *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c2-eda&t=c>
(10/22, Bonn) reported that Sen. Bernie Sanders “thinks there is reason to
doubt the predicted ‘blue wave’ in next month’s midterm elections, saying
control of Congress will be decided by a few tight races.” Sanders told
“Rising” Hill. TV co-host Krystal Ball, “I know a lot of people talk about
this blue wave and all that stuff, but I don’t believe it.” Sanders “said
he believes that the outcome from Nov. 6 will be a ‘very, very close’
situation, and predicts that only a ‘handful of votes’ will determine
whether Democrats are able to regain control of the House or Senate.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c3-0c9&t=c>
(10/22, Ember) reports Sanders similarly said in Iowa on Sunday, “I happen
not to believe that there’s going to be this great blue wave. ... I happen
to believe that on election night, which party controls the US House will
come down to a very few seats.”

        *Amid Spike In Early Voting, Mixed Signals For Both Parties. *Writing
for U.S. News & World Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c4-3f3&t=c>
(10/22), David Catanese said that over “5 million people have already cast
ballots in this year’s midterm general election, with a number of states
experiencing record levels of early voting. In Indiana, home to one of the
most crucial US Senate contests in the country, residents in centrally
located Hamilton County are casting ballots at a rate equal to the 2016
presidential election. In Minnesota, which is hosting a trio of competitive
US House races, early voting statewide has thus far surpassed ballots
returned in 2016. And in Georgia, which is featuring one of the most
competitive governor’s races of the year, ballots are being returned at
three times the rate of the 2014 midterm.”

        In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c5-013&t=c>
(10/22, Edelman) reported, “Republican-affiliated voters have outpaced
Democratic-affiliated voters in early voting in seven closely watched
states, according to data provided by TargetSmart and independently
analyzed by the NBC News Data Analytics Lab. GOP-affiliated voters have
surpassed Democratic-affiliated ones in early voting in Arizona, Florida,
Georgia, Indiana, Montana, Tennessee and Texas, the data showed. Only in
Nevada have Democratic-affiliated voters exceeded Republican-affiliated
voters so far in early voting, according to the data.” NBC News added, “he
latest data suggests robust enthusiasm among early Republican voters that
could put a dent in Democratic hopes for a ‘blue wave’ in next month’s
midterm elections.”

        In an online story headlined “Early Voting Points To Massive
Turnout, Potential Warning Signs For GOP,” Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c6-1f7&t=c>
(10/21, Re) reported, “Early voting numbers show a dramatic increase in
voter engagement in this year’s midterm elections compared with 2014
totals, and preliminary turnout results in some states are sending
Republicans renewed warnings of a so-called ‘blue wave’ just weeks before
Election Day.” The report largely focuses on Nevada, where there has been a
“strong Democratic showing across the board.” Fox News added that “initial
returns show an unusually high turnout by black voters in Georgia, where
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is” bidding to become the
nation’s first female, African-American governor.

        *Democrats Fear Low Turnout By Latinos, Millennials May Torpedo
Party In Midterms. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c7-1c1&t=c>
(10/23, Kapur) reports that with the midterm elections looming, “Democrats
are agonizing about whether two groups of infrequent and liberal-leaning
voters will turn out or dash their hopes of winning control of Congress:
Hispanics and young Americans. High turnout among” those groups “is
‘absolutely pivotal’ to the party’s prospects ‘and it’s of major, major
concern,’ said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. ‘I worry about whether we
as Democrats have invested in the infrastructure we need to really mobilize
that vote in 2018.’” Lake added, “It’s just a really, really big question
about who’s going to turn out to vote. We could lose Senate seats over it.
We could lose – the margin in the House could be greatly reduced. There are
a good 15 seats where the millennial and Latino vote make a huge
difference, could be the margin of victory.”

        *Obama Expected To Stump For Michigan Democrats In Detroit On
Friday. *The Detroit News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c8-322&t=c>
(10/22, Oosting) reports that former President Obama “is expected to rally
with Michigan Democrats on Friday in an effort to enthuse voters and boost
candidates ahead of the Nov. 6 mid-term election. A source with direct
knowledge of the planning said the Obama event is expected to take place
Friday in Detroit.”
Cancer Research
Maine Cancer Initiative Expanding Patients’ Access To Treatments, Trials.

The Bangor (ME) Daily News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0c9-dff&t=c>
(10/22, Farwell) reports on the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative, a
statewide program to expand access to genomic testing for cancer. The
program provides patients with connections to “clinical trials and other
personalized treatment options,” and is “building a network of cancer
clinicians throughout Maine and giving them access to the latest in cancer
research.” The piece adds that while it is “too early to say whether the
effort has saved lives,” it is “bringing a new frontier in cancer treatment
to corners of Maine that might have waited years for it otherwise, and at
virtually no cost to patients.” The article adds that at a recent meeting
of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, scientists “presented four
studies on precision medicine, with two representing total failures, and
the others failing to shrink tumors 92 percent and 95 percent of the time.”
NCI Grant Supports CAR-T Cell Research At UPenn’s Abramson Cancer Center.

The Philadelphia Business Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0ca-a12&t=c>
(10/22, George) reports the National Cancer Institute has awarded the
University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center a five-year, $10.7
million grant to conduct research on “new experimental approaches in lung
cancer and mesothelioma” using CAR-T cells. The grant “will fund three
interrelated projects test the therapy as a potential treatment for lung
cancer and mesothelioma.” Dr. Steven M. Albelda, principal investigator,
said, “Although CAR-T cells have been revolutionized the treatment of
leukemia and bone marrow cancers, we have not yet had the same success in
treating solid tumors like lung cancer. ... The goal of this program
project is to solve this problem.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Donald Trump Is Lyin’ Up A Storm.”* The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0cb-992&t=c>
(10/22) editorializes, “With Republicans struggling to keep their grip on
Congress,” President Trump “is dialing up the demagogy,” and “as is so
often the case” he “is not letting reality interfere with his performance.”
The Times adds, “In particular, the caravan of Honduran migrants making its
way north has emerged as a focus of his fantasies,” as the President “has
repeatedly implied that Democrats are paying Honduran youth to join the
caravan. On Monday, he claimed, based on nothing, that the caravan is awash
in ‘criminals and unknown Middle Easterners.’”
Washington Post.

*“This Is the First Step To Recalibrating US-Saudi Relations.”* In an
editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0cc-a95&t=c>
(10/22) calls for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder to “spark a
long-overdue recalibration of US relations with Saudi Arabia and its
reckless de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman,” and argues that “the best
place to start the US readjustment is...with the disastrous war in Yemen.”
The Post further states that “the Trump administration’s unquestioning
support for what amounts to a sectarian crusade by Sunni Saudi Arabia
against Shiite Iran needs an adjustment,” as efforts to contain Iran “can
be achieved without buying into Mohammed bin Salman’s own imperial – and
unachievable – ambitions.”

        *“Trump’s Response To The Migrant Caravan Will Only Make Things
Worse.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0cd-c9c&t=c>
(10/22) editorializes that “judging from Mr. Trump’s Twitter feed, the
president seems more inclined to exacerbate the problem – by cutting off US
aid to Central America, thereby deepening insecurity and misery there.
Those are the very factors that have driven the recent spike in migration,
especially by parents and children.” To the Post, “a more rational policy
would double down on US aid programs, with a focus on crime-fighting and
security, while allowing would-be migrants to apply and be screened for
asylum in their home countries.”

        *“David Trone For Congress In Maryland.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0ce-d10&t=c>
(10/22) in an editorial endorses David Trone, a liquor and wine retailing
magnate in his second attempt to run for Congress in Maryland. Trone
“impressed with his business acumen, but less so his policy chops, during
his first race — in the 2016 Democratic primary in the state’s 8th
District.” This time, as a candidate in Maryland’s 6th District, Trone “has
formidable command of an array of issues in a sprawling district that
includes a chunk of suburban Montgomery County and stretches to the West
Virginia border.” The Post describes him as “detail-oriented, studious and
no-nonsense,” arguing that “he would be an excellent successor to Rep. John
Delaney (D), the three-term incumbent who is bowing out to run for
president.”

        *Marcus: Trump Seems To Have Something Against Babies. *Ruth Marcus
writes in her Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0cf-478&t=c>
(10/22) column, “Listening to President Trump recently, the question
arises: What has he got against babies? ‘I’m not a baby,’ Trump felt
compelled to assure CBS News’s Lesley Stahl – twice – during his ‘60
Minutes’ interview,” and when asked last week “what evidence he had ‘that
these are hardened criminals that are coming to the United States,’ Trump
shot back, ‘Oh please. Please. Don’t be a baby, OK?’” Marcus recounts other
episodes of Trump using the word as a pejorative, as well as his previous
statements that indicate “little evident interest in babies, including his
own.”

        *Cohen: Broaddrick’s Allegations Against Bill Clinton Deserved More
Attention. *In a column in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0d0-11b&t=c>
(10/22), Richard Cohen reflects on his evolving beliefs since 2017, when
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) “said Bill Clinton should have resigned over
his affair with Monica Lewinsky” and “I thought Gillibrand was wrong,” to
now, when “I’m undecided.” Robinson says that he’s been moved by Juanita
Broaddrick, who “claimed Clinton raped her.” When Broaddrick’s allegations
were investigated in 1999 they got relegated “to an asterisk” in Ken
Starr’s official report, and Broaddrick was referred to as “Jane Doe No.
5.” Robinson criticizes Gillibrand and others for focusing on Lewinsky
while paying “scant attention to Broaddrick,” suggesting it may have “be
due to Broaddrick’s politics,” as she is “vociferously pro-Trump.” Robinson
says that personally, “I remember refusing to deal with Broaddrick’s
allegation” thinking that “men like that do not rape.” He concludes, “My
position has proved naïve,” and “I am no longer certain that Clinton did
not rape Broaddrick.”

        *Patti Davis: Women Should Refrain From Responding To Bullies As
#MeToo Momentum Grows. *In an op-ed in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0d1-aa3&t=c>
(10/22), Patti Davis, daughter of President Reagan and author of “The Earth
Breaks in Colors,” argues that “the reaction to the backlash” surrounding
movements for change, including #MeToo, determines how those movements play
out. Davis urges women not to take the bait when bullied, such as Stormy
Daniels’ response to Trump on Twitter when she wrote “Game on, Tiny,” or
when Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced DNA test results, because
taking the bait “pulls you down to the level of the bully” and assumes
“that no higher ground exists.”

        *Hewitt: Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Means Supreme Court Now Has A
“Stable” Coalition Of Justices. *In a column in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0d2-0ac&t=c>
(10/22), Hugh Hewitt writes that Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation
to the Supreme Court ended the “30 years war” for the Supreme Court “begun
with the rejection of Robert H. Bork’s nomination.” Hewitt argues that
“Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A.
Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh compose a natural, stable and
hopefully predictable coalition.” He says liberals shouldn’t be afraid that
a new era of “activism” is about to begin, but instead should “look forward
to the end of the madcap judicial imperialism that began with the arrival
of Chief Justice Earl Warren and on which the curtain has hopefully come
down with the retirement of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.” Hewitt argues the
job of the court is now to curtail the six decades of ever-growing power it
has assumed, and to neither hurry “nor obstruct social change.”

*Copyright 2018 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC* Reproduction or
redistribution without permission prohibited. Content is drawn from
thousands of newspapers, national magazines, national and local television
programs, radio broadcasts, social-media platforms and additional forms of
open-source data. Sources for Bulletin Intelligence audience-size estimates
include Scarborough, GfK MRI, comScore, Nielsen, and the Audit Bureau of
Circulation. Data from and access to third party social media platforms,
including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, is
subject to the respective platform’s terms of use. Services that include
Factiva content are governed by Factiva’s terms of use
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0d3-29f&t=c>.
Services including embedded Tweets are also subject to Twitter for
Website's information and privacy policies
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018102301biden&r=email-e749&l=0d4-42a&t=c>.
The Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing is published five
days a week by Bulletin Intelligence, which creates custom briefings for
government and corporate leaders. We can be found on the Web at
BulletinIntelligence.com, or called at (703) 483-6100