Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday, December 7, 2018
From: "Kathy Chung" <[email-masked]>
To: "Ashley Blazer Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jill Tracy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jimmy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Valerie Biden Owens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2018 09:07:10 -0500

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Friday, December 7, 2018 7:59 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
December 7, 2018

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=000-903&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=001-765&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, December 7, 2018 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Swalwell Open To Appearing With Biden On 2020 Democratic Ticket. <#S1>

• Crowded 2020 Democratic Race Poses Quandary For Obama. <#S2>

• Vanity Fair’s Hamby: Generational Divide Likely To Roil 2020 Democratic
Race. <#S3>

• Writer: It’s Biden’s “Trumpian Bluster That Makes Him Plausible” As A
2020 Candidate. <#S4>

• Writer: Biden, Some Other Possible 2020 Hopefuls Suffer From
“Beltway-itis.” <#S5>

• Biden To Field Questions During Jan. 28 Appearance In Fort Lauderdale.
<#S6>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Media Analyses: Huawei CFO’s Arrest Rattles Markets, Jeopardizes US-China
Trade Talks. <#S7>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Researchers: North Korea Expanding Missile Base That Could House ICBMs
Capable Of Hitting US. <#S8>

• Senators Seek To Punish Saudis Over Khashoggi Killing. <#S9>

• Houthis And Saudi Allies Agree To Prisoner Swap As Part Of Yemen Peace
Talks. <#S10>

• As US Diplomat Pushes For Taliban Talks, Afghan Election Dispute Brews.
<#S11>

• Russians Reportedly Upset With Trump After “Snubs”; Putin US Trip Now
“Out Of The Question.” <#S12>

• Report: Pompeo Told Netanyahu That Mattis Is Blocking Sale Of Israeli
F-16s To Croatia. <#S13>

• French Government Suggests It May Offer More Concessions To Blunt
Protests. <#S14>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Trump: Mueller’s “Presidential Harassment” Lowering His Approval Rating.
<#S15>

• Two Undocumented Immigrants Say They Are Employed By Trump National Golf
Club. <#S16>

• Ex-AG Barr Said To Be Top Contender For Same Post Under Trump. <#S17>

• Trump To Nominate Nauert For UN Ambassador. <#S18>

• Pelosi Casts Doubt On USMCA Passage Without Changes. <#S19>

• Powell: US Economy “Performing Very Well Overall.” <#S20>

• House, Senate Approve Stopgap Spending Bill. <#S21>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• Uterine Cancer Increasing, Especially Among Minority Women, CDC Says.
<#S22>

• Excess Body Fat May Increase Risk Of Breast Cancer In Women Over 50,
Study Finds. <#S23>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S24>

• Washington Post. <#S25>
Biden in the News
Swalwell Open To Appearing With Biden On 2020 Democratic Ticket.

In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=002-0c0&t=c>
(12/6, Sullivan) reported that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on Thursday said
“he is ‘open to entertaining both variations’ of a presidential ticket
featuring himself and former Vice President Joe Biden in 2020.” Appearing
on CNN, Swalwell was asked by host Wolf Blitzer, “You tweeted in support of
a proposal of a Biden-Swalwell ticket in 2020. Are you prepared to run in
2020 as either a presidential or a vice presidential candidate?” Swalwell
replied, “Yeah, or Swalwell-Biden, Wolf. I’m open to entertaining both
variations.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=003-705&t=c>
(12/6, Lim) reported that Swalwell “said he believes singer and actress
Cher may be on to something when she voiced her support this week of him
becoming running mates with...Biden.” Swalwell told Blitzer, “And I was
actually, as a fan of Cher, and my mom, who has been to many of her
concerts, my mom was thrilled. I think my mom has sent that to every person
in the world she has ever talked to.” The report added, “The lighthearted
conjecture comes as Cher on Sunday floated the idea of Biden, 76, launching
a 2020 bid for the White House ‘with someone young,’” mentioning Swalwell
as a possibility. Drawing from CNN’s story, Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=004-22f&t=c>
(12/6, Key) and Mediaite
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=005-341&t=c>
(12/6, Auber) also reported on Swalwell’s remarks.
Crowded 2020 Democratic Race Poses Quandary For Obama.

In an online article, Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=006-e75&t=c>
(12/5, O'Reilly) said, “A reported meeting last month between” Rep. Beto
O’Rourke (D-TX) “and Barack Obama has underscored the difficult position
the former president finds himself in, as numerous allies and former
administration members consider a 2020 White House bid.” Obama’s
“allegiances presumably would be tightest with former members of his
administration, of whom former Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney
General Eric Holder, and former [HUD] Secretary Julián Castro are
considering presidential bids.” While Biden “might be justified in
expecting support from his former running mate, Obama is likely to hold
back when surveying the historically crowded field in the making,”
according to SMU political scientist Cal Jillson, who predicted Obama
“won’t do anything until a clear front-runner has been decided on.”

        *Heavyweight Democratic Fundraiser Susman Says He’d Back O’Rourke
In 2020. *In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=007-a17&t=c>
(12/7, Schouten) reports, “One of the Democratic Party’s most prolific
fundraisers says he has pledged to raise” cash for O’Rourke, if he mounts a
2020 White House bid. Speaking with CNN, “Chicago financier Louis Susman,
who served as finance chairman of John Kerry’s 2004 presidential bid and
was an early backer of President Barack Obama’s White House ambitions in
2008,” said “he has met with O’Rourke on a number of occasions and that he
is encouraging him to run.” Said Susman, “It’s time to pass the torch to a
new generation. I have nothing against the Bidens and Kerrys of the world
and all of these senators that are looking at it, but I think the Beto
example is what inspired people and what we are going to need.”

        *Chris Matthews Says O’Rourke Should Seek White House. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=008-c2f&t=c>
(12/6, Keller) reported that MSNBC host Chris Matthews on Tuesday said that
O’Rourke “should run for president in 2020. ‘Let me finish tonight with a
strong suggestion. It’s that Beto O’Rourke should run for president,’
Matthews said,” likening the Texas Democrat “to former President Obama. ‘I
got a good look at Beto’s race for Senate, when we hosted the Hardball
college tour at the university of Houston,’ he said. ‘There was magic in
that room like when we hosted a Hardball college tour in West Chester
University up in Pennsylvania in 2008 for Senator Obama. Democrats respond
to magic.’” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=009-dc6&t=c>
(12/6, Ernst) also reports on the comments of Matthews, “who famously had a
‘thrill’ up his leg for then Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in 2008.”
Vanity Fair’s Hamby: Generational Divide Likely To Roil 2020 Democratic
Race.

Writing for Vanity Fair
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=00a-dcb&t=c>
(12/6), Peter Hamby says that the Wall Street Journal recently interviewed
Democratic Party chairs in all of Iowa’s counties about what they want in a
2020 Democratic presidential nominee, and “[t]he overwhelming takeaway was
that Democrats want generational change. It was bad news for the three
Democrats already seen as front-runners for the nomination: Bernie Sanders
(age 77), Joe Biden (76), and Elizabeth Warren (69). ... ‘They’re all too
old,’ Chris Henning, the 71-year-old Democratic chairwoman in Greene
County, told the Journal.” Hamby adds, “It’s a lesson borne out by the
midterm elections, which saw a new generation of Democrats sweep into
power, thanks in part to the highest turnout among young voters in a
quarter century.”

        *Lebanon County, PA Democratic Party Chair Says Biden “Too Old” To
Run In 2020. *Under the headline “In Their Own Words: Two Years Before The
Election, Pennsylvania Democrats Talk 2020,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=00b-a38&t=c>
(12/6, Routh) reports that it “interviewed nine Democratic Party chairs
from counties across Pennsylvania” to find out “what they had to say about
their party’s 2020 prospects, and their hopes for who will run” for
president. The only mention of former Vice President Joe Biden in the
article came from Lebanon County Democratic Party chief Dan Sidelnick, who
said Vermont Sen. “Bernie Sanders and [Massachusetts Sen.] Elizabeth
Warren, I think they won’t work. They’ve already been rejected. [President]
Trump’s beat them up. Joe Biden? I think he would be a good candidate,
except he’s too old. All these people are going to die in office. I like
[New Jersey Sen.] Cory Booker.”
Writer: It’s Biden’s “Trumpian Bluster That Makes Him Plausible” As A 2020
Candidate.

In a negative piece for National Review
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=00c-c6b&t=c>
(12/6), JNS.org editor in chief Jonathan Tobin discussed a potential 2020
bid by former Vice President Joe Biden to oust President Trump, saying,
that “as much as Biden might argue that his candidacy is predicated on an
ability to speak to Trump-friendly constituencies that left-wing candidates
such as [Bernie] Sanders, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, and others can’t,
it’s his Trumpian bluster that makes him plausible.” Biden, says Tobin, “is
the only likely Democratic contender who is capable of competing with”
Trump “when it comes to wild, exaggerated accusations and rhetorical
excess. Prior to Trump’s entry into politics, even many Democrats dismissed
Biden as too big a gasbag to take seriously as a presidential contender.
But Trump has made being a barroom blowhard a viable political identity,
and it is Biden who is most poised to benefit.”
Writer: Biden, Some Other Possible 2020 Hopefuls Suffer From “Beltway-itis.”

Under the headline “The Democrats’ 2020 Field Is Overrun By Washington
Insiders,” Edward Morrissey writes for The Week
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=00d-f10&t=c>
(12/6), “Democrats have failed to grasp the roots of a populist revolt by
the electorate who feel abandoned by traditional politics and politicians.
Rather than look for someone who shares these voters’ frustrations with
Washington and the political clique, the 2020 field looks like an audition
for Who Wants to Keep Being a Beltway-aire. This week alone, three former
presidential” candidates – ex-Vice President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton,
and ex-Secretary of State John Kerry – “have hinted at making another run
for the White House.” But while Biden “has the strongest abilities to
connect with the old Democratic coalition of blue-collar workers, populist
farmers, and the current urban-academic core of the party,” he “has a
longer case of Beltway-itis than either Clinton or Kerry.”
Biden To Field Questions During Jan. 28 Appearance In Fort Lauderdale.

The Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=00e-73b&t=c>
(12/6, Cohen) reports, “Is Joe Biden running for president in 2020 to try
and turn President Donald Trump into a one-term-man? Is he too old? Too
liberal? Just perfect? ... You can maybe ask Biden yourself when he is the
featured star of ‘An Evening With Vice President Joe Biden,’ a moderated
discussion event scheduled for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts
on Jan. 28.” According to a press release, “the moderated discussion ‘will
go beyond the 24-hour news cycle and cover a wide range of topics and
include a Q&A with the audience.’”
Leading the News
Media Analyses: Huawei CFO’s Arrest Rattles Markets, Jeopardizes US-China
Trade Talks.

Throughout the day yesterday, a dramatic second day sell-off in US stocks
was attributed to concerns that the arrest of Huawei’s CFO, the daughter of
the giant Chinese telecom’s founder, would undermine the tentative trade
truce reached by President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last
weekend. While US stocks rebounded by the end of the day, reports still
cast the arrest as a significant blow to efforts to reach a trade deal
between to the two nations.

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=00f-400&t=c>
(12/6, story 2, 1:10, Holt) reported that Meng Wanzhou was allegedly
arrested “for transporting American technology to Iran in violation of US
sanctions. Washington has broader concerns about her company.” In its lead
story, NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=010-a53&t=c>
(12/6, lead story, 1:50, Holt) reported the stock market continued to fall
amid “trade tensions with China, and now a new flash point: a Chinese
corporate executive arrested in Canada on behalf of the US.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=011-1e2&t=c>
(12/6, Stevenson, Phillips), in a piece titled “Arrest Of Top Huawei
Executive Sends Stocks Lower,” reports the S&P 500 “ended trading...down
about 0.2 percent, after falling more than 2.5 percent earlier in the day.”
Likewise, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=012-511&t=c>
(12/6, Veiga) reports, “An early plunge briefly knocked more than 700
points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average as the arrest of a senior
Chinese technology executive threatened to cause another flare-up in
tensions between Washington and Beijing.” However, the AP says “the
sell-off eased by late afternoon...after The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=013-3d2&t=c>
reported that the Federal Reserve is considering breaking with its current
approach of steady interest rate hikes, favoring a wait-and-see approach.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=014-4b4&t=c>
(12/6, Telford, Long, Heath) similarly reports on Thursday’s trading under
the headline “Dow Struggles Back From Deep Losses Triggered By Worries Over
US-China trade Deal.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=015-8f1&t=c>
(12/6, Hajric, Herron), the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=016-51f&t=c>
(12/6, Menton), and Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=017-a9a&t=c>
(12/6, Krauskopf), among other outlets, have similar reports.

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=018-ada&t=c>
(12/6, story 3, 2:20, Glor) reported Meng’s arrest occurred “as Presidents
Trump and Xi sat down Saturday night to broker a truce in their trade war.”
The Justice Department “requested the arrest and extradition to the US,
actions typically reserved for drug lords and arms dealers, not corporate
executives.” The White House “insists that the timing of the arrest was
purely coincidental, and not part of a negotiating strategy.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=019-c43&t=c>
(12/6, Wong) reports that as Trump “was arranging a trade truce with” Xi on
Saturday night, “his administration was coordinating the arrest of a top
Chinese technology executive who was flying through Canada.” According to
the Times, White House officials, including National Security Adviser
Bolton, “who attended the dinner with Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi, knew of the
impending arrest,” but “it is unclear whether Mr. Trump knew of the arrest.
And Mr. Xi was apparently never told at the dinner.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=01a-1a9&t=c>
(12/6) reports Bolton told NPR in an interview
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=01b-cf2&t=c>
Thursday morning Bolton that he “knew in advance about the arrest,” but
“did not know if the president was aware in advance of the arrest.” Said
Bolton, “I knew in advance. That is something we get from the Justice
Department.”

        CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=01c-579&t=c>
(12/6, Mangan) reports on its website that while Bolton said he “knew in
advance,” it “remains unclear if...Trump also knew.” Asked if Trump knew in
advance of Meng’s arrest, Bolton said, “I don’t know the answer to that.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=01d-0d7&t=c>
(12/6, Fabian), among other outlets, also reports Bolton’s comments.
According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=01e-eaa&t=c>
(12/6, Rampton), a “White House official” said Trump “did not know about a
US request” for Meng’s extradition before he met with Xi Jinping.

        Under the headline “‘Shocking’ Huawei Arrest Threatens To Upend
Trump-Xi Trade Truce,” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=01f-ddc&t=c>
(12/6, Tweed, Martin) says Meng’s arrest “threatens to make the US-China
conflict much worse.” As the US reportedly is seeking her extradition from
Canada, China “reacted with outrage...demanding that both countries move to
free Meng.” According to Bloomberg News, “It’s hard to overstate the
significance of her arrest in Beijing,” adding that “while the US routinely
asks allies to extradite drug lords, arms dealers and other criminals,
arresting a major Chinese executive like this is rare – if not
unprecedented.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=020-d2c&t=c>
(12/6, Zhong, Yuan) reports that news of the arrest “ignited anger and
astonishment in China on Thursday,” and Hu Xijin, the editor in chief of
Global Times, “a state-run newspaper known for its nationalist tone,”
called it a “declaration of war” against China. Geng Shuang, a spokesman
for China’s Foreign Ministry, “said it had asked American and Canadian
officials to give a reason for the detention and to immediately release”
Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=021-9c5&t=c>
(12/6, Dixon) says China’s “sharp response” to Meng’s arrest “suggests that
big hurdles remain as the US and China strive for a trade deal before March
1.” To the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=022-fb7&t=c>
(12/6, Wei, Dou), Meng’s arrest threatens to intensify the confrontation
between the US and China, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=023-630&t=c>
(12/7, Wiseman, Bajak) that it “heightened skepticism about the trade truce
that...Trump and Xi...reached last weekend,” and the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=024-643&t=c>
(12/6, Boylan) says it comes “at a time of maximum tension in the US-China
relationship,” and shined “a harsh light on US and allied concerns about
Chinese state-backed corporate giants.”

        A second New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=025-b30&t=c>
(12/6, Wong) report says the arrest “threatens to upend sensitive talks to
resolve a trade war between the world’s two largest economies,” and “global
markets fell on Thursday amid intensified concerns about an emerging cold
war between the United States and China.” The arrest “was the culmination
of a monthslong investigation by a Brooklyn office of the Justice
Department into whether the flagship Chinese company had violated Iran
sanctions.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=026-6e1&t=c>
(12/6, Freifeld) reports that DOJ “has been looking into whether Huawei
Technologies Ltd violated US sanctions against Iran since at least 2016 and
more recently the company’s use of HSBC Holdings Plc to make illegal
transactions involving Iran.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=027-34b&t=c>
(12/6, Zhong, Yuan) reports that the US has “for years...considered the
Chinese telecommunications giant a security threat. ... But lately,
Huawei’s setbacks have come on multiple fronts, from New Zealand and
Australia to Britain and Canada.” According to the Times, Chinese officials
see Huawei as “a pivotal driver of its ambitions for global technological
leadership,” while, “increasingly, much of the rest of the world sees it as
a potential conduit for espionage and sabotage.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=028-5e7&t=c>
(12/6) editorializes that Meng’s arrest is an attempt by the Administration
to force China to end its abuses of global trade norms. White House
correspondent Abby Phillip said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=029-301&t=c>
(12/6) that “some in the Administration believe that this arrest can be
used as leverage in negotiations on trade with China.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=02a-38b&t=c>
(12/6, Fifield) says “the specific targeting of Meng – rather than the
company in general – has raised speculation by some trade analysts that the
case could cast a shadow over attempts by Beijing and Washington to end
their trade battles.” According to the Post, “On Thursday, China sent twin
messages: demanding Meng’s release but also expressing hope that the
incident would not derail possible fresh momentum on trade talks.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=02b-b0b&t=c>
(12/6, McDonald, Gillies) reports the Chinese Ministry of Commerce
“signaled that Beijing wants to avoid disrupting progress toward settling a
dispute with Washington over technology policy that has led them to raise
tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s goods.” A Commerce Ministry
spokesman said China is “confident they can reach a trade deal during the
90 days that Trump agreed to suspend US tariff hikes.”

        On Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=02c-0d2&t=c>
last night, Trump wrote, “Statement from China: ‘The teams of both sides
are now having smooth communications and good cooperation with each other.
We are full of confidence that an agreement can be reached within the next
90 days.’ I agree!”

        Josh Rogin writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=02d-41c&t=c>
(12/6) column that “Chinese officials have been scrambling this week to
make sense of the Trump administration’s China policy,” and Meng’s arrest
“is compounding Beijing’s confusion.” For the Chinese, he says, “it’s
unthinkable that the US government could be operating on two different
tracks regarding the same basic issue. But that’s what happened this week,
officials told me. While trade negotiations commenced on the political
level, US law enforcement was already working on the Meng arrest, and it
happened to play out at roughly the same time.”

        *Trump Hasn’t Tweeted About Stock Market In Nearly A Month. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=02e-7d0&t=c>
(12/6, Ponczek) reports that “since his election, Trump has tweeted about
the stock market more than 35 times. Yet since Nov. 12, his social media
account has been mum on the wild vacillations in US equities.”

        *US Trade Deficit Reaches 10-Year High. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=02f-1c1&t=c>
(12/6, Klein) reports the Commerce Department said Thursday that the US
trade deficit rose to a 10-year high in October, “despite a raft of tariffs
that President Trump has instituted with the stated purpose of narrowing
the gap.” Despite the tariffs, the US trade deficit “has ballooned for five
months in a row, growing 1.7 percent to $55.5 billion last month, which was
the highest level since October 2008.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=030-5f0&t=c>
(12/6, McCrimmon) reports that the “monthly deficits with China ($43.1
billion) and the EU ($17.6 billion) are the highest on record.”

        Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=031-24b&t=c>,
“The #TariffMan (@realDonaldTrump) continues to be the only person
applauding his trade policy while trade deficits rise, more jobs are sent
overseas, the stock market plummets, and American families face greater
uncertainty.”
Foreign Policy
Researchers: North Korea Expanding Missile Base That Could House ICBMs
Capable Of Hitting US.

Citing Jeffrey Lewis and David Schmerler of the Middlebury Institute of
International Studies, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=032-d9c&t=c>
(12/6, Choe) reports that North Korea is “expanding an important missile
base that would be one of the most likely sites for deploying
intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.”
The two researchers say “the activities at the Yeongjeo-dong missile base
near North Korea’s border with China and the expansion of a new suspected
missile facility seven miles away are the latest indications that North
Korea is continuing to improve its missile capabilities.” The Times says
the findings contradict President Trump’s “repeated claims of progress in
efforts to denuclearize the North.”

        Rich Edson reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=033-333&t=c>
(12/6) that the State Department “refuses to comment on the report,” which
comes as Secretary of State Pompeo on Thursday met with South Korean
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha to discuss the North’s nuclear arsenal.
Senators Seek To Punish Saudis Over Khashoggi Killing.

Elizabeth Palmer reported on the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=034-112&t=c>
(12/6, story 6, 1:30, Glor), “At least 10,000 civilians have been killed in
what boils down to a regional power struggle” in Yemen between Houthi
militias, backed by Iran, and “the Yemeni government and a coalition of
Arab militaries led by Iran’s arch-rival, Saudi Arabia,” The United States
backs the Saudis and “has supplied vital intelligence, as well as billions
of dollars worth of sophisticated weapons.” However, “The US Senate is now
trying to withdraw American support for the Saudis in this war, in part
because of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, but also because it’s clear the
situation here has become a shocking humanitarian scandal.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=035-7ad&t=c>
(12/6, Zengerle) reports both Democratic and Republican senators are “bent
on punishing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi” and “they want to vote next week to penalize
Riyadh, but struggled to agree on how best to do so.” Reuters says some
Senate Republicans “have joined Democrats in...backing legislation to
respond by ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war effort in Yemen,
imposing new sanctions and stopping weapons sales,” while other Republicans
“strongly oppose linking the Yemen conflict with the killing of the
journalist.” Senate Majority Whip Cornyn is quoted as saying, “It would be
a mistake to fracture that relationship with the Saudis. It’s not based on
friendship as much as it’s based on common interests, combating extremism
in the Middle East and countering the Iranian threat,”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=036-82a&t=c>
(12/6, Jalonick) reports that Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker
said that senators “are looking at moving three measures – a resolution to
condemn the crown prince for Khashoggi’s murder, a bill to suspend arms
sales to the kingdom and a resolution to curtail U.S. help for the
Saudi-led war in Yemen.”
Houthis And Saudi Allies Agree To Prisoner Swap As Part Of Yemen Peace
Talks.

The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=037-012&t=c>
(12/6, story 6, 1:30, Glor) reported on the “glimmer of hope...for peace in
Yemen” as “the warring sides met in Sweden and began discussing prisoner
swaps.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=038-246&t=c>
(12/6, Keyton, Rohan) reports that “Yemen’s warring sides agreed to a broad
prisoner swap” after “sitting down in the same room together for the first
time in years at U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Sweden.” According to the
AP, “Hopes were high that the talks wouldn’t deteriorate into further
violence as in the past, and that the prisoner exchange would be an
important first step toward building confidence between highly distrustful
adversaries.” The AP reports that UN envoy Martin Griffiths “said the two
sides have signaled they are serious about de-escalating the fighting
through calls they’ve made in recent weeks.” The AP adds that the
international Red Cross will “oversee the prisoner exchange, which is
expected to take weeks.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=039-624&t=c>
(12/6, Walsh) reports that the prisoner exchange, which is “said to involve
at least 5,000 detainees, is the first of several confidence-building
measures intended to draw the Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition that
supports President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi into more substantive
negotiations.” According to the Times, “Also on the table is a proposal to
reopen the airport in the capital, Sana, which has been under a Saudi
blockade since 2015 – one of several punishing measures that have fueled
what the United Nations calls the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.” The
Times says that the United Arab Emirates, “a key Saudi ally,” has recently
“pushed forward with a fierce offensive to snatch the Red Sea port of
Hudaydah from Houthi control,” and “now coalition forces nearly surround
the city, which is crucial to international aid efforts.”
As US Diplomat Pushes For Taliban Talks, Afghan Election Dispute Brews.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=03a-c29&t=c>
(12/6, Mashal, Abed) reports that, just as Zalmay Khalilzad, the American
special envoy for Afghan reconciliation, landed in Afghanistan on Thursday,
“to build momentum for peace talks with the Taliban,” the country moved
“toward another political crisis.” An election complaints agency
“invalidated all of the votes cast in Kabul Province in October’s
parliamentary election,” setting up “a stalemate” with the Independent
Election Commission, which “said it would ignore the decision invalidating
the votes.” Meanwhile, “the United States is pushing for the talks with a
sense of urgency, as President Trump has lost patience with a war that
remains unpopular at home.”
Russians Reportedly Upset With Trump After “Snubs”; Putin US Trip Now “Out
Of The Question.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=03b-5ea&t=c>
(12/6, Arkhipov, Meyer) reports that after President Trump “snubbed”
Russian President Vladimir Putin “twice in less than a month, Russia is
finally losing faith in Trump’s promise to improve relations and bracing
instead for increased tensions.” According to Bloomberg News, Trump’s
“mercurial decision-making is increasingly seen as a liability in Moscow.”
Bloomberg News reports that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says a Putin
trip to the US is now “out of the question,” although Trump invited him to
Washington last summer, and they are “unlikely to meet again before the
next G-20 summit in Japan in June.”

        *US Sends Observation Flight Over Ukraine. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=03c-198&t=c>
(12/6, Burns) reports, “In a show of solidarity after Ukraine’s naval
confrontation last month with Russia,” the US flew an unarmed Air Force
plane “with American and international observers” over Ukraine under the
Open Skies Treaty. The Pentagon called the flight “extraordinary.” Such
flights, which treaty members must accept as part of an effort to promote
transparency in military activities, are normally arranged far in advance,
but “extraordinary” flights are allowed should two participating members
agree. Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said that the Ukrainian military
requested the flight and the US agreed to conduct it.

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=03d-182&t=c>
(12/6, Wolfgang) casts the Pentagon as “blasting Russia’s ‘dangerous
escalation’ in the region.” A statement by the Defense Department “said the
flights were designed to send a clear message.”
Report: Pompeo Told Netanyahu That Mattis Is Blocking Sale Of Israeli F-16s
To Croatia.

Barak Ravid of Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=03e-49e&t=c>
(12/6, Ravid) reports the Administration is “blocking a $500 million arms
deal between Israel and Croatia, for the sale of 12 US-made F-16 fighter
jets refurbished and upgraded by Israel.” According to Ravid, “The US was
also fighting for the Croatia tender, and US officials claimed Israel was
being dishonest and trying to profit off the back of the US.” To Ravid,
“This is a very rare standoff after two years of incredibly close relations
between Israel and the Trump administration, especially when it comes to
military and defense cooperation.” Ravid says Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu “raised the issue with” Secretary of State Pompeo
“during their meeting in Brussels on Monday,” and Pompeo “told Netanyahu he
was not against the deal but Secretary of Defense James Mattis was blocking
it.”
French Government Suggests It May Offer More Concessions To Blunt Protests.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=03f-b58&t=c>
(12/6, Lough, Pennetier) reports that the French government “hinted at more
concessions to ‘yellow vest’ protesters...in a bid to head off another wave
of violence...over living costs and regain the initiative after weeks of
civil unrest.” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe “told the Senate he was open
to new measures to help the lowest-paid workers,” and Finance Minister
Bruno Le Maire “said he was prepared to accelerate tax cuts for households
and that he wanted workers’ bonuses to be tax-free,” according to Reuters.
Reuters says “the rush of sweeteners to soothe public anger began with
Philippe’s climb-down on fuel tax hikes, the first major U-turn of Emmanuel
Macron’s presidency,” but “five days after the worst rioting central Paris
has seen since 1968, all signs are that the government has failed to quell
the revolt.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=040-f1a&t=c>
(12/6, Charlton, Turnbull) reports that French authorities have
“braced...for the possibility of more riots and violence at anti-government
protests this weekend, holding emergency meetings and deploying tens of
thousands of police and security forces.” Philippe said the government
“will deploy ‘exceptional’ security measures for the protests in Paris and
elsewhere, with additional new forces on top of the 65,000 security
officers already in place.” The AP adds that “in a move questioned by both
critics and supporters,” Macron “has disappeared from public view.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=041-fee&t=c>
(12/6, Fouquet) reports Macron’s “approval rating slipped 4 percentage
points in a month to 23 percent in an Elabe survey for Les Echos released
Thursday,” falling below predecessor Francois Hollande’s at the same point
in his presidency. Elabe head Bernard Sananes told Les Echos that
respondents said Macron “doesn’t listen to the people, doesn’t know the
people and doesn’t understand them.”
Domestic Policy
Trump: Mueller’s “Presidential Harassment” Lowering His Approval Rating.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=042-d0b&t=c>
(12/6, Morin) reports, “Trump is blaming special counsel Robert Mueller’s
Russia probe for his relatively low approval ratings, adding that he
believes it’s ‘presidential harassment.’” The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=043-2a6&t=c>,
“Without the phony Russia Witch Hunt, and with all that we have
accomplished in the last almost two years (Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judge’s,
Military, Vets, etc.) my approval rating would be at 75% rather than the
50% just reported by Rasmussen. It’s called Presidential Harassment!”
The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=044-f58&t=c>
(12/6, Caralle) also reports on the tweet.

        *Manafort, Cohen Court Filings Expected Friday. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=045-10a&t=c>
(12/6, Johnson, Jansen) writes that “the window into [Mueller’s] closely
held investigation into Russian interference could become clearer Friday
during a simple convergence of the federal court calendar.” Prosecutors
“are due to file papers explaining last week’s collapse of a cooperation
agreement” with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, while in New
York, “Mueller’s team is scheduled to file a sentencing memorandum for its
newest cooperating witness – former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen –
before his sentencing Wednesday on two convictions.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=046-dbc&t=c>
(12/6, Whitehouse) reports that a Manhattan federal judge has set a
deadline of “no later than 5 p.m. Friday” for federal prosecutors and the
Special Counsel’s office to comment on whether Cohen “should go to jail for
a litany of crimes.”

        *Stone Says He Does Not Have Joint Defense Agreement With Trump’s
Lawyers. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=047-f22&t=c>
(12/6, Murray) reports on its website, “Roger Stone said Thursday that he
does not have a joint defense agreement” with the President’s legal team,
“nor are the two sides sharing information.” He “also said he is refusing
to testify now to the Senate because it would not be public testimony,
despite previously testifying before the House Intelligence Committee
behind closed doors.”

        Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=048-b00&t=c>
(12/6), “I don’t think you have a lot of guts if you are refusing to
cooperate in an investigation that’s trying to secure our elections. And if
you admire President Trump so much, then you must also admire his words in
September 2016 when he said who takes the fifth, only the mob takes the
fifth. So unless you’re associating yourself with mob-like tactics, I don’t
think have much guts, and it looks like Roger Stone has much to hide.”

        *Top FBI, DOJ Officials Sought To Rein In Trump Before Mueller’s
Appointment. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=049-1c6&t=c>
(12/6, Brown, Herb) reports on its website, “In the hectic eight days”
after President Trump “fired FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein and top FBI officials viewed Trump as a leader who
needed to be reined in, according to two sources describing the sentiment
at the time.” The officials “discussed a range of options, including the
idea of Rosenstein wearing a wire while speaking with Trump, which
Rosenstein later denied. Ultimately, then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe
took the extraordinary step of opening an obstruction of justice
investigation even before” Mueller was appointed.
Two Undocumented Immigrants Say They Are Employed By Trump National Golf
Club.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=04a-dea&t=c>
(12/6, Jordan) runs a 2,900-word piece on Victorina Morales, “an
undocumented immigrant housekeeper” from Guatemala who has worked at the
Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey for more than five
years, and “has made Donald J. Trump’s bed, cleaned his toilet and dusted
his crystal golf trophies.” Morales told the Times that “she was not the
only worker at the club who was in the country illegally,” and another
woman “said she, too, was undocumented when she worked at Bedminster
between 2010 and 2013. The two women said they worked for years as part of
a group of housekeeping, maintenance, and landscaping employees at the golf
club that included a number of undocumented workers, though they could not
say precisely how many.” The two women approached the Times through their
attorney, “who is representing them on immigration matters. Ms. Morales
said that she understood she could be fired or deported as a result of
coming forward, though she has applied for protection under the asylum
laws.”

        On the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=04b-1b3&t=c>
(12/6, story 5, 2:10, Glor), Adriana Diaz reported that Morales “claims her
bosses knew she wasn’t authorized to live in the US, but hired her anyway.
... She says Jorge Villafuerte, identified as a club facilities manager in
this photo with Mr. Trump, later gave her money to get a fake green card
and Social Security card. We tried to call Jorge Villafuerte but were
unable to reach him. Sandra Diaz said she also worked at the club while she
was undocumented. Their attorney claims several undocumented immigrants are
on the club’s payroll.” On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=04c-565&t=c>
(12/6, story 5, 1:40), Lester Holt said, “As president, President Trump
continues his tough talk about controlling the flow of migrants into the
US. Two housekeepers who worked at the New Jersey golf club he owns and
often visits say they are undocumented.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=04d-a13&t=c>
(12/6, Alvarado) reports that the women’s attorney Anibal Romero “called on
state and federal officials to investigate the Trump National Golf Club.”
He said in a statement, “While working at Donald Trump’s estate in
Bedminster and interacting with the President and his immediate family, my
clients and others were repeatedly subjected to abuse, called racial
epithets and threatened with deportation. Ironically, the threats often
came from the same supervisor who had employed them despite knowing their
undocumented status and even provided them with forged documents.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=04e-9c8&t=c>
(12/6, Dinan, Miller) reports, “Just five of the 565 companies in President
Trump’s business empire are signed up to use E-Verify, the government’s
best tool to weed illegal immigrants out of the workforce, according to a
Washington Times analysis that suggests the president could personally be
doing more on that front.”
Ex-AG Barr Said To Be Top Contender For Same Post Under Trump.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=04f-6bd&t=c>
(12/7, Tucker, Day) reports that William Barr, who served as attorney
general under President George H.W. Bush from 1991 through 1993, “has
emerged as a top contender for that job” for President Trump, according to
“two people familiar with the president’s selection process.” ABC World
News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=050-473&t=c>
(12/6, story 8, 0:20, Muir), the only broadcast network to report on the
possible pick, said in its brief report that “if confirmed, Barr would take
charge as the Russia investigation continues.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=051-fe6&t=c>
(12/6, Cummings, Johnson, Jackson) reports that Administration officials
“expect Republicans and Democrats to be comfortable with Barr because of
his experience. ... Asked whether Barr had any reservations about serving a
president who had been so critical of the Justice Department and former
Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” a source said Barr “expressed ‘no
hesitation’ about taking on the task.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=052-702&t=c>
(12/6, Savage, Haberman) reports, “With Democrats vowing oversight
hearings” into Acting Attorney General Whitaker “when they take over the
House in January, the president is said to be under pressure – including
from allies” like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Charles Grassley (R-IA),
the incoming and departing Senate Judiciary Committee chairs – “to quickly
nominate a viable successor” to Sessions.

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=053-32d&t=c>
(12/6, Dawsey) calls Barr “a well-respected Republican lawyer.” While his
“past statements about the Russia probe, in which he has questioned the
political tilt of Mueller’s team, could give some Democrats fodder to
attack [his] nomination...several Republican operatives” pointed out that
he worked alongside Special Counsel Robert Mueller at the Justice
Department “and said his track record from the Bush administration should
ease any Democratic concerns that the department would see its independence
eroded.”

        In another Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=054-339&t=c>
(12/6) piece, Aaron Blake writes that “much like Whitaker, Barr’s past
commentary has played down the severity of the allegations against Trump –
on both the collusion and obstruction-of-justice fronts – and he has also
suggested the Clintons should be in more trouble.” He “also supported
Trump’s firing of acting attorney general Sally Yates (which many legal
experts agree with), and like Trump he has criticized the political
donations of the prosecutors on Mueller’s team.”

        Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=055-b77&t=c>
(12/6), “I think it’s important that the President fill the vacancy with
someone who is respected on both sides of the aisle. William Barr has a
decent reputation, as far as I can tell, has the appropriate degree of
experience. He’ll, of course, have to be vetted by senators who are
Republicans and Democrats as part of the confirmation process, but we do
need to move beyond the current Acting Attorney General.”

        Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=056-cc9&t=c>
(12/6) that Barr “sounds a hell of a lot better than Matt Whitaker, who
already has prejudged the investigation.”

        CBS’ Caitlin Huey-Burns tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=057-57e&t=c>
that Barr “defended” the firing of then-FBI Director James Comey “and
argued it wouldn’t impact integrity of the probe: the ‘responsibility for
the integrity of the Russia investigation is vested in the hands of two
highly regarded Obama veterans.’” SiriusXM Washington correspondent Olivier
Knox tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=058-19a&t=c>,
“April 2001 – William Barr says he suggested to George HW Bush that he
pardon major Iran-Contra figures – and pushed for more pardons than others
in that administration.”

        Washington Post conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=059-fa4&t=c>,
“The problem is not Barr per se, who is far and away the most qualified
person Trump could likely get to serve, but rather under what conditions
the attorney general spot gets filled for the remainder of Trump’s
term.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=05a-3ea&t=c>
(12/6, Jacobs), Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=05b-01e&t=c>
(12/6, Holland, Lambert), and the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=05c-f05&t=c>
(12/6, Correll) also have reports.
Trump To Nominate Nauert For UN Ambassador.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=05d-0f6&t=c>
(12/7, Jacobs, Wadhams) reports the President “has decided to nominate
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert” to replace departing UN
Ambassador Haley, “according to three people familiar with the decision.”
The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=05e-1b2&t=c>
(12/6, Morton) also reports on Nauert’s selection citing the Bloomberg News
report.

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=05f-464&t=c>
(12/6, Baker, Haberman) reports Nauert “had been the favorite after Ms.
Haley announced that she would leave the job, but after The Wall Street
Journal reported that she was expected to be given the role, Mr. Trump grew
muted about the choice, and administration officials said that she had
become less interested in the post.” Trump “floated other names to
associates as possible choices,” but the Times says he is “famous for
misdirection when it comes to his appointees, returning to Ms. Nauert, who
will now face a Senate confirmation process.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=060-e61&t=c>
(12/6, Morello) calls Nauert “the latest transplant from Fox News to be
elevated to a position in the White House.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=061-831&t=c>
(12/6, Shesgreen, Dudar) says Nauert “has served as the State Department’s
chief spokeswoman since April 2017,” and she “served temporarily as the
acting undersecretary for public diplomacy,” but “her resume is thinner
than previous appointees to the U.N. job.” Critics argue that “while she is
good at parroting talking points, Nauert does not have the kind of in-depth
policy knowledge or political background needed for the job.”
Pelosi Casts Doubt On USMCA Passage Without Changes.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=062-bef&t=c>
(12/6, Rodriguez) reports House Minority Leader Pelosi “cast doubt Thursday
on the likelihood that the new North American trade pact could win
congressional approval without changes to bolster its labor and
environmental protections.” USTR Lighthizer met with Pelosi “for just over
30 minutes” to discuss the trade agreement, and in a statement after the
meeting, Pelosi said, “While there are positive things in this proposed
trade agreement, it is just a list without real enforcement of the labor
and environmental protections.”

        To Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=063-0e2&t=c>
(12/6, Leonard), President Trump’s “push to get Congress to quickly pass
his Nafta replacement trade deal will require the president to take an
uncharacteristic approach in negotiations: seek compromise while resisting
strong-arm tactics. So far, though, Trump is sticking with his coercive
instincts, threatening to nullify the existing agreement.”

        Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=064-710&t=c>,
“Without changes, in law and practice, that address the suppressed low
wages & dismantle the so-called protection agreements in Mexico, the new
#NAFTA will continue conditions that have led to outsourced American jobs.”

        *Politico Analysis: Metals Tariffs Complicate Passage. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=065-52a&t=c>
(12/6, Rodriguez) reports President Trump “faces a huge roadblock in
Congress over US tariffs that are still in place on steel and aluminum
imports from the two US neighbors.” According to Politico, Canada and
Mexico are “still working to negotiate a deal with the Trump administration
so that they can be exempt from the duties,” and, “in the meantime,
American industries will continue to be hurt by Mexico and Canada’s
retaliatory duties on more than $15 billion worth of US goods.” Both
Democrats and Republicans “have publicly criticized the administration’s
continued tariffs on the two US allies, arguing the detrimental effects
both the duties and retaliatory tariffs have on US manufacturers, consumers
and workers.”
Powell: US Economy “Performing Very Well Overall.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=066-268&t=c>
(12/6, Miller, Smialek) reports Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on
Thursday “delivered a bullish assessment of the U.S. economy and the job
market on the eve of the scheduled release of November employment data.”
Powell asserted, “Our economy is currently performing very well overall,
with strong job creation and gradually rising wages.’’ He added, “By many
national-level measures, our labor market is very strong.’’ According to
Bloomberg News, the Labor Department’s monthly report is “projected to show
that U.S. employers added 198,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in November,”
which is “still considered healthy, though it would be less than October’s
250,000,” even as “the unemployment rate probably held at 3.7 percent, the
lowest since 1969, while wages likely advanced 3.1 percent from a year
earlier, matching the fastest pace since 2009.”

        *GOP Lawmakers Not Joining Trump In Criticizing Powell For Interest
Rate Hikes. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=067-4e6&t=c>
(12/6, Timiraos, Davidson) reports Republican lawmakers so far are refusing
to join President Trump in criticizing Powell for increasing interest
rates, although the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=068-48e&t=c>
(12/6, Timiraos) separately reports that Fed officials are now considering
a policy shift from gradual interest rate increases to a wait and see
approach.
House, Senate Approve Stopgap Spending Bill.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=069-e78&t=c>
(12/6, Becker) reports that Congress “approved a two-week stopgap spending
bill to avert a government shutdown, setting up a potential showdown” over
President Trump’s proposed border wall later this month. According to
Reuters, “Before the stopgap bill expires,” Congress is “expected to
consider a $450 billion bill to fund the departments through the fiscal
year that ends next Sept. 30.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=06a-831&t=c>
(12/6, Werner) reports that President Trump is “expected to sign the
legislation, which sets a new deadline of Dec. 21 for when funding for the
Homeland Security Department and a handful of other federal agencies will
expire.” The Post says that “in their waning days in control of the House,
Republicans know it’s their last shot to get Trump the money for a border
wall that was the signature promise of his presidential campaign,” but
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=06b-f4b&t=c>
(12/6, Bade, Everett) says “the parties are no closer to resolving” the
matter. ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=06c-9c1&t=c>
(12/6, story 7, 0:10, Muir) also reported briefly on the extension.
Cancer Research
Uterine Cancer Increasing, Especially Among Minority Women, CDC Says.

NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=06d-676&t=c>
(12/6, Charles) reports on its website that researchers at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention found that while “most types of cancer are
decreasing nationwide, uterine cancer is proving to be a stubborn
exception.” The findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=06e-aac&t=c>.

        U.S. News & World Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=06f-832&t=c>
(12/6, Galvin) reports uterine cancer is “the fourth-most common cancer
diagnosis among U.S. women,” and “is among the small number of cancers
increasing in both incidence and mortality in the country.” The report
found that among black women, the incidence increased 46% and mortality
increased 29%, and that among Hispanic women, the incidence increased 32%
and mortality increased 33%. The report also found that incidence and
mortality increased “among Asians and Pacific Islanders,” and among Native
Americans “the incidence rate rose...while their mortality rate remained
stable.”

        Fortune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=070-c5a&t=c>
(12/6, Shoot) reports the researchers also found that “deaths from uterine
cancer were twice as high among African-American women as they were among
Caucasian women.”

        HealthDay
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=071-56b&t=c>
(12/6, Mundell) reports the CDC found that “during 1999-2015, uterine
cancer incidence rates increased 12 percent, about 0.7 percent per year, on
average.” S. Jane Henley of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and
Control was the lead researcher for the report.

        LiveScience
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=072-177&t=c>
(12/6, Miller) reports that the CDC used data from its “National Program of
Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance,
Epidemiology and End Results program.”
Excess Body Fat May Increase Risk Of Breast Cancer In Women Over 50, Study
Finds.

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=073-1b0&t=c>
(12/6, Thomas) reports on a study
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=074-a7e&t=c>
published in JAMA Oncology finding that “older women with excess body fat,
even if they have what’s considered a normal body-mass index, could be at
greater risk for breast cancer.” The study included “3,460 American women
between the ages of 50 and 79 who had gone through menopause.” Of these,
“146 developed ER-positive breast cancer, and the researchers looked for a
relationship between excess body fat and the development of this cancer.”
Overall, the study indicated “a 5-kilogram (11-pound) increase in
whole-body fat mass was associated with a 35% increased risk” of
ER-positive breast cancer, while “a 5-kilogram increase in fat mass of the
trunk was associated with a 56% increase in risk.” The study also indicated
that “a 5-kilogram increase in whole-body fat mass was related to a 28%
risk increase” for invasive breast cancer, and a 5 kg increase “in trunk
fat was tied to a 46% increase in the risk of invasive breast cancer.”

        MedPage Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=075-170&t=c>
(12/6, Minerd) reports the study indicates that BMI “may not be a
sufficient measure of body fat for determining breast cancer risk in
postmenopausal women,” but instead used “dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry
(DXA) to assess body fat in more detail,” including “whole-body fat,
percentage of whole-body fat, and trunk fat mass.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“A Good Call By Albany’s Pay Committee.”* A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=076-81f&t=c>
(12/6) editorial expresses “relief” that a committee set up to determine
New York state lawmakers’ pay “enacted reforms limiting outside income and
eliminating most committee stipends, known as ‘lulus,’ alongside a salary
increase.” The Times says the committee “was designed to grant the
legislators a hefty raise with no questions asked,” but it “acted
responsibly. ... If the legislators don’t like it, they can reject the
reforms, and the raise.”
Washington Post.

*“It’s Time To Face The Inescapable Truth: We’re Running Out Of Time On
Climate Change.”* In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=077-3a2&t=c>
(12/6) references a new UN report “finding that climate change will disrupt
human society, kill many people and permanently reshape the Earth unless
stemmed aggressively, and soon” to assert that “the inescapable truth” is
that “the transition from fossil fuels is essential, it is going to be
hard, and the United States must step up.” The Post criticizes the
Administration for “trying to push the United States backward” and
concludes, “World leaders have missed their chance to avoid the warming
already here and built into the system. The Trump administration would have
humanity miss its window entirely.”

        *“The NRCC Hack Shows That Election Security Is A Bipartisan
Problem.” *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=078-324&t=c>
(12/6) asserts that while President Trump “may claim that Democratic
incompetence was to blame for hacks of the party’s systems during the 2016
election,” a cyberattack against the National Republican Congressional
Committee this year “shows that election security is a bipartisan affair.”
The Post adds cybersecurity is “an issue for everyone in the United States,
demanding a broad response from Congress and political actors across the
board.”

        *“The Ouster Of Central European University Marks A Dark Day For
Hungary.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120701biden&r=email-f292&l=079-78d&t=c>
(12/6) writes that Central European University in Hungary, founded to
“propagate openness and rule of law,” is “a casualty of a new Iron Curtain
falling across the democratic world.” Forced out of the country by
“autocratic nationalist” Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the relocation is “a
shattering blow to the ideals that led to the university’s founding.” The
Post calls the situation “a dark day for U.S. diplomacy and its traditional
support for democratic values, now an occasional afterthought for the Trump
administration.” In particular, the Post criticizes US ambassador to
Hungary David B. Cornstein for having “obtusely described the conflict as
little more than a grudge match between” Orban and CEU founder George
Soros, saying, “It doesn’t have anything to do with academic freedom.” The
Post blasts Cornstein for having “perniciously cast the blame on Mr.
Soros,” saying, “It would pay to work with the government.”

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