Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Tuesday, January 15, 2019
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, 15 Jan 2019 11:18:34 -0500

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Tuesday, January 15, 2019 7:58 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, January 15, 2019

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=000-688&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=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=001-6de&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, January 15, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Prominent Democrats Touting Biden As Party’s Strongest 2020 Contender.
<#S1>

• Harris Atop Nashua Telegraph’s Rankings Of 2020 Democratic Contenders;
Biden Fourth. <#S2>

• Sununu Praises Biden, Criticizes Obama Over “New Blood” Remarks. <#S3>

• Seib: 2018 Data Shows Centrist, Middle-Aged Democratic Voters May Be Key
In 2020. <#S4>

• Sharpton Open To Backing Biden Or Bloomberg In 2020 Democratic Race. <#S5>

• WPost’s Rubin Says Biden Far From A Lock To Win 2020 Democratic
Nomination. <#S6>

• Fox News Op-eds Highlight Frank Biden’s Criticism Of Clinton’s 2016
Campaign. <#S7>

• Native Americans Upset With Trump Over Tweet Mocking Warren. <#S8>

• AP: Sources Say Gillibrand To Form Presidential Exploratory Committee.
<#S9>

• Sanders To Meet With Ex-2016 Campaign Staff On Harassment, Sexism
Allegations. <#S10>

• Gabbard’s Past Stances On LGBT Issues Drawing Scrutiny. <#S11>

• Pro-Trump Oppo Research Group Collecting Info On Brown’s Wife. <#S12>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Makes Case For Border Wall In Speech To Farm Bureau. <#S13>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Media Analyses: Rhetoric Eases After Trump-Erdogan Call. <#S14>

• Trump: US “Doing Very Well” In Trade Talks With China. <#S15>

• Bolton Tweet Links To Report Charging Iran Hiding Nuclear Facility. <#S16>

• Pompeo Meets With Saudi Crown Prince. <#S17>

• Vehicle Bomb Kills At Least Four In Kabul. <#S18>

• China Sentences Detained Canadian To Death. <#S19>

• May Makes Final Plea Ahead Of Today’s Brexit Vote. <#S20>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Bipartisan Group In Senate Looks For Shutdown Deal Amid Impasse. <#S21>

• Trump Denies Working For Russia, Calls Allegation “A Whole Big Fat Hoax.”
<#S22>

• Trump Lawyers Reject Mueller Request For A Sit-Down Interview. <#S23>

• Barr Says He Won’t End Mueller Investigation. <#S24>

• Supreme Court Rejects Case Alleging Whitaker’s Appointment Is Illegal.
<#S25>

• Trump Inaugural Committee Spent $1.5 Million At Trump’s DC Hotel. <#S26>

• Trump Defends Trade Policies To Farmers Meeting. <#S27>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• Invasive Follow-Up Tests To Examine Abnormalities Found With Lung Cancer
Screening May Lead To More Complications, Costs Than Previously Believed,
Study Suggests. <#S28>

• Study Suggests Suicide Risk Quadruples For People With Cancer. <#S29>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S30>

• Washington Post. <#S31>
Biden in the News
Prominent Democrats Touting Biden As Party’s Strongest 2020 Contender.

National Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=002-a86&t=c>
(1/15, Trudo) reports that “several veteran Democratic leaders have begun
revealing their preferences for the next presidential nominee,” with former
Vice President Joe Biden garnering a good deal of attention. Ex-Gov. Ed
Rendell (D-PA), a former DNC chief, “hasn’t formally endorsed, but he’s
listed Biden as his top choice on social media and in multiple interviews.
‘There’s no one who’s close to him in the ability to talk to those people,’
Rendell said about Biden’s ease of addressing voters in Wisconsin,
Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio — battlegrounds central to [President]
Trump’s victory in 2016.” The article says that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)
and Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) have both touted Biden as Democrats’
strongest candidate, though some in the party, such as ex-Gov. Martin
O’Malley (D-MD), have thrown their support behind ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke
(D-TX).
Harris Atop Nashua Telegraph’s Rankings Of 2020 Democratic Contenders;
Biden Fourth.

The Nashua (NH) Telegraph
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=003-707&t=c>
(1/15) offers its rankings of the 10 leading “Democratic presidential
contenders for 2020.” Topping the list is Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA),
followed by ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Fourth on the list is former Vice President Joe Biden, of whom the
Telegraph says “has some clear strengths and obvious weaknesses as a 2020
contender. On the plus side, we find experience, charisma and
name-recognition. However, he has a history of gaffes. Also, is a white man
who is now age 76 really going to be the Democratic Party nominee in 2020?”
Rounding out the top five is Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).

        *Writer: 2020 Democratic “Frontrunners” Are O’Rourke, Harris,
Biden. *Writing for the Heavy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=004-a4a&t=c>
(1/14), Ben Doody examined the prospective 2020 field Democratic
presidential candidates. Doody used “the Democratic primary market at
PredictIt as a guide” to “divide the candidates into three tiers. We’ll
call them the frontrunners, the contenders, and the longshots.” Doody
identified ex-O’Rourke, Harris, and Biden as “The Frontrunners,” saying
that O’Rourke’s stock at PredictIt is at 21 percent, Harris’ is at 18
percent, and Biden’s is at 17 percent. Doody said that Biden has strong
poll numbers, but faces “some significant hurdles,” citing his age, the
fact Biden is “an old white man in a party whose energy is behind women,
people of color and generational change,” and his lengthy time in politics,
Sununu Praises Biden, Criticizes Obama Over “New Blood” Remarks.

Mediaite
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=005-797&t=c>
(1/14, Howe) reported that during a Monday appearance on Fox News, ex-Gov.
John Sununu (R-NH) blasted “millennials and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
(D-NY) in a rowdy pushback against former President Barack Obama” over his
“recent remarks about the Democrats needing ‘new blood’ and an op-ed from
the New York Times over the weekend pitching a Joe Biden run in 2020.”
Asked about Obama’s remarks, Sununu said, “Look, if I were Joe Biden, I
would tell Obama to button his lip and butt out of the process.” Sununu
added, “If Obama was referring to the quantitatively illiterate millennials
who don’t know the difference between a million, billion, or a trillion,
like Ocasio Cortez, or perhaps to the anti-Catholic wing of the Democratic
party like [Sen.] Kamala Harris (D-CA), the Republicans are thrilled to
have him stick his nose where it ought not to be.” The report said Sununu
offered “a good deal of praise for Biden, saying he’s underestimated as a
2020 candidate.”

        *Brownstein: Questions About Aging Democratic Leadership
Potentially Problematic For Biden. *In an online “analysis” for CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=006-0c0&t=c>
(1/15), Ronald Brownstein says that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “didn’t do any favors for Joe Biden with
their televised response to President Donald Trump’s immigration speech
last week,” as “the stiff and widely panned televised response from the two
leaders – an instant target for late-night comics – quickly reopened
questions about whether the Democrats’ national leadership is too old.
That’s not a helpful backdrop for Biden, 76, as he” mulls a 2020 White
House run at a time when “almost all of the Democrats’ most familiar and
powerful faces are graying while” the party “is growing more reliant on
younger voters to win elections. That disjuncture is likely to sharpen
questions about whether Democrats can maximize mobilization of their
increasingly youthful coalition without a leadership that better reflects
it.”
Seib: 2018 Data Shows Centrist, Middle-Aged Democratic Voters May Be Key In
2020.

In his Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=007-e2b&t=c>
(1/14) column, Gerald Seib said a narrative is being pushed that young,
liberal voters are the key demographic in the Democratic Party. However,
Seib said that in the 2018 elections, AP VoteCast found that at 36%, the
biggest slice of Democratic voters were those ranging from 45-64 years of
age and that 60% of all Democratic voters were at least 45 years old. In
addition, nearly half of Democratic voters said they were either moderate
or conservative. Seib said those findings suggest that former Vice
President Joe Biden, from both a generational and ideological perspective,
could be an appealing choice for general election voters in key Midwest and
Rust Belt states.
Sharpton Open To Backing Biden Or Bloomberg In 2020 Democratic Race.

Writing for The Atlantic
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=008-180&t=c>
(1/14), Edward-Isaac Dovere says that in the 2020 Democratic presidential
race, the Rev. Al Sharpton “wants to be both kingmaker and validator.” He
“has already been flexing that power behind the scenes,” meeting and
talking with a number of prospective candidates. This coming “Monday will
be the biggest public showcase yet: Michael Bloomberg will join Joe Biden
at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Washington, D.C., held by
Sharpton’s advocacy organization, the National Action Network.” In an
interview, Sharpton said “he’s open to eventually backing either Bloomberg,
despite the former New York City mayor’s stop-and-frisk policy that was
found to have disproportionately harassed young African American men, or
Biden, despite” his backing of the “crime bill that included severe
penalties that put millions of African Americans behind bars.”
WPost’s Rubin Says Biden Far From A Lock To Win 2020 Democratic Nomination.

Writing for the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=009-b0b&t=c>
(1/14), Jennifer Rubin takes issue with former Vice President Joe Biden’s
reported claim that “he thinks he’s the only one who could” defeat
President Trump in 2020, “or, more generously, that if he saw someone else
who could win, he’d stay out” of the race. Rubin says that Trump might not
even be the GOP nominee in 2020, and if that happens, “many, many Democrats
could conceivably win” the race. Rubin also says that Biden has a number of
“minuses,” ranging “from his support of the Iraq War to his age to his past
coziness with the banking industry...to his chairing the Anita Hill
hearings during Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court confirmation.” Rubin adds
that Biden “should consider the argument that ‘only I can fix’ the
Democratic Party and the presidency. It’s just not true, and it’s likely to
be greeted as a variation on Hillary Clinton’s assumption of
inevitability.”

        *Cox Media Group Analysis: Biden’s “Decades Of Public Service” A
Double-Edged Sword. *Under the headline “Is Joe Biden Running For President
In 2020?”, Cox Media Group
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=00a-d85&t=c>
(1/14, Lord) reports on Biden’s potential White House bid, saying that he
“has consistently been at the top of surveys asking Democratic voters who
they would vote for.” The report adds that a “big advantage Biden would
have in a 2020 run for the White House is decades of public service,” which
brings with it “supporters with deep pockets and a name that people
recognize. It also comes with baggage,” including Biden’s “treatment of
Anita Hill during the 1991 confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Clarence
Thomas,” which “rankles women still and was stirred up once again during
the confirmation hearing of Justice Brett Kavanaugh last fall.”

        *Writer Says Biden’s “Brand Characteristics” May Be Problematic In
2020 Race. *Writing at Newsmax
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=00b-a7c&t=c>
(1/14), Dr. John Tantillo, “a marketing and branding expert,” said that
Biden “on the surface appears to offer a brand that can do very well in the
2020 presidential sweepstakes,” but there are a number of “Biden brand
characteristics that might not be the best alternative to” defeating
President Trump. Tantillo cited Biden’s “age,” “health,” “experience,” and
“political philosophy.”
Fox News Op-eds Highlight Frank Biden’s Criticism Of Clinton’s 2016
Campaign.

In his column on the website of Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=00c-a6c&t=c>
(1/14), Todd Starnes said “that some members of former Vice President Joe
Biden’s family voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.”
Starnes quoted Biden’s brother, Frank Biden, as recently telling the Palm
Beach Post, “We never would have lost Pennsylvania, and all my relatives –
the Finnegan family – who voted for Donald Trump because they felt slighted
by Hillary and her campaign.” Starnes also highlighted that Frank Biden
criticized Hillary Clinton for “declaring a whole swath of people
‘deplorables.’” Starnes wrote that Joe Biden “took the insults even further
during a speech to the Human Rights Campaign when he called the so-called
deplorables the ‘dregs of society.’ I wonder if Biden knew at the time of
his address that he was related to a good many of those so-called dregs?”

        In an op-ed on the website of Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=00d-1ca&t=c>
(1/15), former GOP operative Lauren DeBellis Appell also highlights Frank
Biden’s remarks that “the former vice president’s Pennsylvania family ‘felt
slighted’ by Hillary Clinton” over her “basketful of Deplorables” comment
during the 2016 race. Since the 2016 election, says Appell, “Democrats have
chartered a course and it’s full speed ahead, rebranding themselves as the
party of far-left radicalism. Frank Biden is not alone when he says: ‘My
personal politics are not as far left as many of the candidates seem to
be.’”
Native Americans Upset With Trump Over Tweet Mocking Warren.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=00e-df8&t=c>
(1/14, Caron) reports, “It’s been more than a century since the Wounded
Knee massacre and the Battle of Little Bighorn, but both of these notorious
conflicts were thrust into a national conversation about Native Americans
and race” on Sunday after President Trump took to Twitter to mock Sen.
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) over an Instagram video she “posted on Dec. 31, the
same day she entered the 2020 race for president,” in which she “drank a
beer in her kitchen and complimented her husband.” Trump, “who has
repeatedly referred to Ms. Warren as ‘Pocahontas,’ did so again” in his
tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=00f-dae&t=c>,
adding “that if Ms. Warren ‘did this commercial from Bighorn or Wounded
Knee instead of her kitchen, with her husband dressed in full Indian garb,
it would have been a smash!’” The Times says Trump “faced swift criticism
from Native Americans.”

        *Steinhauser Calls New Hampshire A “Must-Win” State For Warren. *The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=010-872&t=c>
(1/14, Bonn) reported that veteran political reporter Paul Steinhauser on
Monday called New Hampshire “a ‘must win’ state for” Warren, “arguing that
Massachusetts candidates have a history of winning in the state’s prized
first-in-the-nation primary. ‘Let’s be honest, New Hampshire is a must-win
state for her,’ Steinhauser” said during an interview with Hill. TV. He
added, “She comes from neighboring Massachusetts, we have a history here of
Massachusetts candidates winning the primaries.” Steinhauser cited the New
Hampshire primary wins of former Govs. Michael Dukakis (D-MA) and Mitt
Romney (R-MA),
AP: Sources Say Gillibrand To Form Presidential Exploratory Committee.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=011-85c&t=c>
(1/14, Summers) reports that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) “is expected to
move toward launching a 2020 presidential campaign within days by forming
an exploratory committee, according to several” sources. Gillibrand “will
likely announce her intentions ahead of a trip to Iowa this weekend, one
person said. She will be a guest Tuesday night on CBS’ ‘The Late Show with
Stephen Colbert.’” Drawing from the AP dispatch, the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=012-d7e&t=c>
(1/14, Tacopino) also reports on the story.
Sanders To Meet With Ex-2016 Campaign Staff On Harassment, Sexism
Allegations.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=013-a17&t=c>
(1/14, Ember, Benner) reports that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT),
“accelerating his efforts to contain the damage from reports of sexism and
harassment during his 2016 presidential campaign, plans to meet on
Wednesday with a group of former staff members seeking assurances of better
practices if he runs again in 2020.” Wednesday’s meeting, “which will be
held in Washington, will focus on the treatment of women going forward,”
according to sources. During “the last two weeks, The New York Times and
Politico have published reports with accounts of harassment and
discrimination from former workers in Mr. Sanders’s 2016 campaign. Mr.
Sanders has twice apologized publicly to women who were mistreated, and
promised to do better if he runs again.”

        BuzzFeed News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=014-1bb&t=c>
(1/14, Cramer) reported, “The Wednesday meeting, aides have said, will be
an opportunity for” Sanders “to hear directly from the women who worked for
a campaign that was hastily constructed and run mostly by men, without a
traditional human resources department. The meeting follows a formal
request from a group of men and women who worked on the 2016 campaign,
specifically on ‘the issue of sexual violence and harassment on the 2016
campaign, for the purpose of planning to mitigate the issue in the upcoming
presidential cycle.’”

        *Sanders To Reintroduce Legislation To Raise Federal Minimum Wage
To $15 Per Hour. *Fox Business
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=015-693&t=c>
(1/14, De Lea) reported on its website that Sanders plans to reintroduce
legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=016-f81&t=c>
(1/14, Chappell) reported on its website that Sanders on Monday said that
he will reintroduce a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per
hour. In a tweet, Sanders said, “The federal minimum wage of $7.25 is a
starvation wage. If you work 40 hours a week, you should not live in
poverty.” He “introduced similar legislation in 2015 and 2017, but both
bills were stalled in Congress.”
Gabbard’s Past Stances On LGBT Issues Drawing Scrutiny.

In an online article, ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=017-557&t=c>
(1/14, Verhovek) reported that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), “who announced
over the weekend that she is running for president in 2020, is facing
renewed scrutiny over her past comments on LGBT issues and a controversial
meeting with Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad.” ABC added, “A review
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=018-48a&t=c>
of Gabbard’s past political engagements published by CNN’s KFile found that
while Gabbard was running for the state legislature at the age of 21, she
touted work she did alongside her father to help pass a constitutional
amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Hawaii.” CNN “also found that the
group led by Mike Gabbard supported the practice of conversion therapy,
which treats homosexuality as a mental illness.” In response to the CNN
story, Gabbard said, “I regret the positions I took in the past, and the
things I said. I’m grateful for those in the LGBTQ+ community who have
shared their aloha with me throughout my personal journey.”

        CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=019-2f5&t=c>
(1/14, Connolly) further quoted Gabbard as saying, “Over the past six years
in Congress, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to help work
toward passing legislation that ensures equal rights and protections on
LGBTQ+ issues. Much work remains to ensure equality and civil rights
protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and if elected President, I will continue
to fight for equal rights for all.”

        *Daily Beast: “Far Right And Conservative Media” Big Fans Of
Gabbard. *Under the headline “Why Conservative Media And The Far Right Love
Tulsi Gabbard For President,” the Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=01a-3fa&t=c>
(1/15, Tani, Weill) reports that Gabbard “has an unexpected base of
support: The far right and conservative media.” Though she held “familiar
Democratic positions on environmental issues, health care, and gun control,
Gabbard was a frequent critic of President Obama’s foreign policy, met with
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and has questioned whether he used
chemical weapons on his own citizens.” She “first became an in-demand Fox
News guest in 2015 after she criticized Barack Obama’s unwillingness to use
the label ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’ Her media tour explaining that
position earned her positively-tilted coverage in right-wing outlets like
Breitbart and The Daily Caller – a trend that continued when she later
expressed skepticism of Obama’s Iran nuclear deal.”
Pro-Trump Oppo Research Group Collecting Info On Brown’s Wife.

BuzzFeed News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=01b-b82&t=c>
(1/14, Gomez) reported, “The leading opposition research group for national
Republicans is digging into the career of Connie Schultz, the wife” of
potential 2020 White House hopeful Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). The
revelation “underscores how visible Schultz – a prominent journalist
successful in her own right – would be in any campaign.” The article said,
“Two days after Brown won” reelection in the 2018 midterms, “an operative
for America Rising sent a public records request to Kent State University,
where Schultz teaches several journalism courses,” seeking her “contracts
and performance evaluations.” The group “has roots in the Republican
establishment and is partnering with President Donald Trump’s allies to
attack Democratic contenders as the 2020 race begins. By going after
Schultz’s Kent State records, the group has signaled it will comb for
information on spouses who have worked on government payrolls and at
taxpayer funded institutions like state colleges.”
Leading the News
Trump Makes Case For Border Wall In Speech To Farm Bureau.

Coverage of President Trump’s speech Monday to the American Farm Bureau
Federation’s 100th annual convention in New Orleans focuses heavily on his
comments concerning the ongoing partial government shutdown and his demand
for a wall on the US-Mexico border. Media reporting, which is heavy,
describes Trump as digging in on his demands in an effort to maintain
pressure on Democrats to make a deal, even as polls show he is getting much
of the blame for the impasse.

        Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=01c-51f&t=c>
(1/14, O'Reilly) says on its website that Trump used the address “to dig in
on his call for a border wall, even as new polling indicates most Americans
oppose his administration’s strategy,” and Lester Holt reported on NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=01d-fc4&t=c>
(1/14, story 3, 0:45) Trump “sounded more dug in than ever.” WGMB-TV[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=01e-79d&t=c>
Baton Rouge, LA (1/14, 9:04 p.m. CST) reported Trump “bill[ed] himself a
friend of the farmer. ... Alongside talk of crops rising from the earth, a
continued call to root a wall at the southern border.” Trump was shown
saying, “Wheels work, and walls work. There are some things you can’t beat.
So, I am asking all of our citizens to call their Democratic lawmakers and
ask them to pass a bill that secures our border, protects our country, and
now reopens our government, because as soon as they do that, we reopen our
government. You would think that would be a very simple task.” KARD-TV[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=01f-70e&t=c>
West Monroe, LA (1/14, 9:14 p.m. CST) reported Trump “addressed the partial
government shutdown and spent a lot of time talking about what he called
the humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border and how a wall
or border is the answer. He then tied the issue into legal immigration,
saying farmers heavily depend on the guest worker program. However, the
guest worker program is on hold because of the government shutdown.”’

        On its website, NPR
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=020-435&t=c>
(1/14, Horsley) says Trump “devoted much of his speech to the ongoing
stalemate over the border wall.” WVUE-TV[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=021-799&t=c>
New Orleans (1/14, 9:01 p.m. CST) showed Dillard University political
analyst Robert Collins, Ph.D. saying, “He spent most of the speech today
actually talking about immigration and the border wall, which is
interesting since it was a speech to the farm bureau. Now, he did include
farming issues in there but i think the President’s number one policy
priority right now is the wall and immigration.”

        The New Orleans Times-Picayune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=022-14f&t=c>
(1/14, Litten) reports Trump “railed against illegal border
crossings...although he promised to fix an immigration system the
agriculture sector relies upon for migrant labor.” Trump “spent much of his
speech talking up border security, including his proposed border wall, and
enhanced drug detection technology.” He argued the wall would help keep out
the “2 percent” of illegal immigrants who commit crimes. Said Trump, “Those
2 percent are not going to make America great again. ... This is common
sense: Do you think the country is giving us their finest? They’re giving
us the opposite of their finest.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=023-346&t=c>
(1/14, Lucey, Superville) says Trump “kept his hard line...on the partial
government shutdown.” He said, “When it comes to keeping the American
people safe, I will never, ever back down.”

        Fox News chief White House correspondent John Roberts said on Fox
News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=024-929&t=c>
(1/14) in New Orleans, Trump “tried to keep up the pressure on Democrats to
make a deal on border security and reopen the government. ... In a speech
to the Farm Bureau attempting to flip the script and blame Democrats for
federal workers not getting their paychecks.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=025-72b&t=c>
(1/14, Boyer) reports the President said Democrats are playing politics
with border security, and argued the only reason they oppose the wall “is
that they want to make him break his 2016 campaign promise to build it.”
Trump said, “They are only doing this because of the 2020 election. … They
view this as a political thing. I’m not doing it for that reason. I’m doing
it because we have to do it – it’s common sense.”

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=026-5f6&t=c>
(1/14, Samuels) reports that Trump “touched on trade negotiations,
deregulation and how the shutdown is affecting farmers,” but “much of the
hourlong speech, however, was devoted to the need for border
security.” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=027-a98&t=c>
(1/14, Quinn) reports Trump used the address “to tout his government’s
accomplishments, even though his biggest campaign promise – a border wall –
remains out of reach.” Trump said, “I said I’m going to build the wall and
I’m going to build the wall. And it’s only one of many things that I
promised.” He added, “I mean if you look at – got you the biggest tax cut
beyond the Ronald Reagan tax cuts, ANWR, getting rid of the individual
mandate, the biggest cuts in regulations in the history of our country. And
we’re going further.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=028-bb5&t=c>
(1/14, Huffstutter) reports farmers were “hoping for an update on a White
House trade war with China that has left them struggling,” while the Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=029-961&t=c>
(1/14, Davis, Leary) reports before the speech, Trump told reporters,
“We’re doing very well with China. They’re having a hard time with their
economy because of the tariffs.” He also said, “I think we’re going to be
able to do a deal with China.” PBS NewsHour
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=02a-6ea&t=c>
(1/14) reports Trump said farmers are “winners from the administration’s
proposed rollback of federal protections for wetlands and waterways across
the country, describing farmers crying in gratitude when he ordered the
change.” PBS adds that “farmers and farmland already are exempt from most
of the regulatory hurdles on behalf of wetlands that the Trump
administration is targeting.”

        The New Orleans Times-Picayune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=02b-33a&t=c>
(1/14, LaRose) also reports the wall and the shutdown “occupied much of his
address,” but adds that he “gave high praise to Sen. John Kennedy, who he
mentioned several times in his speech.” Trump also “made it a point to take
issue with the news media.” Trump further “spoke effusively” of farmers
“and touched on the efforts of his administration to improve the trade and
regulatory landscape for agriculture interests.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=02c-3cf&t=c>
(1/14, McCrimmon) reports the event came “at an awkward time, as farmers
and ranchers begin to feel the pinch of the partial government shutdown.”
Similarly, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=02d-ed5&t=c>
(1/14, Jackson, Collins) says those in attendance “have felt the full force
of the partial government shutdown,” but Trump “spent more time talking
about border security than about the fallout from the shutdown that has hit
farmers especially hard.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=02e-a11&t=c>
(1/14, Nakamura) reports that Trump “offered one exception to his hard-line
immigration stance, promising to allow seasonal farmworkers to more easily
enter the country.” While Trump “spent most of his hour-long
address...defending his decision to shut down the government over the fight
for funding for a border wall,” he “pledged to pursue changes to
immigration laws” that would “actually make it easier for them to help the
farmers because you need these people.” KTBS-TV[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=02f-ff9&t=c>
Shreveport, LA (1/14, 6:29 p.m. CST) reported Trump “said that he
understands that farmers need people to help with harvest he says that
he’ll make it easier for immigrants to enter the country to work on farms.”
Trump: “When we have proper security people aren’t going to come, except
for the people we want to come because we want to take people in to help
our farmers, et cetera. Very important. We are going to make that actually
easier for them to help the farmers because you need these people.”

        A Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=030-e69&t=c>
(1/14, Oprysko) report posted Tuesday morning says the President on Monday
“kept up his calls for Democrats to immediately restart funding
negotiations.” Trump “criticized lawmakers for leaving town over the
weekend, reiterating that he was waiting in the White House for Democrats
to return to the negotiating table after talks came to a standstill last
week.” In one tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=031-387&t=c>,
Trump wrote, “I’ve been waiting all weekend. Democrats must get to work
now. Border must be secured!” In another
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=032-7a1&t=c>,
he wrote, “Nancy and Cryin’ Chuck can end the Shutdown in 15 minutes. At
this point it has become their, and the Democrats, fault!”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=033-338&t=c>
(1/14, Miller) reports Trump told reporters, “I’ve been here all weekend. A
lot of the Democrats were in Puerto Rico celebrating something, maybe they
were celebrating the shutdown.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=034-3a1&t=c>
(1/14, Dinan) adds that the President’s “prime-time plea to Americans to
support his plans for a border wall fell flat, with opposition to the idea
still running strong – and with the public increasingly blaming Mr. Trump
for the government shutdown.” The Times cites polls from Quinnipiac and
CNN.

        *Trump Rejects Graham’s Call To Reopen Government While Wall Talks
Continue. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=035-772&t=c>
(1/14, Mason) reports the President “rejected a Republican call for
temporarily reopening shuttered US government agencies to encourage
negotiations with Democrats over border security issues.” Sen. Lindsey
Graham (R-SC) on Sunday “urged Trump to reopen the government for a short
period of time in an effort to restart talks. It is an idea that Democrats
have been urging for weeks.” However, as he left the White House for
Louisiana Monday, Trump told reporters, “Well, that was a suggestion that
Lindsey made but I did reject it. ... I want to get it solved, I don’t want
to just delay it.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=036-f44&t=c>
(1/14, Wagner) quotes Trump as saying, “I’m not looking to call a national
emergency. ... This is so simple you shouldn’t have to.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=037-ff4&t=c>
(1/14, Karni, Haberman) reports Trump “said that he did not want to extend
the impasse over funding for the wall,” but it was not clear “what Mr.
Trump saw as an alternative.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=038-75b&t=c>
(1/14, Restuccia, Bade) reports the President “appeared to rule out – at
least for now – declaring a national emergency to build a wall.” The Los
Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=039-52f&t=c>
(1/14, Stokols) also reports the President “seemed to back further away
from his threat to declare a national emergency to fund his southern border
wall.” Instead, Trump said that Democrats “should agree on border
security,” and he added, “We should get on with our lives.” CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=03a-27c&t=c>
(1/14, Shutt) said that Democrats are “reluctant to give ground,” because
they “are concerned...it would set a precedent for more rounds of dangerous
brinksmanship.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=03b-754&t=c>
(1/14, Stolberg) says Senate Republicans “remain in lock step with Mr.
Trump.” Only three – Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Susan Collins (R-ME), and
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – “have decisively broken with Mr. Trump and called
for the government to reopen without a border wall deal. ... Others are
expressing their unease with caution.” Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political
Report said, “The question for Republicans up in 2020 is how long can they
let this go on. ... The more uncomfortable they get, the closer they get to
breaking with Trump. But they have to watch the base.”

        A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=03c-39d&t=c>
(1/14, A1, Costa, Sullivan, Werner) analysis says Trump’s “dismissals of
his own party’s calls for compromise and his seeming indifference to
shuttered federal agencies left the snowbound capital paralyzed Monday,
with lawmakers in both parties scrambling to jump-start talks but
increasingly uncertain about Trump’s interest in ending the longest
government shutdown in history.” The Post says the “standstill also
underscored the dysfunction that has gripped Washington since divided
government began this month. Overtures to Trump’s core voters have
dominated the White House’s strategy as Democrats have looked on in
confusion.”

        *Rossello Objects To Using Disaster Funds For Wall. *CNN’s New
Day[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=03d-53d&t=c>
(1/14) hosted Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rossello. Asked about reports that
the Administration may use “unspent Defense Department disaster recovery
funds for the construction of his border wall,” Rossello said, “My view is
very simple: We’re at the cusp of two routes – you can either choose to
obstruct, which is establishing a wall, or to construct and rebuild the
lives of thousands, if not millions, of US citizens.”

        *Hill Says New Fencing Can Only Be Considered After Government Has
Been Reopened. *On CNN’s New Day
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=03e-90c&t=c>
(1/14) Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) said, “Our biggest priority is getting the
government back open, and we’re willing to come to the table after that and
talk about what the right solutions are around border security and around
immigration reform.” She added, “Exactly what that looks like is what the
debate should be around and we know that it’s not a 2,000-mile long
concrete wall.” Asked about “new fencing,” Hill said, “Only if the
government is open will I even consider such an idea, and it has to be part
of a bigger package.” She also said, “I think everybody across the board
has written off this concept of a wall.”

        *Conway: Democrats “Pushing Back” Against “Pelosi’s Claim That
Walls Are Immoral.” *Kellyanne Conway, on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=03f-1bb&t=c>
(1/14) said that Sen. Chris Coons “is pushing back as are many other
Democrats privately and publicly on speaker Pelosi’s claim that walls are
immoral.” Conway also said, “We showed up to work today. We’ll negotiate
with anyone. By the way, if Democrats would like some kind of briefing akin
to the one President had with the cameras in the room on Friday, it was
remarkable to hear from the people on the ground.” Asked about the polls
reported above, Conway said that the question should be “how can we get
border security and reopen the government.” She also said, “This is not
just about the barrier. ... We have an 800,000-case backlog in immigration
cases.”

        *Polls Show Trump Getting Blame For Shutdown. *Brit Hume said on Fox
News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=040-36e&t=c>
(1/14), “Mostly, I think people perceive the Republicans as the party that
wants to shrink the government and the Democrats as the party of
governments. It is a natural tendency to blame the Republicans for a
shutdown, especially when their leader, in this case President Trump,
publicly says he will take the blame. He is getting it and it is affecting,
I think, his poll numbers in a way that was basically inevitable.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=041-676&t=c>
(1/14, Kapur) says the President “said a month ago that he’d gladly take
the blame for a government shutdown over his proposed border wall. Polls
show he’s getting it.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=042-647&t=c>
(1/14, Muñoz, Dinan) says Trump’s “prime-time plea to Americans to support
his plans for a border wall fell flat, and the public increasingly blames
him for the government shutdown.” Last week’s address failed to “boost
support for Mr. Trump’s wall,” and “Americans aren’t even giving the
president the benefit of the doubt anymore.”

        CBS This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=043-2d3&t=c>
(1/14) reported, “A new CBS News poll shows seven in 10 Americans are
worried about the impact on the economy,” and “nearly half in that poll
blame the President for the shutdown, while 30 percent blame Democrats in
Congress.” NBC’s Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=044-07a&t=c>
(1/14, Welker) reported, “A new poll shows more Americans blame the
President and his party for this historic standoff. ... A new Washington
Post/ABC News poll shows the majority of Americans blame the President and
Republicans for the shutdown, 53 percent compared to 29 percent who hold
Democrats responsible.” CNN’s New Day
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=045-ab1&t=c>
(1/14) reported, “A new CNN poll finds that most Americans blame President
Trump for the shutdown and a majority oppose his border wall.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=046-485&t=c>
(1/14, Groppe) reports a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday found
that “close to two-thirds of voters” do not want the President “to use
emergency powers to build a border wall. They do want the rest of the
government reopened while wall funding is negotiated.” According to the
poll, “nearly six in 10 said the wall is not a good use of taxpayer
dollars.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=047-146&t=c>
(1/14, Sheffield) reports 69 percent of those polled on The Hill-HarrisX
survey said “they would oppose President Trump declaring an emergency to
build a wall on the Mexican border.” The poll “shows widespread disapproval
for the declaration, with men, women and every racial group surveyed
disapproving. Voters across all regions of the country also were opposed.”

        ABC’s Good Morning America
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=048-266&t=c>
(1/14, Bruce) reported, “According to our latest poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=049-2e6&t=c>,
53 percent of Americans blame President Trump and Republicans for the
stalemate. Twenty-nine percent blame congressional Democrats.” However,
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=04a-e61&t=c>
(1/14, Binder) points out that the ABC poll “reveals a major shift among
nearly all demographic groups across the country when it comes to support
for a border wall at the southern border.” Last year at this time, “the
poll claimed that only 34 percent of voters supported a wall at the
U.S.-Mexico border. Today, support for the wall has climbed to 42 percent
overall. Most notable, swing voters are increasingly supportive of the
border wall to control immigration.” The number of swing voters supporting
the wall “soared to 40 percent” in this year, marking “an 11 percent
increase in support year-to-year.”

        Ben Domenech of The Federalist said on Fox News’ Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=04b-859&t=c>
(1/14), “This is not about the money. This is about sending a message. A
message in this case by the President to his base that, ‘Yes, I am, after
two years of sort of not dealing with this promise, the biggest promise
that I made, going to deal with this.’ And the message from Democratic
leadership to their base that they are not going to show up in Washington
and have their first act to be to bend over to this President on his
signature issue.”
Foreign Policy
Media Analyses: Rhetoric Eases After Trump-Erdogan Call.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=04c-fa7&t=c>
(1/14, Ant) reports President Trump talked with Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan by phone as the two “tamped down their public rhetoric” and
“took a more conciliatory stance” than the weekend in which Trump warned
that Turkey “risked economic ruin if it defies him.” In a Monday tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=04d-c46&t=c>,
Trump said they spoke about “all matters including our last two weeks of
success in fighting remnants of ISIS” and “economic development between the
US & Turkey – great potential to substantially expand!” The Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=04e-187&t=c>
(1/14, Leary) reports according to the White House, Trump spoke with
Erdogan about the US withdrawal and warned against any attacks on Kurds in
Syria.

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=04f-5b4&t=c>
(1/14, Boyer, Miller) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
issued a statement saying, “The president expressed the desire to work
together to address Turkey’s security concerns in northeast Syria while
stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat
the Kurds and other Syrian Democratic Forces with whom we have fought to
defeat ISIS.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=050-8e3&t=c>
(1/14, story 6, 2:00, Glor) reported Trump spoke with Erdogan, saying “he’d
agree to a security zone in northern Syria, that is home to US-backed
Kurdish fighters.” CBS (D’Agata) added that areas held by the US-backed,
Kurdish-led militia the Syrian Democratic Forces “could be a contested area
once again when American forces pull out.” Turkey accused the group “of
having links to terrorists on Turkish soil.” While Turkey is promising to
increase attacks against the SDF, “President Trump has threatened to
devastate Turkey economically if it does.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=051-3ff&t=c>
(1/14, Fahim) reports Secretary of State Pompeo has been saying that he is
“confident” and “optimistic” about an agreement with Turkey on the US
withdrawal from Syria, “But a pugnacious tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=052-d17&t=c>
from President Trump on Sunday night vowing to ‘devastate’ the Turkish
economy if Ankara attacks US-backed Kurds revealed a much wider chasm
between the two sides.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu replied
to Trump by saying, “You will not get anywhere by threatening Turkey’s
economy.” On Monday, “Pompeo told reporters in Riyadh that he assumed Trump
meant the United States would levy sanctions on Turkey if it attacked the
Kurds but that he did not know for certain.” Pompeo said, “We want to make
sure that the folks who fought with us to take down the caliphate and ISIS
have security and also that terrorists [in] Syria aren’t able to attack
Turkey – those are our twin aims.”

        *AP Analysis: Trump’s Foreign Policy Changes Have Made Difficulties
For Pompeo. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=053-197&t=c>
(1/14, Lee) reports President Trump “has repeatedly wreaked havoc with
diplomacy,” with his Administration’s foreign policy adjustments “coming
fast and furious with often no or little warning, making the job of
communicating them that much more difficult.” Monday morning, during his
visit to Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Pompeo, when asked about Trump’s
tweeted threat to Turkey, said, “I haven’t had a chance to have any
conversations with the Turks as of yet since the president’s tweets went
out,” and added “you would have to ask” Trump what he meant. The tweet
“appeared to throw...into doubt” Pompeo’s confidence, expressed two days
prior, “that US and the Turks would reach an agreement to protect America’s
Kurdish partners.” Meanwhile, throughout his trip Pompeo has had to defend
“the Syria withdrawal while insisting the administration is in it for the
long haul in destroying the Islamic State and combating Iran’s increasing
assertiveness.”
Trump: US “Doing Very Well” In Trade Talks With China.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=054-822&t=c>
(1/14, Davis, Leary) reports President Trump on Monday said that China is
feeling the pain from US tariffs, positioning the US well in trade talks.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “We’re doing very well with China.
They’re having a hard time with their economy because of the tariffs.” He
added, “We are getting things that before I became president, you would
have had no chance of getting. ... I think we’re going to be able to do a
deal with China.”

        *USTR To Continue Trade Talks Despite Lack Of Funding. *The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=055-465&t=c>
(1/14, Higgins) reports the USTR’s office said Monday “that it would
continue negotiations for upcoming trade talks despite having run out of
funds due to the federal shutdown.” In a statement, the office said, “USTR
has implemented its lapse in appropriations contingency plan. Excepted
personnel will ensure USTR continues to conduct operations, including trade
negotiations and enforcement.” The Examiner notes that USTR Lighthizer is
set to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Washington on Jan. 30 to
begin the latest round of talks.

        *China’s Trade Surplus Reached Record In 2018, But Fell In December
Due To Tariffs. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=056-36c&t=c>
(1/14, McDonald) reports, “China’s 2018 trade surplus with the United
States surged to a record $323.3 billion, but exports contracted in
December” as President Trump’s “tariff hikes started to hurt demand.”
China’s “exports to the United States in 2018 rose 11.3 percent to $478.4
billion,” while US exports to China “rose just 0.7 percent.” In December,
however, China’s exports to the US “fell 3.5 percent from a year earlier to
$40.3 billion.”

        *China’s Slowing Economy Hitting US Companies. *The Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=057-cc1&t=c>
(1/14, Pacheco, Francis) reports Apple recently said China’s slowing
economy contributed to its late-year sales slump, rattling the stocks of
other major US companies with large operations in China. The Journal
cautions that the impact will likely vary among US companies, but China’s
manufacturing sector has declined since late 2017.

        *AEI Scholars: US Should Treat China Like Dangerous Rival. *Derek
Scissors and Daniel Blumenthal of the American Enterprise Institute argue
in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=058-854&t=c>
(1/14, Scissors, Blumenthal) that “China is our only major trade partner
that is also a strategic rival, and we should treat it differently from
friendly countries with whom we have disputes.” Specifically, they say the
US should “impose sanctions on the Chinese beneficiaries of intellectual
property theft and coercion, in cooperation with our allies.” And “rather
than across-the-board tariffs,” Scissors and Blumenthal says “Chinese
companies receiving stolen or coerced intellectual property should not be
allowed to do business with firms in America or, with our allies’
cooperation, in Europe and Japan.”
Bolton Tweet Links To Report Charging Iran Hiding Nuclear Facility.

Under the headline “John Bolton Endorses Report Accusing Iran Of Hiding
Nuclear Facilities,” the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=059-15a&t=c>
(1/14, Morton) reports “National Security Adviser John Bolton retweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=05a-bea&t=c>,
with apparent approving comment,” an Institute for Science and
International Security “report that accused Iran of fudging its reports to
nuclear-disarmament watchdogs.” According to the report, Iran did not
identify “a former nuclear weapons site under Project 110 of the Amad
Plan.” Bolton tweeted, “The President was right to end horrible Iran deal.
Pressure on Iran to abandon nuclear ambitions will increase.”

        *NYTimes Analysis: Unclear Whether Pompeo Made Progress Uniting
Region Against Iran. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=05b-3f9&t=c>
(1/14, Wong, Hubbard) reports that in a “barnstorming tour that took him to
eight countries in one week,” Secretary of State Pompeo sought “to get Arab
countries to work together to roll back Iranian influence in the region and
take on the militias Iran is backing. But as the trip drew to a close on
Monday, it was unclear whether he had made any notable progress on that
front.” The Times says “it will be difficult for the Arab nations to work
closely together on anti-Iran policies because of the complexity of
relationships in the region, officials and analysts from those countries
say.”

        *Fifteen Dead After Iran Military Plane Overshoots Runway. *NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=05c-4ae&t=c>
(1/14, story 12, 0:10, Holt) reported that fifteen people died and one
survivor was found after a military plane in Iran “overshot the runway and
crashed into a home.”
Pompeo Meets With Saudi Crown Prince.

NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=05d-ea1&t=c>
(1/14, story 6, 1:50, Holt) reported Secretary of State Pompeo met with
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday amid tensions over the
murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Pompeo told reporters, “Every single
person who has responsibility for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi needs to be
held accountable.” However, Andrea Mitchell reported the CIA has concluded
that “the crown prince must have known about the plot” and human rights
groups say he is “cracking down on critics.” Mitchell concluded, “No matter
what the Secretary of State says publicly, it’s clear the crown prince has
the support of his friend Jared Kushner and most importantly, President
Trump.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=05e-6fb&t=c>
(1/14, Taylor) reports Pompeo also “defend[ed] Saudi Arabia as a key
strategic partner in isolating Iran, even as he raised concern about
Riyadh’s human rights record” and Khashoggi’s murder. To the Times, the
“delicate dual messaging marked the end of a weeklong diplomatic trip
through the region, where Mr. Pompeo faced a string of tricky geopolitical
challenges.”

        A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=05f-677&t=c>
(1/14) editorial says that after Monday’s meeting with the Saudi king and
crown prince, Pompeo said he had reiterated US “expectations” that “every
single person who has responsibility for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi
needs to be held accountable.” The Post says “that is the right position;
the question is whether Mr. Pompeo and President Trump are serious about
it. Unfortunately, all indications are that they are not.”

        *WPost A1: Crackdown On Dissidents, Khashoggi’s Killing Could Make
Saudi Tourism Harder Sell. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=060-055&t=c>
(1/14, A1, Fahim) reports on its front page that attractions around the
city of Al-Ula are “the cornerstone of a planned effort to invite foreign
tourists” to Saudi Arabia, beyond the millions of religious pilgrims who
visit the country’s holy sites every year. To the Post, the “ambitious
initiative, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, would be challenging
in the best of times,” but the government’s crackdown on dissidents and the
killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents further complicates
the plans.

        *Saudi Teen Expresses Hope About New Life In Canada. *In an
interview with the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=061-52f&t=c>
(1/14, Porter), “Saudi-turned-Canadian-refugee” Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun said
“she wants to go to college to study architecture,” take English classes,
and “is wondering about how to harness her newfound media stardom.” Said
Alqunun, “I want to do crazy things I’ve never done before.”
Vehicle Bomb Kills At Least Four In Kabul.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=062-fcb&t=c>
(1/14, Faizi) reports a vehicle bomb in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan,
“killed at least four people and wounded 90,” according to officials. The
Times adds that the vehicle bomb seems to have detonated at a roundabout,
and it may not have reached its target. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah
Mujahid “said one of its suicide bombers had detonated a truck full of
explosives targeting a compound where foreigners lived.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=063-d57&t=c>
(1/14, Horton, Hassan, Salahuddin) reports the Green Village area, where
the blast occurred, “has been the frequent target of attacks because of the
large numbers of foreigners there.”
China Sentences Detained Canadian To Death.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=064-88d&t=c>
(1/14, Wen, Shepherd, Ljunggren) reports the Dalian Intermediate People’s
Court in China’s northeast province of Liaoning sentenced Canadian Robert
Lloyd Schellenberg to be executed for drug smuggling, leading “Canada’s
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accuse China of using the death penalty
arbitrarily.” The situation “could aggravate already sour relations between
Beijing and Ottawa” after Huawei Technologies CFO Meng Wanzhou, was
arrested in Vancouver on a US extradition warrant and China arrested
Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian consultant Michael Spavor in
what Western diplomats in China’s capital say is “a tit-for-tat reprisal.”
China’s government, also on Monday, “dismissed Trudeau’s statement that
Kovrig enjoyed some form of diplomatic immunity”; a Chinese foreign
ministry spokeswoman “said Trudeau should ‘earnestly study’ the Vienna
Convention governing diplomatic ties so as to ‘not become a laughing
stock.’”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=065-73e&t=c>
(1/14, Shih, Rauhala) reports Trudeau, “in his strongest-yet statement on
the matter,” said, “It is of extreme concern to us as a government – as it
should be to all our international friends and allies – that China has
chosen to begin to arbitrarily apply a death penalty.” The Chinese
government had taken “the rare step of inviting foreign media to attend”
Schellenberg’s appeal, “prompting speculation that Beijing wanted to use
Schellenberg’s case to exert pressure on Ottawa to free Meng.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=066-f7e&t=c>
(1/14, Buckley) says the Ottawa-Beijing “diplomatic clash...reached its
highest stakes.” While the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies
“Schellenberg’s trial and the arrests of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor have
anything to do with Ms. Meng’s arrest,” Chinese officials, including the
Chinese ambassador to Ottawa, Lu Shaye, “have diluted that argument by
suggesting that their government was engaged in ‘defense’ after the arrest
of Ms. Meng.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=067-3b7&t=c>
(1/14, Wang, Bodeen, Gillies) reports Schellenberg’s “sudden retrial”
reversed his earlier sentence of 15 years in prison.

        *China Estimated To Execute Thousands. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=068-f01&t=c>
(1/14, Taylor) reports Amnesty International annually “publishes an
exhaustive report looking at capital punishment around the world,” and it
“suggested that there were possibly ‘thousands of executions carried out in
China’ in 2017 – far more than in any other country.” The report doesn’t
have the exact numbers because China considers them a state secret, and
“attempts by outside groups to track or estimate the number of executions
have proved difficult.” In China, “many foreigners have been executed for
alleged drug offenses” and its justice “system is not known for its
consistency or openness.”
May Makes Final Plea Ahead Of Today’s Brexit Vote.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=069-65b&t=c>
(1/14, Adam) reports that amid “possible defeat in a fateful vote” Tuesday
in the House of Commons over her Brexit plan, British Prime Minister
Theresa May on Monday “warned lawmakers they must honor the results of the
2016 referendum and deliver Brexit to the people.” In a speech delivered to
workers in a town “where two-thirds of the voters cast ballots to leave the
European bloc, May told the rebels in her own Conservative Party that they
faced a stark choice: either accept her imperfect but doable deal or cut
ties with Europe with no deal at all.” Said May, “With no deal, we would
have no implementation period, no security cooperation, no guarantees for
UK citizens overseas, no certainty for businesses and workers here in Stoke
and across the UK.”
Domestic Policy
Bipartisan Group In Senate Looks For Shutdown Deal Amid Impasse.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=06a-0d1&t=c>
(1/14, Paletta) reports that a “bipartisan group of rank-and-file senators
are planning to hold discussions on how to end the weeks-long government
shutdown, with talks between congressional leaders and the White House at a
standstill.” The group involves Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and others,
“according to an official with knowledge of the deliberations.” The Post
says “prospects for achieving any results are uncertain as the group begins
meeting this week or even fully launch,” but the group’s creation “is a
sign senators of both parties are eager to end the shutdown, even if it
means taking matters into their own hands.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=06b-0bb&t=c>
(1/14, Restuccia, Bade), meanwhile, reports that the White House and
Democrats are “each targeting defectors in the other party as they push
dueling strategies to reopen the government.” House Democrats “plan to take
up a pair of stopgap funding bills this week that would each reopen federal
agencies for several weeks at last year’s funding levels, two Democratic
aides confirmed.” They are “hoping to pick up votes from House Republicans
who are fed up with the weeks-long partial shutdown.” At the same time, the
White House is considering” a last-ditch effort to woo moderate Democrats
with a border security deal reopening the government, according to people
familiar with the plans.”

        A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=06c-910&t=c>
(1/14) editorial says “the President — erratic, posturing, pandering and
detail-averse — does not have the dealmaking chops to break the current
deadlock with Democrats and reopen the government. That’s no excuse for
Congress to sit on its hands. Instead of digging themselves deeper into
their own trench of irreconciliation, why don’t lawmakers put a
tough-minded deal on the president’s desk and force his hand?”

        *House Conservatives Urge Cancellation Of Next Week’s Recess.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=06d-6eb&t=c>
(1/14, Dinan) reports House conservatives on Monday “demanded the chamber
cancel its upcoming vacation scheduled for next week and remain in town
until the government shutdown is solved.” Members of the Freedom Caucus
said in a joint statement, “We must keep working to solve the border crisis
and reach a compromise.”

        *Anonymous “Senior” Official: Long Shutdown Will Make Government
More Efficient. *An anonymous “senior Trump official” writes in the Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=06e-04d&t=c>
(1/14), “Federal employees are starting to feel the strain of the shutdown.
I am one of them. But for the sake of our nation, I hope it lasts a very
long time, till the government is changed and can never return to its
previous form. The lapse in appropriations is more than a battle over a
wall. It is an opportunity to strip wasteful government agencies for good.”
The official also argues that the President “should add to his demands,
including a vote on all of his political nominees in the Senate,” and “send
the career appointees,” who he says are “in the 5 percent of saboteurs and
resistance leaders,” back.

        *WPost A1: For Some Trump Advisers, Shutdown Providing Long-Desired
Smaller Government. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=06f-b13&t=c>
(1/14, A1, Rein, Costa, Paquette) reports on its front page that while
President Trump has cast the shutdown “as a standoff over his plan to build
a wall on the southern border,” for “many White House aides and allies, the
partial shutdown is advancing another long-standing priority: constraining
the government.” According to the Post, “those encouraging a hard line
include acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and acting White
House budget director Russell T. Vought, as well as leaders of the House
Freedom Caucus.”

        *TSA Staff Shortages Affecting Checkpoints At Some Airports. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=070-3a7&t=c>
(1/14, McGeehan) reports that “airports across the country were starting to
buckle Monday under the strain of the partial government shutdown as a
rising absentee rate among federal transportation security officers, who
are not being paid, led to the closing of checkpoints and increased wait
times for travelers.”

        On NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=071-cc7&t=c>
(1/14, story 2, 1:45, Holt), Tom Costello reported, “With 51,000 TSA
workers still not getting paid, the number calling out sick is rising
fast,” and “some officers [are] taking second jobs that do pay.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=072-e70&t=c>
(1/14, Gilbertson) reports that the “rate of no shows by TSA employees on
Monday was more than double the rate of a year ago, TSA spokesman Michael
Bilello said on Twitter.” According to the CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=073-f9c&t=c>
(1/14, story 3, 2:05, Glor), “TSA officials fear they have reached a
tipping point and expect the number of sick calls to increase in the coming
days, impacting major airports nationwide.”

        *Warner Warns Of Shutdown Impact On Security Clearances. *The
Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=074-824&t=c>
(1/14, Meier) reports that the government shutdown “threatens to undermine
the process by which federal employees obtain and maintain sensitive
security clearances,” Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate
Intelligence Committee, said in a letter to the Administration on Friday.
Warner also “noted that security clearances depend on employees having
rock-solid credit scores – something that could be thrown into jeopardy for
thousands of workers missing paychecks because of the shutdown.”

        *Coast Guard Members To Miss First Paycheck. *ABC World News
Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=075-774&t=c>
(1/14, story 6, 2:35, Muir) reported, “Tomorrow, 53,000 members of the US
Coast Guard will start missing their paychecks. They’re deployed all over
the world.” ABC (Bruce) added, “The other branches [of the military] are
being funded, [but] the Coast Guard is being left out. Today, the
Commandant had a message for families...saying on Facebook, ‘We are doing
everything we can to support and advocate for you while your loved ones
stay on the watch.’”

        *FDA Sending Inspectors Back To Work Without Pay. *NBC Nightly
News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=076-998&t=c>
(1/14, story 2, 1:45, Holt) reported briefly that “the FDA is sending
hundreds of medical and food inspectors back to work, but without pay.”

        *FAA Approval Of Aircraft, Routes On Hold Amid Shutdown. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=077-f07&t=c>
(1/14, Rucinski, Lampert) reports that the FAA’s “approval of aircraft such
as Boeing’s MAX and new routes like Southwest Airline Co.’s Hawaii launch
are on hold due to the US government shutdown, delaying commercial
operations.” The shutdown is “also affecting the certification program for
US business jet maker Gulfstream Aerospace’s new G600 corporate plane,
along with other ‘facets of our business,’ a company spokeswoman said on
Monday.”

        *Shutdown Hitting Indian Tribes Disproportionately. *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=078-309&t=c>
(1/14, Vondracek) reports that “federal employees being forced to work
without pay is having an outsized impact on Eagle Butte, South Dakota,
which is the seat of government for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.” The
reservation has a population of about 1,300, but roughly 200 are federal
employees “not getting paid.” According to the Times, “most of the unpaid
workers are employed by the Indian Health Service, a division of the
Department of Health and Human Services.” Nationally, “more than half of
the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ 4,000 workers in 34 states have been
furloughed, and nearly 300 of the bureau’s law enforcement officers are
working without pay.”

        *Pentagon To Send More Active-Duty Troops To Southern Border. *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=079-984&t=c>
(1/14, Brook) reports the Pentagon will send “a fresh deployment of
active-duty troops to the southern border at the request of officials from
the Department of Homeland Security.” Late Monday, the Pentagon announced
that deployments of active-duty troops “would extend through September.”
The new contingent of troops will include “combat engineers to fortify
border crossings and aviation units to help ferry Border Patrol agents,
according to a Defense Department official.” USA Today says the new
deployment “has been anticipated since Homeland Security officials made the
request to the Pentagon for additional resources late last month.”

        *Authorities Keep Finding Tunnels Under US-Mexico Border. *The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=07a-a7e&t=c>
(1/14, Phillips) reports the discovery of three tunnels, “which authorities
suspect were built to smuggle illegal contraband or people across the
border, were found within the past month, as President Trump continues to
demand $5.7 billion to build a border wall between the United States and
Mexico.” While the President has “argued that building physical barriers
would stave off illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United
States,” experts say these tunnels “reaffirm a reality at the southern
border: Drugs are trafficked into the country through multiple channels,
including underground.” Christopher Wilson, deputy director of the Mexico
Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said,
“The discovery of new tunnels reemphasize [the need] for a multi-prong
strategy no matter what you’re doing.”

        *Coast Guard Sees Surge In West Coast Migrant Intercepts. *The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=07b-f1f&t=c>
(1/14, Lamothe) reports the Coast Guard saw “a nearly fivefold increase in
the number of migrants it intercepted off the coast of southern California
in 2018, underscoring the challenge that will remain in stopping illegal
migration even if President Trump secures funding for his southern border
wall.” The numbers, provided to the Post “in recent days, show the service
intercepted 1,022 migrants at sea there in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
That was up from 213 in 2017 and 142 in 2016.” Nationwide, however, the
number of migrant intercepts at sea “dropped from 2,512 in 2017 to 1,668 in
2018, indicating a shift in which more migrants are now intercepted off the
West Coast.”
Trump Denies Working For Russia, Calls Allegation “A Whole Big Fat Hoax.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=07c-ec6&t=c>
(1/14, Superville, Lemire) reports the President on Monday addressed “an
extraordinary question that has haunted his presidency and shows no signs
of going away.” Speaking from the South Lawn of the White House, Trump
said, “I never worked for Russia.” The “flat denial” came in the wake of “a
New York Times report that law enforcement officials began investigating,
in 2017, whether Trump had been working on behalf of Russia against US
interests.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=07d-08b&t=c>
(1/14, Nicholas) reports Trump did not directly address whether he worked
for Russia during a Fox News interview over the weekend, saying only that
the question was insulting. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=07e-c97&t=c>
(1/14, Demirjian) also says Trump “did not directly answer” the question on
Saturday, and Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=07f-3c4&t=c>
(1/14, Mason, Chiacu) reports that in “his first direct denial,” Trump
said, “Not only did I never work for Russia, I think it’s a disgrace that
you even asked that question because it’s a whole big fat hoax.”

        Kristen Welker said on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=080-be9&t=c>
(1/14, story 5, 1:00, Holt) that Trump “gave his most direct denial yet”
after he “didn’t directly deny he was a Russian agent on Fox News.” On ABC
World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=081-7e9&t=c>
(1/14, story 3, 2:05), David Muir described Trump as “furious” as he
responded to a reporter about the issue. Paula Reid said on the CBS Evening
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=082-803&t=c>
(1/14, story 5, 2:05, Glor) that Trump “attacked the FBI.” Trump: “The
people doing that investigation were people that have been caught that are
known scoundrels. I guess you could say they’re dirty cops.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=083-a77&t=c>
(1/14, Oprysko) says Trump “shot back” at reports he acted as a Russian
agent, “bragging sarcastically on Twitter about an increase in U.S.
domestic oil production that he indicated had hurt Russia’s energy
industry, a main driver of its economy.” In a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=084-c7a&t=c>
(1/14), Trump highlighted a segment from Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=085-42f&t=c>
(1/14) that “touted lower gas prices across the country,” and wrote, “But
this is bad news for Russia, why would President Trump do such a thing?
Thought he worked for Kremlin?” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=086-d26&t=c>
(1/14, Burke) also reports on Trump’s tweet.

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=087-1a4&t=c>
(1/14, Dopp and Talev) reports, “Democrats including Senator Dick Durbin of
Illinois have said the reports highlighted the need for Mueller to finish
his investigation without interference.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
said on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=088-480&t=c>
(1/14), “These revelations are absolutely stomach churning. I’m almost at a
loss for words when you think of how extraordinary it is that the FBI was
investigating the President of the United States for a possible threat to
our national security in working for the Russians, and remember...the FBI
can’t simply open an investigation on the President of the United States
regarding possible harm, ongoing threats generated by the President,
himself, without multiple layers of review, a high bar and exacting
standard of actionable and articulable facts. We probably have no idea what
that evidence is that justified the investigation, but we know there’s a
pattern here.”

        Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=089-95f&t=c>
(1/14), “When this story broke last week, in many ways it is a jarring
story for any American to read that the person at the very top of American
government, the President of the United States would be an agent of the
Russian government or somehow helping Russia, particularly given the
history between the United States and Russia. But on the other hand, for
those of us who have watched Donald Trump’s words and actions over the past
three years, in some ways it’s not a surprise at all because he has been
very friendly to Russia. ... Russia could not have asked for a friendlier
United States President.”

        *Former Trump Lawyer Dowd: Former FBI Officials Staged “Coup”
Against Trump. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=08a-294&t=c>
(1/14, Ross) reports former Trump lawyer John Dowd “is accusing former FBI
officials of staging a ‘coup’ by opening a counterintelligence
investigation into whether Trump acted as a foreign agent of Russia.” In a
radio interview Monday, Dowd said, “This is our worst nightmare that
someone with that kind of power would then decide to go after the
president. I mean it’s a coup. ... That’s what it is an attempted coup by
Comey and his crowd. ... And the evidence is all over there. I take The New
York Times article as an admission of their bad behavior.”

        *Sekulow: FBI Engaged In “Abuse Of Process.” *Trump attorney Jay
Sekulow said on Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=08b-1c6&t=c>
(1/14), “The President exercises his constitutional authority and fires
James Comey...and the FBI opens up a counter-intelligence investigation
against the sitting President of the United States. Ask yourself, if three
days before there was nothing there and James Comey said there was nothing
to go over there for, why in the world would they open up a
counter-intelligence investigation? If they did this, it’s not only abuse
of process, but it shows you it’s a pattern of action.”

        *Conway Sees Rogue Activity By Top FBI Officials. *Presidential
counselor Kellyanne Conway was asked on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=08c-393&t=c>
(1/14) about the Post and Times reports. Conway said the Times report
“confirmed what the President said all along about some of the rogue actors
at the tippy-top of the FBI who are no longer there because they were fired
and worse. Some of them were deemed to be leaking and lying.” Conway added,
“I think the headline could have said, what so many of these stories could
have said, and never do, investigation opened up, no fruit came of it.
Nothing came of it. That is the really the important part of this.” Asked
about the Post report, she said, “I will tell you that was a time where
there were tremendous leaks including from when the President would have
meetings in the Oval Office.”

        *Trump Allies: Investigation Raises Questions About FBI’s
Impartiality. *Mollie Hemingway writes for The Federalist
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=08d-2b1&t=c>
(1/14) that the New York Times “revealed the FBI’s surprisingly flimsy
justification for launching a retaliatory investigation into” the
President. FBI officials admitted “there is no actual evidence for their
probe into whether Trump ‘worked for the Russians,’” and “instead cited
their foreign policy differences with him, his lawful firing of bungling
FBI Director James Comey, and alarm that he accurately revealed to the
American public that he was told he wasn’t under investigation by the FBI,
when they preferred to hide that fact.” Similarly, Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=08e-3b1&t=c>
(1/14, Wong) cites “several legal experts” who say the New York Times
report “casts more skepticism on the FBI than on the president.” Breitbart
adds, “Legal experts and political strategists on both sides of the aisle
said the Times’ report showed the FBI was motivated by revenge for Comey’s
firing rather than by any evidence Trump was acting on behalf of Russia.”

        Pamela Brown said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=08f-169&t=c>
(1/14), “Those that are allies of the President say look, the FBI didn’t
have predication to open up an investigation like this, looking at whether
he was acting on behalf of the Russians. Simply just what he is saying
publicly isn’t enough to open up an investigation.”

        Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=090-10d&t=c>
(1/14), “They weaponized the FBI to go after this President. They got
together after James Comey was fired. They figured out what they could do
to make his life miserable and to continue it on. It’s even worse than
that. They tried to embed their bias within the Mueller investigation going
forward. ... To suggest that the President is a Russian spy, there was
plenty of spying go on, and it was going on on his campaign, not by him.”

        Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=091-0d7&t=c>
(1/14), “The abuse of power and corruption, remember we have been telling
you all about this, it is tonight far worse than we have known up to this
point. We now know top people within the FBI filled with hatred and frankly
anti-Trump rage, have put aside all values and their blatant political
bias, were seeking redemption for the firing of James Comey. They actually
plotted to destroy your duly elected President. ... According to this
report...two days after Comey was unceremoniously terminated, several top
FBI officials actually questioned whether or not President Trump was
working directly for Russia. They did this without a single shred of
evidence, zero probable cause, zero proof of any collusion. It was a witch
hunt. The President has been right from day one.”

        Tucker Carlson said on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=092-051&t=c>
(1/14), “Shocking does not even begin to describe this story. Nothing like
this has ever happened in this country. These allegations are literally
without precedent. That is not overstatement. And by the way, the
allegations are not true. The FBI did not find that Donald Trump is a
Russian agent. No charges were ever filed against him. None will be. But an
equally important question remains unanswered. How did this happen?” A Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=093-7e6&t=c>
(1/14) editorial says the FBI investigation was launched because senior FBI
officials objected to the firing of Director James Comey.

        However, Max Boot argues in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=094-030&t=c>
(1/14) that “the FBI’s willingness to investigate the president is a sign
that it is an admirable, indeed essential, safeguard of American
democracy.” Boot says there are “precious few countries in the world where
a sitting leader can be investigated by law enforcement authorities on the
principle that no person is above the law” and it is “a wonderful tribute
to American democracy that we have a legal system that does not shrink from
investigating the president.” Jamil Smith, senior writer for Rolling Stone,
said on CNN’s The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=095-75e&t=c>
(1/14), “There is enough that the President has put forth during the
presidency...that suggest that is he is at least on the side or at least
advocating for the positions that Vladimir Putin is putting forth. I think
certainly, the positions that he is putting forth is not necessarily, you
know, pro-Russia. But, I think certainly the things he’s doing to the
country are certainly things that Vladimir Putin wouldn’t mind seeing
happening.”

        *WPost Analysis: Administration Offered “Non-Denial Denial” In
Response To WPost, NYTimes Stories. *A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=096-e52&t=c>
(1/14, Farhi) analysis says in response to the Times and Post stories, the
President and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders “offered textbook
examples of the fog-making rhetorical response known as the non-denial
denial.” The responses “were forceful, even emotional in tone. But neither
really answered the question. That’s exactly how a non-denial denial (or
NDD, if you will) is supposed to work. It suggests the speaker is
responding forthrightly, without really confirming or rejecting the claim.”

        Shimon Prokupecz said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=097-8df&t=c>
(1/14, 5:06 p.m. EST), “You can understand why people who are in this
space, in the national security space, have been concerned for quite some
time about what was said in these meetings. Really the only other person in
this meeting is Vladimir Putin. In all of these meetings, no other
officials are usually allowed in and the only other American official would
be the translator. What we’ve learned is that even some of the information
that the translator may have had, those notes were taken away from the
translator. So, certainly a lot of concern among national security people,
those who work there now and certainly a lot of people who have left, that
something is going on.”

        Political analyst April Ryan said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=098-b96&t=c>
(1/14), “This is about transparency. At this point, two years in, you go
back to 2016 but it still plays in 2019. At this point the learning curve
is over. The naivete is over. The American public needs to know. This is
serious. This is about the United States of America and the influences, the
continued and more serious influences that Russia may have on our governing
of this nation.”

        On ABC’s Good Morning America
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=099-0c3&t=c>
(1/14) Monday, Terry Moran said the reports in the New York Times and
Washington Post are “putting the White House on the defensive.” NBC’s
Today[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=09a-a4d&t=c>
(1/14, Jackson) described the situation as a “storm of Russia-related
headlines battering his [Trump’s] White House.” However, on Fox News’ Fox &
Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=09b-f07&t=c>
(1/14, Kilmeade), Steve Doocy remarked that the Times “admits there was no
evidence that Trump ever had any contact with any government officials from
Russia.” Regarding the Post story, Doocy said, “As it turns out, the
President simply didn’t like leaks.”

        *Engel Says Committee May Subpoena Interpreter. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=09c-cbe&t=c>
(1/14) reports House Foreign Affairs Chairman Engel said Monday that his
committee is working with the Intelligence Committee on “whether to
subpoena President Donald Trump’s interpreter to testify about what was
discussed in his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.” Engel
said on CNN, “I would prefer not to do that. We have to see what we can
find out. We may have no choice.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=09d-05f&t=c>
(1/14, Shesgreen) reports Engel’s comments came in the wake of “new
revelations in The Washington Post that Trump has tried to shield key
details of his discussions with Putin. Citing unnamed sources, the Post
reported that after a 2017 meeting with Putin, Trump took his interpreter’s
notes and told the interpreter not to disclose the substance of his
conversation to other administration officials.”

        Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=09e-4f0&t=c>
(1/14), “I think there is an obligation to subpoena the notes and, if
necessary, the interpreter, because we are talking here about a possible
threat to our national security. It is more than just a vague and
unascertainable kind of indication. We’re talking here about a real and
present threat to our national security and the American people have a
right to know.”

        Rep. Joaquin Castro was asked on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=09f-e75&t=c>
(1/14) if lawmakers should subpoena the interpreter from Trump’s meetings
with Putin. Castro said, “Ordinarily I would say no because of professional
ethics. Under the law, for example, a wife cannot be made to testify
against a husband, a psychologist cannot testify against a patient and so
forth. Ordinarily you would think that you would want to put interpreters
in that batch of people. But, this is not your ordinary case. Usually, any
American president would have not only an interpreter with him but a whole
range of other aides and assistants. ... What is remarkable is that Donald
Trump insisted on going into this meeting with nobody else in the room
except somebody that could obviously help he and Vladimir Putin
communicate. With that said, I think all options should be on the table.”

        *Schumer Seeks To Scuttle Treasury Agreement With Rusal. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a0-9c2&t=c>
(1/14) reports Senate Minority Leader Schumer is trying to make political
gains by scuttling an agreement between the Treasury Department and the
owners of Russian aluminum company Rusal. Treasury in April announced
sanctions on Oleg Deripaska, who controls EN+ Group, which controls Rusal.
The Department told Congress in December that it would lift sanctions on
the companies, but Schumer said the proposal is flawed and does not do
enough to limit Deripaska’s control and influence on the companies.

        *Clinton Tweets Clip Of Her Saying Trump Will Be Putin’s “Puppet.” *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a1-d0c&t=c>
(1/14, Wang) reports Hillary Clinton reacted to the New York Times and
Washington Post reports in a tweet Monday morning. Clinton wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a2-4d1&t=c>,
“Like I said: A puppet.” Clinton “resurrected a clip of a widely shared
exchange from the third and final presidential debate in 2016.” During the
debate, Trump said, “Look, Putin, from everything I see, has no respect for
this person,” to which Clinton replied, “Well, that’s because he’d rather
have a puppet as president.”

        *Breitbart Analysis: Poll Shows Trump Approval Climbs As Disdain
For Russia Probe Increases. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a3-126&t=c>
(1/14, Nolte) reports the latest IBD/TIPP tracking poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a4-ee6&t=c>
shows that “public disdain for Russia probe intensifies [as] Trump approval
climbs.” The nationwide survey of 903 adults finds that “the president’s
job approval rating jumped two points above last month, from 40 percent to
42 percent, with 54 percent saying they disapprove.” In addition, “54
percent of the public disapproves of how Trump is doing his job,” but 51
percent agree that “the president’s opponents are using the ongoing special
counsel investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion as a way to
delegitimize the 2016 election.”
Trump Lawyers Reject Mueller Request For A Sit-Down Interview.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a5-5d4&t=c>
(1/14, Correll) cites a report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a6-e98&t=c>
(1/14, Brown, Perez, Prokupecz) on CNN’s website which said that the
President and his legal team “have rejected efforts from special counsel
Robert Mueller to schedule a sit-down interview with the president as part
of the ongoing Russia investigation.” Following the President’s submission
of “written responses to questions from Mueller...which touched on a number
of matters prior to Trump’s inauguration, Mueller requested an in-person
interview because he was ‘not satisfied,’ one source familiar with the
situation told CNN.”

        *Mueller Summons Corsi’s Stepson. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a7-f77&t=c>
(1/14, Helderman) reports conservative writer Jerome Corsi told Fox
Business Trish Regan Primetime
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a8-fa0&t=c>
Monday that his stepson, Andrew Stettner, “has been summoned by special
counsel Robert S. Mueller III to testify before a grand jury.” The Post
says the revelation is “a sign that Mueller’s team remains focused on the
writer and his interactions with Roger Stone, a close associate of
President Trump.” Corsi “said that Mueller’s investigators appeared focused
on text messages he and Stettner exchanged in which Stettner said that a
computer that had sat on Corsi’s desk had been ‘scrubbed,’ an apparent
reference to the deletion.” Corsi “said the messages were innocuous.” He
added, “I think they think that Andrew was conspiring with me, as my
computer expert, to destroy evidence. ... They’re looking for anything they
can find.”
Barr Says He Won’t End Mueller Investigation.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0a9-ccb&t=c>
(1/14, Benner) reports ahead of his confirmation hearing before the Senate
Judiciary Committee, William Barr, the President’s choice for attorney
general, said, “It is in the best interest of everyone – the president,
Congress, and, most importantly, the American people – that this matter be
resolved by allowing the special counsel to complete his work.” He added,
“If confirmed, I will not permit partisan politics, personal interests, or
any other improper consideration to interfere with this or any other
investigation.” The Times adds that he included “a subtle caveat, limiting
his assurances about the investigation to issues under his control.” The
Times continues, “That qualification could be important because Mr. Barr
has long advanced a philosophy of strong executive powers under which
almost any executive branch decision is ultimately the president’s to
make.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0aa-b1b&t=c>
(1/14, Zapotosky) also reports Barr said “that he would let special counsel
Robert S. Mueller III finish his investigation of Donald Trump’s campaign
without political interference.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0ab-ec3&t=c>
(1/14, Lynch, Sullivan) quotes Barr as saying in prepared remarks ahead of
today’s testimony, “On my watch, Bob will be allowed to complete his work.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0ac-4e0&t=c>
(1/14, Tucker) reports Barr also “insisted in testimony he’ll deliver
Tuesday to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Trump never sought any
promises, assurances or commitments before selecting him to be the
country’s chief law enforcement officer.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0ad-7d1&t=c>
(1/14, Levine, Samuelsohn) says “Barr has faced criticism since his
nomination last month because of a series of published comments critical of
the Russia probe and also Mueller’s interest in investigating whether Trump
obstructed justice when he fired former FBI Director James Comey.” But “in
his written testimony, Barr sought to deflect that criticism by noting he
has known Mueller ‘personally and professionally’ for 30 years dating back
to their time working together during the George H.W Bush administration,
when Barr was serving as attorney general.” Wrote Barr, “We’ve been friends
since. ... I have the utmost respect for Bob and his distinguished record
of public service.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0ae-b74&t=c>
(1/14, Wilber) notes “Democrats had signaled that they intended to grill
Barr, a longtime Republican lawyer and former US attorney general, about
his plans to supervise Mueller if he was confirmed, and would seek a vow
from Barr not to fire or undermine the special counsel.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0af-058&t=c>
(1/14, Mordock) quotes Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) as saying, “The big
question in my mind is will he leave Mueller alone. ... That means no
interference, no budgetary control, no stoppage, nothing. ... That is only
going to get answered well in public.”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b0-5d3&t=c>
(1/14, story 4, 0:40, Karl) reported that “Barr, in the past, has been
quite critical of the Mueller investigation,” and NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b1-915&t=c>
(1/14, story 4, 1:50, Williams) that he is “sure to get questions tomorrow
about the revelation that the FBI opened a counterintelligence
investigation of President Trump in 2017 after he fired FBI director James
Comey to see if the President was secretly working with Russia.” NBC added
“one factor was his comment to Russian officials the next day that the
firing took away great pressure because of Russia.” In a story largely
devoted to media stories about Mueller’s probe, the CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b2-e12&t=c>
(1/14, story 5, 2:05, Glor) said the “allegations are expected to be hot
topics...during the confirmation hearing.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b3-dee&t=c>
(1/14, Gurman) runs a similar report, while the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b4-039&t=c>
(1/14, Savage) highlights that Barr “has long espoused an unfettered vision
of executive power,” and that “he may soon serve a president not known for
self-restraint.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b5-4b1&t=c>
(1/14) editorializes that “in...Barr,” Trump “has nominated someone with a
track record of integrity and experience to be the next attorney general.”
While “Barr states in prepared testimony that Mueller should be given a
chance to finish his report...this...is not sufficient.” Mueller “might
plan further legal actions such as subpoenas, indictments and plea
agreements.” Barr “needs to pledge that he would not interfere with those.
He also needs to make abundantly clear that he would not fire Mueller.”

        Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), in an accompanying op-ed, writes in USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b6-393&t=c>
(1/14), “The reason I believe...Barr’s nomination should be withdrawn has
little to do with his experience,” as “he has long been well-respected
within the legal community.” However, “our country deserves better than an
attorney general who auditioned for the job by attacking that [Mueller]
investigation.”

        *Retired Agent: FBI Management Previously Demonstrated Confidence
In Barr. *In commentary for the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b7-48b&t=c>
(1/14), retired FBI agent Thomas J. Baker praises Barr’s previous conduct
as attorney general under George H.W. Bush. According to Baker, FBI
management had great confidence in Barr, and approached him about then-FBI
director William Sessions’ ethical lapses.
Supreme Court Rejects Case Alleging Whitaker’s Appointment Is Illegal.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b8-996&t=c>
(1/14, Swoyer) reports the US Supreme Court on Monday “denied an effort to
strip acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker’s name from a pending case,
swatting down a push to force the justices to send a signal that President
Trump’s temporary pick is illegal.” In the case, the court was asked “to
remove Mr. Whitaker and substitute Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein,
arguing that he should be the rightful head of the Justice Department under
the law.” The case is Barry Michaels v. Whitaker. The Times adds, “There
are several other cases pending attacking the appointment of Mr. Whitaker.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0b9-f23&t=c>
(1/14, Wheeler) adds that the court “also refused to review” the whole
case. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0ba-edf&t=c>
(1/14, Hurley) reports the court “stayed out of the fight,” and the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0bb-bb6&t=c>
(1/14, Press) said the “court is refusing to be drawn into” the fight.
Trump Inaugural Committee Spent $1.5 Million At Trump’s DC Hotel.

ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0bc-9e0&t=c>
(1/14, Santucci, Mosk, Siegel) reports “internal documents” show the
President’s inaugural committee “spent more than $1.5 million at the Trump
International Hotel in Washington ahead of his 2017 swearing-in.” It is
“part of an array of expenditures there and elsewhere that included more
than $130,000 for customized seat cushions at two gala dinners for the
president-elect, $10,000 to provide makeup to the servers at another formal
dinner, and $2.7 million to a company that produced a Broadway-style
rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ using Las Vegas show
girls flown in by Trump pal Steve Wynn for a private event.” ABC adds that
while “the festivities surrounding Trump’s swearing-in were modest in
scale” compared to other inaugurations, the “amount of money involved was
record-breaking – with more than $107 million raised and $104 million
spent.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0bd-e1d&t=c>
(1/14, Tacopino) says “then-president elect Obama’s 2009 inauguration team
raised $53.2 million and spent about $51 million.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0be-4e5&t=c>
(1/14, Haberman, Lafraniere, Protess) says the “expansive spending
reflected Mr. Trump’s desire to make a grand entrance, with roughly 20
events around Washington, people familiar with the events said. It also had
the hallmarks of previous Trump efforts, such as the campaign, with some
Trump-family friends circumventing existing chains of command.”
Trump Defends Trade Policies To Farmers Meeting.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0bf-421&t=c>
(1/14, Rappeport) reports President Trump, “seeking to shore up his base of
support in rural America, promised farmers on Monday that ‘the greatest
harvest is yet to come’ and insisted that the pain they were experiencing
from his economic policies would ultimately make them better off.” In a
speech to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention, Trump
“asked farmers to be patient as he tried to rewrite trade agreements with
China, Europe, Canada and Mexico.” Said the President, “No one understands
better than our great farmers that the tough choices we make today reap
rewards for centuries to come.”

        The Los Angeles Times
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(1/14, Stokols) says that “although Trump made the case that he had been a
friend to farmers, he did not directly acknowledge the tough times that
they now faced because of his trade and border-wall actions.” Instead, he
“touted the 2017 tax cuts” and “boasted of his efforts to cut regulations,
increase the availability of corn-based ethanol at gas stations and pass a
farm bill in December.”

        *NYTimes Analysis: Despite Steel Tariffs, US Steel Sector Not
Seeing Growth. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c1-41e&t=c>
(1/14, Rappeport) reports, “In the 10 months since the Trump administration
imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel imports,” US steel prices “have now
fallen back to levels last seen before the tariffs were announced on March
1.” Industry hiring “remains stagnant, in part because new mills have
become more reliant on automation,” and more than a dozen planned steel
sector expansions in 2018 never took place. The Times adds, “Investors are
increasingly wary about the industry’s long-term strength,” as stock prices
“for some of the nation’s biggest steel manufacturers dropped by as much as
47 percent in 2018 amid fears of slowing global economic growth and the
potential for Mr. Trump to reach trade deals that remove the tariffs.”
Cancer Research
Invasive Follow-Up Tests To Examine Abnormalities Found With Lung Cancer
Screening May Lead To More Complications, Costs Than Previously Believed,
Study Suggests.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c2-803&t=c>
(1/14, Rapaport) reports that research suggests “invasive follow-up tests
to examine abnormalities found with lung cancer screening may lead to more
complications and extra healthcare costs than” physicians previously
believed. The findings
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c3-685&t=c>
were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

        Medscape
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c4-ddf&t=c>
(1/14, Jenkins) reports that investigators found that “the complication
rates for invasive diagnostic procedures following low-dose computed
tomography. ..screening for lung cancer appear to be twice as high in a
community setting as they are in clinical trials.”

        MedPage Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c5-28a&t=c>
(1/14, Boyles) reports, “Associated downstream costs in the study...ranged
from $6,320 for minor complications of invasive diagnostic procedures, such
as allergic reactions, to $56,845 for major complications, such as lung
collapse.” The study was partially funded by the National Cancer Institute.
Also covering the story are Aunt Minnie
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c6-281&t=c>
(1/14, Kim) and HealthImaging
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c7-b37&t=c>
(1/14, O'Connor).
Study Suggests Suicide Risk Quadruples For People With Cancer.

Philadelphia Inquirer
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c8-23e&t=c>
(1/15, Giordano) reports study by Pennsylvania State University College of
Medicine researchers suggests that individuals “with cancer are four times
more likely to take their own lives than people without the disease.” The
article notes that “the risk of patients’ taking their own lives varied by
the type of cancer they had, as well as such factors as age and gender.”
Additionally, the study, which was published in the journal Nature
Communication, “was based on data from the National Cancer Institute’s
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results” and “included data for more
than 8.6 million people diagnosed with invasive cancer – cancer that spread
beyond the tissue it originated in – between 1973 to 2014.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Donald Trump: The Russia File.”* A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0c9-0d9&t=c>
(1/14) editorial says it is “no laughing matter” that Republicans are
unwilling “to cast a critical eye upon a sitting president who has so
flouted accepted practice for dealing with any foreign leader – not to
mention one as adversarial as Vladimir Putin.”

        *“Bangladesh’s Farcical Vote.” *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0ca-845&t=c>
(1/14) editorializes that “Sheikh Hasina has done marvels for Bangladesh
over nearly 10 consecutive years as prime minister. ... All the greater the
pity that her achievements have been offset by a precipitous slide toward
authoritarianism and an election in which Mrs. Hasina’s party won 288 of
the 300 contested seats in Parliament, a preposterous 96 percent rate of
victory.” The Times says that in the run up to the Dec. 30 vote, “local and
international human rights organizations chronicled a relentless campaign
of intimidation, ranging from violence and arrests of opposition candidates
and protesters to surveillance and a draconian digital security law.” The
Times argues that “it is incumbent on countries doing business with
Bangladesh and cheering its rise from poverty to remind her and her allies
at every turn that human rights are not an imposition of an alien culture,
but a critical element of development and progress.”
Washington Post.

        *“Pompeo Said The US Will Hold Khashhoggi’s Killer’s Responsible.
Is He Serious About It?” *A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0cb-364&t=c>
(1/14) editorial says that after Monday’s meeting with the Saudi king and
crown prince, Secretary of State Pompeo said he had reiterated US
“expectations” that “every single person who has responsibility for the
murder of Jamal Khashoggi needs to be held accountable.” The Post says
“that is the right position; the question is whether Mr. Pompeo and
President Trump are serious about it. Unfortunately, all indications are
that they are not.”

        *“New York City’s Blocked Airbnb Ordinance Is A Lesson On What Not
To Do.” *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019011501biden&r=email-349e&l=0cc-c41&t=c>
(1/14) says the blocking of a New York City ordinance, aimed at Airbnb,
“that required home-sharing services to hand over detailed information on
listings and hosts offers local legislators a lesson in what not to do.”
The Post says Airbnb “was designed for everyday people to rent out their
extra space, in part to help them afford living there in the first place,”
not for “landlords to run informal and illegal hotels, and housing
advocates are right that the practice could endanger affordability where
supply is scarce.” However, “legislatures such as New York state’s (not to
mention the District’s) have responded to this narrow quandary with broad
and burdensome restrictions at the hotel industry’s behest” and “localities
threaten to supplement their overzealous laws with overzealous enforcement
regimes.” The Post adds that Airbnb “has proposed a compromise bill now
pending in Albany” and encourages other cities to “pursue a similar
approach.”

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