Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday, January 25, 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: Fri, 25 Jan 2019 10:01:25 -0500

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Friday, January 25, 2019 7:56 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
January 25, 2019

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=000-61f&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=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=001-860&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, January 25, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• WPost: Corsi Emerging As One OF Mueller’s “Most Vexing Witnesses.” <#S1>

• Biden Defends Having Praised GOP Lawmaker In Paid Speech Ahead Of
Midterms. <#S2>

• WPost Analysis: Unclear Whether “Biden Brand” Can Find Traction In 2020
Democratic Race. <#S3>

• Politico Mag: Personal Tragedies Shaped Biden. <#S4>

• Biden Discusses Memoir During Thursday Visit To Grand Prairie, Texas.
<#S5>

• Warren To Propose 2% Wealth Tax On Those Worth Over $50 Million, 3% On
Billionaires. <#S6>

• Harris Hires Brown As Her New Hampshire Campaign Director. <#S7>

• “Draft Beto” Efforts Have Campaign Infrastructure In Place, If O’Rourke
Opts To Launch Bid. <#S8>

• Democrat Hickenlooper “Leaning” Toward Entering Race For President. <#S9>

• McAuliffe Says He’ll Make Decision On 2020 Race By End Of March. <#S10>

• African-American Women A Critical Voting Bloc In 2020 Democratic Race.
<#S11>

• Voter Data Suggest Trump Currently “The Favorite” To Win Florida In 2020.
<#S12>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• White House Preparing Draft National Emergency Order To Build Border Wall.
<#S13>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• US Orders Nonessential Personnel To Leave Venezuela, Some Diplomats To
Remain. <#S14>

• Ross Downplays Expectations For Next Week’s US-China Trade Talks. <#S15>

• Trump Says Media Unfairly Portraying Lack Of Progress In US-North Korea
Talks. <#S16>

• State Department Official: US Offered To Hold Arms Control Talks With
Russia. <#S17>

• Treasury Imposes Sanctions On Iranian Militias, Airlines. <#S18>

• US-Backed Forces Moving Against Remaining Two ISIS Villages. <#S19>

• Progress On Deal For US To Withdraw Troops And Taliban Keep Terrorists
From Afghanistan. <#S20>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Breaking News: Roger Stone Indicted By Special Counsel, Arrested By FBI.
<#S21>

• Trump Would Consider Temporary CR Deal If It Contained “Large Down
Payment” For Wall. <#S22>

• Media Analyses: Ross, Kudlow Show Administration’s Difficulties Showing
Empathy During Shutdown. <#S23>

• US To Return Asylum Seekers To Mexico Starting Friday. <#S24>

• Senate Intelligence Committee Subpoenas Cohen. <#S25>

• Neal Indicates He Will Not Rush Seeking Trump’s Tax Returns. <#S26>

• Census Bureau Survey Finds Americans Fear Citizenship Question. <#S27>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• FDA Recommends Limitations In Using Lilly’s Soft Tissue Sarcoma Drug.
<#S28>

• Suicide Risk Increased In Year After Cancer Diagnosis, Study Suggests.
<#S29>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S30>

• Washington Post. <#S31>
Biden in the News
WPost: Corsi Emerging As One OF Mueller’s “Most Vexing Witnesses.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=002-4a3&t=c>
(1/24, Helderman) reports that “conspiracy theorist” Jerome Corsi has,
“over the past several months...emerged as one of special counsel Robert S.
Mueller III’s most vexing witnesses in his probe of Russian interference in
the 2016 campaign.” The article continues to detail “the now-frayed
relationship between Corsi” and “longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone.”

        *Jerome Corsi’s Stepson Appears Before Robert Mueller’s Grand Jury.
*The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=003-e16&t=c>
(1/24, Mordock) reports Andrew Stettner, the stepson of conspiracy theorist
Jerome Corsi, “appeared before special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury
on Thursday, according to a report.” Stettner was reportedly questioned for
about an hour, as investigators seek to determine if Corsi and Trump
campaign adviser Roger Stone “had advanced knowledge of WikiLeaks’ plans to
release hacked email from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the
Democratic National Committee.” The article reports Corsi “told Fox News
that investigators want to ask his stepson about text messages they
exchanged about whether Mr. Corsi’s computer was being ‘scrubbed.’”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=004-b24&t=c>
(1/24, Balsamo) reports “prosecutors did not ask Stettner about any other
topics and did not question him about Stone,” according to lawyer Larry
Klayman, who represents Stettner and Corsi.
Biden Defends Having Praised GOP Lawmaker In Paid Speech Ahead Of Midterms.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=005-a14&t=c>
(1/24, Burns) reports that during a Thursday speech at the Conference of
Mayors’ winter meeting in Washington, DC, former vice President Joe Biden
“defended his decision to praise an embattled” GOP congressman “during a
paid speech in Michigan last fall,” saying “that it reflected his
philosophy of how to ‘get things done.’” The Times says it reported a day
earlier that Biden “earned $200,000 for an October speaking engagement in
Benton Harbor, Mich., three weeks before the midterm elections.” In that
address, Biden lauded Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), “who joined with Mr. Biden to
increase funding for cancer research and, separately, helped forge
legislation to gut the Affordable Care Act.” On Thursday, Biden gave “a
forceful defense of his supportive remarks about Mr. Upton, signaling that
he has no intention of blunting his instinct toward bipartisanship and
compromise in the event that he runs for president. “

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=006-7e7&t=c>
(1/24, Boyer) quotes Biden as saying, “I read in The New York Times today
that one of my problems is, if I ever were to run for president, is that I
like Republicans. Well, bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=007-038&t=c>
(1/24, Bowden) reported that Biden’s “remark drew laughter in the room.” In
an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=008-bfa&t=c>
(1/24, Saenz) reported that Biden’s “defense of bipartisanship offers a
preview of a possible message” he “could embrace should he run for
president in 2020. Biden often touts his work reaching across the aisle
during his 36 years in the Senate as well as his two terms as vice
president under President Barack Obama.”

        The Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=009-e2d&t=c>
(1/24, Resnick) reported, “During his Thursday speech, Biden referenced
the” Times’ story “as a positive aspect of his belief in bipartisanship.
‘Where I come from, I don’t know how you get anything done,’ he said. ‘I
don’t know how you get anything done unless we start talking to one another
again.’” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=00a-ca9&t=c>
(1/24, Yilek) reports that Biden on Thursday “asked how lawmakers could get
anything done if they’re not reaching across the aisle. ‘This is a pretty
dysfunctional town,’ he said. ‘It’s like we’ve divided the country into
pieces. How can we be one America if we continue down this road? I don’t
care what your party affiliation is.’”

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=00b-b57&t=c>
(1/24, Schwab) reports that Biden “pointed to the Times report and
explained that he had praised Upton ‘about the fight against cancer,’ as
the” Congressman “was among those who supported the 21st Century Cures Act,
which gave $8.5 billion to the National Institutes of Health to bolster
cancer research. ‘And it mattered,’ Biden said. ‘It saved lives. And he
stepped up, he and three other Republicans stepped up and helped us pass
it. And so I acknowledged that and now I’m – I don’t know what I am,’ he
said, seemingly miffed by the criticism.” On its website, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=00c-06c&t=c>
(1/24, Memoli) reported that the remarks “pointed to a theme that would be
at the heart of a potential Biden candidacy – that his long track record of
reaching bipartisan deals with Republicans on thorny policy issues would be
critical after a tumultuous four year presidency of...Trump.”

        In an online article, ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=00d-d05&t=c>
(1/24, Nagle) reported, “Many have questioned if Biden’s bipartisan
approach will make it difficult for him to gain support with the liberal
wing of the party, who want to serve as a check on Republicans, rather than
work with them. It could set up for a make-or-break strategy for Biden –
gambling that voters will respond to a seasoned politician who touts his
success at reaching across party lines, and wants to win back blue-collar
voters Democrats lost to President Trump.” Similarly, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=00e-c2a&t=c>
(1/24, Morin) reported that while he “has a longstanding reputation as a
bipartisan deal-maker,” Biden’s praise of Upton “during last year’s heated
midterms could hinder a possible presidential bid in 2020, especially with
an increasingly packed Democratic field.”

        Writing for Vox
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=00f-99b&t=c>
(1/24), Dylan Scott says, “Praising a House Republican for their good work
on cancer research isn’t exactly at odds with how Biden views himself or
wants to present himself to the public. He wants people to believe he can
bring Americans together. But if Biden decides to jump into the race, the
question will be whether that’s the message Democratic primary voters want
to hear right now.” In an online article, Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=010-640&t=c>
(1/24, Shaw) reported that Biden “struck a uniquely bipartisan and
pragmatic tone as he joked about criticism he’s received for getting along
with Republicans – perhaps an effort to distinguish himself from a largely
liberal field of candidates vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential
nomination, as he weighs a bid of his own.”

        Writing for the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=011-540&t=c>
(1/24), Philip Wegmann said that Biden “offered a rare public confession”
in telling the gathering of mayors, “I read in the New York Times today
that one of my problems is, if I ever were to run for president, I like
Republicans. Well, bless me father, for I have sinned.” Wegmann added, “GOP
voters will see his confession as a nice bipartisan overture. They just
aren’t likely to take it seriously.”

        In a very negative piece headlined “Joe Biden Should Run, Just To
Represent The Kind Of Politics Democrats Must Abandon,” Charles Pierce
writes for Esquire Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=012-de4&t=c>
(1/24) that while he hopes Biden enters the 2020 race, the former Vice
President “simply cannot be the Democratic nominee for president. Not in
this Democratic Party and not after those midterms, he can’t.” Asserting
that Biden “is a nostalgia candidate” and “a terrible one,” Pierce goes on
to slam Biden over the Times’ story and his Thursday comments on the
article. The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=013-f74&t=c>
(1/24, Cimmino) and the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=014-03d&t=c>
(1/24, Davis), also report on Biden’s comments about the Times’ story.

        *Addressing Nation’s Mayors, Biden Issues Call For National Unity. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=015-ddf&t=c>
(1/24, Gibson) reports that in his Thursday address to the gathering of
mayors, Biden “called for national unity amid political divisiveness.” In a
speech delivered “steps away from the White House, Biden spoke about the
importance of investment in infrastructure and addressing climate change,
delivering veiled criticism of President Donald Trump.” Said Biden, “We are
in trouble, but we were in so much more trouble in the past. The American
people are capable of doing anything.” Biden “did not refer to Trump by
name, but criticized the administration for withdrawing from the 2015 Paris
climate agreement. ‘The administration has walked away but there is no
reason we can’t pull us back on the path,’ Biden said.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=016-1cb&t=c>
(1/24, Beaumont) reports that Biden “said that the country longs to be
united and that he was proud to have worked with Republicans during the
course of his career. Biden also conveyed a sense of optimism about the
path ahead. ‘I think we’ve got to start believing in our people again.
We’re tougher than we think we are,’ he said ,” adding, “We’re looking to
be led.” The Guardian (UK)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=017-496&t=c>
(1/24, Smith) reports that Biden issued “a plea for national unity and
healing, an urgent warning about the threat of climate change and a
counterintuitive pitch that Democrats’ best hope for the future actually
lies in the past.”

        *WPost’s Rubin Lauds Biden’s Speech. *Writing on the website
of the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=018-891&t=c>
(1/24), Jennifer Rubin praises Biden’s Thursday speech, saying “he
displayed his considerable, granular grasp of urban policies while
transmitting a remarkably optimistic message. ‘It’s time to lift our
heads,’ he told the attendees.” Rubin says, “Mayors heard a plea for
maturity (you can ask more of the people, he advised) and mastery of
nitty-gritty details. They also saw someone not at war with Republicans,
who he insisted shared many of the goals of Democrats (and will come to
their senses once they’ve dumped a crazed president, I suppose).” Rubin
adds that Biden “makes a solid case that after four years of ignorance,
incompetence and going it alone in the world while neglecting ordinary
Americans’ needs,” he “can provide a familiar, almost paternal voice.”
WPost Analysis: Unclear Whether “Biden Brand” Can Find Traction In 2020
Democratic Race.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=019-e7b&t=c>
(1/24, Viser) reports that as former Vice President Joe Biden mulls a White
House bid, “the open question, asked even by” his “supporters and advisers,
is whether there is a market in 2020 for the Biden brand. The Democratic
Party over the past two years has become increasingly partisan and
sharp-edged,” driven “by a visceral hatred of Trump. And in its sharp
shift, it has turned toward things that Biden, the 76-year-old lifetime
pol, most certainly is not: fresh faces, minorities, and women. His
strategy of casting himself as the bridge from one generation to the next,
and as the one who can win over pragmatic Democrats as well as disaffected
Republicans, would test the limits of Democratic primary voters who have
encouraged the most diverse crop of candidates in history.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=01a-103&t=c>
(1/24, McLaughlin) reports, “He leads in the polls of likely Democratic
primary voters nationally, but activists and analysts still aren’t certain
there’s room for a...Biden presidential candidacy in 2020.” The Times says,
“Activists this year view the presidential race as a chance to prove that
the party’s center of gravity has shifted to the left and see 2020 as a
time to nominate a warrior for liberal causes who will do everything in his
or her power to thwart the Trump agenda. ‘Trotting out old warhorses has
been a failing strategy everywhere,’ said Adam Green, co-founder of the
Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which is gung-ho about Sen.
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who launched an exploratory committee
this month.”

        Writing on the website of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=01b-991&t=c>
(1/24), David Weigel said, “Even as Biden leads in speculative polls, even
as some senior Democrats insist he could” defeat “Trump, few in the party –
including his rivals – are treating him like a front runner.” As to why
that’s the case, Weigel said Democratic operatives argued: Biden hasn’t
“turned his popularity into a real network of support”; his age is a
drawback; he’d “struggle to excite the voters who were hardest to turn
out”; and “his long voting record, which put him on the record for
everything from the antiabortion Hyde Amendment (now officially opposed by
the Democratic platform) to crack/cocaine sentencing disparities to
legislation that made it harder to declare bankruptcy.”

        *Writer: Biden Gives Democrats Their Best Shot At Defeating Trump. *In
an op-ed that appeared on the website of NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=01c-ae1&t=c>
(1/24), political commentator Ashley Pratte, who serves on the Board of
Republican Women for Progress, wrote, “If liberals, independents and former
Republicans agree on any one thing...it is that finding a Democratic
nominee who can beat Donald Trump in 2020 is of paramount importance.”
Pratte said “that nominee will need to transcend party politics and appeal
to moderate voters, swing voters and independent voters (like me) who no
longer have a political affiliation after that dumpster fire of an
election. That is why Joe Biden is arguably the party’s best hope for 2020.
As the most established, qualified, experienced, likable, popular and
bipartisan Democrat exploring a bid for the presidency, his ability to
relate to blue-collar Americans and his jovial demeanor make him the ideal
candidate to go toe-to-toe with...Trump.”
Politico Mag: Personal Tragedies Shaped Biden.

Under the heading “How Grief Became Joe Biden’s ‘Superpower,’” Michael
Kruse writes of former Vice President Joe Biden in a piece for Politico
Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=01d-be6&t=c>
(1/25), “There is no person in American politics today whose life has been
so shaped by loss and grief. ... In 1972, his wife and baby daughter were
killed in a car accident; in 2015, one of his two sons who had survived the
crash died of a rare strain of brain cancer.” Those tragedies “influenced
major decisions he made about his political career. ... And they defined
him as a person as well, according to longtime friends, former aides and
veteran politicos in his home state.” The tragedies “made him more
relatable, more authentic, more empathetic,” and may also have “contributed
to his propensity for impolitic, loose-lipped gaffes – life is short, let
it rip.” Kruse adds, “Overall, though, and over time, Biden has managed to
turn his grief into a sort of interpersonal gift.”
Biden Discusses Memoir During Thursday Visit To Grand Prairie, Texas.

The Dallas Morning News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=01e-c73&t=c>
(1/24, Jeffers) reports that during a Thursday visit to Grand Prairie,
Texas, “to his talk about his memoir, Promise Me, Dad,” former Vice
President Joe Biden “said nothing about whether he would seek the
Democratic nomination for president in 2020. Instead he stuck to the themes
outlined in his book, a relatively quick read at 260 pages that deals with
the death of his elder son, Beau, his foreign policy work as vice president
and the decision not to run for president in 2016.”
Warren To Propose 2% Wealth Tax On Those Worth Over $50 Million, 3% On
Billionaires.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=01f-2b3&t=c>
(1/24, Ingraham) reports that economist Emmanuel Saez, who has been working
with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on a tax plan, says Warren “will propose
a new annual ‘wealth tax’ on Americans with more than $50 million in
assets.” The Post says Saez and Gabriel Zucman, “two left-leaning
economists at the University of California, Berkeley, have been advising
Warren on a proposal to levy a 2 percent wealth tax on Americans with
assets above $50 million, as well as a 3 percent wealth tax on those who
have more than $1 billion.” According to Saez, “The wealth tax would raise
$2.75 trillion over a ten-year period from about 75,000 families, or less
than 0.1 percent of U.S. households.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=020-2e1&t=c>
(1/24, Pendleton) reports that Jeff Bezos, “the world’s richest person,
would have to pay $4.1 billion in the first year under...Warren’s
soon-to-be proposed wealth tax, based on his current net worth of $137.1
billion.” Bezos “and the other 174 Americans on the Bloomberg Billionaires
Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people, would collectively owe
$61 billion.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=021-b38&t=c>
(1/24, Schor) also reports on the story.

        *Warren To Visit Nevada Today. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=022-383&t=c>
(1/24) reports that Warren is set to make “her first visit to Nevada since
launching her exploratory bid for president. Warren will hold an event at 7
p.m. Friday night at the Springs Preserve gardens, museum and events center
in Las Vegas.”
Harris Hires Brown As Her New Hampshire Campaign Director.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=023-e4f&t=c>
(1/24, Cadelago) reported that Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), who is exploring
a run for president, “has made her first big staff hire in an early primary
state, bringing on Craig Brown to be her state director in New Hampshire, a
campaign aide” said. Brown most recently managed the campaign of state Sen.
Molly Kelly (D-NH), who was defeated by Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) in
November’s election. Politico added, “A Manchester, N.H., native, Brown has
spent years climbing the ranks of Granite State politics, rising from
deputy field director for former Gov. Maggie Hassan’s 2012 campaign to
helping direct Hillary Clinton’s New Hampshire operation in 2016.”

        The Concord (NH) Monitor
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=024-d43&t=c>
(1/24, Steinhauser) reports, “There have been questions and concerns since
Harris declared her candidacy Monday regarding whether she would emphasize
other early voting states at the expense of New Hampshire.” However, “the
Harris campaign indicated that Brown’s hiring showed that” she “will be
taking New Hampshire seriously.” The Boston Globe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=025-e00&t=c>
(1/24, Pindell) describes the securing of Brown as “a significant hire” for
Harris.
“Draft Beto” Efforts Have Campaign Infrastructure In Place, If O’Rourke
Opts To Launch Bid.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=026-b3f&t=c>
(1/24, Siders) reported that ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) hasn’t entered
the 2020 race for president, “but he has a campaign-in-waiting. And if he”
opts to run, “he’ll be handed an existing infrastructure that could help
mitigate the effects of a late entry into the” contest. Politico said, “Two
separate ‘Draft Beto’ efforts have become a significant force to keep
public attention focused on him as a potential presidential candidate. And
their groundwork in early primary states could prove critical if O’Rourke
enters the race, delivering a roster of consultants and supporters for him
to tap into if he runs.”
Democrat Hickenlooper “Leaning” Toward Entering Race For President.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=027-ffb&t=c>
(1/24) reported that ex-Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) on Thursday “said he
is ‘leaning’ toward running for president in 2020 and that he’s looking to
make a decision in the coming weeks. ‘We’re certainly looking at it very
closely and I think in the next few weeks we’re going to decide whether
we’re going to run in 2020, but I’d say we’re leaning in that direction,’
Hickenlooper told Hill. TV.” The Democrat “said he still has a ‘long list’
of considerations to make before throwing his name into the mix, including
the impact it would have on his family.”
McAuliffe Says He’ll Make Decision On 2020 Race By End Of March.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=028-de7&t=c>
(1/24, Bedard) reported that ex-Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA), “who is
inching toward a 2020 Democratic presidential bid,” on Thursday blasted
“President Trump’s leadership, blaming him for expanding racial division in
America.” McAuliffe “initially joked about his 2020 plans. ‘I’m going to
announce right here,’ he said at a conference on the Trump presidency at
the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics in Charlottesville, Va.
More seriously, he said, ‘I will make a decision by March 31.’ And he
promised, ‘I’m going to do everything that I can to make sure that Donald
Trump is not in office in 2020.’” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=029-eda&t=c>
(1/24, Burke) reported that McAuliffe said “he doesn’t believe Trump ‘has a
moral core.’ ‘I don’t think he does anything to try and bring people
together or to try to uplift our country. Everything is about Trump, is
about him,’ he said. McAuliffe, a close ally of the Clintons and the former
chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said last month that he was
‘obviously thinking’ about running for president and that Democrats need a
‘realistic’ candidate.”
African-American Women A Critical Voting Bloc In 2020 Democratic Race.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=02a-26c&t=c>
(1/24, Jamerson) reports that African-American women will be a key
demographic in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. The Journal says
that 37% of voters in South Carolina’s 2016 Democratic presidential primary
were African-American women, the biggest slice of the electorate in that
contest. The Journal says that African-American women also make up
significant chunks of the Democratic primary electorate in other states,
particularly in the South.
Voter Data Suggest Trump Currently “The Favorite” To Win Florida In 2020.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=02b-20c&t=c>
(1/25, Caputo) reports that Florida “looks even more like Trump Country
heading into 2020. Newly released Florida voter data suggest President
Donald Trump will begin his reelection campaign as the favorite,” powered
by “white voters who broke Republican and showed up in such big numbers in
2018 that it looked as if they were casting ballots in a presidential
election and not a midterm. That amped up turnout came despite an
unprecedented Democratic effort in 2018 and record turnout numbers for
young, African-American and Hispanic voters in a midterm election,
according to new figures from the Florida Division of Elections. As a
result, Republicans managed to hold on to the governor’s mansion for the
sixth midterm in a row, defeat a three-term incumbent U.S. senator and
dominate the state legislature. ‘Florida is Trump’s state to lose,’ said
Matthew Isbell, a Democratic data analyst who crunched the newly released
voter numbers.”
Leading the News
White House Preparing Draft National Emergency Order To Build Border Wall.

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=02c-07b&t=c>
(1/24, Alvarez, Kupperman) reports on its website that the White House “is
preparing a draft proclamation” for President Trump “to declare a national
emergency along the southern border and has identified more than $7 billion
in potential funds for his signature border wall should he go that route.”
The President “has not ruled out using his authority to declare a national
emergency and direct the Defense Department to construct a border wall as
Congress and the White House fight over a deal to end the government
shutdown. But while Trump’s advisers remain divided on the issue, the White
House has been moving forward with alternative plans that would bypass
Congress.”

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=02d-e8a&t=c>
(1/24, Samuels) reports, “The draft declaration argues that the ‘massive
amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a
direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a
national emergency,’ CNN reported.” Funding would be expected to come “from
military construction and Pentagon civil works funds, with additional
funding coming from treasury forfeitures” and DHS. Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=02e-476&t=c>
(1/24, DeMarche) reports on its website that White House Director of
Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp confirmed Trump “is considering
the option to declare a national emergency to force the construction of his
long-promised border wall.”

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=02f-397&t=c>
(1/25, Schultz, Fredericks) reports a draft of the order reportedly reads,
“The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each
day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and
constitutes a national emergency.” However, the Daily Intelligencer (NY)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=030-e72&t=c>
(1/25, Stieb) reports Trump “reportedly views the national emergency option
as a ‘last resort,’ suggesting he may be ready for a less constitutionally
fraught exit strategy.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=031-efc&t=c>
(1/24), the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=032-7d2&t=c>
(1/24, Giaritelli), the Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=033-8db&t=c>
(1/24), and Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=034-be6&t=c>
(1/24) have reports based on the CNN story.

        Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=035-281&t=c>,
“The White House is desperate. They: -Shut down the government -Threatened
a national emergency -Backed off of the national emergency threat -Proposed
a sham ‘compromise’ -Deal fails in the Senate – And now back to declaring a
national emergency? Just. Open. The. Government.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=036-f45&t=c>,
“It wasn’t an emergency last week. It wasn’t an emergency when the GOP
controlled Congress & the White House. It’s not an emergency now. Trump
invented this emergency when Mexico & 70% of Americans said no deal.”

        Politico’s Burgess Everett tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=037-83e&t=c>,
“Rs and WH aides say national emergency last resort but still on table.
Some trying to discourage it.” CNN’s Paul Begala tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=038-695&t=c>,
“If @realDonaldTrump declares a ‘national emergency’ to fund a wall
Congress has refused to appropriate money for, there will be enormous
pressure on the next Dem President to declare emergencies and bypass
Congress on, say, gun safety, climate change, etc.” George W. Bush
Administration ethics counsel Richard Painter tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=039-00c&t=c>,
“If he was going to do this (and take his chances of being overruled in the
courts) why didn’t he do this a month ago instead of shutting down the
government? What a stupid waste of taxpayer money.”

        *CRS Analysis: Statute Allows Trump To Use DOD Resources To Build
Wall. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=03a-584&t=c>
(1/24, Rosiak) reports “the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service
(CRS) released a paper
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=03b-ca8&t=c>
internally that suggests President Donald Trump may have the authority to
use Department of Defense resources to build a wall without obtaining
congressional approval or declaring a state of emergency.” CRS “internally
published a paper Jan. 10 titled ‘Can the Department of Defense Build the
Border Wall?,’ which The Daily Caller News Foundation has obtained.” It
states a “statute that authorizes the Secretary of Defense to assist
civilian law enforcement with counterdrug activities may provide some
authority for the construction of barriers along the border.” 10 U.S.C. §
284 (Section 284) provides that the Secretary of Defense “may provide
support for the counterdrug activities or activities to counter
transnational organized crime” of any law enforcement agency, including
through the “[c]onstruction of roads and fences and installation of
lighting to block drug smuggling corridors across international boundaries
of the United States.”
Foreign Policy
US Orders Nonessential Personnel To Leave Venezuela, Some Diplomats To
Remain.

The US said that its diplomats will not withdraw from Venezuela, despite an
order from President Nicolás Maduro, although non-emergency employees will
withdraw. NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=03c-910&t=c>
(1/24, story 5, 1:45, Holt) showed Secretary of State Pompeo saying, “The
regime of former President Nicolás Maduro is illegitimate. We therefore
consider all of its declarations and actions illegitimate and invalid.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said, “If any harm should come to these
diplomats from the United States, I want everybody to know that the
consequences, I believe, from this Administration, that they’ll impose will
be swift and decisive.”

        Likewise, Martha Raddatz reported for ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=03d-e54&t=c>
(1/24, story 7, 1:00, Muir) that “the US has made clear that the Maduro
regime does not have the authority to order American diplomats out of
Venezuela since the US no longer recognizes Maduro as President.” However,
“the State Department is ordering non-emergency employees to leave
Venezuela because of growing security concerns.” In its reporting on
Venezuela, the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=03e-555&t=c>
(1/24, story 5, 2:00, Glor) briefly mentioned the embassy remaining open.

        CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=03f-013&t=c>
(1/24) showed National Security Adviser Bolton saying, “Our personnel are
still there. They have been invited to stay by the legitimate government
and consistent with their safety, that’s our intention. But we’re working
really, around the clock here to do what we can to strengthen the new
government.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=040-1ba&t=c>
(1/24, Krygier) reports, “Experts said Pompeo’s refusal to comply with
Maduro’s order is unique in State Department history,” and the Post calls
the move “a risky gambit, effectively turning embassy personnel into pawns
in what is an unpredictable international crisis.” Meanwhile, Maduro said
he will recall the of from Venezuela’s embassy and consulates in the United
States. He also “reiterated his demand that all U.S. Embassy personnel in
Caracas depart by this weekend, calling Washington ‘infantile’ for
rejecting his order,” and he “belittled President Trump.” The Post adds,
“The rapid escalation of the crisis into a global issue suggested the
strategic importance of” Venezuela.

        McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=041-9f5&t=c>
(1/24, Johnson, Hall, Ordoñez) reports the embassy staff who remain “could
face harassment on a daily basis as they travel” to and from work.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the Organization of American States Carlos
Trujillo said, “If there is any threat to their safety, it will be
addressed accordingly,” but did not “offer details on any steps being taken
to ensure the safety of U.S. diplomats.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=042-876&t=c>
(1/24, Wadhams, Cancel) reports, “Pompeo’s initial decision to keep the
embassy open drew criticism from some members of Congress.” House Foreign
Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel and committee ranking member Rep. Michael
McCaul (R-TX), in a joint letter, “said diplomats’ safety shouldn’t be
compromised simply to make the ‘political point that the United States no
longer recognizes Maduro’s legal authority.’”

        However, Rubio, on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=043-533&t=c>
(1/24), when asked about the safety of US diplomats, said: “We are never
going to allow our men and women in the foreign service to be in danger.
Maduro or people around them harm any of them there will be severe
consequences.” He continued that interim President Juan Guaidó “sent a
letter to the Secretary of State earlier today requesting humanitarian
assistance. The Secretary of State has now approved $20 million of
immediate humanitarian assistance and they’re working through the logistics
of how to position that in a way so it reaches the Venezuelan people.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=044-982&t=c>
(1/24, Wong, Baker) says the Administration’s “intervention in Venezuela
represents a sharp departure for Mr. Trump, who has generally articulated a
foreign policy aimed at pulling the United States out of overseas quagmires
and staying out of the internal affairs of other countries.” According to
the Times, “White House officials were vague about plans going forward.”
The Times says the President “has said that the United States would not
scold other countries about human rights and he has made friends with some
of the world’s leading autocrats in places like Russia, Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Turkey, China, North Korea and the Philippines.”

        In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=045-dd9&t=c>
(1/24) writes, “There are some encouraging signs” that Venezuelan may
finally “free themselves from the disastrous regime founded by Hugo
Chávez.” The country’s “National Assembly’s assertion of itself as an
alternative government and the multilateral support it has attracted have
created at least the potential for the latest Venezuelan crisis to take a
different course.” The Post calls for “skillful U.S. diplomacy,” warning
against the US “allowing itself to become isolated in a confrontation with
the Maduro regime,” and in particular, “unless the lives of Americans are
endangered and there is no other recourse, military intervention would be
folly.” The Post also warns that any talks will just be used, again, by the
regime “to buy time and divide the opposition,” and that a boycott of
Venezuelan oil could hurt ordinary Venezuelans. The Post calls for the US
and its allies to move to “help Venezuelans while bolstering Mr. Guaidó,”
concluding, “if Venezuela’s nightmare is to end, the change must come from
inside.”

        In an editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=046-c57&t=c>
(1/24) writes, “The Trump administration is right to support Mr. Guaidó,”
but warns, “the confrontation of two presidents raised terrifying prospects
of carnage” and “American intervention also carries risk.” In particular,
“Any military intervention could prove catastrophic, especially if Russia”
stepped in. Additionally, “sanctions on Venezuelan oil would risk worsening
the humanitarian disaster.” Due to “the history of American support for
right-wing dictatorships in Latin America,” the Times argues the United
States needs to “be seen as participating in a broad coalition of South
American and other democratic nations seeking to help Venezuelans achieve a
peaceful end to a destructive dictatorship.”

        In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=047-83f&t=c>
(1/24) write that to help Guaidó countries need to pressure Cuba and Russia
over their support for Maduro. The Journal also calls for the US to protect
its diplomatic personnel in Caracas by making Cuba responsible for any harm
to Americans by Maduro or his paramilitaries.

        Ethics and Public Policy Center Senior Fellow Henry Olsen, in an
op-ed in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=048-9ff&t=c>
(1/24), writes that Trump’s recognition of Guaidó as Venezuela’s president
“is justified for both humanitarian reasons and as an expression of an
‘America First’ foreign policy,” as it is best for the country’s people and
America’s interests. Despite criticism of Trump’s foreign policy, Olsen
maintains he “is moved by humanitarian crises” and “always maintained that
his administration would directly and swiftly defend American interests.”
Olsen adds, “Odds are that increasing financial pressure on the regime will
finally bring about its collapse,” which would mean “Trump’s resolute and
restrained moves will once again shock his critics by proving to be
surprisingly successful.”

        *Pompeo Urges OAS States To Recognize Guaidó As Venezuela’s
President. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=049-de8&t=c>
(1/24) reports that in an address to the Organization of American States,
Pompeo “urged Latin American governments to recognize Juan Guaido as
Venezuela’s interim president and to declare President Nicolas Maduro’s
government illegitimate.” Pompeo is quoted as saying, “All member states
who have committed to uphold the inter-American democratic charter must now
recognize the interim president.” According to Reuters, the members of the
OAS “are divided as to whether to back Guaido’s claim.” Reuters reports
that “while the majority of OAS member countries – including Canada,
Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Argentina – have recognized Guaido as
interim head of state, others including Mexico, El Salvador and Nicaragua
have said they will stay neutral or continue to support Maduro.”

        On the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=04a-18d&t=c>
(1/24, story 5, 2:00, Glor), Manuel Bojorquez reported Pompeo pledged $20
million in humanitarian aid to the new government.” Pompeo said, “The
tyranny of the now-defunct Maduro regime has for far too long, choked the
country and its citizens. CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=04b-161&t=c>
(1/24) reported Pompeo “urged other countries to declare the Maduro regime
illegitimate.” Pompeo said, “His regime is morally bankrupt, it is
economically incompetent, and it is profoundly corrupt.”

        *Bolton: US Seeking To Have Oil Revenue Go To Guaidó. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=04c-b72&t=c>
(1/24, Holland, Ellsworth) reports Bolton said the US is “seeking to ensure
that Venezuelan oil revenue goes to opposition leader Juan Guaidó.” Reuters
says that “although short on details, the announcement signals that
Washington is willing to go beyond traditional diplomatic measures and will
seek to drain cash from Maduro’s government which is already struggling
under an unprecedented economic meltdown.” Bolton is quoted as saying,
“What we’re focusing on today is disconnecting the illegitimate Maduro
regime from the sources of his revenues. ... We think consistent with our
recognition of Juan Guaidó as the constitutional interim president of
Venezuela that those revenues should go to the legitimate government.”

        Similarly, Rich Edson reported for Fox News Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=04d-fbe&t=c>
(1/24) that Bolton “says the Administration is examining ways to divert
international funding from the Maduro regime to Guaidó’s government” and
that “it will continue to use the full weight of American economic power
against Maduro.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=04e-41b&t=c>
(1/24, Heath) reports that while “American oil refiners based on the Gulf
Coast still rely on supplies from Venezuela to keep their operations
running efficiently,” Venezuela’s “economic collapse has made it virtually
impossible for Maduro to use oil exports as a diplomatic weapon.”

        *Russia Backs Maduro. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=04f-a06&t=c>
(1/24, Shesgreen) reports, “Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday
warned against ‘destructive interference’ in Venezuela from outside forces”
and, in “a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s efforts to undercut the
Venezuelan president,” called Maduro “to reaffirm Moscow’s support for the
embattled leader.” Russia’s state-owned media outlet Tass said that on the
call Putin “stressed that destructive outside interference grossly violated
the fundamental norms of international law.” Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with International Affairs
magazine, a Russian media outlet, that military intervention “would be a
catastrophic scenario that would shake the foundations of the development
model we see in the Latin American region.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=050-a04&t=c>
(1/24, Herrero, Macfarquhar) reports Putin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov told
reporters, “We consider the attempt to usurp the top power in Venezuela as
going against the foundations and principles of the international law.” As
part of “a series of blistering statements, particularly concerning the
possibility of American military intervention in Venezuela,” Russia’s
Foreign Ministry said, “We warn against such reckless actions, which
threaten catastrophic consequences.” Lavrov “said the United States was
being hypocritical in accusing Russia of meddling in American elections
while blatantly interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs.”

        CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=051-d6b&t=c>
(1/24) reported Russia is “ripping into the Trump Administration’s decision
to recognize Maduro’s opponent, Juan Guaidó, as the interim president.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, “It’s just pouring gas
on the fire. There is a very, very dangerous moment and everyone should
show utmost responsibility.”

        In an analysis, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=052-b1e&t=c>
(1/24, Vasilyeva) reports that in the standoff between Maduro and Guaidó,
“the geopolitical fault lines look familiar,” as “Russia, China, Iran,
Syria and Cuba have come down on one side,” and “the United States, Canada,
and countries in Western Europe are on the other.” The AP says
“Washington’s adversaries are issuing warnings against U.S. intervention,”
and “Russian officials have called the move a ‘coup’ orchestrated by the
U.S.” The AP adds that, with the world’s largest underground oil reserves,
Venezuela’s “political instability has deep implications globally,” and
“Russia has taken a special interest.”

        *Venezuela’s Military Cleaves To Maduro. *On the CBS Evening
News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=053-be3&t=c>
(1/24, story 5, 2:00, Glor), Manuel Bojorquez reported Venezuela’s military
leaders have “pledged their support to President Nicolás Maduro.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=054-413&t=c>
(1/24, Smith, Armario) reports that “a half-dozen generals belonging
largely to district commands and with direct control over thousands of
troops joined Maduro in accusing the United States of meddling in
Venezuela’s affairs and said they would uphold the socialist leader’s
rule.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=055-397&t=c>
(1/24, Herrero, Macfarquhar) reports diplomats backing Guaidó “hoped that
key members of the armed forces would switch sides” after street protests
and pledges of support by several Latin American countries, but in “a
setback for” Guaidó Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López’s declared his
support for Maduro. Flanked by several high-ranking officers, Padrino said
in a televised address, “We’re here to avoid a clash between Venezuelans.”
He added, “It’s not a civil war, a war among brothers, that will resolve
Venezuelans’ problems.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=056-6cc&t=c>
(1/24, Luhnow, De Córdoba, Otis) reports that while there is evidence of
some opposition to Maduro in the military, it is closely watched by Cuban
intelligence services, which has stopped a number of plots.
Ross Downplays Expectations For Next Week’s US-China Trade Talks.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=057-05f&t=c>
(1/24, Chiacu) reports that Commerce Secretary Ross, in an appearance on
CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=058-bf1&t=c>
(1/24), said the US and China are “‘miles and miles’ from resolving trade
issues but there is a fair chance the two countries will get a deal.”
Reuters says Ross “tried to tamp down expectations for the high-level
talks” scheduled for next week. Ross is quoted as saying, “There is a very
large group coming. There’s been a lot of anticipatory work done but we’re
miles and miles from getting a resolution and frankly that shouldn’t be too
surprising. ... Trade is very complicated, there’s lots and lots of issues
– not just how many soybeans and how much LNG.” According to Reuters, Ross
said the “more important” matters are “the structural reforms that
Washington believes are needed in the Chinese economy, as well as
enforcement mechanisms for failure to adhere to whatever is agreed to.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=059-b43&t=c>
(1/24, Mayeda, Leonard) also reports that Ross “downplayed expectations”
ahead of next week’s talks. Ross told Bloomberg Television[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=05a-7ba&t=c>,
“The harder issues are the ones that deal with structural reforms,
particularly intellectual property rights. ... The equal market access is
another very big issue. The idea of forced technology transfers is a huge
issue.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=05b-d37&t=c>
(1/24, Boyer) reports “China’s economy had its worst year in nearly three
decades in 2018, Beijing reported on Monday,” and “unless both sides strike
a deal to end their trade war, U.S. tariff rates on $200 billion worth of
Chinese goods will rise to 25 percent from their current 10 percent.”

        *Collins: China Makes History With Approval Of Five GMOs. *In a Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=05c-87c&t=c>
(1/24) op-ed, James Collins, CEO of Corteva Agriscience, praises Chinese
regulators for their approval of specific genetically modified crops in a
move that he argues is a major development for American, Canadian and
Brazilian farmers. He states that the decision is important because the
modified crops are designed to resist issues like pests, but the lack of
export approvals denied farmers the option to grow the modified soybean,
corn and canola plants as widely as desired. He calls on other governments
to follow China and cease politicizing GMOs in order to work in their
citizens’ best interests.

        *Rogin: US Should Reject Huawei Partnership. *In his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=05d-e96&t=c>
(1/24) column, Josh Rogin argues that the Federal Trade Commission is out
of line in its efforts to work with “China’s leading tech firm against its
US competitors” and that it goes against the Trump Administration’s overall
strategy of “confronting the economic and national security threats that
Chinese state-linked technology firms pose to the United States and its
allies.” Rogin cites the FTC’s usage of Chinese technology firms as primary
witnesses in its ongoing case against Qualcomm, which is accused of
threatening to “cut off its supply of chips unless Huawei agreed to renew a
patent license contract on Qualcomm’s terms.” Rogin expresses his agreement
with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who previously stated that “federal agencies
cannot allow hostile foreign governments to manipulate our laws at the
expense of American businesses.”
Trump Says Media Unfairly Portraying Lack Of Progress In US-North Korea
Talks.

President Trump blasted the media for reporting the lack of progress in
US-North Korea denuclearization talks. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=05e-6ea&t=c>,
“The Fake News Media loves saying ‘so little happened at my first summit
with Kim Jong Un.’ Wrong! After 40 years of doing nothing with North Korea
but being taken to the cleaners, & with a major war ready to start, in a
short 15 months, relationships built, hostages & remains...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=05f-f92&t=c>
back home where they belong, no more Rockets or M’s being fired over Japan
or anywhere else and, most importantly, no Nuclear Testing. This is more
than has ever been accomplished with North Korea, and the Fake News knows
it. I expect another good meeting soon, much potential!”

        *Kim Orders Start Of Preparations For Second Summit. *Fox News
Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=060-984&t=c>
(1/24) broadcast, “North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is taking steps toward a
second summit with President Trump.” Benjamin Hall reported Kim has ordered
preparations for the summit “to get underway, adding that he would wait
with patience and in good faith to work toward a common goal.” Meanwhile,
“President Trump addressed critics of the summit, saying, ‘The fake news
media like saying so little happened, wrong! … I expect another good
meeting soon, much potential.’” However, Hall reported, “the two countries
remain at odds over fundamental issues.”
State Department Official: US Offered To Hold Arms Control Talks With
Russia.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=061-259&t=c>
(1/24, Landay) reports that Under Secretary of State Andrea Thompson said
that the Trump Administration “offered to hold arm control talks with
Russia during a United Nations meeting in Beijing next week that almost
certainly would include a feud over a Cold War-era treaty.” According to
Reuters, Thompson “reiterated that the Trump administration will ‘suspend
our obligations’ under the disputed pact if Russia fails to return to
compliance by Feb. 2,” but added that “the move is ‘reversible’ and
Washington has made no final decision on announcing a full U.S.
withdrawal.” Thompson is quoted as saying, “I’m not particularly
optimistic.” Reuters says “the dispute over the 1987 Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has added to the gravest U.S.-Russia tensions
since the end of the Cold War in 1991.”
Treasury Imposes Sanctions On Iranian Militias, Airlines.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=062-051&t=c>
(1/24) reports that the Treasury Department “targeted two Iran-backed
foreign fighter militias in Syria and two airlines that help send weapons
to Syria in fresh sanctions.” Reuters says “all four groups are linked to
Iran’s Mahan Air and Iran’s elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps-Quds Force, both of which are already blacklisted.” Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin released a statement reading: “Treasury’s targeting of
Iran-backed militias and other foreign proxies is part of our ongoing
pressure campaign to shut down the illicit networks the regime uses to
export terrorism and unrest across the globe.”

        *Amnesty International Details Iran’s “Campaign Of Repression”
Targeting Journalists. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=063-684&t=c>
(1/24, Gambrell) reports that Amnesty International said that the
government of Iran “arrested more than 7,000 people last year, including
dozens of journalists, in...a ‘shameless campaign of repression’ as the
U.S. released an American anchorwoman for Iranian state television held for
days as a material witness.” The AP adds, “While Iranian officials and
state media have widely condemned the arrest of Marzieh Hashemi of the
broadcaster’s English-language channel Press TV, the figures released by
Amnesty highlight the widespread campaign of arrest and harassment those in
the media face in the Islamic Republic. Even as Hashemi was released, Iran
sentenced prominent whistleblower journalist Yashar Soltani to five years
in prison after his series of exposes alleging massive corruption in land
deals linked to Tehran’s former mayor.”
US-Backed Forces Moving Against Remaining Two ISIS Villages.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=064-614&t=c>
(1/24) reports the Islamic State’s failure to break a siege by US-backed
Syrian Democratic Forces led to “fierce fighting,” Syrian opposition
activists said, leaving 34 militants and 16 SDF fighters dead. The
extremists only hold two villages and “are likely to lose the areas they
control in Deir el-Zour in the coming few weeks as SDF fighters press their
offensive under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=065-f42&t=c>
(1/24, Callimachi) reports, “Local officials say the militants have been
surrendering by the dozens, repeating a pattern observed in other cities
shortly before the group was overrun.” However, “Western officials caution
that this is not the end of the violent threat posed by the group.”
Analysts say that large numbers of its members “have simply melted into the
population” and recent attacks show ISIS is returning to its “insurgent
roots.” A majority of those surrendering are foreign fighters, who “cannot
blend in with the local population,” and they “are bitterly complaining
that their local counterparts were able to slip away, leaving them to fend
for themselves.”

        *Pending US Withdrawal Spurs Dialogue Between Kurds And Assad
Government. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=066-a13&t=c>
(1/24, Said) reports that Sipan Hemo, the commander of the Syrian Kurdish
YPG militia, “believes talks with the government over the future of the
northeast region will begin in days after a ‘positive’ reaction from
Damascus.” Reuters says “dialogue attempts have revived in the wake of”
President Trump’s “decision to withdraw troops from the Kurdish-led
region.” Reuters reports that Hemo “said U.S. moves to withdraw were
over-hasty and could not happen while the battle against Islamic State
militants still rages.” According to Reuters, “Any deal between the YPG and
President Bashar al-Assad’s state could piece together the two biggest
chunks of a nation splintered by eight years of conflict.”
Progress On Deal For US To Withdraw Troops And Taliban Keep Terrorists From
Afghanistan.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=067-098&t=c>
(1/24, Nordland, Mashal) reports senior Taliban officials and Western
diplomats said that US negotiations with the Taliban “are making headway on
a deal” for the US to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in exchange for
Taliban promised “not to allow the country to host terrorist groups like Al
Qaeda.” Additionally, there would be a “Taliban-supported cease-fire in
Afghanistan and the release of some prisoners by both the United States and
the Taliban.” The Times casts the talks as appearing to have the US “making
concrete concessions in exchange for Taliban commitments that would be hard
to enforce once American forces leave the country.” Meanwhile, “two Western
diplomats in Kabul said the final sticking points were over the timing of
any American withdrawal, and whether it would take place over more or less
than a year’s time,” but “they and other diplomats expressed optimism that
a breakthrough...could be near.”

        *O’Hanlon: Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal “Would Be A Mistake.” *Michael
O’Hanlon of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution writes
in a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=068-2a4&t=c>
(1/24) op-ed that the withdrawal “of up to half the 14,000 American troops”
serving in Afghanistan, as President Trump has reportedly sought, “would be
a mistake. There is still a strong case to sustain America’s longest war –
especially if we redefine it, away from nation-building and toward
something more like an enduring partnership with the Afghan people against
regional and global extremism.” O’Hanlon says the US must view Afghanistan
“as one pillar in a broader regional web of capabilities” against Al Qaeda,
ISIS, “and related movements that show few signs of dissipating.”
Domestic Policy
Breaking News: Roger Stone Indicted By Special Counsel, Arrested By FBI.

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=069-f92&t=c>
(1/25, Murray, Shortell) reports, “Longtime Donald Trump associate Roger
Stone has been indicted by a grand jury on charges brought by special
counsel Robert Mueller. He was arrested by the FBI Friday morning, his
lawyer tells CNN.” Stone “is indicted on seven counts, including one count
of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements,
and one count of witness tampering.” According to CNN, “Law enforcement
raided Stone’s house, and CNN witnessed uniformed and armed law enforcement
approach his house just after 6 a.m. ET in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.” CNN
adds, “Pounding on his door, one agent said: ‘FBI. Open the door,” and
“Stone opened the door.”
Trump Would Consider Temporary CR Deal If It Contained “Large Down Payment”
For Wall.

Senate leaders are negotiating a solution to the government shutdown after
the Upper Chamber yesterday failed to pass the President’s compromise
proposal and the Democrats’ plan. Reports indicate senators are weighing a
temporary CR that would reopen the government for three weeks – in order to
allow for talks on border security. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=06a-edb&t=c>
(1/24, Holland) reports that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said
Trump “would only consider a Senate plan to temporarily fund the government
if it included a ‘large down payment’ on a wall along the border with
Mexico.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=06b-dfd&t=c>
(1/24, Quinn) notes Sanders said in a statement, “Leader Mitch McConnell
and Sen. Chuck Schumer are meeting now to see whether or not they can work
out of the deadlock. ... As was made clear to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the
3-week CR would only work if there is a large down payment on the wall.”

        To ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=06c-0f4&t=c>
(1/24, lead story, 3:30, Karl), however, Trump “is open to a temporary deal
to reopen the government, and didn’t rule out supporting it, even without
money for his border wall.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=06d-de3&t=c>
(1/24, lead story, 1:15, Hunt) said that, at least, “lawmakers are doing
something they haven’t in weeks, they are talking.” The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=06e-ccb&t=c>
(1/24, lead story, 2:40, Cordes) indicated, meanwhile, that the President
“was noncommittal.” Trump was shown saying, “I wouldn’t be happy with it. I
wouldn’t be happy. But we have a lot of alternatives.” CBS added that Trump
“said he would need at least a down payment on a border wall in exchange,”
and House Speaker Pelosi “quickly called that unreasonable.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=06f-6d5&t=c>
(1/24, story 2, 2:30, Alexander) showed Pelosi saying, “That is not a
reasonable agreement between the senators.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=070-bf0&t=c>
(1/24, Litvan, Wasson) reports that echoing Pelosi, a spokesman for Senate
Minority Leader Schumer “said on Thursday night that the minority leader
‘and Senate Democrats have made clear to Leader McConnell and Republicans
that they will not support funding for the wall, prorated or otherwise.’”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=071-b7d&t=c>
(1/24, Sonmez, Wagner) reports that Graham, “who spoke with the president
by phone Thursday afternoon, echoed the White House’s ‘down payment’
language in a statement.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=072-2a3&t=c>
(1/24, Collins, Collins) quotes Graham as saying in a statement, “The way
forward is clear to me: a three-week continuing resolution (CR) that
includes a down payment on wall/barrier funding and priorities of Democrats
for disaster relief, showing good faith from both sides. ... I strongly
urge my Democratic colleagues to work with the White House on a three-week
CR that includes a down payment on wall/barrier funding consistent with
(Department of Homeland Security) priorities.” According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=073-ba4&t=c>
(1/24, Cowan, Cornwell), Graham “told reporters there were bipartisan
efforts in the Senate to win the president’s backing for a three- to
four-week government funding bill that would open shuttered agencies while
border security negotiations take place.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=074-335&t=c>
(1/24, Fritze, Jackson, Collins) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell
and Schumer “began a flurry of talks earlier Thursday over a short-term
funding measure after two competing bills to reopen the government failed
on the Senate floor.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=075-970&t=c>
(1/24, Levine, Caygle) notes that “in a 52-44 vote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=076-bfe&t=c>,
the Senate rejected House-backed legislation that would fund the government
through February 8,” and “in a 50-47 vote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=077-e22&t=c>,
blocked legislation endorsed by President Donald Trump that provided $5.7
billion for his border wall and granted temporary protection for some
undocumented immigrants.” Politico notes that “six Republicans – Susan
Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Lamar
Alexander of Tennessee, Mitt Romney of Utah and Johnny Isakson of Georgia
joined Democrats to vote in favor of the continuing resolution.” The Los
Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=078-329&t=c>
(1/24, Haberkorn) reports Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) “was the only Democrat to
vote in favor of Trump’s plan, while two Republicans,” Sens. Tom Cotton
(R-AR) and Mike Lee (R-UT), voted against it.

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=079-817&t=c>
(1/24, Schultz, Fredericks), Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=07a-940&t=c>
(1/24, Moran), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=07b-e3e&t=c>
(1/24, Carney) and Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=07c-61f&t=c>
(1/24, Peterson, Ballhaus), among other news outlets, also run stories on
yesterday’s votes. To the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=07d-f1f&t=c>
(1/24, Taylor, Fram), it was “an embarrassment to Trump that could weaken
his position” that “the Democratic proposal got two more votes than the GOP
plan.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=07e-fc1&t=c>
(1/24, Dinan) reports, however, that “Trump said those votes were a victory
for his side, because Republicans ‘held’ their own members for the most
part.” Said Trump, “You need 60.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=07f-b68&t=c>
(1/24, Sherfinski) reports Senate Majority Whip Thune “said the GOP
defections weren’t all that surprising, and that everyone just wants to see
the shutdown end in some way.” Said Thune, “I actually think these votes
put the pressure on both sides to meet. ... I think you’re going to see our
leaders sit down in an earnest way.”

        Sen. Angus King (I-ME) spoke with CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=080-6fd&t=c>
(1/24) about President Trump’s proposal for ending the shutdown. When asked
if a continuing resolution could include funds for a border well, he said:
“I think it’s impossible to say. ... I for one have always said border
security is very important. I’m for it. There’s no one who is for open
borders. The Democrats that I have talked to feel the same way. The only
question is, where does that money go and what part goes to technology,
what part goes to ports of entry, what part goes to a barrier? There may be
places where a barrier makes sense.”

        King also told CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=081-1f9&t=c>
(1/24) reports that “we can act in good faith and we can do something
serious about border security. Will it be $5.7 or $2.8 or $6 [billion], but
I think there is room to reach a reasonable accommodation.” He said a
national emergency declaration would probably end the shutdown but “this
isn’t the way our system is designed.” He said it’s “a terrible precedent,
and to me it’s a gross violation of constitutional principles.”

        Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) spoke with CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=082-7db&t=c>
(1/24) about the shutdown. He said, “I’m pleased that the Democratic
proposal with no strings attached got more votes [in the Senate] than
Donald Trump’s own proposal. Very pleased that six Republican senators
broke ranks with the President, including Mitt Romney.” He said he would
not vote for a temporary spending bill that provided “a few hundred million
dollars for a border wall,” because “the principle at stake is that we
cannot allow Donald Trump to use the harm of a government shutdown as a
negotiating tactic.” He said if “Trump reopens government, then everything
is on the table and I’m happy to consider the wall in the context of a
large immigration reform bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship
as” well as protections for DACA recipients.

        *Politico Analysis: White House Now Unsure Of Next Move, Eager To
Cut Losses And Make Deal. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=083-919&t=c>
(1/24, Johnson, Everett, Caygle) reports that “now that the Senate has shot
down President Donald Trump’s compromise offer to end the month-long
government shutdown, White House officials aren’t sure of their next move,”
but “they do know one thing: they’re losing, and they want to cut a deal.”
Politico further refers to “the White House’s new appetite for a negotiated
resolution,” and adds “Trump’s next move remained a mystery to many West
Wing aides even as the White House considered Graham’s proposal Thursday.
But with Trump’s approval rating dropping to its lowest point in a year and
advisers warning of a rising economic toll from the enduring stalemate, the
president and his team are more eager than ever to strike a deal, according
to a half dozen sources familiar with the situation.”

        *WPost Analysis: “When Confronted,” Trump “Does Back Down.”
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=084-f6d&t=c>
(1/24, Fisher) reports that “as president and during four decades in
business,” Trump “has built his brand by promoting himself as someone who
never backed down. When he was hit, he often said, he’d hit back a hundred
times harder.” Yet “at pivotal moments throughout his career, when
confronted by people wielding equal or greater power, Trump has proved to
be someone who does back down.” The Post says Trump’s standoff with Pelosi
over the State of the Union as an example of this pattern, reporting that
his “first instinct was to double down on delivering the speech,” but
“hours later, the president retreated.” The Post quotes “Jeffrey Tulis, a
government professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies
presidential rhetoric,” as saying, “He caves when people are tough with
him.”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=085-d95&t=c>
(1/24, lead story, 3:30, Karl) reported last night that “the President
backed down from his showdown with...Pelosi over his State of the Union
address.” The President “told us the Speaker’s demand that the speech be
delayed until after the shutdown is, quote, reasonable.” Trump was shown
saying, “What she said, I thought, was actually reasonable. We’ll have the
State of the Union when the shutdown is over.”

        Philip Klein of the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=086-3f2&t=c>
(1/24) says the President’s decision “to surrender to...Pelosi’s demand
that he wait until after the government shutdown is resolved to deliver his
State of the Union speech in the House chamber is going to make it a lot
less likely that Pelosi...gives in on the funding for a border wall.” Klein
adds, “Instead of trying to call her bluff by showing up, and forcing her
to shut off the lights on him, or delivering the speech at an alternate
venue, he instead announced he was completely capitulating.” According to
Klein, “Pelosi is now going to see this as weakness.”

        Under the headline “Pelosi Is Schooling Trump. He’s A Slow
Learner,” Eugene Robinson writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=087-ac1&t=c>
(1/24) that “just as he threatened not to surrender over the speech, Trump
insists he will never cave on his demand that Congress give him $5.7
billion for a border wall. As I said, he’s a slow learner.”

        *NYTimes Analysis: Trump “Flummoxed” By Pelosi. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=088-358&t=c>
(1/24, Stolberg) reports that when Trump “is in a fight with a woman, he is
known to lob insults like ‘horseface’ and ‘ugly’ and ‘dog.’” However,
“Trump has never before faced an adversary like...Pelosi.” The Times adds
that “their latest clash...ended with the president capitulating,” showing
that “for a president who prides himself on being a master negotiator, Ms.
Pelosi is a different kind of opponent, and one who so far has flummoxed
him.” The Times also reports that while “longtime friends of the president
say Mr. Trump is not afraid of powerful women...on the rare occasion when
he was challenged by a woman, Mr. Trump was either in charge – or knew the
woman had a boss, usually a man, to whom he could appeal.” But “in this
case, Ms. Pelosi is her own boss. And under the Constitution, she is a
leader of a branch of government that is equal to the chief executive.”

        *Pelosi: House Democrats Will Not Make Counteroffer To Trump. *The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=089-a86&t=c>
(1/24, Lillis) reports the Speaker “said Thursday that House Democrats are
not working behind the scenes to craft a counteroffer to...Trump’s border
wall demands as a strategy for ending the history-making partial shutdown.”
Said Pelosi, “That’s not true. That’s not true. That’s not true.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=08a-93f&t=c>
(1/24, Davis) reports, however, that House Democrats are “discussing a
proposal to spend as much as $5.2 billion on what they are calling a ‘smart
wall’ with drones, sensors, some additional fencing, but no wall.”

        *GOP Senators Had Tense Lunch Meeting Over Shutdown. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=08b-47f&t=c>
(1/24, Sullivan, Kane) reports Republican senators “clashed with one
another and confronted Vice President Pence inside a private luncheon on
Thursday, as anger hit a boiling point over the longest government shutdown
in history.” According to attendees, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) blamed Senate
Majority Leader McConnell for the impasse, leading McConnell to reply, “Are
you suggesting I’m enjoying this?” The Post says the “argument was one of
several heated moments in a lunch that came just before the Senate voted on
the opposing plans to end the shutdown offered by President Trump and
Democrats.”

        *Bennet Attacks Cruz Over Shutdown In Senate Speech. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=08c-4bb&t=c>
(1/24, Arkin) reports Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) “railed against” Sen. Ted
Cruz (R-TX) “in a lengthy tirade on the Senate floor Thursday, accusing him
of shedding ‘crocodile tears’ over Coast Guard members not being paid
during the government shutdown. Bennet, normally a reserved and low-key
senator, shouted repeatedly as he attacked Cruz,” criticizing Cruz “for his
central role in forcing the government to shut down in 2013” over the
Affordable Care Act. Bennet said, “When the senator from Texas shut this
government down in 2013, my state was flooded. ... People were killed.
People’s houses were destroyed. Their small businesses were ruined
forever.” Cruz “fired back after Bennet wrapped up his speech, saying those
without facts or law on their side of an argument ‘bang the table.’”
Media Analyses: Ross, Kudlow Show Administration’s Difficulties Showing
Empathy During Shutdown.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=08d-8cd&t=c>
(1/24, Lemire) reports Commerce Secretary Ross “set off howls” on Thursday
when he “questioned why cash-poor workers were using food banks instead of
taking out loans.” During a CNBC appearance, Ross was asked about “reports
that some of the 800,000 workers currently not receiving paychecks were
going to homeless shelters to get food.” Ross said, “Well, I know they are,
and I don’t really quite understand why. The obligations that they would
undertake, say borrowing from a bank or a credit union, are, in effect,
federally guaranteed. So the 30 days of pay that some people will be out.
... There’s no real reason why they shouldn’t be able to get a loan against
it.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=08e-f69&t=c>
(1/24, story 3, 1:45, Holt) reported some workers are “responding to
[Ross], who suggested they should just take out loans.” FAA Academy
Instructor Ileta Young: “I wasn’t behind on my bills until the shutdown.
Why should I have to take out a loan for something that was not even my
fault? Let me get back to work.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=08f-e0d&t=c>
(1/24, Cummings) reports Ross’ remarks came “a day before the impacted
federal workers will miss another paycheck due to the longest government
shutdown in U.S. history.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=090-e76&t=c>
(1/24, Shannon) reports President Trump told reports that “he was
unfamiliar with the specifics of Ross’ comments,” but “he offered a
possible explanation: That federal workers who have been furloughed or
forced to work without pay should be able to easily get relief from
businesses in their community.” The President said, “Perhaps he should have
said it differently. Local people know who they are, [where] they go for
groceries and everything else. ... They will work along. I know banks are
working along. ... And that’s what happens in time like this.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=091-0e4&t=c>
(1/24, Flitter, Bernard) writes that “the nation’s four biggest banks –
Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo – don’t offer
personal loans at all, meaning workers who keep their accounts there would
need to look elsewhere,” and “the credit union affiliated with Mr. Ross’s
department – the Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union – is offering
shutdown loans of up to $5,000 with an interest rate of 8.99 percent,”
which “is higher than some commercially available loans not pegged to the
shutdown.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=092-147&t=c>
(1/24, Haberkorn) says Ross “expressed bewilderment over unpaid federal
workers who are seeking charity to feed themselves,” prompting House
Speaker Pelosi to tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=093-cfe&t=c>,
“This just goes to show how out of touch Trump, his cabinet and Republicans
in Washington are. They just don’t understand what it means to live
paycheck to paycheck.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=094-bf3&t=c>
(1/24, Rogers) reports Pelosi also “invoked the French Revolution. ‘Is this
the “let them eat cake” kind of attitude,’ Ms. Pelosi said, ‘or call your
father for money?’ – a reference to an earlier taunt of the president after
a shutdown meeting.”

        CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=095-b45&t=c>
(1/24, Bennett) reports NEC Director Kudlow “was dispatched Thursday as the
White House’s shutdown handyman, attempting to repair any damage done” by
Ross, but the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=096-c5c&t=c>
(1/24, Rucker, Dawsey, Paletta) reports that Kudlow “called the shutdown
‘just a glitch.’ He went on in a midday gaggle with reporters: ‘Am I out of
touch? I don’t think I’m out of touch. I’m addressing the problem. I’ve met
with my individual staff members and God bless them. They’re working for
free. They’re volunteering. But they do it because they believe government
service is honorable and they believe in President Trump.’” The Post calls
this “tone-deafness” on the part of the Administration.

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=097-013&t=c>
(1/24, Lemire) says Trump “and his team, which includes the wealthiest
Cabinet ever assembled, have struggled to deliver a full dose of empathy
for those who are scraping to get by.” Council of Economic Advisers
Chairman Hassett “said early in the shutdown that some furloughed employees
were, ‘in some sense, they’re better off’ because people who were already
taking vacation over the holidays ultimately would not be charged for their
already-planned trip,” and the President’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump “said
this week that for the furloughed workers, ‘It is a little bit of pain, but
it’s going to be for the future of our country.’”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=098-659&t=c>
(1/24) asks in an editorial, “Does anyone in the White House understand the
meaning of the word ‘empathy’? It’s bad enough that 800,000 government
workers, and a million or more federal contractors, are about to miss their
second paycheck because of the five-week partial government shutdown. It’s
even worse that some of them are being forced to stand in food lines, or
choose between medicine and mortgage payments.”

        The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=099-22d&t=c>
(1/24, Enjeti) headlines its report “Super-Rich Commerce Secretary
Questions Why Federal Workers Without Pay Need Food Banks.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=09a-35a&t=c>
(1/24, Heavey) and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=09b-dfb&t=c>
(1/24, Choi) also cover Ross’ remarks.

        *WPost: Shutdown Hurting “Most Vulnerable.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=09c-602&t=c>
(1/24) says in an editorial that the government shutdown “is taking a
greater and greater toll on the most vulnerable. Some are dipping into
savings; others may have scant savings to dip into at all. In the D.C. area
last week, one organization alone gave food to 1,140 workers who queued in
the cold for bags of produce. ... Even Americans who do not work for the
government still rely on it every day.” The Post says the nation “needs
these furloughed employees as much as they need compensation. If they
cannot work, less and less else will.”

        On ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=09d-bd3&t=c>
(1/24, story 2, 2:20), David Muir said, “We have never seen this in our
country before. As the political battles play out, the real pain for
families across the country. ... Some rationing medicine, others pleading
with banks for their mortgage.”

        *Airlines Warn Of More Delays And Cancellations If Shutdown
Persists. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=09e-a77&t=c>
(1/24, Tangel, Sider) reports on its front page that major US airlines
including American, JetBlue, and Southwest warned of more delays and
canceled flights if the government shutdown does not end soon. JetBlue CEO
Robin Hayes said, “We are close to a tipping point. The longer this goes
on, the longer it will take for air travel infrastructure to rebound.”

        *CBP Agents Working Without Pay Along US-Mexico Border. *The CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=09f-384&t=c>
(1/24, story 2, 2:20, Glor) ran a feature on “a busy day at the Arizona
border,” where “Customs and Border Patrol agents are working without pay.”
CBS’ Mireya Villarreal reported that CBP agent Fernando Grijalva “says
these patrols are dangerous, but that hasn’t stopped him or agents from
doing their jobs, despite not being paid because of the shutdown.”
Grijalva: “They believe that strongly in the mission, and they know that we
have a job to do.”

        *Some Skilled Federal Workers Consider Moving To Private Sector. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a0-fd0&t=c>
(1/24, Paquette) reports some skilled federal workers, who have “skills
employers crave in this historically tight labor market,” are mulling
leaving the federal workforce for the private sector. While “official
departure numbers are unknown for now as the shutdown continues, and
authorities say it won’t be possible to tally the exodus until after work
returns to normal at federal agencies...a new problem is emerging amid the
nation’s longest-ever funding stalemate: the potential exodus of highly
skilled workers.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a1-372&t=c>
(1/24, Robertson) writes, “If public service loses its allure, it will make
it harder to recruit and hold onto the experienced and talented, those who
can build spacecraft but also the people who battle epidemics, predict
hurricanes and keep the food supply safe.” FEMA employee and union chief
Steve Reaves “said he knew firsthand of six experienced people who had left
the agency since the shutdown began.”
US To Return Asylum Seekers To Mexico Starting Friday.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a2-6ff&t=c>
(1/24, Daniel) reports, according to a spokesman for Mexican President
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the US “will return the first group of
migrants seeking asylum in the United States to the Mexican border city of
Tijuana on Friday.” The spokesman “did not specify the nationalities of
those to be returned to Mexico, although the policy was aimed at helping
cope with rising numbers of Central Americans seeking asylum in the United
States.” Reuters reports the “countries have held two meetings to work out
details of the plan to return migrants seeking U.S. asylum across the
shared border.” Meanwhile, “serious doubts exist over whether Mexico can
keep Central American asylum seekers...safe” and it’s “unclear how Mexico
plans to house what could be thousands of asylum seekers for the months –
or years – it takes U.S. immigration cases to be heard.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a3-ef9&t=c>
(1/24, Nakamura) reports, according to a fact sheet distributed by DHS,
“Certain aliens attempting to enter the U.S. illegally or without
documentation, including those who claim asylum, will no longer be released
into the country, where they often fail to file an asylum application or
disappear before an immigration judge can determine the merits of any claim
to prevent removal.” DHS Secretary Nielsen called the new measure
“unprecedented” and aimed at addressing “the ongoing humanitarian and
security crisis at our Southern border.” Nielsen said, “For far too long,
our immigration system has been exploited by smugglers, traffickers, and
those who have no legal right to remain in the United States.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a4-607&t=c>
(1/24, Linthicum) reports that a Homeland Security official confirmed
“border officers will start pushing asylum applicants back across the
border as soon as the implementation becomes operational on Friday,
beginning at the San Ysidro port of entry in California.” Meanwhile,
migrant advocates say “the plan will put asylum seekers at risk by
requiring them to wait in Mexican border cities with some of the deadliest
homicide rates in the world.” According to another federal employee, “on
Wednesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials briefed
asylum workers on how to interview individuals affected under the new
policy, saying it would be rolled out imminently.” However, Arturo Rocha, a
spokesman for Mexico’s foreign ministry, “said Thursday that U.S. officials
had not informed the Mexican government that they were beginning to
implement the policy.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a5-3b1&t=c>
(1/24, Spagat) reports that “if it survives an anticipated legal challenge,
it would be one of the most significant changes to the U.S. immigration
system of Donald Trump’s presidency.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a6-767&t=c>
(1/24, Caldwell) reports that asylum seeks who are returned to Mexico will
be granted re-entry on the day of their immigration hearings, will be taken
back to Mexico following those hearings, and allowed back for any
subsequent hearings.

        *Migrant Caravan Swells To Over 10,000. *Fox News Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a7-e59&t=c>
(1/24) broadcast, “There is increasing activity” at Mexico’s southern
border, where Central American migrants bound for the US are crossing from
Guatemala. William La Jeunesse reported Mexico opened its border with
Guatemala, offering Central Americans humanitarian visas after verifying
their identity, allowing them to stay in Mexico or continue to the US. La
Jeunesse reported “Mexico said Wednesday the latest caravan surged to over
10,000, 30 percent larger than last year, 80 percent Honduran, 22 percent
minors.” La Jeunesse added that “tomorrow, the US plans to implement a new
program requiring asylum seekers stay in Mexico while the US decides their
claim.”

        *USCBP: Cartels Using Large Groups, Sick Migrants As “Cover.”
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a8-78b&t=c>
(1/24, Dinan) reports “the number of illegal immigrants who showed up at
the U.S. border in need of medical attention has soared in recent weeks,
even as the number of large groups has also surged.” Border Patrol agents
“say they’re being taken off line watch duties to either shepherd the sick
as they go to the hospital, or have to process the groups of people.” US
Customs and Border Protection said, “Smugglers and traffickers then use
these large groups as ‘cover’ while USBP resources are utilized to arrest
and [for] detention-related duties associated with the large groups.” CBP
said that since October 1 “some 53 large groups – defined as 100 or more
migrants traveling together – were encountered, totaling nearly 8,800
people.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Subpoenas Cohen.

ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0a9-7e1&t=c>
(1/24, story 6, 1:50, Muir) reported that 24 hours after “Michael Cohen
suddenly revealed he would not testify to the American people because of
threats from the President,” the Senate Intelligence Committee has issued
Cohen a subpoena for a closed door hearing. President Trump suggested it is
Cohen’s father-in-law who should be investigated. He said, “He should give
information maybe on his father-in-law, because that’s the one that people
want to look at.” Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani also “suggested he might be a
criminal – without any evidence.” Giuliani said, “His father-in-law has
millions and millions. I’m telling you, he comes from the Ukraine. This
reason that is important is, he may have ties to something called organized
crime.” Trump denied threatening Cohen, saying; “No, I would say he’s been
threatened by the truth. He’s only been threatened by the truth.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0aa-84b&t=c>
(1/24, story 4, 1:50, Glor) reported Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, said he
“will say as much as he can about his longtime boss, without jeopardizing
the Mueller investigation for which he is a key witness.” CBS said “the
President kept up his attacks this morning, going after both Cohen and
Davis and his ties to Hillary Clinton” in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0ab-8ae&t=c>
that stated: “So interesting that bad lawyer Michael Cohen, who sadly will
not be testifying before Congress, is using the lawyer of Crooked Hillary
Clinton to represent him – Gee, how did that happen? Remember July 4th
weekend when Crooked went before FBI & wasn’t sworn in, no tape, nothing?”
Now Davis, “wants the House to censure President Trump for obstruction of
justice and witness tampering.” Davis said, “The President of the United
States has engaged in witness tampering, not just by criticizing Mr. Cohen,
but by attacking his family.”

        In a brief report, NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0ac-031&t=c>
(1/24, story 4, 0:15, Holt) said “Cohen is set to begin his three-year
prison sentence in March.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0ad-77e&t=c>
(1/24, Haberman, Fandos, Sullivan) says that while Cohen’s “initial
agreement to appear before the Oversight Committee had been voluntary...he
will have little choice in complying with the Senate request.” The Times
adds that “Democrats in charge of the House Oversight and Intelligence
committees have signaled in recent days that they may follow suit and issue
subpoenas of their own, despite acknowledging Mr. Cohen’s safety concerns.”
The Times also reports that “unlike the Oversight session, Mr. Cohen’s
return to the Senate Intelligence Committee will almost certainly be behind
closed doors.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0ae-967&t=c>
(1/24, Demirjian) reports that “it is not clear if the House Oversight and
Intelligence committees also plan to issue subpoenas” for Cohen, though
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) said “many Oversight Committee Democrats are
eager to do so and have Cohen provide public testimony before he is
scheduled to report to prison.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0af-a5a&t=c>
(1/24, Alexander, Freifeld) reports that on MSNBC, Davis “accused Trump of
attacking Cohen’s father-in-law ‘as a way of getting to Mr. Cohen, and that
is called witness tampering, obstruction of justice.’” Reuters says Davis
called on Congress “to protect Mr. Cohen by voting a resolution of censure
that you can criticize Mr. Cohen but don’t attack a man’s family and
intimidate a witness before Congress.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b0-8ac&t=c>
(1/24, Yilek) reports the subpoena for Cohen is to appear sometime in
mid-February and it’s “likely that the hearing will be behind closed
doors.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b1-b31&t=c>
(1/24, Ballhaus, Volz) also reports that a person close to Cohen said he is
scheduled to testify before the committee in a closed-door session on
February 12.

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b2-fc6&t=c>
(1/24, Galioto, Samuelsohn) reports that “on Thursday, Davis said there
should be a criminal investigation into Giuliani for witness tampering and
intimidation, calling Trump’s lawyer ‘mentally unstable’ for his alleged
attacks on Cohen’s wife and father-in-law.”

        Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b3-53a&t=c>
(1/24) about House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff’s plans to subpoena
Cohen. He said, “Cohen testified to the House Intelligence Committee and
lied. That’s why he’s in part going to jail. So I think we have reason to
have him give us a come clean account of what really happened.” He
continued, “We want to get a full account just exactly what he was
protecting for the President, why he lied, and then what did candidate
Trump know about Russian efforts.” Also reporting the story are the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b4-dd8&t=c>
(1/24, Sisak, Tucker), the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b5-2c3&t=c>
(1/24, Costa), and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b6-f74&t=c>
(1/24, Chalfant), among other news outlets.
Neal Indicates He Will Not Rush Seeking Trump’s Tax Returns.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b7-bb7&t=c>
(1/24) reports House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal has “signaled
he’ll proceed with caution on requesting President Donald Trump’s tax
returns, despite pressure from liberal groups to make it a top priority.”
Neal told reporters, “This has to be part of a carefully prepared and
documented legal case. ... It’s not subject to just whim and the emotion of
the moment.” House Speaker Pelosi “said shortly after her party won control
of the House in November’s mid-term elections that asking the Treasury
Department to release Trump’s tax returns...would be one of the first
things accomplish.” But Democrats “are moving slowly and haven’t set a
timetable.”
Census Bureau Survey Finds Americans Fear Citizenship Question.

Stephan Dinan writes in the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b8-59c&t=c>
(1/24) that “members of key minority communities are convinced that the
government wants to ask about citizenship on the 2020 census in order to
find and deport illegal immigrants, according to a Census Bureau report
that shows the hurdles the administration faces.” Dinan says “those
concerns are unwarranted” because “the census is not designed to sniff out
illegal immigrants, nor is it used to assess taxes or determine the
unemployment rate.” The survey found “less than a third of people were able
to correctly answer a battery of questions about what the census is meant
to do” and “only a little more than half of those surveyed knew that the
census counts citizens and noncitizens alike, and 6 percent thought the
count was used by the FBI to track lawbreakers.”

        *WSJournal: Census Citizenship Question Should Be Heard By Supreme
Court. *In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0b9-7c7&t=c>
(1/24) says a federal judge recently enjoined the Commerce Department from
adding a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census. The Journal says
the judge apparently agreed with Census Bureau civil servants opposed the
citizenship question. The Journal urges the Supreme Court to take up an
impending appeal from the Trump Administration, stating that an
unconstrained administrative state is a threat to self-government.
Cancer Research
FDA Recommends Limitations In Using Lilly’s Soft Tissue Sarcoma Drug.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0ba-2bf&t=c>
(1/24, Cortez, Edney) reports the FDA issued an announcement recommending
that Eli Lilly & Co.’s cancer drug Lartruvo for soft tissue sarcoma not be
prescribed in new patients, and “patients who are currently receiving
Lartruvo should consult with their health-care provider about whether to
remain on the treatment.” The recommendations come in light of “a key study
that failed to show the medicine prolonged lives.” The European Medicines
Agency made a similar announcement Wednesday, “saying no new patients
should start treatment until the full results of the study, known as
Announce, were made available.”
Suicide Risk Increased In Year After Cancer Diagnosis, Study Suggests.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0bb-d3f&t=c>
(1/24, Rapaport) reports that research suggests “a diagnosis with certain
types of cancer can still be upsetting enough to increase a patient’s risk
of suicide.” Investigators looked at “data on more than 4.6 million cancer
patients, including 1,585 people who died by suicide within one year of
their diagnosis.” The data indicated “this was a suicide rate about 2.5
times higher than what would be expected in the general population.” The
findings
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0bc-a3a&t=c>
were published online Jan. 7 in the journal Cancer.
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Venezuela: Between Maduro And A Hard Place.”* The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0bd-5f5&t=c>
(1/24) writes that the Trump Administration is right to support interim
President Juan Guaidó but warns, “the confrontation of two presidents
raised terrifying prospects of carnage” and “American intervention also
carries risk.” In particular, “Any military intervention could prove
catastrophic, especially if Russia” stepped in. Additionally, “sanctions on
Venezuelan oil would risk worsening the humanitarian disaster.” Due to “the
history of American support for right-wing dictatorships in Latin America,”
the Times argues the United States needs to “be seen as participating in a
broad coalition of South American and other democratic nations seeking to
help Venezuelans achieve a peaceful end to a destructive dictatorship.”
Washington Post.

*“It’s Time For Maryland And Virginia To Embrace Ranked-Choice Voting.”*
The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0be-4be&t=c>
(1/24) says “legislation in Virginia would permit localities to move to
ranked-choice voting...in elections for boards of supervisors and city
councils.” Meanwhile, “in Maryland, bills have been introduced that would
allow Montgomery County and Baltimore to use ranked-choice voting in
elections for county and city offices.” The Post states that “last year,
the number of jurisdictions acting to adopt this form of voting more than
doubled as officials came to recognize its advantages in better reflecting
the will of voters.” The Post concludes that the pending bills allow the
localities to decide whether to make the switch to ranked-choice voting and
they “urge Maryland and Virginia lawmakers to allow this to happen.”

        *“Is The End To Venezuela’s Nightmare In Sight?” *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0bf-783&t=c>
(1/24) writes, “There are some encouraging signs” that Venezuelan may
finally “free themselves from the disastrous regime founded by Hugo
Chávez.” The country’s “National Assembly’s assertion of itself as an
alternative government and the multilateral support it has attracted have
created at least the potential for the latest Venezuelan crisis to take a
different course.” The Post calls for “skillful U.S. diplomacy,” warning
against the US “allowing itself to become isolated in a confrontation with
the Maduro regime,” and in particular, “unless the lives of Americans are
endangered and there is no other recourse, military intervention would be
folly.” The Post also warns that any talks will just be used, again, by the
regime “to buy time and divide the opposition,” and that a boycott of
Venezuelan oil could hurt ordinary Venezuelans. The Post calls for the US
and its allies to move to help Venezuelans while bolstering Juan Guaidó.

        *“America’s Furloughed Workers Need To Be Paid. And America Needs
Those Workers On The Job.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012501biden&r=email-d3a6&l=0c0-00e&t=c>
(1/24) says “the shutdown of 25 percent of the government, now 34 days
long, is taking a greater and greater toll on the most vulnerable” federal
workers who “are dipping into savings [or] may have scant savings to dip
into at all.” Meanwhile, “even Americans who do not work for the government
still rely on it every day,” from the investigations conducted by the FBI
to the inspections conducted by the FDA. Finally, “the processes that have
less of a direct and immediate impact on Americans receive less attention,
but they are crucial, too – from collecting the data that farmers rely on
to plant crops in Iowa and that scientists at the National Weather Service
use to model hurricanes, to recruiting new talent.” The Post concludes that
a vote by lawmakers Thursday not to end the shutdown is “another rank
abdication of duty.”

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