Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday, January 28, 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: Mon, 28 Jan 2019 10:01:49 -0500

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Monday, January 28, 2019 7:57 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday,
January 28, 2019

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=000-3f0&t=c>
mobile-optimized online version, including download options and an audio
reader.*

[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=001-0fb&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Monday, January 28, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Biden Allies Say He Feels No Pressure To Quickly Enter 2020 Race. <#S1>

• NYTimes: Trump Views Biden “As His Most Dangerous Potential Opponent.”
<#S2>

• No Labels CEO, Editorial Decry Criticism Of Biden’s Praise Of GOP
Lawmaker. <#S3>

• Juan Williams Decries Liberals’ “Racial” Attacks On 2020 Contenders. <#S4>

• Progressive Writer Can’t Envision Biden Winning Democratic Nomination.
<#S5>

• Writer Likens Biden To Canada’s Chrétien. <#S6>

• Some 2020 Democratic Contenders Likely To Draw Scrutiny Over Links To
Wall Street. <#S7>

• Former Democratic Presidents Not Likely To Issue Endorsements In 2020
Primaries. <#S8>

• Most Top Democratic Donors Taking Wait-And-See Approach Early In Primary.
<#S9>

• Report Highlights Biden’s Praise Of Buffalo On Implementing Green
Initiatives. <#S10>

• Delaware Man Finds Lost Biden Cufflink, Returns It To Him. <#S11>

• NH Poll: Trump Trails Warren And Sanders By 13 Points, O’Rourke By Seven.
<#S12>

• Harris Launches Presidential Bid With Attacks On Trump Policies. <#S13>

• Clinton Not Ruling Out A 2020 Presidential Bid. <#S14>

• Sources: Sanders’ Announcement Of 2020 Presidential Bid Is Imminent.
<#S15>

• NYTimes Analysis: Warren Highlights Policy Details To Stand Out In
Democratic Field. <#S16>

• O’Rourke Says It Could Be Months Before He Decides On 2020 Race. <#S17>

• Bloomberg Tries Out Appeal At Virginia Democratic Meeting. <#S18>

• Ex-Starbucks Chief Schultz Mulling Independent Bid; Democrats Alarmed.
<#S19>

• Professor: Democrats Should Choose A 2020 Nominee With No Ties To
Washington. <#S20>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Weighs Executive Action To Build Border Wall, Skeptical Of Making
Deal With Congress. <#S21>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• ISIS Claims Responsibility For Philippines Cathedral Bombing. <#S22>

• WPost Analysis: Defeat Of Remaining ISIS Fighters Raises Stakes For US’
Syria Withdrawal. <#S23>

• Baghdad Struggles To Regain Footing After Defeat Of ISIS. <#S24>

• US Envoy Seeks Cooperation From Ghani Over Taliban Peace Process. <#S25>

• Amid Growing Standoff, Maduro Backs Off Demand That US Diplomats Leave
Venezuela. <#S26>

• Trump, Stoltenberg: Pressure On NATO To Boost Spending Paying Off. <#S27>

• US Lifts Sanctions On Russian Aluminum Giant Linked To Deripaska. <#S28>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Trump Blasts Stone Indictment, Decries Mueller “Witch Hunt.” <#S29>

• Christie: Trump, Kushner Thought Firing Flynn Would End The “Russia
Thing.” <#S30>

• Scalise Urges Pelosi To Schedule State Of The Union “Quickly.” <#S31>

• WSJournal/NBC Poll: 51% Approve Of Trump’s Management Of Economy. <#S32>

• NYTimes Analysis: World Economy Struggles To Escape Low-Growth And
Low-Inflation. <#S33>

• New Tax Law Creating Uncertainty About 2019 Refunds. <#S34>

• Trump Golf Club Accused Of Hiring Illegal Immigrants. <#S35>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• Sharpless Announces NCI Clinical Trials Will Cover Areas Neglected By
Industry. <#S36>

• Study Finds Blood Cancers Associated With Higher Treatment, Out-Of-Pocket
Costs. <#S37>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S38>

• Washington Post. <#S39>
Biden in the News
Biden Allies Say He Feels No Pressure To Quickly Enter 2020 Race.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=002-10a&t=c>
(1/27, Parnes) reported that allies of former vice president Joe Biden say
he “isn’t feeling any pressure to announce a presidential bid, allies to
the former vice president say.” As other Democrats wade into the 2020 race,
“sources who have spoken to Biden in recent days say he’s letting the
process play out before revealing his intentions. Behind the scenes,
however, Biden is proceeding as if he is going to enter the” contest,
“reaching out to key Democrats, swapping emails with donors and speaking at
notable events that keep his name in the mix.” The Hill quoted a “source
who has spoken to” Biden as saying, “He’s getting in front of as many
people as possible. He’s building a case for himself with people who’d be
important not just in Iowa and New Hampshire but folks across the country.”
NYTimes: Trump Views Biden “As His Most Dangerous Potential Opponent.”

Under the headline “A Bruised Trump Faces Uncertain 2020 Prospects. His
Team Fears A Primary Fight,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=003-7cc&t=c>
(1/26, A1, Burns, Martin, Haberman) reported that President Trump’s “defeat
in his border-wall standoff with Congress has clouded his already perilous”
reelection hopes, “undercutting” his “cherished image as a forceful leader
and deft negotiator, and emboldening alike his Democratic challengers and
Republican dissenters who hope to block his” oath to a second term. While
the article continues to focus on that theme, the Times also reported that
Trump “is especially fixated on two well-known Democrats, speaking
frequently about” former Vice President Joe Biden, “whom Mr. Trump regards
as his most dangerous potential opponent, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of
Massachusetts.”
No Labels CEO, Editorial Decry Criticism Of Biden’s Praise Of GOP Lawmaker.

In a blog entry on the website of The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=004-ea9&t=c>
(1/25), Nancy Jacobson co-founder and CEO of No Labels, highlighted a
recent New York Times article
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=005-681&t=c>
about how former Vice President Joe Biden on “had the temerity to praise”
veteran Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) “during a speech to a Midwest audience in
the run-up to the 2018 election.” Jacobson said that with Biden now
weighing a run for president, Democrats are slamming Biden. Jacobson said,
“This sad little vignette exemplifies exactly what is wrong with American
politics today.” Jacobson added, “Biden’s speech, and both his and Upton’s
response demonstrates the kind of basic decency and bipartisan spirit that
most Americans long for—and which could pay off handsomely at the ballot
box if either party can stop being the ideological purity police and return
to a focus on commonsense governance.”

        In an editorial, the St. Joseph (MI) Herald Palladium
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=006-4cb&t=c>
(1/27) similarly highlighted the Times’ article on Biden, saying “it
provided a good example of what is wrong with politics in America. ... The
overall theme of the article: Is Biden too bipartisan (hanging out with
Republicans and saying nice things about one of them) to win the Democratic
nomination for president?” The editorial added that the “episode won’t make
or break Biden’s presidential bid, but it offers a sad picture of the
political climate we are in. And though we’re pointing fingers at Democrats
in this example, this truly is a bipartisan problem.”

        *Writer Rips Biden’s History Of Siding With Republicans On
“Harmful” Legislation. *In a “news analysis” for TruthOut
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=007-e7e&t=c>
(1/27), Sam Knight criticizes Biden for praising Upton, saying that his
explanation last week, the former Vice President “didn’t mention...that
Upton...voted in 2017 to repeal the Affordable Care Act. If the legislation
had passed the Senate, it would have deprived 23 million people of health
insurance.” And Biden’s “blithe reference to working with Republicans and
‘[getting] anything done’ also glosses over his long history of backing
extremely harmful pieces of legislation with broad support in Washington,”
as well as voting “to authorize the invasion of Iraq in 2003.”
Juan Williams Decries Liberals’ “Racial” Attacks On 2020 Contenders.

In his column for The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=008-4a0&t=c>
(1/28), Juan Williams asks, “How painful and ironic will it be if racial
debates inside the Democratic Party are allowed to weaken the focus on”
defeating President Trump “and his racism? For example, look at the attacks
coming from the left against...former Vice President Joe Biden,” who is
being slammed “for his support of President Clinton’s 1994 crime bill,”
which “had support from the Congressional Black Caucus at the time, being
seen as an answer to high crime rates in black neighborhoods. But the old
crime bill is now condemned by today’s activists, who take their cues from
the Black Lives Matter movement.” Williams adds, “Democrats across the
racial spectrum have to keep in mind that they have far more in common with
each other than they do with Trump, a man whose racist rhetoric and white
identity policies are damaging people of every color daily.”
Progressive Writer Can’t Envision Biden Winning Democratic Nomination.

Writing for the National Catholic Reporter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=009-92d&t=c>
(1/25), Michael Sean Winters said that if former Vice President Joe Biden
enters the 2020 race for the White House, “he is running as the high-low
candidate, the one person who can unite, at the outset, both the
neo-liberal Clinton/Obama wing of the party and the highly energized,
economic populist wing of the party. He is more closely associated with the
neo-liberal wing,” though he “is deeply respected by, even loved, by old
pro-labor, economic populists like me.” However, Winters added, “I can
imagine [Biden] beating [President] Trump, but I can’t imagine him winning
the primaries, only harming the eventual winner. And I can’t imagine him
being the kind of president the country needs, someone determined to begin
tearing down the neo-liberal economic order.”
Writer Likens Biden To Canada’s Chrétien.

In a Globe and Mail (CAN)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=00a-9fd&t=c>
(1/25) op-ed, Peter Donolo, who served as director of communications for
ex-Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and is currently vice-chair of H+K
Strategies Canada, likens former Vice President Joe Biden to Chrétien,
saying that Chrétien ran for PM at a time when Canada was “bitterly
divided” and Biden may run for president in 2020 at a time when the US is
also divided. Consequently, Donolo asked “why wouldn’t Americans look to a
comforting, experienced hand” like Biden, “just as Canadians did 25 years
ago” with Chrétien, whose “political longevity and experience were
reassuring to a nervous and fearful electorate”? Donolo added that Biden
and Chrétien share a “plain and self-deprecating style.”
Some 2020 Democratic Contenders Likely To Draw Scrutiny Over Links To Wall
Street.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=00b-328&t=c>
(1/26, Burke, Lane) reported, “Ties to Wall Street and corporate interests
are raising concerns about a number of high-profile Democratic candidates
considering White House bids.” The Hill said that Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) “are likely to face questions about money
they’ve received from financial institutions in Wall Street, according to
strategists.” At the same time, former Vice President Joe Biden also has
links “to banks and credit-card companies, dating back to his years in the
Senate.” And Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) may “face scrutiny over her
reluctance in 2013 to prosecute Steven Mnuchin’s OneWest Bank when she was
attorney general of California. The pushback could come as” contenders like
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “turn to small
donations to fuel campaigns, avoiding corporate donations that they, and
many in the Democratic base, believe taint the electoral process.”

        *Several Democratic Hopefuls Have Pledged Not To Accept Super PAC
Donations. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=00c-f9f&t=c>
(1/27, McLaughlin) reports that with the launch of her presidential
campaign on Sunday, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) added “to the growing field
of would-be 2020 Democratic Party nominees another candidate who has
pledged to disavow ‘super PAC activity.’” The Times says that Harris, Sen.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and ex-HUD Secretary Julian Castro have heeded
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) “demand that the field of 2020 Democratic
contenders rule out super PACs and focus on running grass-roots powered
campaigns fueled by small-dollar donations.” The Times added, “The field of
contenders is going to have to weigh the risk versus reward of eschewing
super PACs, which, unlike individual donors that are capped out at $2,700
in contributions in the primary, can raise unlimited sums of money but
cannot coordinate with a candidate.”
Former Democratic Presidents Not Likely To Issue Endorsements In 2020
Primaries.

Writing for the Daily Intelligencer (NY)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=00d-3d1&t=c>
(1/25), Gabriel Debenedetti said that the 2020 Democratic presidential
primary will “probably be the first contested Democratic primary in a while
where the party’s living presidents don’t play much of an active role –
Barack Obama, at least, isn’t expected to endorse anyone in the primary,
and it’d come as a surprise if Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter did, either.”
The three, however, are “all still paying very close attention now that the
action’s really started, after taking quiet meetings with the potential
candidates for months. Not only did Cory Booker meet with Carter in Georgia
ahead of his expected campaign launch this month, but Julián Castro spoke
briefly with both Obama and Clinton – as well as Hillary Clinton – after
announcing his own bid, the former Housing secretary told me last week.”
Most Top Democratic Donors Taking Wait-And-See Approach Early In Primary.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=00e-c6e&t=c>
(1/28, Slodysko) reports, “With as many as two dozen Democrats potentially
running for the White House and no immediate front-runner, the money race”
for now “is largely frozen, according to fundraisers. Though some donors
have a preferred candidate, others who are spending are spreading their
money across the field to hedge their bets. More often, donors are staying
on the sidelines until the contours of the primary take shape. ‘I’m not
aware of anyone who is giving now,’ said Andy Spahn, a Los Angeles-based
fundraiser and conduit to Hollywood wealth who has been courted by multiple
contenders. ‘People first want to know who will actually be in the race.’”
Report Highlights Biden’s Praise Of Buffalo On Implementing Green
Initiatives.

In an online article, WGRZ-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=00f-2f6&t=c>
Buffalo, NY (1/25, Shannon) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden
“said, ‘Mayor [Byron] Brown is getting it done in Buffalo.’ At the United
States Conference of Mayors, Biden spoke about his time in the Obama
Administration and the progress made fighting climate change.” Biden also
“recognized Buffalo as an example of a city effectively implementing green
initiatives, including progress accommodating electric vehicles. In
reference to renewable energy, Biden said, ‘We need to understand that this
is the most urgent priority facing the nation.’ Mayor Brown posted the clip
to his Facebook, and he thanked the former Vice President for the
recognition.”
Delaware Man Finds Lost Biden Cufflink, Returns It To Him.

The Cape (DE) Gazette
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=010-7f3&t=c>
(1/25, Drsicoll) reported on how Jack Vassalotti of Lewes, Delaware last
month found a cufflink on the Boardwalk in Rehoboth that “was adorned with
the Great Seal of the United States and engraved US Senator Joseph R. Biden
Jr.” The article said that Vassalotti kept the cufflink until he happened
to bumped into Biden at a coffee shop in Rehoboth, then returned it to the
former Vice President, who “offered to give him a set of cufflinks for
himself. ‘He’s just a great guy,’ Vassalotti said. ‘The Bidens are very
friendly and easy to talk to.’”
NH Poll: Trump Trails Warren And Sanders By 13 Points, O’Rourke By Seven.

Inside Sources
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=011-872&t=c>
(1/27, Graham) reported that a NHJournal poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=012-ddd&t=c>
of 593 New Hampshire voters, taken Jan. 16-21, shows President Trump
trailing three contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in
hypothetical 2020 general election matchups. Trump trails Sen. Elizabeth
Warren (D-MA) 54%-41%, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) 54%-41%, and ex-Rep. Beto
O’Rourke (D-TX) 48%-41%. The poll didn’t test any other potential
Democratic contenders.

        *Poll: 49% Of Wisconsin Voters Say They “Definitely” Won’t Vote For
Trump In 2020. *The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=013-0a0&t=c>
(1/27, Gilbert) reports that heading into his 2020 bid for reelection,
Trump “faces an uphill climb in winning a second victory in Wisconsin,”
according to a Marquette Law School poll of 800 Wisconsin voters, taken
Jan. 16-20. The poll pegs Trump’s job-approval rating at 44%, with 52%
disapproving. In addition, 49% of those surveyed said “they will
‘definitely vote for someone else’” other than Trump “in the next
presidential election. That doesn’t mean Trump is doomed to lose. But it
means his window for victory is a very tight one.”
Harris Launches Presidential Bid With Attacks On Trump Policies.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=014-036&t=c>
(1/27, Becker) reports Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) on Sunday launched her
2020 presidential campaign at a rally in Oakland, CA. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=015-366&t=c>
(1/27, Solie) says at the event, which “her advisers estimated at more than
20,000 people,” Harris “stressed unity and fighting for people, and her
support for policies that are currently popular among Democrats, like
‘Medicare for all’ and combating climate change. But she also laid out a
vision of America and cast the 2020 election as a historic one.” NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=016-8db&t=c>
(1/27, story 9, 0:25, Snow) reported Harris “said she would deliver the
largest middle-class tax cut in a generation.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=017-619&t=c>
(1/27, Viser) says Harris “framed her campaign as a response to President
Trump, highlighting how he has divided the country and attempting to make
the case that she would unite it.” Tom Llamas said on ABC World News
Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=018-083&t=c>
(1/27, story 4, 0:40, Llamas) that Harris took “direct aim at...Trump and
the border wall.” In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=019-be7&t=c>
(1/27, Reston) reported, “In one of her sharpest attacks on Trump’s
perceived coziness with Russia, she decried a time, ‘When we have foreign
powers infecting the White House like malware.’” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=01a-1f7&t=c>
(1/27, Cadelago, Marinucci) reported that Harris “cast herself...as a voice
for progressive causes and a fighter who could stand up to the president –
specifically by countering his many falsehoods with the truth.”

        The San Jose (CA) Mercury News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=01b-3e3&t=c>
(1/27, Tolan) reports, “A former San Francisco district attorney and
California attorney general, Harris stressed her experience prosecuting sex
crimes, fighting transnational gangs, and leading legal battles against big
banks.” However, “her work as a prosecutor could also be a liability for
Harris in a Democratic primary, with critics on the left already arguing
she didn’t do enough to reform the criminal justice system in California.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=01c-c62&t=c>
(1/27, Burke) reported that Harris “called for criminal justice reform, a
reduction in the gender pay gap and a middle-class tax cut. She also voiced
her support for ‘Medicare for all,’ universal pre-K and debt-free college.”
The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=01d-988&t=c>
(1/27, Summers) reports that Harris’ “campaign is filled with historic
possibility. If she ultimately wins the White House she would be the first
African-American woman and first person of Asian descent to be president.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=01e-0c5&t=c>
(1/27, Mason) says Harris “has stoked a perception that she is not just an
elite candidate, but among the Democratic front-runners – a designation
that is loaded with both upside and danger in this very early stage of
presidential jockeying.” The Times adds that “front-runner status is a hazy
thing at this moment, more than a year before any votes are cast. And
Harris, 54, has consistently lagged in national surveys behind former Vice
President Joe Biden and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, both of
whom are weighing their own White House bids.”

        *South Carolina A Key Battleground For Harris. *The Charleston (SC)
Post and Courier
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=01f-92c&t=c>
(1/26, Lovegrove) reported, “Amid glistening pink and green lights,
banquet-style dinners and flowing ball gowns” in Columbia, Harris “appeared
right at home Friday night at a flashy fundraiser in South Carolina’s
capital for the local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.” Harris, “who
joined the historic African-American sorority while a student at Howard
University, said she had been planning to attend the annual Pink Ice gala
in Columbia since before announcing her presidential bid.” However, “the
timing could not have worked out better for Harris, providing her with an
enthusiastic audience of around 3,700 in an early presidential primary
state that could prove crucial to her chances of winning the Democratic
nomination.”

        Indeed, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=020-0d0&t=c>
(1/26, Halper, Barabak) reported, “Few states are being as closely studied,
sized up and sifted through by” Harris’ “campaign as South Carolina, which
has a crucial early place on the 2020 calendar.” The state “played a vital
role propelling Barack Obama to the White House in 2008, boosting him past
Hillary Clinton,” and South Carolina “and its large black population hold
similar promise for Harris.” South Carolina’s “Democratic primary
electorate is mostly black, serving as a political bellwether for much of
the South, where Harris’ stature as the first viable black woman
presidential candidate could position her uniquely well.”

        The Boston Globe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=021-770&t=c>
(1/26, Goodwin) reported, “In a state where nearly 40 percent of Democratic
primary voters in 2016 were black women, Harris’s debut Friday night was a
show of force, hinting at a sizable network that she can mobilize in the
months ahead. In diverse South Carolina, increasingly seen as the primary
state that picks Democratic presidents, Harris is the only candidate with a
powerful personal story of breaking political barriers as a woman of color.
That could prove decisive in a crowded Democratic field of candidates with
progressive platforms.”

        *Brown Says He Dated Harris, Appointed Her To Commissions. *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=022-fe4&t=c>
(1/27, Cummings) reports former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown (D-CA), in
a letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=023-0a1&t=c>
to the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, “addressed his past
relationship” with Harris and “acknowledged giving her appointments that
furthered her career.” Brown wrote, “Yes, we dated. It was more than 20
years ago.” Brown said he had “been peppered with calls from the national
media about my ‘relationship’ with Kamala Harris, particularly since it
became obvious that she was going to run for president.” Brown added, “Yes,
I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions
when I was Assembly speaker. ... And I certainly helped with her first race
for district attorney in San Francisco. ... I have also helped the careers
of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and
a host of other politicians.”
Clinton Not Ruling Out A 2020 Presidential Bid.

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=024-e08&t=c>
(1/27, Geldon) reported on its website that Hillary Clinton “may not be
ready to give up on her Oval Office dreams.” CNN senior Washington
correspondent Jeff Zeleny said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=025-bb4&t=c>
(1/27), “Hillary Clinton is telling people that she’s not closing the doors
to the idea of running in 2020. ... I’m told by three people that she was
telling people that as recently as this week, she was telling people that
look, given all this news from the indictments, particularly the Roger
Stone indictment, she talked to several people saying, ‘Look, I’m not
closing the doors to this.’ Now it does not mean that there’s a campaign in
waiting or a plan is in the works, but she is still believing that there
maybe, could be a possibility under the argument of this: ‘I won the
popular vote. All of this has vindicated what happened in 2016.’”
Sources: Sanders’ Announcement Of 2020 Presidential Bid Is Imminent.

Sources told Yahoo! News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=026-c3f&t=c>
(1/25, Walker) that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “plans to announce his
presidential bid imminently.” Yahoo News added that “while Sanders has been
considering a bid for months, one of the sources said he was emboldened by
early polls of the race that have consistently showed him as one of the top
candidates in a crowded Democratic primary field. In particular, the source
said Sanders was heartened to see numbers indicating he is one of the
leading candidates among African American and Latino voters, two groups he
was perceived as struggling with in 2016.”
NYTimes Analysis: Warren Highlights Policy Details To Stand Out In
Democratic Field.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=027-81f&t=c>
(1/27, Herndon) reports that nearly a month into her presidential campaign,
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) “passion for policy minutiae has become her
way of standing out in an increasingly crowded Democratic field,
establishing herself as a wonk’s wonk whose expansive ideas and
detail-oriented speaking style are her bid for a good first impression on
voters.” Other Democrats “have focused on sweeping themes of unity or
change,” while Warren “is making a personal and political wager that
audiences care more about policy savvy than captivating oration.” The
strategy is “intended to draw contrasts with President Trump, who rarely
delves into policy, but also to put pressure on Democratic rivals,” in a
crowded primary field where “highlighting even the smallest differences in
policy could pay off, especially with liberal voters who want firm and
thorough positions rather than squishy generalities that could be setups
for compromise.”

        *WPost Sees Problems With Warren’s Wealth Tax Proposal. *In an
editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=028-9f1&t=c>
(1/27) highlights Warren’s plan “to propose an annual 2 percent federal tax
on individual fortunes of more than $50 million and 3 percent on those
greater than $1 billion,” and questions “whether a flat annual tax on
wealth is the best way to tackle the inequity and inefficiency associated
with concentration of wealth.” The Post says there would be problems
implementing such a proposal and argues it would create a “huge incentive
for tax avoidance among a segment of society well able to afford
accountants and lawyers.”
O’Rourke Says It Could Be Months Before He Decides On 2020 Race.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=029-948&t=c>
(1/25, Siders) reported that ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) on Friday said
“that it could take him months to decide whether to run for president,
adding that he does not want to ‘raise expectations’ about a 2020 bid.”
Speaking with Politico, O’Rourke said “he has no timetable for making a
decision, which he said could ‘potentially’ be months away.” While a number
of polls have shown him in “the top tier of Democratic primary contenders,
O’Rourke said family concerns and the ‘exhaustion’ of his” failed 2018 bid
to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “are still weighing on him.” Said O’Rourke,
“There’s an exhaustion after an effort like that, that I’m learning is hard
to recover from.”

        The Dallas Morning News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=02a-67b&t=c>
(1/25, Nix) reported that O’Rourke “made the comments to Politico after a
speech to about 100 people at a downtown El Paso event benefiting
Annunciation House, a shelter that has helped migrants stranded in the
border city.” O’Rourke “responded to an audience member’s question by
saying he hasn’t been in touch with other candidates about joining a
presidential ticket, and he said if he doesn’t run for president, he’s
considering teaching.” The report added, “On Feb. 5, O’Rourke will be in
New York City for an interview with Oprah Winfrey that will be broadcast at
a later date on her OWN network.”
Bloomberg Tries Out Appeal At Virginia Democratic Meeting.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=02b-8aa&t=c>
(1/25, Peoples) reported that ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D),
a potential White House hopeful, on Friday criticized President Trump,
saying that he “cannot be helped” and is “dangerous” to the country. In
remarks to the Democratic Business Council of Northern Virginia, Bloomberg
also called the shutdown “a complete failure of presidential leadership.”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=02c-112&t=c>
(1/25, Edmondson) reported that Bloomberg “has said he would run as a
Democrat if he pursues the White House in 2020,” but “in the face of
concerns that he is too far to the right on a number of issues, including
big business and stop-and-frisk policing tactics, he has shown few signs of
seeking to assuage those critics.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=02d-c43&t=c>
(1/25, Gibson) called the speech “a test run” for a “possible 2020
presidential candidate.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=02e-52d&t=c>
(1/25, Sullivan) reported that Bloomberg “was interrupted several times by
applause from a crowd that included Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Northern
Virginia congressmen Gerald E. Connolly and Don Beyer and multiple local
elected leaders, all Democrats.”
Ex-Starbucks Chief Schultz Mulling Independent Bid; Democrats Alarmed.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=02f-c82&t=c>
(1/27, Patton, Giammona, Waller) reports that ex-Starbucks chairman Howard
Schultz “said he’s seriously thinking of running for president in 2020 as a
centrist independent candidate, a prospect that’s already drawing
objections from Democrats who say it may throw the election to Donald
Trump.” Appearing on CBS’ 60 Minutes
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=030-dfd&t=c>
(1/27), Schultz, a long-time Democrat, said, “We’re living at a most
fragile time. Not only the fact that this President is not qualified to be
the president, but the fact that both parties are consistently not doing
what’s necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged, every
single day, in revenge politics.”

        The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=031-b9b&t=c>
(1/27, Strachan) reported, “Asked why he wouldn’t run as a Democrat, the
self-described ‘lifelong Democrat’ said both parties are ‘consistently not
doing what’s necessary on behalf of the American people’ and are instead
engaging in ‘revenge politics.’ ‘I look at both parties, we see extremes on
both sides,’ he said. ‘We are sitting today with approximately $21.5
trillion of debt, which is a reckless example – not only of Republicans,
but of Democrats as well – as a reckless failure of their constitutional
responsibility.’”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=032-572&t=c>
(1/27, Sorkin) reports that Schultz “said Sunday he was preparing to run
for president as an independent and had already begun the groundwork
required to be on the ballot in all 50 states.” Speaking with the Times,
Schultz “said he planned to crisscross the country for the next three
months as part of a book tour before deciding whether to enter the race.”
The Time adds,” The possibility of Mr. Schultz’s candidacy as an
independent has drawn condemnation from Democrats, who said that” it “would
split the vote on Election Day 2020 and hand Mr. Trump a second term.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=033-e55&t=c>
(1/27, Scherer) reports, “Democrats fear a credible third-party candidacy
could allow Trump to win states he otherwise would have lost or push a
decision on the election to the US House, where Republicans currently have
an advantage in the number of state delegations they control. The majority
view of the 50 delegations, not actual control of the House, would
determine the outcome of any such vote.” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=034-f64&t=c>
(1/27, Cole) reported on its website that Democratic presidential hopeful
Julián Castro said Sunday, “I have a concern that if he did run, that
essentially, it would provide Donald Trump with his best hope of getting
reelected.”

        The Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=035-ad0&t=c>
(1/27) said Schultz’s possible bid was “brutalized on Twitter.” Seth
Hanlon, a former adviser to President Obama, tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=036-504&t=c>,
“The consultants who are telling you you have any chance of doing anything
other than embarrassing yourself and giving us four more years of Trump are
blowing smoke up your a-- because they want your money. Give it to charity
instead.” Political historian Kevin Kruse tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=037-089&t=c>,
“I can assure you that the only thing you’ll accomplish by running for
president as a centrist independent is helping re-elect Donald Trump.” Tom
Llamas similarly reported on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=038-81e&t=c>
(1/27, story 4, 0:40, Llamas) that some Democrats are worried Schultz
“could pull support from their party.”
Professor: Democrats Should Choose A 2020 Nominee With No Ties To
Washington.

In a USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=039-af0&t=c>
(1/28) op-ed, University of Pennsylvania professor and author Jonathan
Zimmerman writes, “A fractured nation, hobbled by massive corruption in the
White House. Bitter attacks on intelligence agencies, the media, and other
major institutions. And a crowd of Democrats lining up to become the next
president, each promising to fix the damage.” That was the scenario during
“the mid-1970s,” when “America was reeling from Watergate and the downfall
of Richard Nixon. And the Democrats nominated Jimmy Carter, who is
precisely the kind of gentle, upright leader that we need in the wake of
Donald J. Trump.” Zimmerman says that “Americans are simply fed up with the
federal government” and are “unlikely to rally around anyone who is
associated with it.” Consequently, “Democrats should choose an outsider of
their own, probably from the gubernatorial ranks – say, Steve Bullock of
Montana or Jay Inslee from Washington.”
Leading the News
Trump Weighs Executive Action To Build Border Wall, Skeptical Of Making
Deal With Congress.

On Twitter and in an interview Sunday, the President vowed to build a wall
along the southern border – even it means using emergency powers to do so.
He also wouldn’t rule out another government shutdown in three weeks if a
deal isn’t reached with lawmakers, On Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=03a-749&t=c>
last night, Trump vowed to build a border wall, writing, “After all that I
have done for the Military, our great Veterans, Judges (99), Justices (2),
Tax & Regulation Cuts, the Economy, Energy, Trade & MUCH MORE, does anybody
really think I won’t build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any
President! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

        In a front-page interview with the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=03b-2c1&t=c>
(1/27, A1, Peterson) on Sunday, the President said he doubts that
congressional negotiators will strike a deal over border wall funding that
he could accept and vowed he would build a wall anyway, even if that
requires using emergency powers. Said Trump, “I personally think it’s less
than 50-50, but you have a lot of very good people on that board.” When
asked if he would accept less than $5.7 billion in the next round of
negotiations, Trump said: “I doubt it,” adding, “I have to do it right.”
Asked about the possibility of striking a deal that would grant citizens to
Dreamers in exchange for a border wall, Trump said, “I doubt it. That’s a
separate subject to be taken up at a separate time.” In the interview,
Trump also said he wouldn’t rule out another shutdown, calling it
“certainly an option.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=03c-48a&t=c>
(1/27, Sonmez) reports that “inside the West Wing over the weekend, Trump
told advisers that declaring a national emergency may be his best
option...according to four people involved in the discussions who were not
authorized to speak publicly.” A “White House official described Trump’s
decision to reopen the government as ‘clearing the deck’ for executive
action rather than a retreat. And a longtime confidant said Trump has grown
increasingly frustrated by news coverage of his concession to Democrats and
has been encouraged by conservative allies to escalate the fight.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=03d-0e8&t=c>
(1/27, story 2, 2:10, Snow) reported that “declaring a national emergency
does carry risk, likely a court challenge and lawmakers oppose it,” and
“White House officials say the President would prefer not to use that
power.”

        During a pair of Sunday morning television appearances, acting
Chief of Staff Mulvaney vowed the President would secure the southern
border “with or without Congress,” and did not rule the possibility of
another government shutdown next month. The CBS Weekend News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=03e-21c&t=c>
(1/27, story 3, 1:50, Quijano) reported, “Mulvaney says President Trump is
prepared to shut down the government again to get border security funding.
... Democrats and Republicans now have until February 15 to agree on
government funding and negotiate a bipartisan border security package.”

        To the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=03f-b17&t=c>
(1/27, Puzzanghera), “Mulvaney signaled that Trump would not reduce his
demands that Congress provide funds” to build a border wall, “and said the
president might use a controversial emergency declaration to go around
Congress to get the money.” Mulvaney told Fox News Sunday[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=040-868&t=c>,
“I think the president wants his $5.7 billion. It’s not a made up, magical
number. ... It’s the wall where we need it the most and where we need it
the quickest.” The Times says “Mulvaney would not say if Trump would agree
if Congress offered less money as part of a compromise to prevent another
shutdown in three weeks.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=041-0d1&t=c>
(1/27, Sonmez) likewise says “Mulvaney declined to say whether Trump would
accept less than the $5.7 billion in funding he has demanded for the wall,”
but “maintained that Trump is ready to use emergency powers to secure the
border if Democrats continue to balk at his demands.”

        Mulvaney, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=042-258&t=c>
(1/27, Riechmann) reports, “made clear Sunday that...Trump is prepared to
shutter the government again without a border money deal from Congress.”
Asked on CBS’ Face the Nation
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=043-82e&t=c>
if the President is prepared to shut down the government again in three
weeks, Mulvaney said, “Yeah, I think he actually is. He doesn’t want to
shut the government down, let’s make that very clear. He doesn’t want to
declare a national emergency.” He added that at “the end of the day, the
president’s commitment is to defend the nation and he will do it with or
without Congress.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=044-3eb&t=c>
(1/27, Correll) says Mulvaney “didn’t deny that another shutdown could soon
happen,” telling Fox News, “No one wants a government shutdown. But when a
president vetoes a bill that’s put in front of him on a spending package,
sometimes that has the effect of shutting the government down. We don’t go
into this trying to shut the government down.”

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=045-bcc&t=c>
(1/27, Moore) reports Mulvaney also “brushed back claims that Trump caved
to Democrats after saying for 35 days he would not give in unless he got
cash for the wall. Trump was responding to Democrats who said they simply
can’t go ahead with a wall while the government is shut down, Mulvaney
said.” To Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=046-4ec&t=c>
(1/27, Griffiths), Mulvaney “did his best to make sure...Trump wasn’t
branded the loser” in the shutdown. Said Mulvaney, “Ultimately, he’ll be
judged by what happens at the end of this process, not by what happened
this week.”

        Under the headline “Mulvaney Doesn’t Rule Out Another Shutdown If
Talks Falter,” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=047-c3e&t=c>
(1/27, Flatley, Allison, Brody) reports that Mulvaney traveled to Camp
David “over the weekend to work on immigration and border issues, according
to three people with knowledge of the matter.”

        Rachael Bade of Politico said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=048-c32&t=c>
(1/27), “We’re hearing from Republicans that he’s considering two options.
If three weeks go by and he still doesn’t have his wall money, there’s talk
about him declaring a national emergency. Republicans on the Hill are very
divided on that. Some think that was the way out of the shutdown and they
wanted him to do it earlier. Others are worried Democrats will do something
similar when they have the White House and use emergency situations to
enact a bunch of more progressive policies that they hate. So it sounds
like he is postponing things and he’s saying right now I’m going to get my
wall either way. We’ll just have to see if this bipartisan group of
lawmakers can come up with anything. I’m very skeptical.”

        Jeff Zeleny said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=049-5be&t=c>
(1/27), “People were furious, I think, [with] the idea of another shutdown.
I don’t believe Senate Republicans will be with him on this.” Raheem
Kassam, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, writes in USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=04a-6ae&t=c>
(1/27, Kassam) that “until and unless the American people decide on a
common route forward, the shutdown remains a legitimate means by which an
elected president can push back against the dominance of the opposition
party in Congress, and indeed the caprice of the voter.” But on its
editorial page, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=04b-6ed&t=c>
(1/27) argues that “whatever the mechanism, shutdowns over partisan policy
disputes are no way to run a government. They ought to be relegated to the
dustbin of history.”

        Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist said on Fox News MediaBuzz[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=04c-cea&t=c>
(1/27), “You have dozens of Democrats saying they do want to vote on this
now that the government is open, so I think it is worthwhile to wait and
see how serious people were about wanting border security, how willing they
are to negotiate.”

        Beverly Hallberg, president of District Media Group, said on Fox
News MediaBuzz
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=04d-031&t=c>
(1/27), “While I do think that this def looks like a defeat for the
President in the short term, I think long term there is more to come. So,
even though many in the media were talking bout this being a major victory,
I don’t think they were focusing on the fact that in three weeks, the
President may get a little bit more of what he wants.”

        *Lawmakers To Hold Talks This Week. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=04e-506&t=c>
(1/27, A1, Peterson) reports that efforts to avert another government
shutdown in three weeks starts this week when a group of lawmakers meet to
negotiate funding for a border wall. Led by House Appropriations Committee
Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), the group of 17 lawmakers is comprised of
members from both chambers’ appropriations committees.

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=04f-43e&t=c>
(1/27, story 2, 2:10, Snow) reported “lawmakers from both parties seem to
be more optimistic that an agreement could be reached to avoid another
shutdown in three weeks. ... That process belongs to a bipartisan
negotiating team that includes Missouri Republican Roy Blunt.” Blunt:
“Let’s find solutions. Let’s not continue to disappoint the people we work
for by not showing the ability to work together.”

        *Trump Criticizes Fox News Coverage Of Shutdown. *On Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=050-6b9&t=c>
last night, “Never thought I’d say this but I think @johnrobertsFox and
@GillianHTurner @FoxNews have even less understanding of the Wall
negotiations than the folks at FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC! Look to final results!
Don’t know how my poll numbers are so good, especially up 19% with
Hispanics?”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=051-573&t=c>
(1/27, Kiggins) reports Trump “lashed out at the media again Sunday night.
Only this time, Trump directed his unhappiness at Fox News, singling out a
pair of reporters from his seemingly favorite news outlet for their
coverage of the border wall and recent partial government shutdown.” In the
tweet, Trump “also referenced a recent NPR/PBS/Marist poll for the second
time in less than a week that shows his approval rating among Latino voters
at 50 percent, up from 31 percent a month ago.”

        *Republicans Urge Trump To Avoid Emergency Declaration, Second
Shutdown. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=052-5e4&t=c>
(1/27, Key) reports Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said Sunday that President
Trump declaring a national emergency to build a border wall would be a
“terrible idea” and vowed to fight it. On NBC’s Meet the Press[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=053-0c6&t=c>,
Rubio said of a possible national emergency declaration, “I don’t think
it’s a good I think it will be a terrible idea. I hope he doesn’t do it.”
Asked if he would you fight Trump on it, Rubio said, “Sure. Because I think
it’s important. Look I don’t think we will have to fight. I’m not sure they
will do that. I know it’s an option they looked at.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=054-415&t=c>
(1/27, Sherfinski) reports “Rubio said the best course of action is to pass
legislation that includes funding for border security.”

        Rubio, on CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=055-26e&t=c>
(1/27, Tapper), said, “I don’t think shutdowns are good leverage. It’s a
lesson I’ve certainly learned in my time here. There’s been two shutdowns
since the time I’ve been there, and the aggressor in neither one was the
winner. It’s important to separate the tactics from the goal and the policy
aim. And what the President wants is not unreasonable.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=056-9c6&t=c>
(1/27, Sherfinski) reports that Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) on Sunday also
“warned President Trump against invoking emergency powers to secure money
for a US-Mexico border wall if Congress can’t strike a deal in the coming
weeks,” saying such a move would be a “bad precedent.” Blunt told Fox News
Sunday
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=057-5fe&t=c>,
“I happen to agree with the president on barriers at the border and border
security as an important first step, but there might be a future president
that I don’t agree with that thinks something else is an emergency. I think
it’s a bad precedent.”

        Under the headline “Republicans Distance Themselves From Shutdown
Tactics,” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=058-26b&t=c>
(1/27, Samuels) reports Senate Republicans on Sunday described the 35-day
partial government shutdown “as an ineffective and harmful tactic.” In CBS’
Face the Nation
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=059-f5a&t=c>,
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said, “Shutdowns are never good policy, ever.
They are never to be used as a means to achieve any kind of goal no matter
how important that goal may seem to be.” On NBC’s Meet the Press[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=05a-882&t=c>,
House Minority Leader McCarthy (R-CA) “criticized Democrats...for
insufficiently engaging with the president’s proposals,” and credited Trump
with putting “the American people before politics.” Said McCarthy, “The
president is the only one who has been reasonable in these negotiations.”

        Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said on Fox News Sunday Morning
Futures[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=05b-317&t=c>
(1/27), “I wanted the government to be open. I would have voted ten times
to open the government. We should never, ever close the government down as
a bargaining chip in a budget negotiation, whether it’s border security or
Planned Parenthood or military funding or anything else. It ought to be the
chemical weapons of real warfare. It ought to be off limits.”

        *WTimes Analysis: Trump Retains GOP Base’s Support Despite
Shutdown. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=05c-46b&t=c>
(1/27, Miller, Boyer) reports that the “no-wall deal that ended the
government shutdown was a bitter pill for voters who sent President Trump
to the White House, but they say they’re still backing him as the border
security fight with Democrats enters Round Two.” Even as “conservative
pundits blasted the president for ‘caving’ to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
voters contacted by The Washington Times said they aren’t holding the
setback against Mr. Trump.”

        Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=05d-97d&t=c>
(1/27, Boyle) reports that during the shutdown, Trump’s support “remained
consistent across the country, according to a newly released poll” from the
Wall Street Journal and NBC News. The survey “showed approval for Trump,
weeks into the shutdown of about a quarter of the federal government, was
exactly the same as when it started.”

        Astead Herndon of the New York Times said on CNN’s Inside
Politics[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=05e-395&t=c>
(1/27), “I think that this is indicative of a President who has tied
himself to a politically, unpalatable campaign promise. He’s trying to make
something happen that functionally congressional Democrats and Republicans
just truly don’t have the appetite for. But I think this is also a
President that hears the calls from his base, that’s very sensitive against
the idea that he conceded or that he caved, and so while the politics might
not be there for another shutdown, we know the community he listens to,
that base, that conservative media, the crowd that really has his
attention. If they are still divided, if they are still calling for a more
anti-immigrant policy or for him to stand up on this campaign promise
again, we might see him dig in.”

        E.J. Dionne Jr. writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=05f-908&t=c>
(1/27, Dionne) that Trump “has asked his blue-collar loyalists to live on a
diet of rhetoric and empty symbols — the border wall being Symbol No. 1.
Trump’s deteriorating poll numbers showed that all but the most extreme of
his supporters were losing faith in his project.”

        *Mulvaney Hopes Federal Workers Will Receive Back Pay This Week. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=060-72b&t=c>
(1/27, Sherfinski) reports acting Chief of Staff Mulvaney on Sunday “said
the hope is that federal employees who were furloughed or forced to work
without pay during the government shutdown will receive their back pay by
the end of this week.” However, he cautioned that the “specific timing
could depend on the federal agency in question.” Said Mulvaney, “Some of
them could be early this week. Some of them may be later this week but we
hope that by the end of this week all of the back pay will be made up and
of course the next payroll will go out on time.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=061-b63&t=c>
(1/27, Bacon), among other outlets, also reports his remarks.

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=062-042&t=c>
(1/27, Satija), meanwhile, reports on how the shutdown impacted federal
contractors, many of “whose lost wages may never be reimbursed.” It also
highlights the case of Unispec Enterprises, a contracting firm that
provides personnel to government agencies, which also cut off health
insurance coverage to its 75 furloughed employees.

        *WTimes Analysis: Recovery From Shutdown Could Take Years.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=063-040&t=c>
(1/27, Howell) reports President Trump’s “decision to temporarily reopen
the government with Congress may be good news for Washington, but federal
employees and businesses say they’ll be picking up the pieces from the
longest shutdown in US history for quite a while.” The American Federation
of Government Employees “urged any federal worker who toiled during the
impasse to join a pending lawsuit that would ensure full back-pay, plus
damages equal to minimum wage for hours worked and the full value of any
overtime.”

        *Bondi: Media Outlets Portrayed Lara Trump As “Absurd Marie
Antoinette Figure.” *Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida,
writes in USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=064-9eb&t=c>
(1/27, Bondi), “My good friend Lara Trump never told anyone that it was ‘no
big deal’ that federal workers were denied their paychecks by the 35 days
of government shutdown. I know for a fact that she deeply empathizes with
those workers and their families and has spoken from the heart every time
she has been asked about them. But that hasn’t stopped commentators trying
to turn Lara into an absurd Marie Antoinette figure.” Bondi argues that
“let them eat cake” moments are “never quite what their proponents imagine
them to be, but in Lara’s case, imaginations have gone further afield than
usual.”

        *As Government Reopens, House Democrats Will Seek To Advance Their
Agenda. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=065-cfe&t=c>
(1/27, Fandos) reports that with the government shutdown “over for now, the
116th Congress will hit reset this week, showcasing a Democratic agenda in
the House that was overshadowed by the struggle to reopen the government.”
The House will “turn to legislation higher on the Democrats’ priority list,
including a bill to raise pay for civilian federal employees.” Democrats
also plan to reintroduce “a marquee bill to close the pay gap between men
and women that they have fought to enact for years.” For House Democrats,
the Times says the “return to normal governance provides a window to
reclaim some of the attention the shutdown drained from the initial rollout
of their legislative agenda.”
Foreign Policy
ISIS Claims Responsibility For Philippines Cathedral Bombing.

ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=066-896&t=c>
(1/27, story 11, 0:20, Llamas) reported at least 20 people were killed and
80 wounded after bombs exploded outside a cathedral in the Philippines. On NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=067-230&t=c>
(1/27, story 5, 1:20, Snow), Sarah Harmon reported “Philippine
counter-terrorism officials say the first blast went off inside the
cathedral” while “a second explosion” was “detonated as congregants rushed
out to safety and security forces rushed in to help.” Harmon added that
“ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, but did not provide any
evidence.” Meanwhile, “Pope Francis in Panama condemned the violence and
prayed that God would convert those responsible.” The CBS Weekend News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=068-6ae&t=c>
(1/27, story 6, 0:20, Quijano) also ran a brief report on the attack.

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=069-932&t=c>
(1/27, Gomez) reports that the perpetrators targeted the Cathedral of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel in the Philippines’ Muslim-majority province of
Mindanao, whose residents recently approved the region’s transition to
autonomous status in 2022. The AP adds that Filipino leadership, including
President Rodrigo Duterte and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, condemned
the attacks, with Duterte stating, “We will pursue to the ends of the earth
the ruthless perpetrators behind this dastardly crime until every killer is
brought to justice.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=06a-222&t=c>
(1/27, Petty, Cruz) reports the explosion occurred in an area that recently
rejected the now-approved referendum for Mindanao’s future autonomous
status. The referendum has raised new concerns that “foreign radicals will
join those of Indonesia and Malaysia in gravitating to Mindanao to
capitalize on porous borders, jungles and mountains, and an abundance of
arms.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=06b-9a5&t=c>
(1/27, Cabato, Mahtani) reports the Abu Sayyaf group, which the State
Department has labeled a terrorist organization in the past, has long used
Mindanao as a safe haven for its kidnapping and other violent attack
operations that include bombings and targeted killings.
WPost Analysis: Defeat Of Remaining ISIS Fighters Raises Stakes For US’
Syria Withdrawal.

A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=06c-421&t=c>
(1/25, Sly) analysis says that “a dot of land measuring 6 square miles” in
southeastern Syria is “all that remains of the vast expanse of territory
the Islamic State once called its caliphate, and the complete territorial
defeat of the militant group appears to be imminent, according to US and
Kurdish officials.” The anticipated end to “the Islamic State’s vaunted
state-building enterprise in Syria and Iraq” has added “urgency to the
question of when and how the United States will pull its forces out of
Syria, as ordered by President Trump last month.” According to the Post,
“Trump’s sudden announcement that the troops would be withdrawn set off an
international scramble to figure out what to do with the territory,
amounting to almost a third of Syria.” According to analysts and military
officials, a potential power vacuum would benefit ISIS as it tries to
“regroup as an insurgent force.”
Baghdad Struggles To Regain Footing After Defeat Of ISIS.

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=06d-e16&t=c>
(1/27, Bulos) reports for many Iraqis, the defeat of ISIS “has given way to
the realization that Baghdad, once a jewel among Arab capitals and now on
the cusp of achieving mega-city status, is barely functional.” For
Baghdad’s residents, the “daily reality” includes “bumper-to-bumper traffic
jams on roads unrepaired since before the US-led invasion, and hours-long
electricity cuts that turn broiling summers lethal.” Meanwhile, “almost a
quarter of the working-age population” is “unemployed or underutilized,
according to the World Bank.” The government estimates that the “formidable
challenge of rebuilding a country ravaged after more than four years of
battling” ISIS will “cost more than $88 billion” – but the “2019 budget,
which amounts to more than $110 billion in total spending, has 75% set
aside for operational costs, experts and politicians say, with relatively
meager allocations for reconstruction in areas clawed back from the
extremists.”
US Envoy Seeks Cooperation From Ghani Over Taliban Peace Process.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=06e-39e&t=c>
(1/27, Jain, Sediqi) reports US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on Sunday
arrived in Kabul “to try to secure cooperation from Afghanistan’s president
after breakthroughs in peace negotiations with Taliban leaders in Qatar.”
While Khalilzad, Secretary of State Pompeo, and Taliban officials are
“hailing progress,” the US envoy “must now win over President Ashraf Ghani
– whose government the Taliban have so far kept out of the process.” Ahead
of the next round of talks slated for late February, “Ghani’s role is
likely to grow as a full deal gets closer and diplomacy intensifies.”
Western diplomats have described “Ghani as being in a tight spot, with no
authority to decide on the troop departure and the final decision to
declare the ceasefire resting with the Taliban.” Ghani does, however,
“enjoy the power to decide to support an interim government rather than
push for presidential elections which could prove to be a distraction to
the peace effort.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=06f-7ed&t=c>
(1/27, Nelson) reports that while US and Taliban negotiators were
optimistic about the prospects for negotiating the deal, both sides
cautioned that challenges remain, specifically over the definition of the
full withdrawal, the time frame for a redeployment, and whether equipment
should be included in the move. Still, the latest Doha talks have been
regarded as the most significant to date, and there is a sense that
momentum toward a negotiated settlement is strong.

        *Afghan Women Afraid Of Potential Peace Deal With Taliban. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=070-5e9&t=c>
(1/27, Nordland, Faizi, Abed) reports that the “mere possibility of
concrete progress” on US-Taliban peace talks “inspired a wave of enthusiasm
and hope among many Afghans on all sides that four decades of nearly
continuous war could actually end,” but among many Afghan women, “the hopes
raised by a possible end to the fighting are mixed with an undeniable
feeling of dread.” Afghan women “have buried far too many husbands and sons
and brothers” and believe in “the need to bring an end to the bloodshed,”
but “they fear that a peace that empowers the Taliban may herald a new war
on women, and they want negotiators not to forget them.” Compounding their
concern “is a fear among women that they have been sidelined in the peace
process, and that when Afghans finally sit down at a peace table together,
there will be no women present.”
Amid Growing Standoff, Maduro Backs Off Demand That US Diplomats Leave
Venezuela.

In ongoing coverage of the political crisis in Venezuela, NBC Nightly
News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=071-30a&t=c>
(1/27, story 6, 0:25, Snow) reported “embattled President Nicolas Maduro
backed off his demand that all US diplomats leave Venezuela this weekend.”
According to the broadcast, “Both the US and Venezuela will keep their
embassies open for the next month while working out a plan to downgrade
their diplomatic relations.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=072-c06&t=c>
(1/27, Khan, Lavelle) reports National Security Adviser Bolton tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=073-f15&t=c>
Sunday, “Any violence and intimidation against U.S. diplomatic personnel,
Venezuela’s democratic leader, Juan Guiado, or the National Assembly itself
would represent a grave assault on the rule of law and will be met with a
significant response.” Bolton also warned Cuba about its support and
control over Maduro’s security and paramilitary forces, writing
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=074-b02&t=c>
that “Cuba’s support and control over Maduro’s security and paramilitary
forces are well known.”

        Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=075-155&t=c>
(1/27, Rosati, Wainer) says the “Saturday evening announcement that the
missions would remain open was a retreat after days of bellicose rhetoric
prompted by” the Administration’s decision to recognize “Guaido as the
nation’s rightful head of state.” Maduro’s gesture also “seemed one small
concession against a wave of fear that the week-long standoff could
escalate into something yet worse: Divisions deepened on the streets and
among world powers choosing sides in the strategic and once-prosperous
nation.” According to Bloomberg News, “Guaido’s success in keeping a
unified opposition to Maduro at home and abroad – and Maduro’s reluctance
so far to arrest Guaido – raise the prospect of a grinding standoff.”

        Meanwhile, Ian Pannell reported for ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=076-701&t=c>
(1/27, story 8, 2:30, Llamas) that US pressure has been “unrelenting.”
Guaido has been recognized as interim president by the US, which has called
for other nations to do the same. ABC included footage from Secretary of
State Pompeo’s remarks to the United Nations Security Council on Saturday,
where he said, “Now it’s time for every other nation to pick a side.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=077-5f9&t=c>
(1/27, Rueda, Lederer) reports that the council “took no formal action
because of divisions among members,” but “France and Britain joined Spain
and Germany in turning up the pressure on Maduro, saying they would
recognize Guaido as president unless Venezuela calls a new presidential
election within eight days.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=078-709&t=c>
(1/27, Sequera) reports Israel and Australia on Sunday also “joined the
countries backing the 35-year-old leader, and President Donald Trump’s
administration said it had accepted Venezuelan opposition figure Carlos
Alfredo Vecchio as the country’s diplomatic representative in the United
States.” Separately, in an interview with CNN Turk “that aired on Sunday,
Maduro rejected a European ultimatum to call elections within eight days
and said Guaido violated the constitution by declaring himself interim
leader.” Also on Sunday, Maduro “oversaw a display of the army’s Russian
hardware” that he said “showed the world he had the backing of the military
and that Venezuela’s armed forces were ready to defend the country.” The
Venezuelan military also is planning larger exercises in mid-February “that
Maduro described as the ‘most important in the history of Venezuela.’”

        Meanwhile, “The Venezuelan opposition is in talks with sympathetic
military and civilian officials in a bid to force out President Nicolás
Maduro, self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó said in an interview”
on Sunday with the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=079-c58&t=c>
(1/27, Krygier). Said Guaido, “This is a very delicate subject involving
personal security. We are meeting with them but discreetly.” Backed by the
US “and a host of Latin American countries,” Guaidó also “told The Post
that the opposition was preparing to challenge the government’s authority
by bringing food aid into the country, aid made possible by a $20 million
pledge from the United States, as well as offers from Colombia, Brazil,
Argentina, Paraguay and the European Union.”

        *Mulvaney: US Monitoring “Serious Situation” In Venezuela. *Acting
Chief of Staff Mulvaney on Sunday told Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=07a-5c2&t=c>
(1/27, Roberts), “I can tell you, without giving away anything that
shouldn’t, that we are in constant communication” with Secretary of State
Pompeo and “the other parts of the federal government to find out what’s
going on” in Venezuela, “making sure that our people and our property is
safe down there. And also to make sure that we can do everything we can to
encourage the Maduro government, which we consider to be illegitimate, to
leave. And to back the new National Assembly leadership that declared this
week.” He added, “So, it’s a very serious situation. The president takes it
very seriously and I think it’s fair to say that no options are off the
table.”

        *Rubio Dismisses Reports Of US Military Intervention In Venezuela. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=07b-490&t=c>
(1/27, Wolfgang) reports the Administration “has insisted that ‘all options
are on the table’ in dealing with unrest and instability in Venezuela, but
one prominent lawmaker,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), told CNN’s “State of the
Union” on Sunday “that no one in Washington is seriously considering the
idea of using military force to top the embattled regime in Caracas.”

        Rubio told CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=07c-34a&t=c>
(1/27) that January’s swearing-in ceremony “was invalid because the
election that put Maduro there was invalid.” Rubio added that the US
“simply supported the democratic institutions, along with, by the way, 16
countries in the region.” Asked about the prospect of US military force,
Rubio responded: “I don’t know of anyone who is calling for military
intervention. What I’m calling for is for the constitution to be followed,
for military officials in Venezuela to follow and uphold the constitution
they swore allegiance to, for Juan Guaido to be able to act as interim
president, until we have a new, valid election, so we can support that new
democratic government.” He stressed that it is “in our national interest to
care” about Venezuela. Rubio reiterated, “So, this is not a US-sponsored
anything. This is us supporting the people of Venezuela who want their
constitution and democracy followed. That’s a fact.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=07d-1d4&t=c>
(1/27, Lamothe) says that the history of American military involvement in
the region, “along with reports that the administration met last year with
Venezuelan officers who wanted to plot a coup before rebuffing them, has
raised questions about whether the White House would direct a military
intervention.” In a separate interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on
Sunday, Rubio “said Trump has ‘never needed any convincing on Venezuela’
and has raised the issue for discussion with the senator more than the
other way around.” The “preferred outcome, Rubio said, is that Maduro
leaves office and that, within 30 to 45 days, Venezuela holds a
presidential election.”

        Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=07e-7d3&t=c>
(1/27), “I’m not the ouster-in-chief or anything like it. First of all, the
credit belongs to the Venezuelan people who have taken to the streets.” He
continued, “Number two is the decider here is the president, who has never
needed any convincing on Venezuela. Do I offer ideas? Sure. He’s got a
great team around him. But ultimately, he has never needed convincing.” As
for “analysts saying that there’s no plan B,” Rubio explained that the
Administration is “not going to publish a plan,” but “I can tell you I’ve
been in contact with the State Department and the people that are in charge
of this, and they do have a plan. And they have several contingencies to
plan on.” The most important part of that plan, Rubio said, is that “no
harm should ever come to these diplomats. Mike Pompeo was very clear about
it yesterday. If it does, there will be severe consequences.”
Trump, Stoltenberg: Pressure On NATO To Boost Spending Paying Off.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=07f-2b5&t=c>
(1/27, Czuczka, Flatley) reports President Trump on Sunday “claimed credit
for getting European allies to boost defense spending, citing a top
alliance official who said US pressure was paying off.” Trump commented on
Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=080-229&t=c>
“within minutes” after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Fox
News Sunday
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=081-da4&t=c>
that NATO allies will add $100 billion in military outlays by the end of
next year. Said Stoltenberg, “We see that the clear message from President
Trump is having an impact. NATO allies have heard the President loud and
clear and now NATO allies are stepping up. I’m happy with the fact that he
has helped us now move on the question of burden-sharing within the
alliance.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=082-fc1&t=c>
(1/27, Wolfgang) reports Stoltenberg said the President’s “repeated demands
that NATO ramp up its military spending have had an impact.” Said the NATO
chief, “By the end of the next year, NATO allies will add 100 billion extra
US dollars for defense. So we see some real money and some real results.”

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=083-187&t=c>
(1/27, Schultz) says Trump tweeted in response, “Jens Stoltenberg, NATO
Secretary General, just stated that because of me NATO has been able to
raise far more money than ever before from its members after many years of
decline. It’s called burden sharing. Also, more united. Dems & Fake News
like to portray the opposite!”

        Also reporting the comments Sunday by both men, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=084-fee&t=c>
(1/27, Griffiths) notes that “Trump has repeatedly and publicly slammed
NATO members for failing to spend a promised 2 percent minimum of their
GDPs on defense by 2024.”

        In a later interview with the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=085-4c6&t=c>
(1/27, Rogan), Stoltenberg, asked about Germany’s spending target of 1.5
percent of GDP on defense by 2024, said, “It’s a significant step in the
right direction,” but “we will continue to push for more.”
US Lifts Sanctions On Russian Aluminum Giant Linked To Deripaska.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=086-a51&t=c>
(1/27, Zengerle) reports the Administration “on Sunday lifted sanctions on
aluminum giant Rusal (0486. HK) and other Russian firms linked to oligarch
Oleg Deripaska, despite a Democratic-led push in the U.S. Congress to
maintain the restrictions.” In its Sunday statement, the Treasury
Department “said the three companies had reduced Deripaska’s direct and
indirect shareholding stake and severed his control.” That move, the
statement said, “ensured that most directors on the En+ and Rusal boards
would be independent directors, including Americans and Europeans, who had
no business, professional or family ties to Deripaska or any other person
designated for sanctions by the Treasury Department.” US officials “and
many Republicans” who opposed the sanctions “said they worried about the
impact on the global aluminum industry,” and that “Deripaska’s decision to
lower his stakes in the companies so that he no longer controlled them
showed that the sanctions had worked.”
Domestic Policy
Trump Blasts Stone Indictment, Decries Mueller “Witch Hunt.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=087-9ba&t=c>
(1/27, Samuels) reports President Trump, in a series of tweets late
Saturday, “railed against the indictment of Roger Stone, insisting that he
did not work with” Stone “anywhere near the Election” and “complaining that
the focus should instead be on obstacles his campaign faced in 2016.” Trump
“cited allegations in Stone’s indictment that data was released during the
2016 campaign to damage then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton,” and
“suggested he was subject to similar campaigns, pointing to the so-called
Steele dossier,” which he called a “total phony conjob.” Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=088-cdc&t=c>,
“CBS reports that in the Roger Stone indictment, data was ‘released during
the 2016 Election to damage Hillary Clinton.’ Oh really! What about the
Fake and Unverified ‘Dossier,’ a total phony conjob, that was paid for by
Crooked Hillary to damage me and the Trump Campaign? What ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=089-3b4&t=c>
about all of the one sided Fake Media coverage (collusion with Crooked H?)
that I had to endure during my very successful presidential campaign. What
about the now revealed bias by Facebook and many others. Roger Stone didn’t
even work for me anywhere near the Election!” Trump added
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=08a-a17&t=c>,
“WITCH HUNT!”

        Meanwhile, acting White House chief of staff Mulvaney sought to
distance the White House from Stone, telling CBS’ Face the Nation[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=08b-ae1&t=c>
(1/27), “I have never met Roger Stone. Keep in mind, all the stuff you see
happening with Roger Stone doesn’t have anything to do with the White
House. It doesn’t have anything to do with the President, and certainly
doesn’t have anything to do with the staff at the White House, which is
what I manage. So I’m out of the loop on that one.”

        *Stone Denies Wrongdoing, Says Indictment Against Him Is “Thin.” *Stone
was “defiant” in an appearance on ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=08c-04c&t=c>
Sunday, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=08d-021&t=c>
(1/27, Cummings) reports. Stone “denied doing anything wrong” and called
the indictment against him “thin as p*ss on a rock.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=08e-1dd&t=c>
(1/27, Forgey) says Stone “complained” on ABC’s This Week[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=08f-454&t=c>
that “his arrest by FBI agents early Friday morning was an excessive show
of force following his indictment by special counsel Robert Mueller,”
According to Stone, law enforcement officers and Mueller engaged in
“Gestapo tactics” intended to “poison the jury pool.” Stone said, “I’m 66
years old. I don’t own a firearm. I have no prior criminal record. My
passport has expired. The special counsel’s office is well aware of the
fact that I’m represented. ... They could simply have called my lawyers and
I would have turned myself in. ... It’s an expensive show of force to try
to depict me as Public Enemy No. 1, the OG. It’s an attempt to poison the
jury pool. These are Gestapo tactics.” Jeff Pegues said on the CBS Weekend
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=090-bbc&t=c>
(1/27, story 5, 2:10, Quijano) Stone “faces several counts of lying,
obstruction and witness tampering.” If convicted, he could spend “45 years
behind bars.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=091-094&t=c>
(1/27, Haberman) says Stone argued
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=092-d2d&t=c>
“that text message exchanges that were cited in his indictment were being
misrepresented.” Stone said of his exchanges with former associate Randy
Credico, “It has to be seen in context. ... It is a humorous exchange.
They’re taking things out of context to present them in a light that
mischaracterizes their significance. I never told Mr. Credico to lie.”

        Tara Palmeri said on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=093-160&t=c>
(1/27, story 3, 2:50, Llamas) Stone “does not rule out cooperating with the
special counsel.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=094-d75&t=c>
(1/27, Chiacu) reports Stone told “This Week,” “You know, that’s a question
I would have to – I have to determine after my attorneys have some
discussion. ... I’d also testify honestly about any other matter, including
any communications with the president. ... It’s true that we spoke on the
phone, but those communications are political in nature, they’re benign,
and there is certainly no conspiracy with Russia.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=095-47e&t=c>
(1/27, Chaney) also highlights Stone’s comments on possible cooperation
with Mueller.

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=096-e04&t=c>
(1/26, Zapotosky) reports special counsel Robert Mueller “has shown over
and over again that some of President Trump’s closest friends and advisers
have lied about Russia and related issues,” including last week when he
alleged that Stone “lied to Congress and obstructed its probe of Russia’s
interference in the 2016 campaign.” While “Trump and his associates have
dismissed the serial deception as a sideshow,” Mueller’s prosecutors “have
documented various falsehoods by Trump advisers that masked efforts by
people in his orbit to develop inroads with Russia and leverage that
country’s hacking of Democratic emails. The remaining question...is why.”

        Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist said on Fox News MediaBuzz[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=097-5d5&t=c>
(1/27), “It’s fine to cover it. It is good to cover it. But it is also true
that this week we learned that there was major obstruction going on at the
department of justice and nobody covered it. We learned that they...led
Congress to believe they didn’t have access to the dossier until just
before the election. Sworn testimony before Congress tells us they know
about meetings with Steele going back to July of the campaign. Nobody in
the media cares about that. ... I agree that lying to Congress is a
problem. But we have people lying to Congress all the time...and they don’t
get charged.”

        *Schiff Casts Doubt On Stone’s Explanations. *Following Stone’s ABC
interview, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said on ABC’s This Week[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=098-461&t=c>
(1/27), “He’s presumed innocent, but these are very specific allegations of
lies and witness intimidation. They are matters that will be easily
provable. These are not ambiguous statements. They are very detailed and I
think he’s going to need a much better defense than the one you just
heard.” Schiff added, “I prosecuted a number of white collar cases when I
was assistant US attorney. White collar defendants always make some
variation of the same argument and that is, I have a perfectly innocent
explanation for this fact, and as for the other fact, I can come up with an
innocent explanation for that and likewise for all these other facts, but
whatever you do, don’t look at their totality”

        Carrie Cordero, senior fellow with the Center for New American
Security, said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=099-a47&t=c>
(1/27) that Stone “wasn’t just in touch with one person in the Trump
campaign about what WikiLeaks was going to or not going to release. He was
in touch with multiple people in the Trump campaign at senior levels. So
there’s various references in the indictment of Roger Stone that indicate
that it was an ongoing set of communications between him and numerous, not
just one, person in the Trump campaign.”

        Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov said on Fox News MediaBuzz[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=09a-936&t=c>
(1/27), “I do think it is serious. It’s not as serious as some people who
want the Mueller report to come out in the next 20 minutes because they
can’t wait any more are making it out to be, but as more and more Trump
associates who had a role in the campaign and have been around him for
decades, go down for this and potentially turn to cooperating witnesses,
people who want to turn a blind eye to it and continue to scream witch hunt
are looking more and more absurd.”

        *Corsi Says He Would Testify Against Stone. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=09b-d92&t=c>
(1/27, Chiacu) “right-wing commentator and conspiracy theorist” Jerome
Corsi said Friday that he is the “Person 1” who the indictment says
“communicated with Stone about the stolen emails and WikiLeaks’ plan to
release them.” On CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=09c-73c&t=c>,
Corsi “also said the information in the indictment was accurate and that he
would testify against Stone.” Said Corsi, “I will be happy to testify. ...
And I will let the testimony fall wherever it falls.”

        *Daily Caller Suggests FBI Tipped CNN About Stone Arrest. *The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=09d-405&t=c>
(1/27, Hagstrom) reports that “CNN was right there filming every second”
when Stone was arrested on Friday and questions how the network was able to
“get the drop on the rest of the media.” In a video on the site, Anders
Hagstrom said CNN’s presence at the arrest “might show that the FBI isn’t
above wading into the news cycle and actively shaping narratives.”

        *Rubio: “Wittingly” Working With WikiLeaks Should Be Considered A
Crime. *Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said on NBC’s Meet the Press[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=09e-ee5&t=c>
(1/27), “It should be clear by now...that Wikileaks and others like that
could have been tools of foreign intelligence used to divide America. I do
believe anyone cooperating with them, wittingly or unwittingly, is doing
the work of a foreign intelligence agency to harm us.” Rubio added that ...
All of us need to be wiser – when we see this from a third party source
that we don’t know who it is, we have to be careful we are not doing the
work of the Russians or some other intelligence agency that is trying to
undermine us.” Rubio added that “wittingly” working with WikiLeaks should
be considered a crime.” Rubio told CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=09f-4d9&t=c>
(1/27), “My position on this all along has been, Mueller’s probe should
continue. It should be allowed to reach its full conclusion and we should
all reserve judgment, no matter what little bits and pieces are coming out
until the entire thing has been presented and we can analyze it.”

        *Nunes: Mueller Is Scraping “The Bottom Of The Barrel” With Stone
Indictment. *Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) said on Fox News Sunday Morning
Futures[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a0-15f&t=c>
(1/27), said, “Well, for two years our committee has been mocked by the
left and the media as not a serious investigation, yet if you look at the
indictments of the Russian actors, those came from our committee, stuff
that the Republicans found. Now you look at Roger Stone – Roger Stone is
kind of an odd political figure. He’s one of these flamboyant guys who runs
around and is kind of a press guy, kind of this type of guy, says a lot of
things and hangs out with some very scurrilous people. However, I think the
Mueller investigation is really at the bottom of the barrel when they’re
looking at people like this because we already found in our report that
Roger Stone wasn’t colluding with the Russians, which that was the original
intent of all this, remember?”

        *Kildee Says It’s Hard To See How Investigation Won’t Lead Back To
Trump. *Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) said on MSNBC’s Politics Nation[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a1-f6b&t=c>
(1/26), “What we really need to see is how all of the pieces of this puzzle
fit together. So far, the pieces that we’ve seen are pretty damning of this
presidency. The people very closest to him, many of them have been indicted
for serious crimes. The people he held closest to him for the longest
period of time are the ones that look like they are facing real trouble.
When you think about that, we look at what the Mueller investigation will
ultimately reveal, it’s hard to imagine that this puzzle that’s being put
together will not somehow lead to the President himself.”
Christie: Trump, Kushner Thought Firing Flynn Would End The “Russia Thing.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a2-77c&t=c>
(1/27, Haberman) reports former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) writes
in a new memoir that the President and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner,
“believed that the ‘Russia thing’ would end as a side effect from the
firing of the national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn,
in the early days of the administration.” Christie and his wife had lunch
with the President on Feb. 14, 2017, the day after Flynn was fired.
Christie writes that the President said to him, “This Russia thing is all
over now, because I fired Flynn.” Christie “said that he started laughing,
and the president asked why.” Christie writes, “‘Sir...this Russia thing is
far from over.” Trump replied, “What do you mean? Flynn met with the
Russians. That was the problem. I fired Flynn. It’s over.” Kushner added,
“That’s right, firing Flynn ends the whole Russia thing.”
Scalise Urges Pelosi To Schedule State Of The Union “Quickly.”

House Minority Whip Scalise, on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a3-67b&t=c>
(1/27), said, “The American people deserve a State of the Union, and it
ought to be in the House chamber. The Speaker of the House controls the
House chamber. Nancy Pelosi, I thought, was very petty in uninviting the
President from the original date they agreed upon. I think she ought to do
it quickly, I think early next week she ought to send a letter out formally
inviting the President. February 5th is a date that seems to work well. Do
that quickly, end this charade and, frankly, I think it’s something the
American people look at in a negative way when they look at Nancy Pelosi
trying to held the State of the Union hostage.”

        The CBS Weekend News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a4-e54&t=c>
(1/27, story 4, 0:25, Quijano) reported Pelosi “says that she will not
discuss new dates until the government is reopened and, as of right now, no
dates are confirmed just yet.”
WSJournal/NBC Poll: 51% Approve Of Trump’s Management Of Economy.

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a5-217&t=c>
(1/27, Carney) reports a new Wall Street Journal and NBC News poll found
that 51 percent of Americans support the President’s management of the US
economy over his first two years in the White House, which represents a
single percentage point boost since the previous WSJ/NBC poll in July 2018.
Breitbart states that the President’s increasing support from the American
people “defied predictions that the public would turn against the president
due to stock market turmoil that lasted from October through Christmas Eve
2018.” However, Breitbart also admitted that the President now sees greater
opposition to his policies with 45 percent responding that they disapprove
– which is a 12 percent boost from the previous assessment.
NYTimes Analysis: World Economy Struggles To Escape Low-Growth And
Low-Inflation.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a6-7fd&t=c>
(1/27, Irwin) reports that new global data points to how “the era of
persistently low growth, low inflation and low interest rates isn’t over
after all” and that government banking agencies, such as the US Federal
Reserve, European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan, are now moving to
adjust policies to reflect that reality. The Times states that it expects
the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged, but warns that the
Federal Reserve will likely “discuss their broader strategy for making
monetary policy, which may include keeping more of their giant portfolio of
bonds...than analysts had once expected” because of how global economic
weaknesses persist, despite signs of new economic strength in 2018.
New Tax Law Creating Uncertainty About 2019 Refunds.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a7-123&t=c>
(1/27, Tankersley, Phillips) reports the government shutdown “coincided
with one of the Internal Revenue Service’s busiest times,” and while
“furloughed federal workers will return to their jobs on Monday, it will
take time to get parts of the I.R.S. running smoothly again.” Moreover, the
“$1.5 trillion tax overhaul that took effect at the beginning of 2018”
threw “a cloud of confusion over the correct amount to withhold in advance
from workers’ paychecks. ... Whether the new law will lead to a surge in
refunds, a modest bump or even a decline could also have political
implications.”
Trump Golf Club Accused Of Hiring Illegal Immigrants.

NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a8-8b8&t=c>
(1/27, lead story, 3:15, Snow) reported in its lead story that there is
“evidence that another of [President Trump’s] golf clubs...was employing
housekeepers and maintenance workers and other staff who presented phony
documents when they were given the job.” Gabriel Sedano, who entered the
country illegally, worked for 14 years “in building maintenance at the
Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York.” He told NBC “he
thinks people at the highest levels of the Trump organization knew they
were hiring undocumented workers” and the Trump “also knew there were
undocumented workers on staff.” In a statement to NBC News, Eric Trump
said, “We have tens of thousands of employees across our properties and
have very strict hiring practices. If any employee submitted false
documentation in an attempt to circumvent the law, they will be terminated
immediately.” The White House “had no comment on the suggestion that the
President knew about undocumented workers.”
Cancer Research
Sharpless Announces NCI Clinical Trials Will Cover Areas Neglected By
Industry.

BioCentury
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0a9-24c&t=c>
(1/25, Zipkin) reported “NCI will focus its clinical research on topics
that are neglected by industry, including low-prevalence cancers and the
de-escalation of therapeutic intensity, NCI Director Norman (Ned) Sharpless
said in remarks Friday and in a Viewpoint
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0aa-238&t=c>
published Thursday in Journal of the American Medical Association.”
Sharpless said, “There are certain kinds of clinical trials that
pharmaceutical companies don’t do, so NCI has to step into the breach and
address those questions.”
Study Finds Blood Cancers Associated With Higher Treatment, Out-Of-Pocket
Costs.

OncLive
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0ab-74e&t=c>
(1/25, Harris) reported research finds “patients with blood cancers face
greater treatment costs than those with solid tumors,” and “healthcare
spending for these patients is already higher than average before diagnosis
and does not return to prediagnosis levels even after successful
treatment.” Furthermore, “overall, the National Cancer Institute’s
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database reports that
blood cancer-related deaths declined by more than 2% from 2011 to 2015.”
The Milliman research report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0ac-73d&t=c>
was commissioned by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

New York Times editorials were not available as of publication time.
Washington Post.

*“Convicted For Leaving Water For Migrants In The Desert – This Is Trump’s
Justice.”* A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0ad-c1e&t=c>
(1/27) editorial says the fact that federal prosecutors in Arizona
convicted “four humanitarian aid workers who left water in the desert for
migrants who might otherwise die of heat exposure and thirst” and “dropped
manslaughter charges against a U.S. Border Patrol agent who fired 16 times
across the border, killing a teenage Mexican boy” is “a snapshot of twisted
frontier justice in the age of Trump. Save a migrant’s life, and you risk
becoming a political prisoner. Kill a Mexican teenager, and you walk free.”

        *“Elizabeth Warren Wants A ‘Wealth Tax.’ It Might Backfire.” *In an
editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0ae-5ac&t=c>
(1/27) highlights Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s
(D-MA) plan “to propose an annual 2 percent federal tax on individual
fortunes of more than $50 million and 3 percent on those greater than $1
billion,” and questions “whether a flat annual tax on wealth is the best
way to tackle the inequity and inefficiency associated with concentration
of wealth.” The Post says there would be problems implementing such a
proposal and argues it would create a “huge incentive for tax avoidance
among a segment of society well able to afford accountants and lawyers.”

        *“The Opioid Epidemic Is No Time For Risky Pharmaceutical
Marketing.” *A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0af-6e8&t=c>
(1/27) editorial says pharmaceutical companies’ direct marketing to
physicians “can result in overpromotion of risky products.” The Post says
that “a study of overdose deaths due to prescription opioids between 2014
and 2016 shows an association between such deaths and direct-to-physician
marketing.” While the study, which appeared in the medical journal JAMA
Open Network, “found an association between heavy marketing and opioid
deaths – not causation – it supports the idea that further progress against
the opioid epidemic may require more marketing restraint.”

*Copyright 2019 by Bulletin Intelligence LLC* Reproduction or
redistribution without permission prohibited. Content is drawn from
thousands of newspapers, national magazines, national and local television
programs, radio broadcasts, social-media platforms and additional forms of
open-source data. Sources for Bulletin Intelligence audience-size estimates
include Scarborough, GfK MRI, comScore, Nielsen, and the Audit Bureau of
Circulation. Data from and access to third party social media platforms,
including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, is
subject to the respective platform’s terms of use. Services that include
Factiva content are governed by Factiva’s terms of use
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0b0-a7a&t=c>.
Services including embedded Tweets are also subject to Twitter for
Website's information and privacy policies
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019012801biden&r=email-2f29&l=0b1-16d&t=c>.
The Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing is published five
days a week by Bulletin Intelligence, which creates custom briefings for
government and corporate leaders. We can be found on the Web at
BulletinIntelligence.com, or called at (703) 483-6100