Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Wednesday, February 13, 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: Wed, 13 Feb 2019 09:21:50 -0500

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Wednesday, February 13, 2019 7:56 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, February 13, 2019

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=000-41c&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=001-3cc&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, February 13, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• 2020 Democratic Poll: Biden 29%; Sanders 22%; Harris 13%. <#S1>

• WPost’s Rubin: With Broad Democratic Field, No Real Need For Biden,
Sanders To Run. <#S2>

• Christie Weighs In On Biden, Announced 2020 Democrats. <#S3>

• Biden Eulogizes Dingell. <#S4>

• WPost Analysis: Young Democrats Pushing Party “To The Left On Divisive
Issues.” <#S5>

• Rogers: 2020 Democrats May Have To Be Careful In Criticizing Trump
Policies. <#S6>

• Media Analyses: Border Battle With Trump Boosts Potential 2020 Hopeful
O’Rourke. <#S7>

• Klobuchar Says She Views Green New Deal “As Aspirational.” <#S8>

• Brown Declines To Say If He Supports “Medicare-For-All,” “Green New Deal”
Proposals. <#S9>

• Warren Pays “Surprise” Visit To Native American Conference. <#S10>

• Harris Comments On Smoking Pot In College Draw Scrutiny. <#S11>

• Booker Says He’ll “Be Looking To Women First” For A Running Mate. <#S12>

• Politico: Bloomberg Would Spend At Least $500M Of His Own Cash On 2020
Bid. <#S13>

• Holder Says He Aims To Reach Decision On A 2020 Bid “Within The Next
Month Or So.” <#S14>

• Mulling White House Run, Democrat Bullock To Visit Iowa This Weekend.
<#S15>

• Eyeing 2020 Bid, Swalwell Would Bank Heavily On Doing Well In His Native
Iowa. <#S16>

• CNN: Schultz Won’t Commit To Dropping Out Of 2020 Race If It Appears
He’ll Help Trump. <#S17>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Says He’ll Combine Border Deal Funds “With Lots Of Money From Other
Sources.” <#S18>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Pompeo Warns Europe Against Over-Reliance On Chinese Technology, Russian
Energy. <#S19>

• Trump May Let China Trade Deadline “Slide For A Little While” As New
Round Of Talks Begins. <#S20>

• Trump Reportedly Mulling Sale Of Nuclear Technology To Saudi Arabia.
<#S21>

• US Seeks To Increase Pressure On Iran At Warsaw Meeting. <#S22>

• Shanahan Reassures Iraqi Leaders About Role Of US Troops In Wake Of Trump
Comments. <#S23>

• Top US Commanders In Asia: North Korea Unlikely To Denuclearize Fully.
<#S24>

• US-Backed Forces Continue Push Into Last ISIS Stronghold. <#S25>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Senate Intelligence Committee Probe Finds No Evidence Of Trump-Russia
Collusion. <#S26>

• Trump Says “Anti-Semitism Has No Place” In Congress, Calls On Omar To
Resign. <#S27>

• White House “Condemns” Attack On BBC Cameraman At El Paso Rally. <#S28>

• McConnell To Force Senate Vote On “Green New Deal.” <#S29>

• Barr Nomination Advances On 55-44 Cloture Vote. <#S30>

• Trump Says Whitaker Took “Tremendous Amount Of Abuse” From Hill Democrats.
<#S31>

• National Debt Reaches $22T For The First Time. <#S32>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• Pembrolizumab Continues To Improve Survival, Demonstrates Less Toxicity
Than Platinum-Based Chemo In PD-L1-Positive NSCLC, Study Finds. <#S33>

• Research Shows Active Surveillance Tripled For Low-Risk Prostate Cancer
From 2012 To 2015. <#S34>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S35>

• Washington Post. <#S36>
Biden in the News
2020 Democratic Poll: Biden 29%; Sanders 22%; Harris 13%.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=002-57a&t=c>
(2/12, Burke) reported that a Morning Consult poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=003-522&t=c>
(2/12) of 11,627 likely Democratic primary voters, taken Feb. 4-10, shows
former Vice President Joe Biden leading a hypothetical race for the 2020
Democratic presidential nomination with 29%, followed by Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I-VT) at 22%, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) at 13%, Sen. Elizabeth
Warren (D-MA) at 8%, ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) at 7%, Sen. Cory Booker
(D-NJ) at 5%, and several others lagging further behind. In a smaller
sample, the survey “also showed Biden with a lead among voters in early
primary states, which include Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and
Nevada.” Biden led that sample with 33%, followed by Sanders at 21%, Harris
at 11%, Warren at 10%, and others lagging further behind. Vox
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=004-4fe&t=c>
(2/12, Stewart) reported, “Morning Consult also asked voters who their
second choice would be. Biden, Warren, and O’Rourke voters said Sanders.
Sanders and Harris voters said Biden.”

        Writing for the Daily Intelligencer (NY)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=005-d10&t=c>
(2/12), Ed Kilgore said of the poll results, “Among Biden fans nationally,
the top backup candidate is Sanders with 27 percent. Among Sanders
supporters, a plurality (26 percent) consider Biden their next option. What
this most likely indicates is that support for each of these candidates is
to a significant extent a product of the high name ID they share: 89
percent of Democrats saying that they plan to vote in primaries or caucuses
know enough about Biden to have an opinion of him, with 88 percent saying
the same of Sanders.”

        *New Hampshire Poll: Biden Has Highest Favorability Rating Among
2020 Democrats. *In an online article, WMUR-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=006-499&t=c>
Manchester, NH (2/12, Sexton) reported that a St. Anselm College Survey
Center poll of 600 New Hampshire voters, taken Feb. 6-9, shows Biden with
the highest favorability rating among the field of announced and potential
2020 Democratic presidential contenders. The poll pegs Biden’s favorability
rating at 80%, with 12% viewing him unfavorably. Sanders sported the next
highest favorability rating at 65%, with 25% viewing him unfavorably.
Booker, Harris, and Warren all trailed closely behind Sanders.
WPost’s Rubin: With Broad Democratic Field, No Real Need For Biden, Sanders
To Run.

Writing on the website of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=007-262&t=c>
(2/12), Jennifer Rubin said of the 2020 Democratic race for president,
“With such an extremely diverse field (ideologically and otherwise), the
question for [former Vice President Joe] Biden remains: Does he have to run
for Democrats to reclaim the White House? It’s not like there are no
moderates or no white men with Rust Belt appeal or no experienced pols
already in the race or about to jump in.” Rubin said Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-VT) “suffers from some of the same maladies as Biden; he’s old
chronologically, a well-worn political face...male and white. Why does the
party need Bernie and his baggage with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and
plenty of fresher progressive faces available?” Rubin added that “with a
crowded field now populated with candidates who have some advantages they
don’t have, and without some of their disadvantages, the...question” for
Biden and Sanders “is: Why bother?”
Christie Weighs In On Biden, Announced 2020 Democrats.

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=008-59e&t=c>
(2/13, Gordon) reports that ex-Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) on Tuesday
weighed in on the 2020 Democratic presidential race, risking “controversy
by describing two black candidates as ‘articulate’ and calling former Vice
President Joe Biden ‘Crazy Uncle Joe.’” At an event promoting his memoir,
Christie described Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), both
African Americans, as “articulate.” Bloomberg says Biden “himself had to
apologize in 2007 for remarks he made about then-Senator Barack Obama when
both men were seeking the Democratic nomination for president. He’d called
Obama a ‘sort-of mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright
and clean.’” Meanwhile, of Biden, “whom he called the front-runner,”
Christie said, “Is he going to be the adult in the room or is he going to
be crazy Uncle Joe? He could be either. If he’s the adult in the room, I
think he’s got a real shot to be able to distinguish himself in a material
way from the other people.”
Biden Eulogizes Dingell.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=009-205&t=c>
(2/12, Householder, Karoub) reports that the late Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)
“knew that jobs were about more than collecting a paycheck, and that health
care meant more than just good health. Both were about dignity, former Vice
President Joe Biden said
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=00a-64f&t=c>
Tuesday while eulogizing the longest serving member of Congress in US
history.” Addressing “hundreds of people gathered for Dingell’s funeral in
a suburban Detroit church,” Biden said, “He believed without exception that
everybody was entitled to be treated with dignity. Dignity was how John
walked. Dignity was how John talked. Dignity was how John carried himself.
More than that, it was how he treated everybody. And I mean everybody.”

        The Detroit Free Press
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=00b-5bc&t=c>
(2/12, Gray) reports that Biden honored Dingell, “saying that one word
summed up the longest-serving member of Congress: Dignity.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=00c-cbb&t=c>
(2/12, Galioto) reported, “Dignity, Biden said, was at the core of all
Dingell did – recognition and respect for the dignity of every man and
woman.” MLive (MI)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=00d-b33&t=c>
(2/12, Stanton) reports that Biden, “a potential 2020 presidential
candidate, delivered a light-hearted speech that lasted about 30 minutes to
end the two-hour funeral mass, reflecting on what he liked about Dingell
and some of the congressman’s legislative accomplishments.” The Royal Oak
(MI) Daily Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=00e-0dc&t=c>
(2/12, Herndon) reports that Biden called Dingell “an ‘amazing soul.’” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=00f-36c&t=c>
(2/12, Rodrigo) reported that Biden said “Dingell ‘fought like hell’ for
others and that so many were mourning the Michigan Democrat not because
they necessarily knew him, but ‘because they knew John knew them.’”

        On its website, CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=010-f8a&t=c>
(2/12, Tillett) reported that Biden “also remembered” Dingell’s “sharp wit,
his biting tongue and brutal honesty. ‘He knew the difference between a hot
mic and a cold mic, that’s for sure,’ Biden joked.” On its website, ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=011-1fd&t=c>
(2/12, Nagle) reported that Biden “was the only scheduled speaker to make
it to the service.” Reps. John Lewis (D-GA) and Fred Upton (R-MI) “were
also scheduled to speak but the military planes they and several other
members were on were forced to turn around because of bad weather in
Detroit.” Among the local TV stations broadcasting reports on Biden’s
eulogizing of Dingell are WXMI-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=012-ec2&t=c>
Grand Rapids, MI (2/13), WDIV-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=013-bd5&t=c>
Detroit's Early Today (2/13), WEYI-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=014-754&t=c>
Flint, MI (2/13), WJBK-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=015-2a8&t=c>
Detroit (2/13), and WWTV-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=016-dfe&t=c>
Cadillac, MI (2/13). CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=017-4a2&t=c>
(2/12, McPherson) and the Daily Mail (UK)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=018-974&t=c>
(2/12, Griffith) also report on the story.
WPost Analysis: Young Democrats Pushing Party “To The Left On Divisive
Issues.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=019-95e&t=c>
(2/12, Kim, Linskey, Bade) reports that young Democrats are “using
far-reaching policy ideas and a brash social media presence to upend the
party – pushing it to the left on divisive issues such as health care and
climate change.” At the same time, “the liberal shift, and the lawmakers
driving it, are also creating challenges for Democrats in more-conservative
areas, and they are giving President Trump and congressional Republicans
fresh opportunities for political attacks” on topics such as the “broad
‘Green New Deal’ proposal.” The Post adds, “The party’s increasingly
liberal bent is also creating dilemmas for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-Calif.), who is trying to manage a band of outspoken new liberal members
while also staying attuned to the needs of moderates hailing from swing
districts.”
Rogers: 2020 Democrats May Have To Be Careful In Criticizing Trump Policies.

Contributor Ed Rogers writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=01a-be0&t=c>
(2/12, Rogers) that to date in the Democratic race for president, “the only
unifying theme among all candidates is that President Trump is unfit and he
and his Republican policies must go. ... How will they be wildly anti-Trump
without pledging to do things that would snuff out the robust economy?”
Rogers adds that if Democrats run on “higher taxes” and “socialist” ideas,
they “could produce a referendum on the economy instead of a referendum on
Trump’s character.” He also says Trump’s foreign policy will not be easy
for Democrats to criticize. Rogers concludes: “By fostering bothersome
economic prosperity and making foreign policy moves that no one will want
to undo, Trump is effectively rendering much of the traditional debate
about peace and prosperity off limits to Democrats,” leaving them with
“identity politics, grievances, claims of corruption and comical misfires
such as the Green New Deal.”
Media Analyses: Border Battle With Trump Boosts Potential 2020 Hopeful
O’Rourke.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=01b-785&t=c>
(2/12, Siders) reported that if ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) enters the
2020 White House race, “he should thank President Donald Trump for the kick
in the pants.” Politico said that Trump’s Monday “appearance in O’Rourke’s
hometown” of El Paso “served to elevate the” Democrat “as a potential
rival. And as Trump confronted O’Rourke at a campaign-style rally on an
issue central to both of their political identities – immigration and the
border wall – O’Rourke seized the opportunity to re-establish his footing.”
Speaking with Politico, O’Rourke said, “Yeah, I’m back in the mix around an
issue that could not be more important for our country and for our
community.”

        Similarly, The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=01c-b8d&t=c>
(2/12, Parnes) reported, “Democrats say [O’Rourke’s] prime-time fight
Monday night with...Trump likely gave a boost to the potential presidential
candidate, whose stock has fallen in the past six weeks as he has publicly
mulled a bid for the White House.” O’Rourke received “heavy media coverage
for his speech, and Trump himself added to the story by attacking the
former congressman.” The Hill quoted Democratic strategist Eddie Vale as
saying, “For Beto, Trump showing up in his backyard was a hanging curveball
over the plate that he crushed out of the park.” On its website, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=01d-46c&t=c>
(2/12, Todd, Murray, Dann) went so far as to say that O’Rourke got “under
the skin of” Trump.
Klobuchar Says She Views Green New Deal “As Aspirational.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=01e-a71&t=c>
(2/12, Axelrod) reported that during a Tuesday appearance[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=01f-e51&t=c>
on Fox News, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said “that she views the recently
proposed Green New Deal as ‘aspirational’ but was less committal about
specific legislative proposals. ‘I see it as aspirational, I see it as a
jump start. So I would vote yes, but I would also, if it got down to the
nitty-gritty of an actual legislation as opposed to, ‘oh, here are some
goals we have,’ that would be different for me,’ the Democratic
presidential candidate said.” She added, “I am for a jump-start of the
discussion and a framework as Sen. [Ed] Markey [D-Mass.] has described.”
Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) “introduced companion
resolutions on the Green New Deal last week.”

        *Klobuchar Downplays Reports Of Berating Staff. *Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=020-bf2&t=c>
(2/12, Choi) reported that during her appearance[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=021-55a&t=c>
on Fox News, Klobuchar also “played down numerous reports about her
temperament and said she would take responsibility for everything that
‘happens on this campaign.’ Klobuchar faced numerous allegations of
mistreating her staff, including sending them on personal errands and
demeaning them through sharp comments and late-night emails.’” Klobuchar is
quoted as saying that “Yes, I can be a tough boss and push people – that’s
obvious. But that’s because I have high expectations of myself, I have high
expectations of those that work with me, and I have high expectations for
our country.”
Brown Declines To Say If He Supports “Medicare-For-All,” “Green New Deal”
Proposals.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=022-361&t=c>
(2/12, Strauss) reported that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) “is declining to
say whether he supports ‘Medicare for all’ and ‘Green New Deal’ proposals
pushed by other” Democrats “as he considers a run for president, saying he
doesn’t need to weigh in to underscore that he’s progressive.” Brown “has
said that he broadly supports the philosophies of expanding Medicare and
fighting climate change.” However, speaking on Tuesday at an event hosted
by the Christian Science Monitor, Brown said, “I’m not going to get in the
position every time someone has a really good idea or a big idea I have to
talk in great detail on my position on it. I know the easy thing to do is
say, ‘Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes,’ but I don’t know that that serves
my constituents. As a progressive, I’m not going to get in this race and
change my positions and go like that with people.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=023-2e1&t=c>
(2/12, McLaughlin) reports that Brown also “said he doesn’t think the party
has shifted to the left, saying [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi’s views are
the best barometer for where the party is right now.” Said Brown, “Nancy
Pelosi is the leader of the party. I look to what she says more than I look
to what a handful of members of Congress say.”
Warren Pays “Surprise” Visit To Native American Conference.

The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=024-b39&t=c>
(2/12, Bendery) reported that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Tuesday “made
a surprise appearance at...the National Conference of American Indians.”
Her appearance came “after she apologized to the Cherokee Nation for
releasing a DNA test in October in an attempt to prove she had Native
ancestry. The Washington Post also recently revealed that Warren listed her
race as ‘American Indian’ when she filled out a form for the Texas state
bar in 1986.” Addressing the gathering, Warren “called for Congress to take
more action on Native issues,” though “most of her remarks were spent
praising Native women, saying she was there to lift up Native voices.”
Harris Comments On Smoking Pot In College Draw Scrutiny.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=025-406&t=c>
(2/12, Blake) reports that Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), a presidential
candidate, “appears to have fibbed during an interview Monday about smoking
marijuana in college while listening to music by Snoop Dogg and Tupac
Shakur. Ms. Harris cited both rappers during an appearance on ‘The
Breakfast Club’ radio program in response to a question posed moments after
she acknowledged smoking marijuana in college. ... Neither of the future
rap legends had released music by the time Ms. Harris completed graduate
school, however.”

        The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=026-cd2&t=c>
(2/12, Moye) reported, “In a clip posted on Twitter, Harris appears to
answer” the host’s “question, saying that she likes Snoop Dogg and Tupac
Shakur (as well as Cardi B), while laughing off the query posed by
Charlamagne Tha God. But the close proximity of the two questions could
make it sound as if Harris were saying she listened to Tupac and Snoop Dogg
in college – which would be impossible since she graduated from Howard
University in 1986, five years before Tupac’s first album and six before
Snoop Dogg’s recording debut.”
Booker Says He’ll “Be Looking To Women First” For A Running Mate.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=027-c35&t=c>
(2/12, Griffiths) reported that during a Tuesday appearance on MSNBC, Sen.
Cory Booker (D-NJ) said “that while he does not want to ‘box himself in’ so
far away from Election Day, he would be ‘looking at women first’ as a
running mate should he become his party’s presidential nominee.” Said
Booker, “We have such a great field of leaders, I think you’ll rarely see a
Democratic ticket anymore without gender diversity, race diversity. It’s
something we should have. I’m not going to box myself in, but should I come
to it, you know I’ll be looking to women first.”
Politico: Bloomberg Would Spend At Least $500M Of His Own Cash On 2020 Bid.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=028-4b8&t=c>
(2/13, Caputo) reports that ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D)
“is preparing to spend at least $500 million from his own pocket to deny
President Trump a second term, according to Democratic operatives briefed
on his plans.” If Bloomberg enters the race for the Democratic presidential
nomination, “he will use that half-billion-dollar stake – roughly $175
million more than the Trump campaign spent over the course of the entire
2016 election cycle – to fuel his campaign through the 2020 primary season,
with the expectation that the sum represents a floor, not a ceiling, on his
potential spending.” Should he opt against entering the White House race,
Bloomberg intends “to run an unprecedented data-heavy campaign designed to
operate as a shadow political party for the eventual Democratic nominee.”
Holder Says He Aims To Reach Decision On A 2020 Bid “Within The Next Month
Or So.”

In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=029-bdb&t=c>
(2/13, Romero, Hillyard) reports that ex-US Attorney General Eric Holder
(D) on Tuesday said “that he’ll decide on a 2020 presidential run in about
three weeks.” Speaking with “reporters outside the Harkin Institute for
Public Policy and Citizen Engagement at Iowa’s Drake University, where he
had just engaged in a 90-minute discussion on redistricting and voter
rights,” Holder said, “I’m going to decide if I’m going to try to find that
space within the next month or so.” NBC News added, “The key questions,
Holder said, are ‘whether you have the vision, the experience, the ability
to inspire others to deal with the issues of the day. So I’m going to sit
down you know with my family, you know, very soon.’”
Mulling White House Run, Democrat Bullock To Visit Iowa This Weekend.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=02a-0ef&t=c>
(2/12, Thompson) reported that Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT) “will travel to
Iowa at the end of the week as he further explores a run for the Democratic
presidential nomination,” according to “his Big Sky Values PAC.” State
Attorney General Tom Miller (D-IA) “will escort Bullock to a series of
small meetings with local Democrats in Des Moines on Friday and then
Carroll and Fort Dodge on Saturday.” Bullock, who is term-limited in next
year, “has said that he probably won’t make any public announcements about
a 2020” White House bid “until later this spring, when his final
legislative session ends.”
Eyeing 2020 Bid, Swalwell Would Bank Heavily On Doing Well In His Native
Iowa.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=02b-803&t=c>
(2/12, Marinucci, Korecki) reported that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), “who’s
edging closer to a longer-than-longshot presidential bid,” has “one
advantage in the crowded Democratic presidential field if he chooses to
run: Iowa, the state where he was born. Swalwell is a native of Sac City,
the son of the former police chief of Algona and he’s already been to the
early presidential state 15 times over the past two years.” In an
interview, Swalwell said “he is moving in [the] direction” of mounting a
2020 run, “telling POLITICO, ‘I’m ready to do this.’ ‘I have to make a
decision before April,’ he said.”
CNN: Schultz Won’t Commit To Dropping Out Of 2020 Race If It Appears He’ll
Help Trump.

In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=02c-4d9&t=c>
(2/12, Merica) reported that during a Tuesday town hall hosted by CNN,
ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who is considering an independent White
House run, bid for president, “would not commit to getting out of the
presidential race if he knows in late 2020 that his candidacy will help
President Donald Trump get elected.” Asked repeatedly about the subject,
Schultz “dodged the question,” saying “he would not run if, in the next few
months, ‘math doesn’t tally up,’” but declining “to say he would do the
same later in the race, should he decide to run.” Schultz did say that “I
will not do anything, whatsoever, to re-elect Donald Trump. No one wants to
see him fired more than me.”

        *Schultz Blasts Green New Deal As “Not Realistic,” Criticizes Both
Parties. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=02d-0cf&t=c>
(2/12, Axelrod) reported that during the town hall, Schultz “slammed the
recently-proposed Green New Deal as ‘not realistic.’” Said Schultz, “When I
see politicians start throwing things out that I know is not realistic,
that is not being honest with the American people.” Schultz added, “When I
read the Green New Deal and I try to understand what they’re suggesting, I
don’t understand how you’re going to give a job to everybody, how you’re
going to give free college to everybody, how you’re going to create clean
energy throughout the country in every building of the land, and then tally
this thing up with $32 trillion on Medicare for All. That’s about $40
trillion plus, we are sitting…with $22 trillion of debt on the balance
sheet of America.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=02e-1d8&t=c>
(2/12, Lim) quoted Schultz as saying of the Green New Deal, “I read that by
2030 they’re suggesting that every building in America becomes clean
energy, conforms to clean energy. Just to put that in perspective, because
it’s not realistic, that would mean that between 2,000 and 3,000 buildings
a day would have to be reconstructed to conform to what they’re saying. So
let’s be sensible about what we’re suggesting.” The remarks “are likely to
further raise tensions between” Schultz “and Democrats running against
[President] Trump. Several Democrats have said Schultz’ candidacy would
only split the anti-Trump vote and help Trump win re-election in 2020.”

        The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=02f-dbd&t=c>
(2/13, Visser) reports that Schultz “continually rejected the ‘extreme’
sides of both political parties and repeated that, in his estimation, the
current political system is ‘so broken.’ ‘Both parties today on the far
left and the far right are more interested in partisan politics, revenge
politics,’ Schultz said during the event when asked about his
qualifications. ‘I think we could be doing so much better than we are.”
However, said HuffPost, Schultz “failed to nail down firm positions on
almost every policy question he was asked.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=030-184&t=c>
(2/13, Cadelago) reports that Schultz, a billionaire, said he should be
paying a higher tax rate, but “demurred after repeatedly being pressed by
moderator Poppy Harlow to provide a rate. ‘The headline is here: I should
be paying more taxes,’ Schultz said. ‘And people who make this kind of
revenue, and are of means, should pay more taxes.’” After being pressed on
the subject, Schwartz said, “Poppy, I don’t what the number is,. What I am
saying is we need comprehensive tax reform.” Harlow continued to press, “at
which point Schultz launched into a criticism of Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez’s idea of a top marginal income tax rate as much as 70
percent – calling it ‘punitive.’”
Leading the News
Trump Says He’ll Combine Border Deal Funds “With Lots Of Money From Other
Sources.”

President Trump took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=031-73a&t=c>
yesterday to write, “Was just presented the concept and parameters of the
Border Security Deal by hard working Senator Richard Shelby. Looking over
all aspects knowing that this will be hooked up with lots of money from
other sources. ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=032-4ee&t=c>
Will be getting almost $23 BILLION for Border Security. Regardless of Wall
money, it is being built as we speak!” Earlier yesterday, the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=033-12d&t=c>
(2/12, A1, Werner, Sullivan, Paletta, Wagner) reports, Trump similarly
“suggested he could add to” to the funds included in the deal “to build his
US-Mexico border wall.” Trump is quoted as saying of the agreement, “It’s
not going to do the trick, but I’m adding things to it and when you add
whatever I have to add, it’s all going to happen where we’re going to build
a beautiful big strong wall.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=034-86d&t=c>
(2/12, story 3, 2:10, Alexander) also reported that “the President is now
hinting he’ll take executive action to redirect money to pay for the wall,”
the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=035-07d&t=c>
(2/12, story 4, 1:50, Reid) that he “could try to free up some money for a
border wall through executive action,” though “many Republicans oppose this
option,” and ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=036-41f&t=c>
(2/12, story 5, 2:20, Karl) that “he may try to go around Congress, declare
a national emergency and get the extra wall money that way, but the bottom
line is, nobody I have spoken to here at the White House or on Capitol Hill
thinks there will be another shutdown.”

        Along those lines, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=037-173&t=c>
(2/12, Dinan) says “the president seemed to signal that he might accept the
deal, then try to flex his powers by going around Congress,” and quotes him
as saying yesterday, “I consider everything.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=038-5cc&t=c>
(2/12, Nelson) reports Trump also said, “Am I happy at first glance, I just
got to see it? The answer is no, I’m not. I’m not happy. But am I happy
with where we’re going? I’m thrilled. ... I’m thrilled because we’re
supplementing things and moving things around and we’re doing things that
are fantastic, taking from far less important areas and the bottom line is
we’re building a lot of wall. ... Right now we’re building a lot of wall.”
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=039-0d8&t=c>
(2/12, Spiering) also indicates the President “suggested he could use
‘additional methods’ to build the wall,” but “he assured Americans not to
expect another shutdown.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=03a-bac&t=c>
(2/12, Fabian) reports “Trump did not say how he would add to the budget
deal but he appeared to open the door to redirecting certain federal
funding dedicated for other projects toward the wall, a move recently
floated by White House advisers to begin wall construction while stopping
short of making a controversial national emergency declaration.” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=03b-b9e&t=c>
(2/12, Dennis, Litvan, Wasson, Talev) and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=03c-130&t=c>
(2/12, Ballhaus, Peterson), among other news outlets, also report the
story.

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=03d-d13&t=c>
(2/12, Becker) reports Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) “said he thought Trump
would sign the bill,” telling reporters, “I think he will do so
reluctantly, and then obviously, have to use executive actions to secure
our borders.”

        On Fox News Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=03e-6d4&t=c>
(2/12), Bret Baier said, “The big question right now in the nation’s
capital is will President Trump support a compromised budget plan that
gives him some of the money for his border wall and averts another partial
government shutdown. The President said he’s not thrilled with the terms
but he’s thrilled about the direction of construction.”

        Pamela Brown said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=03f-132&t=c>
(2/12) that whether the President will sign the deal “is still the big
question looming here at the White House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell says he doesn’t know if Trump will sign the funding deal. A White
House official tells CNN, though it is likely that President Trump will
sign the deal, but cautioned it is still not final.”

        Kaitlin Collins said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=040-793&t=c>
(2/12), “No one is fully confident about the President signing it. That is
why no one will go and say that the President is going to sign it. I think
Mark Meadows is the only person that has gone so far to say he expects to
President to sign it, which is significant. We know Republicans are
lobbying the President to do so. White House officials think that they can
avoid this shutdown by having the President sign this. They had already
gotten to this conclusion that the President could take whatever deal he
got as long as it wasn’t outrageous and then they could still use some kind
of executive action...to get the wall anyway.”

        Jake Tapper on CNN’s The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=041-7fd&t=c>
(2/12) said, “The last deal in December when the President pulled the rug
out and said he wasn’t going to sign it had $1.6 billion. This has $1.375
billion. I have never been strong at math. Is it possible that the
President is ending up with a worse deal for what he wants because of the
government shutdown?” Bill Kristol replied, “Yes. Because Republicans
weren’t going to support him for a second shutdown.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=042-9c8&t=c>
(2/12, Taylor, Fram) indicates, meanwhile, that Trump said he was “unhappy”
with the “hard-won agreement to prevent a new government shutdown,” and the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=043-761&t=c>
(2/12, A1, Baker, Thrush) that he “gave no indication whether he would sign
or veto” the tentative deal. The Times points out that “the compromise
includes just $1.375 billion for new fencing along the border, far short of
the $5.7 billion he demanded for a wall.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=044-7d1&t=c>
(2/12, Kumar, Everett) says “some Republicans suspect that Trump, a former
reality show star keenly aware of how political dramas unfold on TV, has
already decided to surrender his fight with Congress – but that he is still
working to convince supporters that he got the best of his House Democratic
opponents.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=045-df9&t=c>
(2/12, Stokols) reports that “even as the president has failed to get the
funding he wants for a wall...he has shifted to declaring victory and
claiming credit for the 654 miles of fencing constructed under his
predecessors – the same former presidents he often criticizes for their
border policies, as he did Tuesday by derisively referring to ‘our past
geniuses.’” The Times adds “Trump himself directed campaign officials that
‘Finish the wall’ was to be the theme of the El Paso rally, according to a
person familiar with the planning.” Such “attempted sleight of hand on his
signature issue comes amid both deepening resignation in his circle that
Democrats in Congress are not going to support significant increases in
wall funding and concern about disappointing his core supporters.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=046-832&t=c>
(2/12, Cornwell, Cowan) reports that Republicans in Congress “have shown
little appetite for another shutdown after taking heavy criticism over the
prior one,” and McConnell, “who had counseled Trump against the previous
shutdown, said Democrats had abandoned ‘unreasonable’ demands.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=047-b84&t=c>
(2/12, Collins, Collins, Jackson) reports “McConnell said the Senate could
vote ‘in short order’ on the tentative proposal and urged Trump to sign
it,” saying, “I think he’s got a pretty good deal here. ... I hope he’ll
decide to sign it.” USA Today adds that Senate Minority Leader Schumer
“said the agreement represents ‘a path forward for our country’ and would
help avoid ‘another round of fraught negotiations’ as lawmakers rush to
beat Friday’s fast-approaching deadline.” Said Schumer, “Please Mr.
President. ... Sign it and don’t cause a shutdown.”

        On Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=048-52a&t=c>
(2/12), Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) said, “I’m pleased. I wish we had gotten
more, but I’m glad we will help the President build a wall, it will be a
good wall, and we will be able to see that.” She added, “It is a wall. It
was a wall 20 years in the making because they tried different ways to make
some sort of barrier, and most of them were poorly made, not enough
funding, fell down, that sort of thing, but this wall, we went right by
what the border security needs.”

        In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=049-28d&t=c>
(2/12) urges Trump to sign the deal and end the standoff. To the Journal,
the President allowed himself to be pulled into the spending fight by
zealous conservative commentators who did him no favors. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=04a-71d&t=c>
(2/12) editorializes, meanwhile, that “whatever path the president is
inclined to take, Republican leaders are sending him a clear message along
with the deal: This is the best offer he’s going to get under the
circumstances, and if he refuses it, he’ll wind up hanging out on that
political limb alone.” The Times adds “Trump finds himself once more walled
in by his border promises, with no clear way out and having exhausted the
patience of his own congressional team.”

        On CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=04b-b77&t=c>
(2/12), Jim Acosta said, “Reading between the lines here in the President’s
tweet, it sounds as though he’s going to sign this deal. But of course,
President Trump being President Trump, all bets are off until it actually
happens.”

        On CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=04c-1b8&t=c>
(2/12), Kirsten Powers said, “In the end, he came out of this deal in a
less good place than he started.”

        *Trump Thanks Republican Negotiators For Tangling With “Radical
Left On Border Security.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=04d-5fb&t=c>
last night, “I want to thank all Republicans for the work you have done in
dealing with the Radical Left on Border Security. Not an easy task, but the
Wall is being built and will be a great achievement and contributor toward
life and safety within our Country!”

        *Shelby: Deal “Pretty Good” Considering GOP Lost House. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=04e-fc7&t=c>
(2/12, Everett, Bresnahan, Caygle) reports that ahead of his meeting with
Trump, Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby said “the White House
had been kept ‘aware and involved’ throughout the negotiations, though he
had not personally spoken to Trump since Thursday when the president gave
him latitude to try and strike a deal with Democrats.” Shelby “noted the
package would allow Trump to build 55 new miles of wall which, he said is
‘pretty good’ considering the GOP lost the House in November.”

        *Progressives’ Reaction To Border Fencing, Detention Beds Deal Not
Yet Known. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=04f-8a5&t=c>
(2/12, Haberkorn) reports “many Democrats in the House have not yet weighed
in publicly,” and adds “progressives are unlikely to be thrilled about
providing funding for more fencing.” McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=050-786&t=c>
(2/12, Ordoñez) also reports that “despite promising there would be no new
wall, the Democrats have agreed to pay for 55 miles of new construction
along the southern border,” and the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=051-e22&t=c>
(2/12, Enjeti) that “Democrats notably dropped their demand in the
agreement to limit the number of beds ICE is able to use for criminal
illegal alien enforcement, removing the main poison pill for the White
House in the deal.”

        Likewise, CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=052-600&t=c>
(2/12, Bennett) points out “the agreement does not include a cap on
detention beds used for interior enforcement that Democrats proposed and
led to a breakdown in the negotiations over the weekend,” and the Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=053-453&t=c>
(2/12, Sherfinski, Dinan) says “the detention bed fight had turned into an
early test round in Democrats push to rein in ICE – what some on the
party’s left wing call their ‘Abolish ICE’ agenda.”
Foreign Policy
Pompeo Warns Europe Against Over-Reliance On Chinese Technology, Russian
Energy.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=054-f7c&t=c>
(2/12, Lee) reports that in Warsaw on Tuesday, Secretary of State Pompeo
“invoked the 30th anniversary of the demise of communism to implore
countries in Central and Eastern Europe to resist Chinese and Russian
influence.” Speaking on a five-nation tour of Europe, Pompeo “said China
and Russia pose twin threats to the democratic and free-market gains made
since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989,” and “specifically...called out
European dependence on Russian energy, Russia’s backing of the Nord Stream
2 pipeline that many fear will increase that reliance and China’s entry
into Europe’s telecommunications market through the high-tech company
Huawei.”

        With regards to Huawei, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=055-943&t=c>
(2/12) reports Pompeo said the US “is fine with companies competing in
global markets but it must be done in an open and transparent way.” Said
Pompeo, “We’re fine with companies competing but they’ve got to do it in a
way that is fair, open and transparent...and they can’t do so with anything
other than any economic motives.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=056-5e3&t=c>
(2/12, Santora, De Goeij) notes that the “Czech government’s cybersecurity
agency issued a directive in December warning that Huawei represented a
potential national security threat,” and the company is also “hitting
problems in Germany and Britain, traditional American allies.”

        AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=057-b74&t=c>
(2/12) reports Pompeo also vowed the US “would do everything in its power
to stop Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline,” which he said “funnels money”
to Russia in a way that ultimately hurts Europe. Added Pompeo, “So while
there is certainly a commercial aspect to that kind of transaction, there
is an enormous security risk that is attached to it.” Asked if the US would
consider sanctions, Pompeo said, “I think President Trump has been very
clear that America is going to do what it can within its power to see that
European security is foremost when it comes to energy decisions.”

        A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=058-13b&t=c>
(2/12, Tamkin) analysis says that while Pompeo “made clear...that the
United States wants to reengage with the region to counter Russia and
China...experts say that thinking of engagement in the region as a
competition with other world powers encourages Central European countries
not to realign themselves with the United States but to try to encourage
that competition.” Zselyke Csaky, research director for Europe and Eurasia
at Freedom House, told the Post, “While it is definitely a positive
development that there is renewed US interest and engagement – in that
sense the administration is correct that you have to show up first to
achieve anything – it comes at a time when there are mixed messages what
that engagement exactly means.”

        *US, Germany Reach Deal On LNG Port. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=059-1ed&t=c>
(2/12, Eddy, Ewing) reports that relations between the US and Germany “have
mostly gone downhill since President Trump took office,” they “took an
unexpected turn for the better” on Tuesday. German officials “agreed to
help finance a port to import liquefied natural gas from America, a key
United States demand.” In return, the US is “toning down its opposition to
an underwater pipeline being built to Germany from Russia.” To the Times,
the “unofficial agreement, announced in Berlin by high-ranking American and
German officials, marked a rare case of rapprochement in a relationship
that has been severely strained.”

        *Pompeo Shrugs Off Expected Warsaw Conference No-Shows. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=05a-d14&t=c>
(2/12, Morello) reports Pompeo on Tuesday announced that more than 30
foreign ministers are expected to attend this week’s Middle East peace and
security conference in Poland. “As a measure of its prospects,” however,
“many countries have signaled that they will not be sending their top
diplomats to the meeting – possibly nearly half.” The Post suggests that
the “muted response” is “partly due to concern that Pompeo and Pence would
unleash a full-throttle rhetorical attack on Iran.” The Post says the event
is now “likely to be defined by what it is not – and who is not coming.”
For his part, “Pompeo shrugged off the foreign minister no-shows and said
he hopes much progress can be made.” He also reiterated that “this is going
to be a serious concrete discussion about a broad range of topics that
range from counterterrorism to the malign influence that Iran has played in
the Middle East towards its instability.”
Trump May Let China Trade Deadline “Slide For A Little While” As New Round
Of Talks Begins.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=05b-a60&t=c>
(2/12, Blanchard) reports President Trump said Tuesday that he “could let
the March 1 deadline for a trade agreement with China ‘slide for a little
while,’ but that he would prefer not to and expects to meet with Chinese
President Xi Jinping to close the deal at some point.” Said Trump, “If
we’re close to a deal where we think we can make a real deal and it’s going
to get done, I could see myself letting that slide for a little while. But,
generally speaking, I’m not inclined to do that.” To Reuters, “Trump’s
comments...helped fuel a broad rally in the US stock market.” Also
yesterday, USTR Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin arrived in
Beijing “for high-level talks...as the world’s two largest economies
attempt to hammer out a deal to protect American trade secrets and avoid
another escalation of US tariffs.”

        Under the headline “Trump Flexible On China Tariff Deadline As He
Seeks ‘Real Deal,’” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=05c-858&t=c>
(2/12, Mohsin, Mayeda, Talev) says Trump’s comments “are the strongest
indication that he’s willing to give the Chinese more time to firm up a
deal,” and “also underscore his desire to secure binding commitments from
Beijing to deeper reforms to its state-driven economic model, rather than
simply short-term promises to buy more American goods.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=05d-133&t=c>
(2/12, Solomon) reports Trump’s comments came “as American officials were
in Beijing for a week of talks with Chinese officials,” but “with many of
the biggest issues unresolved and the deadline drawing near,” the Times
says the President “appeared ready to give both sides more time to
negotiate.”

        According to the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=05e-b04&t=c>
(2/12, Wei, Davis), sources said US and Chinese negotiators this week are
seeking to reach a deal on a broad outline of a trade agreement for Trump
and Xi to sign at a possible summit. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=05f-7a3&t=c>
(2/12, Bradsher) reports that “a top priority for Mr. Lighthizer and Mr.
Mnuchin, according to several people with detailed knowledge of the
negotiations, is to ensure that any deal they strike has teeth if Beijing
does not live up to its obligations.” According to the Times, “American
negotiators want to create a mechanism that would automatically raise
tariffs on Chinese goods if its exports to the United States keep rising.”
The Times says the “stopgap deal reached by Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi on Dec. 1
in Buenos Aires has proved to be unpopular within the Chinese government”
because it “essentially allowed Mr. Trump to maintain tariffs he had
ordered on Chinese goods while China stepped back from many of its
retaliatory moves.”

        *Administration To Issue Executive Order Barring Chinese Equipment
From Wireless Networks. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=060-507&t=c>
(2/12, Barnes) reports the Administration is “moving closer to completing
an executive order that would ban telecommunications companies in the
United States from using Chinese equipment while building next-generation
wireless networks, according to American officials.” President Trump has
been briefed on the proposed ban, which “could be issued in the coming
days, American government and industry officials said.” According to
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=061-fbc&t=c>
(2/12, Nakashima, Romm), the President is expected to sign the order “by
Friday,” but “officials cautioned that last-minute snags could delay the
new order, which has been expected since last summer.”

        *Former US Officials: Trump Trying To Counter China In “Wrong Way.”
*The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=062-070&t=c>
(2/12, Wong) reports that in order “to compete with a more assertive China,
the United States should invest in alliances and multilateral institutions,
which President Trump and his administration have rejected or undermined, a
report issued Tuesday” by group of scholars and former top US officials
concluded. The US and China “find their bilateral relationship at a
dangerous crossroads,” said the report, issued by the Asia Society and the
21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego. One
of the report’s authors, Susan L. Shirk, said in an interview that it was
“good to get tougher with China and call out the Chinese policies that are
not keeping with global norms and detrimental to US values.” But, she said,
“we feel more strongly that the Trump administration is going about this in
the wrong way. The way they’re going about it is whack ‘em and push back
for the sake of pushing back.”
Trump Reportedly Mulling Sale Of Nuclear Technology To Saudi Arabia.

Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=063-cdb&t=c>
(2/12) reported President Trump was scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon
with “US energy industry leaders to discuss issues including the
possibility of providing Saudi Arabia with a path to nuclear power.”
According to Axios, Saudi Arabia “says it wants nuclear power in order to
be able to divert more oil for export, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
(MBS) led negotiations with the US Energy and State departments last year
over a power plants deal ‘worth upward of $80 billion,’ per the New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=064-705&t=c>.”
However, Axios says Saudi Arabia has “reportedly resisted safeguards to
ensure it doesn’t develop nuclear weapons, and MBS said last March that
Saudi Arabia will ‘follow suit as soon as possible’ if its rival Iran makes
a break for the bomb.” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=065-a75&t=c>
(2/12, Dlouhy, Natter, Jacobs) also reports on the meeting.

        *Senate Bill Would Block Saudi Path To Atomic Weapon In US Nuclear
Deal. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=066-5eb&t=c>
(2/13, Gardner) reports Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rand Paul (R-KY)
“introduced a resolution on Tuesday requiring that any deal to share US
nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia block the kingdom from making a
nuclear weapon.” Specifically, the measure calls for “any US civilian
nuclear cooperation agreement, or 123 agreement, with Saudi Arabia” to
“prevent enrichment of uranium or reprocessing of plutonium made in
reactors – two routes to making nuclear weapons.” Reuters says it is
“unclear whether a majority of the 100-member Senate would support the
resolution,” but “with significant support, it would signal concern in
Congress over Saudi-led bombing campaigns in Yemen and over the killing of
US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in
Istanbul in October.”
US Seeks To Increase Pressure On Iran At Warsaw Meeting.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=067-38a&t=c>
(2/13, Wroughton, Plucinska) reports “foreign ministers and senior
officials from 60 nations” will gather in Warsaw “where the United States
hopes to ratchet up pressure against Iran despite concerns among major
European countries about heightened tensions with Tehran.” Reuters,
however, says the “absence of foreign ministers from major European powers,
Germany and France, highlights festering tensions” with the EU over
President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and
reimpose sanctions. EU policy chief Federica Mogherini will also not attend
the two-day conference. Secretary of State Pompeo, who will be joined by
Vice President Pence, “played down the absence of leading European
ministers,” saying, “Some countries are having their foreign ministers
come. Other countries are not. That’s their choice.” He added, “We think we
will make real progress. We think there’ll be dozens of nations there
seriously working towards a better, more stable Middle East, and I’m hoping
by the time we leave on Thursday we’ll have achieved that.”

        *Axios Report: Saudis Proposed Uniting With Israel Against Iran In
2014. *According to Barak Ravid of Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=068-f06&t=c>
(2/12), “On the last day of the 2014 Gaza War, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu held a secret meeting with” Saudi national security adviser,
Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, who “proposed a joint diplomatic initiative on
re-launching Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, rebuilding Gaza and
confronting Iran.” Ravid adds: “This was an unprecedented move by the
Saudis – who do not have diplomatic relations with Israel – that could have
profoundly shifted the regional dynamic,” and Netanyahu was initially
“enthusiastic.” However, “Israel presented a draft, and while the Saudis
agreed to many of the points, they asked Israel to show flexibility,” and
Netanyahu “refused to go further and the talks collapsed.” Ravid says the
Saudis “felt angry and humiliated, and held Netanyahu responsible.”
Shanahan Reassures Iraqi Leaders About Role Of US Troops In Wake Of Trump
Comments.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=069-969&t=c>
(2/12, Burns) reports from Baghdad that Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan
“assured Iraqi leaders” on Tuesday that the US “will stick to its limited
military role in Iraq, a message aimed at recent talk by some Iraqi
politicians of forcing a US troop withdrawal.” Shanahan “said that in talks
with Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, he stressed US respect for Iraqi
sovereignty, an issue that has become a hot-button topic among Iraqis
since” President Trump “suggested using Iraq as a base for monitoring
neighboring Iran.” Said Shanahan, “I wanted to make clear to [Abdul-Mahdi]
that we recognize our role. We understand that we’re there by invitation,
and that we jointly share the resources and that we clearly recognize their
sovereignty.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=06a-c02&t=c>
(2/12, Ryan, El-Ghobashy) reports that speaking to reporters before his
arrival in Baghdad, Shanahan “said his primary goal of his talks in Baghdad
was to hear directly from Iraqi leaders.” According to the Post, he was
expected to meet with Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi “and other Iraqi and
US officials,” including Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera, who commands US and
foreign forces in Iraq and Syria.

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=06b-5e0&t=c>
(2/12, Rubin) reports that Shanahan’s trip “coincides with plans for an
American troop withdrawal from Syria and questions about whether some of
those troops could instead be based in Iraq, which would be used as a base
for operations in Syria.” According to the Times, Shanahan’s “quest was
complicated – or, perhaps, made necessary – by an interview...Trump gave
this month suggesting American troops could be sent to Iraq to keep an eye
on neighboring Iran, a fellow Shiite state.” The Times says that in the
wake of that interview, “Iraqi politicians, many sympathetic to the
Iranians, have been up in arms, saying that a foreign government has no
right to use Iraqi territory to attack a neighboring state.”
Top US Commanders In Asia: North Korea Unlikely To Denuclearize Fully.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=06c-95f&t=c>
(2/12, Brunnstrom) reports that in an appearance before the Senate Armed
Services Committee yesterday, Adm. Philip Davidson, head of the
Indo-Pacific Command and “the top US military commander for Asia...echoed
an intelligence assessment that North Korea is unlikely to give up all its
nuclear weapons.” Reuters adds that “although he expressed optimism” about
the upcoming summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, Davidson
“expressed doubts about North Korean intentions in his written submission
to the panel.” Said Adm. Davidson, “USINDOPACOM’s assessment on North
Korean denuclearization is consistent with the Intelligence Community
position. That is, we think it is unlikely that North Korea will give up
all of its nuclear weapons or production capabilities, but seeks to
negotiate partial denuclearization in exchange for US and international
concessions.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=06d-8a7&t=c>
(2/12, O'Brien) reports Davidson said US forces in the region would
“continue to emphasize military readiness while simultaneously supporting”
State Department efforts.

        Also appearing before the Senate panel yesterday was Army Gen.
Robert Abrams, the commander of US forces in South Korea. Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=06e-fba&t=c>
(2/12, Capaccio, Liebert) reports that “while Abrams credited...Trump’s
talks with Kim...as contributing to the improved atmosphere, he offered
little optimism that Trump’s efforts will lead to his goal of a
nuclear-free North Korea.” Said Abrams, “I remain clear-eyed” that “little
to no verifiable change has occurred in North Korea’s military
capabilities.”

        David Ignatius writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=06f-fd0&t=c>
(2/12) column that the last summit between Trump and Kim “turned out to be
a mostly empty box that lacked a shared agreement on denuclearization.” In
the run-up to the upcoming summit in Hanoi, Ignatius says “some pragmatic
ideas are being floated by experts in and out of the Trump administration,”
including “that denuclearization won’t be a sudden stand-down but a phased
process that, if it’s successful, will create its own momentum and
ever-increasing security.” He cautions that though “Trump’s summitry with
Kim is partly hot air...there’s something real and fundamental here, too,
which could make the world safer.”

        *Report: North Korea Continuing To Stockpile Materials To Make
Nuclear Weapons. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=070-110&t=c>
(2/12, Martin, Jeong) reports North Korea has continued to produce the raw
materials needed to make nuclear weapons, according to a new report by
Stanford University researchers.
US-Backed Forces Continue Push Into Last ISIS Stronghold.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=071-307&t=c>
(2/12, Mroue) reports Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, the deputy commander of
the US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria, said Tuesday that coalition
forces “struck a mosque that had allegedly been used as an Islamic State
control center, as American-allied Syrian forces battled the extremists in
their last stronghold in eastern Syria amid reports of more civilian
casualties.” The US-led coalition “said warplanes struck the mosque in the
small town of Baghouz on Monday in support of the Kurdish-led Syrian
Democratic Forces.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=072-417&t=c>
(2/12, story 6, 1:40, Glor) reported “fierce battles continued” on Tuesday
as US-backed forces continued their push into “the last ISIS stronghold in
eastern Syria.” Charlie D’Agata reported “an overwhelming flood of
civilians” are escaping the last remaining ISIS village, where they have
been used as human shields. According to D’Agata, the trapped civilians are
“the single biggest obstacle slowing down the US-led offensive.” However,
D’Agata continued, “If there is a positive note about the mass exodus, it’s
that the people here say there are now very few civilians left inside, just
500 to 600” and ISIS fighters are “facing inevitable defeat.”

        James Longman reported on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=073-30d&t=c>
(2/12, story 7, 1:20, Muir) that “the coalition has the terror group
cornered in the tiny town of Baghuz,” where “about 500 ISIS holdouts are
dug in for a brutal last stand.” However, Longman added that “peace may be
far from won” as “fleeing jihadists often pose as civilians and the US
State Department says ISIS fighters could be in the thousands, waiting for
another chance to fight.”
Domestic Policy
Senate Intelligence Committee Probe Finds No Evidence Of Trump-Russia
Collusion.

Under the headline “Senate Has Uncovered No Direct Evidence Of Conspiracy
Between Trump Campaign And Russia,” NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=074-712&t=c>
(2/12, Dilanian) reports on its website that “after two years and 200
interviews,” the Senate Intelligence Committee is “approaching the end of
its investigation into the 2016 election, having uncovered no direct
evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.” NBC News
cites “both Democrats and Republicans on the committee.” However, NBC News
adds that “investigators disagree along party lines when it comes to the
implications of a pattern of contacts they have documented between Trump
associates and Russians – contacts that occurred before, during and after
Russian intelligence operatives were seeking to help Donald Trump by
leaking hacked Democratic emails and attacking...Hillary Clinton, on social
media.” NBC News also says that “Democratic Senate investigators say it may
take them six or seven months to write their final report once they are
done with witness interviews.”

        President Trump took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=075-281&t=c>
yesterday to write, “Thank you to @MSNBC!” Trump also retweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=076-1b4&t=c>
a post by Fox News contributor Dan Bongino, who wrote, “I don’t feel an
ounce of empathy for all of the imbeciles who bought into the Russian
collusion hoax now that it’s been entirely debunked. You were warned for
over a year about this scam & you fell for it anyway. You did this to
yourself.”

        CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=077-e4e&t=c>
(2/12, Herb, Raju) reports Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the
Senate Intelligence Committee, “rejected” Chairman Richard Burr’s “recent
statements that the committee has not found evidence of collusion, saying
the investigation is still ongoing and the committee still had to interview
key witnesses.” Said Warner, “Respectfully, I disagree. I’m not going to
get into any conclusions I’ve reached because my basis of this has been
that I’m not going to reach any conclusion until we finish the
investigation. And we still have a number of the key witnesses to come
back.” To CNN, “Warner’s comments represented a rare public split for the
leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has been the only
congressional panel that has kept its investigation into Russia’s 2016
election meddling on a bipartisan track.”

        Asked about the division between Burr and Warner on CNN’s Situation
Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=078-219&t=c>
(2/12, 5:13 p.m. EST), Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) said, “I don’t think he
does disagree. I think what he would say is...the investigation is not
completed yet.” Stewart added, “Look, Mr. Burr was very clear. He doesn’t
see evidence of collusion. The House found no evidence and Mr. Mueller by
his indictments has found no evidence of collusion.”

        On CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=079-e52&t=c>
(2/12, 8:21 p.m. EST), Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) said on the matter, “Yeah, I’m
not sure I’d read too much into it just now. Look, there are still
witnesses to be called on the Senate side, there’s still a final report to
be written, and of course, the very word ‘collusion,’ which the word over
which Sens. Burr and Warner split is subject to a lot of different
interpretations. So I’m encouraging people to remember that you’ve got
three investigations out there, House, Senate, and the Mueller
investigation, and it’s probably best that we wait and see what they
actually say in their final versions before we get too excited about any
potential outcome.”

        *WTimes Analysis: Media Ignoring Story. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=07a-625&t=c>
(2/12, Harper) reports “news media coverage in the aftermath of this
striking moment was, uh, scanty – something that Mr. Trump already has
noticed in recent days.” Trump tweeted Friday, “The mainstream media has
refused to cover the fact that the head of the VERY important Senate
Intelligence Committee, after two years of intensive study and access to
Intelligence that only they could get, just stated that they have found NO
COLLUSION between ‘Trump’ & Russia.” The Times says “some suggest the news
media is just shocked.” Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday,
“This has caused abject meltdown through much of the drive-by media.”

        *Burr Says Goodwill Toward Cohen Gone. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=07b-5e3&t=c>
(2/12, Chaitin) reports Burr is “livid” with former Trump lawyer Michael
Cohen after his appearance before the panel Tuesday was postponed. Speaking
to reporters, Burr said, “I can assure you that any goodwill that might
have existed in the committee with Michael Cohen is now gone.” According to
the Examiner, Burr “indicated he was unconvinced of Cohen’s lingering
health concerns, as he had surgery a few weeks ago, and noted a tweet from
a journalist showing him out with friends.”

        *Dowd Predicts Mueller Won’t Issue A Report. *Former Trump lawyer
John Dowd told ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=07c-0e5&t=c>
(2/12, Phillips, Vlasto, Mosk, Santucci) that the special counsel
investigation “will end in silence from special counsel Robert Mueller,”
and called the two-year probe “a terrible waste of time.” Dowd told ABC, “I
don’t think there’ll be a report. I will be shocked if anything regarding
the President is made public, other than ‘We’re done.’” Dowd added, “If I
was supervising Mueller, [I would] tell him to ‘knock it off, get it
done.’”

        *WPost Analysis: Manafort’s 2016 Meeting With Russian At “The
Heart” Of Mueller Probe. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=07d-dd1&t=c>
(2/12, Helderman, Hamburger) reports that the 2016 nominating conventions
“had recently concluded and the presidential race was hitting a new level
of intensity when Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, ducked
into an unusual dinner meeting at a private cigar room a few blocks away
from the campaign’s Trump Tower headquarters in Manhattan.” Court records
show Manafort was joined by his campaign deputy, Rick Gates, and “a Russian
political operative named Konstantin Kilimnik.” The Post says the Aug. 2,
2016, encounter “has emerged in recent days as a potential fulcrum in
special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation.” According to the
Post, it was at that meeting that “prosecutors believe Manafort and
Kilimnik may have exchanged key information relevant to Russia and Trump’s
presidential bid.” The encounter goes “very much to the heart of what the
special counsel’s office is investigating,” prosecutor Andrew Weissmann
told a federal judge in a sealed hearing last week.

        *Poll: Americans View Mueller As More Credible Than Trump.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=07e-32b&t=c>
(2/11, Zapotosky) reports Americans view special counsel Robert Mueller “as
far more credible than President Trump, but the public has scattered and
partisan perceptions of Mueller’s motives and what he has found so far,
according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll.” Fifty-six percent to
33 percent, “more say they trust Mueller’s version of the facts than
Trump’s. And by nearly as wide a margin,” more believe Mueller is mainly
interested in “finding out the truth” than trying to “hurt Trump
politically.”

        *In New Book, McCabe Criticizes Lynch For Not Recusing Herself From
Clinton Email Probe. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=07f-3f6&t=c>
(2/12, Chaitin) reports former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe “shares
some harsh words for former Attorney General Loretta Lynch in his new
memoir.” In “The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror
and Trump,” McCabe “gripes about Lynch’s refusal to recuse herself from the
investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s unauthorized
email server.” McCabe writes Lynch and her deputy, Sally Yates, saw “the
investigation of Hillary Clinton…likely nominee of the Democratic party,
who was being supported by the president of the United States, to whom they
owed their jobs…as a case they could handle without prejudice.”

        *House Judiciary Panel Hires Two Lawyers Who Have Argued For
Trump’s Impeachment. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=080-787&t=c>
(2/12, Jalonick) reports that House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler “has
hired two veteran lawyers and critics of President Donald Trump as his
committee begins to investigate the president and his administration.”
According to the AP, “The hiring of the two prominent lawyers, Barry Berke
and Norman Eisen, comes as lawmakers from both parties are pressuring Trump
attorney general nominee William Barr to release a full accounting of
special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe when it’s complete.” The AP says
Berke and Eisen “have been high-profile critics of Trump, and they
co-authored a Brookings Institution report released last year that laid out
a case for his impeachment.”

        According to the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=081-f78&t=c>
(2/12, Fandos), “Retaining two counsels of Mr. Eisen and Mr. Berke’s
caliber is relatively unusual for a congressional committee.” The Times
says Eisen “served as the top White House ethics lawyer under President
Barack Obama and later as his ambassador to the Czech Republic,” and
“serves as a co-counsel in a lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump of violating the
emoluments clause of the Constitution by refusing to divorce himself from
his businesses.” The Times adds that Berke “is less well known in
Washington but brings deep connections to the New York legal world,
including the federal prosecutors there investigating Mr. Trump’s campaign
and inaugural committee.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=082-66f&t=c>
(2/12, Samuelsohn), Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=083-1fb&t=c>
(2/12), and Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=084-58b&t=c>
(2/12, Atkinson), among other outlets, also cover the story.
Trump Says “Anti-Semitism Has No Place” In Congress, Calls On Omar To
Resign.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=085-2ec&t=c>
(2/12) reports President Trump said yesterday that “Rep. Ilhan Omar’s
apology for suggesting that members of Congress support Israel because they
are being paid to do so was ‘lame’ and that she should resign.” Trump “told
reporters at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that ‘anti-Semitism has no place
in the United States Congress.’” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=086-1a0&t=c>
(2/12, Sonmez) quotes Trump as saying, “I think she should either resign
from Congress or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs
Committee. ... What she said is so deep-seated in her heart that her lame
apology – and that’s what it was, it was lame, and she didn’t mean a word
of it – was just not appropriate.”

        CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=087-d0f&t=c>
(2/12, Kopp) notes “Omar received an avalanche of condemnation from members
of Congress Monday for her tweet quoting the P. Diddy lyric, ‘It’s all
about the Benjamins baby,’ to ascribe Republicans’ fierce opposition to
boycotting Israel to the power of the lobbying group the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=088-836&t=c>
(2/12, Pollak) points out that “‘in denouncing Omar’s comments as
antisemitic,” House Speaker Pelosi “claimed that she and fellow Democrats
‘are and will always be strong supporters of Israel.’” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=089-276&t=c>
(2/12, Fredericks), among other news outlets, also reports on the Omar
controversy.

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=08a-54b&t=c>
(2/12, Fabian, Samuels) reports “conservatives have touted GOP leaders’
decision last month to strip” Rep. Steve King (R-IA) “of his committee
assignments after he questioned why the term ‘white supremacist’ is
offensive, contrasting it to Democrats’ response to Omar.” However, “some
Democrats have called Republicans’ punishment for King too little too late,
pointing out that the Iowa lawmaker has made inflammatory comments about
Hispanic immigrants for years.”

        *Morning TV Newscasts Spotlight Omar’s History Of Anti-Semitic
Tweets. *All three networks covered Omar’s apology yesterday morning –
though the story was not even mentioned on the evening newscasts. On NBC’s
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=08b-613&t=c>
(2/12), Kasie Hunt said Omar is “facing backlash from her own party after
writing those tweets over the weekend that have been widely criticized as
anti-Semitic.” Hunt added, “This isn’t the first time she’s made remarks
widely criticized as anti-semitic, in 2012 tweeting: ‘Israel had hypnotized
the world.’ She also supports a movement to boycott Israel.”

        On CBS This Morning
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=08c-d40&t=c>
(2/12), Gaye King said Omar “appeared to criticize her colleagues from
taking money from the Jewish lobby.” Nancy Cordes reported that Omar is
“suggesting that AIPAC...has bought the support of her colleagues.” Cordes
added, “This is not the first time, however, that Omar has had to apologize
for anti-semitic overtones. A couple weeks ago, she said she was sorry for
a tweet in 2012 in which she said ‘Israel has hypnotized the world.’”

        On ABC’s Good Morning America
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=08d-003&t=c>
(2/12), George Stephanopoulos said that as a result of Omar’s tweets,
Democrats are “in damage control mode.” Terry Moran went on to report that
President Trump said, “I think she should be ashamed of herself...I don’t
think her apology was adequate.” According to Moran, “This controversy is
not going away” because Pelosi does not look like she is “going to go so
far as to strip [Omar] of the plum job she got on the Foreign Affairs
Committee.”

        Appearing on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=08e-215&t=c>
(2/12), Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) said, “House Democrats were tripping over
each other running to the floor of the House of Representatives condemning
‘white supremacy’ in a resolution that named congressman Steve King. He
apologized. He was thrown off his committee assignments. Now we have those
same members, many of them tripping over each other, running away from the
House floor, so they don’t have to condemn anti-semitism. They’re accepting
a apology via Twitter that, unfortunately, is not the end of it. Also isn’t
the first time. The apology itself states it is unequivocal apology, but it
is filled with equivocation.”

        *WPost Analysis: AIPAC “Does Wield Outsize Influence” Over US
Policy. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=08f-893&t=c>
(2/12, Sasley) reports “the firestorm over Omar’s tweets risks obstructing
a productive debate over how interest groups such as AIPAC actually operate
in Washington.” AIPAC “does wield an outsize influence over policy toward
Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is widely viewed as an
effective and powerful lobbying organization. So why is there a problem
with Omar’s mentioning it in the way she did, and why was the backlash so
fierce?” To the Post, the reason is that “during the Obama years, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked to identify the Republican Party
as the ‘pro-Israel’ party, and he has aligned himself even more closely
with President Trump.” As a result, “younger Democrats are challenging the
entrenched party consensus on Israel.” The Post also reports that “AIPAC’s
influence stems from several factors beyond money, some of which predate
its emergence as a lobbying powerhouse in the 1980s.”

        *NYTimes Analysis: Trump “Traffics In Own Jewish Stereotypes.” *Under
the headline “Trump Rejects Democrat’s Apology, But Traffics In Own Jewish
Stereotypes,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=090-232&t=c>
(2/12, Landler) reports “Trump was the latest in a parade of Republicans
and Democrats to condemn Ms. Omar,” though “the president himself has
perpetuated stereotypes of Jews using money to buy political influence or
of acting as ‘globalists,’ pulling the levers of power for their own
enrichment.” Moreover, “during the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump’s final
television commercial featured grainy images of George Soros, the
Hungarian-born financier who has become a potent symbol for anti-Semites;
Janet L. Yellen, then the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve; and Lloyd C.
Blankfein, then the chairman of Goldman Sachs – all of them Jewish – as Mr.
Trump warned darkly about the ‘global special interests.’”

        *Ocasio-Cortez Praises Omar, Slams Trump. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=091-d43&t=c>
(2/12, Chasmar) reports Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
“slammed...Trump while defending...Omar against fresh allegations of
anti-Semitism.” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=092-950&t=c>,
“Unlike this President, Rep. @IlhanMN demonstrated a capacity to
acknowledge pain & apologize, use the opportunity to learn abt history of
antisemitism,+grow from it while clarifying her stance. I’m also inspired
by Jewish leadership who brought her in, not push her out, to heal. ... I’m
proud @IlhanMN raised the issue of lobbyist [money] in politics & equally
proud of her sensitivity to communities. Both are possible.”

        *Democrats Worried Their Split Over Israel Could Hurt Them In 2020.
*Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=093-551&t=c>
(2/12, Toosi, Caputo) reports “Democrats hoping for a united front
against...Trump in 2020 are trying to avoid splintering over an
increasingly thorny topic: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” with an
“energized progressive base increasingly supportive of Palestinian rights”
and “a president who is stridently pro-Israel in his policy moves.”
Accordingly, “Democrats are starting to grapple more than ever with the
party’s once-reflexive support for Israel.” Adds Politico, “A big
Democratic concern: how to handle the issue of the US embassy in
Jerusalem?”

        *Omar Scheduled To Address Group Foreign Governments Consider
Terror Financier. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=094-d1a&t=c>
(2/12, Hillyer) writes that if Omar “really wants to avoid being branded as
an anti-Semite, she will cancel her planned speech later this month for a
group, which is considered by foreign governments to be a
terrorist-financing organization.” Omar “is scheduled to speak Feb. 23 in
Tampa at what is labeled a Yemen Emergency Dinner sponsored by Islamic
Relief USA, or IRUSA,” which “has been branded a terror financier by the
governments of the United Arab Emirates and Israel.” The Examiner adds
“Russian authorities, the Swiss bank UBS, the British bank HSBC, and
reports by governmental entities in Germany and Sweden all have determined
that Islamic Relief has supported radical Islamist organizations such as
the Muslim Brotherhood.”
White House “Condemns” Attack On BBC Cameraman At El Paso Rally.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=095-7f7&t=c>
(2/12, Cummings) reports under the headline “White House ‘Condemns’ Attack
On BBC Cameraman At Rally After Trump Stoked Anger Toward Media” that after
“a BBC cameraman was assaulted by a man wearing a red Make America Great
Again hat as he filmed” President Trump’s El Paso, Texas rally on Monday,
the White House has “denounced the attack and called on guests at rallies
to be ‘peaceful.’” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said,
“President Trump condemns all acts of violence against any individual or
group of people – including members of the press. We ask that anyone
attending an event do so in a peaceful and respectful manner.” USA Today
says “the incident happened after Trump railed against the news media and
the coverage of his administration.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=096-090&t=c>
(2/12, Morin) reports the White House Correspondents’ Association called on
the President “to make it clear to his supporters that violence against
journalists is unacceptable, following an attack on a BBC cameraman at the
president’s rally the previous evening.” WHCA President Olivier Knox said,
“We are relieved that, this time, no one was seriously hurt. The President
of the United States should make absolutely clear to his supporters that
violence against reporters is unacceptable.”

        *UK, Media Outlets Decry Attack On BBC Cameraman During Trump
Rally. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=097-286&t=c>
(2/12, Davey) reports that in remarks to Sky News on Tuesday, British
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt “condemned an attack” on BBC cameraman Ron
Skeans at President Trump’s rally in El Paso, Texas a day earlier. After
witnessing the incident, Trump gave “a thumbs up to the cameraman” and
asked if he was alright. Asked “whether it was acceptable for Trump to whip
up his fans to the point that a cameraman was attacked,” Hunt told Sky
News: “It is never acceptable when journalists and cameramen are attacked
just for doing their job.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=098-e07&t=c>
(2/12, Bever) reports that the “incident drew wide outcry” from the BBC and
other news outlets on Tuesday, in part because Trump “excoriated the news
media at various points during” Monday’s speech. The White House
Correspondents’ Association, for instance, “condemned the attack and asked
that the president ‘make absolutely clear to his supporters that violence
against reporters is unacceptable.’”

        *Cooper Criticizes Trump’s Crowd Size Claim. *On CNN’s Anderson
Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=099-220&t=c>
(2/12), Anderson Cooper’s feature “The Ridiculist” featured the President’s
rally in El Paso, criticizing what the President said about the size of the
crowd at his event. He concluded his commentary, “Nice and calm, that’s not
what you’re looking for, not at a Trump rally. As Peaches once said, huh?
What?”
McConnell To Force Senate Vote On “Green New Deal.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=09a-ac1&t=c>
(2/12, Becker, Volcovici) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell said
yesterday that the Senate will “vote on a ‘Green New Deal’ introduced by”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) “that aims
to slash US carbon dioxide emissions to negligible levels in a decade.”
Reuters says “Republicans have used the Green New Deal to paint the rival
party as shifting to the left and embracing extreme policies.” According to USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=09b-8b1&t=c>
(2/12, King), McConnell “is anxious to corner Senate Democrats – including
several who are running for president in 2020 – on the Green New Deal,”
forcing “as many as seven Senate Democrats who have announced or are
considering a run for president to choose a side on the debate over the
controversial measure that calls not only for a sharp transition to 100
percent renewable energy but also higher education, housing and job
guarantees for all US citizens.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=09c-450&t=c>
(2/12, Carney, Cama, Green) points out “multiple Democrats who are running
or considering running in the 2020 presidential election have backed the
plan,” including Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy
Klobuchar (D-MN), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

        CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=09d-008&t=c>
(2/12, Lesniewski) similarly concludes McConnell’s “maneuver is likely an
effort to both get the many Democratic senators running for president on
the record on the resolution, as well as to demonstrate that there are
senators on both sides of the aisle opposed to the outline.” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=09e-2a5&t=c>
(2/12, John, Natter), among other news outlets, runs a similar story. Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=09f-135&t=c>
(2/12, Axios) reports the White House “believes that tying Democrats to
socialist policy ideas like the Green New Deal could be the key to victory
in 2020,” and the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a0-63d&t=c>
(2/12, Daly) recounts that the President “slammed the plan at a rally
Monday in Texas, saying it would ‘shut down American energy.’”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a1-80b&t=c>
(2/12, Dinan) reports the plan “suggests retrofitting all existing
buildings to be more energy efficient, upending the country’s existing food
supply, and pushing for cleaning transportation methods, while promoting
economic redistribution and other social justice goals.” The Times adds
even House Speaker Pelosi “has mocked the proposal as a ‘dream.’” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a2-e58&t=c>
(2/12, Adragna) notes Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John
Barrasso “bashed the proposal as a ‘raw deal’ that would drive ‘a stake
into the heart of our economy,’” and the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a3-9e5&t=c>
(2/12, Ferrechio) that Senate Minority Whip Durbin “didn’t elaborate on how
much support there was for the resolution within his caucus,” saying, “I
haven’t heard any discussion about it. ... I’m just reading it for the
first time. It’s pretty long.”

        The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a4-237&t=c>
(2/12, Kruta) reports Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) “called for an ‘up or
down’ vote on the proposal last Friday, following a rollout so bungled that
the FAQ website had to be temporarily taken down.”

        *Ocasio-Cortez Slams Trump’s Intelligence After President
Criticizes Her Plan. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a5-dbe&t=c>
(2/12, Cummings) reports Ocasio-Cortez “took exception to...Trump’s
condescending criticism of Democratic lawmakers’ proposed ‘Green New Deal’
at his rally in El Paso, Texas, on Monday.” Said Trump, “Sounds like a high
school term paper that got a low mark.” Yesterday, the congresswoman took
Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a6-a45&t=c>
to respond, “Ah yes, a man who can’t even read briefings written in full
sentences is providing literary criticism of a House Resolution.”
Barr Nomination Advances On 55-44 Cloture Vote.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a7-e22&t=c>
(2/12, Fandos, Savage) reports Attorney General-designate Barr’s
confirmation “cleared a crucial hurdle” on Tuesday as the Senate voted 55-44
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a8-166&t=c>
for cloture. Sens. Doug Jones (D-AL), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Kyrsten
Sinema (D-AZ) voted for cloture, while Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), “who had
expressed concerns about Mr. Barr’s sweeping view of executive power, voted
against him.” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) did not vote. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0a9-706&t=c>
(2/12, Mordock) reports Manchin said before the cloture vote that he will
also vote to confirm Barr.
Trump Says Whitaker Took “Tremendous Amount Of Abuse” From Hill Democrats.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0aa-ad6&t=c>
(2/12, Mordock) reports Acting Attorney General Whitaker’s “appearance
during last Friday’s testimony before a House panel drew praise from
President Trump on Tuesday.” Trump told Whitaker during a Cabinet meeting,
“You’ve taken a tremendous amount of abuse, but you handled yourself
incredibly last Friday.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0ab-49c&t=c>
(2/12, Wagner) says, however, that “in a series of chippy exchanges during
the hearing before Democrats who questioned his credentials, judgment and
integrity, Whitaker adopted a confrontational tone that often left
lawmakers exasperated.”
National Debt Reaches $22T For The First Time.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0ac-d34&t=c>
(2/12, Collins) reports the Treasury Department “reported the debt hit
$22.012 trillion, a jump of more than $30 billion in just this month” in an
announcement Tuesday. US national debt accelerated “following the passage
of President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax-cut package,” and Peter G.
Peterson Foundation CEO Michael Peterson warned about the new fiscal threat
in a statement saying, “Reaching this unfortunate milestone so rapidly is
the latest sign that our fiscal situation is not only unsustainable but
accelerating.” Higher debt is linked to higher interest rates, which can
“ripple through the economy, nudging up rates for mortgages, corporate
bonds and other types of consumer and business loans.”
Cancer Research
Pembrolizumab Continues To Improve Survival, Demonstrates Less Toxicity
Than Platinum-Based Chemo In PD-L1-Positive NSCLC, Study Finds.

Cancer Network
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0ad-ba0&t=c>
(2/12, Bennett) reports “a long-term analysis of the pivotal KEYNOTE-024
trial showed that pembrolizumab continues to improve survival and have less
toxicity compared with platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with
advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is positive for programmed
death ligand 1 (PD-L1).” The findings
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0ae-10e&t=c>
were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Ashish Saxena, MD, PhD,
said, “We were expecting that survival would be better [with pembrolizumab]
and continue to be with more follow-up. I can’t say there was anything
particularly new or surprising, just confirmatory.”
Research Shows Active Surveillance Tripled For Low-Risk Prostate Cancer
From 2012 To 2015.

MedPage Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0af-216&t=c>
(2/12, Harrison) reports “conservative management using active surveillance
or watchful waiting has now become the most common strategy for men with
low-risk prostate cancer across the U.S., a new study suggested,”
increasing from 14.5 percent in 2012 to 42.1 percent in 2015. Meanwhile in
the same five years, “use of radical prostatectomy dropped from 47.4% to
31.3% while use of radiotherapy dropped from 38% to 26.6% in these low-risk
prostate cancers.” The findings will be presented at the Genitourinary
Cancer Symposium. The analysis was based on data from the NCI’s
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Prostate Active
Surveillance/Watching Waiting database.
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Deal Or No Deal, Mr. Trump?”* The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0b0-c3d&t=c>
(2/12) editorializes that “whatever path the president is inclined to take,
Republican leaders are sending him a clear message along with” the border
deal: “This is the best offer he’s going to get under the circumstances,
and if he refuses it, he’ll wind up hanging out on that political limb
alone.” The Times adds “Trump finds himself once more walled in by his
border promises, with no clear way out and having exhausted the patience of
his own congressional team.”
Washington Post.

*“China Is Brainwashing More Than A Million Uighurs. The World Must Demand
Justice.”* The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0b1-d91&t=c>
(2/12) editorializes that the “strange case of the Uighur musician and poet
Abdurehim Heyit reveals a lot about China’s incarceration and attempt to
brainwash 1 million or more minority Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang province.”
After Turkey alleged that Heyit had died in one such Chinese detention
camp, China released a video to prove that he is still alive; however, the
Post says, “the video could not be verified as genuine, and the uncertainty
over his fate raises anew the disturbing question of what is going on in
the concentration camps that China has tried to hide from the world.” The
Post urges the world to follow Turkey’s lead and condemn China over “this
ongoing crime against humanity,” and demand access “to the camps, in search
of a lost Uighur musician and more than 1 million others.”

        *“The Questions Ralph Northam And Justin Fairfax Must Answer.” *In
an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0b2-3b0&t=c>
(2/12) says neither Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) nor Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax
“gives any indication they are considering leaving office despite the broad
consensus of Virginia’s political establishment that they do so. That
doesn’t absolve the two Democrats of the obligation to address unanswered
questions.” The Post says Northam must explain how a racist photo ended up
on his medical school yearbook page if he is not in it, while Fairfax must
defend his “assertion that the accusations against him are ‘coordinated’?
And if the rape allegation is ‘demonstrably’ untrue, as he said, in what
way can he demonstrate it?”

        *“Keeping The Metro Open Later Could Also Mean Keeping It Less
Safe.” *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021301biden&r=email-1c0d&l=0b3-3a1&t=c>
(2/12) says a push by District of Columbia representatives on the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board to keep Metro trains
running later, which has been opposed by other representatives, overlooks
potential safety issues. The Post says WMATA crews do “preventive
maintenance that is critical to the safety of the system” at night and
later operating hours would cut into that time.

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