Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Thursday, February 21, 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: Thu, 21 Feb 2019 10:03:18 -0500

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Thursday, February 21, 2019 8:01 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, February 21, 2019

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=000-972&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=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=001-6ac&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, February 21, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• NH Democratic Primary Poll: Biden 28%; Sanders 20%; Harris 14%; Warren 9%.
<#S1>

• NBC News: Edging Toward 2020 Run, Biden Worries About Possible Attacks On
His Family By Trump. <#S2>

• TIME: In “Unprecedented” Democratic Primary, Biden “Has A Good Shot,” But
Is “Hardly A Shoo-In.” <#S3>

• Cupp: Biden Runs Risk By Holding Off On Entering 2020 Race. <#S4>

• Author: To Beat Trump, Democrats Should Nominate A “Fresh” Face. <#S5>

• Politico: 2020 Democrats Target Of “Wide-Ranging Disinformation Campaign.”
<#S6>

• Sanders Raises $6M In One Day. <#S7>

• Harris Opposes O’Rourke’s Desire To Tear Down Existing Border Fencing.
<#S8>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Reports: Mueller Investigation Could Officially Conclude Next Week. <#S9>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Trump Instructs Pompeo Not To Allow Woman Who Joined ISIS To Re-Enter US.
<#S10>

• Trump: North Korea Must Do Something “Meaningful” Before Sanctions Are
Eased. <#S11>

• Putin Warns Breach Of Missile Treaty May Lead To Nuclear Arms Race. <#S12>

• US, Russia Clash On Humanitarian Crisis In Venezuela. <#S13>

• Allies Decline US Request To Stay In Syria After American Troops Withdraw.
<#S14>

• Trump: Auto Tariffs Depend On Whether Trade Deal With Europe Is Reached.
<#S15>

• Huawei CEO Denies Claims Company Provides “Back Door To Chinese
Intelligence.” <#S16>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• House Democrats To File Resolution Against Trump’s Border Emergency On
Friday. <#S17>

• Trump On Reports He’s Mulling Coats Firing: “I Haven’t Even Thought About
It.” <#S18>

• White House Preparing To Launch Panel On Climate Change’s Impact On
National Security. <#S19>

• Coast Guard Lieutenant Arrested On Charges Of Planning Major Attack.
<#S20>

• Democrats And Republicans Working On “Red Flag” Gun Laws. <#S21>

• WTimes Analysis: Congress Not Expected To Act To Reduce Deficits, Debt.
<#S22>

• Senate Republicans Plan Move To Limit Debate On Lower-Level Nominees.
<#S23>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• Significant Decline In Precancerous Cervical Lesions In US, Study
Suggests. <#S24>

• Johnson & Johnson Says It Faces Federal Inquiry Over Safety Of Talc
Powders. <#S25>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S26>

• Washington Post. <#S27>
Biden in the News
NH Democratic Primary Poll: Biden 28%; Sanders 20%; Harris 14%; Warren 9%.

The State House News Service (MA)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=002-389&t=c>
(2/20, Murphy) reports that a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=003-371&t=c>
of 337 likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters, taken Feb. 7-15,
shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading a hypothetical field of 2020
Democratic presidential hopefuls with 28%, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-VT) at 20%, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) at 14%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren
(D-MA) at 9%, ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) at 6%, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) each at 3%, and ex-New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg, ex-HUD Secretary Julian Castro, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar
(D-MN) all lagging further behind; 14% were undecided.

        The Springfield (MA) Republican
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=004-99c&t=c>
(2/20, Young) reports that almost 40% of those surveyed said they think
Biden “represents the party’s best chance of defeating [President] Trump in
2020, followed by” Sanders at 12%, Harris at 8%, and Warren at 6%. The
article adds, “Tatishe Nteta, director of the UMass Poll and a political
science associate professor, said the findings indicate that despite the
Democratic Party’s diverse roster of candidates vying for 2020 nomination,
New Hampshire voters ‘seem to be more comfortable handing the reins to a
seasoned veteran.’ ‘While early, our results suggest that this race is Joe
Biden’s for the taking. The question is whether he wants it or not,’ she
said.”

        In an online article, NECN-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=005-71d&t=c>
Boston (2/20, Buja) reported, “The poll showed Biden garnering the
strongest support among likely Democratic voters who identified as
moderates, at 39 percent. He also had strong support among older voters,
women, and with voters with an income between $40,000 and $100,000.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=006-983&t=c>
(2/20, Frazin) reported, “The top reason voters in the poll gave for why
they would select a particular candidate was that they perceived the
candidate would have the best chance of defeating...Trump. About 33 percent
of respondents listed this as the most important criteria, followed by
‘honesty and trustworthiness’ (22 percent) and ‘Best represents my views on
the issues’ (20 percent).”

        In its report on the poll results, the Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=007-f86&t=c>
(2/20, Rutz) said that Warren “is counting on a big result in the New
Hampshire Democratic primary next year, given its proximity to her state
and the shot of momentum a strong finish could give to her 2020 candidacy.
... Warren likely wouldn’t survive a fourth-place finish in New Hampshire
if she does similarly poorly in the Iowa caucuses.” Writing for the Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=008-7c4&t=c>
(2/20), Philip Klein said the poll results are “bad news” for Warren, who
“only receives a tepid 12 percent support among liberals – also putting her
in fourth place (Harris is at 20 percent). I mean, if there is any group
among which Warren should be ahead, it’s liberals from a neighboring state
who are clearly aware of her record.”

        *SC Democratic Primary Poll: Biden 36%; Sanders 14%; Harris 13%;
Booker 10%. *The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=009-37f&t=c>
(2/20, Shain) reports that a Change Research poll of 600 likely South
Carolina Democratic primary voters, taken Feb. 15-18, shows Biden leading a
hypothetical 2020 Democratic presidential field with 36%, followed by
Sanders at 14%, Harris at 13%, Booker at 10%, Warren at 9%, and O’Rourke at
8%; no other contender topped 2%. The article says, “Biden led polling
among men and women as well as white and black voters and independents. He
also led in all metro areas and in all age groups with the exception of 18-
to 34-year-olds, who favored Sanders.”

        *RCP Polling Averages: Biden Comfortably Atop Democratic Field, But
Edge Has Narrowed. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=00a-238&t=c>
(2/20, Lim) reported that Biden holds “a more than 10-percentage-point edge
on his closest” foe in the Democratic presidential primary, “Sanders,
according to the latest polling averages compiled by RealClearPolitics.”
Biden “draws on average 27.5 percent of the vote in comparison to Sanders,
who attracts almost 17 percent. Biden’s 10-point lead, however, is
shrinking – a handful of earlier polls gave him a 20-point margin over”
Sanders. The only other contender polling in the double-digits is Harris,
who “is getting just over 10 percent support since declaring she was
running for president.”

        *NC Poll: Trump Leads Biden By Four Points, Other Democrats By
Wider Margins. *The Civitas Institute (NC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=00b-9da&t=c>
(2/19) reported that a Civitas poll of 500 likely North Carolina voters,
taken Feb. 11-13, shows President Trump leading “four of the top Democratic
contenders in the 2020 presidential race.” The poll shows Trump leading
Biden 43%-39%; Booker 44%-36%; Harris 45%-34%; and Sanders 46%-34%. The
survey was conducted by Harris Polling (R).
NBC News: Edging Toward 2020 Run, Biden Worries About Possible Attacks On
His Family By Trump.

In an online article this morning, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=00c-77c&t=c>
(2/21, Memoli) reports that while former Vice President Joe Biden continues
getting “closer to being ready to” enter the 2020 race for the White House,
he “is carefully considering a key question – what happens when [President
Trump] or his top allies try to make his family an issue?” NBC News says,
“No line of attack would be more reprehensible to” Biden “than one directed
at his family, and he and his team have been forced to consider that even
as they also weigh the political dynamics.” NBC News adds that Biden “told
his closest aides this week he has a few final ‘traps’ to run before a
final decision – including gut-check conversations with his children and
grandchildren.”
TIME: In “Unprecedented” Democratic Primary, Biden “Has A Good Shot,” But
Is “Hardly A Shoo-In.”

Writing for TIME
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=00d-93d&t=c>
(2/21), Molly Ball and Philip Elliott offer an early overview of the 2020
Democratic primary, saying it “will be unprecedented. The field is likely
to be the largest in history, there’s no front runner in sight, and the
stakes could hardly be higher.” The writers say former Vice President Joe
Biden “holds a wide lead in early polling, and his would-be rivals
anticipate he has secured $25 million in early donor commitments.” And
although “party insiders think he has a good shot,” Biden is “hardly a
shoo-in.” Rivals think “much of his support will melt away once other
candidates become better known. They also plan to remind voters how Biden,
76, grilled Anita Hill, cozied up to Wall Street and pursued tough-on-crime
policies in the 1990s.” However, add the writers, his “biggest liability
might be the idea that he represents the party’s past, not its future.”
Cupp: Biden Runs Risk By Holding Off On Entering 2020 Race.

In her New York Daily News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=00e-896&t=c>
(2/20) column, S.E. Cupp cites reasons why she says it’s important for
former Vice President Joe Biden to soon announce whether or not he’s
running for president in 2020. Cupp argues that the longer Biden waits to
decide, he risks “missing out” on donors who may back other candidates. In
addition, Cupp says that while Biden ruminates, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
is fashioning “herself as a Midwest moderate who eschews the far-left lurch
of her progressive colleagues. That’s Biden’s brand, basically, the
pragmatic unifier who doesn’t suffer fools.” Cupp says Klobuchar may be
picking off some voters who would have backed Biden.

        *Daily Beast’s Clift Ponders Whether Biden, Other “Moderates” Will
Enter 2020 Race. *Under the heading “Biden, Beto, Brown: Are Any of These
Moderate Democrats Ever Going to Jump Into This Race?” Eleanor Clift writes
at the Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=00f-b5f&t=c>
(2/20) reports, “Where are all the moderates? Biden, Beto, Brown, Bullock,
McAuliffe, Inslee. What’s holding them back? Do they think time is on their
side? The Democratic field is heavily tilted to the socialist left with
Bernie Sanders in the race and still not a Democrat, and Kamala Harris the
first to feel the need to reject the democratic socialist label, even
though she has signed on to the idea of wiping out the private insurance
industry.” Clift adds, “Moderates aren’t feeling the love these days. All
the energy on the Democratic side is for policies championed by Sanders in
2016 – Medicare for All, free college, the Green New Deal – although it’s
not clear that grassroots energy will translate to him this time around
with so many attractive alternatives.”
Author: To Beat Trump, Democrats Should Nominate A “Fresh” Face.

In a piece for Politico Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=010-6b7&t=c>
(2/20, Dallek), author and college professor Matthew Dallek said that over
“the past 3½ decades,” incumbent “presidents have rarely been booted out of
office before their eight years were up.” One reason for this, said Dallek,
is that “opposition parties have nominated a string of enfeebled
candidates.” In choosing nominees to take on incumbent presidents, said
Dallek, both parties “have tended to prioritize decades of government
experience or deep party ties ahead of far more salient characteristics and
considerations like youthful energy and fresh ideas.” Dallek labeled that
approach “a mistake,” and said that “[i]f Democrats want to have a shot at
unseating President Donald Trump in 2020, they should avoid making the same
mistakes again.”
Politico: 2020 Democrats Target Of “Wide-Ranging Disinformation Campaign.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=011-9f0&t=c>
(2/20, Korecki) reported, “A wide-ranging disinformation campaign aimed at
Democratic 2020 candidates is already underway on social media, with signs
that foreign state actors are driving at least some of the activity.”
Politico said a “review” it conducted “of recent data extracted from
Twitter and from other platforms, as well as interviews with data
scientists and digital campaign strategists, suggests that the goal of the
coordinated barrage appears to be undermining the nascent candidacies
through the dissemination of memes, hashtags, misinformation and
distortions of their positions. But the divisive nature of many of the
posts also hints at a broader effort to sow discord and chaos within the
Democratic presidential primary.”
Sanders Raises $6M In One Day.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=012-3a1&t=c>
(2/20, Kaplan) reports that “just over 24 hours after announcing his
presidential bid,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “has already raised $6
million from more than 225,000 donors,” which “far surpasses what any of
his rivals have disclosed raising after their own announcements this year,”
though his “early fund-raising success is not unexpected.” The Times adds
that because of the crowded field and candidates’ eagerness “to demonstrate
the enthusiasm behind their campaigns, early fund-raising hauls offer
bragging rights, at least for a moment.” Meanwhile, later in the day,
President Trump’s campaign, in a fund-raising pitch, called for supporters
“to CRUSH” the $6 million that “Socialist Bernie” raised.

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=013-868&t=c>
(2/20, Otterbein) said that Sanders “crushed other Democratic candidates in
his first day of online fundraising,” calling it “an impressive start” to
his campaign. In “another show of his digital strength,” said Politico,
Sanders’ announcement video received “nearly 5.4 million views on Twitter
in the first day, more than any other 2020 contender’s formal announcement
or exploratory committee video, most of which have been online for weeks.”
In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=014-d31&t=c>
(2/20, Wright) reported that Sanders’ haul represented “a record-smashing
debut that easily outstripped his Democratic rivals.” CNN added that Sen.
Kamala Harris (D-CA) “had previously set the standard when she raised $1.5
million in the 24 hours following her announcement in late January.” CQ
Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=015-42e&t=c>
(2/20, Kopp) also reported on the story.

        *Trump, Sanders Exchange Barbs On Twitter. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=016-131&t=c>
(2/20, Wagner) reports that Trump on Wednesday morning “greeted Sanders’s
entry into the contest,” tweeting: “Crazy Bernie has just entered the race.
I wish him well!” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=017-883&t=c>
(2/20, Samuels) reported that Sanders “fired back at Trump’s tweet on
Wednesday morning, saying it is ‘crazy’ that the US has ‘a president who is
a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe and a fraud.’ ‘We are going to bring people
together and not only defeat Trump but transform the economic and political
life of this country,’ he added.”
Harris Opposes O’Rourke’s Desire To Tear Down Existing Border Fencing.

The San Francisco Chronicle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=018-d8e&t=c>
(2/21, Ting) reports, “During a Wednesday night appearance on ‘The Daily
Show,’” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “was asked by host Trevor Noah whether
she” backs ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-TX) “call to tear down the existing
700 miles of fencing on the US border with Mexico. ‘No, I believe that we
need border security,’ Harris said. ‘But we need smart border security. ...
All nations define their borders, but we should not have a policy and
perspective that is grounded in keeping people out for the sake of this
nationalistic kind of thing this president is trying to push.’” The
Chronicle says that O’Rourke last week told MSNBC “he would ‘absolutely’
tear down the border wall in El Paso, Texas, if he could,” arguing “that
existing barriers have forced migrants to travel more dangerous parts of
the southern border, ‘ensuring their suffering and death.’”
Leading the News
Reports: Mueller Investigation Could Officially Conclude Next Week.

Citing “people familiar with the plans,” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=019-fa2&t=c>
(2/20, Perez, Jarrett, Polantz) reported that Attorney General Barr is
“preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of Robert
Mueller’s Russia investigation, with plans for Barr to submit to Congress
soon after a summary of Mueller’s confidential report.” NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=01a-a4b&t=c>
(2/20, story 5, 1:55, Williams) later indicated “several government
officials say Mueller’s work is nearly done and he’ll likely present his
report to Barr in the next week or so,” and the CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=01b-64c&t=c>
(2/20, story 3, 2:05, Reid) that “there is no legal requirement for...Barr
to share Mueller’s findings with the public.”

        ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=01c-ff2&t=c>
(2/20, story 6, 1:00, Vega) points out that “during his confirmation
hearing, Barr would not say how much he plans to make public.” Barr was
shown saying, “My goal will be to provide as much transparency as I can
consistent with the law. I will not let personal, political or other
improper interests influence my decision.” CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=01d-367&t=c>
(2/20, Cioffi) also reports that “during his confirmation hearings,
legislators were not given a completely clear picture of exactly how much
information Barr will make public,” and that issue “became a central focus
of the confirmation debate.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=01e-068&t=c>
(2/20, story 5, 1:55, Williams) remarked on what it cast as “rare words of
praise...from...Trump for the new man in charge of the Justice Department,
saying the decision of what to make public from...Mueller’s report will be
up to Attorney General William Barr.” Trump was shown saying, “He’s a
tremendous man, a tremendous person who really respects this country and
respects the justice department. So that will be totally up to him.”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=01f-d53&t=c>
(2/20, Restuccia, Samuelsohn) also notes Trump’s comments in a story
headlined “Trump Butters Up Barr Amid Signs Of Mueller Conclusion.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=020-cc1&t=c>
(2/20) reports Trump said yesterday that “the release of any report on the
Russia investigation by...Mueller will be totally up to” Barr, and the
Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=021-bc2&t=c>
(2/20, Boyer) that the President “will be traveling to Vietnam next week to
hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.” To Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=022-75f&t=c>
(2/20, Spiering), meanwhile, “Trump appeared disinterested Wednesday over a
CNN report suggesting that...Mueller would release the results of his
investigation as soon as next week.”

        Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=023-63c&t=c>
(2/20) writes, “The exact end date for the Mueller probe has been a
longstanding source of speculation in Washington, DC.” Ross notes that in
December, NBC News “reported that Mueller & Co. planned to deliver a report
by mid-February.” Ross says “a delay in Barr’s confirmation may have
contributed to a delay in handing over the report.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=024-54d&t=c>
(2/20, Barrett, Dawsey, Zapotosky) reports that “an adviser to...Trump said
there is palpable concern among the president’s inner circle that the
report might contain information about Trump and his team that is
politically damaging, but not criminal conduct.” The Post adds that “the
special counsel’s office, which used to have 17 lawyers, is down to 12 now,
and some of those attorneys have recently been in touch with their old
bosses about returning to work, according to people familiar with the
discussions. All but four of the remaining 12 lawyers are detailed from
other Justice Department offices.”

        Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=025-64d&t=c>
(2/20), “I concluded that the best result would be if Robert Mueller found
Donald Trump completely innocent, because I don’t want our President to
have engaged in collusion with a foreign power. I just don’t want that.
Now, if the report comes out and exonerates Donald Trump, we move on. If it
doesn’t, if it says, ‘We would have indicted Donald Trump for these
offenses, then I think Congress has to look at these issues and decide what
to do with whatever offenses the Robert Mueller investigation reveals.
Separate from that, the House and other committees in Congress will
investigate other aspects of potential wrongdoing such as obstruction of
justice, witness tampering, abuse of power.”

        Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=026-0d2&t=c>
(2/20), “It’s absolutely essential that there be transparency in this
report. Congress must see the source information, not how it is presented
to by Mr. Barr. It’s got to be the information that Mr. Mueller provided to
the Attorney General.” He added, “I think the Congress has a really
critical constitutional responsibility here. ... So hopefully that will be
made available through the Attorney General, but we will use every means we
need to in order to get access to the report.”

        Sean Hannity said in his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=027-f82&t=c>
(2/20), “The same people who are outraged at Starr’s authority and the
release of that report are the same ones wanting to give Mueller free reign
over President Trump. By the way, next week the President and, we will be
with him, we’ll have an interview, will be in Vietnam. An important summit
about the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with Kim Jong-un. Would
it not be wholly inappropriate to actually release the findings when the
President’s out of the country, participating in these high-stakes
negotiations on such an important topic? We also know, and I have always
suspected, maybe I will be proven wrong, that Mueller’s team of Democrats
would love to undermine the President in any way that they can.”

        Chris Cuomo said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=028-925&t=c>
(2/20) that “when it comes to the Russia probe, as I have been saying,
criminality is not my bar, and it shouldn’t be yours. There is other ways
that Mueller’s report could be instructive of wrongdoing. We need to know
how high knowledge of contacts and attempts to coordinate goes. ...
Remember the two main questions. Mueller can answer these perhaps better
than anyone: Why did so many lie about Russia related matters? Why does
this President mess with a probe he says he doesn’t fear? That’s why I hope
the AG puts out an extensive report. If he doesn’t, the President will
never be clear of this, and you will never have the clarity you deserve.”

        Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo said on Fox News’
The Ingraham Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=029-df5&t=c>
(2/20), “Personally I hope [Barr] makes it all of it public or as much as
he can without revealing any secrets or grand jury testimony. Because I
think it is going to clear President Trump. I have not seen evidence of
President Trump committing any crime, and so when that report comes out I
think that will clear him. The faster and better and more that is available
the better for President Trump and for the country so we can get moving on
to other important issues.”

        Political analyst Carl Bernstein said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper
360[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=02a-4e1&t=c>
(2/20), “I think the President is in a rough position to stop Barr. And I
would be very surprised, look, we’re in real speculative territory here
today with this story about Barr saying that the investigation seems to be
or will say that the investigation is complete. We don’t know quite when
he’s going to say it. We don’t know how he’s going to say it. ... But in
terms of the President being able to interfere and put a heavy hand on
Barr, he’s in a very difficult position, Mr. Trump, right now because he
can’t afford to try to intimidate Barr. ... I can’t imagine he’s not going
to play this thing pretty straight.”

        *Clapper: Mueller Report “Could Turn Out To Be Quite
Anti-Climactic.” *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=02b-50f&t=c>
(2/20, Axelrod) reports that former Director of National Intelligence James
Clapper told
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=02c-29e&t=c>
CNN’s New Day yesterday that he is “far from sure that...Mueller’s
investigation will clear up questions about...Trump and Russia.” Clapper
“said he was hopeful the Mueller probe will provide some answers, but
warned it might not even draw a conclusion on whether there was collusion
between the Trump campaign and Moscow.” Clapper is quoted as saying, “I
think the hope is that the Mueller investigation will clear the air on this
issue once and for all. I’m really not sure it will, and the investigation,
when completed, could turn out to be quite anti-climactic and not draw a
conclusion about that.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=02d-dee&t=c>
(2/20, Correll) reports Clapper also said yesterday, “The strange thing, I
think, that has bothered a lot of people both in and out of the
intelligence community is this strange personal deference to Putin by the
president. I’ve speculated in the past that the way Putin behaves is to
treat President Trump as an asset.”

        *Trump: NYTimes “A True Enemy Of The People” Whose Reporting Is
“False.” *The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=02e-02f&t=c>
yesterday, “The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF
THE PEOPLE!” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=02f-f02&t=c>
(2/20, Grynbaum, Sullivan) reports that “although the president did not
cite a specific article, The Times published an investigative report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=030-81d&t=c>
on Tuesday describing how Mr. Trump had worked to influence and undermine
federal investigations involving him, his presidential campaign and his
administration.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=031-274&t=c>
(2/20, Samuels) points out, meanwhile, that “Trump’s latest diatribe
against the Times came after the newspaper reported Tuesday that Trump
asked then-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker late last year to put
US Attorney Geoffrey Berman in charge of the investigation in New York’s
Southern District into Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen.”

        Former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet
Bharara said on CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=032-347&t=c>
(2/20), “It seems from the reporting in the article that you’ve described
that Matthew Whitaker didn’t take any action, that nobody did unrecuse
himself, and that it’s possible that the question was phrased innocuously.
Although I tend to have my doubts about that. It is not obstruction for
someone to ask the question in an inquiry, you know, what are the rules
about recusal and would it be possible for someone who he might think is
more favorable to him to not be recused any longer? I think you need a bit
more to show something is obstruction, but you don’t need much more to draw
sort of a common sense conclusion if you’re a citizen.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=033-848&t=c>
(2/20, Wagner) notes New York Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger released a
statement reading: “The phrase ‘enemy of the people’ is not just false,
it’s dangerous. It has an ugly history of being wielded by dictators and
tyrants who sought to control public information. And it is particularly
reckless coming from someone whose office gives him broad powers to fight
or imprison the nation’s enemies.”

        Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=034-084&t=c>
yesterday, “The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today.
Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact. The writers
don’t even call asking for verification. They are totally out of control.
Sadly, I kept many of them in business. In six years, they all go BUST!”

        *Trump: McCabe “A Disgraced Man,” Has “Made A Fool Of Himself.” *The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=035-4e5&t=c>
(2/20, Samuels) reports President Trump yesterday “tore into former FBI
Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, calling him a ‘disgrace’ and a ‘poor man’s
J. Edgar Hoover’ amid a days-long exchange of barbs between the two men.” ABC
World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=036-78b&t=c>
(2/20, story 7, 0:30, Vega) showed Trump saying, “I think Andrew McCabe has
made a fool out of himself over the last couple of days. And he really
looks to me as sort of a poor man’s J. Edgar Hoover. He’s a disgraced man.”
The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=037-543&t=c>
(2/20, Fredericks) also reports on Trump’s “blistering attack on the
lifelong Republican, who was fired by ex-AG Jeff Sessions after an
inspector general’s report said he made misleading statements when
questioned about leaks and other bureau affairs.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=038-57a&t=c>
(2/20, Olorunnipa, Zapotosky) reports “McCabe said in response on MSNBC:
‘You think someday you’ll get used to this and on some level you never do.
I’ve been listening to the president lie about me since October of 2016,
and he somehow finds new ways to do it.’” On MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=039-b04&t=c>
(2/20), McCabe also said that before the FBI opened its investigation of
the Trump campaign, they had assembled “observable facts that indicated a
threat to national security may exist and a crime may have been committed.”
McCabe went on to say that the FBI was “had been through a series of really
strange and troubling interactions between the President and Jim Comey. And
then there’s that watershed moment where he asks Jim Comey to drop the
Michael Flynn case, something we would never do. In this wake of that ask,
we were all stepping back and realizing, this is not just inexperience
talking, this is not just a lack of knowledge of how the FBI works. ...
This was an actual attempt to kind of put a thumb on the scales and impact
the work that we were doing for their benefit.”

        Bloomberg opinion Columnist Eli Lake said on Fox News’ Tucker
Carlson Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=03a-5e1&t=c>
(2/20), “It’s harder to justify [calling Trump a Russian asset], especially
two years into the administration, President Trump has appointed Russia
hawks at the highest levels of the government. He has in a lot of cases,
not every single one, countered Russian interests directly. ... There’s no
quo to the quid.”

        *Gowdy Says He Does Not Believe McCabe Briefed “Gang Of Eight.” *The
Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=03b-9f9&t=c>
(2/20, Yilek) reports that former House Oversight chairman Trey Gowdy “says
he does not believe...McCabe is telling the truth about a bipartisan group
of lawmakers being briefed on a counterintelligence investigation into
President Trump.” According to the Examiner, Gowdy said “he’s suspicious of
McCabe’s story because” former House Intelligence Committee chair Devin
Nunes (R-CA) and former Speaker Ryan “never mentioned the investigation.”
Gowdy is quoted as saying, “I listened to Devin and Paul quiz the [Justice
Department] and the FBI for hours on multiple occasions about the one
counterintelligence investigation, we all knew about it. I find it stunning
that they would know about a second one and not say a single solitary
word.”

        On Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=03c-cd0&t=c>
(2/20), Brian Kilmeade said McCabe’s “story doesn’t add up.” According to
Kilmeade, McCabe “doesn’t seem remember about an ‘insurance plan’ when he
met with Peter Strzok and Lisa Page,” but he “remembers exactly his
interactions with the President.” Gowdy was shown saying, “If thinking that
Jim Comey is not a good FBI director is tantamount to being an agent of
Russia, then just list all the agents of Russia, Chuck Schumer, Nancy
Pelosi, Rod Rosenstein, who wrote the memo getting rid of Comey.” Gowdy
added that Trump fired Comey, but then “replaces him with a Comey acolyte,
who not only continues the probe, but expands it. So if his goal was to
obstruct a Russia investigation, gosh, he did a terrible job.”

        *Dershowitz: Discussion Of Using 25th Amendment To Oust Trump
Amounts To Planning “Coup.” *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=03d-337&t=c>
(2/20) reports law professor Alan Dershowitz said yesterday that “it would
be ‘tantamount to an unconstitutional coup’ if it’s confirmed that
intelligence officials discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to
remove...Trump from office.” Dershowitz is quoted as saying, “If in fact
it’s confirmed – and there will be hearings on this – then it is tantamount
to an unconstitutional coup.” Dershowitz added, “The 25th Amendment was
designed for Woodrow Wilson having a stroke, President Reagan being shot
and incapacitated for some days,” and “any law enforcement official who
seriously considered wearing a wire ... I think their credibility as a law
enforcement official is highly questionable.”

        *Cohen Gets Two-Month Delay Before Reporting To Prison, Will
Testify Before Congress Next Week. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=03e-f93&t=c>
(2/20, Weiser) reports former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, “who was to
report early next month to begin serving a three-year prison sentence, was
granted a two-month delay on Wednesday before he must surrender to the
authorities.” Cohen “must now report to a facility designated by the Bureau
of Prisons on May 6.” The Times says Cohen’s lawyers “requested the delay,
saying he recently had surgery and needed to undergo intensive physical
therapy under the monitoring of his physician.” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=03f-45c&t=c>
(2/20, Berthelsen) indicates “the surgery is presumably for the same
shoulder ailment that Cohen cited in delaying his appearance before the
Senate intelligence committee earlier this month.” Bloomberg notes that
Cohen is “expected to testify before three congressional committees next
week.”’ USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=040-316&t=c>
(2/20, Jansen), among other news outlets, also reports the story.

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=041-4e4&t=c>
(2/20, Fandos) reports, meanwhile, that “Cohen has agreed to testify in
public next Wednesday before Congress about his work as...Trump’s personal
lawyer and longtime fixer, but lawmakers said they would limit the scope of
their questioning in deference to the special counsel.” The Times adds “the
hearing next week before the House Oversight and Reform Committee will give
Mr. Cohen, once one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal aides, a rare public platform
to try to explain his work for the president, including an illegal scheme
during the 2016 campaign to pay hush money to two women claiming to have
had affairs with Mr. Trump.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=042-d17&t=c>
(2/20, Sonmez) notes “Cohen had originally been scheduled to testify before
the committee on Feb. 7,” but “that appearance was postponed, with Cohen’s
attorney, Lanny J. Davis, citing unspecified ‘threats’ against Cohen from
the president and his attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani.”

        Former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean said on CNN’s Anderson
Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=043-bb8&t=c>
(2/20), “I think that he’s a powerful witness. He’s been with the President
for a long time. He knows his business practices. ... And I think he is
potentially a very dangerous witness for the President.”

        Political Analyst Carl Bernstein said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper
360[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=044-1de&t=c>
(2/20), “He would not be a very credible witness before a court of law. But
I think in the setting of the congress, in an investigatory hearing, if he
has got a real set of facts and observations and has notes, I think he can
be very credible in terms of describing what went on around Donald Trump,
the way Donald Trump dealt with his businesses. All the things that are
enumerated in Chairman Cummings’ announcement of the hearing. None of which
can make the President feel very confident because all of those areas are
such that paint him in a very unfavorable, sleazy if not semi-criminal or
criminal light.”

        *Deutsche Bank Executives Discussed Extending Repayment Term For
Loans To Trump. *Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=045-25a&t=c>
(2/20, Finch, Arons, Nasiripour) reports that “top Deutsche Bank AG
executives were so concerned after the 2016 US election that the Trump
Organization might default on about $340 million of loans while Donald
Trump was in office that they discussed extending repayment dates until
after the end of a potential second term in 2025.” Bloomberg adds that
“members of the bank’s management board...were leery of the public
relations disaster they would face if they went after the assets of a
sitting president.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Instructs Pompeo Not To Allow Woman Who Joined ISIS To Re-Enter US.

On Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=046-612&t=c>
yesterday, President Trump wrote, “I have instructed Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the
Country!”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=047-069&t=c>
(2/20, story 8, 0:20, Holt) reported the President has directed Pompeo not
to allow Huda Muthana, an Alabama woman who traveled to Syria to join ISIS,
to reenter the US. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=048-91e&t=c>
(2/20, Lee, Reeves) reports Pompeo said Wednesday that Hoda Muthana, who
left Alabama to join ISIS in Syria, “is not a US citizen and will not be
allowed to return to the United States.” In a brief statement “that gave no
details as to how the determination was reached,” Pompeo said Muthana “has
no ‘legal basis’ to claim American citizenship.” However, an attorney for
the woman’s family “said the administration’s position is based on a
‘complicated’ interpretation of the law involving her father,” who was
working as a diplomat when she was born in New Jersey. The AP notes that
under the Immigration and Nationality Act, “a person born in the US to a
foreign diplomatic officer is not subject to US law and is not
automatically considered a US citizen at birth.” However, the family’s
lawyer said Muthana’s father “had not had diplomatic status ‘for months’
before her birth in Hackensack, New Jersey.”

        Holly Williams reported on the CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=049-41d&t=c>
(2/20, story 5, 2:00, Glor) that, if Muthana has been stripped of her US
citizenship, “it’s apparently news to her family.” Williams reported, “The
family lawyer told us today that they will challenge the US government in
court, asserting that...Muthana is an American citizen and has the right to
go home, where she would almost certainly face prosecution.”

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=04a-f42&t=c>
(2/20, Jaeger) similarly notes that Muthana’s father “was a Yemeni diplomat
to the US, and while most babies born on US soil are granted citizenship,
the children of diplomats are an exception.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=04b-f3a&t=c>
(2/20, Callimachi) reports “Muthana says she applied for and received a
United States passport before leaving for Turkey” in 2014. Pompeo’s
statement, however, “did not offer a rationale for why the State Department
does not consider Ms. Muthana a citizen.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=04c-f4c&t=c>
(2/20, Yilek) likewise says “Pompeo’s statement did not make clear whether
her citizenship had been revoked or if she was ever a US citizen.”

        Muthana’s lawyer, Hassan Shibly, told the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=04d-c20&t=c>
(2/20, Brice-Saddler) on Wednesday night that his client is “genuinely
remorseful” about her decision to travel to Syria. Said Shibly, “I don’t
know if there are many Americans right now who hate ISIS as much as Hoda
does. Ultimately, I think she’s trying to face our legal system, and Trump
is trying to give her a free pass by saying she’s not in our jurisdiction.”

        Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=04e-5e5&t=c>
(2/20, Atkinson) reports Muthana, who is currently detained in a Syrian
refugee camp, “has pleaded with the US government to allow her to return.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=04f-f9f&t=c>
(2/21, Hjelmgaard) reports Muthana “is there with her 18-month-old son.”
The child’s father, an ISIS militant, is no longer alive. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=050-f72&t=c>
(2/20, Axelrod), among other outlets, similarly reports Trump and Pompeo’s
comments.

        Laura Ingraham said on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=051-b47&t=c>
(2/20), “She is currently held at a refugee camp in Syria and apparently
only came to the realization joining ISIS was wrong this past Sunday.”

        *British Woman Who Joined ISIS To Lose Citizenship. *James Longman
reported on ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=052-e2d&t=c>
(2/20, story 5, 2:15, Muir) the UK has also banned British “ISIS bride”
Shamima Begum, telling her she will not be allowed to reenter the country.
The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=053-d7d&t=c>
(2/20, Adam) reports the British Home Office “informed Begum’s family of
its decision in a letter Tuesday and asked them to make their daughter
aware of the potential for her to appeal.” Under British law, the home
secretary can revoke citizenship if “it does not make a person stateless.”
The Post notes that while some “have suggested that because Begum’s parents
are from Bangladesh, she could claim citizenship there,” Bangladesh said
Wednesday that she “is not a Bangladeshi citizen.”

        The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=054-01f&t=c>
(2/20, Steinbuch), meanwhile, Begum has “named her newborn son Jarrah after
her first son, who died in infancy — and in honor of a jihadi warlord who
slaughtered Jews, according to a report” by Sky News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=055-81f&t=c>.

Trump: North Korea Must Do Something “Meaningful” Before Sanctions Are
Eased.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=056-cce&t=c>
(2/20, Holland) reports President Trump said yesterday that he “expects to
meet with” North Korean leader Kim “again after their planned summit next
week in Hanoi.” According to Reuters, “Speaking at the White House, Trump
said he would like to remove sanctions on North Korea, but that he needs to
see Pyongyang make a move first on denuclearization.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=057-7db&t=c>
(2/20, Jackson) reports Trump said North Korea must do “something that’s
meaningful” on denuclearization before he would support lifting sanctions,
“a possible point of contention in next week’s summit.” Trump told
reporters at the White House, “I think they want to do something. ... I
don’t think this will be the last meeting.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=058-437&t=c>
(2/20, Boyer) says Trump also predicted next week’s summit will be “very
successful.” He added, “The sanctions are on in full. I’d love to be able
to [ease sanctions]. We have to do something that’s meaningful on the other
side.”

        *AP Analysis: Trump May Get Kim To Denuclearize By Officially
Ending Korean War. *Eric Talmadge of the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=059-21b&t=c>
(2/20) writes in an analysis that ahead of their upcoming summit in
Vietnam, “speculation is growing” that President Trump “may try to persuade
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to commit to denuclearization by giving him
something he wants more than almost anything else: an announcement of peace
and an end to the Korean War.” According to Talmadge, “Such an announcement
could make history,” and “would be right in line with Trump’s opposition to
‘forever wars.’” However, Talmadge warns, “if not done carefully, it could
open up a whole new set of problems for Washington.” Talmadge says “the
biggest win for the North would be to get a peace declaration while quietly
abandoning denuclearization altogether, or by agreeing to production caps
or other measures that would limit, but not eliminate, its nuclear
arsenal.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=05a-0c1&t=c>
(2/20, Collins, Jackson) likewise says Kim “is expected to seek a peace
declaration formally ending the Korean War.” At the same time, the
Administration will likely “demand that North Korea verify what it has done
so far to eliminate its nuclear weapons and provide a list of nuclear sites
that it intends to dismantle.”

        *Bolton, Other Administration Officials Disagree With Biegun’s
Strategy. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=05b-a47&t=c>
(2/20, Nakamura) reports US special envoy Stephen E. Biegun arrived in
Hanoi Wednesday for talks with his North Korean counterpart ahead of the
President’s summit next week with Kim Jong Un. To the Post, the “challenge
for Biegun...will be to try to clinch a detailed agreement that can satisfy
Trump’s desire for a historic deal but one that can withstand the scrutiny
of detractors, including national security adviser John Bolton and others,
who warn that Pyongyang is not to be trusted.” Bolton has reportedly
“fiercely opposed this ‘step-by-step’ process in favor of maintaining
maximum pressure through economic sanctions.” Bolton is said to have
“fretted privately that Biegun’s team is too eager for a deal, and he
continues to believe the negotiations will fail, according to people
familiar with the deliberations.” In addition to Bolton, the Post says
“senior officials from the Treasury Department and the Pentagon” have also
expressed concerns.

        *Ahead Of Summit, Kim Reportedly Purges Officials Opposed To
Dealings With US. *Brian Todd reported for CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=05c-06c&t=c>
(2/20, 5:51 p.m. EST) on “new grim reports” that North Korean leader Kim
Jon Un “has gone on a tear again, purging several officials who he
apparently believed were standing in the way of his dealings with President
Trump.” According to Todd, “This raises new questions...about who inside
Kim’s regime is going against him and whether Kim will face other
challenges ahead.” Todd added that “this round of Kim’s purges” appears to
be the deadliest since 2013.

        *UN Permits North Koreans To Travel To Vietnam For Summit. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=05d-6d8&t=c>
(2/20, Nichols) reports that a UN Security Council sanctions committee “has
approved the travel of a North Korean delegation to Vietnam next week” for
the summit between Trump and Kim. Under current UN sanctions, “12 North
Koreans are subject to a global travel ban.” While it “was not known if any
of them will travel to Vietnam, the council’s North Korea sanctions
committee approved Vietnam’s request for a blanket exemption.”

        *Researchers: North Korea Halted “Key Elements” Of Nuclear Program
Last Year. *Siegfried S. Hecker, Robert L. Carlin and Elliot Serbin of the
Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University
write in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=05e-2b1&t=c>
(2/20) that while the “prevailing view in the United States is that Kim
expanded North Korea’s nuclear program in 2018 despite pledging to do the
opposite,” our research “paint[s] a different picture.” They say they “have
found that North Korea actually halted key elements of its nuclear program,
thereby decreasing the threat posed by what was a rapidly expanding program
in 2017.” Hecker, Carlin and Serbin argue that the development is
“promising when coupled with Kim’s declaration on New Year’s Day to not
only stop testing nuclear weapons but also to not produce or proliferate
them.”
Putin Warns Breach Of Missile Treaty May Lead To Nuclear Arms Race.

In what NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=05f-5ed&t=c>
(2/20, story 7, 1:20, Holt) called “a new escalation...in the war of words
between the US and Russia,” Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened
Wednesday “to point new hypersonic missiles at the US...if the United
States deploys new missiles in Europe.” Andrea Mitchell called the remarks
“the Kremlin’s toughest saber-rattling since the US withdrew” from the
Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty over “Russian cheating.”
Former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told NBC that “Putin is trying
to stop the United States from deploying new missiles now that we have
pulled out of the INF treaty. He’s trying to make it costly for us, and
especially he’s trying to exacerbate a rift between the United States and
our European allies.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=060-e60&t=c>
(2/20, Osborn, Golubkova) reports that in his annual state of the nation
address, Putin warned Russia “will match any US move to deploy new nuclear
missiles closer to Russia by stationing its own missiles closer to the
United States or by deploying faster missiles or both.” Putin said his
government is “not seeking confrontation and would not take the first
step.” Reuters calls “his toughest remarks yet on a potential new arms
race.”

        Putin, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=061-085&t=c>
(2/20, Stanglin) reports, denied the Administration’s “charges of treaty
violations but said the Kremlin would respond with new weapons aimed at the
US if Washington deploys new missiles in Europe.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=062-1f9&t=c>
(2/20, Isachenkov) says he also “charged that the US has abandoned a key
arms control pact to free up its hands to build new missiles.” Said Putin,
“They will only take 10-12 minutes to reach Moscow. It’s a very serious
threat to us, and we will have to respond.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=063-db9&t=c>
(2/20, Oprysko) reports that “in addition to detailing a new military
landscape for a Russia and United States unbound by the INF treaty, Putin
announced a new hypersonic missile that the Russian navy will affix to
surface ships and submarines to work toward its goals of modernization and
countering US moves.” To AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=064-0d6&t=c>
(2/20, Mainville, Panina), Putin “reeled off a list of weapons programmes
that he said would give Russia a military edge over the United States,” and
the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=065-475&t=c>
(2/20, Ferris-Rotman) reports he “also used the speech to note that testing
of a nuclear-capable glider and underwater drone is now complete and that
the two missiles are ready for inclusion in the country’s arsenal this
year.” After his speech, “state-run television showed footage of the
80-foot-long drone, called Poseidon, being released underwater.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=066-d24&t=c>
(2/20, Macfarquhar) says Putin is “well aware” that “a costly arms race in
the 1980s, combined with sinking oil prices, contributed to the collapse of
the Soviet Union.” To the Times, Putin’s “aggressive tone appeared to be
intended, in part, to convinced Washington not to abandon the treaty.”

        *James: “Russia Is Cheating.” *Fox News’ Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=067-5c3&t=c>
(2/20, 6:10 p.m. EST) reported John James, who is believed to be “on the
President’s shortlist for UN ambassador,” is “insisting that Russia needs
to be held in check.” James said, “Russia is cheating. There are growing
spheres of communist influence, and Russia and China are trying to remake
the world in their image. This is why it’s so important to have somebody to
advocate for America, to lead on behalf of Western civilization.”
US, Russia Clash On Humanitarian Crisis In Venezuela.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=068-c61&t=c>
(2/20, Goodman, Isachenkov) reports the aid crisis in Venezuela “has become
the latest fault line in a battle for global influence” between the US and
Russia, and “both sides are digging in...as tensions in Venezuela mount
ahead of a Saturday showdown over humanitarian aid.” Opposition leader Juan
Guaido “has called for ‘caravans’ of tens of thousands of Venezuelans to
join forces Saturday to carry the US aid from Colombia into Venezuela,
despite [President Nicolas] Maduro’s objections and the barricading of a
key bridge linking Venezuela and the Colombian border city of Cucuta, where
the aid is stored.” According to the AP, Russia “has sharply criticized the
plan as reckless, accusing Guaido of seeking a pretext to call for a US
military intervention.”

        *Venezuela Closes Border To Aruba, Bonaire, And Curaçao. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=069-2de&t=c>
(2/20, Casey) reports the government of embattled Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro “said on Wednesday that it was closing its border to air and
sea traffic from three Caribbean islands in an effort to block aid
shipments to the country organized by the Venezuelan opposition.” In
addition, “Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said...the government would
review its relations with the three islands, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao,
where the Venezuelan opposition wants to stage supplies.”

        *Venezuelans, Fleeing Economic And Political Turmoil, Face A
“Treacherous” Journey On Foot. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=06a-f29&t=c>
(2/20, Casey, González) reports “the economic crisis that has engulfed
Venezuela under President Nicolás Maduro has set off a staggering exodus,”
prompting “more than three million people” to leave the country in recent
years. Most of them leave on foot, “but no matter their destination, the
vast majority come through these treacherous roads in Colombia: a 125-mile
journey over a 12,000-foot pass here in the Andes Mountains.” The article
goes on to describe the expedition in greater detail, saying the refugees’
“willingness to travel these twisting mountain roads speaks to the
desperation in Venezuela,” which “is experiencing its deepest political
unrest in a generation, with two men claiming the presidency
simultaneously.”
Allies Decline US Request To Stay In Syria After American Troops Withdraw.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=06b-c66&t=c>
(2/20, DeYoung, Ryan) reports that as US troops prepare to withdraw from
Syria, “America’s closest European allies have turned down a Trump
administration request to fill the gap with their own troops, according to
US and foreign officials.” A senior Administration official said allies
have “unanimously” told the US that they “won’t stay if you pull out.” The
Post says “European refusal to stay unless President Trump reverses at
least part of his troop withdrawal order is one of several factors that US
military officials, lawmakers and senior administration officials have said
should make Trump think again.”

        *Shanahan, Graham Had Heated Exchange Over Withdrawal. *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=06c-5a1&t=c>
(2/20, Meier) reports that US lawmakers “clashed with acting Defense
Secretary Patrick Shanahan recently at a briefing on the sidelines of a
major security conference in Munich.” In what the Times calls “a
contentious exchange during the closed briefing over the weekend,” Sen.
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly pressed Shanahan over the Administration’s
plan to withdraw all US troops from Syria, and “if he had been telling
European officials that the pullout will be completed by the end of April.”

        Josh Rogin of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=06d-84f&t=c>
(2/20), who first reported the incident, says “Shanahan’s response left
lawmakers in both parties even more worried about the United States’ Syria
policy and lacking confidence in the team leading it.” According to Rogin,
Graham asked Shanahan, “Are you telling our allies that we are going to go
to zero by April 30?” Shanahan replied, “Yes, that’s been our direction
[from the president].” Graham responded, “That’s the dumbest f---ing idea
I’ve ever heard,” and “launched into a list of consequences he feared would
result from a precipitous US withdrawal from Syria without a follow-up
plan: The Islamic State would return, Turkey would attack Kurdish forces,
Iran would gain the advantage.” Shanahan said, “That could very well
happen.”

        *Civilians Evacuated From Last ISIS Stronghold In Syria. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=06e-5f6&t=c>
(2/20) reports that “hundreds of men, women and children were evacuated
from the Islamic State group’s last enclave in eastern Syria on Wednesday.”
To the AP, the evacuation “may signal an imminent end to the territorial
rule of the militants self-declared ‘caliphate’ that once stretched across
much of Syria and Iraq.” The AP reports that “food and water have been
running out,” and “conditions have been so bad that at least 60 people
previously evacuated from the militants’ shrinking territory subsequently
died of malnutrition or exhaustion.”

        *CNN Analysis: ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi Remains Elusive. *On CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=06f-958&t=c>
(2/20, 6:55 p.m. EST), Erwa Damon reported on the hunt for ISIS leader Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi, taking “an exclusive look at places al-Baghdadi may have
been hiding.” Damon reported that, “Despite being hunted by the best
intelligence agencies, there has been little more than brief sightings,
spotty intelligence, and conflicting information.”
Trump: Auto Tariffs Depend On Whether Trade Deal With Europe Is Reached.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=070-51f&t=c>
(2/20, Lambert) reports President Trump said yesterday that “a US decision
on whether to impose tariffs on car imports depends on reaching a trade
deal with Europe.” Reuters notes that European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker recently said Trump “had promised him he would not
impose additional import tariffs on European cars for the time being.”

        *Lawmakers Seeking Copy Of Commerce Dept. Report On Tariffs. *CQ
Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=071-641&t=c>
(2/20, Ferguson) reports that on Sunday, the Commerce Department sent
President Trump “its long-awaited report on whether or not to impose new
duties on imported vehicles under a national security rationale.” The
report has “not been released to the public or apparently to members of
Congress.” Senate Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley “told reporters
Tuesday he did not have a copy of the report but would request one.”
Huawei CEO Denies Claims Company Provides “Back Door To Chinese
Intelligence.”

On the CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=072-a85&t=c>
(2/20, story 8, 1:05, Glor), Bianna Golodryga interviewed Huawei CEO Ren
Zhengfei, who refuted US claims that the company provides “a back door to
Chinese intelligence,” saying it is “absolutely not possible.” Said Ren,
“We never participate in espionage, and we did not allow any of our
employees to do any act like that.” Asked if the US is trying to put Huawei
out of business, Ren said, “I don’t think Huawei will collapse because of
this. Maybe the pressure from the US can be used as an important driver to
make sure we work even harder.”

        *UK Not Ready To Ban Huawei Equipment. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=073-189&t=c>
(2/20, Chan) reports that Ciaran Martin, the CEO of the UK National Cyber
Security Centre, says Britain “can handle the security risks involved with
using mobile networks made by China’s Huawei,” which “has faced rising
scrutiny over US allegations that it could be forced by the Chinese
government to provide access to consumer data on its networks.” According
to the AP, “Since 2010, the British government has operated a cybersecurity
evaluation center for Huawei equipment, which Martin said was part of ‘the
toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world’ for the company.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=074-508&t=c>
(2/20, Satariano) reports that while the Administration “has spent a year
trying to convince America’s allies in Europe that...Huawei is a grave
threat to their national security and should not be allowed any role in
developing new wireless networks,” but Martin indicated “that the
aggressive campaign may not be working.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=075-215&t=c>
(2/20, Nakashima), however, reports that “top British cybersecurity
officials on Wednesday said...Huawei has yet to fix ‘serious’ engineering
problems that could leave civilian networks vulnerable to compromise.” Ian
Levy, technical director of Britain’s National Cyber Security Center
(NCSC), said, “Last year we said we found some worrying engineering issues.
As of today, we have not seen a credible plan [to address the issue].
That’s the reality of the situation, unfortunately.”
Domestic Policy
House Democrats To File Resolution Against Trump’s Border Emergency On
Friday.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=076-43c&t=c>
(2/20, Fram) reports “House Democrats will file a resolution Friday aimed
at blocking the national emergency declaration that President Donald Trump
has issued to help finance his wall along the Southwest border, teeing up a
clash over billions of dollars, immigration policy and the Constitution’s
separation of powers.” The AP adds “Trump has promised to veto the
measure,” and “it seems unlikely Congress could muster the two-thirds
majorities in each chamber needed to override a veto.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=077-af6&t=c>
(2/20, Sherfinski) also reports that “even if the resolution passes both
chambers, Republicans have been skeptical that there would be enough
support to override a presidential veto, which takes a two-thirds majority
in the House and the Senate.”

        Last night, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=078-814&t=c>
(2/20, Debonis) reports, Speaker Pelosi said “the House will vote” on the
resolution “in the coming days.” Pelosi “announced that the House would
move ‘swiftly’ to pass a disapproval resolution authored by Rep. Joaquin
Castro (D-Tex.), although she did not specify an exact date and indicated
it would move through a House committee before coming to the floor.”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=079-53c&t=c>
(2/20, Caygle, Ferris) says “Democrats are also expected to file a lawsuit
to halt Trump’s effort to circumvent Congress to build his border wall.”
The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=07a-781&t=c>
(2/20, Picket) and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=07b-fc1&t=c>
(2/20, Collins, Fritze), among other news outlets, also report Pelosi’s
announcement.

        *Collins Says She Will Back “Clean” Disapproval Resolution. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=07c-199&t=c>
(2/20, Sharp) reports “Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday that she would
vote for a congressional resolution disapproving of...Trump’s emergency
declaration to build a wall on the southern border, becoming the first
Republican senator to publicly express support for such a measure.” Collins
said “the president’s action ‘completely undermines’ the role of Congress
and is of ‘dubious constitutionality.’” Added Collins, “If it’s a ‘clean’
disapproval resolution, I will support it.”

        *Poll: Public Opposes Trump’s Order 59%-41%, But Believes There’s A
“Border Emergency” By 54%-46% Margin. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=07d-bc9&t=c>
(2/20, Sheffield) reports, “Fifty-nine percent say they oppose President
Trump’s declaration of an emergency to build a wall on the Mexican border,
according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll released Wednesday.” The poll “found
that just 41 percent of registered voters support Trump’s decision, which
has drawn lawsuits from 16 states and divided Republicans.” The Hill adds,
however, that “54 percent of those polled said they did think the situation
at the border was an emergency, compared to 46 percent who did not.”

        *Trump Touts New Mexico Border Wall Completed “47 Days Ahead Of
Schedule.” *President Trump took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=07e-ffc&t=c>
yesterday to write, “We have just built this powerful Wall in New Mexico.
Completed on January 30, 2019 – 47 days ahead of schedule! Many miles more
now under construction!”

        *Nielsen Hails Agreement With Central American Nations To Stop
Caravans. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=07f-245&t=c>
(2/20) reports from San Salvador that DHS Secretary Nielsen “said Wednesday
that Central American nations have agreed to do more to stop migrant
caravans and fight transnational crime.” Nielsen “spoke in El Salvador’s
capital during a meeting with her Central American counterparts to discuss
a regional security plan to fight illegal human trafficking, organized
crime and gangs, and expand intelligence sharing and fortify border
security.” Nielsen “said the region is facing a humanitarian and security
crisis, adding that ‘I want to thank my colleagues for their determination
to increase cooperation with respect to caravans.’”

        *LATimes Analysis: “Trump Appears To Have Gotten His Way” As Mexico
Stops Caravan. *The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=080-16b&t=c>
(2/20, Hennessy-Fiske) reports, “Last week, a caravan of 1,800 Central
American migrants arrived in this isolated Mexican border city, where
police ushered them into a makeshift government shelter at a shuttered
factory surrounded by chain-link fence.” Meanwhile, “on the other side of
the Rio Grande, in the sleepy town of Eagle Pass, Texas, 250 troops and
scores of Border Patrol agents were sent to shore up defenses as President
Trump vowed to stop this latest caravan.” The Times adds that “for the
moment, Trump appears to have gotten his way,” and “as of Tuesday, the
shelter was closing, with all but one group of migrant family members sent
to other, larger border cities, where prospects of entering the United
States were little better.”

        *US Agents Fired Upon From Mexican Side Of Border. *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=081-954&t=c>
(2/20, Dinan) reports “Border Patrol agents say someone on the Mexican side
of the border shot at them Sunday, though nobody was reported hit.” The
Times adds “it wasn’t clear why Customs and Border Protection waited three
days to reveal the new shooting.”
Trump On Reports He’s Mulling Coats Firing: “I Haven’t Even Thought About
It.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=082-0da&t=c>
(2/20, Morin) reports the President “denied Wednesday that he is
considering firing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, despite
several reports that the president is frustrated with the chief
intelligence official.” Trump told reporters, “I haven’t even thought about
it.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=083-ec6&t=c>
(2/20, Yilek) says “Trump reportedly became frustrated with Coats after he
distanced himself from the president’s comments about North Korea giving up
its nuclear weapons.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=084-a27&t=c>
(2/20, Chalfant, Thomsen) also reports “the White House has remained silent
amid talk that Coats might be fired, and there are no outward signs that
Trump plans to make a move against him.”

        At any rate, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=085-82a&t=c>
(2/20, Sonmez) reports, “several Republican and Democratic lawmakers threw
their support Wednesday behind...Coats, who some administration officials
worry may soon be dismissed from his position by President Trump.” The Post
reported
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=086-ec8&t=c>
Tuesday that, “according to people familiar with the matter, Trump has
become frustrated with Coats over public statements that the president
views as undercutting his policy goals,” and “lawmakers have reacted with
alarm to the prospect of Coats’s dismissal.” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
“issued a statement on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=087-afd&t=c>
on Wednesday morning defending Coats, a former Republican senator from
Indiana.” Wrote Collins, “DNI Dan Coats is a good friend, former Senate
colleague, and leader of integrity who has always served our country well.
We are fortunate to have a person of his ability and candor to lead our
intelligence community.” The Post adds “her colleague, Sen. Angus King
(I-Maine), who also sits on the intelligence panel, described Coats as ‘a
model public servant.’”

        Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=088-e22&t=c>
(2/20) that Coats “is universally trusted, loved, and respected. I’m
surprised Trump hasn’t fired him yet. ... He fired anyone who doesn’t agree
with him.”

        Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=089-86a&t=c>
(2/20), “The Director of National Intelligence needs to be – has the
credibility. He needs to tell it the way it is. There is a very careful
process they go through before making an assessment. ... And clearly, to no
one’s surprise, that North Korea does not intend to give up their nuclear
weapons. President Trump’s highly visible summit meeting with Kim Jong-un
did not produce a pathway to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. ... It’s
critically important that we get direct information, national intelligence
as to where North Korea is. So the President trying to say, look, he didn’t
like what Mr. Coats said because it didn’t jive with what he was saying
about Kim Jong-un, that’s just too bad. The national intelligence
assessment is critically important for this country and is critically
important that Congress get that information unimpeded by the President of
the United States.”

        Republican Strategist and Pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson
said on CNN’s
The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=08a-11c&t=c>
(2/20), “I know that...Trump has had disputes with his intelligence
officials that sometimes the things that they find are different than the
worldview he holds. He has been very public about saying ‘Hey, look the
intelligence community got it wrong when it came to Iraq, you can’t always
trust them.’ This is the stuff that keeps me up at night, though. The
intelligence community is trying do the right thing. I don’t like the idea
of people saying ‘Well, they have come to conclusions that I don’t like so
I’m going to get rid of them.’ ... I think publicly contradicting say,
White House policy, yes is going to put you in a tough position for sure.
But I hope that, regardless of who is leading the intelligence community,
they are allowed to do their jobs and get accurate information to give to
the President.”

        Former Obama White House Communications Director Jen Psaki
said on CNN’s
The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=08b-d40&t=c>
(2/20), “Trump is about to go to a summit with Kim Jong-un that he needs to
be a big success or a big win, as you would say. This is a Director of
National Intelligence who has contradicted President Trump’s claims that
they are denuclearizing. That is significant because he needs this
political win and he is looking at his Director of National Intelligence
and saying ‘I need you to say they are doing what I said they are doing’
and that’s not his job to do.”
White House Preparing To Launch Panel On Climate Change’s Impact On
National Security.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=08c-8f4&t=c>
(2/20, Davenport) reports President Trump is “preparing to establish a
panel to examine how climate change affects national security, to include a
White House adviser whose views are sharply at odds with the established
scientific consensus that human-caused global warming poses a threat to the
nation’s economy, health and security.” The panel “would include William
Happer, a Princeton physicist who serves as Mr. Trump’s deputy assistant
for emerging technologies.” The Times says Happer “has gained notoriety in
the scientific community for his statements that carbon dioxide – the
greenhouse gas that scientists say is trapping heat and warming the planet
– is beneficial to humanity.” The Times notes that the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=08d-068&t=c>
(2/19, Ryan) first reported that Happer will be on the panel. According to
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=08e-23a&t=c>
(2/20, Gardner), the panel “would be headed by...Happer.”

        Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=08f-be6&t=c>
(2/20, Rummler) says “multiple reports from US intelligence agencies have
already concluded that climate change poses security risks, including the
administration’s latest Worldwide Threat Assessment from the Director of
National Intelligence.”

        *Former UN Head, Miami Mayor: Coastal Cities Need More Protection
From Climate Change. *Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Miami
Mayor Francis Suarez, in an op-ed in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=090-c24&t=c>
(2/20), write that Miami “knows that its future...depends on making the
city more resilient to the impact of global warming.” The city has come to
understand that “our current efforts to protect coastal cities will fall
short of what will be required in decades to come.” The authors argues that
“effective adaptation is a collective endeavor” that “requires a holistic,
long-term approach.” They tout the $400 million Miami Forever Bond, “the
city’s answer to the shortfall of investment in adaptation,” which “brings
together city planners, private sector innovators and citizens to build a
stronger, more resilient future for Miami.” They conclude with the hope
that “bond will become a catalyst for greater private sector investment and
innovation in climate adaptation” and that “it will spur similar
initiatives in coastal cities around the globe.”
Coast Guard Lieutenant Arrested On Charges Of Planning Major Attack.

ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=091-767&t=c>
(2/20, story 2, 1:50, Muir) reported on “another alarming headline ... a US
Coast Guard lieutenant is under arrest tonight. Investigators say he was
planning a major attack on innocent civilians and that he had a hit list of
prominent names. They say he had a stockpile of weapons and ammunition, and
they’re calling him tonight a domestic terrorist.” ABC (Thomas) added that
Lieutenant Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, was “arrested on gun and drug
violations that the FBI calls ‘the proverbial tip of the iceberg.’” ABC
also reported that according to the FBI, Hasson had “a possible hit list of
prominent politicians and television personalities, including the Speaker
of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Senator
Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kamala Harris and cable host Joe Scarborough.”
ABC concluded, “This is a case of the Coast Guard becoming concerned about
one of their own and tipping off the FBI, which launched a joint
investigation.”

        The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=092-528&t=c>
(2/20, story 2, 1:50, Glor) reported, “Prosecutors are calling him a
domestic terrorist. A self-described white nationalist with a collection of
weapons and a list of people he wanted to kill, including US senators and
media personalities.” CBS (Martin) added, “The motion to keep Coast Guard
Lieutenant Christopher Hasson in jail until he can be brought to trial
warns that he ‘intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen
in this country.’ It quotes a draft email in which he says, ‘I am dreaming
of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth.’”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=093-a29&t=c>
(2/20, lead story, 2:15, Holt) reported, “A US Coast Guard officer and
self-proclaimed white nationalist is charged tonight with plotting a
massive domestic terror attack. Compiling a lengthy list of targets
including prominent politicians and journalists, from Nancy Pelosi and Cory
Booker to MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Chris Hayes.” NBC (Gutierrez) added,
“Hasson had worked at US Coast Guard headquarters in Washington since
2016.” NBC also reported, “The court documents don’t reveal any actual
attack plans, but the government says he’s been stockpiling his weapons
since at least 2017.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=094-c52&t=c>
(2/20, Bui) reports, “federal investigators uncovered a cache of weapons
and ammunition in his Maryland home.” Coast Guard spokesman, Lt. Cmdr.
Scott McBride, said the arrest was “a result of an ongoing investigation
led by Coast Guard Investigation Services, in cooperation with the FBI and
the Dept. of Justice.”
Democrats And Republicans Working On “Red Flag” Gun Laws.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=095-128&t=c>
(2/20, Sherfinski) reports Democrats are “working with Republicans on more
limited ‘red flag’ laws to temporarily suspend Second Amendment rights of
people deemed too dangerous.” Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey
Graham (R-SC) “has expressed interest, and lawmakers in both parties are
pushing bills that would provide states with incentives to develop rules
letting a family member or law enforcement officer petition a court to
issue an ‘extreme risk’ protective order.” Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) “is
co-sponsoring one version introduced by” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and also
sponsored by Sens. Angus King (I-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) that would
provide incentives to states to adopt such laws.

        *New Mexico Counties Adopt “Second Amendment Sanctuary County”
Resolutions. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=096-0e5&t=c>
(2/20, Press) reports that in response to “gun-control” legislation being
considered in New Mexico, several counties have adopted “Second Amendment
Sanctuary County” resolutions. On Tuesday, county commissioners in San Juan
County and Eddy County approved the resolutions. Already, “sheriffs in
Curry, Quay, Socorro and Union counties” put forward “similar resolutions”
that were adopted by the county commissioners. The measures being
considered by the state legislature include expanded background checks for
gun sales, and allowing “courts to order people who are deemed to be a
threat to themselves or others to temporarily surrender their guns to law
enforcement.”

        *Few States Have Procedures For Taking Guns From Those Prohibited
From Owning Them. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=097-c4b&t=c>
(2/20, Oppel) reports in the wake of a “workplace shooting in a Chicago
suburb last week that left five people dead,” experts have estimated “the
number of people who are barred from owning guns but have them anyway may
reach into the millions.” The Times adds that “only eight states have laws
that provide an explicit mechanism so that people suspected of having guns
in violation of those prohibitions are actually required to give them up.”
The Times adds that only California “has a database dedicated to tracking
firearm owners who have lost their right to possess a gun.” Since adopting
the database, “California has cut by half, to about 10,000, the backlog of
people in the database believed to own firearms illegally.”
WTimes Analysis: Congress Not Expected To Act To Reduce Deficits, Debt.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=098-c48&t=c>
(2/20, Sherfinski) reports with the US national debt above $22 trillion,
members of Congress “don’t think they’ll do anything to seriously address
it anytime soon.” Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) said, “I hear lots of
conversations about how to spend a whole lot more.” Members of Congress,
adds the Times, “are turning their attention to exactly how they plan to
avoid $126 billion in cuts set to kick in this October because of Obama-era
budget caps.” Meanwhile, “President Trump likewise has ruled out major cuts
to entitlement programs.” Director of the National Economic Council Larry
Kudlow said, “As the growth continues, we believe 3 percent growth, I think
you’ll see deficits as a share of GDP keep falling.” Yet, according to the
Congressional Budget Office, deficits are projected to reach 4.2 percent
this year, and 4.8 percent by 2029.
Senate Republicans Plan Move To Limit Debate On Lower-Level Nominees.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=099-701&t=c>
(2/20, Hulse) reports the Republican majority in the US Senate is planning
to speed up confirmation of President Trump’s nominees, by “preparing to
detonate a mini-nuke.” The Republicans, the Times adds, are “preparing to
strong-arm a rules change that would reduce required debate time on
judicial and executive branch appointees to two hours from as many as 30.”
The Times also says this change “might not be as drastic as the 2013
Democratic decision to abolish the 60-vote filibuster on most nominees ...
But Democrats say the consequences will still be significant.” Rules
Committee Chairman Roy Blunt said, “Presidents deserve to have their teams
in place — it is that simple.” The Times also reports that some of Trump’s
appointees have been waiting “for more than a year.” The reduced debate
would be applied to “sub-cabinet-level posts and Federal District Court
judges.”
Cancer Research
Significant Decline In Precancerous Cervical Lesions In US, Study Suggests.

MedPage Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=09a-5a4&t=c>
(2/21) reports research by CDC investigators suggests that “The incidence
of precancerous cervical lesions containing human papillomavirus (HPV)
declined significantly from 2008 to 2014, as did the HPV strains that cause
most cervical cancers.” The lower incidence “coincided with the
introduction of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine, which targets HPV16/18, and
the CIN2+ finding added to previous evidence suggesting a decrease in
cervical precancerous lesions, reported Nancy McClung, PhD, RN, of the CDC
in Atlanta, and colleagues.” The research “also provided the first evidence
that HPV vaccination leads to ‘herd protection,’ as rates of
HPV16/18-positive CIN2+ specimens declined in vaccinated and unvaccinated
individuals alike.” The findings were published online in Cancer
Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Johnson & Johnson Says It Faces Federal Inquiry Over Safety Of Talc Powders.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=09b-b99&t=c>
(2/21, Hsu) reports the company Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday in a
regulatory filing that it is being investigated by both the Justice
Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection to
whether its baby powder and some other products contain asbestos. The
company said it had received subpoeanas and will be “cooperating with these
government inquiries and will be producing documents” as a result. Johnson
& Johnson faces thousands of lawsuits that allege its talc powders caused
ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, and it has appealed some judgments,
including one in which 22 ovarian cancer patients and their families were
awarded $4.7 billion. Talc supplier Imerys Talc America, which has been
named as a defendant in some of those cases, filed last week for Chapter 11
bankruptcy.

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=09c-cf2&t=c>
(2/21, Kirkham) reports that Johnson & Johnson said the government
inquiries “are related to news reports that included inaccurate statements
and also withheld crucial information.” Reuters reported in December “that
Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that small amounts of asbestos, a known
carcinogen, had been occasionally found in its talc and powder products,
according to tests from the 1970s to the early 2000s – information it did
not disclose to regulators or the public.” Soon after, the company’s market
value dropped by $40 billion. Johnson & Johnson has cited “decades of
independent tests by regulators and the world’s leading labs” that “prove
Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder is safe and asbestos-free, and does not
cause cancer.”

        Also reporting on the government investigation are the Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=09d-d62&t=c>
(2/20, Loftus), which was first to report the subpoenas, and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=09e-429&t=c>
(2/20, Weixel).
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Trump’s Idea Of A Middle East Nuclear Deal.”* In an editorial, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=09f-098&t=c>
(2/20) says an interim report from the House Oversight Committee released
this week “paints a familiar picture of Trump associates skirting the law
to curry favor with people who can make them richer. This time, the dealing
doesn’t involve Russians but Saudis, and it is not about a lavish tower in
Moscow but the sale of nuclear power reactors.” The Times argues that the
US “has long been a leader in nuclear technology, the sale of which is
governed by bilateral pacts,” and argues that the panel’s findings serve as
a “stark warning that there is even greater reason for concern and for
congressional efforts to put stricter controls in place.”
Washington Post.

*“The Supreme Court Just Took A Small Step Toward Redressing A Big
Constitutional Outrage.”* The Supreme Court yesterday ruled unanimously
against excessive state fines. In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=0a0-2e0&t=c>
(2/20) calls the ruling “one small step...toward potentially redressing a
big constitutional outrage: the pervasive and unjust forfeiture systems
that states and localities have used to deprive even innocent people of
their property.” The Post adds “state and local governments should not have
wide authority to profit from their policing,” and “eventually, once a
suitable case comes before it, the court must say so.”

        *“The Authoritarian Assault On Internet Freedom Is On The Move In
Russia And India.” *A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=0a1-ce4&t=c>
(2/20) editorial is critical of what it says are recent attacks on Internet
freedoms in Russia and India. In Russia, the parliament, approved a bill
“that would give the authorities more power to create a ‘sovereign
Internet’ — and possibly cut Russia off from the global networks.”
Meanwhile, India is “advancing rules that could allow it to demand that
Internet platforms remove content, and it is requiring companies to install
automated screening tools.” The Post says that while neither country
“appears to be going as far as China’s all-encompassing Great Firewall, but
these steps mark a serious retreat from the early promise of Internet
freedom.”

        *“Other States Have Pioneered Death With Dignity. Maryland Should
Follow Suit.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022101biden&r=email-4cbd&l=0a2-afa&t=c>
(2/20) editorializes in favor of the End-of-Life Option Act, legislation
before the Maryland General Assembly “that would allow medical assistance
in dying for people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness.” The
Post says that other states “have pioneered death with dignity and shown
there are benefits with none of the dire outcomes predicted by opponents.”
The Post states that these states have “more than 40 years of combined
experience with assisted death,” and have had “no instances of documented
abuse or coercion.” The Post concludes, “people should have the right to
choice when it comes to their own deaths.”

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