Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday, February 22, 2019
From: "Kathy Chung" <[email-masked]>
To: "Ashley Blazer Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jill Tracy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jimmy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Valerie Biden Owens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2019 09:23:40 -0500

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <[email-masked]>
*Sent:* Friday, February 22, 2019 7:58 AM
*To:* [email-masked]
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
February 22, 2019

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=000-50e&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=001-8cf&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, February 22, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• WTimes: Biden Likely Would Have Support From “Trump-Like Coalition” In
Democratic Race. <#S1>

• Ex-RNC Chief Steele Has Words Of Praise For Biden. <#S2>

• Biden, Klobuchar Met With Hillary Clinton This Month About 2020 Race.
<#S3>

• Media Outlets Highlight NBC News Story On Biden’s 2020 Deliberations.
<#S4>

• Polling Experts: Harris, Sanders, Warren Would Likely Benefit The Most
From Biden’s Absence. <#S5>

• Focusing On 2020 Democratic Race, Columnist Discusses “Electability.”
<#S6>

• Business Insider Examines Age Factor In 2020 Race. <#S7>

• Peebles Floats Idea Of Biden Tapping Harris As His Running Mate. <#S8>

• Group Co-Chaired By Biden Asks Candidates To Not “Aid And Abet” Foreign
Election Interference. <#S9>

• Democrat-Aligned Super PAC Says It Will Spend $100M In Key 2020
Battlegrounds. <#S10>

• Politico: Sanders Holds Edge Over Warren Early In Fight For Support From
The Left. <#S11>

• Harris, Warren Support Slavery Reparations. <#S12>

• Klobuchar Banking On Moderate Approach In Quest For Democratic Nomination.
<#S13>

• Raft Of Top New Jersey Democrats Back Booker’s 2020 Bid. <#S14>

• Castro Stumps In Iowa. <#S15>

• New Super PAC Focused On Climate Change Would Back Inslee In 2020 Race.
<#S16>

• WPost Examines Democrat Delaney’s 2020 Policy Platform. <#S17>

• Visiting Iowa, Bennet Blasts Trump, Freedom Caucus Members As “Tyrants.”
<#S18>

• NYTimes: De Blasio’s Attacks On Amazon Possibly Made With 2020 In Mind.
<#S19>

• WPost’s Tumulty Profiles Buttigieg. <#S20>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Giuliani Expects Mueller Report “In The Next Two Weeks.” <#S21>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Pompeo: North Korea’s “Complete Denuclearization” Remains US’ Objective.
<#S22>

• US And Chinese Officials Reportedly Making Progress On Several
“Structural Issues.” <#S23>

• Despite US Pressure, Huawei Prospering In Other Countries. <#S24>

• Pence To Visit South America Monday, Make Case For Maduro’s Departure.
<#S25>

• Putin: Russia Is Prepared For Another Cuban Missile-Style Crisis. <#S26>

• EU Weighs Three-Month “Technical” Brexit Delay. <#S27>

• Two Hundred US Troops To Stay In Syria. <#S28>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Senate Democrats To Introduce Legislation To Block Border Emergency
Declaration. <#S29>

• Trump: Smollett Insulted “Tens Of Millions” With “Racist And Dangerous
Comments.” <#S30>

• Coast Guard Officer Accused Of Compiling “Hit List” Denied Bail. <#S31>

• McConnell Urges Trump To Name Craft UN Ambassador. <#S32>

• Judge: Acosta Broke Law By Hiding Epstein Plea Deal From Underage Girls
He Trafficked. <#S33>

• Many Taxpayers Facing Tax Bills Instead Of Refunds Under New Tax Law.
<#S34>

• Trump Touts Economy At Black History Month Event. <#S35>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• City Of Hope Receives Third Lymphoma SPORE Grant From NCI. <#S36>

• Integrating Heart Disease, Cancer Care Could Lower Costs, According To
Study. <#S37>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S38>

• Washington Post. <#S39>
Biden in the News
WTimes: Biden Likely Would Have Support From “Trump-Like Coalition” In
Democratic Race.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=002-9e4&t=c>
(2/21, McLaughlin) reports that if former Vice President Joe Biden enters
the 2020 race for the White House, “he’s looking at a Trump-like coalition
of support within the Democratic Party, with backing from men, the
less-educated and older voters.” The Times says, “The latest Monmouth
Polling Institute national survey showed” Biden with “a double-digit lead
over the pack of contenders. Self-described moderates, the 50-plus crowd,
white voters without a college degree, and men are his most fervent
supporters. That’s a serious deviation from the liberal multiracial
coalition that powered President Barack Obama – and Mr. Biden, on the same
ticket – to victories in 2008 and 2012, then boosted Democrats to a
majority in the House in November’s elections.”
Ex-RNC Chief Steele Has Words Of Praise For Biden.

Yahoo! News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=003-c90&t=c>
(2/21, Nazaryan) reports that ex-RNC chief Michael Steele views the 2020
Democratic presidential field “as moving too far left for a nation that, he
maintains, is ‘center-right’ at its ideological core.” However, in an
interview, Steele praised former Vice President Joe Biden, saying, “He is
everyman. He’s a guy who goes to a fish fry and is as comfortable talking
to folks with greasy fingers as he is sipping tea at a tea soirée.” Steele
dismissed “any age-related concerns” about Biden and also doesn’t think
Biden’s lengthy time in the Senate “poses a potential minefield of
questionable decisions about his opposition to school desegregation and,
later, lack of support for Anita Hill” during the hearings on Supreme Court
nominee Clarence Thomas. Of those hearings, Steele said, “We’ve litigated
that. Go out and poll and ask people about Anita Hill and Joe Biden. and
let me know what you get. I’m gonna tell you what you’re gonna get:
nothing.”
Biden, Klobuchar Met With Hillary Clinton This Month About 2020 Race.

In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=004-859&t=c>
(2/21, Merica) reported that Hillary Clinton earlier this month met with
former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) “to talk
about the 2020 presidential election,” according to “a source close to the
2016 Democratic presidential nominee.” CNN added, “The meetings happened at
Clinton’s home in Washington, DC, and focused on Biden and Klobuchar’s
possible 2020 bids.” CNN said it “reported in January that Clinton had
previously met with Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elizabeth
Warren, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
to talk about 2020.” Drawing from the CNN article, The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=005-331&t=c>
(2/21, Burke) and the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=006-95e&t=c>
(2/21, Yilek) also report on the story.
Media Outlets Highlight NBC News Story On Biden’s 2020 Deliberations.

Several media outlets highlight an online NBC News article
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=007-363&t=c>
– covered in yesterday’s briefing – reporting on former Vice President Joe
Biden’s deliberations on a 2020 run for president. Citing the NBC News
report, The Week
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=008-194&t=c>
(2/21, Krawczyk) said that Biden “is really, really close to running for
president. There’s just one thing holding him back: his family.” The Week
added that Biden “is worried opponents will turn his family into a weapon,
Biden aides tell NBC News.” Drawing from NBC News’ story, Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=009-a9c&t=c>
(2/21, Starr) reported, “Given Biden’s fierce loyalty to his family and the
tragedies he has faced – the death of his first wife and daughter in a car
accident and the death four years ago of his son Beau – he may be too
sensitive to any criticism of his personal life that could come his way
from the GOP and/or President Donald Trump.”
Polling Experts: Harris, Sanders, Warren Would Likely Benefit The Most From
Biden’s Absence.

Under the headline “9 Polling Experts Explain What Could Happen If Joe
Biden Doesn’t Run For The Presidency,” Vox
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=00a-876&t=c>
(2/21, Zhou) published brief capsules detailing what “nine polling experts
had to say about the candidates who could take advantage of” the situation,
if former Vice President Joe Biden opted against entering the 2020 race for
president. For instance, Morning Consult’s Cameron Easley said, “Our
figures indicate that at the moment, [Sen. Bernie] Sanders would be the
biggest beneficiary,” followed by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Sen.
Elizabeth Warren (D-CA). Overall, the general consensus among the polling
experts was that Biden’s absence would benefit Harris, Sanders, and Warren
the most.
Focusing On 2020 Democratic Race, Columnist Discusses “Electability.”

Data analyst and immigration columnist David Byler writes for the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=00b-676&t=c>
(2/21) that in terms of presidential candidates, people “often assume that
what ‘electability’ means is the ability to win over blue-collar white
Midwesterners. And while they’re an extremely important” demographic, “they
aren’t the whole ballgame. There are also votes to be gained among Asians,
Hispanics, blacks and college-educated whites across the country. If
Democrats want to win in 2020, they should pick a truly demographically
electable candidate – one who can appeal to all these groups
simultaneously.” Byler mentions former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen.
Kamala Harris (D-CA) as contenders with the potential “multidimensionality”
to appeal to a swath of demographics.
Business Insider Examines Age Factor In 2020 Race.

Under the heading “Are Bernie Sanders And Joe Biden Too Old To Run For
President? Data Suggests The Answer Is No,” Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=00c-337&t=c>
(2/21, Kiersz) reports on the age factor in the 2020 race for president,
saying that former Vice President Joe Biden “will be 77 years old on
Election Day,” while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “will be 79.” While
presidential “candidates have tended to get older, life expectancies have
gotten longer, largely balancing each other out. That said, a 79-year-old
man like Sanders in 2020 would have an average life expectancy of about
8.29 more years, according to the Social Security Administration,” which
“would be the lowest of any major party candidate since 1900. Biden comes
close behind, as a 77-year-old man would on average expect to live” a
little less than 10 more years. In terms of “presidential age, rising life
expectancies mean that old age isn’t what it used to be.”
Peebles Floats Idea Of Biden Tapping Harris As His Running Mate.

In an online article, Fox Business
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=00d-547&t=c>
(2/21, Fernandez) reported that during a Thursday appearance on Fox
Business, Peebles Corp. CEO Don Peebles said that former Vice President Joe
Biden could choose Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “as his potential running mate
and that the Democratic duo could be a powerful force to go toe-to-toe
against President Trump. ‘Biden saying I am going to do it for four years
because of my age and we are going to groom Kamala Harris to be president,
I think that would be a more compelling and attractive basis to the broader
audience to the party,’ he said.” Peebles “said having Harris as vice
president could present an opportunity for” her “to be groomed for
president after Biden’s first term is completed. ‘Give her time to become
qualified to become president because today she is not,’ Peebles said.”
Group Co-Chaired By Biden Asks Candidates To Not “Aid And Abet” Foreign
Election Interference.

In his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=00e-ade&t=c>
(2/21, Rogin) column, Josh Rogin writes that preventing America’s “enemies
from influencing our next election requires Americans to stop helping them
do it. That’s what former vice president Joe Biden,” in his role as
co-chair of the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity, “is asking
US candidates and political parties to promise right now.” Rogin says,
“When US politicians take false information that’s part of a foreign
intelligence influence operation and promote it or otherwise use it to
their advantage, that’s tantamount to aiding and abetting the attack, Biden
told an audience in Munich this past weekend.” Rogin adds that “the group’s
latest initiative involves asking first European, then US candidates and
parties to sign a pledge not to ‘aid and abet’ foreign election
interference.”
Democrat-Aligned Super PAC Says It Will Spend $100M In Key 2020
Battlegrounds.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=00f-cc1&t=c>
(2/21, Slodysko) reports that Priorities USA, a Democrat-aligned super PAC,
“plans to spend at least $100 million in battleground states during the
2020 election in hopes of denying President Donald Trump a second term.
Surveys conducted by Priorities USA suggest Trump is vulnerable in many of
the same Rust Belt states that sealed his victory in 2016, such as
Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as well as Florida.”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=010-263&t=c>
(2/21, Lim) reported, “Phase one of Priorities USA’s early voter engagement
program will target Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin,
Priorities USA chairman Guy Cecil said during a briefing for reporters. The
PAC will then widen its map to include what the group considers to be the
party’s other ‘core’ states of Nevada and New Hampshire, as well as
‘expansion’ states Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina. The cash will be
injected before the end of the year.” In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=011-514&t=c>
(2/21, Kamisar) reported that Cecil “argued that early polling shows
Democrats have ‘opportunity to expand the electorate to the largest, if not
certainly the largest in a generation’ and that he wants to make sure the
party wastes no time in starting that work.”
Politico: Sanders Holds Edge Over Warren Early In Fight For Support From
The Left.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=012-2ac&t=c>
(2/22, Otterbein, Korecki) reports on the nascent battle between Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), saying that the
lead-up “to their presidential announcements sparked concern on the left
that having both of them in the race would split the activist base and
clear the way for a more moderate nominee.” With both now announced
candidates, Sanders begins the fight for support from the left
“indisputably ahead” of Warren, both in early fundraising and polling.
Politico adds “that the two occupy similar ideological space and will
inevitably be competing for many of the same voters. For the time being,
they seem intent on avoiding one another.”

        The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=013-03a&t=c>
(2/22, Greenwood) reported that for Sanders and Warren, “New Hampshire is
emerging as a crucial battleground” – one that’s “a sort of home-state
proxy for the two Democratic hopefuls, given their deep ties to New England
and Sanders’s resounding victory there in his 2016 primary fight against
Hillary Clinton. ‘I think there’s a very high expectation that either
Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders will win,’ said Jim Demers, a veteran
New Hampshire Democratic strategist and informal adviser to Sen. Cory
Booker (D-N.J.) in the state. ‘Only one of them can win, so it means
problems for whichever one doesn’t.’”

        *Democratic Rivals To Hit Sanders Over Democratic Socialist Label. *The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=014-abf&t=c>
(2/22, Parnes) reports that Sanders’ rivals in the Democratic primary “are
already making the argument that he would be a weaker general election
candidate against President Trump because he is a democratic socialist –
not a Democrat.” A “senior adviser to a rival campaign” is quoted as
saying, “I think socialist is a word that someone who wants to beat Trump
should consider carefully before embracing.” The Hill added that “this
week, 2020 candidates” and potential contenders “have been actively drawing
a distinction with Sanders and his brand.” For instance, asked in New
Hampshire “if she needed to be a democratic socialist to win the Granite
State,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) replied, “The people of New Hampshire
will tell me what’s required to compete in New Hampshire, but I will tell
you I am not a democratic socialist.”

        *Democrat Meeks: Sanders “Should Run As An Independent. He’s Not A
Democrat.” *In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=015-637&t=c>
(2/21, Kelly) reported that Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) “says...Sanders is
not a Democrat – and that he should therefore not be allowed to run to be
the party’s nominee for president.” The remarks came in the wake of reports
that Sanders, am independent, “will sign a party pledge affirming that he
will run for president as a Democrat in 2020 and, if victorious, serve as a
Democrat.” Appearing Thursday on CNN, Meeks said of Sanders, “If, in fact,
you want to be the Democratic nominee, you should be a Democrat. If you’re
not a Democrat, you should not run. He should run as an independent. He’s
not a Democrat.”

        *Florida Democrats Rip Sanders For Refusing To Call Maduro A
Dictator. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=016-60a&t=c>
(2/21, Caputo) reported that Democratic lawmakers in Florida are blasting
Sanders “for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a
dictator – a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing
state.” Sanders also declined to “say whether he considered Venezuela’s
assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is
the position of the” US “and a majority of Latin American countries
European countries. Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of
President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats.” Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) is
quoted as saying of Sanders, “He is not going to be the nominee of the
Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand
this situation.”

        Drawing from Politico’s article, Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=017-2c9&t=c>
(2/21, Atkinson) reported that state Sen. Annette Taddeo (D-FL) said “she’s
‘dumbfounded’ by Sanders’ position. Meanwhile, the Florida Democratic Party
has said: ‘We recognize Juan Guaidó as the President of Venezuela, denounce
the legitimacy of the Maduro regime and his efforts to remain illegally in
power.’”

        *In 1986 Video, Sanders Recalled His Excitement About Castro’s
“Revolution.” *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=018-ed7&t=c>
(2/21, Jerkovich) reported that Sanders “reminisced in 1986 about watching
the 1960 presidential debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon and
how it made him sick to hear them talk tough about Fidel Castro’s uprising.
‘But I remember, for some reason, being very excited when Fidel Castro made
the revolution in Cuba. I was a kid and I remember reading that,’” Sanders
said “in a clip posted by The Reagan Battalion on Thursday.” In the clip,
Sanders said that “Kennedy and Nixon talking about which particular method
they should use about destroying the revolution. ... I actually got up from
the room and almost left to puke because, for the first time in my adult
life, what I was seeing is the Democrats and Republicans, both of them…that
clearly there wasn’t a hold lot of difference between the two.”

        Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=019-171&t=c>
(2/21, Lemon) reports that Sanders “gave the interview to Vermont’s Channel
17/Town Meeting Television in 1985, while he was the mayor of Burlington.
The interview was first resurfaced ahead of the 2016 presidential campaign
by BuzzFeed and was shared again on Thursday by Mediaite in the wake of
Sanders’s newly launched presidential bid.” Newsweek adds that Sanders
“gave the interview after returning from Nicaragua, at the invitation of
the ruling Sandinista government. The politician also praised the leftist
Sandinistas, calling Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega ‘impressive.’”

        *Under Fire From Sanders, Drugmaker Defends $375,000 Treatment
Price. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=01a-9f0&t=c>
(2/21, Mishra) reports that in the wake of criticism from Sanders over its
high drug prices, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc. defended its $375,000 price
for Firdapse, a medication for a rare neuromuscular disease. Prior to the
company being approved to sell the drug on the US market, Jacobus
Pharmaceuticals was able to offer patients Firdapse for free through the
FDA’s compassionate use program. Catalyst “said that Firdapse’s price was
similar to other products that provide a significant clinical benefit in
treating ultra-rare diseases.”
Harris, Warren Support Slavery Reparations.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=01b-334&t=c>
(2/21, Herndon) reports that some of the announced 2020 Democratic
presidential candidates “have started embracing specific goals and overtly
race-conscious legislation that even the most left-wing elected officials
stayed away from in recent years.” The Times says that last week, Sen.
Kamala Harris (D-CA) “agreed with a radio host’s recent suggestion that
government reparations for black Americans were necessary to address the
legacies of slavery and discrimination.” Harris “later affirmed that
support.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “also said she supported reparations
for black Americans impacted by slavery – a policy that experts say could
cost several trillion dollars, and one that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton,
Bernie Sanders and many top Democrats have not supported.”
Klobuchar Banking On Moderate Approach In Quest For Democratic Nomination.

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=01c-00a&t=c>
(2/22, McCormick, Kinery) reports that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) “is
pushing back against some policy ideas favored by the party’s ascendant
progressive wing and championed by several of her competitors in the race”
for the Democratic presidential nomination, opposing “the idea of free
college” and calling “the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-all more
aspirations than realistic goals in meeting the challenges of climate
change and health care.” In doing so, she “is betting that bucking the
emerging party orthodoxy will pay dividends in a field already crowded with
a dozen candidates,” nearly all of whom “are positioning themselves to the
left of Klobuchar. The middle of the road could give her traction in Iowa,”
where “Democrats have a history of giving an early boost to populist
progressive candidates before ultimately landing on more centrist ones when
they get to the caucuses.”
Raft Of Top New Jersey Democrats Back Booker’s 2020 Bid.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=01d-832&t=c>
(2/21, Friedman) reported that Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a presidential
candidate, on Thursday “released a list of endorsements from virtually
every powerful Democratic elected official and leader in New Jersey. The
list of more than 50 Democrats includes Gov. Phil Murphy, First Lady Tammy
Murphy, Sen. Bob Menendez, state Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly
Speaker Craig Coughlin, all 11 Democratic members of the state’s House
delegation, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and all 21 Democratic county chairs.”
Castro Stumps In Iowa.

The Des Moines (IA) Register
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=01e-9b1&t=c>
(2/21, Opsahl) reports that on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, ex-HUD
Secretary Julián Castro, a presidential candidate, held a town hall event
at Grand View University, where “he answered questions on a variety of
topics, ranging from income inequality to eminent domain and LGBTQ rights.”
During the event, Castro – addressing a “crowd of around 80” – “said he
supports ‘Medicare-for-all,’ but still wants to keep an option for
supplemental private insurance. He supports overhauling the immigration
system, but also in investing more in security at the borders.”
New Super PAC Focused On Climate Change Would Back Inslee In 2020 Race.

The Seattle Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=01f-3f9&t=c>
(2/21, Brunner) reports that if Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) enters the 2020 race
for the White House, “as he’s widely expected to do soon, he’ll have
support from a newly formed super PAC. The group, called Act Now on
Climate, announced its formation Thursday, headed by Corey Platt, who was
political director for the Democratic Governors Association, which Inslee
chaired last year.” Platt, in a statement, described climate change as “the
most pressing issue of our time and the most critical issue the next
President will have to address,” and said the group was created “to ensure
that the conversations surrounding who should be our next President also
include a robust discussion of how we can ensure the very survival of our
planet.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=020-9e4&t=c>
(2/21, Strauss) reported that in an interview, Platt said “that the group
will remain active in the 2020 race even if Inslee does not kick off a
campaign. ‘We hope Jay Inslee runs, because he has been the leading
champion of solving climate change in the Democratic Party,’ Platt said.
‘If he doesn’t, we will continue to work to make sure Democratic
presidential candidates make this issue the priority.’” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=021-ea1&t=c>
(2/21, Wilson) reported that Inslee “has said repeatedly that his platform
would be based on combating climate change, casting it as an economic and
job-creating engine for a new economy, if he launches a bid.” Inslee “has
strongly hinted that he will announce his decision in a matter of weeks.”
WPost Examines Democrat Delaney’s 2020 Policy Platform.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=022-775&t=c>
(2/21, Stein) reports that ex-Rep. John DeLaney (D-MD), a presidential
hopeful, is vowing “to enact a new national service for all young
Americans, a ‘national strategy’ to prepare for the impact of artificial
intelligence on the labor market and a carbon tax among other measures to
fight climate change.” Delaney also pledges “large but unspecified cuts to
the federal debt, a new national health program for everyone younger than
65, and reentering the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.” Delaney’s
“policy platform backs large expansions of the welfare state that
congressional Republicans would almost surely oppose, including extending
prekindergarten to all children and expanding tax credits for low-income
families. It is hard to imagine how Delaney would achieve his deficit
targets, given that he has also not called for cuts to Social Security,
Medicare or the military.”
Visiting Iowa, Bennet Blasts Trump, Freedom Caucus Members As “Tyrants.”

Reporting from Dubuque, Iowa, the Denver Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=023-b8c&t=c>
(2/21, Garcia) says that Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) “introduced himself as
a possible presidential candidate Thursday night at a small Iowa house
party where he called for a new political culture in America.” Addressing
an audience of “about 30,” Bennet said, “We don’t have to settle for
disgraceful politics. We don’t have to settle for being as terrible as
Donald Trump. We don’t have to settle for Freedom Caucus tactics – those
guys are tyrants. We don’t have to accept that. In fact, we can’t and have
this country be what this country really can be.” Bennet is exploring “a
bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.”
NYTimes: De Blasio’s Attacks On Amazon Possibly Made With 2020 In Mind.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=024-c88&t=c>
(2/21, Neuman, Goodman) reports that in the wake of Amazon deciding “to
withdraw its plans to build a corporate campus in New York City,” Mayor
Bill de Blasio (D) has blasted the company for the move, “characterizing
its decision as an example of ‘the 1 percent dictating to everyone else,’”
among other broadsides. Those remarks “represented an abrupt shift for the
mayor, who had helped entice the company to come to Queens.” The Times
adds, “For Mr. de Blasio, the aggressive posture toward Amazon, a company
that has been criticized by the left for its opposition toward unions and
its cooperation with federal law enforcement officials, may be a calculated
political risk worth taking. He has suggested that he is considering
running for president in 2020.”
WPost’s Tumulty Profiles Buttigieg.

In her Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=025-1c9&t=c>
(2/21) column, Karen Tumulty profiles South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete
Buttigieg (D), a presidential hopefuls, saying that while he is beyond a
long shot candidate, “that does not mean he isn’t a serious candidate.”
Buttigieg has “a point when he notes that the rapidly growing field of 2020
Democratic contenders is thus far light on executive experience,” and he
“has what could be a compelling message for Democrats” about freedoms,
including “being able to leave a job and start a business without losing
health coverage,” woman’s ability to make reproductive choices independent
of male politicians or bosses, and the right to marry the person you love.
Additionally, “he represents the leading edge of the millennial generation
and its unique set of life experiences.”
Leading the News
Giuliani Expects Mueller Report “In The Next Two Weeks.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=026-1f9&t=c>
(2/21, Johnson) reports the President’s “legal team is bracing for the
imminent delivery of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the nearly
two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, lead
attorney Rudy Giuliani said Thursday.” Giuliani “told USA TODAY that it’s
been ‘weeks’ since Mueller’s team has contacted the president’s attorneys,
and there has been no further discussion about obtaining additional
testimony from the president for about a month.” He said “the extended
period of ‘silence’ has the president’s lawyers preparing for Mueller’s
required notification to new Attorney General William Barr that the special
counsel’s work has been completed.” Said Giuliani, “We expect something in
the next two weeks,” and “if (Mueller) clears the president, we walk away
and say, ‘Thank you.’ If it is damaging, then we will respond.” Citing
“people familiar with the discussions,” meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=027-24f&t=c>
(2/21, Barrett) says DOJ “officials...believe a confidential report could
be issued in coming days.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=028-4b3&t=c>
(2/21, Benner) reports that “no matter what the special counsel concludes,
the findings will be sure to send shock waves through Washington, with Mr.
Trump’s presidency on the line and both Democrats and Republicans poised to
spin the contents to their advantage.” The White House “is bracing for
revelations that could politically damage Mr. Trump, or open him up to the
possibility of impeachment by the Democratic-controlled House, even if he
is not accused of criminal conduct.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=029-bc3&t=c>
(2/21, Day, Tucker) says that in regards to Mueller’s report, “anyone
looking for a grand narrative on President Donald Trump, Russian election
interference and all the juicy details uncovered over the past 21 months
could end up disappointed.” According to the AP, “Justice Department
regulations require only that Mueller give the attorney general a
confidential report that explains the decisions to pursue or decline
prosecutions. That could be as simple as a bullet point list or as fulsome
as a report running hundreds of pages.”

        Neal K. Katyal, acting solicitor general under President Obama,
writes in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=02a-8ec&t=c>
(2/21, Katyal) that “a concise report will probably act as a ‘road map’ to
investigation for the Democratic House – and to further criminal
investigation by other prosecutors.” Katyal adds “the report is unlikely to
be lengthy by design: The special counsel regulations, which I had the
privilege of drafting in 1999, envision a report that is concise, ‘a
summary’ of what he found.” Moreover, “Mueller’s mandate is limited: to
look into criminal activity and counterintelligence matters surrounding
Russia and the 2016 election, as well as any obstruction of justice
relating to those investigations.” Along those lines – but with a markedly
critical tone – Kimberley A. Strassel writes in the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=02b-b2d&t=c>
(2/21, Strassel) that Democrats will take the end of Mueller’s probe as the
launch points for the second wave of their attack on the Trump’s presidency
– after causing and nurturing the special counsel’s investigation.

        Meanwhile, CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=02c-690&t=c>
(2/21, Connolly) reports, Sen. Richard Blumenthal said yesterday “Democrats
in Congress will subpoena the full [Mueller] report...if the Justice
Department only discloses certain parts of it.” Blumenthal told[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=02d-377&t=c>
CNN’s “New Day” that “he is optimistic” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman
Lindsay “Graham would join Democrats in the House in subpoenaing the
Mueller report.” Democratic Chairman Jerrold Nadler of the House Judiciary
Committee “has said the full report should be made public.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=02e-472&t=c>
(2/21, Wise) notes that “asked if Congress had the authority to subpoena
Mueller’s report, Blumenthal said that a House or Senate committee could
take that step against anyone,” but “he acknowledged that the Department of
Justice may ‘resist’ a subpoena from the Judiciary panel.”

        Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=02f-e0c&t=c>
(2/21), “We need to get the truth. That’s what this entire process is
about. The Mueller investigation is about finding out the truth,
determining what happened, what exactly happened in connection with the
last presidential election. ... It’s going to connect all the dots, or it
will simply provide all of the additional information in which case the
responsibility will then fall on Congress, ultimately, to determine the
full truth of what happened. Either way, the American people, Congress and
the American people need to see the Mueller report.”

        *Pompeo Declines To Say Whether He Was Made Aware Of FBI’s Probe Of
Trump While At CIA. *Asked, on NBC’s Today[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=030-820&t=c>
(2/21), about former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe’s book and his
revelations in recent interviews, Secretary of State Pompeo said, “I find
it sad. Andrew McCabe had the IG from the organization he worked for
forever declare he wasn’t credible. That’s unfortunate. So I don’t put a
lot of stock into things Mr. McCabe said.” Pompeo declined to answer when
asked if, when he was CIA director, he was made aware that the FBI had
opened a “counterintelligence investigation into the President.” However,
Pompeo said that in regards to McCabe’s “remarks about the 25th amendment,”
that they are “just ludicrous.” Pompeo added, “I’ve never heard any
discussion about it by anyone, any fellow cabinet members or anyone else
that’s serving in the executive branch.”

        *Hawley: McCabe Opened Probe Into Trump Over Foreign Policy
Disagreements. *Appearing on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=031-04e&t=c>
(2/21), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said McCabe has “admitt[ed] that he
launched a counterintelligence investigation of the President because he
didn’t like the President’s statements on foreign policy.” Hawley added,
“It sounds like to me like the FBI didn’t want any oversight. The FBI
didn’t want to be held accountable. When the President and others tried to
do so they retaliated against him.”

        *McCabe Downplays Previous Revelations About Rosenstein’s Plans To
Oust Trump. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=032-736&t=c>
(2/21, Zapotosky) reports McCabe, speaking to reporters Thursday, “sought
to further downplay the discussion in which he says Deputy Attorney General
Rod J. Rosenstein broached using the 25th Amendment to oust President Trump
from office, asserting that Rosenstein was merely ‘thinking off the top of
his head.’” McCabe is quoted as saying, “This was a mention in a
conversation, and Rod mentioned it in a way thinking about who might
support such an effort. ... I at no time got the impression that he’d
actually sought support, or talked to those people about it, or asked
people, you know, ‘would you support this?’ or ‘would you not.’ ... It was
simply Rod thinking off the top of his head, this is a thing that could be
done, are there people that would want to do that.”

        *WTimes Analysis: Steele Dossier Dropping From Trump Critics’
Rhetoric. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=033-295&t=c>
(2/21, Scarborough) reports the Steele dossier “has faded from Washington’s
political dialogue,” as, the Times adds, McCabe does not refer to it in his
new memoir, “The Threat,” and nor does he mention Steele or Fusion GPS. The
Times also reports that former FBI Director James B. Comey “downplayed the
dossier” in his memoir, “A Higher Loyalty.” The Times adds that House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-CA)
“lavished Mr. Steele with praise in 2017,” but has not mentioned the
dossier in recent public appearances.

        *Ohr Testified Simpson Was Concerned About Dossier Source’s Outing *.
The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=034-bab&t=c>
(2/21) reports that Justice Department official Bruce Ohr testified last
August that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson and former British spy
Christopher Steele “expressed concerns...about the safety of the source for
the salacious anti-Trump dossier.” Ohr “testified that during a
conversation on Jan. 20, 2017, the day of President Donald Trump’s
inauguration, Simpson said he was worried a major source for the dossier
was about to be exposed in the press.” Ohr “also testified Steele, who
wrote the dossier, asked him during one of their many conversations about
how the FBI could protect a source in the event Ohr left the Justice
Department.” The Daily Caller says “Simpson’s concerns about protecting the
dossier source appear at odds with reports he identified one of the
document’s key sources to ABC News reporter Brian Ross.”

        *Senate Intel Committee Wants To Speak To Moscow-based Businessman
With Ties To Trump. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=035-861&t=c>
(2/21, Santos) cites “multiple sources” in reporting that investigators for
the Senate Intelligence Committee “want to question” David Geovanis, “a
Moscow-based American businessman with longstanding ties to President
Donald Trump.” CNN adds that he “helped organize a 1996 trip to Moscow by
Trump,” and also “worked for the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.”

        *Cohen On Capitol Hill To Prep For Next Week’s Testimony. *ABC
World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=036-25d&t=c>
(2/21, story 3, 0:30, Thomas) reported that Michael Cohen “was on Capitol
Hill” Thursday “preparing for his public hearing next week. That hearing is
going to be on the same day that...Trump is having his summit with the
North Korean leader.” Cohen tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=037-ed5&t=c>
yesterday, “I’m looking forward to the American people hearing my story in
my voice.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=038-2c4&t=c>
(2/21, Sisak, Jalonick) reports Cohen will appear before the Senate
Intelligence Committee “behind closed doors on Tuesday,” which the AP says
“will kick off a week of congressional appearances for Cohen, who is
already scheduled to testify publicly before the House Oversight and Reform
Committee on Wednesday and then behind closed doors again on Thursday to
the House intelligence committee.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=039-71b&t=c>
(2/21, Layne, Hosenball) reports that “Democrats said that among the issues
they plan to question Cohen about are Trump’s personal finances, the making
of payments related to efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election,
and alleged public efforts by Trump and his lawyers to intimidate Cohen and
others to avoid such testimony.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=03a-db8&t=c>
(2/21, Desiderio) Rep. Jim Jordan, “the top Republican on the House
Oversight Committee said...Cohen’s appearance before the panel next week
will be ‘Phase One of the Democrats’ coordinated campaign’ to
impeach...Trump, accusing Democrats of orchestrating a ‘charade’ meant to
embarrass the president.”

        Rep. André Carson (D-IN) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=03b-6e7&t=c>
(2/21), “I’ve not met in terms of preparation for his testimony, but I will
be present in a few days when he speaks before the House Intelligence
Committee. Again, we have great leadership with Chairman Adam Schiff. We
hope to ask questions that were raised last year. We’ll ask deeper
questions, to delve more deeply. The beauty of this three-pronged approach
– the House Intel Committee, Senate Intel, and Director Mueller’s efforts –
are enabling us to attack this issue from all sides to see what we get out
of it. So, we want to talk to him and ask him important questions before he
goes to jail.”

        Deutch said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=03c-940&t=c>
(2/21), “I’m glad that he is coming to testify on the Hill. ... There are a
whole range of questions that need to be asked that Congress has played no
role for the past two years. Congress didn’t take its oversight
responsibility seriously under Republican rule. Finally, we have an
opportunity to probe these questions like the fact that Michael Cohen went
into court and made President Trump an unindicted co-conspirator in a
felony case to win the election. ... It’s really important that Congress
has the ability to try to get to these facts.”

        New York Times White House Correspondent Maggie Haberman said on CNN’s
Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=03d-62a&t=c>
(2/21), “There’s consistently been frustration among the President’s team
that major news related either to the Mueller probe or aspects of the
Mueller probe has tended to drop when he was on a foreign trip. ... I think
that it’s frustrating certainly to people around the President, but that
there is an aspect of it that makes him happy, which is that he’s not going
to be sitting in front of the television watching this testimony in real
time.”

        *GOP Lawmakers Criticize Cummings Over “Unsupported Accusations”
Against Trump Attorneys. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=03e-358&t=c>
(2/21, Treene) reports that Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Mark Meadows (R-NC)
on Thursday sent a letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) “criticizing his
claims that Trump’s lawyers made false statements to federal ethics
officials as ‘extremely unfair and unsupported accusations.’” Axios says,
“In a letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone on Feb. 15, Cummings said
that internal documents from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE)
described Trump’s personal lawyer, Sheri Dillon, and former White House
attorney Stefan Passantino (who now represents the Trump Organization) as
having provided ‘false information’ and ‘evolving stories’ regarding
Trump’s reimbursements to...Cohen for hush money paid to Stormy Daniels
during the 2016 campaign.”

        *Prosecutors: IRS Employee Leaked Cohen Info Using Avenatti As
Conduit. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=03f-961&t=c>
(2/21, Dinan) reports “prosecutors have charged an IRS employee with
leaking secret taxpayer information about...Trump’s personal lawyer...Cohen
and apparently using anti-Trump lawyer Michael Avenatti as a conduit to
make the information public.” The Times adds “John Fry, an investigative
analyst for the IRS’s law enforcement division, stands accused of finding
and disseminating IRS suspicious activity reports (SAR).” The SARs
“detailed massive payments by major international and foreign interests to
Mr. Cohen and a new company he set up in 2016, Essential Consultants,”
which was “the entity that paid $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels.”
The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=040-0eb&t=c>
(2/21, Fredericks) says “Treasury Department investigators charged that Fry
downloaded five SARS on Cohen, and that phone records showed he then
immediately made a pair of phone calls to a number for Avenatti shortly
before the document was posted on Twitter.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=041-47d&t=c>
(2/21, Barrett) reports that “Avenatti, who made the information public by
posting it on social media, did not immediately respond to a message
seeking comment. He said on Twitter that he did nothing wrong.”

        *Manafort To Be Sentenced On March 8. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=042-c90&t=c>
(2/21, Sullivan, Lambert) reports that Paul Manafort “will be sentenced for
bank and tax fraud on March 8, according to a court filing posted on
Thursday, just days before he is due to be sentenced in a separate case for
lobbying violations.” Reuters says special counsel Robert Mueller is
“urging a federal judge in Virginia to impose a prison sentence of up to 24
years and a fine of up to $24 million.” Reuters notes that Manafort is
“also due to be sentenced on March 13 in a parallel federal case in
Washington.” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=043-494&t=c>
(2/21, Voreacos), the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=044-dd0&t=c>
(2/21, Mordock) and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=045-f50&t=c>
(2/21, Chalfant), among other news outlets, also report the story.

        *Stone Placed Under Gag Order After Posting Image Of Judge Next To
Crosshairs. *NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=046-039&t=c>
(2/21, story 3, 1:30, Guthrie) reported “a federal judge dropped the hammer
on Roger Stone,” as “the long-time Trump confidant” was “hauled before the
court after he posted a picture of the judge in his case with an apparent
target next to her head.” NBC (Jackson) added the “judge ordered Stone to
stop talking about his case.” Judge Amy Berman Jackson “warned Stone not to
test her limits again. ‘I gave you a second chance,’ she said. ‘This is not
baseball, you don’t get a third chance.’” ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=047-09a&t=c>
(2/21, story 2, 1:30, Thomas) referred to “a subdued Roger Stone clutching
his wife’s hand today as he walked into court, where he pleaded for mercy
from...Jackson for forgiveness.” The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=048-31a&t=c>
(2/21, story 2, 2:00, Reid) recounted that “on the witness stand, Stone
called the post ‘a stupid lapse in judgment,’” adding, “I am kicking myself
over my own stupidity, but not more than my wife is kicking me.”

        The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=049-05c&t=c>
(2/21, Ross) reports Jackson “was seemingly unmoved by Stone’s apology,
saying that his mea culpa ‘rings quite hollow,’” and “imposed a gag order
on the longtime GOP operative prohibiting him from speaking about his case
beyond proclaiming his innocence and raising money for a legal defense
fund.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=04a-b86&t=c>
(2/21, Jansen) notes “Jackson said her rules are designed to prevent the
case from degenerating into a circus,” saying, “The publicity can’t
possibly subside if the defendant is out there fanning the flames.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=04b-efb&t=c>
(2/21, Mordock) reports that “at first Mr. Stone said a volunteer posted
the photo, but later told the court a volunteer sent him the image and he
posted it himself. He said he couldn’t recall who sent him the image or
which volunteers have access to his phone.” Jackson “said she didn’t find
his defense credible and ‘he couldn’t keep his story straight on the
stand.’” She also “used air quotes to describe his ‘apology’ saying it
‘rings quite hollow,’” adding, “I have serious doubts whether you’ve
learned any lesson at all.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=04c-d4a&t=c>
(2/21, Lafraniere) notes Jackson “warned Mr. Stone that any violation of
the order would be grounds for her to revoke his bail,” and the New York
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=04d-adc&t=c>
(2/21, Fredericks) that she said “there’s nothing ambiguous about
crosshairs.” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=04e-c37&t=c>
(2/21, Harris), Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=04f-b5f&t=c>
(2/21, Lynch, Hosenball), the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=050-cfd&t=c>
(2/21, Megerian), Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=051-be2&t=c>
(2/20, Weiner), Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=052-b12&t=c>
(2/21, Basu), AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=053-fbb&t=c>
(2/21, Balsamo), Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=054-0fb&t=c>
(2/21, Samuelsohn, Gerstein, Choi), Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=055-71c&t=c>
(2/21, Yilek) and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=056-84d&t=c>
(2/21, Wheeler), among other news outlets, run similar accounts of the
hearing.

        Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Andrew Napolitano said on Fox
News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=057-183&t=c>
(2/21), “I thought that she was going to revoke his bail, because of the
veiled threat to her. Again this threat, this Instagram posting – full
disclosure, I have known Roger Stone for years, but have not discussed this
with him – combined with an effort for his lawyers to remove the judge from
the case would have been enough to revoke the bail. But she showed him some
mercy.”

        Rep. Carson said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=058-c44&t=c>
(2/21), “He got off lucky. He’s lucky with what she did do. ... This is not
a show. It’s not a game. What happened with the Trump Administration and
the Russian government is very serious and very critical. ... It’s not a
game. And so him taunting the media and really enjoying the spotlight and
publicity, good or bad, I think it speaks to the kind of personality one is
dealing with when they would rather get attention.”

        Deutch said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=059-89f&t=c>
(2/21), “It’s shocking what he did. The judge, I think rightfully, took
strong action against him. His efforts to try to claim that he didn’t
really know what was happening, it wasn’t really him, this is a symbol of
the occult and not a crosshairs, none of it is believable. What he did is
reckless and extremely dangerous. ... It was really appalling and
dangerous.”

        CNN Legal Analyst and former US Attorney for the Southern District
of New York, Elie Honig said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=05a-8c7&t=c>
(2/21), “He was trying to have it both ways. This idea that he didn’t know
how the image got on his phone, or got posted. ... Two, the prosecutor and
the judge both said on the record that they found Stone’s testimony not
credible. That’s going to have a major hit if and when he gets sentenced
down the line. ... And, three, Stone could still be looking at” charges for
threatening a federal judge. He added that Stone testifying “was incredibly
risky. I was shocked when we found out this was happening. They rolled the
dice but it backfired terribly.”

        CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez said on CNN’s Situation
Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=05b-56c&t=c>
(2/21), “For a media savvy person like Roger Stone, what the judge has now
done is essentially cut off his oxygen. He cannot speak publicly about this
case anymore. He can’t do any radio, no press releases, no blogs, no media
interviews, no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you remember, Instagram is
where that offensive message that really upset the judge. You could hear it
in her voice today in court. You could see that Roger Stone understood
that. He sat there, unlike the image you normally see of him with this
bravado.”

        CNN Contributor Bianna Golodryga said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=05c-410&t=c>
(2/21), “He seemed to dig his own hole. In the beginning he apologized
profusely and then it unwound to him not understanding what this picture
meant and what it was and it was some of his volunteers, there were five or
six, and they were at his headquarters. So, just letting him speak on his
own seemed to get him in more trouble than anything else today.”

        *Group Co-Chaired By Biden Asks Candidates To Not “Aid And Abet”
Foreign Election Interference. *In his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=05d-b11&t=c>
(2/21, Rogin) column, Josh Rogin writes that preventing America’s “enemies
from influencing our next election requires Americans to stop helping them
do it. That’s what former vice president Joe Biden,” in his role as
co-chair of the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity, “is asking
US candidates and political parties to promise right now.” Rogin says,
“When US politicians take false information that’s part of a foreign
intelligence influence operation and promote it or otherwise use it to
their advantage, that’s tantamount to aiding and abetting the attack, Biden
told an audience in Munich this past weekend.” Rogin adds that “the group’s
latest initiative involves asking first European, then US candidates and
parties to sign a pledge not to ‘aid and abet’ foreign election
interference.”
Foreign Policy
Pompeo: North Korea’s “Complete Denuclearization” Remains US’ Objective.

Interviewed on NBC’s Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=05e-90e&t=c>
(2/21), Secretary of State Pompeo said, “The good news is they haven’t
conducted missile tests or nuclear tests in now well over a year. So that’s
better than the place we found it when the Trump Administration came into
office. But as the President said yesterday, and the Administration has
said repeatedly, this is a long and difficult task.” Pompeo added, “I’m
very hopeful. I’m hopeful Chairman Kim will fulfill the promises he made in
Singapore in June of last year.” Asked if “complete denuclearization” is
“still the goal?” Pompeo replied, “Yes, sir. That’s the goal. ... To keep
the American people safe, we have to reduce the threat from a nuclear-armed
North Korea. ... We have the toughest economic sanctions that have ever
been placed on North Korea, and we won’t release that pressure until such
time as we’re confident that we’ve substantially reduced that risk.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=05f-e88&t=c>
(2/21, Riechmann) reports that during the interview, Pompeo also said the
US “will not move to ease economic sanctions on North Korea until it is
confident that the nuclear weapons threat from Pyongyang has been
‘substantially reduced.’” The AP adds that “asked if the U.S. was willing
to compromise on its goal of complete, verifiable denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula,” Pompeo said, “To keep the American people safe, we have
to reduce the threat from a nuclear-armed North Korea and then, in turn, we
can work on peace and security on the peninsula and a brighter future for
the North Korean people.”

        Also on NBC’s Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=060-86a&t=c>
(2/21), Peter Alexander said President Trump, “who after their first sit
down declared North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat, now appears to be
lowering expectations, saying he is in no rush for denuclearization as long
as North Korea doesn’t renew testing its missiles.” According to Alexander,
Trump’s “intelligence chiefs warn the rogue regime remain committed to
developing a long range nuclear armed missile.”

        Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=061-f89&t=c>
(2/21, Sink) reports that according to “senior administration officials,”
Trump “will meet one-on-one with Kim...next week in Hanoi in addition to a
meal and lengthier negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear arsenal in which
the two leaders will be joined by aides.” Bloomberg says “one of the
officials said the U.S. hopes to make rapid progress toward Kim’s regime
giving up its nuclear arsenal, rather than incremental steps, and that the
U.S. seeks a declaration providing a full accounting of North Korea’s
nuclear forces and facilities – a move that analysts say is necessary in
order to verify any steps the country takes to disarm.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=062-a41&t=c>
(2/21, Mason, Holland) reports “critics have said Trump gave Kim too much
simply by meeting with him in Singapore last year,” and “that criticism may
be levied again for the Vietnam summit.” To the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=063-212&t=c>
(2/21, Taylor), meanwhile, “last year’s meeting, while certainly historic,
produced a communique that was extremely light on details.” Moreover,
“there has been little real progress made on the stated goal of
denuclearization, with some moments of outright tension between Washington
and Pyongyang.” The Post adds “Duyeon Kim, an adjunct senior fellow at the
Center for a New American Security, put it this way: ‘The Vietnam summit
this month will determine whether real denuclearization of North Korea is
possible ever, and how much Washington is willing to pay for it, while
ensuring the regime’s survival and the country’s prosperity.’”

        *House Democrats Demand White House “Transparency” In Dealings With
North Korea. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=064-6e5&t=c>
(2/21, Muñoz) reports “the Democratic heads of the House intelligence,
defense and foreign affairs panels committees issued a joint demand that
the Trump White House reveal more of its interactions with North Korea and
to explain why the president and US intelligence agencies appear at odds
over the threat posed by Pyongyang.” The Times adds that “while saying they
supported Mr. Trump’s diplomatic approach to the crisis, House Foreign
Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel of New York, House Armed Services
Committee Chairman Adam Smith of Washington state and House intelligence
panel chief Adam Schiff of California sent a sharply worded letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=065-fdc&t=c>
demanding more ‘transparency’ on Mr. Trump plans to curb the North’s
nuclear and missile programs.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=066-03c&t=c>
(2/21, Desiderio) notes “the lawmakers said the Trump administration has
yet to fully brief Congress about the president’s first summit with Kim,”
and “demanded that...Pompeo brief House members about the Vietnam summit
within seven days.”

        *NYTimes Analysis: Trump Appears Tempted To Offer Peace Deal At
North Korea Summit. *In an analysis piece, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=067-8cf&t=c>
(2/21, Landler) says Trump appears “tantalized” by the notion of ending the
Korean War at his second summit with Kim, but Administration officials
insist that “disarmament remains Mr. Trump’s ‘overriding goal.’” Experts
briefed by the Administration said one of the “potential outcomes” for the
summit “is an agreement that would trade a peace declaration for a North
Korean commitment to open up and dismantle a handful of nuclear or missile
facilities,” or a “pledge to halt further nuclear testing and production.”
The Times calls these “piecemeal gestures” that would do “little to advance
the core American objective of eliminating North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.”
Overall, “even critics of the Trump administration said that, with Mr.
Biegun negotiating with a newly appointed North Korean counterpart, Kim
Hyok-chol, the United States was raising the right issues. The wild card is
Mr. Trump – and his penchant for seat-of-the-pants negotiations.”
US And Chinese Officials Reportedly Making Progress On Several “Structural
Issues.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=068-014&t=c>
(2/21, Mason) reports that US and Chinese officials “have started to
outline commitments in principle on the stickiest issues in their trade
dispute, marking the most significant progress yet toward ending a
seven-month trade war.” However, Reuters says that “as officials hold
high-level talks on Thursday and Friday in Washington, they remain far
apart on demands made by” the Trump Administration “for structural changes
to China’s economy.” Nevertheless, according to Reuters, “Negotiators are
drawing up six memorandums of understanding on structural issues: forced
technology transfer and cyber theft, intellectual property rights,
services, currency, agriculture, and non-tariff barriers to trade,
according to two sources familiar with the progress of the talks.”
According to the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=069-69c&t=c>
(2/21, Wiseman), “citing upbeat comments from the two countries, Xingdong
Chen, chief China economist at BNP Paribas, said the negotiators are
‘likely to make progress, convincing Trump it is worth extending the tariff
truce if necessary.’”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=06a-f7a&t=c>
(2/21, Wei, Davis) reports that as part of the deal, the US is seeking
guarantees about its enforcement. Secretary of State Pompeo said[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=06b-b4f&t=c>
on Fox Business News yesterday, “It’s one thing to write something on a
piece of paper. ... It’s another thing to have enforcement mechanisms. And
I know our trade team is hard at work, making sure that the American people
get that.”

        *China Says It Could Increase Agricultural Imports From US By $30
Billion A Year. *Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=06c-cd9&t=c>
(2/21, News) reports that China is “proposing that it could buy an
additional $30 billion a year of U.S. agricultural products including
soybeans, corn and wheat as part of a possible trade deal.” According to
Bloomberg, “The offer to buy the extra farm produce would be part of the
memoranda of understanding under discussion by U.S. and Chinese negotiators
in Washington.” Bloomberg says “the purchases would be on top of pre-trade
war levels and continue for the period covered by the memoranda.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=06d-361&t=c>
(2/21, Swanson, Rappeport) reports, however, that “whether a substantive
deal can be reached in the coming days remains unclear,” as “so far, the
Chinese have largely reiterated promises to allow foreign car companies and
banks freer access to the Chinese market and to increase purchases of
American goods, including soybeans and semiconductors.”
Despite US Pressure, Huawei Prospering In Other Countries.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=06e-18b&t=c>
(2/21, Conger, Wiebe) reports, “Huawei, the Chinese technology company
accused by the authorities in the United States of posing a security risk,”
announced that as “part of an expansion of Huawei’s research and
development efforts as it works to secure a place in the development of
Canada’s 5G wireless networks” the company will increase its investments in
research and development in the country by 15 percent and hire 200 new
employees there. American authorities warn that the Chinese government
could use Huawei technology to spy on countries using the company’s
wireless network systems, and Secretary of State Pompeo warned[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=06f-7e7&t=c>
on Fox Business Network, “If a country adopts this and puts it in some of
their critical information systems, we won’t be able to share information
with them, we won’t be able to work alongside them.” However, Huawei “has
maintained a strong presence in Canada and Europe even as its business in
the United States has been curtailed over spying fears.”

        The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=070-ae2&t=c>
(2/21, Purnell, Roy, Volz) reports that analysts say the weight of India’s
market means that how its 5G development occurs could be critical for US
efforts to stymie Chinese influence in nations that haven’t chosen a side,
but Indian policy makers and telecommunications firms have not been
convinced by US warnings about the cybersecurity threat of Huawei’s
equipment, according to more than a dozen government officials and industry
executives. Many in India believe that the company’s low prices and
technology outweigh any security risk. India and other developing countries
just developing their infrastructure see Huawei is a potentially critical
supplier due to the quality of its hardware and low prices, so complying
with US efforts against the company risk higher prices or lagging
technologically.
Pence To Visit South America Monday, Make Case For Maduro’s Departure.

McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=071-258&t=c>
(2/21, Ordonez) reports Vice President Pence “will go to Colombia on Monday
to speak with the Colombian president and regional leaders about the
ongoing turmoil in Venezuela and rally the international community behind
opposition leader Juan Guaidó.” The White House “said Pence will deliver
remarks to the 14 nations that are part of the ‘Lima Group’ in Bogota about
addressing the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and ongoing US efforts to
deliver aid to the country.” According to “senior administration officials”
Pence “will state plainly that ‘the time has come for Nicolas Maduro to
step aside.’” Pence “will also meet with Venezuelan families who have fled
Maduro’s regime.”

        *Guaido Travels To Venezuela-Colombia Border Ahead Of Showdown Over
Aid. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=072-9e8&t=c>
(2/21, Berwick, Sequera) reports that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan
Guaido yesterday “left Caracas with some 80 lawmakers...headed for the
Colombian border where they hope to receive humanitarian aid in defiance of
President Nicolas Maduro, who threatened to close it.” Guaido “is poised
for a showdown with Maduro’s beleaguered government on Saturday, when the
opposition plans to attempt to bring in food and medicine piling up on the
Colombian side.” Reuters adds that Maduro “denies there is a humanitarian
crisis in Venezuela and said on Thursday he was considering closing the
border with Colombia.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=073-d5c&t=c>
(2/21, Krygier) notes Maduro yesterday “ordered the closure of the border
with Brazil,” though “in an apparent bid to counter international criticism
of turning away aid, Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, said the
government on Thursday had sent the United Nations a list of medicines the
country needed for ‘humanitarian assistance.’” Maduro also “announced that
7.5 tons of medical supplies had arrived on Thursday from Russia and the
Pan American Health Organization.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=074-b16&t=c>
(2/21, Casey) reports that “the Brazil-border closure, announced on
television, followed a Venezuelan government announcement on Wednesday that
it would block air and sea travel between Venezuela and three Caribbean
islands where the opposition said it wished to stage relief supplies.” The
Times adds, “The move comes 48 hours ahead of the deadline set by the
opposition for Mr. Maduro to end his aid blockade or have it broken by
force. The situation has led to a tense standoff between the two sides and
to fears of violence.”

        In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=075-39c&t=c>
(2/21) calls attention to the showdown over aid to Venezuela, arguing that
it clearly highlights the contrast between Maduro’s authoritarianism and an
opposition movement seeking to deliver much needed relief to the
population.

        *Former Intelligence Chief Turns Against Maduro, Urges Military To
Follow Suit. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=076-866&t=c>
(2/21, Herrero, Casey) reports “a former intelligence chief in Venezuela
who is one of the government’s most prominent figures turned
against...Maduro on Thursday, calling him a dictator with a corrupt inner
circle that has engaged in drug trafficking and courted the militant group
Hezbollah.” In interviews with the New York Times, Hugo Carvajal, “who is a
congressman in the governing Socialist Party, urged the military to break
with the president ahead of a showdown with the opposition on Saturday over
Mr. Maduro’s blockade of aid shipments on the country’s borders.”

        *Opposition Says 11 Diplomats Have Defected, Embassy Bank Accounts
Have Been Frozen. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=077-9ce&t=c>
(2/21, Spetalnick, Cohen) reports that the Venezuelan opposition says
“eleven Venezuelan diplomats in the United States have defected...since”
Guaido “declared himself interim president last month,” and Gustavo
Marcano, “senior aide to the Venezuelan opposition’s envoy to Washington,
told reporters that bank accounts for Venezuelan embassies and consulates
in the United States had been frozen.”

        *Citigroup Talking To Treasury About $1.1 Billion Venezuelan Gold
Swap. *Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=078-c2f&t=c>
(2/21, Laya) reports that Citigroup has been “holding talks with U.S.
Treasury officials to figure out how to handle a gold deal they had
arranged with Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela.” According to
Bloomberg, “The deal – a $1.1 billion swaps contract backed by gold held by
the Venezuelan central bank – was struck before the U.S. stepped up
sanctions on Maduro’s government. But it’s due to expire early next month
and Citigroup bankers are seeking to make sure they avoid making a move now
that would violate the sanctions.”
Putin: Russia Is Prepared For Another Cuban Missile-Style Crisis.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=079-b0d&t=c>
(2/21, Osborn) reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday
“that Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the
United States wanted one, and that his country currently has the edge when
it comes to a first nuclear strike.” According to Reuters, “Putin’s
comments, made to Russian media late on Wednesday, follow his warning that
Moscow will match any U.S. move to deploy new missiles closer to Russia by
stationing its own missiles closer to the United States or by deploying
faster missiles or both.” Reuters says Putin “has said he does not want an
arms race with the United States, but that he would have no choice but to
act if Washington deployed new missiles in Europe, some of which he says
would be able to strike Moscow within 10-12 minutes.”
EU Weighs Three-Month “Technical” Brexit Delay.

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=07a-84e&t=c>
(2/21, Wishart, Pronina) reports “the European Union expects U.K. Prime
Minister Theresa May to be forced to request a three-month delay to Brexit,
two EU officials said.” The Times adds that “discussions between the two
sides suggest May will ask for an extension to the two-year negotiating
period if the British Parliament backs the Brexit deal but it isn’t signed
off until an EU summit on March 21-22. That is emerging as the EU’s current
plan.” The EU “sees this as a ‘technical extension’ to give British
Parliament time to pass necessary legislation related to its departure from
the bloc. Anything longer than three months would put the U.K. under
pressure to take part in European elections on May 23-26, something that
both sides are keen to avoid.”

        *Eighth UK Labour Party MP Resigns Over Anti-Semitism And Brexit
Policy. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=07b-531&t=c>
(2/21, De Freytas-Tamura) reports that British MP Joan Ryan has “joined a
group of seven Labour defectors who had resigned earlier this week in
protest of their left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, criticizing his ambiguity
over Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and accusing him of
tolerating anti-Semitism in the party.” According to the Times, “just hours
before Ms. Ryan’s defection, another Labour member of Parliament came under
fire for suggesting that the seven rebel lawmakers might have had financial
backing from Israel.” The Times says Corbyn is “a vehement and unapologetic
critic of the current Israeli government, but has failed to shake off
claims that he has tolerated anti-Semitism within Labour’s ranks.”
Two Hundred US Troops To Stay In Syria.

The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=07c-688&t=c>
(2/21, story 3, 0:15, Glor) briefly reported that White House spokesperson
Sarah Sanders said that the US will keep a 200 troops in Syria for a
“period of time,” a reduction from 2,000. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=07d-acc&t=c>
(2/21, Ryan) reports Sanders did not specify where the “small peacekeeping
group of about 200” US troops “would be based, what their responsibilities
would be, or how long they would stay, beyond ‘a period of time.’” However,
a US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the force would
be divided evenly between Syrian Kurdish-controlled areas in northeast
Syria and the Tanf garrison in the southeast. The Post casts the move as “a
partial reversal of President Trump’s order” for all US troops to leave the
country. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) , “among the loudest voices demanding
that some troops be left in Syria,” praised the move.

        Similarly, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=07e-c89&t=c>
(2/21, Karni, Gibbons-Neff) calls the announcement “a partial retreat from
President Trump’s” previous plan and “a concession to allies and Pentagon
officials who have argued that a complete American withdrawal risks
returning key areas in Syria to the Islamic State.” Just as with the
pullout announcement, Sanders’ statement “took Pentagon officials by
surprise.” The move came after Trump talked by phone with President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, marking “the second time in two months that a
major military decision about Syria followed a phone call between Mr. Trump
and Mr. Erdogan.” According to a senior Administration official, the plan
is an effort to encourage France and Britain to keep troops in Syria and
“help secure a safe zone near the Turkish border.”
Domestic Policy
Senate Democrats To Introduce Legislation To Block Border Emergency
Declaration.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=07f-808&t=c>
(2/21, Levine) reports “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said
Thursday that Senate Democrats will introduce a resolution to block
President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration.” Politico adds
that “the House resolution is expected to pass easily, with Democrats in
control,” but “it’s unclear whether the resolution will pass the Senate”
even after “several Republican senators have voiced concern about Trump’s
emergency declaration to build a border wall.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=080-74c&t=c>
(2/21, Carney) notes Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on Wednesday “became the
first Republican senator to say she would support a ‘clean’ resolution of
disapproval.”

        *Washington Examiner Analysis: Suits Against Emergency Declaration
Likely To Fail. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=081-cfd&t=c>
(2/21, Quinn) reports the President’s “national emergency declaration was
met with a slew of lawsuits in federal court, but litigants face
potentially insurmountable obstacles as they take their fight over the
border wall to the courts.” The Examiner adds “the cases could come to a
quick demise,” with “an early test for the plaintiffs” being “whether they
have legal standing to sue. In order to establish standing, the plaintiffs
will have to prove they have been harmed by the president’s action or that
harm is imminent,” and “that could be a challenge.”

        *Suits Will Go Before Judges Appointed By Obama, Trump, Clinton. *In
an analysis with the headline “Obama judge, Trump judge, Clinton judge to
hear border wall emergency challenges,” the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=082-690&t=c>
(2/21, A1, Dinan) reports on the judges who will hear the current legal
challenges to President Trump’s border wall emergency declaration. Judge
Haywood S. Gilliam Jr., an Obama appointee in the Northern District of
California has been assigned suits by “a coalition of Democratic states led
by California and the other from the Sierra Club and American Civil
Liberties Union.” Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee, will hear
suits by Texas landowners and by a coalition of environmental groups filed
in the federal district court in Washington, DC. Finally, Senior District
Judge David Briones will hear a suit “filed late Wednesday in federal court
in the Western District of Texas.”

        *Migrant Caravan Crosses Into Mexico After Clashing With Federal
Police, Immigration Agents. *Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=083-dbf&t=c>
(2/21, 6:23 p.m. EST) broadcast a caravan of about 1,000 Central American
migrants has crossed into Mexico “after overwhelming federal police and
immigration agents during a brief clash” and is now headed towards the US
southern border. Meanwhile, the broadcast reported that Customers and
Border Patrol in El Paso “has installed concrete barriers and wire at the
port of entry there in anticipation of a possible large group of immigrants
that could try to cross the border at that spot.”

        *Kushner Reportedly Working With Pro-Immigration Groups To Increase
Flow Of Foreign Workers. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=084-09a&t=c>
(2/21, Munro) reports that White House counselor Jared Kushner is “working
with business groups to develop a pro-business immigration policy.” Citing
a report from McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=085-a25&t=c>
(2/20, Ordonez), Breitbart says Kushner is working with “mostly
pro-migration” groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and the George
W. Bush Center. According to Breitbart, “between Kushner’s business
background and the large number of guests with corporate interests,
conservatives are worried that the changes Kushner is pursuing run counter
to Trump’s ‘Hire American’ priorities.” McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=086-47a&t=c>
(2/20, Ordonez) also reports that “what is clear from conversations with
participants and both current and former Trump officials is that Kushner
has helped kicked off a fresh discussion on immigration that reflects a new
paradigm in the White House,” in “a shift away from priorities of 2017 that
sought to prevent the influx of foreign workers who could displace American
workers.”

        *WPost Report: Trump’s Tighter Enforcement Has Cut Number Of
Illegal Immigrants Working in US. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=087-d1f&t=c>
(2/21, Sieff, Gowen) reports that “for decades, U.S. farmers, landscapers
and builders tapped a seemingly endless supply of cheap labor: the waves of
undocumented immigrants coming across the southern border,” and “by the
2000s, more than half of American farmworkers were undocumented.” However,
according to the Post, “now – thanks to border enforcement, the surging
cost of smugglers and changes in migration patterns – the number of people
crossing into the United States illegally is nearing the lowest level in
decades.” The Post says that “to fill those positions, employers have
turned to temporary visa programs that recruit workers in Mexico and
Central America.”

        *LATimes Analysis: Administration Plan To Reduce Immigration Case
Backlog Failed. *In an analysis, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=088-ba6&t=c>
(2/21, O'Toole) reports that new data show that “the Trump administration’s
controversial plan to shrink the ballooning backlog of immigration cases by
pushing judges to hear more cases has failed.” Since the plan began, “the
pending caseload has grown by more than 26%” and the average wait for an
immigration hearing is “now more than two years.” Additionally, due top the
35-day government shutdown furloughed immigration judges, “some 60,000
hearings were canceled.” The Administration’s plan “restricted the ability
of immigration judges to schedule and set priorities for their cases,”
compelling judges “to reopen thousands of cases.” It also “tied immigration
judges’ individual performance reviews to the number of cases they
complete,” but any increase in speed due to the move “has been overtaken by
the administration’s stepped-up enforcement efforts, which have pushed
thousands of new cases into the system.”

        *Federal Judge May Order Reunification Of All Families Divided At
Border. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=089-243&t=c>
(2/21, Gomez) reports US District Judge Dana Sabraw, who had “ordered the
administration to end the family separation policy on June 26, 2018,” now
“appeared poised...to order the government to fully account for all migrant
families that were separated before and after the Trump administration
formally announced it’s ‘zero-tolerance’ policy.” Judge Sabraw said, “It’s
important to recognize that we’re talking about human beings.” He added,
“Every person needs to be accounted for.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=08a-fa6&t=c>
(2/21, Sachetti, Perry) reports the ACLU had asked Judge Sabraw “to order
the Trump administration to account for all migrant children who were
separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.” The request
followed a report by the inspector general for the Department of Health and
Human Services finding that “separations extended beyond the 2,700-plus
children identified in a class-action lawsuit over President Trump’s border
crackdown.”

        *Average Wait Time For Citizenship Has Nearly Doubled In Last Two
Years. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=08b-a5d&t=c>
(2/21, Jordan) reports that “the time that aspiring Americans must wait to
be naturalized is now almost twice as long, 10 months, as it was two years
ago,” and “in Las Vegas, where the office has a particularly large backlog,
applicants could wait 31 months.” According to the Times, “The delays come
as the Trump administration tightens scrutiny of applications, diverts
staff from reviewing them and introduces proposals likely to make it more
difficult, and cumbersome, for green-card holders to qualify and complete
the process.”

        *Administration Proposes Ending Work Visas For Some Immigrants’
Spouses. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=08c-7a0&t=c>
(2/21, Frazin) reports the US Citizenship and Immigration Services
proposed, Bloomberg Law reported, eliminating “H-4 work permits for spouses
of people holding H-1B visas and waiting for green cards to become
available.” USCIS spokesperson Jessica Collins said in a statement, “No
decision about the regulation concerning the employment eligibility of
certain H-4 spouses is final until the rulemaking process is complete.”

        *Schiff To Republicans: “You Must Speak Out” Against Trump Attempt
To “Strip” Congress Of “Its Greatest Power.” *Writing in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=08d-cfd&t=c>
(2/21, Schiff), Rep. Adam Schiff addresses his “Republican colleagues,”
stating, “When the president attacked the independence of the Justice
Department by intervening in a case in which he is implicated, you did not
speak out. When he attacked the press as the enemy of the people, you again
were silent. When he targeted the judiciary, labeling judges and decisions
he didn’t like as illegitimate, we heard not a word. And now he comes for
Congress, the first branch of government, seeking to strip it of its
greatest power, that of the purse.” Adds Schiff, “That must end. The time
for silent disagreement is over. You must speak out.” Also in the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=08e-4a8&t=c>
(2/21, Edwards), former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), writes that “it is time
for Congress – House and Senate – to overturn every stone to reclaim its
authority and meet its constitutional responsibility.”
Trump: Smollett Insulted “Tens Of Millions” With “Racist And Dangerous
Comments.”

President Trump took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=08f-8e3&t=c>
yesterday to write, “HussieSmollett – what about MAGA and the tens of
millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!?”
Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=090-714&t=c>
(2/21, Dopp) notes “Trump commented hours after Smollett turned himself in
to face charges in the alleged fabrication,” and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=091-0e0&t=c>
(2/21, Samuels, Kurtz) that he “weighed in on Smollett just minutes after
Chicago police heavily criticized the actor for what they alleged was a
false police report he made, claiming he was the victim of a racist and
homophobic attack.” Smollett “had claimed to Chicago police last month that
two men beat him, tied a rope around his neck and poured an unknown
chemical substance on him.” He “later told police that his assailants
shouted ‘This is MAGA country’ during the attack.” Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=092-a89&t=c>
(2/21, Pavlich) points out “Trump is weighing in and reminding everyone
that Smollett didn’t simply make up a hate crime, he held Trump supporters
responsible for it.”

        In their lead segments last night, NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=093-1b7&t=c>
(2/21, lead story, 2:50, Almaguer) and the CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=094-128&t=c>
(2/21, lead story, 2:50, Glor) mentioned the “MAGA” angle of the story,
while ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=095-bb1&t=c>
(2/21, lead story, 5:00, Pilgrim) did not. NBC said that “the President,
who first sympathized with Smollett, tweeted...’What about MAGA and the
tens of millions of people you insulted?’” CBS did not report on Trump’s
tweet, but noted that what Smollett is accused of doing is “fake an attack
on himself last month, paying two brothers to make it look like a racist
homophobic assault by Trump supporters who draped a noose around his neck.”

        The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=096-371&t=c>
(2/21, Saad) reports the story “even drew the ire of...Trump,” who “took to
Twitter...to slam the actor.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=097-4ce&t=c>
(2/21, Babwin) mentions – but does not highlight – Smollett’s “apparent
reference to...Trump’s campaign slogan” in his original story, as do USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=098-723&t=c>
(2/21, Jensen, Madhani, Deerwester), Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=099-073&t=c>
(2/21, Pierog), Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=09a-5e2&t=c>
(2/20, Rao), New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=09b-bd7&t=c>
(2/21, Deb, Healy)and Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=09c-78e&t=c>
(2/21, Ailworth, Barrett), among other news outlets.

        Eugene Robinson, in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=09d-b0a&t=c>
(2/21, Robinson) column, “I hope...Smollett gets the psychological help he
apparently needs. And I hope authorities in Chicago throw the book at him,
because the lies he is accused of telling will likely bring great harm to
innocent victims.” However, Robinson goes on to criticize the President,
writing, “No, Trump isn’t telling people to go out and commit hate crimes.
But the white-supremacist lunatic who killed 11 innocent Jews in a
Pittsburgh synagogue in October was apparently motivated, somehow, by
Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric about illegal immigration. It’s not hard to
see why, to some, Smollett’s story might have seemed plausible.”

        In an editorial, meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=09e-246&t=c>
(2/21) criticizes the media narrative in the aftermath of Smollett’s
claims, lamenting that once again reporters were willing to believe the
worst about a sizable part of the US population based on their political
beliefs.

        The Washington Free Beacon’s Matthew Continetti said on Fox News’
Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=09f-547&t=c>
(2/21), “The same people who rushed to embrace Smollett story were the same
people who rushed to criticize the Catholic boys when the snippet of video
came out from the pro-life movement march in DC. What is the connective
tissue? It’s a willingness to believe the worst of Donald Trump and his
supporters. And that is why people rushed to back Smollett. That’s why they
rushed to condemn the Covington Catholic boys. And now, Republicans
sometimes are always eager to embrace the worst critiques of Democrats. But
we see time and time again that the mainstream media amplifies the liberal
critique of Republicans to a far greater extent than it does the
conservative critique of Democrats. This willingness to believe narratives
no matter their truth is very dangerous to democracy which depends on
evidence and patience.”

        Tucker Carlson said on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a0-a12&t=c>
(2/21), “Smollett pretended to be a victim because we reward victims. ...
In America victimhood is powerful. That’s why so many powerful people claim
it that’s why Elizabeth Warren pretended to be an American Indian. Why
every low point during the entire span of his political career Barack Obama
invoked bias. ... That explains why some on the left initially jumped to
Jussie Smollett’s defense. They weren’t simply defending him. They were
defending identity politics.” He added, “What Smollett did is not a
victimless crime. No such thing, as that entire group of people did get
slandered by this hoax. Regular people from outside the coastal cities.
People with the wrong political beliefs and skin color. Smollett and his
many defenders savagely attacked these people and not apologizing for doing
it instead they are telling you and hearing it everywhere.”

        Sean Hannity said in his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a1-772&t=c>
(2/21), “Smollett wasted precious law enforcement resources in a city where
young people and women and children are shot, people are murdered every
single week in Chicago, lots of them. It appears he used his celebrity
status and race to smear and slander the people of Chicago, and Trump
supporters everywhere.” He added
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a2-402&t=c>
(2/21), “This is about so much more than an over paid, attention seeking,
wanting a raise, Trump-hating actor. It represents another example of what
I have been saying since ‘07 and ‘08. Journalism in this country is dead.
In case after case after case, the mainstream media, they devour any story
that just fits their radical extreme extension of the Democratic Socialist
Party agenda. That America is scary, racist, sexist, homophobic, the media
mob will shift into full gear without even picking up the telephone without
any kind of investigation.”

        Rep. André Carson (D-IN) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a3-fdb&t=c>
(2/21), “Justice is being served. There is still an ongoing investigation
of sorts, so I don’t want to condemn or defend, but I will say, you know,
these things have to be dealt with. I think that if people are trying to
leverage the environment and fragile race relations and homophobia – or any
of the phobias, Islamophobia, or the environment of harassment – for their
own personal gain, I think it’s disappointing.”

        CNN Anchor Don Lemon said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a4-cd0&t=c>
(2/21), “Obviously it’s a stunning turn of events and, yes, it is shocking.
There were people, rightfully so, who were skeptical about exactly what
happened. ... I think that people were rightfully skeptical of this. None
of it made sense. At least most of it did not make sense. ... There’s
nothing wrong with having compassion for a person. That does not mean that
I believed the voracity of his entire story. ... He did something. He is
accused of doing something that is awful and he should pay the price for it
if it is, indeed, true, and the police and prosecutors in Chicago can prove
it.”

        CNN Legal Analyst Laura Coates said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a5-3ca&t=c>
(2/21), “It seems [the police] regarded it as an absolute hate crime,
investigated it and pursued it to that end which is why I find it so
unconscionable, that a black man in America would be complicit with making
lynching a headline.” She added, “He used the opportunities and capitalized
on the nature of racism and homophobia in our country.”

        Radio Host DL Hughley said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a6-74d&t=c>
(2/21), “I think we have really ceded our ability to call BS when they see
it. ... I think much like those people, I think the political, you know,
leaders who rightfully called out and said, ‘You know, if this is true,
this is a hate crime and something should be done about it,’ have an
obligation now to say something that it doesn’t look like that. You can’t
just be quiet. Silence won’t make it happen. You can’t be a coward now.” He
added, “All you did was being a decent human being who believed someone.
That’s all you did. ... It’s better than waiting two or three days when
someone is run down in Charlottesville or waiting three or four days when
something happens and never saying anything about it. So I would rather err
on the side of humanity than callousness.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a7-0bd&t=c>
(2/21, Butler) reports on the aftermath of the story under the headline
“‘Angry, Betrayed, Disappointed’: Jussie Smollett’s Alleged Lies Inflame
Already Tense Chicago.”

        *Bennett Yet To Comment After Deriding “Despicable Attack” On
Smollett. *The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a8-ddd&t=c>
(2/21, Shepherd) reports “Colorado senator Michael Bennet has yet to
address developments in the...Smollett controversy, despite having been one
of many politicians who quickly jumped on the original report in late
January that the black and openly gay actor had been the victim of a
racially and politically motivated attack.” Bennett tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0a9-cc8&t=c>
on Jan. 29, “There are no words to describe the despicable attack on Jussie
Smollett. We must all come together to stand up against homophobia, racism,
and all forms of hate. My thoughts are with Jussie, and I wish him a speedy
recovery.” The Free Beacon adds that “while the Colorado Democrat stands
silent, many of his other colleagues in the Senate have had to address the
most recent turn of events.”

        *Harris, Who Bemoaned “Modern Day Lynching,” Avoids Reporters’
Questions. *Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0aa-1b5&t=c>
(2/21, Pavlich) reports “Democrat presidential hopeful Kamala Harris had
lunch with infamous hoax pusher Al Sharpton on Thursday. Ironically, the
meeting came just hours after...Smollett turned himself into police for
carrying out a hate crime on himself.” Townhall added that “despite
previously calling the situation a ‘modern day lynching,’ when asked about
Smollett’s case Harris ran away from reporters.”

        *ADL Yet To Update Original Statement Condemning Supposed Attack. *
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0ab-8d3&t=c>
(2/21, Pollak) reports “the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) claimed last
month” on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0ac-3f5&t=c>
“that the reported ‘hate crime’ against...Smollett was ‘a disturbing
reminder of the terrible homophobia and racism that plagues our society.’”
In a statement, ADL president Jonathan Greenblatt also said, “We call on
police to investigate this vile incident as a hate crime and work swiftly
to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice.” Breitbart adds that “neither
the ADL nor Greenblatt have responded since Smollett’s arrest.”

        *Penn: Smollett Hoax And Steele Dossier “Have A Lot In Common.” *On
Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0ad-e07&t=c>
(2/21) Thursday, longtime Clinton adviser Mark Penn wrote: “Jussie
Smollett’s story and the Steele Dossier have a lot in common. Both created
by partisans to feed a popular narrative. Took Chicago police just days to
unwind the story. It’s been two years and Mueller has never questioned the
source of stories just as wild and incredible.”

        *Smollett Formally Charged. *ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0ae-22d&t=c>
(2/21, lead story, 5:00, Pilgrim) reported in its lead story that “as
Smollett faced a judge for the first time, accused of filing a false police
report, Chicago’s police superintendent with blistering words for the
actor.” Eddie Johnson, Chicago Police Superintendent, was shown saying,
“Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote
his career. I’m left hanging my head and asking why. Why would anyone,
especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make
false accusations? I’m offended by what’s happened, and I’m also angry.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0af-f30&t=c>
(2/21, story 2, 1:15, Ellis) reported on “concern the charges against”
Smollett “could have impact far beyond the actor.” Johnson was shown
saying, “My concern is that hate crimes will now publicly be met with a
level of skepticism that previously didn’t happen.” NBC added “Smollett’s
legal team says he will mount an aggressive defense. But the fallout could
affect some of this country’s most vulnerable people.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b0-664&t=c>
(2/21, Kurtz) reports Johnson also said, “Celebrities, news commentators
and even presidential candidates weighed in on something that was
choreographed by an actor. ... This publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago
didn’t earn and certainly didn’t deserve.”

        The Chicago Sun-Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b1-f6a&t=c>
(2/21, Charles, Grimm) reports “outraged law enforcement officials painted
a damning portrait...Smollett,” who “at his bond hearing Thursday at the
Leighton Criminal Courts Building...largely stayed silent other than to
greet Judge John Lyke.” The judge “imposed a $100,000 bail at the
conclusion of the 10-minute hearing.” The Chicago Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b2-e1b&t=c>
(2/21, Crepeau, Meisner, Gorner) noted the actor “was released from Cook
County Jail about 3:45 p.m. after a friend in California posted the
necessary...cash.” He “then reported to the ‘Empire’ production studios on
the West Side,” where “cast members and crew are trying to wrap up shooting
on the final episodes of Season 5.” Last night, “a statement from
Smollett’s legal team called the allegations part of ‘an organized law
enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system.’”

        Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Andrew Napolitano said on Fox
News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b3-5a8&t=c>
(2/21), “I think the Police Superintendent, who was very articulate and
very eloquent, was expressing the collective indignation of the government
and the people of Chicago that has been abused beyond the imaginings in the
past couple of weeks. The evidence that was laid out, however by the
assistant prosecutor in the holy of the courthouse after Smollett’s hearing
today is so precise, so clear, so, and show such a careful planning and
plotting that’s the government now has the opportunity to charge him with a
variety of things from scratching himself, which is altering evidence to
every time he lied to the police and other charge of lying, all of this on
top of filing a false police report. “

        Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz said on Fox News The
Ingraham Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b4-042&t=c>
(2/21), “His defense is that nobody ever gets prosecuted for making false
reports. ... If the facts are as the police say they are, if payments were
made and a plan was hatched to put a rope around the neck and a police
report was filed, then we have the potential for a serious crime. I am
surprised they charged him only with disturbing the peace.” He added, “I do
think a case like this, if the evidence is overwhelming as it looks like it
is, there will be some kind of a plea bargain. He will admit it and
apologize and do community service. ... In the bible if you falsely accused
someone, you get the penalty the person would have gotten had the
accusation been true. ... If you follow the bible, this guy ought to get
the same penalty that he falsely accused other people of getting.”
Coast Guard Officer Accused Of Compiling “Hit List” Denied Bail.

The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b5-ad1&t=c>
(2/21, story 5, 0:20, Glor) reported US Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher
Hasson “was ordered held without bail today.” Prosecutors say he “had a
list of people he wanted to kill that includes US senators and media
personalities.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b6-6df&t=c>
(2/21, story 7, 1:30, Muir) calls the plans “a chilling terror plot.” ABC
(Moran) added, “Right now, Hasson is facing only the drug and gun charges.
Prosecutors call that, quote, ‘the tip of the iceberg’” and “say he was a
domestic terrorist, planning a massive attack.” However, the judge said
that if he doesn’t see more evidence of those crimes “he’ll release Hasson
on bail pending trial.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b7-b99&t=c>
(2/21, Kunzelman, Balsamo) reports that, according to prosecutors say
Hasson “spent hours on his work computer researching the words and deeds of
infamous bombers and mass shooters while also stockpiling weapons.”
According to the AP, Hasson, “a former Marine who worked at Coast Guard
headquarters in Washington on a program to acquire advanced new cutters for
the agency, was arrested last week.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b8-98b&t=c>
(2/21, Bui, Lamothe, Miller) reports, “Hasson’s federal public defender
said the court filings are a ‘histrionic characterization of Mr. Hasson.’”
While Hasson “has not been charged with any terrorism-related counts,”
officials with the US attorney’s office in Maryland, in court filings,
“outlined his alleged plans for a rampage.” In a second article, the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0b9-1c1&t=c>
(2/21, Stanley-Becker) reports that in addition to his guns and Ammunition,
“law enforcement agents said they also turned up a locked briefcase filled
with more than 30 bottles of what appeared to be human growth hormone.” The
Post adds, “Neither the supplements nor the opioid pills, also seized by
authorities, had been prescribed by doctors.” According to the Post, Hasson
“found inspiration for beefing up...in a 1,500-page manifesto prepared by
Anders Behring Breivik, a right-wing Norwegian extremist who killed 77
people, many of them children, in a bomb-and-gun rampage in 2011 that he
called his ‘martyrdom operation.’”

        *Politico Analysis: Normally Vocal Trump’s Silence Part Of Strategy
To Shape Coverage. *In an analysis, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0ba-69c&t=c>
(2/21, Restuccia) reports that President Trump “never hesitates to spout
off about issues large and small,” so his silence about “an avowed white
nationalist” accused of plotting to kill Democratic politicians and
journalists “is notable.” The behavior illustrates Trump’s long-used tactic
for “shap[ing] coverage while tearing down his opponents – comment on the
issues he wants to amplify and get covered, while ignoring those that don’t
fit his preferred narrative.” People who know Trump say he “believes
there’s a political utility to undercutting the reporters who cover him.”
Meanwhile, some “noted that news of the alleged plot to kill Democratic
politicians and journalists broke just hours after New York Times publisher
A.G. Sulzberger chastised Trump for calling the Times the ‘enemy of the
American people’ after it published an account of the president’s efforts
to undercut the investigations encircling him.”

        *Scarborough: Trump Is “Encouraging” Violence Targeting His
Political Opponents. *On MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0bb-026&t=c>
(2/21), Joe Scarborough said President Trump “has been warned repeatedly
that talking about ‘enemies of the people’ is a Stalinist phrase, that it
will encourage some of his more unhinged followers. ... Trump, during the
rallies...he would tell people if he beat somebody up that’s against him,
he’d pay for their legal bills. He championed a Republican candidate who
beat up a journalist for simply asking a question about health care. And so
I guess it’s just really the timing. We’ve all known that Donald Trump and
his words and his attacks about ‘enemies of the people’ would lead to this
type of behavior. ... It’s exactly what Donald Trump is encouraging.”

        CNN Political Commentator Symone Sanders said on CNN’s The Lead[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0bc-442&t=c>
(2/21), “When it comes to Donald Trump, what folks like myself are asking
for, the President has to change his rhetoric. His words matter. Rhetoric
from his Twitter feed and the White House and the podium, his rallies, they
matter.”

        Former Republican Communications Center Staff Director Antonia
Ferrier said on CNN’s The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0bd-8a1&t=c>
(2/21), “I don’t think it’s fair to pin this all on the President of the
United States. I think political violence is an unfortunate reality in
America’s very bloody history. ... He needs to speak out, and firmly speak
out. It is unacceptable. We need a free press in this country and these
Democratic politicians, they should not be targeted. ... He is a domestic
terrorist as far as I’m concerned and enough of this crap.”
McConnell Urges Trump To Name Craft UN Ambassador.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0be-591&t=c>
(2/21, Holland) reports that US Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft “rose...as
a serious contender” to be the next UN ambassador following “a
recommendation” from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today. Craft is
described as “a fellow Kentuckian and top Republican donor.” According to
Reuters, “Aides to both Trump and the Republican senator from Kentucky said
McConnell had recommended to Trump that he choose Craft for the position,”
though “whether Trump would choose Craft was still unclear, as he has been
considering other candidates, including U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard
Grenell and Republican John James, who lost a bid for a US Senate seat in
Michigan last November.”

        McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0bf-09c&t=c>
(2/21, Clark) points out “the Glasgow native and longtime Republican donor
was confirmed as Trump’s ambassador to Canada in August 2017 with a
unanimous Senate vote.” That “lack of opposition, if it were to be
sustained, could mean Craft could avoid a Senate fight and allow Trump to
quickly seat someone for a high-profile job that has gone vacant for
months.” Craft, who was “attending a US-Canada trade event in Washington,
said she hasn’t talked with Trump about the possibility of serving as a top
US diplomat, but said she’s ‘committed to serving the president.’”
Judge: Acosta Broke Law By Hiding Epstein Plea Deal From Underage Girls He
Trafficked.

The Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c0-ffb&t=c>
(2/21, Brown) reports that U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra has ruled
that “federal prosecutors – among them, US Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta
– broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with” Jeffrey
Epstein, “a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it
from more than 30 of his underage victims.” Marra “said that the evidence
he reviewed showed that...Epstein had been operating an international sex
operation in which he and others recruited underage girls – not only in
Florida – but from overseas, in violation of federal law.” The Herald says
that “instead of prosecuting Epstein under federal sex trafficking laws,
Acosta, then the US attorney in Miami, helped negotiate a non-prosecution
agreement that gave Epstein and his co-conspirators immunity from federal
prosecution.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c1-a5e&t=c>
(2/21, Mazzei) says “the court’s ruling on Thursday could nullify the
non-prosecution agreement and subject Mr. Epstein and any co-conspirators
in the case to new federal charges, said Jack Scarola, a lawyer for the two
victims who challenged the agreement.”

        NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c2-04b&t=c>
(2/21, story 5, 1:20, Williams) reported “the judge did not rule on whether
the plea deal itself was improper and the ruling is not likely to have any
effect on Epstein. The judge is asking both sides in the case to suggest
what should be done as a result of the ruling.” NBC added that “as for
Acosta, the Labor Department said the plea deal was reviewed by the Justice
Department leadership and followed the rules.”

        Chris Cuomo said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c3-02e&t=c>
(2/21), “The irony. That guy is the Labor Secretary. That’s what kids all
over this country get conscripted into by way of trafficking. They’re being
made into sex workers. Epstein, by all apparent indications, was part of
that trade. Now the guy is the Labor Secretary after cutting him a deal
like this?”

        Former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime
Time
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c4-8fa&t=c>
(2/21), “He definitely got a sweetheart deal. And I want to point out
something here, the President made the cornerstone of his State of the
Union Address stopping trafficking, and that this was a big concern for
him,” which he used to justify his border wall.

        Former Trump White House Lawyer Jim Schultz, however, said on CNN’s
Cuomo Prime Time
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c5-4cb&t=c>
(2/21), “I don’t believe it’s a sweetheart deal at all.” He added, “He got
18 months in prison. He had to register as a sex offender and the victims
were designated as victims so they could be compensated civilly. That’s not
something that could have happened had Acosta and his office not stepped
in.”
Many Taxpayers Facing Tax Bills Instead Of Refunds Under New Tax Law.

The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c6-c12&t=c>
(2/21, story 10, 2:05, Glor) reported, “A lot of taxpayers are getting
bills instead of money back from the IRS this year. Compared to last year,
the average refund is down nearly nine percent in this first season since
the tax overhaul went into effect.” CBS (Werner) described the case of one
couple who in the past have had tax refunds, but this year will owe money.
The reason, according to CBS, is that “changes in the tax law capped or
eliminated major deductions,” and many, like the couple described, “didn’t
change their withholding for this year.” CBS concluded by advising viewers
that the IRS has “payment plans that can help” and also urged viewers to
review their withholding.
Trump Touts Economy At Black History Month Event.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c7-34a&t=c>
(2/21, Fritze) reports that at a White House event Thursday to celebrate
Black History Month “President Donald Trump touted contributions made by
African Americans, referenced the 2020 election and pointed to historically
low black unemployment,” as he “frequently” has. Trump “has struggled to
win political support from African American voters,” and “Black
unemployment last month rose slightly to 6.8 percent.”

        Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c8-992&t=c>
a video of himself at the event, writing, “We are here to honor the
extraordinary contributions of African-Americans to every aspect of
American Life, History and Culture. From the earliest days of this Nation,
African-American Leaders, Pioneers, & Visionaries have uplifted & inspired
our Country...” First Lady Melania Trump posted photos of the event in a
tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0c9-9cc&t=c>,
writing, “Wonderful evening at @WhiteHouse celebrating
#AfricanAmericanHistoryMonth!”
Cancer Research
City Of Hope Receives Third Lymphoma SPORE Grant From NCI.

OncLive
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0ca-3d9&t=c>
(2/21) reports City of Hope announced Thursday “that it has received its
third lymphoma Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant
from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of four current NCI-supported
lymphoma SPOREs.” The new grant “covers a five-year period and totals $12.5
million.” The organization has named CAR-T therapy and vaccine combination
for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma two projects for the SPORE grant, the piece
says, adding that a City of Hope “clinical trial for NHL patients that used
a treatment combining a transplant with CD19 CAR T cells” was presented at
the American Society of Hematology conference. Another project involving
researchers from multiple institutions will focus on “developing a
prediction model that includes clinical and genetic details to determine
the probability of a patient’s risk of developing” therapy-related
myelodysplasia/acute myeloid leukemia (t-MDS/AML).
Integrating Heart Disease, Cancer Care Could Lower Costs, According To
Study.

Crain’s New York Business
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0cb-45f&t=c>
(2/21, Henderson) reports that a study
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0cc-9fb&t=c>
(2/1) from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network “found that medical
expenses related to coronary artery disease” were “higher for patients also
diagnosed with cancer,” and could be directly tied to one another. The
network concluded that costs can be reduced by preventing inpatient stays,
but “added that more research is needed to determine how payment reforms
and collaborative care models can reduce costs and maintain quality of
care.” According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Chief of
Cardiology Dr. Richard Steingart, while physicians spend “a lot of time
talking about and looking into the interface [between] cancer and
cardiovascular disease,” this study is “one of the few that’s looked at the
economic consequence.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Jumaane Williams For Public Advocate.”* In an editorial, the New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0cd-a9d&t=c>
(2/21) endorses Jumaane Williams in Tuesday’s special election for New York
City public advocate, a position that offers a “chance for significant
influence over the direction of the city” and “a perch from which the
occupant can push the concerns of New Yorkers that have gone unaddressed by
City Hall.” The Times welcomes “the large, diverse and civic-minded group
of candidates” as “a refreshing change,” but believes Williams is “the best
candidate to hold [Mayor Bill] de Blasio accountable and to press for
reforms.” Williams is “a veteran city councilman with a record of
accomplishment and a steadfast willingness to stand up to powerful
interests on behalf of New Yorkers.”

        *“Carlos Ghosn Faces Japanese ‘Justice’.” *In an editorial, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0ce-0d9&t=c>
(2/21) criticizes former Nissan and Mitsubishi Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s
treatment in Japan, where he is currently detained on charges that he
under-reported “his income by more than $80 million over years” and moved
“personal trading losses temporarily onto Nissan books.” The Times argues
that Japan’s justice system is incredibly effective only because Japan does
not permit “elemental legal protections,” and it condemns Japan over Carole
Ghosn’s reports that “for hours each day, the prosecutors interrogate him,
browbeat him, lecture him and berate him, outside the presence of his
attorneys, in an effort to extract a confession.” The Times calls for
greater scrutiny of Japan before and after the coming trial.
Washington Post.

*“Why Was The Trump Administration So Eager To Give Nuclear Technology To
The Reckless Saudi Regime?”* In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0cf-91a&t=c>
(2/21) concedes, “There is an argument to be made for U.S. firms selling
nuclear plants to Saudi Arabia,” saying that “if the kingdom is determined
to acquire them, then it would be better it do so from U.S. companies than
from their Russian or Chinese competitors.” However, “that logic holds only
if the administration negotiates a deal with Riyadh imposing strict
controls on the technology...that prohibited the regime from any enrichment
of uranium or reprocessing of spent fuel – techniques that can be used to
build nuclear weapons.” As federal law “does not mandate those conditions,”
the Post says, “Congress must insist that any nuclear deal with Saudi
Arabia embrace this gold standard. To do otherwise would only compound the
danger posed by Mohammed bin Salman.”

        *“Yes, Social Security Needs Some Fixing – But It’s Not Broken.” *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0d0-e45&t=c>
(2/21) in an editorial criticizes the Social Security 2100 Act, a
Democratic proposal for reforming Social Security, saying that while Social
Security does need “a fix,” it “is not broken — and does not require a
radical overhaul.” The Democratic plan would increase benefits, and pay for
them “by a gradual increase in payroll taxes” and by “applying Social
Security taxes to wage income above $400,000 per year.” The Post favors an
alternative Social Security plan that would maintain full benefits “for the
30 percent of workers with the lowest lifetime earnings, while reducing the
growth rate” for everyone else.

        *“Longer Metro Hours Could Make The System Less Safe And Reliable.”
*In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019022201biden&r=email-7c29&l=0d1-6b0&t=c>
(2/21) writes urges the Washington Metro’s DC board members “to do what’s
right to advance Metro’s interests rather than bow to business and other
special-interest pressures being spearheaded by D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser
(D)” and her instance that the system extend its operating hours. The Post
adds that transit safety experts, including the Federal Transit
Administration, say the change “would cut into time needed to maintain the
system,” and returning to the old hours would require “single-tracking
during the day – with all its disruptions – to do the required inspections
and work.” The Post argues that the current operating hours have, “by all
accounts, produced a safer and more reliable system.”

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