Subject: FW: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Thursday, March 7, 2019
From: "Kathy Chung" <[email-masked]>
To: "Ashley Blazer Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jill Tracy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Jimmy Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Valerie Biden Owens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2019 08:46:59 -0500

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing

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

*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=000-966&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=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=001-95f&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, March 7, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Gallup: 56% Of Americans View Biden Favorably. <#S1>

• CNN’s 2020 Democratic Rankings: 1) Harris; 2) Biden; 3) Sanders. <#S2>

• CNBC: Trump Asked His Advisors If He Should Be Concerned About Facing
Biden. <#S3>

• NYTimes: With Pieces In Place For A 2020 Run, All That Awaits Is Biden’s
Decision. <#S4>

• Key Latino Operative Signs On With Biden Ahead Of Expected 2020 Bid. <#S5>

• Media Analyses: Bloomberg Exit Likely Presages Bid By Wall Street-Favored
Biden. <#S6>

• Firefighters Union Chief Schaitberger Wants Biden To Run. <#S7>

• Opinion Pieces Focus On Possible Biden Run. <#S8>

• GOP Strategist: Democratic Party “Has Moved On” From Biden. <#S9>

• HuffPost Analysis: Biden Calls Himself “Middle-Class Joe,” But Few Others
Do. <#S10>

• Writer: Biden’s “Decent Guy” Remark On Pence Shows He’s “Out Of Touch.”
<#S11>

• Breitbart: CNN Panel Of “Democratic Voters” Included Ex-Congressional
Candidate, Activists. <#S12>

• Wilmington News Journal Highlights Biden’s Stances On Key Issues. <#S13>

• Democrats Prioritize “Electability,” But Not Necessarily Moderation, In
Picking A Nominee. <#S14>

• In New Hampshire, Some 2016 Supporters Of Sanders Slow To Embrace His
2020 Run. <#S15>

• WPost A1: Harris’ Term As San Francisco DA Was Marred By Crime Lab
Scandal. <#S16>

• Hickenlooper’s Campaign Says He Raised Over $1M In Less Than 48 Hours.
<#S17>

• DNC Will Exclude Fox From Televising 2020 Primary Debates. <#S18>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Urges GOP To “Stay United” On Border Policy As Senate Vote Nears.
<#S19>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Trump “Very Disappointed” If North Korea Is Rebuilding Missile Site.
<#S20>

• WPost Analysis: National Security Team Struggles To Explain Trump Foreign
Policy. <#S21>

• Pence Announces Additional Visa Revocations Targeting Maduro Allies.
<#S22>

• Report: “Hundreds” Of ISIS Fighters Surrender, “Hundreds” More Captured
Trying To Flee. <#S23>

• Rouhani: No Chance Of Negotiations With US. <#S24>

• Erdoğan: Turkey Will Not Go Back On Missile Defense Deal With Russia.
<#S25>

• Former Trudeau Aide Defends PM In SNC-Lavalin Scandal. <#S26>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Media Analyses: Record Trade Deficit Evidence Of Trump Policy Failures.
<#S27>

• Bloomberg Analysis: Trump Wants China Deal To Boost Stocks And Reelection
Campaign. <#S28>

• Lawyers Tied To Giuliani Contacted Cohen After FBI Raids. <#S29>

• House Democrats: Administration Has Refused Or Delayed Providing
Documents In 30 Investigations. <#S30>

• Democrats “Outraged” Over Trump Action On Ivanka’s Security Clearance.
<#S31>

• AP Analysis: Liu Nomination For DOJ Post Could Have Impact On Mueller
Prosecutions. <#S32>

• White House Pressuring Automakers To Side With Administration Lawsuit
Over California Regulations. <#S33>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• Long Island Cancer Facility Set To Open In April. <#S34>

• University Of Rochester Cancer Center Receives $3.4M NCI Grant. <#S35>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S36>

• Washington Post. <#S37>
Biden in the News
Gallup: 56% Of Americans View Biden Favorably.

Gallup
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=002-395&t=c>
(3/7, Jones) reports that as former Vice President Joe Biden mulls a 2020
White House run, “recent Gallup polling indicates that he would be a
formidable candidate, given Americans’ positive image of him. Currently,
56% of Americans have a favorable opinion about Biden,” according to “a
Feb. 12-28 Gallup poll.” While “that is down slightly from the prior
reading in January 2017 near the end of his vice presidency, it still ranks
among the best Gallup has measured for him to date.” Gallup adds that
Biden’s popularity peaked “at 61% during his final days” as vice president,
and he “has retained most of that increase over the past two years. Eight
in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have a favorable
opinion of Biden.”
CNN’s 2020 Democratic Rankings: 1) Harris; 2) Biden; 3) Sanders.

In an online article for CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=003-761&t=c>
(3/7), Chris Cillizza and Harry Enten offer their updated “rankings of the
10 candidates most likely to wind up as the Democratic presidential nominee
against Donald Trump in November 2020.” Topping the list is Sen. Kamala
Harris (D-CA), followed by former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I-VT), and ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX). Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
rounds out the top five. Of Biden, the writers say that while he “continues
to lead national polling and has strength in all the early states,” he also
“has weaknesses. He has a long record that can easily be attacked.
Democratic voters are not enthusiastic about nominating someone over the
age of 75. He could also be stale from not having run a campaign for a long
time. We wonder how much of his polling advantage will evaporate once he is
no longer just President Barack Obama’s vice president and he is his own
entity.”
CNBC: Trump Asked His Advisors If He Should Be Concerned About Facing Biden.

In an online report, CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=004-9be&t=c>
(3/6, Schwartz) said that President Trump on Monday met privately “with
close advisors at the White House to discuss a wide range of topics,
including the 2020 presidential election – and concerns about possibly
facing former Vice President Joe Biden.” During the session, Trump “asked
whether he should be concerned about Biden” winning “the Democratic
nomination, according to” sources. CNBC said, “The advisors told Trump that
they’re not convinced Biden would appeal to the Democratic Party’s left
wing or make it through a primary,” and that “they believe Biden’s
opponents will say he’s out of touch with the base of his own party.” CNBC
added, “When asked why the president spoke about Biden, one” source said
“that the former vice president ‘is the least crazy out of all’ the
potential Democratic 2020 candidates.”
NYTimes: With Pieces In Place For A 2020 Run, All That Awaits Is Biden’s
Decision.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=005-064&t=c>
(3/7, Martin, Burns) reports, “The pieces for a” White House run by former
Vice President Joe Biden “are falling into place: His nucleus of advisers
has begun offering campaign positions to seasoned Democratic strategists.
They are eyeing a headquarters in Delaware or nearby Philadelphia and a
launch date in the beginning of April. Mr. Biden’s family is on board – his
wife, Jill, enthusiastically so.” However, “there is still one crucial
element that’s outstanding: full and final consent from” Biden. The Times
adds, “This juxtaposition – an eager cadre of supporters laying the
groundwork for a campaign they assure is all but certain while the would-be
candidate publicly vacillates – has effectively kept the nascent Democratic
race on hold.”
Key Latino Operative Signs On With Biden Ahead Of Expected 2020 Bid.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=006-33f&t=c>
(3/6, Thompson) reported, “In the latest sign that” former Vice President
will mount a 2020 White House bid, “his team has brought on Cristóbal Alex,
the head of the influential Latino Victory Fund, according to a source.” It
remains unclear “what role Alex would fill in a Biden presidential
campaign. He served as Hillary Clinton’s National Deputy Director of Voter
Outreach and Mobilization in 2016.” Alex on Tuesday “tweeted that he
believes ‘Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our nation. I am
committed to doing everything in my power to defeat him, and my next steps
will reflect that.’”

        The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=007-321&t=c>
(3/6, Simonson) reported that DNC chief Tom Perez lauded “Alex in a tweet
shortly after the news was announced. ‘@CristobalJAlex created an
incredible legacy with @latinovictoryus, and it is because of his work and
leadership that we now have more Latinx people in office all across this
country.’” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=008-797&t=c>
(3/6, Rodrigo) reported hat Alex “has previously appeared at events with
Biden in Nevada and Florida.”

        In an online article, Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=009-f91&t=c>
(3/6, Llorente) reported that Alex recently “defended Biden on Twitter
after the former vice president came under fire from the LGBT community for
referring to Vice President Mike Pence – who has controversial views on
LGBT issues – as ‘a decent guy’ in a speech. ‘For those attacking @JoeBiden
today, it’s worth remembering the VP took enormous heat for announcing his
support for gay marriage on @MeetThePress long before others, as senator he
blocked ultra-conservative Judge Bork & he’s officiated gay marriages. He’s
always been an ally.’”

        Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=00a-81a&t=c>
(3/6, Caplan) reported, “The Latino Victory Fund, a political action
committee that works to elect progressive Hispanic candidates, met with
blowback last year for releasing an ad depicting a supporter of
then-Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie attempting to
run down minority children with a vehicle. Gillespie’s campaign decried the
ad as ‘disgusting’ and an ‘attack on the people of Virginia,’ prompting the
group to pull it – but without any apology.”
Media Analyses: Bloomberg Exit Likely Presages Bid By Wall Street-Favored
Biden.

In an “exclusive,” Fox Business
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=00b-d46&t=c>
(3/6, Gasparino, Moynihan) reported that with ex-New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg (D) having announced that he won’t run for president next year,
former Vice President Joe Biden “is moving ever closer to another” White
House bid, “alerting his network of Wall Street supporters that he is all
but certain to announce his candidacy in the next month.” Fox Business said
that Bloomberg’s “decision not to run is a sign that” he “is ceding the
moderate wing of the Democratic Party to Biden,” according to “people with
direct knowledge of the matter.” The article added that “several Wall
Street executives who are close to” Biden “say in private he has indicated
that barring some last-minute change, he is planning to announce his 2020
presidential intentions soon. Biden is indicating to Democratic Party
insiders he will make some announcement by April, these people say.”

        Under the heading “With Bloomberg Out, Wall Street Desperately
Turns To Biden,” Tina Nguyen writes at Vanity Fair
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=00c-ff6&t=c>
(3/6) that the Fox Business article on Biden “mirrors what my colleague
William D. Cohan reported last week: with Michael Bloomberg out of the way,
Wall Street executives close to Biden say, the centrist-friendly lane is
wide open. And there’s nobody who better scratches the establishmentarian
sweet spot between Full Socialism and Donald J. Trump.”

        Ben White wrote for Politico Morning Money
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=00d-828&t=c>
(3/6), “Among the Wall Street crowd, Bloomberg getting out quickly
rockets...Biden to the top of the wish list. He’s more moderate than the
rest of the field and less likely to strongly back breaking up the banks
and a financial transaction tax. The Wall Street list is roughly: Biden
followed by Sens. Corey Booker and Kamala Harris. One top Wall Street Dem
emails re this list: ‘That’s about right but deep gap between Biden and the
second tier. At the moment. Have been surprised at how many people, when
pushed, are pro Biden.’”

        AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=00e-b26&t=c>
(3/6, Mathes) reports that political observers are “impatient to know
whether the popular” Biden “will actually join the rough-and-tumble 2020
race to challenge Donald Trump.” Biden “has watched from the sidelines as
more than a dozen other Democrats, mainly from the party’s ascendant
progressive wing” entered “the race. That could leave a lane relatively
wide open for a pragmatic centrist like Biden, especially” in the wake of
Bloomberg’s decision not to run. AFP says that Biden is “the most prominent
American still mulling a presidential campaign, and he would be a clear
frontrunner in a crowded field.”

        *Schoen: Bloomberg Not Likely To Endorse A 2020 Contender “Anytime
Soon.” *Mediaite
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=00f-911&t=c>
(3/6, Seleh) reported, “Bloomberg advisor and Fox News analyst Doug Schoen
says...Bloomberg will not endorse...Biden for the 2020 presidential
election and will instead focus on the issues he cares about.” Appearing
Wednesday on Fox Business Network, Schoen “said Bloomberg may potentially
support a 2020 presidential candidate ‘down the road.’ Asked whether he
thinks Bloomberg will support Biden for the 2020 election, Schoen said no.
‘I think reading the statement, having spoken to him at this point, he
really is going to do what he said,’ said Schoen,” adding, “He said his
focus was on issues. He is going to stick with that and I have no sense
that he’s going to make an endorsement anytime soon.”
Firefighters Union Chief Schaitberger Wants Biden To Run.

The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=010-f99&t=c>
(3/6, Jamieson) reported that if former Vice President Joe Biden enters the
2020 race for president, “he can expect to have a lot of firefighters in
his corner. The politically powerful International Association of Fire
Fighters has a long and warm relationship with” Biden, dating “back to his
early days in the Senate in the 1970s. Even though the 2020 Democratic
field is only just taking shape, the head of the firefighters union is
making his personal allegiances clear. ‘Oh, I’m more than hoping – I’m
doing everything I can to ‘Run, Joe, Run,’’ said Harold Schaitberger, the
union’s general president since 2000.” HuffPost added that “it’s likely
that the IAFF, which represents 316,000 workers, will be all-in this year
if Biden” runs. Biden “is slated to deliver the keynote address at the
union’s conference in Washington next week.”
Opinion Pieces Focus On Possible Biden Run.

In an op-ed for the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=011-1c1&t=c>
(3/6), GOP consultant Matt Mackowiak offers brief observations on the field
of announced and potential 2020 Democratic presidential contenders. Of
former Vice President Joe Biden, Mackowiak says that he “would be a
formidable candidate. He could test President Trump’s path to 270 electoral
votes through states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.” Biden
would begin “with strong name identification and an early lead in polling,”
but would “be made to answer for his past support of a Clinton-era crime
bill and his handling of the Anita Hill hearings. He is known to be
gaffe-prone, and his age, gender and race all will be real disadvantages in
a party focused on diversity.”

        In an online op-ed for WSBT-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=012-d4a&t=c>
South Bend, IN (3/6), a member of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, political
commentator Ameshia Cross said that Biden seems to be “getting closer to
making an announcement. He is a beloved leader of the party with a
potentially robust fundraising apparatus at his fingertips. His entry into
the race will definitely force several in this already crowded field to bow
out. However, we’ll see many Democrats attempt to pull him further to the
left than he is typically comfortable.”
GOP Strategist: Democratic Party “Has Moved On” From Biden.

In an op-ed on the website of Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=013-68c&t=c>
(3/6), GOP strategist Colin Reed said that the criticism former Vice
President Joe Biden faced for calling Vice President Mike Pence a “decent
guy” and for praising Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), “who at the time was locked
in a competitive race Democrats badly wanted to win,” underscores “just how
far the political landscape has shifted under Biden’s feet.” Reed said,
“His outdated political philosophy is not Biden’s only weakness. He’s a
white male” and “a relic of the past in a party seeking a fresh face. He
has built a career taking care of the financial services industry that
operates in his home state of Delaware. He has poured cold water on
socialism.” Reed added that Biden’s “party has moved on and his moment has
passed.”
HuffPost Analysis: Biden Calls Himself “Middle-Class Joe,” But Few Others
Do.

The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=014-749&t=c>
(3/6, Delaney) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden “likes to say
that other people call him ‘Middle-Class Joe,’ but there is little evidence
that anyone calls him that other than Joe Biden himself. ‘I know I’m called
Middle-Class Joe,’ Biden said at a campaign event in October. ‘It’s not
meant to be a compliment. It means I’m not sophisticated. But I know what
made this country what it is: ordinary people doing extraordinary things.’”
Biden “has been saying some variation of this line for years.” However, “a
search of news archives turns up few instances of anyone other than Biden
using the moniker. (His own usage dates to at least 2009.) As for people
using it derisively, a lot of journalists have put the phrase in quotation
marks and noted that Biden uses the term to describe himself.”
Writer: Biden’s “Decent Guy” Remark On Pence Shows He’s “Out Of Touch.”

In a piece for the Advocate
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=015-a53&t=c>
(3/7), writer and comedian Amanda Kerri takes issue with what she describes
as Biden’s “most recent ‘gaffe’ of calling Vice President Mike Pence ‘a
decent guy,’” saying that “of course people jumped all over Biden, and
deservedly so. People immediately pegged the ‘decent guy’ comment to
Pence’s history of anti-LGBTQ positions and beliefs.” Kerri says, “Biden,
God bless his decent heart, is a pretty okay guy,” but he “just isn’t the
guy for 2020. Biden is a late 20th-century Democrat.” His remark on Pence
is “an understandable attitude for politics in 1989 – not 2019. Those days
are gone, and describing someone like Pence as ‘decent’ in our current
political climate is just out of touch.”

        *Critics Question Whether Pence Is “Decent,” Citing LGBTQ Views. *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=016-dd5&t=c>
(3/7, Groppe) reports that Pence’s “defining characteristic – of being nice
– is under attack” after liberal criticism forced Biden to backtrack after
having called Pence a “decent guy.” Pence’s public persona is that of a
“cordial conservative,” and his prior roles as a talk-show host,
congressmen, and governor all support this conclusion. However, according
to USA Today, the LGBTQ community believes that Pence is opposed to them
because of his faith. The perception is fueling a new attack on Pence’s
character, and Democratic politicians are quickly revising their opinions,
according to the article.

        *Bullock Hesitates To Call Pence A “Decent Guy.” *Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=017-430&t=c>
(3/6, Veenstra) reports that Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT), mulling a
presidential bid, on Tuesday “struggled to give a straight answer
about...Pence” while visiting Iowa. Bullock’s hesitance to give a firm
answer about whether Pence is a “decent guy” clashed with a recent
compliment he paid the Vice President. He previously said of Pence,
“Together, we can certainly jump-start the wheels of cooperative governing
again.”

        *Freeman: 2020 Candidates Must Abandon Revenge Politics
Perspective. *In a Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=018-7d5&t=c>
(3/6, Freeman) column, James Freeman condemns the 2020 Democratic
presidential candidates and their base voters’ attitude that political
adversaries can no longer be treated with civility. Freeman highlights the
recent furor over Biden’s compliment of Pence, and Bullock’s hesitance to
commend the Vice President. Freeman calls on Democratic politicians to act
civilly even though primary voters may dislike it.
Breitbart: CNN Panel Of “Democratic Voters” Included Ex-Congressional
Candidate, Activists.

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=019-000&t=c>
(3/6, Caruso) reported, “CNN aired two panels this week, purporting to show
the thoughts of ‘Democratic voters’ throughout the” US, but “a Breitbart
News investigation indicates that three of the panel members also have a
past of political activism far beyond your average voter. In on air
segments that made the rounds online this week, the panel, introduced
alternatively as ‘Hillary Clinton voters’ or as ‘Democratic voters,’
expressed their opinions about the current state of the Democratic Party.”
In one segment, the panel “flatly rejected Joe Biden as a 2020 candidate.”
Breitbart said that panelist Michael Milisits “ran for Congress in the
Democratic primary in Ohio as a strong Bernie Sanders supporter.” And “two
other panel members, Mary Reaman and Christian Tamte, are also political
activists. Both worked as organizers for the 2017 Women’s March in
Washington, DC.”
Wilmington News Journal Highlights Biden’s Stances On Key Issues.

The Wilmington (DE) News Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=01a-1d0&t=c>
(3/6, Albright) runs a piece highlighting former Vice President Joe Biden’s
stances on a variety of topics, including climate change, “free higher
education,” healthcare, and the minimum wage, among other things.
Democrats Prioritize “Electability,” But Not Necessarily Moderation, In
Picking A Nominee.

BuzzFeed News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=01b-fb0&t=c>
(3/6, Hensley-Clancy) reported that ahead of President Trump’s 2020 bid for
reelection, “polls show many Democratic voters are prioritizing one thing:
electability. In some circles, the word ‘electable’ has become a proxy for
moderate – a political centrist whose policies appeal to swing voters in
states Trump won in 2016.” However, “the vast majority of Democratic voters
aren’t thinking about electability in terms of ideology, geography, or
electoral margin, according to interviews with more than 50 Democratic
voters in early primary states. Far from tying electability to centrism or
moderation, voters said they cared about rhetoric, personality, energy, and
momentum when deciding if a candidate could win.” Only “two said they were
looking for a political moderate.”
In New Hampshire, Some 2016 Supporters Of Sanders Slow To Embrace His 2020
Run.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=01c-b65&t=c>
(3/7, Woodall) reports that in 2016, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) scored “a
22-point victory” over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire’s Democratic
presidential primary. However, with Sanders mounting a 2020 bid for
president, “there are early signs that he doesn’t have a lock on the
nation’s first primary. More than a half-dozen Democratic leaders,
activists and lawmakers who endorsed” Sanders “in 2016 said they were
hesitant to do so again. Some said they were passing over” Sanders “in
search of fresh energy while others said...it’s simply too early to make a
choice. That caution underscores one of the central challenges facing
Sanders.” Unlike in 2016, when “the sole alternative to” Sanders was “the
more establishment-oriented...Clinton,” the “2020 field...already spans a
dozen candidates and includes several progressives, women and people of
color.”
WPost A1: Harris’ Term As San Francisco DA Was Marred By Crime Lab Scandal.

On its front page, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=01d-117&t=c>
(3/6, A1, Kranish) reports that when Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) – then the
San Francisco district attorney – was mounting a bid to become California
attorney general, a scandal over unreliable evidence from a police crime
lab “stunned her office and threatened to upend her campaign.” Superior
Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo wrote in a May 2010 decision concerning
the scandal that Harris “failed to disclose information that clearly should
have been disclosed.” The Post says the “episode, which undercut Harris’s
image as a polished leader and raised questions about her management style,
has taken on new relevance as the senator seeks the Democratic nomination
for the presidency.”
Hickenlooper’s Campaign Says He Raised Over $1M In Less Than 48 Hours.

The Denver Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=01e-45c&t=c>
(3/6, Garcia) reports that ex-Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) “raised more
than $1 million for his presidential campaign in less than 48 hours, his
campaign” announced on Wednesday, “putting him on pace with several of his
Democratic primary opponents.” Hickenlooper kicked off his bid “for the
White House on Monday. ... Of the 14 candidates in the race, Hickenlooper
is the fifth to reportedly raise more than $1 million in such a short
period of time.”
DNC Will Exclude Fox From Televising 2020 Primary Debates.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=01f-4a6&t=c>
(3/6, Farhi) reports the DNC “has decided to exclude Fox News Channel from
televising any of its candidate debates during the 2019-2020 cycle as a
result of published revelations detailing the cable network’s close ties to
the Trump administration.” DNC Chairman Tom Perez “cited a story
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=020-d31&t=c>
in the New Yorker magazine this week that detailed how Fox has promoted
President Trump’s agenda.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=021-633&t=c>
(3/6, Bauder) reports, “Even before that story, some Democratic activists
were complaining about the committee’s consideration of Fox as a potential
broadcast partner.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=022-e87&t=c>
(3/6, Grynbaum, Herndon) reports Perez said in the statement that Fox News
“is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our
candidates.”

        According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=023-29a&t=c>
(3/6), “Representatives for Fox said they hoped the DNC would reconsider
and let some of its journalists moderate a Democratic presidential debate.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=024-d87&t=c>
(3/6, Daugherty) reported that in a Wednesday tweet, Fox News host Bret
Baier said of the DNC decision, “That’s really a shame. When it comes to
fairness – our news product speaks for itself. We will continue to cover
this 2020 race fairly & will continue to invite Democrats- Republicans &
Independents on to talk about key issues & substance with our very large
viewing audience.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=025-be2&t=c>
(3/6, Hayes) reports that Trump “fired back” at the DNC in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=026-2ef&t=c>
Wednesday, “suggest[ing] that in return he might halt other networks that
have drawn his ire from hosting his debates.” Trump wrote, “Democrats just
blocked @FoxNews from holding a debate. Good, then I think I’ll do the same
thing with the Fake News Networks and the Radical Left Democrats in the
General Election debates!” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=027-f95&t=c>
(3/6, Morton) says Trump “specified no networks, but he routinely denounces
CNN, MSNBC and such print outlets as the Washington Post and the New York
Times as ‘Fake News.’”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=028-e29&t=c>
(3/6, Morin) reported, “Fox News did not host a Democratic primary debate
during the 2016 or 2008 election cycles. The network, however, did host a
town hall in Michigan between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders during the
2016 election.” The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=029-c09&t=c>
(3/6, Blumberg) reported, “In being excluded from hosting the DNC’s
debates, Fox could lose out on a major ratings opportunity. The first
Democratic debate in October 2015 reached nearly 16 million viewers.”
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=02a-bad&t=c>
(3/6, Oliphant, Dang, Lambert) and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=02b-60e&t=c>
(3/6, Thomas) also report on the story.

        *Underdogs Williamson, Yang May Qualify For First Democratic
Primary Debate. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=02c-142&t=c>
(3/6, Schneider) reported, “Under newly crafted rules” from the DNC, “two
little-known” White House hopefuls “with no governmental experience are
poised to qualify for the first [Democratic presidential] debate later this
year.” Politico said that spiritualist Marianne Williamson and entrepreneur
Andrew Yang “both say they are on track to meet the grassroots donation
threshold set by the DNC to get into the first debate in June.” Politico
added, “To qualify, candidates must get at least 1 percent support in three
party-approved public polls – or receive campaign donations from 65,000
individuals with a minimum of 200 donors apiece in 20 states, the DNC said
in February.”

        The Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=02d-009&t=c>
(3/6, Stein) reported that Yang “has somehow managed to get more than
47,000 individual donors to his campaign as of Wednesday night.” Should
that figure increase “to 65,000 over the next two months, he will qualify
to participate in the first primary debate. He’s already met one threshold
– that his campaign have a minimum of 200 donors per state in at least 20
states. And his team says he’s a lock to clear the other. ‘100 percent.
Hell will have to freeze over at this rate for us not to,’ said Zach
Graumann, Yang’s campaign manager.”
Leading the News
Trump Urges GOP To “Stay United” On Border Policy As Senate Vote Nears.

As President Trump and the White House continued efforts to keep Republican
senators from signing on to an effort to express disapproval of the
President’s declaration of a national emergency at the US-Mexico border,
DHS Secretary Nielsen was on Capitol Hill defending the Administration’s
border policy. Coverage focuses on the harsh Democratic questioning of
Nielsen, particularly over the treatment of child migrants and on family
separation.

        The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=02e-71a&t=c>
at 12:54 p.m., “Senate Republicans are not voting on constitutionality or
precedent, they are voting on desperately needed Border Security & the
Wall. Our Country is being invaded with Drugs, Human Traffickers, &
Criminals of all shapes and sizes. That’s what this vote is all about. STAY
UNITED!” At 7:02 p.m., he tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=02f-d36&t=c>,
“Wall Street Journal: ‘More migrant families crossing into the U.S.
illegally have been arrested in the first five months of the federal fiscal
year than in any prior full year.’ We are doing a great job at the border,
but this is a National Emergency!”

        White House correspondent John Roberts said on Fox News Special
Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=030-870&t=c>
(3/6), “If a vote were held today the President would likely lose. Four
Republicans” – Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rand Paul
(R-KY), and Thom Tills (R-NC) – “have said will vote to block the
emergency. Another four” – Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Cory Gardner
(R-CO), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) – “might join with them.
Rand Paul says they could ultimately get 10 or more.” But on Fox News’
Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=031-a33&t=c>
(3/6), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “We need to change our laws and we
need to build a wall. Trump is going to win in Congress on the wall.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=032-372&t=c>
(3/6, Wagner) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders “lashed out
Wednesday at Republican senators considering bucking President Trump on his
national emergency declaration, saying their inaction on border security
has forced Trump ‘to fix this problem on his own.’” Appearing on Fox News’
Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=033-9f8&t=c>
(3/6), Sanders said, “Democrats are still refusing to acknowledge the
crisis on the border, particularly when Barack Obama himself even called it
a ‘crisis’ in 2014. We know exactly what it is. It is time they start doing
their jobs and actually fixing it. ... If Congress didn’t want him to
declare a national emergency, they should have done their jobs and actually
fixed the problem, instead of just denying that it exists.”

        Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=034-81b&t=c>
(3/6, Everett) reports, “As the first vote approaches, there are signs the
president is becoming increasingly interested in the final tally, though he
still faces an uphill battle to fend off a bipartisan rebuke.” While a
Trump veto is unlikely to be overridden, “under the National Emergencies
Act, Republicans believe Democrats will be able to bring up a disapproval
vote on Trump’s move to declare an emergency and seize billions from
military construction every six months. ... That would essentially force
Trump loyalty tests every six months unless the president withdraws” the
declaration.

        Mara Liasson of NPR said on Fox News Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=035-625&t=c>
(3/6), “We are not sitting here in Washington having a debate over whether
to call it a ‘crisis’ or to call it an ‘emergency.’ The debate is about
whether the President should be allowed to declare a national emergency – a
term of law – so that he can build a wall. ... Congress had a big debate
and passed a funding bill that included a lot of things,” but “they didn’t
give the President one thing that he really wanted, which is money for a
wall.”

        *Nielsen Defends Border Policy Before House Homeland Security
Committee. *ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=036-08f&t=c>
(3/6, story 8, 0:50, Muir) reported Nielsen “was on Capitol Hill today,
testifying for the first time since President Trump declared a national
emergency at the southern border. Government figures, in fact, show more
than 66,000 migrants crossed the border without authorization last month.
That is the highest number in 11 years. Nielsen was questioned about the
Administration’s family separation policy. She insisted, though, children
are not still being kept in cages.” House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie
Thompson: “Are we putting children in cages, as of today?” Nielsen:
“Children are processed at the border facility stations that you’ve been
at, some of them --” Thompson: “And I’ve seen the cages. I just want you to
admit that the cages exist.” Nielsen: “Sir, they’re not cages.”

        Several House Democrats criticized that response on Twitter. Rep.
Salud Carbajal (D-CA) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=037-f12&t=c>,
“More than 2,700 children were separated from their parents & detained by
CBP last year. They were kept in chain-link cages. Some were sexually
assaulted. Three children died in custody. Given these facts, & @DHSgov
Secretary Nielsen’s lies under oath today, she should resign.” Rep. Mark
DeSaulnier (D-CA) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=038-b89&t=c>,
“I have been to the border, met families who were torn apart, and seen
first-hand the cages that the Trump Administration has locked children in.
Secretary Nielsen’s testimony today is just wrong – I witnessed it with my
own eyes.” Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=039-f64&t=c>,
“We all know what a cage looks like. Come on.” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=03a-f8b&t=c>,
“Sec. Nielsen, whether you call it a ‘cage’ or a ‘detention space,’ it
doesn’t change the fact that your policy is ‘inhumane’ and ‘doesn’t reflect
American values.’”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=03b-9bd&t=c>
(3/6, Long) reports Nielsen “insisted Wednesday the crisis at the southern
border is not manufactured.” Nielsen said, “We face a crisis – a real,
serious and sustained crisis at our borders. Make no mistake: This chain of
human misery is getting worse.” Thompson said he wanted to use the hearing
“in part to give Nielsen the opportunity to start a ‘serious discussion,’
rather than echoing [Trump’s] claims of a security crisis at the border.”
Thompson said, “No amount of verbal gymnastics will change that she knew
the Trump administration was implementing a policy to separate families at
the border.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=03c-e92&t=c>
(3/6, Gomez, Shesgreen, Borowski) reports Democrats also “hammered” Nielsen
over the President’s “attempts to unilaterally expand the southern border
wall and the administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy that led to thousands
of migrant families being separated.” Nielsen “said the policy was not a
‘family separation’ one but did mandate criminal prosecutions against all
migrants, including those crossing the border with children.” Rep. Kathleen
Rice (D-NY) responded, “You knew that that policy was going to result in
children having to be taken away from their parents. That’s a policy. You
should admit it.” Rice later said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=03d-38e&t=c>
(3/6), “She was aware of the policy before he announced it. She knew it was
coming. She knew it was going to result in children being ripped away from
their parents. ... She was under oath today, and I think it’s very
disturbing that someone in her position can come before a congressional
committee and blatantly give false testimony.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=03e-7bb&t=c>
(3/6, Torbati, Rosenberg) reports Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA) “challenged
Nielsen over claims that the government is not turning away people seeking
asylum at official ports of entry, stating that she herself on Saturday
witnessed a Honduran asylum seeker being turned away by a border agent.”
Barragán said, “Madam Secretary, I don’t know if you know what’s happening,
or if this is happening without you knowing, but it’s totally
unacceptable.”

        The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=03f-680&t=c>
(3/6, A1, Dinan) reports Democrats “also accused Ms. Nielsen of being
unprepared, questioning why she had ready answers for GOP lawmakers’
questions but was unable to answer their own inquiries on topics such as
how many vacancies there are at CBP, how many juvenile illegal immigrants
have gang ties or how often environmental laws have been waived to build
border fencing.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=040-b34&t=c>
(3/6, Kanno-Youngs, Shear) reports the hearing was Nielsen’s “first since
Democrats took control of the House this year.”

        USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=041-373&t=c>
(3/6, Cummings) reports during the hearing, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA)
“compared the arrival of migrants at the U.S. southern border to the number
of U.S. troops who invaded Europe on D-Day in World War II.” He said,
“Perhaps the most famous invasion in the history of the world – D-Day –
73,000 American troops landed in the D-Day invasion. We have 76,103,
according to my numbers, apprehensions along our southern border last
month. We have D-Day every month on our southern border, just to put this
in context for America.”

        Following the hearing, Nielsen tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=042-015&t=c>,
“The truth is that the politics and policies of open borders have failed
the American people. Our broken system endures, and the ongoing
humanitarian and security crisis at our Southwest Border leaves many minors
and families at extreme risk of being exploited by traffickers, human
smugglers, gangs, and other nefarious actors seeking to profit at their
expense.” Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=043-9c3&t=c>
(3/6, Flatley) and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=044-9a0&t=c>
(3/6, Hesson) are among the other outlets covering Nielsen’s appearance.

        *McAleenan: Arrests Of Migrant Families At Border Surging. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=045-88c&t=c>
(3/6, Radnofsky, Jamerson) reports CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told
the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that arrests of Central
American migrant families crossing the border in the past five months
exceeded the total for the entire previous fiscal year. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=046-b88&t=c>
(3/6, Dinan) reports McAleenan also told the committee that “as smuggling
prices rise, the cartels that control the migrant traffic through Mexico
stand to make as much as $2.5 billion this year.” McAleenan said, “They’re
profiting tremendously.”

        *Border Agents Told To Target Spanish Speakers, Latin American
Migrants For Asylum Program. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=047-3b6&t=c>
(3/7, Spagat) reports, “Border agents have been told to explicitly target
Spanish speakers and migrants from Latin America in carrying out a Trump
administration program requiring asylum seekers wait in Mexico, according
to memos obtained” by the AP. The guidance “includes instruction about
various groups of immigrants who are not to be sent back to Mexico and
instead go through the traditional asylum process in the U.S. immigration
court system.”

        *Government Kept Database On Journalists And Activists
Investigating Caravan. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=048-ed1&t=c>
(3/7) reports KNSD-TV San Diego reported Wednesday that the federal
government “ran an operation to screen journalists, activists and others
while investigating last year’s migrant caravan from Mexico.” Leaked
documents show that “dossiers that included photos from their passports or
social media accounts, date of birth and other details were kept in a
database and some freelance journalists had alerts placed on their
passports and were flagged for secondary screenings at customs points.”
Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=049-db3&t=c>
(3/6, Baumann) covered the KNSD-TV report under the headline “Trump Team
Established Database With This Information Regarding The Caravans.”

        *Trump Meets With Kinzinger, Who Deployed To Border Last Month. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=04a-862&t=c>
(3/7, Colvin, Richmond) reports Trump met Wednesday with Rep. Adam
Kinzinger (R-IL), “who was deployed last month to the U.S.-Mexico border
with his Air National Guard unit.” Kinzinger told reporters at the White
House, “I went down to the border keeping an open mind on the issue of
whether this is an emergency or not. And I’ll tell you: I came back
absolutely convinced this is a national emergency.” The AP says Kinzinger
“has been a sharp critic of Trump at times, denouncing him in appearances
on CNN.”

        *WPost Analysis: Trump “Losing Ground On Top Priorities.” *The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=04b-b3f&t=c>
(3/6, Nakamura, Kim, Dawsey) writes in an analysis that the President and
his Administration have “been on a pronounced losing streak over the past
week. Trump is losing ground on top priorities to curb illegal immigration,
cut the trade deficit and blunt North Korea’s nuclear threat – setbacks
that complicate his planned reelection message as a can-do president who is
making historic progress.” On Tuesday, DHS “announced that unauthorized
border crossings have spiked to the highest pace in 12 years – despite
Trump’s hard-line rhetoric and new policies aimed at deterring migrants.”
Foreign Policy
Trump “Very Disappointed” If North Korea Is Rebuilding Missile Site.

The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=04c-ea4&t=c>
(3/6, story 3, 0:15, Glor) reported President Trump said Wednesday that
“he’d be ‘very disappointed’ if reports were true that North Korea is
restoring a long-range rocket site that it disabled last year.” NBC Nightly
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=04d-7c7&t=c>
(3/6, story 3, 0:50, Holt) showed Trump saying, “I would be very
disappointed if that were happening. I would be very, very disappointed in
Chairman Kim. And I don’t think I will be, but we’ll see what happens.”
However, Andrea Mitchell reported National Security Adviser Bolton “is
taking a much harder line, warning that if Kim does not dismantle his
weapons as promised, the US might ramp up sanctions on the regime.” ABC
World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=04e-2ed&t=c>
(3/6, story 7, 1:55, Muir) reported Trump “insisted he had a good
relationship with Kim Jong-un and is still hoping negotiations will
continue.”

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=04f-7cc&t=c>
(3/6, Mason, Brunnstrom) and the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=050-8e5&t=c>
(3/6, Riechmann, Lee) similarly report Trump’s comments, as does Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=051-499&t=c>
(3/7, Jacobs, Pettypiece), which reports the Center for Strategic and
International Studies said satellite images “showed that North Korea was
rebuilding a long-range rocket site at the Sohae Launch Facility.”
Bloomberg notes that the site “was dismantled after Trump’s June summit
with Kim in an apparent show of goodwill by Pyongyang.”

        A Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=052-73f&t=c>
(3/6) editorial says the newly revealed satellite photos are a sign that
President Trump should rethink his cancellation of large military exercises
with South Korea. The Journal argues that the exercises serve as a crucial
deterrent to North Korea.

        *South Korean Media: Movement Detected At North Korea ICBM Plant. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=053-131&t=c>
(3/7, Mason, Brunnstrom) reports South Korean media said Thursday that “new
activities have been detected at a North Korean intercontinental ballistic
missiles plant.” Cargo vehicles were spotted moving “recently around a
factory at Sanumdong in Pyongyang, which produced North Korea’s first
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).”

        *Pyongyang Airs Documentary Praising Kim’s Summit With Trump. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=054-da3&t=c>
(3/7, Kim) reports North Korean state TV aired “a documentary glorifying
leader Kim Jong Un’s recent visit to Vietnam that omitted the failed
nuclear negotiations” with President Trump. The documentary “shows a
smiling Kim talking with Trump while walking together inside a Hanoi hotel
last week,” and “also shows Kim’s black limousine passing through a Hanoi
street lined with residents waving flags.” The documentary “cited Kim as
saying North Korea and the U.S. must put an end to their decades-long
animosity and confrontation,” but did not mention the lack of an agreement
at the summit.

        *NYTimes Analysis: Kim May Be Forced To Negotiate Due To Impact Of
Sanctions. *In an analysis titled “Will Kim Jong-un Return To Brinkmanship?
Weak Economy Is Forcing His Hand,” Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=055-a63&t=c>
(3/6) writes that Kim returned from his Hanoi summit with President Trump
“empty-handed – without relief from international sanctions – prompting the
question of what he will do next: Particularly, will he resume his nuclear
and missile brinkmanship to reassert his leverage?” According to Choe, “The
revelation...that North Korea had started rebuilding the partly dismantled
facilities...where the country tests technologies for its intercontinental
ballistic missiles, raised the specter that...Kim was returning to his
provocative behavior.” However, Choe says “experts on North Korea,” believe
Kim “may be boxed in...amid strong signs that the North Korean economy is
continuing to contract.” Choe says those experts contend that “the
deepening economic trouble may force the country to return to the
negotiating table.”
WPost Analysis: National Security Team Struggles To Explain Trump Foreign
Policy.

In an analysis, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=056-c89&t=c>
(3/6, Gearan, Costa) writes, “Two years into a presidency that has upended
assumptions about the U.S. role in the world and flipped the script on core
Republican tenets such as arms control, ardent support for democratic
principles and free trade,” President Trump’s “national security officials
and Republican allies are still struggling to defend or even explain the
president.” The Post says “in many ways, Trump’s worldview has been boiled
down to a mantra lacking labels and ideology: It is what Trump says it is.
... But arguing in favor of that singular style has proved easier from
outside the administration than within,” and officials like Secretary of
State Pompeo and National Security Adviser Bolton have struggled to do so.
Pence Announces Additional Visa Revocations Targeting Maduro Allies.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=057-70b&t=c>
(3/6, Lugo) reports Vice President Pence said Wednesday that the
Administration “will revoke more visas from prominent Venezuelans as it
seeks to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to give up power.”
Pence “told the Latino Coalition that the US will revoke 77 visas held by
officials in the Maduro government or their relatives.” The AP notes that
the Administration “revoked 49 visas last week and has imposed multiple
rounds of sanctions as part of a campaign to force Maduro to turn over
power” to interim President Juan Guaidó.

        Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=058-5a3&t=c>
(3/6, Heavey) reports that also yesterday, National Security Adviser Bolton
“warned foreign banks and other financial institutions that they will face
U.S. sanctions for ‘illegitimate’ transactions that benefit...Maduro and
his network.” Said Bolton, “The United States is putting foreign financial
institutions on notice that they will face sanctions for being involved in
facilitating illegitimate transactions that benefit Nicolas Maduro and his
corrupt network.”

        *Exiled Venezuelan Soldiers Planned To Accompany Aid From Colombia.
*Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=059-f74&t=c>
(3/6, Bronner, Wainer) reports that “late last month, as US officials
joined...Guaido near a bridge in Colombia to send desperately needed aid to
the masses...some 200 exiled soldiers were...planning to clear the way for
the convoy.” According to Bloomberg, “Led by retired General Cliver Alcala,
who has been living in Colombia, they were going to drive back the
Venezuelan national guardsmen blocking the aid on the other side.” However,
“The plan was stopped by the Colombian government, which learned of it late
and feared violent clashes at a highly public event it promised would be
peaceful.”

        *Venezuela Detains, Deports US Journalist. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=05a-70f&t=c>
(3/6, Krygier) reports Venezuela “detained a US freelance journalist in
Caracas for several hours Wednesday as President Nicolás Maduro sought to
maintain control amid a Western-backed opposition campaign to unseat him.”
Military counterintelligence forces raided the home of US freelance
journalist Cody Weddle and took him into custody. Weddle was deported
Wednesday evening.

        *German Ambassador To Venezuela Expelled. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=05b-e22&t=c>
(3/6, Sequera, Berwick) reports German Ambassador Daniel Kriener was
expelled Wednesday “two days after he and diplomats from other embassies
welcomed home...Guaido at the Caracas airport.” According to Reuters, the
Maduro regime “declared Kriener persona non grata and gave him 48 hours to
leave the country, accusing him of meddling in internal affairs, although
it did not give specific details.”
Report: “Hundreds” Of ISIS Fighters Surrender, “Hundreds” More Captured
Trying To Flee.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=05c-c56&t=c>
(3/6, Francis, Said) reports that “hundreds” of ISIS fighters surrendered
Wednesday, while “hundreds more of their comrades were caught trying to
escape the jihadist group’s last, tiny scrap of land in eastern Syria.”
ISIS fighters “holed up in the enclave at Baghouz near the Iraqi border
have been giving up in large numbers this week after a ferocious assault on
their enclave on Saturday and Sunday, but many remain inside.” Reuters says
“the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia has slowed its attack
to allow thousands of civilians to leave Baghouz.”

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=05d-930&t=c>
(3/6, El Deeb) reports that “angry crowds evacuating from the last shred of
territory held by Islamic State militants in Syria praised the extremist
group Wednesday and chanted ‘Islamic State will remain,’ in a menacing show
of support, even as defeat loomed.” Nevertheless, according to the AP, “the
latest wave of evacuations brings the IS a step closer to defeat by the
Kurdish-led SDF.”

        *Yazidi Boys Held Captive As ISIS Slaves Freed. *Richard Engel
reported on NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=05e-102&t=c>
(3/6, story 7, 1:35, Holt) that “when hundreds of ISIS fighters surrendered
today...it meant that some of their youngest victims were finally free.”
Engel highlighted the plight of Yazidi boys who were “kidnapped by ISIS and
held as slaves.” Seven-year-old Farhat said, “They took me and my brother
from our house in a car. Our parents went in a truck.” Engel added, “That
was five years ago, the last time he saw his mom and dad.”

        *Iraq Accused Of Torturing Minors Suspected Of Fighting For ISIS. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=05f-a9b&t=c>
(3/6, El-Ghobashy) reports Human Rights Watch claims Iraq is “holding at
least 1,500 children suspected of being members of the Islamic State and
are using torture to extract confessions that lead to wrongful
convictions.” Human Rights Watch “said the practices are not just a
violation of due process, but also probably constitute a breach of
international law calling for former child recruits of extremist groups to
be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.” The report from HRW
“raises new questions about Iraq’s ability to ensure justice in a
post-Islamic State landscape that has been marked by mass death sentences
of Sunnis accused of ties to the terrorist group and the quarantine of
families in decrepit camps...on suspicion of being affiliated with” ISIS.

        The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=060-44e&t=c>
(3/6, Karam) reports that a spokesman for Iraq’s Ministry of Interior
“denied the HRW accusations, saying authorities in Baghdad are holding
around 500 IS women, and some of those have their children with them.” The
spokesman “said the children are not being investigated and are being
provided with medicine, food and clothes.”
Rouhani: No Chance Of Negotiations With US.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=061-52d&t=c>
(3/6) reports Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech
Wednesday “that there was no chance of negotiations or compromise with the
United States, allegedly because Washington is seeking to topple the
government in Tehran.” Rouhani said the differences between Iran and the US
are so wide, they are “neither negotiable nor can there be a compromise.”

        *Report: Iranian Hackers Have Hit Hundreds Of Companies In Past Two
Years. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=062-ad8&t=c>
(3/6, McMillan) reports Microsoft said Wednesday that cyberattacks linked
to Iranian hackers have targeted more than 200 companies over the past two
years in more than a half-dozen countries including Saudi Arabia, Germany,
the UK, India and the US.
Erdoğan: Turkey Will Not Go Back On Missile Defense Deal With Russia.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=063-dce&t=c>
(3/6, Gumrukcu) reports Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in an
interview with broadcaster Kanal 24 on Wednesday, said Turkey remains
committed to its agreement to buy S-400 missile defense systems from Russia
and that backing out of the deal would be “immoral.” Said Erdoğan, “It’s
done. There can never be a turning back. This would not be ethical, it
would be immoral. Nobody should ask us to lick up what we spat.” Erdoğan
“add[ed] that Ankara may subsequently look into buying S-500 systems.” The
Administration had previously “told Turkey that if it buys the S-400
systems, the United States will have to reassess Ankara’s participation in
the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter program.”
Former Trudeau Aide Defends PM In SNC-Lavalin Scandal.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=064-ff2&t=c>
(3/6, Gillies) reports Gerald Butts, a close friend to and former top aide
for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, testified Wednesday “that the
demotion of [Canadian Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould] had nothing to
do with alleged efforts to pressure her into not prosecuting a Canadian
company in a corruption case.” While Butts acknowledged government
officials had voiced concerns about how the case against SNC-Lavalin could
impact jobs, he said, “I firmly believe here that nothing inappropriate
occurred here and nothing inappropriate was alleged to have occurred until
after the Cabinet shuffle.” Butts added, “When you boil this all down, the
only thing we ever asked the attorney general to do was to get a second
opinion. And we also made it clear that she was free to accept that
opinion, or not.” AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=065-d56&t=c>
(3/6, Comte) quotes Butts as saying, “If anyone crossed a line, it was the
responsibility of the minister to inform somebody about that. And I’m
presenting myself as the most likely person that would have been informed,
and I was not.”

        The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=066-396&t=c>
(3/6, Coletta) reports, “Butts’s testimony stood in stark contrast to that
of Wilson-Raybould,” and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=067-fe3&t=c>
(3/6, Vieira) says his comments offer insight into how Trudeau’s inner
circle viewed the case against SNC-Lavalin. Butts said Trudeau and his
aides saw it as a significant public policy challenge that warranted a
thoughtful response. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=068-ea9&t=c>
(3/6, Austen, Porter) describes Butts’ testimony as “calm, measured and
respectful,” but says it “remains to be seen” whether his comments helped
“in re-establishing the prime minister’s image as a feminist leader
committed to an open, ‘sunny’ style.” According to the Times, “some
political experts said Mr. Butts...succeeded. But others said the main
person who needs to speak is Mr. Trudeau.”
Domestic Policy
Media Analyses: Record Trade Deficit Evidence Of Trump Policy Failures.

The CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=069-fba&t=c>
(3/6, story 6, 0:20, Glor) reported the US trade deficit “jumped 12.5
percent last year to $621 billion, the highest in a decade.” According to
the broadcast, “US imports from China hit a record, even after new tariffs
were imposed on China to boost American factory jobs.”

        Tom Costello reported on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=06a-b26&t=c>
(3/6, story 4, 1:35, Holt), “The strong dollar means foreign-made products
are cheaper for Americans to buy, everything from TVs to cell phones to
computers. But American goods sold abroad are more expensive.” While
President Trump’s “trade war was meant to correct the imbalance” and the
President has claimed the US is “taking in a lot of tariff money,” Costello
reported that there is “little evidence that’s true.” Costello continued,
“With the trade war heating up last year, US exports to China dropped
dramatically even as we imported even more, cheaper Chinese-made goods,
threatening US business and jobs.”

        In an article titled “Trump Promised To Shrink The Trade Deficit.
Instead, It Exploded,” the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=06b-a66&t=c>
(3/6) reports the Commerce Department announced Wednesday that “despite
more than two years of President Trump’s ‘America First’ policies,” in
2018, the US posted its largest trade deficit “in the nation’s 243-year
history.” The trade gap with China also hit “a record $419 billion,
underscoring the stakes for the president’s bid to reach a deal with
Chinese President Xi Jinping as soon as this month.” According to the Post,
“It has been evident for months that Trump was not shrinking a trade gap
that he calls ‘unsustainable’ and that he says represents a major transfer
of wealth from Americans to foreigners.”

        Under the headline “In A Blow To Trump, America’s Trade Deficit Hit
Record $891 Billion,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=06c-dc2&t=c>
(3/6, Tankersley, Swanson) describes the Commerce data as “a setback to”
Trump, but acknowledges that the increase was “driven by some factors
outside Mr. Trump’s control, like a global economic slowdown and the
relative strength of the United States dollar, both of which weakened
overseas demand for American goods.” However, the Times says “the widening
gap was also exacerbated by Mr. Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut...and the
trade war he escalated last year.” The President, it adds, “has long
boasted that his trade policies would reduce” the trade deficit, “which he
views as a measure of whether partners like China and the European Union
are taking advantage of the United States, a diagnosis that few economists
share.”

        Likewise, Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=06d-54e&t=c>
(3/6, Dmitrieva) reports that “while Trump frequently cites the deficit as
evidence of the failure of his predecessors’ trade policies – even though
most economists don’t dwell on the indicator – the gap has increased by
$119 billion during his two years as president.” Bloomberg adds, “Even if
he completes an accord to end the tariff war with China, substantially
shrinking the deficit may prove tough as cooling global growth weighs on
exports while domestic demand keeps driving shipments from abroad.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=06e-06d&t=c>
(3/6, Boak) reports that “the greater reliance on Chinese imports likely
reflects an acceleration in economic growth last year from Trump’s
debt-funded tax cuts, which were designed to increase spending by consumers
and businesses.”

        In a report titled “As Trump Wages Trade War, US Goods Deficit Hits
Record High In 2018,” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=06f-3c1&t=c>
(3/6, Mutikani) says Trump “has dubbed himself ‘the tariff man,’” and
“pledged on both the campaign trail and as president to reduce the deficit
by shutting out more unfairly traded imports and renegotiating free trade
agreements.” The White House has “argued that reducing the trade deficit
would boost annual economic growth to its goal of 3 percent on a
sustainable basis.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=070-c76&t=c>
(3/6, Kiernan) also contrasts Trump’s pledge to reduce the trade deficit
with the numbers released Wednesday showing that the opposite has happened
under his watch.

        In an analysis titled “Not Only Did The Trade Deficit Increase, It
Increased Exactly Where Trump Said It Wouldn’t,” Philip Bump of the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=071-7be&t=c>
(3/6) writes, “If we consider goods alone – precisely the deficit Trump
pledged would shrink – we see it has hit its widest margin in decades.”
Bump adds, “In fact, the most recent quarterly data by country shows the
manufactured goods deficits with Mexico and China are at their widest
points since 1999.”

        A Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=072-0d8&t=c>
(3/6) editorial argues that a larger trade deficit is merely the result of
a healthier American economy.
Bloomberg Analysis: Trump Wants China Deal To Boost Stocks And Reelection
Campaign.

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=073-9f9&t=c>
(3/6, Jacobs, Mohsin) reports President Trump is “pushing for US
negotiators to close a trade deal with China soon” because he is “concerned
that he needs a big win on the international stage – and the stock market
bump that would come with it – in advance of his re-election campaign.”
According to Bloomberg, “As trade talks with China advance, Trump has
noticed the market gains that followed each sign of progress and expressed
concern that the lack an agreement could drag down stocks.” Bloomberg says
“Trump’s fixation on stock-market performance has shaped his assessments of
his economic policies,” and “top White House staff know to be aware of how
markets are performing when summoned to the Oval Office to speak with Trump
because the president often asks: ‘What’s happening with the markets?’”

        *USDA Official: Trade Talks “Progressing Well.” *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=074-c4d&t=c>
(3/6, Pamuk) reports that Undersecretary of Agriculture for Trade and
Foreign Agriculture Services Ted McKinney said Wednesday that the US-China
talks are “progressing well.” Said McKinney, “Right now, I think there’s
just a lot of work in getting words down ... a contract or agreement, and
that’s the current status.”

        However, in an analysis titled “Why A Meaningful US-China Trade
Deal Could Be Hard To Reach,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=075-689&t=c>
(3/6, Boak, Rugaber) reports that “despite signals from Chinese and US
officials that some truce could be forthcoming, there are few signs of any
truly transformed trade relationship.” According to the AP, “Beijing’s
longstanding policy of subsidizing its own businesses and charges that it
illicitly obtains US technology remain key obstacles to any meaningful
US-China trade deal.”
Lawyers Tied To Giuliani Contacted Cohen After FBI Raids.

ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=076-8db&t=c>
(3/6, Larramendia, Pearle) reports on its website that in the weeks after
federal raids on Michael Cohen’s office and homes, Cohen was contacted by
“two New York attorneys who claimed to be in close contact with Rudy
Giuliani, the current personal attorney to Trump, according to sources with
direct knowledge of the discussions.” The contact occurred as Cohen was
considering “whether to remain in a joint defense agreement with the
president and others, or to flip on the man to whom he had pledged
immutable loyalty.” According to the sources, the contact was “an effort to
keep him in the tent.” The attorneys “urged Cohen not to leave the joint
defense agreement.” ABC News cites “people familiar with the events” who
said the “nature and the propriety of the contacts were a subject of
interest when Cohen spoke last year to prosecutors in the office of Special
Counsel Robert Mueller and, more recently, in the Southern District of New
York.” Pierre Thomas said on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=077-0d1&t=c>
(3/6, story 4, 2:05, Muir) that “prosecutors are clearly trying to find out
if anyone tried to influence Cohen after those raids.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=078-6e8&t=c>
(3/6, Schmidt, Protess, Haberman) reports Giuliani “said Wednesday that
lawyers for several people facing scrutiny from the Justice Department in
the investigations into the Trump campaign and presidency had contacted him
to see whether the president would pardon their clients.” His comments came
in response to questions about Cohen, “who has told federal prosecutors in
Manhattan about pardon discussions last year that involved Mr. Giuliani and
a lawyer who was expressing interest in representing Mr. Cohen, according
to people briefed on the matter.” Giuliani “said he always insisted to
defense lawyers that Mr. Trump would not consider granting pardons until
the investigations were long over.” Said Giuliani, “I always gave one
answer and they always left disappointed.”

        *Cohen Provides Documents To House Intelligence Committee.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=079-908&t=c>
(3/6, Demirjian) reports Cohen testified behind closed doors to the House
Intelligence Committee “for his fourth interview in recent days with
congressional panels seeking answers about hush-money payments, the lies he
told to shield Trump’s alleged Russia contacts and pardons.” Citing “people
familiar with the matter,” the Post says Cohen gave the committee,
“purportedly illustrating how the president’s lawyers edited Cohen’s
congressional testimony in 2017, statements that Cohen has admitted were
false.” While “people familiar with the documents” said that “the changes
were plentiful,” one “said the changes were not substantive and that there
had been no direct changes made to Cohen’s original claims about the
timeline along which Trump pursued the real estate project in Russia,”
which is “significant because if Trump continued to pursue his Moscow tower
project until at least June of 2016 instead of January of that year, as
Cohen originally told lawmakers, it means he did so after it was clear he
had won enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination for the
presidency.” According to the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=07a-41f&t=c>
(3/7, Jalonick, Tucker), “It’s unclear who edited the documents or what
exactly was changed.” The AP says Cohen testified last week that “Trump’s
attorneys, including Jay Sekulow, had reviewed and edited the statement he
provided to Congress.” Sekulow “has flatly denied ever editing any
statement about the duration of the project.”

        The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=07b-a2a&t=c>
(3/6, Fandos, Haberman) cites “two people familiar with the documents” who
“said that at least some of the changes appeared to play down the knowledge
of the president’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, about the project.”
Kristen Welker said on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=07c-17c&t=c>
(3/6, story 2, 1:40, Holt) that the White House “is pointing us back to its
previous comment on Cohen’s testimony, saying it is, quote, ‘laughable that
anyone could take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word.’” The CBS
Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=07d-d64&t=c>
(3/6, story 5, 0:20, Glor) briefly mentioned Cohen’s testimony.

        Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), a member of the committee, said on CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=07e-75e&t=c>
(3/6), “We were provided with substantial new information today. If you
think about it, in and of itself that’s pretty interesting because
previously, the committee had requested pretty much all of the documents
related to most of the topics that we are interested in. Today, we get a
whole new set of documents. I don’t want to get into the substance or the
issues covered by those documents but as you might imagine, those documents
have other people’s names on them, they have things that are slightly at
odds with what we heard the first time around. So, when we say it was
productive, I think that’s what it means, without getting into the
specifics of what was said or done today.”

        Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=07f-5a0&t=c>
(3/6), “Michael Cohen obviously has some problems with his own credibility,
having lied to Congress. Now, he is explaining that lie and involving not
only the President’s lawyers, but the President himself in his contention
that the President by code, by implicit encouragement lead him to lie. The
important point here is we are reaching a moment of reckoning for the
lawyers, who are normally protected by attorney client privilege. If
there’s a fraud or a federal felony, that privilege goes out the window.
They’re going to have answers now they will have to give to congressional
committees and perhaps to grand juries.” Blumenthal added, “The reliability
of Michael Cohen’s testimony has been vastly bolstered by documents that he
is now producing and others that he may offer in the future.”

        *Cohen Says He Discussed Pardon With Sekulow. *An updated version
of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=080-cb1&t=c>
(3/6, Demirjian) reports Cohen told the committee “that he discussed the
subject of a pardon with...Sekulow, bringing another of Trump’s
representatives into an ongoing dispute over precisely who opened
discussions about the matter.” Cohen “alleged to lawmakers that he
discussed pardons with Sekulow in addition to Rudolph W. Giuliani, another
of Trump’s lawyers, according to four people familiar with Cohen’s
testimony.” Sekulow provided a “terse statement” to the Post in which he
“flatly denied Cohen’s allegation,” saying it is “not true.”

        *Rounds: Trump Paid Hush Money Because He Loves His Family.
*The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=081-dc5&t=c>
(3/6, Caralle) reports Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) “suggested” in an interview
with CNN’s New Day
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=082-6f0&t=c>
(3/6) Wednesday that the President “may have directed hush money payments
to women because he loves his family.” Asked to comment on Cohen “producing
checks to the House Oversight Committee that he said were reimbursements
from Trump for hush money payments to women who claimed to have had affairs
with Trump,” Rounds said, “I honestly think this President loves his
family, and I think it has as much to do with trying not to have public
discussions about something that is, for him, a private matter that he
didn’t want to have discussed with his family. ... Every time I think about
this I think about that that particular issue because I think he really
does care about his family, he loves his family, and I don’t think he
wanted his family to go through this.”
House Democrats: Administration Has Refused Or Delayed Providing Documents
In 30 Investigations.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=083-977&t=c>
(3/6, Kumar) reports the President has “a two-pronged strategy” to deal
with House Democrats’ investigations: “dodge requests – and attack, attack,
attack.” The Administration has “launched a fire-breathing public relations
response to House Democrats while the Trump administration has refused or
delayed turning over documents in 30 investigations by a dozen committees,
according to House Democrats.” Politico cites “a House Democratic document”
which says the Administration “has 30 times refused or delayed turning over
documents to 12 House committees.” In addition, “six administration
officials refused to appear before five committees while two officials have
refused to come in for interviews with two other committees.”

        In a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=084-ced&t=c>
Wednesday afternoon, the President characterized Democrats’ requests for
documents as desperate and highlighted comments from Rep. Chris Stewart
(R-UT) criticizing the Democrats’ effort. Trump wrote, “Congressman Chris
Stewart: ‘No one is accusing the President of a crime and yet they (the
Democrats) are issuing hundreds of subpoenas. This is unprecedented.’ They
are desperately trying to find anything they can, even a punctuation
mistake in a document!”

        *Caputo: Interview Request “Feels Like A Perjury Trap.” *Former
Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo, who has said he will not cooperate
with the investigation, said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=085-51e&t=c>
(3/6), “I’m two years into this now. I testified before the House
Intelligence, the Senate Intelligence and the Mueller investigation. This
is where it starts looking like they’re asking the same questions for a
fourth time in a row, two years after the first time they asked it, and,
you know, that’s what we call a perjury trap.” Caputo added, “I talked to
several people. I know a lot of those 81 people. We all agree that it feels
like a perjury trap. We all agree it feels like they’re trying to set the
stage for an impeachment of the President.”
Democrats “Outraged” Over Trump Action On Ivanka’s Security Clearance.

White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins said on CNN’s The Lead[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=086-7d8&t=c>
(3/6), “Democrats are outraged and the White House is playing defense after
a new CNN report revealed President Trump pressured top officials to grant
his daughter, Ivanka, a security clearance. ... Sources say the President
lobbied John Kelly and then-White House counsel Don McGahn to grant her a
clearance against their recommendations. Trump wanted them to make the
decision so it didn’t look like he was tainting the process, but when they
refused, he did it himself.”

        Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=087-b8e&t=c>
(3/6), “It is deeply dangerous and wrong for the President to overrule the
security clearance professionals and his intelligence community that
essentially said Ivanka Trump cannot be trusted with this top secret or
classified information. There’s a system in place that is there for a
reason, to protect the nation’s security.” Blumenthal added, “I think there
is a lesson here which is the President’s apparently vast authority over
security clearance needs to be constrained. There need to be legal
constraints on the President’s security clearance powers to overrule his
professionals.”

        Jen Psaki said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=088-102&t=c>
(3/6), “It is a little unclear, without knowing everything she works on.
why she would need a security clearance. That’s actually one of the
questions I would ask the White House because a lot of the issues that she
works on are domestic.”

        *NYTimes: Public Should Know Why Intel Community Opposed Kushner’s
Security Clearance. *A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=089-75b&t=c>
(3/6) editorial says Jared Kushner’s “peculiar role in his father-in-law’s
White House has prompted widespread concern that is both broader and more
specific than the generic questions of accountability and competence often
raised by raw nepotism.” The President’s “own intelligence officials are
said to have balked at the idea of giving his son-in-law such access, as
did Donald McGahn during his stint as White House counsel. Mr. Trump
overrode such advice and ordered Mr. Kushner’s clearance granted, which it
was last May.” The Times says, “The public has a compelling interest in
knowing what made the intelligence community so nervous about him.”
AP Analysis: Liu Nomination For DOJ Post Could Have Impact On Mueller
Prosecutions.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=08a-286&t=c>
(3/6, Balsamo) reports President Trump’s nomination of District of Columbia
US Attorney Jessie Liu “for the third-highest spot in the Justice
Department creates a vacancy that could allow Trump to name the person who
will oversee the most politically charged cases in Washington, including
those stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.” According to
the AP, the District of Columbia US Attorney’s office has been “assigned to
key Mueller cases, including the one against Trump confidant Roger Stone,”
and “is also generally responsible for handling potential prosecutions if
Congress finds a witness in contempt.”
White House Pressuring Automakers To Side With Administration Lawsuit Over
California Regulations.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=08b-de8&t=c>
(3/6, Shepardson) reports that anonymous sources said Wednesday the
Administration is “pressuring automakers to back its effort to roll back
Obama-era fuel economy standards,” which include California’s authority to
set its own emissions standards. The White House hosted General Motors Co.,
Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV lobbyists last Friday to
discuss the industry’s opinions on the current automotive regulatory
environment.
Cancer Research
Long Island Cancer Facility Set To Open In April.

Newsday (NY)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=08c-f3c&t=c>
(3/7, Reich-Hale) reports, “Memorial Sloan Kettering this week said MSK
Nassau, its $180 million, 114,000-square-foot cancer facility at the Hub in
Uniondale, will open to patients in April.” The Manhattan-based healthcare
system “said up to 220 employees will work at MSK Nassau, which will have
more than 20 doctors covering disciplines such as medical and radiation
oncology, radiology and surgery.” Some services that will be available at
MSK Nassau are: “chemotherapy; medical oncology; radiation therapy;
radiology, imaging and screening services; personalized medicine; access to
clinical trials; genetic testing; support counseling; and follow-up care.”
University Of Rochester Cancer Center Receives $3.4M NCI Grant.

In paywalled coverage, the Rochester (NY) Business Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=08d-223&t=c>
(3/6, Carter) reports a $3.4 million grant from the National Cancer
Institute “will support clinical trials at the University of Rochester
Medical Center’s Wilmot Cancer Institute for the next five years.”
Editorials/Op-Eds
New York Times.

*“Questions For And About Jared Kushner.”* A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=08e-948&t=c>
(3/6) editorial says Jared Kushner’s “peculiar role in his father-in-law’s
White House has prompted widespread concern that is both broader and more
specific than the generic questions of accountability and competence often
raised by raw nepotism.” The President’s “own intelligence officials are
said to have balked at the idea of giving his son-in-law such access, as
did Donald McGahn during his stint as White House counsel. Mr. Trump
overrode such advice and ordered Mr. Kushner’s clearance granted, which it
was last May.” The Times says, “The public has a compelling interest in
knowing what made the intelligence community so nervous about him.”
Washington Post.

*“Trump Is Covering Up For MBS. The Senate Must Push For Accountability.”*
In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=08f-054&t=c>
(3/6) says President Trump, “in his zeal to cover for Mohammed bin Salman”
in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, “is defying Congress’s
authority under the Global Magnitsky Act, which provides for US action in
cases of gross human rights abuses.” The Post urges the Senate “to uphold
its authority under the law and prevent the Saudi ruler from escaping
accountability for the gruesome murder,” or for his “pattern of reckless
and destructive behavior...that ranges from the bombing of civilians in
Yemen to the imprisonment and torture of a number of Saudi female
activists, as well as a US citizen.” The editorial endorses a bipartisan
bill sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and six other senators,
calling it “the broadest and most useful vehicle” to address Saudi Arabia’s
role in both the murder of Khashoggi and the war in Yemen.

        *“Did Trump Intervene In the AT&T Merger To Destroy His Enemies?
Congress Must Investigate.” *Citing a report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=090-f07&t=c>
from The New Yorker, a Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=091-34e&t=c>
(3/6) editorial questions whether the President sought to block AT&T’s
purchase of Time Warner “because he was peeved at CNN.” The Post says that
although the Justice Department “has denied any pressure from the Oval
Office, the circumstances are so fishy and the substance of the charge so
grave that Congress must investigate.” According to the Post, The New
Yorker’s Jane Mayer “describes a president who appears eager to abuse his
power to destroy his enemies. Congress ought to investigate every last bit
of it.”

        *“Scott Gottlieb’s Departure Leaves The Health Of Millions At
Stake.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030701biden&r=email-a22c&l=092-1ac&t=c>
(3/6) editorializes that FDA Commissioner Gottlieb, who it calls “one of
the Trump administration’s most competent, careful and effective senior
officers,” announced this week that he is resigning, leaving “at
stake...the health of millions of Americans.” The Post calls on the FDA to
“follow through on its plans to cut cigarette nicotine levels,” and
“continue attacking youth e-cigarette use, lest federal inaction create a
generation of nicotine addicts.” Gottlieb’s successor, it adds, “also
cannot ignore the opioid crisis, an issue on which Mr. Gottlieb has been
outspoken but that still calls for more action.”

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