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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, April 20, 2018 8:01 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
April 20, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=001-a12&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, April 20, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Giuliani Joins Trump Legal Team, Hopes To Negotiate End To Mueller Probe.
<#S1>

• Justice Department IG Refers McCabe Case To US Attorney. <#S2>

• DOJ Turns Comey Memos Over To Congress. <#S3>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Loosens Policy On Sale Of US Arms To Foreign Governments. <#S4>

• Moon: North Korea Dropped Demand US Troops Leave South Korea. <#S5>

• Bolton Meets With Russian Ambassador. <#S6>

• State Dept. Claims Russia, Syria Keeping Inspectors From Chemical Attack
Site. <#S7>

• US May Use Emergency Powers Against China In Intellectual Property
Dispute. <#S8>

• Diaz-Canel Takes Over As Cuban President. <#S9>

• Brownback: Burmese Violence Against Rohingya “Breathtaking.” <#S10>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Obama Lauds Parkland Students In “TIME 100” Essay. <#S11>

• Senate Confirms Bridenstine As NASA Administrator In 50-49 Vote. <#S12>

• Trump: Drug Trafficking Briefing Underscored Need For Border Wall. <#S13>

• Men Arrested At Philadelphia Starbucks Tell Their Story. <#S14>

• Wells Fargo Expected To Face $1 Billion Fine From CFPB, OCC. <#S15>

• FDA Appears Ready To Approve Medication With Marijuana-derived Ingredient.
<#S16>

• LATimes: EPA Arguing Fuel-Efficiency Rules Will Increase Traffic Deaths.
<#S17>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• CNS Pharma Crowdfunding Study Of Glioblastoma Drug. <#S18>

• Some Researchers Say Goal Should Be Treating Cancer As Chronic Disease.
<#S19>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S20>

• Washington Post. <#S21>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden Honors SUNY Cortland Student Shot While Stopping Attempted Rape.
<#S22>

• Biden Records Robo-Call For Mayer In New York State Senate Special
Election. <#S23>

• LGBT Rights Activist McBride Discusses First Time She Met Biden. <#S24>
Leading the News
Giuliani Joins Trump Legal Team, Hopes To Negotiate End To Mueller Probe.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Thursday that he will join
President Trump’s legal team. The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=002-78e&t=c>
(4/19, Fredericks), which describes Giuliani as “a staunch ally and
defender of the president,” hopes to “bring an end to the special counsel’s
investigation into Russian election meddling in ‘a week or two.’” Giuliani
told the Post, “I don’t know yet what’s outstanding. But I don’t think it’s
going to take more than a week or two to get a resolution. They’re almost
there. I’m going to ask Mueller, ‘What do you need to wrap it up?’” Major
Garrett said in the lead story for the CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=003-d1b&t=c>
(4/19, lead story, 2:25, Glor) that Giuliani “says he is joining the
President’s legal team to help end the Russia investigation.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=004-071&t=c>
(4/19, Costa, Dawsey) quotes Giuliani as saying, “I’m doing it because I
hope we can negotiate an end to this for the good of the country and
because I have high regard for the president and for Bob Mueller.” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=005-0ff&t=c>
(4/19, Ballhaus, Nicholas) reports in a front page story that Giuliani said
a decision has not been made about whether Trump will sit for an interview
with Mueller.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=006-af6&t=c>
(4/19, Samuelsohn) says that according to Trump counsel Jay Sekulow, in
addition to Giuliani, former federal prosecutors Jane Serene Raskin and
Marty Raskin will also join Trump’s legal team. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=007-65f&t=c>
(4/19, Haberman) says the move gives Trump “a broader legal stable to rely
on as he faces not just the special counsel...but the threat of an
investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan into the president’s
longtime personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen.”

In the lead story for ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
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(4/19, lead story, 2:20, Muir), Jonathan Karl called Giuliani “a political
bulldog.” Karl added that while Trump “certainly hasn’t always taken his
legal team’s advice, especially when it comes to talking or tweeting about
Robert Mueller,” Giuliani “is somebody who is higher profile and somebody
who has known Trump for a long, long time.” Hallie Jackson said on NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=009-222&t=c>
(4/19, story 5, 1:00, Holt) that Trump’s legal team “shrank about a month
ago, remember, apparently over disagreements on strategy,” and Trump
“hasn’t had much success expanding his team, at least until today.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=00a-625&t=c>
(4/19) also reports on the additions to Trump’s legal team.

Former FBI Director James Comey said on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow
Show[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=00b-68b&t=c>
(4/19) that Giuliani’s comment that he wants to negotiate an end to
Mueller’s investigation “struck me as interesting. I don’t know what his
vision would be for that. I don’t know how it will be coming into the new
legal team and working with the President given the strength of Rudy’s
personalty and the President’s. I don’t know.”

*Bloomberg News: Rosenstein Told Trump He’s Not A Target In
Mueller, Cohen Probes. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=00c-05b&t=c>
(4/19, Jacobs, Strohm) cites “several people familiar with the matter” who
say Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told President Trump last week
“that he isn’t a target of any part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s
investigation or the probe into his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen.”
Bloomberg says the “development...helped tamp down the president’s desire
to remove Rosenstein or Mueller, the people said.” Citing the Bloomberg
report, the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=00d-5ce&t=c>
(4/19, Enjeti)says Rosenstein’s assurance “prompt[ed] Trump to tone down
his rhetoric that it is time to fire them both.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=00e-19f&t=c>
(4/19, Fredericks), which also cites Bloomberg’s reporting, says that
following the meeting, “Trump told some of his closest advisers that it’s
not the right time to remove either man since Trump’s not a target of the
probe.”

On Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=00f-8e0&t=c>
(4/19), Sean Hannity called the development “good news for the President
and a major setback for the conspiratorial media and liberal Democrats in
this country. For over a year, they have been saying that there is major
bombshell evidence of Trump-Russia collusion. One problem. It doesn’t
exist. And that is confirmed in force tonight. It’s all been one big giant
farce, total fabrication, conspiracy theory, just designed to smear and
undermine and delegitimize the President of the United States.”

*Manafort Attorneys Question Scope Of Mueller’s Authority. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=010-ad8&t=c>
(4/19, Gerstein) reports that US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson “raised
doubts Thursday about the scope of the order used to appoint” Mueller.
Manafort’s lead defense attorney, Kevin Downing said that the order
appointing Mueller “grants him authority to pursue the Trump-Russia probe
as well as other issues that ‘may arise’ from that investigation,” which is
“at odds with Justice’s rules, which say a special counsel must be told of
the ‘specific factual matter’ in his or her mandate.” Jackson said, “That’s
a fair point. ... I don’t think that, as good as he is, that the deputy
attorney general can see into the future.” However, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=011-9b6&t=c>
(4/19, Mordock) describes Jackson as “skeptical of defense counsel’s
claims.” Jackson “ended the nearly three-hour hearing without issuing a
decision.”

*NYTimes: Republicans Fear “Significant Blowback” If Trump Fires
Mueller. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=012-939&t=c>
(4/19, Hulse) reports that while Senate Majority Leader’s declaration that
he would not allow a vote on legislation to protect Mueller “provoked
outrage from Democrats,” the measure “would stand little chance of passage”
even if McConnell allowed a vote because House Republicans “are adamantly
opposed” and Trump “would have no incentive to sign a measure limiting his
power.” Nonetheless, “supporters of the bill are pressing
ahead...intensifying a dispute that underscores both rising concern among
Republicans that Mr. Trump might fire Mr. Mueller and uncertainty about
just how they would react if he did.” Republicans “warn that firing Mr.
Mueller would be very unwise.” While “top Republicans have said there would
be significant blowback, it remains unclear what steps would be taken
beyond admonishment and hand-wringing.”

*Comey Says It Is “Possible” Russians Have Something On Trump. *Comey
was asked on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=013-976&t=c>
(4/19) about his claim that it is possible the Russians have something on
President Trump. Comey said, “There’s a reason I say it’s possible. Two
things struck me. One, the President’s constantly bringing it up to me to
deny it and in my experience, it is not an ironclad rule, but it is a
striking thing when someone brings up something to deny that you didn’t ask
about. Second, I have always been struck in my encounters with him that he
wouldn’t criticize Vladimir Putin even in private, which struck me as odd.
Those aren’t definitive, those aren’t conclusive facts. .. The reason I am
saying it is possible is there are things that lead my common sense to
believe it’s possible. ... Now, I’m not saying it’s likely. In fact I have
said all along...it’s unlikely in my view but it’s possible.”

*Comey Says He Is Responsible For Actions, “Poor Judgment” Of
Strzok, Page. *Comey was asked on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s
The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=014-f59&t=c>
(4/19) about Peter Strzok and Lisa Page and whether, as FBI Director, he
set a tone where a “glib insult of a major political candidate at the time
would be not that big of a deal.” Comey said, “No. But it does say
something about my leadership. I mean, I’m responsible for the senior
members of my team and I asked myself the same question. I tried to model a
certain way of acting but I asked myself should I have given them all a
speech? But these are grown-ups, senior people in the counter intelligence
division. I don’t want to be too tough on myself. I’m responsible. I’m
responsible for their actions and their poor judgment.”

*Rohrabacher: Assange Had “Physical Proof” Russia Didn’t Provide
DNC Emails. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=015-197&t=c>
(4/19, Blake) reports that in an interview with Breitbart Radio published
Thursday, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said he left his August 2017 meeting with
Julian Assange believing the Wikileaks founder had “physical proof” Russia
“didn’t supply his website with leaked Democratic National Committee emails
it released during the 2016 US presidential race.” Rohrabacher said, “By
now, everybody knows that this idea that Trump was colluding with the
Russians in order to get them to do things like steal the DNC emails and
then release them through WikiLeaks, the public knows that’s just total
baloney [and] an excuse. ... I knew the one man who could prove that it was
all baloney was Assange. So I went to see him in London, and he confirmed
for me that the Russians did not give him the DNC emails. He had physical
proof of that.”

*Cohen Withdraws Lawsuits Against BuzzFeed, Fusion GPS. *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=016-611&t=c>
(4/19, Boylan, Swoyer) reports Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen has
withdrawn a pair of defamation suits against BuzzFeed and Fusion GOP of the
Steele dossier. Cohen, who “sued for libel,” decided to drop the lawsuits
“after the FBI seized records from his hotel room last week.” Cohen’s
attorney David Schwartz said in a statement, “We believe the defendants
defamed my client, and vindicating Mr. Cohen’s rights was – and still
remains – important. But given the events that have unfolded, and the time,
attention, and resources needed to prosecute these matters, we have
dismissed the matters, despite their merits.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=017-b75&t=c>
(4/19, Feuer) says that as a result of dropping the lawsuits, Cohen, who is
“the subject of a federal investigation seeking to determine if he broke
the law by trying to tamp down scandals involving women who claimed they
had affairs with Mr. Trump,” will not “have to undergo discovery or be
questioned by lawyers from either organization.” The CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=018-997&t=c>
(4/19, story 2, 2:10, Glor) reported that Cohen dropping the lawsuits is
“raising concerns in the President’s inner circle that Cohen may cooperate
with prosecutors.”
Justice Department IG Refers McCabe Case To US Attorney.

The Justice Department’s Inspector General has referred former FBI Deputy
Director Andrew McCabe’s case to the US Attorney in Washington after
concluding that McCabe lied to federal investigators. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=019-b50&t=c>
(4/19, Goldman, Benner) says the IG’s decision “is all but certain to
provide President Trump with more ammunition to attack Mr. McCabe, whom he
has repeatedly lambasted as a deep-state bureaucrat working in concert with
the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to undermine Mr. Trump’s
legitimacy.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=01a-fd0&t=c>
(4/19, Schor) reports that Trump’s allies “cheered the news of the criminal
referral.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=01b-b50&t=c>
(4/19, Johnson, Kelly) says the referral comes after Justice inspector
general Michael Horowitz disclosed in a report to Congress that McCabe
“lacked candor, including under oath, on multiple occasions” when asked
about his role in providing information to the Wall Street Journal about a
Clinton Foundation investigation. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=01c-0de&t=c>
(4/19, Dinan, Mordock) reports, that Horowitz’s investigation found that
“McCabe lied to both his then-boss, FBI Director James Comey, and to both
FBI agents and inspector general investigators,” about the leak to the
Journal. The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=01d-801&t=c>
(4/19, Post) says the referral “occurred some time ago,” and it “was not
immediately clear how the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office responded...or
whether prosecutors there are conducting their own investigation or believe
criminal charges are appropriate.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=01e-c54&t=c>
(4/19, Demirjian, Zapotosky) says McCabe “disputes many of the report’s
findings and has said he never meant to mislead anyone.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=01f-5cc&t=c>
(4/19) points out that a referral “does not automatically mean charges will
be filed, and it would be up to the U.S. attorney’s office to evaluate the
referral and decide whether to prosecute McCabe.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=020-1dd&t=c>
(4/19, Viswanatha, Wilber) says it is not clear when the referral occurred
or whether any criminal charges will result from it. While David Muir said
on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=021-839&t=c>
(4/19, story 5, 2:05) that McCabe is “facing possible legal jeopardy,” and
Pierre Thomas called the IG’s report “damning,” Thomas added that “McCabe’s
attorneys tell ABC News they dispute the allegations and that McCabe should
not be the subject of a criminal investigation.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=022-17d&t=c>
(4/19, Samuels) reports that McCabe’s attorney Michael Bromwich called the
referral “unjustified” and “said he’s confident the U.S. Attorney’s Office
won’t prosecute.”

*Comey Says He Could Be Witness In McCabe Prosecution, Decries
Trump’s “Shameful Attacks.” *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=023-dab&t=c>
(4/19, Schor) reports that Comey told CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=024-74d&t=c>
(4/19) Thursday that “he could ‘potentially’ be a witness for the
prosecution if McCabe were to face charges for lying to investigators.”
Comey said, “Given that the IG’s report reflects interactions of Andy
McCabe with me and others, I could well be a witness.” Asked how he feels
about his deputy lying to him and to investigators, Comey said,
“Conflicted. I like him very much as a person but sometimes even good
people do things they shouldn’t do. I’ve read the report. I’m not the judge
in the case. I’m not the discipline decision maker in the case. I think it
is accountability mechanisms working and they should work because it’s not
acceptable in the FBI, the Justice department for people to lack candor.”

Comey was asked on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]MSNBC’s
Rachel Maddow Show
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=025-455&t=c>
(4/19) about McCabe’s claim that his actions were authorized. Comey said,
“There were two people who could authorize disclosures, the director and
deputy director. So, Andy had the authority to speak to the media and
authorize communications with the media.” Asked if McCabe “improperly spoke
to the media,” Comey said, “I don’t know for sure. I know he didn’t tell me
about it, didn’t ask me about it before he did it. I think the Inspector
General’s report is right in that respect. I would have expected that. But
I think he had the authority to do that. I think if he were here he would
say I didn’t need to talk to the boss because I had the authority to do
that.”

Comey was asked on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]MSNBC’s
Rachel Maddow Show
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=026-f01&t=c>
(4/19) if he is concerned that there has been “an orchestrated campaign to
target” him “and other people who could corroborate your testimony as
witnesses.” Comey said, “There’s certainly been an organized campaign to
target me. There was definitely an organized campaign to attack Andy
McCabe, urge his firing, tear down his reputation, attack his wife. Just
shameful attacks from the President directly.”

*Trump Says Comey Threw McCabe “Under The Bus.” *In a tweet
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Thursday afternoon, Trump wrote, “James Comey just threw Andrew McCabe
‘under the bus.’ Inspector General’s Report on McCabe is a disaster for
both of them! Getting a little (lot) of their own medicine?” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=028-516&t=c>
(4/19) says in an editorial that Comey and McCabe are telling different
stories about the press leak McCabe authorized and questions whether the
truth about the FBI’s actions in 2016 will be made public. Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=029-9c4&t=c>
(4/19, Mason) says a possible criminal prosecution of McCabe “raises the
prospect of a further showdown over the credibility” of Comey. Bromwich has
indicated that “his defense will be based on calling into question the
accuracy of Comey’s account.”

*Judicial Watch’s Fitton: IG Report Shows Obstruction Probe Of
Trump Is Dead. *Fox News Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=02a-621&t=c>
(4/16) reports that Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton told Fox News
Outnumbered Overtime[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=02b-904&t=c>
Monday that the IG report on McCabe shows that “the obstruction
investigation against President Trump is dead.” Fitton said, “The idea that
[Trump] obstructed justice by firing [former FBI director James] Comey to
protect [former national security adviser Michael] Flynn or whatever ... if
Comey’s the key witness, boy, what a joke of a prosecution that would be.”

*Fox News: Emails Suggest FBI, DOJ Coordinated On Response To
Clinton Email Case. *On its website, Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=02c-57d&t=c>
(4/19, Herridge) cited emails from February 2016 which “suggest the FBI and
DOJ worked together to craft a response to a key development in the Hillary
Clinton email investigation, amid newly raised Republican concerns about a
‘concerning level of coordination’ between the two agencies during the
probe.” While former FBI director Comey “specifically said in public
testimony that he did not coordinate with the DOJ for his July 2016 public
recommendation not to pursue charges against Clinton,” Rep. Mark Meadows
“pointed to a series of messages he claims indicate potential coordination
at several ‘crucial moments of the investigation.’”

*Horowitz To Issue Report On Comey Leaks On Clinton Email Server
Next Month. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=02d-619&t=c>
(4/19) reports that Horowitz’s “long-awaited...report on...Comey’s public
disclosures on Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while
secretary of state and whether FBI employees leaked information to try to
hurt her 2016 presidential bid is expected to be issued next month.” In a
letter Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight
and Government Reform Committee, Horowitz “said his office was ‘working
diligently’ to complete the report and expected to release it in May.” The
letter provided not details on the contents of the report.
DOJ Turns Comey Memos Over To Congress.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=02e-191&t=c>
(4/19, Mordock) reports that the Justice Department has given Congress
“copies of the memos that former FBI Director James B. Comey wrote about
his interactions with President Trump, moving to head off a looming
subpoena from Capitol Hill.” According to the memos, during a private
dinner with Comey, President Trump “complain[ed] about his then-National
Security Advisor Michael Flynn,” saying “the guy has serious judgment
issues.” The memos also show that Trump “asked Mr. Comey for his loyalty
and said he wanted the Russia investigation brought to an end.” In
addition, Trump “also disputed the salacious information contained in the
so-called ‘Steele Dossier.’” Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=02f-e72&t=c>
(4/19, Chamberlain) reports on its website that Comey wrote that during
their Jan. 28 dinner Trump “thought maybe he should ask me to investigate”
salacious allegations “to prove [the dossier] was a lie.” Comey wrote it
was Trump’s decision “but I wouldn’t want to create a narrative that we
were investigating him, because we are not and I worried such a thing would
be misconstrued.” Comey told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=030-349&t=c>
(4/19) Thursday, “My sense is that [the president] was focused on the
personal piece [of the dossier]. ... He would bring it up to me
repeatedly.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=031-8d8&t=c>
(4/19, Fandos) reports that the memos “detail a series of phone calls and
encounters between the two men in the months leading up to Mr. Comey’s
firing and offer an intimate look at interactions among the highest levels
of government,” but the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=032-8b2&t=c>
(4/19, Nakashima) says they “contained no substantive information that had
not already been discussed publicly by Comey in his testimony to Congress
last year or in his recently released memoir.” In the lead story for the CBS
Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=033-32c&t=c>
(4/19, lead story, 2:25, Glor), Major Garrett called the move “a step in
the direction of transparency.” Garret added that “our sources tell us the
President himself approved this decision. His lawyers have read all the
memos, and they tell us they’re more detailed than Comey has represented in
public, and they believe, this is the White House legal team, in the end
they’re more favorable to the President than Comey has represented so far
in public interviews or his new book.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=034-71c&t=c>
(4/20, Jalonick, Tucker) reports that Comey told CNN’s The Lead[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=035-278&t=c>
Thursday that he is “fine” with the memos being turned over to Congress.
Comey said, “I think what folks will see if they get to see the memos is
I’ve been consistent since the very beginning, right after my encounters
with President Trump, and I’m consistent in the book and tried to be
transparent in the book as well.” Comey was asked on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow
Show[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=036-14f&t=c>
(4/19) why he wrote the memos about his interactions with Trump. Comey
said, “The first meeting in particular I was concerned that I needed a
record to show the other intelligence agency chiefs who had been with me
but didn’t stay behind for the second private meeting, and I also was
worried that I was meeting alone with the President who talk about things
that were relating to him and to the FBI’s core responsibilities and given
the nature of the person, as I understood the President-elect, he might not
tell the truth about those if it ever became an issue so I needed a written
record.”

*Trump Laments Flynn’s Life “Totally Destroyed” While Comey Making
“Lots Of Money” On Book. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=037-801&t=c>
this morning, “So General Michael Flynn’s life can be totally destroyed
while Shadey James Comey can Leak and Lie and make lots of money from a
third rate book (that should never have been written). Is that really the
way life in America is supposed to work? I don’t think so!”

*Comey: Trump “Fails To Reflect The Values Of An Ethical
Leader.” *Comey
was asked on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=038-400&t=c>
(4/19) about reports that Trump believes he has weathered Comey’s book
tour. Asked if Trump has “come out unscathed,” Comey said, “I have no idea.
The book tour is not about the President. It’s about my hope that I can be
part of facilitating a conversation about our values. President Trump
figures in that obviously because he’s part of the stories I’m trying to
tell to illustrate ethical leadership. ... I couldn’t write about ethical
leadership and illustrate it with stories without telling stories of
someone I think fails to reflect the values of an ethical leader.” Later in
the interview, Comey [image: Image removed by sender. Video]asked
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=039-c18&t=c>
(4/19) if the country would be better off with Hillary Clinton as
president. Comey said, “I don’t think about it in those terms. We have the
current President who was in my view legitimately elected, is serving as
President. The question is, is he adhering to our values? He is clearly
not. So what do we do about it? I think the first thing to do is not get
numb for it. When he calls for the jailing of private citizens in his
tweets, don’t shrug. But realize that’s not ok. That is not normal.”

*Comey: No One Other Than Trump Asked Him To Back Off Flynn
Probe. *Comey
was asked on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow
Show
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=03a-383&t=c>
(4/19) about reports that Trump asked DNI Coates to addition to ask him to
end the investigation into then-national security adviser Mike Flynn. Asked
if anyone other than Trump asked him to “back off the Flynn investigation,”
Comey said, “No.”

*Comey: Kelly Did Not Say Trump Was “Dishonorable.” *Comey was
asked on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=03b-51f&t=c>
(4/19) about a phone call he received after his firing from then-DHS
Secretary Kelly in which Kelly “referred to the President as dishonorable
and was talking about quitting.” Comey said, “I don’t remember John calling
the President dishonorable. He was talking about people and I don’t like
you being treated this way and I won’t stay and work with people that would
treat you in such a dishonorable way. ... I just want to be clear, he
didn’t say the President by name. ... I don’t know what he had in his head
but he might have meant the Attorney General, he might have meant the
Deputy Attorney General who were deeply involved in my firing. I don’t
know. He conveyed a sense and didn’t want to work for people who treat me
in that way.”

*Comey To Address Amazon Employees In Seattle On Monday. *The
Intercept
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=03c-12d&t=c>
(4/19, Grim) reports that Comey will “speak to Amazon employees on Monday
at 10 a.m. in Seattle as part of his ongoing book tour, sources with
knowledge of the event told The Intercept.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Loosens Policy On Sale Of US Arms To Foreign Governments.

Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=03d-fa5&t=c>
(4/19) briefly reported the Trump Administration is removing restrictions
that will soon make it “easier for US defense contractors to sell armed
drones and other conventional weapons to foreign governments.” However, the
government must still approve those sales, “and they will be subject to
Congressional review.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=03e-580&t=c>
(4/19, Korte) reports Trump “loosened U.S. policy on arms sales to foreign
governments” and says that “U.S.-made military drones” are among the
weapons “defense contractors will be able to sell directly to foreign
governments without going through the Pentagon.” Trump “instructed the
State Department to come up with a plan to speed up those sales within 60
days.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=03f-680&t=c>
(4/19, Sonne) reports the policy is “designed to bolster the U.S. arms
industry,” including “American-made drones.” The Post adds that US arms
“already dominate the international market, accounting for 33 percent of
all major arms exports.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=040-5cd&t=c>
(4/19, Muñoz) reports the Administration argues the “Buy America” plan
“will expand America’s already dominant market share.” It is presented as a
way of competing with China and Russia for the international arms market.
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=041-059&t=c>
(4/19, Harris) reports the policy “could vastly expand sales of armed
drones.” Trump, speaking at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe said that instead of taking “years before orders would take
place because of bureaucracy,” it will “be a matter of days. If they’re our
allies, we are going to help them get this very important, great military
equipment.”

*Trump To Give Naval Academy Commencement Address On May 25. *President
Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=042-4ae&t=c>
this morning, “So exciting! I have agreed to be the Commencement Speaker at
our GREAT Naval Academy on May 25th in Annapolis, Maryland. Looking forward
to being there.”
Moon: North Korea Dropped Demand US Troops Leave South Korea.

Hallie Jackson reported on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=043-820&t=c>
(4/19, story 6, 0:30, Holt) on “new developments” on the potential summit
between President Trump and Kim Jong-Un: “North Korea has apparently
dropped demands for all US troops...to leave South Korea, according to the
South Korean President.” Jackson calls this “a real concession.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=044-450&t=c>
(4/19, Landler, Sang-Hun) reports that while South Korean President Moon
Jae-in “portrayed the proposal as a concession on the eve of talks,” the
Administration “privately dismissed the idea that it was a capitulation by
the North because an American withdrawal from the South was never on the
table.” Meanwhile, analysts and former officials said Kim’s offer “could
drive a wedge between the United States and South Korea.” Still, “American
officials did not diminish the significance of his offer from a domestic
standpoint,” as it “could undercut” the Kim family’s decades-long narrative
of American aggression against the North.

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=045-3f2&t=c>
(4/19, Stiles) reports Moon also said the North “might be willing to accept
‘complete denuclearization’ without conditions that would upset the United
States.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=046-192&t=c>
(4/19, Onyanga-Omara, Dorell) reports Moon told reporters, “North Korea is
expressing a will for a complete denuclearization.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=047-682&t=c>
(4/19) reports a US official briefed on Secretary of State-designate
Pompeo’s trip to North Korea “said that while Kim was open to negotiating
‘denuclearization,’ the term remained undefined and potentially deceptive,
given the need for a timetable and an inspection regime.” President Trump
told a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that,
in Reuters’ words, “his campaign of ‘maximum pressure’ on North Korea would
continue until Pyongyang gave up its nuclear weapons.” Additionally, US
Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood said that North Korea must demonstrate
it is “serious about getting rid of its nuclear weapons program” and take
“concrete steps.”

*WSJournal A1: North Korean Cyberattacks Highly Skilled. *In a
front-page article, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=048-ab3&t=c>
(4/19, Martin) reports that the skill of North Korean cyberattacks has been
rapidly improving, entering the top tier of sophistication and danger after
years of being seeing as second-rate. Researchers have been surprised by
the originality in North Korean coding and techniques, and the country’s
hackers adapt within days or weeks to software or security firms addressing
security vulnerabilities. North Korea also has targeted central banks and
point-of-sale systems. Researchers generally agree that with upcoming
negotiations with the US, the cyberattacks are becoming more focused on
military intelligence and earning income, which could compensate for
economic sanctions. To support such work the country cultivates elite
hackers, according to defectors and South Korean cyber and intelligence
experts, with special schools starting at the age of 11 and special
privileges for hackers.
Bolton Meets With Russian Ambassador.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=049-043&t=c>
(4/19, Boyer) reports on a “surprise meeting” at the White House between
National Security Adviser John Bolton and Russian Ambassador Anatoly
Antonov. Bolton said, in the words of the Times, “that relations won’t
improve until the Kremlin addresses Russia’s interference in the 2016
election and other crises.” The White House said in a statement that Bolton
said that for the two countries to have better relations “will require
addressing our concerns regarding Russia’s interference in the 2016
election, the reckless use of a chemical weapon in the United Kingdom, and
the situations in Ukraine and Syria.”

*WPost Editorial Calls For Additional Response To Russian
Cyberattacks. *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=04a-45f&t=c>
(4/19) calls for greater responses to the revelation of “Russian efforts to
compromise network devices, such as routers, the heartbeat of the
Internet.” Calling revealing the attacks “significant but not a sufficient
response,” the Post adds, “it is worrisome to see that, even after the
April 16 alert, so little has been said by this administration about a
response.” While the Post concedes it is “hard to evaluate the risks or
rewards of retaliation,” the paper concludes, “cyberconflict is raging and
the bad actors are not stopping to check treaties or rule books.”

*Gardner: US Should Consider Designating Russia State Sponsor Of
Terrorism. *Sen. Cory Gardner, in an op-ed in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=04b-594&t=c>
(4/19), calls for the State Department to consider designating Russia a
state sponsor of terrorism. Garder argues the label is justified by
Russia’s invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, support for Syria and US enemies
in Afghanistan, and its “active information warfare against Western
democracies.” Garder also argues that the use of a military-grade nerve
agent to poison a former Russian intelligence agent makes Russia
“responsible for a chemical weapons attack against a NATO member state on
its own soil,” which “requires a serious American response.” Gardner
acknowledges the possible serious effects of the US imposing such a label,
which is why his planned legislation leaves the final choice to the State
Department, but concludes, “We must take every diplomatic step necessary to
protect our allies and our democracy, and to deter a revanchist Russia that
is intent on rewriting history and threatening our way of life.”
State Dept. Claims Russia, Syria Keeping Inspectors From Chemical Attack
Site.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=04c-b75&t=c>
(4/19, story 6, 0:20, Muir) reported the State Department “now says that
the US has, quote, ‘credible information and intelligence’ that Russian and
Syrian regime officials are keeping international inspectors away while
they remove incriminating evidence.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=04d-d0c&t=c>
(4/19, Gibbons-Neff) reports Defense Secretary Mattis “blamed the Syrian
government for the holdup,” and “the State Department accused Russia of
helping Mr. Assad’s government ‘sanitize’ Douma of evidence of a chemical
attack.” Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=04e-5f8&t=c>
(4/19) showed State Department spokeswoman Heather Nuaert saying, “Russian
officials have worked with the Syrian regime, we believe, to sanitize the
locations of the suspected attacks and remove incriminating evidence of
chemical weapons use.” Benjamin Hall added that Fox also learned that “the
bodies of those who died in the attack have been taken from their graves by
the regime.” In addition, “doctors who treated the victims have been
detained and threatened if they give evidence.”

*Pentagon Report: Airstrike Didn’t Stop Syria’s Chemical Weapons
Program. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=04f-37e&t=c>
(4/19, Gibbons-Neff) reports, “Despite President Trump’s ‘Mission
Accomplished!’ declaration hours after” airstrikes on Syria and Ambassador
to the UN Nikki R. Haley’s statement to the Security Council that the
United States is “confident that we have crippled Syria’s chemical weapons
program,” a Pentagon assessment concluded that while “allied airstrikes
likely set back Mr. Assad’s production of sarin gas,” Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad “is expected to continue researching and developing
chemical weapons for potential future use, according to an American
intelligence analyst who has seen the document and described it to The New
York Times on the condition of anonymity.” Similarly, Lt. Gen. Kenneth F.
McKenzie Jr., the Joint Staff director, said, “They still have ability to
conduct attacks; I would not rule that out.”

*WPost: Raqqa’s Slow Recovery Fueling Anti-US Sentiment. *The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=050-9bf&t=c>
(4/19, El-Ghobashy) reports that six months after ISIS was driven out,
“Raqqa is a city sown with rubble, explosives and an uneasy mixture of
despair and determination to rebuild.” The city remains filled with rubble,
“city has no running water or electricity, and there aren’t enough public
employees to defuse the hundreds of explosives planted by the militants.”
The city’s slow recovery is “contributing to a growing sentiment here that
the United States wrecked the city but is unwilling to take responsibility
for putting it back together,” and “local officials warn that the US
objective of ridding Syria of the militants is being undermined by a lack
of engagement in how Raqqa is rebuilt and governed.” Meanwhile, adds the
Post, the Administration suspended stabilization aid for the areas where
American forces helped evict the Islamic State.

*US-Backed Syrian Forces Capture Militant Linked To 9/11 Attacks. *
CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=051-15e&t=c>
(4/19, Browne) reports that “the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have
captured an individual the US assesses to be Mohammed Haydar Zammar, a
Syrian-born German national linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. ‘We can
confirm that Mohammad Haydar Zammar, a Syrian-born German national, was
captured more than a month ago by SDF partners as part of their ongoing
operations to defeat ISIS inside Syria,’ Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon told
CNN.” Pahon said Zammar “was captured during a unilateral operation
conducted by the Syrian Democratic Forces.” Zammar “is believed to have
recruited some of the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001, terror
attacks on the United States, including hijacker Mohammed Atta.” CNN adds
that “the 9/11 Commission report by the US government said Zammar
reportedly took credit for influencing the Hamburg group, which Atta was a
part of.”

*Federal Judge Halts Transfer Of American ISIS Suspect From Iraq To
Another Country. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=052-806&t=c>
(4/19, Savage) reports that US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in
Washington DC “blocked the Trump administration on Thursday from
transferring an American citizen detainee – who has already been held in
Iraq as a suspected Islamic State member for seven months – to the custody
of another country against his will.” The Times says that Chutkan’s
decision “was a significant ruling in a case that has raised novel
questions about national security and individual rights,” and “also a
milestone in the unusual case of the man, whose name has not been made
public, and which will now most likely go before a federal appeals court.”
The man “was captured by a Syrian militia in September and turned over to
the American military,” and “this week, the government notified the man
that it intended to transfer him to another country, but he has decided to
fight that plan in court.”

*WPost Editorial Supports Kaine Bill To Refresh 2001 AUMF. *In an
editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=053-805&t=c>
(4/19) calls for Congress to “exercise its constitutional war powers in a
sustainable, bipartisan manner,” warning that the legislature often either
allows “the president do whatever he wants, without legal authorization, or
they micromanage the commander in chief to the point where he cannot take
necessary action.” The Post supports Sen. Tim Kaine’s efforts to renew the
2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against al Qaeda
and related terrorist groups. In particular, the Post argues that the
bill’s “new requirement that the president notify Congress whenever the
list of enemies increases or the military takes the fight to a new
country,” which Congress could veto, and that the bill will be “reviewed
entirely every four years” offer “a means by which Congress shares
responsibility for wars it has previously been a bit too content to fob off
on the executive branch.”
US May Use Emergency Powers Against China In Intellectual Property Dispute.

Bloomberg Politics
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=054-f4e&t=c>
(4/19, Mohsin) reports that the Treasury Department is considering using
the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act “to curb Chinese
investments in sensitive technologies, as the Trump administration looks to
punish China for what it sees as violations of American
intellectual-property rights.” Under the law, President Trump “could
declare a national emergency in response to an ‘unusual and extraordinary
threat,’ allowing him to block transactions and seize assets.”

*WSJournal A1: US-China Feuding Causing Economic Damage. *On its
front page, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=055-927&t=c>
(4/19, Kubota, Strumpf) looks at how struggles between US and Chinese
companies and regulators are causing damage, given the interdependence of
technology companies in the era of globalization. The piece focus mainly on
Qualcomm’s bid for NXP Semiconductors.

*NYTimes: Chinese Boycott Of US Goods Could Hurt China. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=056-eae&t=c>
(4/19, Wee, Tiantian) reports that if China calls for a boycott of US goods
as part of a trade war, its own workers and consumers could be hurt.
Hundreds of US companies employ workers in China, and many of the American
goods popular with Chinese buyers – like iPhones, Chevrolet cars, and Nike
sneakers – “are made by Chinese workers.”
Diaz-Canel Takes Over As Cuban President.

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=057-f63&t=c>
(4/19, story 11, 0:25, Holt) reported, “It’s the end of an era for Cuba.
For the first time in nearly 60 years, someone outside the Castro family is
in power.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=058-6e9&t=c>
(4/19, story 8, 0:20, Muir) reported on the “historic change” after Raul
Castro turned the presidency over to the first Vice President Miguel Mario
Diaz-Canel Bermudez, “who vowed to carry on Cuba’s communist revolution.”
John Roberts reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=059-97a&t=c>
(4/19) that “Cuban officials say nothing will change and Raul Castro will
remain head of the Communist Party.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=05a-9aa&t=c>
(4/19) reports Diaz-Canel “began his term on Thursday with a promise to
defend the socialist revolution,” although his “sober speech...also
emphasized the need to modernize the island’s economy.” Meanwhile, in his
own speech, “a relaxed-looking Castro,” who remains the head of the
Communist Party, “gave the impression he would not quickly fade from
sight.” Castro “sharply criticized U.S. foreign, trade and immigration
policy under President Donald Trump.”

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=05b-b34&t=c>
(4/19, story 8, 1:55, Glor) reported the change comes as “Castro’s limited
reforms have largely stalled, and a slumping economy is squeezing the
average Cuban salary of roughly $40 a month.” CBS (Bojorquez) added, “Many
in the young and increasingly restless generation feel stuck between two
presidents. The new one here who has vowed to defend socialism, and
President Trump who has made it clear that he will only further isolate the
island.” Jim Acosta reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=05c-0d1&t=c>
(4/19) that when asked about Castro stepping down, Trump “said not to
worry.” CNN showed him saying, “We love Cuba. We’re taking care of Cuba.”
Brownback: Burmese Violence Against Rohingya “Breathtaking.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=05d-9e2&t=c>
(4/19, Emont) reports US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Sam
Brownback called the violence against Burma’s Muslim Rohingya minority
“breathtaking” and predicted that once the US investigation of the Burmese
military’s actions against the Rohingya is complete that there will be a
strong push to address the issue. Brownback met with imams in the refugee
camps who described beatings and rapes, which he said he discussed with
Vice President Pence. Given that Brownback, as governor of Kansas, signed a
law banning Shariah in the courts, some are surprised by his prioritizing
the rights of the Rohingya, but Muslim organizations have praised his
efforts.
Domestic Policy
Obama Lauds Parkland Students In “TIME 100” Essay.

Former President Obama writes a “TIME 100” piece for TIME
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=05e-7c8&t=c>
(4/19) on Parkland student activists Jaclyn Corin, Emma González, David
Hogg, Cameron Kasky, and Alex Wind, writing that they “don’t have the kind
of lobbyists or big budgets for attack ads that their opponents do. Most of
them can’t even vote yet. But they have the power so often inherent in
youth: to see the world anew; to reject the old constraints, outdated
conventions and cowardice too often dressed up as wisdom.”

*Florida Gun Sales Increased Following Shooting. *The Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=05f-570&t=c>
(4/19, Mahoney) reports that gun sales increased in Florida following the
February 14 Parkland shooting. About 6,500 Floridians “underwent background
checks on Feb. 24, a number higher than the surge following the Pulse
shooting and less than the number of people who got checked shortly after
the San Bernardino tragedy in December 2015.”

*Teachers Union Cuts Ties With Wells Fargo Over Links To NRA, Guns.
*USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=060-443&t=c>
(4/19, McCoy, Bomey) reports that “Wells Fargo’s financial relationship
with gun makers and the National Rifle Association has cost the bank its
mortgage business with a major U.S. union.” The American Federation of
Teachers on Thursday “notified the San Francisco-based financial giant that
it is dropping the bank as a recommended mortgage lender for the national
education union’s 1.7 million members.” According to USA, “the action came
after Wells Fargo spurned the union’s call to cut lending ties with or
impose new restrictions on firearms business partners following the Feb. 14
mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
in Parkland, Florida.” Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan told AFT President Randi
Weingarten “in an April 3 letter obtained by USA TODAY that the best route
to combating gun violence ‘is through the political and legislative
process.’”

*NRA Backs Legal Challenge To Vermont Firearms Magazine Ban.
*The Washington
Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=061-f9f&t=c>
(4/19, Gutowski) reports that the NRA announced on Thursday that “it would
back a lawsuit filed against Vermont’s new ban on certain firearms
magazines.” The NRA “said it will support a suit filed by the Vermont
Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Vermont State Rifle and Pistol
Association, a group of sporting goods stores, and Vermont citizen Leah
Stewart,” who “allege that the new ban on rifle magazines capable of
holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition and handgun magazines capable of
holding more than 15 rounds violates the Vermont Constitution.” According
to the Beacon, “the magazine ban was part of new gun-control legislation
signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott (R.) last week.” Scott and Florida Gov.
Rick Scott “have both signed new gun-control legislation in the wake of the
Parkland school shooting that left 17 dead and the protests for new gun and
magazine bans that followed.”

*Police Chiefs Urge Congress Not To Pass Concealed-Carry
Reciprocity Gun Law. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=062-337&t=c>
(4/19, Jackman) reports that the International Association of Chiefs of
Police (IACP) is “rising up against another conservative crime-fighting
initiative, sending a letter to leaders of Congress on Thursday opposing a
bill that would allow gun owners with concealed-carry permits in one state
to carry their concealed weapons in all 50 states.” The letter from IACP,
“representing 18,000 police departments across the United States, and
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans targets the ‘Concealed Carry
Reciprocity Act,’ which passed the House in December and is now assigned to
the Senate Judiciary Committee. ‘This legislation,’ the letter states, ‘is
a dangerous encroachment on individual state efforts to protect public
safety, and it would effectively nullify duly enacted state laws and hamper
law enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence.’”

*WPost Editorial: Ground Is Shifting On Gun Control. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=063-523&t=c>
(4/19) editorializes that “the day after the Parkland school shooting
focused renewed attention on the issue of gun violence, Vermont Gov. Phil
Scott (R) reiterated his opposition to any new restrictions on gun
ownership,” but “just 24 hours later, Mr. Scott announced a change of
heart,” and he has now “signed major gun violence prevention legislation”
that is “a notable step for a state that historically has had some of the
weakest gun laws in the country, and another encouraging sign of how the
ground is shifting on gun control.” According to the Post, Scott “seems to
have made the political calculation that crossing the national gun lobby
runs less risk than opposing laws supported by the public on gun violence
prevention.” The Post argues that “it’s about time for Congress and the
White House to ask the question posed by Mr. Scott: Are they doing
everything they can to protect our kids?”
Senate Confirms Bridenstine As NASA Administrator In 50-49 Vote.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=064-16a&t=c>
(4/19, Borenstein) reports the US Senate voted 50-49 Thursday to confirm
Rep. James Bridenstine (R) to be NASA administrator in what it calls a
“nail-biting drama.” The AP calls Bridenstine a “tea party congressman” and
says he was confirmed “in an unprecedented party-line vote” adding that
NASA “usually is kept away from partisanship” and the three previous
administrators “were all approved unanimously.” Just as on Wednesday, Sen.
Jeff Flake (R) cast a “delayed but approving vote.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=065-96f&t=c>
(4/19, Kim, Davenport) reports Bridenstine was approved “despite deep
concerns from Democrats that he lacks the scientific and management
expertise to lead the space agency.” Sen. Marco Rubio (R) said on Thursday,
“NASA is an organization that needs to be led by a space professional,” but
the Post adds, he “ultimately” voted to confirm Bridenstine. The Post also
says that Bridenstine is “an avid supporter of space exploration,” who “ran
the Tulsa Air and Space Museum before coming to Congress in 2013.” Sen.
Brian Schatz (D) criticized him as “a climate denier with no scientific
background who has made a career out of ignoring science.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=066-a21&t=c>
(4/19, Chang) reports that Bridenstine’s confirmation “ends the longest
span of time that NASA has operated without a permanent leader” and, the
Times adds, is “a vivid reminder that few posts in Washington are now
spared from partisan conflict.” The Times also points out that the vote
lasted “more than 45 minutes” waiting for Flake. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=067-f55&t=c>
(4/19, Cama) reports the vote followed “months of Democratic attempts to
stop Bridenstine’s confirmation.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=068-745&t=c>
(4/19, O'Brien) called it “a long and bruising partisan battle” in which
Bridenstine was criticized “for his past statements opposing LGBT rights
and casting doubt on whether humans contribute to climate change.”

*Heitkamp Will Support Pompeo, Making Confirmation Likely. *The Grand
Forks (ND) Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=069-22f&t=c>
(4/19, Amundson) reports that on Thursday, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp became the
first Democrat to announce support for Secretary of State-designate Pompeo. The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=06a-877&t=c>
(4/19, Carney) reports that Heitkamp “faces a difficult reelection race
this fall in a state [that President] Trump won by double-digits.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=06b-6d9&t=c>
(4/19, Fandos, Harris) reports that Pompeo “came close...to clinching
confirmation” with Heitkamp’s announcement, but he is first “expected to
face a historic rebuke from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which
most likely will not recommend his confirmation” due to the opposition of
Sen. Rand Paul. The Times says Heitkamp’s announcement “is likely to push
other moderate Democrats facing re-election in states that Mr. Trump won,”
such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Claire McCaskill, “to follow suit.”

*Ex-Obama Officials’ PAC Running Anti-Pompeo Digital Ads. *The
Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042001biden&r=email-6db5&l=06c-e18&t=c>
(4/19, Taylor) reports that National Security Action, “a political action
group run by former Obama administration officials” and members of Hillary
Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, “has launched a series of digital ads
aimed at derailing” the Pompeo nomination. One of the videos includes text
reading, “Mike Pompeo has a track