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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Wednesday, November 14, 2018 7:56 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, November 14, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=001-9b0&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, November 14, 2018 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Democratic Pollster Anzalone: 2020 Biden Bid Would Complicate A Brown Run.
<#S1>

• Sabato Predicts 34 Democrats May Enter 2020 White House Race. <#S2>

• Former Biden Strategist Marttila Dies At 78. <#S3>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Reportedly Could Remove Nielsen, Replace Kelly. <#S4>

• First Lady Calls For Dismissal Of Deputy National Security Adviser. <#S5>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• EU, Britain Agree On Draft Brexit Deal. <#S6>

• Bolton: US To Heighten Enforcement Of Sanctions On Iran. <#S7>

• Bolton: Audio Recording Does Not Link MBS To Khashoggi Murder. <#S8>

• Trump: NYTimes Report On Hidden North Korean Bases As “More Fake News.”
<#S9>

• Trump Mocks Macron’s Suggestion That Europe Build Its Own Army. <#S10>

• Hamas Accepts Egyptian-Brokered Gaza Cease-Fire. <#S11>

• Administration Imposes Sanctions On Hezbollah Figures. <#S12>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Maryland Files Suit Claiming Whitaker’s Appointment Is Unconstitutional.
<#S13>

• Roll Call Analysis: Congress “Extremely Unlikely” To Approve $5B For
Border Wall. <#S14>

• CNN Sues White House Over Action Against Acosta. <#S15>

• WPost Analysis: Trump Quicker To Respond To Disasters In Red States.
<#S16>

• Bipartisan Group Of Senators Want To Revive “Reinsurance” Plan. <#S17>

• Trump To Appoint Rao To Kavanaugh’s Circuit Court Seat. <#S18>

• Trump Could Answer Written Questions From Mueller This Week. <#S19>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• NCI Director Dr. Sharpless, FDA Commissioner Dr. Gottlieb Interviewed
About Advances In Oncology. <#S20>

• Researchers Investigate Racial Disparity In Breast Cancer Survival Rates.
<#S21>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S22>

• Washington Post. <#S23>
Biden in the News
Democratic Pollster Anzalone: 2020 Biden Bid Would Complicate A Brown Run.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=002-ba5&t=c>
(11/13, Drucker) reported, “He may lack the star power and profile of other
2020 hopefuls, but Democrats are paying increasing attention to” Sen.
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) “as they search for the person who could eject
President Trump from the White House.” And “as Democrats look for someone
who can defeat Trump, they are wondering whether Brown’s combination of
unabashed progressivism and labor populism could be the answer to
recapturing Midwest voters.” However, Democratic pollster John Anzalone
told the Examiner, “The problem for Sherrod Brown is that [former Vice
President] Joe Biden is considered the ‘working class whisperer’ for
Democrats nationally. Democrats feel that Biden gets it and connects with
working-class voters.” Anzalone added that Brown “could find himself
competing with Biden, ‘someone who has a graduate degree in connecting with
voters in the middle class, while Sherrod is still in school.’”
Sabato Predicts 34 Democrats May Enter 2020 White House Race.

The Dallas Morning News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=003-f7f&t=c>
(11/13, Manrique) reports that University of Virginia political scientist
Larry Sabato “predicted Tuesday that 34 Democrats and six Republicans may
test the presidential primary waters.” Said Sabato, “A lot of them will be
eliminated quickly and debates will be impossible to hold, but Democrats
will have a record number of candidates in 2020.” His remarks came “during
at a luncheon...hosted by Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), a public
policy think tank based in Irving,” Texas. The article adds, “Asked if he
believes possible that a ticket with former Vice President Joe Biden and
[Democratic Texas Rep. Beto] O’Rourke could win back the White House for
the Democrats, he said that he definitely sees more campaigns for O’Rourke
but that Biden should be thinking about his health.”
Former Biden Strategist Marttila Dies At 78.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=004-5c7&t=c>
(11/13, Roberts) reports that political consultant John Marttila, “whose
shrewd, often audacious and methodically executed campaign strategies
helped ignite the careers of major liberal, black and antiwar Democratic
candidates, died on Nov. 3 in Boston. He was 78. The cause was prostate
cancer.” Marttila “served successfully as a campaign manager or consultant
for” a host of candidates, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who
in 1972 “was 29 and a freshman councilman from New Castle, Del., when,
under Mr. Marttila’s guidance, he defeated a two-term Republican incumbent
to become the youngest senator since Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Marttila ‘was
one of the few people in my life I looked up to,’ The Boston Globe quoted
him as saying. ‘He instilled confidence,’ Mr. Biden added. ‘The fact that
someone that decent and smart believed in me made me believe more in
myself.’”

The Detroit News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=005-af4&t=c>
(11/12, LeBlanc) reports that Marttila “worked with integrity and ‘changed
the way American campaigns are run,’ Biden said in a statement. From 1972
onward, Marttila served as an informal political adviser to Biden and as a
campaign strategist on the Delaware Democrat’s 1988 presidential campaign
before Biden withdrew from the race. ‘John was one of the finest men that I
have ever met,’ Biden wrote.”
Leading the News
Trump Reportedly Could Remove Nielsen, Replace Kelly.

Several sources report that President Trump could soon remove DHS Secretary
Nielsen, an action that could prompt the resignation of Chief of Staff
Kelly. While no decisions were announced, multiple behind-the-scenes
reports say that the exits are being discussed, with Vice President Pence’s
Chief of Staff Nick Ayers emerging as the leading contender to succeed
Kelly. Analyses say the changes under consideration come at a time of
frustration inside the West Wing after last week’s Democratic election
gains and what the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=006-b5b&t=c>
(11/13, Stokols) calls the President’s “bitterness and resentment.”

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=007-daa&t=c>
(11/13, story 3, 1:55, Glor) reported, “New shake-ups at the White House
appear close, with the Homeland Security Secretary expected to leave, and
possibly the Chief of Staff.” CBS’ Chip Reid reported that at a Tuesday
event marking the Hindu festival Diwali, President Trump “had no comment on
reports that he plans to remove Kirstjen Nielsen as Secretary of Homeland
Security.” Trump: “We’ll be talking about it.” Reid reported that
“knowledgeable sources” say Nielsen “will be leaving, but say the timing is
uncertain. Just last month, President Trump praised her response to
devastating hurricanes. ... And she has been a vocal advocate for the
President’s policies, including immigration.” Reid added that if Nielsen
“is forced out, that could lead to yet another clash between the President
and [Kelly], who is Nielsen’s strongest supporter in the White House.
Sources say her firing could result in Kelly’s departure.”

Jonathan Karl similarly said during a brief ABC World News
Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=008-5e0&t=c>
(11/13, story 5, 0:20, Muir) report that “several senior White House
officials we have spoken to” say Nielsen “could be fired in the coming
weeks, and that if she goes, these officials believe, that her ally [Kelly]
would likely go as well.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=009-885&t=c>
(11/13, Bender, Nissenbaum) reports that according to Administration
officials, the President is aware that firing Nielsen could lead to Kelly
quitting, but that he expects that to happen anyway.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=00a-13f&t=c>
(11/13, Holland) reports under the headline “Trump To Fire Homeland
Security Boss, Replace Chief Of Staff: Source” that according to “a source
close to the White House,” Trump “is expected to remove” Nielsen “and is
considering replacing” Kelly. The source said that Ayers is the leading
contender to succeed Kelly. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=00b-e79&t=c>
(11/13, Cadelago, Restuccia, Schreckinger) reports that such an
“appointment would continue the rapid rise of the young aide, 36, and
install a chief who enjoys warm relations” with Ivanka Trump, Jared
Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., and Corey Lewandowski. However, “with a
fast-moving and fickle president, few things are certain,” and Ayers,
“perceived as presumptuous and overly ambitious by some in Washington, has
alienated several influential White House advisers.”

The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=00c-4af&t=c>
(11/13, Enjeti) reports that according to “a source close to Kelly,” the
current Chief of Staff “currently ‘has no plans to leave’ and believes
there ‘are a group of people’ undertaking a ‘concerted effort to oust
him.’” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=00d-4aa&t=c>
(11/13, Yilek) reports that “one White House official” told NBC that
clashes between Kelly and the office of the First Lady have also imperiled
him. The First Lady reportedly “brought up the issues with her husband
earlier this year after Kelly repeatedly denied her requests to promote
some of her staffers.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=00e-8b9&t=c>
(11/13, Haberman, Nixon) reports that Trump “is almost certain to fire”
Nielsen, who “has been a target of Mr. Trump’s ire for many months,
primarily over his administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy and
his belief that she was not implementing it effectively.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=00f-a88&t=c>
(11/14, Long, Miller, Lucey) reports that Nielsen “was thought to be out as
soon as this week, according to two people with knowledge of the issue, but
she is now likely to remain in the post for a longer period because there
is no obvious successor in place.” There is currently no deputy secretary
at DHS. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=010-23d&t=c>
(11/13, Orr, Hesson) reports that former Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan
is considered a top candidate, a choice that “would almost certainly
energize Trump’s base.” Maj. Gen. Vincent Coglianese, CBP Commissioner
Kevin McAleenan, and TSA Administrator David Pekoske are also possible
candidates.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=011-c3f&t=c>
(11/13, Fabian) reports that in addition to seeking a new chief of staff,
DHS secretary, attorney general, and UN ambassador, Trump may make other
“high-level staff changes.” Commerce Secretary Ross and Interior Secretary
Zinke “may be living on borrowed time as both men deal with various ethics
controversies that could come under investigation by Democrats when they
take control of the House next year,” and “there have been reports” that
Defense Secretary Mattis could depart.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=012-6bf&t=c>
(11/13), “It is the prerogative of a President to appoint Cabinet members,
but we have to step back and see that it is being done in the context of
this dysfunctional atmosphere that has been constructed. I’m afraid that
what this President is now doing is going in and just taking out people
that may have had slight disagreements with him.”

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=013-1ea&t=c>,
“You’re fired! Pink slip for #JeffSessions, will #KirstjenNielsen be next?
#Trump says she’s a Bushie. He thinks #Mattis is a #Democrat – pink slip?
He thinks #Rosenstein is disloyal – pink slip? #Democracy, you’re fired.”
But Rep. Raul Grijalva‏ (D-AZ) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=014-f60&t=c>,
“The departure of Secretary Nielsen is long overdue. From separating
children at the border to empowering ICE to terrorize our communities, it’s
time she takes responsibility for her actions. She must resign.”

Several reports look at the coming and potential staff changes in
the light of the President’s mood following last week’s midterm elections.
The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=015-0fe&t=c>
(11/13, Dawsey, Rucker) reports on “five days of fury” after last Tuesday,
when the President “brooded over the Florida recount and sulked over other
key races being called for Democrats in the midterm elections that he had
claimed as a ‘big victory.’” While in Paris, the President told advisers
that he would remove Nielsen and possibly Kelly. The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=016-8db&t=c>
(11/13, Stokols) says Trump “has retreated into a cocoon of bitterness and
resentment, according to multiple administration sources,” and like the
Post refers to “a brooding president ‘trying to decide who to blame’ for
Republicans’ election losses.” The President “has been increasingly absent
in recent days – except on Twitter. He has canceled travel plans and
dispatched Cabinet officials and aides to events in his place.”

Under the headline “Staff Anger Spills Over At White House,”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=017-045&t=c>
(11/13, Cadelago, Cook) reports that “bottled-up hostility” inside the
Administration “flowed to the surface Tuesday. ... White House aides and
advisers have long anticipated an internal staff reckoning once the uneasy
truce broke and the dust settled after the elections. But some conceded
that the drumbeat of exits, the threat of subpoenas from the Russia probe
and anticipated investigations by a newly empowered Democratic House –
along with a raft of negative media attention in recent days – were taking
a heavy toll on not only the president, but also on the aides and advisers’
thinning ranks.”
First Lady Calls For Dismissal Of Deputy National Security Adviser.

Coverage of possible staffing changes at the top levels of the Trump
Administration is coupled with reports on the First Lady’s call for the
dismissal of Deputy National Security Adviser Mira Ricardel. Many reports
use the word “extraordinary” to describe the East Wing’s intervention in a
policy staffing matter, and state that Ricardel has few friends inside the
Administration.

Lester Holt opened NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=018-474&t=c>
(11/13, lead story, 2:05) by reporting, “In an unheard-of move by a sitting
First Lady, Melania Trump is publicly calling for the firing of a top White
House adviser. The object of her scorn: the Deputy National Security
Adviser. The First Lady’s office issuing a written release today, calling
for her ouster after she reportedly clashed with Mrs. Trump’s staff as well
as others in the West Wing. But this may also be unmasking a deeper White
House power struggle, one that could put Chief of Staff John Kelly’s job in
jeopardy as well.”

On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=019-45b&t=c>
(11/13, story 4, 1:20), David Muir called it a “highly unusual move.” ABC’s
Jonathan Karl reported that the First Lady “publicly called for [Ricardel]
to be fired. ‘It is the position of the office of the First Lady that she
no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,’ Mrs. Trump’s
spokeswoman said in a statement. That came less than an hour after Ricardel
was seen smiling right over the President’s shoulder at a West Wing event.”
According to “White House sources,” the First Lady “became irritated with
Ricardel in the planning of her trip to Africa last month. Mrs. Trump felt
she had treated her staff disrespectfully.” The CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=01a-bb3&t=c>
(11/13, story 4, 0:40, Glor) also covered the story as part of a larger
report on possible White House personnel shake-ups.

White House correspondent Abby Phillip said on CNN’s Situation
Room[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=01b-d63&t=c>
(11/13) that the First Lady “picked her moment very well. She picked a time
when there is actually a lot of turmoil in the White House right now or
expected in the coming days and weeks.” Dana Bash said on CNN’s Situation
Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=01c-55a&t=c>
(11/13) that Ricardel “is somebody...who is not very well-liked,
and...causes a lot of problems for very important people trying to get
things done on the national security level. Important people from the
Defense Secretary to the Homeland Security Secretary to the Secretary of
State. Those are people who don’t want to have logjams at the White House
when they’re trying to get to the President. And...my impression from
talking to sources familiar, that happened a lot.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=01d-26b&t=c>
(11/13, Superville) calls the First Lady’s call “an extraordinary move.”
According to a White House official, Ricardel “wanted to travel to Africa
with the first lady but was denied seating on the airplane because there
was no room for her and several others who initially expected to make the
trip. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss White
House personnel matters, said Ricardel then threatened not to send any NSC
staff.” The First Lady “is very protective of her husband and is considered
to be an influential adviser, as many first ladies have been with their
spouses.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=01e-e8b&t=c>
(11/13, Jackson), which also calls the move “extraordinary,” says that
according to “a senior White House official,” the First Lady and Ricardel
have never actually met. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=01f-da2&t=c>
(11/13, Superville) also uses the word “extraordinary” in a brief report.
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=020-c54&t=c>
(11/13, Oprysko, Lippman) says her office made the call in “a blunt
statement,” while The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=021-5ee&t=c>
(11/13, Mitchell) calls it “a blistering statement.” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=022-fb5&t=c>
(11/13, Sykes) calls it “an unprecedented call” from a First Lady.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=023-c2b&t=c>
(11/13, Haberman, Cooper, Nixon) writes, “She bad-mouthed the defense
secretary. She was the hatchet woman” for “famously combative” National
Security Adviser Bolton, “and drove out staff members from the National
Security Council who were deemed insufficiently conservative or loyal. But
in disparaging two members of Melania Trump’s staff,” Ricardel “apparently
went too far.” Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=024-f23&t=c>
(11/13, Sonmez, Dawsey) reports that Bolton “tapped Ricardel in April to
serve as his deputy, hailing her ‘track record of successfully managing
teams and diverse organizations, as well as addressing complex issues.’
Ricardel had previously worked as an undersecretary of commerce and had
also held positions at the State and Defense departments.” Dawsey also
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=025-ccd&t=c>,
“Ricardel is among the most despised aides in the West Wing, if not the
most.”

Michael C. Bender of the Wall Street Journal tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=026-348&t=c>
Tuesday afternoon that Ricardel “was escorted from the White House moments
ago. ... Ricardel was standing just a few feet from President Trump earlier
this afternoon.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=027-21a&t=c>
(11/13, Donachie) reports, however, that “two White House officials” said
Ricardel “was not fired and was not escorted out of the White House on
Tuesday.” Bender later corrected
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=028-5e8&t=c>
his earlier tweet.

Bill Kristol tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=029-ac2&t=c>,
“Ricardel v. Melania. Bolton v. Kelly. Trump v. Mattis. Nielsen, Ross,
Zinke being pushed out. One big happy family.” CNN political analyst Ryan
Lizza tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=02a-7e7&t=c>,
“Of all the controversial issues that the First Lady could speak out on she
chose a petty staffing dispute.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=02b-a3f&t=c>
(11/13, Hosenball, Holland, Rampton), Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=02c-003&t=c>
(11/13, Jacobs, Sink), the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=02d-bb7&t=c>
(11/13, Puzzanghera), and the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=02e-72e&t=c>
(11/13, Enjeti) also have brief reports.
Foreign Policy
EU, Britain Agree On Draft Brexit Deal.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=02f-45c&t=c>
(11/13, Faulconbridge, Piper) reports that the European Union and British
Prime Minister Theresa May “have agreed a draft text of a Brexit withdrawal
agreement,” which May “will present...to her senior ministers on Wednesday,
after more than a year of tortuous negotiations.” According to Reuters,
“While officials choreograph the first withdrawal of a sovereign state from
the EU, it remains unclear whether May can get any deal approved by the
British parliament as hardline Brexiteers said she had surrendered to
Brussels.”

“Details of the agreement were not immediately available,” the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=030-617&t=c>
(11/13, Castle) reports, but it likely “contains language pertaining to the
‘backstop’ plan to settle the contentious issue of the Irish border, the
part of the agreement that is likely to set off the most sparks in the
cabinet discussions.” May “was reportedly meeting Tuesday evening with
officials like the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the Brexit
secretary, Dominick Raab, whose support she cannot afford to lose.”
According to the Times, “Even assuming she gains the cabinet’s approval on
Wednesday without a politically damaging raft of resignations – not a given
– Mrs. May faces daunting odds in pushing the compromise plan through
Parliament, where it has many opponents.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=031-147&t=c>
(11/13, Faulconbridge, Piper) reports that for the deal to be approved, May
“needs the votes of about 320 lawmakers in the 650-seat parliament.”
Reuters says it is “unclear when parliament might vote on a deal.” Reuters
says that the draft divorce deal thrusts May “into a perilous battle over
Brexit that could shape her country’s prosperity for generations to come.”
May was “an initial opponent of Brexit who won the top job in the turmoil
that followed the referendum,” but she has since “struggled to untangle
nearly 46 years of EU membership without damaging commerce or upsetting the
lawmakers who will ultimately decide the fate of the divorce accord.”

Saying the agreement came after “months of struggle and delay,
feints and setbacks,” the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=032-bf7&t=c>
(11/13, Booth) says what will happen during Wednesday’s “cabinet meeting is
unknown – although May’s supporters say the prime minister would not be
presenting the draft deal if she didn’t think she could muscle it through.”
The Post adds that it is possible “that some cabinet members, finally faced
with the text of May’s softer, slower-moving compromise deal, will balk –
and resign or seek delay or press for a return to the negotiating table.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=033-2e2&t=c>
(11/13, Lawless) says May “faces pressure from pro-Brexit Cabinet members
and lawmakers not to agree to an arrangement that binds Britain to EU trade
rules indefinitely.” She also “faces growing opposition from pro-EU
lawmakers, who say her proposed Brexit deal is worse than the status quo
and the British public should get a new vote on whether to leave or to
stay.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=034-489&t=c>
(11/13, Colchester, Norman) reports EU and British officials warned that
the deal is far from sealed, and both sides agree that it hinges on the UK
government’s support, according to one senior EU official. The Journal says
the UK government’s approval is crucial if Britain is to avoid crashing out
of the bloc on March 29 – an outcome that would cause major trade
disruptions.
Bolton: US To Heighten Enforcement Of Sanctions On Iran.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=035-474&t=c>
(11/13, Reuters) reports that the Administration “will step up enforcement
of sanctions on Iran,” National Security Adviser Bolton said on Tuesday on
the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in
Singapore. Said Bolton, “The objective has been from the beginning to get
oil exports from Iran down to zero.” He added, “It is our intention to
squeeze them very hard. As the British say: ‘Squeeze them until the pips
squeak.’”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=036-03a&t=c>
(11/13, Koutsoukis, Nasseri) reports Bolton said of Iran, “We think the
government is under real pressure and it’s our intention to squeeze them
very hard. ... As the British say, ‘squeeze them until the pips squeak.’”
In reference to European signatories to the deal “attempting to put in
place mechanisms to allow trade and investment with Iran to continue,”
Bolton “suggested the Europeans would fail and rethink their approach.”
Bolton told reporters, “I like to compare the attitudes that are changing
in Europe to a book written years ago in the US called ‘The Six Stages of
Grief.’ It starts off with denial. Then it ends up at acceptance.”

According to Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=037-562&t=c>
(11/13, Speciale, Groendahl, Jennen), “European Union countries want to
defy” President Trump “and keep funds flowing to Iran to save the nuclear
agreement – just as long as it doesn’t happen in their backyard.” Bloomberg
News says “EU nations have identified Austria as the best candidate to host
a special purpose vehicle that could handle payments to Iran,” although
“Austria itself is not so keen.” Bloomberg News adds that Belgium,
Luxembourg and France “have also been identified as potential venues but
Belgium and Luxembourg have declined while France is looking to Austria.”
Bolton: Audio Recording Does Not Link MBS To Khashoggi Murder.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=038-0d5&t=c>
(11/13, Reichmann) reports National Security Adviser Bolton “said Tuesday
that people who have listened to an audio recording of the killing of a
Saudi journalist do not think it implicates Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman in his death.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=039-b60&t=c>
(11/13, Loveluck) reports that in Singapore, Bolton “said he has not
listened to the tape himself but that ‘those who have listened to it’
assess that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler is not implicated.” However, the
Post goes on to report that “western diplomats and Turkish officials say it
would be difficult to carry out such an operation without the approval of
Mohammed.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=03a-b0a&t=c>
(11/13, Dudar, Shesgreen) says Bolton’s remarks “came after the New York
Times reported
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=03b-16b&t=c>
Monday night that one of Khashoggi’s killers could be heard in the
recording saying ‘tell your boss.’ The Times cited three anonymous sources
and suggested the ‘boss’ was believed to be the crown prince.” State
Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Tuesday “declined to comment on
Bolton’s assessment of the audio,” and said Secretary of State Pompeo “has
not listened to the recording either.” When reporters pressed for an
explanation, given Pompeo’s “role in reviewing the case,” Nauert told
reporters: “The secretary is in the role of being the nation’s chief
diplomat and it wouldn’t be appropriate” to listen to the recording. USA
Today explains that “Pompeo previously served as Trump’s CIA director.”

Greg Palkot reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=03c-f3f&t=c>
(11/13) that Turkish officials say Khashoggi’s murder “was approved at the
highest levels of the Saudi government,” and the audio “could be as close
to a smoking gun there is. ... Still, Saudi officials who have heard the
tape...say the ‘boss’ remark is not there, and...Bolton says he doesn’t
believe the crown prince was implicated. Regardless, new reports point to
an ugly death.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=03d-df6&t=c>
(11/13, story 9, 1:15, Holt) reported on “the torture tools Turkish media
say Saudi assassins smuggled in to make sure journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s
final moments were just awful. Syringes, scissors, a taser, a defibrillator
and radio jamming equipment.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=03e-850&t=c>
(11/13, Gall) reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “has made
his strongest personal challenge yet to Crown Prince Mohammed...over the
killing of” Khashoggi, “saying he was still waiting for answers and
expressing frustration with the Saudi response in comments published on
Tuesday in pro-government newspapers.” According to the Times, Erdoğan
“said the crown price was failing to follow through on his promise to
expose the truth about the disappearance and death of Mr. Khashoggi.”

Still, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=03f-375&t=c>
(11/13, Watts) reports that Bolton said the US believes Saudi Arabia will
investigate Khashoggi’s death. Bolton said from Singapore, “We expect that
they will continue the investigation and that’s very important to us and
it’s very important to others in the region, too. The President has made it
very clear that he expects that we’re going to get the truth from the
Saudis.”
Trump: NYTimes Report On Hidden North Korean Bases As “More Fake News.”

President Trump took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=040-9f9&t=c>
yesterday to write, “The story in the New York Times concerning North Korea
developing missile bases is inaccurate. We fully know about the sites being
discussed, nothing new – and nothing happening out of the normal. Just more
Fake News. I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=041-39b&t=c>
(11/13, Din, Wadhams) reports that the President “directed his tweet at the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=042-224&t=c>
(11/13, Sanger, Broad) story,” which “said that while US intelligence knew
about the bases, their existence suggested ‘a great deception’ because the
country was improving some sites while offering to dismantle another major
launching site.” Bloomberg News goes on to report that “the existence of
the bases – which presumably would have to be declared and then dismantled
under the US goal of North Korean ‘denuclearization’ – suggests that
Pyongyang’s previous efforts to dismantle known missile launch sites or
nuclear facilities had little impact on its nuclear program.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=043-ec0&t=c>
(11/13, Muñoz) reports the President “has remained optimistic about the
US-North Korea relationship, despite a lack of progress on the
denuclearization front,” and Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=044-4f4&t=c>
(11/13, Spiering) that he “assured Americans that he would respond
accordingly if North Korea’s actions posed a threat.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=045-c8d&t=c>
(11/13, Brice) says, meanwhile, that “Pyongyang halted missile and nuclear
bomb testing earlier this year but US and South Korean negotiators have yet
to elicit from North Korea a concrete declaration of the size or scope of
the weapons programs or a promise to stop deploying its existing arsenal.”

CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=046-b64&t=c>
(11/13, Bennett) reports “members of both parties on Capitol Hill have
praised his efforts to strike a deal with Kim [Jong-un], though some
Democrats worry the North Korean dictator is playing Trump and has no
intention of giving up his atomic arms while getting concessions on
sanctions and other things from Washington.” Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), for
example, was asked on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=047-56e&t=c>
(11/13) about Trump saying “we fully know about” more than a dozen
undeclared military bases in North Korea. Markey replied by saying the
North Koreans are “still manufacturing new nuclear weapons, they’re still
building new ballistic missiles and the capacity to deliver those weapons
potentially” to the US. “So,” he continued, “the President is just being
taken for a ride by the North Korean government.” Markey said the “new
normal” for the North is to “continue to build” their weapons, while
“enhanc[ing] their trade with China and Russia, which reduces the economic
pressure on them.” Because they’re allowed to do this, Markey contended,
“they smile” at Trump’s assertion that he’s “won a negotiation” because
it’s “absolutely the opposite of what is happening.”

*Pence, Abe Discuss Potential Bilateral Trade Agreement, Sanctions
On North Korea. *On CBS This Morning[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=048-8f6&t=c>
(11/13), Norah O’Donnell reported that Vice President Pence met with
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Tuesday. According to
O’Donnell, Pence “suggested reducing the US trade deficit with a future
bilateral trade agreement and also reaffirmed the need for North Korean
sanctions until denuclearization is complete and verifiable.” O’Donnell
added, “This comes as US think tank analysts identified 13 secret North
Korean missile sites from satellite imagery. The new report says they show
the scope of North Korea’s ‘deception practices.’”

*WPost: Trump Moving Too Slowly On North Korean Denuclearization. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=049-4a5&t=c>
(11/13) editorializes that Trump said of North Korea last week, “We’re in
no rush,” and adds, “A few years ago, the world was shocked to discover
North Korea had one, then six, nuclear weapons. The number is now probably
in the dozens. Tens of thousands of people are suffering in brutal prison
camps. But who’s in a rush?”
Trump Mocks Macron’s Suggestion That Europe Build Its Own Army.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=04a-c00&t=c>
yesterday, “Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect
Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars
One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn
German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not! ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=04b-49e&t=c>
The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in
France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to
get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist
than France, very proud people-and rightfully so! ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=04c-916&t=c>
MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=04d-e9b&t=c>
(11/13, Superville) reports that Trump “escalated his verbal assaults
against France on Tuesday, suggesting that America’s stalwart European ally
would have been vanquished in both world wars if not for the military
firepower provided by the United States.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=04e-042&t=c>
(11/13, Heavey, Baker) says, meanwhile, that “Trump blasted the key US ally
over its near defeat to Germany in two world wars, its wine industry and
Macron’s approval ratings.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=04f-8bc&t=c>
(11/13, McAuley) says Trump’s “broadside on Twitter escalated a spat that
began Friday when Trump took umbrage at Macron’s call in a radio interview
for a ‘true European army’ so that the continent can defend itself without
relying on the United States.” The Post says that “in the first of several
barbs Tuesday on Twitter, Trump again misrepresented what Macron had said
during last week’s radio interview.” The Post says Macron “called for a
‘true European army’ in part so that the continent would not have to rely
on the United States for defense,” and then, “in another part of the
interview, Macron said that Europe has to protect itself ‘with respect to
China, Russia and even the United States.’ But in that portion of the radio
interview, Macron was actually referring to cybersecurity matters and
fading multilateralism, rather than the military.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=050-d2c&t=c>
(11/13, Muñoz) and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=051-757&t=c>
(11/13, Jackson), among other news outlets, also report on Trump’s tweets.

Kimberly Strassel of the Wall Street Journal said on Fox News’
Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=052-74c&t=c>
(11/13) that “it’s in everyone’s interest for Europe to take a bigger step
towards protecting itself, but we do have this thing called NATO for it.
European countries have failed to put in the requisite amount of money and
even do that, so it’s hard to see where you get from that to a freestanding
European army.”

*Trump Bemoans “Fake News” Coverage Of Cemetery Event. *The
President also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=053-412&t=c>
yesterday, “By the way, when the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first
cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving.
Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech
next day at American Cemetery in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=054-672&t=c>
(11/13, Baker) says Trump originally wrote “Speech next day at American
Cemetary in pouring rain,” and that he “later corrected his spelling.”

*Schlapp: Trump’s Trip To France Was “Clearly...Successful.” *Appearing
on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=055-ba9&t=c>
(11/13), White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp
was asked about President Trump’s visit to France this weekend. Schlapp
said, “It was clearly a successful trip. The President, along with [French
President Emanuel] Macron, had a productive meeting. They spoke about
trade. They spoke about NATO. As we know, the President has talked about
many times the importance of sharing the burden of paying for NATO. And the
US has always paid more than these other nations. And so he has sent a
strong message to our European allies and we have seen some changes and
some positive shifts coming from our allies to pay more to NATO. We need
their support.”
Hamas Accepts Egyptian-Brokered Gaza Cease-Fire.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=056-919&t=c>
(11/13, Heller, Akram) reports that “Hamas and other militant groups said
Tuesday they had accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end two days
of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies to the
brink of a new war.” While the “sudden announcement brought relief to a
region that had been paralyzed by hundreds of Palestinian rocket attacks in
southern Israel and scores of Israeli airstrikes on targets in the Gaza
Strip,” it failed to “address the deeper issues that pushed Israel and
Gaza’s Hamas rulers toward their latest violence and left doubts about
international efforts to forge a broader truce agreement.” The declaration
came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Security
Cabinet ended a seven-hour discussion on the rising tensions in Gaza” by
announcing that “it had ordered the military to’ continue operations as
needed.’” Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=057-7df&t=c>
(11/13) reported that “there is no word yet” on whether Israel officials
have accepted the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, but the CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=058-5b3&t=c>
(11/13, story 7, 2:00, Glor) said they “stopped short of calling for a new
offensive.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=059-a52&t=c>
(11/13, Balousha) reports that by sundown Tuesday, “the exchange of fire
that had rocked Gaza and surrounding Israeli communities with relentless
explosions had appeared to stop,” although analysts “warned the security
situation remained fragile.” The Post says Israeli officials’ reluctance
“to acknowledge a ceasefire underscores the delicate balancing act they are
playing as they try to reach a long-term agreement with Hamas, which they
view as a terrorist group bent on Israel’s destruction.” Israel and Hamas
were nearing “a long-term truce” when the violence escalated on Monday and
Tuesday, “triggered by a botched Israeli operation inside Gaza on Sunday.”

A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=05a-b56&t=c>
(11/13, Kershner, Halbfinger) analysis details the “latest paroxysm of
violence in the bleak saga of Gaza-Israeli dysfunction, which began Monday
afternoon and had run its course by Tuesday afternoon.” The
“night-and-daylong attack by Hamas, which rules Gaza, and other militant
factions terrorized residents” and prompted Israel to respond “with waves
of airstrikes that pounded military targets and leveled several tall
buildings used by Hamas, leaving a number of Palestinians homeless.” Seven
people were killed and 26 were wounded in Gaza, and one person was killed
and 18 were wounded in Israel. The Times says “for all its intensity, the
casualty toll could have been much higher,” but it quelled when Hamas
leaders announced the “cease-fire and Israel eventually followed suit.” The
Times says Tuesday’s “abrupt and inconclusive outcome sparked celebrations
in Gaza,” but “left Israel’s government, the most right-wing in the
country’s history, contending with accusations of being soft on Hamas.”

Meanwhile, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=05b-3c3&t=c>
(11/13) reports, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a news
briefing, “We condemn in the strongest terms the rocket, missile and mortar
attacks that are taking place from Gaza into Israel.” She added, “We call
for the sustained halt of those attacks. We stand with Israel as Israel
defends itself against these attacks. It is simply unacceptable to target
civilians.”

Also on Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council “met behind
closed doors” to “discuss the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip but
there was no agreement on how to address the crisis,” AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=05c-1c3&t=c>
(11/14) reports. At a press briefing, “Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour
said the council was ‘paralyzed’ and had ‘failed to shoulder its
responsibility’ to take action to end the violence.” In an apparent
reference to the US, Mansour told reporters: “There is one country that is
not allowing discussion at the council.”
Administration Imposes Sanctions On Hezbollah Figures.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=05d-1dc&t=c>
(11/13) reports that the Treasury Department has “imposed sanctions
on...four people linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah who coordinate the
Iran-backed group’s activities in Iraq and designated the son of the
group’s leader as a global terrorist.” Reuters says Treasury “added Shibl
Muhsin Ubayd al-Zaydi, Yusuf Hashim, Adnan Hussein Kawtharani and Muhammad
Abd-al-Hadi Farhat to its Specially Designated Global Terrorists list.”
According to Reuters, “Al-Zaydi is Iraqi and the others are Lebanese.” In
addition, the State Department “designated Jawad Nasrallah, the son of
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as a Specially Designated Global
Terrorist and described him as a ‘rising leader of Hezbollah.’”

The State Department accused Nasrallah “of trying to ‘activate a
suicide bombing and shooting cell based in the West Bank’ in January 2016,”
the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=05e-2d9&t=c>
(11/13, Hudson) reports. It “also designated Al-Mujahidin Brigades, or AMB,
a group it accused of plotting attacks in Israel and cultivating ties to
Hezbollah.” In a release announcing “that the two entities would be denied
access to the U.S. financial system,” the State Department said: “Today’s
designations seek to deny Nasrallah and AMB the resources to plan and carry
out terrorist attacks.” Later Tuesday, the State Department “offered
rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the
identification or location of two Hezbollah leaders, Khalil Yusif Mahmoud
Harb and Haytham Ali Tabataba’i, and Hamas leader Salih al-Aruri.”
According to the Post, Tuesday’s moves are part of the Administration’s
“strategy of doubling down on America’s alliances with Sunni Arab and
Israeli allies in the Middle East against Iran and the political and
military units it supports.”
Domestic Policy
Maryland Files Suit Claiming Whitaker’s Appointment Is Unconstitutional.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=05f-7f0&t=c>
(11/13, story 5, 0:20, Glor) reported, “The state of Maryland...sued to
block the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as the new acting Attorney
General,” arguing the Constitution “requires that Whitaker be confirmed by
the Senate.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=060-271&t=c>
(11/13, Tucker) says the suit “comes as Democrats call on Whitaker to
recuse himself from overseeing the special counsel’s Russia investigation
because of critical comments he has made on the probe and amid concerns
over his views on the scope of judicial authority.” The AP notes that
“lawyers in the office of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh argue that
the job should have gone to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein instead
of to Whitaker.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=061-471&t=c>
(11/13, Marimow) says “the legal challenge to Whitaker’s appointment comes
as part of Maryland’s ongoing federal lawsuit that is trying to force the
Trump administration to uphold a key provision of the Affordable Care Act.
‘Who the attorney general is at the core of this lawsuit,’ Frosh said in an
interview Tuesday morning.”

Along those lines, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=062-046&t=c>
(11/13, Lynch, Heavey) reports “Maryland asked US District Judge Ellen
Hollander to bar Whitaker from appearing in an official capacity as acting
attorney general in existing litigation related to the Affordable Care Act
healthcare law and to substitute...Rosenstein in Whitaker’s place.”
The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=063-c66&t=c>
(11/13, Mordock) and Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=064-992&t=c>
(11/13, Gurman, Bravin), among other news outlets, also report the story.

Says the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=065-86c&t=c>
(11/13, Savage), “The stakes are extraordinary. The acting attorney general
is the most powerful law enforcement official in the United States and
wields tremendous influence, from overseeing criminal and national-security
investigations to deciding how to enforce immigration, environmental and
civil rights laws.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=066-f67&t=c>
(11/13), “From a political standpoint, you can’t put a political hack in
charge of an agency that’s looked upon as far as the leading agency we have
in federal government that’s going to protect the people of the United
States of America. And I understand political people get put in all of
these different agencies, and I understand that. But the people leading
these agencies have to be beyond the politics, if you will. And he’s a
pretty hard core politician. So I don’t think it fares well at all. He’s
not going to be able to get confirmed, even if he comes up for
confirmation. I don’t believe so.” Manchin added, “Rosenstein should have
been the person that we all thought would have been there if Jeff Sessions
had been removed as he has. That didn’t happen. And it looks like a
political move, and it should not be.”

Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=067-988&t=c>
(11/13), “My colleague Ruth Marcus writes: ‘The acting attorney general of
the United States is a crackpot.’ As though that’s a bad thing. Which it
isn’t.” to Milbank, “the ‘crackpot’ bit is not in dispute,” as “in addition
to his exotic legal views and his lack of relevant experience,” Whitaker
“was already known to have hawked hot-tub seats for a business that shut
down this year after reaching a $26 million settlement with the Federal
Trade Commission for defrauding customers,” and “that’s just the beginning
of the crackpottery.”

Byron Tau of the Wall Street Journal tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=068-5e2&t=c>,
“Conservative legal scholar and Bush administration DOJ official John Yoo
says
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=069-688&t=c>
that the Whitaker appointment is unconstitutional, joining other liberal
and conservative legal scholars in saying the Trump administration
overstepped its bounds.” New York Times columnist Bret Stephens tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=06a-9ea&t=c>,
“John Yoo, that notorious lefty, says Whitaker’s appointment is
unconstitutional.”
Roll Call Analysis: Congress “Extremely Unlikely” To Approve $5B For Border
Wall.

CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=06b-fe3&t=c>
(11/13, Mejdrich) writes that “sooner or later, President Donald Trump will
have to confront the political reality that Congress is extremely unlikely
to provide the $5 billion he wants to build a wall along the US-Mexico
border. That realization has to occur in less than a month, with the House
and Senate both in session for only 12 legislative days before the current
stopgap funding measure expires Dec. 7.” Roll Call says the “longer
policymakers delay in figuring out how to handle the divisive wall project,
the more likely it is Congress will have to punt the remaining seven fiscal
2019 spending bills into the new year, including the Homeland Security
measure, which funds Customs and Border Protection construction accounts.”

*US Troops Lay Barbed Wire, Erect Barricades At Border As Caravan
Moves Closer. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=06c-872&t=c>
(11/13, Diaz) reports that “hundreds of Central American migrants planning
to seek asylum in the United States moved toward the country’s border with
Mexico on Tuesday as US military reinforced security measures, laying
barbed wire and erecting barricades.” Human rights groups say “some 400
migrants who broke away from the main caravan in Mexico City arrived in the
border city of Tijuana on Tuesday by bus,” while “larger groups are
expected to arrive in the coming days.” Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Mattis
is expected to travel to the border area today, “his first visit since the
military announced that over 7,000 US troops would go to the area.”
The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=06d-b9b&t=c>
(11/13, Muñoz) reports that during the visit to McAllen, Texas, Mattis will
“meet with US commanders and troops carrying out the White House-mandated
border security operation.” Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=06e-c4b&t=c>
(11/13, Rosas), among other outlets, also reports Mattis’ trip, and
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=06f-239&t=c>
(11/13, Arce), meanwhile, reports that the “nearly 400 migrants in eight
buses arrived in the northern border state of Sonora, escorted by state and
federal police on Monday.”

According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=070-b1e&t=c>
(11/13, Partlow), the “front line of what President Trump calls a migrant
‘invasion’ has arrived at the US border – dozens of lesbian, gay and
transgender asylum seekers from Central America.” According to the Post,
the group “has taken up shelter in a rented home in Tijuana.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=071-24e&t=c>
(11/13, Verza) reports that as part of plans to “harden” the border
crossing at Tijuana, Customs and Border Protection “announced it was
closing four lanes at the busy San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry in
San Diego.” The agency said the closures were needed “to install and
pre-position port hardening infrastructure equipment in preparation for the
migrant caravan and the potential safety and security risk that it could
cause.” According to Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=072-43e&t=c>
(11/13, Kight), roughly 100 migrants “could reach the US port of entry
between Tijuana and San Diego...on Sunday, ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=073-7e8&t=c>
reports.”

*AP, NYTimes Analyses: Trump “Drumbeat,” Media Attention Coverage
Of Caravan Down After Election. *An AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=074-6aa&t=c>
(11/13, Lemire, Lucey) analysis says one week after the midterms, President
Trump’s “daily drumbeat of warnings about a caravan of ‘bad thugs’ and
potential terrorists intent on invading the US from Mexico has largely
fallen silent.” While the caravans “are still trudging along...Trump – and
many in the conservative media – have dramatically reduced the frequency
and intensity of their dire warnings now that they no longer feel the same
urgency to stir up GOP voters.” Though “Trump and his media allies have
largely moved on,” and “within the West Wing and in Trump’s orbit of
allies, there is a sense that the caravan was a useful midterm messaging
tool, one that became the centerpiece of an eleventh-hour pre-election
strategy modeled on the president’s 2016 campaign pledges to crack down on
illegal immigration, according to four White House officials and outside
advisers.” Once the election was over, the President’s “attention turned
elsewhere, the officials and advisers said.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=075-43d&t=c>
(11/13, Haberman, Landler) similarly reports that “for weeks before the
midterm elections, President Trump warned ominously about the threat from a
caravan of migrants,” but “since the election last week, Mr. Trump has
tweeted about the caravan exactly once.” Fox News, “which faithfully
amplified Mr. Trump’s warnings about the migrants, has gone similarly quiet
on the subject.”
CNN Sues White House Over Action Against Acosta.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=076-d01&t=c>
(11/13, Bauder) reports CNN has sued the Administration, “demanding that
correspondent Jim Acosta’s credentials to cover the White House be returned
because their revocation violates the constitutional right of freedom of
the press.” Acosta was stripped of his credentials “following President
Donald Trump’s contentious news conference last week, where Acosta refused
to give up a microphone when the president said he didn’t want to hear
anything more from him.” CNN “said Acosta was given no warning of the
action, and no recourse to appeal it,” and “asked for an injunction to
immediately reinstate Acosta, as well as a hearing on the larger issue of
barring a reporter.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=077-e4f&t=c>
(11/13, Calderone, Schwartz, Choi) reports CNN “argued in the complaint
that Trump and White House staff violated Acosta’s First and Fifth
Amendment rights” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=078-a81&t=c>
(11/13, Brest) reports CNN said in a statement, “If left unchallenged, the
actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any
journalist who covers our elected officials.”

Ted Boutrous, counsel to CNN on the lawsuit, said on CNN’s
Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111401biden&r=email-ec5b&l=079-a44&t=c>
(11/13), “The Supreme Court, in the famous New York Times v. Sullivan case,
talked about the fact that the First Amendment was there to encourage
robust, vehement, caustic attacks on government officials to hold them to
account. And that’s what Jim Acosta was doing. That’s what all the
reporters from different news organizations were doing in that press
conference. And you can’t have a situation where the White House can toss
reporters out, take away their credentials for doing