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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, May 31, 2018 7:51 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, May 31, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
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*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, May 31, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Trump Signs “Right To Try” Bill, Says Drug Firms To Announce Big Price
Drops. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• North Korean Official In US For Talks With Pompeo Ahead Of Possible
Summit. <#S2>

• Treasury Imposes New Iran Sanctions Targeting Human Rights Abusers. <#S3>

• Administration Poised To Impose Steel, Aluminum Tariffs On EU. <#S4>

• Dissident Russian Journalist Reappears In Kiev After Staging His Own
Death. <#S5>

• US Commander In Afghanistan: Taliban “Talking And Fighting.” <#S6>

• Anti-ISIS Offensive In Syria Revived. <#S7>

• Hamas Announces Ceasefire After Israeli Jets Hits Dozens Of Targets In
Gaza. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Media Analyses: Gowdy Defense Of FBI Contradicts Trump Claims. <#S9>

• Trump Questions Iger Apology To Jarrett, Doesn’t Address Barr Tweet.
<#S10>

• Sanders Chokes Up At Student’s Question On Shootings. <#S11>

• Trump’s New Insurance Rules Panned By Healthcare Groups. <#S12>

• McCarthy Says House Republicans “Very Close” To Immigration Agreement.
<#S13>

• In Wake Of Death Toll Study, White House Defends FEMA Response To
Hurricane Maria. <#S14>

• Trump Touts “Great Meeting” With Kardashian On Prison Reform. <#S15>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_4>*

• New York Times. <#S16>

• Washington Post. <#S17>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_5>*

• Biden Bringing Book Tour To St. Petersburg On June 4. <#S18>

• Bustle Writer Highlights Biden Book As Potential Father’s Day Gift. <#S19>

• Beau Biden Foundation Takes “Pragmatic Approach” To Netflix’s “13 Reasons
Why.” <#S20>
Leading the News
Trump Signs “Right To Try” Bill, Says Drug Firms To Announce Big Price
Drops.

Though not mentioned on the major network newscasts last night, President
Trump received generally positive print and online coverage for signing
legislation that gives some patients access to drugs that have not been
approved by the FDA. The reporting points out that House Democrats opposed
the bill while Trump has long championed the concept of offering additional
options to seriously ill people who have exhausted their options. Reports
also note that in his remarks
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=002-3a1&t=c>
at the signing ceremony, Trump said, “We’re going to have some of the big
drug companies in two weeks and they’re going to announce – because of what
we did – they’re going to announce voluntary massive drops in prices.”

“Industry sources,” however, told media outlets that Trump’s words
took them by surprise and that they did not know what he was referring to.
Politico
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(5/30, Ehley) reports that “some industry sources said they were unaware of
any announcement,” and adds that “pharma stocks temporarily dipped after
the Trump comment, but quickly rebounded.” Likewise, Reuters
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(5/30, Abutaleb) reports that “health care lobbyists in Washington said
they were caught by surprise and had no idea what Trump was talking about.”
Reuters notes that Trump recently “unveiled the administration’s plan to
lower prescription drug prices, largely through regulatory authority,” and
that “healthcare stocks rose as it became clear his administration avoided
aggressive direct measures to cut prices.”

Townhall
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(5/30, Pavlich) noted that “earlier this month...Trump vowed to lower the
price of prescription drugs as part of his administration’s broader
approach to healthcare policy,” and that “during his remarks at the White
House,” he “said ‘right to try’ legislation will help accomplish that
goal.” Reporting on the legislation Trump signed into law, USA Today
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(5/30, Fritze) says “patients who have exhausted other options” can now
“access drugs in early stages of FDA review,” and notes Trump “has
frequently noted his support for the idea, most recently during his State
of the Union address in January.” USA Today points out that the legislation
was approved in the House “on a mostly party-line vote.”

Trump said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=007-8b9&t=c>,
“I am proud to keep another promise to the American people as I sign the
#RightToTry Legislation into law.” He later added
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“With the #RightToTry Law I signed today, patients with life threatening
illnesses will finally have access to experimental treatments that could
improve or even cure their conditions. These are experimental treatments
and products that have shown great promise.”

The AP
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(5/30, Thomas) says Trump was “joined by families dealing with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, and other diseases,”
and also reports that the bill “cleared the House last week following an
emotional debate in which Republicans said it would help thousands of
people in search of hope,” while “many Democrats said the measure was
dangerous and would give patients false hope.” CNN
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(5/30, Malloy) noted on its website that Trump said, “I would not be here
today without the tireless efforts of dedicated members of Congress,” and
“specifically” pointed out Sens. Joe Donnelly and Ron Johnson, and Reps.
Michael Burgess (R) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R). Added Trump, “Thanks to you
the countless American lives with ultimately be saved.”

The Washington Post
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(5/30, Wagner, Sullivan) reports that “shortly after the event, Donnelly
issued a statement that highlighted Trump’s praise.” Said Donnelly “I was
proud to join President Trump at the White House, as he signed my right to
try bill into law.” The Post points out, however, that Trump’s tone toward
Donnelly “was far different earlier this month when he traveled to Elkhart,
Ind., to tout the candidacy of Donnelly’s challenger, businessman Mike
Braun, days after he claimed the GOP nomination.” Back then, “Trump
disparagingly labeled Donnelly ‘Sleepin’ Joe,’” and CQ Roll Call
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(5/30, Bennett) notes he also referred to him as an “incredible ‘swamp
person.’” The Hill
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(5/30, Hellmann) says Sen. Joe Manchin, “another vulnerable Democrat up for
reelection, was the only other Democratic co-sponsor on the bill, but did
not attend the ceremony because he is in West Virginia this week, his
office said.”

The Washington Examiner
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(5/30, King) reports the FDA “already has a program called compassionate
use that approves 99 percent of requests from patients for access to
experimental products.” The bill “would bypass that program and not require
a patient to apply with the FDA to get approval to seek access to an
experimental drug,” though “neither compassionate use nor the new law
requires the drug company to provide the experimental product.” The
Examiner adds “drug companies are worried that any deaths from taking the
drug outside the clinical trial could imperil FDA approval.”

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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(5/30, Venteicher) says the bill “limits liability for drug manufacturers
and prescribers and doesn’t require drug companies to provide the
unapproved treatments to patients.” Moreover, “there are no requirements
for insurers to cover the treatments.” The Tribune-Review adds that “about
three dozen patient groups representing people with serious illnesses wrote
in opposition to the group, saying it could do more harm than good by
expanding access to drugs that can be dangerous.” The Washington Times
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(5/30, Howell, Miller) reports that Rep. Frank Pallone (D), “who opposed
the legislation, said the FDA oversight of access to experimental
treatments exists for a reason.” The Times also reports that “dozens of
patient-advocacy groups opposed the bill,” and argue that “a bigger
problem, which the bill doesn’t tackle, is pharmaceutical companies denying
requests for access to drugs outside of their normal clinical trials.”

Among those in attendance, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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(5/30, Noennig) reports, was “Pewaukee resident and father of three Tim
Wendler,” who “is hoping that a law signed May 30 will give families more
hope than his had when a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal illness.”
His wife, Trickett, “was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2013; she died in 2015.” It
was during her illness that “the Wendler family became involved in efforts
to pass both state and federal legislation that would allow terminally ill
patients to try more experimental drugs.” Wisconsin “passed its own form of
the legislation in 2017, in part thanks to the Wendler family.”

*Trump Says He “Really Couldn’t Care Less” About Pharma, Insurance
Companies. *Fox News
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(5/30, Singman) reports on its website that in his remarks, Trump “said
that he was seeking the ‘better bill’ for ‘the people,’” adding, “Not the
pharmaceutical companies, not the insurance companies – I don’t care about
them. I really couldn’t care less.”

*Nine-Year-Old “Stole The Show” With Trump Hug. *WXIN-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=013-0b0&t=c>
Indianapolis (5/30) reported that “Indianapolis nine-year-old Jordan McLinn
was there for the signing.” McLinn “has a deadly form of muscular
dystrophy,” and “he and his mom Laura have been tireless advocates for
‘right to try’ laws nationwide.” The bill, in fact, “bears the boy’s name.”
The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=014-3b7&t=c>
(5/30, Lim) recounts that “Little Jordan...stole the show Wednesday when he
tried to give...Trump an ill-timed hug.” The boy “attempted three times to
engage Trump in an embrace,” and “when he noticed Trump, seemingly unaware,
turn his back to him on his third try” he “covered his tracks by resting
his elbow and head on Trump’s desk.” McLinn’s “move drew laughs from the
crowd assembled in the room before Trump, wearing a grin, hugged McLinn and
kissed him on the forehead.” Breitbart
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(5/30, Spiering) also notes the story under the headline “Young Boy Hugs
Donald Trump After He Signs ‘Right To Try’ Legislation.”

*NYTimes: Trump “Oversells” New Law. *Under the headline “Trump
Oversells New ‘Right To Try’ Law,” the New York Times
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(5/30, Qiu) quotes Trump as saying yesterday, “We will be saving – I don’t
even want to say thousands, because I think it’s going to be much more,
thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands. We’re going to be saving
tremendous numbers of lives.” The Times adds that whether the law “will
save ‘hundreds of thousands of lives’ is a prediction that is, at best,
unclear,” as “the effect of similar laws in some states has been muted.” CQ
Roll Call
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(5/30, Bennett) also reports that Trump made the prediction “without
providing any supporting data.”
Foreign Policy
North Korean Official In US For Talks With Pompeo Ahead Of Possible Summit.

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(5/30, story 5, 0:20, Guthrie) reported briefly on “the delicate
negotiations between the US and North Korea ahead of that on-again,
off-again maybe on-again summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un.
North Korea’s spy chief, often described as Kim Jong-un’s right-hand man,
has arrived in New York where he’ll meet with Secretary of State Pompeo.”
The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(5/30, story 5, 1:40, Glor) said “their talks may determine whether the
US-North Korea nuclear summit will take place.”

The New York Times
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(5/30, Rich) reports that “analysts believe that Mr. Pompeo will seek to
clarify the North’s position on its nuclear program, which may have gotten
muddled during Mr. Pompeo’s two visits to Pyongyang to meet with Kim
Jong-un. Kim Yong-chol was also at those meetings.” Reuters
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(5/30) says the two diplomats are due to meet on Wednesday and Thursday “to
discuss whether to go ahead with” the summit, which “has been cast in
doubt.” According to the AP
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(5/30, Lederman, Lee, Bodeen), Pompeo and Kim “had dinner for about an
hour-and-a-half,” and planned a “day full of meetings” Thursday, the White
House said.

USA Today
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(5/30, Jackson) reports President Trump “huddled” with Pompeo at the White
House on Wednesday before he traveled to New York. White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders said, “We’re continuing to prepare for the meeting
between the President and the North Korean leader,” adding that officials
hope it will happen as originally scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.

The Washington Post
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(5/30, Lee) reports that elsewhere on Wednesday, “a top aide to North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with his American counterpart” in Singapore
to plan for the summit. The Post says the meeting “dealt purely with
logistics but has been shrouded in secrecy.”

*Lavrov To Visit North Korea Thursday. *The CNN
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(5/30, Tarabay) website reports the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “will visit North Korea on Thursday.”

*Shangri-La Dialogue Expected To Focus On Issues Other Than North
Korea. *Reuters
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(5/30, Ali, Gopalakrishnan, Miglani) reports that when top defense
officials meet in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue this weekend, it
“won’t be all about the US-North Korea summit scheduled to be held in the
same city later in June.” Delegates say the annual dialogue “will be an
opportunity for” Defense Secretary Mattis and “other regional officials to
look beyond North Korea and address other pressing issues, especially
China’s recent moves to further consolidate its extensive territorial
claims in the South China Sea.”
Treasury Imposes New Iran Sanctions Targeting Human Rights Abusers.

Reuters
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(5/30, Ahmann) reports the US Treasury Department announced it was imposing
new sanctions on “six Iranians and three Iran-based entities, including
Tehran’s Evin prison.” The sanctions also “targeted the group Ansar-e
Hezbollah and the Hanista Programming Group.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=022-aaf&t=c>
(5/30, Wilhelm) reports Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said in a release, “Iran
not only exports terrorism and instability across the world, it routinely
violates the rights of its own people.” He added, “America stands with the
people of Iran, and Treasury is taking action to hold the Iranian regime
accountable for ongoing human rights abuses, censorship, and other
despicable acts it commits against its own citizens.”

*Iranian Crude Exports Fell Slightly In May. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=023-445&t=c>
(5/30, Lawler) reports Petro-Logisitics of Switzerland estimates that
Iran’s crude oil exports “declined slightly in May,” the “first sign that
the threat of U.S. sanctions may be deterring buyers.” However, the
estimates also “suggest Iranian oil buyers are not rushing to cut volumes
from OPEC’s third-largest producer.” Petro-Logistics CEO Daniel Gerber
said, “Exports are down by more than 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the
very high levels seen in April, but there is no sign of a mass exodus at
this time.” However, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=024-d13&t=c>
(5/30) reports India’s Reliance Industries Ltd is “planning to halt oil
imports from Iran” in a “first sign that new U.S. sanctions are forcing
buyers to shun oil purchases from Tehran.”

*US Said To Be Seeking To Pressure Iran To Break Nuclear Deal. *Barbara
Slavin, who directs the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council,
writes on Axios
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(5/30), “The Trump administration has been challenging Iran to break the
terms of the nuclear deal by denying its full economic benefits and casting
uncertainty over the reimposition of sanctions,” and since the US withdrew
from the nuclear deal, “Washington still appears to be counting on Iran’s
eventual withdrawal to apply a policy of maximum pressure on Tehran.”
However, “conversations with individuals familiar with administration
thinking suggest that there’s no real strategy for renegotiating the deal,”
adding, “It’s telling that no Trump administration official has been named
to lead the alleged renegotiation effort.”

*Email Snafu Reveals White House Outreach To Obama And Clinton
Alumni On Iran Strategy. *Politico
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(5/30, Karni) reports, “The White House has been blasting out its talking
points” on President Trump’s Iran strategy and other foreign policy
initiatives “to an uncharacteristically inclusive list of foreign policy
heavyweights – including former Obama administration officials, advisers to
Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and critics.” Politico
reviewed an email suggesting “ways to amplify the White House’s message” on
Iran “and show support,” in which communications aide Kelly Sadler failure
to blind-copy recipients revealed the people the message was sent to.
Meanwhile, “many who received the email said they were left deeply confused
about what the White House expected them to do with the information” and
said that “the paper-thin level of content” – suggesting supportive tweets
and op-eds instead of making a persuasive case – “was more troubling...than
the recipient list.”
Administration Poised To Impose Steel, Aluminum Tariffs On EU.

Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=027-404&t=c>
(5/30, Meier, Swan) reports “plans for the Trump administration to hit the
European Union with steel and aluminum tariffs could be announced as early
as Thursday.” Axios adds that “if the tariffs go through, you’ll see
domestic and imported steel and aluminum prices spike because the EU is a
top supplier,” and that “the EU will likely retaliate almost immediately.”
The Wall Street Journal
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(5/30, Mauldin, Pancevski, Salama) also reports the US move is nearly
certain to spark a EU retaliation, while the New York Times
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(5/30, Swanson) indicates that “so far, the Trump administration’s
aggressive approach appears to have only hardened the resolve among the
United States’ closest allies to fight back against Mr. Trump’s demands.”

The Washington Post
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(5/30, Lynch, Romm) reports President Trump is “intensifying hostilities in
his global trade war, as the United States nears a clash with the European
Union over multiple tariffs” and “Washington’s efforts to prevent
multinational businesses from trading with Iran.” The Post says Commerce
Secretary Ross “introduced a fresh element into the strained transatlantic
ties Tuesday when he complained” about the EU’s new General Data Protection
Regulation. Ross is quoted as saying, “GDPR’s implementation could
significantly interrupt transatlantic cooperation and create unnecessary
barriers to trade. ... We do not have a clear understanding of what is
required to comply.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=02b-944&t=c>
(5/30) reports that Ross met with the finance ministers of France and
Germany, as well as the EU’s trade commissioner. Reuters notes that the US
“has imposed tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel...but gave the
European Union and some other partners a temporary exemption, which expires
on Friday.” Reuters adds that “with less than two days before the deadline,
talks were still going on at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=02c-133&t=c>
(5/30, Burchard) notes, however, that “European Commissioner for Trade
Cecilia Malmström said Wednesday that it is realistic to expect the United
States to impose tariffs or quotas against European steel and aluminum
exports starting Friday.” Malmström said after meeting with Ross,
“Hopefully we will be able to have a positive agenda with the US side, with
no tariffs or quotas. Realistically, however, we do not think we can hope
for that.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=02d-fcb&t=c>
(5/30, Corbet, Charlton) reports that, also yesterday, French President
Emmanuel Macron “warned against trade wars in an impassioned speech about
international cooperation. ... ‘Unilateral responses and threats over trade
war will solve nothing of the serious imbalances in the world trade.
Nothing,’ Macron said in a speech at the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development in Paris.”

*Canadian Foreign Minister Threatens To Retaliate Against US
Tariffs. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=02e-daf&t=c>
(5/30) reports that Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland
said yesterday that Canada “will ‘respond appropriately’ to any US steel
and aluminum tariffs,” and “reiterated Canada’s position that talks on
renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and possible
US steel and aluminum tariffs are separate.”

*Navarro Disputes “Unfortunate Sound Bite” By Mnuchin On US-China
Trade Talks. *Under the headline, “Navarro Rebukes Mnuchin for Declaring
China Trade War ‘On Hold,’” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=02f-930&t=c>
(5/30, Leonard, Miller) reports that in an interview with NPR
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=030-c51&t=c>,
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro “criticized” Treasury Secretary
Mnuchin “for declaring the US-China trade war was on hold, calling the
remarks an ‘unfortunate sound bite.’” Navarro is quoted as saying, “What
we’re having with China is a trade dispute, plain and simple. ... We lost
the trade war long ago.” Bloomberg notes that “the remarks from
Navarro...come just days before” Commerce Secretary Ross “is scheduled to
meet with his counterparts in Beijing to discuss ways to reduce the US
trade deficit with China.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=031-aef&t=c>
(5/30, Nelson) says “Navarro, a staunch advocate for the president’s
get-tough approach with China, and Mnuchin, known to hold more moderate
views, have clashed previously on the issue of US trade policy with China,
including a shouting match during an initial round of talks in Beijing
earlier this month.”

*White House: Trump Made Decision To Put Tariffs On China Back On
Table. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=032-cb8&t=c>
(5/30, Kasperowicz) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders “said
Wednesday that it was President Trump’s decision to push once more for the
imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods, even though Trump a month earlier
removed the threat of tariffs and said the US and China would negotiate.”
Said Sanders, “The President ultimately makes the decisions on trade, and
when he does, we announce them. ... And that’s exactly what’s taking place
in this process.”

*China Derides Trump “Flip Flop,” WSJournal Report Says Talks Now
In Question. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=033-012&t=c>
(5/30) reports China “hit back at...Trump’s plan to push ahead with tariffs
on $50 billion of Chinese imports despite a recent truce in the trade
fight, saying it damages America’s standing.” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing, “Every flip-flop in international
relations simply depletes a country’s credibility.” A Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=034-f8c&t=c>
(5/30, Wei, Kubota) report, meanwhile, cites sources on both sides who say
the renewed tensions threaten to scuttle planned talks between the US and
China. The Journal also says the standoff could boost the influence of
Chinese nationalist hardliners.

*Ivanka Trump Declines To Answer Question About Her Chinese
Trademarks. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=035-637&t=c>
(5/30, Haberman) reports that White House adviser Ivanka Trump “abruptly
left a conference call on Tuesday...after receiving” a reporter’s question
“about her company’s trademarks in China.” According to the Times, “a White
House official said that Ms. Trump would take a few questions,” and “the
first reporter to ask a question broached the number of trademarks that
China recently awarded Ms. Trump’s private, eponymous brand” at “around the
same time” that President Trump “endorsed saving the Chinese
telecommunications company ZTE, a move that surprised several people in his
own administration.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=036-edd&t=c>
(5/30) editorializes that “the fact that China granted some of these
valuable intellectual property rights just a few days before the president
agreed to relax US sanctions on Chinese telecom giant ZTE only fortifies
the appearance that foreign governments seek to influence the US government
by bestowing business favors on the president’s daughter.” The Post
concludes that “this is an inference of impropriety that most ethical
people, whether in business or in government, would go to the greatest
possible lengths to dispel, but – so far, at least – not Ms. Trump.”
Dissident Russian Journalist Reappears In Kiev After Staging His Own Death.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=037-5ff&t=c>
(5/30) reports that Arkady Babchenko, “a dissident Russian journalist who
was reported murdered in Kiev, dramatically reappeared alive on Wednesday
in the middle of a televised briefing about his own killing by the
Ukrainian state security service.” Babchenko “appeared before reporters
saying he had been part of a special Ukrainian operation to thwart a
Russian attempt on his life,” as well as “other big acts of terror,” but
“did not specify what those planned acts were.” Reuters says Ukrainian
officials say they “received information about a plot to kill 30 people in
Ukraine, including Babchenko, but had managed to prevent it.”

All three major network newscasts reported the story. NBC Nightly
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=038-76a&t=c>
(5/30, story 9, 1:45, Guthrie) called it “a genuine shocker,” ABC World
News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=039-24a&t=c>
(5/30, story 7, 1:25, Muir) a “stunning twist,” and the CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=03a-97a&t=c>
(5/30, story 4, 2:05, Glor) “a plot straight out of Hollywood.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=03b-796&t=c>
(5/30, Stanglin) recounts that “to the applause and gasps of the press,
Babchenko took the floor at the news conference in the Ukrainian capital
and apologized to the friends and family – including his wife – who mourned
for him and were unaware of the plan.” His wife, “unaware of the plot,
found him outside their apartment entrance Tuesday evening ‘bleeding’ from
what she thought were gunshot wounds to his back. As part of the ruse,
police claimed he died in an ambulance en route to the hospital.” The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=03c-512&t=c>
(5/30, Ferris-Rotman) notes “his alleged death was widely condemned by
American and European officials as an attack on press freedom.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=03d-097&t=c>
(5/30, Macfarquhar) reports “Babchenko and the senior officials from the
Ukrainian security services who appeared with him said that a contract for
$40,000 had been put on his life, and that the only way to track down those
responsible was to make it seem as if it had happened.” Adds the Times,
“The operation took two months to plan, they said.” Vasily S. Gritsak, head
of Ukraine’s Security Service, “said there was one suspect in custody, a
Ukrainian citizen.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=03e-27f&t=c>
(5/30, Vlasov, Vasilyeva) and Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=03f-ade&t=c>
(5/30, Marson), among other news outlets, also report the story this
morning.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=040-5b4&t=c>
(5/30) editorializes that “there is virtually no chance that Russia will
acknowledge any plot against Mr. Babchenko,” and Vladimir Putin “may
believe that lying in defense of Russian honor is justified.” However,
“every new burst of denial and obfuscation only makes him and his Kremlin
look more deceitful and dishonorable.”
US Commander In Afghanistan: Taliban “Talking And Fighting.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=041-a23&t=c>
(5/30, Stewart) reports Army General John Nicholson, the top US commander
in Afghanistan, “played down a spate of recent Taliban attacks,” saying
that they came “as some insurgents talked peace – a situation he described
as ‘talking and fighting.’” He said that in diplomatic activity – much of
which is occurring “off the stage” – there are “mid-level, senior-level
Taliban leaders engaging with Afghans.” He also “drew comparisons to
Colombia, where insurgents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) and government forces were fighting before a 2016 peace agreement.”
Nicholson’s talk with reporters “sought to underscore data and events he
said point to forward progress,” pointing “to unreleased data showing a 30
percent decline in attacks initiated by the insurgents between February and
April, compared with the average over the previous five years” and a 10 to
12 percent reduction of violence in the spring offensive.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=042-380&t=c>
(5/30, Burns) reports that Nicholson said “some elements of the
Taliban...are showing interest in peace talks...citing ‘off stage’ contacts
involving what he described as mid- and high-level leaders of the
insurgency.” According to the AP, Nicholson “said he could not name names
because the contacts are being pursued confidentially to improve the
chances of advancing toward actual peace talks.” The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=043-259&t=c>
(5/30, Johnson) reports Nicholson “said some Taliban figures and leaders
have publicly expressed interest in reconciliation despite recent attacks
on government facilities” and that there is a “robust dialogue going on
inside the Taliban.”

*Former JSOC Chief Miller To Lead US Troops In Afghanistan.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=044-205&t=c>
(5/30, Muñoz, Wolfgang) reports that, “putting its own aggressive stamp on
the Afghanistan War,” the Administration selected Army Lt. Gen. Austin
“Scott” Miller, who ran the secretive Joint Special Operations Command, to
lead American troops in Afghanistan. The move “in some ways harks back to
President Obama’s 2009 installation of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal to
oversee the conflict,” as he too led the storied Joint Special Operations
Command prior to the appointment.

*US Killed “Dozens” Of Taliban Leaders Last Week. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=045-f25&t=c>
(5/30, Browne, Starr) reports on its website that Gen. John Nicholson, the
commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said today that “US troops
killed ‘dozens’ of Taliban leaders when a US artillery barrage struck a
meeting of insurgent commanders on May 24.” According to CNN, “US military
officials said the strike took place after US military intelligence assets
were able to monitor Taliban commanders following their major attack on the
Afghan city of Farah, a well-coordinated assault in which the Taliban
managed to overrun the police security cordon surrounding the provincial
capital before they were repelled by US and Afghan troops in an intense
battle.”

*Attack On Ministry Building In Kabul Repelled. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=046-564&t=c>
(5/30, Faiez) reports that attackers, “including two suicide bombers,
dressed in military uniforms and riding in two armored vehicles launched a
surprise attack on the Interior Ministry in Kabul on Wednesday but Afghan
forces managed to repel the assault, leaving all the attackers dead.” The
AP says it was a “rare victory for Afghan security forces, who have
struggled to secure the capital in recent months amid relentless attacks by
the Taliban and the IS affiliate in Afghanistan.” The AP reports that
although ISIS in Afghanistan took responsibility for the attack, Gen.
Nicholson “cast doubt the attack was the work of IS, saying instead there
are indications the Taliban-allied Haqqani network was behind it.” The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=047-ca0&t=c>
(5/30, Salahuddin) reports that at least one police officer was killed and
five were wounded.
Anti-ISIS Offensive In Syria Revived.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=048-247&t=c>
(5/30, Schmitt) reports Kurdish commanders returning “from the failed fight
against the Turks in the northwest” have “revived a stalled American-backed
ground offensive to wipe out the last pockets of Islamic State militants in
eastern Syria.” Other positive factors include “a surge in French
commandos, the arrival of Navy fighter jets and some secret sleuthing by
Iraqi spies.” However, “the new momentum remains imperiled by President
Trump’s on-again, off-again threat to withdraw some 2,000 American troops
in Syria,” with the campaign possibly only having about six months to hunt
the fighters, “not enough time to extinguish a threat that is quickly
moving underground.” Additionally, even if the effort succeeds, “American
officials and analysts acknowledged that a plan to ensure security and
stability in the region remains elusive.” Also, American and Western
intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that ISIS military defeats
have “failed to stifle its ability to mobilize a potent global following
through social media.”
Hamas Announces Ceasefire After Israeli Jets Hits Dozens Of Targets In Gaza.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=049-5bb&t=c>
(5/30, Akram) reports that Hamas yesterday “agreed to a cease-fire with
Israel to end the largest flare-up of violence between” Palestinians and
Israel “since a 2014 war.” The AP notes that the Israeli military “struck
dozens of militant sites in Gaza overnight.” The Israeli military “said it
hit drone storage facilities, military compounds, and rocket and munition
workshops across the Gaza Strip.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=04a-416&t=c>
(5/30, Kershner) also says Hamas “unilaterally declared a cease-fire,” and,
“in response, Israeli officials signaled that the government was willing to
end this round, saying it would act only in response to fire from Gaza.”
The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=04b-aeb&t=c>
(5/30, Eglash) reports that “during a 24-hour flare-up, militant factions
in Gaza, including Hamas, fired more than 100 rockets and mortar shells
into Israel starting Tuesday and continuing through Wednesday morning.” The
Post notes that Israel claims that “some of the rockets fired into its
territory were Iranian-made.”
Domestic Policy
Media Analyses: Gowdy Defense Of FBI Contradicts Trump Claims.

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy is receiving a
great deal of positive media coverage for defending the FBI’s investigation
of possible Russian meddling in the Trump campaign. His remarks, in a Fox
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=04c-f02&t=c>
(5/29) interview Tuesday night, are portrayed as a pushback against claims
made by President Trump about the FBI’s surveillance of his campaign. Gowdy
reiterated his defense of the bureau Wednesday in an appearance on CBS This
Morning[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=04d-374&t=c>,
saying, “When the FBI comes into contact with information about what a
foreign government may be doing in our election cycle, I think they have an
obligation to run it out. I think the FBI...would tell you Russia was the
target, and Russia’s intentions toward our country were the target. The
fact that two people were loosely connected with the Trump campaign may
have been involved doesn’t diminish the fact that Russia was the target and
not the campaign.” Gowdy added, “Think back to what the President himself
told James Comey. He said, ‘I didn’t collude with Russia, but if anyone
connected with my campaign did, I want you to investigate it.’” Gowdy said,
“That strikes me as exactly what the FBI was doing.”

Jonathan Karl said on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=04e-023&t=c>
(5/30, story 4, 2:45, Muir) that Trump “has turned an unfounded allegation
into a campaign rallying cry.” But “there is no evidence of that. And now,
a prominent Republican with access to the information on what the FBI was
doing says there was no spying on the campaign, and the FBI did nothing
wrong.” Katie Pavlich writes on Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=04f-bdd&t=c>
(5/30) that Gowdy “is pushing back against” Trump’s claim that spy was
placed in his campaign. Asked by CBS about Trump’s use of the term “spy,”
Gowdy said, “That’s not a term I ever used in the criminal justice system.
Undercover, informant, confidential information, those are all words I’m
familiar with. I’ve never heard the term ‘spy’ used. ... That’s an
espionage term not a law enforcement term.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=050-150&t=c>
(5/30, Persons) reports that Gowdy told CBS that Trump should meet with
Mueller. Gowdy said, “I think the President should tell Mueller in private
what he has told all of us in public, which is he didn’t collude with
Russia. He doesn’t know anything about it, and if anyone connected with his
campaign did, he wants the public to know it.”

On ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=051-958&t=c>
(5/30, 7:08 a.m. EDT, Stephanopoulos), Cecilia Vega reported that while
Trump “turned the false claim that a spy infiltrated his campaign into a
rallying cry for his base” at a rally in Nashville Tuesday, Gowdy
“contradicted the President, saying President Trump was not a target.”
Gowdy was shown saying, “I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly
what my fellow citizens would want them to do when they got the information
they got, and that it has nothing to do with Donald Trump.” Vega called
Gowdy’s comments “the strongest push-back yet from any presidential ally on
that false claim about the Spygate story.” George Stephanopoulos added, “at
this point, the President has every reason to know what he’s saying about
the infiltration is not true,” but “he keeps on repeating it.” On CBS This
Morning[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=052-bee&t=c>
(5/30, 7:18 a.m. EDT), Major Garrett reported that Gowdy “said the FBI did
not wrongly infiltrate the Trump campaign,” while, in Nashville, “the
President kept his spygate mantra going.”

On CNN’s New Day[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=053-b49&t=c>
(5/30, 7:22 a.m. EDT, Cuomo), Sen. Chris Coons said, “I’m grateful that”
Gowdy “stepped forward and made this important statement. ... In this
matter, I think he is stepping forward and putting to rest the baseless
allegations by President Trump.”

Guy Benson of Townhall said on Fox News Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=054-aba&t=c>
(5/30), “I think we have to pay very close attention to what Trey Gowdy is
saying because he has extraordinary access to actual information about
this. We all chatter about it and speculate all day and all night, but he
knows more than 99.9% of us do because he has seen an actual documents. So
when this was an appropriately predicated investigation and the informant
within the Trump campaign was not a spy, or acting inappropriately in any
way, I think that matters. Many in the media are seizing on that element of
his interview,” but “the quote also to me that sticks out, he said ‘I has
nothing to do with Donald Trump himself.’ That is significant. If Gowdy is
saying, if there was this informant, which there was, what he was examining
is not targeting the President, that matters.”

A.B. Stoddard of RealClearPolitics said on Fox News Special
Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=055-346&t=c>
(5/30) that Gowdy “is doing this because he knows that what President Trump
is doing” is “launching an assault on the intelligence community and the
law enforcement agencies that we depend on in this country and it’s
working. ... Trump knows there was no spy infiltrating his campaign. He
knows that it wasn’t him that they were after, that they were checking out
Russians that were trying to get into his campaign and connect with is
campaign, but he’s doing it anyway.”

Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=056-f8a&t=c>
(5/30) that Gowdy “has contracted a case of late-onset honesty.” Gowdy’s
announcement that he is leaving Congress has “freed him to speak his mind
without fear of a political price.” Milbank adds, however, that while Gowdy
and others “can say they spoke out,” when “they could have made a
difference, before Trump took a box cutter to the fabric of democracy, they
were silent.”

In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=057-eb3&t=c>
(5/30) praises Gowdy, saying he is “one senior Republican with enough
decency to admit the obvious.” By “forcefully rebuk[ing] President Trump’s
baseless and dangerous claim that the Obama administration improperly
implanted a ‘spy’ into his 2016 campaign,” Gowdy “underscored the cowardice
of the many other Republicans who stand by while the president shreds the
FBI’s reputation for political gain.”

On the other hand, Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=058-ac0&t=c>
(5/30) that Gowdy “tried to play down what the President is rightly calling
‘Spygate.’ Let’s make this very simple. Here’s the basic...definition of
the term spy for all of you people in Congress, even those of you that
claim to be lawyers: a secret or undercover agent, that’s a spy. So make no
mistake, the Trump campaign was spied on. A secret agent working with
Obama’s Justice Department, monitoring conversation and activities of many
Trump campaign associates.”

*Trump Says He Wishes He Had Picked Someone Else As Attorney
General. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=059-4af&t=c>
(5/30, Persons) reports that President Trump on Wednesday “expressed his
frustration again” with Attorney General Sessions’ “recusal in the Russia
investigation.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=05a-cd9&t=c>
(5/30, Jackson) says that Trump “acknowledged again...that he wishes he had
not appointed” Sessions. Following House Oversight and Government Reform
Chairman Trey Gowdy’s appearance on CBS This Morning[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=05b-ac8&t=c>
(5/30) in which he said, “There are lots of good lawyers in the country. He
could have picked someone else,” Trump posted a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=05c-c6e&t=c>
in which he cited Gowdy’s comment and added, “And I wish I did!”

To The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=05d-c05&t=c>
(5/30, Fabian, Shelbourne) Trump’s tweet was “the latest sign of his
growing anger over the Russia investigation.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=05e-ef0&t=c>
(5/30, Bierman) says it reflected Trump’s “lingering anger at his attorney
general for recusing himself from the Russia probe last year,” and the
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=05f-c01&t=c>
(5/30, Wagner) says it “renew[ed] a slight” of Sessions, “who recused
himself from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016
presidential campaign.” Trump “has repeatedly berated Sessions for his
decision, at one point last summer calling it ‘very unfair’ to him.”
Similarly, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=060-64a&t=c>
(5/30, Sullivan) says that since Sessions’ recusal, Trump “has publicly and
privately lashed out at the attorney general, and the sentiment on
Wednesday was no surprise.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=061-8cd&t=c>
(5/30, Leonor) says Trump’s tweet “is perhaps his most direct rebuke of
Sessions in a yearlong spat that has seen the president repeatedly berate
his Cabinet member.” It came in the wake of a New York Times report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=062-390&t=c>
that his “public and private criticisms of Sessions are now under the scope
of the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.” The Times
story “details a March 2017 meeting in Mar-a-Lago between the two at which
Trump reportedly asked Sessions to reverse his decision to recuse himself.”
Paula Reid reported on the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=063-70e&t=c>
(5/30, story 3, 2:25, Glor) that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
“refused to say why the President hasn’t followed through on his threats.”
Reid asked, “If the Attorney General is not living up to the President’s
expectations, if he is so frustrated with him, why doesn’t he just fire him
instead of sort of nursing this grievance so publicly?” Sanders: “Look, the
President’s made his viewpoint very clearly known, and I don’t have any
personnel announcements at this point.”

Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=064-c4a&t=c>
(5/30) said Sessions’ decision to recuse himself was “so harmful, the
ramifications so massive” it “is playing out today and it’s hurting the
country.” Sessions “used a completely illegitimate justification for his
recusal.” Sessions claimed he was required to recuse himself under federal
regulations “because of an ongoing criminal investigation. However, at the
time of Sessions’ recusal, there was no Russia collusion criminal
investigation.”

*NYTimes’ Schmidt: Trump Has Discussed Firing Sessions After
Midterms. *On MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=065-b56&t=c>
(5/30), Michael Schmidt, one of the reporters who wrote the New York Times
story, said, “Sessions’ recusal set the President off,” and Trump has put
forth “the idea of Sessions coming back to unrecuse himself.” Schmidt
added, “This is something that the President is obsessed about.” Schmidt
noted that it has been reported that Trump “tried” to fire Sessions, but
was dissuaded by then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. According to Schmidt,
“The President would really like to get rid of [Sessions]. but Republicans
in the Senate have said they will not confirm another attorney general.”
Nevertheless, Schmidt reported that the President spoke “recently” about
the possibility that he could “get rid of Sessions after the midterms.”

*Giuliani: Mueller Investigation Should Never Have Taken Place. *Trump
attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=066-72a&t=c>
(5/30), “The fact is that this investigation never should have taken place
in the first place. If we consider the counter-intelligence investigation,
the spying, the spygate, all appropriate descriptions. Here’s what I want
to know. I want to see the documents which Trey Gowdy has never seen, which
is outrageous. I am not going to let my client testify, the President of
the United States, even if he wants to, without those documents being
produced and...we’re going to go over it with a fine tooth comb. Only if
and when we find that this was handled appropriately and there’s some
evidence on which they can base this phony investigation. will we have him
testify. But, if there is no evidence, which I assume there is no evidence,
then I mean, he shouldn’t testify. The whole thing should be squashed. It
should be ended immediately.”

*Experts Say Trump Campaign “Spy” Violated FBI’s Guidelines.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=067-d2b&t=c>
(5/30, Scarborough) cites “national security experts” who said the FBI
should have consulted its own guidelines, which “restrict the deployment of
informants to spy on Americans,” before planting “a human source among
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign aides.” They argued that the FBI
“should have focused...on Russian agents who were meddling in the election
by hacking computers and by spewing false information on social media.”

*Navarro Says He Was “Duped” By Informant. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=068-58b&t=c>
(5/30, Ross) reports that in an interview with Fox Radio Wednesday, White
House trade czar Peter Navarro, who “sought an ambassadorship for FBI
informant Stefan Halper in 2017,” said he “felt ‘duped’ by Halper and
referred to him as a ‘spy.’” Navarro said, “I feel duped, yeah, pretty
much. ... It’s baffling.” Navarro added, “We were all duped by that and
shame on, this kind of thing shouldn’t be happening. It just shouldn’t be
happening. ... Having spies infiltrate into the Trump campaign. I mean,
come on. It’s like that just that shouldn’t take place.”

*Trump: Jarrett Book Will Expose “Phony” Russia “Witch Hunt. *In a
tweet Wednesday night, Trump pitched a book by Fox News’ Greg Jarrett,
saying it will open the “phony witch hunt” Russia investigation for the
world to see. Trump wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=069-017&t=c>,
“The soon to be released book, “The Russia Hoax, The Illicit Scheme To
Clear Hillary Clinton And Frame Donald Trump,” written by Gregg Jarrett,
looks like a real deal big hit. The Phony Witch Hunt will be opened up for
the world to see! Out in 5 weeks.

*McCabe Thought Rosenstein Gave Trump Cover Story For Comey Firing.
*The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=06a-dca&t=c>
(5/30, Apuzzo, Goldman, Schmidt) reports that former acting FBI director
Andrew McCabe “wrote a confidential memo last spring recounting a
conversation that offered significant behind-the-scenes details on the
firing of Mr. McCabe’s predecessor, James B. Comey, according to several
people familiar with the discussion.” In the memo, “McCabe described a
conversation at the Justice Department with the deputy attorney general,
Rod J. Rosenstein” in the days after Comey’s firing. Rosenstein “played a
key role in the dismissal, writing a memo that rebuked Mr. Comey over his
handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton,” but int he meeting, he
“added a new detail,” saying that “the president had originally asked him
to reference Russia in his memo.” McCabe saw that revelation as “possible
evidence that Mr. Comey’s firing was actually related to the F.B.I.’s
investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, and that Mr.
Rosenstein helped provide a cover story by writing about the Clinton
investigation.”

*Grassley: Simpson Testimony Was “Extremely Misleading.” *The
Washington
Examiner
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(5/30, Datoc) reports that according to Fox News, Senate Judiciary Chairman
Charles Grassley “has accused Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson of providing
the committee with ‘extremely misleading testimony’ that borders on being
an ‘outright lie.’” Grassley “made the claim in a recent letter to Sen.
Chris Coons,” in response to Coons’ request to call Donald Trump Jr. “to
testify a second time in regard to his knowledge of potential foreign
meddling in the 2016 campaign.” Grassley “essentially shot down Coons’
request by pointing out Simpson’s own lack of candor.”

*Senate Intelligence Committee Asks To Interview Stone. *The Daily
Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=06c-221&t=c>
(5/30, Woodruff) reports that the Senate Intelligence Committee wants to
interview Roger Stone, described by the Daily Beast as Trump’s “longtime
political adviser.” Stone’s lawyer, Grant Smith, says last week, the panel
“sent them an email with a list of search terms for communications to use
to determine which electronic communications to turn over,” and, “at the
same time, according to Smith, the committee said its members would like to
question Stone after receiving the documents.”

*Economist/YouGov Poll: 64% Say Trump Impeachment Unlikely.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=06d-3f1&t=c>
(5/30, Harper) reports that according to a new Economist/YouGov poll, 64%
of respondents said that it is unlikely Trump will be impeached. The poll
found that 40% “say impeachment is ‘not very likely’ and 24 percent who say
it is ‘not at all likely.’” The Times adds that “seven out of 10” think
Democrats will try to impeach Trump if they win majority control of the
House in the midterm elections.

*Judge Sets June 15 Deadline For Privilege Claims On Seized Cohen
Evidence. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=06e-6fc&t=c>
(5/30, Neumeister, Hays) reports that US District Judge Kimba Wood has “set
a June 15 deadline...for” President Trump’s lawyers and lawyers for his
personal attorney, Michael Cohen, “to make attorney-client privilege claims
over data seized in April raids, saying it was important not to delay the
criminal investigation.” Wood “said a special taint team of prosecutors
will make determinations after that date.” According to the AP, Cohen’s
lawyers have “asked to be allowed to review materials from the April 9
raids of Cohen’s office and home until mid-July,” but the New York Times
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(5/30, Feuer, Weiser) reports that Wood “suggested...that the process was
moving too slowly.” Wood said, “It’s important for the court to balance the
slow, deliberate needs of those who are asserting attorney-client
privilege...with the need for an investigation to go forward.” Kyra
Phillips said on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053101biden&r=email-d3a9&l=070-227&t=c>
(5/30, story 6, 1:50, Muir) that if Cohen “doesn’t meet that June 15th
deadline, the review of all this material will be left to the government.”

Bloomberg News
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(5/30, Van Voris, Larson, Berthelsen) reports that prosecutors “said
they’ve turned over much of the material to a former judge who’s been hired
to vet the seized material for items that may be covered by attorney-client
privilege. The FBI is still working to access two blackberries, as well as
going through the contents of a shredding machine, lawyers said.” The
Washington
Post
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(5/30, Bump, Berman) reports that in a filing submitted to the court
Tuesday night, special master Barbara Jones “noted that so far only 252
items have been flagged by Cohen’s or Trump’s attorneys as privileged. She
is set to make a recommendation to the court about that material by June
4.” Reuters
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(5/30, Stempel) reports that Stephen Ryan, one of Cohen’s attorneys,
accused Stormy Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, “of leaking Cohen’s
bank records to the press, calling it a ‘drive-by shooting of my client’s
rights.’” According to Reuters, Avenatti “told Wood he did not release
anything improper about Cohen, who has not been charged with a crime.”
Politico
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(5/30, Nahmias) reports that Ryan called Avenatti’s publicizing of the bank
records “reckless and improper.”

The Washington Examiner
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(5/30, Quinn) reports that Avenatti “withdrew his request to intervene in
court proceedings involving” Co