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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Wednesday, May 16, 2018 7:52 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, May 16, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=001-3c1&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, May 16, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• North Korea Threatens To Cancel US Summit Over Military Drills, Calls For
Denuclearization. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Lawmakers Of Both Parties Reject Trump’s New Stance On ZTE. <#S2>

• Haley Praises Israeli “Restraint” After Deadly Gaza Protests. <#S3>

• US Imposes Sanctions On Head Of Iran’s Central Bank. <#S4>

• Taliban Overruns Parts Of Farah City. <#S5>

• Sadr Courts Partners To Form Governing Coalition. <#S6>

• Report: Hezbollah Laundering Money In South America. <#S7>

• Putin Opens Russia-Crimea Bridge. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Haspel Confirmation Assured As More Democrats Announce Support. <#S9>

• Meeting With Trump, Senators Don’t Mention Sadler’s Comment About McCain.
<#S10>

• Trump Honors Fallen Police Officers, Calls On Congress To Secure Border.
<#S11>

• Grassley Threatens To Call For Pruitt’s Resignation Over RFS Waivers.
<#S12>

• NSC Confirms White House Has Eliminated Cybersecurity Post. <#S13>

• Giuliani: Trump, Team Will Use Anniversary Of Mueller Probe To Call For
Its End. <#S14>

• Democratic Women Rack Up Pennsylvania Primary Wins. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Janssen, Pharmacyclics Decide Not To Boost Price Of Cancer Drug. <#S16>

• Study: People With Nonadvanced Polyps May Face No Higher Risk For
Colorectal Cancer. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden, Moniz Discuss Energy Issues. <#S20>

• Biden Endorses Cordray In Ohio Governor’s Race. <#S21>

• In PSA, Biden Urges Men “To Confront” Friends On Sexual Assault. <#S22>

• CBS’ Rahn: “Personality Scenario” Would Give Biden Chance To Win 2020
Nomination. <#S23>

• Jill Biden Speaks At Rural College Access And Success Summit In Kentucky.
<#S24>
Leading the News
North Korea Threatens To Cancel US Summit Over Military Drills, Calls For
Denuclearization.

There is extensive media coverage of North Korea’s threat to withdraw from
the upcoming summit between leader Kim Jong-un and President Trump over
joint military drills between the US and South Korea and what it referred
to as US calls for “unilateral nuclear abandonment.” Reports cast the
Administration as surprised by the announcement. NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=002-739&t=c>
(5/15, story 3, 1:40, Holt), for example, said the North’s announcement is
“catching the White House off guard,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=003-643&t=c>
(5/16, Kim, Klug) refers to a “surprise declaration,” and the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=004-d9e&t=c>
(5/15, Choe, Landler) says the warning “caught Trump administration
officials off guard and set off an internal debate over whether Mr. Kim was
merely posturing.” CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=005-ba9&t=c>
said one senior Administration official is “telling us the President was
made aware of this news through news reports, not an official announcement
coming from Pyongyang.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=006-37d&t=c>
(5/15, story 5, 2:25, Muir) called it “a setback” for the White House and
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=007-43c&t=c>
(5/15) says “any cancellation of the June 12 summit...would deal a major
blow to Trump’s efforts to score the biggest diplomatic achievement of his
presidency.”

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=008-f79&t=c>
(5/15, story 3, 1:40, Holt) reported North Korea “may have thrown an
unexpected wrench into the plans for the summit...scheduled for June 12 in
Singapore.” North Korean state media is “reporting the North is threatening
to back out” of the summit, “blaming joint US-South Korea air combat drills
under way...as a provocative military ruckus.” North Korea has also
indefinitely canceled high-level talks with South Korea, “notifying them by
fax hours before a scheduled meeting at the Peace House along the DMZ.” The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=009-90d&t=c>
(5/16, Kim, Klug) reports the North said the US “must carefully contemplate
the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit amid the provocative military
ruckus that it’s causing with South Korean authorities. We’ll keenly
monitor how the United States and South Korean authorities will react.”

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00a-6ab&t=c>
(5/15, story 2, 2:20, Golodryga) said that when Trump “accepted Kim’s
invitation to meet back in March, then-CIA director, now-Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo was under the impression Kim would not object to the drills.”
Pompeo was shown saying, “He has allowed us to continue our exercises on
the peninsula, something that’s been fought over for decades.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00b-e60&t=c>
(5/15) reports South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong also
“said after meeting Kim in early March that the North Korean leader
understood that ‘routine’ joint military exercises between South Korea and
the United States would continue in spite of warming ties.” Reuters says
the move “could be aimed at testing Trump’s willingness to make concessions
ahead of the summit.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00c-1cb&t=c>
(5/15, Fifield) reports that North Korea later “expand[ed]” its threat to
cancel the Trump-Kim summit, “saying it will reconsider if US demands
country give up nukes.” The statement by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan
“quoted in North Korea’s state media comes after North Korea said joint air
force drills taking place in South Korea were a ‘provocation’ that could
affect the fate of the summit.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00d-4a7&t=c>
(5/15, Choe, Landler) also reported that North Korea threw the summit “into
doubt...threatening to call off the landmark encounter if the United States
insisted on ‘unilateral nuclear abandonment.’” In a statement Wednesday,
Vice Foreign Minister Kim “rejected the administration’s demand that it
quickly dismantle its nuclear program...singling out” National Security
Adviser Bolton “for condemnation.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00e-5cb&t=c>
(5/16, Cheng, Gordon, Youssef) quotes the statement from Kim as saying, “If
the US is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear
abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot
but reconsider our proceeding to the DPRK-US summit.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=00f-19e&t=c>
(5/15, Jackson) says that while North Korea “broadened its threat,” the US
“downplayed the sudden uncertainty.”

In response to the North’s earlier warning, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=010-cf1&t=c>
(5/15, Fifield) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the
US “will look at what North Korea has said independently and continue to
coordinate closely with our allies.” At the State Department, spokeswoman
Heather Nauert said the US had not received notice of any change or
cancellation of the summit. CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=011-201&t=c>
(5/15) showed Nauert saying, “Kim Jong-un had said previously that he
understands the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic
of Korea continuing in its joint exercises. They are exercises that are
legal and planned well, well in advance. We have not heard anything from
that government or the government of South Korea to indicate that we would
not continue conducting these exercises or that we would not continue
planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un next
month.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=012-3ac&t=c>
(5/15, Lima) also reports the comments by Sanders and Nauert, and adds that
in a statement, the Pentagon said the drills were part of the “routine,
annual training program to maintain a foundation of military readiness” by
US and South Korean forces. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=013-8c7&t=c>
(5/15) says the Pentagon “played down ongoing military exercises with South
Korea, saying they were routine and defensive in nature.”

Bret Baier began Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=014-7c3&t=c>
(5/15), “There appears to be a major setback in what has been widely
perceived as progress towards peace and of the of nuclear weapons on the
Korean Peninsula. ... It could very well be a wake-up call to some who
thought that things had completely changed between Pyongyang and
Washington.” Jonathan Karl reported on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=015-d23&t=c>
(5/15, story 5, 2:25, Muir) that the North’s announcement is “a setback,
but it’s hard to tell how big a setback. ... The White House raised
expectations for the summit, even though it is only scheduled to last for a
single day.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=016-205&t=c>
(5/16, Kim, Klug) says the move “appears to cool what had been an unusual
flurry of outreach,” the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=017-f9d&t=c>
(5/15, Fredericks) refers to “a blow to Team Trump,” and Bloomberg Politics
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=018-b07&t=c>
(5/15, Sharp, Wadhams, Kong) says the warnings by the North are “tamping
down hopes of a breakthrough at the historic summit.” South Korea
“expressed regret over the cancellation and urged North Korea to resume
talks.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=019-fee&t=c>
(5/15, Taylor) reports South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Baek
Tae-hyun “didn’t directly say Wednesday whether Seoul thinks the Trump-Kim
summit is in jeopardy.”

Sen. Rand Paul said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01a-966&t=c>
(5/15) that he’s “hoping” the North’s announcement is a “temporary
setback,” adding, “I’m still optimistic” a summit will happen, “and I’m
optimistic” that the meeting will produce peace. He said that addressing
the North’s concerns about the military exercises can only come through
diplomacy – “talking and figuring out what their grievance is because I
think we need to figure that out in order to move forward.”

*CNN: Trump Sought To Evacuate Military Families From South Korea
Before Olympics. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01b-c7c&t=c>
(5/15, Diamond, Liptak) reports that “earlier this year, just weeks before
the Winter Olympics in South Korea that served as a critical diplomatic
opening with Pyongyang, the President ordered his top national security
officials to prepare to evacuate the families of all US military personnel
living in South Korea, four current and former administration officials
said.” CNN said the order was “a provocative step that, had it been fully
implemented, would have heightened tensions with North Korea and could have
sent the region spiraling closer to war.” It also calls the order “the
clearest indication yet that Trump viewed war with North Korea as a real
possibility, even as recently as the beginning of this year.”

*South Korean Report: North Korea Has Secret Enrichment Facility. *
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01c-736&t=c>
(5/15) reports that while North Korea has vowed to shutter its nuclear test
site at Punggye-ri, the South Korean newspaper Joongang Ilbo reported
Tuesday “that North Korea has maintained a secret uranium enrichment
facility independent of the supplies found at Punggye-ri.” According to the
report by Joongang Ilbo, US intelligence sources “are aware of the site and
will demand that its contents be part of any deal to denuclearize the
country.”

*Defector: Kim Will Never Give Up His Nukes. *The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01d-882&t=c>
(5/15, Steinbuch) reports Kim “is ‘hot-tempered and violent’ and will never
give up his nukes – despite what he says ahead of his landmark summit with
President Trump, a top defector said Monday.” Thae Yong Ho, the North’s
former deputy ambassador to the UK, said, “In the end, North Korea will
remain ‘a nuclear power packaged as a non-nuclear state.” Thae – who fled
with his family to South Korea in 2016 – “made his explosive comments”
during a press conference in which he unveiled his new memoir, “The Secret
Code of the 3rd Floor Room.”

*WFP Director: North Korean Officials Feeling “Tremendous Sense Of
Optimism.” *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01e-558&t=c>
(5/15, Choe) reports that according to David Beasley, Executive Director of
the World Food Program, “North Korean officials have a ‘tremendous sense of
optimism’ about their country’s recent turn toward diplomacy and have
promised to work more openly with humanitarian aid groups.” Beasley also
said “he saw no evidence” of malnutrition during his recent four-day visit
to the nation. Said Beasley, “What I did not see was starvation. I saw none
of that. Is there undernutrition? Of course there is.”
Foreign Policy
Lawmakers Of Both Parties Reject Trump’s New Stance On ZTE.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=01f-682&t=c>
(5/15) reports that “lawmakers on Tuesday rejected any plan” by President
Trump to ease restrictions on ZTE, “calling the telecommunications firm a
security threat and vowing not to abandon legislation clamping down on the
company.” Sen. Marco Rubio said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee
hearing, “I hope the Administration does not move forward on this supposed
deal I keep reading about.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=020-d01&t=c>
(5/15, Peterson) reports that Senate Minority Leader Schumer and fellow
Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden wrote to Trump urging him to
reconsider, writing that national security “must not be used as a
bargaining chip in trade negotiations.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=021-96c&t=c>
(5/15, Klimasinska, Tiron) reports that House Armed Services Chairman Mac
Thornberry said that “he doesn’t ‘see a growing movement in the House’ to
remove language in the defense authorization bill that would ban government
agencies from using technology made by ZTE,” and added, “I confess I don’t
fully understand the Administration’s take on this at this point.”

*Democrats Suggest Trump Benefiting Financially From Change In ZTE
Policy. *Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=022-d01&t=c>
(5/15) that by reversing course on ZTE, Trump is “putting Chinese workers
who were working to undermine the United States and also who pose a
security threat to or troops...ahead of American workers and our own
security. The only explanation...is he financially benefits from it.”
Swalwell continued, “We’ve seen this before. Why did he draw so close to
Russia? He has been close to them in investments. Why is he such a fan of
President Erdoğan in Turkey? He has a Trump property there.” Rep. Tim Ryan
(D) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=023-9da&t=c>,
“If anyone’s curious about how much American national security costs, it’s
$500 million. The ZTE lifeline is only about one thing: Trump enriching
himself. I guess it’s Trump First, China Second, America Third.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=024-713&t=c>
(5/15, Stevenson, Paddock) reports that the Trump Organization’s “partner
in a lavish Indonesian development project” has just announced a deal with
“a Chinese state-owned company.” The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=025-289&t=c>
also reports on the Trump Organization partnership and adds that Rep. Adam
Schiff (D) commented on the revelation during an appearance on CNN’s
New Day[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=026-4ba&t=c>
(5/15). Schiff said, “Early on, the President considered doing away with
One China policy, something very important to China. Now he later abandoned
that, and when he abandoned that, magically, mysteriously, China gave the
Ivanka brand trademarks that it had long sought. ... Similarly here, I
can’t imagine China going forward with this transaction, helping a
Trump-branded property in Indonesia to the tune of half a billion, if the
President continued the sanctions on ZTE.”

*NCSC Nominee Evanina Says He Would Not Use A ZTE Phone. *Catherine
Herridge reported on Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=027-bf3&t=c>
(5/15) that President Trump’s “nominee to track terrorist and communist
threats” seems to be “against the President’s decision to reverse course on
tough penalties” against ZTE. NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=028-289&t=c>
(5/15, Dilanian) reports on its website that Bill Evanina said at his
confirmation hearing to head the new National Counterintelligence and
Security Center that “U.S. intelligence agencies are on record as assessing
that Chinese telecommunication firms are used as a vehicle by the Chinese
government to conduct espionage” and that he “would never use a ZTE phone.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=029-67e&t=c>
(5/15) editorializes that Trump “overlooked genuine national security
concerns with his sudden announcement that he’s reconsidering newly imposed
sanctions on ZTE. ... If the words ‘national security’ mean anything, they
define a policy concern that takes precedence over everything else, even
jobs or farm exports.”

*Kudlow Says ZTE Issue Is About Enforcement, Not Trade. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02a-9fb&t=c>
(5/15) reports that National Economic Council Director Kudlow said at an
Axios event in Washington that it is “far from certain what steps the US
government would take” on ZTE. Kudlow said, “This is principally an
enforcement issue, by the way. It’s really divorced from the trade story.
... I think the issue here is how harsh the remedies, how harsh the
enforcement.”

*Liu To Meet With Mnuchin For Trade Talks. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02b-366&t=c>
(5/15) reports that Liu He, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s top economic
adviser, “will spend four days in the U.S. for trade talks” with Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin, “his second visit this year.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02c-e5b&t=c>
(5/15, Wiseman) reports that Liu is seeking “a resolution to the trade
dispute. A similar high-level U.S. delegation made a trip to Beijing
earlier this month and returned empty-handed.”

*Kudlow Links NAFTA Talks To Avoiding “Trade War” With China.
*Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02d-e3f&t=c>
(5/15, Olorunnipa, Leonard) reports Kudlow said an agreement on a new NAFTA
“would demonstrate the U.S. can avoid a trade conflict with China.” At a
Washington event, Kudlow said, “I don’t want a trade war, I don’t expect
one. I think this is all going to get resolved, I really believe, over
time. ... I think if we can get a deal on renewing NAFTA and changing NAFTA
to our liking, that really would be a very good kind of foundation to move
on.” But the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02e-e9d&t=c>
(5/15, A1, Harrup, Whelan) reports on its front page that Mexican Economy
Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said that he does not expect NAFTA talks to be
completed by Thursday, the deadline House Speaker Ryan has set to ensure
legislative action before the midterm elections.

*WTO Ruling On Airbus Subsidies Could Lead To US Sanctions. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=02f-9db&t=c>
(5/15, Alderman) reports that the World Trade Organization has “opened the
door for the Trump administration to impose billions of dollars in
retaliatory sanctions on European imports” by ruling that the EU “had
illegally subsidized the aircraft giant Airbus to the detriment” of Boeing.
The WTO ruling “could further strain on trans-Atlantic trade relations.”
Haley Praises Israeli “Restraint” After Deadly Gaza Protests.

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=030-786&t=c>
(5/15, story 5, 2:05, Holt) reported on the “fallout from the deadly
clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians protesting the opening of
the new US embassy in Jerusalem.” While “UN human rights officials are
criticizing Israel for using lethal force against protesters, Israel and
the Trump Administration are blaming Hamas for sparking the latest round of
violence.” UN Ambassador Haley told the UN Security Council, “No country in
this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.” Jeff Glor
reported on the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=031-c49&t=c>
(5/15, story 3, 2:05, Golodryga) from Jerusalem that “Israeli forces killed
two Palestinians today as protests continued over the relocation of the US
Embassy yesterday, and the anniversary of the formation of a Jewish state,
which was 70 years ago today. ... The US, like Israel, blames the violence
on Hamas.” CBS also reported Haley’s comment, but said other nations,
“including some US allies and United Nations officials, have criticized
Israel for what they say was a disproportionate use of force.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=032-1f8&t=c>
(5/15, story 7, 2:15, Muir) said the Administration is “standing 100%
behind Israel amid calls for an investigation of the violence,” and Haley
is “rejecting any suggestion that Israeli forces may have used excessive
force. ... Then, as the Palestinian ambassador prepared to speak, Haley
walked out.” Haley, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=033-466&t=c>
(5/15, Morello) reports, also “dismissed suggestions the violence was
caused by the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.” The Ambassador “told
the Security Council that Hamas...had incited the violence by urging
protesters over loudspeakers to burst through the fence separating the
borders and flying kites into Israel with Molotov cocktails attached.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=034-34b&t=c>
(5/15, Peltz) reports that the UN’s Middle East envoy, Nikolai Mladenov,
said there was “no justification for the killing” and “no excuse” for
Monday’s killings of more than 50 Palestinians by the Israeli military, and
“several Security Council members called for an independent investigation,
but the council had no unified message Tuesday as the US said Israel had
acted with ‘restraint.’” Kuwait, which requested Tuesday’s meeting, also
“tried to get council members to sign...a statement that would have
demanded that all countries comply with a decades-old Security Council
resolution that called on them not to have embassies in contested
Jerusalem.” The US, however, “blocked it.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=035-f95&t=c>
(5/15, Gehrke) too says Haley “blocked a call for an international
investigation into Israel’s tactics.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=036-cfc&t=c>
(5/15, Fassihi) reports Kuwait also said it planned to circulate a
resolution Wednesday condemning the violence and calling for international
protection of Palestinians, but the US is expected to veto it as well.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=037-dd9&t=c>
(5/15, Ramadan, Wainer) says “diplomatic pressure on Israel mounted”
Tuesday “with Turkey expelling the Israeli ambassador and criticism in
European capitals spreading even as the violence ebbed.” The Turkish
Foreign Ministry said Israeli Ambassador Eitan Na’eh was ordered to leave
“for a while,” a day after Ankara recalled its envoy from Israel. Belgium
and Ireland also “summoned Israel’s envoy to protest the killing of 60
Palestinians,” while France called the Israeli military response
“unacceptable” and the UK termed it “shocking.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=038-1bc&t=c>
(5/15, Erlanger) reports that the “European response to the bloodshed in
Gaza has been to criticize Israel for what Ireland’s foreign minister,
Simon Coveney, called a ‘disproportionate use of force’ against mostly
unarmed protesters,” and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called
on Israel to show “utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life.” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=039-79b&t=c>
(5/15, Ravid) reports Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also recalled
“the head of the PLO office in Washington in protest,” and the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03a-b3a&t=c>
(5/15, Fahim) reports that Turkey has also recalled its envoy in
Washington, marking “one of the strongest diplomatic responses after
Monday’s deadly confrontations along the border fence” in Gaza.

In Gaza on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03b-dae&t=c>
(5/15, Zavis) reports, “at least two more fatalities...were
reported...pushing the death toll for Monday and Tuesday to 64 . Israel’s
military also said scattered clashes broke out in the West Bank.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03c-242&t=c>
(5/15) reports that Tuesday’s protests were “on a smaller scale than the
day before.” According to a “well-informed Middle Eastern government
official...Hamas officials had been surprised by the number of casualties
on Monday.”

However, in an interview with the CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03d-700&t=c>
(5/15, story 4, 4:45, Glor), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
claimed, “Hamas is...paying these people, so it’s not the peaceful
demonstration that you think about. ... They’re trying to incur casualties
in order to put pressure on Israel, which is horrible.” CBS (Glor): “You
said they want kids to die?” Netanyahu: “Yes.” Glor then asked if Israel’s
army went “too far.” Netanyahu: “I don’t know of any army that would do
anything differently if you had to protect your border against people who
say, we’re going to destroy you and we’re going to flood into your country.
... You try non-lethal means and they don’t work, so you’re left with bad
choices.” Glor later asked, “Will you target Hamas leaders at this point?”
Netanyahu: “We don’t think that anyone is immune if they dispatch
terrorists to kill us.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03e-d05&t=c>
(5/15, Kershner, Halbfinger) reports that “Israelis grappled in different
ways with the staggering casualty reports from the Gaza protest on Monday.”
Israel “said that only a small number of those shot had been armed,”
eliciting “responses of defiance or defensiveness in some, shame in others,
and a healthy dose of served-them-right in some corners.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=03f-6f7&t=c>
(5/15) editorializes that “with the White House’s strong support, Mr.
Netanyahu will likely shrug off the international onslaught” of criticism
following Monday’s deadly protests, but “he shouldn’t. As the Palestinians
well understand, Israel can ill afford further damage to its standing.
Sympathy for it is dangerously eroding on US campuses and among Democratic
voters – not to speak of in other Western countries. President Trump’s
embrace of controversial pro-Israel initiatives, such as the move of the US
Embassy to Jerusalem, may in time produce its own backlash.”

Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=040-3b4&t=c>
(5/15) columnist Kathleen Parker writes that the relocation of the US
Embassy “has everything to do with the Palestinian protests. Blaming Hamas
for organizing the protests is like blaming Republicans for electing Trump.
Did anyone really think there would be no protests against a move that
essentially ends the bilateral peace process? Moving the embassy may have
been the right thing to do – and maybe no time would be right – but we
shouldn’t delude ourselves. The embassy was moved because it served Trump.”

*NYTimes: Embassy Move A Sign Of Trump’s Commitment To Evangelical
Supporters. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=041-029&t=c>
(5/15, Dias) reports that “the opening of the American Embassy in Jerusalem
has triggered violence,” and “also stands as a sharp reminder of the close
ties between the Trump administration and evangelical Christians.”
According to the Times, “Against a backdrop of violence on the Gaza border,
with Israeli soldiers killing dozens of Palestinians, a who’s who of Mr.
Trump’s evangelical backers were present in Jerusalem to celebrate the
formal relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv on Monday.”
US Imposes Sanctions On Head Of Iran’s Central Bank.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=042-15e&t=c>
(5/15, Lederman) reports the US imposed anti-terror sanctions on Valiollah
Seif, the governor of the Iranian central bank, “barring anyone around the
world from doing business with him,” increasing pressure on Iran, and
dealing “a further blow to European hopes of salvaging the Iranian nuclear
deal.” Ali Tarzali, who works in the central bank’s international division,
also was named a “specially designated global terrorist.” The sanctions
“could significantly increase Iran’s isolation from the global financial
system” as any transaction that involves Seif’s signature “could
potentially run afoul of the sanctions.” Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said,
“The United States will not permit Iran’s increasingly brazen abuse of the
international financial system.” He added, “The global community must
remain vigilant against Iran’s deceptive efforts to provide financial
support to its terrorist proxies.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=043-85e&t=c>
(5/15, Gordon) reports the Treasury Department said that Seif sent, on
behalf of Iran’s Quds Force, millions of dollars to Hezbollah an Iraqi
bank, the al-Bilad Islamic Bank. Also covering this story are the New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=044-7a4&t=c>
(5/15, Sullivan) and Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=045-bef&t=c>
(5/15, Mohsin).

*Zarif Meets With Counterparts From UK, France, Germany. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=046-a89&t=c>
(5/15) reports that “Europe and Iran sought a common front on Tuesday to
save the nuclear deal without the United States, although some diplomats
doubted privately it can survive the reimposition of U.S. sanctions ordered
by President Donald Trump.” Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif “arrived in
Brussels for a meeting with his British, French and German counterparts,”
and said he “held a ‘good and constructive’ meeting with European Union
foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, adding that talks with the three
European countries would continue in the next two weeks.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=047-a68&t=c>
(5/15, Casert, Cook) reports that both “major European powers and Tehran
committed Tuesday to keep working together to save the Iran nuclear deal.”
The EU “hopes that diplomacy and the promise of economic benefits might
keep Iran in the fold of a nuclear deal that Europe sees as essential to
security” even as European diplomats seek “to show they weren’t gullible
and wouldn’t drop other divisive issues with Tehran, including its role in
the Syria conflict.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=048-d46&t=c>
(5/15, Erlanger) reports that in the wake of the US dropping the Iran deal,
“European foreign ministers have begun a scramble to contain the fallout to
their own interests, global institutions and stability in the Middle East.”
However, those efforts “showed that the allies might now be working at
cross-purposes with the United States, further straining years of
international consensus.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=049-7b8&t=c>
(5/15, Birnbaum) reports that “in Tuesday’s meetings, Europe and Iran
sought to preserve the landmark agreement.” British Foreign Secretary Boris
Johnson is quoted as saying, “The U.K. and our European partners continue
to view the nuclear deal as vital for our shared security, and remain fully
committed to upholding it.” According to the Post, Johnson “said that he
would work to protect European businesses from being hit by U.S. measures
if they continue to trade with Iran.”

*Iran Oil Exports Face Insurance Obstacles Due To Pending Renewal
Of US Sanctions. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04a-63d&t=c>
(5/15, Longley) reports that among the issues EU officials will “need to
consider is the insurance of oil tankers hauling” Iranian crude, because
beginning in early November, sanctions imposed by the US “will likely
prevent members of the International Group of P&I members from covering the
global tanker fleet against risks including spills if they’re moving oil to
or from Iran, Mike Salthouse, the chair of a sanctions committee for the IG
Group, said on Monday.”

*Netanyahu: Iran is “At War With Us.” *The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04b-144&t=c>
(5/15, story 4, 4:45, Glor) reported on an interview with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked if Israel is at war with Iran,
Netanyahu said, “They’re at war with us. We never sought any enmity with
Iran. They openly declared that their goal is to annihilate us. Every day.”
Glor: “It’s open war though now, more so than before?” Netanyahu: “Because
what has happened is that Iran proved part of its army into Syria with new
weapons that are specifically aimed at being fired at us. So obviously what
choice do we have? We try to defend ourselves.” Glor: “If they restart the
nuclear program and, in fact, pick up the pace, will you launch strikes?”
Netanyahu: “I have said that we will not let Iran develop a nuclear weapon,
and I stand by that.”

*Paul Supports Direct Talks Between Trump, Rouhani. *Sen. Rand Paul
was asked on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04c-327&t=c>
(5/15) about his support for direct talks with Kim Jong-un, with Wolf
Blitzer asking if he’d also support direct talks between the US and Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani. Paul said he supports “more discussion at a
higher level” with both Iran and North Korea, “and I think the one thing
that we have to offer the Iranian people is the amazing amount of trade
that the world could bring to Iran. Same thing with North Korea.” Blitzer
followed up by asking, “Just to be precise...you would support direct talks
between Trump and President Rouhani?” Paul replied, “Sure, but I think
we’ve taken a step backwards in getting out of the” Iran nuclear deal.

*Panetta: US Isolated Itself From Allies By Withdrawing From JCPOA.
*Former CIA Director Leon Panetta was told on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04d-e9e&t=c>
(5/15) that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says talks with European
leaders to maintain the Iran nuclear deal without the US are “on the right
track, his words. What does this say about America’s standing in the world
right now?” Panetta replied that the US has “pretty much isolated itself
from our allies and from the role the US traditionally plays as a world
leader.” Panetta added, “I regret” that Trump withdrew from the agreement;
“what he should have done...is extended it for another 90 days in order to
see” if the US could work with its allies to “put together some kind of
revised agreement with Iran.”

*NYTimes Editorial Urges Europeans To Stand Up To Trump. *In an
editorial, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04e-141&t=c>
(5/15) writes, “President Trump’s rejection of the Iran nuclear deal,”
combined with his “disdain for the priorities of America’s traditional
allies,” has resulted in “a rare fury in Europe,” with “many
Europeans...furiously proclaiming the trans-Atlantic relationship dead.”
The Times questions “whether Europeans are prepared to, or even able to,
stand up to the bully across the sea,” given the US economic clout and
Europe’s lack of a “big stick that would compel Mr. Trump to listen to
reason.” Still, the Times concludes, Europe needs to stand “firm against
Washington’s bullying” and preserve “the Iran deal – and all the other
aspects of the international order Mr. Trump has tried to destroy.”

*Ignatius: Draw On Lessons Of Reagan In Dealing With Iran. *David
Ignatius, in his column in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=04f-cc7&t=c>
(5/15), writes that any “serious strategy to roll back Iran would begin”
with maintaining a strong US military position in Syria, and Moqtada
al-Sadr’s electoral victory in Iraq “may offer the best chance of
maintaining an Arab Iraq, as opposed to a Persian-dominated one.”
Additionally, “getting both Iran and Saudi Arabia out of Yemen would help.”
Ignatius adds that to contain Iranian meddling Russian help is probably
needed. Drawing on President Reagan’s dealing with the USSR, Ignatius
argues that dealing with Iran will require “combating regional meddling,
plus maintaining arms control.”
Taliban Overruns Parts Of Farah City.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=050-151&t=c>
(5/15) reports, “The Taliban launched attacks from multiple directions on”
Farah city, in western Afghanistan. Fared Bakhtawer, head of the Farah
provincial council, said, “Security checkpoints around the city have
collapsed into the hands of the Taliban, causing high casualties among
security forces.” Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish “said commando
units and other reinforcements had been sent in, with the support of Afghan
warplanes.” NATO said in a statement that US forces “stand firm beside our
Afghan partners and will continue to reinforce this Afghan-led offensive.”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=051-f89&t=c>
(5/15, Sukhanyar, Nordland) reports, “Only the provincial governor’s
compound remained in government hands after a long day of fighting, which
continued into the night, according to numerous residents and some local
officials.” Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi issued a statement on
WhatsApp “claiming that the insurgents had taken ‘most parts of Farah
city.’”

However, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=052-4f5&t=c>
(5/15, Constable) reports Taliban fighters “were reportedly repelled by
late evening” by Afghan ground troops backed by US and Afghan airstrikes,
and “by late evening, Afghan officials said the insurgents were confined to
isolated pockets.”

*US Forces Preparing To Fight IS Over Mohmand Valley. *In a
front-page article, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=053-aeb&t=c>
(5/15, A1, Phillips) reports US forces are preparing for a battle with
Islamic State over the Mohmand Valley in Afghanistan, where militants have
been probing positions and hiding weapons caches. Allied troops took the
valley from IS last year, and regaining it would be a symbolic victory for
IS.
Sadr Courts Partners To Form Governing Coalition.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=054-68a&t=c>
(5/15, Coker) reports, “Populist Shiite cleric” and Iraq electoral
front-runner Moktada al-Sadr “wasted little time trying to prove to
potential allies that he is serious about shaking up the government and
cleaning up corruption as he worked to cobble together a governing
coalition.” Sadr spokesman Saleh al-Obeidi said in an interview that Sadr
is seeking allies who agree with, in the Times’ words, “ending the practice
of awarding ministries on sectarian quotas, fighting corruption and
allowing independent technocrats to manage key government agencies.”
However, “there is no guarantee that the party that wins the most seats in
Parliament will get the first shot at forming a government.” Additionally,
politicians “believe that the government formation will take weeks if not
months, given the number of political players, possible combinations of
alliances and entrenched interests.”
Report: Hezbollah Laundering Money In South America.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=055-0f2&t=c>
(5/15, Talley) reports a report by political risk consultancy Asymmetrica,
funded by the Counter Extremism Project, says that Hezbollah laundering
money in the tri-border region linking Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay that
has an estimated $43 billion a year illicit economy of money laundering,
the black market, narco-trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal arms
sales that has attracted criminal organizations globally. The activities
are partly driven by Venezuela’s political crisis, Argentine inflation,
institutionalized corruption, and lax law enforcement. The report says that
the situation is an escalating risk to US national security.
Putin Opens Russia-Crimea Bridge.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=056-336&t=c>
(5/15) reports Russian President Vladimir Putin “unveiled the auto section
of a new road-and-rail bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean
peninsula.” Putin drove an orange heavy KAMAZ dump-truck 12 miles across
the bridge. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said, “The illegal
construction of the Kerch bridge is the latest evidence of the Kremlin’s
disregard for international law.” Russia’s move “drew criticism from the
West.” State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement that
the “bridge serves as a reminder of Russia’s ongoing willingness to flout
international law” and called it an attempt by Russia “to solidify its
unlawful seizure and its occupation of Crimea.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=057-d6b&t=c>
(5/15, Macfarquhar) reports the bridge “tighten[ed] Moscow’s claim to the
disputed territory.” The Times calls the opening “more theatrical than
real,” as the highways feeding it on both sides are not yet complete.
Locals “were ecstatic” over the opening, which “lifted the sense of
isolation that they have felt since Ukraine cut off railroad links and made
the border crossing difficult in the wake of the annexation.” Crimeans had
been dependent on airplanes or a ferry to cross the Kerch Strait.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=058-c6f&t=c>
(5/15, Troianovski) calls the opening “a propaganda victory” for Putin and
“the latest demonstration of his personalized system of power.” The Post
adds it “represents a milestone in Putin’s efforts to show the world – and
his people – that the annexation of Crimea was irreversible.” The role of
Arkady Rotenberg, Putin’s former judo partner, “as the builder of the
bridge showed how Russia’s billionaires have been able to leverage their
closeness to Putin to further enrich themselves.”

*CNBC: Russian Hypersonic Weapon Will Be Ready By 2020. *CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=059-f27&t=c>
(5/15, Macias) reports sources with direct knowledge of American
intelligence reports say that a Russian hypersonic glide vehicle, a weapon
that could carry a nuclear warhead and that “the U.S. is currently unable
to defend against,” will be ready for war by 2020. Russian President
Vladimir Putin previously “touted his nation’s growing hypersonic arsenal
as ‘invincible.’”

*Navalny Sentenced To 30 Days In Jail. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05a-81e&t=c>
(5/15, Nechepurenko) reports, Russian opposition figure Aleksei A. Navalny
was sentenced to 30 days in jail “for organizing a rally not sanctioned by
the government.” Hundreds were arrested at the demonstration, which took
place two days before President Vladimir V. Putin’s inauguration for a
fourth term
Domestic Policy
Haspel Confirmation Assured As More Democrats Announce Support.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05b-f77&t=c>
(5/15, story 8, 0:25, Muir) reported in a brief item that “President
Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, Gina Haspel, is on track tonight now to be
confirmed, after she criticized the Bush-era enhanced interrogation
program. She refused to say that during her Senate hearing, but in a letter
to a committee member, she wrote, ‘The enhanced interrogation program is
not one the CIA should have undertaken. The United States must be an
example to the rest of the world.’ Tonight, more Democrats say they will
vote to confirm her.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05c-74e&t=c>
(5/15, Mascaro, Riechmann) reports that Haspel, “who was involved in
supervising a secret CIA detention site in Thailand, wrote that she had
learned ‘hard lessons since 9/11.’ In comments aimed at clarifying her
position on now-banned torture techniques, Haspel said that she would
‘refuse to undertake any proposed activity that is contrary to my moral and
ethical values.’” Sens. John McCain (R) and Rand Paul (R) oppose the
nomination, but Sens. Joe Donnelly (D), Heidi Heitkamp (D), Joe Manchin
(D), Bill Nelson (D), and Mark Warner (D) have announced they intend to
support Haspel’s confirmation.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05d-70b&t=c>
(5/15, Schor) reports that Haspel has now “locked in the necessary support”
to be confirmed. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05e-9b0&t=c>
(5/15, Boylan) reports that Senate Majority Leader McConnell “added to the
momentum by saying the full Senate would consider Ms. Haspel’s confirmation
earlier than expected with a vote at the end of this week.” The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=05f-b88&t=c>
(5/15, Savage) reports that in her letter to Warner, the top Democrat on
the Intelligence Committee, Haspel wrote, “While I won’t condemn those that
made these hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence
collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our
standing in the world. With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a
senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the
C.I.A. should have undertaken. The United States must be an example to the
rest of the world, and I support that.”

*Paul Letter Asks Haspel About CIA Surveillance Of US Presidential
Candidates. *McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=060-978&t=c>
(5/15, Clark) reports that “in a letter sent just days before the Senate is
expected to vote” on Haspel, Paul asked her by letter for “clarification’
on CIA practices” relating to CIA surveillance of eight 2016 presidential
candidates, including President Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Paul himself.
Paul asked, “Under what circumstances does the CIA trail, monitor, or
otherwise collect information on the communications and movements of U.S.
presidential candidates, both domestically and while they are traveling
outside of the United States?” His letter also asked “whether Haspel or
‘anyone else’ at the CIA ever cooperated with foreign intelligence services
to monitor or collect information on Trump during his travel outside the
United States in the past five years.”

*Senate Confirms Two Circuit Court Judges, Bringing Trump’s Total
To 21. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=061-304&t=c>
(5/15, Swoyer) reports that the Senate on Tuesday confirmed Joel Carson III
to the Third US Circuit Court of Appeals and John Nalbandian to the Sixth
US Circuit Court of Appeals, bringing President Trump’s “total to 21
circuit judges placed on the bench in his 16 months in office. President
Obama only had nine circuit court judges approved at this point in his
tenure.”

*Trump Considering Two Retired Generals For VA Secretary. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=062-fb1&t=c>
(5/15, Nicholas) reports that President Trump is considering retired Army
Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie Hawkins to
head the VA, according to a White House official, who also said that Ron
Nicol of Boston Consulting Group is still under consideration but is not a
likely pick. Chief of Staff Kelly is reportedly not under consideration.

*Trump Nominates CEO With Family Ties To McConnell, Chao To Lead
Pension Agency. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=063-e31&t=c>
(5/15, Sink, Olorunnipa) reports that President Trump has nominated
software company CEO Gordon Hartogensis, “a self-described entrepreneur”
who is the brother-in-law of Senate Majority Leader McConnell and
Transportation Secretary Chao, to head the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, “the federal agency that pays worker pensions when employers
terminate their retirement plans.”
Meeting With Trump, Senators Don’t Mention Sadler’s Comment About McCain.

The controversy over comments made by a White House aide about Sen. John
McCain’s opposition to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel overshadowed other
agenda items in coverage of President Trump’s meeting with Senate
Republicans today, although the topic was never raised, according to
senators present. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=064-ce0&t=c>
(5/15, Carney) reports that Republican senators “didn’t raise controversial
comments a White House staffer made about” McCain. Tuesday’s meeting came
“amid a days-long firestorm over comments...from White House special
assistant Kelly Sadler, who dismissed McCain’s opposition to” Haspel’s
nomination “by saying McCain is ‘dying anyway.’” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=065-63f&t=c>
(5/15, McCaskill) says Senate Majority Leader McConnell told reporters,
“The person who said that should apologize and should apologize publicly.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=066-236&t=c>
(5/15, Mascaro, Flaherty) says that Tuesday’s lunch “comes as the White
House and its GOP allies are trying to coalesce around a political message
ahead of the midterm elections,” but “much like when Trump was headed to
the GOP Senate lunch to talk policy in October 2017, the White House agenda
was eclipsed by another story.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=067-b95&t=c>
(5/15, Weaver) says Republicans “have been quick to back the president on
key issues since the beginning of 2018,” but “the backlash to the McCain
remark has been swift from the GOP.” However, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=068-1bf&t=c>
(5/15, Kim) reports while that GOP senators “had publicly rallied” to
McCain’s defense for six days, none who attended Tuesday’s lunch “brought
up the McCain smear – or the steadfast refusal by Trump and the White House
to apologize for it.” The Post says it “illustrate[s] how reluctant most
Republicans have become about directly challenging Trump,” who is “viewed
as a critical asset as the GOP seeks to retain House and Senate majorities
this November.”

In a conversation transcribed on the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=069-78f&t=c>
(5/15) website, Gail Collins said that “if the president had the least
shred of decency he’d have said something to make it clear he didn’t
approve of what Sadler said. I suspect the reason he didn’t is that he did
approve of what Sadler said.” Bret Stephens said, “I’d be surprised if
Trump offered anything that sounded even remotely like an apology. His
consistent take on McCain is that the senator is a loser. Gets shot down,
is a prisoner of war, fails to win the presidency. And that’s a view shared
by the Trumpified G.O.P., which has given up on McCain’s old-fashioned
concepts of virtue and honor to a cause in favor of the ethics of
whatever-it-takes.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06a-71f&t=c>
(5/15, Everett, Caygle, Johnson, Schor) says Trump showed the senators “how
to wage a filibuster” during the meeting. Trump “spoke for nearly an hour,
essentially uninterrupted,” and “managed to sidestep all controversy.”
Instead, the meeting “was something of a campaign rally, for an audience of
50 VIPs.” It was, the AP adds, “another step in Trump’s takeover of the
Republican Party, where his internal critics are increasingly shying away
from direct confrontation with him.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06b-b92&t=c>
(5/15, Davis, Fandos) cites “several people present and others briefed on
the meeting,” who said Trump’s “monologue...was part political update, part
celebration and part comedy routine,” during which the President “steered
clear of contentious topics, like an aide’s controversial remark about
Senator John McCain” and “no senators asked him about it.”

However, Amber Phillips of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06c-957&t=c>
(5/15) says, “Senate Republicans and Trump also have some serious rifts on
policy, none more dramatic than on tariffs that the administration has
imposed on a number of countries’ steel and aluminum exports.” Phillips
adds, “Related to this is Trump’s about-face over the weekend on trade”
when he tweeted that he is “working to save jobs at the Chinese telecom
company ZTE, which has been crippled by US sanctions.” According to
Phillips, “Trump’s softer approach was a departure from his own
administration’s tough tactics and caught many Senate Republicans off
guard.”
Trump Honors Fallen Police Officers, Calls On Congress To Secure Border.

President Trump addressed the 37th annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial
Service in Washington Tuesday, where he decried a growing “anti-police
prejudice” and called on Congress to secure the US border. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06d-bb7&t=c>
Tuesday morning, “Today is one of the most important and solemn occasions
of the year – the day we pay tribute to the Law Enforcement Heroes who gave
their lives in the line of duty. They made the ultimate sacrifice so that
we could live in safety and peace. We stand with our police (HEROES) 100%!” Fox
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06e-ab2&t=c>
(5/15) reports on its website that Trump “honored fallen officers...telling
stories of some of those who gave their lives,” and saying, “Today every
American heart bleeds blue.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=06f-31d&t=c>
(5/15, Lima) says Trump “lamented what he called the spread of a ‘dangerous
anti-police prejudice’ in the U.S.,” and “vowed his administration would
work to protect law enforcement officers.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=070-659&t=c>
(5/15, Colvin, Superville) says Trump, “who likes to project an image of
strength and has been criticized for failing to bring the nation together
at times of tragedy, made a rare showing of public empathy as he shared the
stories of some of the families gathered in the crowd.” He “invited onstage
the elderly mother and other loved ones of a slain police officer from his
native New York City.”

ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=071-e72&t=c>
(5/15, McGraw) reports on its website that Trump “condemned violence
against police by the MS-13 gang and said that he’s calling on Congress to
secure the border, support border agents, and stop sanctuary cities. ‘We
don’t want it any longer. We’ve had it. Enough is enough,’ Trump said.”
Likewise, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=072-c5d&t=c>
(5/15, Klein) reports Trump “called on Congress to ‘secure our borders,
support our border agents, stop sanctuary cities, and shut down policies
that release violent criminals back into our communities,’ touting his
administration’s policy to allow local police access to surplus military
equipment to protect their law enforcement agents.” CNN notes that Trump
“also called for the death penalty for criminals who kill police officers.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=073-2b8&t=c>
(5/15, Boyer) reports Trump “cited the death of a Border Patrol agent...as
an example of the need for tougher immigration policies, declaring ‘enough
is enough.’” Trump called the death of Agent Rogelio Martinez in Texas
“horrific” and “violent,” and said, “Roger said he wanted to prevent
terrorists and drugs from coming into our country. ... That is why we are
calling on Congress to secure our borders, support our border agents, stop
sanctuary cities and shut down policies that release violent criminals back
into our communities. ... We don’t want it any longer. We’ve had it. Enough
is enough.”

*Administration Making Plans To Hold Immigrant Children At Military
Bases. *In what the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051601biden&r=email-2854&l=074-20a&t=c>
(5/15, Miroff, Sonne) calls “the l