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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, May 1, 2018 7:56 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, May 1, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=001-cde&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, May 1, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Media Analyses: Trump Hints At US Ending Iran Deal After Netanyahu Speech.
<#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Indicates Willingness To Meet Kim In DMZ. <#S2>

• White House Delays Tariffs On EU, Canada, Mexico For 30 Days. <#S3>

• Trump: African Countries Comment Didn’t Come Up In Meeting With Nigerian
President. <#S4>

• Mattis Downplays Likelihood Of US Withdrawal From Syria. <#S5>

• US-Led Coalition Deactivates Land Forces Command HQ In Iraq. <#S6>

• Wave Of Attacks In Afghanistan Kill US Soldier, Journalists. <#S7>

• Pompeo: US Supports Israel’s Right To Self-Defense, Is Open To Two-State
Solution. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Kelly Forcefully Denies Report He Called Trump An “Idiot.” <#S9>

• NYTimes: Mueller Has “At Least Four Dozen Questions” For Trump. <#S10>

• Migrant Caravan Again Denied Chance To Apply For Asylum. <#S11>

• Trump Will Join Pence In Addressing NRA Convention On Friday. <#S12>

• Rubio: No Evidence Tax Cut Helped American Workers. <#S13>

• Former Top EPA Staffer Says He Was Fired For Questioning Pruitt’s
Spending. <#S14>

• Paul Opposing Haspel Nomination. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Meta-Analysis Indicates Palliative Care Can Reduce Costs. <#S16>

• Two Groups Of Ocular Melanoma Cases Spark Questions. <#S17>

• Texas Cancer Prevention And Research Institute Announces $3M In Seed
Funding. <#S18>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S19>

• Washington Post. <#S20>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Bidens Attend Signing Of “Beau Biden Gun Violence Prevention Act.” <#S21>

• Biden Discusses His Efforts To Combat Violence Against Women. <#S22>

• Biden Visited Ailing McCain Over Weekend. <#S23>
Leading the News
Media Analyses: Trump Hints At US Ending Iran Deal After Netanyahu Speech.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday presented a trove of
documents that he says show Iran lied about pursuing nuclear weapons. Media
reports cast the presentation as directed at President Trump, whose
reaction was cast as hinting that he plans to scrap the 2015 nuclear deal
with Tehran later this month.

All three networks covered the story last night. Calling it a
“dramatic presentation,” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=002-11f&t=c>
(4/30, story 2, 2:40, Muir) said Netanyahu “literally pulling back a
curtain, revealing the secret files he claims that prove Iran lied about
his nuclear program.” Martha Raddatz said the prime minister “seemed to be
speaking to an audience of one: President Trump.” Speaking to reporters at
the White House on Monday, Trump “seemed persuaded,” giving “strong hints
he’ll rip [the deal] up.” On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=003-7af&t=c>
(4/30, story 2, 2:30, Holt), Hallie Jackson similarly said Netanyahu was
“addressing an audience of one: President Trump,” who must decide “within
two weeks to decide whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.”

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=004-4ef&t=c>
(4/30, lead story, 3:45, Glor) opened its broadcast saying the nuclear deal
“seemingly in more jeopardy” as Trump will decide its “future within 12
days. Today, Israel’s prime minister tried to give him more reason to pull
out.” Major Garrett said Netanyahu unveiled “bookshelves full of binders”
that he said “his government had captured...proving Iran pursued nuclear
weapons while it told the world it only sought civilian nuclear power.” At
the White House, Trump “said [the documents] proved the agreement was a bad
deal.” Trump: “I’ve been saying that’s happening. They’re not sitting back
idly. They’re setting off missiles, which they say are for television
purposes. I don’t think so.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=005-bba&t=c>
(4/30) said Trump “praised...Netanyahu’s presentation,” saying it shows
that he has been “100 percent right” about Iran, and to Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=006-365&t=c>
(4/30, Sink), Trump “hinted he plans to withdraw from the Iran nuclear
accord.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=007-5de&t=c>
(4/30, Wilkinson) titles its report “Netanyahu Makes Big Pitch To Claim
Iran Is Cheating On Nuclear Deal; Trump Likes What He Hears.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=008-c6d&t=c>
(4/30) reports Trump also insisted that “pulling out of the Iran nuclear
deal would not have a negative impact on his upcoming nuclear talks with
North Korea.” Said Trump, “I think it sends the right message.” Trump, USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=009-e15&t=c>
(4/30, Jackson) says, “linked his threats to kill the Iran nuclear
agreement with his hopes to strike a deal with North Korea deal on Monday,
saying Kim Jong Un should know that the US will walk away if it doesn’t
think its partners are committed to compliance.”

According to the Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=00a-eaa&t=c>
(4/30, Kredo), “US officials and congressional insiders view the disclosure
Monday by Israel of Iran’s ongoing efforts to develop a nuclear weapon as
game over for the landmark nuclear deal, telling the Washington Free Beacon
that new evidence of Iran’s top secret nuclear workings makes it virtually
impossible for...Trump to remain in the agreement.” US officials “who
reviewed the secret documents confirmed their authenticity,” and “multiple
sources...say that Monday’s presentation by Netanyahu resulted from a
recent conversation between the prime minister and Trump.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=00b-459&t=c>
(4/30, Halbfinger, Sanger, Bergman) reports that the documents “were taken
in an overnight raid in January, a senior Israeli official said. But Mr.
Netanyahu did not provide any evidence of violations by Iran since the deal
went into effect in early 2016, suggesting that the Israeli prime
minister...was hoping that the disclosures would provide a basis for
President Trump to follow through on his threats to scuttle the agreement.”
The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=00c-af6&t=c>
(4/30, Taylor) also reports the Israeli leader’s claims, and Katie Pavlich,
writing for Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=00d-a0e&t=c>
(4/30), says Netanyahu “described the collection and extradition of the
information as a ‘great intelligence achievement.’ It was a major,
seemingly impossible intelligence success.”

However, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=00e-708&t=c>
(4/30, Morris, Deyoung) reports that Richard Nephew, a former senior State
Department official who helped negotiate the deal, said Netanyahu’s
revelations were “interesting, and important for building a history of
[Iran’s] program. But it is not a new revelation, at least in terms of
where the program was when we were negotiating.” Similarly, the Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=00f-237&t=c>
(4/30, A1, Lieber, Schwartz) reports Iran’s lead negotiator in the nuclear
talks, Abbas Araghchi, told Iranian state television that Netanyahu’s
presentation was “a childish, ridiculous show.” He added, “The fact that
Netanyahu performs this show 10 days before Trump’s decision...makes it
clear that it is an orchestrated play to influence Trump’s decision.” To
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=010-18a&t=c>
(4/30), Netanyahu “stepped up pressure on the United States to pull out of
a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran,” and Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=011-40d&t=c>
(4/30, Teibel, Wainer, Arnold) reports that “several analysts poked holes
in his portrayal of his disclosures as ‘something the world has never
seen.’” Jarrett Blanc, a former deputy lead coordinator and State
Department coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation, said, “We’ve always
known they were lying, that’s why we did what we did.”

In his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=012-f1e&t=c>
(4/30), Sean Hannity said, “Netanyahu just gave an unmitigated warning to
the international community as it relates to Iran: they are secretly
advancing their nuclear program, and Israel, the United States, all of our
allies face extreme danger.” He added, “This just comes three years after
President Obama signed off on what is the worst to deal in the history of
the United States, frankly, the world.” Hannity said, “We warned you. This
agreement was always a sham. No different than when Neville Chamberlain
declared peace in his time and signed off on a deal trying to appease Adolf
Hitler. ... Obama wanted you to believe once again, if only we kissed the
rings of test beds and radicals and dictators, somehow, they will be nice
to us.” Hannity concluded, “Appeasement never works. Peace through strength
does work.”

Asked whether President Trump should withdraw from the Iran nuclear
deal, Rep. Adam Kinzinger said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=013-35b&t=c>
(4/30), “It depends on what his following strategy is. I think it is a
really bad deal. ... But in the meantime, we have all of this broad
behavior that we have to do something about, and maybe we can wrap this all
this together.” He added, “If there is no follow-on strategy, I don’t think
eh should do it on May 12th, but I think he has a follow-on strategy, in
which case, sure let’s get out of it and try to find a better way to get a
deal that broadens to Iran’s behavior.”

In an interview with Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=014-92a&t=c>
(4/30), Sen. Bob Corker said the material presented by Netanyahu is
“nothing new” and “not groundbreaking.” Corker added, “So, I don’t think it
affects the decision on pulling out. ... The best outcome would be to
resolve the problems with the deal. ... It would be best if we fixed it and
stayed in it.”

*White House Revises Statement Saying Iran “Has” Secret Nuclear
Weapons Program. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=015-327&t=c>
(4/30, Conradis) reports the White House on Monday night “revised a public
statement that originally said Iran currently has a secret nuclear weapons
program.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders released the initial
statement on Monday evening, hours after Netanyahu’s presentation, saying,
“These facts are consistent with what the United States has long known:
Iran has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program that it has tried
and failed to hide from the world and from its own people.” Shortly after
the statement was released, the White House posted “a slightly adjusted
version to its website,” changing the word “has” to “had.” NBC’s Peter
Alexander tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=016-91a&t=c>
that a White House official blamed a “clerical error.”

*Putin, Macron Vow To Preserve Deal. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=017-e55&t=c>
(4/30, Boylan) reports Russian President Vladimir Putin and French
President Emmanuel Macron “have spoken and vowed to preserve and implement
in full the Iranian nuclear deal, Russian state media reported on Monday.”
A phone conversation between the two leaders “was initiated by the French,
according to the Russian state-owned TASS news service,” with the leaders
calling “for preserving the plan and its full implementation.”

*Suspected Israeli Missile Strikes In Syria Kill Over A Dozen,
Mostly Iranians. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=018-ec3&t=c>
(4/30, Mroue, El Deeb) reports that a missile attack on “government
outposts in northern Syria killed more than a dozen pro-government
fighters, many of them Iranians.” There was “no official confirmation of
the death toll or what was the target,” but the strikes “sparked
speculation on who carried it out, with most reports suspecting Israel was
behind it.” According to a “member of an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia
operating in Syria,” the strike killed 36, “including 10 Iranian advisers.”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=019-7cf&t=c>
(4/30, Hubbard) says the strikes hit “military bases used by Iran and its
proxy militias, causing a blast large enough to shake the ground like a
minor earthquake and killing at least 16 people” near the cities of Hama
and Aleppo.

*Oil Prices Rise After Netanyahu’s Presentation. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=01a-b79&t=c>
(4/30, Mersie) reports that oil prices rose on Monday after Netanyahu’s
presentation reignited “concern over potential disruptions to Iranian crude
flows.” According to Reuters, “Analysts said the market is extremely
sensitive to any developments on the nuclear deal and sanctions.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Indicates Willingness To Meet Kim In DMZ.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=01b-e01&t=c>
yesterday morning, “Numerous countries are being considered for the
MEETING, but would Peace House/Freedom House, on the Border of North &
South Korea, be a more Representative, Important and Lasting site than a
third party country? Just asking!” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=01c-ef4&t=c>
(4/30, story 2, 2:40, Muir) said briefing that the Trump is planning his
meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, and “even
suggesting...holding the meeting at the DMZ.” To NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=01d-8c7&t=c>
(4/30, story 2, 2:30, Holt), “it seems not a matter of if [the talks will]
happen, but where.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=01e-f24&t=c>
(4/30, Landler) says the tweet “signaled [Trump’s] preference...to meet Kim
Jong-un...in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea,
following the example set last week by the leaders of the two Koreas.”
According to the Times, White House officials have also been discussing
sites “as far-flung as Singapore and Mongolia for the planned meeting,” and
“had privately played down the possibility of the Peace House.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=01f-59c&t=c>
(4/30, Pennington) reports Trump later on Monday “made it sound like
governments were vying to play host,” telling reporters at the White House,
“Everybody wants us. It has the chance to be a big event.” He added, “The
United States has never been closer to potentially have something happen
with respect to the Korean Peninsula that can get rid of the nuclear
weapons, can create so many good things, so many positive things, and peace
and security for the world.” Trump’s comments, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=020-8f4&t=c>
(4/30) says, “suggested the Peace House...was the likely setting” for the
meeting, “but a senior US official said Singapore was still high on the
list of potential sites for the summit.” According to Reuters, “some US
officials have argued privately that having the summit in the demilitarized
zone between the two Koreas would present the unwelcome appearance of Trump
traveling to Kim instead of the two of them meeting at a neutral site. But
officials have also debated how far Kim would be able to travel.”

Trump, says the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=021-a22&t=c>
(4/30, Bender), also raised expectations for the summit, saying, “I think
the summit will happen; personally I think it will be a success. You got to
get rid of the nuclear weapons. If it’s not a success, I will respectfully
leave. It’s very simple.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=022-cd4&t=c>
(4/30, Dopp) says Trump, who “has praised Kim’s rapid steps toward
resolving the standoff and expressed optimism about the possibility of
reaching an agreement” when they meet, “reaffirmed that view Monday,”
saying Kim has been “very open and straightforward so far.”

Counselor to the President Trump Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News’
Hannity[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=023-320&t=c>
(4/30), “The relationships that [Trump] has been able to build with leaders
across the world in the first 15 months of his Administration, the first
year-and-a-half since he was elected, has led us to this moment and, folks,
don’t underestimate the power of North Korea and South Korea really coming
together holding hands and saying that decades of war will – could just be
swept away, could end, also, North Korea has agreed to stop doing its
nuclear tests to allow inspectors in, which is key, to go back to the same
time zone as south Korea, a lot of progress there, and its Donald Trump’s
leadership.”

*South Korean President: Trump Deserves Nobel Peace Prize. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=024-4ae&t=c>
(4/30, Kim) reports South Korean President Moon Jae-in “has shaken off a
suggestion that he receive the Nobel Peace Prize,” saying that Trump “can
take the Nobel prize” as long as the Koreas receive peace in return. Moon
made the comment Monday “in response to a suggestion that he receive the
award.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=025-ded&t=c>
(4/30, Choe) notes that in recent months, “Moon and his senior aides have
repeatedly thanked Mr. Trump for making a rapprochement between the Koreas
possible.” At the same time, Trump has “been eager to take credit for Mr.
Kim’s shift in behavior as the inter-Korean summit has fanned speculation
that he could receive the Nobel Peace Prize.” Moon, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=026-db6&t=c>
(4/30, Fifield) says, “has gone out of his way to flatter Trump and credit
him for creating the environment that has brought about the remarkable
diplomatic rapprochement now unfolding. But even by Moon’s standards, the
latest remarks were really something.”

In his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=027-aae&t=c>
(4/30), Sean Hannity said, “Instead of trying to appease Kim Jong-un or
bribe him with boatloads of cash, President Trump took some very tough
measures. ... The media freaked out, proclaimed, ‘Trump will lead us to a
nuclear war.’ ... We knew better.” After the suggestion that Trump receive
the Nobel Peace Prize, “Everyone on the fake news media, their heads
exploded.”
White House Delays Tariffs On EU, Canada, Mexico For 30 Days.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=028-ba3&t=c>
(4/30, Swanson) reports that on Monday evening, the Administration
announced that it has “delayed a decision about whether to impose steel and
aluminum tariffs on the European Union, Canada and Mexico for another 30
days, giving key allies a reprieve as the countries carry out further
negotiations.” The 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum
were set to go into effect on Tuesday. The Times says President Trump’s
decision “temporarily puts off an announcement that could have imposed
stiff tariffs on close American allies,” and “will come as a relief to
major American allies that were bracing for damage to their economy from
lower sales of metals into the United States.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=029-c02&t=c>
(4/30, Mayeda) reports the White House said in a statement that it has
reached “agreements-in-principle with Argentina, Australia and Brazil,” and
will extend exemptions for the EU, Canada and Mexico for 30 days “to allow
for further talks.” The White House said, “These agreements underscore the
Trump administration’s successful strategy to reach fair outcomes with
allies to protect our national security and address global challenges to
the steel and aluminum industries.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=02a-6f9&t=c>
(5/1, Rugaber, Thomas) says the move “avoid[s] the potential for a trade
battle with Europe as the US prepares for tense trade talks in China this
week,” and to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=02b-c3b&t=c>
(4/30, Mufson, Paletta), Trump is “pushing off a key economic decision
while he tries to prod foreign leaders into making trade-related
concessions.”

According to the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=02c-6de&t=c>
(4/30, Bender, Mauldin), top Administration trade officials met with Trump
late Monday afternoon to decide on a course of action as a self-imposed
midnight deadline approached. A spokesman for the EU had no immediate
comment on the announcement Monday evening. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=02d-56b&t=c>
(4/30) reports Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier Monday
that any move by the US to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum
would be a “very bad idea.”

*Chinese Officials Unwilling To Discuss Trump’s “Two Toughest Trade
Demands.” *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=02e-f99&t=c>
(4/30, Bradsher) reports that Chinese officials are “refus[ing] to discuss
President Trump’s two toughest trade demands when American officials arrive
in Beijing this week, potentially derailing the high-level talks.” The
Times identifies the “demands” as “a mandatory $100 billion cut in
America’s $375 billion annual trade deficit with China and curbs on
Beijing’s $300 billion plan to bankroll the country’s industrial upgrade
into advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, semiconductors,
electric cars and commercial aircraft.” According to the Times, “the
Chinese and American positions are so far apart that China’s leaders are
skeptical the two sides can find common ground by the end of this week,”
and “are already raising the possibility that Chinese officials may fly to
Washington a month from now for further talks.”

*Treasury Officials Meet With Business Groups About Chinese
Investment Bill. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=02f-0f1&t=c>
(4/30, Gibson) reports exclusively that Treasury officials are met with
“about 10 industry groups on Monday to discuss the latest draft of
legislation that would tighten scrutiny of foreign investment in order to
limit Chinese efforts to acquire sophisticated US technology, three sources
familiar with the meeting said.” The Treasury Department supports the bill,
which would “broaden the reach of the inter-agency Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United States (CFIUS).” A Treasury spokesperson “declined
to comment on the meeting,” adding that they are “prohibited by statute
from publicly disclosing information filed with CFIUS.”

*White House Mulling Restrictions On Chinese Researchers Over
Espionage Fears. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=030-098&t=c>
(4/30, Swanson, Bradsher) reports the Administration, “concerned about
China’s growing technological prowess, is considering strict measures to
block Chinese citizens from performing sensitive research at American
universities and research institutes over fears they may be acquiring
intellectual secrets, according to people familiar with the deliberations.”
Sources say the White House is discussing “whether to limit the access of
Chinese citizens to the United States, including restricting certain types
of visas available to them and greatly expanding rules pertaining to
Chinese researchers who work on projects with military or intelligence
value at American companies and universities.” Chinese nationals with green
cards and those who have been granted asylum would be exempt.

*US Seeking 4-Year Phase-In For Higher NAFTA Auto Content
Thresholds. *According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=031-b99&t=c>
(4/30, Shepardson), the “latest US proposal for increasing NAFTA’s regional
automotive content would carry a four-year phase-in to meet a higher, 75
percent regional value threshold and new labor content rules requiring
substantial work at wages of $16 an hour or higher.” A summary of the
proposal, seen by Reuters and circulating among auto industry officials,
would require “the $16 wage on work comprising 40 percent of the value of
light-duty passenger vehicles and 45 percent for pickup trucks.” The
“initial reaction among US-based auto groups was cool at best,” Reuters
says.
Trump: African Countries Comment Didn’t Come Up In Meeting With Nigerian
President.

President Trump on Monday hosted Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the
White House. [image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=032-f82&t=c>
(4/30, story 2, 2:30, Holt) noted it was Trump’s “first meeting with the
sub-Saharan African leader since reportedly referring to some countries on
the continent with vulgarity.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=033-618&t=c>
(4/30, Superville) similarly says the meeting came just months after “Trump
stirred anger in Nigeria last year after reports that he said during an
Oval Office meeting that Nigerians wouldn’t want to go home to their ‘huts’
if they were permitted to visit the US.” Trump has “denied using the vulgar
term,” but in the wake of the controversy, Buhari’s visit marked “an
uncomfortable start to the Trump administration’s approach to the world’s
second-most-populous continent.”

“When a reporter asked about Trump’s infamous” comment, Trump and
Buhari “refused to take the bait to divide them,” the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=034-01f&t=c>
(4/30, Caruso) says. Jim Acosta reported on [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=035-89d&t=c>
(4/30) that when asked about the “disparaging” comment, Trump “didn’t deny
it.” CNN showed him saying, “We didn’t discuss it. And you do have some
countries that are in very bad shape and very tough places to live in. But
we didn’t discuss it because the president knows me. And he knows where I’m
coming from and I appreciate that.” Likewise, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=036-d80&t=c>
(4/30, Davis) reports both Trump and Buhari “carefully avoided the topic,
professing mutual respect for each other and their respective countries at
a cordial news conference.” The Nigerian leader, “for his part, said he was
not certain whether to believe the reports about Mr. Trump’s comments.”
Buhari told reporters, “I’m very careful with what the press says,” and
“I’m not sure about the validity, or whether that allegation against the
president was true or not, so the best thing for me is to keep quiet.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=037-de0&t=c>
(4/30, Bierman) says Trump “seemed to go out of his way to demonstrate his
respect for Nigeria,” telling reporters that he would like to visit the
“amazing country.” Buhari, who was “seeking continued military assistance
from the United States, including helicopter sales and better trade
relations,” also “made it clear he was equally interested in avoiding the
topic.” He “seemed especially pleased with Trump touting a $600-million
deal signed last year to sell 12 high-tech military aircraft for
counter-insurgency efforts,” which Trump said “would be used ‘to target
terrorists and protect civilians.’” Buhari also “complained that in the
past the United States had blocked helicopter sales to Nigeria ‘for various
reasons which, frankly, were not good reasons.’”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=038-3c4&t=c>
(4/30, Korte, Fritze) reports Trump also “said the US wants to be a close
trading partner with nations on the African continent and he encouraged
Nigeria to lower trade barriers he described as ‘very substantial.’” Trump
told reporters, “We give Nigeria well over $1 billion in aid every year and
we have already started talking with the president about taking down the
trade barriers.” In turn, Buhari “praised Trump for his handling of the US
economy, the near defeat of the Islamic State (‘although some of the
remnants have found their way to the Sahara region’) and US forces in
Nigeria on what he called a training mission.”

On its website, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=039-2c9&t=c>
(4/30, Kenny) reports former White House aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman,
however, “seemed to say Monday that President Donald Trump did call certain
African nations ‘s***hole countries’ during a January meeting in the Oval
Office.” She tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=03a-8eb&t=c>,
“President @MBuhari FYI he said it. #Naija.” CNN notes that
“Manigault-Newman has been increasingly critical of Trump since she
departed the White House last year.”
Mattis Downplays Likelihood Of US Withdrawal From Syria.

On Monday, Defense Secretary Mattis said the US and its allies would not
withdraw troops from Syria “before the diplomats have won the peace,”
constituting what Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=03b-d1e&t=c>
(4/30) calls “one of the strongest signs yet a full US withdrawal was
unlikely anytime soon.” Mattis “said the United States and its allies were
on the cusp of victory against Islamic State and added they would not want
to simply abandon Syria while it remained in a state of war.” The State
Department and Pentagon have similarly maintained “that a longer term US
effort will be needed to ensure a lasting defeat of Islamic State.”

*Syrian Army Bombards Rebel-Held Enclave. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=03c-040&t=c>
(4/30) reports Syria’s “army unleashed a massive bombardment” consisting of
“more than 140 Syrian army air strikes on the town of Rastan and
surrounding villages in the rebel enclave between the cities of Hama and
Homs early on Monday, alongside sustained shelling, the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights monitor said.” Later on Syrian state-run television “said
the army would cease fire for 48-72 hours in the pocket between Homs and
Hama – the most populous remaining encircled area in Syria – to allow rebel
groups to agree a surrender deal under which they would leave for
opposition-held areas in northern Syria.” Meanwhile, there has been no
claim of “responsibility for the missile attacks that struck several bases
near Hama and Aleppo overnight, causing large explosions, and the Syrian
army blamed only ‘aggression’ by its enemies.” There “is widespread
speculation in Israel that it was behind the attack,” and former Israeli
military intelligence head Amos Yadlin “said Israel was likely behind the
strikes.”
US-Led Coalition Deactivates Land Forces Command HQ In Iraq.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=03d-563&t=c>
(4/30) reports that on Monday, “the US-led coalition signaled...the end of
major combat operations against Islamic State in Iraq by announcing the
‘deactivation’ of its land forces command headquarters.” US special envoy
Brett McGurk tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=03e-6e8&t=c>:
“From Falluja to Tikrit, Baiji, Ramadi, Sinjar, Mosul and points in
between, our coalition has been proud to stand beside Iraqi forces and
(Kurdish) Peshmerga as they liberated their country and 4.5 million fellow
citizens from ISIS.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=03f-3a6&t=c>
(4/30, El-Ghobashy) says it is “not clear how many American forces remain
in the country,” but a spokesman for Iraq’s military, Brig. Gen. Yahya
Rasoul, “hinted at the Iraqi government desire to see American forces
stay.” Said Gen. Rasoul in a statement, “We look forward to taking the
partnership forward with the Combined Joint Task Force, and a friendship
that will endure for years to come.”

*Iraq To Use New Electronic System In Upcoming National Elections. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=040-ef0&t=c>
(4/30, Salaheddin) reports Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission
“plans to use a new electronic system in next month’s national elections
that will limit fraud and allow for the announcement of results within
hours of polls closing, the election commission said Monday.” In past
elections, “voters filled out ballots and then dipped their fingers in
purple ink, a measure that was designed to prevent repeat voting,”
resulting in a “cumbersome” electoral process that left the results unknown
for weeks. The AP notes nearly 7,000 candidates are slated to “vie for 329
seats in the May 12 parliament elections, the fourth since the 2003
U.S.-led invasion.”
Wave Of Attacks In Afghanistan Kill US Soldier, Journalists.

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=041-90d&t=c>
(4/30, story 6, 0:30, Muir) reported that “a wave of violence in
Afghanistan” on Monday resulted in 31 “people killed, including an American
service member and at least 10 journalists.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=042-b63&t=c>
(4/30, Gibbons-Neff) reports the US soldier was killed “in what the
American military deemed a ‘combat operation’” in eastern Afghanistan.
Several Afghan troops were also killed and second US soldier was wounded in
the attack. The Times notes US forces in Afghanistan “are split between
training the Afghan military to fight the Taliban and hunting terrorist
organizations, such as the Islamic State’s affiliate in the country,” the
Khorasan group, which controls “large pieces of territory” in eastern
Afghanistan.

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=043-0d3&t=c>
(4/30, story 8, 0:25, Holt) similarly called Monday “an especially violent
day in Afghanistan” that began when a coordinated suicide bombing “killed
at least 22 people,” including nine journalists, in Kabul. The journalists
had gathered to report on the first bomb blast “when they were struck by a
second blast, apparently designed to kill first responders and journalists
who were arriving to cover the explosion. ISIS has claimed responsibility
for those bombings.” Also reporting on the “deadly day in
Afghanistan,” the [image:
Image removed by sender. Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=044-d39&t=c>
(4/30, story 5, 1:25, Glor) said while ISIS’ “foothold is just a tiny
fraction compared to the Taliban, both are responsible for a surge in
violence that’s left hundreds dead in the past year alone.”

ISIS said it had “targeted the Afghan intelligence headquarters,”
but “did not say anything about specifically targeting the journalists,”
reports the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=045-3e8&t=c>
(4/30, Faiez, Shah), which says the “attack was the latest in a relentless
string of large-scale bombings and assaults in the capital and elsewhere in
Afghanistan this year.” Just hours later, in Afghanistan’s “southern
Kandahar province, a suicide car bomb targeting a NATO convoy killed 11
children from a nearby religious school” and wounded eight Romanian NATO
troops. Separately, “in the eastern Khost province, a 29-year-old reporter
for the BBC’s Afghan service was shot dead by unknown gunmen.” The US
Embassy in Kabul condemned the series of attacks and “extend[ed] our
deepest condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of all the
victims, including a number of brave journalists among the dead and
injured.” The US Embassy added, “Where media are in danger, all other human
rights are under greater threat.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=046-d88&t=c>
(4/30, Constable, Salahuddin) reports the twin blasts “occurred in the
heavily guarded zone that houses foreign embassies, Afghan government
offices and NATO’s mission in Afghanistan,” and the “heavy casualties left
Kabul’s war-hardened press corps reeling in shock and grief.” Individual
journalists and press associations in Afghanistan “complained Monday that
the government was not doing enough to protect them, and some suggested
they be provided with armed guards and flak jackets.” They also voiced
“anger that the Afghan intelligence service did not take more defensive
action after the first bomber, on a motorbike, detonated his explosives
outside its compound.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=047-39b&t=c>
(4/30, Mashal) calls the twin suicide bombings “the deadliest single attack
involving journalists in Afghanistan since at least 2002, and one of the
most lethal ever worldwide, according to the Committee to Protect
Journalists.” The Times says the latest wave of violence “underscored the
unending nature of violence in Afghanistan” and “raises fresh concerns
about whether the Afghan security services can create a safe enough
environment for parliamentary elections that are to be held in September.”

*Paul: Trump Wants To Get US Troops Out Of Afghanistan. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=048-656&t=c>
(4/30, Scherer, Jaffe, Dawsey) reports that President Trump “found a way to
win over one of the biggest skeptics in the Senate,” Sen. Rand Paul.
According to the Post, “the more Trump and Paul spoke, including three
calls on Monday, the more assured Paul became that the president was moving
back toward the non-interventionist world view that Trump had championed on
the campaign trail.” The Post adds that “the conversations left Paul with a
particularly enticing notion: that Trump was prepared to end the war in
Afghanistan.” Paul is quoted as saying: “The president told me over and
over again in general we’re getting the hell out of there. I think the
president’s instincts and inclination are to resolve the Afghan conflict.”

*Pakistani Police Charge US Embassy Officer With Obstructing
Traffic Accident Investigation. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=049-470&t=c>
(4/30, Masood) reports Pakistani police charged US Embassy security adviser
Taimur Iqbal Pirzada “with seeking to obstruct an investigation into a car
accident involving an embassy vehicle, police officials said on Monday.”
Police said a Toyota belonging to Second Secretary Chad Rex Ausburn struck
and wounded two motorcyclists in Islamabad on Sunday evening, and alleged
Pirzada “sought to obstruct an investigation of the accident and to stop
officers from taking the diplomat and his vehicle to a police station.”
State Department spokesman Nolen Johnson commented, “We are aware of a
motor vehicle accident yesterday involving a US Embassy diplomat,” and that
the “issue of his involvement has now been resolved.” Sunday’s accident
adds “to diplomatic tensions days after an American military attaché,” Col.
Joseph Hall, “was barred from leaving the country over a separate
collision” that “drew attention on social media as well as street
protests.”
Pompeo: US Supports Israel’s Right To Self-Defense, Is Open To Two-State
Solution.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=04a-7b7&t=c>
(4/30, Harris) reports that in Jordan on Monday, Secretary of State Pompeo
“expressed support...for Israel and its response to weekly protests in Gaza
that have left dozens of people dead.” At a news conference with Jordanian
Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Pompeo said, “We do believe the Israelis
have the right to defend themselves, and we’re fully supportive of that.”
The Times says Pompeo “also refused to fully endorse the two-state
solution, the longtime policy of the United States before the Trump
administration, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Pompeo is quoted as
saying: “With respect to the two-state solution, the parties will
ultimately make the decision about what the right resolution is. We’re
certainly open to a two-party solution as a likely outcome. We certainly
believe the Israelis and Palestinians need to have political engagement. We
urge the Palestinians to return to that political dialogue.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=04b-d27&t=c>
(4/30, Lee) reports Pompeo would not, however, agree with “Safadi’s
characterization of the conflict as ‘the main cause of instability’ in the
region.” The Jordanian minister “had opened the news conference with an
apparent appeal for the US to boost efforts to end the conflict,” telling
reporters: “Yes, the two-state solution is being challenged. Yes, there are
many obstacles. But what is the alternative? We cannot give up in our
efforts and there is no viable alternative.” The AP notes that during his
two-day visit to Israel and Jordan, Pompeo “did not meet Palestinian
representatives,” who “have essentially boycotted contacts with the US
since Trump announced in December that the United States was recognizing
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”

A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=04c-c2c&t=c>
(4/30, Morello) analysis says at “every stop” during his four-day tour of
Europe and the Middle East, Pompeo “has gone out of his way to point out he
was on his first trip as secretary of state, a subtle reminder of the
priority he placed on the countries he visited.” By including the “Middle
East in his first foray since being sworn in as secretary of state last
Thursday,” the Post adds, “Pompeo appears to be positioning himself to take
a larger role than his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, in trying to get
Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.”

*Top Israeli Official Urges Government To Accept Forthcoming US
Peace Plan. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=04d-cde&t=c>
(4/30, Heller) reports Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the US
and current deputy minister for diplomacy, said Monday that he has “never
known a team to be more favorably disposed to us” than the Administration
under President Trump, and that his “own feeling is to strongly recommend
that the Israeli government accept” the forthcoming peace plan “with an
open mind, if not open arms, that we engage with it energetically and that
we certainly don’t reject it out of hand.” The top Israeli official “said
he did not know what the Trump plan would include, but he expects it to
come out soon, perhaps after the embassy move.” Oren also “said Trump’s
business-minded team was the best mediator Israel could ever hope for.”

*Abbas: US Peace Deal Would Be “Completely Unacceptable.” *Also on
Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “told the PLO parliament, which
was meeting for its first full session since the 1990s, that he plans to
take unspecified ‘tough steps’ soon against Israel and the United States,”
the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=04e-776&t=c>
(4/30, Daraghmeh) reports. He reiterated that “he is sticking to his
rejection of any US proposals for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.”
Calling the proposals “completely unacceptable,” Abbas asserted, “We will
not accept this deal, and we will not accept the US as the sole broker.”
The AP says Abbas also “appeared to dismiss media reports quoting Saudi
Arabia’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, as saying the
Palestinians should stop complaining and accept what they are being offered
by the Trump administration.”
Domestic Policy
Kelly Forcefully Denies Report He Called Trump An “Idiot.”

In its lead story, NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=04f-958&t=c>
(4/30, lead story, 2:40, Holt) reported that “multiple officials within the
Administration” told the network that Chief of Staff Kelly “has become
increasingly vocal in his frustrations and criticism aimed at the
President, calling Mr. Trump an ‘idiot.’” NBC’s Kristen Welker reported,
“Kelly is increasingly on the ropes, his relationship with the President
souring, with four officials telling NBC News they have witnessed Kelly
calling the President an ‘idiot’ behind his back. ... According to multiple
administration officials, Mr. Kelly questioned the President’s grasp on
policy, saying some version of ‘I’m the one saving the country.’ Adding to
the West Wing drama: Kelly has roiled some of the female staffers, telling
aides multiple times that women are more emotional than men.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=050-834&t=c>
(4/30, lead story, 2:45, Muir) also opened with the story, but focused on
Kelly’s response. ABC’s Cecilia Vega reported that Kelly made “a rare
public statement to defend his relationship with his boss. ... In a
statement he said, ‘I spend more time with the President than anyone else,
and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship. He always knows
where I stand, and he and I both know this story is total BS.’ He called it
‘another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and
distract from the Administration’s many successes.’” The CBS Evening
News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=051-a87&t=c>
(4/30, story 2, 0:40, Glor) ran a briefer report that also focused on
Kelly’s response. CBS’ Major Garrett said, “Kelly has alienated some in the
West Wing by giving more power to Cabinet secretaries, and he has struggled
to keep a tight rein on the President’s schedule and access to the
President. Mr. Trump has at times resented that move by the Chief of Staff.
And, in the end, there have been many rumors about Kelly’s imminent
departure. But he’s still here.”

In a brief report on Kelly’s response, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=052-d68&t=c>
(4/30) says that Trump “has chafed at Kelly’s controlling management style,
and has occasionally talked with friends about replacing him.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=053-35b&t=c>
(4/30, Dawsey) reports that while it “has not independently confirmed that
Kelly called Trump an ‘idiot,’” Kelly “has occasionally referred to the
president in derisive terms and has threatened to quit, current and former
White House aides said.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=054-944&t=c>
(4/30, Lima) also has a brief item on Kelly’s response to the NBC report.

*Trump: White House “Running Very Smoothly.” *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=055-90b&t=c>
(4/30, Samuels) reports that Trump “attacked the media and touted his
administration hours after” the NBC report. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=056-57d&t=c>,
“The White House is running very smoothly despite phony Witch Hunts etc.
There is great Energy and unending Stamina, both necessary to get things
done.” In a separate tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=057-057&t=c>,
Trump “called the media ‘totally unhinged’ and ‘truly bad people.’”
NYTimes: Mueller Has “At Least Four Dozen Questions” For Trump.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=058-ca1&t=c>
(4/30, Schmidt) reports Special Counsel Robert Mueller “has at least four
dozen questions on an exhaustive array of subjects he wants to ask
President Trump to learn more about his ties to Russia and determine
whether he obstructed the inquiry itself.” A list of the questions obtained
by Times shows that most “appear to be an attempt to penetrate the
president’s thinking, to get at the motivation behind some of his most
combative Twitter posts and to examine his relationships with his family
and his closest advisers.” They also “touch on the president’s businesses;
any discussions with his longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, about
a Moscow real estate deal”; and whether Trump knew of any attempt by Jared
Kushner “to set up a back channel to Russia during the transition,” among
other matters.

*In Tweet Today, Trump Calls “Russian Witch Hunt” Leaks “So
Disgraceful.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=059-ef2&t=c>
this morning, “So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian
Witch Hunt were ‘leaked’ to the media. No questions on Collusion. Oh, I
see...you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and
an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice!”
Trump said in an additional tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=05a-f5a&t=c>
this morning, “It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that
never happened! Witch Hunt!”

*Trump Re-Election Campaign Has Paid Some Of Cohen’s Legal Bills. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=05b-1e4&t=c>
(4/30, Severns) reports that Trump’s re-election campaign has paid legal
bills related to the investigations on behalf of Cohen, according to a
campaign official. The payments “were for legal costs Cohen incurred before
the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York began
investigating the lawyer for a variety of issues, including a 2016 payment
to adult film star Stormy Daniels.”

*Manafort Seeks Hearing Into Leaks. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=05c-502&t=c>
(4/30, Gerstein) reports that ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort “is
demanding a hearing into a flurry of media leaks that his defense says
unfairly accused him of improper collusion” with Russia. In a court filing,
his lawyers wrote, “It is self-evident that the objective of these
government sources was to create unfair prejudice against Mr. Manafort and
thereby deprive him of his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights.”

*Steele Reportedly Has More Funding To Continue Collusion Research.
*The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=05d-097&t=c>
(4/30, Scarborough) reports that dossier creator Christopher Steele “is
continuing his Trump-Russia collusion chase with new partisan funding,”
according to the House Intelligence Committee Republicans’ report. A former
top aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein “has secured millions of dollars from
unidentified donors, some of it to pay Mr. Steele” and Fusion GPS.

*Democrats Tell Judge That Trump Must Comply With Emoluments
Clause. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050101biden&r=email-6c7b&l=05e-a6d&t=c>
(4/30, Hurtado) reports that “a group of almost 200 Democrats” including
House Minority Leader Pelosi and Sen. Richard Blumenthal told a judge that
Trump “must comply with a Constitutional provision that would bar his
businesses from taking money from foreign governments.” The Democrats filed
suit against Trump last year, accusing him of violating the Constitution’s
Foreign Emoluments clause.

*House Conservatives Have Drafted Articles Of Impeachment Against
Rosenstein. *The Washington Post
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(4/30, Costa, Horwitz, Zapotosky) reports that “conservative House allies”
of Trump “have drafted articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney
General Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees the ongoing special counsel probe,
setting up a possible GOP showdown over the federal investigation into
Russian interference in the 2016 election.” The draft articles, “which one
of its authors called a ‘last resort,’ would be unlikely to garner
significant support in Congress.”
Migrant Caravan Again Denied Chance To Apply For Asylum.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(4/30, story 3, 1:30, Muir) reported on “the showdown on the US border” as
“the caravan of men, women and children from Central America arrive at a US
border post.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(4/30, story 4, 2:35, Holt) reported, “The limits of American resolve and
compassion is being tested.” NBC (Almaguer) added, “These are the faces of
the desperate, locked out on the doorstep of the United States.” The CBS
Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(4/30, story 3, 2:40, Glor) called the situation “a standoff at the Mexican
border.” CBS (Villarreal) added that a Mexican immigration official “tells
me this standoff is causing bigger problems for the US and Mexico.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Pence “talked about immigration enforcement
today.” Pence was shown saying, “We’ve been watching with great interest
the advance of the so-called caravan.” The AP
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(4/30, Spagat) reports that, in “an unexpected twist,” US border inspectors
say that, for the second consecutive day, San Diego’s San Ysidro border
crossing facility, the nation’s busiest crossing facility with a capacity
to hold about 300 people, did not have the space to accommodate the
approximately 200 people in a caravan of Central American asylum seekers.

The San Diego Union-Tribune
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(4/28, Dibble) reports,” the first group of 50 Caravan members walked into
the port’s PedWest entrance at about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday,” but, “several
hours later, members of the group had yet to enter the US facility for
processing.” The Los Angeles Times
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(4/30, Castillo) reports Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin
McAleenan said in a statement, “We have reached capacity at the San Ysidro
port of entry for CBP officers to be able to bring additional persons
traveling without appropriate entry documentation into the port of entry
for processing.” The Times adds that “the spectacle at the border, captured
by multiple news outlets, was sure to further fan the ire of Trump, who has
frequently cited the caravan as a justification for tough measures against
illegal immigration.” The Washington Post
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(4/30, Averbuch, Partlow) reports the situation “has become a high-profile
test of Trump administration immigration policies.” When asked about the
asylum seekers, Trump told reporters on Monday that “we’re working on the
border with the worst laws any country – no matter where you go, all over
the world, they can’t even believe it.”

The Washington Times
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(4/30, A1, Dinan, Miller) reports, “The illegal immigrant caravan has
turned into a real standoff in Mexico,” as “caravan organizers, though, vow
to outlast the US government” and wait to have their asylum requests
handled. Meanwhile, “President Trump showed frustration with the situation,
and seemed particularly peeved by photographs and video showing people
associated with the caravan straddling the border fence in San Diego,
taunting watchful US authorities.”

In his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
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(4/30), Sean Hannity said, “Dozens of migrants have arrived at the border
and they are demanding entry into the US, with some attempting to scale a
border fence in California.” Hannity added, “For decades, [Mexico has]
turned an all too obvious blind eye as millions of their citizens, as well
as citizens from other countries, showed no respect to our laws, our
sovereignty, our borders, our citizens. ... Mexico needs to be held
accountable. Most importantly, it is time for the wall to be built on our
southern border.”

*Trump: No Apology For Comments About Muslims. *The Washington Times
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(4/30, Dinan, Miller) reports, “President Trump said Monday he won’t
apologize for his past comments about Muslims and suggestions of a Muslim
ban.” Trump said at a White House press conference with the president of
Nigeria, “I think if I apologize it wouldn’t make 10 cents worth of
difference. There’s nothing to apologize for.” The New York Times
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(4/30, Liptak) reports Trump’s comments appear “to undercut an assertion at
a Supreme Court argument last week from Solicitor General Noel J.
Francisco,” who told the justices that the President had already disavowed
his statements about a “Muslim ban.”

*Pence: Administration Will Build Border Wall. *The Los Angeles
Times
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(4/30, Castillo) reports Pence on Monday took “a heavily secured tour of
the construction site for a border barrier and [was] lauding local Border
Patrol and Customs and Border Protection employees.” He “thanked federal
immigration agents for their work, telling them they ‘have a great
champion’ in Trump and assuring them that he and Trump are committed to
reforming immigration laws.” The Daily Caller
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(4/30, Caruso) reports Pence, visiting the border in Calexico, California,
“met with Border Patrol agents and told them that the Trump administration
was going to build a wall on the southern border.”

*Homan To Retire From ICE. *Reuters
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(4/30, Shepardson) reports that, just “days after Democrats had questioned
why” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement remains without a
Senate-confirmed head, ICE provisional head and Director-designate Thomas
Homan announced that he is retiring. A department official said that Homan
“earlier this year told the department he wanted to retire mid-2018.”
Homan, ICE’s acting director and former executive director of the ICE’s
enforcement and removal operations, said in a statement, “My family has
sacrificed a lot in order for me to serve and it’s time for me to focus on
them.” The Washington Post
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(4/30, Miroff) calls Homan “an unapologetic enthusiast for the
administration’s more aggressive enforcement approach.”