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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Wednesday, May 30, 2018 7:51 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, May 30, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=001-b14&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, May 30, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Trump Touts Administration Accomplishments At Nashville Rally For
Blackburn. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Media Analyses: Trump-Kim Summit Appears Back On Amid Diplomatic Moves.
<#S2>

• White House Revives Prospect Of Steep Tariffs On Chinese Imports. <#S3>

• Pompeo Announces Push To Defend Religious Minorities Globally. <#S4>

• US Expresses Outrage At Syrian Presidency Of UN Disarmament Conference.
<#S5>

• Israeli Jets Strike 30 Targets In Gaza Following Militant Mortar, Rocket
Attacks. <#S6>

• US Rocket Artillery Strike Killed At Least 50 Taliban Leaders. <#S7>

• Russian Journalist Critical Of Kremlin Killed In Ukraine. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump Accuses Mueller Of “Meddling” In Midterms. <#S9>

• Trump Blasts Democrats For Blaming Him For Treatment Of Migrant Children
In 2014. <#S10>

• ABC Fires Rosanne Barr In Wake Of Controversial Tweet. <#S11>

• SCOTUS Rejects Challenge To Arkansas Law Restricting Abortion. <#S12>

• Study: Maria Death Toll In Puerto Rico 70 Times Higher Than Official
Figure. <#S13>

• Keystone XL Pipeline Developer “Showering” Nebraska Officials With
Campaign Cash. <#S14>

• WSJournal A1: Charitable Foundations Give Lavish Rewards To Insiders.
<#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• FDA Grants Priority Review For Loxo-Bayer Cancer Drug. <#S16>

• FDA Names Pfizer’s Crizotinib Breakthrough Therapy For Lung Cancer,
Lymphoma. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden Backs Soto Over Grayson In FL9 Democratic Primary. <#S20>

• Inside Philosophy Highlights Biden’s Partners In Promoting LGBTQ
Inclusion. <#S21>
Leading the News
Trump Touts Administration Accomplishments At Nashville Rally For Blackburn.

President Trump on Tuesday evening spoke at a Nashville rally in support of
Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s (R) 2018 bid to succeed retiring Sen. Bob Corker
(R). Media coverage of the event focuses on Trump’s discussion of his
accomplishments and his emphasis on the issues of immigration and border
security as well as his attacks on Blackburn’s likely general election
opponent, former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D). The Tennessean
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=002-682&t=c>
(5/29, Ebert, Boucher) reports that Trump “veered through a series of
controversial topics as he cajoled voters during a campaign-style rally.”
Trump called Bredesen “an absolute total tool” of Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer. Trump said, “If Bredesen were ever to get elected, he’d do
whatever Chuck and [House Minority Leader] Nancy [Pelosi] (want).” Trump
added that “if the audience wanted safe communities and schools,” they have
to “go out and get the Democrats the hell out of office. ... You have to
work with Marsha. We have to get the votes. We need the votes.”

WTVF-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=003-4a6&t=c>
Nashville, TN (5/29, 10:04 p.m. CDT) reported that “Trump’s supporters say
they got to see exactly what they wanted to today. They said President
Trump was able to count up his successes of his first year and a half in
office in front of a very energized crowd.” Trump “stuck to much of the
same political talking points.” Trump: “We need a wall. We’re going to get
the wall. We’ve already started doing it.” WTVF-TV added that Trump “did
unveil some new material aimed at Republican Marsha Blackburn’s likely
opponent in the US Senate race in November, Democrat Phil Bredesen.”
WZTV-TV[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=004-203&t=c>
Nashville, TN (5/29, 9:05 p.m. CDT) reported that this was Trump’s third
visit to Nashville since his election. In his speech to “an energetic
crowd,” Trump “focused more on himself and Phil Bredesen, or as he called
him the tool.” Trump: “I never heard of this guy. Who is he? Who is he?”
Trump “drew sharp contrast between himself and Bredesen who he said would
vote with the Democrat caucus every single time.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=005-9f6&t=c>
(5/29, Arkin, Nussbaum) reported that Bredesen “has staked his campaign on
strength with independents and crossover appeal with moderate Republicans,
hoping the goodwill lingering from two popular terms as governor can build
a winning coalition in a state where Trump remains well-liked. But
Blackburn and Republican allies want to blunt that strategy by painting”
Bredesen “as a centrist in name only who, despite his rhetoric, will stand
in the president’s way when it matters. Trump stuck to that message on
Tuesday night, describing Bredesen as a ‘very liberal Democrat’ and an
‘absolute tool of Chuck [Schumer].’” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=006-35b&t=c>
(5/29, Boyer) says Trump “also slammed Mr. Bredesen for making campaign
donations to Mrs. Clinton in 2016,” saying, “Phil Bredesen supported her
and he supported her ideas.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=007-c42&t=c>
(5/29, Manchester) reported that Trump contended “that people were
‘infiltrating’ his 2016 presidential campaign. ‘So how do you like the fact
they had people infiltrating our campaign,’ Trump told supporters.” Trump
added, “Can you imagine people infiltrating our campaign? Is there anybody
in this big, beautiful arena right now, that’s infiltrating our campaign?
Will you please raise your hand.”

WKRN-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=008-871&t=c>
Nashville, TN (5/29, 10:05 p.m. CDT) reported that Trump “was here to
support Marsha Blackburn. He did that by citing the accomplishments of his
Administration and attacking Phil Bredesen.” Trump “thanked [Blackburn] and
complimented her.” Trump: “She is a great woman. So we need Marsha in the
Senate to continue the amazing progress and work that we have done over the
last year and a half. We have created 3.3 million new jobs since election
day. To continue this incredible progress, to keep on wining you have to
vote Republican in November.” WKRN-TV added that Trump “talked about job
growth and historically low unemployment. He also was adamant in saying he
will protect the Second Amendment, our borders and will work for stricter
immigration policies. The President, likewise, promised billions in funding
for the military and to fight the opioid epidemic.” WHBQ-TV[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=009-b43&t=c>
Memphis, TN (5/29, 10:09 p.m. CDT) reported that Trump “revisited many
common themes, including the 2016 election, the fake media, and
immigration.” Trump: “We are not going to be a stupid country anymore. we
have stopped it. We are not going to be. And you can say what you want but
I think border security and security in general is a great issue for the
Republican Party. I think it’s a great issue.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=00a-5ed&t=c>
(5/29, Kim, Gearan) reports that Trump renewed his vow “that Mexico will
pay for his proposed border wall and ‘enjoy it’ as he tied Republican
success in the November midterm elections to a continued focus on illegal
immigration and border security.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=00b-45e&t=c>
(5/29, Davis) says Trump “invoked fears of crimes committed by illegal
immigrants, particularly by the transnational gang MS-13, to argue for
stricter border policies, including his long-promised wall, and charged
that Democrats were standing in the way.” Trump “worked his audience of
about 1,000 into a frenzy by recalling the term he used this month during a
discussion of how difficult it was to target suspected undocumented
immigrants, including criminal gang members, for deportation.” Trump asked,
“What was the name?” and his supporters replied, “Animals!”

In a separate story, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=00c-425&t=c>
(5/29, Davis, Haberman, Martin) says Trump’s Nashville trip is part of his
plan “to focus his midterm campaigning this summer on red states with
competitive Senate races where he has a deep reservoir of support and can
bring a message devised to stoke partisan outrage.” In the coming weeks,
Trump will visit North Dakota, Montana, Missouri, Indiana and West
Virginia, “all deeply red states he won handily in 2016 with endangered
Democratic senators.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=00d-dae&t=c>
(5/29) says Trump “plans a series of political rallies and events in the
coming months to boost Republicans and brand Democrats as obstructionists
to his agenda.” He is “using the campaign appearances to mobilize his core
backers by his highlighting accomplishments in office, like improving
economic indicators and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and
resurrecting some of his go-to lines from the 2016 campaign.”

Sebastian Gorka said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=00e-fc9&t=c>
(5/29) that Trump’s speech “was a barnstormer. I just started ticking off
the things he covered, and I just ran out of space. Whether it’s Nancy the
MS-13 lover, whether it’s standing up for the flag, whether it’s [the]
Second Amendment, rebuilding our military, the tax cuts, this was the
speech. You don’t need any talking points for November. I don’t care who
the candidate is, whether it’s the Senate or the House, this is the speech
that nailed the Republican wave, not the Democrat wave. ... Tonight was
spectacular.”

*Trump’s Mention Of Corker Draws Boos. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=00f-d44&t=c>
(5/29, Morrongiello) reports that that the audience booed Corker when Trump
announced that he and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) were in attendance.

*Trump’s Top Nashville Donors Highlighted. *A slideshow on the
Nashville
(TN) Business Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=010-b45&t=c>
(5/29, Garner) website highlights “the 25 donors in Greater Nashville who
have given the most so far to Trump’s re-election committee in 2018.”
Foreign Policy
Media Analyses: Trump-Kim Summit Appears Back On Amid Diplomatic Moves.

Media reports described a trio of meetings between US officials and their
North Korean counterparts as increasing the likelihood that President
Trump’s canceled summit with Kim Jong-un is back on. All three networks
covered the story last night. NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=011-dc4&t=c>
(5/29, story 6, 0:30, Guthrie) reported briefly there are “new signs
tonight that the canceled summit...could soon be back on,” and the CBS
Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=012-b21&t=c>
(5/29, story 2, 2:00, Glor) said the summit “appears to be back on” with
Secretary of State Pompeo set to meet with Kim’s “right-hand man, Kim
Jong-Chol,” who “will be the most senior North Korean official to visit the
US for diplomatic talks in 18 years.” That meeting comes as US officials
are “work[ing] on summit preparations” with their counterparts in the
Demilitarized Zone and in Singapore. In addition, Trump next Thursday is
set to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington “to talk about
what the White House is calling ‘the expected summit with Kim.’”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=013-85b&t=c>
(5/29, Jackson) says “Trump continued to tease the re-scheduling of a
meeting with Kim,” tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=014-564&t=c>,
“We have put a great team together for our talks with North Korea. Meetings
are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=015-089&t=c>
(5/29, Miller) also reports on Trump’s tweet, while the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=016-c71&t=c>
(5/29, Nakamura, Fifield) says Trump’s “latest change of direction was
another sign that he has thrown out the conventional Washington playbook
for his diplomatic high-wire act.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=017-58b&t=c>
(5/29, Lucey, Miller, Kim) calls the meetings “the latest sign that
prospects for the summit are growing, just days after it was ostensibly
called off by Trump,” and Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=018-70e&t=c>
(5/29) similarly says Kim Jong-Chol’s trip to the US is “the latest
indication that an on-again-off-again summit...may go ahead next month.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=019-38b&t=c>
(5/29, story 5, 2:25, Muir) said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
“told reporters they will be ready for [the summit] to take place on June
12th. So, they feel like they can pull this one off.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=01a-309&t=c>
(5/29, Spiering) quotes Sanders as saying, “The United States continues to
actively prepare for President Trump’s expected summit with leader Kim in
Singapore.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=01b-859&t=c>
(5/29, Miller) also reports the comments by Sanders, and the Los Angeles
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=01c-2f4&t=c>
(5/29, Stokols) reports she also said National Security Adviser Bolton has
been in touch with South Korean and Japanese officials “virtually every
day, including speaking with his South Korean counterpart this morning.”
Reporting that “the likelihood of a summit...seems to be growing by the
day,” Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=01d-421&t=c>
(5/29) showed State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert saying, “We are
still finalizing exactly what these meetings will look like. ... But I
think it’s pretty impressive thinking about where we were one year ago –
where we were even six months ago for that matter – and now we have three
simultaneous meetings taking place.”

Appearing on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=01e-57a&t=c>
(5/29) earlier Tuesday, Kellyanne Conway said President Trump is “on the
brink, again, of bringing conversation and coordination between North Korea
and South Korea.”

Michelle Kosinski reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=01f-69d&t=c>
(5/29) that Pompeo’s meeting Wednesday with Kim Yong-Chol – the North’s
former intelligence chief “who has been sanctioned by the US but is allowed
to travel here to New York City” – is “another indication of how much this
planned summit...is wanted” by both countries. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=020-80d&t=c>
(5/29, Perlez, Choe) similarly says Kim’s trip to the US “signaled that
negotiations were reaching a critical point,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=021-2f4&t=c>
(5/29, Fifield) notes that he has “emerged as one of the leader’s closest
aides and has been at all the talks this year that have led to the current
rapprochement.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=022-296&t=c>
(5/29, Bender, Jeong, Wong) reports that South Korean officials declined to
comment on Kim’s trip to the US, but a spokesman for South Korea’s
presidential Blue House said the continued talks marked a “very critical
time” and presented an opportunity to “escape the fear of war.”

*US Officials: North Korea Doesn’t Intend To Denuclearize Any Time
Soon. *NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=023-ac9&t=c>
(5/29, story 6, 0:30, Guthrie) said it has obtained exclusive information
from “three US officials” that a recent intelligence report “concluded
North Korea has no intention of giving up nukes any time soon, but may
offer to open a Western hamburger franchise at its capital as a gesture of
goodwill.” NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=024-27b&t=c>
(5/29) reports online that the offer “suggests Kim is interested in a
peaceful gesture to an American president whose love of fast-food burgers
is well known – and who, during the 2016 campaign, had said he wanted to
talk nukes over a burger with the North Korean leader.”

Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=025-931&t=c>
(5/29) columnist David Ignatius writes, “Will Kim really give up the
bargaining chip that brought him to the door of a meeting with an American
president? It sounds unlikely. But that’s the Singapore bargain, and if it
can’t be reached, well, one thing you learn covering labor negotiations is
that although strikes can bring devastating harm to both sides, they happen
if talks collapse.”

*WSJournal: New Evidence Shows Increased Degree Of North Korea’s
Sanctions Evasion. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=026-951&t=c>
(5/29, Gale) reports Japanese officials say North Korea is relying on a
wider network of ship-to-ship smuggling to evade international sanctions.
Japanese officials point to an apparent oil transfer from a Chinese-flagged
ship in the East China Sea, and other cargo transfers in the Sea of Japan.
The Journal says the evidence of additional smuggling by the North
indicates the duress caused by the US-led sanctions regime.

*US Warns Of North Korean Malware Attacks. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=027-5a7&t=c>
(5/29, Riechmann) reports the FBI and DHS issued “a fresh warning Tuesday
about malicious North Korean cyber activity.” The “technical alert”
highlighted “two pieces of malware said to have been used to target US
infrastructure and aerospace, financial and media companies for at least
nine years to steal information and remotely manipulate networks.”

*State Department: North Korea Using Executions, Torture Against
“Serious Threat” Of Christianity. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=028-25e&t=c>
(5/29, Martel) reports the State Department’s annual International
Religious Freedom Report, published Tuesday, found that North Korea
“considered Christianity a serious threat, as it challenged the official
cult of personality and provided a platform for social and political
organization and interaction outside the government.” The Department says
Kim’s regime employs “arbitrary executions, political prison camps, and
torture amounting to crimes against humanity” against “anyone suspected of
adhering to any faith, but targeted Christians in particular throughout
2017.”
White House Revives Prospect Of Steep Tariffs On Chinese Imports.

Media coverage of the White House’s announcement that it intends to impose
steep tariffs on Chinese goods casts it as a move to give Commerce
Secretary Ross negotiating leverage during upcoming talks in Beijing – with
some analysts speculating the seeming US reversal may be partly related to
the North Korea negotiations or other areas of tension between the US and
China.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=029-035&t=c>
(5/29) reports that the Trump Administration announced that “it still holds
the threat of imposing tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China and
will use it unless Beijing addresses the issue of theft of American
intellectual property.” In addition, the White House announced that the
Administration “will also press ahead with restrictions on investment by
Chinese companies in the United States as well as export controls for goods
exported to China.” Reuters notes that Ross will be in Beijing this week
“to try and get China to agree to firm numbers for additional US exports to
the country.” Reuters goes on to report that the Administration “had wanted
China’s trade surplus with America to shrink by $200 billion in two years,”
which Reuters says is “seen as fanciful by most economists and trade
experts.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=02a-8f9&t=c>
(5/29, Lee) describes the White House as seeking “to apply fresh pressure
on China ahead of trade negotiations,” but adds “it was unclear whether the
White House statement Tuesday was in response to that pressure or to
enhance its leverage in ongoing talks with a trading partner, a familiar
tack by the administration,” as “Trump also has blamed China for
influencing North Korea amid the president’s bid to hold a summit with Kim
Jong Un on denuclearization.” Along those lines, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=02b-d73&t=c>
(5/29, Mauldin) quotes Cornell professor Eswar Prasad as saying, “The Trump
administration is clearly signaling, ahead of...Ross’ trip to Beijing, that
the gloves are off given China’s unwillingness to agree to a trade deficit
reduction target or to make broader trade concessions.” Moreover, the
“hardline stance may partly reflect the perception that China played a part
in nearly derailing the Trump-Kim summit.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=02c-e14&t=c>
(5/29, Lynch) says the decision “appear[s] designed to create bargaining
leverage for” Ross, and notes that the statement issued by the White House
said President Trump “had been ‘updated’ on several steps following the
March release” by USTR Lighthizer “of a study detailing a sweeping Chinese
effort to vacuum up American technology through legal and illegal means.”
The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=02d-ce8&t=c>
(5/29, Rugaber) also reports that “some trade experts said the tariff
announcement is likely intended to strengthen Ross’s hand,” while “other
analysts...say the newly confrontational stance may be intended to appease
congressional critics of a deal the Trump administration made Friday that
allowed Chinese telecom giant ZTE Corp. to stay in business.” These
“analysts” said “the tariff threat is unlikely to derail ongoing talks.” On
the other hand, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=02e-516&t=c>
(5/29, Korte) says the move ends “a brief cease-fire in the trade war after
talks broke down this month.”

John Roberts reported on Fox News Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=02f-a49&t=c>
(5/29) that China responded “tersely” to “what it saw as a negotiating
tactic in broader trade talks.” China’s Ministry of Commerce released a
statement saying, “We are surprised by the strategic statement being
released at the White House but at the same time it is somewhat expected.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=030-008&t=c>
(5/29, Swanson) reports that some of Trump’s advisers, including Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin, “have focused on a potential compromise deal that would
require China to buy huge amounts of American products while still
forestalling the possibility of a trade war,” while others “have pushed for
tougher action, demanding that China make substantial reforms to its
economy to end the subsidies it provides to developing industries and to
allow American companies equal access in the Chinese market.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=031-928&t=c>
(5/29, Leonard, Mayeda) says the threat of tariffs targeting Chinese goods
“has been widely opposed by industry leaders and some members of Congress
who warn the duties could end up raising costs for American consumers,
devastating farmers and hurting other exporters if China proceeds with
retaliatory duties.” Derek Scissors, a China analyst at the American
Enterprise Institute, is quoted as saying, “Mnuchin’s ‘trade war on hold’
comments look to have been repudiated this morning, and possibly his
investment stance, too.”

*Politico: Ross “Increasingly Marginalized” Within Administration. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=032-383&t=c>
(5/29, Cook) reports that Ross “has been increasingly marginalized, with
his agency widely seen in the White House as a mess.” According to
Politico, Trump “has lashed out at Ross” and “tr[ied] to bench him from
making trade deals.” Politico goes on to report that the news that Ross
will be meeting with Chinese officials this week in Beijing was welcomed by
“fans of Trump’s protectionist stance,” while “others say Ross taking the
lead this time around is a dim sign for the talks.” A “former
administration official” is quoted as saying, “The fact that he is going
over to China is a signal that the President has some confidence in him.
... But it’s also a signal that they are not expecting a whole lot. You
would not send him if you were expecting real progress.”

*Mattis Says US Will Continue Operations In South China Sea. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=033-600&t=c>
(5/29) reports Defense Secretary Mattis “said on Tuesday that the United
States would continue to confront what Washington sees as China’s
militarization of islands in the South China Sea, despite drawing
condemnation from Beijing for an operation in the region over the weekend.”
The operation, “known as ‘freedom of navigation,’ was the latest attempt to
counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of
navigation in the strategic waters, where Chinese, Japanese and some
Southeast Asian navies operate.” Said Mattis, “You’ll notice there is only
one country that seems to take active steps to rebuff them or state their
resentment (to) them, but it’s international waters and a lot of nations
want to see freedom of navigation.”

*China Intensifies Development Of Nuclear Weapons. *The South China
Morning Post (HKG)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=034-7b8&t=c>
(5/29, Chen) reported that “China is aggressively developing its next
generation of nuclear weapons, conducting an average of five tests a month
to simulate nuclear blasts, according to a major Chinese weapons research
institute.” The Morning Post adds that “its number of simulated tests has
in recent years outpaced that of the United States, which conducts them
less than once a month on average.”

*Trudeau: “No NAFTA Better Than A Bad Deal.” *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=035-789&t=c>
(5/29, Wingrove, Flanders) reports Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
“has a message for Donald Trump on Nafta: Canada would rather see a trade
deal die altogether than accept certain hardline demands.” The Canadian PM
said in an interview, “No NAFTA is better than a bad deal, and we’ve made
that very clear to the President. ... We are not going to move ahead just
for the sake of moving ahead.” Trudeau “also downplayed the impact a Nafta
collapse would have,” saying “the interconnectedness between the Canadian
and US economies is not going to change any time soon.”

*Reuters: US Demands Outrage Canada, Mexico; US Uncompromising In
Talks. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=036-73e&t=c>
(5/29, Lawder, Ljunggren) reports that “negotiators, industry lobbyists,
trade experts and lawmakers briefed on the talks described how precious
months passed before the US team presented its proposals and how the talks
stalled because the demands far exceeded what Canada and Mexico had
expected and Washington signaled no readiness to compromise.” Reuters also
reports that Canadian and Mexican negotiators “argued they needed time to
understand the logic of US demands because they came without customary
backup evidence and analysis.” However, “US chief negotiator John Melle
privately complained to US colleagues that Ottawa was deliberately wasting
time on less essential matters, such as proposed new chapters on women’s
and indigenous people’s rights,” according to Reuters.

*EU Trade Official: US Unlikely To Grant Total Reprieve From Metal
Tariffs. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=037-14d&t=c>
(5/29, Stearns) reports that on Tuesday, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia
Malmstrom “gave her clearest signal yet that the EU will come up short in
its bid for a permanent, unconditional waiver from U.S. metal tariffs.”
According to Bloomberg, Malmstrom said the EU “would likely face U.S.
import quotas on European steel and aluminum should the Trump
administration opt against triggering the levies on June 1. ‘Realistically,
if the U.S. decides to refrain from applying duties, I expect them
nonetheless to want to impose some sort of cap on EU exports,’ she told the
European Parliament.”
Pompeo Announces Push To Defend Religious Minorities Globally.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=038-ea1&t=c>
(5/29, Morello) reports Secretary of State Pompeo, “as he unveiled the
annual international religious freedom report,” promised he US will defend
religious minorities around the world, saying, “We will get in the ring and
stand in solidarity with every individual who seeks to enjoy the most
fundamental of human rights.” He added, “Advancing liberty and religious
freedom advances America’s’s [sic] interests.” Pompeo also announced “a
meeting of foreign ministers in Washington in July to discuss ways to push
back against governments in countries where religious minorities are
persecuted.” The meeting “is expected to focus on the linkage some
researchers have found between respect for religious conscience and
practical benefits.” The State Department’s point man for the issue, Sam
Brownback, “described religious freedom as a ‘core value’ of the
administration, and said the administration will more aggressively promote
the right to practice one’s faith.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=039-0f7&t=c>
(5/29, Taylor) reports Pompeo said the upcoming meeting “will break new
ground” and “not just be a discussion group.” The Times adds that by making
the announcement, Pompeo is working “to counter” the narrative that the
Administration puts economic interests before human rights.

*State Department: Burmese Campaign Against Minorities Worsening. *The
New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=03a-d97&t=c>
(5/29, Harris) reports the State Department’s religious freedom report said
that Burma’s “campaign to kill or drive away its ethnic minorities is
worsening despite a growing international outcry.” According to the report,
Burmese authorities are “‘doubling down’ against ethnic minorities with a
new campaign against the largely Christian minority in Kachin state.” The
Times adds that while “the Trump administration has tended to de-emphasize
human rights as a foreign policy priority,” its evangelical supporters find
the issue of religious freedom “deeply important.”

*Brownback: Burma Blocked His Access. *The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=03b-e77&t=c>
(5/29, Crabtree) reports US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious
Freedom Sam Brownback, when he unveiled the State Department’s annual
report on international religious freedom, said that Burma barred him from
its Rakhine state, where he sought to witness the ethnic cleansing
targeting Rohingya Muslims. Brownback explained, “So, they might let me in,
but they weren’t allowing me to have the meetings or access to the places I
needed to go.”
US Expresses Outrage At Syrian Presidency Of UN Disarmament Conference.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=03c-6ec&t=c>
(5/29) reports the State Department “voiced outrage” that Syria assumed the
presidency of the UN Conference on Disarmament for the next month. State
Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, “We are outraged at the Syrian
regime’s blatant disregard for human life, its serial violations of and
contempt for its international obligations and its audaciousness in
assuming the presidency of an international body committed to advancing
disarmament and non-proliferation.” She added, “Syria lacks the credibility
to assume the presidency.” [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News
Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=03d-b00&t=c>
(5/29) reported Ambassador Robert Wood, a US envoy to the UN in Geneva,
said a Syrian presidency of the Geneva-based world disarmament body is a
“travesty.” Wood “walked out” as his Syrian counterpart began his opening
remarks at a disarmament conference Tuesday.
Israeli Jets Strike 30 Targets In Gaza Following Militant Mortar, Rocket
Attacks.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=03e-94e&t=c>
(5/29, Heller) reports that Palestinians “bombarded southern Israel with
dozens of rockets and mortar shells Tuesday, while Israeli warplanes struck
targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the largest flare-up of violence
between the sides since a 2014 war.” According to the AP, “The Israeli
military said most of the projectiles were intercepted, but three soldiers
were wounded, raising the chances of further Israeli retaliation.” The AP
notes that “over 110 Palestinians, many of them unarmed protesters, have
been killed by Israeli fire” in recent weeks. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=03f-450&t=c>
(5/29) reports that Israeli warplanes “hit more than 30 targets belonging
to armed groups, including a cross-border tunnel under construction.”
Reuters says the Israeli government “accused Gaza’s dominant Hamas movement
and the pro-Iran Islamic Jihad group of launching the salvoes,” and “the
armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.” Reuters
says Hamas “has largely abided by a de-facto ceasefire since the 2014 war.”
US Rocket Artillery Strike Killed At Least 50 Taliban Leaders.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=040-5c8&t=c>
(5/29, Burns) reports Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the US-led
coalition in Afghanistan, said that a May 24 US rocket artillery strike
targeted a gathering of Taliban leaders, killing at least 50 of them. He
added the deaths’ effects “will be felt beyond Helmand province.” O’Donnell
cited the attack as “an example of how the U.S. military is using expanded
authorities granted as part of the Trump administration’s new regional
strategy for fighting the Afghanistan war.”
Russian Journalist Critical Of Kremlin Killed In Ukraine.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=041-f4e&t=c>
(5/29) reports Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who was “harshly
critical of the Kremlin,” died after being shot the Ukrainian capital, “and
the national police said they are assuming he was targeted because of his
work.” In response, “Ukrainian and Russian officials immediately traded
finger-pointing.” Ukrainian lawmaker and adviser to the interior minister
Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook that “Russian spy agencies’ efforts to
get rid of those who are trying to tell the truth about what is going on in
Russia and Ukraine” would be investigated. The Russian Foreign Ministry
said in a statement that “bloody crimes and total impunity have become
routine” in Ukraine.
Domestic Policy
Trump Accuses Mueller Of “Meddling” In Midterms.

President Trump on Tuesday accused Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team of
“meddling” in the mid-term elections. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=042-c50&t=c>,
“The 13 Angry Democrats (plus people who worked 8 years for Obama) working
on the rigged Russia Witch Hunt, will be MEDDLING with the mid-term
elections, especially now that Republicans (stay tough!) are taking the
lead in Polls. There was no Collusion, except by the Democrats!” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=043-131&t=c>
(5/29, Tucker) says Trump used “language that echoed that of his accusers
and critics,” and calls the tweet “the latest example of the president
co-opting the terminology of his accusers in an effort to tarnish political
enemies.” The AP adds that in a tweet later Tuesday morning, Trump
“appeared to be taking guidance from some of his advisers and supporters to
heart, saying he needed to focus more of his attention on issues important
to Americans and less on the Russia investigation.” Trump wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=044-b17&t=c>,
“Sorry, I’ve got to start focusing my energy on North Korea Nuclear, bad
Trade Deals, VA Choice, the Economy, rebuilding the Military, and so much
more, and not on the Rigged Russia Witch Hunt that should be investigating
Clinton/Russia/FBI/Justice/Obama/Comey/Lynch etc.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=045-500&t=c>
(5/29, Wagner) reports that Trump “escalat[ed] his attack on the probe
while offering no evidence to back up his assertion.” Trump “attempted to
cast himself as the victim of a partisan assault, part of a pattern of
political deflection in recent days where the president has made false or
exaggerated statements in defending his policies or attacking his perceived
enemies.” In a separate story, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=046-ac9&t=c>
(5/29, Dawsey, Wagner) reports Rudy Giuliani, was asked in an interview why
Trump “has spent so much time attacking the Mueller probe.” Giuliani said,
“As an effective politician, you’re not going to do something that you
don’t think is working. ... Spygate – that’s the reason – he’s not just
ratcheted it up for no reason. ... He believes it is working, and he is
genuinely upset about it.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=047-214&t=c>
(5/29, Nussbaum, Cadelago) says Trump’s attacks are “emerging as a central
element of his 2018 and 2020 campaign strategies.”

Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=048-473&t=c>
(5/29) that Trump “raises an important concern especially given the new
revelation surrounding what the President is calling rightly ‘Spygate.’ Of
course, the mainstream media, they are providing cover for Team Mueller as
they actively are rooting for the special counsel investigation to
something, to find anything on this president.” However, other media
reports and commentary view Trump’s comments more negatively, casting them
as an effort to portray himself as the victim and undermine his political
detractors.

*Trump Asked Sessions To Reverse Recusal Decision. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=049-57a&t=c>
(5/29, Schmidt, Davis) reports that during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in March
2017, Trump “berated” Attorney General Sessions over his decision to recuse
himself from the Russia investigation “and told him he should reverse his
decision, an unusual and potentially inappropriate request,” that Sessions
refused. The Times also reports that after Sessions announced his recusal,
Trump “had his White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, lobby Mr. Sessions
to retain oversight of the inquiry.” According to the Times, the Mar-a-Lago
conversation “is being investigated by the special counsel, Robert S.
Mueller III, as are the president’s public and private attacks on Mr.
Sessions and efforts to get him to resign.” Mueller’s interest
“demonstrates Mr. Sessions’s overlooked role as a key witness in the
investigation into whether Mr. Trump tried to obstruct the inquiry itself,”
and “suggests that the obstruction investigation is broader than it is
widely understood to be.”

*Giuliani: Trump Won’t Sit For Mueller Interview Without Access To
Documents On FBI Informant. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=04a-5fd&t=c>
(5/29, Dawsey, Wagner) reports that in a move that “ratcheted up the
pressure that Trump and his lawyers are trying to place on” Mueller as his
investigation “reaches a key juncture,” Giuliani “said Tuesday that Trump
will not agree to an interview with the special counsel until prosecutors
allow the president’s legal team to review documents related to the FBI’s
use of an informant to interact with members of Trump’s 2016 campaign.”
Giuliani told the Post, “We need all the documents before we can decide
whether we are going to do an interview.” Giuliani also said “that
Mueller’s team has indicated that an interview would be a final step in the
investigation.”

*Mueller Moves To Begin Sentencing Of Another Defendant. *The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=04b-52f&t=c>
(5/29, Hsu) reports that Mueller has moved to begin the process for
sentencing Richard Pinedo, who “pleaded guilty Feb. 12 in Washington to
creating hundreds of bank accounts, often using stolen identities, and
selling some to unidentified offshore users, including suspects connected
to the Russia probe.” This marks the second time in six days Mueller has
moved to begin the sentencing process for a “cooperating defendant in his
investigation.” Last week, “a federal judge began the sentencing process
for former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty
in October to lying to the FBI about Russian contacts during the campaign
and agreed to cooperate with the investigation.”

*Special Master Reviewing Cohen Documents Seeks $47,000 For Six
Days Work. *The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=04c-78e&t=c>
(5/29, Whitehouse) reports that Barbara Jones, the “special master”
appointed to review documents seized int he investigation of Trump’s
personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, “is seeking $47,390 for the first six days
of work – a cost that will likely be shared by the president.” Jones, “who
is charging the parties $700 an hour for her services,” submitted her first
bill Tuesday.

*Nadler Says He’d Protect Mueller Probe As House Judiciary
Chairman. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=04d-efc&t=c>
(5/29, Tau) reports that if Democrats win the House majority in November,
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D), who has battled with President Trump in the past,
would be positioned to take the chairmanship of the House Judiciary
Committee, a position from which he would subpoena the Administration,
including the White House, for documents and testimony. Nadler has said
that if becomes chairman, the panel will move to protect the special
counsel’s investigation.

*Grassley: Fusion GPS Founder May Have Lied In Senate Testimony. *The
Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=04e-775&t=c>
(5/29, Ross) reports that Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley is
accusing Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson of giving “‘extremely misleading’
statements, if not telling ‘outright lies,’ during Senate testimony in
2017.” In a letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=04f-a25&t=c>
to Judiciary Committee member Sen. Chris Coons, Grassley said Simpson’s
denial that he worked for clients to investigate President after the 2016
election may have been a lie. Grassley said that in his Aug. 22, 2017,
testimony, “Simpson claimed after the election, he was not working for a
client to continue his Trump work,” which was false. Grassley wrote, “As we
now know, that was extremely misleading, if not an outright lie.”

*Grassley: Trump Jr.’s Lawyers Should Be Asked About Discrepancies
Between Testimony, Press Reports. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=050-e73&t=c>
(5/29, Dennis) reports that while Grassley did not endorse a Democratic
proposal to being Donald Trump Jr. in for a public hearing, he did say
Trump’s Jr.’s lawyers should be asked about possible discrepancies between
his testimony to the committee and press reports. In a letter to Coons, who
“had urged Grassley to investigate whether the president’s son had lied to
the panel – a crime – when he denied knowledge of any offers of help to his
father’s 2016 campaign from foreign governments or foreign nationals other
than Russia,” Grassley wrote, “I would suggest Mr. Trump Jr.’s attorneys be
asked about these press accounts.”
Trump Blasts Democrats For Blaming Him For Treatment Of Migrant Children In
2014.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=051-8be&t=c>
(5/29, Persons) reports that in a tweet Tuesday, President Trump “slammed
Democrats...for sharing photos of children in enclosed cages near the
U.S.-Mexico border and blaming the administration’s immigration policy when
the photos were taken before Mr. Trump took office.” Trump wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=052-850&t=c>,
“Democrats mistakenly tweet 2014 pictures from Obama’s term showing
children from the Border in steel cages. They thought it was recent
pictures in order to make us look bad, but backfires. Dems must agree to
Wall and new Border Protection for good of country…Bipartisan Bill!” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=053-9ca&t=c>
(5/29, Colvin) says Trump “and Democratic critics traded outraged,
sometimes plainly false accusations about immigration Tuesday as the debate
over ‘lost’ children and the practice of separating families caught
crossing the border illegally reached a new boiling point.” Both sides made
“false charges” as the White House “wrongly blamed Democrats for forcing
his administration to separate children from parents,” and “liberal
activists tried to highlight the issue by tweeting photos of young people
in steel cages that actually were taken during the Obama administration.”

*Conway: Trump Critics Who Retweeted 2014 Picture Don’t Actually
Care About Immigrants. *On Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=054-09d&t=c>
(5/29), Kellyanne Conway said, “Many Democrats...including a high-ranking
Democratic former official here at the White House under President
Obama...saw these pictures of two of migrant, I suppose, children in cages”
and shared the images as an indictment of President Trump’s enforcement of
immigration laws even though the picture were taken in 2014, during the
Obama Administration. Conway added, “All of a sudden, they started deleting
those tweets because it didn’t fit their narrative about this president and
the border. And that means to me they didn’t care about the story about the
migrant children. It didn’t fit the political narrative.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=055-f79&t=c>
(5/29, Johnson) says Conway got into a “heated exchange with CNN” Tuesday
morning over the photos. Asked about the Administration’s immigration
policy, Conway “turned the question around, slamming CNN for propagating
the embarrassing fake news.” Conway said, “Your CNN colleague retweeted two
migrant children laying in a cage to make the point against this president.
... It happened under President Obama’s watch and deleted the tweet because
it didn’t fit the narrative. ... Do you or do you not care about the
migrant children?” Conway, the Daily Caller adds, “did not wait for a
response and walked back into the White House.”

*HHS Shelters For Migrant Children At 95% Capacity. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=056-ee4&t=c>
(5/29, A1, Miroff) reports that the Administration’s “‘zero tolerance’
crackdown on immigrant families who cross the border illegally” has caused
“the number of migrant children held in U.S. government custody without
their parents” to climb 21% in the past month. HHS “said Tuesday that it
had 10,773 migrant children in its custody, up from 8,886 on April 29.”
According to a Department official, HHS shelters “are at 95 percent
capacity,” and “the agency is preparing to add potentially thousands of new
bed spaces in the coming weeks.”

*Miller: Democrats Helping Human-Smuggling Cartels By Opposing
Tighter Border Controls. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=057-084&t=c>
(5/29, Munro) reports that White House adviser Stephen Miller says
“Democrats’ open-border policy is helping the Mexican cartels’
labor-smuggling operations.” Miller is quoted as saying, “The humane and
compassionate thing to do to help legitimate asylum seekers would be to
drain the fraud and corruption and abuse from the system.” According to
Breitbart, Miller charged that Democrats “are perpetuating a system which
brings immense profit to some of the most vicious and horrible criminal
organizations in the world.” According to Miller, “The current immigration
and border crisis and all of the attendant concerns it raises are the
exclusive product of loopholes in federal immigration law that the
Democrats refuse to close.” Miller’s comments came as Administration
officials offered “a vehement defense” of Trump’s “attempts to blame
Democrats for putting children at risk in the immigration process,”
the Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=058-bb4&t=c>
(5/29, Dinan) reports. Officials argued that Trump is trying to “build
detention space and change the law and court rulings so that illegal
immigrant parents and children can be held together until their deportation
hearings.” They said his goal “is to remove the incentive that entices
people to bring children with them when they jump the border, counting on
lax treatment and a quick release from custody.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=059-148&t=c>
(5/29, Davis, Nixon) says Administration officials are “attempting to turn
the tables politically on President Trump’s own immigration policy.” White
House, DHS, and DOJ officials “argued that a series of court rulings and
laws that existed when Mr. Trump took office had essentially given them no
choice but to carry out a policy that many human rights groups have
condemned as inhumane.” They “said it was Democrats, who have opposed Mr.
Trump’s efforts to impose stricter immigration policies, who were forcing
them to use the bare-knuckle tactics.” Steve Hayes of the Weekly Standard
said on Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=05a-c27&t=c>
(5/29), “There’s no question that the Trump Administration is trying to
take a tough stand on illegal border crossings – which are up after
initially going down at the beginning of the Trump Administration – by
saying this, by making this part of their policy.” Both Chief of Staff
Kelly and Attorney General Sessions have “made clear that they view this as
an effective deterrent.”

*NYTimes: Trump’s Claim Of “Thousands” Of MS-13 Deportations Is
“Impossible.” *A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=05b-184&t=c>
(5/29, Qiu) analysis reports that Trump’s claim in a speech in Nashville
Tuesday night that, “We’re taking [MS-13 members] out of the country by the
thousands” is, “based on the number of arrests alone...impossible.” In
fiscal 2017, “796 members of MS-13...were arrested, and 405 were arrested
in the first quarter of the 2018 fiscal year, data that ICE provided to The
New York Times shows.” That is “about 1,200 MS-13 members, and it’s likely
not all of them have been removed.”

*Poll: 56% Say Calling MS-13 Members “Animals” Is Fair. *Guy Benson
writes on Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=05c-b99&t=c>
(5/29) that according the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, 56% of American adults
said referring to members of MS-13 as “animals” is “fair, compared to 44
percent who said the characterization was unfair.” In addition, 52% said
that “comments that ‘dehumanize’ members of MS-13 are acceptable.”

*RNC Ad Hits Democrats For Defending MS-13 Members. *Matt Vespa
writes on Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=05d-ad9&t=c>
(5/29) that a new ad from the RNC “torches” Democrats for defending MS-13.
The Washington Times
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(5/29, Ernst) says the RNC ad “made clear” on that House Minority Leader
Pelosi’s “comments on the violent MS-13 gang will haunt Democrats until the
midterm elections.” The ad “tallied over 52,000 views in less than six
hours.” In it, stock footage of Pelosi saying, “When the President of the
United States says these aren’t people, these are animals, you have to
wonder does he not believe in the spark of divinity,” is “juxtaposed with
news footage detailing the barbaric crimes perpetrated by MS-13’s members.”

*ICE Arrests 156 Eligible For Deportation In Chicago. *The Washington
Times
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(5/29, Dinan) reports DHS announced Tuesday that ICE officers “arrested 156
illegal immigrants and other people eligible to be deported from around the
Chicago area over a six-day period.” The arrests were part of “the latest
sweep to target ‘sanctuary city’ jurisdictions.” Chicago and Cook County,
Illinois, the Times adds, “have some of the most generous sanctuary
policies in the country.”

*Perdue: Trump Has Indicated He Will Not Sign Another Spending Bill
Lacking Wall Funding. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=060-6e6&t=c>
(5/29, Moran) reports that Sen. David Perdue believes Trump “will probably
not sign another spending bill that does not include funding for his
proposed southern border wall.” Perdue is quoted as saying, “The next bill
has got to have the border wall in it or the President’s probably not going
to sign it. ... I’ve talked to him personally about how upset he was with
the current spending bill, his first instinct was to veto it.”

*USCIS Ends Obama-Era Loophole For Immigrant “Entrepreneurs.”
*The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=061-4a9&t=c>
(5/29, Bedard) reports that USCIS has announced the end of “an Obama-era
loophole that let immigrants who otherwise could not legally enter the U.S.
claim a free pass by saying they were ‘entrepreneurs.’” DHS said in a
statement that “the department believes that it represents an overly broad
interpretation of parole authority, lacks sufficient protections for U.S.
workers and investors, and is not the appropriate vehicle for attracting
and retaining international entrepreneurs.”
ABC Fires Rosanne Barr In Wake Of Controversial Tweet.

ABC’s firing of Roseanne Barr after she posted a now-deleted tweet directed
at former adviser to President Obama Valerie Jarrett led all three network
news broadcasts Tuesday evening. NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=062-7ab&t=c>
(5/29, lead story, 2:55, Guthrie) reported in its lead story that Barr was
fired “after she posted a racist tweet.” NBC (Thompson) added that ABC
canceled Barr’s show after she “tweeted this about former President Obama’s
adviser Valerie Jarrett: ‘Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes had a
baby = VJ.’” The president of ABC Entertainment called the tweet
“abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values.” Barr’s firing
came after her “return to network TV [was] welcomed by 18 million viewers
and President Trump.” Trump was shown saying at a March rally in Ohio:
“Look at Rosanne. I called her yesterday. Look at her ratings.” ABC World
News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=063-ec4&t=c>
(5/29, lead story, 3:45, Gutman) also highlighted Trump’s March comments on
Barr’s ratings in its lead story. ABC added that Barr’s “Twitter feed had
become notorious, filled with hateful tweets and conspiracies just over the
past 24 hours.” In its lead story, the CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018053001biden&r=email-748a&l=064-097&t=c>
(5/29, lead story, 2:30, Duthiers) reported that Barr “has called herself a
Trump supporter.” For many, CBS added, “Barr’s tweet was the last straw,
despite years of controversial comments.”

USA Today
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(5/29, Garcia) reports that during a Tuesday rally in Nashville, Trump
“touched on a host of current events,” including “MS-13, health care, the
U.S. embassy in Jerusalem and Chicago’s crime rate,” among other things.
However, Trump “did not address ABC’s cancellation of ‘Roseanne.’” Page Six
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(5/29, Tacopino) reports that Barr tweeted Tuesday afternoon that she was
“leaving Twitter,” but “after an hours-long hiatus,” she returned with a
post saying, “Don’t feel sorry for me, guys!! ... I just want to apologize
to the hundreds of people, and wonderful writers (all liberal) and talented
actors who lost their jobs on my show due to my stupid tweet. I will be on
Joe Rogan’s podcast friday.”

*Sarah Sanders Refuses To Weigh In On Barr Controversy. *The New
York Post
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(5/29, Schwab) says White House press secretary Sarah Sanders “refused to
weigh in” on the matter. Asked for the President’s thoughts on the
controversy, Sanders said, “The president is focused on North Korea, he’s
focused on trade deals.” Sanders was “asked directly if Barr’s popular
sitcom should have been pulled by the network,” and she “dodged again,”
saying, “That’s not what the president’s looking at. ... We have a lot
bigger thing going on in the country right now.”

*Trump Jr. Retweeted Barr’s Attack On Soros. *Page Six
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(5/29, Brown) reports that Donald Trump Jr. retweeted some of Barr’s
“offensive tweets...before her show was canceled Tuesday – calling
billionaire George Soros a Nazi ‘who turned in his fellow Jews.’” Barr
falsely claimed that “Chelsea ​Clinton ​is married to Soros’ nephew,” then
tweeted an apology “that included a bizarre conspiracy-mongering rant about
the Democratic donor – which the president’s son then relayed to his 2.84
million followers.”

*After Barr Firing, Conservatives Ask Why Reid Remains At MSNBC. *The
Washington Examiner
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(5/29, Scarry) reports that in the wake of ABC’s cancellation of
“Roseanne”, conservatives took to social media to question “why liberal
commentator Joy Reid is still employed by NBC, even after some anti-gay
comments surfaced on her old personal blog.” Reid, who said the comments
“were the result of hackers,” but offered no proof, “received wide support
fro