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*From: *"Bulletin Intelligence" <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>

*Subject: Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Tuesday,
April 3, 2018*

*Date: *April 3, 2018 at 8:02:24 AM EDT

*To: *Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com


*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=000-344&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=001-f66&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, April 3, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <x-msg://3/#SECTION_1>*

• Media Analyses: Trump, Not Democrats, At Fault For DACA’s Demise.
<x-msg://3/#S1>

*Foreign Policy <x-msg://3/#SECTION_2>*

• Trump To Unveil China Tariff List This Week. <x-msg://3/#S2>

• Trump To Host Abe At Mar-A-Lago Ahead Of Possible North Korea Talks.
<x-msg://3/#S3>

• Kremlin: Trump Offered To Host Putin At White House. <x-msg://3/#S4>

• Saudi Crown Prince: Israelis Have Right To Their Own Land. <x-msg://3/#S5>

• CNN: Pentagon Mulling Deployment Of “Dozens” Of Troops To Northern Syria.
<x-msg://3/#S6>

• NYTimes: Competing Groups Stifle Travel Through Post-ISIS Northern Iraq.
<x-msg://3/#S7>

• At Least 70 Killed In Afghan Airstrike. <x-msg://3/#S8>

*Domestic Policy <x-msg://3/#SECTION_3>*

• Administration To Revise Obama-Era Fuel-Efficiency Rules. <x-msg://3/#S9>

• Administration Sues California Over Sales Of Federal Land.
<x-msg://3/#S10>

• Mulvaney Recommends Stripping Away CFPB Powers. <x-msg://3/#S11>

• New Iowa Law Allows “Health Benefit Plans” That Do Not Comply With ACA.
<x-msg://3/#S12>

• Trump Mocks “Fake News Networks” For Accusing Sinclair Of Bias.
<x-msg://3/#S13>

• Trump Continues Attacks On Amazon. <x-msg://3/#S14>

• Trump Accuses DOJ Of “Slow Walking” Request For FISA Abuse Documents.
<x-msg://3/#S15>

*Cancer Research <x-msg://3/#SECTION_4>*

• Experts See Potential For “Superblood” To Fight Cancer. <x-msg://3/#S16>

• Senators Seek Information About 1,400% Price Increase In Cancer Drug
Lomustine. <x-msg://3/#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <x-msg://3/#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <x-msg://3/#S18>

• Washington Post. <x-msg://3/#S19>

*Biden in the News <x-msg://3/#SECTION_6>*

• Media Outlets Highlight Newly Announced Stops On Biden Book Tour.
<x-msg://3/#S20>

• Daily Beast Mentions Biden Role In Aiding Dallet Bid For Wisconsin
Supreme Court. <x-msg://3/#S21>

• New Hampshire 2020 Poll: Biden Leads Trump 53%-39%; Bests Sanders, Warren
In Primary. <x-msg://3/#S22>

• California 2020 Poll: Biden Leads Trump By 23 Points. <x-msg://3/#S23>
Leading the News
Media Analyses: Trump, Not Democrats, At Fault For DACA’s Demise.

Mainstream media reports cast a decidedly unfavorable eye on President
Trump’s tweets yesterday on the issue of DACA and border security. Both TV
and print analyses described Trump’s messages as inaccurate at best, and
particularly took issue with his claims that Democrats were responsible for
DACA’s demise. Other Trump statements are also strongly disputed, including
his contention that DACA’s survival provides an incentive to those seeking
to cross the border illegally, his link between illegal immigration and
crime, and his charge that Mexico is not trying to stop a “caravan” of
would-be undocumented migrants making their way to the US.

Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=002-6a3&t=c>
yesterday morning, “Mexico has the absolute power not to let these large
‘Caravans’ of people enter their country. They must stop them at their
Northern Border, which they can do because their border laws work, not
allow them to pass through into our country, which has no effective border
laws... Congress
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=003-404&t=c>
must immediately pass Border Legislation, use Nuclear Option if necessary,
to stop the massive inflow of Drugs and People. Border Patrol Agents (and
ICE) are GREAT, but the weak Dem laws don’t allow them to do their job. Act
now Congress, our country is being stolen!” Trump later added
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=004-7ad&t=c>,
“DACA is dead because the Democrats didn’t care or act, and now everyone
wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon... No longer works. Must build Wall
and secure our borders with proper Border legislation. Democrats want No
Borders, hence drugs and crime!” Trump then tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=005-4c6&t=c>
, “Mexico is making a fortune on NAFTA...They have very strong border laws
– ours are pathetic. With all of the money they make from the U.S.,
hopefully they will stop people from coming through their country and into
ours, at least until Congress changes our immigration laws!”

Generally speaking, media analyses took issue with almost
everything Trump wrote. NPR
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=006-a48&t=c>(4/2,
Snell) said Trump’s “Tweets include some debatable claims,” including
saying that “the border is ‘getting more dangerous’” when in fact “the rate
of illegal border crossings into the US” has “dropped to its lowest level
in decades.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=007-4d9&t=c>
(4/2, Jackson) also says Trump “revived his rhetorical attacks...even
though illegal border crossings are down and the president himself killed
off” DACA.

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=008-084&t=c>
(4/2, story 5, 0:30, Alexander) reported last night, “Remember, it
was...Trump who ended the [DACA] program.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=009-e12&t=c>
(4/2) says “Democrats had offered at one point to fully fund the wall
Trump wants along the US-Mexican border but rescinded the offer in January,
accusing the president of reneging on elements of a tentative agreement.”
Writing for CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=00a-0ca&t=c>
(4/2), Gregory Krieg argues that “if the President wanted a deal on DACA
with congressional Democrats, he could have easily agreed to one – and
gotten plenty in return,” while CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=00b-131&t=c>(4/2,
Dechiaro) says “Democrats have tended to make a solution for Dreamers the
centerpiece of proposals in exchange for border security improvements,”
whereas “Trump and congressional Republicans...have demanded steep
concessions in return for helping Dreamers.”

On [image: Image removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=00c-b3a&t=c>
(4/2, story 4, 2:25, Llamas), Jonathan Karl said Trump’s “tirade began
Sunday morning, not long after the program ‘Fox and Friends’ aired this
segment about a caravan of Honduran immigrants on their way through Mexico
towards the US border, where they plan to seek asylum.” On DACA, “Democrats
say it is the President who is to blame, after rejecting a deal to protect
the Dreamers in exchange for billions of dollars to build the President’s
border wall. And Ohio’s Republican governor tweeted, ‘A true leader
preserves and offers hope, doesn’t take hope from innocent children who
call America home.’”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=00d-840&t=c>
(4/2, Sullivan), meanwhile, describes Trump’s DACA position as “a moving
target,” and adds that while he “has said that he would sign a bipartisan
proposal to protect the young immigrants...he regularly threatens Democrats
that there will be no deal.” To the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=00e-be5&t=c>
(4/2, Phillips), Trump is “on a tear to blame Democrats,” when in fact the
he “has declared the deal dead and then blamed Democrats for it at least
three times in the past 24 hours.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=00f-7f6&t=c>
(4/2) reports “Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=010-e69&t=c>
that the president created his own crisis.” Wrote Durbin, “The President
is blaming everyone under the sun, but he only has to look in the mirror to
find the person who turned down six different bipartisan DACA deals from
Congress – a few that included funding for his useless wall.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro, asked on [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=011-517&t=c>
(4/2) about the President’s claim that Democrats let down the Dreamers,
said, “That’s ridiculous. First of all, the President is the one who
terminated the DACA program that was in place because of President Obama.
But more than that, every time there’s been a legislative bill that has
come up and started to gain some kind of bipartisan momentum, this
President has signaled clearly and strongly that he won’t accept it, won’t
sign it.” Castro added, “Every time the President gets in a political
pinch, or when the chaos of the days slows down and the drama slows down
and he needs to spice things up again, he goes back to beating up on
Mexicans, beating up on immigrants and creating more chaos.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=012-699&t=c>
(4/2, Linthicum) reports Trump is also “wrong in stating that ‘these big
flows of people are all trying to take advantage of DACA.’” The CBS Evening
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=013-3fb&t=c>
(4/2, story 3, 1:50, Garrett) explained “new immigrants cannot take
advantage of DACA,” and that in fact, “undocumented immigrants are only
eligible for protection if they were in the United States and under age 31
in June 2012.” Writing for CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=014-1a5&t=c>
(4/2), Krieg said “the easy takeaway...is that” Trump “simply doesn’t
understand” how DACA “works.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=015-f73&t=c>
(4/2, Yen, Stevenson) reports that “Trump is painting an overly ominous
picture of the procession of some 1,100 migrants, many from Honduras, who
have been marching in a caravan along roadsides and train tracks in the
southern Mexico state of Oaxaca.” However, “they are not marching en masse
to the US border to sneak in.”

TIME
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=016-7bf&t=c>
(4/2, Rhodan) explains “the 2018 caravan is being organized by a
humanitarian volunteer group called Pueblos Sin Fronteras, or People
Without Borders.” The group “organized two similar caravans in 2017 and has
aided migrants and refugees on the move for over 15 years, according to its
website.” Time adds “the group hopes that by traveling in such a large
group they will be able to avoid some of the dangers that befell travelers
who take the often perilous route through Mexico to the southern border of
the United States.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=017-5c0&t=c>
(4/2, Sullivan) calls the “caravans” a “popular topic on Fox News.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=018-02b&t=c>
(4/2, Superville), meanwhile, reports that “since his campaign...Trump has
alleged that immigrants are responsible for increasing crimes in the US.”
But “a recent report by The Marshall Project analyzed a study of
immigration and crime in 200 cities dating to the 1980s, which found that
violent crime rates have mainly fallen or stayed the same in areas where
immigration has risen.” In its own “fact check,” PolitiFact
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=019-127&t=c>
(4/2, Valverde) objects to Trump blaming Democrats for “catch and
release,” because the “practice has been an issue dating back at least to
the Republican administration of George W. Bush.”

Moreover, says the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=01a-103&t=c>
(4/2, Linthicum), Trump’s claim about a “‘massive inflow of drugs and
people’ at the border and claiming Mexico wasn’t doing enough to halt the
flow of migrants heading to the United States” is “false.” The Times notes
that “in 2014 the Mexican government announced a new ‘Southern Border
Program’ aimed at increasing apprehensions and deportations of migrants
from Central America and other parts of the world destined for the US.”
BuzzFeed
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=01b-920&t=c>
(4/2, Zabludovsky) similarly reports that “contrary to Trump’s tweets,
undocumented migrants generally do not get a free pass through Mexico.” In
fact, “more often than not, undocumented travelers have to move in the
darkness of night and aboard a cargo train known as ‘The Beast,’ dodging
immigration authorities and criminals who extort, rape, and sometimes
kidnap them. The treacherous journey has become local lore, documented in
books and films.”

Asked on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ Special
Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=01c-a84&t=c>
(4/2) about the caravan to which Trump referred, Mexico’s Ambassador to
the US, Geronimo Gutierrez said, “Our migration authorities are looking at,
as appropriate, either to repatriate these people or to offer humanitarian
relief to them in Mexico. By the way, we have been in contact with the US
Embassy since March 25 precisely to address it.” Gutierrez added, “It is in
the best interest of all nations, the Central Americans, ourselves, and the
US, to assure that people don’t migrate irregularly. It’s actually very
dangerous. And that is why just for example in 2016, Mexico repatriated,
respecting the rights of people, repatriated around 153,000 central
Americans.”

Anderson Cooper said on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s
Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=01d-c14&t=c>
(4/2), “So in the space of a little less than three months, the President
has gone from being eager to sign just about anything to a Twitter rant
about just about everything. And, very quickly, a factually inaccurate
rant. Not one single new immigrant can actually take advantage of DACA, as
the President claims, unless they come here by a time machine. It is, of
course, limited to people who have lived here continuously since June of
2007.” CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza said on [image: Image removed
by sender. Video]CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=01e-228&t=c>(4/2),
“A couple of points on DACA, one, of course...Trump ended the program. It
doesn’t exist right now. And even if it did exist, it would not necessarily
mean that anybody crossing the border would be eligible for it.”

Matt Schlaap of The Hill said on [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]Fox News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=01f-099&t=c>
(4/2), “Every day, every week, on that border, there are unaccompanied
minors and minors who actually are accompanied, who, by our own law, we
have to accept into the country. The idea that there are legal people
coming to this country very regularly under our laws is one of these
loopholes that President Trump wants to stop. He wants to stop this catch
and release, this insane problem that leads us to this whole question of
amnesty, 10, 20 years later.”

*Conservative-Leaning Media Agrees Trump Tried To Save DACA. *The
line of analysis that blames Trump for DACA’s woes was not unanimous across
all media, as some conservative news outlets echoed Trump’s claims.
The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=020-ea5&t=c>
(4/2, Boyer), for example, recounts that “the president had offered a deal
to grant a full pathway to citizenship to up to 1.8 million illegal
immigrants in exchange for ending the visa lottery, limiting so-called
‘chain migration’ among families of immigrants and spending $25 billion to
build more border fencing.” The Democrats declined that offer. The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=021-531&t=c>
(4/2, Morrongiello) reports “Administration officials have since accused
Democrats of holding DACA hostage by refusing to entertain a deal that
would codify protections for immigrants who were brought to the US
illegally by their parents, in exchange for border security improvements.”

The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=022-e1d&t=c>
(4/2, Enjeti) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also
“echoed Trump’s call in a Monday morning interview on [image: Image removed
by sender. Video]Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=023-657&t=c>,”
saying, “We have influx of drugs and gang members coming across from Mexico
but through Mexico. ... They need to step up and do more.” Sanders also
said, “Congress has to step up and do more, making sure we do everything we
can to protect the people of this country. That is what the president is
committed to doing.” Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said on
[image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=024-a17&t=c>
(4/2) that Trump “so graciously offered 1.8 million people a path to
citizenship three times that of Barack Obama because he wants something
done. We don’t want to be in the same position we are from now five years
down the road kicking the can. Let’s remember how we got here. Democrats
had control of the House of Representatives. They had filibuster-proof
senate. And they had a democrat in the White House in Barack Obama and he
pledged 100 days to fix the immigration problem. None of it got fixed.”

*In Tweet Today, Trump Says “Big Caravan” Must Be Stopped Before US
“‘Weak Law’ Border.”*Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=025-584&t=c>
this morning, “The big Caravan of People from Honduras, now coming across
Mexico and heading to our ‘Weak Law’ Border, had better be stopped before
it gets there. Cash cow NAFTA is in play, as is foreign aid to Honduras and
the countries that allow this to happen. Congress MUST ACT NOW!”

*Third Mexican Town Welcomes “Caravan” En Route To US. *The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=026-4ab&t=c>
(4/2, Bedard) reports “a caravan of some 1,500 Latin American migrants,
welcomed into Mexico on their 1,900-mile trek to the United States where
they plan to demand asylum, was welcomed by a third Mexican town 400 miles
into their journey.” On Facebook
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=027-4a3&t=c>,
“organizer Pueblo Sin Fronteras wrote, ‘Thanks to the community Matias
Romero for his solidarity with the caravan viacrusis migrants in the
fight.’” The group also “gave a PayPal account to offer donations.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=028-506&t=c>
(4/2, Stevenson) reports the caravan later “stopped to camp out at a
sports field in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca,” where “they are
waiting and getting advice on filing for transit or humanitarian visas in
Mexico.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=029-3e6&t=c>
(4/2, Semple) reports that “in interviews on Monday, the caravan’s
organizers sounded frustrated, exhausted and dismayed.” Irineo Mujica of
Pueblo Sin Fronteras told the Times, “We are not terrorists. ... We are not
anarchists. We try to help people to know their rights, things that we as
human beings should be doing, try to advocate for human, sensible
solutions.”

*Administration Preparing Legislation To Address “Loopholes” In
Immigration System. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=02a-0dd&t=c>
(4/2, Westwood) cites “senior administration officials” who said Monday
that White House aides and DHS officials “are working on a legislative
package aimed at closing ‘loopholes’ in the immigration system that
incentivize illegal migration.” According to the officials, the reforms
“would ease restrictions on who law enforcement agents can detain and for
how long because...smuggling organizations know well the limits facing
border patrol agents who intercept illegal immigrants.” The package would
also address “weaknesses in the asylum-seeking process that create major
backlogs of asylum cases in immigration courts due to overly broad
definitions of what qualifies individuals for the status.”

*Durbin, Reed: Pentagon Has “No Legal Authority” To Build Border
Wall. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=02b-b59&t=c>
(4/2, Tritten) reports Sens. Dick Durbin and Jack Reed said in a letter to
Defense Secretary Mattis that “the Pentagon has ‘no legal authority’ to
fund...Trump’s proposed wall along the southern Mexico border.” After
“Trump...floated the idea in a tweet earlier this month of the military
paying for the border wall,” the senators wrote, “We conclude that the
Department of Defense has no legal authority, with or without a
reprogramming request, to use appropriated funds for the construction of a
border wall.” Durbin later tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=02c-6a4&t=c>,
“We believe DOD has no legal authority to do that, and it would also cut
funding for the troops.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=02d-79c&t=c>
(4/2, Kim) notes “Durbin is the top Democrat on the Senate panel
overseeing Pentagon funding, while Reed is the ranking Democrat on the
Senate Armed Services Committee.”

*Survey: 89% Of Border Patrol Agents Support Trump’s Border Wall. *
The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=02e-24e&t=c>(4/2,
Dinan) reports that a survey conducted by the National Border Patrol
Council, the Border Patrol agents’ union, found that agents “overwhelmingly
supported adding a ‘wall system’ in strategic locations, embracing
President Trump’s argument that it will boost their ability to nab or deter
would-be illegal immigrants.” According to the survey, “a stunning 89
percent of line agents say a ‘wall system in strategic locations is
necessary to securing the border.’ Just 7 percent disagreed.”
Foreign Policy
Trump To Unveil China Tariff List This Week.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=02f-623&t=c>
(4/2, Boyer) reports the White House said Monday that President Trump will
“fight back” against China’s harmful trade practices, after Beijing slapped
retaliatory tariffs on 128 US products. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said
on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=030-360&t=c>,
“He’s tired of us being taken advantage of. They’ve taken our intellectual
property, and the president’s going to fight back. He’s going to push
back.” National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro said on CNBC’s Closing
Bell[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=031-33a&t=c>
(4/2) that China “is stealing our intellectual property and also using
industrial policies which force the transfer of our intellectual property
to Chinese firms and allowing them to out-compete us. The practical result
of that has been the loss has been loss of millions of jobs and over 60,000
factories to Chinese soil. All the President is doing is trying to defend
American workers and American businesses against that economic aggression
of China. What’s China doing? They’re basically throwing another punch at
us. I’m not sure that’s the best way to get the confidence of the American
people behind China.”

According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=032-32a&t=c>
(4/2, Lawder), the Administration this week will unveil “the list of
Chinese imports targeted for US tariffs to punish Beijing over technology
transfer policies.” The list of $50 billion to $60 billion worth of annual
imports is expected to target “largely high-technology” products,
Administration officials have said. The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=033-df0&t=c>
(4/2, Zumbrun, Newman) says the trade tensions are likely to escalate
further this week with the anticipated list of Chinese imports to be
targeted. An AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=034-c58&t=c>
(4/2, Wiseman) analysis says the stock market Monday “buckled on the
prospect of an all-out trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
But it hasn’t come to that – not yet, anyway.” The trade dispute, however,
“could escalate, and quickly.”

*Bloomberg News: Trump Pushing For Preliminary NAFTA Deal By
Mid-April. *Citing three unnamed sources, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=035-fa8&t=c>
(4/2, Martin) reports the Administration is “pushing for a preliminary
Nafta deal to announce at a summit in Peru next week, and will host cabinet
ministers in Washington to try to achieve a breakthrough.” According to the
sources, the White House “wants leaders from Canada and Mexico to join in
unveiling the broad outlines of an updated pact at the Summit of the
Americas that begins April 13, while technical talks to hammer out the
finer details and legal text could continue.” Asked about the report,
National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro said on CNBC’s Closing
Bell[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=036-1c9&t=c>
(4/2), “The issue here, which the President understands keenly, is the
Mexican elections are approaching. You’ll get to a certain point, like as
you do in the American elections, where it becomes difficult to do
meaningful policy changes so, I think whether it’s two weeks or 30 days,
it’s got to be soon. ... We need to be hopeful about this, but not get our
expectations up too high. Let’s see what happens.”
Trump To Host Abe At Mar-A-Lago Ahead Of Possible North Korea Talks.

Wolf Blitzer reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=037-3d0&t=c>
(4/2) that the White House “just announced” that President Trump will host
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago in a little over two
weeks. Their meeting “comes as the President prepares to meet with” North
Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Rich Edson briefly reported on Fox News’ Special
Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=038-7a6&t=c>
(4/2) that Trump and Abe will “discuss North Korea strategy.” According to CQ
Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=039-0e3&t=c>
(4/2, Bennett), the White House announced the April 17-18 summit “amid
reports Abe felt blindsided by Trump’s abrupt decision last month to accept
Kim’s invitation for direct talks,” and as Abe “is angling to remain a
player in coming talks about North Korea’s weapons programs.”

President counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News’ Fox &
Friends[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=03a-3d8&t=c>
(4/2), “They have been able to, I think from the beginning...really work
together on issues that affect obviously our two nations, but also that
entire region.” Conway added that “it should be lost on no one, that when
the President...talked about North Korea seeing ‘fire and fury’ like they
have never seen, the media freaked out. ... Then, the President accepts a
invitation, possibly under his conditions to come to the table, and they
freak out. So he is going to continue doing what he does best, which is try
to find a way to tackle the big issues of the day.”

*CNN’s Brian Todd: Kim Jong-Un Getting “Everything He Wants.” *Brian
Todd reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=03b-685&t=c>
(4/2) that Kim Jong-Un so far “has gotten everything he wants...and given
up nothing.” In fact, “a source with knowledge of the situation tells CNN
Kim was taken by surprise by how quickly Trump accepted his invitation” to
hold talks. In addition, Wolf Blitzer said Kim’s moves have “had an effect
on those joint military exercises ongoing between the US and South Korea.”
Todd added, “The exercises are only going to last about four weeks, half as
long as previous drills. This is all a result of Kim Jong-Un’s maneuvering.”
Kremlin: Trump Offered To Host Putin At White House.

The White House confirmed Monday claims by a Kremlin spokesman that
President Trump invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit the White
House for talks during a recent phone call. Media reports cast the
revelation as raising further questions about the President’s outreach to
the Russian leader. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=03c-3c3&t=c>
(4/2), for example, says that “rolling out a welcome for Putin in the
White House, rather than at a neutral location, could anger Trump’s
domestic critics, who accuse Russia of hostile acts against Western
countries, including the United States.” To the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=03d-127&t=c>(4/2,
Higgins), when Trump called Putin last month, “he not only ignored
advisers’ pleas that he not congratulate the Russian leader on his lopsided
election victory but also suggested that Mr. Putin visit the White House.”
Bianna Golodryga said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=03e-a53&t=c>
(4/2) that if Trump hosted Putin in Washington, “it would be a huge win”
for Putin and “a huge slap in the face to England, our closest ally.”
Golodryga also said it’s “curious” that the Kremlin “was clearly sitting on
this information for a few weeks. ... Why they decided to release it today
is a bit curious, to say the least.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=03f-46e&t=c>
(4/2, Troianovski) calls it a “fresh revelation about a conversation that
stirred controversy over Trump’s friendly tone toward the Russian leader
amid mounting tensions with the West.” Kremlin spokesman Yury Ushakov
“disclosed the White House invitation in comments to Russian journalists
Monday,” saying, “When our presidents spoke on the phone, it was Trump who
proposed holding the first meeting in Washington, in the White House.” The
Post notes that after the March 20 phone call between the two leaders,
Trump “did not mention any meeting venues.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=040-bea&t=c>
(4/2, Bierman) notes Trump “alluded to the possibility” of a meeting with
Putin in remarks to reporters shortly after the call, saying, “We will
probably get together in the not-too-distant future.”

On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=041-031&t=c>
(4/2, story 5, 0:25, Llamas), Jonathan Karl said, “The White House won’t
say who extended the invitation, but they say that one possible venue for a
Trump-Putin meeting would be right here at the White House.” Major Garrett,
however, said on the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=042-28b&t=c>
(4/2, story 4, 0:45, Glor), “The White House said Washington was only one
possible location, suggesting not much groundwork has been laid for a
full-blown summit.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=043-608&t=c>
(4/2, Boyer) reports the White House “confirmed Monday that...Trump has
proposed a meeting with...Putin at the White House.” Press Secretary Sarah
Sanders, however, “said the White House is only one of the possible
locations that Mr. Trump suggested in the phone call with Mr. Putin two
weeks ago.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=044-a22&t=c>
(4/2, Grove) quotes Sanders saying, “As the president himself confirmed on
March 20, hours after his last call with President Putin, the two had
discussed a bilateral meeting in the ‘not-too-distant future’ at a number
of potential venues, including the White House. We have nothing further to
add at this time.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=045-58e&t=c>
(4/2) reports Ushakov, however, indicated that the two governments “didn’t
have time to start arranging a meeting before the United States joined
Britain and more than two dozen allies in sanctioning Russia over the
nerve-agent poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in England.” Ushakov, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=046-dde&t=c>
(4/2, Higgins) similarly reports, “said that the two countries had not
started any preparatory talks for a White House meeting, because of the
tailspin in relations.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=047-8e5&t=c>
(4/2, Jackson) quotes Ushakov as saying, “Against the backdrop of these
events, it’s difficult to discuss the possibility of holding a summit,”
though he added he hopes that “one day, at one time or another, we can
arrive at the start of a serious and constructive dialogue.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=048-06c&t=c>
(4/2) that it is “very irresponsible” for the President to invite Putin to
the White House. Castro added, “He called to congratulate Vladimir Putin on
the election, even though Vladimir Putin would not allow his main opponent
in the country to run for President. ... But also to do it around the time
when Vladimir Putin also probably issued the order for a nerve agent to be
used against a former spy for Russia and his daughter...to invite him to
the United States or sit for a meeting I think is completely irresponsible.”

*WPost Editorial Criticizes Russian Prosecution Of Jehovah’s
Witnesses. *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=049-1f6&t=c>
(4/2) highlights the trial of Dennis Christensen, a citizen of Denmark who
has been arrested in Russia on charges of organizing the activities of an
“extremist organization,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses. If convicted, he could
face 10 years in prison. The Post notes that during a recent address to the
Russian Federal Assembly, President Vladimir Putin insisted that Russia
“must expand freedom in all spheres” and “strengthen democratic
institutions,” and argues that “if Mr. Putin believed what he said, he
would throw out the arbitrary prosecution of Mr. Christensen and others so
charged.”
Saudi Crown Prince: Israelis Have Right To Their Own Land.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=04a-ef4&t=c>
(4/2) reports Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview
published Monday that Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own
land, “another public sign of ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv appearing to
grow closer.” Asked by The Atlantic
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=04b-dbd&t=c>
if he believes the Jewish people have a right to a nation-state, Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman was quoted as saying: “I believe the
Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land. But we
have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to
have normal relations.” He added, “We have religious concerns about the
fate of the holy mosque in Jerusalem and about the rights of the
Palestinian people. This is what we have. We don’t have any objection
against any other people.”

Also reporting the prince’s comments, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=04c-e95&t=c>
(4/2, King) notes that “Saudi Arabia’s position, like most other Arab
states, has long been that there can be no ties with Israel until it cedes
territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war to make way for a
Palestinian state.”

*Israel: “Unprecedented” Deal Reached With UN To Resettle African
Migrants In West. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=04d-c65&t=c>
(4/2, Taylor) reports Israel announced Monday “it would scrap
controversial plans to deport African asylum seekers, saying it had reached
an ‘unprecedented understanding’ with the United Nations to help resettle
many of these migrants in Western countries.” In a statement released by
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, Israel said it was working with
the UN to resettle “at least 16,250 migrants in Western nations under the
plan, which would be carried out in stages over five years.” The Post,
however, says “there still appeared to be major details to arrange.”
Netanyahu told reporters that Canada, Italy and Germany “could be among the
countries where migrants would be resettled,” but the German Embassy in
Israel told Haaretz “it was not aware of any proposal and Italian media
reported that Rome was not a party to any agreement on the asylum seekers.”

*NYTimes Editorial Warns Gaza In Danger Of “New Catastrophe.” *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=04e-f1a&t=c>
(4/2) editorializes that Palestinians in Gaza “are among the world’s most
desperate people,” so it is “no wonder that pent-up frustrations would
erupt in protests, as they did last Friday. Responding to the
demonstrations, Israeli forces killed 17 Palestinians” and injure “more
than 1,000 Palestinians.” The Times argues that while Israel “has a right
to defend itself and maintain civil order...it also has an obligation to
respect peaceful protests and not use live ammunition on unarmed
demonstrators.” The Times warns that “unless someone steps up to end Gaza’s
humanitarian disaster, ensure Israel and the Palestinians act with
restraint during the protests and set a credible peace process in motion,
both sides could face a new catastrophe.”

On its editorial page, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=04f-88d&t=c>
(4/2) says that in the wake of “having suffered repeated military defeats
at the hands of Israel, the Hamas movement has adopted new tactics. Rather
than launch rockets at Israeli cities or stage armed attacks through
underground tunnels,” the group “encouraged the assembly of tens of
thousands of civilians last Friday for what was billed as a peaceful march
on the border. In reality, it was not peaceful,” and Israeli troops
“responded just as Hamas’s leaders must have hoped, opening fire with live
ammunition.” The Post argues that “countering Hamas’s new tactics will
require a more subtle Israeli response.”
CNN: Pentagon Mulling Deployment Of “Dozens” Of Troops To Northern Syria.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=050-ed8&t=c>
(4/2) reported it has learned that “the Pentagon has been talking about
sending dozens more troops to northern Syria,” something in “direct
contrast” to what President Trump said a few days ago. CNN showed Trump
saying, “We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon. Let the other
people take care of it now.” According to CNN, a national security meeting
is scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the Administration’s plan for fighting
ISIS in Syria.

*Members Of Syrian Rebel Group Begin Evacuating Douma. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=051-adf&t=c>
(4/2, Issa) reports that on Monday, Syrian rebels began evacuating Douma,
“the largest rebel group in the suburbs of Damascus” and “last stronghold
after seven years of war.” The evacuees “refused to say whether they had
surrendered, and it was unclear who was on board a dozen buses seen leaving
the town,” leaving many of the 100,000 civilians still trapped inside Douma
fearing “that further foot-dragging could provoke another major government
offensive.” Syrian state-run media “said those on board were fighters and
family members belonging to the Army of Islam,” which “has held firm in
recent weeks as virtually all the other insurgents of eastern Ghouta have
reached deals to relocate to the rebel-held north.” Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights head Rami Abdurrahman said the group “is divided over whether
to evacuate Douma, with hard-liners demanding they stay and fight.”
NYTimes: Competing Groups Stifle Travel Through Post-ISIS Northern Iraq.

In an analysis, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=052-5c0&t=c>
(4/2, Rubin) reports that checkpoints erected by “competing military and
militia groups” have made “travel increasingly difficult” along a more than
130-mile route through Northern Iraq “from Dohuk, a city in Iraqi
Kurdistan, to Sinjar, near the Syrian border.” From east to west along the
route, “the groups governing the roads morphed from the Peshmerga into the
Iraqi Army into a variety of Shiite-connected militias and finally into
militias run by the Syrian Kurds and Turkish Kurds,” with each group having
“their own flags, alliances and reasons for being there.” These
“communities lived side by side until the Islamic State’s incursion upended
the entente and displaced many of the local populations,” but even though
the “open conflict” is over, the region remains “partitioned between groups
with unclear motives” and “partially locked down by a heavy and confusing
armed presence.”

*Khalilzad: US Needs To Limit Iran’s Influence In Iraqi
Election. *Former
US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad writes in the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=053-749&t=c>
(4/2) that as Iraqis go to the polls next month, the US needs to counter
Iran’s efforts to consolidate its influence on the election. Specifically,
he says the US should encourage a level playing field in the Iraqi
political process; maintain sufficient forces in Iraq to maintain
substantial security cooperation; encourage support from regional allies;
and regardless of the election results, encourage the quick formation of a
new government.
At Least 70 Killed In Afghan Airstrike.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=054-8e9&t=c>
(4/2, Nordland) reports an Afghan airstrike targeting “a religious
gathering in the northern province of Kunduz on Monday” killed “at least 70
people and wounding 30 others, according to a local official in the area.”
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Radmanish denied that
the gathering was in fact religious in nature and clarified: “The Taliban
and other insurgent groups were planning to attack Afghan forces, but their
plan was discovered by our forces.” He maintained that 21 terrorists –
including a Taliban commander – were killed in the airstrikes. Witnesses,
however, “said that children and other civilians were among the victims.”
Meanwhile, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=055-436&t=c>
(4/2) reports, US Forces-Afghanistan spokesperson Army Col. Lisa Garcia
said in an emailed statement, “U.S. Forces-Afghanistan did not conduct air
strikes in Kunduz province today. Any claims to the contrary are baseless.”
Domestic Policy
Administration To Revise Obama-Era Fuel-Efficiency Rules.

The Detroit Free Press
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=056-43f&t=c>
(4/2, Spangler) reports, “The Trump administration on Monday announced
that it would revise tough mileage-per-gallon fuel standards for cars and
light trucks, saying the rules agreed to during President Obama’s time in
office were ‘not appropriate.’” Said EPA Administrator Pruitt, “The Obama
administration’s determination was wrong. ... Obama’s EPA cut the midterm
evaluation process short with politically charged expediency, made
assumptions about the standards that didn’t comport with reality, and set
the standards too high.” The Free Press adds “Pruitt did not say precisely
when new standards would be set.” The Detroit News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=057-efb&t=c>
(4/2, Laing) indicates “the auto industry praised the decision, but groups
representing consumers and environment were quick to criticize, and the
California Air Resources Board said it would challenge any rollback.”
Pruitt “is expected to visit a car dealership in northern Virginia on
Tuesday to tout the move.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=058-368&t=c>
(4/2, Wolfgang) quotes from a statement from the Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers that said, “Consumer research shows that the monthly payment
is the top concern when car-shopping. So, to ensure ongoing fuel economy
improvement, the wisest course of action is to keep new vehicles affordable
so more consumers can replace an older car with a new vehicle that uses
much less fuel – and offers more safety features.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=059-a4c&t=c>
(4/2, Siegel), Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=05a-eaf&t=c>
(4/2, Moran) and Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=05b-934&t=c>
(4/2, Puko, Spector), among other news outlets, also report the story,
while the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=05c-1ab&t=c>
(4/2, Tabuchi) reports, “The EPA is also re-examining a federal waiver
granted to California that has allowed it and 12 other states to follow
more stringent air pollution rules, the news release said.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=05d-e24&t=c>
(4/2) says “California, which has long held a right to impose stricter
standards on vehicle emissions of some pollutants than federal rules under
a waiver granted by the EPA, is prepared to sue the EPA if it tries to
weaken the standards, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said last week.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=05e-0df&t=c>
(4/2, Halper) quotes Pruitt as saying, “Cooperative federalism doesn’t
mean that one state can dictate standards for the rest of the country. ...
EPA will set a national standard for greenhouse gas emissions that allows
auto manufacturers to make cars that people both want and can afford –
while still expanding environmental and safety benefits of newer cars. It’s
in everyone’s best interest to have a national standard, and we look
forward to working with all states, including California, as we work to
finalize that standard.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=05f-3de&t=c>
(4/2) editorializes that what Pruitt, “second only to President Trump in
the climate denial game,” proposed “definitely means relaxing and probably
means crippling” the “ambitious, groundbreaking greenhouse gas and
fuel-economy standards approved during the Obama administration.” The move,
“no surprise here,” will “would continue Mr. Trump’s yearlong demolition of
every important policy Barack Obama put in place to fight global warming.”
The Times concludes that “Detroit and foreign manufacturers in the American
market have done well under the Obama rules,” which “should remain in place
and, if anything, be strengthened in the years ahead.”
Administration Sues California Over Sales Of Federal Land.

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=060-992&t=c>
(4/2, Tanfani) reports the Administration “stepped up its offensive Monday
on California’s environmental laws, suing to reverse a state law that seeks
to handcuff the federal government from selling any of the 45.8 million
acres of property it controls in the state.” DOJ’s lawsuit “is the latest
federal effort to roll back California’s strict environmental protections
as the Trump administration seeks to open more land in the West for mining,
drilling and other interests.” The Times adds “at issue in the latest
lawsuit is a California law that gives a state lands commission the power
to block the sale, donation or exchange of federal lands.” It “was passed
in October after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced plans to cut
protections for 10 national monuments in the state.” Attorney General
Sessions said yesterday, “The Constitution empowers the federal government
– not state legislatures – to decide when and how federal lands are sold.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=061-c6d&t=c>
(4/2, Lynch) notes “the Justice Department’s acting No. 3 official, Jesse
Panuccio,” told reporters, “California has once again passed an extreme
statute found in no other state to obstruct the federal government, this
time by interfering with the conveyance of federal land.” California
Attorney General Xavier Becerra “said in a statement that his office is
prepared to protect the state’s resources,” saying, “Our public lands
should not be on the auction block to the highest bidder.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=062-f6d&t=c>
(4/2, Mordock) says the Administration “has escalated its legal battle
with California,” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=063-672&t=c>
(4/2, Gerstein) that “the legal war between the Trump administration and
the state of California expanded Monday,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=064-510&t=c>
(4/2, Zapotosky) that the Administration “has for months taken an
aggressive posture toward California” and state “leaders have bristled at
the Justice Department’s moves against their state.”
Mulvaney Recommends Stripping Away CFPB Powers.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=065-c44&t=c>
(4/2, Dexheimer) reports that acting CFPB head Mulvaney is “offering
lawmakers specific advice on how they should start stripping” away some of
the agency head’s authority over banks. In a semi-annual report to
Congress, “Mulvaney reiterated suggestions that have been at the top of
Republican wish lists for years” including passing “legislation requiring
that the CFPB get its funding through congressional appropriations rather
than from the Federal Reserve as it does now.” In addition, Mulvaney “urged
Congress to make clear that the agency’s director is directly accountable
to the president, and said lawmakers should have power to block its
regulations.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=066-bff&t=c>
(4/2, Rappeport) says Mulvaney “called on lawmakers...to cripple the
agency.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=067-dd1&t=c>
(4/2, Rucker) says Mulvaney will “testify before the House Financial
Services Committee on Wednesday April 11.”
New Iowa Law Allows “Health Benefit Plans” That Do Not Comply With ACA.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=068-55b&t=c>
(4/2, Goldstein) reports that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a law
allowing the Iowa Farm Bureau “to collaborate with the state’s dominant
insurer to sell ‘health benefit plans,’ which are expected to cost health
customers less than ACA coverage because they will not have to comply with
federal requirements.” According to the law, plans “sponsored by a
nonprofit agricultural organization...shall be deemed not to be insurance,”
which “means they will be allowed to avoid both federal and state insurance
regulations.” The law has sparked debate int he state “over whether the
strategy is a creative path to offer some residents an alternative to
spiking prices in the insurance marketplace the state created under the
federal law — or a path to substandard coverage that will divide the
healthy from the sick.”
Trump Mocks “Fake News Networks” For Accusing Sinclair Of Bias.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=069-a44&t=c>
yesterday, “So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest
groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting
for being biased. Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC,
which is a total joke.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=06a-d84&t=c>
(4/2, Morin) says “Trump’s tweet came several minutes after CNN aired a
segment on a viral video from Deadspin
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that cut together footage from Sinclair-owned stations reading the same
script on ‘the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories
plaguing our country.’”

USA Today
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(4/2, Snider) notes that in the promos, Sinclair “anchors then go on to
say that many media outlets are publishing ‘fake stories’ and pushing
agendas.” While “the promotion looks unique in each market...Sinclair’s
corporate Hunt Valley, Md.-headquarters scripted and distributed it to its
stations.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=06d-40a&t=c>
(4/2, Concha) reports, meanwhile, that “a Sinclair Broadcasting senior
executive is pushing back at critics of” its “ad campaign,” who “accused
the company of pushing pro-Trump propaganda, stating the promos were
‘focused on fact-based reporting’ and showed the company’s ‘commitment to
our communities.’” In an “internal memo,” Sinclair Vice President of News
Scott Livingston said, “The critics are now upset about our well-researched
journalistic initiative focused on fair and objective reporting. ... For
the record, the stories we are referencing in this campaign are the
unsubstantiated ones (i.e. fake/false) like ‘Pope Endorses Trump’ which
move quickly across social media and result in an ill-informed public. Some
other false stories, like the false ‘Pizzagate’ story, can result in
dangerous consequences.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=06e-539&t=c>
(4/2, story 3, 2:10, Jackson) referred to a “synchronized script on dozens
of local news station: same words, same message, mandated by the same
station owner.” NBC showed Lewis Friedland, a University of Wisconsin
Journalism Professor, saying, “It’s odd to see all of these anchors saying
the same thing at the same time with the words that have come out of one
central location in Baltimore, Maryland. That’s not our tradition in the
United States. It’s maximum propaganda.” NBC also reported that “the
broadcast group, which skews conservative, owns or operates more than 190
stations, including 15 NBC affiliates. Two-thirds of those stations are in
Trump country.” Sinclair’s “connections to the administration include
former White House staffer Boris Epstein, a Sinclair political commentator.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=06f-b40&t=c>
(4/2, Fortin, Bromwich) also says “Sinclair has been accused of using
connections in the Trump administration to ease regulations on media
consolidation.” The Times also reports that “in an effort to expand its
reach, the company is seeking approval from the Justice Department and the
Federal Communications Commission for its $3.9 billion deal to buy Tribune
Media.”

*In Tweet Today, Trump Says “Fake News Networks” Have “Sick And
Biased Agenda.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=070-1c7&t=c>
this morning, “The Fake News Networks, those that knowingly have a sick
and biased AGENDA, are worried about the competition and quality of
Sinclair Broadcast. The ‘Fakers’ at CNN, NBC, ABC & CBS have done so much
dishonest reporting that they should only be allowed to get awards for
fiction!” Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=071-b49&t=c>
this morning, “Check out the fact that you can’t get a job at ratings
challenged @CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=072-7ac&t=c>
unless you state that you are totally anti-Trump? Little Jeff Zuker, whose
job is in jeopardy, is not having much fun lately. They should clean up and
strengthen CNN and get back to honest reporting!”

*Monmouth Poll: 77% Believe Traditional Media Report “Fake News.” *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=073-8e3&t=c>
(4/2, Lima) reports that according to a Monmouth University poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=074-b66&t=c>
released yesterday, Trump “is not alone in thinking media outlets spread
‘fake news.’” The poll found “more than 3-in-4 of 803 American respondents,
or 77 percent, said they believe that major traditional television and
newspaper media outlets report ‘fake news,’” in findings that mark “a sharp
increase in distrust of those news organizations from a year ago, when 63
percent registered concerns about the spread of misinformation.”
Trump Continues Attacks On Amazon.

President Trump continued his criticism of Amazon on Monday, writing in a
tweet
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Monday morning, Trump wrote, “Only fools, or worse, are saying that our
money losing Post Office makes money with Amazon. THEY LOSE A FORTUNE, and
this will be changed. Also, our fully tax paying retailers are closing
stores all over the country...not a level playing field!”

National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro defended Trump’s
comments on CNBC’s Closing Bell[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=076-b84&t=c>
(4/2), saying Trump “has hit...the nail on the head about Amazon on a
couple of points.” Amazon “doesn’t pay the kind of sales tax it could. It
has now gotten to the point where it collects sales taxes from all 45 of
the states that levy them. But in some of those states, it doesn’t collect
local taxes. That gives an advantage to Amazon over the local retailers.
More importantly, there’s over 800,000 independent vendors that account for
about half of the $136 billion in annual revenue to Amazon. Amazon doesn’t
even try to collect much of those sales taxes at all that’s a huge
disadvantage to the bricks and mortar retail stores. ... Finally, on the
post office issue, there are some studies that show if Amazon paid the full
freight on every parcel it shipped without paying its sales tax properly,
that would be about $1.50 per parcel.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=077-7b3&t=c>
(4/2, Ember) reports that while “Amazon does not own The Washington Post,”
Trump “has tried hard to convince the public otherwise.” Trump “has called
the newspaper the ‘Amazon Washington Post,’” and he has “accused it of
being used as a ‘scam’ to keep Amazon’s taxes low.” Over the weekend, “he
escalated his attack,” declaring tweet that “the ‘Fake Washington Post’” is
a “lobbyist” for Amazon and demanding that it “REGISTER.” Vanity Fair
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018040301biden&r=email-536c&l=078-bf0&t=c>
(4/2, Sherman) says according to “four sources close to the White House,
Trump is discussing ways to escalate his Twitter attacks on Amazon to
further damage the com