EMAIL DETAILS

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, May 11, 2018 7:52 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
May 11, 2018


*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=000-926&t=c>
mobile-optimized online version, including download options and an audio
reader.*


[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=001-ad0&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, May 11, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• In Wake Of Prisoner Release, Trump Announces Date Of Summit With Kim.
<#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Media Analyses: Israeli Bombings In Syria Tied To Trump’s Exit From Iran
Deal. <#S2>

• US Preparing For Monday’s Opening Of Embassy In Jerusalem. <#S3>

• Pentagon Releases Report On Deadly Niger Ambush. <#S4>

• Five ISIS Leaders Captured On Iraq-Syria Border. <#S5>

• Iraq To Hold Elections Tomorrow. <#S6>

• Merkel: Europe Can’t Count On US Military Protection. <#S7>

• Mexican Minister Says Fate Of NAFTA Talks Will Be Clear Within Days. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Pence Says Of Mueller Probe: “It’s Time To Wrap It Up.” <#S9>

• Trump To Deliver Speech Today On Lowering Drug Prices. <#S10>

• NYTimes: Nielsen Nearly Resigned After Trump “Berated” Her At Cabinet
Meeting. <#S11>

• Pelosi Says She’ll Seek To Revise Tax Cut Bill If Elected Speaker. <#S12>

• White House Calls For “Hands-Off” Approach To Regulating AI Technology.
<#S13>

• Pruitt Says EPA Will Overhaul How Clean Air Act Regulations Are Enforced.
<#S14>

• HUD To Reconsider Obama-Era Housing Discrimination Protections. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Survey: Many Oncologists Say They Don’t Know Enough About Medical
Marijuana. <#S16>

• Study: MRI-Targeted Biopsies Better At Diagnosing Prostate Cancer. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden, Chertoff, Rasmussen Team Up To Combat Russian Meddling. <#S20>

• Jill Biden Delivers Bishop State Community College Commencement Address.
<#S21>

• In Stanford Cubberley Lecture, Jill Biden Discusses Student Well-Being.
<#S22>
Leading the News
In Wake Of Prisoner Release, Trump Announces Date Of Summit With Kim.

President Trump continues to receive positive media coverage in the wake of
Wednesday’s release of three Americans from North Korea. He followed up
with an announcement Thursday morning on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=002-914&t=c>
that he plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on
June 12. The developments led all three networks Thursday evening.

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=003-dcd&t=c>
(5/10, lead story, 2:20, Holt) opened its broadcast with “new images of
that middle of the night homecoming for three Americans set free by North
Korea. President Trump greeting them on the plane,” and announcement of a
“historic summit” between the President and Kim. The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=004-187&t=c>
(5/10, lead story, 1:55, Glor) said Trump announced the summit with Kim on
Twitter saying, “We will both try to make it a very special moment for
World Peace!’ The tweet came hours after Mr. Trump led a dramatic overnight
welcome ceremony for three Americans released by North Korea,” a move
Administration officials “consider...an encouraging signal ahead of next
month’s summit.” On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=005-b44&t=c>
(5/10, lead story, 2:40, Muir), Jonathan Karl said, “Just hours after his
dramatic 3:00 a.m. welcome ceremony for the prisoners freed from North
Korea, President Trump tweeted a ‘save the date’ for his meeting with Kim
Jong-un.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=006-717&t=c>
(5/10, Bender) reports Secretary of State Pompeo said the Singapore summit
will consist of one or two days of meetings. According to the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=007-7e2&t=c>
(5/10, Nakamura, Wagner), “White House aides have been eyeing Singapore,”
which “maintains diplomatic relations with North Korea” and “has been the
site of other high-profile summits,” and Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=008-f5c&t=c>
(5/10) says Singapore’s government “has a history of putting together
high-profile diplomatic events at short notice.” To Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=009-bc2&t=c>
(5/10), the “choice of Singapore will put the summit on friendly turf for
Trump, as the island nation is a strong US ally and the US Navy frequently
visits its port.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00a-7c3&t=c>
(5/10, Meyers) reports another consideration was “how far Kim’s plane can
travel.” Beijing-based analyst Yanmei Xie said, “Singapore is a destination
that Kim’s airplane is believed to be able to reach without refueling,” and
it “has the infrastructure to accommodate the security and publicity needs
of the US president.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00b-a7d&t=c>
(5/10, Nelson) likewise says the location “has virtues for both sides,” and
Tom Rogan of the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00c-3b6&t=c>
(5/10) writes that the “best argument in Singapore’s favor is that it isn’t
the Korean demilitarized zone.”

According to the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00d-b85&t=c>
(5/10, Miller, Colvin, Lee), Singapore “emerged as the likely host of the
summit after Trump yielded to the concerns of his aides and backed off his
desire to hold the meeting at the inter-Korean demilitarized zone.” The AP
says Trump made the announcement “hours after suggesting that the release
of three Americans held in the North heralded a potential breakthrough
toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00e-483&t=c>
(5/10, Sullivan) says the release of the three Americans “removed a
significant obstacle for Mr. Trump as he heads into the peace talks,” and a
“senior United States official” later confirmed their release was an
American condition to the talks.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=00f-64b&t=c>
(5/10, Forgey) reports that during a rally in Elkhart, Indiana on Thursday
evening, Trump “refrained from any campaign-style bombast in describing his
outlook” for the summit, telling the crowd, “I think it’s going to be a
very big success. But my attitude is: And if it isn’t, it isn’t. OK? If it
isn’t, it isn’t.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=010-607&t=c>
(5/10, Wadhams, Talev) reports that while Trump “has already outdone his
predecessors on North Korea by pulling together a global coalition to
tighten sanctions, winning the release of three US prisoners and arranging
for a summit with Kim Jong Un,” the “measure of success is no longer merely
having a meeting, but what results” from next month’s talks.

An AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=011-8cc&t=c>
(5/10, Lucey, Lemire, Thomas) analysis says the upcoming summit “is only
the latest example of the President’s go-big strategy. From tax reform to
international trade to foreign policy, Trump has pursued a high-risk,
high-reward approach that advisers say can help produce results on
longstanding problems – and that critics warn could trigger dangerous
repercussions all the way from a trade war to global conflict.” Trump, says
the AP, views the upcoming summit “as a legacy-maker for him, believing
that the combustible combination of his bombast and charm already has led
to warmer relations between North and South.”

Eugene Robinson writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=012-b01&t=c>
(5/10) column that Trump “is making rash and risky moves that promise
either brilliant success or catastrophic failure. Given that it’s Trump
we’re dealing with, I do not like the odds.” David Ignatius writes in
his Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=013-d07&t=c>
(5/10) column that “Trump’s tumultuous first year as president
unfortunately convinced him that his trademark disruptive approach is a
success. He thinks his bullying of North Korea has worked, as has his
trade-war rhetoric with China and his hectoring of Germany and other key
European allies. So, of course, he overturned the Iran nuclear agreement,
too. The strangest aspect of Trump’s gamble on Iran is that it’s so
reminiscent of President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
We’re doing it again – transforming a manageable problem into a
freewheeling, uncontrolled one.”

*Pence: Trump’s Diplomacy Succeeding Because He Has “Offered No
Concessions.” *Vice President Pence appeared on several morning shows
Thursday to tout the release of three Americans by North Korea. On ABC’s
Good Morning America[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=014-a0b&t=c>
(5/10), Pence said, “What you’re seeing is diplomacy, but diplomacy that
has followed the United States of America speaking truth. It will no longer
tolerate the path that North Korea’s been on with regard to nuclear
missiles. What’s different today is that the United States has offered no
concessions, nothing in exchange. ... We see signs that this may be
different and it’s all a result of President Trump’s leadership.”

Pence told CBS This Morning[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=015-496&t=c>
(5/10, Dickerson), “When negotiations for denuclearization of North Korea
failed in the past, the parties came together, promises were made, and then
promises were broken. But the promises weren’t made by North Korea until
there were concessions.” Asked by Margaret Brennan if he sees the upcoming
summit as a concession, Pence replied, “What I see is when the South
Koreans came with the request for a meeting, and said that Kim Jong-un had
said he was prepared to suspend ballistic missile testing, suspend nuclear
testing, not object to American military exercises, and was requesting a
summit, I was sitting next to the President when virtually on the spot he
said, ‘Yes, we’ll do it.’ I think it’s because the President senses an
opening that may result in a historic agreement.”

On NBC’s Today[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=016-ab2&t=c>
(5/10), Pence said, “From very early in this Administration, President
Trump changed the policies of the United States from an era of strategic
patience with North Korea to move toward the kind of campaign that would
bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear, while reserving all other
options.” Pence added, “We do believe that the regime in North Korea has
taken steps that indicate this may be an opportunity for a breakthrough,
the kind of breakthrough that has eluded the United States and the world
community for more than 20 years.”

*Schumer Warns Trump Against “Quick” Deal With North Korea. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=017-f0b&t=c>
(5/10) reports Senate Minority Leader Schumer said Thursday that the
release of three detained American citizens was “no great accomplishment”
for Kim and that Trump “was weakening US foreign policy by exalting the
release.” Schumer said on the Senate floor, “Their release should not be
exalted, it should be expected. It is no great accomplishment of Kim
Jong-un to do this.” He also called on Trump to seek strong, verifiable
commitments from North Korea to disarm. Added Schumer, “I worry that this
president, in his eagerness to strike a deal, and get the acclaim and a
photo op, will strike a quick one and a bad one, not a strong one, not a
lasting one.”

*Families Thankful For Men’s Release. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=018-339&t=c>
(5/10, Balsamo) reports that family and friends of the three American men
who were held in detention in North Korea “said Thursday that they are
thankful for their release and grateful to have them back in the US.” Tony
Kim’s family said in a statement that they were grateful and “thanked Trump
for engaging directly with North Korea.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=019-9ae&t=c>
(5/10, lead story, 2:20, Holt) reported, “Kim Dong-Chul of Virginia told
the President being home is like a dream, recounting the three-year of
imprisonment.” CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01a-548&t=c>
(5/10, O'Keefe) reports online that State Department official Brian Hook,
who traveled with Pompeo to North Korea, said the three men are in good
health, and are “trying to return to a normal life. That’s going to take
time. And right now we’re just taking it one day at a time.” Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01b-f57&t=c>
(5/10) reporter Carol Morello details her trip to North Korea with Pompeo,
which she says had little planning.

*Korean-American Opinion Divided On Trump. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01c-ac7&t=c>
(5/10, Medina) reports the summit is “the most promising sign in years for
stability in the region, which has prompted an outpouring of support and
celebration among many Korean-Americans. But many others – particularly
younger Korean immigrants and the children of immigrants – are more focused
on the fight against his domestic agenda.”

*Damage To North Korean Nuclear Test Site Worse Than Previously
Thought. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01d-9f2&t=c>
(5/10, Page) reports that damage to North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test
site, which Kim has promised to shut down, is more extensive than earlier
assessments indicated, according to a new study by a team of international
scientists. Radar showed that a much larger part of the test site has caved
in, according to a study published in Science magazine on Thursday.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01e-859&t=c>
(5/10, Fifield, Taylor), meanwhile, reports that North Korea “could be
taking preliminary steps to close” the test site, according to “new
satellite images that suggest Kim...might be making good on one of the
surprising pledges he’s made over the past month.” According to the Post,
satellite images taken “since last month’s inter-Korean summit show a
steady reduction in the number of buildings” around the site.

*Moon Provided Kim With Digital Road Map To Advance North Korean
Economy. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=01f-94e&t=c>
(5/10, Choe) reports that when the two leaders met last month, South Korean
President Moon Jae-in gave Kim a USB drive that contained documents and
charts laying “out a ‘new economic map for the Korean Peninsula,’ including
new railways and power plants for the impoverished North, should Mr. Kim
abandon his nuclear weapons, according to South Korean officials.” Moon
based his “sales pitch on the belief that Mr. Kim wants to become the North
Korean equivalent of Deng Xiaoping, who oversaw the economic liberalization
of China.”
Foreign Policy
Media Analyses: Israeli Bombings In Syria Tied To Trump’s Exit From Iran
Deal.

Media coverage of Thursday’s airstrikes by Israeli forces targeting Iranian
military sites in Syria suggests Israel timed the attacks to coincide with
President Trump’s announcement earlier this week that the US is withdrawing
from the 2015 nuclear deal. Reports also warn that Israel’s actions
threaten to escalate tensions in the region. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=020-89e&t=c>
(5/10, El Deeb, Heller), for example, says Israel “has been emboldened
by...Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this week, and
the latest escalation seemed to signal a potentially coordinated surge in
military activity targeting Iran.”

All three networks covered the strikes last night. Reporting on the
“direct confrontation” between Israel and Iran. On ABC World News
Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=021-ed9&t=c>
(5/10, story 3, 1:50), David Muir said, “Remember, President Trump pointed
to Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation of evidence against Iran as
part of his reason for pulling out” of the nuclear deal. ABC (Pannell)
added, “These attacks certainly seem like a reaction by Iran to that
decision.” Calling the strikes a “dramatic escalation,” the CBS
Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=022-fc1&t=c>
(5/10, story 3, 2:00, Glor) reported that “overnight, rockets were fired
from Syria into the Golan Heights,” and the Israelis “blame[d] Iran and
wasted no time firing back.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
“said Iran’s first-ever direct attack against Israeli military positions
crossed a red line.” CBS said the timing of the escalation “has
many...worried. It comes after the US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal
with active support from the Israeli government,” and amid “the
controversial moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.” NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=023-f68&t=c>
(5/10, story 2, 1:40, Holt) said the “growing confrontation” comes “just
days after President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. ... And
adding fuel to the fire, a political challenge from the United States.
Today, the sign came down from the US Consulate in Jerusalem. It will
officially become the American Embassy on Monday.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=024-79f&t=c>
(5/10, Tarnopolsky) calls the Thursday’s strikes “the most serious military
confrontation between the two bitter enemies in decades,” and the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=025-f7d&t=c>
(5/10, Morris, Eglash, Loveluck) reports that while Israeli officials
“downplayed a link between the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and
the immediate escalation in tensions...Israelis on the Golan Heights were
ordered to open their bomb shelters at the very moment Trump made his
announcement.” The White House, reports Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=026-9b5&t=c>
(5/10, Dopp), said Thursday that it supports Israel’s right to defend its
citizens from Iran’s “provocative” rocket attacks. In a statement, the
White House “said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bears
responsibility for “reckless actions” and called on that force as well as
its proxies, including Hezbollah, to make no additional provocations.”

According to the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=027-441&t=c>
(5/10, Kershner), “European countries and many analysts had seen [the
nuclear deal] as a crucial element holding Iran and Israel, implacable
foes, from all-out conflict.” The Times says that “in the aftermath of the
president’s decision, the rhetoric between the two sides has heightened
sharply.” According to the Times, “Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal
could rekindle the appetite of...Netanyahu...to carry out military strikes
against Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

Amos Yadlin, the former head of Israeli military intelligence,
tells the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=028-28c&t=c>
(5/10, Fitch, Lieber, Schwartz) that the Netanyahu government is committed
to making sure Iran has no permanent military infrastructure in Syria, like
it does already in Lebanon. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=029-642&t=c>
(5/10) reports that Israeli officials said the IDF “attacked nearly all of
Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria on Thursday after Iranian forces
fired rockets at Israeli-held territory.” According to Reuters, Israel says
it has “destroyed dozens of Iranian military sites in Syria, as well as
Syrian anti-aircraft units that tried unsuccessfully to shoot down Israeli
planes.” Reuters notes that the White House released a statement
“condemn[ing] Iran’s ‘provocative rocket attacks’ from Syria and said it
supported Israel’s right to defend itself.” Reuters says “expectations of a
regional flare-up...were stoked by” President Trump’s announcement this
week on the Iran deal.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02a-5ef&t=c>
(5/10, El Deeb, Heller) says “the scope of the attacks – which Israel
called its largest in Syria since the 1973 Mideast war – raised the specter
of a full-fledged war between Iran and Israel in Syria, a conflict that
could potentially drag the militant Hezbollah and Lebanon into the mix with
devastating effects, although both sides appeared to signal they wanted the
confrontation to remain contained, at least for now.”

*Khamenei Reveals Private Letter Trump Sent To Arab Allies.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02b-bde&t=c>
(5/9, Taylor) reports Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly
revealed “an unpublicized letter sent recently by President Trump to
countries in the Middle East, raising questions about how” the Iranian
leader “came to know about private correspondence between the US leader and
his allies in the region.” Khamenei said in a tweet that Trump had written
a letter to leaders of Persian Gulf Arab states “a few days ago” that
demanded they do more in the region. “I spent $7 trillion and you must do
something in return,” the Iranian leader claimed the letter stated.

*Report: White House Examining Plan For Regime Change. *According
to a copy obtained by the Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02c-947&t=c>
(5/10, Kredo), the Administration is “examining a new plan to help Iranians
fighting the hardline regime...that could topple a regime already beset by
protests and a crashing economy.” The “three-page white paper being
circulated among National Security Council officials in the White House
offers a strategy by which the Trump administration can actively work to
assist an already aggravated Iranian public topple the hardline ruling
regime through a democratization strategy that focuses on driving a deeper
wedge between the Iranian people and the ruling regime.” The plan is
authored by the Security Studies Group, “a national security think-tank
that has close ties to senior White House national security officials,
including National Security Adviser John Bolton.”

Fareed Zakaria writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02d-0e0&t=c>
(5/10) column, “Jeb Bush said Donald Trump would be a ‘chaos president.’
And this week, President Trump lived up to the billing, choosing to defy
virtually the entire world, including America’s closest European allies,
and raising tensions in the most unstable part of the globe, the Middle
East. It is hard to understand the rationale behind Trump’s decision to
withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal,” but it “there is a strategy behind
Trump’s move, it is probably regime change.”

*Pompeo To Hold Talks With Allies On Iran Negotiations. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02e-88c&t=c>
(5/10) reports that Secretary of State Pompeo “will embark on talks to
persuade allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to press Iran to return
to negotiations over its nuclear and missile programs.” According to
Reuters, “The open question is whether the allies, and above all Iran, will
agree to resume full-fledged talks, having just seen the United States
withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and renege on its promises under
the landmark arms control accord.” The US hope, it says, “is that Iran will
be dragged to the table by the resumption of US sanctions – and possibly
the imposition of more.”

*Treasury Imposes Sanctions On Companies, Individuals Tied To
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=02f-e41&t=c>
(5/10) reports the Treasury Department announced Thursday that it has
“imposed sanctions...against six individuals and three companies it said
had funneled millions of dollars to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite
Qods Force.” According to Reuters, Treasury “said it was acting with the
United Arab Emirates to disrupt the network and accused Iran’s central bank
of actively helping the group to access US dollars held in foreign bank.”
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=030-b94&t=c>
(5/10, A1, Talley) quotes Treasury Secretary Mnuchin as saying, “Countries
around the world must be vigilant against Iran’s efforts to exploit their
financial institutions to exchange currency and fund nefarious actions of
the IRGC-QF and the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=031-568&t=c>
(5/10, Erdbrink) reports Iranians now “face new rounds of sanctions, along
with an economy already riddled with corruption and mismanagement. Normal
people tried to go on with their lives,” whole others “blamed both Mr.
Trump and their own leaders for their misery.”

*Trump Criticizes “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer” Over Past Opposition To
Nuclear Deal. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=032-d35&t=c>
(5/10, Lima) reports Trump on Thursday “slammed” Senate Minority Leader
Schumer over his recent criticism of the US pulling out of the Iran nuclear
deal, claiming the lawmaker “doesn’t really believe” the agreement should
remain in place after previously voting against it. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=033-cb1&t=c>,
“Senator Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fought hard against the Bad Iran Deal, even
going at it with President Obama, & then Voted AGAINST it! Now he says I
should not have terminated the deal – but he doesn’t really believe that!”
In response, Schumer retweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=034-d49&t=c>
the President’s remarks along with the words “Be Best,” a reference to
First Lady Melania Trump’s anti-bullying initiative. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=035-22e&t=c>
(5/10) also reports the Twitter exchange.

*Experts Warn Iran Likely To React With Cyberattacks. *McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=036-48c&t=c>
(5/9, Johnson) reports cyber experts warned this week that “US banks,
utilities and airports may want to buckle up for retaliatory Iranian
cyberattacks following the US pullout” from the nuclear accord. Iran,
McClatchy notes, “has a history of unleashing its hackers at moments of
geopolitical tension and has displayed a willingness to deploy broadly
destructive attacks.”
US Preparing For Monday’s Opening Of Embassy In Jerusalem.

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=037-490&t=c>
(5/10, story 2, 1:40, Holt) reported, “Today, the sign came down from the
US consulate in Jerusalem. It will officially become the American embassy
on Monday. Palestinians who clashed with Israeli forces today said the
symbolic US embassy moved any hopes of Israeli-Palestinian peace.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=038-01e&t=c>
(5/9, Plachta) reported that while US Ambassador David Friedman and a small
group of staff will move to the Arnona site, “most of the 850 embassy
workers in Tel Aviv will not move to Jerusalem until a new building is
constructed, which could take up to nine years.” Deputy Secretary of State
John Sullivan is expected to lead the US delegation to Monday’s embassy
ceremony. Others attending will include members of Congress, Ivanka Trump
and her husband Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, and US Middle
East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt. Meanwhile, “Israeli police are bracing
for demonstrations in Jerusalem, as Palestinian leaders express their anger
ahead of the move.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=039-a08&t=c>
(5/10, Tarnopolsky) reports, “About 800 guests, including a large
congressional delegation, members of the Republican Jewish Coalition and
leaders of American Orthodox Jews, will be crammed into what has until now
been a consulate serving US citizens and visa applicants.”

*Politico: Pompeo Asserting Himself Over Kushner In Middle East. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03a-a94&t=c>
(5/10, Karni) reports that while “Jared Kushner has served as the
administration’s point person in the Middle East,” with Politico saying he
was “seen as a shadow secretary of state,” despite Kushner championing the
embassy move “behind the scenes,” he will be an attendee when it opens, not
the leader of the US delegation. This has been “interpreted by tea-leaf
readers in the region as a sign that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans
to assert himself in the Middle East in a way that his predecessor, Rex
Tillerson, never did.” An adviser close to Pompeo said he “has a great
relationship with Jared and with the President. Because of that, the State
Department is going to be relevant in all foreign policy matters, including
this.”

*Hamas Leader Raises Possibility Of Mass Swarming Of Border Fence. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03b-7d8&t=c>
(5/10, Akram, Federman) reports Hamas leader Yehiyeh Sinwar, while saying
that “protesters in a mass demonstration along the Israeli border next week
will be unarmed and peaceful,” also “held out the possibility that tens of
thousands of people could burst through the fence and swarm into Israel.”
Sinwar “claimed that Israel’s borders are not internationally recognized
and do not have to be respected.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03c-5fb&t=c>
(5/10, Halbfinger, Abuheweila) reports “a climactic confrontation” is
expected, and Sinwar “offered little hope for a bloodless encounter,” with
the Times saying he only “offered lip service to nonviolence.” The day
before, speaking to hundreds of Gaza young people, Sinwar said, “we would
rather die as martyrs than die out of oppression and humiliation,” and
adding, “We are ready to die, and tens of thousands will die with us.”
Pentagon Releases Report On Deadly Niger Ambush.

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03d-7bf&t=c>
(5/10, story 4, 1:40, Holt) reported, “More than seven months after the
ambush in Niger that claimed the lives of four American soldiers, the
Pentagon released the most detailed account yet of the attack. And while
the report cites series of failures, ultimately it does not assign blame.”
Army Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, US Africa Command Chief of Staff: “The
direct cause of the enemy attack at Tongo Tongo is that the enemy achieved
tactical surprise there, and our forces were out numbered approximately
3-1.” The [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03e-d1a&t=c>
(5/10, story 4, 2:25, Glor) said the Pentagon’s report cited “multiple
failures, including a lack of proper training,” which “led up to the deadly
ambush.” Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, Commander of US Africa Command:
“They had never seen anything in this magnitude, numbers, mobility, and
training. It was a total tactical surprise.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=03f-569&t=c>
(5/10) reported that senior Pentagon officials “say that multiple failures
are to blame,” including the “team’s deliberate decision to go after a
high-level” ISIS group “without proper command approval.” [image: Image
removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=040-369&t=c>
(5/10, story 6, 0:25, Muir) noted that the Pentagon’s report included “this
animation detailing how the convoy met with overwhelming firepower from
ISIS-linked fighters, and how the four American soldiers who died fought to
the end, saying their heroism should be officially recognized.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=041-e73&t=c>
(5/10, Baldor) reports that the review released by the Pentagon “includes
recommendations to improve mission planning and approval procedures,
re-evaluate equipment and weapons requirements, and review training that US
commandos conduct with partner forces.” According to the AP, Defense
Secretary Mattis “directed Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of US Africa
Command, to take immediate steps to address shortfalls.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=042-1de&t=c>
(5/10, Cooper, Gibbons-Neff, Schmitt) reports that “were it not for the
arrival of French Mirage aircraft that made low, roaring passes in a show
of force that scattered the extremists, far more Americans and their
Nigerien partners likely would have been killed. ... ‘Nigerien and French
units assisted without hesitation,’ according to the investigation’s
eight-page executive summary that the Pentagon released on Thursday.” The
reports says allied forces “very likely saved the lives of US and Nigerien
soldiers, several of whom were wounded in the attack.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=043-4dc&t=c>
(5/10, Lamothe, Ryan) says the Pentagon is “withholding thousands of pages
of witness statements, maps and other documents and a longer report of
about 180 pages.” According to the Post, “The US military often releases
those materials at the conclusion of an investigation, but said it is still
working to declassify additional information.” The Post notes, “Killed in
the battle were Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39; Staff Sgt. Bryan C.
Black, 35; Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29; and Sgt. La David T. Johnson,
25. Black and Wright were Special Forces soldiers, while both Johnsons were
conventional soldiers assigned to the same 3rd Special Forces Group team.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=044-bc2&t=c>
(5/10, Bacon) reports Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of US Africa
Command said that “a full report will be released in the future.” He also
“said changes already have been made to better prepare and protect US
troops across Africa.”
Five ISIS Leaders Captured On Iraq-Syria Border.

The [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=045-519&t=c>
(5/10, story 5, 2:15, Glor) reported that five senior ISIS leaders have
been captured in an “elaborate intelligence operation run by Iraq and the
United States.” Ismail al-Eithaway, described as a close aid to ISIS leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was captured first. Then US and Iraqi forces “used an
app on Eithawy’s mobile phone to lure the other men across the Syrian
border and into Iraq, where they were arrested.” After interrogating the
men, the Iraqi government used the information obtained to launch strikes
that “it claims killed another 40 ISIS terrorists.” CBS said this was “the
latest defeat for the extremist group, which has lost nearly all of the
territory it once held in Iraq and Syria.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=046-eab&t=c>
(5/10, George, Lederman) reports coalition spokesman Army Col. Ryan Dillon
called the captures a “significant blow to Daesh,” using the Arabic acronym
for IS. Pentagon spokesman Marine Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway said,
“These arrests are a significant blow to ISIS as we continue to remove its
leadership and fighters from the battlefield.” President Trump “tweeted
about the anti-IS raid Thursday, saying those arrested were the ‘five most
wanted’ IS ‘leaders.’” Reuters adds that “it was unclear what criteria, if
any, Trump was using to describe the IS operatives as the ‘five most
wanted.’”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=047-689&t=c>
(5/10, El-Ghobashy, Salim) calls it “a breakthrough in the hunt for
Baghdadi, experts said Thursday and underscores the deep security
cooperation within the American-led coalition against the Islamic State
despite political tensions roiling the region.” Jennifer Griffin reported
on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=048-f16&t=c>
(5/10) that the arrests were the result of a three-month operation that
included intelligence sharing between US, Turkish, and Iraqi officials. The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=049-6bf&t=c>
(5/10, George, Lederman) notes that President Trump “tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04a-a7a&t=c>
about the anti-IS raid Thursday, saying those arrested were the ‘five most
wanted’ IS ‘leaders.’” Reuters adds that “it was unclear what criteria, if
any, Trump was using to describe the IS operatives as the ‘five most
wanted.’”
Iraq To Hold Elections Tomorrow.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04b-3c9&t=c>
(5/10) reports that on Saturday Iraq will hold its first elections “since
driving out Islamic State.” Reuters predicts the election’s results “will
shape attempts to heal the country’s deep divisions and could shift the
regional balance of power.” Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi
“cannot rely solely on votes from his community as the majority Shi’ite
voter base is unusually split this year,” so “he is looking to draw upon
support from other groups.” Many “Sunnis see Abadi as a less sectarian
alternative to his two main Shi’ite rivals and credit him with liberating
their areas from Islamic State.” However, the Kurds oppose Abadi because
“Baghdad imposed sanctions on the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region
following its failed independence bid last year.” Abadi’s two main
challengers “are his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki and Iranian-backed Shi’ite
militia commander Hadi al-Amiri,” both of which “have a more passionate
voter base than Abadi, who is mostly appealing to more pragmatic voters.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04c-ea5&t=c>
(5/10, Szlanko, Al-Saleh) reports a question about the election is whether
the winners will “be more inclusive toward the Sunnis, whose
marginalization partly fueled the rise of the extremists.” The “enormity”
rebuilding in the wake of the IS’s military defeat, “the entrenched
corruption and the past experience of marginalization has led some Sunnis
to say they simply will not bother to vote.” However, despite previous
Sunnis boycotts of elections, “they appear more interested in partnering
with Shiites this time. “
Merkel: Europe Can’t Count On US Military Protection.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04d-ed2&t=c>
(5/10, Delfs, Viscusi) reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a speech
honoring French President Emmanuel Macron, at a prize ceremony in Aachen,
Germany, said, “It’s no longer the case that the United States will simply
just protect us.” She added, “Europe needs to take its fate into its own
hands.” Her statements “a theme she first sounded last year in response” to
President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and “hectoring” of NATO
members over their defense spending.

*Press Identifies Russians Involved In Ukraine Civilian Artillery
Deaths. *McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04e-5c3&t=c>
(5/10, Hall) reports a joint reporting team including Bellingcat and
McClatchy, using “raw video, cellphone intercepts and information gleaned
from social media and military websites,” identified nine Russian officers
directly involved in “the indiscriminate shelling in January 2015 of” the
Ukrainian town of Mariupol, which “left at least 29 civilians dead.” One of
those officers, Major Gen. Stepan Stepanovich Yaroschuk, is “now believed
to be helping lead his country’s missile and artillery efforts in Syria.”
The officers’ identification “is key because even if Russia does not
extradite them to face justice, their travel abroad will be curtailed
because of their penetration into a sovereign nation.”
Mexican Minister Says Fate Of NAFTA Talks Will Be Clear Within Days.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=04f-258&t=c>
(5/10) reports that earlier today, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso
Guajardo said he “expected to find out within the next two days if a new
NAFTA deal with the United States and Canada was possible in the short
term.” According to Reuters, “As time runs out to secure some kind of
agreement, major differences remain between the three members of the North
American Free Trade Agreement after more than eight months of
negotiations.” Reuters goes on to report that “a source close to the talks
said US officials have told Canada and Mexico that May 17 or 18 is the
deadline for a deal that could be dealt with by the current US Congress.”
Reuters says “a second source confirmed that those dates had been
discussed.”

*Toomey Warns Administration Against NAFTA Ultimatum. *Sen. Pat
Toomey, in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=050-121&t=c>
(5/10), warns the Administration against seeking to pressure pro-trade
Republican to support a revised NAFTA agreement that diminishes free trade
by threatening to withdraw from the agreement entirely. Toomey warns he
would vote “no” in the face of such an ultimatum and argues that the
Constitution does not give the President the power to drop out of NAFTA on
his own. Toomey calls one Republicans to oppose such a move, acknowledging
the political difficulty in doing so but casting it as necessary to avoid
economic harm and executive overreach. He concludes that the Administration
should instead take the advice of many members of Congress and update NAFTA
by expanding trade opportunities.

*NYTimes: Trump Trade Policies Could Hurt US Automakers. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=051-705&t=c>
(5/10, Tankersley, Swanson) reports that, in spite of his rhetoric about
reviving the American auto industry, President Trump’s trade policy may
hurt US automakers, whose chief executives are scheduled to meet with the
President on Friday. Due to is “increasingly global” production and sales,
“the auto industry is among the sectors most vulnerable to trade
disruptions,” and Administration “efforts to renegotiate the North American
Free Trade Agreement, to impose tariffs on imported aluminum and steel and
to reduce America’s trade deficit with China could limit the reach of
companies that produce cars in the United States and depend on access to
growing markets outside the country.”

*AP: Chinese Tech Firm’s Collapse Evidence Of Brewing US-China
Trade War. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=052-3c2&t=c>
(5/10, Chan) reports on “the early signs that the widening trade dispute
between China and the US is exacting a toll on both sides.” The AP notes
that on Wednesday, ZTE, “the tech giant, telecommunications equipment and
smartphone maker,” said “it’s ceasing ‘major operations’ after the US last
month banned it from doing business with American suppliers for seven years
as a punishment for illegal exports.” At the same time, according to the
AP, “businesses and officials reported that American products are running
into delays in customs clearance because of stepped-up inspections at
Chinese ports, suggesting Beijing may be making life tougher for US
companies as the dispute drags on.”

*Tightened Chinese Inspections Of US Goods Causing Delays. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=053-55f&t=c>
(5/10, Craymer, Chiu, Kubota) reports that increased inspections have US
goods piling up at Chinese ports. Business groups say this is the country’s
way of reminding the US of its market’s importance, as well as identifying
sectors that could be used to pressure the US to change its polices. The
delays are causing concerns that some produce will spoil before it can be
sold.

*Hearing On Proposed US Tariffs On Chinese Goods Extended. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=054-cbc&t=c>
(5/10, Niquette) reports the US extended by two days “a public hearing on
the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese
goods” to accommodate the approximately 130 companies and industry groups
who want to testify. “The meetings are part of the process for imposing
tariffs...to punish China for its alleged theft of intellectual property
and unfair trade practices.” While business is “generally supportive of US
action to level the playing field on trade and investment with China,” many
want talks between the two “to focus on resolving differences rather than
the pursuit of tariffs.”

*China Clamping Down On Risky Lending. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=055-ba6&t=c>
(5/10, Stevenson) reports, “Faced with the looming consequences of a
decade-long borrowing binge, the Chinese government is intensifying its
efforts stamp out risky lending and speculative froth,” clamping down on
its “unruly shadow banking sector,” as well as “making public spectacles of
the worst offenders.” The sentencing of Wu Xiaohui, founder of Anbang
Insurance Group, to 18 years in prison caps “a monthslong effort by Beijing
to make Anbang an example for other big Chinese conglomerates that borrowed
heavily to buy up high-profile trophy assets,” and is “the most recent and
visible sign” of the government’s efforts. Other signs include an increase
in companies’ load defaults and rising interest rates.
Domestic Policy
Pence Says Of Mueller Probe: “It’s Time To Wrap It Up.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=056-c04&t=c>
(5/10, Wagner) reports that Vice President Pence is urging Special Counsel
Robert Mueller “to bring his investigation into Russian election
interference to a close, saying ‘it’s time to wrap it up.’” In an interview
with NBC News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=057-670&t=c>
(5/10), Pence said, “Our Administration has been fully cooperating with the
Special Counsel and we’ll continue to. What I think is it’s been about a
year since this investigation began. Our Administration has provided over a
million documents. We fully cooperated in it. In the interest of the
country, I think it’s time to wrap it up.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=058-a4d&t=c>
(5/10, Greenwood) reports that Pence “said the Trump administration has so
far been fully cooperative with Mueller’s probe, and that it would continue
to be.” But Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=059-b31&t=c>
(5/10, Nelson) reports that “despite prodding from the vice president and
others in Trump’s orbit, Mueller’s probe...has shown no signs of winding
down.”

*Meadows To Seek GAO Audit Of Mueller’s Team. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05a-f4a&t=c>
(5/10, Morton) reports that Rep. Mark Meadows (R), who heads the House
Freedom Caucus, “wants to see special counsel Robert Mueller’s books.” In
an interview that will air on C-SPAN this weekend, Meadows said he will ask
the Government Accountability Office to conduct an audit of Mueller’s team.

*Economist/YouGov Poll: 61% Of “Conservatives Voters” Think FBI
Framing Trump. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05b-d96&t=c>
(5/10, Atkinson) reports, “A new Economist/YouGov survey
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05c-4e8&t=c>
found that 61% of conservative voters believe that President Trump is being
framed by the FBI.” Among Democrats, “only 7% say the FBI is going after
Trump, and 78% believe he’s not being framed.”

*Pence, Giuliani Distance Administration From Cohen’s Business
Relationships. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05d-1dc&t=c>
(5/10, Nelson) reports that in his NBC interview, Pence called Michael
Cohen’s business relationships a “private matter.” Pence said, “What I can
say is that that private matter is something I don’t have any knowledge
about. I think the White House issued a statement saying the same.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05e-e45&t=c>
(5/10, Stanage) reports that Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said Thursday
“that the media ought to ‘calm down’ in their coverage of money paid” to
Cohen. Giuliani said, “It doesn’t involve us at all. There is no suggestion
that it does.” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=05f-acc&t=c>
(5/10, Bash, Foran) reports on its website that Giuliani told CNN “that
Trump ‘wasn’t aware’ [that] Cohen pitched his access to the President to
potential clients following the 2016 election.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=060-926&t=c>
(5/10, story 8, 3:00, Muir) reported that Cohen, “the President’s embattled
attorney and friend,” is “facing questions over millions paid to a shell
company. ... That money coming in after the election from major companies,
even a firm with close ties to a Russian oligarch.” ABC’s Tom Llamas: “The
web of companies that hired Cohen’s firm are explaining why they got into
business with him. A spokesman for Korean Aerospace Industries told the
Washington Post, KAI was unaware of Essential Consultants’ ties to Trump.
But the company tells ABC News it wanted Cohen’s LLC for consulting on
international financial reporting standards. It’s unclear what Cohen’s
expertise in this type of accounting is. In another case, pharmaceutical
giant Novartis, who did business with Cohen, points out any agreements with
Essential Consultants were entered into before their current CEO took
office in February of this year. Novartis said they did pay Cohen $1.2
million for healthcare policy matters, and access to the new
Administration, but that Cohen was not able to provide these services. They
have called the agreement ‘clearly a mistake.’” The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=061-085&t=c>
(5/10, story 6, 0:40, Glor) reported that Cohen is taking legal action
against attorney Michael Avenatti, who “released what he said are bank
records detailing payments to Cohen from corporate clients shortly after
the election.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=062-875&t=c>
(5/10, Brody, Allison) reports that AT&T paid Cohen “up to $600,000 for
insights into how the new administration might handle matters affecting its
business, according to a person familiar with the matter. That’s about
$400,000 more than the figure alleged” by Avenatti. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=063-ad3&t=c>
(5/10, Helderman, Fung, Hamburger) reports that AT&T turned to Cohen “for
help on a wide portfolio of issues pending before the federal government –
including the company’s proposed merger with Time Warner, according to
documents obtained” by the Post. It is “unclear what insight Cohen – a
longtime real estate attorney and former taxi cab operator – could have
provided AT&T on complex telecom matters.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=064-f00&t=c>
(5/10, Schouten) reports that “watchdog group” Public Citizen has filed
complaints with Congress and the Justice Department, saying that Cohen
“broke federal ethics and lobbying laws by failing to register as a
lobbyist while collecting big sums from companies with business” before the
Administration.

Catherine Rampell writes in her Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=065-3b0&t=c>
(5/10) column, “The GOP is no longer the Party of Reagan. It’s the Party of
Michael Cohen.” Reagan “and his acolytes preached that the way to get ahead
in the United States was to work hard and never rely on government to help
you out.” The “Cohen blueprint for achieving the American Dream” is to
“work minimally, if you can, and leverage government connections whenever
possible.”

*Giuliani Leaves Manhattan Law Firm. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=066-27f&t=c>
(5/10) reports that Giuliani is leaving Manhattan law firm Greenberg
Traurig. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=067-67b&t=c>
(5/10, Schmidt, Haberman) reports that Giuliani took a leave of absence
from the firm last month, “in a statement released by the firm, Mr.
Giuliani said it ‘is in everyone’s best interest that I make it a permanent
resignation’ so he can focus on the special counsel’s investigation.”

*Nunes, Gowdy Say They “Had A Productive Discussion” With
Intelligence Officials. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=068-6bc&t=c>
(5/10, Barrett) reports that House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes
“backed away from an open confrontation with the Justice Department on
Thursday after a private meeting with senior intelligence officials who
said they could not give him top-secret information about an intelligence
source” who had aided Mueller, “according to people familiar with the
matter.” Following their meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein and other officials, Nunes and House Oversight and Government
Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy said in a statement, “We had a productive
discussion...in which we raised questions related to information requested
from the Intelligence Community. The officials committed to holding further
discussions of these matters, and we look forward to continuing our
dialogue next week to satisfy the Committee’s request.” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=069-6ac&t=c>
(5/10, Cohen) headlines its report “Devin Nunes, Trey Gowdy Back Off
Justice Department After Classified Briefing,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06a-d9a&t=c>
(5/10, Cheney) also reports on the meeting.

*House Intelligence Committee Democrats Release Russian-Backed
Facebook Ads. *The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06b-689&t=c>
(5/10, story 7, 1:40, Glor) reported, “Democrats on the House Intelligence
Committee today released about 3,500 Russian-backed Facebook ads that were
aimed at stirring up anger during the 2016 presidential elections. Facebook
said they were purchased by Russian agents posing as Americans.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06c-7b2&t=c>
(5/10, Guynn, Weise, Kelly) reports, “Facebook pages with points of view
that span the political spectrum from ‘Blacktivist’ to ‘Heart of Texas’
bought ads.” Many of the ads “didn’t endorse a specific candidate but
spread inflammatory messages on sensitive subjects such as immigration and
race to amplify fault lines in American life.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06d-0c2&t=c>
(5/10, Romm) reports that the ads, “from mid-2015 to mid-2017, illustrate
the extent to which Kremlin-aligned forces sought to stoke social, cultural
and political unrest on one of the Web’s most powerful platforms. ...
Russia’s online army reached at least 146 million people on Facebook and
Instagram.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06e-5e9&t=c>
(5/10, Seetharaman, Wells, Tau) reports that only a fraction of the ads
directly mentioned the 2016 election, with most of those targeting Hillary
Clinton from both right and left.

*Russian Aluminum Tycoon Forced By US Sanctions To Return Leased
Jets. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=06f-14a&t=c>
(5/10) reports that “Russian tycoon” Oleg Deripaska “has handed back three
private jets he was leasing because US sanctions imposed on him last month
make it impossible to keep using the planes. ... They are now on sale, with
the asking price for two of them set at $29.95 million each.” According to
Reuters, “The return of the aircraft is an indication of how deeply the
sanctions have affected Deripaska’s business empire, extending beyond the
direct impact on his Rusal aluminum firm, whose sales and supply chains
have been heavily disrupted.”
Trump To Deliver Speech Today On Lowering Drug Prices.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=070-444&t=c>
(5/10, Perrone) reports President Trump today “is scheduled to give his
first speech on how his administration will seek to lower drug prices.”
While he pledged as a candidate “to use the power of the federal
government’s Medicare health program to directly negotiate lower prices
with drugmakers,” since taking office, “he has backed away from major
reforms and staffed his administration with appointees who have deep ties
to the industry.” However, Administration officials “ratcheted up the
rhetoric ahead of Trump’s speech.” HHS Secretary Azar “promised bold
action,” and FDA Commissioner Gottlieb “hinted at a plan to ‘dismantle’ the
convoluted system of discounts and rebates between drugmakers and health
care middlemen.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=071-83c&t=c>
(5/10) reports that with Trump expected to deliver the “highly anticipated
speech” on Friday, “investors are bracing for widespread volatility in
healthcare stocks.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=072-6b6&t=c>
(5/10, Cancryn, Pittman) reports that during a call with reporters,
Administration officials pitched “the most comprehensive” drug price plan
in presidential history, it will “stop short of radically overhauling the
health care system by allowing Medicare to directly negotiate with drug
makers – a step that Trump once endorsed on the campaign trail but later
backed off.” The Administration will instead “push for a slew of smaller
administrative and legislative actions affecting all parts of the
pharmaceutical landscape, floating a series of reforms to Medicare that
officials said will allow the government to secure lower prices and reduce
incentives for doctors to prescribe high-cost medications.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=email-c5d4&l=073-ef5&t=c>
(5/10, Armour, Radnofsky, Burton) reports that the effort is eliciting
skepticism from industry experts and Democrats who contend it will have
little impact. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018051101biden&r=ema