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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, May 4, 2018 7:50 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
May 4, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=001-8d5&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, May 4, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Media Reports Critical Of Trump Tweets, Giuliani Comments On Daniels
Payment. <#S1>

• Giuliani Says Mueller Probe “Dead,” Calls On Sessions To Bring It To An
End. <#S2>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump, Giuliani Hint At Imminent Release Of US Prisoners From North Korea.
<#S3>

• US, China Conclude First Day Of Trade Talks. <#S4>

• US Warns Of Consequences For China’s South China Sea Militarization. <#S5>

• Iranian Officials: Nuclear Deal Will Not Be Renegotiated. <#S6>

• NYTimes: US Special Forces Secretly Help Saudis Combat Houthi Rebels.
<#S7>

• Vice: Military Base Buildup Suggests US “Shadow War” In Somalia Is
Expanding. <#S8>

• UK Lawmakers Push For Trump To Address Parliament During July Visit. <#S9>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Repealing Obama-Era Restrictions, Trump Announces Faith-Based Initiative.
<#S10>

• Dozens Of Caravan Migrants Begin Pleading Cases. <#S11>

• Pruitt Did Not Disclose He Bought Oklahoma House With Lobbyist In 2003.
<#S12>

• WSJournal A1: Large Public Companies’ Earnings Growth Coming From Tax
Cuts. <#S13>

• Arizona Teachers End Walkout After Getting 20% Pay Raise. <#S14>

• Ryan Reverses Ouster Of House Chaplain Amid Claims Of Anti-Catholic Bias.
<#S15>

• Investigation Finds More Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Charlie
Rose. <#S16>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Tennessee Governor Vetoes Alternative Cancer Treatment Bill. <#S17>

• Univ. Of Oklahoma Collecting Patients’ Tumor DNA For Nationwide Database.
<#S18>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S19>

• Washington Post. <#S20>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Michigan 2020 Poll: Biden Leads Trump 52%-39%. <#S21>
Leading the News
Media Reports Critical Of Trump Tweets, Giuliani Comments On Daniels
Payment.

In the aftermath of Rudy Giuliani’s interview on [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=002-7ae&t=c>,
President Trump took to Twitter yesterday morning, and wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=003-657&t=c>
that attorney Michael Cohen “received a monthly retainer, not from the
campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered
into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known
as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. These agreements are...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=004-bf7&t=c>
very common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in
full force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against
Ms. Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and
extortionist accusations made by her about an affair...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=005-15d&t=c>
despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no
affair. Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a
private agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions,
played no roll in this transaction.”

Media coverage was extremely unfavorable toward both Trump and
Giuliani, casting their statements as opening the door to additional legal
woes for Trump. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=006-05a&t=c>
(5/3, Morton) reports “a major Fox News Channel figure laid into...Trump on
Thursday – and it wasn’t Shepard Smith or Juan Williams.” Neil Cavuto “said
Mr. Trump’s history of inaccurate statements...is his own personal
‘swamp.’” [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Said
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=007-d5f&t=c>
Cavuto, “Let me be clear, Mr. President. How can you drain the swamp if
you’re the one that keeps muddying the waters? You didn’t know about the
$130,000 payment to a porn star until you did.”

Many reports, including the lead stories on all three major network
newscasts, also highlight the apparent contradiction between Trump’s tweets
and earlier statements he made in response to reporters’ questions – in
which he denied knowing anything at all about the payments. For example,
Dan Balz asks in a front-page Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=008-cf9&t=c>
(5/3, A1) story, “Does it bother anyone that...Trump has been caught lying?
Does it bother anyone that this is not new? Does it bother anyone that the
president has been shown to be a liar? These questions are again front and
center before the country.” While “people will answer them differently,
depending on their views about Trump...the questions won’t go away. They
are part of the fabric of this presidency.” Balz adds that “thanks
to...Giuliani...Trump has been exposed flat out.”

In a similar analysis titled “New Revelations Suggest A President
Losing Control Of His Narrative,” Peter Baker writes in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=009-c45&t=c>
(5/3) that “even in the current political environment that some derisively
call the post-truth world, the past few days have offered a head-spinning
series of revelations.” Baker adds that “whether called lies or
misstatements, Mr. Trump’s history of falsehoods has been extensively
documented, but the string of factual distortions that came to light this
week could come back to haunt him.” While “as a matter of politics, the
latest contradictions may not matter much, at least not yet...under the
unforgiving glare of federal prosecutors...misrepresentations carry far
greater jeopardy.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=00a-f90&t=c>
(5/3, lead story, 2:55, Welker) referred to a “presidential flip-flop,” [image:
Image removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=00b-36a&t=c>
(5/3, lead story, 4:15, Karl) reported that “last month, the President
flatly denied knowing anything about the hush money,” and the [image: Image
removed by sender. Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=00c-cef&t=c>
(5/3, lead story, 2:00, Glor) showed Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael
Avenatti saying, “It’s an outrage, frankly, that the President of the
United States would stand on Air Force One on videotape and blatantly lie
to the American people. The President and his advisers are making this up
as they go along. They realize they are in a heap-load of trouble.”
Avenatti told [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s The Lead
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=00d-791&t=c>
(5/3), “These are not half truths or possibly being mislead – these are
outright lies to the American people.”

Another New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=00e-c98&t=c>
(5/3, Sullivan, Apuzzo, Haberman) story also says that Trump’s tweets “had
far more formal and legalistic language than his typical morning messages
to the world,” but they “directly contradicted his earlier
statements.” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=00f-88c&t=c>
(5/3, Ballhaus, Palazzolo) reports on the tweets along similar lines,
while Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=010-fde&t=c>
(5/2, Olorunnipa) says Trump “changed his account,” and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=011-7c2&t=c>
(5/3, Jackson) that he is “changing his story” and “contradicting previous
statements.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=012-07c&t=c>
(5/3, Fabian) casts him as “contradicting past claims,” while the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=013-3a1&t=c>
(5/3, Wagner) notes that “Trump did not say whether he knew about the
payments to Cohen when they were made,” and the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=014-10c&t=c>
(5/3, Persons) highlights that he insisted “none of the money used to
pay...Daniels came from campaign cash.”

To the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=015-11b&t=c>
(5/3, Bierman), Trump “tried to contain the legal and political fallout
from...Giuliani’s revelations,” but his “postings are unlikely to answer
multiple questions.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=016-ada&t=c>
(5/3, Lee) reports that according to Richard Hasen, “election law expert”
at the University of California at Irvine, “if the payment were ‘wholly
personal, as in made to help Trump’s marriage but not his campaign,’ it
would not amount to a campaign finance violation,” but “experts say” that
“the fact that it was made so close to the election raises questions.”
Along those lines, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=017-f02&t=c>
(5/3) reports “the claim of repayment is significant because a payment by
Cohen could be seen as an illegal campaign contribution.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=018-909&t=c>
(5/3, Olorunnipa, Allison) also reports “Trump and his lawyers face a new
set of legal challenges,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=019-35a&t=c>
(5/3, Sherman) that “Giuliani may have added to the legal headaches of his
new law client and old friend,” and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=01a-058&t=c>
(5/3, Schouten) that “if Trump knew about Cohen’s payment to Daniels but
didn’t disclose it as a loan on his campaign’s filings with the Federal
Election Commission, that could amount to a ‘knowing and willful’ violation
of election law and a criminal statute that prohibits making false
statements to the government.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=01b-203&t=c>
(5/3, Bykowicz, Palazzolo) runs a similar story under the headline “Trump’s
Payment To Stormy Daniels Raises Campaign-Finance Questions.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=01c-364&t=c>
(5/3, lead story, 4:15, Karl) reported that Giuliani is “saying this had
nothing to do with protecting Trump, nothing to do with the campaign, but
then” he “also said, ‘Imagine if this came out in the middle of the last
debate with Hillary Clinton.’ How do you reconcile the two?” Jonathan Karl
replied, “It’s not easy. What they’re saying is that this was about
protecting the President, or then the candidate, from personal
embarrassment, not political damage. That’s an important distinction,
because if this was for political reasons, the payment could have violated
campaign finance law.” [image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=01d-058&t=c>
(5/3, lead story, 2:55, Welker) showed Adav Noti of the Campaign Legal
Center saying, “There was a knowing and willful attempt to evade campaign
finance disclosure and that could make the scheme criminal activity.”

Giuliani appeared on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox
News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=01e-592&t=c>
(5/3, 7:32 a.m. EDT, Doocy) yesterday morning and spoke to the Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=01f-ba1&t=c>
(5/3, Ballhaus, Palazzolo) and BuzzFeed
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=020-7a9&t=c>,
recounting that Cohen “‘complained to some people’ after the 2016 election
that he’d not been fully paid by Trump,” and “at some point – Giuliani said
he did not know when or where specifically – Cohen met with Trump and told
him of his complaint.” Giuliani says Trump “told Cohen, ‘We’ll cover your
expenses,’ and agreed to pay him $35,000 a month ‘out of his personal
funds’ over the course of a year-long period that began in the first few
months of 2017 and has since ended. ‘It clearly was a payment to reimburse
expenses,’ Giuliani said – adding the caveat, ‘I’m almost certain that
there wasn’t an itemized bill.’” Giuliani also spoke to USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=021-7e0&t=c>
(5/3, Jackson), saying of the current investigations, “It’s going to take
some time, but I think we’re going to be OK.” Of Cohen’s payment, he said,
“No one ever thought of it as a campaign contribution. ... It was a
personnel settlement.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=022-8f2&t=c>
(5/3, Lucey, Colvin) says that while “Giuliani’s revelation appeared to
take many in the West Wing by surprise,” it was actually “no accident.” The
AP notes that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said yesterday, “You
know, there’s an old saying in the law, ‘Hang a lantern on your problems.’
... So the fact is that Rudy has to go out there now and clean it up.
That’s what lawyers get hired to do.” Along those lines, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=023-6ac&t=c>
(5/3, Shear) notes that “asked about his remarks after finishing the Fox
News interview” Wednesday night, Giuliani “said that what might have seemed
to some viewers – including, perhaps, Mr. Hannity – like a slip of the
tongue, was actually a planned disclosure.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=024-39f&t=c>
(5/3, Rucker, Dawsey, Costa, Parker) reports that in an interview, Giuliani
said “he discussed the issue with Trump a few days ago and that they agreed
that he would reveal details about the reimbursement.” Said Giuliani, “He
was well aware that at some point when I saw the opportunity, I was going
to get this over with.” Tony Carbonetti, “a longtime friend and adviser to
Giuliani, said he was dining with the former New York mayor on Manhattan’s
Upper East Side on Wednesday night before he went on Fox,” and “warned that
those lampooning Giuliani are mistaken.” Said Carbonetti, “If you’ve been
around Rudy, there’s always a reason for it. ... If you knew a narrative
was coming out, wouldn’t you want to tell the story on your terms? ... He
wanted to get ahead of it.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=025-8f7&t=c>
(5/3, A1, Ballhaus, Nicholas) runs a front-page analysis titled “Trump
Gambit Stuns Staff,” in which it reports that Giuliani also dined with
Corey Lewandowski ahead of his Hannity interview. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=026-052&t=c>
(5/3, Rucker, Dawsey, Costa, Parker), meanwhile, reports Giuliani “may have
had a strategy” ahead of last night’s Hannity appearance, but he “hatched
it almost entirely in secret.” The Post adds “the White House counsel had
no idea. Neither did the White House chief of staff, nor the White House
press secretary, nor the new White House lawyer overseeing its handling of
the Russia investigation.” They “watched, agog, as Giuliani...freestyled on
live television,” and “aides and advisers to the president...expressed a
mixture of exasperation and horror.” The Post adds “one White House
official” texted “a reporter a string of emoji characters in response,
including a tiny container of popcorn.” A “second White House
official...said of the president, ‘His story is obviously not consistent
anymore.’”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=027-790&t=c>
(5/3, Lucey, Colvin) also reports the revelations “appeared to take many in
the West Wing by surprise,” and “in briefings and media appearances, White
House aides have sought to avoid staking out a clear position on the
matter, directing reporters to Trump’s own comments.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=028-b3c&t=c>
(5/3, Fredericks) says White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders “was
grilled about the contradictions coming from the West Wing, with reporters
asking her repeatedly about numerous statements from her and from the
commander-in-chief that later turn out to be false.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=029-e08&t=c>
(5/3, Schwartz) quotes Sanders as saying, “We give the very best
information that we have at the time.” Adds Politico, “That was...Sanders’
response when ABC reporter Jonathan Karl asked her during Thursday’s press
briefing how the American people could trust a president and White House
that ‘show what appears to be a blatant disregard for the truth.’” It was
“a line she repeated again and again in her 17 minutes of taking questions
from reporters.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=02a-805&t=c>
(5/3, Decker) reports Sanders said “Trump did not know about a $130,000
payoff to an adult film actress who claimed she’d had a sexual affair with
him even as he paid tens of thousands of dollars to the New York attorney
who made the payments,” and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=02b-820&t=c>
(5/3, Fabian) that she “sought to explain why...Trump claimed he didn’t
know about a hush money payment to...Daniels,” telling reporters, “This was
information the president didn’t know at the time, but eventually learned.”

*Media Analyses: Giuliani Media Blitz Backfiring. *A number of
media analyses paint a highly unfavorable picture of Giuliani’s performance
as Trump’s attorney. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=02c-5a1&t=c>
(5/3, Nelson, Gerstein) reports Giuliani is “causing new migraines for the
White House,” and under the headline “Giuliani: The President’s Attack Dog
Who May Have Bitten Trump,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=02d-47c&t=c>
(5/3, Shear, Steinhauer) calls Giuliani “loose-lipped, intemperate,
confrontational and supremely confident that he knows better than anyone
else.” The Times adds that “on Wednesday night,” he “seemed reduced to
America’s grouchy dinner guest,” and “found himself undermining his new
client.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=02e-1a4&t=c>
(5/3, Zapotosky, Barrett, Leonnig, Lee) reports “Giuliani’s media
blitz...might have backfired, giving investigators new leads to chase and
new evidence of potential crimes, legal analysts said.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=02f-018&t=c>
(5/3, Boyer) runs a similar story, titled “Rudy Giuliani’s Media Blitz
Provides Ammunition For Trump Foes.”

Judge Andrew Napolitano, appearing on [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=030-d45&t=c>
(5/3), said, “If Rudy wants the public to believe that Donald Trump
reimbursed Michael Cohen $130,000 and didn’t know what it was for, didn’t
know that it was going to silence Stormy Daniels, that is unworthy of
belief. It is hard to believe that of Donald Trump, a man who knows where
every one of his nickels has gone. ... It’s up to the American public
whether to believe that somebody like Donald Trump would just pour money
down a hole to Michael Cohen... without asking to whom the money was going
and for what purpose – how would Michael Cohen know if Stormy Daniels
needed to be silenced.”

Appearing on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s New Day
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=031-b0e&t=c>
(5/3), legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, “How stupid do they think we are?
They have been lying about this from day one. I am not clear there was any
criminal violation here. ... I don’t know if there was a criminal element
to it even if it was campaign related – that is a very esoteric crime that
is rarely prosecuted. But...everyone involved in this, starting with the
President, has been lying about this from day one. It is just so
extraordinary – and the absence of any kind of sheepishness about that,
that to me is the real story. ... Until you see the canceled checks or
however the money passed, I certainly wouldn’t believe anything these
people say.”

*NBC Issues Correction After Reporting Investigators “Wiretapped”
Cohen Call To White House. *Citing “two people with knowledge of the legal
proceedings involving Cohen,” NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=032-95d&t=c>
(5/3) reported on its website yesterday that “federal
investigators...wiretapped” Cohen’s “phone lines.” NBC added that “it is
not clear how long the wiretap has been authorized,” but “was in place in
the weeks leading up to the raids on” Cohen and “at least one phone call
between a phone line associated with Cohen and the White House was
intercepted.” NBC goes on to report that “after the raid, members of
Trump’s legal team advised the president not to speak to Cohen,” and “two
sources close to” Giuliani “say he learned that days after the raid the
president had made a call to Cohen, and told Trump never to call again out
of concern the call was being recorded by prosecutors.”

Sean Hannity said in his opening monologue on [image: Image removed
by sender. Video]Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=033-0bf&t=c>
(5/3), “Once again we learned that a major component of this report was,
once again, ‘fake news.’ NBC was forced to issue a quote
‘correction.’” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=034-61d&t=c>
(5/3, Kasperowicz) reports that NBC “issued a correction saying that his
phones weren’t tapped after all.” According to CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=035-df0&t=c>
(5/3), “The correction was announced on MSNBC during ‘Meet the Press Daily’
by the story’s lead reporter, Tom Winter,” who “said US officials had told
him that it ‘was not a wiretap’ but instead a ‘pen register.’” Winter is
quoted as saying, “In plain English, that means it was a log of phone calls
that were made from specific phone line – from a specific phone line or
specific phone lines.” CNN says Winter “explained that a pen register meant
authorities were ‘not able to listen in in real-time or record his
conversations.’ Instead, they were only able to monitor incoming and
outgoing calls.”

The [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=036-306&t=c>
(5/3, story 2, 0:45, Glor) also reported “two federal officials tell CBS
News there are no wiretaps, there are no transcripts, there are no phone
recordings of any of...Cohen’s telephone conversations, including any he
may have had with the President.” [image: Image removed by sender. Video]ABC
World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=037-13a&t=c>
(5/3, story 2, 2:10, Phillips), meanwhile, said “it’s unclear how long
before the raids investigators started tracking Cohen’s phone calls, but
sources tell ABC News, Cohen and the President spoke just days after the
raids, meaning, that phone call could be on investigators’ radar.” [image:
Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=038-df9&t=c>
(5/3, lead story, 2:55, Welker) mentioned the matter briefly at the end of
its report on the Cohen story last night, saying that “adding to the
concerns NBC News learned federal investigators were keeping a log
of...Cohen’s phone calls and identified at least one call placed from a
Cohen phone line to a White House line.”

Under the headline “Giuliani Was Right: Cohen’s Calls Weren’t
Tapped By Feds,” the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=039-8aa&t=c>
(5/3, Golding) reports “Giuliani cast doubt Thursday on a report that the
feds wiretapped...Cohen – and he was right.” Speaking to the Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=03a-d4d&t=c>
(5/3, Woodruff), Giuliani said of the original NBC story, “Us lawyers have
talked about it, we don’t believe it’s true. ... We think it’s going to
turn out to be untrue because it would be totally illegal. You can’t
wiretap a lawyer, you certainly can’t wiretap his client who’s not involved
in the investigation.” In an interview with The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=03b-89c&t=c>
(5/3, Stanage), Giuliani also “called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to
intervene in the...Cohen case and put the people behind the probe ‘under
investigation.’” Said Giuliani, “I am waiting for the Attorney General to
step in, in his role as defender of justice, and put these people under
investigation.”

*In Tweet Today, Trump Slams NBC Over Retracted Report. *Trump
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=03c-105&t=c>
today, “NBC NEWS is wrong again! They cite ‘sources’ which are constantly
wrong. Problem is, like so many others, the sources probably don’t exist,
they are fabricated, fiction! NBC, my former home with the Apprentice, is
now as bad as Fake News CNN. Sad!”

*Daniels: Cohen Unqualified To Clean “My Horse’s Manure.” *The New
York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=03d-e56&t=c>
(5/3, Moore) reports “Stormy Daniels blasted...Cohen as unqualified to
clean up ‘my horse’s manure’ and tussled with Twitter users on Thursday
after...Giuliani dropped a bombshell about a $130,000 payment she received
weeks before the 2016 election.” Tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=03e-9fb&t=c>
Daniels, “I don’t think Cohen is qualified to ‘clean up’ my horse’s manure.
Too soon? #basta #TeamStormy.”

*Comey Objects To Giuliani’s FBI “Stormtroopers” Comment. *The New
York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=03f-ca0&t=c>
(5/3, Moore) reports “Giuliani and former FBI Director James Comey clashed
on Thursday after the former mayor accused the FBI of behaving like
‘stormtroopers’ when they raided...Cohen last month.” Comey said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=040-6b3&t=c>,
“I know the New York FBI. There are no ‘stormtroopers’ there; just a group
of people devoted to the rule of law and the truth. ... Our country would
be better off if our leaders tried to be like them, rather than comparing
them to Nazis.”
Giuliani Says Mueller Probe “Dead,” Calls On Sessions To Bring It To An End.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=041-3ef&t=c>
(5/3, Wagner) reports that on Thursday, Rudy Giuliani “asserted that the
original aim of the special counsel – to investigate possible collusion
between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 campaign – is now
‘dead.’” In an appearance on Fox Business
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=042-bbf&t=c>
(5/3), Giuliani argued Attorney General Sessions “should bring the
investigation to an end,” saying, “Sessions should step in and close it and
say enough is enough.” In regards to a potential interview with Robert
Mueller and his team, Giuliani said, “They’re going to have to convince us
they’re going to be objective and they are not out to get us. ... They
should be able to do this, if they have a case, in two or three hours.” In
an interview with ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=043-50f&t=c>
(5/3, Santucci), Giuliani said he “is already anticipating one possible
battle – a subpoena for...Trump to testify.” Said Giuliani, “I think it’s
50/50. ... But I got to prepare for that 50 percent.”

Sean Hannity said in his opening monologue on [image: Image removed
by sender. Video]Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=044-e9d&t=c>
(5/3), “We had a interview with Rudy Giuliani and reports insight in the
legal team. And now Rudy Giuliani called out Robert Mueller’s witch hunt.”
After showing clips from the interview, Hannity added, “All of those
crucial developments that you just watched and we aired live on this
program, were largely ignored by the abusive, biased news media.”

Judge Andrew Napolitano, appearing on [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=045-5eb&t=c>
(5/3), said, “I don’t know as much about this as Rudy does, obviously, and
I have great respect for him,” but “I don’t think it’s wise to be
negotiating in public or on television. It sometimes insults the other
side. You want to cut a deal with Bob Mueller.” Napolitano added, “You
think that Jim Comey is a liar? A lot of people think Jim Comey is a liar,”
but “that’s the kind of argument you make to your adversary in private and
you demonstrate why you think that is. You don’t necessarily go on national
television and say it.”

*Latest Addition To Mueller Team Also A Registered Democrat,
Clinton Contributor. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=046-4ed&t=c>
(5/3, Ross) reports “the latest addition to...Mueller’s team of prosecutors
contributed to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.” Uzo Asonye,
“an assistant US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is joining
Mueller’s stable of prosecutors to work as local counsel on the case
against Paul Manafort.” He is a registered Democrat who “donated $900 to
Clinton’s presidential campaign,” and “has not donated to any other
national political campaigns since then.” The DC adds “Asonye is just the
latest Democrat to join Mueller’s team,” where “none” of the “prosecutors,
which number nearly 20 in all, are registered Republicans. As of February,
13 Mueller lawyers were registered Democrats,” and “at least 12...have
donated to Democratic political candidates.” The DC also notes “Andrew
Weissmann, a Justice Department lawyer handling the Manafort case for
Mueller’s team, reportedly attended Hillary Clinton’s election night
party,” and “has donated $6,600 to the Democratic National Committee and
the Clinton and Obama campaigns.”

*NYTimes: Giuliani Contradicted Trump On Comey Firing. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=047-6e6&t=c>
(5/3, Schmidt) reports that in his Hannity interview, Giuliani
“contradicted Mr. Trump’s rationale for firing” FBI Director James Comey,
“saying he was dismissed because he would not say publicly what he had told
the president privately: that Mr. Trump was not under scrutiny in the
Russia investigation at the time.” Said Giuliani, “He fired Comey because
Comey would not, among other things, say that he wasn’t a target of the
investigation. ... He’s entitled to that.” The Times adds that “Giuliani’s
comments about Mr. Comey were overshadowed by his disclosure that Mr. Trump
reimbursed” his personal attorney Michael Cohen on an unrelated matter, but
his “assertion contradicted the myriad explanations that the president and
his aides have given for the firing, and was the first public
acknowledgment by a Trump adviser for what Mr. Comey has maintained: that
he was fired for his handling of the Russia investigation.”

*Law Professor Worked For FBI For 19 Months As He Defended Comey In
Media. *Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=048-76f&t=c>
(5/3, Herridge) reported this afternoon that Columbia law professor Daniel
Richman, who Comey “used as an intermediary to help leak details of
sensitive memos, worked as an FBI ‘special government employee’ for at
least 19 months – during which time he repeatedly defended the FBI director
in media interviews amid the Hillary Clinton email probe.” According to
Fox, “Sources familiar with Richman’s FBI status said he was assigned to
‘special projects’ by Comey, and had a security clearance as well as badge
access to the building.”

*Mueller Requests 70 Blank Subpoenas. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=049-8ea&t=c>
(5/3, Cohen) reports “Mueller on Thursday filed a request for 70 blank
subpoenas in the Eastern District of Virginia, where...Manafort lives.” The
Examiner adds “the two-page filing reveals little, but says that that each
subpoena recipient must appear in the Alexandria, Va., courthouse on July
10 to testify in the case.”

*Manafort Attorney: Mueller Has No Evidence Manafort Communicated
With Russia. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=04a-863&t=c>
(5/3, Scarborough) reports “a defense attorney in a court filing
says...Mueller has disclosed he has no evidence that...Manafort
communicated with Russian government officials.” The Times adds that “if
the attorney is accurate, it delivers another credibility blow to the
Democratic Party-financed dossier, which accuses Mr. Manafort of
orchestrating Trump-Russia collusion.” Attorney Kevin Downing “filed the
brief April 30 in the special counsel’s money-laundering case against his
client. Those charges are confined to millions of dollars he earned as a
political consultant for Ukrainian politicians.”

*Caputo: Mueller Appears To Be “Completely Focused On Collusion
With Russia.” *[image: Image removed by sender. Video]ABC’s Good Morning
America
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=04b-302&t=c>
(5/3, Roberts) reported on former Trump adviser Michael Caputo’s
description of being interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
Pierre Thomas reported that Caputo “said the agents knew so much about his
life, it scared him.” Caputo: “They know everything. They know more about
what I did in 2016 than I do. They’re talking about the timing of some
things that happened at the campaign and at the convention. I think they’re
completely focused on collusion with Russia. ... I believe that they think
they’re on to something. What that is, I don’t know, but they’re not
messing around.” Thomas went on to report that Caputo “says they peppered
him with questions about his friend, the President’s personal attorney
Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort who has been indicted on money laundering
charges, and Roger Stone.” However, Caputo said, “It was remarkable to me
that the President wasn’t brought up. Nobody with the last name Trump came
up at all.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=04c-914&t=c>
(5/3, Correll) reports that Caputo also told [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=04d-2ba&t=c>
host Martha MacCallum that Mueller “has more knowledge about the Trump
campaign than any staff member of the campaign, and has a plethora of
documentation.” Said Caputo, “They have all the documents that were
produced. ... They’ve got further documentation from people who worked
outside the campaign – their emails, their texts. They have the entire
campaign’s texts.” Caputo added that “‘it doesn’t sound like’ investigators
have uncovered proof the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin during
the 2016 election.”

*DeSantis Blasts Rosenstein For Failing To Hand Over Material On
Clinton Probe. *Appearing on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox
News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=04e-960&t=c>
(5/3, Kilmeade), Rep. Ron DeSantis claimed that Deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein is “showing contempt for Congress and our constitutional
oversight responsibility. ... We have been going for these documents for
months and months and months. And what do they do? They stonewall,
stonewall, trickle some out. We say, ‘well, maybe we’ll do contempt,’ and
they trickle some more out.” DeSantis added, “If you remember the Nunes
memo, people like Rod were saying we can’t do a Nunes memo because that
will devastate American national security. It had nothing to do with that.
... We have a right to this information. ... We want everything from the
end of the Hillary case through Peter Strzok – McCabe, Comey, the whole lot
of them.”

*WPost Editorial: President With Respect For Rule Of Law Would Want
Probe Details Kept Secret. *In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=04f-48d&t=c>
(5/3) writes on “what a more presidential president might say” if they had
“respect for the rule of law”: that sensitive details of ongoing Justice
Department investigations “must be kept secret, even from – especially from
– political leaders.” The Post adds that such a president would also say,
“This principle of independent, apolitical law enforcement is what
distinguishes us from a banana republic, where police powers are wielded to
benefit or punish one party or another.”
Foreign Policy
Trump, Giuliani Hint At Imminent Release Of US Prisoners From North Korea.

Media reports Thursday continued to cast President Trump and his attorney,
Rudy Giuliani, as indicating that three American prisoners held in North
Korea will soon be released. ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=050-1b5&t=c>
(5/3, story 6, 2:00, Muir), for example, said Trump and Giuliani are
“raising hopes” that the hostages will be released. Giuliani on Thursday
morning said, “We got Kim Jong-Un impressed enough to be releasing three
prisoners today,” while Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=051-040&t=c>
Wednesday evening, “The past administration has long been asking for three
hostages to be released from a North Korean labor camp, but to no avail.
Stay tuned.” ABC (Raddatz) added that the “State Department would not
confirm anything about the release of the prisoners, but a local activist
is reporting that the men have been moved from a labor camp to a medical
facility.”

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=052-4bc&t=c>
(5/3, story 9, 2:00, Holt) reported that the “White House [is] not
confirming the Americans are being let go, but saying their release would
be a sign of goodwill.” Regardless, Giuliani’s apparent “preview [of] an
imminent development” and Trump’s “tantalizing hint” about the three
prisoners was “promising news for Sol Kim, whose father Tony Kim has been
missing in North Korea for a year.” On CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=053-855&t=c>
(5/3), Paula Hancocks reported from the Korean Peninsula where “an official
whose familiar with the ongoing negotiations is saying the release of the
three is imminent. There’s no more specific timing, but that it is
imminent.” Hancocks added that the release “has been months in the making.
We understand from this official that” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri
Yong-ho “went to Sweden in March...and...proposed releasing these three
detainees, although the US does not want it linked to denuclearization.”

While the network reports on the prisoners did not mention
Secretary of State Pompeo, Brian Todd reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=054-6fa&t=c>
(5/3) that “by all indications,” Pompeo “played a major role” in the
potential release of the prisoners during his secret meeting with Kim
Jong-Un at the beginning of April when he was still CIA director. A “US
official says [Pompeo] raised that issue of the detained Americans then.
The people that really know about the negotiations say they have no doubt
Pompeo’s trip got this moving. It might have been the decisive factor in
the release, if it indeed happens soon.” Noting that the news about the
hostages comes ahead of a possible sit-down between Trump and Kim Jong-Un, Fox
News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=055-4d3&t=c>
(5/3) reported that Pompeo is “now leading preparations” for that summit,
while Vice President Pence has canceled a Latin America trip “to focus on
the meeting.”

*Garamendi: Pompeo Should Be Announcing Prisoners’ Release, Not
Giuliani. *Rep. John Garamendi said on [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=056-583&t=c>
(5/3) that it was “inappropriate” for Giuliani to be discussing the
prisoners, adding, “this is the new Secretary of State’s territory.
Certainly if we had heard that from Secretary Pompeo, I think we would all
be elated...and hopefully Secretary Pompeo will carry through on what was
his initial effort...not only with regard to the three Americans but also
setting up the eventual summit between” Trump and Kim.

*Hannity: Media Ignoring “Hopeful News” On North Korea. *Sean
Hannity said in his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=057-9b8&t=c>
(5/3), “We have actual news of three Americans long held hostage with Kim
Jong-un, Little Rocket Man. President Trump is working on their release and
hinting of hopeful news on Twitter. ... . And your major media is yawning
and Kim Jong-un is making concessions and talking about denuclearization of
the Korean peninsula and historic unemployment and the media yawns and
Americans receiving unemployment is lowest since 1973, and the media could
care less. ... Do you need more proof that the media in this country
doesn’t care about the truth and doing their job and you? They care about
their liberal left-wing agenda. And like a huge massive echo chamber with
overpaid spoiled brat anchors that do not do their job.”

*Trump Orders Pentagon To Prepare Reduction Of Forces Options In
South Korea. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=058-4da&t=c>
(5/3, Landler) reports Trump has “ordered the Pentagon to prepare options
for drawing down American troops in South Korea, just weeks before he holds
a landmark meeting with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, according to
several people briefed on the deliberations.” Officials said reduced troop
levels are “not intended to be a bargaining chip in Mr. Trump’s talks with
Mr. Kim,” but they “acknowledged that a peace treaty between the two Koreas
could diminish the need for the 28,500 soldiers currently stationed on the
peninsula.” Officials declined to say whether Trump was seeking options for
“a full or partial reduction of troops, though a full withdrawal was
unlikely.”

*WPost: Moon Looking For Ways To Help North’s Economy Without
Violating Sanctions. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=059-7b8&t=c>
(5/3, Fifield) reports that the “ink on the inter-Korean agreement is
barely dry and the definition of ‘complete denuclearization’ is far from
clear, but there is already plenty of talk in Seoul about how to help North
Korea’s economic development.” According to the Post, Moon has ordered
officials “to start figuring out what economic engagement projects can be
undertaken without contravening existing sanctions and to look at what
should be delayed until after Kim and Trump meet.” The move, however, is
“already causing heartburn among hard-liners in Washington who view the
South Korean president as too willing to take Kim at his word.”

*Kim Tells Chinese FM He Is Committed To Denuclearization. *Citing
China’s foreign ministry, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=05a-8b1&t=c>
(5/3, Brice) reports that on Thursday, Kim Jong Un “told the Chinese
government’s top diplomat, State Councilor Wang Yi...that he is committed
to denuclearization. ... ‘Kim Jong Un said achieving the denuclearization
of the peninsula is the firm position of the North Korean side,’ China’s
foreign ministry said after Wang met Kim in Pyongyang.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=05b-af3&t=c>
(5/3) reports Wang “congratulated...Kim...on his moves to reduce tensions
with South Korea, China said.”

*South Korean National Security Adviser In US To Meet Bolton. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=05c-ba9&t=c>
(5/3) reports South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-Yong is in
Washington to meet with National Security Adviser Bolton ahead of the
expected summit between Trump and Kim. A South Korean presidential official
told reporters Friday that the National Security Council “asked Chung...to
fly to the United States to discuss matters related to the summit.” That
official, who declined to be identified, added that the US “had asked that
the visit be kept quiet due to the issues to be addressed at meetings
there.” A “senior Administration official” confirmed Chung’s visit and his
meeting with Bolton.
US, China Conclude First Day Of Trade Talks.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=05d-7b4&t=c>
(5/3) reports that the Administration’s trade delegation to China “held
their first day of key talks in Beijing on Thursday, without giving any
sense of progress on a deal to stop an escalation of trade barriers.”
According to Bloomberg, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary
Ross, USTR Lighthizer and NEC director Larry Kudlow all “declined to
comment to reporters on arrival at their hotel after meetings and a dinner
with their Chinese counterparts.” Bloomberg says the Administration “has
tempered expectations of a major breakthrough from the discussions, which
are expected to focus on US concerns over China’s state-driven economy,
forced technology transfers and America’s widening trade deficit.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=05e-68a&t=c>
(5/3) reports separately that “China’s largest news outlets have been
ordered to refrain from reporting any material beyond official press
releases related to trade talks in Beijing with the US.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=05f-ce5&t=c>
(5/3, Martina) says President Trump on Thursday “praised his relationship
with Chinese President Xi Jinping” as the talks were ongoing in Beijing.
Reuters adds that “it was not clear when Trump and Xi might meet again
next, though both will likely attend some of the same multilateral summits
this year, including those of the G20 and APEC.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=060-40d&t=c>
(5/3, Wei) also covers the first day of talks. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=061-b63&t=c>
(5/3, Wong, Chan) says Trump is “seeking to cut the chronic US trade
deficit by $100 billion,” and “has threatened to impose new tariffs on
roughly $150 billion in Chinese goods.” According to the AP, “Washington’s
recent decision to ban Chinese telecom gear maker ZTE from importing US
components in a sanctions-related case drove home to Beijing its costly
vulnerability to foreign sources for advanced microchips.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=062-16c&t=c>
(5/3, Bradsher) says the Chinese government is “struggling to find people
in Washington who can provide insight into the Trump administration’s
aggressive moves on trade.” According to the Times, “One senior American
trade official tried to help – and wound up in Beijing with little to do
but check out the pottery.” The “trade official” is Alan Wolff, described
by the Times as a “veteran senior adviser to the top United States trade
representative.” The Times says Wolff “sought to make contact with top
Chinese policymakers,” but was unsuccessful.

*Fox’s Bolton: US, China “Preparing For A Potential Trade
War.” *Deirdre
Bolton reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=063-1b2&t=c>
(5/3) that a US delegation is in China to discuss trade, but Beijing and
Washington “are so far apart on significant issues, it’s going to take more
than 48 hours to find solutions,” and “trade experts say that the most
positive outcome would be an agreement to keep negotiating.” Bolton said
both countries are “talking tough,” and “both are preparing for a potential
trade war.” In fact, she continued, “Bloomberg is reporting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=064-8bb&t=c>
that China has essentially stopped buying American soybeans.” The US,
meanwhile, is “slow-walking potential Chinese purchases of US companies,
and in other cases outright blocking investment in the US.”

*Rubio: China Planning To Undermine US Competitiveness. *Sen. Marco
Rubio said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050401biden&r=email-42d8&l=065-c94&t=c>
(5/3) that China has “a plan to undermine not just our competitiveness, but
the competitiveness of every country in the world, and become the dominant
nation, dominant economic, industrial, and technological power. And they
are using multiple tools, including intellectual property theft, to do
that. Not only are they undermining our industrial base, they are also
undermining our technological base through something called ‘Made in China
2025’ where they plan to supplant not just America, but all the countries
in the West on automobiles, in passenger aircraft, in computing and
artificial intelligence. They have laid out the entire industries and are
slowly and surely carrying out this plan.”
US Warns Of Consequences For China’s South China Sea Militarization.

Reuters
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(5/3) reports the White House said Thursday that Washington “has raised
concerns with China about its latest militarization of the South China Sea
and there will be near-term and long-term consequences.” CNBC reported
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Wednesday that China had installed anti-ship cruise missiles and
surface-to-air missile systems on three outposts in the South China Sea.
Asked about the report, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters,
“We’re well aware of China’s militarization of the South China Sea. We’ve
raised concerns directly with the Chinese about this and there will be
near-term and long-term consequences.” She “did not say what the
consequences might be.”

*US Complains To China Over Lasers Aimed At Aircraft In Djibouti. *
Reuters
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(5/3) reports that the Pentagon said on Thursday that the US “formally
complained to China after Chinese nationals pointed lasers at US military
aircraft near Djibouti in a number of incidents in recent weeks.” According
to Reuters, “The US military has been grappling with lasers being pointed
at aircraft for decades. However, the incidents highlight the concern the
United States has about a Chinese military base just miles from a critical
US base in Djibouti.” The Wall Street Journal
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(5/3, A1, Lubold, Page) also covers the US complaint, and the Washington
Post
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(5/3, Sonne) reports Pentagon spokeswoman Dana W. White said at a briefing
Thursday, “It’s a serious matter. And we’re taking it very seriously.” The
Post notes that both the US and China have military bases in Djibouti.
According to the AP
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(5/3, Baldor), Pentagon spokesman Marine Lt. Col. Chris Logan said the
lasers “were military grade and came from the Chinese base nearby.”
Iranian Officials: Nuclear Deal Will Not Be Renegotiated.

Reuters
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(5/3) reports that on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif “said...US demands to change its 2015 nuclear agreement with world
powers were unacceptable.” Zarif is quoted as saying, “Iran will not
renegotiate what was agreed years ago and has been implemented.” Also on
Thursday, Ali Akbar Velayati, “a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...warned Europeans...over ‘revising’ the nuclear
deal.” Velayati said, “Even if US allies, especially the Europeans, try to
revise the deal...one of our options will be withdrawing from it.”

The AP
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(5/3, Karimi, Gambrell) reports that Zarif said, “On 11 occasions since,
the UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Iran has implemented all of its
obligations. In contrast, the US has consistently violated the agreement,
especially by bullying others from doing business with Iran.” However, the
AP says, “while directly criticizing the US and Europe, Zarif did appear to
leave some wiggle room for possible negotiations.”

*Tehran Detains More Iranians With British Ties. *The New York Times
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(5/3, Erdbrink, Gladstone) reports Iran’s intelligence operatives have
arrested “two, and possibly three, Iranians with British connections in the
past two months, human rights activists and others said Thursday. At least
two of the Iranians are also British citizens, and their arrests may be
part of an attempt by the Iranian authorities to gain leverage in an old
dispute with Britain over more than $400 million in undelivered weaponry.”

*Iranian-Americans Plan DC Rally For Regime Change. *The Washington
Times
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(5/3, Taylor) reports that Iranian-Americans who want “regime change” in
Tehran are holding “a major conference in the District of Columbia this
weekend to support the protests that have arisen inside Iran against the
Islamic Republic’s hard-line government in recent months.” Saturday’s
conference will feature speeches Rudy Giuliani and former Gov. Bill
Richardson.
NYTimes: US Special Forces Secretly Help Saudis Combat Houthi Rebels.

The New York Times
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(5/3, Cooper, Gibbons-Neff, Schmitt) reports that while the American
military has “sought to distance itself from a brutal civil war in Yemen,”
late last year “a team of about a dozen Green Berets arrived on Saudi
Arabia’s border with Yemen, in a continuing escalation of America’s secret
wars.” With “virtually no public discussion or debate, the Army commandos
are helping locate and destroy caches of ballistic missiles and launch
sites that Houthi rebels in Yemen are using to attack Riyadh and other
Saudi cities.” Details of the operation, “which has not been previously
disclosed, were provided to The New York Times by United States officials
and European diplomats,” and “appear to contradict Pentagon statements that
American military assistance to the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen is limited
to aircraft refueling, logistics and general intelligence sharing.”

The New York Times
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(5/3) editorializes that the Pentagon and the Administration “apparently
have misled Americans about growing military involvement in a war in Yemen
that we should have nothing to do with.” The Times argues that “such
significant military decisions require public debate to force presidents
and their generals to justify their decisions and be held accountable for
the consequences.” It goes on to call on Congress to cut off military aid
to Saudi Arabia and vote “to bar the use of American troops against the
Houthis in Yemen.”

*Hundreds Of Thousands Of Yemeni Children In Danger Of Starvation. *The
AP
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(5/3, Michael) reports that in Yemen, “around 2.9 million women and
children are acutely malnourished; another 400,000 children are fighting
for their lives.” According to the AP, “Aid agencies warn that parts of
Yemen could soon start to see widespread death from famine.” The AP notes
that last year, Save the Children “estimated that 50,000 children may have
died in 2017 of extreme hunger or disease.”
Vice: Military Base Buildup Suggests US “Shadow War” In Somalia Is
Expanding.

The “US military is dramatically expanding its operations at a former
Soviet air strip in Somalia, constructing more than 800 beds at the
Baledogle base,” Vice
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(5/3) has learned, marking “the latest example of America’s growing and
controversial shadow war in Africa.” Multiple defense contractors told Vice
that the expansion at Baledogle is “one part of what appears to be a
massive US military infrastructure development project in” Somalia “that
will see at least six new US outposts built this year.” This comes amid “an
aggressive escalation by US forces in their fight against al Qaida-linked
al-Shabaab.” US Africa Command has more than 500 US military personnel in
Somalia, according to a spokeswoman – a “dramatic” increase from 2016 – and
“since January 2017, US forces have conducted at least 48 airstrikes in
Somalia, compared to 14 in 2016 and 11 in 2015,” according to the
London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
UK Lawmakers Push For Trump To Address Parliament During July Visit.

AFP
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(5/3) reports British lawmakers are “pushing for US President Donald Trump
to address parliament during a July visit, despite apparent opposition from
the speaker of the House of Commons, according to reports on Thursday.”
Conservative Patrick Cormack, “one of Britain’s longest-serving lawmakers,”
said that as the leader of “our most important ally,” Trump should be
allowed to deliver a speech to Parliament. Said Cormack, “My own personal
views on him are completely irrelevant – we should give him the opportunity
to speak to both Houses.”

*May Fends Off Labour Party Challenge In Local Election. *The New
York Times
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(5/4, Castle) reports that “despite mounting troubles over Britain’s
withdrawal from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May and her
Conservative Party emerged relatively unscathed from local elections,
according to results released on Friday.” According to the Times, “mixed
results from across the country meant the opposition Labour Party failed to
achieve the big, if symbolic, gains it was hoping for.” Labour was,
however, “victorious in some key areas, but it fell short in its efforts to
take control of two Conservative strongholds in London — Westminster and
Wandsworth — that had been thought to be vulnerable, as well as the
capital’s northern borough of Barnet, a much easier target.”
Domestic Policy
Repealing Obama-Era Restrictions, Trump Announces Faith-Based Initiative.

The AP
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(5/3, Superville) reports that President Trump celebrated
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t