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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, April 13, 2018 7:51 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
April 13, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=000-49d&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=001-c66&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, April 13, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Pompeo Vows To Be Tough On Russia, Reveals He’s Been Questioned By
Mueller. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• White House: No Decision Yet On Response To Chemical Weapon Attack In
Syria. <#S2>

• Trump Tells Aides To Look Into Rejoining TPP Talks “On Our Terms, Of
Course.” <#S3>

• Bolton Meets With His South Korean, Japanese Counterparts. <#S4>

• Pence To Meet With Latin American Leaders, Venezuelan Opposition At
Summit. <#S5>

• Europeans Report Progress In Talks With US On Iran Deal. <#S6>

• Hifter’s Reported Health Crisis Sparks Fears Of Violence In Libya. <#S7>

• OPCW Backs UK Findings On Agent Used To Poison Ex-Russian Spy. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump Touts “Historically Cooperative” Approach To Mueller, Lauds Cobb.
<#S9>

• GOP Slams “Lyin’ Comey,” Notes Past Democratic Criticism Of Him. <#S10>

• Senate Confirms Climate Change Skeptic As EPA’s Second-In-Command. <#S11>

• Mattis: Troops On Border Will Have “No Contact With the Migrants.” <#S12>

• Mulvaney Prevails Over Treasury In Dispute Over Tax Regulations. <#S13>

• Trump Reportedly To Pardon Scooter Libby. <#S14>

• Ryan Signals Support For McCarthy To Be Speaker. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• FDA Commissioner Highlights Rising Patient Costs For Cancer Drugs. <#S16>

• Researchers Find Personalized Vaccine Benefits Patients With Ovarian
Cancer. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden May Not Run In 2020, If He’s Sure “There Is Somebody” Who Can Beat
Trump. <#S20>

• Biden Discusses Leadership In Speech At Temple University. <#S21>

• Long Island Herald Reports On Biden Remarks At LIU Global Institute Event.
<#S22>

• Biden To Make Two Stops In North Carolina On “American Promise Tour.”
<#S23>

• CNBC Re-Airs October 2016 Episode Of “Jay Leno’s Garage” Featuring Biden.
<#S24>
Leading the News
Pompeo Vows To Be Tough On Russia, Reveals He’s Been Questioned By Mueller.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=002-9ff&t=c>
(4/12, story 6, 0:40, Muir) reported briefly that Secretary of
State-designate Pompeo “was grilled” Thursday by senators during his
confirmation hearing “about Russia, about the firing of FBI Director James
Comey, and if he would be willing to stand up to the President if he
disagrees with him.” Sen. Bob Menendez was shown asking, “Will you stand up
to President Trump and say, ‘No, you’re wrong in that view, Mr. President,’
or will you be a yes man?” Pompeo: “I have no discomfort with directness or
confrontation.” The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=003-ed0&t=c>
(4/12, story 4, 2:20, Glor) said Pompeo “vowed to get tough with Russia.”
Pompeo: “Vladimir Putin has not yet received the message sufficiently. We
need to continue to work at that.” CBS’s Margaret Brennan said Pompeo told
senators that as Secretary of State, “he’d take hard line toward Russia and
contradicted President Trump’s blame that the bad blood with Russia was
caused by Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling.”
Pompeo: “The historic conflict between the United States and the Soviet
Union and now Russia is caused by Russian bad behavior.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=004-3f2&t=c>
(4/12) similarly says Pompeo “blamed tensions...on Russia’s ‘bad behavior’
and said he would support more US sanctions against Russia.” Said Pompeo,
“We need to push back in each place and in every vector. We need to make
sure that Vladimir Putin doesn’t succeed in what he believes his ultimate
goal is.” To USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=005-c1c&t=c>
(4/12, Dorell), Pompeo “harshly criticized...Putin and Moscow’s aggression
toward the West.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=006-9e7&t=c>
(4/12, Lee, Lederman), however, says Pompeo “ducked and dodged” when asked
whether he supports Trump’s “pounding criticism of the federal
investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election,” and “confirmed
for the first time publicly that he’s been interviewed by the team of
special counsel Mueller.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=007-5d3&t=c>
(4/12, Dinan) says he “declined to say what he was asked about,” and Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=008-89c&t=c>
(4/12, Zengerle) says Pompeo declined to discuss details of “private
conversations” with Trump when asked if the President had talked to him
about the Russia investigation.

Calling Thursday’s hearing “a contentious showdown,” NBC Nightly
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=009-a5e&t=c>’s
(4/12, story 4, 1:55, Holt) Andrea Mitchell said, “Facing challenges to his
hard lines, Pompeo saying he is not a hawk, does not want to overthrow Kim
Jong-Un, agrees Iran is not cheating on the nuclear deal, and says he is
not anti-Muslim despite past comments.” On North Korea, Fox News’ Special
Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=00a-ac2&t=c>
(4/12) reported that while Pompeo “would not rule out military action
against” Kim Jong-Un’s regime, “he says there’s a long diplomatic road
before then.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=00b-49e&t=c>
(4/12, Wilkinson) says Pompeo faced “tough questions” as he “sought to
mollify his Democratic critics in an often contentious five-hour
hearing...that did little to undermine his chances for confirmation by the
full Senate.” If confirmed, Pompeo said his “first priority” would be to
“do my part to end the vacancies” at the Department, and vowed to foster a
culture that “finds its swagger once again. We will be effective,
expeditionary, diverse and successful in fulfilling our mission.”

Pompeo, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=00c-e82&t=c>
(4/12, Harris, Sullivan) says, “was voluble, charming and gracious, which
meant he was the opposite of how he had presented himself during the 2015
Benghazi hearings, the last time he had the nation’s attention.” In fact,
the Times adds that his testimony “in both tone and substance was so
different from his past statements and profile as a Tea Party
congressman...that Democrats on the committee were left puzzled and, almost
despite themselves, delighted.”

In a report less flattering to Pompeo, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=00d-1d0&t=c>
(4/12, Toosi, Jackson) says he “clashed” with Democrats “trying to get
clear answers” and “contradicted himself on issues ranging from the Iran
nuclear deal to regime change in North Korea to President Donald Trump’s
ties to Russia.” Politico adds that the “rocky tenor” of the hearing was “a
bad sign for Pompeo...whose confirmation is not assured in a closely
divided Senate.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=00e-c61&t=c>
(4/11, Demirjian, Morello) likewise says senators “pounded Pompeo with
sharply worded questions for almost five hours,” and “when his answers came
off as vague, they pushed back.”

*WPost Editorial Calls On Senate To Confirm Pompeo. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=00f-e0b&t=c>
(4/12) editorializes that Pompeo’s confirmation “arrived at a moment when
the Trump administration is grappling with a chaotic confluence of actual
and looming foreign crises – including some of its own making.” The Post
argues that “rejecting or delaying his nomination, as Mr. Trump juggles
multiple crises without adequate counsel, probably would make an already
parlous situation worse. Mr. Pompeo should be deployed to Foggy Bottom in
the hope that he will fulfill his promise to revive and reassert US
diplomacy.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=010-e99&t=c>
(4/12) editorial page, however, says that while “senators made clear their
interest in having Mr. Pompeo serve as a check on Mr. Trump’s worst
instincts...there are many reasons to be concerned about the policy advice
he would dispense.”
Foreign Policy
White House: No Decision Yet On Response To Chemical Weapon Attack In Syria.

Media reports describe a change in tone from President Trump and the White
House on Thursday regarding possible military action against Syria for a
suspected chemical weapons attack last weekend. Reports noted that Trump
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=011-b11&t=c>
an attack “could be very soon or not so soon at all,” while the White House
said “no final decision has been made.”

In the lead story for ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=012-3fe&t=c>
(4/12, lead story, 3:15, Muir), Jonathan Karl described the White House’s
statement as “a starkly different tone from the President,” who “just 24
hours earlier...made it sound like an attack on Syria was about to happen.”
Still, Karl said “there is no doubt that the national security team here is
gearing up for action on Syria,” and Hallie Jackson said on NBC
Nightly News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=013-6de&t=c>
(4/12, story 2, 2:20, Holt) that Trump is “now trying to re-inject the
element of surprise.” To Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=014-f08&t=c>
(4/12, Mason), Trump “tempered” his remarks from earlier this week, and USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=015-83d&t=c>
(4/12, Jackson) says he “sowed uncertainty about his plans Thursday by
claiming he never said ‘when’ there would be an attack.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=016-bef&t=c>
(4/12, Wagner, Gearan) says the Administration “signaled it would take a
more deliberate approach toward US action in Syria, a slowing of what had
seemed a quick drive for airstrikes.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=017-a45&t=c>
(4/12, Boyer) says that “despite Twitter posts this week from Mr. Trump
suggesting a missile strike was imminent, the White House said late
Thursday that Mr. Trump and his advisers had not made a final decision on
an attack.” David Muir too said on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=018-1c0&t=c>
(4/12, story 2, 2:30) “that it was Monday that President Trump announced to
the world that he would have a decision within 24 to 48 hours. That time
frame has clearly passed now. And we’ve now watched the President and his
team bringing in allies on this, who were also outraged at what they saw.”
Martha Raddatz said that while the US is “resolved to make Syria pay a
price...cooler heads slowed this down. These are big decisions, what to
target and when. Also, because Trump isn’t going this alone, instead
working with those allies, there is much more coordination.”

John Roberts reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=019-623&t=c>
(4/12) that Trump spoke Thursday with British Prime Minister Theresa May
and French President Emmanuel Macron “about possible ways forward.” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=01a-39a&t=c>
(4/12, Lubold) reports the three leaders have been working on a unified
response.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=01b-5af&t=c>
(4/12, Onyanga-Omara, Stanglin) says Macron “kept up the drumbeat for
likely war with his claim of evidence that chemical weapons were used in
the attack, although he did not elaborate.” To the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=01c-002&t=c>
(4/12, McAuley), Macron “sharpened his stance” in comments that “were
widely interpreted as moving France closer to joining the United States in
a possible military strike.” Macron “said flatly, ‘We have the proof that
chemical weapons – at least chlorine gas – were used by Assad’s regime,’
although he did not say what the proof was,” the CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=01d-cdd&t=c>
(4/12, story 2, 2:20, Glor) reported, adding that a spokesman for May “said
her cabinet agreed it was highly likely the regime was responsible.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=01e-c08&t=c>
(4/12) reports the British Cabinet has given May “the green light to join
the US and France in planning military strikes,” but “gave no indication of
the timing or scale of any action.”

But testifying before Congress on Thursday, the CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=01f-631&t=c>
(4/12, story 2, 2:20, Glor) reported Defense Secretary Mattis “sounded more
cautious.” Mattis: “They can only say that they found evidence or did not.
And as each day goes by, as you know, it’s a non-persistent gas, so it
becomes more and more difficult to confirm it.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=020-88c&t=c>
(4/12, Burns, Lucey) reports Mattis “said that although the United States
has no hard proof, he believes the Syrian government was responsible for
Saturday’s attack.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=021-4e5&t=c>
(4/12, story 2, 2:20, Holt) reported that it “has learned of evidence of
chlorine gas and a nerve agent. One source tells NBC News the US government
is confident the Syrian dictator was behind the horrific attack.”
Ambassador Haley: “We definitely have enough proof, but now we just need to
be thoughtful in our reaction.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=022-016&t=c>
(4/12, Moore) reports that while Mattis said the US is still looking for
“actual evidence” of a chemical weapons attack, Haley said the United
States has “enough” proof. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=023-c9d&t=c>
(4/12, Morin) also reports their apparent contracting remarks.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=024-3b0&t=c>
(4/12, story 2, 2:20, Glor) said Mattis “is also concerned a strike against
Syria could set off a confrontation with Russia,” and the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=025-bb1&t=c>
(4/12, Cooper, Gibbons-Neff, Sullivan) says he “took pains...to walk
back...Trump’s threats of an imminent strike on Syria, reflecting mounting
concerns at the Pentagon that a concerted bombing campaign could escalate
into a wider conflict between Russia, Iran and the West.” Richard Engel
reported on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=026-e89&t=c>
(4/12, story 3, 1:50, Holt) that a “key concern now [is] what happens if a
US strike accidentally hits Russian forces? ... A senior US military
official says Moscow and Washington have been in high-level talks through
de-confliction hotlines, with US officials making Washington’s intent,
quote, ‘very clear.’ But will that be enough once missiles start to fly?”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=027-002&t=c>
(4/12, Sink, Capaccio) reports that after meeting with his national
security team, Trump told reporters, “We’re looking very, very seriously,
very closely at that whole situation, and we’ll see what happens, folks,
we’ll see what happens. It’s too bad that the world puts us in a position
like that.”

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said on Fox
News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=028-875&t=c>
(4/12) that he wants the US and the international community to “send a
clear message” that chemical weapons can’t be tolerated, “but obviously
none of us want to get into some sort of escalation with Russia and
others.”

*Syria, Russia Prepare For Possible Strikes As US, Allies Deploy
More Weapons To Region. *Jennifer Griffin reported on Fox News’ Special
Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=029-925&t=c>
(4/12) the USS Donald Cook, already off the coast of Syria, has “about 75
Tomahawk missiles on board and more than a dozen surface-to-air missiles.”
The USS Harry S. Truman, accompanied by seven US warships, “should be in
the eastern Mediterranean within a week.” Griffin noted that “Fox News has
learned there are US warships in the Red Sea in striking range of Syria as
well.” In addition, “the French have deployed a frigate to the eastern
Mediterranean armed with 16 cruise missiles and another 16 surface-to-air
missiles.” May has ordered British submarines “to move into position as
well to help.” James Longman reported on ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=02a-a24&t=c>
(4/12, story 3, 1:20, Muir) that there are “signs Russia and Syria are
bracing for attack.” Syria’s military is “taking defensive action,
re-positioning war planes and moving equipment to protect them from being
targeted.” Russia is also “on the move,” as satellite images “appear to
show Russian naval ships disappearing from this port in Syria.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=02b-858&t=c>
(4/12, Sly, Troianovski) reports the Kremlin “sought to tamp down fears of
a looming conflict with the United States by signaling for the first time
in days that it might not carry out threats to retaliate against any
eventual US strikes.” An AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=02c-b56&t=c>
(4/12, Isachenkov) analysis, however, says that “faced with the threat of a
US strike on Syria,” President Vladimir Putin “will be unlikely to sit
back. Inaction would threaten his hard-won gains in Syria, dent Russia’s
prestige and erode his tough-guy image.”

Meanwhile, the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=02d-f49&t=c>
(4/12, story 3, 1:45, Glor) reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
“has been seen at ease and unfazed a number of times this week and said
that Western threats of military action are based on lies.” Russia also
“claimed victory today in Douma, where Saturday’s alleged chemical attack
took place.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=02e-e97&t=c>
(4/12, Loveluck, Ajroudi) reports the Russian Defense Ministry said
Thursday that Syrian forces” took full control” of Douma, “ending the
bloodiest battle of Syria’s six-year war” as rebels said last weekend’s
suspected chemical attack “forced their final withdrawal.”

*Pompeo: Trump Can Order Strike Without Congressional Approval. *Fox
News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=02f-b56&t=c>
(4/12) reported that during his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Secretary
of State-designate Pompeo “said the failed state of Syria poses a mounting
threat to human rights, stability, and security, and it deserves an
increasingly severe response.” Pompeo also “told the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee President Trump has the authority to strike without
seeking the approval of Congress.”

*Pompeo Confirms US Strike Killed “Hundreds” Of Russian
Mercenaries. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=030-816&t=c>
(4/12, Dinan) reports CIA Director Pompeo confirmed Thursday that US forces
killed “a couple hundred” Russian mercenaries in Syria in a strike earlier
this year “that he said sent a distinct signal to Moscow.”

*More Than 500,000 Syrian Children Living Refugee Camps In Lebanon.
*ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=031-487&t=c>
(4/12, story 11, 2:40, Muir) reported that “more than 500,000 young
refugees” from Syria are living in camps in neighboring Lebanon. According
to UNICEF, “there are more than 300 schools here in Lebanon where they are
bringing those child refugees to learn.”

*WPost Editorial: Trump’s Compassion For Syrians Doesn’t Include
Granting Them Refuge. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=032-542&t=c>
(4/12) editorializes that President Trump’s “compassion for the victims of
Syria’s brutal civil war does not extend to allowing them to enter the
United States.” Trump “expresses outrage at the violence inflicted on
civilians there and has the power to alleviate at least some suffering by
allowing Syrians to pursue new lives in the United States.” However, he had
done “just the opposite, having admitted just 44 Syrian refugees in the
first six months of the current fiscal year, a more than 99 percent
decrease from the 5,800 admitted in the same span last year.”
Trump Tells Aides To Look Into Rejoining TPP Talks “On Our Terms, Of
Course.”

After a White House meeting with farm state senators yesterday, lawmakers
indicated that President Trump had asked USTR Lighthizer and NEC chief
Larry Kudlow to explore new negotiations to get the US back into the TPP
agreement. Citing Sen. John Thune, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=033-d7c&t=c>
(4/12, Werner, Kim, Paletta) reports Trump “told Lighthizer and Kudlow to
‘take a look at getting us back into that agreement, on our terms of
course.’” As reports such as the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=034-545&t=c>
(4/12, Thomas, Freking) indicate, Trump “asked trade officials to explore
the possibility of the United States rejoining negotiations” – not to adopt
the deal as brokered during the Obama Administration.

While media accounts are treating Trump’s comments as a major
reversal for him, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=035-d7f&t=c>
(4/12, Boyer) points out that as early as January, “Trump said he would be
open to revisiting TPP if the US could negotiate better terms.” Trump told
the World Economic Forum in Davos, “I would do TPP if we were able to make
a substantially better deal. ... The deal was terrible, the way it was
structured was terrible.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=036-630&t=c>
(4/12, Morrongiello) notes that Trump made similar comments in a January
CNBC interview. Nonetheless, several media analyses are casting Trump as
backtracking on his opposition to the agreement. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=037-c5f&t=c>
(4/12, Swanson), for example, refers to “a surprising change in policy,” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=038-077&t=c>
(4/12, Liptak, Diamond) to “a stunning shift,” CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=039-fb8&t=c>
(4/12, Bennett) to “another dramatic reversal” and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=03a-d10&t=c>
(4/12, Fabian, Needham) to a potentially “remarkable about-face.” Business
Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=03b-dcd&t=c>
(4/12, Bryan), along similar lines, says Trump appeared “to be reversing
course on a major multilateral trade deal.” The National Review
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=03c-882&t=c>
(4/12, Crowe), meanwhile, reports Trump “is reportedly considering
reentering” TPP “negotiations,” and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=03d-438&t=c>
(4/12, Bender) offers a similar analysis.

At any rate, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=03e-5d1&t=c>
(4/12, Jackson) notes “lawmakers did not know how seriously Trump was about
seeking to re-join the” TPP. CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=03f-bbe&t=c>
(4/12, Liptak, Diamond) quotes Sen. Ben Sasse as saying, “Clearly, it’s a
deliberative process and the President is a guy who likes to...entertain a
lot of different ideas. ... But he multiple times reaffirmed the point that
TPP might be easier for us to join now once the TPP-11 is aligned and we
might be the 12th party to those negotiations, as opposed to the long
process that it took to get to TPP.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=040-e54&t=c>
(4/12, Everett) similarly indicates “Trump’s apparent flirtation with
reengaging on TPP...was reassuring to his critics on trade policy, many of
whom are from farm states that could suffer severe collateral damage from”
his “threatened trade war with China.” Along those lines, the Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=041-491&t=c>
(4/12, Boyer) quotes Sen. Pat Roberts as saying the move “would certainly
be good news throughout farm country,” and Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=042-c11&t=c>
(4/12, Spiering) as saying he was “very impressed.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=043-99c&t=c>
(4/12, Morrongiello), meanwhile, reports Sen. Deb Fischer said after the
meeting, “We’re very excited about seeing those trade opportunities
reaffirmed.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]KCAU-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=044-1b9&t=c>
Sioux City, IA (4/12, 5:01 p.m. CDT) reported that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds
and Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts “have been critical of the Administration
over proposed tariffs. But both Governors changing their tune after today’s
sit-down with the President.” Reynolds said in a statement that Trump
“understands that farmers want to be successful and that they need to grow
the markets, not contract.” In his own statement, Ricketts said Trump
“listened and expressed a commitment to growing international trade so that
we can grow opportunities for our farmers and ranchers.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]WNCN-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=045-fc3&t=c>
Raleigh-Durham, NC (4/12, 5:39 p.m. EDT) reported that US farmers “are
demanding the White House do more to protect their interests and avoid a
trade war with China.” Since “the US and China started trading jabs with
each other about trade, there’s been a lot of frustrated farmers.” Trump
“invited some of the farming community, the lawmakers that represent them,
to talk about what can be done to not only protect the crops but their cash
as well.” Trump “says he knows US farmers are worried about a trade war
with China, but he says the US does have options.” Trump “says he’s
considering several ways to protect farmers. Among them, the US may rejoin”
the TPP, which “encourages trade between several countries but not China.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]KMTV-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=046-a5b&t=c>
Omaha, NE (4/12, 4:37 p.m. CDT) reported that “area lawmakers are hopeful
after the President expressed interest in reentering the” TPP.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=047-2e8&t=c>
(4/12, Sink, Talev) says “the news drew a rebuke from opponents of the
multilateral trade pact.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka “said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=048-c87&t=c>
that TPP ‘was killed because it failed America’s workers and it should
remain dead.’”

Eamon Javers said on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNBC’s
Closing Bell
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=049-3fb&t=c>
(4/12) that “there’s something of a scramble going on here at the White
House right now to figure out exactly what the President meant.” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=04a-e67&t=c>
(4/12, Liptak, Diamond) similarly indicated that “the White House did not
immediately respond to requests for comment, and some members of the
administration appeared surprised by the news.” Trumpt’s “pick to be the
next secretary of state, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, was asked about the
President’s comments during” his “confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill” and
said, “That news was news to me.”

*Trump: US, China “Really Negotiating”; Xi Will Remove “A Lot Of
Taxes And Tariffs.” *During the meeting, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=04b-5e2&t=c>
(4/12, Sink, Talev) reports, Trump said the US and China “ultimately may
end up levying no new tariffs on each other.” Said Trump, “Now we’re really
negotiating and I think they’re going to treat us really fairly.” Bloomberg
adds that “in his remarks on Thursday, Trump cited a speech by Chinese
President Xi Jinping that the US president interprets as a signal China is
about to open its markets to more US goods.” Trump said of Xi, “He’s going
to get rid of a lot of taxes and tariffs.” [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]KMTV-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=04c-e17&t=c>
Omaha, NE (4/12, 4:37 p.m. CDT) showed Trump saying, “I don’t blame China.
I blame our representatives, our people over the past – our presidents,
negotiators and trade representatives – that they allowed this to happen.”
To the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=04d-396&t=c>
(4/12, Werner, Kim, Paletta), “engaging in talks to reenter the TPP would
be part of a broader White House strategy to respond to an escalating trade
flap between Trump and Beijing.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=04e-eee&t=c>
(4/12, Swanson) also reports the issue came up “as the White House tries to
come up with ways to protect the agriculture sector, which could be badly
hurt by the president’s trade policies.” The Times also says “the risk of
an escalating trade war with China has panicked American farmers and
ranchers.”

*WSJournal A1: White House Believes China Strategy Working, Plans
To Boost Pressure. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=04f-275&t=c>
(4/12, A1, Davis, Wei) reports on its front page that the White House is
confident its trade strategy toward China is bearing fruit, and will move
in coming days to detail which products are subject to the
recently-announced $100 billion in tariffs. In addition, the White House
plans on threaten Chinese technology investment in the US. Unnamed
officials tell the Journal that China is bending to US demands. Chinese
sources deny that, but acknowledge that US pressure is forcing them to
speed up plans to reform its economic model. The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=050-78b&t=c>
(4/12, A1, Dvorak, Saito) reports in another front-page story that Silicon
Valley’s dominance in venture capital investing is being challenged by a
wave of new money from Asia, particularly China.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=051-842&t=c>
(4/12, Bradsher, Perlez), meanwhile, reports from Beijing that “Vice
President Wang Qishan has met in recent weeks with a series of American
business leaders and former cabinet officials to question them about Mr.
Trump’s trade threats.” The Times adds that “in these meetings, the
Americans have warned that Mr. Trump’s complaints should be taken seriously
because of widespread frustration in Washington with Chinese policies,
especially a $300 billion program to dominate critical high-tech
industries, known as Made in China 2025, that has alarmed the United States
national security establishment.” It remains “unclear whether that message
is making it through to Mr. Xi – or whether he has chosen to ignore it
after concluding that Mr. Trump is bluffing and that the United States will
back off, as it has in the past.”
Bolton Meets With His South Korean, Japanese Counterparts.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=052-d98&t=c>
(4/12, Pennington) reports, “As the US gears up for an unprecedented summit
with North Korea,” National Security Adviser Bolton met Thursday with his
counterparts from South Korea and Japan. Bolton met with “Chung Eui-yong,
the South Korean official who last month announced outside the White House
Trump’s surprise decision to meet with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.”
Bolton met separately with “Shotaro Yachi of Japan whose prime minister
will meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=053-b79&t=c>
(4/12, Boyer) says the meetings “were to lay the groundwork for an upcoming
inter-Korean summit in late April, and talks between North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un and President Trump in May or early June.”

*Pompeo: North Korea Won’t Be Rewarded Unless It Denuclearizes. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=054-79a&t=c>
(4/12, Brunnstrom) reports that Secretary of State-designate Pompeo said
Thursday that unless North Korea takes irreversible steps to abandon its
nuclear weapons, it should not expect to be rewarded in talks with the US.
Asked at his Senate confirmation hearing if he believed North Korea would
agree to give up its nuclear weapons program, Pompeo said the historical
analysis was “not optimistic.” Pompeo said, “It is the intention of the
president and the administration not do that this time to make sure that …
before we provide rewards, we get the outcome permanently, irreversibly,
that it is that we hope to achieve. It is a tall order, but I am hopeful
that President Trump can achieve that through sound diplomacy.”
Pence To Meet With Latin American Leaders, Venezuelan Opposition At Summit.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=055-e8b&t=c>
(4/12, Thomas) reports Vice President Pence plans to meet with four Latin
American leaders during his weekend trip to Peru for the Summit of the
Americas where he is filling in for President Trump. At the summit, Pence
will meet Saturday with Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra and
President Mauricio Macri of Argentina. The White House said Thursday that
the vice president is also expected to hold “a multi-lateral meeting with
several Caribbean leaders” and meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=056-0ec&t=c>
(4/12) reports White House officials said Pence will also meet with
Venezuelan opposition leaders in Lima as “part of a US push to galvanize
regional pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.” According
to McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=057-b0c&t=c>
(4/12, Ordoñez), the Administration has begun “informal talks with partner
countries in Latin America about the United States taking in some refugees
from Venezuela, a potential turnaround from its tough stance on accepting
refugees from conflict-torn countries.” A senior Administration official
“told McClatchy that while no agreements have been struck and details were
scarce, US officials have begun these talks ‘informally’ as part of a
larger strategy to address the hundreds of thousands of fleeing Venezuelans
whose numbers threaten to destabilize partner countries in Latin America
and the Caribbean.”

*WPost: Trump’s Absence “One More Jolt” For Summit Of The Americas.
*In a nearly 3,000-word article, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=058-eb4&t=c>
(4/11, Partlow, Faiola) reports on how Trump’s “last-minute change of
plans” over attending the Summit of the Americas “may be one more jolt for
a two-day summit that was already particularly unusual.” The article
describes the context of corruption scandals in which the regional Summit
is taking place, calling it “a microcosm of the tumult sweeping the Western
Hemisphere,” and discusses the views of experts on the impact the event
will have. The article also mentions the plans of the US delegation
attending the summit, and notes the largely unfavorable views of the Trump
Administration pervading the region.

*Lighthizer Also Cancels Plans To Attend Summit. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=059-3b6&t=c>
(4/12, Martin) reports USTR Lighthizer, Trump’s top NAFTA negotiator,
“canceled his participation in the Summit of the Americas that begins
Friday, following in his boss’s footsteps and casting doubt on when trade
ministers will next be able to meet to discuss the accord.” The USTR’s
office said Deputy C.J. Mahoney will go in his place. Lighthizer, Bloomberg
notes, had planned to meet with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland
and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo on the sidelines of the
summit to discuss NAFTA negotiations.

*Refugee Crisis From Venezuela Strains Region. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=05a-c25&t=c>
(4/12, Puglie) reports on “the massive wave of Venezuelans turning their
backs on their homeland and its beleaguered socialist government” as the
country’s economy collapses, and how its neighbors are struggling to manage
the refugee influx. The article cites views of experts on the topic, which
it says “figures to be a prime topic of conversation when regional leaders
gather at the end of the week in Peru for the Summit of the Americas,” and
mentions that President Trump will be absent from the Summit.
Europeans Report Progress In Talks With US On Iran Deal.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=05b-3f6&t=c>
(4/12, Mohammed) reports European officials are “making headway toward an
agreement to address US concerns about the Iran nuclear deal, a European
diplomat said on Thursday, but a second diplomat said it was unclear” if
President Trump “would embrace their work.” An unnamed diplomat said, “We
came out feeling like we are making good progress towards addressing the
president’s concerns and coming (up) to an agreement.” A second European
diplomat, however, “was more pessimistic, telling Reuters that even if US,
British, French and German diplomats reach agreement it was unclear whether
Trump would embrace it.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=05c-e9f&t=c>
(4/12, Wadhams) likewise says US and European officials “said they’ve made
progress...raising optimism among American allies that...Trump can be
persuaded not to scrap the deal.” A “senior State Department official said
the US and Europeans are close to an agreement on how to handle Iran’s
ballistic missile program,” but” haven’t settled on how to handle sunset
provisions in the nuclear accord.”

*Iran Tells France Not To Let Saudi Prince Influence Them On
Nuclear Deal. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=05d-0bb&t=c>
(4/12) reports that Iran’s “semi-official Tasnim news agency” reported
Thursday that Iran has urged France “not to be influenced by Saudi Arabia’s
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over Tehran’s nuclear deal with world
powers.” This, after the Crown Prince “appeared to chide French President
Emmanuel Macron this week for supporting the 2015 deal to lift most
economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs to Tehran’s nuclear
program.”
Hifter’s Reported Health Crisis Sparks Fears Of Violence In Libya.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=05e-77f&t=c>
(4/12, Walsh) reports that as Gen. Khalifa Hifter, “the military strongman
whose forces routed the last Islamist militias from Benghazi in December”
seeks to “consolidate and expand his power, he is looking to woo the Trump
administration.” However, his “ascent has been called into question with
news that the 75-year-old commander had been airlifted to a hospital in
Paris, where French news media reported that he was being treated for a
stroke.” Hifter’s aides initially denied the reports, but on Thursday that
“conceded...that he had undergone emergency medical treatment” but “offered
no specifics about his condition or his whereabouts.” The Times says the
situation has “plunged Libya’s chaotic politics into greater-than-usual
levels of speculation,” adding that “there were fears of a descent into
violent feuding if [Hifter] were suddenly out of the picture.”
OPCW Backs UK Findings On Agent Used To Poison Ex-Russian Spy.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=05f-43d&t=c>
(4/12, Booth) reports the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) said Thursday that its investigators have “confirmed
Britain’s assertions that the toxic chemical used to poison former Russian
double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter was a military-grade nerve
agent known as Novichok.” The group, which sent a team of investigators to
Britain, said in a report published Thursday that it confirmed “the
findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic
chemical that was used in Salisbury and severely injured three people.” The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=060-354&t=c>
(4/12, Lawless, Kirka) reports Britain has asked for a meeting of OPCW ‘s
executive council to discuss the findings, and is also seeking a meeting of
the UN Security Council next week.
Domestic Policy
Trump Touts “Historically Cooperative” Approach To Mueller, Lauds Cobb.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=061-e65&t=c>
yesterday, “I have agreed with the historically cooperative, disciplined
approach that we have engaged in with Robert Mueller (Unlike the
Clintons!). I have full confidence in Ty Cobb, my Special Counsel, and have
been fully advised throughout each phase of this process.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=062-a02&t=c>
(4/12) says that the tweet may have been prompted by a report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=063-6c5&t=c>
in yesterday’s Washington Post in which “Steve Bannon...encouraged White
House aides to advise Trump to fire [Deputy AG] Rosenstein.” The Post also
“said Bannon wanted the White House to stop cooperating with the Mueller
investigation and fire Cobb.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=064-338&t=c>
(4/12, Olorunnipa) reports, “The tweet comes as some of Trump’s strongest
supporters urge the president to adopt a more aggressive posture toward
Mueller’s investigation after FBI agents descended on the office and home
of his lawyer Michael Cohen on Monday.” Joseph diGenova, “a former federal
prosecutor who was nearly added to Trump’s legal team last month, said
Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should immediately fire
Rosenstein,” calling him “incompetent, compromised and conflicted.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=065-4fa&t=c>
(4/12, Nelson) reports DiGenova “joins a chorus of commentators and
analysts, a group that includes Fox Business commentator Lou Dobbs and
others, that is pushing the president to dismantle the investigation.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=066-99c&t=c>
(4/12, Savage) says that “the clear idea behind the suggestion – which Mr.
Trump is also said to be weighing – is that ousting Mr. Rosenstein would
enable the White House to put the criminal investigations encircling the
president’s associates on a tighter leash, or even to shut them down.” The
Times adds “a longtime Justice Department official, Mr. Rosenstein was not
part of Mr. Trump’s inner circle before Attorney General Jeff Sessions
persuaded the president to designate him as deputy.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=067-852&t=c>
(4/12, Nelson, Samuelsohn) says Trump “issued a vote of confidence for his
legal team...days after the president suggested he could be open to
firing...Mueller,” while to the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=068-a2b&t=c>
(4/12, Miller), Trump “attempted to tamp down speculation that he was
preparing to fire...Mueller.”

Also yesterday, The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=069-25a&t=c>
(4/12, Fabian) reports, “Trump met with...Rosenstein...amid speculation his
job could be in jeopardy.” The White House, however, “said the meeting was
arranged to discuss ‘routine [Justice] Department business.’”

*Dispute Between Grassley, Feinstein Delaying Bill To Protect
Mueller. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=06a-0f4&t=c>
(4/12, Swoyer) reports “Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E.
Grassley said Thursday Democrats are delaying a bill to protect...Mueller
in the event that...Trump moved to fire him.” Grassley “said he had wanted
to put the bill, introduced this week, on the agenda Thursday, which would
set it up for a vote next week,” but “top committee Democrat Sen. Dianne
Feinstein objected, which Mr. Grassley said will delay getting it done.”
Said Grassley, “This delay is uncalled for and unnecessary.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=06b-149&t=c>
(4/12, Everett) also reports on the “partisan infighting among leaders of
the Senate Judiciary Committee,” in particular the “confusion and distrust
between” Grassley and Feinstein that “has already delayed consideration of
the hot-button bill.” Politico adds that “Grassley and Feinstein insisted
there’s no personal animus between them,” but “other members of the
committee admitted that there is major tension between the two.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=06c-f16&t=c>
(4/12, Jalonick) also says the “path forward is difficult, as partisan
disagreements over the bill are already surfacing.” Moreover, “Grassley
indicated that some Republicans on the committee oppose” the bill and
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has shown little interest,
saying earlier this week that he doesn’t think Mueller will be fired.”
Democrats “have already said they are wary of an amendment that Grassley
plans to offer to the bill, even though they say they haven’t seen it.”
Feinstein “said in a statement that she was concerned the amendment ‘could
undermine the investigation.’”

One of the bill’s GOP sponsors, Sen. Thom Tillis writes in a Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=06d-04d&t=c>
(4/12) op-ed that he has “received a good deal of criticism from some on
the right for introducing special-counsel legislation, with the common
refrain being that it is harmful to...Trump.” To Tillis, however, if the
President “removes the special counsel without good cause, it would likely
result in swift, bipartisan backlash and shake the country’s faith in the
integrity of our legal system.” Moreover, “the constant headlines and
rumors that Trump is considering or has considered removing Mueller – ‘fake
news’ or not – are a distraction from the president’s agenda and successful
policy initiatives. ... This bill becoming law would remove that narrative
from the conversation.”

*Obama, Bush Ethics Chiefs: Firing Rosenstein Would Lead To Trump’s
“Downfall.” *Norman Eisen and Richard Painter, chief White House ethics
counsels for the Obama and Bush Administrations, respectively, write in USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=06e-e46&t=c>
(4/12) that “if Trump fires Rosenstein, it will clearly be for one reason
and one reason alone: to impede the lawful investigation of the president
and those close to him. Similar actions by President Nixon in the Saturday
Night Massacre led to his downfall,” and “the firing of Rosenstein would
have the same outcome for Trump.”

*Rasmussen Poll: Public Regard For Mueller Probe Sharply Down After
Cohen Raids. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=06f-cdf&t=c>
(4/12, Nolte) reports “Mueller’s raid on...Trump’s personal attorney...has
backfired in the eyes of voters, according to Rasmussen Reports.” Whereas
previously “the special counsel and former Obama official was held in high
regard by a majority of the public,” with “a full 52 percent” calling
“Mueller’s investigation...an honest attempt to determine criminal
wrongdoing” late last year, “that number is now down -6 points to just 46
percent.” In additional, “the number of voters who now see Mueller’s probe
is a ‘partisan witch hunt’ has jumped a full +8 points, from 32 percent to
40 percent,” while “overall, public opinion moved against Mueller by a full
14 points. What was a 20 point (52 – 32 percent) favorable rating is now
just a 6 point advantage.”

*After Raid, Feds Probing Cohen’s Interactions With Bank That
Backed His Taxi Business. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=070-0ca&t=c>
(4/12, Helderman, Hamburger, Leonnig) reports the “federal investigation
into what role...Trump’s personal attorney” Michael Cohen “played in
facilitating payments to two women who alleged affairs with Trump is also
examining the lawyer’s interactions with a bank that gave him loans against
his taxi business.” During the raid, “FBI agents sought his communications
with New York-based Sterling National Bank about taxi medallions owned by
Cohen, according to a person familiar with the search warrant.” The Post
adds “the request indicates that prosecutors may have an interest in
specific financial transactions that Cohen undertook while using his taxi
business as collateral.” The Post also reports “people with knowledge of
the inquiry” have informed the paper “that Cohen is under investigation for
possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations.”

*Trump “Allies” Worried Cohen Kept Tapes Of Conversations.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=071-a9a&t=c>
(4/12, Parker, Leonnig, Dawsey, Hamburger) reports “Cohen sometimes taped
conversations with associates, according to three people familiar with his
practice, and allies of the president are worried that the recordings were
seized by federal investigators in a raid of Cohen’s office and residences
this week.” Cohen “was known to store the conversations using digital files
and then replay them for colleagues, according to people who have
interacted with him.”

*Time Magazine Cover Questions Whether Trump Can Survive Cohen,
Daniels Controversies. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=072-642&t=c>
(4/12, Lim) reports “Time magazine debuted a splashy front cover Thursday,
with an animated graphic questioning whether...Trump can weather the legal
controversy surrounding himself, his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and
porn star Stormy Daniels.” Time tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=073-040&t=c>
an image of its cover, with the caption “Inside Donald Trump’s White House
chaos.” The story “follows FBI agents raiding Cohen’s home, office and a
hotel room Tuesday, seizing documents relating to among other things
Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Daniels to keep quiet about her alleged
extramarital affair with Trump in 2006.”

*Reports: National Enquirer Paid Off Man To Keep Quiet About Trump
Child With Employee. *Building on reporting by the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=074-69e&t=c>
and The New Yorker
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=075-a57&t=c>,
ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=076-423&t=c>
(4/12, story 5, 2:10, Muir) said last night that in “the investigation
of...Trump’s personal attorney...a third secret payment to buy someone’s
silence” is “now under the spotlight after that FBI raid on lawyer Michael
Cohen’s home, office and hotel room.” This “latest case involving a former
doorman at a Trump building who was paid by the parent company of the
National Enquirer to keep quiet about salacious and unsubstantiated rumor
about...Trump’s sex life.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=077-fc8&t=c>
(4/12, Pearson, Horwitz) reports that “as it did with” an “ex-Playmate, the
Enquirer signed the ex-doorman,” Dino Sajudin, “to a contract that
effectively prevented him from going public with a juicy tale that might
hurt Trump’s campaign for president.” The AP “confirmed the details of the
Enquirer’s payment through a review of a confidential contract and
interviews with dozens of current and former employees of the Enquirer and
its parent company, American Media Inc.” Sajudin “got $30,000 in exchange
for signing over the rights, ‘in perpetuity,’ to a rumor he’d heard about
Trump’s sex life – that the president had fathered a child with an employee
at Trump World Tower.”

The New Yorker
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=078-3a4&t=c>
(4/12, Farrow) says it “has uncovered no evidence that Trump fathered the
child.” The “alleged daughter...declined through a representative of her
employer to answer questions,” and “the father of the family...said that
Sajudin’s claim was ‘completely false and ridiculous’ and added that the
Enquirer had put the family in a difficult situation,” adding, “I don’t
understand what they had to pay this guy for.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=079-105&t=c>
(4/12, Bacon) reports “Dylan Howard, editor-in-chief of the Enquirer,
denied the company was ‘catching and killing’ stories to protect Trump,
saying the story was not published because the claims could not be proven.”
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=07a-ae7&t=c>
(4/12) reports “the publisher of The National Enquirer faced new claims on
Thursday that it violated campaign finance laws” after the reports above,
as Common Cause “filed complaints with the Justice Department and the
Federal Election Commission on Thursday, saying the 2015 payment, for a tip
that never resulted in a published story, was intended to influence the
2016 election.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=07b-e02&t=c>
(4/12, Leonnig) reports Trump Organization said in a statement, “Mr.
Sajudin’s claims are completely false.” In an interview with the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=07c-39d&t=c>
(4/12, Leonnig), however, Sajudin dismissed claims that he was lying, and
said, “You know I took a polygraph test.”

*Trump Tweets Denial Of Another NYTimes Report. *For the second day
in a row, Trump used Twitter yesterday to dispute a New York Times report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=07d-664&t=c>.
This time around, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=07e-447&t=c>
(4/12) reports, Trump denied a Tuesday report that “he had sought to fire
Mueller in December,” writing
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=07f-bcb&t=c>,
“If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the Failing
New York Times, I would have fired him.”

*Hannity Slams Mueller Probe: “Still Noting. No Evidence. Zero.” *Sean
Hannity said on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ Hannity
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=080-c7b&t=c>
(4/12), “Here we are on day 330 of Mueller’s witch hunt into so-called
Trump-Russia collusion. Still nothing. No evidence. Zero. Show us the
evidence, Mr. Mueller, or you can disband your team of merry, Trump-hating,
big Democratic-donating sycophants that, of course, have questionable
ethics, especially Andrew Weissmann.”

*Lawmakers: Banker Asked About Army Position Before Making Loan To
Manafort. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=081-a2a&t=c>
(4/12) reports that Reps. Elijah Cummings and Stephen Lynch on Thursday
questioned whether Stephen Calk, chief executive of Chicago-based Federal
Savings Bank “was seeking a favor from the incoming Trump administration
when he inquired about the confirmation process for a top US Army position
before extending $16 million in loans” former Trump campaign chairman Paul
Manafort. According to public records, the bank “made two loans to Manafort
in December 2016 and January 2017,” and media reports have “suggested the
loans might have been part of a quid pro quo agreement in which Manafort”
would ensure Calk “was named secretary of the Army.” In a letter, the
lawmakers “asked Calk to hand over all communications with Manafort, former
Manafort business partner Rick Gates, and others tied to the Trump
campaign, as well as any Manafort related loan documents.”
GOP Slams “Lyin’ Comey,” Notes Past Democratic Criticism Of Him.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=082-28e&t=c>
(4/12, Jacobs) reports, “The Republican party is rallying its army of
surrogates to discredit former FBI Director James Comey as publication
nears for his book recounting his tumultuous tenure in President Donald
Trump’s administration.” The RNC The party committee also activated a
website, “Lyin’ Comey
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=083-fb1&t=c>,”
featuring quotes from prominent Democrats who have criticized the former
FBI director in the past. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=084-993&t=c>
(4/12, Miller) refers to a “Republican preemptive strike...Comey’s
credibility,” noting the RNC publicized “video clips that highlight top
Democratic lawmakers slamming him for botching his job and lacking
credibility.” The quotes “were culled from the enormous backlash from
Democrats after Mr. Comey reopened the Hillary Clinton email investigation
just days before the 2016 presidential election.” Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018041301biden&r=email-d335&l=085-828&t=c>
(4/12, Pavlich) notes the site “quotes a n