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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, April 24, 2018 8:00 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, April 24, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=001-ef4&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, April 24, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• White House: No Sanctions Relief For North Korea Until It Takes “Concrete
Actions.” <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Welcomes Macron Ahead Of Expected Discussions On Iran, Syria, North
Korea. <#S2>

• Trump Ties Border Security To NAFTA Talks, Orders DHS To Turn “Caravan”
Away. <#S3>

• Van Attack Kills Nine In Toronto; Suspect Taken Into Custody. <#S4>

• Obama Foundation Announces Program For Emerging African Leaders. <#S5>

• Former Guantanamo Detainees Vanish After Being Deported To Libya. <#S6>

• WPost A1 Examines Worsening Living Conditions In Gaza. <#S7>

• State Dept. Raises Nicaragua Threat Level, Pulls Some Embassy Staff. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Senate Panel Approves Pompeo Nomination After Paul’s Last Minute Reversal.
<#S9>

• White House Will Not Rule Out Pardon For Cohen. <#S10>

• Supreme Court Weighs Power, Appointment Of Agency Judges. <#S11>

• Sanders Questioned About Trump’s Use Of Term “Breeding Concept.” <#S12>

• Insurers’ Lobby Opposes Administration Push For Short-Term Insurance
Plans. <#S13>

• Authorities Arrest Suspect In Tennessee Waffle House Killings. <#S14>

• Sen. Sanders To Offer Plan To Guarantee Every American A Job. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• Study: False-Positive Screening Increases Likelihood Of Adhering To
Guidelines. <#S16>

• Research Shows Physical Activity Increases Survival In Patients With
Cancer. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Sharpton: Biden “May Try To Convince His Family To Let Him” Run In 2020.
<#S20>

• Biden To Speak At Saint Joseph’s University In Philadelphia Today. <#S21>

• Biden To Be Honored Today By National Museum Of American Jewish History.
<#S22>

• Biden To Deliver Keynote Address At “Seeds Of Peace” Gala Next Month.
<#S23>

• Dr. Jill Biden To Deliver Commencement Address At Alabama Community
College. <#S24>
Leading the News
White House: No Sanctions Relief For North Korea Until It Takes “Concrete
Actions.”

To ongoing media skepticism, the White House again indicated yesterday that
the US will pursue the “complete and total denuclearization” of North Korea
in talks expected to take place in coming months. [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=002-374&t=c>
(4/23, story 5, 1:10, Karl) showed Jonathan Karl asking White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders, “On North Korea, is the President willing to
accept anything short of complete denuclearization before lifting any
sanctions?” Sanders replied, “Certainly the goal is denuclearization of the
peninsula, and we’re going to continue the maximum pressure campaign that
has been ongoing to North Korea until we see concrete actions taken towards
complete and total denuclearization.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=003-b26&t=c>
(4/23, Pennington) also reports the White House also said “North Korea
won’t get sanctions relief until it takes ‘concrete action’ toward
denuclearization,” and adds that “Sanders said the US wouldn’t make the
mistake of past administrations in taking the North Koreans ‘simply at
their word.’”

Voice of America
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=004-d26&t=c>
(4/23, Herman) indicates Sanders also said “North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un’s recent announcement suspending nuclear weapons tests and
intercontinental ballistic missile launches is ‘certainly a step in the
right direction,’” but “we’re going to need something a little bit more
than that to start the relief of sanctions.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=005-4ce&t=c>
(4/23, Jackson) headlines its story “Before Meeting, Trump Wants North
Korea To Take ‘Concrete Actions’ Toward Ending Nukes,” and notes the
Administration “has spent months lobbying China and other nations to cut
off money for North Korea, trying to pressure Kim into giving up his
nuclear weapons.” Sanders reiterated on [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=006-424&t=c>
(4/23) that denuclearization will be the goal of the talks with North
Korea, adding that “this President, as well as every member of the
Administration, has made” that “clear.” Asked if a date has been set for
the summit, Sanders said, “We don’t have any specifics that we can announce
right now but we are certainly moving forward in those negotiations.”

In a story about Mike Pompeo’s nomination to head the State
Department, [image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=007-84b&t=c>
(4/23, story 5, 1:55, Mitchell) said that “many experts worry the President
is too eager for a deal, tweeting Sunday, ‘and they have agreed to
denuclearization (so great for the world),’ when in fact, Kim only agreed
to freeze nuclear test and dismantle an aging test site.” Also in its
report about Pompeo, the [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CBS Evening
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=008-c08&t=c>
(4/23, story 4, 2:45, Cordes) indicated that Trump “erroneously tweeted
just this weekend that the North Koreans have agreed to denuclearization.”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=009-82f&t=c>
(4/23, Lima) reports that “asked about the inconsistency, Sanders said
Trump’s remarks were a reference to comments made by South Korean President
Moon Jae-in, who said Thursday that North Korea had expressed a desire for
‘complete denuclearization’ in its diplomatic talks.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=00a-03e&t=c>
(4/23, Fisher) reports that “as if to underscore the growing uncertainty
over how talks will proceed and what they will produce – the opposite of
standard procedure, in which months of pre-negotiations align expectations
and telegraph the response to victory or failure – both sides already
appear to misunderstand one another on basic terms,” as “statements by both
governments suggest they are not only driving at conflicting goals but also
operating within parallel realities.” To the Times, “this confusion appears
to extend beyond differing interpretations of terminology, setting up both
sides for nasty surprises when they meet.” Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=00b-25a&t=c>
(4/23, Lockie) says “North Korea’s recent promise to halt its nuclear and
intercontinental ballistic missile tests might first seem like an overture
for peace, but a careful reading suggests it could indicate Kim Jong Un is
ready for nuclear war – and he just may get it. ... Basically, Kim says
North Korea has stopped testing because it’s done testing.” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=00c-fd4&t=c>
(4/23, Shin) reports that “although Kim’s move is clever, we have been here
before, and it does not change the game. North Korea may have no need of
another nuclear test in the near future – there hasn’t been one since
September – and Kim knows that this concession is the bare minimum he will
need to offer at his meeting with Trump.”

*North Korean Source To CNN: Kim Has “Committed Himself” To
“Denuclearization.” *However, Brian Todd reported on [image: Image removed
by sender. Video]CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=00d-5ab&t=c>
(4/23) that a “North Korean source...told CNN Kim Jong-Un has committed
himself to the path of denuclearization.” At any rate, Todd continued,
“we’re getting strong indications that...Trump and his team are prepared to
bring serious pressure on Kim to prove that he’s really going to start to
take apart his nuclear arsenal.”

*South Korean President: North’s Moves “Significant Decision” For
“Complete Denuclearization.” *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=00e-ec3&t=c>
(4/23) reports South Korean President Moon Jae-in said yesterday, “North
Korea’s decision to freeze its nuclear program is a significant decision
for the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. ... It is a
green light that raises the chances of positive outcomes at the North’s
summits with South Korea and the United States. If North Korea goes the
path of complete denuclearization starting from this, then a bright future
for North Korea can be guaranteed.” Stars And Stripes
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=00f-a01&t=c>
(4/23, Gamel) reports that “unlike the previous inter-Korean summits
between their predecessors in 2007 and 2000, Moon’s meeting with Kim will
be mainly seen as a preview for the first-ever US-North Korean summit,
which Trump has said is to be held in May or June.” Moon “has given Trump
credit for the recent diplomatic successes.” He said last week,
“Ultimately, such an agreement has to be concluded between the United
States and North Korea, not between the two Koreas.”

NPR
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=010-644&t=c>
(4/23, Flanagan) reports that “ahead of a summit scheduled for Friday
between the leaders of South and North Korea, Seoul says it is no longer
blasting pop music toward its northerly neighbor.” The South Korean Defense
Ministry “announced the move Monday, saying it aims ‘to establish the
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’ and to reach a peace settlement
and ‘a new beginning’ between the countries.”

*Nunn, Lugar: Cooperative Threat Reduction Act Could Serve As
Framework. *Under the headline “We’re All Preparing For The Trump-Kim
Summit To Go Wrong. But What If It Goes Right?” former Sens. Sam Nunn and
Richard Lugar write in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=011-871&t=c>
(4/23), “As the United States and its international partners develop a
negotiating strategy and tools for North Korea, there are vital lessons to
be learned by looking back to the early 1990s following the breakup of the
Soviet Union.” In 1991, Nunn and Lugar “wrote legislation to provide
technical and financial assistance for the inventory, destruction, and
disposal of nuclear and chemical weapons and their delivery vehicles in
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine,” a law “the Cooperative Threat
Reduction (CTR) program.” In North Korea, “we must be prepared to seize the
opportunity,” and “hope Congress and the Trump administration will use the
lessons learned from Cooperative Threat Reduction to develop a more
peaceful and secure future for the Korean Peninsula.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Welcomes Macron Ahead Of Expected Discussions On Iran, Syria, North
Korea.

All three networks reported that President Trump is hosting French
President Emmanuel Macron as part of the first state visit of his
presidency. Outlets highlighted the close relationship between the two
leaders, though several reports suggested the relationship will be tested
by discussions on issues like the Iran nuclear deal.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=012-f10&t=c>
(4/23, story 4, 0:40, Muir) reported Trump and the First Lady are
“preparing for their first official state visit.” Macron, who arrived in
Washington with his wife on Monday, “is as close to President Trump as any
foreign leader.” However, “amid the pageantry, tough questions for the
White House.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=013-32e&t=c>
(4/23, Baker, Davis) says Macron “hoped to use his unusual bond with the
American president to make the case that the world was safer with the
[Iran] deal in place.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=014-f7d&t=c>
(4/23, story 4, 0:40, Holt) likewise reported Macron and Trump are expected
to get “down to business with the Iran deal tomorrow, among the critical
topics on the table.” Jim Acosta reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=015-94c&t=c>
(4/23) that the “two have much to discuss...from North Korea to the fate of
the Iran nuclear deal,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=016-eab&t=c>
(4/23, Nussbaum) similarly says Macron “comes ready to work with Trump on
major issues including tariffs, the war in Syria, the Iran nuclear deal and
the Paris Climate Accord.”

To the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=017-ab3&t=c>
(4/23, Gearan, McAuley), Macron’s “long-shot diplomatic mission to persuade
President Trump to preserve the Iran nuclear deal began Monday with smiles
and, yes, a handshake, which masked the difficult discussions underlying
the first state visit Trump has hosted.” The Post calls the three-day visit
“a test of Macron’s year-long effort to cultivate a positive relationship
with Trump.” White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said on Fox
News’ The Ingraham Angle[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=018-835&t=c>
(4/23) that Trump and Macron “are close friends. They talk all the time.
Their relationship couldn’t be better. ... There are some major differences
but just they have a really good relationship. They are close personal
friends. The President said today...we are close personal friends, he’s a
good friend of mine. They just have a great relationship.”

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=019-1b9&t=c>
(4/23) said Macron and Trump had dinner Monday night at Mount Vernon. On
Tuesday, Trump will host Macron for the first state dinner of his
presidency. The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=01a-30b&t=c>
(4/23, story 5, 2:00, Glor) reported the fact that Macron is the first
foreign leader honored with a state dinner by Trump is the “product of a
close relationship that Macron described to Jeff Glor.” Glor: “How often do
you speak to President Trump?” Macron: “As often as we need. We have very
frank and open discussion.” Glor: “And you work characterize that
relationship as friendly?” Macron: “Yes, very direct.” However, CBS’ Chip
Reid said their relationship “could be tested by Macron’s long and bold
agenda, which is expected to include asking many Trump not to withdraw US
troops from Syria and pleading with him not to pull out of the Iran nuclear
deal, which Mr. Trump has threatened to do soon.” White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders “refused to give any hints as to how Mr. Trump will
respond to Macron” regarding Iran.

Sanders said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=01b-522&t=c>
(4/23), “Look, we certainly expect this to be a topic that comes up both”
in the visit with Macron “as well as the visit with Chancellor Merkel at
the end of this week. The President has been very clear about how he feels
about this deal and some changes that he needs and wants to see reflected
will certainly come up. I’m not going to get ahead of anything that the
President may or may not commit to and what he would want to see in that.
The President has been very clear about the dislike he has for this deal
and how he wants to make sure that we get something better.”

Kevin Corke reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=01c-42b&t=c>
(4/23) that Trump has been “very clear that if the Europeans don’t agree to
fix some of he flaws in the deal, that on May 12, he will tear it up.”
Policy experts “believe...the time for European leaders is running out.”
Fox showed Macron saying, “I don’t have any Plan B for nuclear against
Iran.” That comment prompted a response from Iranian Foreign Minister Javad
Zarif, who tweeted that Macron “is correct in saying there is no Plan B.
It’s either all or nothing.” Corke continued, “Not surprisingly, the White
House bristled.” Fox showed Sanders saying, “We certainly think there
should be a better deal. ... We don’t really typically look to the
leadership in Iran to determine what our foreign policy is.” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=01d-26c&t=c>
(4/23, Meichtry) has a similar report under the headline “Macron’s
Washington Visit Tests Whether Friendship Trumps Policy Divides.”

*Zarif Says European Signatories Should Convince Trump Not To Quit
Iran Nuclear Deal. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=01e-9b8&t=c>
(4/23, Boylan) reports, “Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said
Monday the European signatories of the Iranian nuclear deal should convince
President Trump not to exit the controversial accord.” Zarif tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=01f-832&t=c>,
“It is either all or nothing. European leaders should encourage Trump not
just to stay in the nuclear deal, but more important to begin implementing
his part of the bargain in good faith.” Zarif was scheduled to address the
Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Monday evening.

*Video Of Iranian Police Assaulting Woman Sparks Debate Over Hijab.
*The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=020-68f&t=c>
(4/23, Karimi, Nasiri) reports, “A grainy video
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=021-a2c&t=c>
of female officers from Iran’s morality police assaulting a young woman
whose headscarf only loosely covered her hair has sparked a new public
debate on the decades-long requirement for women.” Since the video appeared
online last week, “officials of all ranks up to President Hassan Rouhani
have weighed in,” and Iranian women have questioned not just “the rule that
they must wear the hijab in the street but also their faith” in the Iranian
government.

*Guest List For State Dinner Smaller Than Previous Dinners. *In a
report on Tuesday’s state dinner, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=022-d27&t=c>
(4/23, Rogers) says the guest list was “whittled to around 120 people, down
from highs of 350 or so people who attended previous bipartisan and
media-filled dinners featuring celebrities.” The list also does not include
any Democrats from Congress. In fact, the only Democrat on the list,
“according to a White House official” is Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=023-241&t=c>
(4/23, Starr) reports the First Lady and “her ten-person East Wing staff
have planned every detail of the dinner – from the menu, floral
arrangements, and seat cushions on as many as 150 chairs, to the beautiful
gifts that will be given to the Macrons – with every final decision made by
the first lady, herself.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=024-2ff&t=c>
(4/23, Decker) reports that during the state visit, Mrs. Trump will be
“thrust into a more visible public role than perhaps at any other time in
her husband’s presidency.” The visit comes “after a lengthy period of
relative invisibility that has not only confounded White House tradition
but also limited her potential political benefit to a troubled
administration.”
Trump Ties Border Security To NAFTA Talks, Orders DHS To Turn “Caravan”
Away.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=025-913&t=c>
yesterday, “Mexico, whose laws on immigration are very tough, must stop
people from going through Mexico and into the U.S. We may make this a
condition of the new NAFTA Agreement. Our Country cannot accept what is
happening! Also, we must get Wall funding fast.” He later added
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=026-ecd&t=c>,
“Despite the Democrat inspired laws on Sanctuary Cities and the Border
being so bad and one sided, I have instructed the Secretary of Homeland
Security not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country. It is
a disgrace. We are the only Country in the World so naive! WALL”

To Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=027-bff&t=c>
(4/23), Trump made immigration “a condition of a new NAFTA deal,
highlighting that a compromise is still far from certain,” while the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=028-ccc&t=c>
(4/23, Wagner, Lynch) said Trump’s “latest threat comes as trade
negotiators are already grappling with thorny issues amid a rush to
conclude at least the outlines of a deal in the next few weeks – a process
that could be upended if Trump is serious about adding a border-crossing
condition.” The Post adds “the White House and the Office of the US Trade
Representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on
whether the president had directed his negotiators to add language
addressing that to the NAFTA talks.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=029-5e7&t=c>
(4/23, Lima) casts Trump as “dangling the possibility of making stricter
border enforcement a demand in NAFTA negotiations,” the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=02a-5de&t=c>
(4/23, Enjeti) says that he “floated the idea,” the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=02b-905&t=c>
(4/23, Giaritelli) that he said NAFTA “must include language that prevents
Central Americans from getting into Mexico via its southern border,” and
the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=02c-25b&t=c>
(4/23, Persons) that he “said Mexico needs to be more of a help to the US
in preventing illegal border crossings.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=02d-62e&t=c>
(4/23, Spiering), meanwhile, describes Trump as putting “pressure on
Mexico.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=02e-465&t=c>
(4/23) notes that “before Trump’s tweet, Mexican President Enrique Peña
Nieto said he hoped for [a NAFTA] agreement soon,” telling a “Hanover trade
fair in Germany” that “differences between the parties could be
overcome.” Mexico
News Daily
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=02f-b8f&t=c>
(4/23) also says the controversy flared up “just as NAFTA talks appear to
be entering their final stage,” and noted that Mexican Foreign Affairs
Secretary Luis Videgaray “rebuffed the tweet with one of his own an hour
later,” writing
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=030-6e7&t=c>,
“Mexico decides its migratory policy in a sovereign way, and migratory
cooperation with the United States happens because it’s in Mexico’s
interest. ... It would be unacceptable to condition the renegotiation of
NAFTA to migratory actions outside this frame of cooperation.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=031-6b5&t=c>
(4/23, Bernal) reports “Mexican leaders have intensified their response to
Trump over the past month after the US president ordered National Guard
troops to support the Border Patrol at the US-Mexico border.” After Trump
signed that order, for example, “Peña Nieto delivered a televised address
rebuffing the move and ordering a full review of all cooperation agreements
with the United States.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=032-d92&t=c>
(4/23, Giaritelli) reports “about 50 people in the 1,500-person caravan of
Central Americans traveling to the US to seek asylum have made the
2,000-mile trip to the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, according to
multiple reports late last week.” The “crew of mostly Honduran and
Guatemalan people...arrived at the northern Mexico city last Wednesday,”
and “have begun filing for asylum, which is technically a request for
refugee status because they are not in the US.” Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=033-369&t=c>
(4/23, Solis) says “Mexican officials made efforts to break up the caravan
earlier this month, stopping the group of migrants...in Oaxaca.” The
Mexican Foreign Ministry, in fact, “announced that officials had
repatriated hundreds of Central Americans, while they allowed others to
apply for Mexican asylum.” Trump, however, “has continued to blame Mexican
officials and the lack of adequate border security – that is, the lack of
the ‘big, beautiful wall’ he’s been pushing for since his campaign – for
the caravan, which inspired him to sign an order to deploy National Guard
troops to secure the border.”

NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=034-1b3&t=c>
(4/23, Edelman, Acevedo) reported on its website that “following orders
from...Trump,” DHS “vowed to prosecute and detain members of” the
“‘caravan’...if they try to enter the US illegally.” Secretary Nielsen said
“those seeking asylum...will be detained while their cases are processed,
and asylum seekers who the US determines don’t have a legitimate claim will
be ‘promptly removed from the United States.’” Added Nielsen, “If you enter
the United States illegally, let me be clear: You have broken the law. ...
And we will enforce the law through prosecution of illegal border
crossers.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=035-c6b&t=c>
(4/23, Bernal) quotes Nielsen as saying, “The Trump administration is
committed to enforcing our immigration laws – whether persons are part of
this ‘caravan’ or not. ... If members of the ‘caravan’ enter the country
illegally, they will be referred for prosecution for illegal entry in
accordance with existing law.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=036-588&t=c>
(4/23, Dinan) notes Nielsen also “said and the Justice Department are
sending personnel to the border so that those who do attempt to claim
asylum can have quick hearings and be deported, if they don’t qualify.”

*WSJournal: Trump Can Make Minor Changes To NAFTA Without Congress.
*The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=037-24f&t=c>
(4/23, Mauldin) analysis considers whether Trump could make changes to
NAFTA without Congress, saying that while he can make minor changes to the
agreement, changes that would affect US law would require congressional
approval. The Journal adds that people following the NAFTA talks say it is
not clear if they will result in an agreement that would necessitate a
change in federal law.
Van Attack Kills Nine In Toronto; Suspect Taken Into Custody.

News of a deadly van attack in Toronto led all three networks, which noted
that the suspect in the attack was taken into custody. Later cable reports
cited Canadian officials who said the attack was intentional, although it’s
unclear if it was an act of terrorism. In its lead story, ABC World News
Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=038-049&t=c>
(4/23, lead story, 3:10, Muir) reported that nine people are dead and 16
others are wounded after a “horrific attack in downtown Toronto.” A suspect
drove a van 16 blocks, “ramming into people again and again.” In its lead
story, NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=039-8c0&t=c>
(4/23, lead story, 2:00, Holt) reported that the “deadly incident
immediately brought to mind a series of vehicle terror attacks the world
has witnessed over the last few years. Tonight, a Canadian official says
this was apparently deliberate act.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=03a-2f0&t=c>
(4/23, story 2, 0:40, Muir) similarly reported that authorities “believe
this was an intentional act. They are sorting out if this is terrorism or
not, but these kind of vehicle attacks have become the preferred method of
terrorists around the world.”

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=03b-b6d&t=c>
(4/23, lead story, 2:10, Glor) reported in its lead story that “sources
have identified the suspect as 25-year-old Alek Minassian,” who in a “short
standoff with Toronto police...pointed an object in a threatening stance at
the officers before he was taken into custody.” A “a source tells CBS News
the suspect was known to police and to officials, but they don’t have a
motive just yet.” Correspondent Vladimir Duthiers said it is “interesting”
that the attack “took place just a couple miles away from where the G7 is
going to be taking place also in Toronto.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=03c-1c2&t=c>
(4/23, Correll) reports that in a statement Monday, White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders said the US “stands with the Canadian people in the
aftermath of today’s tragic event in Toronto, where a van drove into a
crowd of people killing several and injuring many more.” Sanders continued,
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those affected, and we
wish a full recovery to those injured. The United States Government pledges
to provide any support Canada may need.”
Obama Foundation Announces Program For Emerging African Leaders.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=03d-f01&t=c>
(4/23, Tanner) reports the Obama Foundation on Monday announced a new
program, “Obama Foundation Leaders: Africa,” that will launch in July and
“train 200 young leaders across Africa who work in government, civil
society and the private sector.” The nonprofit said the selected
individuals will serve as the “backbone of a larger ecosystem of foundation
changemakers across the continent and, eventually, the world, as the
foundation launches similar leadership programs in regions around the
world.” Former President Obama is expected to “mark the addition of the new
program with a visit to Johannesburg on July 17, the day before Nelson
Mandela International Day.” He will also “deliver the 16th Nelson Mandela
Annual Lecture to honor the centennial of Madiba’s birth,” with a
particular “focus on Mandela’s mission to bridge the gap between political
ideologies, while highlighting oppression and inequality.”
Former Guantanamo Detainees Vanish After Being Deported To Libya.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=03e-420&t=c>
(4/23, Savage, Walsh, Searcey) reports that as it moved to close the US
prison at Guantanamo Bay, the Obama Administration “struck deals with about
three dozen nations to take in lower-risk detainees from dangerous
countries.” However, Senegal’s decision this month to deport two former
detainees to their homecountry of Libya “has raised the prospect that the
resettlement system is starting to collapse under President Trump.” The
former detainees “fell into the hands of a hard-line militia leader who has
been accused of prisoner abuse – and then they vanished.” The Times cites
“current and former officials” say the case “sets a worrisome precedent,”
as “other countries may follow Senegal” in moving former detainees “home to
unstable places where they risk being killed – or could end up becoming
threats themselves.” According to the Times, the situation “appears to be
at least partly a consequence of the disorganization that has afflicted the
State Department since Mr. Trump took office.”
WPost A1 Examines Worsening Living Conditions In Gaza.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=03f-99c&t=c>
(4/23, A1, Morris, Balousha) runs a front-page feature on conditions in
Gaza, where residents “are struggling to finance their daily lives. Young
people – unable to pay for weddings or homes of their own – are delaying
marriage, figures show, while health officials say suicide, once virtually
unheard of in Gaza, is on the rise.”
State Dept. Raises Nicaragua Threat Level, Pulls Some Embassy Staff.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=040-e75&t=c>
(4/23, Lederman) reports the State Department is shuttering routine
operations at the US Embassy in Managua and ordering some diplomats and
their family members out of Nicaragua “until security improves.” It is also
“raising the threat level for Nicaragua and encouraging Americans to
reconsider plans to travel there.” According to rights groups, dozens have
been killed in a “string of deadly protests” over Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega’s “changes to the social security system.” Ortega ultimately
“withdrew the changes.”
Domestic Policy
Senate Panel Approves Pompeo Nomination After Paul’s Last Minute Reversal.

With Sen. Rand Paul reversing his position shortly before the vote, the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted yesterday in favor of Mike
Pompeo’s nomination to head the State Department. Paul tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=041-80a&t=c>,
“President Trump believes that Iraq was a mistake, that regime change has
destabilized the region, and that we must end our involvement with
Afghanistan,” and
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=042-bca&t=c>
“having received assurances from President Trump and Director Pompeo that
he agrees with the President on these important issues, I have decided to
support his nomination.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=043-5a8&t=c>
(4/23, Schor) reports “Paul’s surprising turnabout on Pompeo came after
multiple conversations with...Trump,” and [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=044-882&t=c>
(4/23, story 6, 0:50, Karl) that the switch “came after the personal
intervention” of the President. In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=045-c81&t=c>
(4/23) criticizes Paul, casting his opposition and last-minute reversal as
political theater and accusing him of simply not believing in foreign
policy.

Ultimately, notes CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=046-701&t=c>
(4/23, Mattingly, Fox), the committee “voted 11 to 9 with Democratic Sen.
Chris Coons of Delaware voting present and Sen. Isakson voting by proxy.”
Brit Hume said on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ Special
Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=047-d30&t=c>
(4/23), “I think what happened is about as good an outcome as you could
expect for the Republicans and for this nominee under the circumstances.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=048-9a3&t=c>
(4/23, Dorell), the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=049-310&t=c>
(4/23, Wilkinson), Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=04a-661&t=c>
(4/23, Tau, Nicholas) and New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=04b-996&t=c>
(4/23, Fredericks), among other news outlets, run similar reports on the
committee vote.

Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin also
announced yesterday they will favor the nominee on the Senate floor, which
appeared to make the final outcome of the Pompeo confirmation battle a
foregone conclusion. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=04c-36d&t=c>
(4/23) reports, for example, that “the votes of the three Democrats all but
assure Pompeo will get enough votes,” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=04d-5a6&t=c>
(4/23, Carney) that he has “a jolt of momentum,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=04e-858&t=c>
(4/23, Demirjian) that he “he has all but clinched a full Senate
confirmation vote.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=04f-207&t=c>
(4/23, Fandos) reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell “intends to move
the full chamber to begin debate on Mr. Pompeo’s nomination as soon as
Wednesday, with a final vote expected before senators leave Friday for a
weeklong recess.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=050-d52&t=c>
(4/23, Wadhams) reports that yesterday’s “party-line” committee vote
“didn’t matter much since Republican leaders including...McConnell had
vowed to bring the nomination before the full Senate this week regardless
of the committee’s decision,” though “a negative vote would have been
embarrassing for both Pompeo and the White House.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=051-77b&t=c>
(4/23, Steinbuch) says Pompeo would have been “the first nominee to win a
cabinet position without a committee endorsement since 1945, when Henry
Wallace was confirmed to serve as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
commerce secretary,” and Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=052-e39&t=c>
(4/23, Pavlich) that “ten editorial boards at major newspapers and online
outlets, including left leaning publishers like the Washington Post have
called for Pompeo to be confirmed,” with editors citing “his extensive
experience in Congress, at the CIA and during his time in the military.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=053-d74&t=c>
(4/23, story 5, 1:55, Mitchell) called Pompeo “a lightning rod pick
from...Trump,” whose “hawkish worldview make some question the CIA
director’s fitness to become America’s top diplomat.” Pompeo “has the
President’s ear, unlike Rex Tillerson,” but “the question from critics” is:
“Will he tell the President inconvenient truth?” The [image: Image removed
by sender. Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=054-4d9&t=c>
(4/23, story 4, 2:45, Cordes) said “the party-line vote was a departure
from Senate tradition. John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Condoleezza Rice
all got unanimous or near-unanimous backing from the Foreign Relations
Committee, a signal to the rest of the world of bipartisan confidence in
the nation’s top diplomat.” This time around, “some Democrats argue the
former Congressman and West Point grad is too hawkish,” while “others
wanted to make a point about the commander-in-chief.”

Yesterday morning, says the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=055-64f&t=c>
(4/23, Miller), “the White House cheered the three Democratic senators who
now back confirming...Pompeo” but “blasted the ‘pointless obstruction’ of
the rest of the Democrats.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=056-67f&t=c>
(4/23, Wagner) notes that “shortly afterward, Trump took to Twiter, saying
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=057-a22&t=c>
it was hard to believe that ‘Obstructionists’ might vote against his pick”
and complaining “more broadly that Democrats would not help in approving
‘hundreds of good people’ and were slowing down the confirmation process of
his nominees. ‘Need more Republicans!’ the president wrote.”

*Sanders: Democrats Must Decide “Whether They Love This Country
More Than They Hate” Trump. *In a discussion about the Pompeo nomination,
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]Fox News’ Fox & Friends
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=058-4a4&t=c>
(4/23), “At some point, Democrats have to decide whether they love this
country more than they hate this President. And they have to decide that
they want to put the safety and the security and the diplomacy of our
country ahead of their own political game. And we are very hopeful that
they will.”

*Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Postpones Jackson Confirmation
Hearing. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=059-ad7&t=c>
(4/23, Kim, Rein, Dawsey) reports that the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee has postponed the confirmation hearing of VA Secretary-designate
Johnson “after top Republicans and Democrats raised concerns about his
qualifications and oversight of the White House medical staff, White House
and other administration officials were told Monday.” Ranking Democrat Sen.
Jon Tester said, “I can tell you we’re vetting out Jackson. I can’t get
into specifics, but we’re doing our job to make sure he’s fit for the job.”
Aides to Chairman Johnny Isakson declined to comment. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=05a-1f8&t=c>
(4/23) reported earlier that Sen. Richard Blumenthal said “some Republicans
have told him that they think the hearing should be postponed.”
White House Will Not Rule Out Pardon For Cohen.

On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=05b-a3e&t=c>
(4/23, story 7, 2:10, Muir), Kyra Phillips reported on the “mounting
questions” about whether President Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen, “the man
known for his pledge of loyalty, could flip on his most famous client. ...
The President also tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=05c-622&t=c>
about a potential pardon of someone else, which left some people to
speculate he was trying to send a message to Cohen. Tonight, the White
House saying they’re not ruling out a presidential pardon.” ABC’s Jonathan
Karl: “Is the President open to a pardon for Michael Cohen?” White House
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders: “I don’t think we’re going to talk about
hypotheticals that don’t exist right now.” Phillips: “When pressed
later...” Sanders: “It’s hard to close a door on something that hasn’t
taken place.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=05d-360&t=c>
(4/23, Samuels) reports on Sanders’ response and adds that White House
Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short “told CNN on Monday morning that
there’s ‘no need’ to pardon Cohen ‘at this point.’”

Alan Dershowitz said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=05e-a3d&t=c>
(4/23), “I think it is inappropriate for a president to dangle a pardon. It
is not inappropriate for a president to grant a pardon. If the President
granted a pardon, there goes Michael Cohen’s Fifth Amendment privilege. ...
So the first thing the prosecution would do is call him in before a grand
jury, tell him he has no Fifth Amendment, and he has to answer the
questions. If he doesn’t answer the questions, at that point he could be
held in contempt. Then the President would have to pardon him from the
contempt. All of that would be a complete mess. So, I don’t think we can
expect to pardon, certainly not at this point in time.” Meanwhile,
Dershowitz writes in a Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=05f-dc9&t=c>
(4/23) op-ed, “Today’s fair weather civil libertarians are unwilling to
give President Trump – who they regard as the devil – the ‘benefit of law’
and civil liberties.” Dershowitz argues that “any criticism or even
skepticism regarding Mueller’s history is seen as motivated by a desire to
help Trump. ... I am a liberal who voted against Trump, but who insists
that his civil liberties must be respected for all of our sake.”

*Sarah Sanders: “We Have No Intention Of Firing” Mueller. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=060-1c6&t=c>
(4/23, Fabian) reports that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
yesterday also “stressed that President Trump does not plan to fire special
counsel Robert Mueller after the president said the Russia investigation
was ‘based on an illegal act.’” Sanders told reporters, “As we’ve said many
times before, we have no intention of firing the special counsel. We’ve
been beyond cooperative with them, we’re continuing to cooperate with
them.”

*Records Appear To Contradict Trump Claim That He Did n’t Spend
Night In Russia In 2013. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=061-c41&t=c>
(4/23, Silver) reports that though Trump “twice gave James Comey an alibi
for why a salacious report about the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow
couldn’t be true,” telling the then-FBI director that “he never even spent
the night in Russia during that trip” according to Comey’s memos about the
conversations, “the broad timeline of Trump’s stay...has been widely
reported. And it’s substantiated by social media posts that show he slept
in Moscow the night before the Miss Universe contest.” Flight records
examined by Bloomberg do indicate that “on the night of the pageant itself,
the plane Trump was said to be using didn’t fully overnight in Russia,” but
took off at 3:58 a.m. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=062-a8e&t=c>
(4/23, Schreckinger) reports under the headline “Trump’s False Claims To
Comey About Moscow Stay Could Aid Mueller” that flight records “as well as
congressional testimony from Trump’s bodyguard and contemporaneous
photographs and social media posts, tell a different story” than the one
Trump told Comey – “one that might bring new legal jeopardy for the
president, legal experts say.”

*Goodlatte, Gowdy Say DOJ Has Agreed To Turn Over Requested Clinton
Probe Documents. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=063-a4f&t=c>
(4/23) reports that House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House
Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy “say the Justice
Department has agreed to provide them with documents on the Hillary Clinton
investigation that they’ve been requesting for months.” The two met earlier
this month with US Attorney John Lausch, “who has been selected to respond
to Republican demands for documents.”
Supreme Court Weighs Power, Appointment Of Agency Judges.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=064-a63&t=c>
(4/23, Barnes) reports that in 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) “said the ‘Buckets of Money’ strategy that Raymond J. Lucia pitched
at investment seminars violated anti-fraud statutes,” and an SEC
administrative law judge “held a hearing and fined Lucia $300,000 and
barred him from working as an investment adviser, a decision the commission
affirmed.” Lucia’s case “was at the Supreme Court on Monday, not
challenging the decision of the administrative law judge – although Lucia
does – but arguing that the judge was improperly appointed to his job,
something that could have a much larger impact on the federal government.”
The court is considering “whether administrative law judges, like the one
in Lucia’s case, are simply employees of the agency, or as Lucia contends,
should be considered officers of the United States, as defined by the
Constitution,” which “would mean appointment by either the president, the
courts, or heads of departments.”
Sanders Questioned About Trump’s Use Of Term “Breeding Concept.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=065-ebc&t=c>
(4/23, Wagner) reports that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
“sought Monday to dismiss criticism of President Trump” after he “came
under fire from immigrant rights activists and others” for a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=066-30c&t=c>
in which he used the words “breeding concept” as he “railed against
‘sanctuary’ laws in California that protect undocumented immigrants.” Trump
wrote, “There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary
areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry
Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the
people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!” Asked if
Trump “had used a derogatory term to refer to Latinos,” Sanders said, “No,
he’s talking about the problem itself growing and getting bigger.” When
April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks said that “when you think of
breeding, you think of animals,” Sanders said, “I’m not going to begin to
think what you think. ... The president’s talking about a growing problem.”

*Kean, Danforth, Phillips Op-Ed, NYTimes Editorial Urge SCOTUS To
Reject Trump Travel Ban. *In an op-ed for the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=067-a65&t=c>
(4/23), former New Jersey Gov. and 9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas H. Kean,
former Sen. and UN Amb. John Danforth, and attorney Carter Phillips – who
has argued 84 cases before the Supreme Court – write that President Trump’s
travel ban “threatens a cornerstone of our system of government: the
constitutionally mandated separation of powers.” They write that Trump “is
claiming the power to make immigration and foreign travel laws, but the
Constitution grants that power to Congress,” and argue that when the
Supreme Court hears arguments on the ban this week, it should “restore the
separation of powers and place limits on Mr. Trump’s assertion of
unilateral executive power.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=068-fb3&t=c>
(4/23) editorializes against the ban and argues that the Court “has been
faced with situations like this before. In World War II, it bowed to claims
of unfettered executive authority and allowed American citizens to be
locked up for years simply because of their Japanese heritage.” The Times
says that with Trump’s order, which his also “based on racial animus and
unfounded fears, the justices have the chance to deliver a very different
message about executive power, and the meaning of America.”

*WPost: Not Clear If Travel Ban Will Be Lifted When Vetting Center
Is Functioning. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=069-061&t=c>
(4/22, Miroff) reports that since the White House announced “the creation
of a National Vetting Center, or NVC, that would bring unprecedented rigor
to screening foreigners,” the Administration “has not explained how the
center will vet travelers more extremely than the array of other federal
agencies already performing the task.” The Post adds that it is “unclear
whether the White House plans to lift the controversial travel restrictions
once the NVC is up and running.”

*USCIS To Make H-1B Visas More Difficult To Obtain. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=06a-9c5&t=c>
(4/23, Kight) reports that in a letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=06b-ea1&t=c>
to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, USCIS Director
Francis Cissna wrote that his agency “is planning to roll out new proposals
that would change the kind of jobs H-1B workers can do, what their
relationship with their employers must look like, and how much employers
must pay them.” Critics of the H-1B program argue that “employers who send
H1-B workers to third-party worksites” take “advantage of the visa and
steal jobs from US workers.” Axios said that “by redefining ‘specialty
occupation’ and ‘employer-employee relationship,’ USCIS will likely make it
more difficult for companies to obtain H-1Bs, particularly outsourcing
companies.”

*Latinos Make Up More Than 50% Of Border Patrol. *The Los Angeles
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=06c-609&t=c>
(4/23, Mejia) reports on the growing number of Latinos in the Border
Patrol. In 1924, when the Border Patrol was established, “Latinos were a
tiny minority.” Latinos “made up almost 36% of the agency” by 1989, and now
they “make up a little more than 50% of the Border Patrol, according to
2016 data.”

*Nearly 100 Iranians Sue DHS Over Denial Of Refugee Status.
*The Washington
Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=06d-bf1&t=c>
(4/23, Crabtree) reports that nearly 100 Iranians “have filed a
class-action lawsuit against the US government challenging the mass denials
of their applications for refugee status under an expedited US program.”
The Iranians, “many of whom are either Christians or other persecuted
religious minorities,” applied for refugee resettlement in the US under the
Lautenberg Amendment, which has “admitted thousands of Iranian Christians
and other religious minorities over the past decade at a near 100 percent
acceptance rate without incident, according to US lawmakers familiar with
the acceptance record.” In February, DHS denied the latest group, and “did
not provide the reasons behind the decision,” saying only in the denial
letters “that the applicants were being barred from resettling in the US
‘as a matter of discretion.’”
Insurers’ Lobby Opposes Administration Push For Short-Term Insurance Plans.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=06e-ee0&t=c>
(4/23, Howell) reports that America’s Health Insurance Plans, the main
lobbying group for health insurers, on Monday urged the Administration “to
curtail its push to let Americans get around Obamacare by purchasing cheap
‘short-term’ plans for a full year.” AHIP “said every American needs better
access to affordable coverage, particularly if they don’t qualify for
taxpayer subsidies under Obamacare, and that states should be able to
manage their own markets.” However, Incoming AHIP CEO Matt Eyles said, “At
the same time, we are concerned that this proposed rule will lead to more
people being uninsured and under-insured, and to higher costs in the long
run. ... Short-term plans can provide an important temporary bridge for
Americans who are transitioning between plans. But they are not a
replacement for comprehensive coverage.” Eyles “also said the plan – if it
proceeds – should not be enacted until 2020, so insurers have time to plan
for a reconfigured marketplace.”

*LePage Refuses To Expand Maine Medicaid Despite Ballot Initiative.
*Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=06f-aa1&t=c>
(4/23, Pradhan) reports that while Maine residents “voted decisively” to
expand the state’s Medicaid program, Gov. Paul LePage, “still refuses to
take action as the state’s legislative session winds down, putting the
Obamacare coverage program in doubt.” LePage, “a tea party Republican,” has
“insisted he won’t green-light expansion, which is expected to cover 80,000
low-income Maine adults, unless state lawmakers meet his conditions for
funding the program that he contends could otherwise bankrupt the state.”
Chances for a deal appear slim and “the organizers of the Maine ballot
initiative are now preparing for a legal showdown to enforce voters’
wishes.”
Authorities Arrest Suspect In Tennessee Waffle House Killings.

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=070-068&t=c>
(4/23, story 2, 2:25, Holt) reported that the Nashville area “is breathing
easier after the arrest of the suspect in a deadly mass shooting at a
Waffle House restaurant.” NBC (Gutierrez) added that Travis Reinking was
found by a police search aided by a tip, and “surrendered wearing a
backpack with a loaded gun.” The arrest occurred “three miles from” the
Waffle House where he killed four people on Sunday. NBC added, “The death
toll would have been much higher police say if not for customer James Shaw
Jr., who wrestled away the AR-15.” Reinking had, days before, stolen a BMW
from a “dealership and led police on a chase,” In addition he was arrested
by the Secret Service less than a year ago at the White House.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=071-0e9&t=c>
(4/23, story 2, 2:40, Glor) reported Reinking “was hiding in the woods
behind his apartment complex.” CBS added, “Since 2013, his family says
Reinking is delusional, convinced Taylor Swift was stalking him. Last June,
he threatened someone with an AR-15, wearing a pink dress. A month later,
he was arrested near the White House after demanding to see the President.
Illinois sheriff’s deputies then took away Reinking’s four guns and gave
them to his father.” ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson said, “It is
possible if you transfer weapons knowingly to a person prohibited to have
them, it could be a potential violation of federal law.” ABC World News
Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=072-e19&t=c>
(4/23, story 3, 2:55, Muir) reported, “Tonight, we learned that they had
taken weapons away from him before.” ABC (Reshef) added, “Federal
authorities now looking into the actions of Reinking’s father.”

The Chicago Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=073-a45&t=c>
(4/23, Briscoe, Malagon) reports on Morton, Illinois, the hometown of
Reinking, previously known for being ranked by Family Circle as a best
place to raise children. The Tribune also reports that according to the
Tazewell County sheriff’s office, on “at least three occasions...Reinking’s
father, Jeffrey Reinking, took possession of his son’s guns, only to return
them to him.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=074-0c8&t=c>
(4/23) in an editorial, asks why Reinking “got back his guns?” The Post
adds that his having guns “compounds the failure — indeed the absurdity —
of policies that make it far too easy to get guns.” The Post adds that an
AR-15 was used in a number of prior shootings and comments, “These are not
weapons needed for self-defense or hunting. They are designed to kill as
many people as quickly and efficiently as possible.” The Post concludes,
“Voters should elect a Congress that will undertake comprehensive gun law
reform.”

*DOJ Awards $1 Million Grant For Parkland Shooting Response. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=075-6ab&t=c>
(4/23) reports from Tallahassee, FL that the Justice Department “is
awarding $1 million to reimburse Florida agencies for the cost of
responding to a school shooting that claimed the lives of 17 people.” The
department announced the grant award on Monday. The money “can be used for
salary and overtime expenses for the law-enforcement agencies that
responded to Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018042401biden&r=email-d002&l=076-4c2&t=c>
(4/23, Mordock) reports that Attorney General Sessions “said the grant
demonstrates the department’s commitment to helping first responders. ‘The
school shooting in Parkland shocked and horrified the nation, but the
community and law enforcement at all levels have shown resilience and
determination,’ Mr. Sessions said. ‘As I told our state and local partners
back in February, the Department of Justice stands ready to help them in
any way we can.