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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Wednesday, May 9, 2018 7:52 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, May 9, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=000-47b&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=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=001-b9d&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, May 9, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Trump: US Leaving “One-Sided” Iran Deal, Will Impose “Highest Level” Of
Sanctions. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• North Korea Expected To Release Americans During Pompeo Visit. <#S2>

• In Call With Xi, Trump Stresses Need For “Balanced” Trade Relationship.
<#S3>

• UN: Afghan Airstrikes Last Month Killed At Least 30 Children. <#S4>

• Jerusalem To Name Square Near US Embassy After Trump. <#S5>

• US Initiates Review Of Aid Programs To South Sudan. <#S6>

• Armenian Opposition Leader Elected As Interim PM. <#S7>

• Prince Al-Waleed, Investment Company To Acquire New York’s Plaza Hotel.
<#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Avenatti Says Cohen Received Roughly $500,000 From Russian Oligarch In
2017. <#S9>

• Senators To Press Haspel Today About Role In CIA Torture Program. <#S10>

• Media Analyses: Hypocritical Schneiderman Fell “With Shocking Speed.”
<#S11>

• US Embassy Cables Warned Administration Against Expelling 300,000
Immigrants. <#S12>

• House Republicans Optimistic About Passage Of Rescission Package. <#S13>

• Ryan: House To Move On Legislation Revising Dodd-Frank. <#S14>

• Senate Democrats To Push For Net Neutrality Vote Today. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• USPSTF Issues New Prostate Cancer Screening Recommendations. <#S16>

• Review: HPV Vaccines Effective In Preventing Pre-Cancerous Cervical
Lesions. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden Discusses Economy, Middle Class In Speech At Brookings Institution.
<#S20>

• Biden: Trump Decision To Pull Out Of Iran Nuclear Deal Is “Profound
Mistake.” <#S21>
Leading the News
Trump: US Leaving “One-Sided” Iran Deal, Will Impose “Highest Level” Of
Sanctions.

To overwhelmingly unfavorable mainstream media reviews – and plaudits from
conservative news outlets – President Trump announced
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=002-034&t=c>
yesterday that the US is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal negotiated
under then-President Obama. Moreover, notes the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=003-5c7&t=c>
(5/8, Bierman), Trump “said he would impose the ‘highest level of economic
sanctions’” on Iran, which the White House says will target Iran’s “energy,
petrochemical and financial sectors.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=004-3d8&t=c>
(5/8, Toosi, Nelson, Lima) indicates that “in a conference call with
reporters shortly after the president spoke,” National Security Adviser
Bolton said Trump’s move “puts sanctions back in place immediately,”
and Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=005-2e2&t=c>
(5/8, Talev, Olorunnipa) that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin “said he didn’t
expect the sanctions to raise global oil prices since ‘to a certain extent
some of this was already in the market on oil prices.’”

Mnuchin said on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’
Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=006-86b&t=c>
(5/8) that the new sanctions “actually kick in now, but there is what we
call a wind-down and maintenance period. ... People can’t do new business
but people who have existing business have time.” There is a “90-day
tranche for most things and a 180-day tranche for other energy-related
things and miscellaneous items.” Regarding a potential new deal with Iran,
Mnuchin said, “We are ready to renegotiate now. ... We don’t want Iran to
ever have nuclear weapons,” and the President is also “focused on the
ballistic missiles and the state-sponsored terrorism.” Mnuchin added that
“if Iran is sincere in wanting to become a member of the world community,
they should sit down and negotiate reasonable terms.” The Washington Free
Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=007-566&t=c>
(5/8, Kredo) notes Bolton also “said the United States is ‘prepared to look
at discussions’ on a new deal.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=008-84c&t=c>
(5/8), meanwhile, reports that “the new US ambassador to Germany,” Richard
Grenell, tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=009-f90&t=c>
that American “sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy”
and that “German companies doing business in Iran should wind down
operations immediately,” while Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=00a-89f&t=c>
(5/8, Pavlich) notes Trump had said in his afternoon remarks, “Powerful
sanctions will go into full effect. If the regime continues its nuclear
aspirations, it will have bigger problems than it has ever had before.”

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=00b-476&t=c>
(5/8, Liptak) reported that in the run up to his decision, Bolton offered
Trump “a variety of paths, including reimposing all sanctions, applying new
sanctions, or allowing for more time to negotiate with the Europeans.”
According to CNN, “Trump determined that more time would not bridge
disagreements, most pointedly his demand that Iran’s nuclear program be
curbed past the current deal’s sunset in 2030.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=00c-ccf&t=c>
(5/8, Bierman) indicates both Bolton and Secretary of State Pompeo “were
vociferous critics of the deal.” The Times reports Pompeo said in a
statement yesterday, “As we exit the Iran deal, we will be working with our
allies to find a real, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Iranian
threat. ... As we build this global effort, sanctions will go into full
effect and will remind the Iranian regime of the diplomatic and economic
isolation that results from its reckless and malign activity.”

Bolton said on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ The
Ingraham Angle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=00d-bf4&t=c>
(5/8), “This sends North Korea a signal that we are not in these
discussions with Kim Jong-un just to have a deal. We are in them to
denuclearize North Korea. So, it’s an indication of how serious...Trump is.
As he said, when he says he’s going to do something, he carries through on
it.” Asked about Iran’s claim that it will continue to abide by the terms
of the deal, Bolton said, “I think Iran has demonstrated in so many ways it
couldn’t careless about the restrictions of this deal. What it wants are
the economic advantages that Obama and Kerry gave to them. So of course it
will try and keep those. But we will see, I think the real performance is
going to put them in a position where our European friends have got to come
along and put sanctions back on.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=00e-0cb&t=c>
(5/8, lead story, 2:35, Muir) showed Trump saying, “The fact is, this was a
horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made. It didn’t
bring calm. It didn’t bring peace. And it never will. ... America will not
be held hostage to nuclear blackmail.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=00f-c6e&t=c>
(5/8, Gearan, Deyoung) quotes Trump as saying, “We cannot prevent an
Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current
agreement.” Trump also “called the agreement ‘a great embarrassment to me
as a citizen and all citizens of the United States,’” and claimed that it
is “heart...was a giant fiction.” Trump “said Iran was lying throughout
negotiations for the international deal, and cited secret Iranian documents
revealed last week by Israel, that showed the Iranian regime had concealed
a nuclear weapons program in the 1990s.”

The Federalist
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=010-405&t=c>
(5/8, Payton) notes Trump also said, “Over the years Iran and its proxies
have bombed American embassies and military installations, murdered
hundreds of American service members, and kidnapped, imprisoned, and
tortured American citizens. ... The Iranian regime has funded its long
reign of chaos and terror by plundering the wealth of its own people. No
action taken by the regime has been more dangerous than its pursuit of
nuclear weapons and the means of delivering them.” Later yesterday, Trump
further explain his decision on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=011-754&t=c>,
writing, “The Iran Deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know
what will happen. In just a short time, the world’s leading state sponsor
of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous
weapons.”

John Roberts, on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’
Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=012-232&t=c>
(5/8), said that “while there is nothing at the moment to replace” the
deal, Trump “said he is willing to negotiate a new deal, one that covers
Iran’s short-term nuclear program, long-term ambitions, and destabilizing
behavior.” The [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=013-9f0&t=c>
(5/8, lead story, 3:05, Glor) also reported that Trump said he’s open to
renegotiation, but added “Iran is unlikely to come to the table.”

Right-leaning news outlets highlighted what they saw as Trump’s
consistency on the issue, and saw potential leverage for the West as it
strives to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons . The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=014-8e4&t=c>
(5/8, Boyer, Miller), for example, casts Trump as “keeping his promise to
rip up what he called the worst deal ever” and the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=015-0b2&t=c>
(5/8, Morrongiello) as fulfilling “a key campaign promise” he “made at the
very beginning of his bid for the White House.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=016-e7e&t=c>
(5/8, Enjeti), meanwhile, says the “devastating economic sanctions on Iran”
could “force the regime back to the negotiating table for a new agreement,”
and Joel B. Pollak, in a piece for Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=017-4f1&t=c>
(5/8) titled “In Leaving Iran Deal, Trump Ends Obama’s Legacy Of
Appeasement,” reports “Trump will earn credit from his supporters for
keeping his promise” though “in truth, the...deal was undone by its own
terms. It did not stop Iran from enriching uranium; it did not stop Iran
from building a nuclear weapon, eventually; and it did not stop Iran’s
global aggression. In fact, the Iran deal was not even a deal at all.”

Writing for the Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=018-fc5&t=c>
(5/8), Matthew Continetti says “removing ourselves from the deal puts Iran
on the defensive” and that “the issue” now “is whether Iran chooses to
become a responsible player or not, whether it curbs its imperial designs,
cuts off its militias, abandons terrorism, opens its public square, and
ceases its threats to and harassment of the United States and her allies.
That choice is not...Trump’s to make. It is the Iranian regime’s.” Noting
that the Iran deal, like the Paris climate accord, was not a treaty,
Continetti also write, “It took a small boy to say the emperor had no
clothes. And it took...Trump to say that Barack Obama’s foreign policy
legacy was a superficial and dangerous mirage.”

The rest of the media, however, saw Trump as engaging in an
ill-conceived, high-stakes gamble. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=019-103&t=c>
(5/8, Sanger), for example, refers to “a grand, highly risky experiment,”
because “America’s withdrawal could free Iran to produce as much nuclear
material as it wants – what it was doing five years ago, when the world
feared it was headed toward a bomb.” Yet “Trump’s team dismisses that risk”
in “a brutally realpolitik approach that America’s allies in Europe have
warned is a historic mistake, one that could lead to confrontation, and
perhaps to war.” Jim Acosta said on [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=01a-bc2&t=c>
(5/8) that Trump is “rolling the nuclear dice,” and Joby Warrick of
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=01b-c91&t=c>
(5/7) reports that “in effect,” Trump made it “harder for US officials to
detect a secret Iranian effort to build nuclear weapons.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=01c-432&t=c>
(5/8), meanwhile, reports Trump’s decision raised “the risk of conflict in
the Middle East,” and the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=01d-726&t=c>
(5/8, Landler) that it “plunges America’s relations with European allies
into deep uncertainty.”

Along those lines, many reports cast Trump’s decision it as a slap
to European allies and a boost to Iranian hardliners. Richard Engel
reported on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=01e-6c5&t=c>
(5/8, story 2, 2:00, Holt) that while Saudi Arabia and Israel “loved”
Trump’s decision, “across Europe, there’s a chill that the US under...Trump
may not be a reliable partner anymore.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=01f-e79&t=c>
(5/8) also says Trump’s decision “was hailed by Washington’s principal
allies in the Middle East,” Israel and Saudi Arabia, but the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=020-c64&t=c>
(5/8, Lederman, Lucey) believes Trump dealt “a profound blow to US allies
and potentially” deepened his “isolation on the world stage.” Another
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=021-5ff&t=c>
(5/8) dispatch sees “a snub to European allies” and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=022-225&t=c>
(5/8, Hjelmgaard, Hayes) “the latest [Trump] dig to long-standing allies.”

To the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=023-53a&t=c>
(5/8, Erdbrink), “the chief loser will be the country’s moderate president,
Hassan Rouhani, who will now look weakened, foolish and burned for the risk
he took in dealing with the Americans.” On the other hand, “his opponents,
hard-liners, will gain influence” and “are set to declare victory, since
they have always argued that the United States can never be trusted in any
deal.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=024-632&t=c>
(5/8, Karimi) also concludes the nuclear deal is the “relatively moderate”
Rouhani’s “signature achievement,” and its demise could boost “hard-liners
and further weaken the once-popular president.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=025-8bc&t=c>
(5/8, Bender) runs a similar story, while The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=026-102&t=c>
(5/8, Kheel, Fabian) reports “British Prime Minister Theresa May, French
President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a
joint statement denouncing Trump’s decision while urging Iran to ‘continue
to meet its own obligations under the deal.’” They said, “Our governments
remain committed to ensuring the agreement is upheld, and will work with
all the remaining parties to the deal to ensure this remains the case
including through ensuring the continuing economic benefits to the Iranian
people that are linked to the agreement.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=027-a61&t=c>
(5/8, Willsher) says “European leaders reacted with dismay but
determination,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=028-9c3&t=c>
(5/8, McAuley) notes “Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief,
said in a statement Tuesday evening that leaders of the multi-state bloc
would discuss Trump’s decision in the coming hours and days.” She also
“addressed Iran’s leaders, saying that they should ‘not let anyone
dismantle the agreement’ and that Europeans will ‘preserve’ the nuclear
deal and will defend their security and economic interests.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=029-4ad&t=c>
(5/8, Boylan), meanwhile, reports “Kremlin officials are rejoicing that
they’re on what they believe will be the ‘right side of history,’ according
to leading Russian opinion makers.”

On the other hand, Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=02a-253&t=c>
(5/8, Pavlich) reports, “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is
praising...Trump’s decision,” saying, “The deal didn’t push war further
away. It actually brought it closer. The deal didn’t reduce Iran’s
aggression, it dramatically increased it. We see this across the entire
Middle East. ... This is why Israel thinks that President Trump did a
historic move and this is why Israel thanks President Trump for his
courageous leadership, his commitment to confront the terrorist regime in
Tehran and his commitment to ensure Iran never gets nuclear weapons. Not
today, not in a decade, not ever.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=02b-7df&t=c>
(5/8, Deitch) notes “Netanyahu has been a leading critic of the deal,” and
the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=02c-7f4&t=c>
(5/8, Halbfinger) that for the Israel leader, “Trump’s decision...was such
a wholesale vindication that he abruptly cut short a trip to Cyprus to be
in Israel when it was announced. It would have been unseemly, after all, to
gloat while on foreign soil.”

*Rouhani Warns Iran Could Quickly Start Uranium Enrichment “Without
Limitations.” *[image: Image removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=02d-d8c&t=c>
(5/8, lead story, 2:35, Muir) reported that Iran reacted with “an ominous
threat,” as Rouhani announced “he’s ordered Iran’s scientists to prepare to
start enriching uranium again if necessary.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=02e-5e6&t=c>
(5/8, Taylor) reports that Rouhani’s “threat,” which was “issued barely an
hour after Mr. Trump revealed his decision at the White House, came amid
rising concern that the US pullout from the deal would strengthen the hand
of Tehran’s hard-liners and lead to more aggressive policies in Syria and
elsewhere across the Middle East, increasing the prospect of a direct clash
with Israel.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=02f-714&t=c>
(5/8, Sanger) asks, “If Iran tried to ramp up production, how long would it
take to get enough fuel to build a bomb? The answer is at least a year,
maybe significantly longer, assuming Iran decided to make its own fuel,
rather than buy it from another nuclear power.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=030-6ab&t=c>
(5/8, Karimi, Vahdat) also reports that “Rouhani warned Tuesday that Iran
could restart enriching uranium ‘without any limitations’ within weeks.”
The Iranian president also said he will “send his foreign minister to
negotiate with countries remaining in the nuclear deal.” In fact,
notes Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=031-a19&t=c>
(5/8, Motevalli, Nasseri), “the line taken by Iran and the European Union”
was that “Trump didn’t kill the Iran nuclear deal. He just shrank its
membership by one.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=032-104&t=c>
(5/8) quotes Rouhani as saying, “I have ordered the foreign ministry to
negotiate with the European countries, China and Russia in coming weeks. If
at the end of this short period we conclude that we can fully benefit from
the JCPOA with the cooperation of all countries, the deal would remain.”
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=033-084&t=c>
(5/8, Fitch) runs a similar report under the headline “Iran Says It Will
Seek To Remain In Nuclear Deal Despite US Pullout.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=034-a76&t=c>
(5/8, Cunningham, Sabbagh) reports that in Iran, “some politicians have
urged the government to continue to work with Europe to salvage the accord,
which lifted key international sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s
nuclear program. ‘If the Europeans are willing to give us sufficient
guarantees, it makes sense for us to stay in the deal,’ the deputy speaker
of Iran’s parliament, Ali Motahari, said.” According to the Post, Motahari
“said Iran should wait several months to see whether Europe plans to resist
US pressure to disengage from the Iranian economy.” Motahari said that if
Europe maintains its investments in Iran, “this is a victory for Iran,
because it will have created a gap between the United States and Europe.”

On [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=035-fae&t=c>
(5/8), Fred Pleitgen reported from Tehran, where he said “there’s a lot of
anger here, obviously.” He added, “We’re still waiting to hear what the
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, is going to say about this agreement,
but it certainly seems that Iran is going to have a harder line on pretty
much all of these issues, at least in the near-term future.”

*Obama, Biden, Kerry, Clinton Criticize Trump’s Decision. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=036-932&t=c>
(5/8) reports that shortly after Trump spoke, former president Barack
called Trump’s decision a “serious mistake.” Obama warned, “The consistent
flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding
America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers.”
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=037-3c9&t=c>
(5/8) notes that “since leaving office in January 2017, Obama...has largely
remained on the sidelines of the political debate, although he has
criticized his Republican successor’s efforts to undo some of his major
policy achievements.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=038-d1d&t=c>
(5/8, Okun) quotes Obama as saying, “We all know the dangers of Iran
obtaining a nuclear weapon. ... If the constraints on Iran’s nuclear
program under the JCPOA are lost, we could be hastening the day when we are
faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to
prevent it.” Former Vice President Joe Biden “echoed Obama’s concerns and
accused Trump of taking steps out of self-interest.” Biden said “Trump has
manufactured a crisis for his own political interests that puts us on a
collision course not only with an adversary but also with our closest
partners.”

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=039-b41&t=c>
(5/8, Hanchett) notes that “on Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s ‘Deadline:
White House,’” former Secretary of State John Kerry similarly “stated that
by withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal...Trump has ‘created crisis,’ in
a situation where there wasn’t a crisis.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=03a-600&t=c>
(5/8, Morton) reports that “failed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary
Clinton” also weighed in, saying on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=03b-2d4&t=c>
that “Trump’s abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal leaves US distrusted
around the world, with its credibility ‘shot.’”

Lester Holt led off [image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=03c-71e&t=c>
(5/8, lead story, 2:25) reporting that former CIA Director John Brennan
said “Trump has sent the signal: ‘do not count on the United States, you
can’t believe what we say.’”

*Reuters/Ipsos Poll: 29% Agree With Trump On Iran Deal. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=03d-bd8&t=c>
(5/8) reports “less than one in three Americans agrees with...Trump’s
decision to pull the United States out of an agreement to limit Iran’s
nuclear program, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national opinion poll
released on Tuesday.” The poll, “conducted May 4-8, ahead of the Republican
president’s announcement to end the deal, found that 29 percent of adults
wanted to end the deal with Iran and five other world powers to ease
sanctions and limit Iran’s nuclear program.” Meanwhile, “another 42 percent
said the United States should remain in the deal, and the remaining 28
percent said they ‘don’t know.’”

*Israeli Missiles Hit Iranian Compound In Syria. *The [image: Image
removed by sender. Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=03e-133&t=c>
(5/8, story 2, 1:20, Glor) reported that Trump’s decision comes at a time
when the Middle East “is already a volatile region, and in a reminder”
Tuesday, “Israel fired missiles into Syria and, according to monitoring
groups, killed several Iranian Revolutionary Guard fighters.” Bret Baier
reported on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=03f-126&t=c>
(5/8) that Syrian state media are “reporting an Israeli attack
near...Damascus. Western intelligence sources say someone has hidden an
Iranian military compound inside that area.” Syrian media “said Syrian air
defenses shot down two missiles.” The incident took place roughly an hour
after President Trump announced the US is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear
deal.

Those reports come as [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s
Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=040-8cb&t=c>
(5/8) reported that Israel’s military is on “high alert now for a possible
Iranian reprisal from Syria. US officials share the concern about a
possible attack on Israel.” Barbara Starr added that “for some time now”
the US has “believed Iran is shipping missiles into Syria...possibly to
attack Israel.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=041-a25&t=c>
(5/8) reports that “Israel’s top general, Gadi Eizenkott, canceled a
scheduled appearance at an annual security conference and was conferring
with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and other national security
chiefs.” Reuters says “a commander in the regional alliance supporting
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad” says “Israel’s air force had struck an
army base at Kisweh without causing casualties.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=042-810&t=c>
(5/8, Williams) notes the Israeli government “instructed local authorities
in the Israeli-held Golan Heights to ‘unlock and ready (bomb) shelters’
after identifying what the military described on Tuesday as ‘irregular
activity of Iranian forces in Syria.’” Reuters notes that “the announcement
came minutes before” Trump “declared he was withdrawing from the 2015
international nuclear deal with Iran, a move that has stirred concern about
a possible regional flare-up.” According to Reuters, Iran “has blamed
Israel for an April 9 strike that killed seven of its personnel at a Syrian
airbase and has vowed revenge.”

*Editorial Commentary. *In an editorial the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=043-6cf&t=c>
(5/8) argues that “as alarming as the action the president took was, so was
the deceitful and demagogic speech in which he attempted to justify it,”
which “was virtually indistinguishable from the sort of rant he delivered a
year and ago on the campaign trail, utterly uninformed by the sort of
wisdom and appreciation of complexity that experience confers on most
occupants of the Oval Office.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=044-9ce&t=c>
(5/8) editorializes that “so far, again and again,” Trump “has shown
himself to be adept at destroying agreements – a relatively easy task for a
president – and utterly lacking in the policy depth or strategic vision and
patience to create new ones.” The Times adds that “this man who, apparently
because of one book and a reality television show, has a reputation as a
deal maker despite a skein of bankruptcies and lawsuits, has been piling up
quite a record of scuttled agreements that he suggests ‘never, ever should
have been made’ and broken promises for a ‘better deal.’”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=045-b90&t=c>
(5/8) writes in an editorial that “the Saudis and Israelis may hope that
Mr. Trump’s decision will draw the United States back into the Middle East
through a confrontation with their enemy.” Trump “has frequently said that
he has no wish for further Mideast wars,” but “his decision has made one
more likely.”

To USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=046-63b&t=c>
(5/8), meanwhile, “America’s credibility on the world stage suffered a
severe blow,” as the US “is now in violation of an accord it negotiated in
good faith along with China, the European Union, France, Germany, Russia
and the United Kingdom, and with which Iran has complied since the deal was
ratified.”
Foreign Policy
North Korea Expected To Release Americans During Pompeo Visit.

While announcing that the US is exiting the Iran nuclear deal, President
Trump said Secretary of State Pompeo is on a trip to North Korea. Coverage,
including brief reports from all three networks, highlighted Pompeo’s plans
to continue preparations for Trump’s summit with Kim Jong-un, as well as
his plan to discuss the release of three American prisoners held in the
country. According to Yonhap
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=047-b48&t=c>
(5/9), North Korea “is expected to release three US citizens...on
Wednesday, an official from Seoul’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said,
in an apparent goodwill gesture” ahead of Trump’s anticipated meeting with
Kim.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=048-652&t=c>
(5/8, story 2, 0:50, Muir) reported Trump announced Pompeo is traveling to
North Korea again, this time “laying the groundwork for the much
anticipated nuclear summit with Kim Jong-un.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=049-7d0&t=c>
(5/8, Bacon) reports Pompeo departed for North Korea to prepare for the
“much-anticipated summit.” Trump said Pompeo “had meetings scheduled with
Kim’s representatives.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=04a-02d&t=c>
(5/8, Lee) reports Trump “announced the mission...just minutes before
Pompeo arrived in Japan to refuel before flying on to Pyongyang.” Speaking
at the White House, Trump said, “At this very moment, Secretary Pompeo is
on his way to North Korea in preparation for my upcoming meeting with Kim
Jong-un. Plans are being made, relationships are building, hopefully a deal
will happen and with the help of China, South Korea and Japan a future of
great prosperity and security can be achieved for everyone.” During his
visit, “US officials say Pompeo will also press North Korea for the release
of three detained American citizens, whose imminent release Trump has been
hinting at.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=04b-436&t=c>
(5/8, Johnson) reports that “asked whether [Pompeo] would be bringing the
Americans home,” Trump responded, “We will all soon be finding out. We will
soon be finding out.” Pompeo, however, told reporters traveling with him
“that he has not received any commitments concerning the release of the
three Americans,” but said he hopes North Korea will “do the right thing.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=04c-e5d&t=c>
(5/8, Sands) reports Trump also told reporters “that the time and date for
the meeting with Mr. Kim to discuss the North’s nuclear weapons have been
set, but did not reveal any details.” The CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=04d-69f&t=c>
(5/8, story 3, 1:40, Glor) reported that Trump “seemed confident that the
details” of the summit “are already settled.” Trump: “We have our meeting
set. The location is picked. The time and date, everything is picked. And
we look forward to having a very great success.” CBS’ Chip Reid: “But on
the flight to North Korea, Pompeo told reporters, ‘We think we have it
figured out,’ but said he’s still working on commitments from North Korea
on date and location.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=04e-cfc&t=c>
(5/8, Wilkinson) reports Pompeo said he hoped to “begin to put some
outlines around the substance of the agenda for the summit,” to come up
with “a framework for a successful summit.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=04f-238&t=c>
(5/8, Nakamura) notes that Pompeo’s trip “was not announced by the State
Department.”

Meanwhile, ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=050-b1c&t=c>
(5/8, lead story, 2:35, Muir) briefly reported in its lead story that Trump
cast his decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal “as a message to
North Korea.” Trump: “The United States no longer makes empty threats. When
I make promises, I keep them.” However, NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=051-4ae&t=c>
(5/8, story 2, 2:00, Holt) briefly reported that while Pompeo’s trip “will
be a confidence building measure for any future summit,” Trump’s decision
on the Iran deal “will make North Korea, and especially its backer China,
very nervous. They’ll want more guarantees for any agreement they’d make.
So the price just went up.”

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, asked on Fox News’ Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=052-5e6&t=c>
(5/8) how he thinks the North Koreans view Trump’s decision to withdraw
from the Iran nuclear deal, responded: “The President is determined to make
sure Americans are safe. If the President listened to all the
professionals, he wouldn’t have been tough on North Korea. We put very
strong sanctions on North Korea, and our maximum pressure campaign is the
main reason why they are negotiating. ... So the President has determined,
whether it’s North Korea or Iran, to protect the American people, and the
previous deal did not protect the American people.” When asked if he thinks
Pompeo will return with the three American prisoners, Mnuchin replied, “I
hope he does.”

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D)
was asked on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=053-a18&t=c>
(5/8) how he thinks Kim is interpreting Trump’s decision on the Iran deal.
Schiff said that Kim probably is thinking that “he cannot count on Donald
Trump to keep America’s word.” In addition, Kim’s “in oddly a stronger
bargaining position because the President having created one nuclear
problem with Iran is going to be desperate to have some success vis-a-vis
North Korea.”

*Kim Holds Talks In China With Xi; Trump, Xi Agree Sanctions Should
Continue. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=054-622&t=c>
(5/8, Martina) reports Kim visited Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday
and Tuesday in the Chinese city of Dalian, a continuation of the “flurry of
diplomatic engagement” ahead of a planned summit between the US and North
Korea. According to Reuters, Xi’s hosting of Kim demonstrates China’s
desire “to show it has an indispensable role” in brokering peace between
North Korea and the world, as well as concern “that its interests may be
ignored.” According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=055-640&t=c>
(5/8, Fifield, Denyer), Chinese state media reported after the visit that
Kim expressed a desire to meet with President Trump and discuss “phased and
synchronous measures” to address tensions and find “a lasting peace on the
peninsula.” The Post says Kim’s remarks “will ring alarm bells” for the
Administration, as they suggest Kim will ask the US for concessions.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=056-402&t=c>
(5/8, Perlez) reports Trump “tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=057-cb5&t=c>
hours after the meeting in Dalian that he expected to talk shortly on the
phone with Mr. Xi.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=058-ccb&t=c>
(5/8) reports the White House said Trump and Xi agreed during their call
Tuesday that sanctions against North Korea should continue until the regime
agrees to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs. Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=059-e5b&t=c>
(5/8, Zhai) reports Kim’s second trip to China in two months shows “ties
are improving rapidly” between the two countries and their “interests are
becoming more aligned.” The Financial Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=05a-81b&t=c>
(5/8, Feng, Jung-a) cites two experts who see the strengthening of ties
between Kim and Xi as a fallback solution for North Korea should a US
nuclear summit fail.

*NYTimes: Trump’s Top Diplomat “Again Thousands Of Miles Away”
During Key Announcement. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=05b-af0&t=c>
(5/8, Harris) reports that when Trump “made the surprise announcement in
March that he would soon meet with...Kim...Secretary of State Rex W.
Tillerson was thousands of miles away, an absence interpreted as a sign of
Mr. Tillerson’s irrelevance.” On Tuesday, “when Mr. Trump made what could
be the most significant diplomatic announcement of his presidency – that he
would exit the Iran nuclear agreement – his chief diplomat was again
thousands of miles away, this time on an unannounced visit to Pyongyang.”
According to the Times, the absence of “Pompeo and other top State
Department officials left perplexed European diplomats privately
complaining that they were having trouble getting answers from Washington,
and created an uncertainty about what was next that spanned the Atlantic
Ocean.”
In Call With Xi, Trump Stresses Need For “Balanced” Trade Relationship.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=05c-2bb&t=c>
(5/8) reports the White House said President Trump and Chinese President Xi
Jinping spoke Tuesday by phone. During the call, Trump re-emphasized his
intention to ensure the US trade relationship with China is “balanced and
benefits American businesses and workers,” according to the White House.

*Mnuchin: Goals Of Talks With China Still Reciprocal Trade, Reduced
Deficit. *Asked on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=05d-e2c&t=c>
(5/8) about recent trade talks with China, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said
the “good news” is that since Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke
at Mar-a-Lago last year, “we agreed the common objective was to reduce the
trade deficit and make it reciprocal. We haven’t made enough progress in
the last year. We went over there, I think our delegation was very clear in
going through these issues. We came back and briefed the President and he
was very supportive of our position, and I look forward to the vice premier
coming here and continuing our negotiations.”

*US, Chinese WTO Envoys Trade Shots. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=05e-342&t=c>
(5/8) reports that today, officials from the US and China “blamed each
other...for risking the destruction of the World Trade Organization, with
Beijing’s ambassador decrying US hostage-taking.” Reuters says US
Ambassador Dennis Shea, “addressing the WTO’s General Council for the first
time, began by attacking the judges of the WTO’s Appellate Body, whom he
blamed for a ‘steadily worsening rupture of trust.’” Shea is quoted as
saying, “Something has gone terribly wrong in this system when those
charged with adjudicating the rules are so consistently disregarding those
very rules.” Reuters says the US “has vetoed new appointments to the
Appellate Body, causing a crisis at what is effectively the supreme court
of world trade.” Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xiangchen “began by warmly
welcoming ‘our new colleagues, especially Dennis,’” but his “cordial
opening gave way to criticism of the ‘dangerous and devastating’ US
actions.”

*China Cutting US Soybean Purchases Amid Tariffs Threat. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=05f-de9&t=c>
(5/8, Rugaber, Kang) reports that “with the threat of tariffs and
counter-tariffs between Washington and Beijing looming, Chinese buyers are
canceling orders for US soybeans, a trend that could deal a blow to
American farmers if it continues.” The AP notes that Beijing has included
soybeans “on a list of $50 billion of US exports on which it has said it
would impose 25 percent tariffs if the United States follows through on its
threats to impose the same level of tariffs on the same value of Chinese
goods.”

*Japan Seeks To Become Top Producer Of Electronics Components. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=060-379&t=c>
(5/8, Schuman) reports that “some economists and businesspeople believe
that slow-growth Japan may be forging a new, critical role in the global
economy: making the stuff that makes the stuff for today’s digital
revolution.” Japan has become “an essential supplier of robotics that power
assembly lines; electronic systems for cars; circuit boards, sensors and
other parts in your smartphone; and a host of other technical components
and hardware hidden from the consumer’s eye.”

*Cohn Warns Against Imposition Of Tariffs. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=061-12c&t=c>
(5/8, McGregor) reports that in an interview with CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=062-f12&t=c>
today, Gary Cohn said his “decision to quit as Trump’s top economic adviser
in March was partly because of his opposition over imposing tariffs,” and
“warned...that imposing levies on imports could drive up prices and harm
the heavily services-dependent US economy.” Cohn said, “I’m anti-tariffs.
... If we artificially raise the price of goods because of tariffs we are
hurting our service economy.”
UN: Afghan Airstrikes Last Month Killed At Least 30 Children.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=063-dcd&t=c>
(5/8, Abed, Nordland) reports UN officials have concluded that “of more
than 100 people killed or wounded in an Afghan government airstrike last
month, most were children at a religious gathering,” which the Times says
“contradict[s] Afghan officials who have claimed that the target was a
Taliban planning session.” In what the Times calls “a damning report”
issued Monday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, “stopped
short of calling the April 2 airstrike a war crime,” but said it raised
“questions as to the government’s respect of the rules of precaution and
proportionality under international humanitarian law.” According to the
Times, “At least 36 people were killed and 71 wounded, of whom 30 of the
dead and 51 of the wounded were children,” although “the toll may have been
much higher” because UNAMA “counted only those casualties that could be
confirmed by three independent sources. ... Some local officials put the
death toll as high as 70.”
Jerusalem To Name Square Near US Embassy After Trump.

The Jerusalem Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=064-57c&t=c>
(5/8, Hacohen) reports, “Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat announced his intention
to formally name the square near the US embassy site the ‘United States
Square in honor of President Donald Trump,’ the Jerusalem Press Office
released on Tuesday.” An official event to be attended by “American
dignitaries will be held in the future to celebrate the naming.” Barkat
said of his decision, “This is the way in which Jerusalem returns love to
the president and residents of the United States who stand by the state of
Israel.” He added, “President Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as the
capital of the Jewish people, stand on the side of historical truth and do
the right thing.”
US Initiates Review Of Aid Programs To South Sudan.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=065-f15&t=c>
(5/8, Okun) reports that on Tuesday, the White House announced it has
launched a comprehensive review of US aid programs to South Sudan, saying
its government “has lost credibility, and the United States is losing
patience.” The White House added that the Administration “will not continue
in a partnership with leaders who are only interested in perpetuating an
endless war characterized by ethnically-motivated atrocities,” and “said
the upcoming evaluation of assistance programs would focus on making sure
US aid is not contributing to the war.” Politico notes the US, “South
Sudan’s largest donor of humanitarian assistance,” has “called for a
transitional government that would encompass South Sudan’s warring ethnic
groups and include a system of checks and balances.”
Armenian Opposition Leader Elected As Interim PM.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=066-d45&t=c>
(5/8, Macfarquhar) reports that in a 59-42 vote Tuesday, Armenia’s
Parliament elected Nikol Pashinyan, the leader of Armenia’s “nonviolent
protest movement that improbably toppled the government,” as interim prime
minister. Few “paid much attention” to the unrest when it began three weeks
ago, but Pashinyan, “a former newspaper editor and political prisoner, had
galvanized a civil disobedience movement that transformed the country’s
political landscape.” Pashinyan’s election “was the most sweeping change”
in Armenia “since it declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991,”
and it “was all the more remarkable because it happened in the backyard of
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who sent his congratulations.” While
widespread demonstrations “tend to alarm” Putin, Pashinyan “deftly avoided
a military intervention by the Kremlin” by “focusing on strictly domestic
problems while pledging eternal brotherhood with Moscow.”
Prince Al-Waleed, Investment Company To Acquire New York’s Plaza Hotel.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=067-b19&t=c>
(5/8, Morris, Karmin) reports the real estate investment company Ashkenazy
Acquisition Corp. and Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, its partner, have
agreed to purchase full ownership of New York’s Plaza Hotel. The
co-investors already owned a 25 percent stake in the $600 million property,
and if the acquisition is completed, it would constitute one of the most
expensive deals on a room-key basis, an industry metric commonly used in
hotel sale valuations.
Domestic Policy
Avenatti Says Cohen Received Roughly $500,000 From Russian Oligarch In 2017.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=068-3de&t=c>
(5/8, story 4, 0:55, Muir) reported that Michael Avenatti, the attorney for
Stormy Daniels, is “claiming he has documents proving that the President’s
personal attorney Michael Cohen received about a half million dollars from
a Russian oligarch after the election. The question being asked tonight:
What was that money for?” ABC’s Pierre Thomas: “Avenatti released a
statement
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=069-5ba&t=c>
laying out a series of banking transactions, including eight alleged
payments to Cohen by that Russian oligarch who is very close to Vladimir
Putin. But tonight, it’s unclear what those funds were for, and we do not
know how Avenatti got access to those records, or if they’re authentic.”

Avenatti said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=06a-a31&t=c>
(5/8) that “what we do know is that there was about a half a million
dollars worth of payments that took place between January of 2017 – so,
this is after the election that occurred in November 2016 – and then up
through approximately August of 2017. ... We have yet to hear an
explanation from Michael Cohen as to why a personal attorney to the
President of the United States, who at the time – at least for a portion of
that time – was employed by the Trump Organization, would be accepting
payments from a Russian oligarch to a tune of half a million dollars.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=06b-2a5&t=c>
(5/8, Hayes) reports that the payment came from Columbus Nova, a “company
linked to Vicktor Vekselberg.” Columbus Nova “confirmed the payment to
Cohen but denied it was tied to Vekselberg. A statement from the company’s
attorney Richard Owens said the Columbus Nova was ‘owned and controlled’ by
Americans.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=06c-f80&t=c>
(5/8, McIntire, Protess, Rutenberg) reports that Cohen’s “shell company”
Essential Consultants LLC “received payments totaling more than $1 million”
in all from Columbus Nova. The Times reports that its own “review of
financial records confirmed much of what was in Mr. Avenatti’s report.”
Avenatti tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=06d-4fb&t=c>,
“Always good to be confirmed and verified by The New York Times.”

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=06e-56a&t=c>
(5/8, Scannell, Prokupecz) reports on its website that Special Counsel
Robert Mueller’s investigators have questioned Vekselberg about the
payments. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=06f-67d&t=c>
(5/8) and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=070-e43&t=c>
(5/8, Woellert, Meyer) also report the story.

*Novartis, AT&T Among Other Companies That Paid Cohen. *The Los
Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=071-3c7&t=c>
(5/8, Finnegan) reports that Avenatti “disclosed a wide array of previously
unreported Cohen financial transactions since October 2016; he also alleged
multiple cases of potential bank fraud,” including nearly $400,000 from
Novartis, $200,000 from AT&T, and $150,000 from Korea Aerospace Industries.
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=072-7b7&t=c>
(5/8, A1, Fitzgerald) reports on its front page that AT&T says it hired
Cohen’s consulting firm “in early 2017 to provide insights into
understanding the new administration.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=073-270&t=c>
(5/8, Correll) reports that AT&T said Cohen’s firm did no legal or lobbying
work for the company.

*Cohen Has Put Up Apartment As Collateral Against Bank Debts.
*Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=074-5f1&t=c>
(5/8, Melby, Nasiripour) reports that Cohen “has put up his family’s
Manhattan apartment as collateral for millions of dollars in loans to his
troubled taxi business.” As of March, “businesses owned by Cohen and his
wife owed Sterling National Bank of Montebello, New York, as much as $12.8
million on loans extended in 2014.”

*Giuliani Calls Allegations Of Over-Drinking “Ridiculous.” *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=075-71a&t=c>
(5/8, Samuelsohn, Schreckinger) reports that Rudy Giuliani responded in a
Tuesday interview to accusations by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough that he has
been “falling asleep five minutes into meetings” and “drinking too much.”
Giuliani “acknowledged being a social drinker but said he doesn’t have
alcohol early in the day.” While “two New York political insiders familiar
with Giuliani’s activities” said they saw Giuliani at a favorite Manhattan
bar “before his now-infamous Fox News interview with Sean Hannity,”
Giuliani “said he thinks he was at the Grand Havana after his Hannity
interview.” Giuliani said, “There’s no proof of any kind that I take too
much alcohol. That’s ridiculous.”

*Burr Says Senate Intelligence Panel Will Begin To Wrap Up Russia
Probe In August. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=076-b03&t=c>
(5/8, Wiliams) reports Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr said
Tuesday that he “plans for the panel to begin to wrap up its investigation
into Russian interference in the election in August, when the Senate leaves
for a month-long recess.” Burr told reporters, “This gives staff the month
of August in all likelihood to wrap up our investigation and for staff to
work intensely while we’re out of here and not getting in their hair.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=077-28b&t=c>
(5/8, Kelly) reports that the committee released the first installment of
its Russia report and found “no evidence that Russian interference in the
2016 presidential election affected the actual vote count.” However, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=078-622&t=c>
(5/8, Fandos, Wines) reports, Russia “was preparing to undermine confidence
in the United States’ voting process when its hackers surveilled around 20
state election systems in the run-up to the 2016 elections.”

*Ryan Calls On DOJ To Turn Over Russia Investigation Documents. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=079-b59&t=c>
(5/8, Mordock) reports that House Speaker Ryan has called on the Justice
Department “to hand over controversial documents related to the Russia
investigation,” but “would not say if he supported the effort” of House
Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes to hold Attorney General Sessions in
contempt of Congress if the documents are not delivered. Ryan said, “We
expect the Administration to comply with our document requests as a matter
of form for the executive branch and our legislative branch oversight. So I
haven’t spoken with Devin about this, we have a thorough process we go
through, but we clearly expect the Administration to honor our document
requests.”

House Majority Whip Scalise said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=07a-a02&t=c>
(5/8), “I support Chairman Nunes in what he is doing because what he has
been doing has uncovering the truth, and frankly, there are a lot of things
that we have already found that raise serious questions about what the FBI
has done in possibly abusing the FISA court. ... I don’t know why Justice
is trying to hide information, but we are going to use every tool we have
get the facts out, and ultimately continue this investigation.”

*Comey Says Strzok, Page Exhibited “Appalling Judgment.” *The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=07b-b71&t=c>
(5/8, Ross) reports that during a Washington Post Live event on Tuesday,
ex-FBI director James Comey said that former FBI officials Peter Strzok and
Lisa Page “exhibited ‘appalling’ judgment by having an affair and
exchanging anti-Trump text messages while working on the Russia
investigation.” He said, “It’s incredibly painful to see people exhibiting
appalling judgment.”
Senators To Press Haspel Today About Role In CIA Torture Program.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=07c-374&t=c>
(5/8, Kelly) reports CIA director nominee Gina Haspel “will face tough
questions from senators Wednesday about her role in the agency’s
now-outlawed torture program.” The focus of Wednesday’s hearing before the
Senate Intelligence Committee “will be on Haspel’s 2002 oversight of a
secret ‘black site’ in Thailand where suspected terrorists were subjected
to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques.” Haspel is
“expected to promise that, if confirmed, she will oppose any efforts to
revive the torture techniques used during the George W. Bush
administration.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=07d-b4a&t=c>
(5/8, Demirjian, Harris) too says Haspel is expected to tell the committee
“that she ‘will not restart’ the CIA’s brutal interrogation program if
confirmed to lead the agency, according to excerpts of her remarks released
by the agency.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=07e-88c&t=c>
(5/8, Savage) reports that on the eve of Haspel’s confirmation hearing,
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the “principal architect” of the 9/11 attacks who
was captured in March 2003 and tortured by the CIA at a prison run by the
CIA nominee, asked a military judge at Guantánamo Bay “for permission to
share six paragraphs of information about Ms. Haspel with the committee.”
In a Monday request to judge Army Col. James Pohl, Mohammed included “six
specific paragraphs of information” that he thinks the Intelligence
Committee should know, but “it is not clear whether Colonel Pohl would rule
on the motion before” Haspel’s hearing Wednesday. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=07f-825&t=c>
(5/8, Morton) also reports the story, citing the New York Times report.

While some Democrats have called for the release of more
information about Haspel’s record at the CIA, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=080-48e&t=c>
(5/8) reports Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr said Tuesday that
they will not be made public. The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018050901biden&r=email-141a&l=081-243&t=c>
(5/8, Boylan), meanwhile, reports that Senate Minority Whip Durbin “has
criticized the CIA’s lobbying efforts on behalf of...Haspel.” In a letter
to DNI Coats on Tuesday, Durbin noted what he considered the CIA’s “efforts
to promote a national security nomination” which “appear to be without
precedent in recent history.”

*Sims Leaving White House Communications Office For State Dept. *
Politico