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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, May 24, 2018 7:52 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, May 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=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=001-99a&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, May 24, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Trump: “Spygate” Among Biggest Political Scandals In History. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump: We Will Know Next Week If North Korea Summit To Go Ahead. <#S2>

• Pentagon Disinvites China From Naval Exercise Over South China Sea
Buildup. <#S3>

• Khamenei: Europeans Must Protect Trade With Tehran To Save Nuclear Deal.
<#S4>

• Friedman: Trump Mideast Peace Plan Won’t Be Released For Few Months. <#S5>

• At House Hearing, Pompeo Defends Concerns For Diplomats’ Security. <#S6>

• Trump Considering Auto Tariffs On National Security Grounds. <#S7>

• Italian President Clears Way For Populists To Form New Government. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump: Democrats Enabling MS-13 “Animals” By Refusing To Close “Crippling
Loopholes.” <#S9>

• Media Analyses: NFL Owners Yielding To Trump With New Policy On Anthem.
<#S10>

• Judge Rules Trump Twitter Blocking Violates First Amendment. <#S11>

• Senate Passes Bill Expanding Private Care For Veterans. <#S12>

• White House Considered Whether To “Ignore” Federal Climate Research.
<#S13>

• Congress Moves Closer To Revised Harassment, Misconduct Policies. <#S14>

• FBI Acknowledges Overstating Number Of Locked Smartphones It Can’t Access.
<#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• FDA Approves First Treatment For BRAF-Positive Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.
<#S16>

• Freenome Aims To Develop Blood Test To Detect Colon Cancer. <#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• Biden Expected To Endorse Cuomo Today During Speech To State Convention.
<#S20>
Leading the News
Trump: “Spygate” Among Biggest Political Scandals In History.

In a series of tweets and in comments to reporters Wednesday, President
Trump continued his criticism of what he called the “Criminal Deep State”
for putting a “spy” in his campaign. Trump dubbed the matter “spygate” and
said it could be “one the biggest political scandals in history.” Media
coverage of Trump’s claims is heavy and, in many cases, negative with
reports and commentary saying there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim
and casting his comments as an effort to undermine the investigation into
possible links between his campaign and Russia.

Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=002-1fd&t=c>,
“Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State. They go
after Phony Collusion with Russia, a made up Scam, and end up getting
caught in a major SPY scandal the likes of which this country may never
have seen before! What goes around, comes around!” Trump then wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=003-071&t=c>,
“‘It’s clear that they had eyes and ears all over the Trump Campaign’ Judge
Andrew Napolitano,” and followed that with a tweet saying
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=004-cc4&t=c>,
“SPYGATE could be one of the biggest political scandals in history!” Later
in the morning, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=005-ddf&t=c>,
“WITCH HUNT!” Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=006-f56&t=c>
(5/23), “You have a criminal deep state coming out at breakneck speed. It’s
hour by hour, new and damning, the President slamming the scandal giving it
a new nickname. This is the tip of the iceberg.”

On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=007-079&t=c>
(5/23, story 2, 2:05), Lester Holt described Trump as “trying to breathe
life into what for now remains an unsupported claim.” Trump is “hoping a
new label can turn a conspiracy theory into a bonafide Washington scandal,
but unable to back it up today when pressed.” Hallie Jackson added that
Trump has “no evidence to back him up as he implies the FBI planted a spy
on Team Trump.” David Muir said on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=008-eff&t=c>
(5/23, story 7, 0:50, Muir) reported that Trump “unleash[ed] a Twitter
storm about his unproven claim.” Jonathan Karl added that “this is not the
first time the President has talked about espionage or surveillance without
evidence.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=009-def&t=c>
(5/23, Wagner) reports Trump said Wednesday “that the FBI’s use of a
confidential source to seek information from his campaign aides was shaping
up as a major scandal and that lawmakers would soon realize that ‘a lot of
bad things happened.’” However, the Post says “there is no evidence to
suggest that the source was inserted into the Trump campaign, as the
president has suggested,” but acknowledges that “the source did seek out
and meet Trump campaign advisers.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=00a-e48&t=c>
(5/23, Jalonick, Lemire) says that in his “latest attempt to discredit the
special counsel’s Russia investigation,” Trump is “zeroing in on – and at
times embellishing – reports that a longtime US government informant
approached members of his 2016 campaign during the presidential election in
a possible bid to glean intelligence on Russian efforts to sway the
election.” The White House, the AP adds, “has given no evidence to support
Trump’s claim that that the Obama administration was trying to spy on his
2016 campaign for political reasons.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=00b-0c0&t=c>
(5/23, Boyer) reports that Trump said he is “cleaning” up the Justice
Department and asserted that his firing of FBI Director James Comey was a
“great service to the country.” Trump told reporters, “We’re cleaning
everything up. ... This was a terrible situation. We’re not undercutting
[the Justice Department]. What I’m doing is a service to this country.”
Trump added, “I hope it’s not so, because if it is, there’s never been
anything like it in the history of our country. ... It looks like a very
serious event. But we’ll find out. When they look at the documents, I think
people are going to see a lot of bad things happened.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=00c-a75&t=c>
(5/23, Leonor) says a “defiant” Trump “denied allegations by Democrats and
other critics that his call for a probe into the matter is designed to
undermine the ongoing investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=00d-a3a&t=c>
(5/23, Sullivan) says Trump and congressional conservatives are calling on
the Justice Department “to disclose the identity of an informant who
approached several members of Mr. Trump’s campaign team who had been in
contact with suspected Russian agents.” Citing “people familiar with the
matter,” the Times reports that “the government’s use of the informant was
to glean information about what they knew regarding the Russian efforts to
hack into Democratic emails – not to spy on Mr. Trump’s campaign.” The
Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=00e-24e&t=c>
(5/23, Nelson) says Trump demanded “total transparency” from Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and the FBI ahead of a meeting Thursday
“between top law enforcement officials and congressional Republicans
demanding Russia probe documents.” Trump said, “They’ll all be in the room
tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. I want total transparency. ... You have
to have transparency. ... What I want from Rod, from the FBI, from
everybody, we want transparency. And you know what? I think in their own
way, they are obstructionists, but even the Democrats, I really believe on
this issue, it supersedes. I think they want transparency, too.”

A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=00f-bb3&t=c>
(5/23) editorial says “every move President Trump and his lackeys in
Congress have made lately suggests they are constructing, at the expense of
the reputation and effectiveness of federal law enforcement, a slanted,
a-factual narrative to discredit any negative stories that might emerge
from the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=010-74f&t=c>
(5/23) argues in an editorial that Trump’s “continuing attacks on the
Justice Department, the FBI and the office of special counsel Robert
Mueller...constitute an assault on the rule of law.” Trump’s “‘witch hunt’
drumbeat is an attempt to discredit the Mueller investigation in case its
findings are embarrassing (or worse).”

Jake Tapper said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=011-762&t=c>
(5/23) that Trump’s “brand new conspiracy theory” seems to be “grounded
more in suspicion and his desire for a counter narrative than it is based
on established facts.” Trump, Tapper added, “frequently lies and has a long
and well documented career engaging in conspiracy theories about all manner
of subjects with no concrete evidence ever provided.” Syndicated talk radio
host Leslie Marshall said on Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=012-f88&t=c>
(5/23), “This is deflection. Why deflect from the Mueller special counsel
investigation if there is nothing to hide?”

Other commentators directed criticism at Obama Administration. On Fox
News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=013-647&t=c>
(5/23), for example, Brian Kilmeade said, “It turns there was suspicion
perhaps amongst the intelligence apparatus of the Obama Administration and
there was some concern that the Russians were infiltrating, or somehow
playing a role in, the Trump campaign. But rather than approach the Trump
people, they would put some people in place, so-called informants or spies,
to go in there.” Brit Hume was shown saying, “If you are inserting
yourselves into somebody’s campaign and you’re worried about protecting the
campaign, as apologists for the FBI have stated...wouldn’t you go
immediately and say to the people in the campaign, ‘look, we need to tell
you this. You have a problem here. You have the Russians trying to
penetrate you.’”

*Kushner Receives Permanent Security Clearance After Meeting With
Mueller. *The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=014-340&t=c>
(5/23, story 6, 0:20, Glor) briefly noted last night that “President
Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has had his security
clearance restored.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=015-2f3&t=c>
(5/23, Apuzzo), which was first to report the news, cast the development as
“ending a period of uncertainty that had fueled questions about whether Mr.
Kushner was in peril in the special counsel investigation.” ABC World News
Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=016-b34&t=c>
(5/23, story 5, 0:40, Karl) also indicated that “significantly...this
happened after he went in for a second interview with Special Counsel
Robert Mueller, an interview that lasted some seven hours and included
extensive questioning about his foreign contacts, both during the campaign”
and “in the transition.” ABC added that “this could be good news for
Kushner, because apparently nothing in that interview raised red flags to
prevent him from getting that security clearance.”

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=017-32c&t=c>
(5/23, story 3, 0:40, Jackson) noted Kushner’s clearance had been
“downgraded earlier this year,” and the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=018-efc&t=c>
(5/23, Tucker) that his “access was downgraded in February” when Chief of
Staff Kelly “ordered that officials with interim clearances be cut off if
they hadn’t received permanent clearances.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=019-f14&t=c>
(5/23, Pettypiece, Sink) reports Kelly’s decision affected “more than 30
White House officials.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=01a-433&t=c>
(5/23, Rucker, Leonnig, Zapotosky) reports that “Abbe Lowell, a personal
attorney for Kushner, said in a statement: ‘With respect to the news about
his clearances, as we stated before, his application was properly
submitted, reviewed by numerous career officials and underwent the normal
process. Having completed all of these processes, he’s looking forward to
continuing to do the work the president has asked him to do.’” The Los
Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=01b-470&t=c>
(5/23, Megerian) notes Lowell also said his client “has continued this
complete cooperation” with Mueller, “providing a large number of documents
and sitting for hours of interviews with congressional committees and
providing numerous documents and sitting for two interviews with the Office
of Special Counsel. ... In each occasion, he answered all questions asked
and did whatever he could to expedite the conclusion of all the
investigation.”

Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=01c-daa&t=c>
(5/23, Kight) says “Kushner just had his best 2 days in DC,” as “prison
reform passed the House and he got his permanent top secret security
clearance restored.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=01d-3b0&t=c>
(5/23, Korte, Johnson), Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=01e-b8c&t=c>
(5/23, Lima), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=01f-97d&t=c>
(5/23, Fabian, Greenwood, Thomsen), Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=020-913&t=c>
(5/23, Caralle) and the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=021-e26&t=c>
(5/23, Moore), among other news outlets, also report on the restoration of
Kushner’s clearance.

*DOJ To Host Second, Bipartisan Briefing Today. *In a story that
broke overnight, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=022-203&t=c>
(5/23, Jalonick, Lemire) reports that after “Democratic complaints and
negotiations that went into the late evening Wednesday, the Justice
Department said it would host a second classified briefing the same day and
invite the bipartisan ‘Gang of Eight’ – a group that includes the top
Republicans and Democrats in each chamber and the top Republicans and
Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees.” The AP reports
that Rosenstein will also attend. CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=023-f94&t=c>
(5/23, Brown, Herb, Liptak, Westwood, Jarrett) reports tha the schedule
change “occurred following sharp criticism from Democrats that the White
House was politicizing intelligence by initially offering the briefing only
to Republicans.”

Meanwhile, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=024-389&t=c>
(5/23, Cheney) reports that in a reversal, Chief of Staff Kelly “will
attend two briefings at the Justice Department on Thursday about an FBI
informant who interacted with the Trump campaign in the 2016 election –
ensuring that President Donald Trump will have a high-level emissary there
for a discussion of sensitive evidence connected to his associates.”

Earlier, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=025-252&t=c>
(5/23, Epstein) reported that House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy will meet with
FBI Director Wray “to review records related to Mueller’s investigation.”
Bloomberg reports that Senate Minority Leader Schumer and House Minority
Leader Pelosi “called the meeting ‘completely improper’ in a letter to Wray
and Rosenstein on Wednesday and said the Justice Department should instead
arrange a briefing for congressional leaders of both parties.” Sen. Jeff
Flake was asked on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=026-354&t=c>
(5/23) that “having a briefing that includes only Republicans is no way to
have transparency. If you’re going to have transparency then involve both
parties. So I hope that the President reconsiders. If there’s a meeting or
briefing just with Republicans in there, it will do nothing to shed any
light if light needs to be shed on this topic.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=027-56a&t=c>
(5/23, Kim) reports that Senate Majority Whip Cornyn, Senate Judiciary
Chairman Charles Grassley, and Sen. Lindsey Graham are also “asking the
White House to be allowed to review the material.” According to the Post,
Rosenstein “has assured Grassley in the past that his committee would have
access to the same information that has been provided to the House
Intelligence Committee in its probe.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=028-ebc&t=c>
(5/23, Fabian) says Trump “suggested the information that lawmakers will
examine on Thursday would corroborate his claims that a ‘spy’ was embedded
in his campaign.” However, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=029-4e3&t=c>
(5/23, Cheney) reports that Rep. Mark Meadows (R), “a top ally” of the
President’s, predicted Wednesday that the Justice Department will not share
information Republicans have sought concerning an informant that made
contact with Trump’s campaign. Said Meadows, “They’re not going to see any
documents tomorrow, so it doesn’t matter. ... Going to a briefing without
seeing the documents...is worthless.”

*Caputo: Conversation With Contractor May Have Been Effort To
Entrap Trump Campaign. *Former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo was
asked on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=02a-b02&t=c>
(5/23) about his belief that a conversation with a government contractor
who told him the intelligence community had Hillary Clinton’s deleted
emails may have been part of a government conspiracy to entrap the Trump
campaign and its allies. Caputo said, “I have a strong suspicion on this
and another approach that have been bothering me for quite sometime. ...
The problem with that approach in early May from the former government
contractor in the national security arena, it always bugged me for two
years. It didn’t make any sense to me. But when I told investigators in the
House and the Senate and with the Mueller team about it, they didn’t seem
to be interested. That to me indicated that it was something I should be
interested in.”

*Clapper: Trump Allegations Are “Offensive.” *Early Tuesday
morning, Trump, in response to former DNI James Clapper’s comments on ABC’s
The View, tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=02b-639&t=c>,
“‘Trump should be happy that the FBI was SPYING on his campaign’ No, James
Clapper, I am not happy. Spying on a campaign would be illegal, and a
scandal to boot!”

Asked on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=02c-ad6&t=c>
(5/23) if the intelligence community spied on Trump and his campaign,
Clapper said, “No, we did not and that is a distortion of what I said. In
fact, I had an aversion to the use of the term and thought I made that
clear. And the important thing is here, what was this all about. What it
was about was trying to determine what the Russians were doing, were they
trying to gain access, infiltrate a political campaign.” Clapper added that
Trump is “deliberately spinning the narrative whereby he’s a victim of the
deep state spying on him or spying on the campaign, which is not the case.”
Asked if it offends him when Trump makes these comments, Clapper said,
“Yes, it does. It doesn’t surprise me any longer. It is offensive.”

*Democratic Leaders Urged To Be More Aggressive In Countering
Trump’s Attacks. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=02d-6c1&t=c>
(5/23, Sullivan, Weigel, Dawsey) reports that there is concern among some
Democrats that “their party is not doing more to counter Trump’s relentless
attempts to undermine the probe,” and the party will pay “a price at the
ballot box in November if the public is not better educated about the
investigation.” The Democrats “are pressuring party leaders...to be more
aggressive in countering Trump’s messaging, warning they are letting the
president define the issue for voters.”

*Grassley Seeks Removal Of Redactions From Strzok, Page Text
Messages. *Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=02e-2eb&t=c>
(5/23, Pavlich) reports that Grassley wrote to Rosenstein Wednesday “asking
for the remaining redactions of text messages between FBI Agents Peter
Strzok and Lisa Page to be removed.” Grassley’s letter argues that “the
redactions appear to be improper and cover information, including lavish
spending and FBI investigations, the American people deserve to see.”
The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=02f-612&t=c>
(5/23, Leach) says Grassley specifically “drew attention to one text that
says former President Barack Obama’s ‘White House is running this.’”
The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=030-803&t=c>
(5/23, Mordock) reports that the conservative group Judicial Watch said
Wednesday that the FBI will ask Strzok and Page “to preserve any bureau
records stored on their personal accounts and devices.” The group “said the
FBI will make the request as part of its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
in which it had asked for thousands of page documents on personal devices
of the pair, including emails, text messages, chats and travel documents.”

*Pompeo Doesn’t Dispute Intelligence Community Conclusion Putin
Tried To Get Trump Elected. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=031-5d8&t=c>
(5/23, Wadhams) reports that in an appearance before the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, Secretary of State Pompeo said “he backs the finding by
US intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the US presidential
campaign to hurt Hillary Clinton and ultimately help Donald Trump.”
According to Bloomberg, Pompeo “was pressed by Democrats on whether he
accepted that finding,” and “initially said the judgment that Russian
President Vladimir Putin wanted to help Trump win ‘was the least confirmed,
that is, there was the least support for that’ in the report issued by the
CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency in January 2017.” Bloomberg
reports that on Tuesday, DHS Secretary Nielsen “professed ignorance when
asked about the findings.”

*Giuliani: Trump Wants To Be Interviewed By Mueller. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=032-bde&t=c>
(5/23, Dawsey) reports that Rudy Giuliani “switched gears” on Wednesday,
and said he would like Trump to “grant an interview” to Mueller, and
predicted that “a decision would be made within ‘the next couple weeks.’”
Giuliani is quoted as saying, “I guess I’d rather do the interview. It gets
it over with it, it makes my client happy. The safe course you hear every
lawyer say is don’t do the interview. ... That’s much harder when you have
a client who is the President of the United States and wants to be
interviewed.” The Post reports that Giuliani “also said new White House
lawyer Emmet Flood was preparing a series of memos explaining how the
office could fight a subpoena to testify or to challenge any intent to
indict the president.”

*Lowell: Mueller’s Team Asked Kushner About Comey Firing. *Jared
Kushner’s attorney Abbe Lowell, asked on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=033-d73&t=c>
(5/23) about the focus of Kushner’s second interview with the special
counsel last month, said, “We basically followed their lead and the topics
were the appropriate topics. You know that they’re being thorough and
looking at the campaign and...the issue that they are investigating is
whether there was something called collusion whatever that means to people.
They are looking to see whether there was some undue influence put on by
outside countries, particularly Russia, and they are looking at the
post-inauguration issues, primarily the firing of James Comey and of course
Jared has had roles in the campaign, he was the point of contact for
foreign officials, for that and also in the transition and he was around
the circumstances that were ultimately led to the firing of Comey.”

*Mueller Asks Judge To Begin Papadopoulos Sentencing Process. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=034-a56&t=c>
(5/23, Gerstein) reports that a court filing Wednesday in which Mueller
asked a federal judge “to start the process of preparing a pre-sentencing
report for former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George
Papadopoulos,” may be “a signal that his investigation into Russian efforts
to coordinate with the Trump campaign is nearing a conclusion.” Politico
said the filing indicates that Papadopoulos’ sentencing “could come this
summer – without him testifying at the trials of others who may have been
involved in alleged collusion with the Kremlin on its attempts to interfere
in the 2016 presidential election.” It could also be “a sign that the
investigation has progressed to the point that prosecutors have concluded
Papadopoulos’s testimony would not be useful in any future cases.”

*Mueller Fights Effort To Unseal Court Filings. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=035-2f9&t=c>
(5/23, Gerstein) reports that Mueller “is fighting a drive by media
organizations to unseal secret court filings relating to searches and
surveillance efforts undertaken as part of the investigation.” The
investigation has been “underway for more than a year and the FBI was
investigating even earlier,” but “none of a slew of search warrants,
surveillance requests and similar filings have been officially unsealed by
the courts.” Five news organizations have asked a court “to unseal an
unknown number of warrants and similar orders obtained during the course of
the investigation.”

*Ukraine Paid Cohen To Arrange White House Meeting. *In a report on
its website, BBC World News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=036-2c1&t=c>
(5/23) cites “sources in Kiev close to those involved” who said Trump’s
personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, “received a secret payment of at least
$400,000 (£300,000) to fix talks between the Ukrainian president” and Trump
although Cohen “was not registered as a representative of Ukraine as
required by US law.” Cohen “denies the allegation.”

*Cohen Associate’s Plea Deal Said To Be Bad News For Trump. *On ABC’s
Good Morning America[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=037-e03&t=c>
(5/23, 7:06 a.m. EDT), George Stephanopoulos said that, in “a new move that
could have consequences for President Trump, his former lawyer, Michael
Cohen’s business partner, a man named Evgeny Freidman, has now said he’s
going to cooperate with prosecutors in a case here in New York.” Cecilia
Vega reported that Freidman “cut a deal and will serve no jail time in
exchange for cooperating with state and federal investigators,” which
“includes those prosecutors in New York involved in the Cohen case.” Vega
noted that President Trump “had boasted that Cohen wasn’t the type of guy
who would flip,” and added, “we will see now.”

*Judge Skeptical Of Manafort’s Effort To Suppress Evidence. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=038-e65&t=c>
(5/23, Lynch) reports that US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on
Wednesday “expressed skepticism” about a request by former Trump campaign
chairman Paul Manafort’s lawyers “to suppress evidence seized by FBI agents
working for” Mueller. Manafort’s lawyers argued that “the FBI conducted an
illegal warrantless search on a storage unit by getting one of Manafort’s
low-level employees to unlock it and let an agent look inside first.”
According to the lawyers, “the employee was permitted only to go inside the
unit ‘as directed by Manafort’ in the course of his employment, and could
not give lawful consent for the search.” However, Jackson “seemed highly
dubious about that claim.” Jackson said, “The lease says on its face he’s
the occupant. ... He’s named as the occupant and he has a key.”

*Jordan Makes The Case For Second Special Counsel. *On CNN’s
New Day[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=039-ed0&t=c>
(5/23, 7:20 a.m. EDT, Cuomo), Rep. Jim Jordan (R) said the FBI took “a
disproven salacious dossier to a secret court to get a secret warrant to
spy on an American citizen.” Jordan said a new special counsel is required
because Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein cannot “oversee an
investigation of potential obstruction of justice in the firing of James
Comey when he is the one who wrote the memo for firing James Comey.”

*West Hollywood Declared Wednesday “Stormy Daniels Day.” *The
Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=03a-174&t=c>
(5/23, Persons) reports that the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hollywood
“declared Wednesday as ‘Stormy Daniels Day,’ as the adult-film actress
received a ceremonial key to the city, the Sacramento Bee reported.” The
neighborhood “held a ceremony at an adult boutique for Ms. Daniels.”
Foreign Policy
Trump: We Will Know Next Week If North Korea Summit To Go Ahead.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=03b-daf&t=c>
(5/23) reports President Trump said Wednesday “he would know next week
whether his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would take place on
June 12 in Singapore as scheduled, casting further doubt on plans for the
unprecedented meeting.” Asked whether the summit take place, Trump told
reporters, “It could very well happen. Whatever it is, we’ll know next week
about Singapore. And if we go, I think it will be a great thing for North
Korea. We’ll see.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=03c-9ac&t=c>
(5/23, Lima, Toosi) says Trump “again cast doubt on the status of the
highly anticipated gathering,” but “offered a potential timeline for a
decision on whether the meeting will continue on schedule.” Trump,
says Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=03d-ae6&t=c>
(5/23, Epstein), “has grown more pessimistic” about prospects for the talks
since North Korea threatened last week to cancel the summit.

Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State Pompeo told lawmakers the
summit would take place as planned. The CBS Evening News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=03e-2cd&t=c>
(5/23, story 5, 1:20, Glor) reported, “Pompeo told Congress today he
believes the historic summit...will proceed on June 12,” but he also “said
the US has made no concessions, and will insist on a rapid dismantling of a
nuclear program,” something the North “has said it will resist.” To
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=03f-b4e&t=c>
(5/23, Demirjian, Hudson), Pompeo “sought...to mitigate lawmakers’ concerns
that President Trump’s diplomatic venture with North Korea is faltering” as
the White House is “signaling doubts about its timeline” for the talks.
Pompeo told lawmakers that plans are in place to hold the meeting on June
12, although he added, “That decision will ultimately be up to Chairman
Kim.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=040-263&t=c>
(5/23) quotes Pompeo as saying, “A bad deal is not an option. The American
people are counting on us to get this right. If the right deal is not on
the table, we will respectfully walk away.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=041-4ca&t=c>
(5/23, Lee, Pennington) and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=042-7ac&t=c>
(5/23, Dorell, Durando), among other outlets, also report Pompeo’s
comments.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=043-c4e&t=c>
(5/23, story 6, 1:05, Muir) said that “just yesterday, the President seemed
to back away from what had been a key US demand in these talks: the
complete and immediate denuclearization of North Korea. But today, the
Secretary of State seemed to suggest that that demand is now back on the
table.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=044-836&t=c>
(5/23, Taylor) reports Pompeo told lawmakers that North Korean
denuclearization is America’s “top national security priority” and the
Administration is “clear-eyed” about Pyongyang’s history of spoiling past
negotiations.

*US Team Hopes To Meet With North Koreans In Singapore After North
Was No-Show. *ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=045-2b9&t=c>
(5/23, story 6, 1:05, Muir) said “one reason the President may” be having
“doubts” about the summit is because a US team was in Singapore two weeks
ago for what Cecilia Vega said “was supposed to be a planning meeting for
this summit in Singapore,” but the North Korean delegation didn’t show up.
The US delegation is heading back to Singapore this weekend, “hopeful this
time the North Koreans do indeed show up.” Elise Labott reported on CNN’s
Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=046-82a&t=c>
(5/23) that a senior US official involved in the planning says the US team
heading back to Singapore wants “additional high-level talks with North
Korea and assurances” from Kim “before the summit that he is committed to
giving up his nuclear program.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=047-4fc&t=c>
(5/23) reports the US delegation includes White House Deputy Chief of Staff
Joseph Hagin and Deputy National Security Adviser Mira Ricardel.

*North Korea To US: “Meet Us At A Meeting Room Or Encounter Us At
Nuclear-To-Nuclear Showdown.” *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=048-40d&t=c>
(5/23, Fifield) reports North Korea is “threatening to reconsider” Kim’s
participation in a summit with Trump next month, saying that it is up to
the US to decide whether it wants to “meet us at a meeting room or
encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown.” A “close aide to Kim” also
“unleashed a torrent of invective” against the Administration Thursday
morning, calling Vice President Pence a “political dummy” for remarks he
made to Fox News on Monday. Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said, “As a
person involved in the US affairs, I cannot suppress my surprise at such
ignorant and stupid remarks gushing out from the mouth of the US
vice-president.” The Post says Pence “doubled down” on National Security
Adviser Bolton’s “Libya model” analogy, saying, “As the President made
clear, this will only end like the Libyan model ended if Kim Jong Un
doesn’t make a deal.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=049-a1e&t=c>
(5/23, Choe) says Choe’s comment marks “the second time in a week that
North Korea had threatened to withdraw from Mr. Kim’s planned summit
meeting with Mr. Trump.”

*Murphy Concerned Bolton May Pressure Trump To Go To War. *On MSNBC’s
Morning Joe[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=04a-789&t=c>
(5/23), Sen. Chris Murphy said, “We have to be both realistic and flexible
in these potential negotiations with North Korea,” because “the
alternative...is a North Korea that continues to build up a nuclear weapons
program.” If the summit fails, Murphy said the “worse case scenario” would
be if National Security Adviser Bolton were to tell the President, “You
tried diplomacy, it didn’t work. There’s really no option left except for a
strike against the North Koreans.” Murphy predicted that Bolton “will also
tell the President he doesn’t have to come to Congress for that
authorization,” which Murphy said is why he has “introduced
legislation...to make clear that if the President is thinking about
preemptive military action against North Korea, that he has to come and get
Congressional consent first.”

*North Korean Official: Regime Ready To Dismantle Nuclear Test
Site. *Reporting that a “North Korean official confirmed the regime is
ready to dismantle” the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, Greg Palkot said on Fox
News Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=04b-e5b&t=c>
(5/23) that “the Korean Peninsula could be moving a step closer to peace in
the coming hours.” Palkot added that while “no international observers have
been invited” and “many analysts say the site is unusable anyway,”
destroying the site “does have symbolic value.”
Pentagon Disinvites China From Naval Exercise Over South China Sea Buildup.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=04c-7ef&t=c>
(5/23, Ryan) reports the Pentagon “disinvited China from participating in a
major naval exercise on Wednesday, signaling mounting US anger over
Beijing’s expanded military footprint in disputed areas of the South China
Sea.” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Logan “said the Defense
Department reversed an earlier invitation to the Chinese navy to
participate” in biennial naval exercises involving more than two dozen
nations. Said Logan, “While China has maintained that the construction of
the islands is to ensure safety at sea, navigation assistance, search and
rescue, fisheries protection and other non-military functions, the
placement of these weapon systems is only for military use.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=04d-4fa&t=c>
(5/23) quotes a Pentagon statement as saying, “We have strong evidence that
China has deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile (SAM)
systems, and electronic jammers to contested features in the Spratly
Islands region of the South China Sea.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=04e-854&t=c>
(5/23, Cooper) says the “military snub” comes after President Trump
“suggested the Chinese might be influencing North Korea’s recent talk of
withdrawing from a summit meeting set for June 12.” The two nations, it
notes, are also “in the middle of a major trade fight.” The Washington Free
Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=04f-83a&t=c>
(5/23, Gertz) calls the move “a major step back from the unfettered
military engagement policy of the Obama administration.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=050-c28&t=c>
(5/23, Muñoz, Wolfgang) reports that US lawmakers “quickly weighed in,
saying the move is a way to publicly punish and embarrass China.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=051-e1f&t=c>
(5/23) editorializes that China has been “steadily building up islets it
controls in the Paracel and Spratly islands.” Adm. Philip Davidson, the
incoming chief of US Pacific Command, recently told Congress that “China is
now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of
war with the United States.” The Post argues that the “long-term impact of
China’s buildup could be considerably more important than the threat from
impoverished and isolated North Korea, much less the trade balance.”

*Pompeo: US Investigating Possible Sonic Attack On Diplomat In
China. *The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=052-c6c&t=c>
(5/23, story 4, 1:55, Glor) reported an American working at the US
Consulate in Guangzhou, China was sent home in April “after feeling
abnormal sensations of sound and pressure over a period of months.” Last
week, “medical tests concluded his symptoms matched those of mild traumatic
brain injury.” Secretary of State Pompeo “called it a serious medical
incident.” Pompeo: “The medical indications are very similar and entirely
consistent with the medical indications that have taken place to Americans
working in Cuba.” The US Embassy and all five Consulates in China have held
town hall meetings to allow employees a chance to ask questions. On
Wednesday afternoon, Pompeo met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, “who
said [China] is investigating and hasn’t found anybody who could have been
responsible for the sonic attacks. Pompeo said the US is conducting its own
investigation.” Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=053-7d2&t=c>
(5/23) showed Pompeo stating, “We have notified China of what took place.
... They have responded in a way that is exactly the right response.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=054-7d0&t=c>
(5/23, Buckley) says the event in China “seemed to draw parallels with
mysterious ailments that struck American diplomats in Cuba.” The State
Department also advised American citizens in China “to seek medical help if
they felt similar symptoms. But it said that no other cases had been
reported.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=055-e17&t=c>
(5/23, Rauhala, Morello) reports State Department spokeswoman Heather
Nauert said the US will send a medical team to Guangzhou next week “to
conduct baseline medical evaluations of all employees who desire one.” The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=056-f26&t=c>
(5/23) reports Pompeo also told lawmakers Wednesday that “he expects the
results of an independent investigation into the Cuban incidents by the
middle of next week.”
Khamenei: Europeans Must Protect Trade With Tehran To Save Nuclear Deal.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=057-619&t=c>
(5/23) reports Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “set out a
series of conditions on Wednesday for European powers if they want Tehran
to stay in a nuclear deal after the US exit, including steps to safeguard
trade with Tehran and guarantee Iranian oil sales.” Issuing conditions for
saving the nuclear pact on his website, Khamenei said, “European banks
should safeguard trade with the Islamic Republic. We do not want to start a
fight with these three countries (France, Germany and Britain) but we don’t
trust them either.” He “further said Britain, France and Germany must
pledge they would not seek negotiations on Iran’s ballistic missile program
and on its regional activities, both of which were not covered by the
nuclear pact but are now demanded by Washington.” Fox News Special
Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=058-b64&t=c>
(5/23) said Khamenei’s demands are “pitting the Europeans between” the US
and Iran after Secretary of State Pompeo “announced Monday 12 demands of
Iran, saying it’s going to put the strongest sanctions in history against
it if it doesn’t comply with the US demands.”

*Iran Suspected Of Advancing Long-Range Missile Technology At
Secret Site. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=059-3fe&t=c>
(5/23, Fisher) reports that US weapons researchers believe that Iranian
missile scientist Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, who was killed in a 2011
explosion at Iran’s long-range missile research facility, “oversaw the
development of a secret, second facility in the remote Iranian desert that,
they say, is operating to this day.” The researchers say “work on the site
now appears to focus on advanced rocket engines and rocket fuel, and is
often conducted under cover of night.” The Times suggests Iran is
“developing the technology for long-range missiles,” which “would not
violate the international deal intended to prevent Iran from developing a
nuclear weapon, or any other formal agreement.”
Friedman: Trump Mideast Peace Plan Won’t Be Released For Few Months.

Barak Ravid writes for Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=05a-12f&t=c>
(5/23) that US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told him “that it will
be another few months before the White House launches its long awaited
Middle East peace plan.” Friedman “said Trump remains optimistic about the
chances of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, but will not
force it on the parties,” adding that the peace plan will be presented
“within months.”

*Friedman Receives Photo Replacing Dome Of The Rock With Jewish
Temple. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=05b-4b7&t=c>
(5/23, Taylor) reports that in an image released Tuesday, Ambassador
Friedman can be seen “standing next to an aerial view of Jerusalem that has
been digitally altered to replace one of Islam’s holiest sites with a
Jewish temple.” The photograph, “which was first reported on by the
ultra-Orthodox news site Kikar Hashabat”, was taken while Friedman was in
the Israeli city of Bnei Brak with Achiya, “a charity that works with
disabled children.” The Jerusalem Post reported that the altered image was
given to Friedman “as a gift from an activist who works with Achiya.” The
US Embassy said in a statement that Friedman was “not aware of the image
thrust in front of him” before the photo and was “deeply disappointed that
anyone would take advantage of his visit to Bnei Brak to create
controversy.”

*Israeli Minister: US May Soon Recognize Its Sovereignty Over
Golan. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=05c-0de&t=c>
(5/23, Williams) reports Israel is “pressing the Trump administration to
recognize its sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, an Israeli
cabinet minister said on Wednesday, predicting US assent could come within
months.” In an interview, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz “described
endorsement of Israel’s 51-year-old hold on the Golan as the proposal now
‘topping the agenda’ in bilateral diplomatic talks with the United States.”

*Defense Minister: Israel Planning 2,500 New West Bank Settler
Homes. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=05d-5a4&t=c>
(5/24) reports Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday he
will seek approval next week “to fast-track construction of 2,500 new West
Bank settlement homes in 2018.” Lieberman’s office said in a statement that
“in addition to the 2,500...he will advance another 1,400 units that are
currently in a preliminary planning stage.”
At House Hearing, Pompeo Defends Concerns For Diplomats’ Security.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=05e-bbc&t=c>
(5/23, Harris) reports Secretary of State Pompeo “skirmished” with Rep.
Gregory Meeks (D) on Wednesday in a “bitter back-and-forth over his
years-ago treatment of Hillary Clinton” in the aftermath of a 2012 deadly
attack in Benghazi. The Times says the “striking exchange” in the House
Foreign Affairs Committee was “a reminder of his criticism of Mrs. Clinton
when she was serving as secretary of state over whether she had prioritized
security for employees.” Meeks asked why Pompeo “had not mentioned the
issue of diplomatic security during his Senate confirmation hearing last
month.” Pompeo “angrily responded,” “I’ll take a back seat to no one with
respect to caring about and protecting the people.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=05f-3d6&t=c>
(5/23, Gehrke) says Pompeo “snapped” at Meeks during “an angry exchange.”
Referring to Clinton, Meeks said to Pompeo, “You scolded her! You went
after her with venom!”

*Pence Vows “Swift Response” To Expulsion Of US Diplomat From
Venezuela. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=060-215&t=c>
(5/23, Lima) reports Vice President Pence vowed Wednesday to take “swift”
action after Venezuela expelled a US diplomat and his deputy, and “blasted”
the regime of President Nicolás Maduro as “illegitimate.” The Vice
President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=061-fb3&t=c>
Wednesday morning that Venezuela’s “provocation will be met with a swift
response. We will continue to pressure Venezuela’s illegitimate regime
until democracy is restored,” Pence tweeted.
Trump Considering Auto Tariffs On National Security Grounds.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=062-3d5&t=c>
(5/23, Korte) reports that President Trump has “called for tariffs on
imported cars, trucks and auto parts Wednesday, potentially expanding to
the auto industry the same protectionist measures he’s threatened on
aluminum and steel.” Trump has instructed Commerce Secretary Ross “to
investigate whether the auto imports are a threat to national security.” If
they are, Trump could “institute tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade
Expansion Act of 1962 – one of the strongest trade tools in the president’s
arsenal.” The Detroit News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=063-60b&t=c>
(5/23, Laing, Howes) reports that the move “would mirror the steel and
aluminum tariffs Trump enacted” under the law. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=064-f14&t=c>
(5/23, Swanson) reports that in initiating the “sweeping trade
investigation,” Trump said, “Core industries such as automobiles and
automotive parts are critical to our strength as a nation.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=065-69c&t=c>
(5/23, Lynch, Dawsey) reports that a senior Administration official said a
25% tariff on imported vehicles could be imposed. The Wall Street Journal
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(5/23, A1, Mauldin, Puko, O'Keeffe) reports on its front page that the
announcement is another move in Trump’s series of aggressive trade actions.
Ross said, “There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from
abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry.” The Washington Times
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(5/23, Miller) reports that Trump “had teased the announcement throughout
the day, saying he had ‘big news’ for the US auto industry” in a morning
tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=068-dad&t=c>.
The Detroit Free Press
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(5/23, Spangler, Essex) reports that the auto industry suspected the news
might be a US exit from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

*Trump Says China Trade Deal “Moving Along Nicely,” But “New
Structure” May Be Needed. *The Washington Times
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(5/23, Miller) reports Trump “reaffirmed Wednesday that he sees progress in
trade negotiations with China but again raised doubts about nailing down a
final deal.” Trump said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=06b-037&t=c>,
“Our Trade Deal with China is moving along nicely, but in the end we will
probably have to use a different structure in that this will be too hard to
get done and to verify results after completion.” To the AP
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(5/23, Wiseman, Thomas), Trump “cast doubt...on the prospects for talks
that are designed to head off a trade war between the United States and
China.” Trump “declared in a tweet that a more detailed agreement ‘will be
too hard to get done.’” Under the headline, “Trump Backs Away From China
Deal Under Pressure By Trade Hawks,” meanwhile, Bloomberg News
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(5/23, Leonard, Mohsin) says that “after boasting of the deal’s benefits
for farmers in tweets on Monday, Trump first indicated on Tuesday he was
having second thoughts as some of his loyalists publicly criticized the
agreement.” Bloomberg goes on to report that Trump’s “misgivings open the
prospect that a trade war Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had declared
‘on hold’ is at risk of resuming.”

*House Bill Would Block Trump From Lifting Sanctions On ZTE. *Bloomberg
News
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(5/23, Wasson, Tiron) reports that Congress “is increasing pressure on”
Trump “not to weaken sanctions on ZTE Corp., the Chinese telecommunications
equipment maker accused of violating trade-sanction agreements and posing a
threat to US national security.” According to Bloomberg, “The most
expansive measure under consideration is a House appropriations bill with
language aimed at blocking Trump from lifting sanctions.” Bloomberg says
“other proposals under consideration would require the president to certify
that lifting sanctions wouldn’t hurt US security and would bar the Defense
Department from renewing contracts with vendors that work with the Chinese
company.”

*WPost Ties Rubio’s Criticism Of ZTE Deal To His Presidential
Aspirations. *The Washington Post
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(5/23, Sullivan, Wagner) reports that today, “for the fourth day in a row,”
Sen. Marco Rubio, who “has emerged as one of the loudest Republican critics
of President Trump’s policies on China,” tweeted that “China was besting
the Trump administration in critical negotiations.” The Post says Rubio
“might wage a second presidential bid,” and “is speaking out on an issue he
has talked about for years, including as a White House hopeful in 2016.”
The Post says Rubio tweeted: “I don’t understand how they can push for a
deal that lets [ZTE] keep operating in US.”

*USDA Reportedly Wants China To Import More US GMO Crops. *Reuters
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(5/23) reports that the US “is seeking better access for imports of
genetically modified crops into China as part of a trade deal currently
under discussion between the two sides.” Citing a “biotech industry source
with knowledge of USDA discussions,” Bloomberg says “the subject, long a
major irritant in agricultural trade between the countries, is a main issue
for” the USDA.

*Tucker Carlson: Despite Admission To WTO, China Playing Unfair
With US. *Tucker Carlson said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=071-938&t=c>
(5/23) that “one of the biggest economic events” in the US “since World War
II” was China’s admission into the World Trade Organization. Carlson said
that in 2001, the US’ trade deficit with China was $83 billion, but “today
it’s $375 billion. ... Over the same period, [the US] has lost 60,000
factories.” When it joined the WTO, “China was supposed to follow
international” rules, but it instead “relentlessly steals America’s
intellectual property.” It also “suppressed its national currency against
the dollar. This gave it a huge advantage in its exports. That definitely
violated WTO rules.”
Italian President Clears Way For Populists To Form New Government.

The New York Times
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(5/23, Horowitz) reports Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday
“cleared the way for the populist parties that won the most votes in
elections two months ago to govern together, a step that seems certain to
make Italy by far the largest and most important member of the European
Union to be run by populist forces and grant a big victory to the bloc’s
antagonists.” The Five Star Movement and the League, a “hard-right party
that has campaigned on an Italians-first platform,” agreed last week on “a
governing agenda that would crack down on illegal immigration, challenge
budget rules from Brussels and lift sanctions against Russia.” After “80
days of arduous talks...Mattarella gave a mandate to form a government to
the parties’ consensus pick for prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, a
little-known lawyer with no government experience.”
Domestic Policy
Trump: Democrats Enabling MS-13 “Animals” By Refusing To Close “Crippling
Loopholes.”

After attending a roundtable event on immigration and gang violence,
President Trump said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=073-b8b&t=c>,
“Today on Long Island, we were all moved to be joined by families who have
suffered unthinkable heartbreak at the hands of MS-13. I was truly honored
to be joined again by the courageous families who were my guests at the
State of the Union. ...
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Crippling loopholes in our laws have enabled MS-13 gang members and other
criminals to infiltrate our communities – and Democrats in Congress REFUSE
to close these loopholes, including the disgraceful practice known as
Catch-and-Release. Democrats must abandon their resistance.”

The New York Times
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(5/23, Robbins, Shear) calls Bethpage, NY “the epicenter of MS-13 gang
killings,” and the Daily Caller
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(5/23, Johnson) indicates that during his visit yesterday Trump “doubled
down on calling MS-13 gang members ‘animals,’” even as he portrayed
Democrats as defending the deadly gang. Fox News
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(5/23, Shaw) notes the gathering “featured top law enforcement figures as
well as families of gang victims,” and “comes after Trump sparked
controversy last week at another roundtable where he called MS-13 members
animals – a remark which was initially construed by some media outlets and
lawmakers as referring to all illegal immigrants.” Trump “has defended his
rhetoric repeatedly and on Wednesday accused [House Minority Leader] Pelosi
and other Democrats of defending the gruesome gang.” The CBS Evening
News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052401biden&r=email-3c6a&l=078-5a2&t=c>
(5/23, story 7, 2:10, Miller) showed Trump saying, “They said they’re
people. They’re not people. These are animal