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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, October 9, 2018 7:54 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, October 9, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=001-5c2&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, October 9, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden Stepping Up Appearances Amid 2020 Speculation. <#S1>

• In KY6 Race, Biden To Campaign For McGrath This Week, Trump For Barr.
<#S2>

• Biden To Rally Support For Donnelly During Oct. 12 Visit To Hammond,
Indiana. <#S3>

• Biden Maintaining His Visibility In South Carolina. <#S4>

• Biden Backs Davids’ Bid To Unseat Yoder In KS3. <#S5>

• Returning To “The View,” Meghan McCain Says Biden, Lieberman “Like Uncles
To Me.” <#S6>

• Trump Says He’d Quickly Dispatch Biden In Fight. <#S7>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Says Kavanaugh “Proven Innocent,” Apologizes To Him “On Behalf Of
Our Nation.” <#S8>

• Progressives Weigh Kavanaugh Impeachment, Effort To Add Justices. <#S9>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• UN Report Warns Time Running Out To Reverse Effects Of Climate Change.
<#S10>

• Media Analyses: Pompeo Has Tense Meeting With Chinese Officials. <#S11>

• Trump “Concerned” By Journalist’s Disappearance Inside Saudi Consulate.
<#S12>

• US Rejects Iran’s ICJ Claim To Recover $1.75B In Frozen Assets. <#S13>

• US Student Barred From Entering Israel Over BDS Activism. <#S14>

• Lavrov Denies Russians Arrested By Dutch Authorities Are Spies. <#S15>

• China Moves To Shore Up Economy Amid US Trade War. <#S16>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Media Analyses: Trump Enthusiastically Received By Police Chiefs In
Florida. <#S17>

• In Visit To Iowa, Trump To Announce Lifting Of Ban On Summer E15 Sales.
<#S18>

• Trump Says He Had “Good Talk” With Rosenstein, Doesn’t Plan To Fire Him.
<#S19>

• Ryan Predicts “Big Fight” Over Trump’s Border Wall After Midterms. <#S20>

• Google Shutting Down Google+ After Data Exposure Uncovered. <#S21>

• Obama Endorses Recent College Graduate For Connecticut State Senate.
<#S22>

• Clintons To Launch Speaking Tour After Midterms. <#S23>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Study: Medicaid Cancer Care Comparable To Or Better Than Private
Insurance. <#S24>

• NCI Grants $6.3M To Baylor For Research On Prostate, Breast Cancer
Disparities. <#S25>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S26>

• Washington Post. <#S27>
Biden in the News
Biden Stepping Up Appearances Amid 2020 Speculation.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=002-da1&t=c>
(10/5, Siders) reported that that “one month before the 2020 presidential
primary begins in earnest,” former Vice President Joe Biden “continues to
lead in early polls,” is “ramping up his schedule of midterm campaign
appearances and, perhaps more significantly, meeting with donors.” Politico
added, “This [past] week, before appearing at a rally” in California on
“Thursday for several House candidates,” Biden “raised money for his
American Possibilities PAC at two fundraisers in the Los Angeles area. The
host of the first event, film studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, was
critical to then-Sen. Barack Obama’s fundraising success in the 2008
presidential primary. And while Katzenberg has met with many prospective
2020 candidates, Biden’s appearance in Beverly Hills served as a reminder
of the connections he still can tap into.”

Under the headline “Dem 2020 Primary Season Is Unofficially
Underway,” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=003-0ac&t=c>
(10/6, Parnes) reported, “Prospective Democratic candidates hoping to
launch a White House bid will be out in full force campaigning for midterm
candidates” over “these next 30 days,” as this fall’s “campaigns are a
tryout of sorts for 2020, strategists say.” The Hill, which focuses on a
number of potential 2020 Democratic hopefuls, added that Biden “begins his
midterm push later in the week, on Friday, when he will travel to Indiana
to campaign for Sen. Joe Donnelly, a moderate Democrat who could get a
much-needed boost by a visit from the former vice president. He’ll also
campaign alongside retired Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath, the Democratic
nominee for Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, at a local fish fry.”
In KY6 Race, Biden To Campaign For McGrath This Week, Trump For Barr.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=004-0d9&t=c>
(10/5, Beam) reported that President Trump and former Vice President Joe
Biden are slated to stump this “week in Kentucky, with each seeking to
sway” KY6 Rep. Andy Barr’s (R) reelection race against retired Marine
fighter pilot Amy McGrath (D). The AP added, “Trump’s campaign said Friday
it will hold a rally in Richmond, Kentucky, on Oct. 13.” A day earlier,
“Biden will campaign with McGrath at a community fish fry at Bath County
High School in Owingsville, Kentucky.” McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=005-8e7&t=c>
(10/5, Clark) reports that Biden’s appearance will give “McGrath’s campaign
a considerable boost.” The former Vice President, “who called McGrath
shortly after her come-from-behind primary victory in May to congratulate
her, said he was looking forward to campaigning with her. ‘Amy McGrath has
dedicated her life to service to this country,’ Biden said. ‘We need more
men and women of character like Amy in Congress.’”

The CNHI News Service
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=006-bed&t=c>
(10/5, Ellis) reported that McGrath “called Biden an American patriot who
has served the country throughout his public career. ‘I’m so honored that
Vice President Biden will join me in Bath County next week and have a
chance to meet the hardworking people from our rural counties,’ she said.
‘The Vice President is an American patriot who has dedicated his life to
serving our country and bettering the lives of all Americans. We are
holding a community fish fry in his honor and all are welcome.’”

The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=007-0af&t=c>
(10/5, Kobin) reported, “The Barr-McGrath race is one of the most closely
watched in the country as Democrats hope to flip the House.” The article
added, “Biden has been campaigning for other Democratic candidates lately
as he also considers a potential presidential run in 2020. Trump bashed
Biden at a rally in Tennessee [last] week, calling him ‘one percent
Biden.’”
Biden To Rally Support For Donnelly During Oct. 12 Visit To Hammond,
Indiana.

On its website, WMAQ-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=008-86c&t=c>
Chicago (10/6, Neveau) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden “will
appear at a rally in northwest Indiana to drum up support for Senator Joe
Donnelly in his re-election campaign. According to Donnelly’s campaign,”
Biden “will appear at an Early Vote rally with the senator at the Hammond
Civic Center [in Hammond, Indiana] on Oct. 12, and tickets will be made
available on a first come, first serve basis for those interested in
attending.”
Biden Maintaining His Visibility In South Carolina.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=009-2ca&t=c>
(10/8, Kinnard) reports that as former Vice President Joe Biden mulls a
2020 White House run, he “is continuing to keep his name prominent in early
voting states like South Carolina as voters there go to the midterm polls.”
Yesterday, Biden endorsed small business owner Rosalyn Glenn’s (D) bid for
South Carolina state treasurer. The AP adds, “This is at least the fourth
South Carolina race this year into which Biden has waded, although he’s had
public affiliations with the other two candidates for years. Biden voiced
support earlier this year for the state Senate bid of Columbia attorney
Dick Harpootlian.” Biden “has also announced support for Democratic
gubernatorial nominee James Smith, for whom he’ll help raise funds in
Charleston later this month. He’s also backing Joe Cunningham in South
Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.”

The Columbia (SC) State
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=00a-2e0&t=c>
(10/8, Barton) reported that in response to the endorsement, Glenn said,
“Vice President Biden is one of the most respected leaders in America. He
is universally admired on both sides of the aisle for his integrity and his
unbending commitment to serving all Americans, both qualities which I
personally espouse.” The Columbia (SC) State
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=00b-094&t=c>
(10/6, Schecter) reported that Biden “is returning to South Carolina on
Oct. 13 to campaign for James Smith,” who is bidding to oust Gov. Henry
McMaster (R). Biden “will campaign for Smith early Saturday in Charleston,
said campaign spokesman, Brad Warthen. It was not immediately clear where
in Charleston Biden and Smith will stop.”

The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=00c-b92&t=c>
(10/7, Byrd) reported, “The Smith campaign confirmed Sunday that Biden will
be coming to the Holy City next Saturday morning, where he will later
headline a private fundraising event for Smith.” The Post and Courier
added, “The private Oct. 13 event is Biden’s way of cashing in a political
rain check of sorts, since he had previously planned to headline a late
September fundraising event for Smith in Charleston but scheduling
conflicts made Biden unable to attend.”
Biden Backs Davids’ Bid To Unseat Yoder In KS3.

The Topeka (KS) Capital-Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=00d-415&t=c>
(10/8, Carpenter) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday
backed attorney Sharice Davids’ (D) bid to unseat KS3 Rep. Kevin Yoder (R),
saying in a statement, “The people of Kansas deserve a representative who
understands their concerns and shares their struggles. Sharice lives those
struggles herself and has focused her career on creating opportunities for
middle-class families to get ahead.”
Returning To “The View,” Meghan McCain Says Biden, Lieberman “Like Uncles
To Me.”

In an online article, ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=00e-aaa&t=c>
(10/8) reported that Meghan McCain “made an emotional return on Monday to
the co-host table at ‘The View’ in the wake of her father’s death in
August.” McCain “went around the table, thanking each co-host for their
specific acts of kindness, from prayerful texts and booze-filled nights,
and she extended special thanks to some other famous figures, pointing to
her faith and her father’s close friends. ‘God is real I wouldn’t be here
without my faith,’ McCain said. ‘I also wouldn’t be here without Joe Biden
and Joe Lieberman.’” McCain said that former Vice President Joe Biden and
ex-Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) “are like ‘uncles to me’ and she said they
‘carried me throughout the experience.’”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=00f-a5a&t=c>
(10/8, story 10, 0:50, Muir) also reported on its broadcast about McCain’s
return to the program, saying that she “echo[ed] her father’s final words
about American democracy and a divided nation.” McCain: “My father’s final
farewell address, he said, we’re Americans and we never surrender, and we
can never surrender to what is happening in the country right now. I
understand how divided and how scared a lot of people are, and it looks
like the fabric of democracy is fraying. We do not surrender. I’m not
surrendering. You don’t do it, either, so, you have to join me in not
surrendering, okay? Because I’m still here fighting, and I want all of you
to fight with me.”
Trump Says He’d Quickly Dispatch Biden In Fight.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=010-e72&t=c>
(10/6, Axelrod) reported that Trump said during a Saturday rally in Topeka,
Kansas, that if he got in a fight with former Vice President Joe Biden, it
“would not last long.” Trump said, “Remember he challenged me to a fight.
‘I’d like to take him behind the barn.’ I’d love that. That wouldn’t last
long. That would not last long. That wouldn’t last long.” Drawing from The
Hill article, Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=011-a15&t=c>
(10/7, Porter) said that Trump “then reportedly pointed to his forearm and
suggested that Biden would quickly end up floored in a confrontation. ‘He’s
down, and he’ll never get up,’ Trump then said.”
Leading the News
Trump Says Kavanaugh “Proven Innocent,” Apologizes To Him “On Behalf Of Our
Nation.”

During a ceremonial White House swearing in for Justice Kavanaugh,
President Trump apologized to him for the “pain and suffering” he and his
family endured during the Senate confirmation battle. USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=012-821&t=c>
(10/8, Wolf, Fritze) notes Trump said, “What happened to the Kavanaugh
family violates every notion of fairness, decency and due process. ... You,
sir, under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent.” USA Today adds that
“for his part, Kavanaugh said he would assume the role ‘with gratitude and
no bitterness.’” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=013-ce1&t=c>
(10/8, Forgey) quotes Trump as further saying, “On behalf of our nation, I
want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible
pain and suffering you have been forced to endure.”

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=014-4d2&t=c>
(10/8, story 4, 1:20, Holt) reported “Trump continued his victory lap,” and
“with that battle won,” he “went further than he ever has before in
criticizing the sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, calling
them a hoax.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=015-3c8&t=c>
(10/8, story 5, 2:35, Muir) showed Trump saying earlier Monday, “Now
they’re thinking of impeaching a brilliant jurist, a man that did nothing
wrong, a man that was caught up in a hoax that was set up by the
Democrats.” The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=016-c78&t=c>
(10/8, story 5, 2:10, Reid) noted Trump also said, “The way they really
tortured him and his family. I thought it was a disgrace. ... I think a lot
of Democrats are going to be voting Republican on November sixth.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=017-449&t=c>
(10/8, Bierman) casts Trump as injecting “a sharp political edge
to...Kavanaugh’s ceremonial swearing-in on Monday, undermining the new
Supreme Court member’s attempts to assert his independence from the bitter
partisanship that marred his confirmation process.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=018-e3b&t=c>
(10/8, Sherman, Colvin) says the ceremony “could have been a unifying
moment for the nation,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=019-e2f&t=c>
(10/8, Wagner) disagrees with Trump’s assessment of Kavanaugh as “proven
innocent,” reporting that “in fact, no definitive conclusions were reached
during the confirmation process” other than the fact that the nation was
“left bitterly divided over who was telling the truth, and Kavanaugh was
confirmed in a razor-thin vote.”

Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=01a-211&t=c>
(10/8, Re) reported that “to sustained, raucous applause, Trump entered the
event flanked by Kavanaugh and former Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy,
who hired Kavanaugh as a law clerk from 1993 to 1994. All sitting Supreme
Court justices were in attendance, as well as Kavanaugh’s parents, wife,
and two daughters.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=01b-1f2&t=c>
(10/8, Spiering) notes “the entire room of Trump supporters and staff
applauded the entire Kavanaugh family.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=01c-530&t=c>
(10/8, Boyer) quotes Kavanaugh as stating, “My approach to judging remains
the same. ... A good judge must be an umpire, a neutral and impartial
decider. A judge must interpret the law, not make the law. My approach to
life also remains the same. I will continue to volunteer to serve the least
fortunate among us. I will continue to coach, teach and tutor.” Kavanaugh
also “thanked Mr. Trump for his ‘unwavering’ support.” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=01d-8ff&t=c>
(10/8, Quinn) notes the Justice also said, “The Supreme Court is an
institution of law. It is not a partisan or political institution. ... The
justices do not sit on opposite sides of an aisle. We do not caucus in
separate rooms. The Supreme Court is a team of nine, and I will always be a
team player on the team of nine.”

Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=01e-e9e&t=c>
(10/8), “In the face of one of the most despicable, disgusting political
hit jobs ever in our history, Judge Brett Kavanaugh just made history. From
the beginning the day that Justice Kennedy announced his retirement on this
program, I warned you all of this would happen. ... It is the Democratic
playbook. We get this all the time. Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas and now
they did it to Justice Kavanaugh and his two young girls and his wife and
his family. What this is about is about power. The left will stop at
nothing when it comes to blocking a nomination or winning an election.”

*Trump Praises McConnell, Grassley, Flake, Collins. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=01f-5c5&t=c>
(10/8, Forgey) reports that Trump said of Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, “We are joined tonight by a leader who has never wavered in his
support and devotion to the rule of law and to Brett Kavanaugh’s elevation.
... He’s worked very, very hard and he truly has done just an incredible
and wonderful job for the American people.” Trump also “quipped,” “I think
that’s the biggest hand he’s ever received. ... They don’t get it, Mitch.
You’re great. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.” The President “went on
to thank Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), as
well as the other Republican members of that panel – including Jeff Flake
of Arizona,” and “singled out for praise Republican Sen. Susan Collins.”

*Trump: Blumenthal “A Fraudster When It Came To Vietnam.” *The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=020-016&t=c>
(10/8, Johnson) reports that also yesterday, Trump “attacked Democrat Sen.
Richard Blumenthal at the White House Monday for his treatment of Justice
Brett Kavanaugh.” Said Trump, “I’ve never seen anything like it. From the
leaks of important documents to the statements they made to watching
Blumenthal, who was a fraudster when it came to Vietnam. What he did was
horrible.” The DC adds “Blumenthal falsely claimed multiple times that he
served in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. He later apologized.”

*Trump Mention Of Kavanaugh Sparks Loud Applause From Crowd Of
Police Chiefs. *WBBH-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=021-67f&t=c>
Fort Myers, FL (10/8, 4:09 p.m. EDT) reported that during his visit to
Florida to address a group of police chiefs, Trump “touched on everything
from the hurricane approaching to Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the
Supreme Court. In fact, it was that announcement that drew one of the
biggest applauses...from these police officers.” Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=022-16a&t=c>
(10/8, O'Brien) also recounted that Trump said “more evidence of the
administration’s support of law enforcement...is the confirmation
of...Kavanaugh.” Trump vowed the new justice “will be a ‘faithful defender
of the rule of law’” and “paused for a loud applause.”

*Trump: Allegations “Brought About By People Who Are Evil.”
*The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=023-f51&t=c>
(10/8, Donachie) reports that during his speech in Florida, Trump “said
Monday that those who levied allegations of sexual assault against Supreme
Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh are ‘evil.’” Said Trump, “He’s a great
person, and it was very, very unfair what happened to him. False charges,
false accusations, horrible statements that were totally untrue that he
knew nothing about. Terms that he probably never heard in his life. ... He
never even heard of these terms. It was a disgraceful situation, brought
about by people that are evil. And he toughed it out.”

*Gardner’s Family Doxxed, Wife Sent Beheading Video. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=024-ffe&t=c>
(10/7, Cummings) reported that Sen. Cory Gardner’s (R-CO) office confirmed
that the names and addresses of his family members were “publicly shared
online, and his wife was sent a text with a video attached, which showed a
graphic beheading.” USA Today says it was unclear if the text to Gardner’s
wife and the release of his family’s information were related or if they
were linked to his vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

*McConnell Ready To Move Another High Court Nominee, Even In 2020. *The
Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=025-299&t=c>
(10/8, Caralle) reports that Senate Majority Leader McConnell “is signaling
that he is ready and prepared to move another Supreme Court nominee from
President Trump through Senate confirmation – including during the 2020
presidential election season, if another seat were to become available
then.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=026-a01&t=c>
(10/8, Viebeck) says McConnell “signaled Monday that he would help fill a
high-court vacancy if one emerges when President Trump is up for reelection
in 2020.” At a news conference in Louisville, McConnell “said his decision
to block Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, was based on a tradition
that opposition parties in control of the Senate do not confirm Supreme
Court nominees during presidential election years. He claimed the precedent
only applies when different parties control the Senate and the White House
— leaving open the possibility he would help advance a Trump nominee in
2020 if Republicans still hold a majority in the Senate.”

*CBS’ Dickerson Concedes McConnell’s Claim About Election-Year
Judicial Picks Was Correct. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=027-4ce&t=c>
(10/7, Lim) reported McConnell “was correct when he said Sunday a Supreme
Court nominee had not been appointed during a presidential election year
when the White House and Congress were controlled by opposing parties in
more than a century, according to CBS News’ John Dickerson.” McConnell and
Dickerson “clashed Sunday during a segment on the network’s ‘Face the
Nation’ program when the anchor pressed the Kentucky Republican on whether
he was to blame for an increasingly partisan approach to filling vacancies
on the country’s highest court.”

Dickerson later tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=028-737&t=c>,
“The @senatemajldr &I had a disagreement about 1956. He said, since 1880,
no SCOTUS nominee had been named & confirmed in an election year when the
president and Congress were in opposite parties. I said in 1956 Ike (R)
nominated Brennan. Democrats controlled the Senate.” However, “Brennan was
a recess appointment [sic] in ‘56 not confirmed by Democrats ‘till ‘57.
McConnell: correct! But: recess appointment & confirmations in election
years undermine idea it was Sen. norm justices couldn’t [sic] be confirmed
b/c voters had to have their say— the Garland rationale.”

*Graham: “Nothing” Left “Won’t Do To Maintain Power.” *Sen. Lindsey
Graham (R-SC) said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=029-c33&t=c>
(10/8), “It’s about outcomes for our friends on the left. There is nothing
they won’t do to maintain power. There is nothing they won’t do to take it
back when they lose it. Susan Collins represented the best in the country.
She thought about what she did. She explained what she did and she made a
reasoned decision. The people on the other side were going to destroy
Kavanaugh if he let them. To the extent that my intervention helped a good
man who was being railroaded and humiliated, I am pleased. To President
trump thanks for sticking by Brett. To Brett, thank for having the courage
to stay in there when a lot of people would quit. I am grateful to Brett
Kavanaugh and President Trump.”

*Kavanaugh First Justice To Hire All Female Clerks. *The New York
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=02a-7a8&t=c>
(10/8, Fredericks) reports, “With the controversy still simmering over his
Supreme Court confirmation, Brett Kavanaugh has hit the ground running –
and became the first high court justice to hire all women as his law
clerks.”

*CNN Analyst: Move “Felt Like Pandering.” *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=02b-a43&t=c>
(10/8, Morefield) reports “CNN political analyst Joan Walsh on Monday said
that...Kavanaugh’s decision to hire four female law clerks ‘felt like
pandering’ to her.” Said Walsh, “s talked about that before. It felt a
little bit like pandering to me. As I said before, there’s not really
anything new,” and “I don’t know that it’s going to work to make women who
are still upset about the treatment of Dr. Blasey Ford feel any better.”

*Daily Caller : Kanavaugh Has Already Hired As Many Black Clerks As
Ginsburg Since 1993. *Under the headline, “In His First Day On The Job,
Kavanaugh Hired As Many Black Law Clerks As RBG Has In Her Entire Tenure,”
the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=02c-57e&t=c>
(10/8) reports that Kavanaugh “has hired a black law clerk for his new
chambers at the U.S. Supreme Court, matching Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s
record of African-American clerkship hiring during her tenure on the
nation’s highest judicial tribunal.” According to the Daily Caller, “Since
joining the high court in 1993, Ginsburg has hired over 100 law clerks,
just one of whom is black.”

*Alaska Republican Party To Consider Reprimanding Murkowski. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=02d-5c2&t=c>
(10/8, Bohrer) reports that Alaska Republican Party leaders will consider
reprimanding Sen, Lisa Murkowski (R) over her vote against confirming
Kavanaugh. Chairman Tuckerman Babcock “says the committee could decide to
issue a statement. Or he says it could withdraw support of Murkowski,
encourage party officials to look for a replacement and ask that she not
seek re-election as a Republican.”

*Cramer Criticism Of #MeToo Draws Tearful Heitkamp Response. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=02e-60c&t=c>
(10/8, Martin) reports that the in “latest provocation” from Rep. Kevin
Cramer (R-ND), who is challenging Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Cramer
criticized the #MeToo movement, saying, “That you’re just supposed to
believe somebody because they said it happened.” Cramer added that his
wife, daughters, mother and mother-in-law “cannot understand this movement
toward victimization.” Heitkamp “reacted angrily,” saying, “I think it’s
wonderful that his wife has never had an experience, and good for her, and
it’s wonderful his mom hasn’t. ... My mom did. And I think it affected my
mom her whole life. And it didn’t make her less strong.” A tearful Heitkamp
added, “And I want you to put this in there, it did not make my mom less
strong that she was a victim. She got stronger and she made us strong. And
to suggest that this movement doesn’t make women strong and stronger is
really unfortunate.”

*Comstock Says Male Democratic Aide Or Lawmakers Leaked Ford
Letter. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=02f-27f&t=c>
(10/8, Gstalter) reports that Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) said on Fox News
Outnumbered Overtime[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=030-79f&t=c>
Monday that “a male Democratic lawmaker or staffer leaked the confidential
letter from Christine Blasey Ford detailing sexual assault allegations
against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.” Comstock said, “The
confidentiality of Dr. Ford was brutality violated by a Democrat staff or
member. ... And I like to think that it wasn’t a woman who did that. I
think it was probably a male staffer or a male member because you don’t do
that to somebody who’s a victim and victimize her all over again by not
allowing her to consent about going forward.”

*Vice Reporter: Anti-Kavanaugh Protesters Were Paid. *The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=031-234&t=c>
(10/8, Richardson) reports that Vice DC bureau chief Shawna Thomas, who was
“embedded with anti-Kavanaugh protesters says that some protesters were in
fact paid, as President Trump has alleged.” Thomas told ABC’s “This Week,”
“A lot of them were normal people who were mad. ... We also saw people who
were organized.” Thomas added, “That moment with Jeff Flake on the Hill.
... We talked to one woman who works for UltraViolet who was paid — she
helped steer people in the right ways to be able to confront senators. ...
There were people who were paid by organizations like UltraViolet to try to
harness that energy in a way that would make the viral moments that we
ended up seeing.”

*Anti-Kavanaugh Protesters Received Grants From Soros Group.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=032-d5d&t=c>
(10/8, Richardson) reports that George Soros “has been a key funder through
his Open Society Foundations of a left-wing network of protest groups,
including the Center for Popular Democracy, which has received millions of
dollars from the Soros philanthropy and helped spearhead demonstrations
against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.” Soros “grantees involved
with #CancelKavanaugh” also “include the American Civil Liberties Union,
the Human Rights Campaign, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned
Parenthood.” Nonetheless, “Open Society was outraged when Mr. Trump
described the protesters last week as ‘paid professionals’ with
‘professionally made identical signs,’ which he said were ‘paid for by
Soros and others.’”

*Teacher Posts Tweets About Killing Kavanaugh. *Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=033-7f8&t=c>
(10/8, Baumann) reports that Samantha Ness, a special education teacher in
Minnesota, was put on paid administrative leave Monday “following a
controversial tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=034-410&t=c>
about killing now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.” According to the
Minneapolis Star Tribune, “Secret Service and FBI in Minnesota were
contacted regarding the concerning tweets.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=035-217&t=c>
(10/8, Ernst) also reports on Ness’ tweets.

*NBC’s Williams: Potential Cases Could Test Court’s Collegiality
Toward Kavanaugh. *NBC News justice correspondent Pete Williams said on NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=036-9c4&t=c>
(10/8, story 6, 0:55, Holt) that Justice Kavanaugh “is lucky that the
Supreme Court is off to a low-key term beginning with no blockbuster cases
on the docket.” Williams added that “two of the Court’s four liberals who
were in town Saturday were also at his swearing in. That’s a sign the
justices will welcome him as a colleague, but that collegiality could be
put to the test if the Court agrees to take up this question, does the
federal law that bans job discrimination on the basis of sex apply to
sexual orientation?” In this term, the Court could also “decide to take up
the legal fight over DACA, that’s a program President Trump wants to shut
down.”

*WPost’s Ryan: Kavanaugh Could Impact Rulings On Detainees. *Missy
Ryan writes for the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=037-3dc&t=c>
(10/8, Ryan) that Kavanaugh could alter the Court’s handling “of issues
related to wartime detainees, as the Trump administration seeks to assert
broad powers to imprison terrorism suspects indefinitely, legal experts
said.” Ryan says while there are no detainee-related issues now before the
Supreme Court, Kavanaugh’s views “could be pivotal if courts take up the
government’s controversial use” the Authorization for Use of Military Force
“as a legal basis for its campaign against the Islamic State.” The ACLU has
challenged the government’s ability to detain a US citizen suspect of links
to ISIS under the AUMF, but experts say that in a dozen years as a circuit
court judge, Kavanaugh “again and again...gave broad deference to
presidential powers on matters of national security and war.”

*Patti Davis: Ford’s Testimony Enabled Other Women To Reveal Their
Stories. *Patti Davis, daughter of former President Ronald Reagan, writes
in a letter to Ford printed in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=038-949&t=c>
(10/8), “I wonder how you feel now that Brett M. Kavanaugh’s hand — the one
you say clamped down on your mouth when you were 15 — is now on the scales
of justice. I wonder if you feel that everything you went through wasn’t
worth it, that it accomplished nothing. ... I want to add my voice and let
you know that I speak for crowds of women who are only now feeling that
they can speak out and reveal their own stories.” Davis adds that “millions
of hands are stretched out to you in gratitude and in support. Our hope is
that you know what a difference you made.”

*Dvorak: Black Men Have Long Faced False Accusations. *Petula
Dvorak writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=039-957&t=c>
(10/8) that “African American men have always endured the suspicion that
President Trump now fears on behalf of all men.” Dvorak adds that “white
men who haven’t had to worry about being searched because of a busted
taillight or accused of shoplifting while browsing in a store are all
worked up about being falsely accused of rape. ... Whether or not you
really did it, you probably won’t be convicted, and it’s really unlikely
you’ll go to jail. You may even make it to the White House. Or the Supreme
Court.”

*Gerson Criticizes Media Handling Of Kavanaugh Confirmation. *In
his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=03a-270&t=c>
(10/8) column, Michael Gerson criticizes the media’s handling of the
Kavanaugh confirmation, arguing that it was “too often perceived as a
participant in the drama.” Gerson writes that this played into the
President’s narrative that the press is “the enemy of the people,” which he
is pushing in order “to discredit special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s
report when it is eventually covered in the media.”
Progressives Weigh Kavanaugh Impeachment, Effort To Add Justices.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=03b-2a8&t=c>
(10/7, Savage) reported that “an even greater conflagration may be coming”
following the bitter fight over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The
Times adds that “facing a Supreme Court controlled by five solidly
conservative justices, liberals have already started to attack the
legitimacy of the majority bloc and discussed ways to eventually undo its
power without waiting for one of its members to retire or die.” While “some
have gone as far as proposing...expanding the number of justices on the
court to pack it with liberals,” other call for “trying to impeach, remove
and replace...Kavanaugh.” The Times also reports that “either step would
also face steep odds,” but “many liberals are quietly looking forward to
reviving the fight if they win a House majority and subpoena power, rather
than resigning themselves to waiting for a conservative justice to leave
the court.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=03c-6d5&t=c>
(10/7, Page) reported that “if Democrats win the House, the Judiciary
Committee will open an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct
and perjury against the justice, according to New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler,
who is in line to be the committee’s chairman.” Nadler “dodged questions
about whether that might mean impeachment proceedings.” Another USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=03d-9fa&t=c>
(10/7, Cummings) story points out that “Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and
Ted Lieu, D-Calif, have said they favor impeachment if further
investigation determines Kavanaugh lied about the allegations of past
sexual misconduct leveled against him by...Ford.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=03e-b7d&t=c>
(10/7, King) said, meanwhile, that the fact “some on the political left
were sounding calls to impeach...a month before midterm elections...makes
many mainstream Democrats nervous.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=03f-f6c&t=c>
(10/7, Richardson) also reported “Senate Democrats moved Sunday to rein in
talk of impeaching...Kavanaugh, a rallying cry of the progressive left that
has drawn interest from some House Democrats.”

According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=040-42a&t=c>
(10/7, Hurley), Sens. Chris Coons and Mazie Hirono “distanced themselves
from those demands, saying they are concentrating on the Nov. 7
congressional elections.” Coons, for example, told NBC’s Meet the Press[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=041-d1a&t=c>,
“I’m focused looking forward how it is we can heal the Senate after this
bitter and divisive and partisan week or how we work to restore some of the
legitimacy of the Supreme Court now that we have a seated justice confirmed
by just 50 votes without allegations against him having really been
cleared.”

On ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=042-07d&t=c>
(10/7), Hirono said of Kavanaugh, “Prior to his testimony I had already
decided having gone through his record and dissents that there’s a pattern
that he is not for a women’s reproductive choice, that is true. There’s a
number of other patterns that were very troubling. With regard to this sham
FBI investigation, everybody knows when you interview a small number of
people and not the dozens of others who wanted to be interviewed by the
FBI, that is a sham. It raises more questions than it answers.”

*Lieu Calls For House Judiciary Committee Probe Of Kavanaugh. *Rep.
Ted Lieu (D-CA) was asked on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=043-513&t=c>
(10/8) if Kavanaugh should be impeached. Lieu said, “That question is
premature, but I think at a minimum what should happen is if the Democrats
flip the House, for the House Judiciary Committee to interview the relevant
witnesses that the FBI did not, to subpoena the relevant documents that the
FBI did not, because really it was an investigation that was incomplete. I
have never seen, as a former prosecutor, a law enforcement or background
investigation where the agency does not interview the main accuser or the
accused. So, I think we need to at least complete the investigation and see
where the evidence takes us.”

*Trump: GOP Will Benefit From Democrats Calling For Kavanaugh’s
Impeachment. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=044-2aa&t=c>
(10/8, Wagner) reports that on the White House lawn yesterday morning,
Trump said “it was ‘an insult to the American public’ for Democrats to
consider impeaching” Kavanaugh “and predicted that Republicans would
benefit at the polls following the chaotic confirmation process.” Trump is
quoted as saying, “The way they really tortured him and his family, I
thought it was a disgrace. ... A brilliant jurist, a man that did nothing
wrong, a man that was caught up in a hoax that was set up by the Democrats
using the Democrats’ lawyers, and now they want to impeach him.” The Post
notes that also earlier yesterday, Speaker Ryan “said that based on his own
travels over the past several days, he believes the Republican base ‘is
very much activated’ as a result of the Kavanaugh fight.”

The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=045-b58&t=c>
(10/8, Fredericks) quotes Trump as saying, “The American public has seen
this charade, has seen this dishonesty by the Democrats. And when you
mention impeach a justice of the United States Supreme Court, who was a top
scholar, top student, top intellect, and who did nothing wrong, and there
was no corroboration of any kind, and went through seven FBI
investigations, had nothing to do with any of this stuff.”

CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins said on CNN’s
The Lead[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=046-a5a&t=c>
(10/8) that the President is “predicting Democrats will pay a big price in
the midterm elections” over the Kavanaugh confirmation fight. Collins added
that “we’re going to see the President make Brett Kavanaugh front and
center during all of those stops he’s got planned this week. That’s what
he’s been doing so far. Clearly seeing this as a winning political issue
for him.”

Lara Trump, senior adviser for Trump 2020, said on Fox News’
Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=047-bd8&t=c>
(10/8), “We see how ridiculous the Democrats can be. They know no lows.
This they go low and we go high, nonsense. I don’t know where they tossed
that out the window, if they ever actually believed that. We have an
opportunity in November to keep the majority in the House and the Senate
and it is the most important thing that everyone can do that voted for
Donald Trump. If you are happy with the direction of this country under
Donald Trump, vote in the mid-term. Otherwise these people of take control
of things and we do not want to see that.”

*NYTimes: Trump “Did Not Get The Memo” About Kavanaugh Controversy
Boosting Democrats. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=048-014&t=c>
(10/8, Baker) reports “strategists in both parties anticipated” the fight
over Kavanaugh “could turbocharge Democratic efforts to take over the
House, if not all of Congress. One person who did not get the memo?
President Trump.” Despite the “roiling outrage, especially among women, Mr.
Trump is going on offense, trying to turn the furor into an asset instead
of a liability.” The Times adds that “for Mr. Trump and his Republican
allies, this is a big gamble, with control of at least one house of
Congress and possibly both on the line.”

*CNN Poll: Independents Disapprove Of Both Parties’ Handling Of
Kavanaugh. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=049-353&t=c>
(10/8, Klein) reports that according to a new CNN/SSRS poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=04a-5a9&t=c>,
“Justice Brett Kavanaugh will take his seat for oral arguments on the US
Supreme Court with a skeptical public, a majority of which opposed his
nomination.” Yet “Democrats may not be able to exploit this fact in the
upcoming elections as much as they hope, because the independent voters
overwhelmingly disapprove of their own handling of the nomination by a
28-point margin.” While the poll found the public opposed Kavanaugh’s
confirmation 51-41, “just 36 percent approved of how” Democrats “handled
the nomination, compared to 56 percent who disapproved,” and “a further
breakdown finds that 58 percent of independents disapproved of the way the
Democrats handled the nomination – compared to 30 percent who approved.”
The Examiner adds “independents also disapproved of Republicans handling of
the matter, but by a narrower 53 percent to 32 percent margin.”

*Both Parties Claim Election Boost From Battle Over Kavanaugh. *With
both parties claiming their bases are emerging fiercely energized from the
Brett Kavanaugh confirmation battle, a number of mainstream media analyses
conclude Republicans may have obtained the greater political benefit as the
midterm election campaigns reach their decisive final stretch. Reflecting a
belief that the issue may be helping Republicans more, for example, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=04b-89d&t=c>
(10/7, Savage) reported that “for the next few weeks, many Democratic
strategists want to change the subject from the Supreme Court, hoping that
Republican voters’ passions aroused by the...fight will fade.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=04c-c1e&t=c>
(10/7, Pace), likewise, said “both parties contend the new contours of the
race will energize their supporters” and “both may be right,” but
Republicans “may benefit most in the short term.” The AP adds that GOP
“operatives say internal polling now shows Kavanaugh’s acrimonious
confirmation has given the party a much-needed boost,” and that “surge in
GOP enthusiasm could recalibrate a political landscape that was tilting
toward Democrats throughout the summer.”

Democratic pollster Doug Schoen, who worked for the Clintons in the
1990s, writes in an op-ed for Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=04d-235&t=c>
(10/8) that “Democrats can likely win the House, and (though increasingly
unlikely) the Senate – but for them to maximize their appeal, they need to
focus on what voters care about.” Staying on the Kavanaugh issue, however,
is “a bad mistake, and one that will only redound to the Democrats’
detriment” by emboldening the President “to continue saying what he has
been saying, which is that the Democrats are a radical left-wing party that
stand only for impeachment – both of the newly-appointed Justice Kavanaugh,
and of the president himself.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=04e-eca&t=c>
(10/8, Kruta) notes, meanwhile, that “Democrat strategist Bryan Dean Wright
joined[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=04f-878&t=c>
‘Fox & Friends’ Monday morning to talk about why he thinks his own party’s
efforts to stop the confirmation of...Kavanaugh are likely to backfire.”
Said Wright, “Democrats will suffer the rightful consequences of using the
victims of sexual assault to advance a political agenda.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=050-823&t=c>
(10/8, Kellman) reports “the Kavanaugh confirmation has blown open the
midterm elections from being a national referendum on Trump’s stewardship
to a raw emotional discussion over the lack of women in power and how to
handle sexual misconduct allegations.” The AP adds that “with Kavanaugh’s
ascension to the high court, Republicans, long dispirited by Trump’s string
of scandals and the prospect of losing their congressional majorities, are
whooping it up,” though it’s “unclear...whether GOP unity is enough to
preserve the GOP power in Congress.”

According to a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=051-f91&t=c>
(10/7, Cohn) analysis, “the size of the Democratic advantage in the fight
for...the House is unclear,” but “there are recent signs Republicans might
have improved their position, possibly because of the fight
over...Kavanaugh.” At this point, “Republicans remain competitive in the
districts that will decide control,” but the races remain extremely close,
leaving the door open to radically different outcomes.

With Democrats also claiming their base is now even more energized
ahead of the elections, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=052-a52&t=c>
(10/7, King) reported both parties “could be right, at least in part. ...
Greater Republican enthusiasm to vote could help GOP candidates in this
year’s highly contested Senate races,” while “increased turnout among women
could help Democrats trying to flip Republican-held House seats in suburban
areas.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=053-2fc&t=c>
(10/7, Page) also reported “political strategists calculate that
Kavanaugh’s confirmation could boost Democrats’ efforts to gain control of
the House” as well as Republican Senate campaigns.

Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=054-ba1&t=c>
(10/8), “I think the rule of thumb here is, if you are playing out of
position, this was a bad week for you. If you are a Republican in a blue
state that’s a bad week for you. If you are a Democrat and a red state is a
bad week for you because what it’s done is brought the intensity up on both
sides. It’s more important for Republicans, though, because they were
lagging. So, this gave them something they needed.”

*WPost: GOP’s “Angry Mob” Campaign Theme Has Racial Undertones. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=055-6a6&t=c>
(10/8, Costa) reports that “when thousands of furious, screaming protesters
marched toward the Capitol over the weekend,” Republicans “were not alarmed
but elated.” In fact, “weeks ahead of the midterm elections, Republicans
have cast the Trump resistance movement as ‘an angry mob,’ a term used by
many of them to describe a faceless amalgamation of forces that they say
threaten the country’s order and, they hope, energize their voters.” The
Post adds that “the characterization evokes fear of an unknown and
out-of-control mass of people, and it taps into grievances about the
nation’s fast-moving cultural and demographic shifts that Republicans say
are working against them.” The theme “strikes the same notes as earlier
Trump-fanned attention to immigrants, MS-13 gang members and African
American football players protesting police treatment of young black men.”

*NBC’s Dilanian: States With Varying Populations Should Not Have
Same Weight In Senate. *The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=056-1b5&t=c>
(10/7, Athey) reported “NBC reporter Ken Dilanian tweeted on Sunday that
states with varying population sizes should not get the same representation
in the US Senate.” Dilanian “suggested in his tweet that it was unfair that
Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Saturday, quoting a
Washington Post article that said, ‘Senators representing less than half
the U.S. are about to confirm a nominee opposed by most Americans.’” Tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=057-dfd&t=c>
Dilanian, “It may not happen in our lifetimes, but the idea that North
Dakota and New York get the same representation in the Senate has to
change.”

*Dionne Denounces GOP “Judicial Coup, Decades In The Making,” Calls
For Court Packing. *E.J Dionne wrote in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=058-cb9&t=c>
(10/7, Dionne) yesterday that the Supreme Court’s “legitimacy is in
tatters” and “conservative forces in the country, led by the Republican
Party, have completed a judicial coup, decades in the making.” Dionne says
“the answer to this power grab cannot be passive acceptance in the name of
being polite,” and “there should now be no squeamishness about the urgency
of enlarging the Supreme Court if Democrats have the power to do so after
the 2020 elections.” Dionne concludes, “Democracy itself is at stake.”

*Leonard Calls On Liberals To Stay “Angry” About Illegitimate,
“Extremist” Court Majority. *David Leonhardt wrote in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=059-d8d&t=c>
(10/7) Monday, “If you’re not angry yet, you should be.” After winning the
election “with foreign assistance” and being “an admitted sexual molester”
who “mocked victims of abuse,” the President “filled a Supreme Court seat
that his party had stolen with an unprecedented power grab,” and this
weekend, he “finished filling a second seat, through a brutal, partisan
process.” Trump’s two picks “have cemented an extremist Republican majority
on the Supreme Court,” and “this is not how democracy is supposed to work.”

*Sen. Peters On Avenatti: “We Should Have Focused On The Serious
Allegations.” *The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=05a-608&t=c>
(10/8, Griswold) reports Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) “faulted anti-Trump lawyer
Michael Avenatti Sunday, saying that his forwarding of a dubious sexual
assault allegation against Justice Brett Kavanaugh was ultimately not
helpful.” The Free Beacon adds “many Republican senators, such as swing
voter Sen. Susan Collins, cited the absurdity of the [Julie] Swetnick
allegation to help justify their support of Kavanaugh.” Peters told CNN[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=05b-6a6&t=c>,
“Well you know at some point there were a lot of folks coming forward
making all sorts of accusations. ... It turns it into a circus atmosphere
and certainly that’s not where we should be. ... I think we should have
focused on the serious allegations that certainly appeared very credible to
me that would be our best course of action.”

*At Victory Gathering Saturday, Kavanaugh Supporters Grateful For
Avenatti. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=05c-029&t=c>
(10/7, Swan) reported that Avenatti “was a hot conversation topic Saturday
night at Trump Hotel, where administration officials gathered for happy
hour with advisers from the outside groups who poured money and energy into
confirming” Kavanaugh. According to “a source at the party,” at one point,
“a senior person at one of the outside groups joked that Avenatti might
have been on the Republican payroll. ‘You guys put Avenatti up to it,
right?’ the person said.”
Foreign Policy
UN Report Warns Time Running Out To Reverse Effects Of Climate Change.

All three networks covered a new UN report warning about climate change. ABC
World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=05d-758&t=c>
(10/8, story 7, 0:25, Muir) reported on a “a dire new warning about climate
change tonight from a Nobel prize-winning panel of scientists at the United
Nations.” Their report found that by 2030, climate change effects will be
“quote, ‘irreversible.’” According to NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=05e-df8&t=c>
(10/8, story 10, 0:20, Holt), the UN’s report “warns world leaders they
only have 12 years left to take action to keep global temperatures from
rising about another three degrees. A shift of that magnitude could greatly
increase life-threatening heat, droughts and floods.” The CBS Evening
News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=05f-d3b&t=c>
(10/8, story 6, 1:45, Dickerson) said the UN report urges leaders to reduce
the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. CBS (Phillips)
added, “Hitting the new lower target would require ending the use of fossil
fuels in the next 30 years. The cost, an estimated $54 trillion, would be
cheaper they say than dealing with the worse affects of climate change.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=060-0b5&t=c>
(10/8, Plumer) says that in the report, the UN scientific panel said
“putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions would be central for getting
global warming under control. More than 40 governments around the
world...have now put a price on carbon, either through direct taxes on
fossil fuels or through cap-and-trade programs. But many of them have found
it politically difficult to set a price high enough to spur truly deep
reductions in carbon emissions.” The concept of carbon pricing, however,
“received another implicit endorsement on Monday from the Nobel Prize
committee, which awarded Yale’s William D. Nordhaus a share of the 2018
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for, among other things,” making a
case that “the most efficient remedy for the problems caused by greenhouse
gas emissions would be a global scheme of carbon taxes that are uniformly
imposed on all countries.”

*Trump Mum On Report. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=061-83b&t=c>
(10/8, Landler, Davenport) reports that a day after the UN “issued its most
urgent call to arms yet for the world to confront the threat of climate
change, President Trump boarded Air Force One for Florida – a state that
lies directly in the path of this coming calamity – and said nothing about
it.” To the Times, it was “the latest, most vivid example of Mr. Trump’s
dissent from an effort that has galvanized much of the world.”
Media Analyses: Pompeo Has Tense Meeting With Chinese Officials.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=062-618&t=c>
(10/8, Martina) reports Secretary Pompeo and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang
Yi “aired their grievances in the open on Monday during a brief visit to
Beijing” by Pompeo, “amid worsening relations.” As they exchanged “typical
diplomatic pleasantries,” the two officials “emphasized the need for
cooperation,” but their remarks were “unusually pointed.” Said Wang,
“Recently, as the US side has been constantly escalating trade friction
toward China, it has also adopted a series of actions on the Taiwan issue
that harm China’s rights and interests, and has made groundless criticism
of China’s domestic and foreign policies.” He added, “We believe this has
been a direct attack on our mutual trust, and has cast a shadow on China-US
relations. We demand that the US side stop this kind of mistaken action.”
Pompeo responded, “The issues that you characterized, we have a fundamental
disagreement. ... I look forward to having the opportunity to discuss each
of those today because this is an incredibly important relationship.”

To the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=063-862&t=c>
(10/8, Fifield), Pompeo “got an earful” from Wang, “effectively becoming
the whipping boy in the increasingly acrimonious relationship between the
two governments.” The Post says Pompeo responded by saying that Washington
and Beijing were stuck in a “fundamental disagreement” that he hoped they
could make some progress on resolving, and lamented Beijing’s decision not
to attend talks between the two countries later this month, saying that the
forum is an “important opportunity” for discussion.

Wang, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100901biden&r=email-69e3&l=064-544&t=c>
(10/8, Perlez) says, used “unusually blunt language,” and writes that the
“sharp tit-for-tat stripped away the customary veneer of diplomatic
niceties during public remarks.” The Times notes that Pompeo’s visit did
not include a meeting with President Xi Jinping, “apparently another signal
of displeasure by the