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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Monday, May 21, 2018 7:51 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday,
May 21, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=000-b6d&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=001-138&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Monday, May 21, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Leading the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Trump Orders DOJ To Investigate Potential FBI Surveillance Of His
Campaign. <#S1>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_2>*

• Mnuchin: Trade War “On Hold” After “Very Meaningful Progress” In US-China
Talks. <#S2>

• Trump, Moon Coordinating Strategies Ahead Of Kim Summit. <#S3>

• Pompeo To Present Iran Strategy Today As EU Struggles To Salvage Nuclear
Deal. <#S4>

• Al-Sadr Meets With Pro-Iran Political Rival Al-Amiri. <#S5>

• Sexual Harassment, Abuse Allegations Spark “Me Too” Movement In Pakistan.
<#S6>

• In UAE Speech Critical Of Trump, Kerry Warns Of Threat To “Civil
Discourse.” <#S7>

• Maduro Declared Winner Of Venezuela Presidential Election. <#S8>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• NRA’s North Blames School Shootings On “Culture Of Violence,” Ritalin.
<#S9>

• Conway: House Immigration Bill Was “Insufficient.” <#S10>

• HUD Discontinues Obama-Era Fair Housing Tool. <#S11>

• Republicans Reportedly Seeking To Push Ryan Out As Speaker Over Summer.
<#S12>

• USA Today: Slow Approval Of Trump Nominees Not Just Due To Partisanship.
<#S13>

• Microsoft Wins Cloud-Computing Agreement With Intelligence Agencies.
<#S14>

• Sanders: Boosting Turnout Should Be Democrats’ Goal For Midterms. <#S15>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_4>*

• ACR: Low Medicare Payment, Awareness May Explain Low CT Lung Cancer
Screening Rate. <#S16>

• NCI Data Show Cancer Survivors Expected To Increase To 20 Million In 2026.
<#S17>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_5>*

• New York Times. <#S18>

• Washington Post. <#S19>

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_6>*

• In Wake Of Texas School Shooting, Biden Says, “Enough Is Enough.” <#S20>

• AP: Potential 2020 Democratic Hopefuls Using 2018 Campaign To Boost
Prospects. <#S21>

• Jill Biden To Keynote King Of Prussia Event Today Benefiting Cancer
Research. <#S22>
Leading the News
Trump Orders DOJ To Investigate Potential FBI Surveillance Of His Campaign.

Sparking mostly unfavorable media coverage, President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=002-095&t=c>
yesterday, “I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the
Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or
surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes – and if any such
demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=003-a92&t=c>
(5/20, Davis) reports that “in ordering up a new inquiry, Mr. Trump went
beyond his usual tactics...and crossed over into applying overt
presidential pressure on the Justice Department to do his bidding, an
extraordinary realm where past presidents have rarely tread.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=004-cc5&t=c>
(5/20, Krasny, House) says “such a move would mark an escalation by Trump,”
the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=005-7c9&t=c>
(5/20, Megerian) that it “could lead to a new level of conflict over the
Russia investigation,” and USA Today
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(5/20, Shesgreen) that “Democrats said Trump’s threatened investigation
would amount to an abuse of power.” Matthew Miller, “a former Justice
Department spokesman during the Obama administration,” said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=007-462&t=c>,
“He has finally crossed the red line and ordered up a DOJ investigation of
his political opponents, as well as career law enforcement agents.” Along
those lines, Reuters
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(5/20) notes Rep. Adam Schiff “called Trump’s suspicion of an embedded spy
‘nonsense,’” adding that “his ‘demand’ DOJ investigate something they know
to be untrue is an abuse of power.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(5/20, story 2, 3:05, Wright) said Trump is “on the warpath, demanding
answers about reports that the FBI had an informant approach the Trump
Campaign,” and NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(5/20, story 4, 2:30, O'Donnell) reported that “reached by phone,” Rudy
Giuliani “said Mr. Trump wants answers.” Giuliani was heard saying, “All
he’s asking for is for them to investigate it. He’s not telling them what
to conclude, so it’s perfectly appropriate.” NBC added that “Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein responded, ‘If anyone did infiltrate or
surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes,
we need to know about it, and take appropriate action.’” DOJ “says its
inspector general will expand a current review of surveillance warrant
process to include this new issue raised by the President.”

The New York Times
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(5/20, Davis) reports that “such a step could defuse the current crisis and
perhaps satisfy Mr. Trump.” At any rate, “Trump’s directive prompted
speculation that he might be trying to push Mr. Rosenstein out of his job
without explicitly firing him, a move the president has frequently
considered.” Along those lines, the Washington Examiner
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(5/20, Chaitin) reports “Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare and
friend to ex-FBI Director James Comey, said Sunday” on Twitter
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that “he expects both FBI Director Christopher Wray and...Rosenstein to
resign before they comply with...Trump’s push for a Justice Department
investigation.”

The AP
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(5/20, Superville) reports “Trump has been promoting a theory circulating
in conservative circles about a possible FBI spy on the campaign, though”
Giuliani “has cast doubt on it,” saying in an interview last week that
“neither he nor Trump knows for certain if there was a spy on the campaign.
Giuliani said they had been told of ‘some kind of infiltration.’” The AP
adds that “in any event, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog is
already examining Republican complaints of FBI misconduct in the early
stages of the Russia investigation.” Reuters
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(5/20) also says “neither Trump nor Giuliani...provided any evidence of
government infiltration into Trump’s presidential campaign.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=010-2bd&t=c>
(5/20, Richardson) notes, meanwhile, that Trump’s “demand comes days after
media reports identified 73-year-old Cambridge professor Stefan Halper, who
has ties to American and British intelligence, as the FBI informant who
snooped on the Trump campaign over the summer.” The Daily Caller
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(5/20, Caruso) notes its previous story
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pointing to Halper as the likely “spy,” and Townhall
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(5/20, Meads) that though “The New York Times and The Washington Post...did
not identify him by name” their reports “match up exactly with” Halper.

The Hill
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(5/20, Samuels) reports “Trump’s calls for an investigation into the matter
come as House Republicans have pushed for access to documents that reveal
the identity of the informant.” DOJ “denied a request earlier this month
from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes...for details
related to the source,” saying “that releasing such information would put
lives at risk and endanger national security.” The Hill adds that “despite
those warnings, Trump has joined in the calls for the source to be
revealed.” The New York Post
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(5/20, Moore) also notes that “Wray has cautioned against outing
informants, saying ‘the day we can’t protect human sources is the day the
American people start becoming less safe.’” The Wall Street Journal
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(5/20, Ballhaus) runs a similar story.

*Nunes: Use Of Paid Informants Would Cross “Absolute Red Line.” *
Breitbart
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(5/20, Key) reports House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes told
Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that “if the reports of a
potential FBI informant in the 2016” Trump “presidential campaign...were
true that is an ‘absolute red line.’” Said Nunes, “If any of that is true,
if they ran a spy ring or informant ring and paying people within the Trump
campaign – if any of that is true, that is an absolute red line. ... If
they paid someone, it’s an absolute red line, and this is over with. I
don’t know how to say this.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=018-f01&t=c>
(5/20, Richardson) reports Nunes said yesterday “there could have been more
than one FBI informant snooping on the Trump campaign...but we do not know
because the Justice Department has stonewalled congressional requests for
documents outlining the impetus for the investigation.”

Nunes also told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=019-842&t=c>
(5/20, Bartiromo), “We asked for specific documents that we have still not
received from the Department of Justice. ... So they continue to leak out
things about this informant, and we don’t know if there’s one informant or
more informants because there’s so much out there now. It’s really getting
tough to follow, and all we’re asking for is give us the documentation that
you used to start this investigation.”

*Graham Troubled By Possible Use Of Informant. *Sen. Lindsey Graham
said on Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(5/20, Wallace), “It bothers me that there may be an informant and one of
the campaigns unless there is a damn good reason. ... All I can tell you is
that the dossier compiled by Mr. Steele that was given to the Justice
Department...was a bunch of political garbage.” DOJ “used a document
prepared by a foreign agent to obtain a FISA warrant and never told the
court that they were using somebody to engage the Trump campaign.”

*Giuliani: Mueller Plans To Finish Trump Obstruction Probe By
September 1. *The New York Times
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(5/20, Schmidt, Haberman) is reporting that Rudy Giuliani said yesterday
Robert Mueller “plans to finish by Sept. 1 its investigation into whether
President Trump obstructed the Russia inquiry.” A “spokesman for the
special counsel’s office declined to comment,” and to the Times “Giuliani’s
comments were an apparent attempt to publicly pressure Mr. Mueller amid
their interview negotiations.” Said Giuliani, “You don’t want another
repeat of the 2016 election where you get contrary reports at the end and
you don’t know how it affected the election.”

The Hill
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(5/20, Sanchez) notes that “as part of its investigation into whether Trump
attempted to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation, Mueller’s team
is looking into Comey’s reports that Trump asked him to end his
investigation into then-national security adviser Michael Flynn.” Said
Giuliani, “We want the concentration of this to be on Comey versus the
president’s credibility, and I think we win that and people get that.” The New
York Post
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(5/20, Moore) cautions, at any rate, that “Mueller’s findings on
obstruction would not mean that the special counsel’s work is completed,”
as “he is also looking into Russia’s efforts to interfere in the election.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=01e-0b7&t=c>
(5/20, story 2, 3:05, Wright) also reported on “late word from...Giuliani
telling ABC News that the Russia investigation relating to...Trump will be
done by September 1,” and pointed out “an important distinction: they were
talking about the part that relates to Trump, not the whole investigation.”
Along the same lines, Fox News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=01f-acf&t=c>
(5/20) noted “Giuliani told Fox News’ John Roberts in a phone conversation”
that Mueller told him “if he is able to interview the President by
mid-July, he should be able to wrap up the investigation by September 1.”
CNN
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(5/20, Bash, Watkins) notes “Giuliani told CNN on Friday that Mueller
agreed to narrow the scope of a potential interview with Trump as the
special counsel investigation continued to seek a sit-down with the
President.”

*Giuliani: Trump “One Of The Smartest People You’re Going To Meet.”
*The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=021-151&t=c>
(5/20, Scarborough) reports that in an interview, Giuliani said “he can get
the best out of...Trump as he vigorously defends him and lashes out at his
enemies, allowing the president to focus on landmark achievements.” Said
Giuliani, “I think the value that I bring to this is I understand him in a
way that few other people do. ... I also understand how to use him
correctly. ... This is one of the smartest guys you’re going to meet. And a
lot of people underestimate that. They don’t get the best out of him. I
thought I did during the campaign. I did a lot of the debate preparation
with [former New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie. And the two of us together
got the best out of him.”

*Trump Blasts NYTimes Report, Mueller’s “$20,000,000 Witch Hunt.” *In
a series of tweets Sunday morning, Trump blasted a New York Times report
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which said that Donald Trump Jr. “met at the Trump Tower in August 2016
with George Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman, who said he was
representing the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
and that they wanted to help his father win the election,” the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=023-7a3&t=c>
(5/20, Moore) reports. The Washington Post
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(5/20, Nakamura) describes Trump as “trashing” the Times report in the
“six-part morning tweetstorm,” claiming, “without evidence, that
investigations into his campaign’s connections with Russia have cost
taxpayers $20 million and suggest[ing] that it is a politically motivated
effort to undermine his presidency.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=025-a4b&t=c>
(5/20, Griffiths) says Trump “sought to use the fact that the report
focuses largely on ties outside of Russia as evidence that his critics have
found ‘no collusion’ and ‘no obstruction.’”

Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=026-c84&t=c>,
“Things are really getting ridiculous. The Failing and Crooked (but not as
Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story
indicating that the World’s most expensive Witch Hunt has found nothing on
Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!” He then
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=027-adb&t=c>,
“At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13
Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for
Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No
Obstruction, but they aren’t looking at the corruption...[wcontinuing tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=028-c26&t=c>]...in
the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got
$145,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife $700,000 (and got
off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more. Republicans and real
Americans should start getting tough on this Scam. “

Trump then tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=029-b42&t=c>,
“Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest
of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term
Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party. Don’t worry
about Dems FISA Abuse, missing Emails or Fraudulent Dossier!” He then
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=02a-155&t=c>,
“....and why hasn’t the Podesta brother been charged and arrested, like
others, after being forced to close down his very large and successful
firm? Is it because he is a VERY well connected Democrat working in the
Swamp of Washington, D.C.?,” and later Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=02b-524&t=c>,
“The Witch Hunt finds no Collusion with Russia – so now they’re looking at
the rest of the World. Oh’ great!”

Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said on Fox News
MediaBuzz[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=02c-d35&t=c>
(5/20), “The ‘New York Times obviously is failing publication as we all
know. ... The coverage on this President has been completely negative. We
are entering now into the second year in this investigation. We have given
over millions of pieces of paper, countless hours from our own folks in the
administration from the campaign for conversations with the investigation.
We have no collusion, no corruption, no obstruction. None of those things
exist, yet it still lead a lot of newscasts in this country.” Asked if the
media is over fixated on the investigation, Gidley said, “Absolutely. .,.
If given the choice, the media has policy or palace intrigue, the media
takes palace intrigue nine times out of 10.”

*Democrats Say NYTimes Report May Show Trump Campaign Officials
Committed Crimes. *The ranking Democrats on the House and Senate
intelligence committees said Sunday that Trump campaign officials “may have
committed a crime” if the Times report proves true, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=02d-812&t=c>
(5/20, Shesgreen) reports. Rep. Adam Schiff told NBC’s Meet the Press[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=02e-2de&t=c>
(5/20), “If these facts are accurate, it demonstrates yet again just how
not only willing but eager the president’s son and the Trump campaign were
to solicit, to receive foreign help” during the election. He added,
“Receiving, soliciting, using foreign assistance is a crime. ... You’re not
allowed to get the help of a foreign government, friendly or unfriendly.”
Sen. Mark Warner said on CNN’s State Of The Union[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=02f-8f2&t=c>
(5/20, Tapper) , “I don’t understand what the president doesn’t get about
the law that says if you have a foreign nation interfere in an American
election, that’s illegal.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=030-2d4&t=c>
(5/20, Richardson) says anchor Jake Tapper pressed Warner “for evidence
that the Trump campaign accepted help from a foreign adversary to win the
2016 presidential race.” While Warner cited a committee report which found
that Russia “massively interfered in our elections,” to “help Trump and to
hurt Clinton, “Tapper “said the big question is still whether Russia did so
‘with the assistance or participation of any American, especially and
including people who are in the Trump campaign’s orbit.’” Warner said,
“That is clearly the endpoint question that we’re going to have to deal
with.” Tapper added, “Still, as far as the public knows...no evidence of
anybody in the Trump team accepting the offers of help, no evidence of
actual conspiracy that we know of yet, that we in the public know of yet
and you’re not willing to comment on whether or not you’ve seen evidence of
that conspiracy.”

*Dershowitz: Mueller Team, FBI Full Of Republicans Who Hate Trump. *The
Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=031-37d&t=c>
(5/20, Caruso) reports that Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz
argued on ABC’s
This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=032-d64&t=c>
that Mueller’s team and the FBI are full of “long-term Republicans who
hated Trump.” Dershowitz also said that reports that a source was providing
information to the FBI about the Trump campaign warrants an investigation,
the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=033-812&t=c>
(5/20, Lim) reports. Dershowitz said, “Now we have information of an FBI
informant in the campaign. That’s worth investigation.” When told that “the
supposed FBI informant was not a member of Trump’s campaign, but that they
spoke with up to three campaign aides ahead of the 2016 election,”
Dershowitz said, “That’s good enough to get an investigation going.”

*Cohen Connection To Columbus Nova Renews Scrutiny On Vekselberg. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=034-79b&t=c>
(5/20, Helderman, Kranish, Mufson) reports that in 2017, at Michael Cohen’s
invitation, Columbus Nova chief executive Andrew Intrater paid $35,000 to
attend a fundraiser for President Trump’s reelection. The Post says the
contribution, which was “one of several ways that Columbus Nova and people
associated with it lent support for Trump and his allies last year,”
highlights how Cohen “sought to use his new standing after Trump’s election
to bolster both his finances and political clout.” Cohen’s connection to
Columbus Nova “has put new scrutiny” on Russian billionaire Viktor
Vekselberg, “whose conglomerate Renova Group is the biggest client of
Columbus Nova.”

*Investigators Getting First Look At Material Seized In Cohen
Raids. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=035-ef9&t=c>
(5/20, Neumeister) reports that investigators are getting a look at the
materials seized in raids of Cohen’s home and office “as a process to
separate items subject to attorney-client privilege appears to be meeting a
judge’s demand that it occur speedily and efficiently.” US District Judge
Kimba M. Wood last month designated Barbara Jones as a special master to
“resolve disputes over what items can be kept secret and out of the view of
investigators.” The AP adds that while the first materials to be reviewed
“were likely the easiest to study: eight boxes of paper documents,” most of
the material seized “was contained on over a dozen electronic devices,
including computers, cellular phones and an iPad,” and will likely take
longer to process.

*Stone Says He Is Prepared For Indictment In Mueller Probe. *The New
York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=036-b6a&t=c>
(5/20, Schultz) reports that Roger Stone told NBC’s Meet the Press[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=037-fa3&t=c>
that he is “prepared” for an indictment from Mueller. Stone said, “It is
not inconceivable now that Mr. Mueller and his team may seek to conjure up
some extraneous crime, pertaining to my business, or maybe not even
pertaining to the 2016 election. I would chock this up to an effort to
silence me. ... So I am prepared, should that be the case.” Stone said that
the Mueller probe has “terrorized” at least eight of his current or former
associates and added, “I can guarantee you they have found no evidence
whatsoever of Russian collusion, nor trafficking of allegedly hacked emails
with WikiLeaks.”

*RNC Paid $451,780 To Firm Representing Figures In Russia
Investigations. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=038-908&t=c>
(5/20, Lee, Narayanswamy) reports that according to a new federal filing,
the RNC paid $451,780 to Trout Cacheris & Janis, the law firm that
represents “former White House communications director Hope Hicks and
others in the Russia investigations.” Hicks hired the firm’s founder Robert
Trout “as her personal attorney in September, according to news reports.”
According to the firm’s website, three attorneys at the firm “represent
people in addition to Hicks in the investigations by Mueller and the House
and Senate intelligence committees.”
Foreign Policy
Mnuchin: Trade War “On Hold” After “Very Meaningful Progress” In US-China
Talks.

To largely favorable media coverage, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said
yesterday the trade war between the US and China is being put “on hold”
following “very meaningful progress” in negotiations between the two
nations. Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=039-a54&t=c>
(5/20, Wallace), “I’m pleased to report that we have made very meaningful
progress and we agreed on a framework, which is important to understand,”
and “the framework includes their agreement to substantially reduce the
trade deficit by increasing their purchases of goods. ... We’re putting the
tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=03a-b8f&t=c>
(5/20, Shesgreen) reports Mnuchin also “said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross
will be traveling to China to follow up on ‘hard commitments’ from the
Chinese to increase purchases in the US energy and agriculture sectors.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=03b-483&t=c>
(5/20, Lynch) quotes Mnuchin as saying, “We expect to see a very big
increase, 35 to 45 percent increases in agriculture this year alone. .. In
energy, doubling the energy purchases. I think you could see $50 billion to
$60 billion a year of energy purchases over the next three to five years.”
Larry Kudlow, meanwhile, said on CBS’ Face The Nation[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=03c-6ce&t=c>
(5/20, Brennan), “We’ve made a lot of progress, perhaps even more progress
than we might have thought when we went to Beijing a couple of weeks ago.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=03d-174&t=c>
(5/20, Mayeda) reports “the two nations made progress on trade issues
during two days of talks,” and the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=03e-759&t=c>
(5/20, Crutsinger, Wiseman) that “Beijing agreed in a joint statement with
the US to ‘substantially reduce’ America’s trade deficit with China, but
did not commit to cut the gap by any specific amount.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=03f-e83&t=c>
(5/20, Rappeport, Weiland) notes “American officials had signaled last week
that China had agreed to increase purchases by $200 billion,” but “Mnuchin
declined to confirm that figure.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=040-def&t=c>
(5/20, Warmbrodt, Palmer) quotes Mnuchin as saying, “We have specific
targets. ... I’m not going to publicly disclose what they are. They go
industry by industry.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=041-5e8&t=c>
(5/20, Mayeda, Niquette) reports “Mnuchin’s remarks will be a relief to
investors, who had feared the world’s two biggest economies were on the
brink of an all-out trade conflict,” and the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=042-893&t=c>
(5/20, Schultz) that the US had “braced for an economic collision” as
President Trump “declared in March: ‘Trade wars are good and easy to win.’”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=043-859&t=c>
(5/20) reports, however, that “in response to Mnuchin’s comments,
Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a frequent Trump critic, said
he thought it would be a mistake for Trump to settle for ‘a promise to buy
goods’ with so many larger issues on the table.” Along those lines, the Los
Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=044-be9&t=c>
(5/20, Mayeda) cautions that “asked Sunday on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’
whether Trump had taken the threat of tariffs off the table,” Kudlow said,
“I don’t think we’re at that stage yet. ... Tariffs are part of any
negotiation, and tariffs maybe have to be part of any enforcement. ... You
cannot do this kind of major change without using everything that’s in your
quiver.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=045-a64&t=c>
(5/20, Balluck, Samuels) reports Mnuchin also “suggested the Trump
administration could reimpose tariffs if China does not follow through.”

Under the headline “Treasury, USTR Send Mixed Messages Over Tariffs
On Chinese Imports,” however, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=046-c86&t=c>
(5/20, Zumbrun) sees a contradiction between Mnuchin’s “on hold” comment
and remarks by USTR Lighthizer, who said yesterday that tariffs remained on
the table, and that China must effect “real structural change” to its
economy.

*In Tweets Today, Trump Criticizes, Obama, Democrats On China
Trade, Touts Current Talks. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=047-871&t=c>
this morning, “I ask Senator Chuck Schumer, why didn’t President Obama &
the Democrats do something about Trade with China, including Theft of
Intellectual Property etc.? They did NOTHING! With that being said, Chuck &
I have long agreed on this issue! Fair Trade, plus, with China will
happen!” He then tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=048-fdb&t=c>,”China
has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products
– would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!”
Trump added in a third tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=049-1fa&t=c>
on the topic, “On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time.”

*Two WPost Analyses: China “Winning,” Trump Team’s “Squabbles”
Undermining US Goals. *Amid largely favorable coverage of the
Administration’s efforts on China, a pair of Washington Post analyses cast
a markedly negative light on them. Under the headline “China Is Winning
Trump’s Trade War,” the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=04a-b76&t=c>
(5/20, Long) says “it’s hard to hide that China looks as if it’s
winning...Trump’s trade skirmish – so far,” though “there’s hope on both
sides of the aisle (and in many parts of America) that Trump will hold out
for more.” A second Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=04b-66d&t=c>
(5/20, Rucker, Parker) analysis, titled “Confusion And Squabbling Undermine
Trump’s Steps Forward On The World Stage,” criticizes the President’s
entire foreign policy, and says that on China, his “trade negotiations have
been undermined by fierce infighting” that included “a profane shouting
match in Beijing between two members of the economic team,” Peter Navarro
and Mnuchin. To the Post, “Trump’s agenda has been undermined by mixed
messages and internal squabbles from within his administration – all
compounded by the president’s own lack of discipline and his inconsistent
ideology.”

*Kudlow: ZTE Won’t Get Off “Scot-Free.” *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=04c-a74&t=c>
(5/20, Warmbrodt) reports White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said
Sunday that Chinese phone-maker ZTE will not get off “scot-free” as the
Administration considers easing penalties on the company amid broader trade
negotiations with Beijing. Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Kudlow said
penalties on ZTE would continue to be “very, very tough, including big
fines, compliance measures, new management, new boards.” The question, he
said, is whether “there are perhaps some small changes around the edges. Do
not, please, do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. It ain’t gonna
happen.”

*WPost: Trump Action Against ZTE Could Imperil $150 Million For
Terrorism Victims. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=04d-30a&t=c>
(5/20, Barrett) reports that “families of terrorism victims are warning the
Trump administration may negotiate away $150 million” that ZTE was expected
to pay for violating US sanctions – “a move that they say would send a
terrible message to global firms thinking of doing business with rogue
regimes.” Last week, Trump tweeted that he was working with China’s
president to provide ZTE “a way to get back into business, fast” just days
after the company said it would “cease major operating activities” because
the Commerce Department imposed restrictions “for violating the terms of a
2017 deal for the company’s violations of US sanctions.” Under the terms of
the 2017 plea deal, ZTE would pay $150 million to compensate the families
of victims of state-sponsored terrorism.

*Mnuchin: Trump Not Worried About NAFTA Deadline. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=04e-90a&t=c>
(5/20, Palmer) reports Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said Sunday that
President Trump is more interested in striking a good deal with Canada and
Mexico than quickly finishing NAFTA talks to get a vote in Congress this
year. Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday, “The President is more determined to
have a good deal than he’s worried about any deadline. So, whether we pass
it in this Congress or we pass it in the new Congress, the president is
determined that we renegotiate NAFTA.” His comments came after the
Administration missed a Thursday deadline set by House Speaker Ryan for
finishing the agreement.

*German Companies Fear Trump Moving Toward “America Alone.” *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=04f-6ee&t=c>
(5/20, Martin) reports that “German companies are concerned that US
President Donald Trump is increasingly thinking only of America rather than
just putting his country first, the head of Germany’s DIHK Chambers of
Commerce told media.” After the US pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear
deal, Germany “acknowledged it could be hard to protect companies doing
business with Iran,” and German companies also face the prospect of
possible levies after Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports
and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum in March. DIHK President Eric
Schweitzer said, “America First now increasingly means America Alone. That
makes German businesses really worried.”
Trump, Moon Coordinating Strategies Ahead Of Kim Summit.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=050-563&t=c>
(5/20, Kim) reports President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in
“held discussions on Sunday to ensure that the North Korea-US summit
remains on track after North Korea threatened to pull out of the high-level
talks.” According to the White House, the two leaders “discussed recent
developments in North Korea and continued ‘their close coordination ahead
of President Trump’s June 12 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.”
Trump and Moon also “exchanged their views on North Korea’s recent
reactions, South Korea’s presidential office said without elaborating.”

“After weeks of conciliatory comments by North Korea,” Kim’s regime
“suddenly shifted its stand, putting both the historic summit between Kim
and Trump and further talks between the two Koreas in jeopardy,” the New
York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=051-807&t=c>
(5/20, Moore) explains, noting that Trump will host Moon at the White House
on Tuesday. At that meeting, the two leaders will “coordinate strategy
ahead of the Singapore summit,” underscoring how “Moon has been an
instrumental player in the diplomatic outreach to Pyongyang,” the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=052-8f4&t=c>
(5/20, Nakamura, Leonnig) reports. During the Sunday phone call, “Trump
sought Moon’s interpretation of Pyongyang’s shift to a harder-line position
last week, a sharp contrast to the more positive and constructive tone
after Moon met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un last month, according
to a senior US official with knowledge of the conversation.” White House
aides have “emphasized that Trump remains committed to meeting with Kim and
that planning is moving forward,” but they conceded “that time is running
out to nail down an agenda and finalize several outstanding issues.”

Still, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president,
reiterated on [image:
Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=053-989&t=c>
(5/20, Bartiromo) that the summit is expected to proceed as scheduled next
month and Trump “will try to end 70 years of war,” although she, too,
conceded that “we’ve received no specific information that we should stand
down at the moment.” If the summit does not “happen because the time is not
right,” however, “that’s OK,” Conway added. She also lauded the fact that
Americans were back on American soil after Secretary of State’s Pompeo and
Trump’s leadership.

In an analysis, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=054-af0&t=c>
(5/20, Sanger) says Trump, “increasingly concerned that his summit meeting
in Singapore next month with North Korea’s leader could turn into a
political embarrassment, has begun pressing his aides and allies about
whether he should take the risk of proceeding with a historic meeting that
he had leapt into accepting, according to administration and foreign
officials.” The President’s call with Moon also signaled Trump’s
“discomfort, some officials speculated, that he could not wait to discuss
the issue until Mr. Moon arrived for his meetings here.” White House aides
“have grown concerned that the president – who has said that ‘everyone
thinks’ he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts – has signaled that
he wants the summit meeting too much.” They “also worry that Mr. Kim,
sensing the president’s eagerness, is prepared to offer assurances that
will fade over time,” especially in light of Trump’s decision earlier this
month to withdraw the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

*In Tweet Today, Trump Says China Has To Be “Strong & Tight” On
North Korean Border. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=055-8a4&t=c>
this morning, “China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of
North Korea until a deal is made. The word is that recently the Border has
become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to
happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing!”
Pompeo To Present Iran Strategy Today As EU Struggles To Salvage Nuclear
Deal.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=056-333&t=c>
(5/20, Boylan) reports that in a speech before the Heritage Foundation on
Monday, “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to announce the
administration’s new Iran strategy.” One of Pompeo’s “senior advisers,
Brian Hook, said the Trump administration views leaving the Iran deal,
which was brokered by the Obama White House, as an ‘opportunity’ as opposed
to the worries expressed by other world leaders.” European Union leaders
continue “scrambling to reassure Tehran that despite President Trump’s
decision,” the bloc “remains committed to salvaging the accord.” Iranian
officials have nonetheless “defiantly pledged to soon restart their nuclear
program.” Meanwhile, Iranian state-run media has “delicately addressed the
possibility that significantly reduced oil sales could tip the balance of
power in Iran’s faction-ridden political establishment,” although bloc
leaders “and Russian President Vladimir Putin have pledged to try to keep
the Iranian oil trade and investment in the country flowing.”

*Iran To Join EU Meeting On Possible Nuclear Deal Overhaul. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=057-843&t=c>
(5/20) reports Tehran announced Sunday that Iranian officials “would join a
meeting with diplomats from Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia in
Vienna on Friday to discuss next steps after” President Trump’s decision,
including “a possible new pact between Iran and world powers that would
cover the same ground as the 2015 deal but with some additions to appease
the United States.” Additionally, a possible “agreement could in the future
include financial aid for Iran.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram
Qasemi, however, “rejected reports of a proposed new agreement as
‘irrelevant claims’” and said the meeting would focus solely on issues
stemming from the original accord. Meanwhile, a “State Department official
said Washington hoped the EU would focus ‘on the central issue here: Iran’s
multiple set of malign behaviors with regard to its nuclear program,
missile development, terrorism, regional conflicts, and other issues.’”

*WPost: “Smoldering” Insurgency In Bahrain Shows Resilience Of
Iran’s Proxy War. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=058-5e5&t=c>
(5/17, Mekhennet, Ryan, Harris) reported that while the Administration “has
vowed to crack down on Iran’s support for powerful militias across the
Middle East,” a “low-level insurgency in the Kingdom of Bahrain represents
a different sort of challenge for the United States.” US authorities said
insurgent activity in Bahrain has “increased over the past year as a
handful of Iranian-backed groups armed with smuggled weapons plan attacks
against security forces.” Unlike in Iraq and Syria, insurgents in Bahrain
are “lightly equipped and operate in cloistered cells as they plot
small-scale assaults.” But US officials “say that providing arms-length,
opportunistic support to Bahraini militants offers Shiite Iran a low-cost
opportunity to advance its objectives at a time when its main military
effort is directed elsewhere.”

*WTimes Examines Strengths, Weakness Of Iran, Israel In
Hypothetical “Shooting War.” *A Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=059-8c3&t=c>
(5/20, Muñoz) analysis examines the outcome of a possible “shooting war”
between Iran and Israel – “two of the Middle East’s military heavyweights.”
The Times says while “Israel boasts one of the world’s most effective
militaries backed by a nuclear arsenal,” Iran has a considerably larger
“population and an increasing number of ways to strike back
asymmetrically.” In an “age of high-tech warfare and armed drones,” Israeli
forces “would dominate Iran” in a conventional ground war, and “would hold
a similar advantage in the air,” according to military analysts. Yet, Iran
has “more direct” advantages, according to analysts, because its “military
relies on its ability to enlist proxy forces and target strategic
chokepoints to counter Israel’s conventional advantages.” Additionally,
analysts say, Iran’s “prolific abilities to raise, train and equip
formidable proxy forces across the Middle East remains the country’s
greatest advantage.”
Al-Sadr Meets With Pro-Iran Political Rival Al-Amiri.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=05a-e99&t=c>
(5/20) reports the Moqtada al-Sadr, “whose political bloc was declared the
winner of Iraq’s parliamentary election,” met Sunday with his political
rival Hadi al-Amiri, leader of a pro-Iran bloc “in what Sadr portrayed as
part of an inclusive discussion about government formation.” A statement
from Sadr’s office, which said the two discussed the 2018 parliamentary
elections, said, “The process of government formation must be a national
decision and importantly, must include the participation of all the winning
blocs.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=05b-9be&t=c>
(5/20, Coker) says al-Sadr was “once demonized by the United States as one
of the greatest threats to peace and stability in Iraq,” and his surprise
victory has “Washington – and Tehran – on edge, as officials in both
countries seek to influence what is expected to be a complex and drawn-out
battle behind the scenes to build a coalition government.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=05c-ebb&t=c>
(5/20, Abdul-Zahra, Issa) says al-Sadr “did not run for a seat himself and
is unlikely to become prime minister,” but he “will command a significant
number of seats” and “is in position to nominate a prime minister and set
the political agenda for the next four years.” However, “he will find his
choices limited by Iran.” The AP cites “an Iraqi Shiite military
commander,” who said that Tehran “has dispatched its top regional military
commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, to pull together a coalition to
counterbalance al-Sadr.” Said the commander, “Iran won’t accept the
creation of a Shiite bloc that is a threat to its interests. It’s a red
line.”
Sexual Harassment, Abuse Allegations Spark “Me Too” Movement In Pakistan.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=05d-801&t=c>
(5/20, Inayat) reports that most Pakistani women who are victims of sexual
abuse and harassment “never report the incidents,” and “those who do come
forward often face shame or questions about their morality.” But, “a
handful of Pakistani women,” including Pakistani pop singer Meesha Shafi,
“recently went public to accuse famous actor and musician Ali Zafar of
sexually harassing and abusing them. Their announcement grabbed headlines,
prompted outrage and sparked the Me Too movement in conservative Pakistan.”
Their statements, which were “followed by similar claims in politics and
business sectors,” represent “a sea change in this highly traditional
Islamic country where female honor killings, child brides and polygamy are
commonplace.”
In UAE Speech Critical Of Trump, Kerry Warns Of Threat To “Civil Discourse.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=05e-40c&t=c>
(5/20, Gambrell) reports former Secretary of State Kerry “on Sunday warned
that ‘true civil discourse’ is under threat around the world while speaking
to graduates at NYU Abu Dhabi, an event that the school blocked journalists
from filming.” Kerry “obliquely” criticized President Trump but “did not
mention the 2015 Iran nuclear deal,” a decision the AP says was likely a
“courtesy to his hosts in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which
long opposed the deal as not going far enough to limit Iran’s power in the
greater Mideast.” Separately, the AP says NYU Abu Dhabi’s decision to
prohibit journalists from filming the event is not the first time that the
school “has faced criticism when trying to balance the ideas of an American
liberal arts education in the UAE, which has strict rules governing speech
despite being a staunch American ally in the Mideast.”
Maduro Declared Winner Of Venezuela Presidential Election.

Late Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of
Sunday’s election, reports the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=05f-ab1&t=c>
(5/20, Neuman, Casey), which says country is “in the midst of a historic
economic collapse marked by soaring prices, widespread hunger, rampant
crime, a failing health system and a large-scale exodus of its citizens.”
Voter turnout “appeared to be extremely low, reflecting both a call from
many opposition leaders for a boycott of the vote and the disillusionment
of longtime government supporters.” Despite Maduro’s “triumph in a tainted
contest,” the Times says “there is little relief in sight” for the
re-elected Venezuelan president “or the country.” Maduro, for his part, has
blamed “the country’s problems on what he calls an economic war waged
against Venezuela by the United States,” while most economists “place the
blame on poor government management, corruption and broken policies, like
tight controls over foreign exchange, an overvalued currency and price
controls on goods.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=060-3e9&t=c>
(5/20, Vyas, Forero) predicts that Maduro’s victory will plunge Venezuela
even deeper into its economic and political crises and trigger an even
larger exodus of refugees into neighboring countries, such as Colombia and
Brazil. The Journal says the Venezuelan oil industry will also continue to
collapse, preventing vital oil from reaching global markets amid rising
international oil prices.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=061-2d0&t=c>
(5/20, Faiola) says because Maduro was almost guaranteed a second term,
“analysts say the real question was always going to be what happens after
Election Day.” They also question “whether the pressure reaches the point
where Maduro’s inner circle cracks, a faction of the military turns against
him or simply silencing all dissenters becomes mathematically impossible.”
Meanwhile, “a number of global autocrats, including Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have backed Maduro,”
even though “dozens of countries have criticized the elections” and vowed
not to recognize the results. On Sunday, Deputy Secretary of State Sullivan
“said Washington would not recognize the results and was considering
additional sanctions, including an oil embargo,” although “he also
expressed caution about such a step, which could have dire humanitarian
consequences on the ground.” In his “defiant rebuttal,” Maduro asserted
that the US was “desperate given high participation levels” in the
election, and that each vote in his favor “is a response to the North,
which thinks it owns us.”

Also on Sunday, Secretary of State Pompeo called Venezuela’s
presidential vote “a sham election as the Trump Administration threatens
crippling oil sanctions if Maduro claims victory,” [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=062-734&t=c>
(5/20, story 6, 2:05, Snow) reported. Separately, “fear...grows” over the
safety of American Joshua Holt, whose mother says he has been imprisoned
for two years in Venezuela without due process on weapons charges that “the
US State Department called questionable.” US Charge D’Affaires to Venezuela
Todd Robinson asserted, “It is imperative that we recognize the right we
have to visit our American citizens, including Joshua Holt.” Sen. Orrin
Hatch (R-UT) stressed, “We are doing everything possible to remove him from
this dangerous situation.”
Domestic Policy
NRA’s North Blames School Shootings On “Culture Of Violence,” Ritalin.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=063-74c&t=c>
(5/20, Sellers, Scherer) reports that in the wake of Friday’s deadly school
shooting in Texas, incoming National Rifle Association president Oliver
North said students “shouldn’t have to be afraid” to go to school and
blamed the problem on “youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence”
in which many young boys have “been on Ritalin.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=064-f7e&t=c>
(5/20, Richardson) quotes North as telling Fox News Sunday[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=065-a84&t=c>,
“Nearly all of these perpetrators are male, and they’re young teenagers in
most cases, and they’ve come through a culture where violence is
commonplace. All we need to do is turn on a TV, go to a movie. If you look
at what has happened to the young people, many of these young boys have
been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten. Now, I am certainly not a
doctor; I’m a Marine. But I can see those kinds of things happening.”

North, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=066-d08&t=c>
(5/20, Warmbrodt) reports, also told Fox “that he wants to expand the
powerful group’s membership by millions as it looks to fend off gun control
efforts amid an outbreak of fatal school shootings.” Said North, “My goal
is a million more members. Then I’m going to go out and ask every NRA
member to recruit one more. That will put 14 million activists on the
street.”

*Texas Lt. Gov.: Guns Are “Part Of Who We Are As A Nation.” *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=067-86f&t=c>
(5/20, Hayes) reports Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Sunday in response to
Friday’s shooting that guns are not the problem but “are part of who we are
as a nation.” Instead, Patrick, “offered a list of other options to curb
gun violence: arming teachers, analyzing bullying and video games,
staggering school start times and altering the layout of the state’s 8,000
schools to limit the number of entrances and exits.” Patrick told ABC’s
This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=068-6f5&t=c>,
“We cannot sit back and say it’s the gun. It’s us as a nation.” On CNN’s
State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=069-4f3&t=c>
(5/20, Tapper), Patrick said, “This is a community that stands on the rock
of faith. We believe in our freedom and our liberties and the Second
Amendment. We will stand strong and we will stay together as a community as
we have done for almost the last year in many crisis situations.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=06a-835&t=c>
(5/20, Fernandez, Healy, Montgomery) reports that while the deadly shooting
last February at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
“helped ignite the most successful push for action on gun control in
decades in that state,” there is “little indication of anything similar in
Texas, a place where guns are hard-wired into the state’s psyche.”

*Duncan, Cunningham Propose Nationwide School Boycott To Push For
Gun Control. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=06b-5a1&t=c>
(5/20, Richardson) reports former Education Secretary Arne Duncan and
former Assistant Secretary of Education Peter Cunningham, who both served
under former President Obama, have “proposed that parents hold their
children out of school until gun-control legislation is approved.” Duncan
retweeted Friday a post from Cunningham calling for a classroom boycott,
pondering, “What if no children went to school until gun laws changed to
keep them safe? My family is all in if we can do this at scale. Parents,
will you please join us?”

*Warner: No “Single Piece Of Legislation” Would Have Prevented
Shooting. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=06c-382&t=c>
(5/20, Richardson) reports Sen. Mark Warner said Sunday “there isn’t one
piece of legislation that would have prevented” Friday’s shooting. Warner
told CNN’s State Of The Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=06d-4fc&t=c>,
“I don’t think there’s a single piece of legislation, but there’s a series
of actions. Are there things we can do that would improve the safety of our
schools? Absolutely.” The Virginia lawmaker “advocated better mental health
counseling for troubled teenagers, ensuring parents store their firearms
more carefully and ‘reasonable and logical restraints on gun ownership.’”

On CBS’ Face The Nation[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=06e-52e&t=c>
(5/20, Brennan), Warner said, “My heart absolutely wants us to take action,
but I understand why people are so frustrated, and obviously condolences to
the folks in Santa Fe. But I think people across America want more than
condolences.”

*Mother Of Texas Shooting Victim Says Her Daughter Rejected
Gunman’s Advances. *In its lead story, NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=06f-5fd&t=c>
(5/20, lead story, 2:45, Snow) reported, “We’re learning more tonight about
the 17-year-old suspect in that school shooting in Texas that killed ten
people.” NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez added, “Authorities still haven’t confirmed a
motive for the shooting,” but the mother of Shana Fisher, who “among the
first students killed in Friday’s rampage,” says her daughter “rejected the
advances for months of the alleged school shooter.” Gutierrez said that
“according to eyewitnesses,” the gunman used a “shotgun and a revolver that
he took from his father,” but his father “doesn’t know how his son got the
weapons.”

Also in its lead story, ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=070-149&t=c>
(5/20, lead story, 3:15, Llamas) reported that investigators are “keying in
on a trench coat worn during the massacre, and evidence of explosives, both
hallmarks of the Columbine killers.” Noting the “possible copycat nature
with the Columbine attack,” ABC reported “investigators said the gunman
used various homemade explosives, like CO2 cartridges. That type of
explosive hasn’t been used in a school shooting since the Columbine
massacre.”

In a second segment, NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=071-4a0&t=c>
(5/20, story 2, 2:00, Schwartz) reported that “in the days to come, more
funerals here in Santa Fe with professional football player JJ Watt
promising to pick up all the costs associated with the funerals. Meanwhile,
still unclear when the school will reopen, but it will be closed until at
least Wednesday.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=072-f1e&t=c>
(5/20, Frankel, Craig, Martin) profiles shooting victim Sabika Sheikh, an
exchange student from Karachi, Pakistan who came to the US through a State
Department-funded program and was killed by the shooter.
Conway: House Immigration Bill Was “Insufficient.”

Asked on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018052101biden&r=email-f665&l=073-ec6&t=c>
(5/20, Bartiromo) about efforts in the House to pass immigration reform,
Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said President Trump “was
disappointed in the package,” which “was insufficient. This President talks
about keeping out illegal immigrants