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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Monday, November 19, 2018 8:02 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday,
November 19, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=000-4a8&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=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=001-a2e&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Monday, November 19, 2018 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden Adopts A Shelter Dog. <#S1>

• WHYY Documentary Focuses On Biden. <#S2>

• Weekly Standard Writer Has Biden Outside The Top Six Rankings Of
Potential 2020 Democrats. <#S3>

• Politico: For Biden, 1994 Crime Bill Could Be Hurdle In A 2020 Democratic
Primary. <#S4>

• Brown: Exposing Trump’s “Phony Populism” Key To Winning Ohio In 2020.
<#S5>

• Biden Praises University Of Pennsylvania President Gutmann. <#S6>

• Two Men Arrested In Theft Of Naomi Biden’s Credit Card. <#S7>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Says He “Will Not Get Involved” In Mueller Probe, Insists Whitaker
“Will Do What’s Right.” <#S8>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump Says He Doesn’t Want To Hear Recording Of Khashoggi’s Killing. <#S9>

• Trump Calls North Korea Most Difficult Obstacle Of His Presidency. <#S10>

• Trump Slams McRaven, Says It Would’ve “Been Nice” If US Killed Bin Laden
“Sooner.” <#S11>

• Trump Pushing Allies To Contribute To Their Defense. <#S12>

• Taliban, US Envoy Hold Talks In Qatar. <#S13>

• Netanyahu To Assume Israel’s Defense Minister Post. <#S14>

• French Approval For Macron Dips To 25% As Fuel Tax Hike Protests Erupt.
<#S15>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Jerry Brown: Trump Has Promised “Substantial” Funds, Has California’s
“Back.” <#S16>

• Trump Says He’s Weighing Handful Of Senior Personnel Changes. <#S17>

• Trump On Acosta: “If He Misbehaves We Will Throw Him Out.” <#S18>

• Trump: Caravan Causing “Crime And Big Problems” In Tijuana. <#S19>

• Trump: Media Reports About Post-Election Anger “Disgusting Fake News.”
<#S20>

• Nelson Concedes Florida Senate Race After Manual Recount. <#S21>

• Abrams: Georgia Election Results “Legal” But “Wrong.” <#S22>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Married Medical Professionals Receive NCI Grant For Breast Cancer Imaging
Research. <#S23>

• MRI Technology Provider Receives NCI Grant. <#S24>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S25>

• Washington Post. <#S26>
Biden in the News
Biden Adopts A Shelter Dog.

News over the weekend that former Vice President Joe Biden has adopted a
German Shepherd from a shelter in Delaware drew widespread media coverage.
In a brief item, the CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=002-f14&t=c>
(11/18, story 14, 0:15, Quijano) on Sunday reported that Biden “has a new
running mate – the furry, four-legged kind. He’s a German Shepherd named
Major. Biden and his wife, Jill, adopted him from a shelter in Delaware.
The Biden’s have another German Shepherd named Champ.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=003-e3a&t=c>
(11/18, Haller) reported that Major “had a rough beginning, surrendered
from a life-threatening toxic home. But now he’s going home with” the
Bidens. USA Today adds, “The Delaware Humane Association announced the news
this weekend on Facebook, with photos of the [former Vice President and
Major] spending time together. Major is from a litter of six other German
shepherd puppies, who were given ‘life-saving medical care’ after exposure
to ‘something toxic in their home,’ the Delaware Humane Association news
release said.”

In a dispatch that appeared on the websites of numerous media
outlets, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=004-74d&t=c>
(11/17) reports that Delaware Humane Association Director of Animal Care
Kerry Bruni on Saturday “said the Bidens had been providing foster care for
the dog in their home for several months and were ready to make the
adoption official. Bruni said the former vice president reached out to see
if he could help after the association posted on social media earlier this
year that it had received a litter of sick German Shepherd puppies. Biden
recently returned to the campaign trail to stump for Democratic candidates
and has said he expects to decide whether to seek the 2020 presidential
nomination by early next year.”

The Delaware News Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=005-e54&t=c>
(11/18, Peterson) reported that Major “is a playful, affectionate and
outgoing puppy, so Bruni said he is a good match for Biden. ‘The fact that
former vice president wanted to come into our agency and adopt was really
special,’ the director said. ‘I am glad he to wanted to be a part of
rescuing a dog.’” In an online article, CBS News
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(11/17, Linton) reported that Delaware Humane Society Executive Director
Patrick Carroll said in a statement, “It was such an honor for us to adopt
a puppy to Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden.”

In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=007-2cb&t=c>
(11/17, Tatum) reported that Biden “is considered a top potential 2020
Democratic presidential candidate. As vice president, he would hand out
stuffed-animal versions of his other dog, Champ, to kids.” The Huffington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=008-18c&t=c>
(11/17, Hanson) reported, “When the family got Champ in 2008, Joe Biden
received some criticism from animal welfare advocates for going to a
high-volume breeder rather than a shelter or rescue group. On Saturday,
though, many were praising the Bidens for opting to adopt from a shelter.”
Among the other media outlets reporting on the story are TIME
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=009-10b&t=c>
(11/17, Martinez), People
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=00a-768&t=c>
(11/17, Mizoguchi), The Hill
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(11/17, Gstalter), Fox News
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(11/17, Zwirz), the Washington Examiner
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(11/17, Gualtieri), BuzzFeed News
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(11/18, McNeal), Vogue
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=00f-ab5&t=c>
(11/18, Allaire), and Inquisitr
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=010-120&t=c>
(11/17, Walker).
WHYY Documentary Focuses On Biden.

In his column for the Delaware County (PA) Daily Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=011-8ea&t=c>
(11/18), Neal Zoren discussed WHYY-TV’s documentary “Delaware’s Joe Biden,”
which aired Sunday night “on Channel 12” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Zoren wrote that WHYY Assistant Vice President for News Operations John
Mussoni says that the documentary “is not a critique or overview of Mr.
Biden’s political career. It doesn’t, Mussoni adds, delve into big issues
or big moments of his life as a senator and vice president.” Said Mussoni,
“It’s about a man from Delaware who is Joe to the people who live [in
Delaware]. ... He’s just Joe to them, a guy who will pose for a selfie at
Christiana Mall or go for coffee on Saturdays at a favorite local spot.”
Weekly Standard Writer Has Biden Outside The Top Six Rankings Of Potential
2020 Democrats.

Writing for the Weekly Standard
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=012-2fe&t=c>
(11/19), Jonathan Last offered his rankings of the field of potential 2020
Democratic presidential candidates. Topping the list is Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-VT), followed by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA),
Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ). As
for the rest of the potential field, Last says, “Lots of people are going
to take a good, hard look at running. Joe Biden, Andrew Cuomo, Terry
McAuliffe, Michael Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar, Eric Garcetti. And don’t sleep
on Michael Avenatti. Or Oprah. The field is so wide open than anyone could
run. Everyone might run.”
Politico: For Biden, 1994 Crime Bill Could Be Hurdle In A 2020 Democratic
Primary.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=013-480&t=c>
(11/19, Thompson) reported, “White and nonwhite Democratic hopefuls are
talking more explicitly about race than the party’s White House aspirants
ever have – and shrugging off warnings that embracing so-called identity
politics could distract from the party’s economic message and push white
voters further into Donald Trump’s arms. While the 2020 primary will
feature debates about Medicare for all and college affordability, the
Democratic base also wants to know how candidates will address systemic
racism and what they think it means to be an ally to people of color.”
Consequently, adds Politico, “white potential candidates, such as former
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Vice President Joe Biden, are
receiving renewed scrutiny over their records. Bloomberg stirred
controversy this fall when he defended his controversial stop-and-frisk
policy as mayor.” And Biden, if he enters the race, “will almost certainly
be asked about the 1994 crime bill he helped write as a senator.”
Brown: Exposing Trump’s “Phony Populism” Key To Winning Ohio In 2020.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=014-ce1&t=c>
(11/18, Howell) reports that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on Sunday told NBC’s
Meet the Press[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=015-a4d&t=c>
that he is still considering the “intensely personal decision” of whether
to seek the presidency in 2020, but the Times says he has “devised a
playbook for defeating President Trump.” Brown “said Sen. Elizabeth Warren,
former Vice President Joseph R. Biden or whoever the nominee is” needs to
focus on “the dignity of work” to win Ohio. Brown said, “Make the contrast
between the phony populism of Donald Trump, where the White House looks
like a retreat for Wall Street executives, and the real populism, where
populism is not racist. It’s not anti-Semitic. It doesn’t push some people
down to lift others up. ... I think any one of them can win my state, if
they make that contrast between the phony populism of Donald Trump and the
dignity of work and all that we stand for.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=016-acb&t=c>
(11/18, Key) reported that Brown was responding to “Meet the Press” host
Chuck Todd, who asked, “Do you think an Elizabeth Warren could carry Ohio,
Joe Biden could carry Ohio, with your message?”
Biden Praises University Of Pennsylvania President Gutmann.

Philly (PA)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=017-04c&t=c>
(11/19, Snyder) profiles University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann,
saying that in 2016, she enlisted former Vice President Joe Biden “to
lecture at the school and run a Washington D.C.-based center on diplomacy
and global engagement.” And more recently, “she reached out to Jeb Bush,
former Florida governor,” who has now “joined Penn as a ‘presidential
professor of practice.’” Philly says that Biden “praised Gutmann as having
‘incredible vision and determination’ and supported her decision to bring
on Bush. ‘We need to set an example for our future leaders about how to
talk to one another – and, more importantly, disagree with one another –
with respect,’ Biden said. ‘…In a country as big and boisterous and diverse
as ours, compromise is essential to being able to govern.’”
Two Men Arrested In Theft Of Naomi Biden’s Credit Card.

The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=018-76d&t=c>
(11/16, Rosner, Hirsch, Musumeci) reported, “The Biden women can’t seem to
escape credit card troubles. Former Vice President Joe Biden’s
granddaughter, 25-year-old Naomi Biden, was ripped off last month by a pair
of men who swiped her credit and debit card from her lost wallet and went
‘on a shopping spree,’ authorities said.” Biden discovered “she had been
scammed when she checked her bank records and learned that her credit card
was used that day at a V.I.M. clothing store in Manhattan’s Hamilton
Heights, officials said.” Two men have been arrested in the case – “Stephen
Flanagan, 28, and 30-year-old Michael Echavarria, 30.” Earlier this year,
“Joe Biden’s niece, 31-year-old Caroline Biden dodged jail time for using a
stolen credit card to rack up over $100,000 in goods at a Greenwich Village
pharmacy.” The Daily Mail (UK)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=019-40f&t=c>
(11/16, Simpson) also reported on the story.
Leading the News
Trump Says He “Will Not Get Involved” In Mueller Probe, Insists Whitaker
“Will Do What’s Right.”

In an interview with Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=01a-de8&t=c>
(11/18), the President discussed the impact of naming Matt Whitaker as
acting Attorney General on the Robert Mueller investigation. Said Trump, “I
will not get involved. All of these people say I’m going to end the
investigation. They have said that for a long time. This is going on
forever. How long have I been looked at? From the day I announced I was
looked at as a candidate with nothing, no proof. With people like McCabe
and Peter Strzok and his lover and Lisa Paige, his lover, those people were
looking at me. They wanted an insurance policy just in case I won or held
or lost. And this is their policy: it is a scam. There was no collusion
whatsoever. And the whole thing is a scam.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=01b-47e&t=c>
(11/18, Becker) notes the President “said he was unaware of Whitaker’s past
statements about Mueller’s probe and that he would ‘not get involved’ if
Whitaker moved to curtail it.” The President stated[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=01c-1f1&t=c>,
“It’s going to be up to him. .. I think he’s very well aware politically. I
think he’s astute politically. ... He’s going to do what’s right.”

Most mainstream media reports cast Trump’s comments as potentially
ominous for the future of the investigation. ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=01d-d8e&t=c>
(11/18, story 3, 2:05, Palmeri) said, for example, that “when it comes
to...Whitaker, the President saying he has free reign to limit the Mueller
probe.” The CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=01e-739&t=c>
(11/18, story 5, 0:55, Barnett) reported, meanwhile, that
“should...Whitaker move to limit or scuttle the Mueller probe,” the
President “said he would not intervene.”

Politico
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(11/18, Warmbrodt) says “Trump defended Whitaker’s criticism of the Mueller
probe,” and the New York Times
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(11/18, Haberman) that he “claimed that he had no idea that his acting
attorney general...viewed the Mueller investigation skeptically, despite
reports that the two had multiple conversations about the inquiry over the
past year.” The Daily Caller
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(11/18, Ross) recounts that “as the head of a conservative think tank,
Whitaker gave numerous interviews in which he called the investigation a
‘witch hunt’ and said that he had seen no evidence of collusion between the
Trump campaign and Russian government.” Trump said yesterday, “I did not
know that. I did not know that he took views on the Mueller investigation
as such,” but “if he said that there is no collusion, he’s right.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=022-94e&t=c>
(11/18, Miller) reports “Trump’s pick of Mr. Whitaker...ignited renewed
accusations that the president was trying to squelch the investigation,”
and the Washington Post
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(11/18, Sonmez) that “Whitaker has faced calls from Democrats to recuse
himself from oversight of the probe given his previous criticism of the
investigation.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=024-1ba&t=c>
(11/18, Jacobs), among other news outlets, runs a similar report this
morning.

On NBC’s Meet the Press[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(11/18), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “It would be a disaster for the
Republican Party, for the Mueller investigation to be terminated or shut
down or played with. It’s close to the end, let’s see what he finds. I can
understand why the President doesn’t like the investigation. He feels
wronged by it. I remember the Clinton/Ken Starr episode pretty well. This
is standard practice. But I think most Republicans on Capitol Hill and
Democrats believe that Mr. Mueller should be allowed to do his job and I
have no indication he’s going to be interfered with at all.”

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) talked about Whitaker’s appointment on ABC’s
This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=026-3b7&t=c>
(11/18). He said, “Well, what we really need is a permanent attorney
general. We need to move as quickly as we can beyond the acting attorney
general to the attorney general who’s going to be there for a much longer
period of time. We’ll see. I don’t know Matt Whitaker well. I’ve known him
for sometime. I met him in Iowa when he was US attorney. On the occasions
I’ve had with him he’s been very responsive and has seen that the Justice
Department responded to the things I asked about. In terms of an acting
capacity he seems to me to be the person who has the ability to do the
acting job.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) discussed the appointment on CBS’ Face
the Nation[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=027-a46&t=c>
(11/18). He said, “We’re going to certainly look at every angle. I’m hoping
that I would love to see him recuse himself, because I think the things
that he has said about defunding the special probe and the many things that
he has talked about with regard to his opinion, his negative opinion with
regard to the special counsel in the process. I don’t think he’s the proper
person to be in that position. But again, I think almost anything he does
in the position of the interim may very well be tainted, because we’re not
clear, it’s not clear that he is an legitimate appointment to that
position.”

*Trump Says He Answered Mueller’s Written Questions “Very Easily.” *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=028-58c&t=c>
(11/18, Sonmez) reports that during his interview with Fox News Sunday[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=029-4f1&t=c>,
Trump “essentially shut the door to sitting down with Mueller, telling host
Chris Wallace that his written answers mean ‘probably this is the end’ of
his involvement in the probe into Russian interference in the 2016
campaign.” Said Trump, “I think we’ve wasted enough time on this witch hunt
and the answer is probably: We’re finished.” The President added that “he
had given ‘very complete answers to a lot of questions’ and that ‘that
should solve the problem,’” and that he had done so “very easily.” The
President also “told Wallace in Sunday’s interview that it “wasn’t a big
deal” and that he expects his legal team to submit the answers ‘at some
point very soon.’”

To the New York Times
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(11/18, Haberman), Trump’s comments “marked an apparent reversal from a
year of claiming that he was willing and eager to be interviewed by the
special counsel.” The Times adds “Trump’s legal team has blanched at the
idea, fearing that the president might lie under oath, and has steadily
narrowed the path for such an interview.”

John King said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=02b-792&t=c>
(11/18), “The President tells allies he’s convinced the special counsel is
gunning for him and gunning for his son, Don Jr. His lawyers wrestled with
the answers, I’m told, because of the specificity of some questions about
then candidate or President-elect Trump’s calls and meetings. And while the
President’s spoken words were fairly calm, his tweets made clear his
anxiety.”

Kaitlan Collins said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=02c-5ad&t=c>
(11/18), “I think that’s why we’ve seen the President’s agitation
resurface, primarily because he had several hours of meetings with these
lawyers, including on Monday when he got that criticism for not going out
to Arlington cemetery. He has been meeting with them and so it is back on
his mind. And during ahead of the midterms, he was able to push it off
until after the midterms because they didn’t believe the special counsel
would make any moves ahead of the election.”

Michael Shear of the New York Times said on CNN’s Inside
Politics[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=02d-f2d&t=c>
(11/18), “The President and his lawyers don’t have 100 percent visibility
into this investigation but the questions themselves that came to the
President are probably the best indication, or move that ball forward in
the sense of communicating to trump and his lawyers, you know, some of the
detailed stuff that the special counsel has been assembling. And that has
got to be unnerving to them. When you all of a sudden are forced to answer
not sort of generality questions about did you or didn’t you, is there or
isn’t there collusion but rather specific questions, did you participate in
this meeting at this specific time or on this call? It’s clear by the
question that they have detailed records that the special counsel has been
looking at. That’s got to be what they’re trying to be very careful about.”

Mo Elleithee, executive director of the Georgetown University
Institute of Politics, said on Fox News MediaBuzz[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=02e-990&t=c>
(11/18), “The President’s frustration, I guess I get it. His reactions, I
don’t. It doesn’t serve him well politically, frankly. If he were to sit
back and say fine there is nothing there, but I will fully cooperate and
show you that there is nothing there, I think he would take it away this
concern. But that’s not how he’s wired.”

*President Mocks “Little Adam Schitt” Over Criticism Of Whitaker
Appointment. *The President went on to tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=02f-033&t=c>
yesterday, “So funny to see little Adam Schitt (D-CA) talking about the
fact that Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was not approved by the
Senate, but not mentioning the fact that Bob Mueller (who is highly
conflicted) was not approved by the Senate!”

Rep. Adam Schiff had earlier discussed the Whitaker
appointment on ABC’s
This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=030-883&t=c>
(11/18), saying, “I think the appointment is unconstitutional.
Constitutionally it has to be subject to confirmation. I think they lose
that case when it goes to the Supreme Court. It’s also in conflict with a
more specific statute. There’s a succession statute for the Justice
Department which makes the Justice Department different from other
agencies. It doesn’t say you can use the Vacancy’s Act to avoid the success
plan. It’s a flawed appointment. The biggest flaw is he was chosen for the
purpose of interfering with the Mueller investigation. He auditioned for
the part by saying he could hobble the investigation. Ethically he should
have nothing to do with the investigation.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=031-814&t=c>
(11/18, Cummings) says Trump “crudely mocked” Schiff, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=032-1d6&t=c>
(11/18, Press) that he “is name-calling...Schiff,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=033-6b4&t=c>
(11/18, Forgey) that he “may have coined his crudest nickname yet for a
political rival.” Politico adds “the White House did not immediately
respond to a request for comment on whether the president’s misspelling of
Schiff’s name was intentional.” Moreover, “the office of first lady Melania
Trump, who has championed anti-cyberbullying efforts through her ‘Be Best’
initiative, also did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=034-00b&t=c>
(11/18, Lim) describes Trump as “setting Twitter alight as pundits quickly
pointed out the similarity between ‘Schitt’ and an expletive,” and Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=035-2cb&t=c>
(11/18, Wong) notes Schiff “is expected to become chairman of the House
Intelligence Committee.”

The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=036-90c&t=c>
(11/18, Moore) reports that Schiff later “took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=037-a59&t=c>
to fire back at Trump,” writing, “Wow, Mr. President, that’s a good one.
Was that like your answers to Mr. Mueller’s questions, or did you write
this one yourself?”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=038-f61&t=c>
(11/18, Mervosh) reports “the White House did not immediately respond to a
request for comment Sunday evening: Was it a nickname? A typo? Both?” To
the Times, “history offers little guidance,” as “Trump is...known for typos
and spelling errors in his tweets.” The Times points out that “perhaps most
famously, Mr. Trump incited a worldwide mystery with a middle-of-the-night
tweet that introduced a new word to the language: ‘covfefe.’ We still don’t
know what that means.” On the other hand, “as we debate this new mystery,
we can tell you this: Mr. Trump’s profanity-adjacent tweet went up Sunday
afternoon and had not been deleted by Sunday night.”

*Flake Pushing For Legislation Protecting Mueller. *On CNN’s State
of the Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=039-ec8&t=c>
(11/18), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) discussed potential legislation to protect
the Mueller investigation. Flake said, “This legislation was passed in
April and on a bipartisan basis, which we don’t often get out of the
Judiciary Committee, including our chairman voting for it. ... What I’m
saying is that this has to be priority now. We have a situation where the
President has fired the attorney general and given authority of the
investigation by someone who has not been confirmed by the Senate and has
expressed hostility to the investigation. How my colleagues don’t see this
as priority now, I don’t understand. It needs to come to the Senate floor
and is worth using a little leverage here.” Flake went on to say, “I would
sure like to see it as part of the spending plan, because that will make it
law.”

*Nunes: Documents Will Show Officials Misled FISA Court To Launch
Russia Probe. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=03a-6cc&t=c>
(11/18, Chaitin) reports “House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin
Nunes, R-Calif., revealed the existence of a ‘fourth bucket’ of information
related to potential misconduct by the FBI that he wants declassified.”
Nunes “said his panel’s investigation into the Justice Department and FBI
is largely complete. Still, he said the public release of these ‘buckets’
would help give his efforts a sense of ‘finality.’” The Examiner adds Nunes
said “the last tranche of documents...pertains to emails showing knowledge
about withholding information from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act court.” Nunes told Fox, “The new fourth bucket that we’re asking to be
declassified now is – for months we have been reviewing emails between FBI,
and DOJ, and others that clearly show that they knew about information that
should have been presented to the FISA court.”

On Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=03b-33e&t=c>
(11/18), Nunes said of the House probe, “We are largely done. We finished
our investigation. We have three buckets we would like declassified. We
have a fourth bucket to be declassified. We sent a list of 40 names to our
task force that Chairman Goodlatte is heading up. They won’t get through
the names because they haven’t had enough time. Look, this begs an
investigation by the Department of Justice. They can investigate the dirty
cops and their connections to the Russians and the Clinton campaign. It’s
the special council or DOJ that has to do that. That’s the way this will be
solved. The American people know...many of the Trump campaign people were
targeted. They used the dossier. We need these buckets of information to be
declassified and give finality to the investigation.”

Nunes also talked about the impact of the change in leadership on
the collusion investigation on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=03c-06b&t=c>
(11/18), saying, “I’m actually looking forward to our first open hearing.
For two years the Democrats on the committee and through Congress have been
saying they have more than circumstantial evidence that the Trump campaign
colluded with Russians. At the first open hearing I’m looking forward to
them releasing this information. We know that the only thing that hasn’t
leaked is this information about the Trump campaign. They promised it. They
have the majority. Finally they will present theory evidence.”

*Trump, Conservatives Say Mueller Should Prosecute Steele Under
FARA. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=03d-455&t=c>
(11/18, Scarborough) reports “Trump’s frustration last week over...Mueller
not investigating the Democrats’ links to Russia election meddling is aimed
at Christopher Steele,” a “paid Democratic Party operative who spread among
Washington power elites pre-Election Day Trump gossip originating from
Moscow.” Mueller “has made a theme of enforcing the Foreign Agent
Registration Act (FARA), which requires people working on behalf of
foreigners to register with the Justice Department or face criminal
liability.” But “an attorney for one indicted Russian firm, Concord
Management and Consulting LLC, accused Mr. Mueller of selective
prosecution. Why is Concord charged with election interference, but Mr.
Steele is not? asked Washington attorney Eric Dubelier.” Mueller “responded
by saying Mr. Steele’s actions are not on a par with elaborate Russian
social media trolling and computer hacking,” but “his court argument didn’t
explicitly say Mr. Steele is innocent of interference.” District Judge
Dabney L. Friedrich “rejected the Concord argument,” but “some
conservatives disagree.”

*Mueller To Interview Credico Again After Thanksgiving. *The Daily
Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=03e-0d9&t=c>
(11/17, Woodruff) reports that “Mueller has unanswered questions for a
long-time associate of Roger Stone’s.” Randy Credico, “a lefty comedian and
activist who has known Stone for decades, testified before Mueller’s grand
jury in September, but his work with the Mueller probe is not done,
according to Credico’s lawyer.” Attorney Marty Stolar “confirmed to The
Daily Beast that his client will speak with Mueller in the future,” though
“Credico has already met with the Special Counsel’s team ‘a number of
times.’” The Daily Beast adds that “Credico’s next interview with Mueller’s
investigators is expected to come after Thanksgiving – a sign the Special
Counsel’s investigation of Stone will not conclude in the immediate
future.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Says He Doesn’t Want To Hear Recording Of Khashoggi’s Killing.

In an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=03f-3fd&t=c>
that was recorded Friday and broadcast Sunday, President Trump discussed
the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=040-9d1&t=c>
(11/18, Riechmann, Lemire) reports Trump “made clear that the audio
recording, supplied by the Turkish government, would not affect his
response to the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi.” Said Trump, “It’s a suffering
tape, it’s a terrible tape. I’ve been fully briefed on it, there’s no
reason for me to hear it. ... I know everything that went on in the tape
without having to hear it.” Trump also “noted to ‘Fox News Sunday’ that”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “has repeatedly denied being
involved in the killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=041-66c&t=c>
(11/18, Jacobs) reports that “Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman has denied to him perhaps five times any role in the killing,” and
that “the US may never know whether he was involved in the murder.” Trump
told Wallace, “Well, will anybody really know? All right, will anybody
really know?”

“‘He told me that he had nothing to do with it,’ Trump said, adding
that ‘many people’ also said the crown prince had no knowledge of the
killing,’” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=042-036&t=c>
(11/18, Lange) reports. Trump also “said he wants to maintain a close
alliance with Saudi Arabia despite Khashoggi’s death and questioned the
alleged role” of the crown prince, “who is known as MbS and is the
kingdom’s de facto ruler.” According to Reuters, the interview was taped
just “hours before government sources said the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) had briefed the Trump administration on the murder and its belief
that MbS ordered it.” On Saturday, Trump had called the CIA’s assessment
“very premature.”

The CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=043-c33&t=c>
(11/18, story 4, 1:15, Quijano) reported Trump “said an assessment on who
is responsible will be released soon,” while the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=044-230&t=c>
(11/18, Gordon) says the CIA’s assessment linking Khashoggi’s killing to
Crown Prince Mohammed is the most direct challenge that the Administration
has faced on its policy toward Saudi Arabia. Neither Trump nor his aides
have signaled that they intend to withdraw their support for the crown
prince, widening the divide between the Administration and Congress on the
issue.

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=045-378&t=c>
(11/18, King) says Trump “sided Sunday with the kingdom’s de facto ruler,
distancing himself from reported US intelligence assessments that the crown
prince had ordered the assassination.” The Times adds that Trump is “under
increasing pressure from lawmakers to punish Saudi Arabia” over the
assassination. ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=046-8fb&t=c>
(11/18, story 5, 2:15, Llamas) reported that “members of Congress from both
parties [are] now speaking out saying they also believe the Crown Prince
was behind the murder plot.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told CBS’ Face the Nation[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=047-643&t=c>
(11/18), “I think the evidence is overwhelming that the Crown Prince was
involved,” and “I think sanctions are pretending to do something without
really doing anything. Most of these people are in prison other than the
Crown Prince. But the Crown Prince runs the country, and we deal with him.
If we put sanctions on people who are in prison, are we really doing
anything to punish them?” He stressed, “We need to punish who ordered this,
who is in charge, and really the only thing they understand over there is
strength. I think they will see sanctions as weakness on the part of the
President, and if the President wants to act strongly, he should cut off
the arms sales.”

On NBC’s Meet the Press[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=048-532&t=c>
(11/18), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “If you know anything about Saudi
Arabia and anything about MBS, the fact that he didn’t know about it is
impossible for me to believe. If he is going to be the face and the voice
of Saudi Arabia going forward, I think the Kingdom will have a hard time on
the world stage. They’re an important ally, but when it comes to the crown
prince, he’s irrational, he’s unhinged, and I think he’s done a lot of
damage to the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. And
I have no intention of working with him ever again.” Calling MBS “a
destructive force” and “a wrecking ball when it comes to the Mideast and a
relationship with the United States,” Graham asserted: “I hate to say that
because I had a lot of hope for him for being the reformer that Saudi
Arabia needs. But that ship has sailed as far as Lindsey Graham is
concerned.”

On ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=049-8b6&t=c>
(11/18), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said, “I can’t discuss the briefing. I can
tell you, at least my opinion and given how we know the Saudi government
operates and the crown prince’s essential role in that, it’s difficult for
me to perceive of a murder of a prominent journalist and critic being
carried out without the crown prince’s knowledge. It’s testing the
proposition that the enemy of our enemy is our friend. Iran is an enemy.
Saudi Arabia is important in pushing back against Iran. That doesn’t make
Saudi Arabia our friend. Our friends don’t murder journalists.” Schiff went
on to say, “The President needs to listen to what our intelligence
community has to say, what our professionals’ best assessment is. It’s
important this administration not allow itself to become a part of any
Saudi cover up.” He added, “The Saudis have already undermined their
position in the world, undermined their standing. The administration needs
to make sure it doesn’t undermine its own standing.”

Also on ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=04a-ef2&t=c>
(11/18), Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) said, “A smoking gun would certainly help,”
but “the economy is not a reason to worry about the relationship.” He went
on to say, “Let’s see what the President says on Tuesday. High confidence
doesn’t mean you actually have what you need if that’s the term the CIA is
using. I’m not talking about what we heard this week, but what we read in
the paper this morning. If that is accurate, it means we don’t quite have
all the information we would like to have.” He stressed, however, “We need
to be absolutely sure we know exactly what we’re talking about and not what
the first step is, but also what the second and third step that that first
step would lead you to really determines.”

On CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=04b-7f0&t=c>
(11/18), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said that “you have to deal with the truth
here and it looks more and more like the truth is that the crown prince was
involved, that he likely ordered it. So to just deflect and say it’s a
spectacular ally when, in fact, some of the bloom has been coming off that
rose for a while, particularly given the war in Yemen. There are things
that we’ll have to confront here soon. And I hope we do it based on the
truth, not in something that we simply want to see because we have a lot
invested in the relationship with the crown prince now.”

In an analysis, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=04c-737&t=c>
(11/18, Landler) says the President’s remarks Sunday “were a vivid
illustration of how deeply Mr. Trump has invested in the 33-year-old heir,
who has become the fulcrum of the administration’s strategy in the Middle
East – from Iran to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process – as well as a
prolific shopper for American military weapons, even if most of those
contracts have not paid off yet.” His comments “also showed how stubbornly
Mr. Trump has decided to stick with his ally.” To the Times, “The
president’s defense of the prince is reminiscent of how he deflects
questions about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election by saying that
President Vladimir V. Putin always denies it when he asks” – and as with
Russia, “those statements have become increasingly unpersuasive.”

Likewise, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=04d-338&t=c>
(11/18, Deyoung) says in an analysis that during his summit meeting with
Putin in July, “Trump appeared to side with the Russian leader over US
intelligence officials on the matter of Moscow’s interference in US
elections,” and “further muddied his stance in later comments on the
issue.” Trump’s aides have said that the President “has been looking for
ways to avoid pinning the blame on Mohammed, a close ally who plays a
central role in Trump’s Middle East policy,” but the Post says this “goal
has been complicated by shifting, contradictory stories from Riyadh, the
Saudi capital, and the emergence of evidence pointing to Mohammed,
including the recording.”
Trump Calls North Korea Most Difficult Obstacle Of His Presidency.

On Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=04e-a9d&t=c>
(11/18), President Trump called North Korean denuclearization the toughest
obstacle in his presidency. Asked about the potential for new North Korean
nuclear facilities, Trump said, “Maybe they are, maybe they are not. I
don’t believe that. That is the way it goes, that’s the way goes! You know,
I go with the way we have to go. But so far it’s been good. Have a very
good relationship. I think we have some great decisions for the people of
the country. And I do, I put America first. And other countries should put
themselves first. It is not like we should put everybody else – other
countries are proud of their countries and their leadership first. But we
put our country in many cases last. We are worried about the world and that
is not going to happen with me.”
Trump Slams McRaven, Says It Would’ve “Been Nice” If US Killed Bin Laden
“Sooner.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=04f-83f&t=c>
(11/18, story 4, 1:00, Llamas) reported President Trump is “making news”
for his response to retired Adm. Bill McRaven’s “claims that his attacks on
the media are the greatest threat to democracy that he has seen in his
life.” Noting that McRaven commanded the operation that killed Osama bin
Laden, ABC showed Trump in a an interview with Fox News Sunday[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=050-a7d&t=c>
calling McRaven a “Hillary Clinton backer” and “an Obama backer.” ABC then
showed Fox News’ Chris Wallace noting that McRaven is a Navy SEAL. Trump:
“Wouldn’t it have been nice if we got Osama bin Laden sooner than that?
Wouldn’t it have been nice. Living – think of this. Living in Pakistan.
Beautifully in Pakistan. In what I guess they consider a nice mansion. I
don’t know. I have seen nicer.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=051-db4&t=c>
(11/18, Lim) says Trump “took shots” at McRaven, while the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=052-bf9&t=c>
(11/18, Schwab) describes “a volley of criticism” from Trump against
McRaven. The Post says when Wallace “pointed out that McRaven, who didn’t
endorse a presidential hopeful in 2016, had been a Navy SEAL for 37 years,”
Trump “ignored him and continued his attack.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=053-9dc&t=c>
(11/18, Sonne) says the comments “represent the latest point of tension
between Trump and a group of retired general officers who have criticized
the commander in chief publicly for his handling of national security and
military matters.”

In an analysis, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=054-bb8&t=c>
(11/18, Sonne, Rucker) says Trump “has risked alienating parts of the
military community by escalating a fight with one of its most revered
members...amid other recent remarks and decisions that have fanned
controversy in the ranks and among some who served.” Trump’s comments
“escalated a war of words that began last year when McRaven called Trump’s
description of the news media as the ‘enemy of the people’ the greatest
threat to American democracy he had ever seen.” The Post adds that the
comments “came amid broader questions about Trump’s relationship with
military matters.”
Trump Pushing Allies To Contribute To Their Defense.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=055-084&t=c>
(11/18, Muñoz) reports that the Administration “has embarked on a quiet
bilateral campaign to extract more defense dollars from several countries,
including South Korea and Saudi Arabia, saying they must pay more to fund
American security missions and bases in their countries.” As with President
Trump’s trade strategy, the Times says, “the defense spending talks are a
bid to put meat on the bones of the president’s ‘America First’ foreign
policy, and upend longstanding practices that Mr. Trump says burden
American taxpayers while giving a pass to countries that can easily
contribute more to their own safety.” Despite this “sharp rhetoric,”
defense analysts believe that “Trump’s frustrations have been shared by
both Democratic and Republican presidents.” What is “new, they say, is the
openness with which Mr. Trump is demanding a rebalancing.”
Taliban, US Envoy Hold Talks In Qatar.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=056-0f0&t=c>
(11/18, Gannon) reports the Taliban and US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad
have held three days of talks in Qatar, “a Taliban official and another
individual close to the group said Sunday.” While he did not explicitly
mention the talks, Khalilzad told a news conference Sunday in Kabul, “I am
talking to all interested parties, all Afghan groups... and I think there
is an opportunity for reconciliation and peace. ... The Afghan government
wants peace. ... The Taliban are saying they do not believe they can
succeed militarily, that they would like to see the problems that remain,
resolved by peaceful means, by political negotiations.”
Netanyahu To Assume Israel’s Defense Minister Post.

Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=057-487&t=c>
(11/18, Basu) reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday
said that “he will take over as defense minister after Avigdor Lieberman,
the official who previously held the position, resigned over his opposition
to a cease-fire with Palestinian militants in Gaza, reports AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=058-6b3&t=c>.”
Axios explains, “All members of Lieberman’s party quit Netanyahu’s
government coalition after his resignation, leaving the prime minister with
a one-seat majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.” Netanyahu has
“rejected calls from the remaining coalition partners to hold early
elections.” According to Axios, “Any decision on whether an early election
takes place or not will likely have an impact on the White House’s decision
to roll out its peace plan for the region.”
French Approval For Macron Dips To 25% As Fuel Tax Hike Protests Erupt.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=059-ef3&t=c>
(11/18, White, Louet) reports French President “Emmanuel Macron’s
popularity took a further hit in recent weeks, according to a poll on
Sunday, as fuel tax protests rumbled on across France in the latest sign of
discontent with the president’s economic reforms.” In an Ifop poll
conducted between Nov. 9-17, only 25 percent of nearly 2,000 respondents
“said they were satisfied with Macron, down from 29 percent in October.”
Macron “has brushed off slumping ratings to push through a series of
reforms,” but his government’s fuel tax increases aimed at encouraging
“drivers to embrace less-polluting cars” touched “a nerve with voters” as
“the extra cost began to bite in October when global oil prices surged.” At
least 400 people were injured when irate “motorists and other
demonstrators, many accusing Macron of being out of touch with ordinary
people, blocked roads across France on Saturday in a grassroots campaign
dubbed the ‘Yellow Vests’ that drew nearly 288,000 protesters.”
Domestic Policy
Jerry Brown: Trump Has Promised “Substantial” Funds, Has California’s
“Back.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=05a-856&t=c>
(11/18, Bacon) reports California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) told CBS’ Face the
Nation[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=05b-2f1&t=c>
that President Trump has promised “substantial” funds to help the state
following the deadly fires that have swept the state. Brown called the
pledge a “big, big win” for California. He added, “The president not only
has signed a presidential declaration giving California substantial
funding, but he said and pledged very specifically to continue to help us,
that he’s got our back. And I thought that was a very positive thing.” USA
Today adds that Brown acknowledged the contentious “back and forth” between
Trump and state leaders, but added that “in this, in the face of tragedy,
people tend to rise above some of their lesser propensities. So I think
we’re on a good path.”

The CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=05c-40f&t=c>
(11/18, lead story, 0:50, Quijano) reported in its lead story that the
President “saw the devastation for himself, again suggesting better forest
management could prevent such disasters.” Brown responded in his CBS
interview Sunday. Brown: “And the President has talked about how our
forests are management managed, that’s an element, but there is also the
way the houses are built, the materials, what kind of vegetation is around,
and then there is also the changing climate and the increasing drought and
the lowered humidity and water vapor.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=05d-079&t=c>
(11/18), “Listen, I’m glad [Trump is] there. I’m glad he’s offering federal
funds. That’s what he should do. That’s what a President is expected to do.
Of course, I think all Californians were upset with the statements he made
early in the week, when people were facing utter devastation. But, we need
to focus on putting these fires out. We need to protect ourselves because
all too often when the fires are out and rains are coming mudslides follow
and other tragedy follows. We need to get through this period. Our hearts
are going out to those affected. We’re so grateful for the responders out
there.”

Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) said on MSNBC’s Politics Nation[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=05e-9db&t=c>
(11/17), “The President is, at least partially correct. We do have a forest
management problem. The national forest and the state forest, they are
under serious stress as a result of climate change. The number of dead
trees, dying trees in our forests both national, state and private is
over-the-top in the probably the hundreds of millions of trees. That is
definitely a forest management problem caused by climate change.”

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said on MSNBC AM Joy[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=05f-137&t=c>
(11/18), “It is unfortunate that we have a President that doesn’t appear to
believe in science. If preventing wildfires were as easy as raking leaves,
we would have done that by now. But it is a very complicated issue. Climate
change does play a large role. ... So, I hope the President consults some
experts, maybe talks to his folks who actually know something about
wildfires. and stops believing these bizarre theories that he has.”

On Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=060-417&t=c>
(11/18), Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) said, “The tragic part is years ago we had
timber mills in the state. We used to take this wood out of the state. What
the American people need to know is if you don’t remove the wood and brush
eventually it burns. You either forcefully pull it out or it burns. It’s
frustrating to hear the left who have blocked the access to these forests
off. You no longer build fire breaks. You no longer take the trees that
have fallen and remove them. That’s fuel. Once it ignites it burns really
hot and tragic things happen like we have here. This will be one of the
biggest catastrophes in history.”

*More Than 1,200 Unaccounted For In Paradise. *Meg Oliver reported
on the CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=061-f17&t=c>
(11/18, story 2, 2:10, Quijano) that the number of people unaccounted for
in Paradise, California “has soared to more than 1,200.” Meanwhile, the
Camp Fire “has burned over 149,000 acres. 9,700 homes have been destroyed,
more than 46,000 people were evacuated. At least 76 people were killed.
Sunday hundreds of displaced residents for FEMA assistance, many of them
lost everything.”

*Smoke Has Made Northern California Air Quality The Worst In The
World. *The CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=062-dc0&t=c>
(11/18, story 3, 1:15, Quijano) reported that “smoke from the wildfires has
made the air quality in Northern California the worst in the world. Rain
later this week could provide relief, not just for firefighters, but for
millions struggling to breathe.” CBS (Watts) added, “The forecast does
remain unhealthy air quality for the entire Bay Area and much of Northern
California through at least Monday.”
Trump Says He’s Weighing Handful Of Senior Personnel Changes.

President Trump discussed upcoming personnel moves in a Sunday morning
interview with Fox News. The CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=063-f3f&t=c>
(11/18, story 6, 0:25, Barnett) reported Trump “said he wants Kirstjen
Nielsen, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, to be much tougher.
He also highlighted weaknesses in his Chief of Staff John Kelly.” The
President “said that he is happy with both of them,” but “he made it clear
that it’s possible they could both move on.”

On Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=064-ef6&t=c>
(11/18), Trump said on Nielsen, “I like her and respect her. She’s very
smart. I want her to get much tougher and I will see what happens there.
But I want to be extremely tough.” About Kelly, Trump said, “I wouldn’t –
look, we get along well. There are certain things I love that he does and
certain things I do not like that he does. That are not his strength. It is
not that he doesn’t – he works so hard, he is doing an excellent job in
many ways. There are a couple of things where it is not his strength. It’s
not his fault, it is not his strength.” Trump went on to say, “Look, I have
three or four or five positions I am thinking about. Of that, maybe we’ll
end up being two. I need flexibility.”

To the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=065-d5b&t=c>
(11/18, Lemire), “Trump isn’t committing to a previous pledge to
keep...Kelly for the remainder of his term,” and to the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=066-e02&t=c>
(11/18, Schwab) he offered him and Nielsen “a lukewarm endorsement as he
signaled that he’s likely to shakeup as many as five White House posts.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=067-50b&t=c>
(11/18, Samuels) reports “Trump said Sunday he’s considering making a
change to as many as five Cabinet positions,” and the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=068-f17&t=c>
(11/18, Enjeti) that he “tempered his criticism of Nielsen at the beginning
of his answer, noting, ‘she’s very smart,” and added that “that there is a
‘chance’ he could retain” her “in her position, but also told Wallace that
it was normal to have people come in and out of government.” Said Trump,
“That’s what happens in government – you leave. You make a name, you go.
The people that have left have done very well.”
Trump On Acosta: “If He Misbehaves We Will Throw Him Out.”

President Trump mentioned on Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=069-b91&t=c>
(11/18) the situation with CNN reporter Jim Acosta after a federal judge
ruled that the White House must restore his credentials. Trump said, “It is
fine, it’s not a big deal. What they said there was that we have to create
rules and regulations for conduct, etc. We are doing that. It’s not a big
deal. And if he misbehaves we will throw him out.”

Chris Wallace, who interviewed the President, said on Fox News
MediaBuzz[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=06a-182&t=c>
(11/18), “Like a lot of things in life, there can be two things that are to
both true. One, I think Jim Acosta...embarrassed himself. I thought he
misbehaved,” but “pulling his pass was clearly a bridge too far and it was
a mistake. The President in his answer to my question about it – ‘no big
deal.’ I think they were stunned by the fact they lost and to a certain
degree were trying to downplay a defeat.”

Emily Jashinsky of The Federalist said on Fox News MediaBuzz[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018111901biden&r=email-5196&l=06b-753&t=c>
(11/18), “I wouldn’t say it’s a win for press freedom. I think it’s a win
for CNN. The President, politically, I think is smart to downplay it. It
was about due process. I was about: we are going to implement rules for
conduct at the briefings, which I hope to God take because they have turned
into such big circuses, and Acosta is a big part of that. Moving forward,
this can be a good