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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, August 30, 2018 7:54 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, August 30, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=001-a6a&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, August 30, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden To Eulogize McCain At Funeral Service In Phoenix Today. <#S1>

• Biden To Be “Guest Of Honor” At Pittsburgh Labor Day Parade. <#S2>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump, Canada Voice Optimism Ahead Of Friday Deadline On Trade Deal. <#S3>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump Blames China For Canceled Pompeo Trip, Says US-South Korea “War
Games” Off. <#S4>

• Administration Seeking To Ease Tensions With Moscow As Sanctions Loom.
<#S5>

• Oxford Economics Study: US Sanctions Will “Cripple” Iran’s Economy. <#S6>

• Palestinian Leaders: Democratic Midterms Win Would Block Trump Mideast
Policies. <#S7>

• US Navy Intercepts Weapons Cache On Ship In Gulf Of Aden. <#S8>

• Seven Dead In Iraqi Suicide Car Bombing. <#S9>

• Qatar Spent $16.3M Lobbying US Last Year, Targeted People Close To Trump.
<#S10>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Trump Announces McGahn Will Depart White House In The Fall. <#S11>

• Trump Slams CNN Over Seemingly Debunked Report With Davis As Source.
<#S12>

• WPost A1: Americans Along Border Denied US Passports. <#S13>

• Senate Confirms Hunt To Head DOJ Civil Division. <#S14>

• Baldwin Bill Would Kill Trump Rule Expanding Access To Non-ACA Plans.
<#S15>

• EPA To Review 2012 Coal Plant Air Pollution Rule. <#S16>

• DeVos Preparing New Campus Sexual Misconduct Policies. <#S17>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Many Cancer Patients Would Sell Homes, Declare Bankruptcy To Pay For
Treatment. <#S18>

• Only 49% Of Teens Fully Vaccinated Against HPV, But Cervical Cancer Rates
Down. <#S19>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S20>

• Washington Post. <#S21>
Biden in the News
Biden To Eulogize McCain At Funeral Service In Phoenix Today.

Several reports this morning note that former Vice President Joe Biden will
eulogize Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at a Thursday funeral service in Phoenix. USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=002-3f6&t=c>
(8/29, Hafner) reports, “Eulogizing McCain at his Thursday funeral will be
none other than [Biden], who once called McCain ‘profoundly out of touch’
in a 2008 speech as the two faced off from opposing tickets in the
presidential race. But in that same speech, Biden still described McCain as
a friend: ‘If he needed my personal help, I’d go.’” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=003-0aa&t=c>
(8/30, Martin) reports, “While the service on Thursday was expected to
focus on Mr. McCain’s legacy in his adopted state, Mr. Biden was expected
to use his eulogy to remember his former colleague and close friend, a
relationship that evoked an earlier era of bipartisan comity in Washington.
The two served together for over two decades in the Senate, often sparring
over policy disagreements, and faced each other from opposing presidential
tickets in 2008,” but they “forged a deep friendship that was cemented when
Mr. Biden’s eldest son, Beau, learned he had brain cancer. He eventually
died from the disease, the same one that Mr. McCain succumbed to on
Saturday.”

Under the headline “Biden And McCain’s Longtime Friendship To Be On
Display At Memorial Service,” NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=004-450&t=c>
(8/30, Memoli) reports on its website this morning, “The decades-long
friendship between McCain and Biden, having endured no shortage of battles
on policy in the Senate, lasted well beyond that trial of a presidential
campaign that saw them on opposing tickets. And it’s an uncommon bipartisan
bond that will be showcased Thursday as” Biden “delivers the closing
tribute at [McCain’s] memorial service.” NBC adds that Biden “has spent the
past few days working on the tribute at his Delaware beach house with close
aides, who say the remarks will focus on their enduring personal bond,
Biden’s deep respect for the code McCain lived by, and a legacy of service
that stands as an example in this tumultuous political era.”

The Tucson (AZ) Sentinel
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=005-c0a&t=c>
(8/29) reports that Biden, “who years ago reached across the political
aisle to become a longtime colleague and friend to...McCain, will speak
Thursday at the senator’s Arizona memorial service.” The pair “remained
close even after Biden became running mate and vice president to Barack
Obama, who defeated McCain in the 2008 presidential race. Biden was among
the stream of visitors arriving in the past several weeks at McCain’s home
in Cornville, near Sedona.” Under the headline “Planning His Funeral,
McCain Got The Last Word Against Trump,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=006-b75&t=c>
(8/29, Shear, Rogers) reports, “In the spring, Mr. McCain began the
uncomfortable task of asking people to speak for him after he died.” Biden
“was among those summoned to Sedona, when Mr. McCain began executing his
funeral plans with a newfound urgency. They spoke for hours before Mr.
McCain asked Mr. Biden to deliver a eulogy at his funeral in Arizona. Mr.
Biden immediately accepted, said a person close to the vice president, and
he will also serve as a pallbearer on Saturday in Washington.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=007-efe&t=c>
(8/30, Davis-Young) reports, “The main speech in tribute to McCain was to
be delivered by Biden, a friend and former six-term Democratic senator from
Delaware who was elected vice president as the running mate of McCain’s
rival for the White House, Barack Obama, who defeated McCain in the 2008
presidential race.” Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=008-453&t=c>
(8/29, Collman) reported that Biden “will eulogize McCain in Arizona on
Thursday and serve as a pallbearer in DC on Saturday. The two grew close
during their many years serving in the Senate together, and Biden’s son,
Beau, died of the same brain cancer McCain had.”
Biden To Be “Guest Of Honor” At Pittsburgh Labor Day Parade.

In an online article, KDKA-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=009-ede&t=c>
Pittsburgh (8/29) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden “is slated
to march in Pittsburgh’s annual Labor Day Parade on Monday. Biden last
march[ed] in the parade in 2016, when he was joined by” Sen. Tim Kaine
(D-VA), who at the time was presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s
running mate. Biden is quoted as saying in a press release, “I’m looking
forward to spending Labor Day this year in Pittsburgh with thousands of men
and women from organized labor. Unions built the middle class, and union
members built this country.” In a brief online report, WTAE-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=00a-0e7&t=c>
Pittsburgh (8/29) said that Biden “will be the guest of honor at the
Pittsburgh Labor Day Parade.”
Leading the News
Trump, Canada Voice Optimism Ahead Of Friday Deadline On Trade Deal.

While the story was not mentioned on the major network newscasts, print
media outlets indicate the Administration could be close to a major win on
the trade front. CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=00b-64a&t=c>
(8/29, McNamee) reported President Trump told reporters at the White House
that “he is optimistic Canada will join the new trade deal the US forged
with Mexico that is intended to replace the North American Free Trade
Agreement.” Said Trump, “I think Canada very much wants to make the deal.
... It probably won’t be good at all if they don’t.” He also “reiterated
his Friday deadline” for Canada to join the deal, saying, “We gave until
Friday and I think we are probably on track. We’ll see what happens.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=00c-028&t=c>
(8/29, Mayeda, Wingrove, Jacobs) likewise says Trump is “expressing
optimism the two countries could reach a deal this week.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=00d-83d&t=c>
(8/29, Miller) and Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=00e-b16&t=c>
(8/29, Kasperowicz), among other news outlets, also report the story, while
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=00f-865&t=c>
(8/29, Gordon, Angulo) says his “upbeat tone contrasted with” his “harsh
criticism of Canada in recent weeks, railing on Twitter against Canada’s
high dairy tariffs that he said were ‘killing our Agriculture!’” The Daily
Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=010-a1f&t=c>
(8/29, Brest) recounts that Trump also “made those gathered in a room at
the White House laugh...with his response to a question about which country
he liked more, Canada or Mexico.” Trump initially said, “We’ll see what
happens. I love Canada. You know what, I love Mexico, too.” Pressed on
whether “he preferred either Mexico or Canada over the other, he said,
‘Like them both the same.’”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=011-28f&t=c>
(8/29, Gordon, Angulo) reports Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also
“said he thought the Friday deadline could be met,” telling reporters, “We
recognize that there is a possibility of getting there by Friday, but it is
only a possibility, because it will hinge on whether or not there is
ultimately a good deal for Canada. No NAFTA deal is better than a bad NAFTA
deal.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=012-fc7&t=c>
(8/29, Wingrove) reports that “until now, pretty much all of Canada
had...Trudeau’s back in his Nafta fight with...Trump – but cracks are
emerging as some pivot to blame him if the pact falls apart.” Bloomberg
adds “the problem for the prime minister, who was elected in 2015 in spite
of Conservative attacks that he was a lightweight who was ‘just not ready’
to govern, is that any indication he allowed Nafta to collapse could sour
public opinion.”

Lou Dobbs said on Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=013-993&t=c>
(8/29) that Trudeau “apparently has had an epiphany. ... I guess he has
decided that this economy is worth doing business with. That’s very
flattering, I’m sure the President is thrilled.” Christian Whiton, senior
fellow for strategy and public diplomacy at the Center for the National
Interest, said on Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=014-e21&t=c>
(8/29), “This is just proof, contrary to previous guests and the negative
Nancys at the Wall Street Journal’ [editorial] page, Trump’s approach to
trade actually is working.” Edward Lawrence said on Fox Business’ After the
Bell[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=015-6bb&t=c>
(8/29), “The Canadians are moving our markets today. The big headline,
there is that optimism, that hope that we can have a trilateral agreement
by the end of the week here.”

Former US Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman said on CNBC’s Closing
Bell[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=016-d25&t=c>
(8/29), “If there is compromise that is going on in that room then there is
a very high possibility that we will get a deal by Friday. Remember, this
is an agreement in principle. We can’t fill out all the little minutia that
30 chapters of NAFTA hold. This is going to be an agreement in principle
and then you are going to have to trust and have faith that we can fill in
all the blanks. I have worked with the Prime Minister and I will tell you
if a good deal is there he will do it for the Canadians. But, if it is a
bad deal he will walk away. I know he will.” Heyman also said on Bloomberg
TV Bloomberg Markets: Balance of Power[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=017-7ae&t=c>
(8/29) that there is “a really good chance” for a deal “if the US Trade
Representative is in the mode of compromise as well as the Canadians to get
a deal in principle by Friday.”

Mercatus Center Senior Fellow Daniel Griswold said on CNBC’s
Closing Bell[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=018-794&t=c>
(8/29), “I think wrapping something up by the end of the week would be a
victory for everybody all around. I think the end of the week is a bit of
an artificial deadline driven not by the US trade promotion authority but
by Mexican politics and the transfer of power there. But, we need to have
some kind of agreement. This is too important to rush.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=019-25b&t=c>
(8/29, Swanson, Rappeport) notes Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia
Freeland likewise “expressed optimism” that they “were going to move in a
positive direction this week.” Freeland told reporters, “Mexico has made
some significant concessions which will be really good for Canadian
workers. On that basis, we are optimistic about having some really good
productive conversations this week.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=01a-7c4&t=c>
(8/29, Vieira) also says Freeland reiterated her optimism after issues
related automobiles have largely been resolved, though she did not address
Friday’s deadline. According to the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=01b-610&t=c>
(8/29, Paletta), she “declined to discuss any unresolved issues,” saying
she and USTR Lighthizer “had agreed not to discuss specific disagreements
or issues in the media as they negotiate, saying they preferred ‘not to
negotiate in public.’”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=01c-c9d&t=c>
(8/29, Gordon, Angulo) reports US official also expressed optimism. Kevin
Hassett, Chairman of the White House Council of Economics Advisers, told Fox
Business[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=01d-7d8&t=c>
this morning, “We’re hearing that there’s a lot of progress being made and
that it’s possible that...we’ll be able to see something sometime soon.” He
added, “Absolutely, the Friday deadline is a real thing...and we hope that
Canada will be part of that.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=01e-319&t=c>
(8/29, Wingrove), meanwhile, reports that “until now, pretty much all of
Canada had Justin Trudeau’s back in his Nafta fight with US President
Donald Trump – but cracks are emerging as some pivot to blame him if the
pact falls apart.” The problem for Trudeau, says Bloomberg, “is that any
indication he allowed Nafta to collapse could sour public opinion. ... So
too could horse-trading if, for instance, he makes concessions on a dairy
regime that’s more popular in some parts of the country than others.”

*Infrastructure Union Head “Cautiously Optimistic” About Deal With
Mexico. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=01f-c19&t=c>
(8/29, Bonn) reports “the president of a major infrastructure union said
he’s keeping an open mind about...Trump’s preliminary agreement with Mexico
that could potentially replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.”
Eric Dean, president of the International Association of Bridge,
Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Ironworkers union, told Hill. TV,
“The tone and rhetoric sound good as I said I’ll wait to see what the final
outcome is – I’m cautiously optimistic.”

*Reuters: US-Mexico Deal Includes Mexican Auto Export Cap. *Citing
“auto executives and sources,” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=020-b15&t=c>
(8/28, Shepardson, Martinez) reports that a proposed US-Mexico trade deal
announced Monday would allow President Trump “to slap punitive tariffs of
up to 25 percent on imports of Mexican-made cars, sport utility vehicles
and auto parts above certain volumes.” The agreement, the sources says,
would allow the US to pursue “national security” tariffs on annual Mexican
car and SUV imports “of over 2.4 million vehicles” or “above a value of $90
billion per year.”

*Trade Panel Rejects US Tariffs On Imported Newsprint From Canada. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=021-4a5&t=c>
(8/29, Freking) reports the US International Trade Commission today
“nullified tariffs put into place for imported newsprint by finding that
American producers weren’t harmed by imports from Canadian paper mills.”
The AP says the ruling is “a victory for the US newspaper industry, which
complained that the rising cost of newsprint...made it harder to operate.”
The Commerce Department had imposed the tariffs “in response to a complaint
from a hedge-fund-owned paper producer in Washington state that argued that
its Canadian competitors took advantage of government subsidies to sell
their product at unfairly low prices.” However, the ITC “unanimously
determined that no injury” to the US industry is occurring. The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=022-240&t=c>
(8/29, Farhi) and New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=023-02e&t=c>
(8/29, Edmondson), among other news outlets, also report the story.

*India Sees Tariffs As Chance To Supplant US Goods In Chinese
Markets. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=024-139&t=c>
(8/29, Boylan) reports a study by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry
“identified at least a 100 markets that Indian analysts believe their
products could replace U.S. exports to China” because Indian goods won’t
suffer Beijing’s higher import tariffs on US goods. Markets India is eyeing
include cotton, corn, almonds, wheat, sorghum, grapes, cotton linters,
flue-cured tobacco, lubricants, and some chemicals.

*Japan Denies Report Trump Brought Up Pearl Harbor In Trade
Talks. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=025-d11&t=c>
(8/29, Jackman) reports a Japanese government spokesman yesterday “denied a
Washington Post report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=026-36c&t=c>
that US President Donald Trump brought up Pearl Harbor while discussing
trade disputes with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.” Asked about the reported
exchange at the White House in June, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga
told reporters, “While I refrain from commenting on each and every media
report, in any case this isn’t true.” Suga, meanwhile, “declined to comment
on another claim in the same report that Japan had concealed from the US a
secret July meeting with North Korean officials in Vietnam.”

*US Challenges Russia’s Response To Steel Tariffs At WTO. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=027-3cf&t=c>
(8/29, Miles) reports the US launched a complaint against Russia at the WTO
on Wednesday, “challenging measures introduced by Russia in response to
recent US tariffs on global steel and aluminum exports.” Russia, it adds,
“now has 60 days to settle the dispute, after which the United States could
ask the WTO to set up a panel to adjudicate.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Blames China For Canceled Pompeo Trip, Says US-South Korea “War
Games” Off.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=028-dda&t=c>
(8/29, Mason) reports that “just days after calling off a planned trip to
North Korea by his top diplomat,” President Trump “said on Wednesday he
thought the United States was ‘doing well’ in its diplomatic efforts with
Pyongyang.” Said Trump, “I think we’re doing well with North Korea. We’ll
have to see.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=029-c6a&t=c>
the following statement: “STATEMENT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE: President Donald
J. Trump feels strongly that North Korea is under tremendous pressure from
China because of our major trade disputes with the Chinese Government. At
the same time, we also know that China is providing North Korea with...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=02a-831&t=c>
considerable aid, including money, fuel, fertilizer and various other
commodities. This is not helpful! Nonetheless, the President believes that
his relationship with Kim Jong Un is a very good and warm one, and there is
no reason at this time to be spending large amounts...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=02b-38e&t=c>
of money on joint U.S.-South Korea war games. Besides, the President can
instantly start the joint exercises again with South Korea, and Japan, if
he so chooses. If he does, they will be far bigger than ever before. As for
the U.S.–China trade disputes, and other...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=02c-852&t=c>
differences, they will be resolved in time by President Trump and China’s
great President Xi Jinping. Their relationship and bond remain very
strong.”

In a brief story, the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=02d-f20&t=c>
(8/29, story 4, 0:15, Dickerson) reported that “Trump was busy on social
media this evening, tweeting four times in brisk order, blaming China for
the cancellation of new talks with North Korea over its nuclear program. He
wrote, ‘Nonetheless, the President believes that his relationship with Kim
Jong-Un is a very warm one’.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=02e-286&t=c>
(8/29, Landler) says Trump “tried to make China the scapegoat for his
stalled diplomacy with North Korea,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=02f-8e7&t=c>
(8/29, Sonne) that “before Trump’s tweets,” Defense Secretary Mattis
“issued a...statement, saying that only three specific military exercises
had been suspended to ‘provide space’ for US diplomats to negotiate.” Other
than that, added Mattis, “our military posture has not changed since the
conclusion of the Singapore summit and no decisions have been made about
suspending any future exercises.”

*Report: Trump Told Kim Jong Un He’d Declare End To Korean War. *Vox
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=030-bdb&t=c>
(8/29, Ward) reports exclusively that Trump told Kim during their Singapore
summit in June “that he’d sign a declaration to end the Korean War soon
after their meeting, according to multiple sources familiar with the
negotiations. But since then, the Trump administration has repeatedly asked
Pyongyang to dismantle most of its nuclear arsenal first, before signing
such a document.” According to Vox, “that decision is likely what has led
to the current stalemate in negotiations between the two countries — and
the increasingly hostile rhetoric from North Korea.”

*South Korea: Cancellation Of Pompeo Trip Increases Importance Of
Moon Visit To Pyongyang. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=031-7fd&t=c>
(8/29, Choe) reports South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s office said he
now “sees a more urgent need to travel to North Korea next month” to meet
with Kim now that Pompeo’s “planned trip there this week has been
canceled.” While North and South Korea “had earlier agreed to hold a third
summit meeting in Pyongyang” in September, Moon had “had hoped that Mr.
Pompeo would first break a logjam in talks over denuclearizing the North,
making it easier for him to push his agenda of increasing economic and
other inter-Korean ties when he sat down with Mr. Kim.” President Trump’s
cancellation of Pompeo’s trip cast Moon’s plan “into doubt,” but his office
said he was “intent on working as a mediator between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump,
just as he helped broker their first meeting in June.”
Administration Seeking To Ease Tensions With Moscow As Sanctions Loom.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=032-63e&t=c>
(8/29, Hudson) reports Secretary of State Pompeo “is trying to reach an
understanding with Moscow before a deadline for imposing sweeping new
sanctions against Russia for allegedly poisoning a former Russian spy in
Britain, said diplomats familiar with the efforts.” The attempted outreach
“reflects a desire by President Trump to open up a constructive dialogue
with Moscow and break the cycle of tit-for-tat sanctions that the Kremlin
has decried as ruinous to bilateral relations.” However, the Post says the
“prospect for rapprochement...remains slim as US lawmakers demand strict
enforcement of existing sanctions laws and deliberate a new package of even
more punitive measures against Russia, limiting the Trump administration’s
maneuverability.”

*Under Public Pressure, Putin Softens Some Pension Changes. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=033-150&t=c>
(8/29, Macfarquhar) reports that, in a “rare...softening a government
decision in the face of public pressure,” Russian President Vladimir Putin
“dilut[ed] some parts of a much-despised pension overhaul.” Changes include
rising women’s retirement age “to 60 from 55, instead of to 63,” and he
“outlined a welter of benefits for retirees to try to cushion the blow.”
When announcing the changes, Putin said that demographic changes require
some adjustments, but critics suggested any Russian economic problems are
due to “foreign military operations” and “mismanagement” during the 18
years Putin has been in power. Meanwhile, “it was not clear whether”
Putin’s proposed changes “would be sufficient to mollify widespread anger
and unease.”
Oxford Economics Study: US Sanctions Will “Cripple” Iran’s Economy.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=034-b09&t=c>
(8/29, Staff) reports an Oxford Economics analysis says US-imposed
sanctions “on Iranian oil industry will ‘cripple’ Iran’s economy.” The
think tank expects the “sanctions, which take effect in November, will send
Iran’s economy into recession,” predicting it will “contract by 3.7 percent
next year, ‘the worst performance in six years.’” The report authors “said
it’s unlikely any efforts by other world powers can help Iran find a way to
export oil.” Under the headline “Anger, Weariness, Wonderment As Trump
Reimposes Sanctions,” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=035-da9&t=c>
(8/29, Hjelmgaard) reports “foreign correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard gained
exclusive access to travel to Iran this summer to explore the strained
US-Iran relationship.” Hjelmgaard says “for Iran, the latest sanctions mean
continued hard economic times,” as they “will keep Tehran from acquiring US
dollars, restrict its ability to trade in gold and other precious metals,
prohibit the foreign purchase of Iranian sovereign debt and punish the car
industry with high tariffs.” The US also “is banning imports of Iran’s
iconic Persian rugs,” but “the biggest blow comes in early November, when
sanctions on its lucrative oil industry swing back into full gear.”

*Khamenei Signals Iran May Exit Nuclear Deal. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=036-649&t=c>
(8/29) reports Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “asked the
government to work ‘day and night’ to resolve economic problems, as
parliament increases pressure on President Hassan Rouhani over handling the
economic hardship following US sanctions.” State television reported that
in a cabinet meeting with Rouhani, Khamenei said, “We need to be strong in
the economic field. ... The officials should work hard day and night to
resolve the problems.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=037-440&t=c>
(8/29, Nasseri) reports Khamenei “said Iran should stop pinning its hopes
on Europe saving the international nuclear deal battered by the US
withdrawal, as he signaled his nation too may exit the agreement.” The
Iranian leader was quoted as saying, “There is no problem with continuing
relations and negotiations with Europe, but hope should be abandoned
regarding matters such as the nuclear deal.” The nuclear deal, he added,
“is not an end but a means and naturally, if we get to the conclusion that
this tool doesn’t allow us to stand by our national interests, we will set
it aside.”

*Britons, Americans Of Iranian Descent Remain Subjects Of
Prosecution In Iran. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=038-d44&t=c>
(8/29, Gladstone) reports the recent plight of prisoner Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe “is not unique.” Critics of Iran’s “opaque judicial
system say foreign citizens – particularly Britons and Americans of Iranian
descent – are often subject to capricious prosecution on vaguely defined
political offenses.” Iranian officials, “enraged by” Trump Administration’s
actions, “have been pressing Britain and other European nations to
compensate for the American pullout from the [nuclear] accord.” On
Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “said on his
website that he was ready to abandon the accord ‘if it fails to fulfill our
national interests.’”

*USA Today: Some Iranian Women Making Strides To Ease Sexist
Restrictions. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=039-c46&t=c>
(8/29, Hjelmgaard) reports that “millions” of Islamic women in Iran
“grudgingly accept” that they must follow strict rules on how to live.
However Iranians “have become adept at circumventing some of the
restrictions on women, partly because the rules are fundamentally vague and
open to interpretation, partly because the government does, in some
instances, appear to tolerate dissent, and partly because some Iranians are
willing to risk incarceration for social justice or for their own
pleasure.” And while the country ranked “near the bottom (140 out of 144
countries) in the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender report,” women
activists are making strides to enact change. For example, the country has
17 female lawmakers in the 290-member parliament, “the largest number since
the 1979 revolution,” and many other Iranian women “head private
businesses.”
Palestinian Leaders: Democratic Midterms Win Would Block Trump Mideast
Policies.

The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=03a-915&t=c>
(8/29, Kredo) reports that Arabic language comments by Muhammad Shtaya, a
member of the Fatah government’s Central Committee, said that Palestinian
leaders believe that Democrats taking control of the House will result in
“a total paralysis of the Trump administration, as he will not be able to
pass any bills in Congress.” The Free Beacon adds, “Shtaya’s remarks
indicate the Palestinian government is feeling the pressure following the
Trump administration’s decision to cut some $200 million in aid to the
Palestinians as part of an effort to tighten the noose on its terrorism
funding against Israel.” The Free Beacon interprets Shtaya’s remarks as
indicating that “Palestinian leaders are betting their future on President
Donald Trump being impeached by Democrats.”
US Navy Intercepts Weapons Cache On Ship In Gulf Of Aden.

Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=03b-1f4&t=c>
(8/29) reported that a senior US defense official is confirming that the
sailors from the USS Jason Dunham intercepted a “large cache of weapons,
including hundreds of AK-47s, on a ship in the Gulf of Aden.” US officials
“are not ready to say where that shipment came from.”
Seven Dead In Iraqi Suicide Car Bombing.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=03c-446&t=c>
(8/29, Abdul-Zahra) reports Maj. Gen Qasem al-Dulaimi said that four
security forces personnel and three civilians died in a suicide car bombing
on a joint security checkpoint managed by the Iraqi army and the Popular
Mobilization Forces at the town of al-Qaim, about 19 miles from the Syrian
border. Al-Dulaimi blamed the attack on IS, which “claimed responsibility”
for it through its Aamaq news agency.
Qatar Spent $16.3M Lobbying US Last Year, Targeted People Close To Trump.

In a nearly 2,500-word front-page article, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=03d-565&t=c>
(8/29, A1, Bykowicz) reports that Qatar targeted a list of 250 people it
identified as influential with President Trump. As the government sought to
improve relations with the Administration, it launched an unconventional
plan to target the President, and according to federal records spent $16.3
million last year on lobbying in the US, up from $4.2 million the year
before.
Domestic Policy
Trump Announces McGahn Will Depart White House In The Fall.

President Trump’s announcement on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=03e-260&t=c>
yesterday morning that White House counsel Don McGahn will depart in the
fall is garnering significant media attention, including a report by
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=03f-c79&t=c>
suggesting McGahn was caught off-guard. Trump wrote, “White House Counsel
Don McGahn will be leaving his position in the fall, shortly after the
confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States
Supreme Court. I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate
his service!”

To the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=040-bc5&t=c>
(8/29, Thomas, Miller), McGahn’s departure “will create a vacancy in an
office that has been at a center of conflict over special counsel Robert
Mueller’s Russia investigation.” The AP also says McGahn had been expected
to depart “as the White House enters the fall elections,” the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=041-4cd&t=c>
(8/29, Barnes) reports Trump’s announcement “came as a surprise, including
to McGahn,” who “was not aware that Trump planned to send the tweet before
it posted, according to a person close to McGahn who was not authorized to
speak publicly.” The source said McGahn “was surprised,” but he reportedly
“saw Trump’s tweet as abrupt but typical of how the president acts — and it
did not make him angry.” Citing the Post, the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=042-b34&t=c>
(8/29, Correll) too says McGahn was surprised, but adds that Trump has
announced “departures of people in his administration in the past,” citing
former Secretary of State Tillerson.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=043-b82&t=c>
(8/29, story 2, 2:20, Reid) reported the “departure has been rumored for
months, but McGahn was surprised by the President’s tweet because the two
men had not directly discussed it.” CBS added that “the relationship
between the President and his top lawyer has been rocky,” and “McGahn
threatened to resign in June 2017 over stress and frustration with the
President.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=044-5fc&t=c>
(8/29, story 3, 1:40, Williams) also said “it’s been an open secret
that...McGahn planned to step down after the Senate votes on...Kavanaugh,”
and reported that” a White House official says McGahn did not know
this...tweet was coming but was not angry about it.” ABC World News
Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=045-ae8&t=c>
(8/29, story 5, 0:20, Muir) noted the news follow “reports McGahn has been
cooperating extensively with Robert Mueller’s investigation.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=046-72b&t=c>
(8/29, Rampton, Mason) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
told reporters Trump has not selected a replacement for McGahn, but “there
has been speculation the job would go to Emmett Flood.” According to Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=047-d0d&t=c>
(8/29, Swan, Allen), “McGahn has told a confidant he would like his
successor to be Emmet Flood, a Clinton administration alumnus who joined
the White House in May to deal with the Russia probe.” Flood, Axios notes,
“also served for two years during George W. Bush’s second term as his top
lawyer handling congressional investigators.” Three senior Administration
officials told Axios “they hope Flood is the pick.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=048-f22&t=c>
(8/29, Bender) likewise says McGahn has been grooming Flood to take over,
according to sources, and the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=049-bf8&t=c>
(8/29, Fordham) reports McGahn “may switch gears to work on Trump’s
re-election efforts.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=04a-bb8&t=c>
(8/29, Schmidt, Haberman, Davis) says that “in addition to stripping the
White House of another top official,” McGahn’s departure “may fuel concerns
about how the president has interacted with witnesses and potential
witnesses in the Russia inquiry.” According to the Times, “the relationship
between the president and Mr. McGahn has been rocky since he failed to stop
the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, from recusing himself a year ago from
the Justice Department investigation into Russian interference in the 2016
campaign.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=04b-1b6&t=c>
(8/29, Hayes) reports the announcement of McGahn’s departure “comes less
than two weeks after his cooperation with special counselor Mueller was
publicized. McGahn sat down with Mueller’s team for interviews that spanned
about 30 hours in total, a person familiar with McGahn’s contact with the
special counsel’s office told USA TODAY.” Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=04c-e89&t=c>
(8/29, Pavlich) also cites McGahn’s recent interview with Mueller, and
Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=04d-996&t=c>
(8/29, Pettypiece, Talev) reports that “McGahn repeatedly butted heads with
Trump,” and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=04e-f5a&t=c>
(8/29, Chalfant) that “there have been signs of tumult between McGahn and
Trump for several months.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=04f-873&t=c>
(8/29, Muñoz, Boyer), however, says McGahn “appears to be leaving the White
House on good terms.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=050-fd3&t=c>
(8/29, Hayes), the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=051-edb&t=c>
(8/29, Fredericks), Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=052-a34&t=c>
(8/29, Lockie) and CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=053-49f&t=c>
(8/29, Bennett), among other news outlets, also report the story.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=054-19a&t=c>
(8/29, Morin) reports that “while McGahn had long been expected to depart
sometime after [Brett] Kavanaugh’s likely confirmation” to the Supreme
Court, “the news still drew a sharp reaction from Sen. Chuck Grassley,” who
tweeted, “@realDonaldTrump I hope it’s not true McGahn is leaving
WhiteHouse Counsel. U can’t let that happen.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=055-1c8&t=c>
(8/29, Correll) reports a “spokesperson for Grassley said that the
announcement came as a surprise, and noted that McGahn worked well with the
Senate Judiciary Committee.”

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=056-110&t=c>
(8/29, story 3, 0:50, Dickerson) showed Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) saying
of McGahn, “I think he did a terrific job, heroic job at times, quite
frankly. If I were the President, I would pick somebody who understood the
legislative branch, because if the Democrats take over the House then he’s
going to be subpoenaed to death and investigated to death.”

*Dershowitz: If Trump Were Afraid Of McGahn Turning On Him, He
Would Keep Him In White House. *Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said
on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=057-d6a&t=c>
(8/29), “I think there are risks on all sides. There is a risk to keeping
him as White House Counsel. Hard to imagine somebody being a witness
against the President and White House Counsel at the same time. That does
raise the specter of the conflict of interest of the same kind that I’ve
raised over and over again concerning Rod Rosenstein. Can he be a witness
and can he be conducting the investigation? But as the Godfather said, keep
your enemies close to you. If they were afraid that McGahn would be turning
against the President, the best guarantee would be to keep him close, not
to let him go.”

*Trump “Venting” About Sessions To GOP Senators. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=058-e5b&t=c>
(8/29, Johnson, Schor) reports that GOP Senators willingness “to turn on
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is the result of a furious lobbying campaign
from President Donald Trump,” who, according to a “GOP Senate aide,” has
“been venting his anger at Sessions” to “any senator who will listen.”
Politico says “two Capitol Hill aides” said Trump “raised the prospect of
firing Sessions last week in a phone conversation with” Sen. Lindsey Graham
(R-SC) and “Graham pressed the president to hold off until after the
midterm elections.” Politico also cites “a GOP chief of staff” who said
that Trump “has also complained loudly about Sessions to several Republican
senators.”

*Conway Doesn’t Say Whether Trump Has Confidence In Sessions. *
WSFA-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=059-dff&t=c>
Montgomery, AL (8/29, 12:06 p.m. CDT) reported that Presidential counselor
Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday “wouldn’t say if Trump still has confidence
in Sessions.” Reporter: “How are we feeling about Mr. Sessions this
morning?” Conway: “He’s great. I talked to the attorney general yesterday
actually. he’s working very hard on ms-13 gangs, the opioid crisis, on
immigration. They’ve got this great new initiative you probably haven’t
read about or at least covered called ‘S.O.S. – Synthetic Opioid Surge.”
Reporter: “does that mean he still has the President’s confidence?” Conway:
“He’s the Attorney General. ... They’re doing great work over at the DOJ.”

*Schiff: Trump Sees AG As His Lawyer. *Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA),
ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN’s
Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=05a-2e8&t=c>
(8/29), “The only difference [Trump] has with Jeff Sessions is Jeff
Sessions listened to the ethics lawyer of the Justice Department and
recused himself. Jeff Sessions won’t unrecuse himself and fire Mueller.
Jeff Sessions won’t falsely persecute, investigate Trump’s political
rivals. Donald Trump thinks that the Attorney General is basically his
lawyer, not the lawyer for the Justice Department, not the lawyer for the
American people but basically the guy that has his back. So it’s that
fundamental motive. Again, this is a recurrent issue with the Trump
Administration. You may have the authority to fire the Attorney General or
the director of the FBI or revoke peoples security clearances. That doesn’t
mean you have the authority to do any of those things if you are doing it
for a corrupt purpose.”
Trump Slams CNN Over Seemingly Debunked Report With Davis As Source.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=05b-4f1&t=c>
(8/29, Murray) reports President Trump on Wednesday “took aim” at CNN over
a report last month that “relied on anonymous sources.” In a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=05c-3fc&t=c>
“slamming all outlets that rely on such sources” and calling reports based
on them “fiction made up by the Fake News reporters,” Trump “made specific
reference” to the CNN report, which was headlined, “Cohen claims Trump knew
in advance of 2016 Trump Tower meeting.” Trump wrote, “The fact is that
many anonymous sources don’t even exist. They are fiction made up by the
Fake News reporters. ... Look at the lie that Fake CNN is now in. They got
caught red handed! Enemy of the People!” In a second tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=05d-178&t=c>,
Trump wrote, “When you see ‘anonymous source,’ stop reading the story, it
is fiction!” In another tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=05e-f88&t=c>,
Trump wrote, “‘Lanny Davis admits being anonymous source in CNN Report.’
@BretBaier Oh well, so much for CNN saying it wasn’t Lanny. No wonder their
ratings are so low, it’s FAKE NEWS!”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=05f-875&t=c>
(8/29, Lim) says CNN “sprang to the defense of Carl Bernstein Wednesday
after President Trump savaged him on Twitter, escalating a row over the
veteran journalist’s role” in the report. In what the Examiner describes as
a “sharp rebuke,” CNN tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=060-a0a&t=c>,
“Make no mistake, Mr. President, CNN does not lie. We report the news. And
we report when people in power tell lies. CNN stands by our reporting and
our reporters. There may be many fools in this story but @carlbernstein is
not one of them.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=061-bb6&t=c>
(8/29, Muñoz) says CNN “cited anonymous sources in a report that claimed
Mr. Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen knew the president was
aware and approved of the infamous Trump Tower meeting from June 2016.” The
story’s legitimacy “was thrown into question when Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny
Davis, revealed himself to be one of those sources and walked back the
claim in interviews with The Associated Press and The Washington Post.” The
Times also points out that the Administration “also uses anonymous sources.
The White House regularly conducts briefings for reporters on the condition
of anonymity,” and Trump “himself appeared to promote a Daily Caller report
Tuesday morning that relied on unnamed officials to claim that Chinese
hackers gained access to Hillary Clinton’s email server while she served as
secretary of state.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=062-7c8&t=c>
(8/28, Farhi) reports that a CNN spokeswoman said Bernstein and his two
co-writers had “more than one source” and CNN is “confident in our
reporting of it.” The Post says CNN’s argument that the story is accurate
“appears to turn on a subtle point: The network’s reporters faithfully
reported what their sources, including Davis, told them at the time, making
the story accurate in the moment.” While Davis has now changed his story,
“another source, who remains unnamed, has stood firm, enabling CNN to stand
behind its reporting.” Later in the day, Trump took a shot at Bernstein,
tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=063-385&t=c>,
“CNN is being torn apart from within based on their being caught in a major
lie and refusing to admit the mistake. Sloppy @carlbernstein, a man who
lives in the past and thinks like a degenerate fool, making up story after
story, is being laughed at all over the country! Fake News”

Presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News’
Hannity[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=064-3ec&t=c>
(8/29), “The story has been discredited. Lanny Davis has admitted he made a
mistake and he didn’t have the information. But remember, what Davis said
his client would tell Mueller is central to the entire claim of collusion,
which the President says is phony. It’s so central to the claim of
collusion, that without that, then that bombshell report is just a bomb.
This goes directly to the problem we have, which is trust immediately,
tweet incessantly, verify never so long as it’s negative, negative,
negative. Why won’t CNN say it was based on false reporting, we retract it,
we apologize?”

*In Tweets Today, Trump Continues To Rail Against CNN, Media’s
“Hatred & Agenda.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=065-703&t=c>
this morning, “The hatred and extreme bias of me by @CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=066-2ea&t=c>
has clouded their thinking and made them unable to function. But actually,
as I have always said, this has been going on for a long time. Little Jeff
Z has done a terrible job, his ratings suck, & AT&T should fire him to save
credibility!” Trump added in a second tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=067-0f2&t=c>,”What’s
going on at @CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=068-0d2&t=c>
is happening, to different degrees, at other networks – with @NBCNews
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=069-930&t=c>
being the worst. The good news is that Andy Lack(y) is about to be fired(?)
for incompetence, and much worse. When Lester Holt got caught fudging my
tape on Russia, they were hurt badly!” In a third tweet
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on the topic, Trump said,”I just cannot state strongly enough how totally
dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only
have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about
me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of
the People!”

*Critic: Accuracy Takes A Back Seat To CNN’s Anti-Trump Agenda. *In
an online piece for Fox News
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(8/29, Flood), Fox News media reporter Brian Flood cites “a cross-section
of media pros” who “say CNN is facing a credibility crisis for standing by”
the report. According to Flood some “observers” feel CNN’s handling of the
matter “proves the network cares more about pushing anti-Trump agenda than
being right.” DePauw University professor and media analyst Jeffrey McCall
said that the situation “demonstrates exactly why so many news consumers
give the media low credibility scores in this era.” Said McCall, “CNN went
out on a limb in the first place by using Lanny Davis as a source and the
story eventually collapsed.” McCall added, “CNN’s refusal to sort this
story out in front of the public lends support to the right-leaning critics
who suggest CNN is more about pushing an anti-Trump agenda than getting
stories to be factually correct.”

*Networks Won’t Say If They’ll continue To Put Davis On Air. *
Politico
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(8/29, Schwartz) reports that following Davis’ admission “to misleading
reporters,” it “reached out to CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and NBC News, ABC News
and CBS News, but none would say whether they would continue to put Davis
on air, nor would they articulate the scenarios in which they think it
would be justified.”

*Trump Blasts Ohr, Asks “How The Hell” He Still Works At DOJ.
*President
Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Justice Department official Bruce Ohr,
questioning how he is still employed at DOJ. The Washington Post
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(8/29, Hamburger) says Trump “escalated his criticism” of Ohr, while
Politico
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(8/29, Staff) reports Trump on Wednesday “launched another pointed attack”
against Ohr, asking on Twitter
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“how the hell” he still has a job at Justice. Trump tweeted, “How the hell
is Bruce Ohr still employed at the Justice Department? Disgraceful! Witch
Hunt!” Politico notes that tweet “came one day after Ohr appeared behind
closed doors with congressional investigators.” Sean Hannity said on Fox
News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=070-ceb&t=c>
(8/29), “Believe it or not, Bruce Ohr, although twice demoted, he is still
working for the DOJ. Jeff Sessions, you are in charge. Where are you?”
The Washington
Times
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(8/29, Mordock) says the tweet marks “the second time in two weeks” Trump
has lashed out at Ohr. On Aug. 17, “the president said he was considering
removing the 27-year Justice Department veteran’s security clearance,”
saying, “I think Bruce Ohr is a disgrace. ... I suspect I’ll be taking it
away very quickly. For him to be in the Justice Department and doing what
he did, that is a disgrace.”

In a pair of tweets Wednesday night, Trump highlighted comments by
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
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(8/29). Trump wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=073-569&t=c>,
“‘Ohr told the FBI it (the Fake Dossier) wasn’t true, it was a lie and the
FBI was determined to use it anyway to damage Trump and to perpetrate a
fraud on the court to spy on the Trump campaign. This is a fraud on the
court. The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court is in...[continuing tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=074-b2f&t=c>]...charge
of the FISA court. He should direct the Presiding Judge, Rosemary Collier,
to hold a hearing, haul all of these people from the DOJ & FBI in there, &
if she finds there were crimes committed, and there were, there should be a
criminal referral by her....’ @GreggJarrett”

*Ratcliffe: Ohr Named “Half A Dozen” FBI, DOJ Officials Who Knew Of
His Ties To Fusion GPS. *The Washington Examiner
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(8/29, Chaitin) reports Ohr provided lawmakers Tuesday with “a list of half
a dozen” senior FBI and DOJ officials who knew about his interactions with
people tied to the Steele dossier, according to Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX).
While he “didn’t identify the officials Ohr named,” Ratcliffe told Fox
News’[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
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Sean Hannity Tuesday night “that he has heard Hannity mention some of them
on his program in the past.” The Republican congressman added that “at
least one of these officials signed off on a Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act warrant application seeking the authority to spy on
onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.”

*Issa: Mueller Not Interested In Looking At Clinton Campaign. *Rep.
Darrell Issa (R-CA), a member of the House Oversight Committee, discussed
Tuesday’s closed-door testimony by Ohr on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
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(8/29). Issa said, “We have confirmed that Bruce Ohr was a willing and
constant conduit between Fusion GPS, paid for by the Clinton campaign, and
the FBI. ... He knew he was delivering not hearsay, but double hearsay,
that would never stand up in court and he admitted that, that he was
providing as fact that which was and turns out to be fiction.” Asked why
special counsel Robert Mueller has not interviewed him, Issa said, “Because
I don’t think Robert Mueller wants to go that direction. He wants to go
from the Trump campaign, assuming that the FISA warrants were valid,
forward to try to get Trump, rather than going back and try to get Hillary
and the DNC.”

*GOP Lawmakers: Ohr Should Be Fired After Public Testimony.
*The Washington
Examiner
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(8/29, Donachie) reports that while House Republicans investigating Ohr
“would like to see him fired...aides close to the lawmakers’ thinking say
they are split as to whether President Trump should take action before Ohr
testifies publicly.” the Examiner cites “three GOP House aides” who said
Wednesday that Ohr “should undoubtedly be fired, but that his removal from
the DOJ before he testifies publicly could hurt lawmakers’ chances of
obtaining relevant information from him.” Said one aide, “From the
information we’ve seen, there’s no question Bruce Ohr deserves to be fired.
... And yet at the same time, getting relevant information from him would
be complicated if he was at the DOJ, yes.”

*Steele Worked For Russian Oligarch. *Citing “a new report
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by John Solomon, an opinion contributor to The Hill, The Daily Caller
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(8/29, Ross) reports that Trump dossier author Christopher Steele “worked
as a contractor for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and facilitated a
meeting between the billionaire” and Ohr in September 2015. Deripaska “is
said to be a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

*Conway: “Amazing That Trump Won Under The Circumstances Of This
Rigged System.” *Asked about Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, White
House counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018083001biden&r=email-c72c&l=07b-7fc&t=c>
(8/29), “Who is Bruce Ohr and why is he testifying? Let’s do a primer for
everyone. There’s an investigation into the Trump campaign and so-called
collusion...but where is the investigation on the other side? ... Who is
Bruce Ohr? He is someone who in text messages and emails was communicating
directly with the folks involved in the [Steele] dossier. His wife worked
for the research firm Fusion GPS that was feeding shoddy research into the
dossier, and he was communicating directly with Christopher Steele.” Conway
added, “It’s amazing that he won under the circumstances of this rigged
system. People at the highest echelons of the FBI and DOJ trying to deny
him the election. And once he won, during transition, trying to deny him a
smooth transition in our Democratic process into his presidency.”

*Advisers Worry Trump Team Unprepared For Onslaught If Democrats
Win House. *The Washington Post
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(8/29, A1, Parker) reports on its front page that there is growing concern
among President Trump’s advisers and allies that “he has neither the staff
nor the strategy to protect himself from a possible Dem