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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Monday, October 1, 2018 7:51 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday,
October 1, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=000-be3&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=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=001-8da&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Monday, October 1, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden Says Republicans Threaten America’s “Core Values.” <#S1>

• NYTimes: Biden Must Address Thomas Hearings. <#S2>

• WPost: 2020 Presidential Campaign Beginning. <#S3>

• Biden Opens Univ. Of Delaware Conference On Middle Class. <#S4>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• As Trump Blasts Democrats, White House Denies Efforts To Limit Kavanaugh
Probe. <#S5>

• Conway Says She Is Victim Of Sexual Assault. <#S6>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Canada Agrees To Join Trade Accord With US, Mexico. <#S7>

• Branstad Accuses China Of “Bullying” With “Propaganda Ads.” <#S8>

• Iranian FM Discusses Growing Tensions With US. <#S9>

• WPost: Administration Eyes Iranian Retreat In Syria Strategy Shift. <#S10>

• Iraqi Kurds Vote In Parliamentary Elections. <#S11>

• Poroshenko Discusses Russian Efforts In Ukraine. <#S12>

• Opponent Of US Military Presence Wins Okinawa Gubernatorial Election.
<#S13>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• White House: Trump Meeting With Rosenstein May Be Delayed Again. <#S14>

• McAleenan Finds No Quick Solutions To Migration Surge In Central America
Visit. <#S15>

• Administration Completes Proposal To Weaken Mercury Regulation. <#S16>

• More Companies Providing Employees With Primary Healthcare. <#S17>

• Brown Signs Bill Requiring California Corporate Boards To Include Women.
<#S18>

• Las Vegas Strip To Go Dark To Mark Anniversary Of Mass Shooting. <#S19>

• Trump Tweets Praise For West’s SNL Appearance. <#S20>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• FDA Approves First Next-Generation Sequencing Test To Detect MRD. <#S21>

• Sloan Kettering Revises Policies Following VP’s Conflict Of Interest
Scandal. <#S22>

• At German Cancer Conference, 82% Of Speakers Will Be Women. <#S23>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S24>

• Washington Post. <#S25>
Biden in the News
Biden Says Republicans Threaten America’s “Core Values.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=002-add&t=c>
(9/30, Birnbaum) reports on Sunday in Rhode Island, former Vice President
Joe Biden said in a speech to the Rhode Island Democratic Party, “Folks,
this election is bigger than politics.” He added, “That’s not hyperbole.
The core values that built this nation are at risk – that invisible moral
fabric that holds up a society, a democracy, is being shredded.” Biden also
told his audience that “he has campaigned for 62 House and Senate
candidates this election cycle.” He also accused Republicans on the Senate
Judiciary Committee of “a degree of invective, blind rage and brute
partisanship that threatens not only the Senate and the Supreme Court – it
threatens the basic faith the American people have in our institutions.”
The Providence (RI) Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=003-fa2&t=c>
(9/30, Amaral) reports Biden told his fellow Democrats, “Stand up and take
this country back.” Biden added, “Let’s take it back here. I’ve had enough
and you’ve had enough.” The Journal adds that Biden’s speech “sounded not
unlike a stump speech of his own.”

WPRI-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=004-490&t=c>
Providence, RI (9/30, Gomersall) reported Biden “headlined a rally at the
Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence at 4:30 p.m.” Among those
present were, Gov. Gina Raimondo, U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon
Whitehouse, and U.S. Reps. Jim Langevin and David Cicilline. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=005-a81&t=c>
(9/30) reports Biden “is praising senators for delaying further action on
Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination.” WLNE-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=006-c0d&t=c>
Providence, RI (10/1, Turco) and WJAR-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=007-024&t=c>
Providence, RI (9/30) also report on the speech.

*Biden: Judiciary Committee Republicans Threaten Faith In US
Institutions. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=008-b6e&t=c>
(9/29, Axelrod) reports that on Friday, Biden “issued a blistering rebuke”
of the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for their
handling of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. He said, “What we
witnessed yesterday from the Republican Judiciary Committee members was a
degree of invective, blind rage and brute partisanship that threatens not
only the Senate and the Supreme Court — it threatens the basic faith in
fairness and justice that binds this country together.” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=009-948&t=c>
(9/28, Yilek) also reported on Biden’s statement.
NYTimes: Biden Must Address Thomas Hearings.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=00a-0dd&t=c>
(10/1, Burns, Martin) reports former Vice President Joe Biden charged
Republicans with “blind rage and brute partisanship,” and he “accused them
of flouting norms he enforced as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee
in the 1990s.” The Times adds that the Thomas confirmation hearings “have
long been a source of discomfort with Mr. Biden among Democrats who
remember the process.” The Times also reports that “some of Mr. Biden’s
friends say he will have to show remorse for the Hill-Thomas hearings” to
pursue the presidential nomination. Former Sen. Barbara Boxer said, “If he
handles it right, it could be a plus; if he handles it wrong, it’ll be a
minus.” Yet, according to the Times, Biden advisers said “there was no
current plan for confronting his handling of the Thomas nomination more
exhaustively.” Still, the Times also says that Biden “is unmatched among
national Democrats in his ability to traverse the electoral map.”
WPost: 2020 Presidential Campaign Beginning.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=00b-955&t=c>
(9/30, Weigel) reports this past weekend “might be viewed as the first
official weekend of the 2020 presidential campaign” mentioning statements
by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D), attorney Michael Avenatti, and Sen. Jeff
Flake (R), who “is slated to make his second visit to the
first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire on Monday.” The Post
adds, “More than two dozen Democrats are considered prospective
presidential candidates,” adding Sens. Kamala D. Harris (D) and Cory Booker
(D) to its list, “as well as former vice president Joe Biden, former
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and entrepreneur Mark Cuban.” The Post
says that Biden “has said he will decide on a 2020 run by January,” and
that of the others, Warren “edged nearer to declaring a bid” saying she
would “take a hard look” at running. The Post says that Trump, speaking in
West Virginia, criticized Warren, “crazy” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), and
Booker, who, he said, “ran Newark, New Jersey, into the ground.”

*Graham Says Biden Would Be “Hard To Beat.” *McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=00c-b4f&t=c>
(9/28, Duncan) reports that on Friday, in comments in the Senate Judiciary
Committee meeting, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R) said of former Vice President
Joe Biden, “If he runs for president, he’ll be hard to beat.”
Biden Opens Univ. Of Delaware Conference On Middle Class.

WHYY-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=00d-c97&t=c>
Philadelphia (9/28, Eichmann) reports that on Friday, former Vice President
Joe Biden opened a conference at the University of Delaware’s Biden
Institute with a “challenge” to “revitalize the middle class.” Biden said,
“I believe the problem is urgent. There’s families out there with two
working parents who still can’t make a mortgage payment … It’s reality,
these folks can’t work any harder.” Biden added, “Our aspirational
character as Americans is all at stake. The very thing that make us who we
are as a nation, that separates us from every other nation in the world.”
WDEL-AM
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=00e-459&t=c>
Wilmington, DE (9/28, Fowser) reports Biden “laid out a challenge Friday at
the University of Delaware--make revitalization of the middle class a
priority in the United States.” Biden added that there were many causes
including “bad policies, bad politics, failure to adapt quickly to global
realities, technological progress, small thinking, and failures of
imagination.” Philly (PA)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=00f-f35&t=c>
(9/28) also reports on Biden’s address.
Leading the News
As Trump Blasts Democrats, White House Denies Efforts To Limit Kavanaugh
Probe.

As President Trump tweeted Sunday that Democrats are attempting to expand
“the ‘time’ and ‘scope’” of the FBI investigation into sexual assault
allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Administration
representatives denied that the White House is in any way attempting to
limit that inquiry. FBI agents reportedly spoke with Kavanaugh accuser
Deborah Ramirez on Sunday, but attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford and
Julie Swetnick said they have yet to be contacted.

Elaine Quijano said on the CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=010-848&t=c>
(9/30, lead story, 2:15), “President Trump said this weekend he expects the
FBI’s reopened background check...to be wrapped up this week. On Twitter
today, the President dismissed concerns by Senate Democrats who questioned
whether that’s enough time to investigate multiple allegations of sexual
assault and misconduct.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=011-05b&t=c>
(9/30, Thompson) reports, “Trump claimed Sunday that it is clear now that
Democrats will never be happy” with the nomination, “and only plan to
obstruct it as long as they can.” Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=012-837&t=c>,
“Wow! Just starting to hear the Democrats, who are only thinking Obstruct
and Delay, are starting to put out the word that the ‘time’ and ‘scope’ of
FBI looking into Judge Kavanaugh and witnesses is not enough. Hello! For
them, it will never be enough – stay tuned and watch!” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=013-19c&t=c>
(9/30, Samuels) also reports on Trump’s tweet, while on ABC World News
Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=014-056&t=c>
(9/30, story 2, 2:30, Llamas), Tara Palmeri recounted Trump’s words about
Kavanaugh at a Saturday rally in West Virginia.

On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=015-cd8&t=c>
(9/30, lead story, 3:15, Snow), Kelly O’Donnell reported, “With a Friday
deadline looming over the FBI’s relaunched background check” on Kavanaugh,
“today the President’s team claimed to be keeping its distance.” White
House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders: “The White House isn’t intervening.
We’re not micromanaging this process.” O’Donnell: “Careful to emphasize the
FBI’s work on Kavanaugh is not a criminal probe.” Kellyanne Conway: “It’s
not meant to be a fishing expedition. The FBI is not tasked with doing that
here.” O’Donnell: “Officials tell NBC News the FBI has not received new
direction today that would alter the original scope of the background
check, which is currently focused on only two allegations made against
Kavanaugh.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=016-84a&t=c>
(9/30, Superville, Balsamo) reports that Sanders “said White House counsel
Don McGahn, who is shepherding Kavanaugh’s nomination, ‘has allowed the
Senate to dictate what these terms look like, and what the scope of the
investigation is.’” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=017-3d9&t=c>
(9/30, King) reports that McGahn, “a friend of Kavanaugh’s, has shepherded
him through the Senate confirmation process for the White House and has
been coordinating” with Senate Majority Leader McConnell.

Conway said on CNN’s State Of The Union[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=018-eca&t=c>
(9/30) that the investigation “will be limited in scope. It’s meant to last
for one week, I believe, beginning last Friday. It’s not meant to be a
fishing expedition. The FBI is not tasked with doing that here.” Sanders
said on Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=019-2d4&t=c>
(9/30) that Ford’s “testimony was compelling, but there was no fact-based
information that supported the accusation. Equally compelling, if not more
so, was Brett Kavanaugh. ... I have a daughter and I have two sons and I
think it’s a very, very dangerous place in a very dangerous road for
America to go down to simply take an accusation and make it facts. We have
to look at the information provided based on what we know.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=01a-419&t=c>
(9/30, Hayes) summarizes the remarks by Conway and Sanders. Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=01b-ca0&t=c>
(9/30, Kapur, Brody, Levin), the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=01c-f49&t=c>
(9/30, Sherfinski), Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=01d-1d9&t=c>
(9/30, Klimas), and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=01e-eb6&t=c>
(9/30, Samuels) also cover the White House assertions.

Nevertheless, Democrats expressed concern that the White House may
be limiting the inquiry. The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=01f-403&t=c>
(9/30, Gstalter) reports that Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) “is calling for the White House and the FBI to
release the written directive President Trump sent launching the
investigation.” In a letter to McGahn and FBI Director Wray on Sunday,
Feinstein wrote, “Given the seriousness of the allegations before the
Senate, I am writing to request that you provide the Senate Judiciary
Committee with a copy of the written directive by the White House to the
FBI.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=020-350&t=c>
(9/30, Klimas) reports that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) “said Sunday that she is
‘very concerned’ the White House will limit the scope of the FBI
investigation.” On CBS’ Face The Nation[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=021-de3&t=c>
(9/30), Klobuchar said, “I think it’s really important that the FBI get to
the bottom of the evidence here. Because what happened in that hearing was
that a number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said that
they respected Dr. Ford. That they thought she had dignity, that they found
her story compelling. You don’t respect her if you don’t try to figure out
what actually happened.” Regarding Kavanaugh, Klobuchar said on CNN’s State
Of The Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=022-ad3&t=c>
(9/30), “I was stunned about how he acted at [the Thursday] hearing. This
is basically a job interview for the highest court of the land. ... I was
actually trying to get at the truth, and so that’s why I was stunned by how
he answered it.”

Congressional correspondent Phil Mattingly said on CNN’s Inside
Politics[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=023-29b&t=c>
(9/30), “This is the exact opposite of what they wanted to do, what the
President wanted to do, what [McConnell] wanted to do. They were left with
no choice and that was simply just a math equation: They didn’t have the
votes.” Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=024-716&t=c>
(9/30), “Some of the greatest concerns I heard from folks inside the White
House last week was that as you prolong this investigation for another
week, they’re afraid new women will come forward – new accusations, new
lawyers, new accounts – if you don’t have a vote for 10, 15 days. I think
for some people I’ve talked to, there’s less fear about what this FBI
investigation might show, and more fear about dragging this out.”

E.J. Dionne writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=025-47d&t=c>
(9/30) column, “The probe is happening” because Sens. Jeff Flake (R) and
Lisa Murkowski (R) “grasped how hypocritical it would be for their party to
claim to take Ford’s heartfelt and credible testimony seriously and then
barrel to a confirmation anyway. But the FBI may be blocked from doing its
job properly.”

*FBI Agents Reportedly Have Spoken With Ramirez. *Tom Llamas opened ABC
World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=026-b1e&t=c>
(9/30, lead story, 4:05) Sunday evening by reporting that authorities “are
now contacting possible witnesses as they probe allegations” against
Kavanaugh. Investigators interviewed Ramirez, “a Yale classmate who has
accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself at a party. ... Also on the list:
Mark Judge, allegedly the third person in the room during the alleged
assault of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. ... Kavanaugh denies all allegations.
But what once looked like a clear path to the Supreme Court is for now on
hold.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=027-96e&t=c>
(9/30) reports that according to “a person familiar with the matter,” in an
interview with FBI agents, Ramirez “detailed her allegation that Kavanaugh
exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s.” The person said
Ramirez “also provided the agents with names of others who she said could
corroborate her account.” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=028-cad&t=c>
(9/30, De Vogue, Zeleny) reports on its website that Ford and her lawyers
“have not heard from the FBI, sources familiar with Ford’s legal team have
told CNN.”

*Avenatti Says Neither He Nor Swetnick Has Been Contacted.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=029-0aa&t=c>
(9/30, DeBonis, Dawsey) reports that the statements “followed reports that
federal investigators are pursuing allegations made by two women but not a
third, Julie Swetnick, who signed a sworn affidavit accusing Kavanaugh of
sexually aggressive behavior and being present at parties where gang rapes
occurred.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=02a-8c7&t=c>
(9/30, Volz, Nicholas) reports that Swetnick’s attorney Michael Avenatti
said Sunday that the FBI had not contacted him or his client. Avenatti
said, “With each passing hour that we are not contacted I’ve become more
convinced that this is a sham. It’s impossible to do a fair, legitimate and
thorough investigation without interviewing the individuals making the
allegations.” He also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=02b-004&t=c>,
“Still no word from the FBI. Ramirez was questioned despite never
submitting a sworn stmt. Ford was permitted to testify despite never
submitting a sworn stmt. My client submitted a sworn stmt and has security
clearances, & yet Trump will not allow her to be questioned or testify.”

*Yale Classmate Says Kavanaugh Mischaracterized His Drinking. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=02c-0c7&t=c>
(9/30, Shear, Pogrebin) reports that Chad Ludington, a Yale classmate of
Kavanaugh’s, “accused him on Sunday of a ‘blatant mischaracterization’ of
his drinking while in college, saying that he often saw Judge Kavanaugh
‘staggering from alcohol consumption.’” In a statement, Ludington, “who
said he frequently socialized” with Kavanaugh as a student, said Kavanaugh
“had been untruthful in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee when he
had denied any possibility that he had ever blacked out from
drinking.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=02d-46b&t=c>
(9/30, DeBonis, Dawsey) reports that Ludington “says he was deeply troubled
by Kavanaugh appearing to blatantly mischaracterize his drinking in Senate
testimony” and planned to take his concerns to the FBI.

Lynne Brookes, a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh, said on MSNBC’s
AM Joy[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=02e-d33&t=c>
(9/30), “I was at many, many parties with Brett,” and “there were many
times when I witnessed Brett being incoherently drunk. Having too many
beers in college is not a problem. The problem is when you mischaracterize
it and misrepresent yourself. The foundation of our judiciary system is
built on the truth. And if we have judges that are blurring the lines
between truth and lies, how are we as the American people supposed to trust
in our judges and judiciary system, much less the Supreme Court?”

*Senate Judiciary Committee Members Discuss Thursday Hearing. *The CBS
Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=02f-0db&t=c>
(9/30, story 2, 2:45) previewed Scott Pelley’s interview with six members
of the Senate Judiciary Committee that later aired on CBS’ 60 Minutes.
Elaine Quijano said the interviews included Sens. Chris Coons (D) and
Flake, who “worked out a last minute deal on Friday that forced President
Trump to reopen the FBI investigation into Kavanaugh.” Pelley asked the
senators what they thought of Kavanaugh’s “very emotional response, and
what it may or may not say about his judicial temperament, does this man
belong on the Supreme Court?” Flake: “Well, when he came, walked out, you
could see him open his binder and put his paper here, we knew that he was
eager to testify. And I have to say that when I heard him, I heard someone
who, I hope I would sound like if I had been unjustly accused. and to see
his family behind him, as Chris said. And it was – it was anger. But if I
were unjustly accused, that is how i would feel as well. And I, as it went
on, I think his interaction with some of the members was a little too
sharp.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=030-415&t=c>
(9/30, Lim) reports that Flake “acknowledges” that Kavanaugh’s “combative
approach to some questions posed to him by Democrats on the Senate
Judiciary Committee was not ideal.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=031-f0d&t=c>
(9/30, Gaudiano) reports, “In their first interview together since reaching
that remarkable compromise, the two senators described on ‘60 Minutes’
Sunday how they agreed on a limited, week-long FBI probe.” The two senators
“met in a tiny hallway outside the Senate meeting, and as other members of
the committee got involved in the discussions, the two squeezed into
‘literally a phone booth that we can barely fit in’ to continue discussions
with another senator, Coons said.” Coons told CBS’ 60 Minutes[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=032-414&t=c>
(9/30), “I was principally concerned about helping my friend listen to his
doubts and his conscience. ... I followed Jeff into the anteroom, and he
said very intently, ‘This is tearing our country apart.’ ... Eventually, we
literally had the whole committee crammed into this tiny little hallway.”

Flake said on CBS’ 60 Minutes[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=033-db1&t=c>
(9/30), “I don’t think anybody expected what happened on Friday to happen.
And I can’t say that I did either. I just knew that we couldn’t move
forward, that I couldn’t move forward without hitting the pause button.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=034-6e5&t=c>
(9/30, Kellr) reports that Flake also said “that there’s ‘not a chance’ he
would have called for an FBI investigation” if he was seeking reelection.
Flake said, “There’s no value to reaching across the aisle. There’s no
currency for that anymore. There’s no incentive.”

Other senators also spoke with Pelley. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D) told CBS’
60 Minutes[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=035-946&t=c>
(9/30), “One of the most astounding things that Judge Kavanaugh did was to
blame the Democrats for some kind of conspiracy that went on, that we had
been plotting all of this. Although, thank goodness that he acknowledged
that Dr. Ford was not a part of that conspiracy, that she had no political
motive.” Sen. John Kennedy (R) said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=036-345&t=c>
(9/30), “Nobody is going to ever figure out what happened. They’re not.
Something happened to her, and something very, very bad happened to her,
and I am very, very sorry. But they both said ‘100 percent.’ She said it
happened. Judge Kavanaugh said it didn’t, 100 percent, so what do you do?”

*Graham Defends Kavanaugh’s Emotional Testimony. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=037-f09&t=c>
(9/30, Forgey) reports that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), appearing on ABC’s
This Week, defended Kavanaugh’s “combative testimony.” Graham said, “The
temperament I saw was a man who was innocent – who was rightly offended by
being destroyed for a political purpose. ... This is not going to be the
future of the nomination process in the committee, where you accuse a guy
of being a gang rapist, an alcoholic, bumbling, stumbling sexual predator,
and you get upset when he forcefully fights back against liberal smears.”
Graham said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=038-090&t=c>
(9/30), “I’ve known Brett. He’s gone through six FBI investigations. ...
They tried to destroy his life. This is about keeping the seat open.”
The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=039-704&t=c>
(9/30, Lim) reports that Graham “vowed Sunday to launch a thorough inquiry
into Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to find out whether there
was any wrongdoing in how they managed” Ford’s allegation.

*Nadler: House Could Investigate Kavanaugh If He Is Confirmed.
*Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=03a-0d7&t=c>
(9/30, Woods) reports, “Democrats on the House and Senate judiciary panels
are questioning the scope of an FBI investigation into Supreme Court
nominee Brett Kavanaugh, saying a limited inquiry could taint his
appointment and open the door for future probes.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=03b-1bc&t=c>
(9/30, Sherfinski) reports that House Judiciary Committee ranking member
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D) “said the House would continue to investigate a
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh if members feel the Senate hasn’t
done a thorough job.” Nadler said on ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=03c-667&t=c>
(9/30), “We can’t have a justice on the Supreme Court for the next several
decades who will be deciding questions of liberty, life, death, all kinds
of things for the entire American people, who has been credibly accused of
sexual assaults, who has been credibly accused of various other things. ...
If he’s on the Supreme Court and the Senate hasn’t investigated, the House
will have to.”

*McCarthy Says Allegations Will Help GOP In November. *The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=03d-f6c&t=c>
(9/30, Nelson) reports House Majority Leader McCarthy said Sunday that the
“allegations against...Kavanaugh are making it more likely for Republican
candidates to win in November.” McCarthy told Fox News, “Prior to the
Kavanaugh hearing, the intensity level was really on the Democratic side.
More Democrats were wanting to go vote than Republicans. Republicans
thought there was not a need. But in the last week there has been a
fundamental shift. People are now becoming upset. Not just at how Justice
Kavanaugh was treated, but Dr. Ford – that the Democrats, knowing, had this
letter, held it, and then put her though this – you did not have to do
this.”

*Reuters/Ipsos Poll: Views On Allegations Break Along Party Lines. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=03e-0d9&t=c>
(9/30, Kahn) reports, “Four in 10 Americans believe sexual misconduct
allegations” against Kavanaugh, “while three in 10 do not and the rest do
not know, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that split largely along party
lines. ... About two-thirds of Democrats said they believed the allegations
and nearly two-thirds of Republicans said they did not.” The CBS Weekend
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=03f-994&t=c>
(9/30, story 9, 1:40, Quijano) samples some comments from Americans about
the allegations.
Conway Says She Is Victim Of Sexual Assault.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=040-a91&t=c>
(9/30, Zaveri) reports that Kellyanne Conway told CNN’s State Of The
Union[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=041-cd8&t=c>
(9/30) Sunday that she is a victim of sexual assault. She made the
revelation during an interview in which “she largely derided the ‘partisan
politics’” of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett
Kavanaugh on Thursday. Conway said, “I feel very empathetic, frankly, for
victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment and rape.” After a pause
she said, “I’m a victim of sexual assault. ... I don’t expect Judge
Kavanaugh or Jake Tapper or Jeff Flake or anybody to be held responsible
for that. You have to be responsible for your own conduct.” Asked about
working for Trump, “who himself has denied allegations of sexual
misconduct,” Conway said, “Don’t conflate that with this and certainly
don’t conflate that with what happened to me. ... Let’s not always bring
Trump into everything that happens in this universe. That’s mistake No. 1.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=042-604&t=c>
(9/30, Yen) reports that Conway “did not elaborate Sunday on her
experience, though she’s previously alluded to her own #MeToo moment.”
The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=043-d6a&t=c>
(9/30, Horton) calls it “notable” that Conway “made the revelation on CNN,
the network Trump has made perhaps his most frequent target of alleged
media bias and ‘fake news.’”

*Cotton: Feinstein’s Office Will Be Investigated Over Leaked Ford
Letter. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=044-1c4&t=c>
(9/30, Klimas) reports that Sen. Tom Cotton (R) told CBS’ Face The
Nation[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=045-1bd&t=c>
(9/30) that the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) will be investigated to
see if it was responsible for leaking a confidential letter from one of
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers. In addition, Cotton “said
lawyers recommended to Christine Blasey Ford by Democrats will face a
Washington, D.C., bar investigation for telling her that Senate Judiciary
Committee staffers would not travel to California to interview her about
her sexual-assault allegation.” Cotton said, “They have betrayed her. ...
She has been victimized by Democrats ... on a search-and-destroy mission
for Brett Kavanaugh.”

*Waters Denies Her Staff Published Personal Information About GOP
Senators. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=046-81e&t=c>
(9/30, Thebault) reports that Rep. Maxine Waters (D) denies accusations
that a member of her staff published personal information about Republican
senators on Wikipedia during Thursday’s hearing with Supreme Court nominee
Brett Kavanaugh and accuser Christine Blasey Ford. In a statement Saturday,
Waters said, “Lies, lies, and more despicable lies. I am utterly disgusted
by the spread of the completely false, absurd, and dangerous lies and
conspiracy theories that are being peddled by ultra-right wing pundits,
outlets, and websites.” According to the social media “accountability bot”
@CongressEdits, which “tracks edits to the online encyclopedia made from IP
addresses assigned to the U.S. Capitol,” the pages were “edited anonymously
from US House of Representatives.” Social media users “began circulating
images showing a string of numbers purportedly associated with a staffer
for Waters, a fierce Trump critic. Waters denied that association.”

Waters voiced a similar denial on Sunday, telling MSNBC’s AM Joy[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=047-3cb&t=c>
(9/30), “Already the capitol police and our internal expert have said
absolutely not, that the number that they have given certainly is not
connected with our office. It has no truth in it. And so it is just an
anonymous something that the right wing would like to try and indicate that
somehow my office has done something wrong. It has no credibility and prove
not to be true.”

*Grassley, Flake Assigned Capitol Police Protection Due To Threats.
*CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=048-53c&t=c>
(9/30, Tully-McManus) cites “multiple Capitol Police officers” who
confirmed Friday that “teams of uniformed officers were moving” with Senate
Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley and Sen. Jeff Flake (R) “due to threats
as well as crowd control issues.”

*Comey: Kavanaugh’s “Obvious Lies” About Yearbook Are Sign Of
“Bigger Lies” To Be Uncovered. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=049-ec8&t=c>
(9/30, Nelson) reports that former FBI Director James Comey wrote in an
op-ed
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=04a-4ee&t=c>
for the New York Times Sunday that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s
“obvious lies” about his high school yearbook suggest that “bigger lies”
may be uncovered. Arguing that FBI agents can discover the truth of Ford’s
allegations, Comey wrote, “Yes, the alleged incident occurred 36 years ago.
... But FBI agents know time has very little to do with memory. ... They
know every married person remembers the weather on their wedding day, no
matter how long ago. Significance drives memory. They also know that little
lies point to bigger lies. ... They know that obvious lies by the nominee
about the meaning of words in a yearbook are a flashing signal to dig
deeper.”

*No Mention Of Kavanaugh At Annual Red Mass For Supreme Court.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=04b-fab&t=c>
(9/30, Zauzmer) reports that “Washington’s Catholic cathedral held its
annual Red Mass honoring Supreme Court justices and the judiciary on Sunday
– with nary a word about the debate over whether to confirm President
Trump’s pick.” Kavanaugh, “who was invited to the Mass as a member of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, was not spotted in the pews.”
The cathedral hosts the Mass each year “at the start of the Supreme Court’s
fall term. Supreme Court justices, local judges, and members of Congress
and the Cabinet regularly attend. At this year’s Mass, Chief Justice John
G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen G. Breyer attended,
along with Anthony M. Kennedy, whose retirement from the court created the
vacancy that Trump nominated Kavanaugh to fill.”

*NYTimes: Reconvening Today, SCOTUS Offers Chance To “Lower The
Temperature.” *A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=04c-411&t=c>
(9/30, Liptak) analysis says that the Supreme Court “will return to the
bench on Monday with a docket that offers an opportunity to lower the
temperature.” For now at least, the calendar lacks “blockbuster cases on
fiery social issues” and “the justices will face lower-profile but still
consequential legal questions that may allow them to find ways to bridge
the usual ideological divides.” The Times adds, however, that although “the
court’s low-key docket may help serve as a balm, the cases it will hear
could ripple widely, posing threats to potential prosecutions of Mr.
Trump’s associates and perhaps eventually to abortion rights. And big cases
are in the pipeline, including ones on gerrymandering, gay rights and
immigration.”

*NBC’s Williams: Any Trump Nominee Will Move Court To Right. *NBC’s
Pete Williams said on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=04d-845&t=c>
(9/30, story 2, 0:55, Snow) “no matter who ends up getting confirmed [to
the Supreme Court], any Trump nominee would move the court to the right.
Whoever the new justice is would become the Court’s fifth dependably
conservative vote.” The “move to the right could mean more restrictions on
abortion and affirmative action, and more tolerance of a role for religion
in public life. If Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed, he could take his place
here on the court immediately hearing and voting on any cases that are
argued after he’s sworn in.”

Meanwhile, CBS chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford was asked on
the CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=04e-312&t=c>
(9/30, story 3, 1:50, Quijano) what effect Kavanaugh’s confirmation would
have on the Court. Crawford said, “I would say probably zero. Because you
have to keep in mind that Justice Kavanaugh, if he is confirmed to the
Supreme Court, is going to go on a court that already knows him and has
seen his views on the law. It will be very hard, I think, for a Justice
Kavanaugh to put this behind him and just be seen as Justice Kavanaugh
without this line being added to almost everything he wrote or even in
during these oral arguments. I think that is going to be a bigger
challenge.”

*DeVos Preparing Changes To Campus Sexual Assault Rules. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=04f-a5f&t=c>
(9/30, Danilova) reports that the Brett Kavanaugh sexual assault
investigation is unfolding as Education Secretary DeVos “considers new
guidelines that could drastically change the way allegations of sexual
violence are investigated on college campuses.” DeVos, who “has argued that
the policy put in place under President Barack Obama is skewed against the
accused,” is “expected to issue new rules in the near future.” The new
guidelines “are expected to address whether schools should have to
investigate as soon as they are aware of alleged misconduct or only after a
student files a formal complaint.”
Foreign Policy
Canada Agrees To Join Trade Accord With US, Mexico.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=050-59f&t=c>
(9/30, Rappeport) reports that the US and Canada have reached “a last
minute deal to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement, according
to people familiar with the negotiations, overcoming deep divisions to keep
the 25-year-old trilateral pact intact.” The deal came after “a weekend of
frantic talks to try and preserve” the trade pact, which “was in danger of
collapsing amid deep divisions between President Trump and Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau.” The Toronto Star
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=051-33e&t=c>
(9/30, Dale) reports US and Canadian officials “did not immediately release
the details on which the deal will ultimately be judged,” but says “the
news that they have struck any kind of deal, though, means Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau has achieved a long-sought goal: convincing...Trump to
preserve a trade accord Trump has repeatedly threatened to terminate.”
According to the Star, news of “any agreement is likely to be greeted with
relief by businesses across the continent.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=052-88a&t=c>
(9/30, Lynch) says a public announcement is expected “before a self-imposed
midnight deadline designed to allow the current Mexican president to sign
the accord on his final day in office, according to two people familiar
with the talks.” Few details of the agreement were immediately available.
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=053-03c&t=c>
(9/30, Ljunggren) reports that “word of the deal came as...Trudeau convened
a 10 p.m. Cabinet meeting,” and “a US source” said USTR Lighthizer and
White House adviser Jared Kushner “have been updating Trump throughout
Sunday on the talks.” According to Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=054-dc4&t=c>
(9/30, Leonard, Wingrove, Jacobs), “Some people familiar with the talks
credited... Kushner for helping smooth the path toward a deal.” White House
Trade Adviser Peter Navarro, appearing Sunday morning on Fox News’ Sunday
Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=055-104&t=c>
(9/30), said, “There are several sticking points,” but “I promise you
this...in the morning you will have news that will be big.”

*In Tweets This Morning, Trump Hails “Wonderful New Trade Deal” As
“Historic Transaction.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=056-d1d&t=c>
this morning, “Late last night, our deadline, we reached a wonderful new
Trade Deal with Canada, to be added into the deal already reached with
Mexico. The new name will be The United States Mexico Canada Agreement, or
USMCA. It is a great deal for all three countries, solves the
many......[continuing
tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=057-a08&t=c>].....deficiencies
and mistakes in NAFTA, greatly opens markets to our Farmers and
Manufacturers, reduce Trade Barriers to the U.S. and will bring all three
Great Nations closer together in competition with the rest of the world.
The USMCA is a historic transaction!” In a third tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=058-a9d&t=c>,
Trump added, “Congratulations to Mexico and Canada!”

*WTO, IMF, World Bank Call For “Urgent” International Trade
Reforms. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=059-bc8&t=c>
(9/30, Baschuk) reports the World Trade Organization, IMF and World Bank on
Sunday issued “an emergency call to reform the multilateral trading system
as the US retreats from prior agreements.” In a joint report, the three
bodies said, “The urgent challenge today is to harness the unique strength
of the WTO. The slow pace of reforms since the early 2000s, fundamental
changes in a more interconnected modern economy, and the risk of trade
policy reversals call for urgency to reinvigorate trade policy reforms.”
Branstad Accuses China Of “Bullying” With “Propaganda Ads.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=05a-20a&t=c>
(9/30, Munroe) reports that “a week after an official Chinese newspaper ran
a four-page ad” in the Des Moines Register “touting the mutual benefits of
US-China trade,” the US Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, “accused
Beijing of using the American press to spread propaganda.” Last week,
President Trump referred to the China Daily’s paid supplement in “accusing
China of seeking to meddle in the Nov. 6 US congressional elections.”
Branstad wrote in an op-ed
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=05b-011&t=c>
in Sunday’s Des Moines Register, “In disseminating its propaganda, China’s
government is availing itself of America’s cherished tradition of free
speech and a free press by placing a paid advertisement in the Des Moines
Register.” He added, “In contrast, at the newsstand down the street here in
Beijing, you will find limited dissenting voices and will not see any true
reflection of the disparate opinions that the Chinese people may have on
China’s troubling economic trajectory, given that media is under the firm
thumb of the Chinese Communist Party.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=05c-3a5&t=c>
(9/30) reprints the op-ed in Monday’s edition.

*China To Cut Import Tariffs On Range Of Products. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=05d-962&t=c>
(9/30, Yao) reports the Chinese Finance Ministry said Sunday that Beijing
“will cut import tariffs on textile products and metals, including steel
products, to 8.4 percent from 11.5 percent, effective Nov. 1.” Reuters
notes that China “has pledged to take steps to increase imports this year
amid rising tension with some of its biggest trade partners,” including the
US. In a statement, the ministry said, “Reducing tariffs is conducive to
promoting the balanced development of foreign trade and promoting a higher
level of opening up to the outside world.”

*US Destroyer Sails Near Disputed South China Sea Islands. *NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=05e-306&t=c>
(9/30, story 5, 0:20, Snow) briefly reported that a US official told Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=05f-d40&t=c>
(9/30, Ali) the USS Decatur, a US Navy destroyer, sailed within miles of
“disputed islands claimed by China” in the South China Sea Sunday,
“potentially causing new tension with Beijing at a time when the two
countries are engaged in a growing trade war.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=060-fcf&t=c>
(9/30, Ali) reports the official, “said the destroyer Decatur traveled
within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs in the Spratly
Islands.” Reuters calls the maneuvers “the latest attempt to counter what
Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the
strategic waters.”

*China Cancels High-Level Security Talks With US. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=061-f31&t=c>
(9/30, Perlez) reports China has canceled “an important annual security
meeting planned for mid-October” with Defense Secretary Mattis in Beijing,
“saying a senior Chinese military officer would not be available to meet
him, an American official said on Sunday.” To the Times, the decision “was
the latest sign of bad blood between China and the United States, and
capped a week of tit-for-tat actions by both nations as they settled into a
newly chilly relationship.” The move also “showed how quickly the tensions
over an escalating trade war have infected other parts of the relationship,
particularly vital strategic concerns including Taiwan, arms sales and the
South China Sea.”
Iranian FM Discusses Growing Tensions With US.

In an interview with [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CNN’s Fareed
Zakaria GPS
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=062-572&t=c>
(9/30) on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif discussed President
Trump’s remarks last week at the United Nations General Assembly. Zarif
said “what was clear” is that Trump “has managed to isolate the United
States,” as evident “in the Security Council where 14 out of 15 members
endorsed the Security Council resolution that basically brought the nuclear
issue to a close,” and only Trump opposed it. Zarif continued, “I believe
in my 35 years of work at the UN, I believe this is the first time that a
country is asking other members of the United Nations to violate a
resolution of the Security Council and that happens to be a member of the
Security Council that endorsed and basically presented that resolution
during the previous administration which calls on all countries to observe
the nuclear deal. The United States is now threatening to punish people who
observe their national legal obligations.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=063-3ed&t=c>
(9/30, Wolfe) reports that Zarif also “denied that his country was
responsible for increased threats against a U.S. consulate in the Iraqi
city of Basra” and “added that recent warnings issued to the Iranian
government” by Secretary of State Pompeo and National Security Adviser
Bolton “were counterproductive.” He told [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=064-e65&t=c>
(9/30), “I think the United States needs to abandon this policy of threats.
It doesn’t work. Our consulate in Basra was put ablaze two weeks ago. It
was burned to the ground, but we immediately moved to another place. So if
we had this problem with our consulate, we cannot control people in Basra.
We, of course, have influence in Iraq, but that doesn’t mean we control
people in Iraq, as the United States doesn’t control people in countries
with whom it has good relations. So I think Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Bolton,
instead of making these irrelevant threats that would produce no positive
result, they need to look at their own policies.”

In a separate interview with [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]CBS’
Face The Nation
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=065-fc7&t=c>
(9/30), Zarif said, “The problem is, the United States is pushing people to
act in a lawless way. I don’t think it’s going to be sustainable. This
policy is going to have a backlash. ... We will continue to work with the
Europeans, certainly some European countries have withdrawn because of the
fear of punishment by the United States.” In the second part of the
interview on [image: Image removed by sender. Video]CBS’ Face The Nation
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018100101biden&r=email-5e53&l=066-f15&t=c>
(9/30), Zarif said of Pompeo, “He’s made all the wrong moves against Iran.
I believe he has made major mistakes about that region. I believe –
seriously, I believe the United States needs to review its policy with
regard to our region.”

Zarif also spoke with Jonathan Swan of Axios
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(9/30) on “whether he believes that Iran’s enemy, the state of Israel, will
exist for a long time to come.” Zarif replied, “We believe the policies
that are being pursued [by Israel] are not sustainable.” Asked “whether he
could acknowledge any mistakes Iran has made,” Zarif “said no government
would answer that question, and instead he described his ideal future for
the region.” He also “described an idyllic regional neighborhood, one that
‘doesn’t have a dominant power’” but would be peaceful and guarantee
security for the entire region, including Iraq and the Gulf States – but
not Israel. Zarif said that he “decide[s] not to” consider Israel as part
of the broader Middle East region, because “the concept of a region ‘is a
construct. ... The region I am talking about is the region in which I
live.’”
WPost: Administration Eyes Iranian Retreat In Syria Strategy Shift.

A Washington Post
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(9/30, Ryan, Sonne, Hudson) analysis says a new Syria strategy articulated
last week by State Department Special Representative for Syria Engagement
James Jeffrey and National Security Adviser Bolton indicates that the
Administration “has opened a new chapter in American involvement in Syria,
vowing to remain until the civil war’s conclusion in a bid to halt Iran’s
expansion across the Middle East.” It also marks “a dramatic reversal six
months after President Trump said he would pull American troops out of
Syria.” The Pentagon has insisted that the US “mission in Syria has not
changed” and “by law it is limited to combating” ISIS, but
“counterbalancing Iran has become a ‘secondary benefit’ of having American
service members there, officials say.” While many analysts “agree that the
continued presence of Iranian forces, Hezbollah and other Shiite militia
groups in a predominantly Sunni nation will probably continue to fuel
extremism,” some “remain skeptical that the administration’s two-pronged
strategy can succeed where others have not.”

*Iran Launches Missiles Into Syria Over Parade Attack. *The AP
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(10/1, Karimi) reports the Iranian “Revolutionary Guard said Monday it
launched ballistic missiles into eastern Syria targeting militants it
blamed for a recent attack on a military parade.” According to the AP, the
incident marks “the third time in recent months that Iran has fired its
ballistic missiles in anger.” It also “adds to confusion over who carried
out the assault on the military parade in Ahvaz on Sept. 22 that killed at
least 24 people and wounded over 60.”
Iraqi Kurds Vote In Parliamentary Elections.

The Washington Post
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(9/30, El-Ghobashy) reports Iraqi Kurds “voted Sunday in parliamentary
elections for the first time since 2013,” when “political infighting and a
growing Islamic State threat shuttered the last parliament, setting off a
fierce fight for control over the Kurdistan Regional Government between two
dynastic political parties, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).” The vote is “an effort to kick-start a
stagnant political scene in northern Iraq that has been beset by competing
visions for the future of the autonomous region,” but “many Kurds expressed
apathy” because of “the disastrous fallout from the referendum” last year
on independence from Iraq and “deeply held frustrations with the two-party
politics that have dominated the region.” Still, 58 percent of voters
turned out for Sunday’s vote, according to numbers released after the polls
closed.
Poroshenko Discusses Russian Efforts In Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appeared on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria
GPS[image:
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(9/30) to discuss Russia’s efforts to meddle in elections around the world.
Poroshenko said Russian President Vladimir “Putin understands that the war
on the ground on the east of my country or in Crimea during the last four
years is not bringing him success anymore because we create the strong and
reliable army with the assistance of the United States. I’m really proud of
the very efficient cooperation with American, British, Canadian, and
European advisers and he understands that, that the success on the ground
is not happening for him. But he expected that the success can happen
during the election if he undermines stability in the country by using
cyber attack or using fake news or disinformation technology.”

*US Cracks Down On Cyprus In Broader Campaign To Quell Russian
Money Laundering. *The Wall Street Journal
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(9/30, Stamouli, Hinshaw) reports on US efforts to shutter the money
streams flowing from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies through
Cyprus and to the European Union. The Journal explains that the
Administration’s push to sanction Russians accused of laundering money
through Europe required a campaign to upend a business model that for
decades has been deeply entrenched in the economic and political culture of
Cyprus.
Opponent Of US Military Presence Wins Okinawa Gubernatorial Election.

The Washington Post
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(9/30, Denyer) reports that “Denny Tamaki was elected Sunday as the next
governor of Okinawa prefecture in Japan,” which “is home to about half the
54,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and houses the largest U.S. air base
in the Asia-Pacific region.” Sunday’s outcome followed “a campaign focused
on sharply reducing the U.S. military presence on the island,” reflecting
how many “Okinawans feel that their small island bears an unfair burden of
the U.S. military presence in Japan.” Tamaki is seeking “a fundamental
reduction of the U.S. presence here, a stance that will add stress to the
United States’ alliance with Japan.” As such, the Post says, “Tamaki’s
victory spells another round of tough negotiations and potentially more
legal battles over” a “two-decade-old plan to relocate” the Marine Corps
Air Station Funtenma, “which sits in the middle of residential areas in the
city of Ginowan.”
Domestic Policy
White House: Trump Meeting With Rosenstein May Be Delayed Again.

The AP
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(9/30, Superville) reports that President Trump’s “highly anticipated”
meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “could be delayed
again.” The meeting, which was originally scheduled for last Thursday, was
pushed to this week. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, however,
said Sunday that “a date hasn’t been set – but she added that the meeting
could be delayed again given the continued focus” on Brett Kavanaugh’s
nomination to the Supreme Court. The Washington Examiner
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(9/30, Nelson) reports Sanders told Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
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(9/30), “It could be this week. I could see it pushing back another week
given all of the things that are going on with the Supreme Court.”

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy said on Fox
News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(9/30), “I appreciate the President talking to [Rosenstein] this week. I
want to know what he said and meant. I want to know who else was present
for the meeting.”
McAleenan Finds No Quick Solutions To Migration Surge In Central America
Visit.

The Washington Post
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(9/30, Miroff) reports that US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner
Kevin McAleenan last week visited “Central America’s Northern Triangle –
Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – to seek their governments’ help and
bring attention to a migration surge he has declared ‘a crisis.’” However,
rather than finding “quick solutions, his trip mostly highlighted the deep
structural forces threatening to send even more migrants north: hunger,
joblessness and the gravitational pull of the American economy.” The Post
adds that the Administration’s strategy of “separating parents from their
children...failed. In the three months since President Trump halted the
separations amid a public outcry, the trend it was intended to deter has
gotten significantly worse.”

*California AG Says State Will Continue To Uphold Sanctuary Laws. *The
Los Angeles Times
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(9/28, Vega) reported California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said
Friday that