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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, September 20, 2018 7:54 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, September 20, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=001-6c0&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, September 20, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• BuzzFeed News: Progressives Cool To 2020 Run By “Moderate” Biden. <#S1>

• Biden Cancer Community Summit To Be Held In Wilmington, Delaware On
Friday. <#S2>

• Biden To Address “Biden Challenge Conference” At University Of Delaware.
<#S3>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• GOP Moves Ahead On Hearing As Grassley Gives Ford Until Friday To Submit
Testimony. <#S4>

• Trump Casts Doubt On Allegations Against Kavanaugh, Urges Accuser To
Testify. <#S5>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Analysts: US, China In Early Stages Of Economic Cold War. <#S6>

• US Seeking To Negotiate Full-Fledged “Treaty” With Iran. <#S7>

• US Welcomes North Korea Denuclearization Pledge, Ready To Hold Talks
“Immediately.” <#S8>

• Trump To Press UN Security Council To Punish Nuclear Proliferation
Violators. <#S9>

• Thousands Return To Idlib Following Russia-Turkey Deal. <#S10>

• Polish Opposition Figures Object To Duda’s “Fort Trump” Proposal. <#S11>

• UN: Colombia’s Coca Cultivation Hit Record In 2017. <#S12>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Trump To Carolinas: You Will Have Everything You Need. <#S13>

• Trump Says Visit To 9/11 Memorial Renewed His Resolve To Build Border
Wall. <#S14>

• Trump Slams Sessions Again, Says He’s Unhappy With Him On Variety Of
Issues. <#S15>

• Sessions: “Disastrous” Obama Policies Behind Crime Spike In Chicago,
Other Cities. <#S16>

• AP: ACA, Not Trump’s Actions, Responsible For Lower Premium Increases.
<#S17>

• Trump Nominates Issa To Head US Trade Development Agency. <#S18>

• Clinton: Trump’s “Authoritarian Tendencies” Could Erode US Institutions.
<#S19>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• FDA Grants Fast-Track Designation To Treatment For AML. <#S20>

• Advances In Breast Cancer Survival Have Plateaued Since 2005. <#S21>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S22>

• Washington Post. <#S23>
Biden in the News
BuzzFeed News: Progressives Cool To 2020 Run By “Moderate” Biden.

BuzzFeed News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=002-9d8&t=c>
(9/19, Brooks) reported, “A cadre of progressive groups and activists that
has elevated leftist candidates and helped shift Democratic policy further
left in primary” contests “this year is now questioning the politics of”
former Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering a 2020 White House run.
“The activists, some frustrated with how” Biden “has weighed in on several
primaries this year and others concerned about some of his past policy
positions, are in some cases already speaking publicly to warn” him “and
other moderate Democrats mulling presidential bids that they’re going to
make a potential centrist’s path to the presidency uncomfortable.” This
year, Biden has stepped “in to endorse some establishment candidates over
progressive primary challengers,” drawing “the attention of some in
progressive circles, who say that” his “centrist political outlook is
incongruent with the current political moment.”
Biden Cancer Community Summit To Be Held In Wilmington, Delaware On Friday.

In an online article. Delaware Public Media
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=003-b02&t=c>
(9/19, Steele) reported, “The Biden Cancer Initiative is bringing one of
its Biden Cancer Summits to Wilmington [Delaware] Friday. The summit is one
of hundreds being held throughout the country, bringing together those
involved in cancer patient support networks to hear their perspectives.
‘The Summit is a conference that is being run in conjunction with about 300
other summits across the country and a national summit being held by the
Biden Cancer Initiative in Washington, DC. Our program is geared towards
patients, caregivers and survivors,’ said Janie Truitt, chair of the
planning committee for the Biden Cancer Community Summit.” DPM added, “The
Summit is Friday at the Siegel Jewish Community Center in Wilmington from
noon to 5 p.m.”
Biden To Address “Biden Challenge Conference” At University Of Delaware.

Technical.ly Delaware
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=004-c2a&t=c>
(9/19, Quinn) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden “is the
founding chair of the Biden Institute at the School of Public Policy and
Administration (SPPA) at the University of Delaware – and that’s where the
Biden Challenge Conference and Idea Exchange will be held, on Sept. 28.
Biden is scheduled to attend the full-day conference, and will give the
opening remarks.”
Leading the News
GOP Moves Ahead On Hearing As Grassley Gives Ford Until Friday To Submit
Testimony.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=005-d4a&t=c>
(9/19, Andrews, Peterson, Hughes) reports on its front page that
Republicans are moving ahead with efforts to confirm Supreme Court
Justice-designate Brett Kavanaugh while continuing to seek the testimony of
Christine Blasey Ford. In a letter to Ford’s attorneys, Senate Judiciary
Chairman Charles Grassley said that she has until 10:00 a.m. Friday to
submit prepared remarks if she intends to testify on Monday. Republicans
rejected Democrats’ call for an FBI probe of her sexual assault allegation
against Kavanaugh before she would appear for a Monday hearing. NBC Nightly
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=006-965&t=c>
(9/19, story 2, 1:30, Hunt) reported that Grassley is “offering to send
staffers to California where Dr. Ford lives to take her testimony, but like
the President, he said there was no need to reopen the FBI investigation or
delay the hearing.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=007-84c&t=c>
(9/19, Schor, Everett) reports that when asked “if he will cancel the
hearing if Ford does not attend, Grassley said he doesn’t have to make that
choice yet.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=008-9f7&t=c>
(9/19, Quinn) reports that in his letter, Grassley wrote, “The Constitution
assigns the Senate, and only the Senate, with the task of advising the
president on his nominee and consenting to the nomination if the
circumstances merit. We have no power to commandeer an executive branch
agency into conducting our due diligence. The job of assessing and
investigating a nominee’s qualifications in order to decide whether to
consent to the nomination is ours, and ours alone.” The CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=009-fe5&t=c>
(9/19, lead story, 3:25, Cordes) said “Republicans know that an FBI probe
could be time consuming and unpredictable, and those are risks...that they
just don’t want to take.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=00a-fb9&t=c>
(9/19, Rodgers) also reports on Grassley’s letter.

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=00b-b1c&t=c>
(9/19, story 2, 2:25, Bruce) reported that that the “same Republicans” who
initially said they couldn’t back Kavanaugh without hearing from his
accuser “are turning up the pressure” on Ford. USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=00c-5b9&t=c>
(9/19, Cummings, Petroski) reports that Grassley “said Wednesday that he
doesn’t doubt Christine Blasey Ford believes she was assaulted” by
Kavanaugh, “but he dismissed demands for an FBI investigation into the
matter.” He told reporters, “I don’t doubt that she believes what she says,
and in fact, I have a responsibility to give deference to that, at least
until I hear it, and to make a determination afterwards if it is possible
to make a determination.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=00d-c80&t=c>
(9/19) that Ford “has no reason to lie. She is asking for a federal
investigation by the FBI, knowing that if he made a false statement it
would be under penalty of perjury and it would be a felony. She is asking
for the oversight and accountability to be done. Who is not asking for it?
The White House. They are the ones who are not allowing the FBI to do it.”
Appearing on CNN’s New Day[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=00e-caf&t=c>
(9/19), Sen Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said, “When Dr. Ford said she would
testify, I think she expected a modicum of a kind of a fair situation. You
know what happened right after she came forward on Sunday? ... The
committee said, ‘Oh hey, we want to have a hearing with you, how about this
coming Tuesday? If that’s not good, how about Thursday?’ The callousness
with which she was treated...is appalling. I am totally disappointed that
all of these people who have come forward to say, ‘We should hear from
her’...are now saying, ‘If she doesn’t want to testify, we should just go
ahead.’”

Nicole Gaudiano of USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=00f-d3d&t=c>
(9/19, Gaudiano, Kelly) looks at “the winners and losers” of a potential
hearing. If Kavanaugh testifies alone, it “could be the best scenario for
Republicans,” according to Eric Herzik of the University of Nevada, Reno,
who said, “Then they can say, ‘Hey, we tried, and she wouldn’t come.’
They’d take the heat for a week and then it’s gone.” However, “the problem
with that strategy for Republicans is that one of them could end up
alienating female voters by attacking Ford when she isn’t there to defend
herself,” according to Democratic consultant Jim Manley. Herzik said that
if both Kavanaugh and Ford appear, “it will be a tricky hearing for
Republicans,” while Manley warned Democrats – especially those with
presidential ambitions – not to “overplay their hand.”

Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=010-98d&t=c>
(9/19), “Like every American, Judge Kavanaugh deserves the presumption of
innocence. It’s his constitutional right. ... Sadly, it’s obvious tonight
the left is playing politics trying to derail Kavanaugh nomination even if
it means unfairly impugning his character.”

Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=011-6dd&t=c>
(9/19), “My understanding of what Dr. Ford has said, I don’t think she’s
definitively said she won’t show up if there isn’t an FBI investigation.
The thing I think we all need to remember is that we still have four and a
half days until Monday and the way the news cycle works in these times,
this whole thing is probably going to take five or six twists and turns.
... By Monday this could look like a very different situation.”

E.J. Dionne, in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=012-d96&t=c>
(9/19) column, writes that “one aspect of the conversation is particularly
infuriating: the notion that the timeline established by the GOP for
completing this process is quasi-sacred.”

*Corker, Flake Appear Ready To Vote To Advance Nomination.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=013-a57&t=c>
(9/19, Muñoz) reports that “the two GOP senators who specifically said they
were not ready to vote on Judge Kavanaugh after the allegations...are now
on board.” Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) “on Wednesday tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=014-c9a&t=c>
‘let’s vote’ if Ms. Ford refuses to speak,” and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told
reporters, “I think we’ll have to move to the markup.”

*Collins Urges Ford To Testify On Monday. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=015-af6&t=c>
(9/19, Carney) reports that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), “a key vote” on the
nomination, on Wednesday urged Ford to appear on Monday, tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=016-817&t=c>,
“I hope that Dr. Ford will reconsider and testify before the Senate
Judiciary Committee on Monday.” Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=017-ab9&t=c>
(9/19, Brown) reports that Collins “also reportedly argued that it wouldn’t
be fair to Judge Kavanaugh if Ford refused to testify.” NBC Nightly News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=018-177&t=c>
(9/19, story 2, 1:30, Hunt) reported that Collins, “a critical swing vote,”
told a Maine radio station, “I just don’t understand why the hearing
shouldn’t go forth.”

*WPost: GOP Concerned About “Political Fallout” From Pressing Ahead
On Nomination. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=019-ab6&t=c>
(9/19, Costa) says that Trump and Senate Republicans “took a hard line” on
advancing Kavanaugh’s nomination on Wednesday, “but privately, discussions
about the political fallout gripped the party, with Republican lawmakers
and strategists unnerved by the charged, gender-infused debates that have
upended this campaign season. Already burdened by an unpopular president
and an energized Democratic electorate, the male-dominated GOP” is facing
scrutiny about how it is handling the sexual assault allegation against
Kavanaugh “and whether the party’s push to install him on the high court by
next week could come at a steep political cost with women and the
independent voters who are the keystone for congressional majorities.”

*WPost, NYTimes Editorials Back FBI Investigation. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=01a-f59&t=c>
(9/19) editorializes that Republicans “abused their power by refusing to
let their colleagues and the American people see over 90 percent of the
documents relating to...Kavanaugh’s critical years in the federal
government,” and the nominee “sullied the proceedings himself by
testifying, under oath, in ways that were at best misleading.” Sen. Dianne
Feinstein (D-CA) “is also now facing legitimate questions, over her
handling of the sexual-assault allegation,” but “the committee has a chance
to partly redeem itself, by allowing a thorough investigation and then
holding an open hearing.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=01b-e7c&t=c>
(9/19) editorializes that “a real investigation could inform senators’
questioning about the alleged event and give Ms. Ford information she could
cite to strengthen her claims.” The FBI “is the right organization to
conduct an investigation,” and “if Mr. Kavanaugh is telling the truth when
he denies any wrongdoing, he should welcome”

*Democratic Former Assistant US Attorney: Maryland Police, Not FBI,
Should Investigate. *Thiru Vignarajah, a Democrat who “previously served as
an assistant US attorney for the District of Maryland from 2009-2011 and as
deputy attorney general of Maryland from 2015-2016,” writes in the Washington
Post
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that “while the FBI conducts background checks on White House nominees...it
is typically local law enforcement officials and prosecutors who
investigate sexual assault crimes and decide what, if any, charges are
appropriate.” Vignarajah adds that ahead of a Senate vote, “authorities in
Maryland must have the time to do their job, before the ink of history
irreversibly dries.”

*Eshoo: Ford Was “Terrified” Of Fallout From Making Accusation. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=01d-27d&t=c>
(9/19, DeBonis) reports that Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), “who first heard
Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court
nominee Brett Kavanaugh,” said Wednesday that she “became convinced of
Ford’s credibility during a lengthy in-person meeting in July and that Ford
seemed ‘terrified’ that she might be exposed as an accuser.” Eshoo said,
“It was more than obvious to me that she bore the scars of what she had
been subjected to. She doesn’t have a political bone in her body. And she
obviously was really terrified about what could become of her and her
family.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=01e-178&t=c>
(9/19, Mendoza, Burke) similarly reports that Ford “struggled to come
forward,” according to close friends. One of them said, “She clearly has
nothing to gain and much to lose by going public with her story. I know
from things she has told me, including her need to have more than one exit
door in her bedroom to prevent her from being trapped, that this event was
serious enough to have a lasting impact on her life.”

*USA Today: Ford Faces #MeToo-Era Character Attacks. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=01f-5fe&t=c>
(9/19, Kelly, Rossman) writes that “since #MeToo...rather than a character
assassination, the attacks on Blasey Ford are less direct, instead
questioning her memory or lamenting that she experienced something horrible
but suggesting it’s a case of mistaken identity.” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
“told CNN he thinks Ford is ‘mistaking something,’” and Fox News’ Tucker
Carlson “told viewers: ‘Human memory is notoriously unreliable, especially
over time. What were you doing one drunk night in the spring of 1982? Don’t
remember clearly? Of course you don’t. It’s been 36 years.’” However,
“talking about an assault years or decades later is not uncommon,”
according to experts.

*Nance: Ford Has Forgotten Key Details. *Concerned Women for
America President/CEO Penny Nance writes in a USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=020-c11&t=c>
(9/19) about an attempt of assault against her, writing, “I remember every
detail all these years later. ... Ford can’t remember the year the incident
happened, she can’t remember how she got to the house party, or how she got
home.” She continues, “Is Brett Kavanaugh a nice guy? That’s irrelevant. So
is alleged sexual assault as a teen.”

*Online Fundraising Campaigns Set Up To Assist Ford Security
Expenses. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=021-d6e&t=c>
(9/19, Dinan) reports, “Several online fundraising campaigns have popped up
in the last day looking to assist Christine Blasey Ford with security
expenses through GoFundMe pages.” Among them is Georgetown University
professor Heidi Feldman’s $100,000 campaign.

*Kavanaugh Classmate Says He Has “No Knowledge” Of Party In
Allegation. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=022-4dc&t=c>
(9/19, Collins) reports on its website that in a letter to the Senate
Judiciary Committee, “another former classmate of Brett Kavanaugh’s denies
attending a party like the one described in the allegation made by
Christine Blasey Ford” against Kavanaugh. Patrick J. Smyth, who attended
Georgetown Prep alongside Kavanaugh, wrote, “I understand that I have been
identified by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford as the person she remembers as ‘PJ’
who supposedly was present at the party she described in her statements to
the Washington Post. I am issuing this statement today to make it clear to
all involved that I have no knowledge of the party in question; nor do I
have any knowledge of the allegations of improper conduct she has leveled
against Brett Kavanaugh.”

*Reuters Poll: Support For Kavanaugh Has Fallen. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=023-8f5&t=c>
(9/19, Hurley, Rampton) reports that a Reuters/Ipsos poll released today
“showed a growing number of Americans opposing Kavanaugh’s nomination. In
the poll, conducted from Sept. 11-17, 36 percent of US adults surveyed did
not want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, up 6 percentage points from a
similar poll a month earlier, while 31 percent favored Kavanaugh’s
appointment.”

*Flake Calls Trump Jr.’s Instagram Post About Accusation
“Sickening.” *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=024-7a8&t=c>
(9/19, Yilek) reports that Sen. Jeff Flake “slammed Donald Trump Jr. on
Wednesday for sharing a ‘sickening’ post mocking Democrats and Christine
Blasey Ford, the woman who alleges Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh
sexually assaulted her when the two were in high school.” Flake tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=025-eca&t=c>
a screenshot of the Instagram post, and wrote, “This is sickening. No one
should make light of this situation.”

*Garamendi: House Should “Rise Up” If Kavanaugh Confirmed Without
Ford Hearing. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=026-b5d&t=c>
(9/19, Lim) reports that Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) on Wednesday urged his
colleagues to “rise up” if Republican senators “push forward with Supreme
Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation without hearing from his
sexual assault accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.” Garamendi said on CNN’s
Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=027-cd3&t=c>
(9/19), “For the men and women of the House of Representatives, we must
rise up in disgust and anger and make certain that our voice is clear. ...
Get the facts out. Give this woman the benefit of the doubt. Don’t treat
her as so many women have been treated time after time in courtroom after
courtroom.”

*WExaminer: Media Helping Democratic Effort To Derail Nomination. *In
an analysis, the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=028-fe6&t=c>
(9/20, Scarry) says the media “are helping Democrats in their attempt to
wreck Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court,.” The “entire
media are playing along, calling for an indefinite halt on Kavanaugh’s
confirmation vote until we can get to the bottom of things — which would
conveniently prove impossible.” The Examiner adds, “The only acceptable
outcome for the media is for Republicans to abandon Kavanaugh and then see
him withdraw in defeat. Coincidentally, that’s what Democrats want, too.”

*Andrew McCarthy: Ford Allegation “Pure BS,” Has “All The Hallmarks
Of A Set-Up.” *Andrew McCarthy, in a piece for National Review
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=029-d06&t=c>
(9/19), urges the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote on Kavanaugh’s
nomination today, as originally scheduled, if Ford has not agreed to
testify by then. McCarthy maintains that Ford’s “unverifiable
sexual-assault allegation” bears “all the hallmarks of a set-up.” McCarthy
notes that Ford’s lawyers complained that some Senate Republicans have
already “made up their minds” about the allegations. McCarthy writes, “This
takes some gumption, coming from Democratic activists who are working in
tandem with Democratic senators who decided to vote against Judge Kavanaugh
long before the hearing started.” McCarthy adds, “It is fashionable
throat-clearing at this point to offer some vertiginous, ostentatiously
sympathetic twaddle about how Professor Ford is credible in the sense that
she truly believes what she has claimed, yet mistaken
about...well...everything that matters. Sorry, I’m a simple man. What’s
happening here is pure BS.”
Trump Casts Doubt On Allegations Against Kavanaugh, Urges Accuser To
Testify.

Media coverage characterizes President Trump as continuing to defend
Supreme Court Justice-designate Brett Kavanaugh and his family yesterday,
and reports that he urged Christine Blasey Ford to agree to testify before
the Senate Judiciary Committee. While some analysis, such as one in the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=02a-7ac&t=c>
(9/19, Baker, Fandos), say that Trump “again refrained from directly
assailing...Kavanaugh’s accuser, as he has in other instances of sexual
misconduct charges,” a number of reports gingerly took issue with Trump’s
position of having the FBI investigate the allegations – a key demand both
of Ford and Senate Democrats. ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=02b-9a7&t=c>
(9/19, lead story, 5:35, Karl) reported, for example, that Trump “could
order an investigation but has declined to so,” and the CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=02c-622&t=c>
(9/19, lead story, 3:25, Cordes) said that he “rejected” Ford’s “request
for an investigation.” Trump was shown saying, “Well, it would seem that
the FBI really doesn’t do that.” CBS added, however, that “Democrats said
the FBI does.”

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=02d-f99&t=c>
(9/19, lead story, 2:15, Welker) showed Trump saying of Ford, “I really
want to see her. I really would want to see what she has to say.” Asked
whether he believes her, Trump replied, “I can only say this: he is such an
outstanding man, very hard for me to imagine that anything happened.” ABC
World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=02e-aba&t=c>
(9/19, lead story, 5:35, Karl) also reported Trump “made it clear he is
inclined to believe” Kavanaugh, and the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=02f-281&t=c>
(9/19, Wire) also reported he “said the accusation is ‘unfair’ and he
doesn’t believe Kavanaugh would do such a thing.” Along those lines, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=030-5a1&t=c>
(9/19, Fram, Mascaro) reports that Trump “cast fresh doubt on” the
accusations, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=031-d36&t=c>
(9/19, Hurley, Rampton) says that he “stepped up his defense of
his...nominee,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=032-2bf&t=c>
(9/19, Kim) reports that he “offered a robust defense” of Kavanaugh that
was his “most effusive...yet.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=033-acd&t=c>
(9/19, Miller) quotes Trump as saying of Ford, “If she shows up that would
be wonderful. If she doesn’t show up that would be unfortunate.” ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=034-8f3&t=c>
(9/19, Phelps) reports that “asked directly by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl if
Ford’s allegation is disqualifying for Kavanaugh if true, the president
didn’t directly answer, except to say he needs to hear her story
first.” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=035-f47&t=c>
(9/18, Olorunnipa, Litvan) notes Trump also said, “If she shows up and
makes a credible showing, that’ll be very interesting, and we’ll have to
make a decision.” To CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=036-395&t=c>
(9/19, Bennett), “Trump appeared to signal he might
reconsider...Kavanaugh’s...nomination if his accuser is believable in
potential testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=037-3c8&t=c>
(9/19, Pappas) reports, meanwhile, that Trump also “said Wednesday he wants
the Senate to move quickly, expressing sympathy for Kavanaugh and saying he
has an ‘unblemished record.’” Said Trump, “This is a very tough thing for
him and his family and we want to get it over with.” Business Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=038-ea7&t=c>
(9/19, Haltiwanger) also reports that Trump “expressed sympathy for
Kavanaugh and his family.”

*Politico: Trump, GOP Growing Confident About Kavanaugh
Confirmation. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=039-f1d&t=c>
(9/19, Cook) reports Trump “is growing more confident
that...Kavanaugh...can weather a charge of sexual assault and will be
confirmed, according to two sources familiar with the confirmation
process.” That “feeling is shared by some of Trump’s key Republican
allies.” Politico also reports that according to “four people familiar with
the confirmation process” the White House “and its allies have taken no
steps to line up a new nominee.” An unnamed “Republican in touch with the
White House” tells Politico, “We’re very confident.”

*In His Comments, Trump Referred To “Justice” Kavanaugh Three
Times. *In its story on Trump’s comments yesterday, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=03a-98b&t=c>
(9/19, Baker, Fandos) quotes him as saying, “Really, they’re hurting
somebody’s life. ... Justice Kavanaugh has been treated very, very tough,
and his family. I think it’s a very unfair thing what’s going on.” The
Times points out, in fact, that “during his seven-minute encounter with
reporters, Mr. Trump referred to his nominee as ‘Justice Kavanaugh’ three
times.”

*Sekulow Says Ford Should Be Allowed To Testify Privately Or
Publicly. *Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=03b-174&t=c>
(9/19), “I think that Dr. Ford should be given an opportunity to appear and
to make the case. I think that Judge Kavanaugh should be able to respond to
that. I think that’s appropriate. By the way, doesn’t mean it has to be
done publicly. I understand the transparency issue, but if Dr. Ford wanted
to do it privately, I think she would have the right to do that.”

*Ex-Officials: Trump Wrong, FBI Would Investigate If Asked, “Could
Have It Completed By Monday.” *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=03c-df0&t=c>
(9/19, Gerstein) reports that though “Trump continued to insist on
Wednesday that there is no potential role for the FBI in exploring” the
allegations, “several former senior White House and Justice Department
officials from both parties” contradicted him. For example, Bush-era DOJ
official John Yoo told Politico, “The normal procedure for this would have
been to send the FBI out.” In addition, “a former Obama administration
lawyer also said the FBI would look into the matter if the White House
relayed such a request.” Said the unnamed attorney, “If the FBI was asked
to do it, it would do it. ... It has nothing to do with it being a federal
crime.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=03d-ae8&t=c>
(9/19, Wolf, Johnson) similarly quotes Obama’s associate counsel Sara
Barker as saying that “if the request was made, ‘this would go straight to
the top of priorities’” and “they could have it completed by Monday.”

*USA Today: “GOP Strategists” Worried Trump Comments On Kavanaugh
Could Hurt Party. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=03e-365&t=c>
(9/19, Fritze) reports that “Trump’s defense of...Kavanaugh from
allegations of sexual assault has sparked fear among some Republicans that
it will remind voters of Trump’s own complicated history with women.” As a
result, Trump’s “approach to the scandal is being watched closely by GOP
strategists, who worry the memory of Trump’s lewd remarks on an ‘Access
Hollywood’ tape from 2005 combined with more recent allegations of
infidelity have eroded the party’s standing with a key voting demographic.”
USA Today adds that “Republican consultant Liz Mair” said, “Trump already
has a problem with suburban women. ... The way that this is going, I don’t
see any great upside here for the GOP.”

*In 2015, Trump Sided With Justice Thomas Over Anita Hill. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=03f-779&t=c>
(9/19, Shamon) reports “Trump has largely tried to avoid opining
on...Ford’s allegation,” but “in 2015 he sided with Justice Clarence Thomas
in the decades-old fight that has drawn comparisons to the current moment.”
Trump “told Bloomberg in an interview
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=040-e6d&t=c>
that he believed Thomas when he denied in 1991 that he sexually harassed
Anita Hill when he was her supervisor at two federal government agencies.”
Said Trump, “I really have a lot of respect. ... I don’t know Anita Hill.
I’d met Clarence Thomas on a number of occasions. I thought he was
terrific. I think he’s a terrific person. So what do I know?”
Foreign Policy
Analysts: US, China In Early Stages Of Economic Cold War.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=041-9bb&t=c>
(9/19, Landler) reports that observers across the globe have come to the
conclusion that the US and China, “the world’s two largest economies, are
in the opening stages of a new economic Cold War, one that could persist
long after” President Trump leaves office. Alibaba’s Jack Ma said the
situation, “This thing will last long. ... If you want a short-term
solution, there is no solution.” Trump’s imposition of tariffs and threats
of more have “bewildered, frustrated and provoked Beijing,” and created a
“diplomatic stalemate” that “has many in the business and policy
communities considering the possibility that the United States may be in a
protracted and economically damaging trade fight for years to come.” The
Times says “the latest tit-for-tat leaves little room for concessions, at
least in the interim, as...China tries to remain strong, despite an
economic softening that Mr. Trump clearly sees as an opening to force
Beijing’s hand.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=042-f09&t=c>
(9/19, Paquette) reports Chinese Premier Li Keqiang “delivered a confident
message Wednesday amid the looming trade war with the United States:
Beijing will survive.” To the Post, Li’s “remarks...to a crowd in the port
city of Tianjin seemed directed at President Trump – without invoking his
name – as fresh tariff announcements bring the United States and China
closer to an all-out trade war.” As a result of the tariffs imposed by the
Administration, “Chinese economists predict layoffs in the country’s
manufacturing sector.”

In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=043-849&t=c>
(9/19) says Trump “has embarked on a risky course that could leave the
United States worse off, despite the validity of his broad complaints
against China.” The Post argues that “the problem, as always, is whether
Mr. Trump’s goal is to accumulate leverage for use in a near-term
negotiation or to discourage trade with China permanently as a matter of
policy. The former might be a legitimate strategy, the latter a recipe for
long-term loss of the benefits that could flow from freer trade — for both
countries.”

*Rokita, Issa Defend Trump’s Trade Policies At World Economic Forum
Meeting In China. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=044-7a4&t=c>
(9/19, Li) reports Reps. Todd Rokita (R) and Darrell Issa (R) on Wednesday
defended Trump’s policies during a hastily arranged news conference during
a World Economic Forum meeting in China. Said Issa, “I am incredibly aware
of the impact these tariffs are having on Christmas items,” but “the
reality is this is the right time — for more than two decades, we saw our
own industrial base erode because of a set of unfair trade practices in a
number of countries. If we are going to ask for a proper fairness, if not
now, then when?”

*US, Chinese Officials Express Optimism About Continued Energy
Cooperation. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=045-3ba&t=c>
(9/19, Hampton) reports that at an oil and gas forum in Houston on
Wednesday, US and Chinese officials confidently predicted that energy trade
between the two nations “will remain strong in the long term...even as an
escalating trade dispute hits US exports of natural gas.” Li Fanrong,
China’s deputy administrator for the National Energy Administration, said
“cooperation could be expanded and more could be done to promote trade and
investment between the two countries.” Said Assistant Secretary of Energy
Steve Winberg, “Cooperation on energy is likely for the long term, despite
short-term trade issues to course correct our global trade deals.”

*Alibaba’s Ma Says Company No Longer Plans To Help Create One
Million Jobs In US. *Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=046-595&t=c>
(9/19, Primack) reports Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma “says his
company no longer plans to help the US economy add one million jobs, which
is something he had promised President Trump during a meeting in early
2017.” Ma told Xinhua News Agency that Alibaba’s commitment was based on
friendly US-Chinese relations, but that subsequent trade tensions
“destroyed the original premise.”

*Knockoff Designer Bag Industry Expected To Benefit From US
Tariffs. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=047-ac2&t=c>
(9/19, A1, Paquette) reports that the fake-handbag business “stands to reap
another potential windfall” from the Administration’s trade war with China.
Knockoffs “are mostly made in China and arrive at US shores through
clandestine channels built to dodge authorities,” while “authentic purses
and their components, also made in China, are shipped through official
routes and would face Trump’s proposed new duties of 10 percent effective
next Monday.”

*AutoNation CEO Says Tariffs On Imported Autos Could Cause
Recession. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=048-b7e&t=c>
(9/19) reports that Mike Jackson, chairman and chief executive officer of
AutoNation, the largest auto retailer in the US, warned Wednesday that the
US auto industry is concerned that President Trump’s “threats to place
tariffs on vehicles coming into the US could drive the economy into a
recession.” Jackson is quoted as saying, “Everyone in the automobile
industry – doesn’t matter if you’re a retailer, a supplier or a
manufacturer – is freaking out around tariffs on automobiles. ... The price
point is so big, we all know it would be extremely disruptive, extremely
expensive to the industry and most likely knock the economy into some sort
of recession because it’s so inflationary.”

*Hassett: China Tariffs May Not Boost US Consumer Prices. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=049-0c3&t=c>
(9/19, Collins) reports that White House Council of Economic Advisers
Chairman Kevin Hassett is arguing that higher tariffs on Chinese products
may not lead to higher US consumer prices. Hassett told Fox Business, “If
you look at the way we’ve designed these tariffs, one of the things we’ve
done is we targeted stuff that you can buy from somebody else. If you buy
from somebody from Taiwan or somebody from the US at about the same price,
then really what happens is the Chinese producer loses all the sales, the
US consumer isn’t much worse off.”

*Agricultural Tariffs Playing Role In Midterm Campaigns. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=04a-a6f&t=c>
(9/19, Freking, Gerianos) reports that US tariffs on agriculture products
“have grown into an election-year threat to Republicans in rural districts
that are heavily reliant on exports for their economy. With the livelihoods
of farmers at risk, opposition to the tariffs could make a difference in
some races and help determine which party takes control of Congress.” The
AP says the issue is prominent in many close House races, and “the battle
for the Senate could also be affected by the tariff issue, particularly in
North Dakota, Indiana and Missouri, where Republicans hope to knock off
three Democratic incumbents.”

*Trudeau Demands Flexibility From US In NAFTA Talks. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=04b-f92&t=c>
(9/19, Lawder, Ljunggren) reports Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
said Wednesday that he “wanted to see flexibility from the United States if
the two sides are to reach a deal on renewing NAFTA, which Washington
insists must be finished by the end of the month.” Said Trudeau, “We’re
interested in what could be a good deal for Canada but we’re going to need
to see a certain amount of movement in order to get there and that’s
certainly what we’re hoping for.” He comments came as Canadian Foreign
Minister Chrystia Freeland met with USTR Lighthizer “for their fourth set
of talks in four weeks in Washington,” and “told reporters the talks had
been constructive.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=04c-349&t=c>
(9/19, Lugo, Gillies) reports that US and Canadian negotiators – “facing a
deadline at the end of the month – will extend until at least Thursday
their negotiations to keep Canada in a North American trade bloc.” After
Wednesday’s talks with Lighthizer, Freeland told reporters, “Our officials
now have more work to do and will continue to work this evening. Ambassador
Lighthizer and I agreed to meet again tomorrow.”
US Seeking To Negotiate Full-Fledged “Treaty” With Iran.

Asked about the prospects of a renegotiated deal with Iran on Fox News’ The
Ingraham Angle[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=04d-e6f&t=c>
(9/19), Secretary of State Pompeo replied, “President Trump has been clear
since the time he was running for office that the arrangement that the
previous Administration put in place was for bad for America and for the
world.” Pompeo added that he and Special Envoy Brian Hook “are working to
get Iran to behave like a normal nation, right? Stop being the world’s
largest state sponsor of terror, stop launching missiles through proxies,
stop attacking our embassies and consulates. When we get those basic things
in place, President Trump has made it very clear: we would love Iran to
join the community of nations. But...they need to shape up.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=04e-497&t=c>
(9/19, Wroughton) reports Hook said earlier Wednesday that the
Administration is seeking to negotiate “a treaty with Iran to include
Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its regional behavior.” Speaking to
the Hudson Institute, Hook said, “The new deal that we hope to be able to
sign with Iran, and it will not be a personal agreement between two
governments like the last one, we seek a treaty.” Hook, however,
“acknowledged Iranian leaders have not been interested in talks.”

Hook, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=04f-1dc&t=c>
(9/19, Taylor) reports, also said the Administration “is knuckling down on
efforts to convince the world to stop all purchases of Iranian oil by early
November” with the hope that a “new era of US-led economic isolation will
force Tehran back to the negotiating table.” Said Hook, “We intend to get
global Iranian crude oil imports as close to zero as possible by November
4th.”

*State Department Tags Iran As Leading State Sponsor Of Terrorism. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=050-ffa&t=c>
(9/19, Lee) reports the US has “once again named Iran as the world’s
leading state sponsor of terrorism, accusing it of intensifying numerous
conflicts and trying to undermine governments throughout the Middle East.”
In its annual survey of global terrorism, the State Department says Iran
“and its proxies are responsible for fomenting violence in Afghanistan,
Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.” In addition, the Department says
“Iranian fighters and Iran-backed militias, like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, had
emerged emboldened from the war in Syria and with valuable battlefield
experience they seek to leverage elsewhere.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=051-cd8&t=c>
(9/19, Morello) notes “the annual Country Reports on Terrorism for 2017
said Iran and the proxy groups it finances were responsible for attacks or
attempted attacks in the Middle East, Europe, South America and Africa.”
Said counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales, “It brings to its terrorist
activities the resources of a state. ... Iran uses terrorism as a tool of
its statecraft. ... It has no reservations about using that tool on any
continent.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=052-8db&t=c>
(9/19, Harris) indicates “foreign terrorist groups and their affiliates had
a bad year in 2017 as the United States and other countries fought back
against the Islamic State,” even as “Al Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias
remain deadly threats.” The Times adds “there were 8,584 terrorist attacks
around the world in 2017, a 23 percent decline from 2016,” and “as a
result, more than 18,700 people were killed, about a quarter of whom were
the perpetrators themselves.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=053-7ae&t=c>
(9/19, Shesgreen) reports that “Sales warned...terrorist organizations
remain a significant threat to the US,” writing in the report, “Despite our
successes, the terrorist landscape grew more complex in 2017. ... ISIS,
al-Qa’ida, and their affiliates have proven to be resilient, determined,
and adaptable, and they have adjusted to heightened counterterrorism
pressure in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and
elsewhere.” USA Today points out Sales said “the worldwide decrease in
terrorism was due mostly to a decline in violence in Iraq.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=054-fbd&t=c>
(9/19, Landay) says “US-backed forces and Iraqi militias liberated nearly
all of the territory that Islamic State, also known as ISIS, once
controlled in Iraq and Syria.”

*In Tweet Today, Trump Links US Security Policy In Mideast, OPEC
Price Levels. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=055-6a9&t=c>
this morning, “We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not
be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher
and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices
down now!”

*NYTimes: Trump Approach “Effective” Without “Nasty Consequences,
At Least So Far.” *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=056-d09&t=c>
(9/19, Krauss) reports that when Trump announced in May that he was going
to withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose
sanctions, analysts said the decision “was fraught with potential disaster.
If Mr. Trump’s approach worked too well, oil prices would spike and hurt
the American economy. If it failed, international companies would continue
trading with Iran, leaving the Islamic Republic unscathed, defiant and free
to restart its nuclear program.” According to the Times, the policy “has
been effective without either of those nasty consequences, at least so
far.”

*Official: Trump Open To Meeting With Rouhani, But Not Actively
Seeking It. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=057-cc8&t=c>
(9/19, Fritze) reports that as Trump “prepares to meet with world leaders
at the United Nations next week his administration is signaling it will use
the gathering to take a hard line against Iran, an issue that could further
divide the US from its allies.” But according to “a senior administration
official,” Trump “hasn’t closed the door on a meeting with Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani, but...stressed that the president isn’t actively
seeking an audience with Rouhani, either.”

*Politico: Trump’s Tough Line On Iran Risks Backlash At UN. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=058-9d8&t=c>
(9/18, Toosi, Herszenhorn, Karnitschnig) reports Trump “sees next week’s
main session of the United Nations General Assembly as a chance to condemn
Iran for spreading what he’s called ‘chaos and terror’ through the Middle
East. But many key US allies will likely use the global forum to present
Trump himself as a threat to world peace.” The result, Politico says,
“could be an unusually combative gathering at an annual forum meant to
promote harmony among world leaders.”

*France Delays Naming New Ambassador To Iran After Bomb Plot
Foiled. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=059-114&t=c>
(9/19, Irish, Pennetier) reports French officials said France “will not
name a new ambassador to Tehran before getting information from Iran
following a foiled plot to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris last
June.” A French presidential source said, “We are working together to bring
to light what happened around this event ... I wouldn’t say there is a
direct link (in not appointing an ambassador), but Iran has promised to
give us objective facts in the coming weeks that would allow us to pursue
our diplomatic relationship as it is today.”

*UK Warns British-Iranian Nationals Against Non-Essential Travel To
Iran. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=05a-a4c&t=c>
(9/19, James) reports the UK has “advised British-Iranian dual nationals
against all but essential travel to Iran, tightening up its existing travel
advice and warning it has only limited powers to support them if detained.”
A foreign office spokeswoman said, “British citizens who also hold Iranian
nationality face risks if they travel to Iran, as we have seen all too
sadly in a number of cases. The Iranian government does not recognize dual
nationality, so if a dual national is detained our ability to provide
support is extremely limited.”
US Welcomes North Korea Denuclearization Pledge, Ready To Hold Talks
“Immediately.”

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=05b-889&t=c>
(9/19, story 6, 1:50, Holt) reported on what it called a “historic summit”
in Pyongyang between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and South Korean
President Moon Jae-in. Both leaders “promis[ed] to ease tensions,” and Kim
“promis[ed] to scale back his nuclear weapons program” and “close his main
missile testing facility, and saying he’ll close his biggest nuclear
complex if the US takes corresponding measures.” NBC’s Richard Engel,
however, said that “North Korea has so far done nothing to get rid of the
nuclear bombs it already has. And US intelligence officials told NBC News,
they believe North Korea is still making nuclear weapons.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=05c-53f&t=c>
(9/19, Talmadge, Klug) likewise says the pledges “appeared to fall short of
the major steps many in Washington have been looking for — such as a
commitment by Kim to provide a list of North Korea’s nuclear facilities, a
solid step-by-step timeline for closing them down, or an agreement to allow
international inspectors to assess progress or discover violation.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=05d-9e9&t=c>
(9/19, Cheng, Yoon) has a similar report titled “Korean Deal Offers New
Life To Nuclear Talks—But Old Doubts Persist,” and the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=05e-ee2&t=c>
(9/19, Sang-Hun, Sanger) too expresses skepticism, saying Kim “made no
promises to relinquish his nuclear weapons or missiles,” and his pledges
“fell far short of what American officials have demanded — a complete
abandonment of the North’s nuclear and missile programs. Nonetheless,
President Trump welcomed the agreements.” Responding to the Kim’s pledges,
the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=05f-4fe&t=c>
(9/19, Miller) reports Trump said Wednesday that “tremendous progress” was
being made. Said Trump, “We’re making tremendous progress with respect to
North Korea. Prior to becoming president, it looked like we were going to
war with North Korea, and now we have a lot of progress.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=060-9a1&t=c>
(9/19, Maresca) reports Trump “quickly weighed in on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=061-033&t=c>,”
calling the developments “Very exciting!” Later Wednesday, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=062-b38&t=c>,
“‘North Korea recommits to denuclearization — we’ve come a long way.’
@FoxNews.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=063-c66&t=c>
(9/19, Denyer, Gearan) says Trump “called the developments encouraging but
made no new commitments,” but Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=064-090&t=c>
(9/18, Wroughton, Shin) reports Secretary of State Pompeo responded saying
the US is ready to engage in talks with North Korea “immediately,” with the
aim of completing North Korea’s denuclearization by January 2021. Reuters
says Pompeo’s announcement “demonstrated the Trump administration’s
apparent eagerness to seize on commitments made by...Kim...even as critics
said they did little to put Pyongyang on the course for irreversible
denuclearization.” According to the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=065-270&t=c>
(9/19, Gehrke), “Pompeo proposed following up with two meetings between US
and North Korean officials, starting with an offer to talk to Foreign
Minister Ri Yong Ho next week at the United Nations General Assembly in New
York.” Said Pompeo, “We are both already scheduled to be in attendance.”
The State Department also suggested that US special envoy Steve Beguin meet
North Korean officials for talks in Vienna.

*Russia Denies Helping North Korea With Illegal Fuel Transfers. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=066-adc&t=c>
(9/19, Pinchuk) reports the Russian Foreign Ministry “said on Wednesday
that US accusations that Russia helped North Korea illegally obtain fuel
through transfers at sea were not backed up by evidence.”
Trump To Press UN Security Council To Punish Nuclear Proliferation
Violators.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=067-1e7&t=c>
(9/19, Shesgreen) reports that when President Trump convenes a UN Security
Council meeting next week, “he will try to pressure other world leaders to
crack down on Iran and other countries that violate UN decrees against
nuclear proliferation.” According to a draft memo, Trump will tell the
Security Council “that it must find new ways to punish countries that flout
its resolutions limiting weapons of mass destruction.” USA Today quotes as
the memo as saying, “The Security Council has regularly adopted resolutions
to counter WMD threats,” but those resolutions “are often flouted without
penalty,” undermining peace and security across the globe.
Thousands Return To Idlib Following Russia-Turkey Deal.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=068-7a1&t=c>
(9/19) reports “opposition activists” in Syria say that “thousands of
people who were recently displaced by violence in northwest Syria have
returned home following a Russia-Turkey deal that averted a government
offensive on the last major rebel stronghold.” The UN has estimated that
“in the first 12 days of September, over 38,000 people were internally
displaced by an intense government aerial bombing campaign in Idlib.” The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights “said that some 7,000 people have
returned to their towns and villages since Monday when Russia and Turkey
announced the deal.”
Polish Opposition Figures Object To Duda’s “Fort Trump” Proposal.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=069-7fc&t=c>
(9/19, Cowell) reports that Polish President Andrzej Duda’s “supposedly
tongue-in-cheek” proposal to name a US military base in Poland “Fort Trump”
appears to have “brought little praise at home, where critics bridled him
on Wednesday for what they depicted as craven behavior.” Former Polish
Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak wrote, “What an embarrassment in front of
the entire world! Even leaders of banana republics had more respect for
themselves and their countries than President Duda does.” Polish Senator
Barbara Zdrojewska is quoted as saying, “Had he done it in a private
conversation, jokingly, it would have been a crafty move, but blurting it
out during a news conference in front of half of the world was pathetic. He
humiliated himself, us and Trump.” Both Siemoniak and Zdrojewska are
members of the opposition party Civic Platform. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=06a-f4e&t=c>
(9/19, Noack) reports that some in Poland also objected to a photo released
by the White House showing Trump and Duda signing a strategic partnership
pact because Trump was seated and dour looking, while Duda was standing and
smiling.

*Georgian Prime Minister Praises Security Cooperation Under
Trump. *Georgian
Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said on Fox News’ Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=06b-830&t=c>
(9/19) that “under President Trump’s Administration, US-Georgia security
cooperation is enhancing. It has never been as strong as it is now.” When
asked about Russian occupation, Bakhtadze said, “Unfortunately, Russia has
occupied 20 percent of our territory and it still continues its aggression
towards Georgia.” He added, “We are committed to the peaceful resolution of
this conflict. Unfortunately, Russia is trying again to undermine our peace
initiatives.” When asked about criticism that Trump has “not been tough
enough against Russia,” Bakhtadze said, “We are very much encouraged with
President Trump’s decision to have a dialogue with Russia, because there is
no alternative to dialogue.”
UN: Colombia’s Coca Cultivation Hit Record In 2017.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=06c-4d8&t=c>
(9/19, Acosta, Bocanegra) reports the UN said Wednesday that Colombia’s
acreage of coca “expanded 17 percent to hit a new record” in 2017. The
total area of the nation under coca cultivation “increased to 171,000
hectares (422,550 acres) by the end of 2017,” according to the UN Office on
Drugs and Crime, “due to increased productivity and growers eager to expand
in the hope of getting more aid to switch to legal crops.”
Domestic Policy
Trump To Carolinas: You Will Have Everything You Need.

After a visit Wednesday to North and South Carolina to visit with residents
and officials dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, President
Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=06d-402&t=c>
Wednesday evening, “Just returned to the White House from the Great States
of North Carolina and South Carolina where incredible work is being done on
the ongoing fight against hurricane Florence. Tremendous talent and
spirit!” Later in the evening, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=06e-07e&t=c>
a video showing scenes from his visit to the region with a voice-over of
remarks he delivered while there. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018092001biden&r=email-e841&l=06f-038&t=c>
a White House fact sheet titled, “President Donald J. Trump’s
Administration is Providing Support to Those Impacted by Hurricane
Florence.” Media coverage of Trump’s visit is largely positive,
highli