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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Wednesday, July 18, 2018 7:50 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, July 18, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=000-9d8&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=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=001-9e0&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, July 18, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Media Outlets Highlight Biden’s Criticism Of Trump’s Press Conference
With Putin. <#S1>

• Biden Says He’ll Make Decision On 2020 Bid By January. <#S2>

• Rasmussen Poll: 73% Of Democratic Voters Want “Fresh Face” As Nominee In
2020. <#S3>

• Biden Urges Colombia To Continue Peace Process. <#S4>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Says He Misspoke On Russian Election Meddling. <#S5>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Iran Files Suit Against US Sanctions In International Court. <#S6>

• NYTimes: US-Russian Cooperation In Syria Is Limited. <#S7>

• WPost A1: ISIS Resurgent In Remote Central Iraq. <#S8>

• Separate ISIS, Taliban Attacks Kill Dozens In Afghanistan. <#S9>

• US Military Expecting North Korea To Return Remains Of 55 Korean War Dead.
<#S10>

• Japan Extends Nuclear Agreement With US, Pledges To Reduce Plutonium
Stocks. <#S11>

• May Ekes Out Narrow Victory On Brexit Vote. <#S12>

• Domestic, Foreign Automakers Oppose US Auto Tariffs. <#S13>

• Obama Warns Of “Triumph Of Tribalism And The Strong Man.” <#S14>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Trump: Democrats Want Open Borders, Which Means More Crime. <#S15>

• Trump: Strzok, Page, Comey, McCabe Are “Truly Bad People.” <#S16>

• Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York Sue Over SALT Deduction Cap.
<#S17>

• Fed’s Powell Presents Positive Economic Assessment To Senators. <#S18>

• Sanchez: Infrastructure Would Be Top Priority Of Democratic House. <#S19>

• EPA Approves Rule Changing Requirements For Handling Coal Ash. <#S20>

• Hotel Sues Las Vegas Shooting Victims, Denying Liability For Shooting.
<#S21>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• FDA “Breakthrough” Status May Be Given To Drugs Not Supported By
Strongest Evidence. <#S22>

• Melanoma May Be Detectable In Early Stages With Experimental Blood Test.
<#S23>

• Under ACA Mandate, Young Women More Likely To Be Insured, Diagnosed Early.
<#S24>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S25>

• Washington Post. <#S26>
Biden in the News
Media Outlets Highlight Biden’s Criticism Of Trump’s Press Conference With
Putin.

Several media outlets highlight former Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks
criticizing President Trump over his press conference with Russian
President Vladimir Putin. In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=002-4f3&t=c>
(7/17, Rod) quoted Biden as saying during a town hall on democracy in
Bogota, “I think the press conference was beneath the office of the
President. And I think it did us great damage internationally.” Biden
added, “I have never seen such behavior from a President of the United
States on an international forum that diminishes the United States as I saw
in that press conference.” Biden went on to say, “I was proud to see,
finally, some of my Republican colleagues...speak out about some of the
outrageous things that are being said and done.” In a broadcast, CNN’s
Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=003-de1&t=c>
(7/17) played a clip of Biden saying, in part, “Let me just suffice it to
say the President’s conduct at that press conference was beneath the
dignity of the presidency,” comments that host Wolf Blitzer described as
“very strong words.”

12-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=004-77a&t=c>
Long Island, NY (7/17) broadcast a similar clip of Biden’s remarks, that
included him saying, “I guarantee you, as Vice President with access to
every bit of classified information that exists in the US government, I
guarantee you Russia interfered in our elections. I guarantee you – there
is no question.” KSNV-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=005-4a4&t=c>
Las Vegas (7/17) broadcast a brief clip of Biden’s remarks, and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=006-41e&t=c>
(7/17, Hayes) also reports on Bidens comments in its story headlined “Joe
Biden Says He Will Decide Whether He’s Running For President By January.”

*Biden: We Must “Resist The Siren Song Of Populism And Phony
Nationalism.” *In a separate online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=007-317&t=c>
(7/17, Foran) reported that Biden also said yesterday during his remarks at
the 2018 Concordia Americas Summit, “We have to resist the siren song of
populism and phony nationalism that threatens the north and south,
including my home country. In fact, this is a global challenge.” CNN notes
that Biden’s comments came in the wake of Trump, during his press
conference with Putin, having “stunned the world by declining to endorse
the US intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interference in the
2016 presidential election.” Biden is quoted as saying, “This is a moment
where repressive regimes from Russia to China to Iran to Venezuela are
weakening democratic forces in their societies and strengthening their grip
on power.” Biden “also blamed the Trump administration’s immigration policy
for causing ‘heartbreaking chaos and pain,’ and criticized the separation
of undocumented immigrant families.”
Biden Says He’ll Make Decision On 2020 Bid By January.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=008-843&t=c>
(7/17, Hayes) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday said
“he would decide whether he would run for president by January.” Speaking
with CNN’s Juan Carlos López at the Concordia Americas Summit, Biden said
“that while polling data shows he could beat Trump, it might not mean
anything. ‘I know I have to make up my mind and I have to do it by
January,’ Biden said. He said that after the midterm elections in November
he would hold an ‘altar call’ and gauge whether a run would be successful,
both in terms of financial and overall support.”
Rasmussen Poll: 73% Of Democratic Voters Want “Fresh Face” As Nominee In
2020.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=009-ed1&t=c>
(7/17, Birnbaum) reported that a Rasmussen Reports nationwide poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=00a-066&t=c>
of 1,000 likely voters, taken July 11-12, finds that nearly “three-quarters
of Democratic voters want a ‘fresh face’ for their party’s presidential
nominee in 2020.” In the poll, 73 percent “of likely Democratic voters”
said that “the Democratic Party should promote someone new rather than
someone who has run in the past. Only 16 percent disagreed with the need
for ‘fresh faces,’ while 11 percent were undecided. Among all likely
voters, 65 percent said Democrats should find someone new for 2020, while
19 percent said the party should get behind someone who has run before.”

Under the headline “Democrats Reject Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders As
73 Percent Demand ‘Fresh Face’ 2020 Nominee,” Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=00b-96c&t=c>
(7/17, Fearnow) reported, “Nearly three-quarters of African-American voters
surveyed...said a ‘fresh face’ is required in the 2020 election in order to
defeat” President Trump, “with 65 percent of white voters echoing the same
belief.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=00c-cff&t=c>
(7/17, Harper) quotes Rasmussen Reports as saying of the poll results,
“[Hillary] Clinton, Sanders and Biden are among those touted as serious
Democratic presidential contenders, but three-out-of-four Democrats think
their party needs to turn to someone new.”
Biden Urges Colombia To Continue Peace Process.

The Latin American Herald Tribune (VEN)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=00d-3ef&t=c>
(7/17) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday said “during
the 2018 Concordia Americas Summit in Bogota that Colombia should continue
with the peace process so the country can progress.” In his speech, Biden
urged Colombian President-elect Ivan Duque, “who is set to assume the
presidency on Aug. 7, not to give up on the peace process with the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and praised the country’s
determination to achieve progress.” Biden emphasized “that the entire
American continent will benefit if Colombia prospers economically as the
South American nation is considered a cornerstone for the welfare of
America.”
Leading the News
Trump Says He Misspoke On Russian Election Meddling.

Media reports and analyses cast doubt on President Trump’s explanation for
his claim in Helsinki that he did not “see any reason why” Russia would
have attempted to influence the 2016 election. The coverage discounts
Trump’s claim
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=00e-b6f&t=c>
that he misspoke, and describes his comments yesterday as a deliberately
crafted effort to respond to a PR nightmare. In its lead story, for
example, ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=00f-955&t=c>
(7/17, lead story, 4:20, Karl) reported that “reeling from a torrent of
criticism after his disastrous press conference,” Trump “came before the
cameras...with a carefully scripted attempt to control the damage.” Or as NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=010-63a&t=c>
(7/17, lead story, 3:00, Alexander) put it, “First, the backlash, now the
walk-back.” Before his afternoon remarks, Trump partly addressed the
controversy on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=011-7d8&t=c>,
writing, “While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of
money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly,
it is not being reported that way – the Fake News is going Crazy!” Trump
reprised the theme later yesterday, tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=012-bd8&t=c>,
“The meeting between President Putin and myself was a great success, except
in the Fake News Media!”

According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=013-348&t=c>
(7/17), Trump “cast his Monday meeting with...Putin in a glowing light and
attempted to discredit the widely held perception that the day he spent
with Putin...was detrimental” to the US. USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=014-002&t=c>
(7/17, Jackson, Fritze), meanwhile, calls Trump “defiant” as he “blamed the
news media for the poor reception” of his comments. Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=015-d3a&t=c>,
“Thank you @RandPaul,” and retweeted a message from the senator, who
stated, “The President has gone through a year and a half of totally
partisan investigations – what’s he supposed to think?” Paul has been one
of the few GOP figures to publicly defend Trump’s performance in Helsinki,
and to McClatchy
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=016-1ca&t=c>
(7/17, Clark), he and Trump “are now best friends,” part of “a mutual
admiration society.”

Reports, however, continued to highlight the widespread criticism
of Trump’s comments in his press conference with Putin. In a piece titled,
“Even Fox News Hosts Were Aghast After Trump’s Summit With Putin,” Alex
Horton of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=017-24c&t=c>
(7/17) writes, “Fox News did not ride to the president’s rescue after the
summit, joining a bipartisan scrum of lawmakers and political commentators
who condemned Trump’s comments alongside the Russian leader.” According to
Horton, “It was a stunning, if temporary, turn for Trump’s preferred
network.” Horton adds that this morning, Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo
said, “It was probably the low point of the presidency so far.” Moreover,
writing for Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=018-096&t=c>
(7/17, Benson), Guy Benson writes that “Trump’s pitiful showing at a
Helsinki joint press conference with...Putin...was perhaps the lowest
moment of his presidency – with the possible exception of his inexcusable
initial reaction to the racial violence in Charlottesville.” Both instances
saw Trump “indulging in grotesque moral equivalencies, each at least
partially driven by his pathological compulsion not to excoriate people who
shower him with effusive, if superficial, praise.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=019-e17&t=c>
(7/17, Snider) also reports that “even Trump’s most ardent supporters in
the media including Fox News Channel and The Wall Street Journal were
critical of his siding with” Putin, and “it remains to be seen whether
Trump’s attempts Tuesday to walk back his comments made in Helsinki can
repair the damage.” At any rate, USA Today adds, Trump on “Tuesday said he
accepted the US intelligence community’s assessment that Russians
interfered with the 2016 election – with a qualifier.” Trump professed
“full faith and support for America’s great intelligence agencies,” but he
added that “‘it could be other people also’ involved in the hacking of
Democrats and pushing fake news during the 2016 presidential campaign.”

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=01a-e3d&t=c>
(7/17, Spiering) reports “Trump said that after reading through the
transcript of his remarks, he realized that he misspoke during the press
conference, and meant to say that he did not see any reason to doubt that
Russia tried to meddle in the election.” Said Trump, “It should have been
obvious… but I would like to clarify.” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=01b-3ab&t=c>
(7/17, Basu) quotes Trump as saying, “I accept our intelligence community’s
conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place. Could be
other people also. A lot of people out there. ... In a key sentence in my
remarks, I said the word would instead of wouldn’t. The sentence should
have been...’I don’t see any reason why it WOULDN’T be Russia.’ Sort of a
double negative. So you can put that in, and I think that probably
clarifies things.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=01c-928&t=c>
(7/17, Fabian) reports, however, that “in an interview with Fox News’s Sean
Hannity after the summit, Trump did not indicate he misspoke,” while to the
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=01d-a0d&t=c>
(7/17), “Trump says he meant the opposite when he said in Helsinki that he
doesn’t see why Russia would have interfered in the 2016 US election.”
According to another AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=01e-06c&t=c>
(7/17, Miller, Mascaro) dispatch, it was “a rare admission of error by the
bombastic US leader” that “came...amid rising rebuke by his own party.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=01f-678&t=c>
(7/17, Bierman) casts Trump as “seeking to stanch a national furor,”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=020-f5a&t=c>
(7/17, Nussbaum, Cook) refers to an “attempted walk-back” and an effort by
Trump “to clean up his disastrous press conference,” the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=021-300&t=c>
(7/17, Fredericks) calls Trump’s remarks yesterday “a stunning
about-face,” Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=022-438&t=c>
(7/17, Sink, Jacobs) “a rare reversal,” and the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=023-394&t=c>
(7/17, Morrongiello) “a turnaround.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=024-633&t=c>
(7/17, Wagner) reports, meanwhile, that Trump “did not address...his
assertion at Monday’s news conference that ‘I have confidence in both
parties’ in response to a question about whether he believed Putin’s denial
or the intelligence committee’s conclusion about Russia’s interference in
the election.” Under the headline “How Trump Retreats: Grudging Apologies,
Plus A Wink And A Nod To The Original Insult,” the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=025-b67&t=c>
(7/17, Fisher) also says Trump “has crafted a method of apology that is
equal parts retreat and doubling down.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=026-96b&t=c>
(7/17, Landler, Haberman) says that “Trump, who has referred to himself as
a ‘very stable genius,’ rarely corrects what he says and more often blames
the news media for making up ‘fake news.’” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=027-b7a&t=c>
(7/17, Salama) runs a similar story under the headline “Trump Reverses
Course, Says Russia Meddled In 2016 Election,” while the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=028-54a&t=c>
(7/17, Miller) casts Trump as pushing “back against the uproar” and USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=029-6a2&t=c>
(7/17, Jackson, Fritze) as “seeking to the quell the furor.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=02a-070&t=c>
(7/17, Rampton) says “the political firestorm over” Trump’s “performance at
the Helsinki news conference has engulfed the administration and spread to
his fellow Republicans, eclipsing most of the frequent controversies that
have erupted during Trump’s turbulent 18 months in office,” but at any
rate, CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=02b-a06&t=c>
(7/17, Bennett) reports, “it is unclear if his mea culpa will be enough to
assuage frustrated lawmakers.” Roll Call also reports that “the lights went
out at one point during the brief time reporters were in the Cabinet Room.”
The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=02c-16a&t=c>
(7/17, lead story, 3:05, Jiang) showed Trump saying, “Oops. They just
turned off the lights. That must be the intelligence agencies.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=02d-c94&t=c>
(7/17, Collins, Fritze) says “the White House has been working overtime to
quell criticism of...Trump’s summit,” beginning “its damage control effort
in a missive sent to Republicans on Capitol Hill on Monday night.” That
email, obtained by USA Today, “maintains that the president believes Russia
meddled in the US 2016 election, a position that is contrary to the
president’s own words spoken during the Helsinki meeting.” CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=02e-e29&t=c>
(7/17, Liptak) reported that “top national security officials had huddled
in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday to develop a response to the
fallout,” in a meeting that “resulted in a determination that Trump would
need to clarify his remarks.” CNN added that “top officials, including
national security adviser John Bolton, were involved in crafting the
statement that Trump delivered from the Cabinet Room.” Trump “made some of
his own additions to what his aides prepared; he scrawled in black marker
that ‘THERE WAS NO COLLUSION’ on one page.” CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=02f-e1d&t=c>
(7/17, Watson) also reports Trump “appeared to be reading from typed notes
– with some handwritten additions – during his remarks in which he stated
that Russians were behind the meddling.”

NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=030-5cb&t=c>
(7/17) says Democrats “swiftly seized on the president’s attempt to clarify
his comments,” with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying, “President
Trump tried to squirm away from what he said yesterday. It’s 24 hours too
late and in the wrong place.” According to NBC News, Sen. Mark Warner, the
vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, “said he wasn’t buying
it.” Warner is quoted as saying, “I give these comments about 24 hours
before he once again slams the investigation, before he once again sides
with authoritarians like...Putin.”

On CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=031-1b0&t=c>
(7/17), Jake Tapper called Trump the “revisionist in chief” for claiming he
misspoke, while Amanda Carpenter, former communications director for Sen.
Cruz, said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=032-09e&t=c>
(7/17), “Who can buy this shred of an excuse he trotted out today? One
thing is clear from the Helsinki summit: If he did not collude with Russia
during the campaign, he is certainly colluding with Vladimir Putin on the
cover-up.” Susan Page of USA Today said on Fox News’ Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=033-cf9&t=c>
(7/17) that Trump did “try to walk some of it back today but he didn’t walk
all of it back.”

*In Tweets Today, Trump Touts Putin Meeting, Slams Critics As
“Haters.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=034-735&t=c>
this morning, “So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my
press conference performance in Helsinki. Putin and I discussed many
important subjects at our earlier meeting. We got along well which truly
bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match. Big results will
come!” He added in a second tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=035-536&t=c>,
“Russia has agreed to help with North Korea, where relationships with us
are very good and the process is moving along. There is no rush, the
sanctions remain! Big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end
of process!” In a third tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=036-85a&t=c>
on the topic, Trump said, “While the NATO meeting in Brussels was an
acknowledged triumph, with billions of dollars more being put up by member
countries at a faster pace, the meeting with Russia may prove to be, in the
long run, an even greater success. Many positive things will come out of
that meeting.” Trump said in a fourth tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=037-c9d&t=c>,
“Some people HATE the fact that I got along well with President Putin of
Russia. They would rather go to war than see this. It’s called Trump
Derangement Syndrome!”

*Trump: Getting Along With Russia Is A “Good Thing.” *Trump, in an
interview on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=038-815&t=c>
(7/17), was asked why there is a “bipartisan consensus” that Russia “is our
chief global adversary.” Trump replied, “It’s incredible. You look at World
War I and World War II, there was Germany. And in World War II, Russia lost
50 million people and helped us win the war. .... I’m not pro-Russia,
pro-anybody, I just want to have this country be safe.” He added, “I don’t
want nuclear weapons – even people thinking about it. Russia and the United
States control 90 percent of the nuclear weapons in the world. Getting
along with Russia – and not only for that reason – it’s a good thing.”

*Trump: Obama “Did Nothing” When Informed Of Russia’s Election
Meddling. *Trump was asked on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=039-2a6&t=c>
(7/17) about the timing of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of
12 Russians just before he left for Europe. Trump said, “I don’t think of
the timing as much as I think of other timing. ... I wasn’t President when
this happened. Barack Obama was the President of the United States when all
of this – this was when I was getting elected. So, I was being elected, and
I assume all of this stuff took place in that area or before and he was
President and they informed him of it and he did nothing. ... See, he
thought Hillary was going to win and after I won he said it’s a big deal.
Well, it wasn’t a big deal as long as she won. So, it’s a disgrace and
frankly, it’s a disgrace what’s happening to our country.”

Sebastian Gorka said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=03a-d4b&t=c>
(7/17), “For the last 70 years, Moscow has been trying to undermine our
democracy including our elections. But, it only became an issue for the
left and the media now. Why? Because Donald Trump won the election. ...
They only care now because they want to undermine the integrity of that
election and because they wanted Hillary to win.”

*Freedom Caucus, GOP Senate Candidates, Pat Buchanan, Abernathy
Join List Of Trump Defenders. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=03b-962&t=c>
(7/17, Brufke) reports “top conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus are
defending...Trump’s performance at the Helsinki summit,” with “members of
the group” applauding the President’s “diplomatic efforts” and “arguing the
media has placed too much focus on his remarks at a post-summit press
conference with Putin and not enough on his actions.” Said Rep. Warren
Davidson, “I think it was good for the president to be engaged in
diplomacy, this is consistent with efforts under George W. Bush and Barrack
Obama.” The Hill adds “members of the House Freedom Caucus appeared more
interested in pushing back at fellow Republicans’ criticism of Trump than
they were of criticizing Russia,” and runs comments to that effect by Reps.
Ralph Norman and Andy Biggs, who also “said he thought questions from
reporters on Russian interference and whether Putin has damaging
information about Trump or his family were inappropriate.” The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=03c-665&t=c>
(7/17, Fandos, Stolberg) also said that Trump “picked up more defenders, as
members of the House Freedom Caucus used a ‘Conversation With
Conservatives’ forum to heap praise on Mr. Trump for meeting with Mr.
Putin, accuse his critics of undermining him and blame reporters for asking
questions that...Biggs...described as ‘really odd’ and ‘a little bit
unsettling.’”

Alexi McCammond, writing for Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=03d-073&t=c>
(7/17), says “Republican Senate candidates are mostly sticking with...Trump
after his disastrous press conference,” in “another clear sign the
Republican Party is now the party of Trump. Even when he does the
unthinkable...hopeful GOP senators aren’t willing to deviate from their
leader.” Adds McCammond, “I reached out to 11 GOP Senate candidates to get
their response to Trump’s remarks about Russian election
interference.” The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=03e-9ed&t=c>
(7/17, McLaughlin) reports “a Republican candidate for the US Senate in
Arizona dismissed the blowback over...Trump’s meeting with...Putin as
another example of ‘#TrumpDerangementSyndrome,’” tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=03f-e35&t=c>,
“During the 2016 election, @realDonaldTrump promised the American people he
would mend Washington’s icy relationship with Moscow & keep the U.S. out of
foreign wars. Ignore the #TrumpDerangementSyndrome crowd – he’s keeping his
promise & more importantly he’s keeping us safe.”

CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=040-e65&t=c>
(7/17, Garcia) reports, meanwhile, that “Rep. Louie Gohmert admitted
Russian interference in presidential elections is a problem, but it has
been happening before the election of...Trump.” Gohmert “said he
appreciated Democrats’ concerns about Russian interference in elections,”
but added, “It’s been going on for 70 years. ... It helped Truman get
elected in ‘48. Eisenhower called the Russians on it in ‘56 and
manipulation there.”

According to Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=041-9ec&t=c>
(7/17, Kapur, House), however, “the criticism of Trump’s performance in
Helsinki was broad and bipartisan.” Republicans “who looked past the
release of his recorded remarks about grabbing women and his refusal to
denounce neo-Nazi protesters, or complained but took no substantive action
when he imposed tariffs on allies, found their line in the sand after he
sided with Putin against the US intelligence community’s consensus that
Russia interfered in the 2016 election.”

Gary Abernathy writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=042-a10&t=c>
(7/17) that “in Helsinki, Trump said exactly what he always says on the
subject of foreign interference in the 2016 election, to wit, Putin denies
it, there was no collusion, it’s a witch hunt, and what about Hillary
Clinton’s server and her 30,000 missing emails? What got him into hot water
was repeating that mantra with Putin standing at his side.” Abernathy adds
“that Russian election interference in 2016 was quickly weaponized
politically,” though “even Trump’s supporters sometimes wish he would just
say the words that will make everyone happy.” However, “Trump seldom grants
such small favors, and hysteria ensues. Calm will eventually be restored –
until next time, which will no doubt arrive any day.”

Under the headline, “Right And Left React To The Trump-Putin
Meeting,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=043-9fe&t=c>
(7/17, Jett) quotes from several assessments of the Trump-Putin summit in
Helsinki. The only positive take is from former presidential candidate Pat
Buchanan, who wrote for the American Conservative
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=044-fb5&t=c>
(7/17, Buchanan), “Helsinki showed that Trump meant what he said when he
declared repeatedly, ‘Peace with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.’”
According to Buchanan, Trump “thereby repudiated the records and agendas of
the neocons and their liberal interventionist allies, as well as the
archipelago of War Party think tanks beavering away inside the Beltway.”
Buchanan said that “on Syria, Trump indicated that he and Putin are working
with Bibi Netanyahu, who wants all Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias
kept far from the Golan Heights.”

Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=045-7da&t=c>
(7/17), “President Trump has long stated that good international
relationships with our friends and out geopolitical foes is a very good
thing for everybody. Simple truth. This is especially true when nuclear
weapons are in play. Unfortunately, prior to [Monday’s] summit, US-Russia
relations, they were incredibly strained, and while President Trump tried
to ease these tensions and carve out some kind of working diplomatic
channel with Vladimir Putin, your mainstream media, they were out for blood
even before the President arrived.” Hannity added, “I’m normally kind of
immune to the media’s daily dose of feigned moral outrage, but this is sick
and is now pathological – really sick. Now, this is not news. These people
are not journalists. These are not news channels.” This is “nothing but
left-wing propaganda misinformation. It’s just that plain, obvious and
simple.” In a story this morning, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=046-322&t=c>
(7/17, Johnson) calls Hannity Trump’s “lone defender.”

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett said on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=047-ad2&t=c>
(7/17), “Three months ago on April 6, the President signed an order
imposing new sanctions on Putin and Russia and he issued a statement at the
time saying he’s doing this because Russia interfered in our 2016 election,
trying to sow discord. He has said this repeatedly but the media has
amnesia. This President has been tougher on Putin and Russia in 18 months
in office than Barack Obama in eight years.”

Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=048-e6b&t=c>
(7/17), “I’m kind of surprised there’s been this much angst over this press
conference. Not that he said things that we should have. President Trump
really did mess up with that press conference, but I don’t quite know what
people want. He actually is pretty tough on Russia. In the last couple of
years, there’s been an increase in the military budget. We have seen an
increase in intelligence budget. We are doing NATO exercises in the
Baltics. We provided legal aid to Ukraine and Georgia. We are developing a
low-yield nuclear weapons. We implemented sanctions that were even stronger
than required by congressional mandates. So, if you care about actual
actions, I think there’s a lot to be happy about in terms of a tough
posture towards Russia. People are obsessed about words and they should
maybe focus on the actions as well.”

*Ryan Avoids Criticism Of Trump As He Defends NATO, Criticizes
Russian Election Meddling. *Under the headline “Paul Ryan Avoids
Criticizing Trump As Helsinki Fallout Continues,” CQ Roll Call (DC)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=049-05e&t=c>
(7/17, McPherson) reports Speaker Ryan “on Tuesday attempted to send a
clear message about Russia following...Trump’s Monday summit with...Putin,
but it was missing one thing – a direct rebuke of the president’s
statements and actions.” Said Ryan, “Let me try and be as clear as I can to
the world and the country: We stand by our NATO allies and all those
countries who are facing Russia aggression.”

*GOP Leaders Move “Cautiously”; Rubio, Portman Among Those
Satisfied With Trump Clarification. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=04a-dfd&t=c>
(7/17, Fandos, Stolberg) reports Schumer said in “blistering remarks” on
the Senate floor, “Words are not enough. ... Our response to the debasement
of American interest before an adversary demands a response not just in
words but in deeds.” However, adds the Times, “Republican leaders instead
advanced cautiously on Tuesday.” The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=04b-95e&t=c>
(7/17, story 2, 2:20, Glor) showed Sen. Marco Rubio saying of yesterday’s
comments by Trump, “Well, that’s what I wish he would have said initially,
and I’m glad he said it now.” Said Sen. Rob Portman, “I take him at his
word if he says he misspoke, absolutely.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=04c-cc9&t=c>
(7/17, story 2, 2:00, Holt), meanwhile, showed frequent Trump critic Sen.
Bob Corker saying, “It feels like the dam is breaking, and I was glad to
see people on both sides of the House condemning what happened yesterday.”

Rep. Chris Stewart said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=04d-7c3&t=c>
(7/17) that if Trump’s remarks Tuesday were an attempt to clean up his
comments in Helsinki, “he needed a pretty big broom. I mean, I was pretty
vocal yesterday in the sense that I love this President. I support his
policies generally. I think he’s trying to serve our country and make
things better for people but he was just wrong [on Monday].”

Rep. Chris Collins said on CNN Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=04e-0e2&t=c>
(7/17), “I think this comes back to President Trump’s focus on keeping
America safe and making the world a safer place. When you look at Iran,
when you look at North Korea, when you look at Syria, there’s only one
person that can help us make this a safer world, and that is Vladimir
Putin, who has got his fingers in all three areas. We are going to need to
get to some resolution in all three of those hot spots with Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump, the negotiator, President Trump, certainly understands that,
and strategically meeting with Vladimir Putin is opening the door much like
he’s doing with Kim Jong-un to make this a safer place. And when it comes
to those three areas, if we’re not in consultation and pushing Russia where
we can, this is not going to be a safer world.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=04f-400&t=c>
(7/17) reports Ryan said that he is “willing to consider additional
sanctions on Russia.” Ryan is quoted as saying, “I’m more than happy to
consider those. ... Russia is a menacing government that does not share our
interests and it does not share our values.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=050-fec&t=c>
(7/17, Dennis, Litvan) reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
also “warned Russia against meddling again in US elections and said his
chamber might take up legislation targeting the country with more
sanctions,” and “pointed to a bill by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and
Democrat Chris Van Hollen as one possibility for Senate action.” Bloomberg
adds, “Backed earlier Tuesday by GOP Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, it
would impose stiff sanctions on Russia’s energy and banking sectors if
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats – not Trump – certifies that
Russia interfered in any future election.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=051-020&t=c>
(7/17, Schor) notes McConnell “stopped short of any firm commitments to
passing that measure or any others related to Russia, but told reporters
that ‘there’s a possibility we may well take up legislation related to
this.’”

*Trump Critics Accusing Him Of “Treason” As Defenders See “Trump
Derangement Syndrome.” *Under the headline “Critics Of Trump Have A New
Word In Their Vocabulary: Treason,” the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=052-dde&t=c>
(7/17, Baker) reports “John O. Brennan spent a career in the Central
Intelligence Agency defending the United States against its enemies. For
decades, that meant terrorists, rogue regimes or the Russians. For him now,
it means the president of the United States.” When he “accused...Trump of
treason following Monday’s meeting with...Putin of Russia, it opened a
floodgate,” marking “another moment for the history books” in “a presidency
without precedent.” The Times adds that “to the president’s defenders, this
all sounds like a sign of what they often call Trump Derangement Syndrome,”
meaning that “he drives his critics to such extremes” that their words say
“more about them than it does about Mr. Trump.”

Appearing on NBC’s Today Show[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=053-777&t=c>
(7/17), Brennan said yesterday, “We only saw the press conference. We
didn’t see [Trump’s] performance in the...one-on-one” meeting with Putin.
Brennan asked rhetorically, “For two hours, what did President Trump talk
to Mr. Putin about?” Brennan added, “I have no idea. I’m certainly
concerned about what might have been discussed there, shared. Did he
discuss about US intelligence capabilities?” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=054-96f&t=c>
(7/17, Muñoz) reports that Brennan said that as a result, “‘there very well
might be’ a shift in the covert community to ‘withhold vital intelligence’
in order to protect that information.”

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=055-371&t=c>
(7/16, Hanchett) notes that “on Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s All In, MSNBC
Contributor and former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks
stated...Trump’s performance in Helsinki ‘will live in infamy as much as
the Pearl Harbor attack or Kristallnacht.’” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=056-f41&t=c>
(7/17, Muñoz) reports that former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
“said Tuesday she was in ‘stunned belief’ watching...Trump’s ‘un-American,
outrageous, ridiculous, stupid’ performance.” Albright added on MSNBC that
“Trump was ‘bending’ to Mr. Putin’s wishes,” and that “Trump is the gift
that keeps giving to Putin.”

On CBS This Morning[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=057-a24&t=c>
(7/17), Sen. Ben Sasse said Trump “negotiated from a position of
weakness...and Vladimir Putin walked away from Helsinki with a win. It’s a
disaster.” Sasse added, “Too often what we seem to see is a ‘Trump First’
policy, rather than an ‘America First’ policy. ... What happened in
Helsinki leaves everybody scratching their heads. ... When...you have a
choice between siding with Vladimir Putin or siding with patriots in the US
intelligence community, there’s no choice here! The answer is obvious, yet
we didn’t see that yesterday.”

CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said on CNN’s Anderson
Cooper 360[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=058-aa5&t=c>
(7/17), “I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m not someone who generally
believes that the world is controlled by shadowy figures, but his behavior
is so pervasively bizarre and against the national interests that it
certainly raises the possibility that something untoward is going on here.”

Sen. Cory Booker said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=059-79a&t=c>
(7/17) that Trump’s remarks in Helsinki were “offensive. It was showing a
level of submission before a dictator, before Vladimir Putin. And it put
our nation at greater risk. And this comes at the tail end of him
undermining NATO, undermining or attacking the allies in their own
countries like what he did to Theresa May. This is a leader, Trump, who has
really betrayed his role as Commander in Chief to protect the United States
of America and to support those people who spend every single day trying to
protect the United States of America like our intelligence community.”

Sen. Angus King said on CNN Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=05a-b7d&t=c>
(7/17), “I think what you saw today was an attempt to get it right, but he
blew it at the end. He started to make the speech he should have made a
year and a half ago, which is, our intelligence community has concluded
unanimously and without doubt that the Russians tried to interfere with our
elections in 2016. ... Today he had the script in front of him, and then he
strayed from the script at the end and said, well, it could have been other
people too.”

Under the headline “It’s Time To Excise The Trump Cancer,” Kathleen
Parker writes in her Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=05b-38c&t=c>
(7/17) column that “a cancer lives among us, and the good people of this
country must be precise in its excision. If Republicans don’t do it now,
Democrats will probably sweep the ballots in November and do it then.”

George F. Will titles his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=05c-e1b&t=c>
(7/17) column “This Sad, Embarrassing Wreck Of A Man,” and writes, “Now we
shall see how many Republicans retain a capacity for embarrassment. ...
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly,
Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and others might believe
that they must stay in their positions lest there be no adult supervision
of the Oval playpen. This is a serious worry, but so is this: Can those
people do their jobs for someone who has neither respect nor loyalty for
them?”

*WTimes: Trump’s Russia Outreach Signals Broader Policy On China. *In
an analysis, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=05d-009&t=c>
(7/17, Wolfgang) says foreign policy analysts believe “Trump’s charm
offensive toward” Putin “shouldn’t overshadow” the Administration’s
“numerous firm actions against the Kremlin” over the last 18 months.
Despite the Administration’s “clear actions to counter Moscow,” some
“regional experts argue Mr. Trump is simultaneously engaged in a careful
strategic dance to decouple Russia from China, which the White House sees
as the more serious long-term threat to the U.S.” With the “prospect of a
wider strategy to counter China as a backdrop, some analysts argue that it
is simply wrong to view the Helsinki summit as a capitulation by the
president to a major foreign rival – since Russia can hardly be described
as an equal foe to the United States.”

*NSA’s Nakasone Acting Without White House Guidance To Build Up
Defenses Against Russian Meddling. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=05e-514&t=c>
(7/17, Nakashima) reports that National Security Agency Director Paul
Nakasone, who is also the head of US Cyber Command, “has quietly directed
the two organizations to coordinate actions to counter potential Russian
interference in the 2018 midterm elections.” According to the Post, “It is
the latest initiative by national security agencies to push back against
Russian aggression in the absence of direct guidance from the White House
on the issue. ‘Nakasone, and the heads of the other three-letter agencies,
are doing what they can in their own lanes, absent an overall approach
directed by the president,’ said Michael V. Hayden, who has headed the NSA
and the CIA.”

*Russia Wants To Charge McFaul, US Intelligence Officials With
“Financial Crimes.” *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=05f-4d6&t=c>
(7/17, Gehrke) reports “Russia wants to charge former Ambassador Michael
McFaul and several U.S. intelligence officials with financial crimes,
Russian officials revealed Tuesday.” Putin “broached the topic during his
summit with...Trump, when he offered to allow Special Counsel Robert
Mueller to attend the questioning of Russian spies accused of conducting
cyberattacks against the Democratic Party in 2016.” But “in exchange,
Putin’s team wants to question McFaul and at least three National Security
Agency officials in connection to a case involving Bill Browder, a hedge
fund manager who has led an international effort to impose sanctions on
Russian officials implicated in human rights abuses.”

*Pompeo Likely To Face Questions On Summit When He Appears Before
House Panel Next Week. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=060-cb3&t=c>
(7/17, Everett) reports Secretary of State Pompeo “will appear before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week to discuss a pair of
controversial summits held by President Donald Trump, according to
Republican aides.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=061-23a&t=c>
(7/17, Carney) says “he’s expected to face a grilling over the summit
between...Putin and...Trump.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=062-b9f&t=c>
(7/17, Weaver) notes “the committee originally requested to talk with
Pompeo about negotiations with Pyongyang, but added Russia as a discussion
topic following the summit.”

*Kremlin “Celebrating” What It Sees As Shift In Relationship. *Fred
Pleitgen reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=063-77d&t=c>
(7/17) that while Trump’s performance in Helsinki “is causing anger and
disbelief in Washington” and among US allies, “Moscow is celebrating a
major victory on the international stage.” The Russians “believe” Trump
seeks to “change and improve relations” with Moscow, “even against the will
and against the criticism of what they call the establishment in
Washington.” Moscow thinks the summit represented “a shift of the US
towards Russia and away from some of its traditional allies.” The CBS
Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=064-283&t=c>
(7/17, story 3, 1:05, Glor) reported that “immediately after the talks in
Helsinki, it was pure delight” in Moscow, but “by this morning, that had
cooled a bit. Wiser heads were saying the backlash in Washington is so
strong it might make Russia toxic enough that there would never be a
follow-up round of talks.” The Russians want a follow-up meeting, with the
“ultimate goal” being to have sanctions against the country lifted.

Rich Edson reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=065-42b&t=c>
(7/17) that while Putin told Russian state media that he and Trump had a
substantive conversation, “with no signed summit agreement, it’s unclear
what, if anything, the presidents agreed to, beyond support for peace
between Syria and Israel, and vague promises about cooperation and
dialogue.” Edson continued: “There are still major differences between the
countries on Iran, Syria, sanctions, and NATO expansion.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=066-e66&t=c>
(7/17, Troianovski) reports that “for the Kremlin, the summit was only the
beginning” after “Russian commentators and politicians declared the
meeting...a triumph, concluding that Trump was finally serious about
fulfilling his campaign promise to improve relations with Moscow.” But
“now, Russian officials are waiting to see whether Trump’s words will
translate into action or fall flat in the face of a U.S. establishment that
they view as determined to reverse the thaw.”

*Russian Woman Linked To NRA Indicted On Charge Of Being Kremlin
Agent. *Meanwhile, the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
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(7/17, story 4, 0:20, Glor) reported that a federal grand jury on Tuesday
indicted “a Russian woman on charges of acting as a covert agent of the
Russian government.” Maria Butina was arrested Sunday for allegedly
“infiltrating US political groups.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
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(7/17, story 8, 2:00, Muir) reported that the FBI “claims Butina has been
cozying up to US politicians and political candidates and top officials of
the NRA to secretly advance the interests of the Russian federation. ...
And according to sources, briefly met with Donald Trump, Jr. at an NRA
convention.” ABC (Thomas) added that at a 2015 conference, Butina “can be
can be heard asking then-candidate Donald Trump a question about Russia.”
Butina: “Do you want to continue the politics of sanctions?” President
Donald Trump: “I know Putin, and I’ll tell you what. We get along with
Putin.” According to sources, Butina was operating “under the direction of
Alexander Torshin, one of Putin’s closest allies.”

The New York Times
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(7/17, Lafraniere, Rosenberg, Goldman) reports Butina was “upfront” on
social media about her “three great passions: gun rights, President Trump
and better relations between the United States and Russia,” but federal
prosecutors say it was “all a ruse...a cover for Ms. Butina to advance
Russia’s agenda within the Republican Party.” Prosecutors said that for
three years, Butina was “part of a low-cost, low-risk influence operation”
run by Torshin, “and was assisted by an unnamed American operative with
Republican ties.” She also allegedly received help from the NRA, “which
repeatedly brought Ms. Butina from her native Russia to the United States
for events until she obtained a student visa in August 2016.”

The Washington Post
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(7/17, Helderman, Hamburger, Harris, Leonnig) reports that by Aug. 2016,
when Butina moved to the US on that student visa, “the FBI was watching,
according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.” Instead of
questioning or confronting her, those sources said, “officials decided to
track her movements to determine whom she was meeting and what she was
doing.” According to the Post, “At the same time prosecutors say 12 Russian
intelligence agents in Moscow sought to affect the 2016 presidential
campaign by hacking and releasing stolen documents from Democrats, Butina
was roaming the country, building ties on the Kremlin’s behalf with
powerful conservative figures, according to court filings.” A former
official familiar with the Russia probe, speaking on the condition of
anonymity, said the indictment against Butina “is just further evidence of
how far-reaching and carefully planned Russia’s assault on American
democracy has been.”

*Estonia Says Putin’s Plane Entered NATO Airspace Without Clearance
En Route To Helsinki. *The New York Times
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(7/17, Kramer) reports that as Putin flew from Moscow to Helsinki on Monday
morning for his summit with President Trump, his “presidential plane
entered NATO airspace without clearance over a portion of the Baltic Sea
that is often the site of Russian military jet fly-bys, the Estonian
military said on Tuesday.” The aircraft “crossed about 1.5 nautical miles,
or 1.7 miles, into Estonian territory.” Estonian military spokesman Roland
Murof “said it remained unclear why the presidential plane had passed
through NATO airspace without clearance before the summit meeting.” That
flight, “he said, like the regular fighter-jet incursions in the same area,
could have been intended as an opening statement of sorts for the meeting”
that “would demonstrate what the Russians see as NATO’s indecisiveness in
the Baltic Sea.” According to the Times, Estonia “has long been seen as a
test case for the alliance’s willingness to resist Russian military moves.”

*Georgian Ambassador: Russia’s “Zones Of Influence” Threaten
European Stability. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=06c-737&t=c>
(7/17, Boylan) reports that during a Helsinki Commission hearing Tuesday,
Georgian Ambassador to the US David Bakradze accused Moscow of accelerating
the “illegal annexation” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two Georgian
territories. He told the panel, “Russia continues its aggressive policy
aimed at redrawing the borders and retaining the so-called zones of
influence,” a strategy that “undermines the security and peace in Europe”
and “creates a very dangerous environment that if not appropriately
countered may lead to developments in the region that will be hard to
reverse.” The panel members, “meanwhile, were quick to connect Russian
efforts to meddle in U.S. elections with the subversive tactics Kremlin
operatives have employed in Georgia since invading in 2008.” While
“Bakradze emphasized Georgia’s desire to purse ‘peaceful conflict
resolution’” and “noted that ‘strong leadership of the United States is
essential to reach progress in the resolution of the Russia-Georgia
conflict,’” he “also painted a dreary picture of Russian aggression.”

*NYTimes Editorial Outlines 10 Steps For Congress After
“Disgraceful And Creepy” Trump Comments. *The New York Times
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(7/17) editorializes that “Trump’s fawning over Mr. Putin was so
disgraceful and creepy – oh, that wink! – that even many Republican
lawmakers felt moved to express their discomfort,” and goes on to offer 10
steps for Congress to take, “some of which have already been called for by
Senate Democrats.” Among them are “Fully implement the broad Russia
sanctions bill passed last year. ... Hold hearings and compel testimony
from the national security team that accompanied Mr. Trump to Helsinki.
...Call on Mr. Trump to demand the extradition of the Russians whom the
Justice Department gained indictments for last week. ... Take additional
steps to protect the integrity of the coming elections from further Russian
meddling” and “pass legislation protecting...Mueller’s investigation.”

*WPost Editorial Wants Bill Forcing Presidential Candidates To
Release Tax Returns. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=06e-fd2&t=c>
(7/17) editorializes that Trump “tried to calm the wave of criticism that
has pummeled him since his ignoble Monday news conference,” but his
“transparent effort at damage control – too little, too late, on the wrong
continent – will not undo the damage he caused.” To the Post, “those who
can undo some of the damage sit at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Congress “should require that Mr. Trump, immediately, and major
presidential candidates, in the future, disclose their tax returns and
other financial records, removing any suspicion that a president could be
blackmailed by a foreign power.” They should also “finally pass a bill
protecting the Russia probe.”

*Trump Decries Media Coverage Of NATO Summit. *Trump tweeted
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Tuesday, “I had a great meeting with NATO. They have paid $33 Billion more
and will pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars more in the future, only
because of me. NATO was weak, but now it is strong again (bad for Russia).
The media only says I was rude to leaders, never mentions the money!”

According to a Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=070-1c4&t=c>
(7/17, Nakamura, Morello) analysis, however, “In five short weeks,
President Trump has upended the established global order.” He “cozied up to
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,” waged a “rhetorical war against loyal
U.S. allies in Europe,” and “slammed his own FBI and intelligence agencies
in the course of defending Russian President Vladimir Putin” – moves the
Post says have “clearly served Trump’s desired image as a dealmaker willing
to upset the status quo and throw conventional wisdom.” What is “less clear
to many, including Republican lawmakers and Trump’s own advisers, is what
the president is trying to accomplish – and how he expects to get there.”

*Trump: Former “Superstar” Merkel “Badly Hurt By Immigration.”
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018071801biden&r=email-1485&l=071-94a&t=c>
(7/17, Wagner) reports Trump told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an
interview broadcast Tuesday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel “was a
superstar until she allowed millions of people to come into Germany,” a
move he said “really hurt her badly, as you know.” Trump said Merkel “was
unbeatable in any election” until she “allowed millions of people to come
in. . . . She has been very badly hurt by immigration.” According to the
Post, Trump’s “knock was the latest on Merkel, whom Trump also cr