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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, July 26, 2018 7:51 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, July 26, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=000-e17&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=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=001-133&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, July 26, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Bidens Join Wounded Veterans Walking Through St. Louis. <#S1>

• Biden Says Whether He Runs In 2020 Or Not, He’s “Going To Stay Involved.”
<#S2>

• Valerie Jarrett: Biden Would “Be A Superb President.” <#S3>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Touts Trade Deal With EU Boosting US Soybean, Energy Exports. <#S4>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Bolton: Trump Delaying Putin Meeting Until “Russia Witch Hunt Is Over.”
<#S5>

• Pompeo Says US Won’t Let Things “Drag Out” With North Korea. <#S6>

• Iran Says It Will Not Take Part In Talks With US Under “Threat.” <#S7>

• ISIS Suicide Attacks Leave More Than 200 Dead In Syria. <#S8>

• Authorities: No Evidence To Back ISIS Claim Of Toronto Shooting. <#S9>

• Turkey Releases American Pastor To House Arrest. <#S10>

• KSM Lawyers Cites Haspel Comments In Defense. <#S11>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Trump Slams Cohen For Secretly Recording Him. <#S12>

• Conservatives Offer Resolution Calling For Rosenstein’s Impeachment.
<#S13>

• DeVos Proposes Limiting Obama-Era Rules For Student Loan Relief. <#S14>

• Latino Lawmakers Doubt Nielsen Claim Family Reunification Deadline Will
Be Met. <#S15>

• The Hill: Democrats Struggling To Agree On Anti-Kavanaugh Message. <#S16>

• GOP Leaders Urge Trump To Avoid Pre-Election Shutdown. <#S17>

• Kaiser Poll: 58% Blame Republicans For ACA Problems. <#S18>

• Judge Allows Emoluments Case Against Trump To Proceed. <#S19>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Pembrolizumab Tops Phase 3 Trial In Extending Head, Neck Cancer Patient
Survival. <#S20>

• FDA Approves Magnetic Device For Sentinel Node Location In Breast Cancer
Patients. <#S21>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S22>

• Washington Post. <#S23>
Biden in the News
Bidens Join Wounded Veterans Walking Through St. Louis.

In a broadcast, KSDK-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=002-952&t=c>
St. Louis (7/25) reported, “Wounded veterans from across the country and
across the pond marched through St. Louis” on Wednesday, “and they had some
company. Former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. Dr. Jill Biden
is a Blue Star Mom and well known supporter of military families.” The
veterans “are on a 1,000-mile journey raising awareness and money to
support British and American veterans dealing with depression.” KMOV-TV[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=003-f3b&t=c>
St. Louis (7/25) reported that “Biden and his wife walked with the group,”
though “neither took reporter’s questions. The Walk of America began in
June in Los Angeles, and the group will visit 68 cities.”
Biden Says Whether He Runs In 2020 Or Not, He’s “Going To Stay Involved.”

Politico Playbook
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=004-d26&t=c>
(7/26, Palmer, Sherman, Lippman) reports that NowThis managing editor
Versha Sharma spoke
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=005-e82&t=c>
with former Vice President Joe Biden in St. Louis on Wednesday about a
possible 2020 White House bid. Sharma asked Biden, “Well, you’ve spoken a
lot about obligation. Mr. Biden, do you feel any obligation to jump back
into a potential race?” Biden replied, “Well, I feel an obligation to stay
engaged. The one thing that my son asked of me before he died was, ‘Promise
me, dad, you’ll stay involved.’ Because he was worried that with his loss,
I would sort of turn inward. So that’s the book I wrote, Promise Me, Dad,
it was about that commitment that I made to him. And I’m going to stay
involved – it’s something I’ve done my whole life. Whether I run for office
again, I don’t know. But I know that I’m going to stay involved with this
fight.”
Valerie Jarrett: Biden Would “Be A Superb President.”

Valerie Jarrett, who served as senior advisor to former President Obama,
was asked during a Wednesday appearance on ABC’s The View[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=006-404&t=c>
(7/25), “What do you think about Joe Biden running” for president in 2020,
and “do you think he would fare well?” Jarrett said that “Biden is one of
the finest public servants I have ever met. I think our nation owes he and
his family a debt of gratitude for the years he spent both in the Senate
and as vice president. And I know the relationship that he and President
Obama had was unprecedented in terms of how much...Obama looked to him for
advice and counsel.” Jarrett added, “Would he be a superb president?
Absolutely, he’d be a superb president. ... Sure, he could win. Sure, he
could win.”
Leading the News
Trump Touts Trade Deal With EU Boosting US Soybean, Energy Exports.

White House talks between President Trump and European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker led to a tentative deal that both parties said had the
potential of eliminating ongoing trade tensions. Trump hailed the agreement
in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=007-c8d&t=c>,
writing, “Great to be back on track with the European Union. This was a big
day for free and fair trade! ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=008-b8e&t=c>
European Union representatives told me that they would start buying
soybeans from our great farmers immediately. Also, they will be buying vast
amounts of LNG!” Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=009-38d&t=c>,
“We have come to a very strong understanding and are all believers in no
tariffs, no barriers and no subsidies. Work on documents has already
started and the process is moving...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=00a-441&t=c>
along quickly. European Union Nations will be open to the United States and
at the same time benefiting by everything we are doing for them. There was
great warmth and feeling in the room – a breakthrough has been quickly made
that nobody thought possible!”

Neil Cavuto said on Fox News’ Your World[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=00b-52a&t=c>
(7/25), “This is a dramatic, a stunning development on trade.” The
Europeans, “it might be deemed, have blinked. They have made concessions
to...Trump.... This is a major win for...Trump.” Charles Hurt of the
Washington Times also said on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=00c-972&t=c>
(7/25), “I think the fact that...Trump was able to get some concessions out
of the EU...or at least an admission that there are some disparities there
that can be fixed, that’s a real win for him.” Sean Hannity said on Fox
News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=00d-785&t=c>
(7/25), “After months of negotiations and fearmongering by the media, ‘Oh,
he’s starting a trade war,’ the President put fears of that war with Europe
to rest as he signed off on a significantly improved trade deal for
American businesses, free of tariffs, barriers, and subsidies.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=00e-73a&t=c>
(7/25, Salama) reports Trump told reporters the EU had agreed “almost
immediately” to begin buying more US soybeans and to increase LNG exports
from the US. The EU, he said, will be a “massive buyer” of LNG. The Telegraph
(UK)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=00f-376&t=c>
(7/25, Sabur), meanwhile, says Juncker “said he had arrived in Washington
with ‘the intention to make a deal today’, adding ‘and we made a deal
today.’” The leaders’ “warm rhetoric was a marked departure from the
insults both sides have been trading in recent weeks, with Mr Trump
particularly enraged by Brussels protectionism.” The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=010-f15&t=c>
(7/25, story 4, 1:50, Jiang) also reported that “Trump and the President of
the European Commission both said their negotiation went very well,” and
while “they did not provide many specifics...they said Europe has agreed to
buy more products from the US.”

Moreover, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=011-010&t=c>
(7/25, Thomas, Wiseman) reports Trump and Juncker announced they had agreed
to work toward “zero tariffs” and “zero subsidies” on “non-automobile goods
and would work to resolve US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that
have roiled European markets.” CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=012-84d&t=c>
(7/25, Wilkie) quotes Trump as saying, “We agreed today, first of all, to
work together towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers and zero
subsides for the non-auto industrial goods.” CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=013-c21&t=c>
(7/25, Bennett) describes the goal as “long-shot notion.” and Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=014-b07&t=c>
(7/25, Lawler) notes Trump “had suggested” on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=015-14c&t=c>
“ahead of Juncker’s arrival that both sides ‘drop all Tariffs, Barriers and
Subsidies’ in order to avoid a trade war.”

Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=016-688&t=c>
(7/25, Shaw) also reported “Trump announced...he has secured major trade
concessions,” and that he said, “This was a very big day for free and fair
trade. ... We set out to launch a new phase of close friendship between the
United States and the European Union, strong trade relationships where both
of us will win.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=017-367&t=c>
(7/25, Morin) quotes Trump as saying, “If we team up, we can make our
planet a better, more secure and more prosperous place.” To the Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=018-e41&t=c>
(7/25, Miller), Trump secured “significant concessions as top EU officials
moved to avoid an escalating tariff war with the US.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=019-077&t=c>
(7/25, Enjeti) titles its report “EU Backs Down After Trump Tariff Threat.”

Commerce Secretary Ross was asked on Fox News’ Special Report[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=01a-24a&t=c>
(7/25) to “fill in the blanks about this trade deal with the EU.” Ross
said, “I think there are several very significant aspects. There were no
preconditions to the negotiations, no requirement that would drop any of
the 232 tariffs just to get the talks going. As you know that has been an
original EU request. They came very prepared to do business, we came
prepared to do business, and I think this really breaks the ground because
it has now set the parameters. Everything is on the table.” Ross later
added[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=01b-3a0&t=c>,
“I think today is a win both” for the EU and the US “because our objective
is zero tariffs, zero trade barriers, zero subsidies, zero restrictions on
market access. We think the EU now is interested in the same direction.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=01c-7f7&t=c>
(7/25, Lee), meanwhile, calls the announcement “a cease-fire,” while
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=01d-ba8&t=c>
(7/25, Paletta) says the two leaders announced “a limited deal,” and Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=01e-76b&t=c>
(7/25, Olorunnipa, Talev) reports that they “took no questions after their
brief remarks in the Rose Garden, an impromptu appearance scheduled after
less than two hours of talks.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=01f-74c&t=c>
(7/25, Jackson, Fritze) says that “neither the president nor Juncker
offered details on what had been agreed to,” though according to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=020-e1f&t=c>
(7/25, Holland), “Juncker said they had agreed not to impose any new
tariffs while talks were taking place.”

*ABC News: Trump “Suddenly” Declares “Truce” With EU. *While many
reports cast yesterday’s developments as a win for Trump, that line of
analysis was by no means universal. ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=021-12a&t=c>
(7/25, story 4, 2:15, Moran), for example, did not report the easing of
tensions as stemming from any kind of agreement, or as a consequence of
yesterday’s negotiations, but instead seemed to describe Trump as
capitulating. Said ABC, “Reeling under increasing pressure from American
farmers, congressional Republicans and nervous Wall Street investors,”
Trump “suddenly shed his trade warrior persona...and declared a truce with
the European Union.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=022-7e3&t=c>
(7/25, story 5, 1:50, Holt) briefly mentioned the deal as part of a larger
story about the auto industry’s woes, referring to a “late development that
could mean the US and its European allies are stepping back from the brink
of a trade war,” and adding that Trump offered “few details.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=023-eb3&t=c>
(7/25, Long, Mufson), meanwhile, says “there’s a lot of reasons to be
skeptical that Trump has suddenly changed his mind on trade.” Also sounding
a skeptical note, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=024-f8a&t=c>
(7/25, Landler, Swanson) says “it was hard to say, given Mr. Trump’s
unpredictable negotiating style, if the agreement was a genuine truce or
merely a lull in a conflict that could flare up again.”

*Trump Makes Jest Of Picture Of Juncker Kissing Him On The Cheek. *The
President also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=025-a7a&t=c>
a picture of Juncker kissing him on the cheek yesterday, and wrote,
“Obviously the European Union, as represented by @JunckerEU and the United
States, as represented by yours truly, love each other!”

*WPost: Advisers Had Urged Trump Not To Pursue Auto Tariffs. *According
to Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=026-003&t=c>
(7/25, Olorunnipa, Talev), the deal excludes the auto tariffs Trump had
been contemplating, which means the “truce may prove to be short lived if
the two sides can’t resolve their differences over trade in vehicles and
car parts.” Citing three unnamed sources, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=027-884&t=c>
(7/25, Paletta) reports that “several of...Trump’s senior economic advisers
believe he plans to push forward with 25 percent tariffs on close to $200
billion in foreign-made automobiles later this year.” Trump “wants to move
forward despite numerous warnings from GOP leaders and business executives
who have argued that such a move could damage the economy and lead to
political mutiny.” According to the Post, Trump has become “increasingly
defiant in his trade strategy, following his own instincts and intuition
and eschewing advice from his inner circle” – “a point he tried to
reinforce Wednesday morning in a Twitter post.” Trump wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=028-257&t=c>,
“Every time I see a weak politician asking to stop Trade talks or the use
of Tariffs to counter unfair Tariffs, I wonder, what can they be thinking?
Are we just going to continue and let our farmers and country get ripped
off?”

*Trump Accuses China Of Using “Vicious” Trade Tactics To Target US
Farmers. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=029-c0c&t=c>
(7/25, Thomas, Wiseman, Mascaro) reports Trump on Wednesday accused China
of “vicious” tactics on trade. Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=02a-0ea&t=c>
that China was specifically “targeting” US farmers with retaliatory tariffs
because “they know I love & respect” them. Addressing the China trade
relationship, Trump wrote on Twitter, “They are being vicious in what will
be their failed attempt. We were being nice – until now!” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=02b-6ad&t=c>
(7/25, Fritze, Jackson) reports the tweet comes “as Trump’s trade policy is
increasingly under fire from Republicans on Capitol Hill, especially those
representing farm states where China’s retaliatory tariffs are affecting
crop prices.” The President “himself expressed a rare note of anxiety in a
speech to veterans Tuesday in Kansas City,” urging farmers to “be a little
patient.”

*Xi Warns Trade Wars Have “No Winner.” *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=02c-d56&t=c>
(7/25, Torchia) reports Chinese President Xi Jinping said yesterday the
world faces “a choice between cooperation and confrontation” amid a trade
war with the US that he warned would have no winner. At a BRICS annual
summit, Xi warned that those who pursue “economic hegemony” will “only end
up hurting themselves.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=02d-fad&t=c>
(7/25, Mbatha, Monteiro) reports Xi also called on Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa “to jointly reject unilateralism and protectionism,”
which he said “are mounting and pose a severe blow to multilateral trade.”

*US Airlines Bend To China’s Pressure On Taiwan. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=02e-db5&t=c>
(7/25, Koenig) also reports the “the Trump administration, several U.S.
senators, and Taiwanese business leaders urged the three biggest US
airlines to stand up against China’s demand about how they describe Taiwan
on their websites.” Yet “the US airlines, looking at the explosive growth
in China’s air-travel market, decided to ignore them all.” American, Delta
and United “joined other global carriers and bowed to pressure from China
on Wednesday and stopped listing the city of Taipei as being located in
Taiwan.” The airlines, however, “didn’t go so far as to say that Taipei is
part of China.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=02f-fd4&t=c>
(7/25, Paquette) says “the move came about three months after Beijing
ordered dozens of foreign airlines to refer to the island as a Chinese
territory or face consequences in the world’s second-largest aviation
market.” The Washington Free Beacon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=030-809&t=c>
(7/25, Johnson) reports Sen. Tom Cotton “on Wednesday condemned U.S.
airlines for caving to demands by the Chinese government that the companies
remove references to Taiwan from their websites.”

*Perdue: Farm Aid Will Be Temporary. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=031-e21&t=c>
(7/25, Bjerga) reports Agriculture Secretary Perdue said yesterday that the
Administration’s $12 billion assistance plan for farmers “is unlikely to be
extended in future years even if tariff battles continue.” Perdue told an
agriculture conference that the plan announced Tuesday “is based on losses
related to 2018 crops that were planted well before retaliatory tariffs
from China, Canada and other nations began.” Farmers who planted this year
“had no idea what was coming about” on trade, Perdue said. Perdue writes in
a USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=032-c62&t=c>
(7/25) op-ed, “There is no question that farmers prefer free trade over
government aid,” but “what we are seeking is a level playing field, where
our agricultural home team will always be the best competitors and have the
best chance to succeed on the world market.”

Also in a USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=033-ca1&t=c>
(7/25, Duvall) op-ed, American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy
Duvall says farmers “are grateful the administration recognizes the pain
this trade war has caused,” but “our clear preference is trade over aid. We
will continue to push for a swift and sure end to the trade war and tariffs
that are harming American agriculture.”

*Media Analyses: Republican Lawmakers Criticize Farm Aid Plan. *CBS
This Morning[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=034-199&t=c>
(7/25) reported that “Republican backlash is growing against President
Trump’s $12 billion plan to help American farmers feeling the pain of the
escalating the trade war. The proposal was announced yesterday in response
to retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other countries. Some GOP
lawmakers blame Mr. Trump’s trade policies for the problem.” Sen. Ben
Sasse: “They’ve been taking the legs out from under the farmers and
ranchers. What the Administration is offering them instead is $12 billion
worth of gold-plated crutches.” House Speaker Ryan: “I just don’t think the
tariff route is the smart way to go.” CBS’ Adriana Diaz said, “On Tuesday,
President Trump asked farmers...for patience,” but “every farmer we’ve
spoken to here in Will County [Illinois] said they don’t want to take the
government aid,” but “they’re willing to weather the storm and wait for the
President to negotiate better trade deals.”

On ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=035-60a&t=c>
(7/25), Terry Moran said, “The President says be patient. Free trade used
to be a bedrock principle for Republicans, but Donald Trump has been a
protectionist for decades, now he’s President and getting to put tariffs in
place and getting stiff blow many back, especially from American farmers.
... All this comes as the President tweets, ‘tariffs are the greatest.’ But
not so great for American farmers who have been caught in between the
warring sides.” Sen. Bob Corker: “Here are farmers who just want to make a
living. They’re in our office. They want trade, not aid.” ABC also reported
on Sasse’s objections to the aid package.

Sen. Mike Rounds said on CNN’s New Day[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=036-786&t=c>
(7/25), “We’re having a [trade] battle with China, who buys 25% of all of
the soybeans produced in the United States. Right now, if you look at the
value of soybeans it is down over $2.18 a bushel, which in South Dakota
alone is near $600 million. ... These are people that believe in President
Trump. They think he really does have the best interest for them at heart,
but they’re questioning his tactics and so are we.” Asked about the aid
announced Tuesday, Rounds said, “Most producers would rather have a good
trade deal than aid, but it shows the President recognizes there is an
impact in the Midwest. He is recognizing that...so this is a good step.
Whether or not that $12 billion is a good move or not, it is probably
better than nothing.”

*Citing Tariffs, GM, Fiat Chrysler Lower 2018 Profit Forecasts. *On NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=037-cca&t=c>
(7/25, story 5, 1:50, Holt), Tom Costello reported that Ford, GM and
Chrysler warned Wednesday that “rising cost for steel and aluminum because
of tariffs are cutting into their profits, just as President Trump
threatened additional tariffs on automobiles and parts.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=038-aa9&t=c>
(7/25, Carey, Klayman) notes GM cited “higher steel and aluminum costs for
its 2018 profit forecast reduction,” while Fiat Chrysler said Chinese
demand declined. The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=039-5ea&t=c>
(7/25, Colias) says GM’s downgraded profit outlook signals a likely end to
the automaker’s three-year record of adjusted-operating profits. Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=03a-0f9&t=c>
(7/25, Gardner) reports “Wall Street fears that Ford Motor Co. may complete
a trifecta of troubling earnings reports from Detroit Three automakers, as
tariffs real and imagined from Washington to Beijing wreak havoc on the
globalized car industry.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=03b-cae&t=c>
(7/25) says “an escalating trade war and steep tariffs on steel and
aluminum is putting pressure on earnings for automakers,” and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=03c-c37&t=c>
(7/25, Bomey)that “the profit bonanza” for the sector “may be coming to an
abrupt end amid concerns about escalating costs stemming from a global
trade dispute. And consumers may have to pay the bill in the form of higher
prices.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=03d-063&t=c>
(7/25, Colias), among other news outlets, runs a similar report this
morning.

*Ross Hopes For NAFTA Deal In “Next Couple” Months, Says López
Obrador Is “Engaging.” *Commerce Secretary Ross was asked on Fox News’
Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=03e-495&t=c>
(7/25) if “the NAFTA deal [is] almost wrapped up.” Ross replied, “I
wouldn’t say almost wrapped up, but it’s coming along very, very well. We
hope that could be within the next couple of months. The new [Mexican]
president is engaging. He has picked his team, there’s an overlap with the
former administration team. He’s indicated he’s on board with what has been
done thus far and is looking forward to closing the last few gaps.”

*Ross: Post-WWII Trade Concessions “No Longer Appropriate.” *Bret
Baier discussed Americans feeling the heat of current trade tensions,
saying that some in the US are getting impatient with Trump’s trade
strategy, and Baier asked Ross to explain the strategy. Ross said on Fox
News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=03f-fe5&t=c>
(7/25) that after World War II, “American public policy was [to] rebuild
Europe, rebuild Asia, things like that,” and as a result unilateral trade
concessions that the US made “were appropriate to Germany, to Japan, to
China in 1950, [but] are no longer appropriate because they are no longer
small struggling economies.” Ross continued, “What we now need is to lower
the barriers that they were permitted to erect relative to us,” and “get
market access.”

*Coca-Cola Raising Prices In North America Due To Higher Metal
Costs. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=040-c21&t=c>
(7/25, Maloney) reports that Coca-Cola announced it will increase prices on
its carbonated sodas in North America, citing higher metal prices in the
wake of US tariffs as well as higher freight rates.

*Rising Metal Prices Hitting US Firms’ Earnings. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=041-cf3&t=c>
(7/25, Javier) reports that the earnings of “some of the most recognizable
industrial companies in America” are being affected by US tariffs on metal
imports, “and a look at steel and aluminum prices shows why.” The benchmark
domestic steel price has “surg[ed] more than 40 percent this year” due to
“surging demand and a 25 percent U.S. tariff.” Bloomberg lists a number of
companies that “lower[ed] profit forecasts or cit[ed] rising metals costs
as a concern when they reported earnings this month” and says the “outlooks
lend urgency to warnings from economists that the tariffs could weaken
economic growth.”

*Qualcomm Scrapping Plans To Buy NXP. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=042-70a&t=c>
(7/25, Brown, Davis) reports that Qualcomm plans to abandon its purchase of
Dutch chip maker NXP Semiconductors after it failed to secure approval from
China, the last of the nine markets that needed to approve the purchase.
The Journal attributes the collapse of the deal to growing trade tensions
between the US and China.
Foreign Policy
Bolton: Trump Delaying Putin Meeting Until “Russia Witch Hunt Is Over.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=043-848&t=c>
(7/25, Landler) reports the White House said yesterday that President Trump
wants to delay a planned follow-up meeting with Russian President Vladimir
Putin until after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is
concluded. National Security Adviser Bolton said in a statement, “The
President believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin
should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we’ve agreed that
it will be after the first of the year.” According to the Times, Trump
“directed Mr. Bolton to deliver the invitation.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=044-fa1&t=c>
(7/25, Thomas) says that while Bolton’s statement “signaled optimism that
the Mueller probe would be completed by the end of this year, no timetable
has been given for when it will be wrapped up and it could very well
stretch into 2019.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=045-885&t=c>
(7/25, Talev, Pettypiece) likewise notes that “there’s no deadline for
Mueller’s investigation to end, and he has given no indication he will wrap
it up by the end of the year.”

Taking a skeptical note on the development, ABC World News
Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=046-3ea&t=c>
(7/25, story 5, 1:40, Moran) reported that “Trump invited Putin to the
White House in the fall, but the response from the Kremlin, decidedly
cool,” and “the National Security Council announced there would be no
meeting, blaming the Russia investigation.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=047-49a&t=c>
(7/25, Stokols) also says “Putin never responded to the administration,”
and “a Russian official pointed to the controversy in the United States to
explain the hesitance,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=048-00d&t=c>
(7/25, Nelson) notes “Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov saying on Tuesday that
‘there are other options [to meet] which our leaders can look at,’
including the G-20 summit in Argentina this November.”

To the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=049-fc8&t=c>
(7/25, Sonmez), the decision to delay “comes amid intensifying criticism of
Trump’s conflicting statements on Russian interference in US elections.”
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=04a-9ca&t=c>
(7/25, Holland) says, meanwhile, that the invitation to Putin “sparked a
new outcry, including from lawmakers in Trump’s Republican party, who
argued that Putin is an adversary not worthy of a White House visit.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=04b-efa&t=c>
(7/25, Fritze, Jackson), Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=04c-061&t=c>
(7/25, Correll), Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=04d-fda&t=c>
(7/25, Pavlich), CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=04e-610&t=c>
(7/25, Bennett), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=04f-e93&t=c>
(7/25, Fabian) and Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=050-2c0&t=c>
(7/25, Ballhaus), among other news outlets, also report the story.

*Trump To Chair NSC Meeting On Election Security. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=051-274&t=c>
(7/25, Rucker, Parker) reports “Trump will convene a meeting Friday of the
National Security Council on election security, a session that could
include a discussion of possible Russian interference in November’s midterm
elections, according to a White House official.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=052-b95&t=c>
(7/25, Toosi, Restuccia, Geller) says “Bolton is also hosting two
Cabinet-level NSC principals committee meetings this week: one focused on
Iran and one on North Korea, one of the officials said.”

*Pompeo Defends Administration’s Russia Policy, Says US Won’t
Accept Crimea Annexation. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=053-9d5&t=c>
(7/25, Davis, Kaplan) reports Secretary of State Pompeo yesterday “offered
Congress what he called ‘proof’...that President Trump is willing to hold
Russia accountable for its malign activities, including interfering in
American elections and misbehavior around the world.” Testifying before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Pompeo said that the President is “well
aware of the challenges that Russia poses” and has taken “a staggering
number of actions to protect our interests.” The Times says Pompeo’s
testimony “amounts to an elaborate cleanup effort by the nation’s top
diplomat for Mr. Trump’s performance in Helsinki” and “a week of
halfhearted walk-backs and position shifts that have left many lawmakers
questioning Mr. Trump’s ability to be tough with Russia.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=054-f44&t=c>
(7/25, story 5, 1:40, Moran) reported that Pompeo was “grilled” about the
closed-door meeting in Helsinki. According to ABC’s Terry Moran, “The
Kremlin is already declaring that, quote, important verbal agreements were
reached, that they’re beginning to implement. Senators want to know, what
were those deals? And given there were no other officials in the room,
is...Trump at the mercy of...Putin’s version of events?” ABC (Muir) said
“Pompeo...seemed reluctant to go into detail with Congress today.” ABC
(Moran) added that “the lack of those details...got senators in both
parties worried.” The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=055-ac9&t=c>
(7/25, story 5, 2:15, Glor) said that while senators “pressed” Pompeo for
details about Trump’s private meeting with Putin, Pompeo “would not give
them any new details.”

Pompeo, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=056-5b3&t=c>
(7/25, Dinan) reports, told lawmakers the Administration “has taken serious
steps to rein in Russia...pushing back against a Congress increasingly
convinced President Trump has emboldening enemies and poisoned foreign
relations with America’s allies.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=057-815&t=c>
(7/25, Kasperowicz) reports Pompeo also “defended President Trump’s private
conversation with...Putin and said holding these private talks without
offering a public readout opens the chance for similar talks later with
Russia that could yield progress on several key issues.”

In what USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=058-9a2&t=c>
(7/25, Shesgreen, Collins) calls an attempt “to address concerns that the
administration is soft on Russia,” the State Department released a
statement in advance of Pompeo’s appearance before the committee in which
Pompeo “said the US rejects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea” and
“called on Moscow to end its occupation of the territory.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=059-b17&t=c>
(7/25, Hudson, Morello, Gearan) likewise says the comments are “aimed at
tempering growing bipartisan concern over the president’s dealings
with...Putin.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=05a-40a&t=c>
(7/25, Wadhams) reports Pompeo “confronted harsh bipartisan questioning” at
today’s hearing. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker said, “You
come before a group of senators today who are filled with serious doubts
about this White House and its conduct of American foreign policy. I can’t
say it more forcefully. We really need a clear understanding as to what is
going on.” Similar reports on Pompeo’s appearance appear on the Los Angeles
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=05b-9a0&t=c>
(7/25, Wilkinson), CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=05c-980&t=c>
(7/25, Oswald), Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=05d-353&t=c>
(7/25, Murray), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=05e-c4b&t=c>
(7/25, Samuels), Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=05f-1f3&t=c>
(7/25, Correll) and Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=060-776&t=c>
(7/25, Dinan), among other news outlets.

*Pompeo Touts NATO’s “Largest In A Generation” Spending Increase. *Fox
News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=061-103&t=c>
(7/25) reported that during his Senate testimony Pompeo also “highlighted
how pressure from President Trump and his Administration has led to NATO
allies spending more and making the alliance stronger.” Fox showed Pompeo
saying, “Last year’s $14.4 billion in new spending was a 5.1% increase, the
largest in a generation. Eight allies will meet the two percent this year,
18 are on track to do so by ‘24.”

*Soccer Ball Given To Trump By Putin Had Adidas Transmitter
Chip. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=062-a8a&t=c>
(7/25, Silver) reports Putin’s gift of a soccer ball to President Trump
last week “set off a chorus of warnings – some of them only half in jest –
that the World Cup souvenir could be bugged,” but “it turns out they
weren’t entirely wrong. Markings on the ball indicate that it contained a
chip with a tiny antenna that transmits to nearby phones.” According to
Bloomberg, the chip is “an advertised feature of the Adidas AG ball” that
allows “fans to access player videos, competitions and other content.”
Adidas “declined to comment on whether the chip could be a vector of a
Russian hack,” and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in an
email, “The security screening process that is done for all gifts was done
for the soccer ball.”

*McFaul To Meet With US Officials About Possible Russian
Indictment. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=063-063&t=c>
(7/25, Morin) reports former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul on
Wednesday “said he’s planning on meeting with officials from the State
Department, Justice Department and members of Congress following his visit
with the National Security Council’s director for Russia,” Fiona Hill.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, McFaul also criticized the Administration
“for not denouncing Putin’s proposal of interviewing American officials,”
saying, “Why is it so hard for this administration just to say on the
record this is absurd, you cannot arrest our government officials for doing
their jobs. Because if they don’t say that, it sends a very dangerous
message that our diplomats, that our military service officers, that our
intelligence officers working abroad can somehow be, you know, indicted and
prosecuted for crazy crimes that, of course, we didn’t do.”

Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=064-8a2&t=c>
(7/25, story 6, 1:50, Holt) reported that during congressional testimony
yesterday, Pompeo “reject[ed] Putin’s suggestion that Russians be allowed
to interrogate former US diplomats like Mike McFaul.” Pompeo was shown
saying, “Let me make clear, the United States will defend our team in the
field and the team that’s been in the field when it retires.”

*Butina’s Embrace Of Russia Drew Attention Of Her Fellow Grad
Students. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=065-56d&t=c>
(7/25, Helderman, Balingit, Harris, Hamburger) reports that before her
arrest on accusations of being a Russian agent, Maria Butina “drew the
attention of other graduate students at American University” for her
“almost zealous embrace of her homeland.” Butina’s arrest “rattled those
who knew her at American University, where she spent two years in the
global security program at the School of International Service.” Many
wonder why a Russian agent wouldn’t have “been more covert...and worked to
keep her Kremlin advocacy under wraps.” For others, “her indictment on
federal charges validated their own unsettling suspicions.” Her “embrace of
Russia was so public that people affiliated with AU worried about possible
links to the Kremlin and alerted school officials during her tenure there,
according to three people familiar with the conversations.”

*Boot: There Is “Copious Evidence” Of Trump-Russia Collusion. *Max
Boot writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=066-033&t=c>
(7/25) that while there “is not yet proof of collusion” between President
Trump’s campaign and Russia, “there is copious evidence of it – and that
evidence grows more damning by the day.”

*WPost’s Bump Disputes Maddow Claim White House Edited Question To
Putin From Video. *Phillip Bump writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=067-f83&t=c>
(7/25) that on her MSNBC[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=068-a36&t=c>
show Tuesday, Rachel Maddow made the “explosive allegation” that the
Administration “intentionally buried a question asked of Russian President
Vladimir Putin during last week’s news conference in Helsinki. Not an
insignificant question, either. The one about whether or not Putin wanted
Trump to win.” Maddow “also noted that the White House’s written transcript
also excludes the question.” However, the Post says the omission was due to
“a switch between the feed from the reporters and the feed from the
translator.” Bump adds, “This is not a conspiracy from the White House.
While the White House certainly has a track record of misrepresenting
facts, this would have been a remarkably futile revision of reality to
attempt. As it turns out, they didn’t.”
Pompeo Says US Won’t Let Things “Drag Out” With North Korea.

Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=069-7c8&t=c>
(7/25) reported that following the Singapore summit between President Trump
and Kim Jong-un, Secretary of State Pompeo on Wednesday told senators that
the US is pressing for results. Fox showed Pompeo saying, “We are engaged
in patient diplomacy but we will not let this drag out to no end. I
emphasized this position in the productive discussions I had with Vice
Chairman Kim Yong-Chol.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=06a-c93&t=c>
(7/25, Brunnstrom, Wroughton) reports, “Pompeo said President Donald Trump
remained upbeat about the prospects for North Korean denuclearization” and
“said U.S. North Korea policy was guided by a principle stated by Trump on
July 17 that ‘diplomacy and engagement are preferable to conflict and
hostility.’” The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=06b-1d0&t=c>
(7/25, story 5, 2:15, Glor) reported that while North Korea’s ruling party
“reportedly vowed today not to give up its nuclear weapons,” Pompeo
“insisted that nuclear talks are making concrete progress, though he
declined...to share any specifics.”
Iran Says It Will Not Take Part In Talks With US Under “Threat.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=06c-c3e&t=c>
(7/25, Dehghanpisheh) reports Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that
Tehran “will never take part in one-sided negotiations with the United
States under threat.” State media quoted spokesman Bahram Qassemi as
saying, “America should forget forever the idea of one-sided negotiations
under the shadow of a threat.” The comments by Qassemi “appeared to be a
reaction” to Donald Trump’s statement on Tuesday that he is ready to “make
a real deal” with Iran.

*NYTimes “Fact Check”: Pompeo Exaggerated In Speech On Iranian
Corruption. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=06d-88b&t=c>
(7/25, Gladstone) runs a “fact check” of Secretary of State Pompeo’s Sunday
speech, in which he “signaled an extraordinarily tough policy by the Trump
administration in dealing with them and what he called ‘40 years of
kleptocracy.’” Supporters praised the speech as a “dose of realism that
laid bare what they regard as the brazen corruption and hypocrisy of
Tehran’s religious hierarchy,” while critics said it was “a prelude to
attempted regime change by the United States.” The Times adds that what was
“obscured in the debate was how much of Mr. Pompeo’s speech was accurate,
and whether in some instances – intentionally or not – he may have
exaggerated, omitted facts or mixed facts with conjecture. In at least one
instance, Mr. Pompeo spoke inaccurately.”

*Iran’s Central Banker Dismissed. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=06e-c68&t=c>
(7/25, Gladstone) reports that, in Iran’s “first senior shake-up since the
United States abandoned the nuclear agreement nearly three months ago and
restored sanctions,” Valiollah Seif, governor of the central bank, was
fired. He has “been widely assailed for what critics called his
mismanagement of Iran’s monetary policy” and not predicting the Trump
Administration’s withdrawal from the agreement. President Hassan Rouhan
announcement of the change “:appeared to reflect his concession that such
steps were needed to counter” criticism of his support for the nuclear
deal. Due to Iran’s “tough new economic reality,” analysts predict more
dismissals.
ISIS Suicide Attacks Leave More Than 200 Dead In Syria.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=06f-ace&t=c>
(7/25, story 6, 0:20, Glor) reported, “ISIS claimed responsibility for a
series of coordinated attacks today in southern Syria” that left more than
200 dead. It was “the single deadliest day in that region since the Syrian
civil war began seven years ago.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=070-fd9&t=c>
(7/25, Loveluck) reports the attacks “underscor[ed] the militant group’s
ability to strike despite losing most of its territory.” The attacks in
Sweida, near the border with Jordan, “stunned a city that has escaped the
worst effects of Syria’s civil war and violence by extremist factions.” At
least 96 people were killed, and 176 were wounded in a series of four
suicide bombings. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=071-265&t=c>
(7/25, Aji) says the series of attacks spread “mayhem in a province that
has been relatively quiet throughout Syria’s seven-year conflict,” while
the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=072-9ee&t=c>
(7/25, Hubbard) says today’s “high death toll undermines the Syrian
government’s narrative that the seven-year war is heading toward its
conclusion, with President Bashar al-Assad working to restore stability.”
Authorities: No Evidence To Back ISIS Claim Of Toronto Shooting.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=073-9c3&t=c>
(7/25, Bacon) reports that while the Islamic State claimed responsibility
for Faisal Hussain’s shooting “rampage” that left two dead and 13 injured,
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said, “We have no evidence to support
these claims.” Similarly, Public Safety Ministry spokeswoman Hilary Peirce
said “there is no national security nexus to the shooter.” Both noted the
investigation remains ongoing. Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=074-4cd&t=c>
(7/25) reported that ISIS said the shooter “was one of its soldiers
responding to calls to target citizens of the US-led coalition against it.”

*Many Claimed As Soldiers By Islamic State Suffered From Mental
Illness. *The New York Times
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(7/25, Callimachi, Porter) reports that the Islamic State’s claim that
Hussain – whose family said he struggled with mental illness – was one of
its soldiers is “reigniting a debate about whether an individual who is
mentally ill can truly be said to act at the behest of a terrorist group.”
According to research, “a significant portion of the people who have
carried out acts of terror in the Islamic State’s name suffered from mental
disorders,” with analysts having coined the term “loon wolf” – a play on
“lone wolf” – to describe them. Experts say this the connection is to be
expected, as “militant ideologies can offer a compelling narrative for
people dealing with feelings of marginalization or the paranoid fantasies
of persecution that can exist among some with severe mental illnesses.”
Coupled with that, “the Islamic State is extremely skilled at extending its
reach by luring marginalized and vulnerable young men and women online.”
Turkey Releases American Pastor To House Arrest.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(7/25, story 9, 0:15, Glor) reported Turkey transferred American pastor
Andrew Brunson from jail “to house arrest today for undisclosed health
reasons.” Meanwhile, “The White House is pushing Turkey to return Brunson
to the US.” The New York Times
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(7/25) reports Secretary of State Pompeo said on Twitter
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that while the United States welcomed the “long overdue news that Pastor
Brunson has been moved from prison to house arrest,” Turkey’s move was “not
enough.” He added, “We have seen no credible evidence against Mr. Brunson,
and call on Turkish authorities to resolve his case immediately in a
transparent and fair manner.” The Washington Post
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(7/25, Fahim) reports the Administration “repeatedly pressed” Ankara to
release Brunson, and the Post says the move “could be a step by the Turkish
government toward resolving his case.” To Bloomberg News
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(7/25, Ant, Kozok), today’s move “is likely to ease heightened tensions”
between Turkey and Washington, “but falls far short of US demands for his
acquittal,” and Reuters
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(7/25, Erkoyun, Butler) similarly says it “could help reduce some tension.”
KSM Lawyers Cites Haspel Comments In Defense.

The Miami Herald
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(7/25, Rosenberg) reports that attorneys for “accused lead 9/11 plotter
Khalid Sheik Mohammed [this week] took aim at remarks” that CIA Director
Haspel “made in her Senate confirmation hearings – and asked the trial
judge to either dismiss the charges or remove the possibility of a death
penalty because of alleged unlawful influence.” In one case, Haspel told
senators, “I’m very proud of the fact that we captured the perpetrator of
9/11, Khalid Sheik Mohammed. I think we did extraordinary work.” Mohammed
attorney Rita Radostitz cited this and other examples of Haspel calling
Mohammed “the architect and mastermind of the 9/11 attacks” as undermining
her client’s presumption of innocence.

*Remains Of Another 9/11 Victim Identified. *The New York Times
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(7/25, Pager) reports that the team charged with identifying the remains of
victims from the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attack in New York City announced
Wednesday that it had identified a bone as belonging to financial worker
Scott Michael Johnson. The team “had tried to identify the bone half a
dozen times over the past 17 years,” and “thanks to advances in DNA
testing,” it “was able to make a breakthrough.” Johnson “is the 1,642
person to be identified of the 2,753 people who were killed in the attack
on New York.” He is “the first victim to be identified since August 2017.”
Domestic Policy
Trump Slams Cohen For Secretly Recording Him.

USA Today
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(7/25, Jackson, Cummings) reports President Trump “went on the attack”
against former attorney Michael Cohen over the release of a secretly
recorded tape in which the two appeared to discuss a possible payment to a
former Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with Trump. As
reported in yesterday’s Frontrunner, Trump tweeted
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on Wednesday morning, “What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad!
Is this a first, never heard of it before?” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=080-37c&t=c>
(7/25, Nelson) reports Trump also suggested that the tape “has been
doctored to exclude ‘positive things’ that he was ‘presumably’ saying.” On
Twitter, he asked, “Why was the tape so abruptly terminated (cut) while I
was presumably saying positive things?” The Hill
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(7/25, Samuels) points out that “the recording is legal, as New York only
requires one party to consent to allow a conversation to be recorded.” The
Hill also reports “experts have largely said the tape does not prove any
criminal wrongdoing.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=082-783&t=c>
(7/25, lead story, 2:30, Jackson), however, asked, “Why is this tape
significant? The President could face a legal liability if he was trying to
influence the election by covering up the story.”

To Reuters
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(7/25, Beech, Freifeld, Strobel), Trump “expressed disbelief that...Cohen
would have taped conversations with him, a day after an audio recording of
a conversation between the two men was aired” on CNN. A lawyer for Cohen,
Lanny Davis, “told CNN he released it to dispute an assertion by Trump’s
lawyer Rudy Giuliani that tape would show that Trump made clear that if
there were going to be a payment, it should be done by check, which would
be easily traced.” Giuliani told the AP
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(7/25, Day, Balsamo, Lemire) that “he’s had an expert, whom he did not
name, enhance the recording and the president says ‘don’t pay with cash.’”
Said Giuliani, “Suggesting otherwise is ridiculous and is inconsistent with
the rest of the conversation, during which it was discussed doing it
through a corporation.”

The Washington Post
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(7/25, Leonnig, Costa) says that in the tape, Trump “appeared familiar with
a deal” that Playboy model Karen McDougal made “to sell the rights to her
story of an alleged affair with him when Trump discussed the matter in
September 2016 with...Cohen.” Giuliani, however, “disputed the idea that
the recording shows that Trump knew about the McDougal deal,” telling the
Post in an interview, “That’s open to interpretation, and we can have a
fight about that. To me it sounds like Cohen is explaining something to
[Trump] that he doesn’t understand. ... He doesn’t seem that familiar with
anything. There is nothing to indicate he knew anything in advance.” The Los
Angeles Times
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(7/25, Wagner) reports, however, that “a transcript, provided by Trump’s
legal team, shows that the then-GOP presidential nominee does not register
confusion or surprise when Cohen refers” to the “plan to purchase the
rights to McDougal’s story.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
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(7/25, story 6, 3:15, Thomas) also said that “there’s a lot of debate about
this tape, but it does appear despite those denials during the campaign,
then-candidate Trump was very aware of the playmate controversy and efforts
to spike her story.”

Davis was asked on ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
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(7/25) to respond to Giuliani’s claim that “it’s outrageous that a lawyer
was taping his client,” said, “It changes the topic. ... Michael Cohen has
an answer as to why he taped the conversations and I think he’ll have to
give that answer himself. I can’t reveal that, but will say Michael Cohen
has turned a corner in his life and he’s now dedicated to telling the truth
to everyone and we’ll see what happens.” Davis later added, “It’s about
truth. If Mr. Trump lied about...knowing about the McDougal issue, when we
know from the tape he did know, and lied almost about everything. ... This
is about truth versus lying, and ultimately Donald Trump is going to be
done in by the truth.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018072601biden&r=email-2820&l=089-c10&t=c>
(7/25, Day, Balsamo, Lemire) says the tape “appears to contradict the Trump
campaign’s later claim that the president knew nothing about a media
company’s purchase of...McDougal’s story or any efforts to keep it from
becoming public.” The New York Times
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(7/25, Apuzzo, Haberman) also reports that “just before Election Day, when
The Wall Street Journal uncovered a secret deal by the National Enquirer to
buy” McDougal’s story, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the newspaper, “We
have no knowledge of any of this,” and said the claim of an affair was
“totally untrue.” Then last week, when The New York Times revealed the
existence of a recorded conversatio