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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, July 3, 2018 7:55 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, July 3, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=001-4c7&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, July 3, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*

*Holiday Message*

In observance of the U.S. federal Independence Day holiday, we will not
publish on Wednesday, July 4, 2018. Service will resume on Thursday, July
5, 2018. We wish our readers a safe and happy holiday.


Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Brower: Biden Advises Foreign Leaders To Talk With Pence, Not Trump. <#S1>

• Writer: Biden’s Post-Primary Endorsement Of Malinowski “A Little Late.”
<#S2>

• Commission: US, European Governments Not Prepared For Election Meddling.
<#S3>

• Librarian Lists Biden’s Memoir Among “Great Books For All Ages About” US
History. <#S4>

• Actor Recounts Humorous Story Of Biden Calling His Father. <#S5>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• In Tweet This Morning, Trump Says He Will Announce SCOTUS Pick On Monday.
<#S6>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump Speaks To Mexican President-Elect About Border Security, Trade.
<#S7>

• Trump: WTO Needs To Change Ways Or US Will Do “Something.” <#S8>

• Trump Demands NATO Allies Increase Their Financial Contributions. <#S9>

• State Department: Some Countries Could Continue To Import Oil From Iran.
<#S10>

• US Envoy Met With North Korean Official In Border Village. <#S11>

• Israel Bolstering Border Troops As Thousands Of Syrian Refugees Approach.
<#S12>

• Trudeau Responds To Groping Allegations. <#S13>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Media Analyses: Cohen Signals Willingness To Cooperate With Mueller.
<#S14>

• White House Accuses Harris, Warren Of Siding With MS-13 Over ICE. <#S15>

• WPost: “Resistance” Making Its Voice Heard Around Washington. <#S16>

• Trump Declines To Lower Flags To Honor Newspaper Shooting Victims. <#S17>

• FBI Arrests Radicalized Man Planning July 4th Bombing In Cleveland. <#S18>

• Dhillon Named Acting DEA Administrator. <#S19>

• Senate Panel To Hold Hearing On Ivanka Trump’s Paid Family Leave Policy.
<#S20>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• Novel Drug From Brigham And Women’s Researchers Combats Cancer Cell
Proliferation. <#S21>

• Massachusetts Breast Research Registry Gathers More Than 1,000
Participants. <#S22>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S23>

• Washington Post. <#S24>
Biden in the News
Brower: Biden Advises Foreign Leaders To Talk With Pence, Not Trump.

“First in Line” author Kate Andersen Brower said during a Monday appearance
on PBS’ NewsHour[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=002-18b&t=c>
(7/2) , “When I talked to Biden, I was really struck, first of all, that he
talks to Mike Pence, he said, at least once a month. And that when foreign
leaders like the King of Jordan, like the Greek Prime Minister come to the
US, and when he travels he meets with them, and he says, ‘If you have an
issue talk to Mike Pence – don’t talk to President Trump.’ He says Mike
Pence is someone you can deal with in the way that Bill Clinton dealt with
Newt Gingrich, someone you can work with.”
Writer: Biden’s Post-Primary Endorsement Of Malinowski “A Little Late.”

Writing for the New Jersey Globe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=003-16f&t=c>
(7/2), David Wildstein said that former Vice President Joe Biden’s Monday
endorsement of ex-Obama Administration official Tom Malinowski’s (D) bid to
unseat New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance (R) “raises an interesting point: is
it news when a politician endorses a candidate of their own party after the
primary election?” Wildstein says that Biden earlier this year endorsed two
other New Jersey Democrats in different congressional primary contests, but
nearly “a month has passed since Malinowski” won his contested primary
race. Wildstein adds, “In a way, the news here was that Biden didn’t
endorse Malinowski...before now,” although “his endorsement will be more
helpful to Malinowski than not. It was worth releasing it, even if it is a
little late.”
Commission: US, European Governments Not Prepared For Election Meddling.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=004-0a5&t=c>
(7/2, Boylan) reports, “With more than 20 major elections scheduled in the
next two years, governments on both sides of the Atlantic are still not
prepared to fend off outside attacks to meddle in campaigns and election
counts,” according to a Monday statement from the Transatlantic Commission
on Election Integrity, a group that was “formed in May in the wake of
reports that Russia had meddled in the 2016 US presidential election and
worked with favored parties in votes across Europe in recent years.” The
commission said, “Governments are scrambling to prepare for the last
disinformation campaign, rather than the next.” The Times adds, “The
commission’s 14 members include former heads of state and top officials,
among them...former Vice President Joseph R. Biden.”
Librarian Lists Biden’s Memoir Among “Great Books For All Ages About” US
History.

In a “guest column” for the International Falls (MN) Daily Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=005-55a&t=c>
(7/2), librarian Diane Adams offers a list of “some great books for all
ages about our country’s history” ahead of Independence Day. Among the
books mentioned by Adams is former Vice President Joe Biden’s “Promise Me,
Dad,” which she says “is a memoir of ‘a year of hope, hardship and
purpose.’ Spend a year traveling with the vice president over more than a
hundred thousand miles and yet also time with his family as their oldest
son fought for and then lost his life.”
Actor Recounts Humorous Story Of Biden Calling His Father.

Actor Adam Devine, said on CBS The Late Late Show With James Corden[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=006-446&t=c>
(7/3) that he once made a video with former Vice President Joe Biden
“called ‘This Is Us,’ and it’s about stopping campus assaults.” Devine
said, “I tell my parents that I’m going to go to the White House and film
this thing with Joe Biden. ... The day I’m doing it, I call them with Joe
Biden. ... My dad answers, and” Biden is “like, ‘Mr. an Mrs. Devine, this
is Vice President Joe Biden. I’m standing here with your son.’ And my dad
goes, ‘Bull(bleep)! And then hangs up on the vice president.” Biden’s
“like, ‘He just screamed bull(bleep) at me and hung up.’ And then he walked
away.” Devine added, “I called my dad back, and...he goes, ‘I know what you
did. You got one of your comedy, Hollywood friends to call me and do their
Joe Biden impression.’”
Leading the News
In Tweet This Morning, Trump Says He Will Announce SCOTUS Pick On Monday.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=007-f27&t=c>
this morning, “I interviewed 4 very impressive people yesterday. On Monday
I will be announcing my decision for Justice of the United States Supreme
Court!”

*Media Analyses: Barrett, Kavanaugh Top Trump Candidates For High
Court. *As Trump said Monday that he has begun interviewing candidates to
replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, media reports
indicate that two candidates have emerged as front-runners: federal appeals
court judges Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Trump, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=008-c50&t=c>
(7/2, Lucey, Thomas) reports, told reporters at the White House he had met
with “four potential justices of our great Supreme Court. They are
outstanding people and they are really incredible people in so many
different ways, academically and in every other way.” He added that he
would meet with “two or three more” in advance of an announcement July 9.
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=009-743&t=c>
(7/2, Nicholas) says the rapid pace of the interview process is a sign of
the urgency felt by the White House in filling the post.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=00a-336&t=c>
(7/2, Mason) says Kavanaugh and Barrett “have gained the most interest.” On CBS
This Morning[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=00b-aa5&t=c>
(7/2), Nancy Cordes called Barrett and Kavanaugh “the leading contenders,”
and CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=00c-3ca&t=c>
(7/2, Guild) similarly reports on its website that the two judges “are
currently Mr. Trump’s leading contenders.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=00d-6c9&t=c>
(7/2, Daley, Enjeti) reports that “multiple sources involved in the
selection process inside and outside the administration” said “the most
serious consideration is being given to Kavanaugh and Barrett. ...
Administration officials acknowledged that Kavanaugh and Barrett are in
strong contention for the nomination, but that three others are also being
considered.” According to the National Law Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=00e-133&t=c>
(7/2, Lovelace), Washington-based supporters of Kavanaugh’s “have begun
building a coalition of lawyers, including former law clerks and law
students, to support his confirmation effort” if Trump taps him next week
as his Supreme Court nominee.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=00f-a07&t=c>
(7/2, Boyer) likewise says Barrett and Kavanaugh “are at the top of the
president’s list of 25 possible nominees,” while the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=010-0ed&t=c>
(7/2, Wagner) says Trump’s shortlist includes Barrett and Kavanaugh, as
well as US Appeals Court Judge Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania; US Circuit
Judge Raymond Kethledge of Michigan; and US Appeals Court Judge Amul Thapar
of Kentucky. According to CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=011-fd8&t=c>
(7/2, Bennett), Trump “appears to have a short list of six or seven.” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=012-e09&t=c>
(7/2, A1, Shear) reports “White House officials declined to say which
potential judicial nominees Mr. Trump talked with Monday morning, but the
short list of candidates is believed to include six federal appeals court
judges: Thomas M. Hardiman, William H. Pryor Jr., Amul R. Thapar, Brett M.
Kavanaugh, Joan L. Larsen and Amy Coney Barrett.”

NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=013-6b8&t=c>
(7/2, News) reports that the “short list...includes two women,” Barrett and
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Britt Grant. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=014-3e7&t=c>
(7/2, Johnson) reports that if nominated, Barrett “may have Sen. Dianne
Feinstein to thank.” According to Politico, a “confrontation with the
California senator during her confirmation hearing to the 7th Circuit Court
of Appeals last October vaulted Barrett, 46, onto the national stage” where
she has become “a hero to religious conservatives who believe liberal
Democrats target them for their faith.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=015-b9e&t=c>
(7/2, Fabian) says Trump himself “gave little indication about whom he
might select,” and the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=016-a2f&t=c>
(7/2, Moore) reports he said only that “the person chosen will be
outstanding.” On NBC’s Today Show[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=017-4d5&t=c>
(7/2), Hallie Jackson said “higher education is on [Trump’s] mind. People
familiar with President Trump’s process say he’s indicated he would like a
justice who went to Harvard or Yale.”

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News’
Hannity[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=018-1ee&t=c>
(7/2) that Trump “understands the gravity. As he has said, nominating to
the Supreme Court is one of the most important things that any President
does, and all of the nominees, all of the justices on the Supreme Court,
outlast anyone’s presidency of eight years. But in many ways, some of these
jurists outlast the Presidents who actually nominated them. He understands
that you’re talking about 30, 40, 45 years of jurisprudence and he takes
the decision with great gravity and responsibility. Now, other people are
advising, but it’s his decision to make and he’s respectful to the senators
on the right and the left who are advising and consenting as well.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=019-f98&t=c>
(7/2, Wagner) says Democrats “have begun taking aim at those on Trump’s
Supreme Court shortlist by name.” On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Schumer
“criticized Barrett’s record,” tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=01a-01a&t=c>:
“The bottom line: Judge Barrett has given every indication that she will be
an activist judge on the Court. If chosen as the nominee, she will be the
deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and to strike down pre-existing
conditions protections in the ACA.” Schumer writes in a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=01b-de9&t=c>
(7/2) op-ed that “perhaps the most consequential issues at stake in this
Supreme Court vacancy are affordable health care and a woman’s freedom to
make the most sensitive medical decisions about her body. The views of
President Trump’s next court nominee on these issues could well determine
whether the Senate approves or rejects them.” Schumer urges, “If you do not
want a Supreme Court Justice who will overturn Roe v. Wade and undo the
Affordable Care Act, tell your senators they should not vote for a
candidate from Mr. Trump’s preordained list. Democrat, Republican,
independent, liberal or conservative – we should all want a more
representative process for choosing the next Supreme Court justice.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=01c-853&t=c>
(7/2, story 6, 1:55, Llamas) said the debate over abortion is “now at the
center of the fight. During the campaign, the President promised to appoint
justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. He’s not saying that now. Today,
the White House refusing to say whether the President wants Roe v. Wade
overturned.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=01d-e0b&t=c>
(7/2, story 5, 2:15, Jackson) also said abortion rights will be a key issue
in the nominee’s confirmation, and “a new poll out today shows most
Americans agree” with Roe v. Wade. Asked on CNN’s Out Front[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=01e-848&t=c>
(7/2) whether Trump considers Roe v. Wade to be settled law, Leonard Leo,
adviser to the President, said, “He’s never asked me about abortion or Roe
v. Wade. When the list was being put together, no candidate was talked to,
no question was ever asked of them. He’s never asked the question of any
Supreme Court candidate during the interviews.”

According to the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=01f-e1d&t=c>
(7/2, story 4, 2:20, Glor), sources says Sen. Susan Collins, who said over
the weekend that she won’t vote to confirm a nominee who shows “hostility”
towards Roe v. Wade, “opposes federal appeals court Judge William Pryor,
who once called Roe an abomination. A top finalist to replace Justice
Scalia, sources say Pryor has been eliminated this time.”

Additionally, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=020-85a&t=c>
(7/2, Howell) reports that ACA “defenders are using the 2010 program to
stir up opposition” to Trump’s nominee, “saying the same kind of urgency
that blocked GOP repeal efforts last year will be needed to tank any
nominee who appears hostile” to the law. A “progressive coalition” on
Monday released an ad, dubbed “Emergency,” that argues Trump “cannot be
trusted to pick someone who will uphold protections” for Americans.
According to the Times, “one version will air on TV nationwide, while
separate versions will target Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan
Collins of Maine – centrist Republicans...who hold key votes” in the
confirmation process. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=021-2f2&t=c>
(7/2, Everett) reports Demand Justice plans to spend $5 million opposing
Trump’s pick, including “radio, TV, digital and voter mobilization.” The
campaign will focus on Maine and Alaska, “as well as Indiana, North Dakota
and West Virginia, where vulnerable Senate Democrats are facing
re-election.”

Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said on Fox News’
Hannity[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=022-574&t=c>
(7/2), “Here’s the beauty of our system. This is why I sleep so well at
night. The reason Donald Trump can put whoever he wants on the Supreme
Court within reason, and the Senate will confirm it, is because the
American people elected Donald Trump and the Republican Senate. If the
American people had elected a Democratic President and Democratic Senate,
the Democrat could have done that. These decisions are fundamentally made
by the people.” Sebastian Gorka said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=023-c26&t=c>
(7/2) that the left “disagree[s] with democracy when it doesn’t go their
way. They understand the stakes involved here. If we have a conservative
justice appointed and then voted in by the Senate, we will inoculate the
republic for at least a generation from the lunacy of the left.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=024-8e4&t=c>
(7/2) editorializes that the future of the court will be decided by “the
votes of a handful of centrist senators. In vetting the next Supreme Court
justice, those powerful centrists will want to avoid further politicizing
the judiciary by opposing an accomplished nominee. Yet they should also
seek to prevent a rightward lurch on the court that would usher in a new
era of conservative judicial activism. Now is the time for them to apply
their leverage.”

Joe Scarborough writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=025-6c5&t=c>
(7/2) column that “the American left is in a panic and for good reason” in
the wake of Kennedy’s retirement. Scarborough argues that “instead of
viewing this accidental president...as the apocalypse du jour, Trump
skeptics should treat him more like those flashes of light in dark skies.”
American democracy, he says, “will survive Trump. And if Democrats want to
stem the recent Republican tide of victories...they should stop mourning
Trumpism’s rise and instead fervently take Hill’s advice to heart.”

*Nelson Indicates He’s Unlikely To Support Trump’s SCOTUS Pick. *The
Tampa Bay (FL) Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=026-41b&t=c>
(7/2, Smith) reports that Sen. Bill Nelson (D), facing a tough reelection
race this fall against term-limited Gov. Rick Scott (R), on Monday “shed
his hyper-cautious reputation,” saying “that he expects to vote against
President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed Anthony Kennedy on the US
Supreme Court.” Nelson told reporters, “Obviously I have to wait and see
who the nominee is, but if, as President Trump has suggested, he’s going to
have a litmus test – and he said this over and over – on Roe v. Wade, then
I’m not going to be voting for some justice who’s going to overturn Roe v.
Wade.” The Times adds that Nelson “is among the most vulnerable Democratic
senators” on the ballot this fall, “and he faces intense pressure from both
the left and right on what is probably the most consequential decision made
so far by” Trump.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=027-dfc&t=c>
(7/2, King) reported that Nelson “wants the confirmation process to take
place after the election, presumably with the hope Democrats can retake the
Senate and force Trump to pick a moderate nominee closer to Kennedy’s
philosophy.” Scott, meanwhile, “is urging the Senate follow [Majority
Leader Mitch] McConnell’s lead and move quickly on the confirmation of a
new justice even though it would mean he wouldn’t get a chance to vote on
the choice.”

*Trump Temporarily Reorganizes Staff To Focus On Confirmation. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=028-f24&t=c>
(7/2, A1, Shear) reports White House officials said Monday that Trump “will
temporarily reorganize his White House staff to focus on confirming a new
justice by the time the court’s new term opens in October.” Deputy Press
Secretary Raj Shah “will take a leave from his responsibilities in the
press office to focus exclusively on coordinating the president’s message
on behalf of the pick.” The “job of working with conservative organizations
outside the White House will fall to Justin Clark, the director of the
Office of Public Liaison.” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said “others in
the White House, including Marc Short, the director of legislative affairs,
and John F. Kelly, the chief of staff, will also be involved in the
process.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=029-a0b&t=c>
(7/2, Wagner) says the move “is part of a broader push by the White House
to rapidly confirm a replacement for Kennedy before the court’s new term
begins in October.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=02a-819&t=c>
(7/2, Nussbaum) reports that “some of the staff shifts have already taken
place, reflecting how quickly the White House is looking to move,
especially with the threat of midterm elections that could diminish
Republicans’ power in Congress.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=02b-d67&t=c>
(7/2, Fabian) likewise says the moves are “designed to swiftly confirm a
new justice on the high court by the fall.”

*Three Democrats Who Voted To For Gorsuch Dodge Questions On Latest
Nomination. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=02c-5f8&t=c>
(7/2, Leahy) reports that the three Democratic senators who voted to
confirm Neil Gorsuch – Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin –
are “dodging definitive responses on where they stand regarding President
Trump’s pending nomination” to replace Kennedy.

Molly Hemingway of The Federalist said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=02d-5f0&t=c>
(7/2), “It will be very contentious. It’s also true that it’s a very tough
time for Democrats to be fighting this pick. A lot of people are focusing
on how Republicans might peel away, but you have a bunch of senators in red
states, in states that were carried by Donald Trump, who are Democrats
fighting for their political lives, and if they throw up a lot of
obstruction here, that could be very tough for them in what are already
some tougher races that they are facing.”

*Politico: Trump’s List Of Candidates A “Liability.” *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=02e-8be&t=c>
(7/2, Woellert, Cadelago) reports Trump’s “widely publicized list of
potential Supreme Court nominees brought conservative doubters” to his side
during the election. Shortly after Kennedy announced his retirement, “Trump
told reporters he’d be picking his replacement from the list, sending a
clear signal that the often-rogue president understands how he can’t risk
alienating the conservative base heading first into midterms and then his
own reelection bid. But this time around, the list has become a liability,
too, as swing-vote Republicans urge Trump to think bigger and Democrats use
it to get a running start in their campaign against Trump’s forthcoming
pick.”

*Feinstein: Confirmation Should Be Delayed Until After Election. *Sen.
Dianne Feinstein writes in USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=02f-8df&t=c>
(7/2) that Republicans “want to overturn their own standard, set in 2016,
that a nominee shouldn’t be considered during an election year. While the
decision to block Merrick Garland is the most egregious example,
Republicans have delayed or denied Democratic presidents their nominees to
fill federal judgeships for decades.” She argues that “with so much at
stake, action on any Supreme Court nominee should wait until after the
American people vote in November. It’s the right thing to do.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Speaks To Mexican President-Elect About Border Security, Trade.

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=030-44d&t=c>
(7/2, story 7, 0:25, Llamas) reported President Trump on Monday spoke with
Mexico’s President-elect, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, “the leftist leader
and Trump critic.” According to Trump, the two leaders spoke for about 30
minutes, “discussing border security, NAFTA and a possible new trade deal.”
The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=031-9c6&t=c>
(7/2, Miller) reports that after the call, Trump told reporters outside the
White House that he believes López Obrador is “going to try and help us
with the border. We have unbelievably bad border laws, immigration laws,
the weakest in the world, laughed at by everybody in the world.” Trump
suggested that under López Obrador’s leadership, Mexico “can help us until
we straighten out our immigration laws, which have been bad for many, many
years – decades, and we’re going to have them taken care of.”

“I think the relationship will be a very good one,” Trump stated,
“qualifying the comment as he often does by saying, ‘We’ll see what
happens,’” according to Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=032-51d&t=c>
(7/2, Moons). The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=033-9bf&t=c>
(7/2, Stevenson, Orsi, Sherman) reports that in a late-Sunday tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=034-4ec&t=c>,
Trump similarly wrote, “I look very much forward to working with him. There
is much to be done that will benefit both the United States and Mexico!”
López Obrador told the Televisa news network in an interview Monday “that
Trump’s Tweet Sunday night ‘was very respectful. That is what we always
want to maintain with the U.S. government, that there be mutual respect.’”
López Obrador continued, “We are never going to disrespect the U.S.
government, because we want them to respect us.” He added, “At the
appropriate moment, we are going to get in touch, to reach an
understanding” with the Administration. The AP notes “López Obrador had
been compared to Trump for his populist, nationalist rhetoric and sometimes
touchy personality – as well as his past skepticism about the trade deal.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=035-d32&t=c>
(7/2, Eschenbacher) reports that in the Monday phone call, neither leader
offered “further details on a possible trade pact,” although “López
Obrador, a onetime NAFTA skeptic who moderated his views in his third run
at the presidency, said in a Mexican TV interview on Monday that he wanted
a NAFTA deal that was good for Mexico.” He told Milenio TV, “We’re going to
accompany the current government in this negotiation, we’re going to be
very respectful, and we’re going to support the signing of the agreement.”
Reuters says relations between the two leaders “will be closely watched”
because “Trump has been antagonistic to Mexico over trade and immigration.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=036-fb8&t=c>
(7/2, Shear, Swanson) describes Trump’s outreach to López Obrador “an
early, but potentially short-lived, show of détente,” as the US and Mexico
“remain locked in a heated dispute over the fraught issues of immigration
and trade, areas that may face difficult complications from the election of
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a leader known for being as strong-headed and
nationalist-minded as Mr. Trump – and just as willing to engage in a public
clash of ideas.” The Times says despite López Obrador’s pledge “never to
‘disrespect’ the United States government,” any “period of gracious talk
may be short lived, however, with Mr. Trump almost certain to continue his
tirade about the 2,000-mile border with Mexico, and Mr. López Obrador
virtually guaranteed to fire back in ways that his predecessors did not.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=037-ebc&t=c>
(7/2, A1, De Córdoba, Luhnow) says on its front page that even though Trump
and López Obrador are both economic nationalists, they differ in many ways
and will likely butt heads over NAFTA renegotiations and immigration.
Furthermore, the Journal says, the Mexican government under López Obrador
will not likely support the Administration’s foreign policy goals on areas
like Venezuela, and will not readily cooperate with the US on security or
immigration issues.

*López Obrador Pledges To Combat Corruption, Crime. *Calling López
Obrador’s win a “landslide victory,” the [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=038-a96&t=c>
(7/2, story 5, 0:20, Glor) reported the Mexican President-elect has vowed
“to wipe out corruption” and has “proposed a jobs and security program as
an alternative to a border wall.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=039-cb5&t=c>
(7/2, Oré) reports the Mexican president-elect also “wants to rewrite the
rules of the drug war, aides said, suggesting negotiated peace and
amnesties for some of the very people currently being targeted by security
forces.” So far, however, “his proposals remain vague. And any move toward
amnesty, while aimed at lesser and non-violent offenders, is sure to face
opposition from the general public, rivals in Congress and U.S. allies who
helped Mexico orchestrate its force-based approach.”

William La Jeunesse reported on [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]Fox News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=03a-f80&t=c>
(7/2) that if López Obrador stands by his pledges, that commitment could
“inflame relations with the US, especially his plan to end the drug war in
three years.” Former Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda says López
Obrador may disappoint Trump on drugs and immigration. Fox showed Castaneda
saying, “There is very little support for any Mexican government to
maintain levels of cooperation on Central American immigration with Trump
when every other day he insults us.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=03b-10c&t=c>
(7/2) editorializes that “the prospects of a populist who makes as many
promises as AMLO, as the president-elect is commonly known,” are hard to
predict, but what is certain is that “Mexico’s relations with the United
States will not improve.” The Times posits, “If there is a danger for the
United States in Mr. López Obrador’s election, it is not that he will move
his country radically leftward, but that he will fail to meet the high
expectations he has raised.” If the Administration “chooses to make life
difficult for him,” the Times cautions, “it will only deepen Mexico’s
problems and increase the power of the drug cartels and the despair driving
people to head north.”

In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=03c-540&t=c>
(7/2) says López Obrador “is a product of the political left, but his
victory is part of the global story of rising populist leaders.” The Post
explains that like many populist leaders, including Trump, “López Obrador
promises to overturn the reigning political establishment, says he alone is
capable of delivering on his far-fetched promises, and assails the media,
courts, civil society groups and all others who might check his personal
power.” He “also has been vague and occasionally contradictory about the
specific policies he may pursue, even while insisting he will bring about a
‘transformation’ comparable to Mexico’s achievement of independence.” The
Post says in that, López Obrador “is sure to fail; the question is how much
damage he may do to the democratic system that enabled him to gain power.”

*Bolton Raises Possibility Of Trump Visit To Mexico. *Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=03d-65c&t=c>
(7/2, Lajeunesse) reports that unlike his predecessors, Trump didn’t visit
Mexico in his first year in office. National Security Adviser Bolton
“raised that possibility” on “Fox News Sunday,” saying, “I think in this
kind of context, having the two leaders get together, may produce some
surprising results.”

*NYTimes: Mexico’s Election Outcome Constitutes Latest Latin
American Political Shift. *A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=03e-6d4&t=c>
(7/2, Ahmed, Londoño) analysis calls Sunday’s election “the latest in a
string of blistering defeats for incumbent parties across Latin America”
and “of all political stripes.” According to analysts, voters “are simply
looking for new options.” Some nations, “like Mexico, have tacked left;
others, like Colombia and Chile, right. Often the move is in the opposite
direction of the governing party, but not always, as was the case in Costa
Rica and Ecuador.” While “corruption, violence and inequality have been
major issues in each country, no single ideology or issue explains the
rejection of establishment politics.”
Trump: WTO Needs To Change Ways Or US Will Do “Something.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=03f-e44&t=c>
(7/2, Thomas) reports President Trump on Monday warned the WTO that if the
US isn’t treated “properly, we will be doing something.” He again denied
plans to withdraw the US from the world trade body, but told reporters in
the Oval Office that it needs to change its ways. Trump said the WTO has
treated the US “very badly and I hope they change their ways.” He said he’s
not “planning anything now,” but if the WTO doesn’t treat the US properly,
“we will be doing something.” He did not elaborate. Eamon Javers reported
on CNBC’s Closing Bell[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=040-efa&t=c>
(7/2) that Trump said “we’re not planning anything now, but if they don’t
treat us properly we will be doing something. When you talk to people
behind the scenes here at the White House they do say the President has
mentioned again and again privately he would like to withdraw from the WTO.
And that would probably be a complicated and political maneuver.”

*In Tweet Today, Trump Touts Economy, Says “Most Countries Agree”
Trade Deals Should Change. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=041-518&t=c>
this morning, “The economy is doing perhaps better than ever before, and
that’s prior to fixing some of the worst and most unfair Trade Deals ever
made by any country. In any event, they are coming along very well. Most
countries agree that they must be changed, but nobody ever asked!”

*Ross: “It’s A Little Premature” To Discuss Potential US Exit From
WTO. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=042-24b&t=c>
(7/2, Klimasinska) reports that in an appearance on CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=043-0d8&t=c>
today, Commerce Secretary Ross “said it’s a ‘little premature’ to discuss
the US withdrawing from the World Trade Organization as the Trump
administration continues to look at ways to improve the global trade body.”
Said Ross, “The WTO knows some reforms are needed. So I think there really
is a need to update and synchronize its activities and we’ll see where that
leads, but I think it’s a little premature to talk about simply withdrawing
from it.” Bloomberg notes that Axios reported
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=044-154&t=c>
Sunday that the White House “drafted a bill that would allow” Trump “to
ignore fundamental WTO rules and let him adjust tariff rates for different
countries.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=045-50b&t=c>
(7/2) reports that on Friday, Axios reported
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=046-122&t=c>
that Trump “wanted to leave the WTO, a story dismissed” by Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin as “wrong” and “an exaggeration.” On Sunday, Axios
“followed up...by publishing what it said was a draft bill, the ‘United
States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act,’ immediately drawing ridicule for
legislation that would be known by its acronym, the FART Act.” Reuters
notes that “the draft bill published by Axios did not mention the WTO, but
its report said the law would allow the United States to disregard tariff
limits agreed at the WTO since 1995.”

*Russia Becomes Seventh WTO Member To Challenge Trump’s Metal
Tariffs. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=047-a26&t=c>
(7/2, Palmer) reports Russia on Monday requested talks with the US on
Trump’s decision to impose new duties on steel and aluminum, “the first
step in formally challenging the action at the World Trade Organization.”
According to Politico, the complaint filed Monday “is the seventh initiated
by a WTO member against Trump’s steel and aluminum duties,” which
“collectively...put the administration on a potential collision course”
with the world trade body.

*EU: US Auto Tariffs Will Spark Retaliation Against $300 Billion In
US Goods. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=048-bbd&t=c>
(7/2, Cook) reports European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas on
Monday “slammed the Trump administration for considering tariffs on auto
imports, saying they could lead to global retaliation against some $300
billion in US goods amid signs of a brewing trade war.” Schinas “said the
US investigation into the possibility of auto tariffs ‘lacks legitimacy,
factual basis and violates international trade rules,’ just like last
month’s US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports,” according to the AP.
Schinas also claimed that “European carmakers create over half a million
jobs in the US.”

*Bloomberg: Trump Likely To Overcome Senate Opposition On Tariffs,
ZTE. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=049-00d&t=c>
(7/2, Wasson, Leonard) reports that although “US exporters want Congress to
rein in” the Administration “on tariffs, and national security hawks want
Congress to force” the Administration “to put Chinese telecom gear-maker
ZTE Corp. out of business,” some “trade experts and lobbyists
say...Congress is unlikely to stop deferring to Trump anytime soon.”
Bloomberg says Sens. Bob Corker (R) and Pat Toomey (R) “proposed requiring
Trump to get congressional approval for tariffs based on national security
– but they never got a vote on attaching the measure to defense and farm
policy bills.” Bloomberg adds that “the Senate’s attempt to steer Trump’s
approach to ZTE...also faces an uphill battle” because although “the
defense policy bill would reimpose a ban on US exports to the company
unless Trump certifies it hasn’t violated the law for a year,” that “is
likely to be removed from the bill or watered down to the point of being
toothless.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=04a-792&t=c>
(7/2, Wiseman) reports that “barring a last-minute breakthrough, the Trump
administration on Friday will start imposing tariffs on $34 billion in
Chinese imports. And China will promptly strike back with tariffs on an
equal amount of US exports.” The AP adds, “And just like that, a high-risk
trade war between the world’s two biggest economies will begin — one that
could quickly escalate.”

*US Chamber Launches Campaign Critical Of Trump’s Trade Policies. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=04b-9da&t=c>
(7/2, Gibson) reports the US Chamber of Commerce “is launching a campaign
on Monday to oppose Trump’s trade tariff policies.” According to Reuters,
“The new campaign...will provide an analysis of the financial hit each US
state stands take from potential retaliation to Trump’s tariffs,” and
“argues that Trump is risking a global trade war that will hit the wallets
of US consumers.” Said Chamber President Tom Donohue, “The administration
is threatening to undermine the economic progress it worked so hard to
achieve. We should seek free and fair trade, but this is just not the way
to do it.”

*WSJournal Analysis: Trade Tensions Worry US Farmers. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=04c-384&t=c>
(7/2, Newman) reports many US farmers, already expecting bumper harvests
and contending with surpluses, are nervous about the impact of the
Administration’s trade policies on agricultural exports. The Journal also
notes that farmers are likely to be a key voting block in upcoming midterm
elections.
Trump Demands NATO Allies Increase Their Financial Contributions.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=04d-cc7&t=c>
(7/2, Davis) reports that in the “latest sign of acrimony” between
President Trump and American allies, the President last month wrote
“sharply worded letters to the leaders of several NATO allies, including
Germany, Belgium, Norway and Canada, taking them to task for spending too
little on their own defense and warning that the United States is losing
patience with what he said is their failure to meet security obligations
shared by the alliance.”

*Merkel Preserves Coalition With Reversal On Border Camps For
Migrants. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=04e-edc&t=c>
(7/2, Bennhold, Eddy) reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel “agreed
on Monday to build border camps for asylum seekers and to tighten the
border with Austria in a political deal to save her government.” The Times
calls it a “stunning turnabout” for Merkel, “who staked her legacy on
welcoming hundreds of thousands of migrants into Germany.” Merkel “has come
under intense pressure at home from the far right and from conservatives in
her governing coalition over her migration policy.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=04f-bfc&t=c>
(7/2, McAuley, Beck) says that with the move, Merkel “emerg[ed] from an
immigration fight with her coalition intact but fragile.” However, “the
problems within her government are unlikely to go away: Relations between
Merkel’s CDU and its Bavarian sister have been badly strained, and the CSU
is riven by competing factions. That will make it difficult for her to
return Germany to the relatively stable state for which it had long been
known during her nearly 13-year tenure.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=050-6da&t=c>
(7/2, Thomas) similarly says that while the deal appeared to hold together
the alliance between the CDU and CSU, the controversy has raised concerns
about whether the coalition can be sustained.
State Department: Some Countries Could Continue To Import Oil From Iran.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=051-73a&t=c>
(7/2, George) reports the State Department said on Monday that “some
countries continuing to import Iranian oil could avoid sanctions after
restrictions are re-imposed in November.” State Department Director of
Policy Planning Brian Hook said the US is “not looking to grant licenses or
waivers,” but Washington is “prepared to work with countries that are
reducing their imports on a case-by-case basis.” Hook said the US sanctions
“on Iranian trade in automobiles, gold and other key metals will be
re-imposed on Aug. 6 while sanctions targeting energy and banking will be
reinforced Nov. 4.” Hook said that so far, “more than 50 international
firms have announced their intent to leave the Iranian market.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=052-99b&t=c>
(7/2, Hudson) reports Hook said the Administration is “standing by its plan
to reduce Iran’s oil revenue to zero in a bid to isolate the country and
force its leaders to change their behavior.” The Post notes that Hook said
the US “would work with countries that import Iranian crude on a
‘case-by-case’ basis, signaling that the Trump administration might not
immediately sanction those that continue importing from Iran beyond a Nov.
4 deadline.”

Hook asserted, “Our policy is to get to zero as soon as possible” –
a statement that the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=053-e8b&t=c>
(7/2, Harris) calls “a subtle shift” from the message the Administration
sent last week, when “a different senior State Department official told
reporters that the United States expected global imports of Iranian oil to
go to zero by Nov. 4, when Washington will reimpose sanctions against
Tehran’s energy sector.” The Times says Hook’s softening of the demand “is
likely to reassure markets,” but European diplomats are “still angry about
Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal” and “have responded
to such demands with caution.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=054-8ed&t=c>
(7/2, Nelson) says the State Department’s “proclamation – and looming
penalties – could further escalate tensions with America’s longtime allies
in Europe that have expressed a desire to continue doing business with
Iran.” European nations that signed on to the 2015 nuclear deal “have vowed
to try” and work “with Iran to keep the deal in place,” but their “pledge
has been complicated by the Trump administration’s uncompromising approach
to the reimposition of American sanctions on Iran.” Politico says countries
outside the deal, “too, could be affected,” as Turkey and India have
already “said they do not intend to stop buying Iranian oil.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=055-e87&t=c>
(7/2) runs a video report of Hook’s remarks, and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=056-931&t=c>
(7/2, Donati) notes his comments followed questions about Turkish and
Indian plans to continue to purchase Iranian oil.

*CNN Exclusive: Administration Debating “Terrorist” Label For
Iran’s IRGC. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=057-b26&t=c>
(7/2, McLaughlin, Labott) reports online that as “part of an effort to use
every possible tool in the box to pressure Tehran,” the White House is
considering designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a
foreign terrorist organization, several current and former official say.
Making the designation would allow the Administration to “freeze IRGC
assets, impose travel bans and levy criminal penalties on top of
pre-existing economic sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump.” Sources
familiar with Secretary Pompeo’s thinking say he’s in favor of the
designation. However, CNN notes that “labeling an official state military
as a terror group, particularly a group with the reach and force of the
IRGC, would be unprecedented and could expose US diplomatic and military
officials to additional hazards, some warn.”

*Rouhani Visits Switzerland For Talks In Nuclear Deal. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=058-338&t=c>
(7/2) reports Iranian President Hassan Rouhani “has arrived in Switzerland
for talks expected to focus on salvaging progress from the Iran nuclear
deal after the Trump administration’s walkout.” Rouhani is in Zurich and
later will visit Bern “for deal-signings, talks and a news conference on
Tuesday.”

*Iranian Diplomat Arrested In Connection With Bomb Plot Against
Exiled Opposition Group. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=059-6b6&t=c>
(7/2, Bartunek) reports Belgian authorities say an Iranian diplomat has
been “arrested along with two people suspected of plotting a bomb attack on
a meeting of an exiled Iranian opposition group in France attended by
Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.” In addition, three suspects were
arrested in France. The meeting of the Paris-based National Council of
Resistance of Iran (NCRI), “an umbrella bloc of opposition groups in exile
that seek an end to Shi’ite Muslim clerical rule in Iran,” was also
attended by “several former European and Arab ministers.”

[image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=05a-190&t=c>
(7/2) mentioned that Belgian authorities said two of the people arrested
were married, and a search of their car “turned up more than a pound of
explosives and a detonator, enough to cause a sizeable explosion.”

*Protests Turn Deadly In Iran As Opposition Figures Rally In
France. *Benjamin Hall reported on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=05b-c2e&t=c>
(7/2) that tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest a
“faltering economy and high levels of corruption.” Police responded by
“opening fire, killing at least four.” The protests come as opposition
figures gathered in Paris over the weekend for an annual rally that was
attended by a “large US delegation” that included President Trump’s
attorney Rudy Giuliani. Speaking to Fox, Giuliani urged Iranian leaders “to
consider their future.” Giuliani was shown saying, “Step aside before
there’s more bloodshed. They are killing their own people. Once a regime
turns on its own people it’s only inevitable that it comes to an end. Their
fate is sealed.”
US Envoy Met With North Korean Official In Border Village.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=05c-744&t=c>
(7/1) reports US envoy Sung Kim “held talks with North Korean officials on
Sunday in the border village of Panmunjom within the demilitarized zone
between the North and South Korea, South Korean media reported on Sunday.”
The reports say Kim, the US ambassador to the Philippines, “met with North
Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui for working talks that were
believed to be focused on setting the agenda for” Secretary of State
Pompeo’s upcoming visit. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=05d-30f&t=c>
(7/2) reports the State Department says Ambassador Kim “held talks with
North Korea in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas over the
weekend.” Kim led the US delegation to the talks “to discuss next steps on
implementation of the joint declaration signed at the June 12 summit
between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.” In a
statement, the department said, “Our goal remains the final, fully verified
denuclearization of the DPRK, as agreed to by Chairman Kim in Singapore.”

The Washington Post
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(7/2, Taylor) reports the meeting “appears to be the first face-to-face
contact between US officials and their North Korean counterparts since
President Trump met with leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore.” The
meeting comes “amid growing scrutiny of Pyongyang’s commitment to
denuclearization and as joint efforts to repatriate the remains of US
troops from North Korea take longer than many anticipated.”

*In Tweet Today, Trump Says “If Not For Me, We Would Now Be At War
With North Korea.” *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=05f-8c7&t=c>
this morning, “Many good conversations with North Korea-it is going well!
In the meantime, no Rocket Launches or Nuclear Testing in 8 months. All of
Asia is thrilled. Only the Opposition Party, which includes the Fake News,
is complaining. If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!”

*Intelligence Officials Appear To Contradict Trump’s Optimism. *[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
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(7/2, story 6, 0:30, Holt) reported that ahead of Pompeo’s trip to North
Korea on Thursday, “NBC news is reporting US intelligence agencies believe
Pyongyang is secretly making more fuel for nuclear weapons. That’s even
after, as you remember, the country pledged to work toward denuclearization
during that Singapore summit.” The White House on Monday “would not confirm
or deny” the reporting, “but said they do believe they’re still making
progress.” Jeff Zeleny similarly reported on [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301biden&r=email-5ea6&l=061-9d4&t=c>
(7/2) that Pompeo is traveling to Pyongyang “amid reports that North Korea
[is] not necessarily holding up to its end of the bargain” regarding
denuclearization.

The Washington Post
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(7/2, Tharoor) says these “separate reports citing US officials seemed to
confirm what so many experts have long feared – that despite the overtures
and sunny proclamations made at the Singapore summit between President
Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang probably has little
interest in dismantling its nuclear program.” Though North Korea has halted
missile and nuclear tests, “as one US official briefed on the latest
intelligence told NBC, ‘there’s no evidence that they are decreasing
stockpiles, or that they have stopped their production. There is absolutely
unequivocal evidence that they are trying to deceive the US.’” The Post
adds that this “line of thinking is far removed from Trump’s triumphant
declarations.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Free Beacon
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(7/2, Gertz) reports, “Alaska-based interceptor missiles capable of
knocking out long-range North Korean missiles remain at a high state of
readiness despite the apparent reduction in tensions with Pyongyang
following the recent summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un.” The
Free Beacon notes Defense Secretary Mattis “toured Fort Greely, Alaska,
this week, home of the Pentagon’s ground-based interceptor missile defense
system.”

*Satellite Images May Show North Korea Finishing Missile
Manufacturing Site. *CNN
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(7/2, Berlinger) reports North Korea “appears to be finalizing the
expansion of a key ballistic missile manufacturing site, according to an
analysis of satellite imagery by researchers” at the Middlebury Institute
for International Studies. The new images “come as leaked reports from US
intelligence officials appear to cast doubt on North Korea’s willingness
abandon its nuclear weapons program,” and they show Pyongyang “finishing
construction at the Chemical Material Institute, which researchers say is
based in the North Korean city of Hamhung.”

*Former Defense Secretary Perry Balances Hope, Skepticism About
North Korea. *Former Defense Secretary William J. Perry says in a Politico
Magazine
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(7/2) op-ed that he has watched developments on the Korean Peninsula “with
a mix of hope and skepticism,” and in light of the reports on North Korea’s
alleged nuclear weapons activities, “that skepticism seems amply
justified.” Still, Perry says, “hope also remains justified,” because these
“recent events have demonstrated something important: The North Koreans are
willing to engage seriously, and diplomacy remains by far the most
promising path in one of the world’s most dangerous places.”
Israel Bolstering Border Troops As Thousands Of Syrian Refugees Approach.

Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(7/2) reported that thousands of Syrians fleeing war in their country are
heading toward the border with Israel, “despite knowing they will not be
allowed into the country.” According to Fox’s Jonathan Hunt, the UN says
more than 250,000 refugees have fled fighting in southwestern Syria “just
in the last few days.” While the “majority” are heading towards the
Jordanian border, thousands are heading towards Israel’s border because
they “feel safer” there. They believe they’re “far less likely to be the
targets of Syrian government bombing raids when they are this close to
Israel.” The Israeli government is bolstering its troop numbers at the
border to send “two messages: telling its own people this border will not
be breached, and telling the Syrian government forces, ‘do not get too
close and be very careful.’”

*Netanyahu Defends Wife Ahead Of Her Trial For Misusing State
Funds. *Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(7/2) reported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “coming to his
wife’s defense ahead of her trial this month for misusing public funds.”
Netanyahu called his wife Sarah “an amazing woman whose image is being
trampled in the media.” Fox noted that in recent days, transcripts from
leaked investigations show Sarah “complaining about the quality of food
served at the prime minister’s residence and using expletives to describe
the staff.”
Trudeau Responds To Groping Allegations.

The Washington Post
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(7/2, Tan) reports that during an event for steel and aluminum workers
Sunday, a reporter asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “to address
allegations that he had groped a young woman at a music festival in British
Columbia 18 years ago.” Trudeau, a “self-described feminist, who has said
he has ‘no tolerance’ for sexual harassment, said he did not recall the
event.” Trudeau said, “I remember that day in Creston well. It was an
Avalanche Foundation event to support avalanche safety. I had a good day
that day. I don’t remember any negative interactions that day at all.”

The Washington Times
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(7/2, Miller) says the sexual harassment allegation first surfaced in 2000
in an “unsigned newspaper editorial in the Creston Valley Advance.” The
editorial accused Trudeau of “inappropriately ‘handling’ the reporter” and
said the woman was “blatantly disrespected.” The editorial added that
Trudeau “told the woman at the time, ‘I’m sorry. If I had known you were
reporting for a national paper, I never would have been so forward.’” The
Times says the editorial has been getting attention now after “it was
posted last month on Twitter.”
Domestic Policy
Media Analyses: Cohen Signals Willingness To Cooperate With Mueller.

Media reports interpreted Michael Cohen’s remarks to George Stephanopoulos,
in an interview shown on ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018070301b