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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, June 8, 2018 7:51 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
June 8, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=000-d73&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=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=001-8fc&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, June 8, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden Visits Louisville As Part Of “American Promise Tour.” <#S1>

• Author: Through Pence, Biden Has “Back-Channel Relationship” With White
House. <#S2>

• Biden To Help Raise Cash For Brown In Cleveland On June 29. <#S3>

• Biden Backs Neguse In CO2 Democratic Primary. <#S4>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump, Pompeo Reiterate North Korea Must Agree To Full Denuclearization.
<#S5>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Trump Defends Trade Policies Ahead Of G7, Will Leave Summit Early For
Singapore. <#S6>

• Under New Deal, US Fines ZTE $1 Billion, Embeds Compliance Team. <#S7>

• Trump: Abandoning Iran Deal Has Already Curbed Tehran’s Bad Behavior.
<#S8>

• US Airstrike Kills Four ISIS Militants In Libya. <#S9>

• Putin: Troops To Stay In Syria “As Long As Is Beneficial To Russia.”
<#S10>

• US To Abide By Week-Long Ceasefire With Taliban. <#S11>

• US Military Planning Upgrades To Guantanamo. <#S12>

• Focused On Russia, NATO Members Announce Defense Spending Increase. <#S13>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Trump Blasts “13 Angry Democrats” On Mueller’s Team. <#S14>

• DOJ IG Expects To Release Report On Clinton Email Probe June 14. <#S15>

• White House Unveils Ad Campaign Targeting Opioid Abuse Among Young People.
<#S16>

• Administration Won’t Defend ACA Against States’ Legal Challenges. <#S17>

• Ryan Promises House Vote On Immigration Reform Bill. <#S18>

• House Takes Up White House Rescissions Package. <#S19>

• Fox News’ Pirro “Jockeying” To Replace Sessions As Attorney General.
<#S20>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• McCaul Spearheads Law To Boost Funding For Pediatric Cancer Research,
Treatment. <#S21>

• Researchers To Test Cancer Prevention Shot In Largest-Ever Dog Trial.
<#S22>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S23>

• Washington Post. <#S24>
Biden in the News
Biden Visits Louisville As Part Of “American Promise Tour.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday brought his “American Promise
Tour” to Louisville, Kentucky. The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=002-9a6&t=c>
(6/7, Costello) reports that Biden, speaking at the Kentucky Center for
Performing Arts, “said he tried to give Donald Trump the same time to
adjust to office as he and President Barack Obama were given. But when the
white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, happened last summer
and Biden saw what he felt was the president making a moral equivalency
between the protesters and counterprotesters, he said he could not remain
silent.” Biden is quoted as saying, “We’re in a struggle for the soul of
the nation. ... We gotta remember who the hell we are.” The appearance was
“billed as a book tour, though the crowd’s standing ovations and Biden’s
focus on the spirit of America felt more akin to a campaign rally.”

In a brief broadcast, WLKY-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=003-e13&t=c>
Louisville, KY (6/7) reported that Biden spoke “about his support for a
28th Amendment to the Constitution. It would set limits on spending for
political elections. According to the website, it would take the power out
of the hands of big money and give it back to the people.” In another brief
segment, WAVE-TV[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=004-403&t=c>
Louisville, KY (6/7) reported that Biden and ex-Louisville Mayor Jerry
Abramson shared “the stage tonight at the Kentucky Center. Biden has set
off on an ‘American Promise Tour’ to promote his memoir. Abramson was the
moderator for the Louisville stop. He worked in the White House during the
Obama Administration.” This morning, WLEX-TV[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=005-8b2&t=c>
Lexington, KY (6/8) also briefly reports on Biden’s visit.
Author: Through Pence, Biden Has “Back-Channel Relationship” With White
House.

Kate Andersen Brower, author of a new book on vice presidents titled “First
In Line,” was asked during an appearance on NBC’s Today Show[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=006-f04&t=c>
(6/7) about the “somewhat close relationship” between former Vice President
Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence. Brower said that “Biden told me
they talk at least once a month. And when a visiting head of state comes to
visit President Trump, they sometimes talk to Biden, too. The king of
Jordan went to Washington, then took a helicopter and visited Biden in
Delaware. And so, he’s talked to the Greek prime minister – it’s kind of a
back-channel relationship Biden has to this White House, and it’s through
Mike Pence.”

*Brower Comments On Biden-Obama “Written Agreement.” *On NBC’s
Today Show[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=007-c08&t=c>
(6/7), Savannah Guthrie also asked Brower about what she described as “a
written agreement between President Obama and Vice President Biden about
the particulars of what their relationships would be, kind of like a
contract.” Brower said, “It was. And it lists several points like, you
know, J.B. must see all paper that crosses B.O.’s desk. I mean, that was
the shorthand they used in this memo. And I thought it was really
fascinating. Joe Biden said he literally wanted to be the last person in
the room when a decision was made.”
Biden To Help Raise Cash For Brown In Cleveland On June 29.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=008-f0b&t=c>
(6/7, Tobias) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden will visit
“Cleveland later this month to help raise money for” the reelection bid of
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D). Citing “event invitations,” the reports says Biden
“will appear at a pair of events the evening of Friday, June 29.” The Plain
Dealer adds, “The appearance by Biden, mentioned occasionally as a
potential 2020 presidential candidate, suggests he’s keeping his powder dry
with Ohio Democrats.” Brown is battling Rep. Jim Renacci (R) in the general
election.
Biden Backs Neguse In CO2 Democratic Primary.

Colorado Politics
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=009-3e0&t=c>
(6/7, Luning) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday
endorsed attorney Joe Neguse’s (D) 2018 bid to succeed Rep. Jared Polis (D)
in the CO2, “calling the former University of Colorado regent and son of
Eritrean immigrants ‘the embodiment of the American Dream.’” Neguse, who is
battling ex-Boulder Country Democratic Party chair Mark Williams (D) in the
Democratic primary, “said winning Biden’s backing was a tremendous honor
and called the Democrat ‘an American icon with a tremendous record of
service to this country.’” Polis is running for governor this year.
Leading the News
Trump, Pompeo Reiterate North Korea Must Agree To Full Denuclearization.

Media reports cast President Trump as sounding a positive note on his
upcoming summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, even as stories indicate
both he and Secretary of State Pompeo made the US objective for the talks
clear once again. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=00a-3bd&t=c>
(6/7, Oliphant) reports that Pompeo “reemphasized Washington’s stance going
into the talks,” saying Trump “will reject anything short of ‘complete,
verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.’”
Pompeo also said Trump “is prepared to ensure a DPRK free of its weapons of
mass destruction is also a secure North Korea.” Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=00b-474&t=c>
(6/7, Treene) notes, moreover, that Pompeo said Kim “indicated to me
personally that he’s prepared to denuclearize, that he understands that the
current model doesn’t work.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=00c-7b9&t=c>
(6/7, Miller, Colvin, Lucey) reports, meanwhile, that Trump “dangled before
Kim visions of normalized relations with the United States, economic
investment and even a White House visit.”

In its lead story, [image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC
Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=00d-be5&t=c>
(6/7, lead story, 2:10, Holt) also reported that Trump was “floating the
possibility of a good relationship with the North Korean dictator and some
day welcoming Kim to the White House.” The [image: Image removed by sender.
Video]CBS Evening News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=00e-bf2&t=c>
(6/7, lead story, 2:15, Glor) also led with the summit, reporting that
“during a joint appearance with the Japanese prime minister,” Trump said if
Kim “does not denuke, sanctions will stay in place.” CNN’s Situation
Room[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=00f-2a6&t=c>
(6/7) reported that Trump also said that “if things don’t go well...he’s
totally prepared to walk away,” but CNN added that “Trump had an optimistic
tone speaking about the upcoming summit,” saying “he believes it will be a
great success.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=010-3ba&t=c>
(6/7, Nelson) quotes Trump as saying, “All I can say is I am totally
prepared to walk away. I did it once before. You have to be able to walk
away. ... I am totally prepared to walk. It could happen, maybe it won’t be
necessary. I hope it won’t be necessary to walk, because I really believe
that Kim Jong-un wants to do something that is going to be great for his
people and also great for his family and great for himself.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=011-029&t=c>
(6/7, Jackson) describes Trump as “exuding optimism” and the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=012-5b8&t=c>
(6/7, Fredericks) as “confident,” but on the other hand, [image: Image
removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=013-4ff&t=c>
(6/7, story 2, 2:05, Vega) cast Trump as trying “to temper expectations for
the outcome.” Along similar lines, [image: Image removed by sender. Video]Fox
News’ Special Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=014-04b&t=c>
(6/7) said “Trump is downplaying expectations for next week.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=015-bbd&t=c>
(6/7, Wagner) also reports that alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe at the White House, Trump, who the Post says “has been playing down
expectations for the summit...told reporters that the meeting will be ‘much
more than a photo op.’” The Post notes Trump reiterated that North Korea
must agree to “denuke,” and that anything less “will not be acceptable.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=016-f40&t=c>
(6/7, Sink) indicates, meanwhile, that Trump “left open the possibility”
that the summit “could continue for several sessions,” and “said it would
probably take more than one summit to reach an agreement with North Korea
on its nuclear program.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=017-cdb&t=c>
(6/7, Miller) reports Trump also disclosed that “the letter he received
from...Kim...was a ‘very nice’ greeting.”

In an analysis piece, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=018-47f&t=c>
(6/7, Gordon, Donati, Cheng) cautions that those involved in past, failed
negotiations with North Korea believe Trump faces an arduous path – in
which a commitment to denuclearize is just the starting point. White House
Director of Legislative affairs Mark Short said on [image: Image removed by
sender. Video]CNN’s Situation Room
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=019-403&t=c>
(6/7), “We believe we have gotten to this point with the President’s
leadership and not just maximum pressure, but allies aligned with us,
particularly, China is most helpful here and a long way to go.” When asked
if the President’s insistence on full denuclearization and inspections is
possible, Short replied, “I think that people have underestimated this
President multiple times. He is anxious to have these conversations. North
Korea is brought to the table because of the pressure they’re under.”

Steve Hayes of the Weekly Standard said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=01a-965&t=c>
(6/7), “I think the kind of comments the President’s making have not been
helpful. He deserves credit for changing the failed policy of the previous
three administrations, no doubt about it. Different conversation. We are
not outsourcing to China. That’s helpful. The things he’s saying now, that
he doesn’t need to prepare, that North Korea is committed to
denuclearization, that this has been an open and honorable process, those
things I think are not helpful. We should be very clear with the North
Koreans that they will denuclearize, we will verify it, it will be
irreversible, and that’s it. They have an opportunity to do this. This is
their only opportunity to do it or we are walking away and they are in
trouble.”

Matt Schlapp of The Hill said on Fox News’ Special Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=01b-6d2&t=c>
(6/7), “What President Trump deserves a lot of credit for is this ultimate
pressure campaign, and the idea that China believed that the President of
the United States was serious. The second issue is that by a lot a people’s
accounts, the Kims are out of money. They are running out of money. ...
They actually need to have this go better because they have to have the
spigot resources from China turned on again. I’m hopeful that the President
will walk away if it’s a bad deal. He doesn’t have to do this immediately.
If they need America’s help and they need America to take the pressure of
China, then he’s got to get to a deal. If they’ve got to get to a deal, I’m
happy we have a President who likes this kind of process. I think it plays
to his strength, and I’m not that worried that he will walk away from a bad
deal.”

Sebastian Gorka said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=01c-685&t=c>
(6/7), “Just the absurdity that this war is still really, according to the
lack of a peace treaty, in effect. It’s just a cease-fire. So, yeah, let’s
do it. Let’s go there. Let’s denuclearize the peninsula. This isn’t a
dictatorship that is going to fall tomorrow. We are not gong to solve all
of the peninsula’s problems, but if anyone can end the war, if anyone can
denuclearize it, it’s President Trump.”

*In Tweet Today, Trump Hits Obama, Pelosi, Schumer On North
Korea. *Trump
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=01d-308&t=c>
this morning, “Obama, Schumer and Pelosi did NOTHING about North Korea, and
now weak on Crime, High Tax Schumer is telling me what to do at the Summit
the Dems could never set up. Schumer failed with North Korea and Iran, we
don’t need his advice!”

*Media Analyses: Trump Not Prepping For Summit. *[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=01e-d09&t=c>
(6/7) said that Trump is “not exactly cramming for” the summit with North
Korea, which is “not exactly the norm, especially not with a dangerous and
unpredictable nuclear-armed adversary, nor is it the norm to be openly
pushing allies around, sometimes even literally.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=01f-9f5&t=c>
(6/7, Nelson, Lima), under the headline “Trump Says Kim Meeting Will Be
About ‘Attitude,’ Not Prep Work,” reports “Trump on Thursday said he
doesn’t feel a need to prepare for his historic meeting.” To the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=020-1f8&t=c>
(6/7, Miller, Colvin, Lucey), meanwhile, Trump is “heading into his North
Korea summit with characteristic bravado,” and also notes that he said
yesterday that “‘attitude’ is more important than preparation.” [image:
Image removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=021-e8e&t=c>
(6/7, story 2, 2:05, Vega) also reported Trump said the summit isn’t about
preparation but “attitude,” and added that Pompeo “seems to be cleaning
this one up, saying the President has received daily briefings from his
national security team. And we’re told that the Secretary of State and the
President have spent 10 hours a week together in person and on the phone
preparing for this summit.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=022-6b1&t=c>
(6/7, Johnson) reports, meanwhile, that “Bolton has yet to convene a
Cabinet-level meeting to discuss...Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korea
next week, a striking break from past practice that suggests the Trump
White House is largely improvising its approach to the unprecedented
nuclear talks.”

Under the headline “The Trump-Kim Summit Is Still A Good Idea,”
Eugene Robinson writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=023-0dc&t=c>
(6/7), “The bombastic, belligerent, inexperienced and unpredictable leader
of a nuclear-armed nation, a man who flouts international norms and
agreements, is scheduled to meet with...Kim...on Tuesday . What could go
wrong? How much time do you have?” Trump’s “on-again, off-again summit with
Kim has been hastily slapped together” and “the necessary groundwork has
not been laid.” Moreover, “the Trump administration’s stated goal...is
unrealistic. ...Nonetheless, I have been and remain strongly in favor of
the summit. I believe there is reason to believe it will do no harm – and
reason to hope it might do some good.”

*Townhall: Pompeo, Bolton Fully Prepared Trump For Summit. *Under
the headline “Bolton And Pompeo Have Fully Prepared President Trump For
North Korea Summit,” Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=024-5a8&t=c>
(6/7, Pavlich) reports “White House National Security Advisor John Bolton
and...Pompeo have been working closely together in preparation for the big
meeting.” According to “State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert,
Pompeo and Bolton had breakfast Thursday morning in Washington DC and
briefed...Trump together yesterday at the White House.” Said Nauert, “They
are working nonstop together to present their best foreign policy advice to
the president.” Special Assistant to the President and NSC spokesperson
Garrett Marquis said yesterday, “The president’s national security team has
been preparing for this summit daily. They’ve had special sessions,
meetings, numerous conversations. ... The president is prepared, he’s ready
for the summit and his national security team traveling with him are ready
for Singapore.”

*Pompeo: Giuliani “Does Not Speak For The Administration” On North
Korea. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=025-07e&t=c>
(6/7, Morrongiello) reports that “Pompeo on Thursday downplayed a
controversial claim by Rudy Giuliani that...Kim...’got on his hands and
knees and begged’ for a meeting with” Trump. Said Pompeo, “Rudy doesn’t
speak for the administration when it comes to this negotiation and this set
of issues.”

*Pompeo: Reports Of Tensions With Bolton “A Complete Joke.”
*The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=026-a80&t=c>
(6/7, Gehrke) also reports that Pompeo yesterday “swatted away reports that
he is in a budding rivalry with...Bolton for influence over the
administration’s policy regarding North Korea.” Said Pompeo, “Those
articles are unfounded and a complete joke.”

*North Korea Destroying Key Ballistic Missile Site. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=027-e68&t=c>
(6/7, Bacon) reports “new commercial satellite imagery indicates North
Korea is destroying a key ballistic missile test site ahead of next week’s
summit.” USA Today adds that “Joseph Bermudez, an expert on Pyongyang’s
military technology, published a report this week on the website 38 North
saying the Iha-ri test site ‘represented a critical component’ in
development of medium range missiles and could have been used for testing
larger, intercontinental missiles.”

*WPost A1: Korean Americans Hope Summit Will Lead To Family
Reunifications. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=028-452&t=c>
(6/7, A1, Fifield, Kim) reports on its front page that for many
Korean-Americans, next week’s summit “isn’t just political. It’s personal.”
Many are “hoping that the summit will usher in a new period of warmer
relations that will pave the way for family members to be reunited, or at
least find out what happened to long-lost brothers and sisters.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Defends Trade Policies Ahead Of G7, Will Leave Summit Early For
Singapore.

President Trump took to Twitter yesterday to defend his recent trade moves
ahead of this weekend’s G7 summit, which is expected to focus on trade.
Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=029-079&t=c>,
“Please tell Prime Minister Trudeau and President Macron that they are
charging the US massive tariffs and create non-monetary barriers. The EU
trade surplus with the US is $151 Billion, and Canada keeps our farmers and
others out. Look forward to seeing them tomorrow.” In a second tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=02a-a73&t=c>,
Trump said, “Prime Minister Trudeau is being so indignant, bringing up the
relationship that the US and Canada had over the many years and all sorts
of other things...but he doesn’t bring up the fact that they charge us up
to 300% on dairy – hurting our Farmers, killing our Agriculture!” In a
third tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=02b-ba0&t=c>,
he wrote, “Why isn’t the European Union and Canada informing the public
that for years they have used massive Trade Tariffs and non-monetary Trade
Barriers against the US Totally unfair to our farmers, workers & companies.
Take down your tariffs & barriers or we will more than match you!”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=02c-6c3&t=c>
(6/5, Gillies), meanwhile, reports that Trump is “cutting short” his trip
to Canada this weekend. Late Thursday, the White House announced he would
be leaving the summit Saturday morning, “after a session on women’s
empowerment but well before it wraps up.” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
said, “The President will travel directly to Singapore from Canada in
anticipation of his upcoming meeting with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un
Tuesday.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=02d-aec&t=c>
(6/7, Leach) also reports Sanders’ statement.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=02e-6f8&t=c>
(6/7, Shear) reports Trump departs today for Quebec where he will meet
“with the leaders of America’s closest allies for a summit meeting that
usually ends with a moment of global camaraderie – the ‘family photo’ that
captures presidents and prime ministers smiling for the camera. This year
there won’t be many grins.” The Times says the “anger of American allies,
especially about Mr. Trump’s decision to impose tariffs, is palpable.” Politico
Europe
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=02f-373&t=c>
(6/7, Gillies) says this year’s meeting will “largely serve as a showcase
of just how thoroughly Trump has shaken things up, fomenting disagreement
and disarray on topics that had long given the world’s industrialized
powers common cause and purpose.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=030-a88&t=c>
(6/7, Ljunggren) reports that G7 leaders are “more divided than at any time
in the group’s 42-year history, as” Trump’s “America First” policies “risk
causing a global trade war and deep diplomatic schisms.” According to
Reuters, French President Emmanuel Macron, “who has invested in a warm
personal relationship with Trump, said that the other G7 nations should
remain ‘polite’ and productive but warned that ‘no leader is forever,’ a
sign that Europe would not surrender meekly to the US president.”

Macron, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=031-fc2&t=c>
(6/7, Paletta, Lynch, Long) reports, “threatened to join with other world
leaders to issue a rare rebuke of the United States” at this weekend’s
summit. Macron said Trump “could be excluded from joining with other
leaders in a joint declaration of unity at the end of a global summit here,
a very unusual move that was meant to isolate Trump’s recent burst of trade
threats aimed at numerous US allies.” Macron tweeted, “The American
President may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a 6
country agreement if need be. Because these 6 countries represent values,
they represent an economic market which has the weight of history behind it
and which is now a true international force.”

*In Tweets Today, Trump Continues To Bash “Unfair Trade Deals” With
Other G7 Nations. *Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=032-8d9&t=c>
this morning, “Canada charges the U.S. a 270% tariff on Dairy Products!
They didn’t tell you that, did they? Not fair to our farmers!” He added in
a second tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=033-510&t=c>,
“Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals with the G-7
countries. If it doesn’t happen, we come out even better!” In a third tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=034-e84&t=c>
on the topic, Trump said, “I am heading for Canada and the G-7 for talks
that will mostly center on the long time unfair trade practiced against the
United States. From there I go to Singapore and talks with North Korea on
Denuclearization. Won’t be talking about the Russian Witch Hunt Hoax for a
while!”

*Kudlow: G7 Leaders Should Take Notice Of Trump’s Pro-Growth
Reforms. *National Economic Council Director Lawrence Kudlow writes in
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=035-03e&t=c>
(6/7) that President will be attending the summit “as the leader not just
of the largest and fastest-growing G7 economy in the world but also as the
most important pro-growth reformer of our times. The cynics and the
doubters said it couldn’t happen. But just 500 days into his presidency,
President Trump has demolished the fashionable and fatalistic theories of
permanent secular stagnation.” Trump, he argues, “reminds us that a rising
tide lifts all boats. Perhaps the other participants will take notice.”

*Short: Trump Seeking Level Playing Field In Trade. *White House
Director of Legislative affairs Mark Short said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=036-c8e&t=c>
(6/7), “I think this President recognizes the trade deals for decades have
created an unlevel playing field, and the President’s trying to make it a
fair and free trade that allows us more access to international markets.”

*Short: Tariffs’ National Security Grounds Not Aimed At Canada. *When
asked about why the US is citing national security grounds in tariffs on
Canada, Short said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=037-1b6&t=c>
(6/7), “The reality of losing a manufacturing base in the United States
that’s essential to national security. That’s what it’s about. Not targeted
on Canada.”

*Putin: Trump’s Tariffs Teach Europe A Lesson. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=038-9bb&t=c>
(6/7, Troianovski) reports that “as he watches Europe’s confrontation with
President Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be enjoying an
‘I told you so’ moment.” Putin said Thursday during his nationally
broadcast annual call-in show that European leaders “long ignored his
warnings about the dangers of a world dominated by the United States,” and
with Trump’s new metals tariffs Europeans are “finally getting their
comeuppance for showing excessive deference to Washington.”

*White House Analysis Finds Tariffs May Hinder Economic Growth. *The
New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=039-cc9&t=c>
(6/7, Tankersley, Rappeport) reports an analysis by the White House Council
of Economic Advisers (CEA) “has concluded that Mr. Trump’s tariffs will
hurt economic growth in the United States.” The Times adds that the
analysis has not yet been made public. The Administration has defended its
approach to trade, including consideration of tariffs, and CEA Chairman
Kevin Hassett is quoted saying, “If you model a future where everybody else
reduces their trade barriers to ours, then that’s massively good for the
global economy and massively good for the US economy.” However, “Republican
lawmakers and many economists have been warning that the administration’s
trade approach will undercut economic growth and partially offset any boost
from the $1.5 trillion tax cut that Congress passed and Mr. Trump signed
last year.”

*Reuters Analysis: Solar Panel Tariffs Led To Loss Of Projects
Worth $2.5 Billion. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=03a-993&t=c>
(6/7, Groom) reports the Administration’s “tariff on imported solar panels
has led US renewable energy companies to cancel or freeze investments of
more than $2.5 billion in large installation projects, along with thousands
of jobs.” According to Reuters, “That’s more than double the about $1
billion in new spending plans announced by firms building or expanding US
solar panel factories to take advantage of the tax on imports.” Reuters
says GTM Research, “a clean energy research firm, recently lowered its 2019
and 2020 utility-scale solar installation forecasts in the United States by
20 percent and 17 percent, respectively, citing the levies.”

*WSJournal: Trump Ordered Trade Team In Late May To Increase
Pressure On China. *Citing unnamed officials, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=03b-ffe&t=c>
(6/7, A1, Davis, Nicholas) reports on its front page that President Trump
assembled his senior trade team at the White House on May 22 and asked them
to draft a tougher approach on China, including tariffs. According to the
Journal, within 10 days, the Administration said it was preparing to move
forward with $50 billion in tariffs on a range of Chinese products.
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said, “The person in charge
of trade is, unequivocally, President Trump, Anyone who tells you different
is just wrong.”

*NYTimes: US Soybean Farmers May Force Trump To Cave On China. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=03c-f4b&t=c>
(6/7, Stewart) reports that “for all his bluster about trade wars,
President Trump seems willing to push China only so far: Witness the deal
on Thursday to grant Chinese telecom giant ZTE a reprieve from harsh
American penalties. The reason is likely to lead straight to Iowa soybean
and corn farmers.” China has threatened a 25 percent tariff on soybeans in
response to the Administration’s trade moves and “has already sharply
curtailed purchases from the United States.” The Times says what that while
American farmers “may be dwindling in absolute numbers,” they “wield
outsize influence in the raging war between protectionists and free traders
in the Trump White House. That’s both because of the importance of their
occupation to the balance of trade...and their geographical concentration
in states that were critical to President Trump’s 2016 electoral majority.”

*Senate GOP Leaders Move To Stop Corker Effort To Push Back On
Trump Tariffs. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=03d-831&t=c>
(6/7, Schor, Everett) reports that Senate Republican leaders “are moving
swiftly to tamp down support for Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-Tenn.) proposal to
give Congress power to stop Trump tariffs, eager to avoid a standoff with
the president five months ahead of the midterms.” While Corker’s effort
“has support from a sizable number of fellow Republicans who are frustrated
by Trump slapping trade penalties on U.S. allies...allowing it a vote on
the Senate floor in the coming days is a step too far for leadership.”
According to “senior Republicans...Corker’s approach would run into a
procedural problem with the House. That rationale may be used to kill the
prospects of adding his tariff proposal to a defense bill.”

*AFL-CIO Urges Congress To Block “Fast Track” Renewal. *The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=03e-582&t=c>
(6/7, Higgins) reports that the AFL-CIO has asked Congress to block renewal
of Trade Promotion Authority legislation which “gives the White House extra
leverage to get trade deals through Congress.” According to the AFL-CIO the
“fast track” legislation does not meet “basic standards of transparency and
democracy.” In a letter to Congress the labor group wrote, “Current law
fails to hold the executive branch accountable for achieving negotiating
objectives, addressing the job-killing US trade imbalance, or ensuring that
trade deals do not continue the current race to the bottom in terms of pay
and benefits, worker rights, environmental protections, affordable
medicines, food safety rules, and other vital protections for working
families.”

*Trump: US-Japan Working To Improve Trade Relations. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=03f-c03&t=c>
(6/7, Oliphant) reports Trump said Thursday after White House talks with
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the two leaders are working
together to improve trading relations and that Abe “promised new Japanese
investment in the United States.” At a joint news conference, Trump said
Abe told him Japan was buying “billions and billions of dollars of
additional products of all kinds — military jets, airliners from Boeing,
lots of farm products.” He added, “We’re working hard to reduce our trade
imbalance which is very substantial, remove barriers to US exports and to
achieve a fair and mutually beneficial economic partnership.” Trump later
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=040-6d6&t=c>,
“PM Abe and I are also working to improve the trading relationship between
the US and Japan, something we have to do. The US seeks a bilateral deal
with Japan that is based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.
We’re working hard to reduce our trade imbalance...”
Under New Deal, US Fines ZTE $1 Billion, Embeds Compliance Team.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=041-9c7&t=c>
(6/7, Fritze) reports “the Trump administration stuck a deal Thursday with
Chinese telecom ZTE to let the company do business in the US even though it
previously violated sanctions against Iran.” Under the deal’s conditions,
“ZTE will pay a $1 billion penalty and will embed a US-appointed compliance
team, terms that are similar to those President Trump discussed last month
when he revealed that Chinese leaders had asked him to look into the
matter.” Commerce Secretary Ross said in a statement, “We will closely
monitor ZTE’s behavior. ... If they commit any further violations, we would
again be able to deny them access to US technology.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=042-27c&t=c>
(6/7, Wiseman) notes “the fine announced Thursday comes on top of $892
million ZTE has already paid for breaking US sanctions by selling equipment
to North Korea and Iran.” The Commerce Department also “said that ZTE must
also put $400 million in escrow – a sum that it would forfeit if it
violated Thursday’s agreement.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=043-929&t=c>
(6/7, Lynch, Denyer, Long) reports that the deal “eases a seven-year ban on
ZTE buying American parts, which Commerce levied in April.” The Post notes
that, “at the time, the Chinese government complained that the action could
put the company, a major employer and star of the Chinese technology
industry, out of business.” Ross is quoted as saying, “We are literally
embedding a compliance department of our choosing into the company to
monitor it going forward. ... This is a pretty strict settlement. The
strictest and largest settlement fine that has ever been brought by the
Commerce Department against any violator of export controls.”
According to Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=044-533&t=c>
(6/7, Leonard), “an agreement that allows the crippled company to reopen
was seen as a key Chinese demand as the world’s two largest economies try
to avoid a trade war that could undermine global growth.” However, the New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=045-b15&t=c>
(6/7, Swanson, De La Merced) says “it is not clear what the United States
received in return.”

Ross said on CNBC’s Squawk Box[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=046-cfc&t=c>
(6/7) that the agreement “imposes the most strict compliance that we’ve
ever had on any company, American or foreign. We are literally embedding a
compliance department of our choosing into the company to monitor it going
forward. They will pay for those people, but the people will report to the
new chairman because we are also having them replace the entire management
and the entire board.” Ross added that “in addition to the billion dollars
they’re paying us right up front, we have them put $400 million in escrow.
So the total deal is a billion 400 million. That money will be forfeited if
they violate anything...and we still retain the power to shut them down
again.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=047-33c&t=c>
(6/7, Thomsen, Lane) and Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=048-5a7&t=c>
(6/7, Davis, Strumpf, Wei), among other news outlets, also report on the
deal. Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=049-74f&t=c>
(6/7, Zengerle) notes, meanwhile, that Senate Republicans and Democrats
introduced legislation today “that would roll back an agreement” the
Commerce Department “announced to ease sanctions” on ZTE. The Senate
legislation “would restore penalties on ZTE for violating export controls
and bar US government agencies from purchasing or leasing equipment or
services from ZTE or Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, another major Chinese
firm.”

Sen. Mark Warner, ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence
Committee, said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=04a-0ac&t=c>
(6/7), “This is a horrible deal for our country’s national security and
don’t take my word for it .Take the word of Trump’s CIA Director. Take the
word of Trump’s Director of National Intelligence. Take the word of the
fact of the Pentagon which has in effect banned ZTE equipment. Take the
word of all the folks that say this is comprised equipment.” Warner added,
“I was pleased when the President first put these strict requirements on
ZTE and said we were going to stop purchasing this kind of equipment. What
concerned me was he immediately buckled once the Chinese pushed back.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen said on CNBC’s Closing Bell[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=04b-fd1&t=c>
(6/7) that he and Sen. Tom Cotton have “filed a bipartisan amendment to
really hold ZTE accountable. You know, Wilbur Ross did the right thing back
in April when he found ZTE repeatedly and flagrantly violated US law and he
put really strong penalties on them, and then, of course, the President
tweeted he wanted to help ZTE, wanted to help jobs in China, and they
essentially reversed course. What happened today amounts to a slap in the
wrist. I can tell you there is strong bipartisan opposition to letting them
off the hook.”

*US Embassy In Beijing Sends New Alert For Mystery Health Issue. *The
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=04c-149&t=c>
(6/8, Chan, Kang) reports the US Embassy in Beijing “sent its second alert
in two weeks Friday to its citizens over unexplained health issues that
have prompted the evacuation of a number of US government employees
working” at the US Consulate in Guangzhou. The alert urged Americans to
seek medical help in the event they suffered any “unusual, unexplained
physical symptoms or events, auditory or sensory phenomena, or other health
concerns.” [image: Image removed by sender. Video]NBC Nightly News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=04d-39f&t=c>
(6/7, story 5, 0:25, Holt) reported Thursday night on “the mystery that
triggered the evacuation of several American diplomats and their families
from China. The State Department confirming employees at the US Consulate
there suffered unexplained health problems, similar to the concussion-like
symptoms American Embassy staffers in Cuba reported last year. US officials
are investigating both China and Cuba have denied any role.” [image: Image
removed by sender. Video]ABC World News Tonight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=04e-618&t=c>
(6/7, story 6, 0:25, Muir) reported, “A number of American Consulate
workers and their family members returning to the states after complaining
of strange noises, headaches and other symptoms. Those complaints similar
to those to the US Embassy in Cuba that effected dozens. All of those cases
still remain unexplained tonight.”

Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=04f-992&t=c>
(6/7) said China “is promising to help give to the bottom of another round
of illnesses affecting American diplomats.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=050-d0a&t=c>
(6/7, Perlez, Myers) reports the Chinese Foreign Ministry “said that the
government had already carried out an investigation in May after the first
case of an American diplomat becoming sick in the city of Guangzhou was
reported in April,” but “had not been able to determine the source of the
diplomat’s illness.” Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday, “If the US
comes to us regarding this case again, we will investigate it seriously and
keep close cooperation with the US.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=051-5f2&t=c>
(6/7, Denyer, Morello) reports Hua said the Ministry “had not yet been
formally informed by the US government about the new cases, having only
heard about them through media reports.”
Trump: Abandoning Iran Deal Has Already Curbed Tehran’s Bad Behavior.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=052-c48&t=c>
(6/7, Landler) reports President Trump claimed Thursday that his recent
decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal “had already curbed Iran’s
behavior, and he predicted that his tough tactics would carry over into a
successful nuclear negotiation with North Korea.” At a joint news
conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump said, “Iran is
not the same country that it was a few months ago.” The Times says the
President “cited no evidence to support his contention about Iran.”

*Trump Calls For Investigation Of Obama Administration’s Dealings
With Iran. *Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=053-6c1&t=c>
(6/7, Spiering) reports Trump reacted Thursday to a Wednesday report by the
AP that the Obama Administration “tried to sneak around the Iran sanctions
to offer them financial aid.” Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=054-a2d&t=c>,
“The Obama Administration is now accused of trying to give Iran secret
access to the financial system of the United States. This is totally
illegal.” He also called on special counsel Robert Muller to investigate
the reports.

*Administration Pressured Saudis To Back Potential Oil Output Hike
Before Iran Decision. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=055-7f8&t=c>
(6/7, El Gamal) reports that a day before Trump “withdrew from the Iran
nuclear deal, one of his senior officials phoned Saudi Arabia to ask the
world’s largest oil exporter to help keep prices stable if the decision
disrupted supply.” According to Reuters, “direct pressure on a member of
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) over oil policies
is rare.” Reuters says that “until the phone call, Saudi officials had been
saying it was too early to raise output,” which is why “there was shock
among some of Saudi Arabia’s fellow OPEC members when it issued a
supportive statement hours after Washington imposed new sanctions on
Tehran,” and “said it was ready to raise output to offset any supply
shortage.”
US Airstrike Kills Four ISIS Militants In Libya.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=056-b6f&t=c>
(6/7, Malsin) reports the US carried out its first airstrike in Libya since
March, killing four ISIS militants in the town of Bani Walid. Maj. Karl
Weist, a spokesman for AFRICOM, said in an email, “The purpose of this
operation was to degrade ISIS-Libya’s freedom of movement and its ability
to reconsolidate in the region.” US officials declined to identify the
militants targeted in the attack.

*McCaul: ISIS Plotting To Attack World Cup. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=057-1b9&t=c>
(6/7, Boylan) reports “the World Cup kicks off next week and the Islamic
State is continuing ‘a barrage of threats to attack the event,’ the head of
the House Homeland Security Committee warned Thursday.” Said Rep. Michael
McCaul, “Russian authorities have reportedly foiled several plots
throughout the year, most recently on May 11 when security services
arrested 20 from western Siberia who had stockpiled weapons near Moscow.”

*Swedish Court Gives Life Sentence To Uzbek Asylum-Seeker For 2017
Terror Attack. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=058-200&t=c>
(6/7, Anderson) reports “a Swedish court on Thursday found a rejected
asylum seeker guilty of terrorism and murder, and sentenced him to life in
prison for a deadly attack with a beer truck that killed five people and
injured nearly a dozen others last year.” Rakhmat Akilov, “an Uzbek, had
hijacked the truck and steered it down a busy pedestrianized street and
into a crowd of shoppers in central Stockholm in April 2017.”
Putin: Troops To Stay In Syria “As Long As Is Beneficial To Russia.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=059-4fb&t=c>
(6/7, Vasilyeva, Heintz) reports Russia’s Vladimir Putin said yesterday
“Russian troops will remain in Syria as long as Moscow thinks it’s
necessary,” but added, “We are not building long-term installations there
and if necessary can withdraw our servicemen quite quickly without any
material losses.” Putin “didn’t elaborate under what circumstances Russia
could leave or on Moscow’s broader strategy for Syria.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=05a-720&t=c>
(6/7, Boylan) quotes Putin as also saying, “Our military is there to ensure
Russia’s interests in an important region of the world. ... We have no
plans for pulling these units out for now,” and “they will stay there as
long as it is beneficial to Russia and to ensure our international
obligations. We are not planning to withdraw yet.”

*Suspected American ISIS Militant Fighting US Plans To Release Him
Back To Syria. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=05b-8dd&t=c>
(6/7, Savage) reports “an American citizen detained by the military in Iraq
as a suspected Islamic State member will be released back into Syria, the
Trump administration has told a judge – a plan that his lawyers called ‘a
death warrant.’” The Times adds “the move would avoid a fight in court over
the high-stakes question of whether the government has the legal authority
to put Islamic State suspects in indefinite wartime detention as enemy
combatants,” and that “if a judge were to rule against the government on
that question in the detention case, it would jeopardize the underpinnings
of the entire war effort against the Islamic State.” However, “lawyers for
the man, whose name has not been made public, vowed to fight the planned
transfer in court,” and the ACLU “planned to file an emergency request for
a temporary restraining order against the military.”
US To Abide By Week-Long Ceasefire With Taliban.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=05c-6e9&t=c>
(6/7, Michaels) reports “US forces in Afghanistan said they will abide by a
week-long cease-fire with the Taliban announced by Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani on Thursday.” Gen. John Nicholson, “the top coalition commander in
Afghanistan,” said in a statement, “We will adhere to the wishes of
Afghanistan for the country to enjoy a peaceful end to the Islamic holy
month of Ramadan, and support the search for an end to the conflict.” USA
Today notes “the cease-fire will not apply to al-Qaeda and the Islamic
State, which has become an emerging threat in parts of the country.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=05d-a80&t=c>
(6/7) indicates a statement from Ghani’s office “says the cease-fire will
begin on 27 Ramadan, or June 12 on the Western calendar, and last through
the Eid al-Fitr holiday, until around June 19.” Gen. Mohammad Sharif
Yaftali, the army chief of staff, “told reporters that Afghan forces would
be on standby throughout the cease-fire and respond to any attacks,” even
as “the army would continue to battle ‘international terrorists,’
apparently referring to al Qaeda and ISIS.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=05e-f1b&t=c>
(6/7, Salahuddin, Ryan) reports “the truce follows an unprecedented
religious ruling, or fatwa, from a gathering of Afghan clerics this week
declaring the insurgency illegitimate and proclaiming that suicide
bombings, a frequent tactic of the Taliban, the Islamic State and other
militants, are forbidden by Islam.” Ghani is also “seeking to build
momentum around a new peace initiative he unveiled earlier this year.”
US Military Planning Upgrades To Guantanamo.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=05f-c1f&t=c>
(6/7, Fox) reports that President Trump’s order in January to keep the
detention center at Guantanamo Bay open and allow the Pentagon to bring new
prisoners there “is prompting military officials to consider a future for
the controversial facility that the Obama administration sought to close.”
According to the AP, officials talked about the plans “in an unusually
frank manner as a small group of journalists toured the isolated base.”
Army Col. Stephen Gabavics, commander of the guard force, told reporters
this week, “We’ve got to plan for the long term. We ultimately have to plan
for whether or not they are going to be here for the rest of their lives.”
Focused On Russia, NATO Members Announce Defense Spending Increase.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=060-af6&t=c>
(6/7, Cook, Burns) reports that NATO defense ministers met Thursday “in a
fresh show of resolve against Russia and played down a series of festering
trans-Atlantic disputes that threaten to undermine unity.” At a meeting in
Brussels, the ministers “unveiled a new plan to reinforce their presence in
any European crisis with the deployment of 30 troop battalions, 30
squadrons of aircraft and 30 warships within 30 days.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=061-e6f&t=c>
(6/7, Stearns) reports it was also announced that NATO members will
“increase defense spending for a fourth year in 2018 as the alliance braces
for another summit with” President Trump, “who used his inaugural visit to
try to browbeat allies into expanding their military budgets.” The alliance
said the combined defense budgets of its European member countries and
Canada would expand 3.8 percent, “bringing cumulative growth since the
start of 2015 to about 15 percent or $87.3 billion.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=062-4c9&t=c>
(6/7) reports that “at the first meeting in NATO’s new glass and steel
headquarters,” Defense Secretary Mattis “appeared relaxed and smiling in
parts of the closed-door meetings broadcast to reporters but he did not
speak publicly.” Reuters says “one alliance diplomat told Reuters that in
preparatory meetings, Trump’s decision to target Europe on trade and Iran
was absent from debates in an attempt to preserve unity, but that there
were ‘elephants in the room.’”

*Austria Offers To Host Meeting Between Trump, Putin. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=063-cfb&t=c>
(6/7, Talev) reports Austria is encouraging President Trump and Russian
President Vladimir Putin “to hold a summit in their country, potentially
echoing a historic Cold War meeting there between a newly elected President
John F. Kennedy and the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.” Austria has
offered to host a meeting between the two leaders, “a White House official
said on Thursday.”

*WPost Editorial Highlights Plight Of Russian Political Prisoner. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=064-870&t=c>
(6/7) editorializes that four years after Russia “invaded and illegally
annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine, the crime and its victims get little
attention. One of them, a courageous activist and filmmaker named Oleg
Sentsov, is determined to change that.” Last month, Sentsov, who is
imprisoned in Siberia, “embarked on a hunger strike to demand the release
of 64 Ukrainian political prisoners held by Russia; he did not include
himself.” The Post argues that Russia “ought to be shamed into freeing Mr.
Sentsov.”
Domestic Policy
Trump Blasts “13 Angry Democrats” On Mueller’s Team.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=065-dcd&t=c>
(6/7, Muñoz) reports that in a series of tweets Thursday morning, President
Trump “call[ed] out ‘13 Angry Democrats’ in special counsel Robert
Mueller’s investigative team into Russia and collusion.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=066-e3f&t=c>
(6/7, Wagner) says the “series of early morning tweets, represented the
latest attempt by Trump and his lawyers to cast doubt on the work of the
team of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.” It comes, The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=067-f71&t=c>
(6/7, Samuels) reports, as Trump “prepares for a slew of meetings with
foreign leaders.”

Early Thursday, Trump wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=068-2c6&t=c>,
“Isn’t it Ironic? Getting ready to go to the G-7 in Canada to fight for our
country on Trade (we have the worst trade deals ever made), then off to
Singapore to meet with North Korea & the Nuclear Problem…But back home we
still have the 13 Angry Democrats pushing the Witch Hunt!” Trump followed
that with a tweet highlighting a quote from Harvard law professor Alan
Dershowitz, who has been critical of the special counsel probe. Trump
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=069-59d&t=c>,
“Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law Professor: ‘It all proves that we never
needed a Special Counsel….All of this could have been done by the Justice
Dept. Don’t need a multi-million dollar group of people with a target on
someone’s back. Not the way Justice should operate.’ So true!”

Trump then tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=06a-f67&t=c>,
“When and where will all of the many conflicts of interest be listed by the
13 Angry Democrats (plus) working on the Witch Hunt Hoax. There has never
been a group of people on a case so biased or conflicted. It is all a
Democrat Excuse for LOSING the Election. Where is the server?” Later
Thursday morning, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=06b-735&t=c>,
“The Obama Administration is now accused of trying to give Iran secret
access to the financial system of the United States. This is totally
illegal. Perhaps we could get the 13 Angry Democrats to divert some of
their energy to this ‘matter’ (as Comey would call it). Investigate!”

*NYTimes: Manafort Increasingly Isolated As Former Allies Cooperate
With Mueller. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=06c-f91&t=c>
(6/7, Vogel, Lafraniere, Horowitz)cites “interviews and documents” which
show that Mueller’s allegation that former Trump campaign chairman Paul
Manafort “tried to tamper with potential witnesses originated with two
veteran journalists who turned on Mr. Manafort after working closely with
him to prop up the former Russia-aligned president of Ukraine.” The
journalists “are the latest in a series of onetime Manafort business
partners who have provided damaging evidence” to Mueller. The Times says
their cooperation “has increasingly isolated Mr. Manafort as he awaits
trial on charges of violating financial, tax and federal lobbying
disclosure laws.”

*DOJ To Show Congressional Leaders Previously Withheld Russia Probe
Documents. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=06d-cbc&t=c>
(6/7, House, Strohm) reports that the Justice Department “will provide
lawmakers more access to some secret documents detailing the government’s
use of a confidential informant during a counterintelligence investigation
into Russian contacts with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.” Bloomberg
says next week’s “closed-door meeting...will include officials from the
Justice Department and the FBI briefing the Republican and Democratic ‘Gang
of Eight’ leaders from the House and Senate and the intelligence
committees.” An unnamed “Justice Department official” says “the documents
won’t be shared with other lawmakers.” According to Bloomberg, DOJ “appears
to see an opportunity to go on the offensive and defend its probe after
initial resistance to giving lawmakers access to investigative material.”
The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018060801biden&r=email-4d44&l=06e-06c&t=c>
(6/7, Barrett) says DOJ’s “decision to provide multiple briefings on the
subject is a significant departure from its initial stance after receiving”
a subpoena from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes. At
that point, DOJ officials “said they could not provide the requested
information because the potential leak of such information could endanger
lives and intelligence work.”

*Mueller Inte