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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Monday, February 4, 2019 7:57 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday,
February 4, 2019


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=001-7b6&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Monday, February 4, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Iowa Poll: Biden Only Democrat Leading Trump In Hypothetical 2020
Matchups. <#S1>

• Harris Atop WaPo’s “Post Pundit 2020 Power Ranking” Of 2020 Democrats;
Biden Second. <#S2>

• The Atlantic’s Dovere: Biden Appears “Very Close To Saying Yes” To A 2020
Presidential Bid. <#S3>

• Axelrod: Biden’s Long Tenure In Politics Would Be Double-Edged Sword In
2020 Race. <#S4>

• Business Insider Highlights Biden’s “Anti-Integration Past.” <#S5>

• Democrats’ Leftward “Lurch” Looms Large In Ruminations Of Biden,
Bloomberg, McAuliffe. <#S6>

• Columnist Criticizes NYTimes For Negatively Highlighting Biden’s Praise
Of GOP Lawmaker. <#S7>

• As 2020 Democratic Field Grows, Some Potential Candidates Taking
Wait-And-See Approach. <#S8>

• NYTimes Analysis: Apologies Fly Early In Democratic Presidential Race.
<#S9>

• Biden, Other Top Democrats Call For Northam To Resign. <#S10>

• Media Analyses: Northam’s Position Tenuous As Top Democrats Call For His
Resignation. <#S11>

• Media Highlights Booker’s Campaign Launch. <#S12>

• Lead-Off Contests In Democratic Primary “Play To The Strengths Of”
Harris, Warren. <#S13>

• WPost A1: Harris Says She Defines Herself Solely As “An American.” <#S14>

• Brown Would Emphasize “Dignity Of Work” During Presidential Run. <#S15>

• McAuliffe To Make Decision About Presidential Run By End Of March. <#S16>

• Poll: Democrats “Have Reason To Be Worried” About An Independent Schultz
Bid. <#S17>

• NYTimes A1: “Medicare-For-All” A Key Issue Early In 2020 Democratic Race.
<#S18>

• Wealth Inequality Becomes Hot Issue For 2020 Democrats. <#S19>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Declines To Take Another Shutdown, National Emergency “Off The
Table.” <#S20>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Trump Determined To “Bring Our Folks Back Home” From Syria, Afghanistan.
<#S21>

• Trump: “Very Good Chance We Will Make A Deal” With North Korea. <#S22>

• Trump: US Military Action In Venezuela “An Option.” <#S23>

• Trump Says He Will Reject Intelligence Assessments He Disagrees With.
<#S24>

• May Seeks “Pragmatic” Solution Amid Growing Fears Of No-Deal Brexit.
<#S25>

• Pope Calls For End To Yemen Conflict Ahead Of UAE Visit. <#S26>

• Greenblatt Uses “Tweet-Diplomacy” To Convey Peace Plan To Palestinians.
<#S27>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Media Analyses: Trump Building Anticipation Ahead Of State Of The Union.
<#S28>

• Trump Lauds Barr, Pompeo; Says He “Wasn’t Happy” With Mattis. <#S29>

• Trump Will Not Commit To Making Mueller’s Report Public. <#S30>

• White House Source Leaks Trump’s Private Schedules. <#S31>

• Democrats Push Plan For Expanding Social Security. <#S32>

• Schumer, Sen. Sanders Target Corporate Stock Buybacks. <#S33>

• Fed’s Kashkari Says Powell Adopting Wait-And-See Approach. <#S34>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• ACS And NCI Researchers Find Increasing Risk Of Obesity-Related Cancers.
<#S35>

• NCI’s Lung-MAP Precision Medicine Trial Expands To Include All NSCLC
Patients. <#S36>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S37>

• Washington Post. <#S38>
Biden in the News
Iowa Poll: Biden Only Democrat Leading Trump In Hypothetical 2020 Matchups.

The Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=002-89c&t=c>
(2/3, Lynch) reports that an Emerson College poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=003-67e&t=c>
(2/2) of 260 likely Iowa Democratic caucusgoers, taken Jan. 30-Feb. 2,
shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading a hypothetical 2020
Democratic presidential field with 29%, followed by Sen. Kamala Harris
(D-CA) at 18%, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at 15%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren
(D-MA) at 11%, and others lagging further behind. In hypothetical general
election matchups, the poll (831 Iowa voters shows that President Trump –
whose approval rating stands at 46%, with 48% disapproving – “remains
competitive against the field of potential challengers.” Biden is the only
Democrat who leads Trump, edging the President 51%-49%. Trump, meanwhile,
leads Sanders 51%-50%; Warren 52%-48%; and Harris and ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke
(D-TX) by 53%-47% margins. The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=004-f4a&t=c>
(2/3, Lim) headlines its report “Biden The Democrats’ Sole Hope To Beat
Trump In 2020, Says Iowa Poll.”
Harris Atop WaPo’s “Post Pundit 2020 Power Ranking” Of 2020 Democrats;
Biden Second.

On its website, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=005-607&t=c>
(2/1) offered its initial “Post Pundit 2020 Power Ranking” – a list that
ranks the field of announced and prospective Democratic presidential
hopefuls. Topping the list is Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), followed by former
Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sen. Sherrod
Brown (D-OH). Ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) rounds out the top five.
The Atlantic’s Dovere: Biden Appears “Very Close To Saying Yes” To A 2020
Presidential Bid.

Writing for The Atlantic
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=006-4c7&t=c>
(2/4), Edward-Isaac Dovere says that former Vice President Joe Biden is
“giving everyone he’s seen in recent weeks the feeling that he’s very close
to saying yes” to a 2020 run for the White House. Dovere says, “The urgency
of Biden’s planning has stepped up since the beginning of the year. ... Top
positions for a campaign have been sketched out. Donor outreach has
accelerated, with Biden himself telling staff at some events to write down
names of people who say they’re eager to help. A list of potential ‘day one
endorsers’ among elected officials has been prepared. Basic staff outreach
is happening. Biden has even joked to people that he’s upped his daily
workout to get in shape.” Dovere says “one person who’s been in touch with
Biden’s staff” told him, “[Biden’s] heart is saying go, ‘It’s the thing
you’ve always wanted.’ His head is assessing whether there’s an opening.”
Axelrod: Biden’s Long Tenure In Politics Would Be Double-Edged Sword In
2020 Race.

The New Yorker
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=007-360&t=c>
(2/2) provided an edited transcript of a recent interview, in which Isaac
Chotiner asked David Axelrod: “What have you made of the fact that” polling
shows former Vice President Joe Biden “is incredibly popular among the
Democratic electorate, but that there seems to be a lot of resistance to
him,” particularly “from a lot of élites in the media and in the Party?”
Axelrod said, “I think if you reverse-engineered the election, there are a
lot of people who believe that Joe Biden would be perhaps the strongest
candidate, because he would cut into some of those areas of strength of
[President] Trump.” Axelrod said that the depth of Biden’s experience is a
double-edged sword, and that “age is a concern that people have. I also
think that the left will take aim at him if he gets in the race, because he
is a more centrist Democrat with a long record.”

*Conservative Writer: Biden’s Lengthy Political Record A Ripe
Target In Democratic Contest. *Writing for the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=008-5d9&t=c>
(2/1, Klein), Philip Klein said, “My colleague Alana Goodman has unearthed
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=009-554&t=c>
a radio interview Joe Biden gave in 1975 in which he” argued “that racial
integration through school busing was a ‘rejection of the whole movement of
black pride.’” That interview “underscores the central problem facing
Biden’s potential presidential campaign: It isn’t his age per se, but it’s
the fact that he’s outdated.” Klein said Biden has been “in federal
politics since becoming senator in 1973.” And though he’s yet to enter the
2020 race, Biden “has already been forced to apologize for supporting the
1994 crime bill” and has “been put on the defensive for his handling of the
Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings.” Klein added that “this becomes a
double problem for Biden because opponents can attack him for positions he
took decades ago and also reinforce the age issue without directly saying
he’s too old to serve as president.”
Business Insider Highlights Biden’s “Anti-Integration Past.”

Under the headline “In A Crowded And Diverse Field Of Democratic
Contenders, Joe Biden Would Have To Run Against His Anti-integration
Past,” Business
Insider
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=00a-edb&t=c>
(2/1, Haltiwanger) reported, “In the mid-1970s,” then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE)
“emerged as one of the most vocal opponents of a main force in the
integration in America’s schools.” He “was once at the forefront of a
movement against busing students in order to desegregate schools – even
battling” then-Sen. Ed Brooke (R-MA), “the only black senator at the time,
over the issue – while he paid lip service to the desegregation movement.
Biden’s record on racial justice continues to come up as he” mulls a White
House run, “and his controversial campaign against busing...could haunt
him” if he enters the 2020 contest.
Democrats’ Leftward “Lurch” Looms Large In Ruminations Of Biden, Bloomberg,
McAuliffe.

Writing for Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=00b-1a9&t=c>
(2/2), Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei said that “rising Democratic enthusiasm
for big government liberalism is forcing a trio of leading 2020 contenders
to rethink jumping in,” according to “several sources.” The writers said
that ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) and ex Gov. Terry
McAuliffe (D-VA) “are having serious second thoughts” about running “after
watching Democrats embrace ‘Medicare for All,’ big tax increases and the
Green New Deal. Joe Biden, who still wants to run, is being advised to
delay any plans to see how this lurch to the left plays out. If Biden runs,
look for Bloomberg and McAuliffe to bow out, the sources” say.

*Democratic Party Continues To Shift Left Early In 2020
Campaign. *Writing
for the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=00c-e75&t=c>
(2/2), Dan Balz said that although “the opening weeks of the Democrats’
2020 nomination campaign reflect the party’s continuing leftward movement,”
as “candidates have sketched out an agenda of big social welfare ambitions
and a bigger federal government. What the party needs is a rigorous debate
about those programs and the details behind them.” Balz said, “The 2018
elections provide some answer to where the party’s voters stand, and that
is in favor of candidates who can win.”

*WTimes Analysis: Crowded 2020 Democratic Field Lacks A Pro-Life
Candidate. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=00d-cef&t=c>
(2/3, McLaughlin) reports that the 2020 Democratic presidential field “is
expected to be the largest in history – yet none of the two dozen names
being bandied about is a pro-lifer. As the party moves further to the left
on abortion, pushing for fewer restrictions and more public funding, it has
become almost unthinkable for a pro-life Democrats to make a national run.”
Speaking with the Times, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), “one of the last standing
pro-life voices in the party’s ranks, said the prospect of the field being
100 percent pro-choice raises concerns about the message the party is
sending. ‘I think it is a big mistake,’ Mr. Manchin” said.
Columnist Criticizes NYTimes For Negatively Highlighting Biden’s Praise Of
GOP Lawmaker.

In his South Bend (IN) Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=00e-cdc&t=c>
(2/3) column, Jack Colwell bemoaned a recent New York Times story
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=00f-1be&t=c>
that critically highlighted how former Vice President Joe Biden “said
something nice about” Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) in a paid speech ahead of the
November midterms. Colwell asked, “So, does that rule out Biden as the 2020
Democratic presidential nominee? You would think so in the way” the Times
frames the piece, suggesting “that ‘the episode underscores his potential
vulnerabilities in the fight for the Democratic nomination and raises
questions about his judgment as a party leader.’” Colwell added “that
daring to praise a Republican, even amid the partisan hatred in our
election campaigns, shouldn’t rule out Biden. Or anybody else, when the
praise was for bipartisan cooperation.”

*Slate Writer: Booker May Be Better Positioned Than Biden To Push
Bipartisan Message. *Writing for Slate
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=010-698&t=c>
(2/1), Josh Voorhees said that in his bid for president, Sen. Cory Booker
(D-NJ) will reportedly contend “that it is possible – and beneficial – to
work across party lines. As evidence he’ll point to his work writing and
passing last year’s criminal justice bill.” Voorhees said Booker “may be
better positioned to make the case than, say, Joe Biden,” whose “problem is
that he tends to wax nostalgic for the halcyon days of yore when both
parties came together...to pass legislation that looks downright
conservative by today’s standards. Booker also boasts one of the more
liberal voting records in the US Senate and has embraced progressive policy
proposals including Medicare for all and a federal jobs guarantee. Booker,
then, may be able to avoid the trap of touting bipartisanship for
bipartisanship’s sake.”
As 2020 Democratic Field Grows, Some Potential Candidates Taking
Wait-And-See Approach.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=011-047&t=c>
(2/3, Siders) reported that several potential 2020 Democratic presidential
contenders – such as Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT), ex-Gov. Terry McAuliffe
(D-VA), and ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) – are holding off on announcing
their plans as they size “up the emerging field – and [hope] for one or
more of the early front-runners to stumble.” Politico quoted “an adviser to
one Democratic contender who is waiting to make an announcement” as saying,
“The people who are getting in early have the advantage of sucking up some
press oxygen. But that also comes with six months of consecutively being
hit. … It’s hard to keep that momentum going for 13 months.”
NYTimes Analysis: Apologies Fly Early In Democratic Presidential Race.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=012-f56&t=c>
(2/3, Herndon, Ember) reported that among the field of announced and
potential 2020 Democratic hopefuls, “on one thing there is almost uniform
agreement: They’re all very, very sorry.” As one of several examples, the
Times said former Vice President Joe Biden “recently lamented his role in
crafting the tough-on-crime drug legislation of the 1980s and 1990s,” while
Sen, Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “apologized for her controversial decision to
take a DNA test to prove her decades-old claim of Native American
ancestry.” The Times added, “The spate of sorrys is indicative of a crowded
field of Democratic candidates who understand that the party’s increasingly
diverse base can be uncompromising on issues such as discrimination,
criminal justice reform and immigration and often expects candidates to
stand more boldly on questions of identity including race, gender and
sexuality.”

*Warren Offers Apology To Cherokee Nation For DNA Test. *The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=013-508&t=c>
(2/1, Herndon) reported that Warren “has privately apologized to the
Cherokee Nation for her decision to take a DNA test to prove her Native
American ancestry, a move that had angered some tribal leaders and ignited
a significant political backlash.” The Times said, “The apology comes as
Ms. Warren is set to formally kick off her presidential run this month,”
and “after repeated calls for her to apologize from tribal leaders,
political operatives, and her own advisers, who said her October decision
to take the DNA test gave undue credence to the controversial claim that
race could be determined by blood – and politically, played into President
Trump’s hands.” A Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=014-a84&t=c>
(2/1, Bykowicz) analysis examined how the DNA test impacted Warren’s
initial 2020 campaign fundraising.

*Warren To Kick Off 2020 Campaign Tour This Week. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=015-f84&t=c>
(2/2, Korecki) reported that Warren “is preparing a robust, official launch
to her presidential campaign in her home state of Massachusetts [this]
week, followed by a six-state, cross country tour that will take her to
four early presidential states, key southern states and to delegate-rich
California, where an early primary is becoming an increasingly critical
calculation to 2020 Democratic aspirants.”
Biden, Other Top Democrats Call For Northam To Resign.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=016-d0b&t=c>
(2/2, Barrow) reported, “Nearly every major declared and potential
Democratic candidate called for Northam’s resignation after disclosure of
the photo.” The AP highlighted a number of the 2020 Democrats who on Friday
called for Northam’s resignation. The AP added, “The most prominent white
men in the potential Democratic field, [former Vice President Joe] Biden
and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, both waited until Saturday morning to
issue resignation calls. Biden has deep ties in the black community, both
from two unsuccessful presidential campaigns but also from two terms as the
top lieutenant to the nation’s first black president.”

In a story that highlighted calls of prominent Democrats for
Northam to step down, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=017-e36&t=c>
(2/1, Villalobos, Hayes) quoted Biden as saying in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=018-69d&t=c>,
“There is no place for racism in America. Governor Northam has lost all
moral authority and should resign immediately, [Lt Gov.] Justin Fairfax is
the leader Virginia needs now.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=019-9b1&t=c>
(2/2, Caplan) and Mediaite
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=01a-ede&t=c>
(2/2) highlighted Biden’s tweet.
Media Analyses: Northam’s Position Tenuous As Top Democrats Call For His
Resignation.

Analyses of the uproar surrounding Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) are
essentially unanimous in concluding that it will be very difficult for him
to continue in office after disclosure of a photograph on his college
yearbook page that showed one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku
Klux Klan outfit. Reports indicate that Northam’s Saturday news conference
exacerbated his problems, and he has lost the support of most leading
Democrats, including those from his own state. Northam met with top aides
on Sunday evening and is expected to hold another meeting today.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=01b-fed&t=c>
(2/2, Barrow) reported, “Nearly every major declared and potential
Democratic candidate called for Northam’s resignation after disclosure of
the photo.” After highlighting a number of the 2020 Democrats who on Friday
called for Northam’s resignation, the AP added, “The most prominent white
men in the potential Democratic field, [former Vice President Joe] Biden
and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, both waited until Saturday morning to
issue resignation calls. Biden has deep ties in the black community, both
from two unsuccessful presidential campaigns but also from two terms as the
top lieutenant to the nation’s first black president.” In a story that
highlighted calls of prominent Democrats for Northam to step down, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=01c-1f5&t=c>
(2/1, Villalobos, Hayes) quoted Biden as saying in a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=01d-a68&t=c>,
“There is no place for racism in America. Governor Northam has lost all
moral authority and should resign immediately, [Lt Gov.] Justin Fairfax is
the leader Virginia needs now.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=01e-911&t=c>
(2/2, Caplan) and Mediaite
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=01f-7d0&t=c>
(2/2) highlighted Biden’s tweet.

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=020-3d9&t=c>
(2/3, lead story, 2:15, Diaz-Balart) on Sunday opened with the story,
reporting that “it has shocked the political world. A sitting governor who
admits he wore blackface and whose medical school yearbook features a
racist picture is ignoring a growing chorus calling for his resignation.”
NBC’s Geoff Bennett: “Northam faces a growing chorus of calls for his
resignation over that racist photo. ... Officials [are] nearly unanimous in
their demands he step down.” ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=021-6a4&t=c>
(2/3, story 4, 3:10, Llamas) reported, “More than a dozen key
Democrats...from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden,
and several Democratic 2020 hopefuls now saying he should step aside. ...
After first saying he was in the photo, Northam recanting, now insisting
it’s not him. But also admitting he once did dress in blackface during the
1980s as Michael Jackson. A firestorm showing no sign of letting up, with
many asking, can he survive this?”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=022-a16&t=c>
(2/4, Suderman) reports Northam “clung to office Sunday amid nearly
unanimous calls from his own party to resign...going silent after a bizarre
24 hours in which he first admitted he was in the picture, then denied it.”
His “stunning about-face – at a weekend news conference where he also
acknowledged putting on blackface for a dance contest decades ago and
appeared to briefly entertain the notion of doing the Michael Jackson
moonwalk for reporters – only seemed to make things worse.” The Richmond
(VA) Times-Dispatch
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=023-2f4&t=c>
(2/3) reports Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) “noted one other point Northam
made in the news conference that struck him: ‘His notion that you can’t get
polish off your face easily suggests to me that that was not the first time
that he had tried blackface.’”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=024-0e6&t=c>
(2/3, Mutikani) reports Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Karen Bass
(D-CA) “took issue with Northam’s claim that wearing blackface was
commonplace in 1984,” saying, “He’s basically saying that he participated
in it and especially when he described the time that he did the Michael
Jackson impression. He even acted at the press conference like he was
willing to moonwalk until his wife stopped him, which shows that he still
does not understand the seriousness of his actions.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=025-585&t=c>
(2/3, Vozzella) reports Northam “called an unscheduled senior staff meeting
Sunday night just before the start of the Super Bowl” as he “considered
resigning after two days of defiance.” Those “familiar with the meeting
said the governor had not reached a decision. It was unclear who was
present, but the group included senior staffers of color.” Lt. Gov. Justin
Fairfax “was not there, the people said.” An official said Northam has
“scheduled a larger meeting for Monday morning for administration staff.”

John King said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=026-766&t=c>
(2/3), “It was immediately clear the governor’s effort to calm the uproar
failed, quite failed.” Jonathan Martin of the New York Times said on CNN’s
Inside Politics[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=027-121&t=c>
(2/3), “He’s lost the entire state party apparatus, the very people who
helped elect him less than two years ago.” The Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=028-3c1&t=c>
(2/3, Wilson) reports ex-Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA), who is considering a
presidential bid, predicted that Northam will step down. Northam “was
lieutenant governor during McAuliffe’s term as governor from 2014 to 2018,
and McAuliffe helped Northam win election to the governor’s mansion.”
The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=029-1db&t=c>
(2/3, Swoyer) reports McAuliffe told CNN, “There is no way [he] can
continue to be the governor of the commonwealth of Virginia.”

McAuliffe said on CNN’s State Of The Union[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=02a-a09&t=c>
(2/3), “When the photo came out Friday afternoon, I said there is no way
that Ralph Northam is in this picture. And then Friday evening, it came out
that Ralph indeed was, he said, he was in the picture. At that point for
me, morally, the only right thing to do, and it was hard – I called Ralph
on Friday night. It was one of the hardest things I have had to do.” Alan
Suderman writes in an AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=02b-7ae&t=c>
(2/3) analysis, “Northam’s great virtue, as the voters saw it, was that he
wasn’t a career politician, but a friendly doctor who came to politics late
in life. Now that same quality may be contributing to what is looking more
and more like a spectacular career-ending disaster.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=02c-940&t=c>
(2/3, Bacon) writes in an analysis that should Northam decide not to
resign, it would be hard for the state legislature to remove him, since the
state constitution permits impeachment only for “malfeasance in office,
corruption, neglect of duty or other high crime or misdemeanor.” Carl
Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law said “‘nothing that has
happened so far is grounds for removal’ under the state’s provisions for
impeachment.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=02d-b2a&t=c>
(2/3, Blinder, Gabriel) says in an analysis that Northam’s “refusal...to
resign” is threatening Democratic “political fortunes in Virginia, where
Democrats are on the brink of consolidating power after a decade-long rise
in the once-conservative state.” Since 2008, “when Barack Obama became the
first Democratic presidential candidate in more than four decades to carry
the state, Virginia has shifted steadily leftward. For the last decade,
both of the state’s senators in Washington have been Democrats. And more
recently, the party has gained greater sway at the Capitol in Richmond.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=02e-f0c&t=c>
(2/3) says in an editorial that the truth about Northam’s actions does not
matter to the modern Democratic Party, which feels it must rush to condemn
him in order to keep racial politics as part of its arsenal. However, USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=02f-053&t=c>
(2/3) says in an editorial that though Northam “has had a commendable
record on race relations...with his unconvincing explanations about this
inexplicable image, Northam has lost his moral authority to serve as
governor, particularly of a state with a tortured racial past that served
as capital of the Confederacy.”

*Blog Editor: “Concerned Citizen” Directed Him To Photo. *The
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=030-99b&t=c>
(2/3, Farhi) reports Big League Politics editor-in-chief Patrick Howley,
“who exposed the racist photo” on Northam’s yearbook page, “said a
‘concerned citizen’ led him to the story that has prompted widespread
outrage and calls for the Democrat’s resignation.” Howley told the Post, “A
concerned citizen, not a political opponent, came to us and pointed this
out. I was very offended [by the photo] because I don’t like racism.” The
Post says the site is owned by Virginia GOP operatives and “has reliably
boosted [President] Trump, attacked Democrats and liberal figures and
written many articles promoting a discredited conspiracy theory popular
among far-right conservatives about the murder of a young Democratic
National Committee staffer named Seth Rich in 2016.”

*Trump Suggests Northam’s GOP Rival Should Have Found Photo During
Campaign. *The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=031-770&t=c>
(2/3, Thomas) reports Trump commented on the matter on Saturday, tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=032-bc9&t=c>
that 2017 Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie must “be
thinking Malpractice and Dereliction of Duty” about his opposition research
staff. The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=033-30e&t=c>
(2/3, Picket) reports, “The Republican Governors Association handled all
the opposition research” for Gillespie when he ran against Northam, but did
not find the photo.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=034-980&t=c>
(2/3, Janes) reports that the Northam scandal “comes as perhaps the most
diverse Democratic presidential primary in history is kicking off with a
collective rebuke of Trump on issues involving race.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=035-8e0&t=c>
(2/3, Martin) says Trump’s “divisive behavior, and the Republican silence
that often meets it, has pushed Democrats to try to set an example by
aggressively confronting current and past misconduct in their own ranks, as
they did with” Northam.
Media Highlights Booker’s Campaign Launch.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=036-fb9&t=c>
(2/1, Schor) reported on Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) Friday entry into the
2020 race for president, saying his campaign launch “was steeped in history
and symbolism, befitting his status as the second black candidate in a
historically diverse field.” Booker, “invoking the legacy of the national
movements for civil rights...urged a return to a ‘common sense of purpose’
and cast his appeal to the nation’s better angels as an uplifting
alternative to [President] Trump.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=037-656&t=c>
(2/1, Corasaniti, Goldmacher) said Booker “has projected an upbeat
political presence at a deeply polarized time,” and “drew on the spirit of
the civil rights movement as he laid out his vision for a country that will
‘channel our common pain back into our common purpose.’” The Times said
Booker’s “gift for idealistic oratory made him an in-demand surrogate
throughout his career and will likely help set him apart from the growing
Democratic field.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=038-aa9&t=c>
(2/1, story 11, 1:35, Llamas) reported that Booker is “the fourth senator
to get into the race and the second African-American to launch their
campaign this week, as Black History Month gets underway.” The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=039-a64&t=c>
(1/31, Weigel) reported that Booker’s Friday news conference in Newark
“included numerous references to his efforts as mayor of Newark,” and “also
included much of his signature rhetoric about the power of love to overcome
society’s most troublesome issues.” Booker stressed “his past work to
lessen incarceration rates and criticized the president’s border policy,
particularly the decision to separate young children from their families.”

On NBC’s Today[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=03a-fdf&t=c>
(2/1), Peter Alexander said Booker “heads to Iowa next week, then South
Carolina and New Hampshire to begin his campaign.” On ABC’s Good Morning
America[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=03b-599&t=c>
(2/1), Tom Llamas reported that Booker “has already been very active on the
campaign trail by supporting other Democrats during the midterms and
raising a lot of money for Democratic causes.” According to Llamas, “As a
mayor and senator he has been able to garner major news headlines,
including the time he rescued a woman out of a burning home in Newark when
he was mayor there. But critics say he has at times has embellished the
truth to gain favor.”

*WPost Examines How Booker’s Social Media Skills Will Help His
Campaign. *A Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=03c-727&t=c>
(2/2, Epstein) analysis asserted that “before Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Instagrammed her congressional orientation and the #squad of female
legislators stormed Capitol Hill feeds, before Elizabeth Warren relaxed
after a long day of announcing she would run for president by drinking a
beer on Instagram Live, there was” then-Newark Mayor Booker “and his
hyperactive Twitter account. ... Booker was, perhaps, the first true social
media influencer in politics.” In his bid for president, Booker “brings
with him a personal Twitter following of 4.13 million users to whom he will
attempt to disseminate his message (Booker maintains a separate account for
his Senate business, but it has a much smaller following).” The Post said
that despite the risks, Booker’s “long experience with social media could
also work to his advantage in a political climate where voters expect to
hear directly from their leaders.”
Lead-Off Contests In Democratic Primary “Play To The Strengths Of” Harris,
Warren.

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=03d-4d8&t=c>
(2/4, Kapur) reports that the lead-off contests in the 2020 Democratic
presidential nominating schedule “play to the strengths of” Sens. Kamala
Harris (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), providing them “each a
significant edge when voters begin winnowing the field of contenders.” The
article says, “Most polls of voter preference currently show” Harris and
Warren lagging behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I-VT), though it’s unclear whether either man will enter the race,
“and each has baggage from past campaigns that would complicate their path
to the nomination in a party increasingly defined by women, minorities and
young people.” On the primary schedule, Iowa is followed by New Hampshire,
“where candidates from neighboring New England states enjoy a built-in
edge. ... For now, many Democratic political operatives gauge Warren and
Harris as front-runners for the nomination.”
WPost A1: Harris Says She Defines Herself Solely As “An American.”

In a more than 3,000-word, front-page article, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=03e-16a&t=c>
(2/2, A1, Sullivan) reported former President Barack Obama’s
“soul-searching quest to explore his identity, as the son of a white mother
from Kansas and a Kenyan father who...was well-documented in his
autobiography,” but “when asked...if she had wrestled with similar
introspection about race, ethnicity and identity,” Sen. Kamala Harris
(D-CA) replied, “No.” Harris, “whose mother was an Indian immigrant” and
whose “father came from Jamaica,” emphasized “that she doesn’t compare
herself to Obama, and she prefers that others don’t, either. She wants to
be measured on her own merits.” The Post said Harris’ “background in many
ways embodies the culturally fluid, racially blended society that is
second-nature in California’s Bay Area and is increasingly common across
the” US, but “she calls herself simply ‘an American,’ and said she has been
fully comfortable with her identity from an early age.”

*Harris Hobnobs With Hollywood Elite At Pair Of Fundraisers In Los
Angeles. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=03f-b70&t=c>
(2/3, Chaitin) reported that Harris on Saturday “rubbed elbows with the
Hollywood elite during a pair of fundraising events in Los Angeles.”
Harris’ “first event took place...at the home of David Cooley, the CEO and
founder of the Abbey, a gay bar in West Hollywood, according to Variety,”
which also reported
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=040-c42&t=c>
that her second fundraiser “was located at the Beverly Hills home of Jeff
Shell, who is the chairman of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. A
number of industry heavyweights were present at the afternoon reception,
including ‘Empire’ creator Lee Daniels, actress Eva Longoria, and several
studio leaders.”
Brown Would Emphasize “Dignity Of Work” During Presidential Run.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), appearing Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=041-70a&t=c>
(2/3), said of his message as he mulls a 2020 White House run, “When you
talk about the dignity of work, I’m talking about all workers. ... And
always recognizing that women and people of color have even more challenges
in the workplace in terms of wages, in terms of benefits, in terms of
schedules where they arrange child care and their employer then changes the
hours that they’re working. So the dignity of work is clearly all workers
of this country. And it’s a pitch to the broad numbers of people in this
country that aren’t treated well...that work hard every day and simply
aren’t getting ahead. If you love your country, you’ll fight for the people
who make it work across all races, and that’s the theme of my campaign.”

*Farmers Skeptical Of Brown’s Trade Policy During Iowa Visit. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=042-dcf&t=c>
(2/2, Jamerson) reported that farmers in Perry, Iowa on Friday challenged
Brown during a round table discussion. The Journal said that many farmers
continue to support President Trump’s efforts to pressure China on trade
even though they are feeling the pain from the tariffs. In another report,
the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=043-7d1&t=c>
(2/1, Jamerson) said that Brown touted his record as a progressive during a
campaign event in Iowa on Thursday that is likely to serve as a model for
his 2020 presidential campaign.
McAuliffe To Make Decision About Presidential Run By End Of March.

Ex-Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA), appearing Sunday on CNN’s State Of The
Union[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=044-2d8&t=c>
(2/3), said of a potential 2020 bid for president, “I’ve said I’d make a
decision by March 31. I have been talking to other candidates. I want to
see what the positions are out there. I am going through the process. I’ve
outreached to over 400 people.” McAuliffe added that “we had a very
successful run as governor of Virginia bringing people together, building a
new economy. I have said we need a Democrat running for president that has
actionable – can actually get things done and who can show results. So, you
know, we’ve got about six, seven weeks to finish making my decision, and
I’m talking to a lot of people.”
Poll: Democrats “Have Reason To Be Worried” About An Independent Schultz
Bid.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=045-9e8&t=c>
(2/4, Shepard) reports, “Democrats have broken into a panic over” the
possibility ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz might mount an independent
White House run. A Politico/Morning Consult poll
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=046-0d7&t=c>
of 1,193 US voters, taken Feb. 1-2, “suggests they have reason to be
worried.” That “poll shows anti-Trump and Democratic voters are more open
to supporting third-party candidates than Republicans,” suggesting “that a
credible, well-funded independent could improve President Donald Trump’s
chances of reelection.” Just “26 percent of voters who approve of Trump’s
job performance as president are very or somewhat likely to consider a
third-party candidate,” but 41 percent of those who disapprove of Trump
“would consider voting for an independent,” including “nearly a third of
Democrats, 31 percent,” more “than the 25 percent of Republicans who would
consider voting for” an independent. But while 35 percent of all those
surveyed said “they’d consider a third-party candidate, only 12 percent say
they’d be very likely to” do so.

*Internal Schultz Poll Shows Him Drawing 17%, Enough To Qualify For
Debates. *In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=047-112&t=c>
(2/3, Kamisar) reported that an internal poll conducted for Schultz, “shows
him pulling about 17 percent of the vote in hypothetical presidential
matchups between President Trump and either Democrat Kamala Harris or
Elizabeth Warren.” Schultz draws “about 17 percent in each of the two
ballot tests,” which also show Trump leading “the Democrat by a margin of
33 percent to 32 percent.” NBC said that Schultz “sitting above 15 percent
is important because that’s historically been the threshold candidates need
to hit to be included in general election debates.” NBC added that a
release from Schultz “doesn’t include a breakdown of from where” he “pulls
his voters, a key question for Democrats concerned about his impact on the
race.”

*Poll: Schultz Not Widely Known, Has Low Favorability Rating. *The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=048-8e0&t=c>
(2/2, Frazin) reported that Schultz “is viewed unfavorably by Democrats,
Republicans and independents, according to” a Change Research poll of 1,338
likely voters, taken Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The poll “found Schultz’s favorability
sits at just 4 percent across the three groups.” In the poll, “50 percent
of Democratic respondents said they viewed Schultz as ‘unfavorable,’ while
43 percent of Republican and 31 percent of independent respondents said the
same.” The survey “also found that Schultz’s name was less well-known among
respondents, with 56 percent of those polled saying they had never heard of
him or did not have an opinion.” The Hill added that the poll “noted that
42 percent of respondents said they viewed President Trump favorably, while
52 percent said the opposite.”
NYTimes A1: “Medicare-For-All” A Key Issue Early In 2020 Democratic Race.

In a front-page article, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=049-e34&t=c>
(2/2, A1, Martin, Goodnough) reported on the healthcare dilemma faced by
Democratic presidential contenders, saying that four candidates have
co-sponsored a bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would provide
“Medicare for All,” which is supported by 81 percent of Democrats. However,
most of the contenders shy away from the more controversial question of
whether that would end private insurance entirely, as activists on the left
want.

*Buttigieg: “Medicare For All” Could Include A Role For Private
Sector. *South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D), a presidential
candidate, discussed his healthcare views during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s
This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=04a-147&t=c>
(2/3). He said, “I don’t see why it requires that (getting rid of the
private sector). If the framework we’re using is Medicare, a lot of people
who have Medicare also have Medicare supplements – Medicare advantage –
something like that. There can be a role for the private sector.” When
asked if he was in favor of a single-payer system, Buttigieg said, “I think
so. I think that’s the right place for us to head as a country, and we can
debate the finer points of how to get there.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=04b-8a9&t=c>
(2/3, Beavers) also reported on Buttigieg’s remarks.
Wealth Inequality Becomes Hot Issue For 2020 Democrats.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=04c-57a&t=c>
(2/3, Jagoda) reported that early entrants in the 2020 presidential race
“who are more to the left are leaning heavily on messaging that says
wealthy Americans need to be taxed significantly more, and they’re backing
that up with proposals to make their mark on the issue.” However,
“billionaires who are considering entering the race are pushing back on
some of the latest calls to boost taxes on the wealthiest US residents.”
The Democrats’ presidential primary field is “expected to be crowded, and
many candidates will be battling for progressive voters who are troubled by
income and wealth inequality.”

*WPost Supports Sanders’ Estate Tax Plan. *In an editorial,
the Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=04d-55c&t=c>
(2/3) supports the estate-tax plan offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Sanders proposes “that estates worth more than $3.5 million pay at least 45
percent on money over that threshold, with higher tax brackets scaled to
the size of the fortune in question.” He “estimates that his plan would
raise $315 billion over a decade.” The Post concludes that wealthy heirs
“would still be rich after paying a Sanders tax,” but “their unearned head
start over their less fortunate cohort would be shorter, and the government
would have more resources to help promote opportunity for everyone else.”

*Hiatt Urges Restraint In Targeting Of Wealthy. *In his column for
the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=04e-4f6&t=c>
(2/3), Fred Hiatt writes that “resentment of the rich, lately a feature of
the populist right, is sizzling on the populist left, too, with the premise
that ‘every billionaire is a policy mistake.’” Hiatt mostly agrees with
this sentiment, observing that “over the past decades, the gap between rich
and poor has widened in this country,” and says that “the next president
and Congress should take steps to reverse that trend.” However, Hiatt urges
restraint, arguing that “billionaires can be good for democracy, and a
bulwark against tyranny.” Hiatt concludes that “we should also remember
that private wealth over the generations has endowed our society with
independent centers of power and thought that help protect our liberty.”

*Jindal: Liberal Agenda Hurts Middle America. *In an op-ed for the Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=04f-b72&t=c>
(2/3), ex-Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) criticizes the values adopted by
liberals as out of touch with those of middle America. He argues that the
liberal agenda, which pushes for higher taxes and government spending,
results in a minor inconvenience for the wealthy, while presenting a heavy
burden for average Americans.
Leading the News
Trump Declines To Take Another Shutdown, National Emergency “Off The Table.”

During a special Super Bowl day interview with CBS’ Face The Nation[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=050-aa3&t=c>
(2/3), recorded Friday, President Trump discussed the possibility of
another government shutdown. The President said, “I don’t like to take
things off the table. It’s the alternative – it’s a national emergency,
it’s other things, and you know there’s been plenty of national emergencies
called. ... We’ll have a strong border and you need a physical barrier, you
need a wall. Anybody that says you don’t are playing games. ... [House
Speaker Pelosi] is costing the country hundreds of billions of dollars,
because what happens when you have a porous border, when you have drugs
pouring in and people dying all over the country because of people like
Nancy Pelosi, who don’t want to give proper border security for political
reasons, she’s doing a terrible disservice to our country.”

CBS did not air an evening newscast because of the game, but both
ABC and NBC covered the President’s remarks. On ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=051-e8b&t=c>
(2/3, story 7, 2:15, Llamas), Tara Palmeri reported, “With less than two
weeks until the latest funding bill runs out, the President [is] not ruling
out another shutdown if he doesn’t get money for a border wall.” On NBC
Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=052-652&t=c>
(2/3, story 2, 2:15, Diaz-Balart), Kelly O’Donnell reported, “More US
active duty troops are headed for the American-Mexican border – 3,750
service members will be deployed for about 90 days to work on surveillance
and wire fencing, there to aid federal officers from Customs and Border
Protection. Of course, immigration and the President’s demand for a border
wall will be a big part of his big night on Tuesday, the State of the Union
address.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=053-a84&t=c>
(2/3, Fritze) reports Trump “declined to rule out another government
shutdown this month and threatened to declare a national emergency if a
bipartisan committee negotiating over agency funding does not include money
for his proposed border wall.” The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=054-e9d&t=c>
Sunday evening, “With Caravans marching through Mexico and toward our
Country, Republicans must be prepared to do whatever is necessary for
STRONG Border Security. Dems do nothing. If there is no Wall, there is no
Security. Human Trafficking, Drugs and Criminals of all dimensions – KEEP
OUT!”

NPR
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=055-603&t=c>
(2/3, Horsley) reports on its website that Trump “renewed his call for
border wall funding and accused [Pelosi] of ‘rigid’ opposition, in an
interview airing two days before Trump’s State of the Union address. The
tone of the president’s remarks in an interview taped Friday with CBS calls
into question whether Trump will actually use Tuesday’s primetime speech to
appeal for compromise, as advertised.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=056-e4f&t=c>
(2/3, Swoyer) focuses its brief report on Trump’s criticism of Pelosi.

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=057-af7&t=c>,
“Everyone refuses to focus on this, but again, Dems have *offered Trump
hundreds of millions of dollars to address the humanitarian side of the
crisis, trafficking included,* but Trump is saying no, because he’s holding
whole process hostage for his wall.”

*Republican Senators Discuss Possibility Of National Emergency
Declaration. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=058-6e9&t=c>
(2/3, Forgey) reports Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), a member “of the bipartisan
group of lawmakers charged with striking a deal on immigration measures,”
said Sunday that Trump “‘would be forced’ to declare a national emergency
to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border if Congress cannot broker
an agreement.” Hoeven told Fox News Sunday, “I think what the President is
saying is if we don’t compromise – and he’s put compromise on the table,
real compromise, things the Democrats want – but if we can’t get compromise
out of Speaker Pelosi and get to a good solution, then he would be forced
to go the national emergency route.” CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=059-3c0&t=c>
(2/3, Bennett) reports Trump, seen as having “back[ed] away from the
emergency option over fears of a legal challenge, appears to be trying to
sell the idea to his conservative base and GOP members.”

Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby said on CNN’s State
Of The Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=05a-849&t=c>
(2/3), “The President hasn’t specifically said he’s going to invoke an
emergency powers. But he’s – under the Constitution, he’s probably got some
rights there. ... What we’d like to do is do it in the appropriation
process.” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning
Futures[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=05b-681&t=c>
(2/3), “The money is there. It can be found. In the overall scheme of
things, while $5.7 billion for a wall, the amount that the President
requested, is lots of money...within the overall funding of the federal
government, this is a pretty minor, modest amount of money.” On NBC’s Meet
The Press[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=05c-5a5&t=c>
(2/3), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said, “I don’t think it’s the first thing you
want to do is use your emergency power to do things like this. But if I was
the President right now, I’d be pretty frustrated.”

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=05d-1cc&t=c>,
“Circumventing Congress by declaring a fake national emergency sets a
terrible precedent for American democracy.” In a tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=05e-9f8&t=c>,
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) mocked the President for mulling an emergency
declaration on the same weekend that he golfed with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger
Woods.

*CBS Poll: 66% Oppose National Emergency Declaration. *CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=05f-ee7&t=c>
(2/3, Salvanto, De Pinto, Backus, Khanna) reports on its website that a new
CBS News poll finds that 66 percent of Americans think Trump “should not
declare a national emergency if Congress does not fund a border wall,
although most Republicans (73 percent) think he should. ... Seventy-three
percent of Americans want Mr. Trump to continue negotiating while keeping
the government open, rather than demand wall funding if that forces a
shutdown. A similar number (75 percent) say congressional Democrats should
also continue negotiating, rather than deny funding in a move that might
force a shutdown.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=060-070&t=c>
(2/3, Niquette) also covers the CBS poll.

*SOTU Invitations Reflect Immigration Debate. *The Wall Street
Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=061-e98&t=c>
(2/3, Andrews) reports that the immigration debate will be seen in the
House gallery on Tuesday evening, with Democrats having invited refugees
and immigrants, including two who were undocumented when they worked for
Trump’s New Jersey golf club, and Republicans inviting law enforcement and
border security personnel.

*Pentagon To Send 3,750 More Troops To US-Mexico Border. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=062-b6b&t=c>
(2/3) reports the Pentagon announced Sunday that it will send an additional
3,750 troops to the US-Mexico border “to put up another 150 miles of
concertina wire and provide other support for Customs and Border
Protection.” Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan said last week “that several
thousand more troops would be sent mainly to install additional wire
barriers and provide a large new system of mobile surveillance and
monitoring of the border area.” According to Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=063-235&t=c>
(2/3, Chiacu), the Pentagon said the deployment “will raise the total
number of active-duty forces supporting Customs and Border Protection
agents there to about 4,350.”

*Rapper 21 Savage Taken Into Custody By ICE. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=064-d59&t=c>
(2/3, Henderson) reports that “rapper 21 Savage has been taken into custody
by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” and likely faces
deportation proceedings in federal immigration court. Spokesman Bryan Cox
“told the USA Today Network that the 26-year-old musician, who was born
Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, is in federal immigration custody following a
‘targeted operation’ in Atlanta on Sunday.” According to Cox, the rapper,
“who is a British citizen, overstayed his visa that expired in July 2006
after legally entering the U.S. a year before at age 12.” The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=065-73a&t=c>
(2/3, Capelouto) reports that Abraham-Joseph was “also convicted of felony
drug charges in 2014 in Fulton County, ICE said.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Determined To “Bring Our Folks Back Home” From Syria, Afghanistan.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=066-d79&t=c>
(2/3, Beavers) reports President Trump said in an interview Sunday that
he’s determined to get out of “endless wars” in Afghanistan and Syria and
“bring our folks back home.” In the interview with CBS’ Face The Nation[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=067-fb2&t=c>
(2/3), the President “renewed his pledge to pull troops out of Syria and
touted his administration’s success in fighting ISIS in the region.” Said
Trump, “When I took over, Syria it was infested with ISIS. It was all over
the place. And now you have very little ISIS and you have the caliphate
almost knocked out.” He added, “We will be announcing in the not too
distant future 100 percent of the caliphate, which is the area, the land,
the area, 100 [percent]. We’re at 99 percent right now, we’ll be at 100.”
He also “expressed measured optimism for ongoing peace negotiations with
the Taliban,” saying, “I’ve been hitting very hard in Afghanistan and now
we’re negotiating with the Taliban. We’ll see what happens, who knows?”

*Johnson: US Troop Withdrawal From Syria “Unconscionable.” *On Fox
News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=068-698&t=c>
(2/3), Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson said, “I can’t tell
you how many times I came on shows like this after President Obama decided
to bug out of Iraq precipitously so ISIS was able to rise from the defeated
ashes of Al Qaeda in Iraq and I don’t want to be making the same statement
six months from now that we bug out of Syria unwisely and that ISIS has
reemerged from the defeated ashes of ISIS and Syria.” He added, “I think it
would just be tragic if we bug out, left the Kurds, who by and large have
done the fighting and defeated the caliphate, if we just abandon them to
the mercies, I use that term loosely, of Russia and Iran and possibly
Turkey. It would just be unconscionable.”

*Erdoğan: “Coalition Forces” Should Not Oversee Syrian Safe
Zones. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=069-ab7&t=c>
(2/3, Bilgic) reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was
interviewed by Turkey’s TRT news station on Sunday. Erdoğan rejected the
continued US-led oversight of the Syrian Kurdish safe zones on the Turkish
border during the discussion. Erdoğan said, “We cannot leave the safe zone
to coalition forces. Such a safe zone should be entrusted to Turkey. We’ll
then provide the security of that zone.”

*Trump Wants US Military To Stay In Iraq To “Watch Iran.” *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020401biden&r=email-4ca3&l=06a-a2c&t=c>
(2/3, Epstein, Niquette, Ali) reports President Trump “stood by his plans
to reduce the US footprint in the Middle