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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, February 1, 2019 7:59 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
February 1, 2019


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=001-b8b&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, February 1, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Rasmussen Poll: Biden Atop Hypothetical 2020 Democratic Race With 39%.
<#S1>

• Christie: Biden Has Best Chance Of Beating Trump In 2020. <#S2>

• Hill.TV’s Simmons: Some Democrats See “Ambivalence” In Biden’s 2020
Ruminations. <#S3>

• Washington Examiner: Biden Supported School Segregation In 1975. <#S4>

• Booker Enters 2020 Presidential Race. <#S5>

• Bloomberg Assembling Powerful Political Team Ahead Of Potential 2020 Run.
<#S6>

• Trump, Political Analysts Say Harris Had Best Rollout Of 2020 Democrats.
<#S7>

• Warren Expected To Officially Announce White House Bid On Feb. 9. <#S8>

• Sanders Releases New Tax Proposal Targeting Wealthiest Americans. <#S9>

• Potential 2020 Hopeful Brown Appeals To Working Class During Iowa Visit.
<#S10>

• Schultz Met By Protestors In Seattle As He Returns To His Hometown. <#S11>

• Divides On Healthcare, Taxes Quickly Emerge In 2020 Democratic Race.
<#S12>

• Some 2020 Democrats Open To Eliminating Filibuster. <#S13>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Calls Shutdown Talks “A Waste Of Time” As He And Pelosi Remain Far
Apart. <#S14>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Trump: Intelligence Chiefs “Were Totally Misquoted.” <#S15>

• Trump Says Date, Location Set For North Korea Summit. <#S16>

• Trump: Sanctions, End Of Nuclear Deal Have Iran In Chaos. <#S17>

• Trump Plans To Meet Xi After US-China Trade Talks End With No Deal. <#S18>

• Media Analyses: Senate Rebukes Trump On Syria, Afghanistan Withdrawal
Plans. <#S19>

• SIGAR: Afghan Forces, Territory Shrinking. <#S20>

• Bolton To Maduro: Flee Venezuela While You Still Can, Retire On A “Nice
Beach.” <#S21>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Mueller’s Team Seized “Several Terabytes” Of Information From Stone.
<#S22>

• NYTimes Analysis: Trump Downplays Russia Probe, Disagreements With Intel
Community. <#S23>

• Trump: Democrats Now “Party Of Late-Term Abortion.” <#S24>

• Trump Reportedly Considering Cain for Federal Reserve Board. <#S25>

• Stocks Have Best January In 30 Years. <#S26>

• Trump Signs Order Encouraging Federal Contractors To “Buy American.”
<#S27>

• Trump Says He Hopes Abrams “Does A Good Job” With SOTU Response. <#S28>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• OHSU Researchers Launch Study For Couples Coping With Cancer. <#S29>

• Researchers Identify Potential “Off Switch” In Aggressive Melanomas.
<#S30>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S31>

• Washington Post. <#S32>
Biden in the News
Rasmussen Poll: Biden Atop Hypothetical 2020 Democratic Race With 39%.

Rasmussen Reports
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=002-08e&t=c>
(1/31, Reports) says that a new Rasmussen Reports poll of 1,000 Democratic
likely voters, taken Jan. 28-29, shows that former Vice President Joe Biden
“remains the favorite candidate among Democrats to be the party’s 2020
presidential nominee. But as support for” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “rises,
support for” Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “is
fading.” The poll “finds that 39% of Likely Democratic Voters pick Biden
first out of a field of six early contenders for the nomination when asked
which of them best represents the party and would make the best candidate
against President Trump if he runs for reelection in 2020.” The posted
article doesn’t provide the numbers of the other announced and potential
candidates.
Christie: Biden Has Best Chance Of Beating Trump In 2020.

Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) was asked on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=003-f03&t=c>
(1/31) which Democrat he thinks could defeat President Trump in 2020.
Christie replied, “Vice President Biden, because he’s going to be able to
potentially appeal to the white working class voters in Pennsylvania,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio that determined this race in 2016. And I think
more than any of the other candidates right now, he has the potential to do
that. Now, I will give this caveat to it. You know the lights in a
presidential campaign are the brightest lights in the world. Only two
options when you get under those lights – you shine or you melt. We are
going to see what all these folks do, including Joe Biden, who, by the way,
despite me just saying he has the best chance, is 0-for-2 running for
president.”
Hill.TV’s Simmons: Some Democrats See “Ambivalence” In Biden’s 2020
Ruminations.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=004-1a3&t=c>
(1/31, Manchester) reported that public opinion analyst Karlyn Bowman on
Wednesday said “that all the big-name 2020 candidates and potential
contenders are known at this point. ‘I don’t think that it is possible that
there will be a big name come in that we haven’t heard about yet,’ Bowman,
a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told Hill.TV’s Jamal
Simmons on Wednesday in an episode that aired the following day. Simmons
pointed out that former Vice President Joe Biden, who is mulling a run, is
a big name who has not announced yet.” Said Simmons, “There is some concern
among Democrats that the longer he waits, the more that is evidence that
maybe he either doesn’t want to run or there’s something else going on.
There’s some ambivalence there, and usually ambivalent candidates don’t
make good candidates.”
Washington Examiner: Biden Supported School Segregation In 1975.

In a lengthy piece, the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=005-ef2&t=c>
(1/31, Goodman) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden “once
advocated continued school segregation in the” US, contending “that it
benefited minorities and that integration would prevent black people from
embracing ‘their own identity.’ Biden was speaking in 1975, when he opposed
the federally mandated busing policy designed to end segregation in
schools. In the past few decades, he has claimed he wanted desegregation
but believed the policy of busing would not achieve it. Last year, he
stated he had voted heroically to protect busing.” The Examiner goes on to
detail Biden’s stance through the years on the issue. The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=006-b68&t=c>
(2/1, Staff) also provides a transcript of a 1975 interview NPR’s David
Ensor conducted with then-Sens. Biden (D-DE) and Edward Brooke (R-MA) on
the issue of busing.
Booker Enters 2020 Presidential Race.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=007-ee0&t=c>
(2/1, Corasaniti, Goldmacher) reports that Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) “entered
the 2020 race for president” this morning, “embarking on a campaign to
become the second black president in American history.” Booker, in an email
to supporters, “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.’” And in a video announcing his run, Booker said, “The
history of our nation is defined by collective action; by interwoven
destinies of slaves and abolitionists; of those born here and those who
chose America as home; of those who took up arms to defend our country, and
those who linked arms to challenge and change it.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=008-b20&t=c>
(2/1, Korecki) reports that Booker, 49, becomes “the second
African-American and fourth senator to join the burgeoning Democratic
field.” He “will seek to set himself apart in a crowded field focusing on a
message on love and unity, one that urges America to swing back from a
bitter, divisive era under President Donald Trump.” In addition, Booker
plans “to appeal to the better angels of the Democratic Party – if they’re
willing to listen – that it’s possible for a Democrat to work across party
lines,” according to “three advisers familiar with Booker’s strategy.” U.S.
News & World Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=009-0f7&t=c>
(2/1, Catanese) reports that as was the case with Sen. Kamala Harris
(D-CA), Booker “will forego an exploratory phase, immediately declaring as
a full-fledged candidate.” Today, “he will engage in a media tour of radio
and television programs, including ‘The View’ on ABC, before making his
first trip of the year to Iowa next weekend.”
Bloomberg Assembling Powerful Political Team Ahead Of Potential 2020 Run.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=00a-5ac&t=c>
(1/31, Costa) says ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) is putting
together “one of the most skilled and experienced campaign teams in
Democratic presidential politics,” but “he might not even run. Bloomberg
has retained” over “two dozen” top Democratic “operatives and data
strategists,” who “are poised to leverage their networks and experience to
help” him “make inroads with key constituencies.” A number of the “advisers
say that if Bloomberg does not enter the 2020 race, they plan to stay on
his team anyway, working to build what one top aide described as a ‘Koch
Brothers-type group for Democrats’” that would have “the sole mission of
defeating President Trump.” The Post adds, “One factor looming over
Bloomberg’s decision is former vice president Joe Biden. ... Bloomberg
advisers said Biden’s brand of politics is similar to the former mayor’s,
so a bid by the former vice president could push Bloomberg to stay out of
the race.”

*Trump Says When He Became A Candidate, Relationship With Bloomberg
Soured. *In another report, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=00b-e1a&t=c>
(1/31, Kranish) says that while President Trump and Bloomberg for years had
“a relationship of political and business convenience if not genuine
friendship,” their “alliance imploded the moment Trump launched his bid for
the White House in 2015.” Trump’s bid exposed “raw differences of policy
and personality that have become only more stark as President Trump has
carried out a series of measures that are politically anathema to
Bloomberg, such as withdrawing from a deal to combat global warming.” Trump
told the Post this week, “I really liked Michael and I think he liked me,
but it went really strangely haywire once I ran for office.” Trump added
that Bloomberg “probably doesn’t like my policies. I’m for guns, he’s
against guns. ... A developer is a lot different than as a candidate.”

*Trump Reelection Campaign Raised Over $21M In Q4, Started 2019
With $19.2M In Bank. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=00c-7dc&t=c>
(1/31, Lee, Narayanswamy) reports that President Trump’s “campaign and
affiliated committees raised more than $21 million in the final three
months of 2018, entering the presidential election cycle with a massive
head start just as a wide-open Democratic field begins to take shape.” The
new numbers “bring the total haul for Trump’s reelection effort to more
than $129 million, a record amount for a sitting president at this point in
the election cycle. The campaign had more than $19.2 million in cash on
hand by the end of 2018, according to new Federal Election Commission
filings.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=00d-73d&t=c>
(1/31, Gibson) reports that Trump started 2019 “with $19.2 million in
campaign cash, a war chest that gives him a head start on Democrats”
seeking to take him on next year. Reuters adds, “Unlike any other president
in the modern era, Trump filed for re-election on the day he took office in
January 2017, instead of waiting the traditional two years. That allowed
him to raise and spend campaign cash his entire term.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=00e-dc9&t=c>
(1/31, McCormick) reports that Trump campaign COO Michael Glassner said in
a statement, “Midway through the first term of his presidency, President
Donald Trump continues to deliver on his campaign promises to the American
people and they continue to demonstrate their support for him in
contributions to his re-election campaign.” Bloomberg News adds, “Trump’s
committee has had success with online fundraising and small-dollar donors.
It said 98.5 percent of contributions for the quarter were for $200 or
less. ‘Grassroots support for the president has remained both steady and
historic,’ Glassner said.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=00f-773&t=c>
(1/31, Shorey, Vogel) reports that Trump’s “brisk small-money fund-raising
contrasts with the performance of many Republican congressional candidates
during the midterm elections, who relied more heavily on donors giving
larger amounts as they struggled to keep pace with their Democratic
opponents’ fund-raising.” The Times adds that Trump stumped “aggressively
for Republican congressional candidates, and his campaign finance reports
reflect that, showing increased spending in the final quarter of 2018. The
Trump campaign spent $23 million in the last three months of the year,
including $8 million on television and online media, and more than $1.5
million on expenses associated with his rallies.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=010-e0c&t=c>
(1/31, Severns) reported that the Trump camp’s fourth-quarter spending
amounted to “four times what it spent in previous quarters in 2018.” And
the “heavy spending continued in the weeks after the 2018 midterms
concluded, with Trump and affiliated committees spending millions
advertising on digital platforms as they rev up the president’s base for a
fierce two-year reelection campaign.”
Trump, Political Analysts Say Harris Had Best Rollout Of 2020 Democrats.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=011-312&t=c>
(1/31, Axelrod) reported that President Trump, commenting on the nascent
field of 2020 Democratic White House hopefuls, on Thursday said that Sen.
Kamala Harris (D-CA) “had the ‘best opening’ of any of her competitors. ‘I
would say the best opening so far would be Kamala Harris,’ Trump told
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=012-a67&t=c>
(1/31, Baker, Haberman) The New York Times in an interview, adding that her
first campaign rally got ‘A better crowd, better crowd, better enthusiasm.
Some of the others were very flat.’”

Political analysts appear to agree with Trump. Writing for U.S.
News & World Report
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=013-cca&t=c>
(1/31), David Catanese says that “the first inning of the 2020 Democratic
presidential primary game belongs to Kamala Harris.” Her “strategically
prolonged rollout,” which “stretched close to three weeks,” started “with a
book tour on Jan. 8” and ended with a “town hall on CNN with Jake Tapper in
Iowa.” Catanese adds, “All in all, it was a 20-day run that Harris owned.”
And writing for Politico Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=014-7d5&t=c>
(1/31), Bill Scher similarly said that Harris “didn’t have just a great
rollout day, but a great rollout week.”

*Politico Mag Highlights Harris’ Efforts To Combat “Cyber
Exploitation.” *In a piece for Politico Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=015-d1c&t=c>
(2/1), Nancy Scola, a reporter covering technology for Politico Pro,
details the efforts of Harris, during her time as California attorney
general, to combat “so-called ‘revenge porn,’” which Harris said is better
described as “cyber exploitation.” In her effort, Harris “didn’t go after
Facebook or Google directly, but she did launch two high-profile
prosecutions for online sexual exploitation, and her aggressive legal
tactics – peeling away the legal protections that insulate online platforms
from the content they host – have gotten her sideways with many people in
her state’s most important industry.” Scola adds that “with the downside of
technology again at the center of the national conversation, Harris is
almost uniquely positioned among the presidential candidates to understand
some of the thorniest issues that face the country on this front, and how
government might tackle them.”
Warren Expected To Officially Announce White House Bid On Feb. 9.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=016-ca2&t=c>
(1/31, Schor) reports that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “is expected to
officially announce her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential
nomination on February 9.” Warren “is telling supporters she’ll make a ‘BIG
announcement’ that day. Warren opened her presidential exploratory
committee exactly one month ago, a move that made her the first prominent
sitting Democrat to enter the Democratic primary race.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=017-51a&t=c>
(1/31, Korecki) reported, “After the Feb. 9 event, Warren is expected to
immediately ramp up her campaign travel schedule.”
Sanders Releases New Tax Proposal Targeting Wealthiest Americans.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=018-a77&t=c>
(1/31, Schor) reports that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Thursday “released
a plan to significantly raise taxes on the wealthiest 0.2 percent of
Americans” through the expansion of the estate tax’s brackets. Sanders is
quoted as saying that “the American people do not think it’s appropriate
that three people in America own more wealth than the bottom half of the
country.” The proposal would create “four new estate tax brackets, ranging
from 45 percent to 77 percent, while exempting the first $3.5 million of
any individual’s estate.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=019-3ac&t=c>
(1/31, Rubin) says the proposal would restore the 77 percent tax rate on
estates that are worth $1 billion or higher, and the new 77 percent bracket
would match the top estate tax rate from 1941 to 1976. The Tax Policy
Center previously estimated that Sanders’ 2016 proposal for the creation of
a 65 percent bracket would generate $237 billion over a decade.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=01a-082&t=c>
(1/31, Lawler) says Sanders’ bill, the “For the 99.8% Act,” would also
change the laws regarding exemptions for joint estates. President Trump’s
Tax Cut and Jobs Act raised the joint estate exemption limit to $22.8
million, and Sanders’ proposal would lower the threshold to $7 million and
raise the minimum tax to 45 percent. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=01b-0db&t=c>
(1/31, Ember) reports, “With the bill, Mr. Sanders joins a growing chorus
of left-wing politicians calling for new ways to tax the rich. ... The
tax-the-rich proposals, including the one introduced by Mr. Sanders, are
designed to increase revenue to pay for expanded social programs like
‘Medicare for all.’”
Potential 2020 Hopeful Brown Appeals To Working Class During Iowa Visit.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=01c-a30&t=c>
(2/1, Beaumont) reports that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), mulling a 2020
presidential run, “sounded an awful lot at home Thursday in rural Howard
County, Iowa.” Speaking “in tiny Cresco,” Brown told a small audience, “We
chose [to come] here because we grew up in communities that so often get
ignored. Wall Street totally ignores communities like this and so too often
does state and national government.” Trump also criticized President Trump,
arguing “that working-class voters who backed Trump have been betrayed,
notably by the Republican-signed tax bill that benefited wealthy Americans
more. ‘It’s not just the middle class, it’s the broad spectrum of people
who work hard and just simply don’t get a break these days,’ Brown” said.

The Des Moines (IA) Register
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=01d-181&t=c>
(1/31, Miller) reports that Brown’s Cresco visit “was the first Iowa stop
on his ‘Dignity of Work’ tour, which will take him through several early
voting states. ‘Democrats simply aren’t talking to working class families,’
Brown said. ‘It’s almost like this view that you either talk to the
progressive base to excite them or you talk to working class families and
you hear about their families and their problems. And no, you’ve got to do
both.’” In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=01e-cac&t=c>
(1/31, Egan) reported that Brown has demonstrated “his ability to win on
Trump-friendly turf. When nearly every Ohio Democrat lost statewide in the
2018 midterms, Brown won his Senate re-election race by almost 7 percentage
points. Two years earlier, Trump had won the state by 8 points.”
Schultz Met By Protestors In Seattle As He Returns To His Hometown.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=01f-b47&t=c>
(2/1, Johnson) reports that ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was met by
protesters when “he returned to his hometown of Seattle on Thursday after
announcing that he’s mulling an independent run for president. Several
dozen protesters gathered outside a downtown theater before Schultz
appeared to promote his new book. They included Democrats who fret his
candidacy would hand President Donald Trump another term, and
green-and-gold-bedecked basketball fans who haven’t forgiven him for
selling the Seattle SuperSonics to a group that moved the team to Oklahoma
City more than a decade ago.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=020-688&t=c>
(1/31, Johnson) reports that a number of the protesters fretted “that a
third-party run could split the vote and help re-elect...Trump, who is far
more unpopular in Seattle than Mr. Schultz is.”

*Thiessen: Democrats Mad At Schultz For Voicing “How Radical Their
Party Has Become.” *In his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=021-ed5&t=c>
(1/31) column, Marc Thiessen says that while Democrats are angry at Schultz
out of concern that an independent run would help Trump win reelection,
“what angers them even more is that Schultz is calling Democrats out for
how radical their party has become.” Thiessen says Schultz has panned Sen.
Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) proposal for a “new wealth tax” as “ridiculous,”
blasted Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) call to “‘eliminate’ private health
insurance” as “not American,” dismissed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s
(D-NY) proposal of “a 70 percent marginal tax rate,” and “ripped the entire
Democratic socialist agenda.” Thiessen adds, “No wonder Democrats are
fuming. Instead of debating Republicans, they may spend the next two years
fighting a liberal independent who is slamming their far-left policies.”
Divides On Healthcare, Taxes Quickly Emerge In 2020 Democratic Race.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=022-e80&t=c>
(1/31, Siders, Cadelago) reported, “Barely a month into the 2020
Democratic” presidential race, “rifts between the party’s liberal and
moderate factions burst open this week” in the form of “an intraparty feud
over health care and taxes.” After Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said “she
backed eliminating the health insurance industry in order to achieve
Medicare for all,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) “cautioned against immediately
‘changing our entire insurance system where over half of Americans get
private insurance.’” Meanwhile, ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
(D) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) exchanged jabs over “the wave of
proposals to soak the ultra-rich.”
Some 2020 Democrats Open To Eliminating Filibuster.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=023-b81&t=c>
(1/31, Everett, Levine) reported that on the issue of “eliminating the
filibuster,” Democratic senators running for president “are split on
whether to even consider getting rid of the chamber’s longstanding
supermajority requirement.” Asked about the issue, Sen. Elizabeth Warren
D-MA) said, “Everything stays on the table. You keep it all on the table.
Don’t take anything off the table.” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), however, said,
“We should not be doing anything to mess with the strength of the
filibuster.” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), meanwhile, “said it was an
issue she’s still evaluating.”
Leading the News
Trump Calls Shutdown Talks “A Waste Of Time” As He And Pelosi Remain Far
Apart.

Coverage of negotiations toward resolving the impasse over funding for a
US-Mexico border wall focuses on the ongoing and firm differences between
President Trump and House Speaker Pelosi and on Trump’s skepticism that an
acceptable deal can be reached. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=024-9df&t=c>
(1/31, Lucey) reports the President “started the morning with a flurry of
tweets weighing in on the House-Senate talks that kicked off Wednesday
during which House Democrats offered a plan without a penny for his
long-promised wall.” The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=025-140&t=c>
at 7:13 a.m. Thursday, “Large sections of WALL have already been built with
much more either under construction or ready to go. Renovation of existing
WALLS is also a very big part of the plan to finally, after many decades,
properly Secure Our Border. The Wall is getting done one way or the other!”
Three minutes later, he tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=026-102&t=c>,
“Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A
WALL is a WALL!”

About an hour later, he tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=027-acd&t=c>,
“Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee are wasting their time.
Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof and Caravans coming, are not
going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL. I’ve got you
covered. Wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!” The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=028-8e6&t=c>
(1/31, Baker, Haberman) reports the President again “called the talks ‘a
waste of time’” during an interview “and indicated he will most likely take
action on his own when they officially end in two weeks.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=029-e8d&t=c>
(1/31, Werner, Kim, Wagner) reports the President “predicted failure by the
congressional committee tasked with resolving the U.S.-Mexico border-wall
standoff and preventing another government shutdown, saying any deal must
fund his wall but he doesn’t expect lawmakers to get there.” The President
spoke shortly after Pelosi “ruled out money for the wall in the committee’s
final product.” On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=02a-af0&t=c>
(1/31, story 4, 1:10, Holt), Hallie Jackson reported on the “frozen
positions from the President and House Speaker.” Trump: “If there’s no
wall, it doesn’t work. And if they don’t have a wall, I don’t even want to
waste my time reading what they have.” Pelosi: “There’s not going to be any
wall money in the legislation.” CNN’s Manu Raju tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=02b-753&t=c>,
“Next shutdown two weeks away, and no votes in Senate til Monday, no votes
in House til Wednesday and Trump heads to South Florida for the weekend.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=02c-c41&t=c>
(1/31, Becker, Cowan) reports both sides “hardened their positions on
Thursday.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=02d-add&t=c>
(1/31, Cummings) reports Democrats are proposing “money for new customs
agents, technology, and humanitarian relief but not a penny for a border
wall. It’s an offer [Trump] is certain to refuse.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=02e-c78&t=c>
(1/31, Ferrechio) reports Pelosi did say “she could support a border
security deal that adds new Normandy fencing along about 30 miles of open
border. But she won’t bring a bill to the floor that includes Trump’s
vision for a wall or steel-slat barrier.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=02f-9cc&t=c>
(1/31, Enjeti) headlines its brief report “Pelosi Brings Wall Negotiations
Back To Square One.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=030-e6f&t=c>
(1/31, Caygle) reports, “The divergent – and incompatible – declarations
from the two leaders show how far apart Pelosi and Trump remain in the
border negotiations and could put them on a collision course to yet another
shutdown in two weeks.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=031-6e5&t=c>
(1/31, Bender, Peterson) reports the President told reporters that he has
not seen movement toward an acceptable deal since he agreed to reopen the
government one week ago. USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=032-c7f&t=c>
(1/31, Jackson) reports that his “skepticism” that congressional
negotiators “will agree to his demands for a border wall, raising the
specters of another government shutdown or an ‘emergency declaration’ sure
to be challenged in court.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=033-bdb&t=c>
(2/1, Taylor, Fram) says the President’s tweets came “amid signs that [his]
leverage in Congress is atrophying.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=034-f49&t=c>
(1/31, Everett, Oprysko, Johnson) reports that though the President “is
tweeting up a storm about whether lawmakers will deliver a bipartisan deal
providing border security money,” he is “largely butting out of the private
talks, at least so far.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=035-3fd&t=c>
(1/31, Carney) reports under the headline “Republicans Want Trump To Keep
Out Of Border Talks” that members of the President’s party are urging him
“to step back, for now, from the negotiations to prevent a second partial
government shutdown. ... GOP senators say Trump should stick to the
sidelines and let the bipartisan group of appropriators, known for their
ability to cut deals, get to work.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=036-1f3&t=c>
(1/31, Cochrane) reports under the headline “As Trump Demands His Wall,
Lawmakers Plead For Space To Negotiate” that “Republican leaders,
especially in the Senate, have made it clear that they do not want to
suffer through another debilitating shutdown, and senators asked the
president to give them room to work.” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said, “I
think it would be more worthwhile and effective if the President would
allow some space for these negotiations to occur and not be doing
commentary at this point.”

Chris Christie said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=037-bcf&t=c>
(1/31), “I don’t think we’re headed for another shutdown. I think there are
only two alternatives here: Either they all come to a compromise where
everybody gets something in order to be able to both advocate to their
constituencies and save face, or he’s going to go to emergency action to
build the wall that way, and we’ll wind up in court.”

CNN’s Ronald Brownstein tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=038-ee8&t=c>,
“Trump’s bluster underscores why the national emergency route for the
#BorderWall, though facing opposition from 2/3 of the country in polls, is
so attractive to him: It’s a retreat that looks like an advance.” Laurence
Tribe tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=039-b73&t=c>,
“Trump tells NYT he’s ‘set the table’ for getting around Congress. He seems
to think he can call its disagreement with him a ‘national emergency’ with
a straight face.”

*Trump Cites Rising Mexican Murder Rate In Calling For Wall
Funding. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=03a-48c&t=c>
(1/31) reports the President also “sought to justify his calls for a
wall...by pointing to the rising murder rate” in Mexico. But in doing so,
he “highlighted the dangers of the Trump administration’s new ‘remain in
Mexico’ asylum policy, which requires those who have applied for asylum at
the U.S.-Mexico border to return to Mexico for months while they await a
decision.”

Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=03b-df6&t=c>
at 7:32 a.m. Thursday, “With Murders up 33% in Mexico, a record, why
wouldn’t any sane person want to build a Wall! Construction has started and
will not stop until it is finished. @LouDobbs @foxandfriends.” At 12:43
p.m., he tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=03c-e6f&t=c>,
“Very sadly, Murder cases in Mexico in 2018 rose 33% from 2017, to 33,341.
This is a big contributor to the Humanitarian Crisis taking place on our
Southern Border and then spreading throughout our Country. Worse even than
Afghanistan. Much caused by DRUGS. Wall is being built!”

Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=03d-a8d&t=c>
at 9:52 a.m. Thursday, “More troops being sent to the Southern Border to
stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our
Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these
also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being
Built!” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=03e-4af&t=c>
(1/31, Enjeti) reports Trump later told reporters, “You will have so many
people coming into our country that Nancy Pelosi will be begging for a
wall.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=03f-99e&t=c>
(1/31, Linthicum) reports Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador
said at a Thursday news conference that he has deployed troops to Tijuana
due to rising violence. López Obrador said, “A special plan is being
implemented because the killings in Tijuana have grown a lot.”

*Smith: Pentagon Not “Fully Transparent” In Testimony On Border
Deployment. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=040-44a&t=c>
(1/31, Sands) reports House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith said in a
letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=041-a63&t=c>
to Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan that “Pentagon officials were less
than ‘fully transparent’ when they testified this week on the military’s
plans to carry out President Trump’s order to deploy to the southern border
to bolster the fight against illegal immigration.” Smith wrote, “I am
deeply troubled that the witnesses did not disclose the upcoming increase
in [National Guard], reserve and active-duty personnel, even though we
asked them multiple times during a two-and-a-half-hour hearing what would
happen next on the border.”

Smith tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=042-791&t=c>,
“I’m deeply troubled that DoD witnesses did not disclose the upcoming
increase in active duty personnel at the southern border during this week’s
hearing. This is a violation of the executive branch’s obligation to be
transparent w/ Congress, which oversees & funds its operations.”

*Shutdown Creates Complications For Food Stamp Recipients.
*The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=043-905&t=c>
(1/31, Telford) reports that the response by the Department of Agriculture
to roll out February’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits
early because of the government shutdown is “causing problems for many of
the 39 million Americans who depend on food stamps.” According to the
article, “millions of families that normally get their benefits toward the
middle of the month will have to live off what little they have for about
50 days.” Moreover, if Congress doesn’t reach “a deal to keep the
government open, their safety net might be torn away.”

*NTSB Visiting Deadly Crash Scenes Weeks Late Due to Shutdown.
*Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=044-8bb&t=c>
(1/31, Levin, Beene) reports that a deadly crash in Florida is one of 97
transportation accidents that occurred during the partial government
shutdown are now receiving attention from the NTSB. According to the
article, “in 21 of the cases so far, including 15 aviation accidents that
killed a total of 21 people, the safety board is opening belated
inquiries.” However, the late response means that evidence has grown stale
and the memories of witness are likely less reliable.

*Courts Unable To Accommodate Hundreds Of Immigrants. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=045-248&t=c>
(1/31, Kay, Licon) reports that “hundreds of immigrants” on Thursday
“arrived with government-issued notices to appear in court for hearings
that were never scheduled.” US immigration officials pointed to “the
government shutdown and the extreme winter weather for the confusion about
immigration court hearings.” According to the AP, “backlogs have occurred
nationwide since a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling said that under the law
notices given for immigrants to appear in court need to include a time and
date.”

*Federal Agents Created Fake University To Snag Migrants. *The Detroit
Free Press
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=046-d92&t=c>
(1/31, Warikoo) reports that “in a nationwide sweep,” ICE agents “have
arrested 130 foreign students who were enrolled at a fake university in
metro Detroit that was created by ICE to lure in students trying to remain
in the U.S.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=047-ccc&t=c>
(1/31, Eustachewich) reports that undercover federal agents posed as
“owners and employees” of the University of Farmington as “part of a
federal law enforcement undercover operation designed to identify
recruiters and entities engaged in immigration fraud,” according to a
federal indictment filed Jan. 15 but unsealed Wednesday. The Detroit News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=048-20f&t=c>
(1/31, Snell) reports that “details about the University of Farmington
investigation’s roots emerged Thursday as six recruiters made initial
appearances in federal court in downtown Detroit.”
Foreign Policy
Trump: Intelligence Chiefs “Were Totally Misquoted.”

President Trump met with his intelligence chiefs at the White House on
Thursday. Chip Reid reported for the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=049-f98&t=c>
(1/31, story 3, 2:00, Glor) that Trump “downplayed significant
disagreements with his top intelligence officials,” tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=04a-3e3&t=c>
a photo of the meeting and “claiming they are on the same page.” ABC World
News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=04b-946&t=c>
(1/31, story 5, 2:15, Muir) showed Trump saying, “They said they were
totally misquoted and they were – it was totally taken out of context. … I
suggest you call them, they said it was fake news.” However, ABC’s Jonathan
Karl said “the quotes he is talking about played out on live television.”

Along similar lines, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=04c-22b&t=c>
(1/31, Harris) reports that a “day after ridiculing his top intelligence
officials as ‘passive and naïve’...Trump on Thursday said the media had
fabricated a conflict and that the officials were ‘misquoted’ by the press
after a public congressional hearing that was carried live on television.”
On Wednesday, Trump “lashed out at the intelligence chiefs on Twitter,”
calling their assessments “wrong” and suggesting that they “should go back
to school!” But on Thursday, Trump “claimed the intelligence chiefs had
told him their remarks had been taken out of context, and he asserted that
there was no distance between him and his advisers.”

The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=04d-54f&t=c>,
“Just concluded a great meeting with my Intel team in the Oval Office who
told me that what they said on Tuesday at the Senate Hearing was
mischaracterized by the media – and we are very much in agreement on Iran,
ISIS, North Korea, etc. Their testimony was distorted press....
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=04e-8d7&t=c>
I would suggest you read the COMPLETE testimony from Tuesday. A false
narrative is so bad for our Country. I value our intelligence community.
Happily, we had a very good meeting, and we are all on the same page!”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=04f-f98&t=c>
(1/31, Choi) reports that when asked by reporters in the morning “if he
still has confidence” in DNI Coats and CIA Director Haspel “to give him
good advice,” Trump replied: “No. I disagree with certain things that they
said. I think I’m right. Time will prove me right, probably.” But later
Thursday afternoon, after meeting with Haspel and Coats in the Oval Office,
Trump “struck a different tone,” saying their “comments were taken out of
context – though a full report and recordings are publicly available – and
that his intelligence team actually agrees with his world view.”

Fox News Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=050-732&t=c>
(1/31), meanwhile, reported House Speaker Pelosi “threw another punch
today, taking aim at the President’s tweetstorm ripping his intelligence
chiefs.” Said Pelosi, “The President just doesn’t seem to have the
attention span or the desire to hear what the intelligence community has
been telling him.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=051-6b5&t=c>
(1/31), “Many of those statements were made reading from a text that, as
you well know, had been cleared at multiple levels within the intelligence
community. So, these were carefully crafted statements made in real time by
the very heads of our intelligence community as part of the annual
worldwide threat assessment. ... The other kinds of statements made by the
President are subject to serious question. I don’t know how they could have
said they were misquoted.”

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=052-26a&t=c>
(1/31), “It just could not be more embarrassing for the President or for
the country. Gina Haspel, Director Coats, these are some of the most
serious people out there, people who oversee other people who risk their
lives every single day. To trot them into the Oval Office for this photo
shoot today during the intelligence briefing and then to have the President
say that they said that it was fake news – that is not language that Gina
Haspel or Director Coats uses. So the President is simply lying to the
American people here. He said go read the transcript. You don’t even need
to go read the transcript. Look at the video of what they said.”

Chris Cillizza said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=053-34b&t=c>
(1/31), “Go read the threat assessment report to the extent that we can. Go
watch the testimony. Go read the quotes. It’s not complicated. It’s not as
though what we just played – that wasn’t fake. That was Dan Coats talking
in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. [Trump] does this all the
time. He lies about stuff that’s so easily proven false.”
Trump Says Date, Location Set For North Korea Summit.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=054-501&t=c>
(1/31) reports President Trump said yesterday that the “time and location
for his second summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un had been agreed upon,
but he did not give any details and said they would be announced next
week.” Trump said his Administration was making “tremendous progress” with
North Korea, but provided no evidence.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=055-0d0&t=c>
(1/31, Bender) reports Trump said he wanted to announce the time and place
next week, possibly during his State of the Union address. Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=056-bfd&t=c>
(1/31, Wadhams) likewise says an announcement will likely coincide with the
State of the Union address next week.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=057-28b&t=c>
(1/31, Lee, Riechmann) says the President “long has contended that his
outreach to Kim and their initial summit last June in Singapore have put
the US and North Korea on the path to peace. But his list of concrete
achievements has not grown in the months since that meeting, and his own
intelligence chiefs believe there is little likelihood Kim will voluntarily
give up his nuclear weapons or missiles capable of carrying them.” The AP
adds that “private analysts, in several reports in the past four months,
have drawn on commercial satellite imagery to determine that the North is
continuing to develop its nuclear and missile technology despite the test
suspension.”

*US Envoy Demands North Korea Agree To Declare All Of Its Nuclear
And Missile Programs. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=058-ce2&t=c>
(1/31, Brunnstrom, Holland) reports US special envoy Stephen Biegun called
Thursday on North Korea to “provide a comprehensive declaration of its
nuclear and missile programs and warned that Washington has ‘contingencies’
if the diplomatic process with Pyongyang failed.” Biegun said the US “must
reach a deal with North Korea on expert access and monitoring mechanisms of
key nuclear and missile sites and ‘ultimately ensure removal or destruction
of stockpiles of fissile material, weapons, missiles, launchers and other
weapons of mass destruction.’”

In remarks, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=059-2b1&t=c>
(1/31, Wadhams) “offered a rare insight into the administration’s approach
to North Korea that officials had previously declined to provide,” Biegun
said North Korea has committed “to the dismantlement and destruction” of
all its uranium- and plutonium-enrichment facilities in talks with both
Secretary of State Pompeo and South Korean leaders. The pledge “goes beyond
the Yongbyon nuclear plant, which Kim has previously offered to demolish,
Biegun said.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=05a-c98&t=c>
(1/31, Taylor) reports Biegun, “during a rare public appearance before an
audience at Stanford University,” also said the “possibility of removing US
forces from South Korea has so far not been raised in talks as a way to
entice Pyongyang into abandoning its nuclear arsenal.” Said Biegun, “We are
not involved in any diplomatic discussion, full stop, that would suggest
this trade-off.”
Trump: Sanctions, End Of Nuclear Deal Have Iran In Chaos.

Prescient Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=05b-e6b&t=c>
that “Democrats are big fans of being weak and passive with Iran,” having
“no clue” how dangerous that is. Trump added, “Iran is in financial chaos
now because of the sanctions and Iran Deal termination.”

*European Nations Launch Work Around To Iran Sanctions. *Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=05c-cb2&t=c>
(1/31, Nasseri, Vilcu, Donahue) reports Germany, France, and the UK
“unveiled a plan to help companies trade with Iran.” The special purpose
vehicle (SPV), called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, is
“intended to salvage a fragile nuclear accord with” Iran, but has “faced
delays and skepticism that it can successfully persuade companies to
trade.” Additionally, the move “risks inflaming tensions with the U.S.,
which has warned that the efforts wouldn’t work.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=05d-30b&t=c>
(1/31, Rising) reports, “The barter-type system...is designed to allow
businesses to skirt direct financial transactions with Iran and thereby
evade possible U.S. sanctions.” British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said,
“This is a clear, practical demonstration that we remain firmly committed
to the historic 2015 nuclear deal struck with Iran... for as long as Iran
keeps implementing it fully.” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told
reporters, “We’re making clear that we didn’t just talk about keeping the
nuclear deal with Iran alive, but now we’re creating a possibility to
conduct business transactions.” The State Department said in a statement,
“As the President has made clear, entities that continue to engage in
sanctionable activity involving Iran risk severe consequences that could
include losing access to the U.S. financial system and the ability to do
business with the United States or U.S. companies.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=05e-c5d&t=c>
(1/31, Irish, Alkousaa) reports diplomats say the SPV “is unlikely to allow
for the big transactions that Tehran says it needs to keep a nuclear deal
afloat.” A State Department spokeswoman said, “We do not expect the SPV
will in any way impact our maximum economic pressure campaign.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=05f-e57&t=c>
(1/31, Erlanger) reports, “American officials have tried to dissuade the
Europeans from setting up the company and at the same time have mocked the
idea, arguing that it would produce little trade.” As most large companies
have significant business in the United States, “very few – if any – are
likely to use the trading mechanism.” While the Europeans “share many of
Washington’s concerns about Iran’s actions and human rights record,” they
argue such issues are “outside the scope of the nuclear deal.” They also
“are not acting just to spite the Trump administration or as a favor to
Tehran,” but seek to keep the country from rapidly pursing a nuclear
weapon, fearing it “could lead to a war between Iran on one side and Israel
and the United States on the other.” European officials also expressed
concern about “the ready use by Washington of extraterritorial sanctions
that affect European countries.”

*Kushner To Attend Conference Focused On Iran That Will Also
Feature Pence And Pompeo. *Barak Ravid of Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=060-9dd&t=c>
(1/31, Ravid) reports, “The White House ‘peace team’ – senior adviser Jared
Kushner and special envoy Jason Greenblatt – will attend the Warsaw
conference on the Middle East on Feb. 13-14” where they are “expected to
hold meetings with foreign officials on the Trump administration’s
Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.” According to Ravid, “Among the foreign
officials in attendance will be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and
Jordan. The Palestinians and the Iranians were not invited.” Ravid says the
conference “was first framed as an anti-Iran event but after protests from
several US allies and pressure on Poland from Iran it was reframed as ‘The
Ministerial Conference to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the
Middle East.’” Ravid says Vice President Pence and Secretary of State
Pompeo will also attend.

*Facebook, Twitter Suspend Iran-Linked Accounts. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=061-152&t=c>
(1/31, Frier, Wang) reports Facebook says “it removed 783 pages, groups and
accounts linked to Iran that were attempting to manipulate political
discussions about current events,” posting messages repeating the content
of Iranian state media. Meanwhile, since September, when Twitter “suspended
770 accounts potentially based in Iran for violating its policies,” the
company “has suspended 2,617 additional malicious accounts it believes had
origins in Iran.” Facebook told the media “it became aware of the extent of
the campaign by sharing notes with Twitter.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=062-308&t=c>
(1/31) reports Facebook said the removed accounts “spent about $30,000 on
advertisements, paid for in U.S. dollars, British pounds, Canadian dollars
and euros.”
Trump Plans To Meet Xi After US-China Trade Talks End With No Deal.

In a series of tweets
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=063-1dd&t=c>
Thursday morning, President Trump wrote, “China’s top trade negotiators are
in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with
good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in
Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are
correct. I will be..…
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=064-34c&t=c>meeting
with their top leaders and representatives today in the Oval Office. No
final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the
near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more
difficult points. Very comprehensive transaction..…
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=065-373&t=c>China’s
representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving NOTHING
unresolved on the table. All of the many problems are being discussed and
will be hopefully resolved. Tariffs on China increase to 25% on March 1st,
so all working hard to complete by that date!”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=066-110&t=c>
(2/1, Superville, Wiseman) reports in the Oval Office later Thursday
morning, Trump “cast doubt...on whether the US and China can reach a
comprehensive trade agreement in time to keep a steep tariff increase from
kicking in against Beijing in March.” When asked “whether the talks would
be extended into March or beyond,” Trump said: “I think we can do it by
March.” However, Trump added that “a final deal probably won’t be finalized
until he and...Xi...meet again,” but “did not say when such a meeting would
happen.” Said Trump, “I think that probably the final deal will be made, if
it’s made...between myself and President Xi.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=067-c27&t=c>
(1/31, Jackson) reports that later, during an Oval Office meeting with
China’s top trade negotiator, Trump was read a letter from Xi. “I hope that
our two sides will continue to work with mutual respect,” the Chinese
president wrote. “That’s a beautiful letter,” Trump said.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=068-951&t=c>
(1/31, Lawder, Holland) reports Trump said he “would either strike a very
big trade deal with China or ‘postpone’ it, but it was not clear precisely
what he was referring to.” Reuters adds that when “asked if he would
postpone the US-set deadline, Trump said: ‘I don’t know.’” Citing a Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=069-fb1&t=c>
report, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=06a-9cb&t=c>
(1/31, Donnan, Mayeda, Curtis) says China “has invited Trump to meet Xi
next month in an effort to resolve the trade conflict,” and “has proposed
that the leaders hold talks in China after Trump’s planned summit with
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, scheduled for mid-February.” To Bloomberg
News, “Trump’s tweets Thursday were the clearest articulation he has given
so far of his desire for a deal to resolve his trade war with China.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=06b-faf&t=c>
(1/31, Rappeport) says “the prospect of another meeting between Mr. Trump
and Mr. Xi...could help soothe investors’ jitters, though equity markets in
the United States were mixed in midday trading.” According to the Times,
“Trade analysts said a potential meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi was a
strong sign that an agreement could be within reach.”

Meanwhile, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=06c-019&t=c>
(1/31) reports USTR Lighthizer said yesterday afternoon that “substantial
progress” has been made as US and Chinese negotiators completed two days of
trade talks in Washington. According to the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=06d-8ab&t=c>,
Vice Premier Liu He announced at the end of the talks that China would buy
5 million tons of US soybeans daily. The Administration, however, later
clarified that China agreed to buy an additional 5 million metric tons of
soybeans – but not daily, and no time frame was specified. Lighthizer, The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=06e-9a3&t=c>
(1/31, Stanage) reports, said the announcement was a “surprise.” President
Trump, meanwhile, told reporters in the Oval Office, “That’s going to make
our farmers very happy. That’s a lot of soybeans.”

*US Wants Steer Consumers Away From Huawei. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=06f-998&t=c>
(1/31, Chee, Muller) reports the US “wants to steer people away from Huawei
towards Western products because of its concerns over the security of the
Chinese company’s technology, the US envoy to the European Union said on
Thursday.” Ambassador Gordon Sondland told Reuters before talks in
Brussels, “The US is very supportive of the discouraging the purchase of
any Chinese digital products that involve potential national security
implications and steering people away from Huawei into Western products is
our desired outcome.” Asked about security issues with Huawei’s products,
Sondland said, “There is a lot of evidence, most of it classified.”
Media Analyses: Senate Rebukes Trump On Syria, Afghanistan Withdrawal Plans.

In what the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=070-29b&t=c>
(1/31, Jalonick) calls “a rebuke” to President Trump, the Senate “has voted
68-23
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=071-4f2&t=c>
to advance an amendment that would oppose withdrawal of US troops from
Syria and Afghanistan.” The amendment introduced by Senate Majority Leader
McConnell says ISIS and Al Qaeda militants “still pose a serious threat to
the United States and warns that ‘a precipitous withdrawal’ of US forces
from Syria and Afghanistan could allow the groups to regroup and
destabilize the countries.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019020101biden&r=email-a9f5&l=072-6c3&t=c>
(1/31, Demirjian) similarly says that a “vast majority of Senate
Republicans backed...McConnell on Thursday in a rebuke of President Trump’s
rationale for withdrawing US troops from Syria and Afghanistan, voting to
declare that the Islamic State’s continued operations in both countries
poses a serious threat to the United States.” The Post calls the vot