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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, February 19, 2019 8:02 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Tuesday, February 19, 2019


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=001-5a6&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Tuesday, February 19, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Biden Rips Trump’s Policies In Speech At Munich Security Conference. <#S1>

• Biden To Decide Soon About White House Run. <#S2>

• PPP Poll: Trump Leads Biden 49%-46% In Texas. <#S3>

• Democratic Donor Chanos Says He’d Back Biden In 2020 Democratic Race.
<#S4>

• Princeton’s Zelizer Argues Democrats Shouldn’t Back Biden. <#S5>

• WPost’s Rubin Floats “Senior Statesman” Role For Biden In Democratic Race.
<#S6>

• BuzzFeed: Eulogizing Of Thurmond May Be An Albatross For Biden In 2020
Primary. <#S7>

• Trent Lott: Biden Would Give Democrats Best Chance Of Defeating Trump.
<#S8>

• Sanders Launches 2020 Bid For President. <#S9>

• Politico Mag: Straight, White Male Candidates Slow To Enter 2020
Democratic Race. <#S10>

• In Wake Of Biden Comment, DNC Chief Defends Debate Schedule. <#S11>

• NYTimes Analysis: Obama Likely To Remain Neutral In 2020 Democratic
Primary. <#S12>

• Biden Presses Congress To Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act. <#S13>

• Biden To Speak At University Of Pennsylvania Today. <#S14>

• Brown Touts His Corporate Tax Plan. <#S15>

• Harris In New Hampshire: “I Am Not A Democratic Socialist.” <#S16>

• O’Rourke Reportedly In Talks With Strategists About Presidential Run.
<#S17>

• Klobuchar Spends Busy Weekend On Campaign Trail In Key States. <#S18>

• NYTimes: Some Democrats Dismiss Controversy Over Warren’s Claims Of
Native American Ancestry. <#S19>

• AP Analysis: Trump Keeping Close Eye On 2020 Democratic Field. <#S20>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Denounces “Treasonous” Plot By McCabe And Rosenstein. <#S21>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Trump Calls On Venezuelan Military To Oust Maduro, Makes Case Against
Socialism. <#S22>

• CENTCOM Head: US Should Continue Arming Syrian Militias After ISIS Defeat.
<#S23>

• Kim’s Envoy Arrives In Vietnam To Prepare For Trump Summit. <#S24>

• Taliban Postpones Pakistan-Hosted Peace Talks Over Travel Restrictions.
<#S25>

• Juncker: Trump Promised Not To Impose Additional Tariffs On European
Autos. <#S26>

• As China Talks Resume, Trump Seeks Deal With Long-Term Reforms. <#S27>

• Ukrainian Navy Conducting Drills Amid Fears Russia Could Attack At Sea.
<#S28>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Sixteen States Sue In California’s Northern District To Stop Emergency
Declaration. <#S29>

• Ruddy: Trump May Fire Coats Over North Korea Contradiction. <#S30>

• Rosenstein Will Reportedly Leave DOJ Next Month. <#S31>

• Bloomberg: Potential UN Nominees Include Powell, Grenell, Craft And James.
<#S32>

• CDC Head: Measles Outbreak An Opportunity To Re-Engage Vaccination
Opponents. <#S33>

• Supreme Court To Hear Case On Peremptory Challenges Of Jurors. <#S34>

• Trump Shares Praise From Families Of School Shooting Victims. <#S35>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• Proposal Would Extend Medicare Coverage For CAR-T Treatments For Cancer
Patients. <#S36>

• University Of Minnesota Testing New Form Of Brachytherapy For Brain
Tumors. <#S37>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S38>

• Washington Post. <#S39>
Biden in the News
Biden Rips Trump’s Policies In Speech At Munich Security Conference.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=002-733&t=c>
(2/17, Emmott, Irish) reports, “In 2009, then US Vice President Joe Biden
came to Munich to ‘press the reset button’ with Russia.” On Saturday, Biden
returned “to offer the world better relations, this time with his own
country. Promising that ‘America will be back’ once Donald Trump leaves
office, Biden won a standing ovation at the Munich Security Conference from
delegates who find the president’s brusque foreign policy stance hard to
like.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=003-319&t=c>
(2/17, Witte, Birnbaum) reported, “Amid the gloom of a security conference
focused on the breakdown in transatlantic relations” with Trump in the
White House, Biden “offered beleaguered Europeans a ray of hope this
weekend. ‘This too shall pass,’ the former vice president promised. ‘We
will be back.’ The comment earned Biden, a possible candidate for president
in 2020, sustained applause from a crowd that clearly wanted to believe the
United States will return to a more familiar role as trusted friend after
two years of Trump turning on allies and cozying up to adversaries.”

In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=004-04d&t=c>
(2/16, Saenz) reported that Biden assured “political leaders and security
experts gathered in Germany that the US should remain committed to its
allies despite a perception that the country is ‘pulling away from the
world and our leadership responsibilities.’ ‘The America I see is not in
wholesale retreat from the interest and values that have guided us time and
again, to be willing to shoulder our responsibility of leadership in the
20th century, and we can do that again. We must do that again,’ Biden
said.”

Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=005-6b1&t=c>
(2/17, Hignett) reported that in an apparent swipe at “Trump in particular,
Biden criticized the separation of migrant families. ‘The America I see
values basic human decency, not snatching children from their parents or
turning our back on refugees at our border,’ he said. ‘The American people
understand…because it makes us an embarrassment. The American people know,
overwhelmingly that it is not right. That it is not who we are.’” Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=006-ec9&t=c>
(2/17, O'Reilly), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=007-61b&t=c>
(2/17, Burke) also reported on Biden’s remarks, drawing from dispatches
from other media outlets.

*Biden More Warmly Received At Conference Than Pence. *Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=008-ec2&t=c>
(2/17, Lemon) reported that while Biden “received loud applause from” those
attending the conference, Vice President Mike Pence “received the silent
treatment instead of applause.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=009-923&t=c>
(2/18, Donati, Pancevski) reports that Biden, who criticized Trump’s
policies, was much more warmly received than Pence, who defended the
Administration.

*Conservative Media Outlets Critically Highlight Biden’s
“Embarrassment” Comment. *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=00a-f86&t=c>
(2/16, Gehrke) reported that Biden described America as “an embarrassment”
and its trade policies “self-defeating” during his speech. Said Biden, “The
America I see values basic human decency, not snatching children from their
parents or turning our back on refugees at our border. Americans know
that’s not right. The American people understand plainly that this makes us
an embarrassment. The American people know, overwhelmingly, that it is not
right. That it is not who we are.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=00b-877&t=c>
(2/18, Ernst) highlighted the Examiner story. Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=00c-6ee&t=c>
(2/18, Moons) reported that Biden “trashed Trump administration policies on
an international stage in Munich.” In her Boston Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=00d-cf6&t=c>
(2/18) column, Jaclyn Cashman writes, “Taking a page from Barack Obama’s
playbook, Joe Biden” travels “to Europe and apologizes for America,”
calling “our country an ‘embarrassment’ for separating families at the
border crossing. Never mind that the Obama administration” sent “millions
of illegal immigrants back where they came from. Biden is actively trying
to rewrite his legacy on immigration.”
Biden To Decide Soon About White House Run.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=00e-32a&t=c>
(2/16, Carrel) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden, speaking on
Saturday with reporters at the annual Munich Security Conference in
Germany, said that he has not yet decided whether to run for president in
2020, but would do so “in the near term.” NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=00f-631&t=c>
(2/16, story 5, 1:05, Diaz-Balart) showed Biden saying, “No, I haven’t
reached a decision. I’m in the process of doing that and I will in the near
term let everyone know what that decision is. I think there is a very
sufficient amount of time to do that. I think that we have a tendency,
particularly in the states, to start the whole election process much too
early.”
PPP Poll: Trump Leads Biden 49%-46% In Texas.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=010-9c7&t=c>
(2/15, Folley) reported that a Public Policy Polling (D) survey of 743
Texas voters, taken Feb. 13-14, shows President Trump leading former Vice
President Joe Biden 49%-46% in a hypothetical 2020 general election
matchup, “falling within the poll’s margin of error.” The tight “matchup is
notable for deep-red Texas, which has not favored a Democratic presidential
candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976.”

*Harris Atop WPost’s “Ranking Committee” Rankings; Biden Third. *“The
Ranking Committee” blog on the website of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=011-780&t=c>
(2/15) offered the third installment of its rankings of the contenders for
the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The top three in the rankings
remained the same, with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) atop the field, followed
by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and former Vice President Joe Biden. Sen.
Elizabeth Warren climbed two slots, moving into fourth, while Sen. Sherrod
Brown (D-OH) dropped one spot, to round out the top five.

*The Hill’s 2020 Democratic Rankings: 1) Harris, 2) Biden, 3)
Sanders. *Under the headline “The 10 Dems Most Likely To Win The 2020
Presidential Nomination,” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=012-a43&t=c>
(2/19, Stanage) offers its “rankings of where the” 2020 Democratic hopefuls
“stand right now” in their quest for the presidential; nomination. Topping
the list is Harris, up three spots from the beginning of January, followed
by Biden, up one spot since then, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), down one spot
since early January, ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), down three spots since
then, and Warren holds steady to round out the top five.

*Politico Analysis: Biden’s “Big Lead” In Polls May Be Overstated. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=013-467&t=c>
(2/18, Shepard) reported that Biden’s “big lead in early Democratic 2020
polling might be” overstated. Though “most polls show” him “hovering around
30 percent of the Democratic primary vote, well ahead of second-place Sen.
Bernie Sanders, two recent surveys” raise “the question of whether Biden is
a real front-runner or just has big name-recognition. Those polls show far
more Democratic voters undecided about which candidate to support, and they
pegged Biden’s backing at a much less intimidating 9 to 12 percent.”
Politico said that the polls showing Biden with less support, unlike most
surveys, either asked respondents to name a preferred candidate without
providing a list, or offered “undecided” as an option.

Under the heading “Would Kamala Crush Biden In A 2020 Cage Match?”,
Tina Nguyen wrote at Vanity Fair
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=014-7b3&t=c>
(2/18) about the Politico story, saying its report highlighted that “polls
can be deceiving, especially this early in the race. When polling firm Bold
Blue gave respondents the option to remain undecided, 48 percent took it.
As a result, Biden ended up with only 12 percent support,” followed by
“Kamala Harris, with 11 percent. When an ABC News/Washington Post survey
asked respondents to volunteer a name for the primary, Biden led the field
with just 9 percent. Harris came in second again, with 8 percent.”

*GOP Consultant: Biden’s Poll Lead Evidence Of Moderate Voters In
Democratic Party. *In a piece for Spectator USA
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=015-870&t=c>
(2/16), GOP consultant Dylan Gallimore wrote that while the left is
ascendant in the Democratic politics and it would appear there aren’t any
centrists in the party, “there is one curious statistic standing athwart
that conclusion, and it’s held steady just long enough to be taken
seriously: Joe Biden’s significant lead in the 2020 Democratic primary
polls.” Gallimore added that although Biden “is by no means a moderate
moderate,” when “compared to his left-wing primary opponents-in-waiting, he
looks more and more like one. ... If there are any non-radical voters left
in the Democratic party, it’s increasingly clear that the 2020 primary will
be their last, best opportunity to stuff the raging progressive genie
unleashed by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss back into the bottle.”
Democratic Donor Chanos Says He’d Back Biden In 2020 Democratic Race.

In an online article, CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=016-f86&t=c>
(2/15, Orrell) reported, “Famed short-seller and Democratic donor Jim
Chanos plans to support former Vice President Joe Biden if he runs for
president in 2020.” Chanos is quoted as saying in a statement, “Like many
other Americans, I certainly hope Vice President Biden decides to run in
2020. If he does run, I fully expect to support him any way I can.” CNBC
added, “Chanos, a longtime friend of Biden’s, planned to” back him the
“last time he was mulling a run for president ahead of the 2016 election.
Chanos did not give to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, according to Federal
Election Commission records.”

*Fox Business: “Many” Wall Street Executives Urging Biden To Run. *In
an online article, Fox Business
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=017-6d6&t=c>
(2/17, Gasparino, O'Halloran) reported, “If Joe Biden does run for
president, it will be the culmination of two years of weighing the issue
while meeting with donors, many of them Wall Street executives.” Biden “has
been consulting the financial class about various economic issues, sources
told FOX Business, while many Wall Streeters have encouraged him to run as
an alternative to left-wing Democrats who dominate the party. Wall Street
executives believe Biden might be the only Democrat who can beat President
Trump.”
Princeton’s Zelizer Argues Democrats Shouldn’t Back Biden.

In an online op-ed for CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=018-62d&t=c>
(2/17), Princeton University history professor Julian Zelizer argues
against Democrats backing former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 race,
saying that he “has run for the presidency several times, and each time he
has struggled.” Zelizer said that Biden “has never been able to generate
the level of support that is necessary to win. His tendency to make gaffes
has also hurt him. And, in our frenzied news cycle with endless outlets and
few filters on information, Biden’s style will cause problems again.”
Zelizer also said that Biden “represents the past,” while many of the
already announced candidates represent “the future.”
WPost’s Rubin Floats “Senior Statesman” Role For Biden In Democratic Race.

In a blog post on the website of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=019-3b3&t=c>
(2/15), Jennifer Rubin wrote, “Maybe there is a better role for Biden than
candidate. There are plenty of the latter. Instead, why not have Biden be
the reality check at debates?” Rubin suggested that at debates, Biden could
serve “as a kind of Greek chorus,” perhaps “interject[ing] at key moments
questions no moderator is likely to ask: Do you think people in Ohio and
Michigan are going to cheer the Green New Deal?” Rubin added, “Biden can
also talk frankly to primary voters. If not endorsing a candidate, he
surely can defend fellow pragmatic moderates from attack from the left. ...
In sum, Biden’s age and longevity are detriments as a candidate, but as a
senior statesman and respected voice, he might help to keep the debates –
and the primaries – from going off the rails.”
BuzzFeed: Eulogizing Of Thurmond May Be An Albatross For Biden In 2020
Primary.

BuzzFeed News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=01a-2ec&t=c>
(2/17, Gomez, Sands) reported, “When Strom Thurmond died in 2003, Joe Biden
remembered his Senate colleague – one of the most notorious segregationists
in history – the way he wanted to be remembered,” eulogizing him as “a
product of his time,” who “had ‘moved to the good side.’” BuzzFeed added,
“For years the Thurmond eulogy has been framed as a virtue of Biden’s own
political career – proof of his bipartisanship and of his relatability in
South Carolina.” However, Biden now “faces a much different time and
Democratic Party as he considers another run in 2020. His generous,
benefit-of-the-doubt tribute to Thurmond stands as one of several instances
from his past that may be difficult to reconcile with a new generation of
voters.”
Trent Lott: Biden Would Give Democrats Best Chance Of Defeating Trump.

Yahoo! News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=01b-6ad&t=c>
(2/19, Ward) reports that ex-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) says
former Vice President Joe Biden “is the only Democrat he thinks would be
competitive in the 2020 election against President Trump. ‘Joe will be able
to perpetuate the image of Uncle Joe, and he is pleasant. He is qualified,’
Lott...said in an interview for the Yahoo News podcast ‘The Long Game.’”
Referring to the field of announced 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls,
Lott said, “Half this bunch in there right now is not qualified.” Lott also
“said he thinks Trump’s chances of being reelected are ‘surprisingly
strong.’ Even Biden, he said, would be ‘pulverized...in many respects’ by
Trump.”
Sanders Launches 2020 Bid For President.

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=01c-23d&t=c>
(2/19, Hunter, Wallbank) reports that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), “who
finished runner up to Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential
nomination, on Tuesday announced a second White House bid.” He begins “his
2020 campaign with a long list of potential advantages, not least of which
include a massive email list of supporters, a proven track record of
small-dollar fundraising, and veteran aides who three years ago helped
chart a path to victory in key states like New Hampshire.”

On its website, NPR
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=01d-36d&t=c>
(2/19, Detrow, Taylor) quotes Sanders as telling Vermont Public Radio in an
interview airing this morning, “We began the political revolution in the
2016 campaign, and now it’s time to move that revolution forward.” NPR
added that Sanders’ “2020 bid will undoubtedly be a very different
presidential campaign than his quest for the Democratic nomination as an
underdog in 2016. Sanders enters the race as a top contender who, along
with former Vice President Joe Biden, tops most early polls, far outpacing
other Democratic candidates in support and name identification.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=01e-5de&t=c>
(2/19, Soga) reports that Sanders this morning “also sent a campaign email
announcing that he will once again seek the Democratic nomination, jumping
into an already crowded field of nearly a dozen candidates, with many more
expected to join. ‘I’m running for president because, now more than ever,
we need leadership that brings us together – not divides us up,’ he wrote
in an email that went out to supporters.” In the missive, Sanders “called
out President Donald Trump as ‘the most dangerous president in modern
American history,’ as well as a ‘pathological liar, a fraud, a racist, a
sexist, a xenophobe and someone who is undermining American democracy as he
leads us in an authoritarian direction.’”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=01f-e04&t=c>
(2/19, Otterbein) reports that Sanders “starts as a frontrunner in the
polls, armed with near-universal name ID, a massive email donor list, and a
digital media empire that is currently unparalleled among other 2020
candidates. His left-wing policies, dismissed as fringe in 2016, have been
embraced by much of the Democratic Party.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=020-230&t=c>
(2/19, Summers) reports, “The question now for Sanders is whether he can
stand out in a crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates who also
embrace many of his policy ideas and are newer to the national political
stage.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=021-094&t=c>
(2/19, Ember) reports that Sanders’ campaign bid “will test whether he can
retain the anti-establishment appeal he enjoyed with many liberal voters
three years ago.”

In an online article, CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=022-79c&t=c>
(2/19, Montoya-Galvez) reports that Sanders hopes “to reignite the ardent
progressive support of his insurgent 2016 campaign. ‘We’re gonna win,’
Sanders told ‘CBS This Morning’ co-host John Dickerson. In his second run,
Sanders is vowing to launch a grassroots movement that will ‘lay the
groundwork for transforming the economic and political life of this
country.’” On its website, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=023-9c5&t=c>
(2/19, Seitz-Wald) reports that in his second bid for the White House,
Sanders “will come under more scrutiny than ever before from both the press
and political rivals, including from sexual harassment allegations against
2016 campaign staffers that have roiled his campaign-in-waiting in recent
months.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=024-d82&t=c>
(2/19, Thomas) and The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=025-1e1&t=c>
(2/19, Greenwood) also report on Sanders’ announcement.

*NYTimes Analysis: Sanders’ Problems With Black, Women Voters Could
Hurt Campaign. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=026-2ad&t=c>
(2/17, Ember) reported that Sanders performed poorly with African-American
voters in 2016 and as he “prepares to announce another” presidential bid
“as early as this week, his weak track record with black voters – a vital
base in the Democratic Party – could be a potential threat to his
candidacy.” The Times said that “his campaign’s experience in 2016, as
described in interviews with nearly two dozen current and former advisers
and staff members, reveals a strikingly uneven commitment on the part of
Mr. Sanders and his top advisers to organize and communicate effectively
with black voters and leaders.” Meanwhile, Sanders “is already dealing with
another thorny problem involving his 2016 staff: allegations from women who
say they were mistreated or harassed during the campaign.” The Times said
these “issues could make Mr. Sanders vulnerable in a crowded and diverse
Democratic primary field that includes several female and minority
candidates.”
Politico Mag: Straight, White Male Candidates Slow To Enter 2020 Democratic
Race.

Contributing editor Bill Scher wrote for Politico Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=027-b30&t=c>
(2/17) that “of the nine candidates officially running in the Democratic
presidential primary, only one is a heterosexual white man. ... But of the
17 Democrats reportedly still pondering a presidential bid, all but one is
a straight white man.” Scher said that “women and minority candidates
sensed that the water is warm for them, and the straight white men appear
to be worried that this is just not their year.” Scher said demographics
suggest a trend toward “candidates who embody a diverse America,” but the
party isn’t shutting out straight white men, as former Vice President Joe
Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are at the top of nearly every primary
poll. Scher added that straight, white, male candidates need to make the
case that “they can unite the party,” but “if they can’t figure out how to
do that, then they should stay on the sidelines.”
In Wake Of Biden Comment, DNC Chief Defends Debate Schedule.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=028-cfc&t=c>
(2/17, Burke) reported that DNC chief Tom Perez “defended the party’s
debate schedule on Sunday after former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden
said the US elections process begins ‘too early.’” On NBC’s “Meet the
Press,” host Chuck Todd “pressed Perez on the schedule of debates, which
will begin in June, and referenced comments made Saturday by Biden, who is
considering a 2020 bid. ‘I think we have a tendency, particularly in the
states, to start the whole election process much too early,’ Biden said
while in Munich.” However, Perez said, “Actually, it started earlier in the
past. When we were figuring out how many debates and when to start, we
looked back 30, 40 years. And there have been debates that have started in
February of the year before the election. So we’re kind of in the middle of
the pack.”

*DNC Working To Ensure Every Candidate Gets “Fair Shake.” *Perez,
during his appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=029-793&t=c>
(2/17), also said of the 2020 race for the Democratic presidential
nomination, “Our role is to make sure that every candidate who runs gets a
fair shake. ... That’s why we’ve spent so much time focusing on rebuilding
data infrastructure and this debate process” He continued, “All of our
candidates understand that we have to defeat Donald Trump. It’s not about
them. It’s about something bigger than them. ... I am confident that every
single candidate understands that we have to focus on the task at hand and
building a positive vision of inclusion and talking about how we’ll tackle
health care and talking about how we’ll build a good middle class wage and
that’s why we have a lot of confidence that we will talk with the primary
process with the wind at our back.”
NYTimes Analysis: Obama Likely To Remain Neutral In 2020 Democratic Primary.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=02a-5c4&t=c>
(2/18, Burns) reports, “A secret meeting of former President Barack Obama’s
financial backers convened in Washington early this month,” interviewing
several “2020 presidential candidates and” discussing whether to back “one
or two of them.” And “as presidential hopefuls like Senators Kamala Harris,
Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Sherrod Brown auditioned before them, the
donors wondered aloud whether Mr. Obama might signal a preference in the
race.” However, former Obama adviser David Axelrod “told the group they
should expect no such directive.” The Times says Axelrod’s “forecast
matches what Mr. Obama has told friends and likely presidential candidates
in private: that he does not see it as his role to settle the 2020
nomination, and prefers to let the primary unfold as a contest of ideas.
... Even former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. does not expect to
secure Mr. Obama’s backing if he runs, according to allies of Mr. Biden’s.”

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=02b-5a1&t=c>
(2/16, Hook) reported that Obama “is unlikely to weigh in with a public
endorsement. But the competition to ignite an Obama-like spark and to
reassemble the coalition of young voters, women and people of color that
carried him twice into the White House testifies to his lasting impact on
his party.”
Biden Presses Congress To Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=02c-3a5&t=c>
(2/15, Bowden) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday
“called for Congress to officially reauthorize the Violence Against Women
Act (VAWA) after the measure’s funding was left out of a compromise
spending bill to avert a second government shutdown. In a series of tweets,
Biden called on Congress to reauthorize the act rather than play ‘political
football’ with funding for the National Domestic Violence Hotline and other
provisions.” Biden tweeted, in part, “When I wrote the Violence Against
Women Act in 1994, I believed it would be a lifeline. But this Congress has
turned it into a political football. It’s time to pass a strong
reauthorization to the Violence Against Women Act. No more stalling. Lives
are on the line.”
Biden To Speak At University Of Pennsylvania Today.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Daily Pennsylvanian
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=02d-35f&t=c>
(2/18, Cohen) reported, “Former Vice President and Penn Presidential
Professor of Practice Joe Biden will speak on campus on Tuesday in a
discussion with Penn President Amy Gutmann. The discussion, which starts on
3:00 p.m. on Feb. 19, takes place in Irvine Auditorium and will run until
4:30 p.m.” Biden’s “conversation with Gutmann will mark his first public
appearance of 2019 at Penn, coming amid speculation” he “will soon decide
whether he is running for president in 2020.”
Brown Touts His Corporate Tax Plan.

Appearing Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=02e-dde&t=c>
(2/17), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), exploring a 2020 White House run, said,
“I think there’s local communities that resent giving huge tax breaks to
billionaires as those of us in Congress fight against giving big tax breaks
to billionaires. Whether you look at Foxconn in Wisconsin or Amazon in
various places, what we need to do is look at it more broadly. My Patriot
Corporation Act is simply you throw out the Trump tax bill, which is mostly
a giveaway to the richest people in this country and huge corporations.
Seventy percent of the benefits went to the top one percent. You then
implement my Patriot Implementation Act, which says if you play by the
rules, you do your production in the United States, you get a lower tax
rate.”

*Brown Wants To Expand Medicare To Those 50 And Older. *Brown said
Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=02f-d7c&t=c>
(2/17), “I want to expand Medicare to 50. Now, if we get enough people, we
will see a lot of people get in – in that plan, 58-year-olds and
62-year-olds that have lost their insurance, lost their jobs. We will see
the success of that, and that will end up continuing to broaden and expand
coverage for so many Americans.” He added, “I think ‘Medicare for All’ will
take a while. It’s difficult. And it’s selling it to people who now have
insurance that would have to have their insurance plans canceled, and move
into a government plan. I think that’s difficult.”
Harris In New Hampshire: “I Am Not A Democratic Socialist.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=030-bb3&t=c>
(2/18, Summers) reports that Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), a White House
hopeful, on Monday said “she’s not a democratic socialist, a not-so-veiled
distinction setting her apart from New Hampshire voters’ favorite 2016
primary candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders,” who “has described himself as a
democratic socialist.” Making “her inaugural trip to New Hampshire as a
presidential candidate, Harris was asked by a reporter whether she would
have to tilt her politics leftward — in the direction of democratic
socialism — to win [the] state’s first-in-the-nation primary.” Sanders
replied, “The people of New Hampshire will tell me what’s required to
compete in New Hampshire, but I will tell you I am not a democratic
socialist.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=031-166&t=c>
(2/18, Seelye) reports that Harris on Monday “faced questions from national
reporters about her political ideology and her description of the alleged
assault on the actor Jussie Smollett as ‘an attempted modern day lynching,’
followed by a town-hall-style forum with a big crowd of more than 1,000
voters.” The Times highlights Harris’ statement that she’s “not a
democratic socialist,” and adds that of the Smollett controversy, Harris
“said ‘there should be an investigation’ and declined to comment further
until it was complete.”

*Politico: Harris Moving To Lock Down Support In Critical
California. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=032-9f2&t=c>
(2/16, Cadelago) reported that Harris “is building a wall around
California.” She “has been activating her forces on the home front since
launching her White House bid last month – cornering some of the state’s
most prolific donors, locking down big endorsements and homing in on a
statewide blueprint to rack up early delegates. California’s Super Tuesday
primary is foundational to Harris’ plans to win the nomination. Her
home-state advantage is an enormous asset,” but “a poor performance there
could end her bid.”

*Newsom, UFW Co-Founder Huerta Endorse Harris. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=033-0b4&t=c>
(2/15, Cadelago) reported Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) on Friday endorsed
Harris’ bid for president, saying during an appearance on MSNBC, “I’m very
enthusiastic about Kamala Harris. I’ve known her for decades, not only as
district attorney where she did an extraordinary job with a very
progressive record, but I watched her up close as lieutenant governor, when
she served as attorney general, and I have the privilege of working with
her as a US senator. I think the American people could not do better.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=034-5db&t=c>
(2/15, Cadelago) reported that United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores
Huerta also endorsed Harris and will become a California co-chair of her
campaign. Politico called Huerta’s backing “a significant development in
the early stages of the 2020 campaign and gives the California senator a
leading voice in the labor movement and among Latinos nationally.”
O’Rourke Reportedly In Talks With Strategists About Presidential Run.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=035-638&t=c>
(2/15, Siders) reported that ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) “is in talks with
Democratic strategists about a likely 2020 presidential run,” according to
two “Democratic campaign strategists.” One of them described the
“conversations as moving to ‘an operational level’ after weeks of
discussing 2020 in more theoretical terms.”
Klobuchar Spends Busy Weekend On Campaign Trail In Key States.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=036-fe8&t=c>
(2/18, Condon) reports that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) “brought her message
of grit and electability to New Hampshire on Monday, where she has a year
to make an impression with the state’s Democratic voters if her
presidential campaign is to gain traction outside the Midwest.” The visit
“was Klobuchar’s first stop in New Hampshire as a presidential candidate.”
The article adds, “Later Monday, Klobuchar was guest of honor on a CNN town
hall in Manchester. She struck a moderate tone, declining to endorse
proposals popular with progressive Democrats like Medicare for all and the
‘Green New Deal’ that she called aspirational but not immediately
achievable. She also said she didn’t support making college free.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=037-5d7&t=c>
(2/16, Chira) reported that Klobuchar on Friday “cast herself as the
candidate from the heartland in her first campaign stop” since announcing
her presidential bid, “visiting a state Hillary Clinton narrowly lost in
2016,” Wisconsin, and stressing “her deep Midwestern roots, her knowledge
of rural America and her record of bipartisanship.” The Times said
Klobuchar “pointedly chose Wisconsin – the state that Mrs. Clinton did not
visit during the general election campaign in 2016 and lost to [President]
Trump by less than one percentage point.” In “an already crowded Democratic
primary field,” the Times said, Klobuchar “was eager to highlight what her
campaign hopes can set her apart: her Midwestern base and her electoral
dominance in many rural, red counties in Minnesota populated by voters who
have largely deserted the Democratic party.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=038-61e&t=c>
(2/16, Glauber) reported that Klobuchar, appearing at “SHIFT Cyclery &
Coffee Bar in downtown Eau Claire,” told those gathered there, “I came here
because I am the ‘senator next door’ and I will be traveling to every
single state in the Midwest.” The article added, “Wisconsin is an important
target for Klobuchar and other Democrats seeking to reclaim the state after
President Donald Trump won here in 2016.”

The Des Moines (IA) Register
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=039-05d&t=c>
(2/16, Opsahl, Fleig) reported that Klobuchar “in her first Iowa visits
said her political track record, Midwest values and ‘grit’ make her the
best 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. Klobuchar’s Iowa debut kicked
off Saturday at a Mason City bar, and continued Sunday at a Knoxville
brewery and an Albia church.” Addressing “packed rooms of mostly undecided
Iowa voters,” Klobuchar “emphasized her willingness to work with both
sides.” Said Klobuchar, “In my three elections for the US Senate, I didn’t
just win in the urban areas, I didn’t just win in the suburbs. I won in the
rural areas, and I won every single congressional district – including
Michelle Bachmann’s. And it’s because I believe in meeting people where
they are.”
NYTimes: Some Democrats Dismiss Controversy Over Warren’s Claims Of Native
American Ancestry.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=03a-cea&t=c>
(2/18, Herndon) reports, “In interviews over the last month with about
three dozen Democratic voters, many in early primary states, almost all of
them expressed far more interest in” the “policy ideas” of Sen/ Elizabeth
Warren (D-MA) than the controversy over her having claimed Native American
“ancestry and said that they were exhausted or uninterested by the story
line.” The Times says, “Among these voters, who were mostly white and black
Democrats who acknowledged their own misunderstandings about Native
American communities and history, Ms. Warren is not a perpetrator of harm,
but a victim of a Washington culture that delights in any scandal among
politicians — and particularly elected officials who are women.”

*Warren’s Universal Child Care Proposal Would Be Paid For By
“Wealth Tax.” *Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=03b-c99&t=c>
(2/19, Kapur) reports that Warren “will unveil a universal child care plan
Tuesday aimed at limiting American families’ expenses to 7 percent of
income regardless of how many children they have in care.” Warren’s
proposal “would make child care free for families under 200 percent of the
poverty level, according to a” source. Bloomberg says, “Other families
would pay between nothing and 7 percent of income, depending on how much
they earn.” The source “didn’t offer a price tag but said it would be paid
for with some of the revenues from the annual wealth tax Warren has
proposed on assets above $50 million.” In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=03c-3c5&t=c>
(2/18, Lee, Luhby) reported that the fact that her “child care plan would
be paid by a part of the revenue from her proposed wealth tax” signals
“that the tax proposal – in addition to fueling the broad public support
for raising taxes on the rich – is already emerging as a major component of
Warren’s overall platform.”
AP Analysis: Trump Keeping Close Eye On 2020 Democratic Field.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=03d-81c&t=c>
(2/18, Miller) reports that “in tweets, public remarks and private
conversations,” President Trump has made “clear he is closely following the
campaign to challenge him on the ballot.” The AP says that in Trump’s
judgment: “Kamala Harris had the best campaign roll-out. Amy Klobuchar’s
snowy debut showed grit. Elizabeth Warren’s opening campaign video was a
bit odd.” The AP adds, “Presidents traditionally ignore their potential
opponents as long as possible to maintain their status as an incumbent
floating above the contenders who are auditioning for a job they already
inhabit. Not Trump. He’s eager to shape the debate, sow discord and help
position himself for the general election.”
Leading the News
Trump Denounces “Treasonous” Plot By McCabe And Rosenstein.

President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=03e-3dd&t=c>
Monday morning, “Wow, so many lies by now disgraced acting FBI Director
Andrew McCabe. He was fired for lying, and now his story gets even more
deranged. He and Rod Rosenstein, who was hired by Jeff Sessions (another
beauty), look like they were planning a very illegal act, and got caught.
...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=03f-b54&t=c>
There is a lot of explaining to do to the millions of people who had just
elected a president who they really like and who has done a great job for
them with the Military, Vets, Economy and so much more. This was the
illegal and treasonous ‘insurance policy’ in full action!” Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=040-345&t=c>
(2/18, Berger) points out “‘insurance policy’ is a reference to texts
between former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page discussing such a
policy,” which “was widely suspected of referring to aspects of the Russia
collusion probe.” Trump also took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=041-182&t=c>
to relay a comment by Dan Borgino on Fox & Friends, where he said, “This
was an illegal coup attempt on the President of the United States.” Trump
remarked, “True!” Trump later tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=042-647&t=c>,
“Great analysis by @foxandfriends!”

Former Deputy Attorney General John Malcolm said on Fox News’ Fox
and Friends First[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=043-65a&t=c>
(2/18), “I have a hard time believing that the conversation [between McCabe
and Rosenstein] actually took place, but if it did take place and if it was
serious, it was an attempted coup to overturn results of an election.”

At any rate, number of media accounts appeared to downplay Trump’s
grave accusations against McCabe and Rosenstein. ABC World News Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=044-559&t=c>
(2/18, story 4, 2:20, Muir) reported, for example, that while McCabe told
“60 Minutes” about “top Justice Department officials and their discussion
about a wire to record the President, it never happened,” yet Trump is
“calling the discussion treasonous.” ABC (Vega) added that the President
was reacting to “McCabe’s jaw-dropping description of the chaos surrounding
the firing of James Comey.” On ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=045-963&t=c>
(2/18), Cecilia Vega said that, “ultimately, it was questions about the
President’s ties to Russia that led the FBI to investigate,” with “McCabe
claiming that in a meeting, the President seemed to trust Vladimir Putin
over his own team.” In a story last night, the CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=046-8ae&t=c>
(2/18, story 2, 2:20, Glor) said “the President fired back at...McCabe,”
but added (Garrett) that “at this point,” he “has not specifically denied
the accusation he accepted Putin’s word over that of US intelligence.”

After reporting on protests over Trump’s recent border emergency
declaration, meanwhile, NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=047-7e5&t=c>
(2/18, story 3, 1:45, Holt) said “the President carried out his own
protest...via Twitter accusing Justice Department officials...of treason,”
and went on to report (Jackson) that “McCabe is defending his side of the
story.” NBC also reported that “as for all those notes McCabe says he took
about conversations he’s had, McCabe says they’re now in the hands of the
special counsel.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=048-4d3&t=c>
(2/18) casts the President as “lashing out at key officials involved in the
Russia probe,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=049-f12&t=c>
(2/18, Dobrin) reports he “had previously targeted McCabe on Twitter,
calling him a ‘disgrace’ after the former FBI deputy director confirmed he
had opened an investigation into the president.” Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=04a-76a&t=c>
(2/18, Berger) says, moreover, that “Trump fumed at McCabe,” but “the
former FBI deputy director claimed he ‘never actually considered taking
[Rosenstein] up on the offer.’” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=04b-01f&t=c>
(2/18, Thebault) quotes McCabe as saying, “To be fair, it was an
unbelievably stressful time. ... I can’t even describe for you how many
things must have been coursing through the deputy attorney general’s mind
at that point.” The Post adds “Rosenstein has disputed this allegation,”
and that DOJ “issued a carefully parsed response to the ‘60 Minutes’
interview, writing that Rosenstein ‘never authorized’ any recording of the
president and he wasn’t ‘in a position to consider invoking the 25th
Amendment.’” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=04c-2ac&t=c>
(2/18, Wise) notes that in the statement, Rosenstein called McCabe’s claims
“inaccurate and factually incorrect.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=04d-9e5&t=c>
(2/18, McKay) reports that in an interview with NPR, McCabe “denied news
reports that anyone in the Justice Department had made a serious effort to
remove the president.” McCabe is quoted as saying, “At no time did I ever
perceive that there was a legitimate effort underway by [Rosenstein] or
anybody else to remove the president under the 25th Amendment or in any
other way.” Reuters reports that n the same NPR interview, McCabe “said he
believes the report by the FBI’s Office of Inspector General used as the
basis of his dismissal was biased against him,” and “said of the OIG, ‘I
don’t believe they were independent or fair.’”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=04e-331&t=c>
(2/18, Tucker) also reports that McCabe has “revealed that when Trump told
Rosenstein to put in writing his concerns with Comey – a document the White
House initially held up as justification for his firing – the president
explicitly asked the Justice Department official to reference Russia in the
memo.” However, McCabe says Rosenstein “did not want to...and the memo that
was made public upon Comey’s dismissal did not mention Russia and focused
instead on Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email server
investigation.” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=04f-2cd&t=c>
(2/18, Giaritelli) says “McCabe’s forthcoming book, The Threat: How the FBI
Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, claims Rosenstein was
furious after Trump made the request of him.”

CNN Political Commentator Scott Jennings said of McCabe on CNN’s
The Lead[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=050-5d4&t=c>
(2/18), “I don’t put a lot of stock into what he says. Remember, this guy
was fired from the FBI after an investigation done by the inspector
general. He was found to have leaked information. When he talks I think of
a guy that has that in his past and think of a guy trying to sell books and
fix his own reputation.”

Washington Post columnist Charles Lane said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=051-56f&t=c>
(2/18), “A guy who leaves essentially in disgrace, a guy who is not
esteemed by either party. You have a guy who an Inspector General’s report
found him to have lied to his colleagues at the FBI about leaking, then he
says, ‘Comey says I could leak’ and Comey says, ‘I never said that.’ There
are so many contradictions. There is so much wrong here. What he is pretty
obviously trying to do, as Comey did before him, is audition as a
resistance figure. He wants to be embraced by Democrats and liberals and
say, ‘I am part of this, I am with you now.’ It’s not going to wash.”

Jeffery Toobin said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=052-af8&t=c>
(2/18), “I think the – the correct term is not treasonous, but patriotic. I
mean, they thinking about the national security of the United States. These
are all career officials. These are not Democratic political appointees.
These are people whose job it is to care about the national security about
the United States and, remember, all this evidence has only gotten stronger
over the past two years. You know, Adam Schiff is now conducting an
investigation to determine, in effect, if the President is a Russian asset.
This remains a serious concern and there is much more evidence to support
this idea.”

The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=053-0d7&t=c>
(2/18), “We had two alternative stories going on for the last couple of
years. Either the President is a traitor who was compromised by Russia or
our DOJ and FBI acted horrifically, poorly. The entire special counsel was
set up under false pretenses. You see just repeated pattern of really bad
behavior for people who were trusted to handle law enforcement and
intelligence.” She added, “At what point are we going to move away from his
conspiracy theory that has no support for it, of treasonous collusion with
Russia to steal an election, and were never going to deal with the major
problems at the FBI and DOJ and the fact of the special counsel was set up
by these people who were behaving and absolutely reprehensible fashion?”

In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=054-979&t=c>
(2/18) expresses dismay at the FBI’s behavior during the 2016 campaign,
disputing Comey’s decision to open an investigation intro Trump based on
what it sees as flimsy evidence and to orchestrate a media leak after his
dismissal to force the appointment of a special counsel. The Journal also
accuses Comey of violating DOJ rules when he exonerated Hillary Clinton in
the email probe, and urges Barr to tell the nation in a speech how the FBI
become so politicized and how he proposes to remedy the situation.

*Graham: “If True,” One Of “Most Significant Moments” In US
History. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=055-529&t=c>
(2/18, Muñoz) reports, however, that “Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, threatened to subpoena Mr. McCabe and vowed to
investigate his claims.” Voice of America
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=056-828&t=c>
(2/18, Bredemeier) quotes Graham as saying Sunday, “The deputy attorney
general denies it. ... We will have a hearing about who’s telling the
truth, what actually happened. ... We’re a democracy. People enforce the
law – can’t take it into their own hands. And was this an attempted
bureaucratic coup? I don’t know.” Townhall
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(2/18, Brown) also remarks on Graham’s “vow to ‘get to the bottom’ of what
he believes could have been a ‘bureaucratic coup.’”

Graham said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
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(2/18), “It’s one of the most significant moments in American history if
it’s true. You had the acting head of the FBI talking to the Deputy
Attorney General about replacing the President. So what I’ll do, oversight
is part of my job. We have checks and balances, so that Congress will watch
those who watch us. I will try find out who was in these meetings and talk
to all of them and figure out who is lying, because somebody is lying.”

Asked on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(2/18) if he agreed that “Hillary Clinton committed felonies, top secret
classified information, a violation of the espionage act,” Graham replied,
“I believe the reason she was not charged as much as anything else is that
the people investigating her wanted Trump to lose. I don’t know if that’s
true or not. That’s what we will look at. It sounds that way.”

*Trump: McCabe “Didn’t Go To The Bathroom Without The Approval Of
Leakin James Comey.” *The President took to Twitter
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last night to write, “Remember this, Andrew McCabe didn’t go to the
bathroom without the approval of Leakin’ James Comey!”

*Hannity: McCabe Admitted To “Coup.” *In a statement the President
highlighted on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=05b-d25&t=c>,
Sean Hannity said in his opening monologue on Fox News’ Hannity[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
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(2/18), “As we report in our ‘Hannity Watch’ on the biggest abuse of power,
corruption scandal in history. It’s much worse than we thought.” McCabe
“over the weekend admitting to plotting a bureaucratic coup when he was
serving in the FBI before he was fired for lying and leaking.” Hannity
later added[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019021901biden&r=email-352b&l=05d-612&t=c>,
“McCabe said Rod Rosenstein was absolutely serious about recording the
President. I want to be clear. It doesn’t matter if you are a democrat or
Republican or liberal or conservative. This abuse of power should scare is
everybody. ... Now they are turning on each other. Now they are panicking.
They know they got caught. ... Comey, Rosenstein, Andrew McCabe, Sally
Yates all signed off on Hillary Clinton’s FISA warrant application using
Hillary Clinton’s bought and paid for uncorroborated phony Russian
research. ... Then to spy on the trump campaign before and after the
election. And launched this phony witch hunt Mueller probe to cover their
own misdeeds after the President rightly fired Comey. ... The Attorney
General, Mr. Barr, it’s up to you stand on the Constitution, to stop this
type of corruption. To reform this great agency that we all love. That’s
the FBI. Not these guys.”

*Rosenstein To Leave DOJ By Mid-March; Rosen To Take His Place. *Fox
News
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(2/18, Darrah) reported last night, “Rosenstein is expected to leave his
role at the Justice Department by mid-March, a senior DOJ official told Fox
News on Monday.” Fox News added “an official announcement of who has been
selected to replace Rosenstein could come as early as this week,” though “a
Trump administration official added that Attorney General William Barr has
picked Jeffrey Rosen, who currently serves as Deputy Secretary of the US
Department of Transportation, to take over for Rosenstein.” The Washington
Post
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(2/18, Zapotosky) also reports that “people familiar with the matter said
the administration also has decided to nominate...Rosen...to take over the
job.”

*Warren: Cabinet Must Invoke 25th Amendment If Trump “Cannot
Fulfill Obligations” Of Presidency. *The Nevada Independent
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(2/18, Solis) reported that “Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said
Sunday in Las Vegas that Trump administration officials have an obligation
to invoke the 25th Amendment if they believe the president cannot fulfill
his duties.” Said Warren, “My point here is that if they believe that
Donald Trump cannot fulfill the obligations of his office, then they have a
constitutional responsibility to invoke the 25th amendment. ... Their
loyalty under law is not to him personally. It is to the Constitution of
the United States and to the people of United States.”

*Democrats Suspect “Complex Web” Of Ties Between Russia And The
NRA. *ABC News
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(2/18, Madden, Mosk) reported “a pair of House Democrats are launching a
new probe of what they called the ‘complex web of relationships’ between
members of the National Rifle Association and Russian individuals with
close ties to the Kremlin.” ABC added that “in a letter sent to NRA CEO
Wayne LaPierre, a copy of which was shared with ABC News, Rep. Ted Lieu of
California and Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York expressed concern about the
NRA’s attempts to distance itself from any formal involvement in a now
infamous trip to Moscow undertaken by a group of its high-ranking members.”
The two suspect there may be “evidence of a broader deception and requested
a full accounting of any communications, meetings and monetary transactions
between NRA officials and Russia-linked individuals.” The New York Post
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(2/18, Fredericks) notes the lawmakers asked in their letter, “How much
money did the NRA receive from Russia or Russia-linked individuals or
entities during the 2016 election cycle? ... Did the NRA use any of that
money in their 2016 election campaign contributions?”

*Senate Intel Panel Wants Dossier Author Steele To Testify In
Person. *The Daily Caller
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(2/18, Ross) reports that Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee
“are not satisfied that dossier author Christopher Steele has provided only
written responses to the committee.” A spokesperson for the committee is
quoted as saying, “There is no substitute for a face-to-face interview when
it comes to answering some of the Committee’s most pressing questions. We
wouldn’t be satisfied with written responses from any other key witness,
and we are not here, either.” The spokesperson says Sen. Richard Burr
(R-NC), the chairman of the Senate panel, as well as “other committee
members, have ‘sought an in-person interview with Mr. Steele for 25
months.’” According to the Daily Caller, Steele “submitted written
responses to questions from the Senate committee in August 2018,” and “his
attorneys claim the committee agreed that written responses would be
sufficient.”

*Stone Apologizes For Posting Picture Of Judge With Crosshairs In
Background. *Politico
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(2/18, Vasquez) reports