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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 22, 2018 7:52 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Wednesday, August 22, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=001-1d3&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Wednesday, August 22, 2018 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Poll: Biden Leads Trump 43%-31% In Hypothetical 2020 Matchup; 26%
Undecided. <#S1>

• Biden Backs Nessel’s Bid For Michigan Attorney General. <#S2>

• CURE Media Group Welcomes Biden Cancer Initiative To Strategic Alliance
Program. <#S3>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Trump Defends Manafort After Conviction On Tax Fraud, But Remains Silent
On Cohen. <#S4>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• US Imposes Additional Sanctions On Russia For North Korea Transactions.
<#S5>

• IAEA: No Sign North Korea Has Halted Nuclear Weapons Activities. <#S6>

• Facebook Accuses Iran, Russia Of Disinformation Campaign. <#S7>

• Hunt Defends UK’s Support For Iran Nuclear Deal. <#S8>

• Rockets Hit Targets Near Afghan Presidential Palace, US Embassy, NATO
Compound. <#S9>

• Turkish Lira Weakens After Trump Rules Out Concessions. <#S10>

• Businesses, Trade Groups Urge Administration To Reconsider China Tariffs.
<#S11>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Trump Denies Report He Discussed Restricting Obama’s Intelligence
Briefings. <#S12>

• EPA Proposes To Scale Back Clean Power Plan. <#S13>

• Undocumented Immigrant Arrested In Death Of Iowa College Student. <#S14>

• Collins: Kavanaugh Considers Roe v Wade “Settled Law.” <#S15>

• McCaskill Questions CMS’ Verma About ACA Pre-Existing Conditions Suit.
<#S16>

• WPost A1: White Nationalist Publisher Attended Birthday Party In Kudlow’s
Home. <#S17>

• CA50 Rep. Hunter, Wife Indicted For Campaign Finance Violations. <#S18>

• Trump Stumps For Manchin Challenger Morrisey In West Virginia. <#S19>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• USPSTF Releases Updated Guidelines On Cervical Cancer Screening. <#S20>

• Experimental Drug Vistusertib Can Shrink Tumors In Ovarian Cancer
Patients. <#S21>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S22>

• Washington Post. <#S23>
Biden in the News
Poll: Biden Leads Trump 43%-31% In Hypothetical 2020 Matchup; 26% Undecided.

Morning Consult
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=002-a2a&t=c>
(8/22, Yokley) reports, “Pluralities of voters said they would choose
former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over
President Donald Trump in a hypothetical presidential election,” in a
Morning Consult/Politico poll of 1,974 voters nationwide, taken Aug. 16-18.
The poll found Biden leading Trump 43%-31%, with 26% undecided. In a
Morning Consult/Politico poll taken “in late July,” Biden led Trump
44%-37%, with 19% undecided. In the new poll, Sanders leads Trump 44%-32%,
with 24% undecided. In other hypothetical 2020 matchups, the only other
Democrat tested in the new poll who led Trump was Sen. Elizabeth Warren
(D-MA), who bested the President 34%-30%, with 36% undecided.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=003-2e2&t=c>
(8/22, Shepard) reports that the new “the poll shows that a plurality – or,
in some cases, a majority – of voters are undecided in Trump matchups
against the other eight Democrats tested: Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.),
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.); New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo; Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.); former
Attorney General Eric Holder and Michael Avenatti,” the lawyer for Stormy
Daniels. Morning Consult managing director Tyler Sinclair is quoted as
saying, “Democrats are showing an enthusiasm gap in likely 2020 candidates,
with Sanders and Biden outpacing other potential nominees. Our polling
shows 74 [percent] and 73 percent of Democrats say they would vote for
Sanders and Biden over Trump, respectively. This exceeds Warren [60
percent], Booker [49 percent], and Harris [47 percent].”

*Arkansas Columnist Suggests Biden May Be Best Democrat To Face
Trump In 2020. *Writing for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=004-d78&t=c>
(8/22), columnist John Brummett, in a somewhat unflattering piece, suggests
that former Vice President Joe Biden may be the best Democrat to take on
President Trump in 2020. Brummett says Biden “is in some ways the worst
conceivable Democratic challenger to Trump,” citing his two failed White
House runs and age. However, Brummett argues that “all Democrats have to do
to win is tap the Trump resistance, which any Democrat could, and then pick
up a smattering of white working-class votes in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and
Michigan that Hillary Clinton alienated and whose language Joe happens to
speak.” Brummett adds that Biden’s “problem always has been that he speaks
too much, and indelicately. ... Between Trump’s tweets and Joe’s gaffes,
2020 could be a rare political adventure. Their debates would be
near-octogenarian cage fights.”
Biden Backs Nessel’s Bid For Michigan Attorney General.

MLive (MI)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=005-bbb&t=c>
(8/21, Gibbons) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday
endorsed Dana Nessel’s (D-MI) bid for state attorney general. Biden, in a
statement released by the campaign, “said he supports Nessel because ‘she
is a problem solver with the drive and the experience that Michigan needs
in an Attorney General.” MLive says that Nessel “is the presumptive
Democratic nominee for attorney general after winning the party endorsement
over Pat Miles at an April convention.” The GOP will select its nominee at
a “nominating convention [to] take place in Lansing Saturday, Aug. 25.”
CURE Media Group Welcomes Biden Cancer Initiative To Strategic Alliance
Program.

In a press release
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=006-630&t=c>,
CURE Media Group, which described itself as “the nation’s leading digital
and print media enterprise dedicated to patients and survivors of cancer,”
said it “welcomes The Biden Cancer Initiative to the Strategic Alliance
Partnership (SAP) program. The partners will collaborate to promote patient
education and administration policies for cancer prevention, detection,
diagnosis, research and care approaches.” The release says that former Vice
President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, on Sept. 21 will be
“hosting a national Biden Cancer Community Summit in Washington, D.C. The
summit will focus on the patient’s journey from prevention through a cancer
diagnosis, treatment through survivorship, and determine what we must do to
accelerate progress.”
Leading the News
Trump Defends Manafort After Conviction On Tax Fraud, But Remains Silent On
Cohen.

Ahead of a campaign rally in Charleston, West Virginia for GOP Senate
nominee and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Tuesday, President
Trump expressed sympathy for Paul Manafort after a federal jury found his
former campaign chairman guilty on eight counts, but insisted the outcome
of the trial “doesn’t involve me.” Trump’s comments and the verdict
generated saturation levels of coverage, as does Trump’s former attorney
Michael Cohen’s decision to plead guilty to violating campaign finance laws
at the direction of then-candidate Trump in 2013. All of the network
newscasts led with the story and devoted nearly 27 minutes of combined
coverage to the latest developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s
investigation.

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=007-4eb&t=c>
(8/21, Pollak) reports Trump “told reporters on the ground in Charleston,
West Virginia, on Tuesday evening that the convictions of” Manafort and
Cohen “had nothing to do with ‘Russian collusion,’” though another Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=008-0a3&t=c>
(8/21, Spiering) article reports Trump said Manafort is a “good man” and
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=009-f1e&t=c>
(8/21, Oprysko) reports Trump “said that he felt “very badly”
for...Manafort.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=00a-b6b&t=c>
(8/21, Enjeti) reports Trump continued, “[Manafort] worked for Bob Dole, he
worked for Ronald at Reagan. He worked for many people. This is the way it
ends up. It was not the original mission, believe me. It was something very
much different. It has nothing to do with Russian collusion. They continue
the witch hunts.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=00b-d2d&t=c>
(8/21, Sink, Olorunnipa) reports that he additionally “called the
conviction of...Manafort ‘a very sad thing’ and again
disparaged...Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016
election as” a “witch hunt and a disgrace.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=00c-47f&t=c>
(8/21, Fabian) reports Trump also said the conviction of Manafort “has
nothing to do with Russian collusion” while Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=00d-965&t=c>
(8/21, Oliphant) and the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=00e-781&t=c>
(8/21, Boyer) both highlight that he insisted the verdict “does not involve
me.”

Meanwhile, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=00f-1eb&t=c>
(8/21, Miller, Lemire, Superville) reports Trump “largely ignored his
former personal attorney Michael Cohen’s guilty pleas to felonies,
including campaign finance violations that Cohen stated he carried out in
coordination with Trump,” although the President “did say he felt ‘badly
for both’ men.” The lead CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=010-97e&t=c>
(8/21, lead story, 0:55, Glor) segment broadcast Trump’s denunciation of
the Special Counsel’s investigation, but Jeff Glor emphasized Cohen and
Manafort are “now both convicted felons.” In a front-page article, the
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=011-a02&t=c>
(8/21, A1, Barrett) reports Cohen’s plea “could spark calls for impeachment
hearings – but probably will not have any legal consequences for the
president while he is in office, according to legal analysts.” The Post
adds “such an explosive assertion against anyone but the president would
suggest that a criminal case could be in the offing, but under
long-standing legal interpretations by the Justice Department, the
president cannot be charged with a crime.”

In another front-page article, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=012-403&t=c>
(8/21, A1, Rucker) reports “the rapid developments in federal court on
Tuesday amounted to a breathtaking political nightmare for Trump, who is
already besieged by Mueller’s wide-ranging federal investigation into
Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and his possible obstruction of
justice.” The Post adds “the ramifications could extend to this fall’s
midterms and beyond, whether as a cudgel for Democrats who oppose him or as
a rallying cry for Republicans eager to stave off congressional
investigations.”

Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=013-149&t=c>
(8/21, York) chief political correspondent Byron York agrees with Trump’s
assessment that the Manafort verdict is meaningless when it comes to “the
question of whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to fix the
2016 election.” York emphasizes that “Mueller did not allege any links
and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals
associated with the Trump campaign, and none were revealed at the trial.”
He adds that “the bottom line is, more than two years into the Trump-Russia
investigation (first by the FBI, and since May 2017 by Mueller),
investigators have not alleged, much less proved, the existence of a
Trump-Russia 2016 election conspiracy.”

However, a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=014-202&t=c>
(8/21) editorial highlights that “from the start of the Russia
investigation, President Trump has been working to discredit the work and
the integrity of the special counsel, Robert Mueller; praising men who are
blatant grifters, cons and crooks; insisting that he’s personally done
nothing wrong; and reminding us that he hires only the best people.” The
Times adds Tuesday was “an astonishing split-screen moment involving two of
those people.” According to the Times, “Only a complete fantasist – that
is, only President Trump and his cult – could continue to claim that this
investigation of foreign subversion of an American election, which has
already yielded dozens of other indictments and several guilty pleas, is a
‘hoax’ or ‘scam’ or ‘rigged witch hunt.’”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=015-167&t=c>
(8/21) editorializes that despite his best efforts to downplay the
importance of Manafort’s conviction or Cohen’s plea deal, “Trump cannot
pretend these crimes did not occur or that they have nothing to do with
him. Neither can Congress.” The Post calls on Congress to “open
investigations into Mr. Trump’s role in the crime Mr. Cohen has admitted
to. It is far too soon to say where such inquiries would lead. But
legislators cannot in good conscience ignore an alleged co-conspirator in
the White House.”

*Jury Finds Manafort Guilty Of Tax Fraud. *NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=016-c97&t=c>
(8/21) reports on its website that Manafort “was convicted on five counts
of tax fraud, one count of failing to file reports of foreign bank and
financial accounts and two counts of bank fraud. A mistrial was declared in
three counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial
accounts, and seven counts of bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy.”
According to NBC, Manafort “faces an estimated seven to nine years in
prison,” though a front-page Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=017-cb8&t=c>
(8/21, A1, Viswanatha, Gurman, Bykowicz) article says that he could receive
up to 80 years in prison and USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=018-c18&t=c>
(8/21, Johnson) says District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III did not set a
sentencing date. On the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=019-59e&t=c>
(8/21, story 3, 1:50, Glor), Paula Reid reported the prosecutors “will
return at the end of the month to announce whether they will retry Manafort
on those 10 counts where the jury couldn’t reach a consensus.” On ABC World
News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=01a-51d&t=c>
(8/21, story 3, 3:40, Muir), Pierre Thomas reported Manafort “faces another
trial in Washington, D.C., beginning September 17th. … And he’s now in jail
on allegations of witness tampering in the upcoming trial.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=01b-dcf&t=c>
(8/21, Barakat, Day, Tucker) says “the outcome almost certainly guarantees
years of prison for Manafort and established the ability of special counsel
Robert Mueller’s team to persuade a jury of average citizens despite months
of partisan attacks – including from Trump – on the investigation’s
integrity.” The AP adds that the verdict “raised immediate questions of
whether the president would seek to pardon Manafort, the lone American
charged by Mueller to opt for trial instead of cooperate.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=01c-5ad&t=c>
(8/21, Voreacos, Harris, Weinberg, Flatley) says Manafort “faces a lengthy
prison term for each count, raising the question of whether Trump might
take the politically fraught step of pardoning his former aide or commuting
his sentence.” Bloomberg adds, “Without Trump’s intervention, Manafort’s
only hope for leniency would be to cooperate with Mueller’s probe.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=01d-fd0&t=c>
(8/21, Freifeld, Layne, Gibson) reports “Manafort’s lawyer, Kevin Downing,
told reporters afterward that his client was disappointed in the verdict
and was evaluating his options.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=01e-5d5&t=c>
(8/21) editorializes that the verdict against Manafort “builds credibility”
for Mueller while the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=01f-0f8&t=c>
(8/21, Lafraniere) also describes the verdict as “a victory for the special
counsel” because the trial “was the first test of the special counsel’s
ability to prosecute a case in a federal courtroom amid intense criticism
from the president and his allies that the inquiry is a biased and
unjustified witch hunt. And the outcome had substantial political
implications, if only in denying Mr. Trump more ammunition for his campaign
to discredit Mr. Mueller.” On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=020-c66&t=c>
(8/21, story 2, 2:45, Holt), Pete Williams similarly described the
conviction as “a boost for Robert Mueller.” NBC legal analyst Daniel
Goldman added, “The prosecution will be happy the eight counts of
convictions were spread out among the different things he was accused of so
they can argue at sentencing that the judge should consider everything.”

In her Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=021-8a6&t=c>
(8/21) column, Karen Tumulty asserts that while the President “is already
spinning this verdict as meaningless,” the conviction of Manafort shows
Mueller is not engaged in a “witch hunt” and will “increase the pressure on
others in Trump’s orbit to cooperate with Mueller. And it may encourage
Mueller to move sooner rather than later to bring in the president himself
to testify, possibly by issuing a subpoena.”

However, on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=022-76d&t=c>
(8/21, story 4, 1:00, Muir), Terry Moran said the Manafort verdict “was not
a ringing endorsement of the prosecution.” According to Moran, “If anybody
is the winner, it’s probably the jury itself. In a highly politicized
environment, they reached a verdict. It was a victory for them.” In a Los
Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=023-9f0&t=c>
(8/21) op-ed, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman, a
professor of constitutional law at the University of California, San Diego,
disagrees. Litman asserts that “what is so gratifying about the verdict is
that Mueller played it by the book – and he still won. He investigated
fairly and thoroughly, uncovering a brazen series of frauds. Then he put
his evidence to the test in front of 12 jurors, who unanimously found
Manafort guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Meanwhile, Sean Hannity said on Fox News’ Hannity[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=024-069&t=c>
(8/21), “The media is once again beside themselves with false reporting,
speculation and hysteria. Yes, Paul Manafort was found guilty after a
northern Virginia jury found him guilty of eight out of 18 counts. Jurors
forced a mistrial on the other 10 charges after becoming deadlocked. ... By
the way, Manafort worked for Trump a little over 100 days. As we have said
so many times, these are decades-old bank charges, tax fraud charges.”

Nonetheless, a front-page Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=025-6f9&t=c>
(8/21, A1, Barrett) article states that “for Trump, the outcome of
Manafort’s trial was only half of a double-barreled blast of bad news
Tuesday. Shortly after the verdict was read, the president’s former
longtime attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in an unrelated case to
eight crimes, saying that among other things, he helped arrange hush-money
payments during the campaign at Trump’s direction.” In a more than
2,500-word article about the response to the Manafort verdict, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=026-5dd&t=c>
(8/21, Gerstein, Samuelsohn, Schreckinger) reports that House Minority
Leader Pelosi “praised the special counsel’s team and said the president
was now facing ‘greater legal jeopardy.’”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=027-056&t=c>
(8/21, Zengerle) reports that Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner
in a statement warned, “Any attempt by the President to pardon Mr. Manafort
or interfere in the investigation into his campaign would be a gross abuse
of power and require immediate action by Congress.”

*Cohen Says Trump Directed Him To Violate Campaign Finance
Laws. *Trump’s
former personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Tuesday pleaded guilty to “five
counts of tax evasion, one count of making a false statement to a bank and
two campaign finance violations: making an unlawful corporate campaign
contribution and making an excessive campaign contribution,” according to a
front-page Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=028-bf4&t=c>
(8/21, Leonnig) article, which says that he “agreed to the deal after
prosecutors claimed he risked more than a dozen years in prison.” Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=029-ad9&t=c>
(8/21, Chamberlain) says on its website that Cohen “admitted Tuesday to
violating federal campaign finance laws by arranging hush money payments to
adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal ‘at
the direction’ of then-candidate Trump.” Fox adds, “As part of a plea deal,
Cohen admitted that the payments were coordinated with Trump in an effort
to influence the 2016 presidential election,” a claim that a front-page Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=02a-66a&t=c>
(8/21, A1, Hong, Ballhaus) article says implicates Trump in a federal
crime.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=02b-7f8&t=c>
(8/21, Gerstein, Nahmias, Meyer) reports “Cohen, who once stated he would
take a bullet for Trump, flipped on his former boss in a dramatic courtroom
appearance that went down just as news emerged that...Manafort had been
found guilty in his own fraud trial.” In the lead NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=02c-ad2&t=c>
(8/21, lead story, 3:35, Holt) segment, Hallie Jackson similarly said the
“bombshell plea deal means the man who used to fix the President’s problems
has now become one.” Jackson added, “It’s a stunning development for two
men whose relationship dates back a decade.” On the CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=02d-7bf&t=c>
(8/21, story 2, 2:50, Glor), Weijia Jiang reported “their relationship took
a dark turn in July when Cohen released a secret recording of his
conversation with then-candidate Trump about payments related to a Playboy
model who claims she also had an affair with Mr. Trump.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=02e-213&t=c>
(8/21, Rashbaum, Haberman, Protess) reports that Cohen “made the
extraordinary admission that he paid a pornographic actress ‘at the
direction of the candidate,’ referring to Mr. Trump, to secure her silence
about an affair she said she had with Mr. Trump.” Cohen “told a judge in
United States District Court in Manhattan that the payment was ‘for the
principal purpose of influencing the election’ for president in 2016.”
However, The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=02f-7c4&t=c>
(8/21, Axelrod) reports the Justice Department in a court filing also said
Cohen “coordinated with one or more members of the campaign, including
through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the
payments.” In another article, The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=030-ccb&t=c>
(8/21, Samuels) reports “Cohen later submitted falsified invoices to the
candidate’s company to be reimbursed for the payments, prosecutors said.
They did not provide specifics, but appeared to be referring to the Trump
Organization.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=031-de2&t=c>
(8/21, Samuels) “Briefing Room” blog reports that after Cohen reached the
plea deal, his lawyer, Lanny Davis, “argued...his client’s guilty plea and
subsequent testimony that he violated campaign finance laws ‘at the
direction of a candidate for federal office’ showed President Trump
committed a crime.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=032-b8a&t=c>
(8/21, Morin) reports Davis asserted, “If those payments were a crime for
Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?” He
added, “This is Michael fulfilling his promise made...to put his family and
country first and tell the truth about Donald Trump.”

Davis said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=033-38a&t=c>
(8/21), “I think he had a very difficult decision to make and decided to
take responsibility. And he’s been through a difficult time. His family is
obviously suffering. But there’s also a sense of relief when I talked to
him today and a sense of liberation since when he first brought me in to
help him, it was about telling the truth and about telling the truth about
Donald Trump. And you saw in court today he not only implicated, he
specifically, under oath, stated that Donald Trump directed him to commit a
crime, making Donald Trump as much guilty of that felony as my client, Mr.
Cohen.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=034-535&t=c>
(8/22, Neumeister, Lemire), which describes Cohen’s account as
“extraordinary,” adds that his claim “marks the first time that any Trump
associate has gone into open court and implicated Trump himself in a crime,
though whether – or when – a president can be prosecuted remains a matter
of legal dispute.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=035-173&t=c>
(8/21, Pierson) reports that “under U.S. election law, campaign
contributions, defined as things of value given to a campaign in order to
influence an election, must be disclosed,” and “a payment intended to
silence allegations of an affair just before an election could constitute a
campaign contribution, some experts have said.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=036-5a8&t=c>
(8/21, Heath, Cummings, McCoy) says “the payment came at a particularly
sensitive moment, after the release of an Access Hollywood outtake in which
Trump boasted about sexually assaulting women and less than a month before
the election that carried Trump to the White House.”

In an analysis, Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=037-c88&t=c>
(8/21, Feldman) declares Cohen’s plea deal is “unprecedented in U.S.
history,” as “never before has someone pleaded guilty in open court and
said he acted at the direction of the president. We are therefore entering
into a new phase of the Trump presidency – one that will be complex and
treacherous for the president and for the country.” Bloomberg News contends
“the closest historical analogy is when Watergate special prosecutor Leon
Jaworski named President Richard Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator.”
The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=038-53a&t=c>
(8/21, Boyer) reports that “legal analysts say Cohen’s plea agreement is
more troublesome legally for the president because it implicates him in
federal campaign finance crimes.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=039-d71&t=c>
(8/21, Schouten) similarly suggests that Cohen’s plea “could pose serious
political and legal risks for” Trump. Larry Noble, a former Federal
Election Commission lawyer who is currently the senior director of the
non-profit Campaign Legal Center, said, “This is a real crime. … Since
modern campaign-finance laws were passed, no sitting president has been
found to be involved personally in a campaign-finance violation” and
the Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=03a-6c9&t=c>
(8/21, Morrongiello) reports former US Attorney Kendall Coffey said Cohen’s
plea has “created a bad week for the White House” and may mean Mueller’s
investigation “keeps going.”

In a front-page article, Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=03b-7d9&t=c>
(8/21, A1) chief correspondent Dan Balz predicts that “what took place
Tuesday will ratchet up the pressure on the president, will embolden his
critics, and will no doubt inflame and rally his supporters.” Balz adds “if
the past months have seemed increasingly hot, the coming months could be
hotter still – there’s little doubt that the Trump presidency has now
entered more treacherous territory, and no one can know where it will end.”
In her Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=03c-69d&t=c>
(8/21, Rubin) column, Jennifer Rubin asserts that with Cohen’s guilty plea,
“Trump’s greatest fear comes true.” She concludes it is time to “buckle up.
Trump now goes from the frying pan into the fire.”

Jonathan Turley said on Fox News’ Special Report[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=03d-860&t=c>
(8/21), “If the prosecutors accept what is in this indictment, than the
President just became an unindicted co-conspirator, that’s the simple
matter of it. If they believe what’s in this indictment is true and that he
was directed to make this payment, they clearly believe that payment was a
campaign finance violation, then the President became an unindicted
co-conspirator.”

Jeffrey Toobin said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=03e-f3d&t=c>
(8/21) that it is of “immense significance” that Cohen “implicated Donald
Trump in a federal crime. He said that his violation of campaign finance
laws was in coordination with and at the direction of Donald Trump. That
means that according to this guilty plea, Donald Trump was a co-conspirator
and or an aider and abetter of this crime. That is in of itself something
of such great significance that I don’t even think it has a parallel during
Watergate.” Jim Acosta said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=03f-0d2&t=c>
(8/21) that Trump is “potentially implicated in a federal crime. It does
not get more serious or more troubling than that. I think it was
interesting that the President talked about that as he arrived in West
Virginia, talked about the Manafort case, did not talk about the Michael
Cohen case. The Michael Cohen case potentially has the President
immediately right now in very deep legal jeopardy.”

On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=040-948&t=c>
(8/21, story 3, 1:00, Holt), Chuck Todd said, “One big thing fundamentally
changed. The President of the United States was accused of committing a
felony by his long time former personal lawyer. That’s the big thing.” Todd
added the plea deal “could be the beginning of what I think is a long
nightmare for the President involving all things Michael Cohen. The Paul
Manafort stuff is serious and shows Mueller has more to go on here. It
isn’t a witch hunt. If you’re the President tonight, the Michael Cohen news
has you absolutely petrified.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=041-a72&t=c>
(8/21, Anapol) reports “conservative New York Times columnist Bret
Stephens” tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=042-0c7&t=c>,
“I’ve been skeptical about the wisdom and merit of impeachment. Cohen’s
guilty plea changes that. The president is clearly guilty of high crimes
and misdemeanors. He should resign his office or be impeached and removed
from office.”

On the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=043-bd7&t=c>
(8/21, story 4, 2:25, Glor), Paula Reid said, “Legally, the Manafort
convictions don’t jeopardize the President, but they do fortify the special
counsel and will probably undercut some of the President’s unrelenting
criticism of their tactics and results. As for Cohen, the President and his
campaign are now implicated in deception when it comes to hush money from a
campaign.” Reid added, “Even Trump loyalists I have talked to tonight...say
that will be very hard to shake off.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=044-1f7&t=c>
(8/21, Concha) reports the Drudge Report “defined the dizzying series of
events surrounding President Trump on Tuesday afternoon as his ‘Hell Hour’”
New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=045-d90&t=c>,
“Trump folks are worried about impeachment more than before. The thinking
goes like this: this is something tangible, not a theoretical. And it
didn’t come from Mueller. Does not mean it will happen, but this has moved
to a different stage in their minds.”

Alan Dershowitz said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=046-182&t=c>
(8/21), “It really depends completely on the credibility of Cohen. Remember
as Judge Ellis said it, when they squeeze people like Manafort or Cohen,
they squeeze them not only to sing but sometimes to compose and it is very
easy to embellish the story.”

Meanwhile, in the lead ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=047-284&t=c>
(8/21, lead story, 5:40, Muir) segment, Tom Llamas reported the “big
question” is whether Cohen cooperates with the special counsel
investigation. Llamas added, “the agreement does not tell them he has to
cooperate,” but “prosecutors could recommend a reduced sentence if he is
working with them.” However, Nick Gravante, a Boies Schiller partner, told
CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=048-424&t=c>
(8/21) that “Cohen’s plea has no real effect on Trump’s legal situation if
he doesn’t cooperate – aside from the bad optics it creates.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=049-3ac&t=c>
(8/21, Van Voris, Berthelsen, Hurtado) notes “Cohen was released on
$500,000 bond, cosigned by his wife and a second person. The judge set
sentencing for Dec. 12.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=04a-553&t=c>
(8/21, Wise) reports Cohen “was met with ‘lock him up’ chants outside a New
York City federal courthouse on Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of
bank fraud, tax fraud and campaign finance law violations.”

*Giuliani: Cohen Plea Does Not Allege “Any Wrongdoing” By Trump. *The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=04b-727&t=c>
(8/21, Burke) reports Rudy Giuliani in a statement to ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=04c-afb&t=c>
“asserted Tuesday that there is no allegation “of any wrongdoing” by Trump
in the charges that...Cohen pleaded guilty to earlier in the day.” Giuliani
said, “There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the President in
the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen. It is clear that, as the
prosecutor noted, Mr. Cohen’s actions reflect a pattern of lies and
dishonesty over a significant period of time.” In the lead ABC World News
Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=04d-49f&t=c>
(8/21, story 2, 0:55, Muir) segment, Cecilia Vega said that Trump and
Giuliani are correct in stating that the charges against Cohen “don’t name
the President. But Cohen made it clear, then-candidate Trump personally
directed him to make the payments. Legal experts are telling us that could
implicate the President in this in and of itself.”

*Cornyn, Graham Distance Trump From Manafort, Cohen. *CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=04e-1e5&t=c>
(8/21, Fox, Herb) reports on its website, “Republicans downplayed the
connection of both cases to the White House.” Senate Majority Whip Cornyn
said he does not see a connection between Manafort and Cohen and “the
President and Russia.” Cornyn added, “My expectation is that Mr. Mueller
knows the lay of the land. The fact that he interviewed Don McGahn for 30
hours with the President’s approval strikes me as having nothing to hide
when it comes to the Russia investigation. So I hope this ends up
concluding sooner rather than later and doesn’t continue to be an issue in
another election.” In a statement, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “Thus
far, there have yet to be any charges or convictions for colluding with the
Russian government by any member of the Trump campaign in the 2016
election.” Graham added, “I hope Mr. Mueller can conclude his investigation
sooner rather than later for the benefit of the nation.”

*Burr, Warner Call For Cohen To Again Testify Before Senate
Intelligence Committee. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=04f-458&t=c>
(8/21, Birnbaum) reports Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr and Vice
Chairman Mark Warner in a joint statement “said on Tuesday that they
want...Cohen to testify before the panel regarding recent media reports
indicating he knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting before it took
place.” They stated that Cohen “appears to be pleading guilty to very
serious charges,” but “we have no insight into any agreements he and his
legal team have allegedly reached with the prosecutors in New York.” The
lawmakers added that they “recently re-engaged Mr. Cohen and his team
following press reports that suggested he had advanced knowledge of the
June 16th meeting between campaign officials and a Russian lawyer at the
Trump Tower.” They concluded, “We hope that the day’s developments in Mr.
Cohen’s plea agreement will not preclude him from an appearance before our
committee as needed for ongoing investigation.”

*Democrats, Trump Critics Say Manafort Verdict, Cohen Plea
Vindicate Special Counsel Probe. *The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=050-38b&t=c>
(8/21, Keller) reports, “The top Democrats on the Senate and House
Intelligence committees were among those saying the Tuesday conviction of
former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort proves the seriousness of
special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.” Warner tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=051-d58&t=c>,
“Today’s guilty verdict makes it absolutely clear that the Mueller probe is
a serious investigation that is rooting out corruption and Russian
influence on our political system at the highest levels.” Warner continued
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=052-103&t=c>,
“The President’s campaign manager was just convicted of serious federal
crimes by a jury of his peers, despite the President’s continued attempts
to undermine the investigation which has brought Mr. Manafort to justice.”
In a statement, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said,
“Donald Trump brought a culture of corruption from his campaign to the
White House. … The special counsel’s investigation has never been a ‘witch
hunt,’ and today’s verdict proves it. Paul Manafort wasn’t just Trump’s
campaign chair, he was one of his most trusted advisors; the two have known
each other for nearly four decades and reportedly spoke to each other
nearly 20 times a day.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=053-7ca&t=c>
(8/21, Carney) reports Senate Minority Leader Schumer “warned President
Trump on Tuesday that he should not discuss Michael Cohen or Paul Manafort
during a campaign stop in West Virginia later that day.” Schumer told
reporters, “He better not talk about pardons or Michael Cohen or Paul
Manafort tonight or any time in the future.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=054-445&t=c>
(8/21, Alexander) reports Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the top Democrat on the
House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Cohen’s guilty plea
“is yet another set of convictions of the president’s inner circle.” Schiff
added, “The factual basis of the plea, potentially implicating the
President in illegal campaign finance violations, adds to the President’s
legal jeopardy.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Judiciary
Committee, tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=055-24b&t=c>,
“If, as Michael Cohen testified in his guilty plea, his felonies were
committed at the direction of @realDonaldTrump, then the POTUS would be
part of a federal crime – the only thing limiting DOJ from prosecuting
being an OLC ruling saying a sitting president cannot be indicted.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=056-bc2&t=c>
(8/21, Miller) reports “Trump’s political foes said the conviction and
guilty pleas vindicate Mr. Mueller and give momentum to his investigation.”
Robert Weissman, president of the liberal activist group Public Citizen,
said
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=057-af2&t=c>,
“No witch hunt here. It’s past time for President Trump to stand down on
his attacks on the Mueller investigation and accede to the rule of law.”
Tom Steyer said, “Michael Cohen’s admission of guilt is further proof that
Donald Trump has long been intimately engaged with deceitful, lawless, and
corrupt associates.” Steyer added, “The scrutiny surrounding any presidency
is slowly piercing the defenses for their criminality and exposing the
systemic moral rot that has surrounded Trump for years.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=058-2fd&t=c>
(8/21, Samuels) reports Stormy Daniels in a statement to NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=059-ae4&t=c>
(8/21) said she has been “vindicated” by Cohen’s guilty plea. Daniels added
that she and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, “look forward to the apologies
from the people who claimed we were wrong.” Avenatti also said on MSNBC[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=05a-4b6&t=c>
(8/21) that Trump has only been in office “19 or 20 months and his entire
criminal enterprise is crumbling around him. ... There’s no question that
Michael Cohen pleading guilty today is going to have serious ramifications.
Whether there’s a cooperation clause or not within that documentation is
really of little consequence, because I can tell you with 100 percent
confidence that he is cooperating with prosecutors.” Avenatti said on CNN’s
Cuomo Prime Time[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=05b-2f6&t=c>
(8/21), “You don’t have to have it in writing in the documents in order to
have an agreement in place. I’m highly confident – in fact, I know –
Michael Cohen has been providing information. Prosecutors in SDNY are
expecting him to continue to cooperate because if he doesn’t, they have the
ultimate hammer, and that is at the sentencing stage, which for Michael
Cohen is going to take place in December.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=05c-030&t=c>
(8/21, Lim) reports, “Former White House aide and ex-reality TV star
Omarosa Manigault Newman said...Cohen’s guilty pleas could be the death
knell of President Trump’s administration.” In an interview with MSNBC,
Manigault Newman said, “Today changed everything. This is the beginning of
the end for Donald Trump.” She added the President “knows that the person
who knows everything about him, about his relationship with these women,
and others people may not know about will come to light.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=05d-e02&t=c>
(8/21, Burke) “Briefing Room” blog reports Omarosa also “shared a video
Tuesday night showing...Cohen boarding a Trump plane in September 2016.”

*Critics Reject Trump’s Claim That He Could Take Over Mueller
Probe. *On NBC’s Today[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=05e-9b8&t=c>
(8/21), Hoda Kotb reported that Trump is “voicing concerns about a
potential interview with...Mueller.” Kristen Welker went on to report that
in an interview with Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=05f-393&t=c>
(8/20, Holland, Mason, Oliphant), Trump “escalat[ed] his attacks
against...Mueller again, this time with a stunning claim that he could take
charge of the Russia investigation if he wanted to.” According to Welker,
Trump is “asserting that, as President, he is ‘totally allowed’ to be
involved in the investigation and suggesting he could take charge of it if
he wanted to.” Welker added that in the same Reuters interview, Trump
“again neglected to blame Russia for interfering in the 2016 election
despite that conclusion by the US intelligence community,” and claimed
“Mueller’s investigation played right into the Russians’ hands.”

Likewise, on ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=060-b9b&t=c>
(8/21), Cecilia Vega reported that Trump is “insisting he has the power to
run the Russia probe himself,” and “says he just hasn’t chosen to do that.”
Legal analyst Dan Abrams said, “Look, this is a special counsel – an
outside counsel, independent counsel – If the President’s running that
investigation, it’s no longer independent, it’s no longer outside and it’s
no longer special, so that’s not going to happen.” However, Abrams added,
“I guess, in theory, he could certainly end the investigation if he wanted
to instruct someone, order someone, to fire Rosenstein, to fire Mueller, to
shut down the investigation. He could do that.”

On CBS This Morning[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=061-597&t=c>
(8/21), Major Garrett said, “The President’s suggestion he could run an
inquiry into his own conduct raised more questions about his understanding
of obstruction of justice, an area of interest to Mueller.” Garrett went on
to report that Trump “said he was reluctant to give an interview to Mueller
because it could be a potential perjury trap, expressing fears that
investigators could compare his version of the firing of James Comey
against the notes and recollections of the former FBI director.” Garrett
quoted Trump as saying: “It’s my word against his, and he’s best friends
with Mueller, so Mueller might say, ‘Well, I believe Comey.’ And even if
I’m telling the truth, that makes me a liar. That’s no good.” Garrett noted
Trump “also told Reuters he might lift sanctions on Russia if there is
cooperation from Moscow on Syria and Ukraine.” According to Garrett, “Both
seem highly unlikely: cooperation and Congress going along with any lifting
of Russia sanctions.”

When asked on Fox News’ Outnumbered Overtime[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=062-eaf&t=c>
(8/21) what Trump meant by his claim that he could run the Russia
investigation, Kellyanne Conway said, “The President and his team have been
incredibly compliant and cooperative with the Mueller investigation. You
have one million documents produced, 33 some witnesses have gone and
visited the Mueller investigation and in testified under oath thusly, and
this is a President that thinks it completely ridicules the system of
justice if we are not looking at the other side of this investigation. You
had a corrupt dealings all the way up the chain in the FBI.” Conway added,
“The President, there is a level of frustration and consternation that we
are not looking at all sides of this equation. The President, also, the
special counsel is under his purview but he has been very cooperative as
have that other people that have been asked to speak with Mr. Mueller.”

However, The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=063-05f&t=c>
(8/21, Carney) reports Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) also “hit back at President
Trump on Tuesday, saying the president was ‘wrong’ to suggest he could run
special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.” Flake added Trump cannot
take over the investigation “and he ought to stop trying to undermine it as
well. It’s unseemly, it really is – these statements calling people ‘thugs’
and ‘lowlifes.’”

*Prosecutors Again Delay Sentencing For Flynn. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=064-6f7&t=c>
(8/21, Press) reports, “Prosecutors with the special counsel’s office say
President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn is
not yet ready to be sentenced.” According to the AP, “the joint filing with
defense lawyers Tuesday is a sign that Flynn’s cooperation with
investigators is continuing.” The AP says “the two sides say they’ll report
back to the judge no later than Sept. 17.”

*Judge Dismisses Lawsuit From Russian Oligarchs Against Steele. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=065-63a&t=c>
(8/21, Swoyer) reports District of Columbia Superior Court Associate Judge
Anthony Epstein “dismissed a case Monday against the author of the infamous
Trump dossier brought by three Russian oligarchs.” According to the Times,
“the Russian billionaires, who are financially linked to Alfa Bank in
Moscow, claimed Christopher Steele and his firm defamed them in his dossier
about then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election.” The Times adds
that while “the judge did not determine if the dossier was accurate or
fake,” Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday on Fox News, “The ridiculous dossier,
may I remind your audience, it’s just a fancy French word for a load of
crap.”

*Vanity Fair: Trump Increasing Twitter Use Over Frustration With
Mueller Probe. *“Three of Trump’s outside advisers” told Vanity Fair
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=066-5cc&t=c>
(8/21, Sherman) that Trump in recent weeks “has privately expressed doubts
about White House lawyer Don McGahn’s loyalty,” and “The New York Times’
revelation that McGahn had spoken for more than 30 hours with Mueller’s
investigators has rattled Trump and the West Wing to the core...causing
Trump to ratchet up his Twitter war on Mueller to new heights.” Vanity Fair
adds “a lot of what’s driving Trump’s ire, White House advisers said, is
Trump’s growing realization that his previous legal team, Ty Cobb and John
Dowd, made a strategic error in waiving executive privilege to cooperate
fully with Mueller. But Trump being Trump, he won’t admit to making this
mistake, so he directs blame onto others.”

*Study Finds Broadcast News Is Fixated On Russia Investigation. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=067-f3a&t=c>
(8/21, Harper) reports “conservative press watchdog” Newsbusters.org in
“meticulous study of network broadcast coverage in the last 19 months”
found “as far as CBS, NBC and ABC are concerned, it’s all Russia, all the
time.” Rich Noyes, senior analyst for Newsbusters.org, said, “As of August
15, the three broadcast network evening newscasts have devoted a combined
1,854 minutes to the probe, or nearly one-fifth (19.6 percent) of all of
their Trump news. Yet virtually none of that airtime (just 62 minutes, or
3.3 percent) has been spent scrutinizing Robert Mueller’s investigation – a
big shift from twenty years ago, when the networks made Ken Starr’s conduct
the focus of much of their coverage.” According to the Times, “the study
found that the ‘Big Three’ networks collectively spent only 69 seconds on
Mr. Mueller’s possible ‘conflict of interest,’ and 39 minutes on the emails
sent between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page.”

*Obama White House Counsel Calls On McGahn To Put Loyalty To
Country Over Service To Trump. *In a Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=068-c5f&t=c>
(8/21) op-ed, Bob Bauer, a professor of practice at New York University Law
School and White House counsel under former President Obama, says current
White House counsel Donald McGahn “finds himself, a witness rather than
counsel in about 30 hours of interviews with special counsel Robert S.
Mueller III’s team over nine months.” Bauer concludes, “Some critics have
suggested that because the counsel is inevitably ensnared in conflicting
loyalties, the position ought to be abolished. But the president cannot get
by without dedicated lawyers to help with the government’s business. If his
legal problems become personal, then he and the White House counsel have to
have a shared understanding of the boundaries – as defined by the lawyer’s
ethics and, one can only hope, a president’s character and respect for his
own office.”
Foreign Policy
US Imposes Additional Sanctions On Russia For North Korea Transactions.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=069-905&t=c>
(8/21, Harris) reports the US “announced a series of sanctions on Tuesday
targeting Russia, including ships that are delivering Russian oil to North
Korea despite ongoing sanctions and marine companies that are supplying
Russia’s military.” The ships, “based in Vladivostok and operating for
Primorye Maritime Logistics Co. and Gudzon Shipping Co., have defied
international sanctions against North Korea by engaging in ship-to-ship
transfers of oil to North Korean ships, which then bring the contraband
into North Korean ports.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=06a-f64&t=c>
(8/21, Mohsin) reports the US targeted the “owners of six Russian ships
over claims they are helping transfer refined petroleum products to North
Korean vessels in violation of international prohibitions, as tensions with
both Moscow and Pyongyang intensify.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=06b-188&t=c>
(8/21, Brunnstrom) reports Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said in a statement,
“Ship-to-ship transfers with North Korea-flagged vessels from Russia or
elsewhere of any goods being supplied, sold, or transferred to or from
(North Korea) are prohibited under the U.N. Security Council resolutions on
North Korea and are sanctionable under U.S. law.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=06c-c1e&t=c>
(8/21, Miller) says the move “reinforced the administration’s ‘maximum
pressure’ campaign to force North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.”
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=06d-e80&t=c>
(8/21, Talley) reports the move represents an intensification of US
economic duress against Russia.

*Treasury, State Dept. Officials Defend Administration Approach To
Russia. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=06e-18c&t=c>
(8/21, Fandos, Edmondson) reports that “key lawmakers from both parties
signaled on Tuesday that they were ready to move forward with punishing new
sanctions legislation capable of crippling the Russian economy. And in
three separate hearings on Capitol Hill, senators prodded the Trump
administration to do more with its existing authorities to deter Russia and
protect American political infrastructure.” According to the Times,
“Administration officials aggressively pushed back and argued that the
current sanctions regime provided all the authority they need, and they
dismissed concerns that President Trump’s equivocation on questions of
Russian interference had harmed their efforts.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=06f-09a&t=c>
(8/21, Lee) reports that the Treasury Department has “added to its growing
list of sanctions against Russia...as U.S. lawmakers urged tighter economic
restrictions on Moscow.” The Treasury announced it is “blacklisting two
companies and two individuals suspected of trying to circumvent U.S.
sanctions imposed in June in response to cyberattacks.” The AP adds that
“senior officials from the State and Treasury departments told two Senate
hearings Tuesday that since January 2017, 217 Russian business people,
officials, and private and state-run companies, including 14 banks and 20
energy firms, have been sanctioned. In addition, they recalled that the
administration had expelled 60 Russian spies and closed Russia’s consulates
in San Francisco and Seattle.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=070-b8c&t=c>
(8/21) reports that “the sanctioned companies, Saint Petersburg-based
Vela-Marine Ltd and Slovakia-based Lacno S.R.O., and the two individuals
helped Divetechnoservices evade previously imposed sanctions.” Reuters adds
that the Treasury “said the two individuals targeted on Tuesday under the
cyber-related sanctions program, Marina Igorevna Tsareva and Anton
Aleksandrovich Nagibin, had both helped Divetechnoservices attempt to
circumvent U.S. sanctions.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=071-270&t=c>
(8/21, Zengerle, Chiacu) reports acting Deputy Treasury Secretary Sigal
Mandelker told the Senate Banking Committee, “Though Russia’s malign
activities continue, we believe its adventurism undoubtedly has been
checked by the knowledge that we can bring much more economic pain to bear
using our powerful range of authorities – and that we will not hesitate to
do so if its conduct does not demonstrably and significantly change.” Also
on Tuesday, Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell told the Foreign
Relations Committee “that concern about sanctions has cost Russia $8 to $10
billion in arms deals,” while “foreign direct investment in Russia has
fallen by 80 percent since 2013.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=072-44e&t=c>
(8/21) reports Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov decried the
new US sanctions as “groundless” and “promis[ed] a response from Moscow.”

*UK Foreign Minster Praises Trump For “Willing To Be Very Tough” In
Regards To Russia. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018082201biden&r=email-ad82&l=073-944&t=c>
(8/21, Deyoung) reports that UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt “praised
President Trump for increasingly strong sanctions against Russia and called
on Europeans to match his efforts, whether in response to a nerve agent
attack in England last spring, election interference or the annexation of
Crimea.” Hunt said Trump is “absolutely focused on upholding the
international order.” Hunt added, “If you look at his actions, he’s
actually willing to be very tough, tougher in fact that many of his
predecessors.” The Post adds, “While Trump’s admiring outreach toward Putin
has raised bipartisan concern