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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, December 6, 2018 8:01 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, December 6, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=001-55a&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, December 6, 2018 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News <#SECTION_1>*

• Biden: “Our Leadership Is Giving License To [Anti-Semitic] Prejudice.”
<#S1>

• The Atlantic: Wherever Biden Goes, People Tell Him “He Has To” Run For
President. <#S2>

• WPost’s Guskin: Polls Suggest Age Not Hurting Biden Among Young Democrats.
<#S3>

• CNN: Biden, Other Democrats Preparing For Potential 2020 Runs. <#S4>

• Biden Atop Washington Examiner’s 2020 Democratic Power Rankings. <#S5>

• Scaramucci: Biden “Most Qualified” 2020 Hopeful, But Would Have “Tough
Time” Debating Trump. <#S6>

• GOP Strategist Suspects Obama Sees O’Rourke As Possible Biden Running
Mate. <#S7>

• Some Potential 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Already Bowing Out.
<#S8>

*Leading the News <#SECTION_2>*

• Media Analyses: Trump Seeks To Calm Trade Fears, Touts “Strong Signals”
From Xi. <#S9>

*Foreign Policy <#SECTION_3>*

• Putin: Russia Will Begin Developing INF-Prohibited Missiles If US Exits
Treaty. <#S10>

• New Satellite Images Reveal Activity At North Korean Missile Base. <#S11>

• Senators Introduce Resolution Blaming Saudi Crown Prince For Khashoggi
Murder. <#S12>

• Contractor With Ties To Clintons Charged With Routing Supplies For US
Troops Through Iran. <#S13>

• Unions Join Nationwide Protests Against Macron’s Economic Agenda. <#S14>

• Report: Global Carbon Emissions Reached Record High In 2018. <#S15>

• US Envoy Discusses Afghan Peace Talks With Pakistani PM. <#S16>

*Domestic Policy <#SECTION_4>*

• Trump Has Rare Encounter With His Predecessors At Bush Funeral. <#S17>

• Mueller Recommends Flynn Get No Prison Time. <#S18>

• After 2016 Election, Saudi Government Lobbyists Booked 500 Rooms At
Trump’s DC Hotel. <#S19>

• Trump: “I Won’t Be Here” When Debt Crisis Hits. <#S20>

• WPost Analysis: Markets Performed Better In Obama’s First Two Years Than
In Trump’s. <#S21>

• After Charlottesville, VA Diversity Officer Was Told Not To Condemn White
Nationalists. <#S22>

• Giuliani Criticized For Calling Embedded Link In Tweet A Plot By Twitter.
<#S23>

*Cancer Research <#SECTION_5>*

• HIV Patients’ Immune Systems Encourage Growth Of Tumors, Raising Risk Of
Death Due To Cancer, Study Suggests. <#S24>

• Researchers Develop 10-Minute Cancer Test. <#S25>

*Editorials/Op-Eds <#SECTION_6>*

• New York Times. <#S26>

• Washington Post. <#S27>
Biden in the News
Biden: “Our Leadership Is Giving License To [Anti-Semitic] Prejudice.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s Wednesday evening appearance at the
Lantos Foundation’s annual gala drew minimal media coverage. The Huffington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=002-a15&t=c>
(12/6, Moran) reports that Biden “delivered a blistering critique of
President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday night, but without
mentioning it by name.” In his speech, Biden said “that ‘we are in a battle
for the soul of this nation’ and ‘have to recognize trend lines are moving
in the wrong direction.’ He then cited an Anti-Defamation League report,
released earlier this year, that showed how ‘anti-Semitic incidents had
rose nearly 60 percent alone in 2017.’ It was ‘the largest one-year
increase since they started keeping records in 1970,’ Biden added. ‘That’s
not an accident. It’s not an accident,’ he said. ‘Our leadership is giving
license, giving license to this prejudice.’”

Mediaite
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=003-9f3&t=c>
(12/5, Auber) reported that during his speech, Biden “offered a scathing
rebuke of our nation’s leadership.” Raw Story
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=004-c9f&t=c>
(12/6, Burris) reports, “In a quick discussion about the appearance on CNN,
host Don Lemon said that Trump’s name was never mentioned, but it was
obvious who [Biden] was talking about.” Drawing from the Mediaite article,
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=005-a70&t=c>
(12/5, Hanchett) also reported on the story.
The Atlantic: Wherever Biden Goes, People Tell Him “He Has To” Run For
President.

The Atlantic
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=006-c3d&t=c>
(12/6, Dovere) reports, “Watery eyes, clenched chins, insistent grips of
his arm: They don’t just think Joe Biden should run for president, or want
him to. They tell him he has to. It’s hard for him to tell them no. It’s
hard for him to tell himself no.” The Atlantic adds that “the tenor of
conversations with donors and supporters has intensified in recent weeks.
As much as he wants to defer a decision to the Biden clan’s famous group
holiday vacation, they are telling him and his small group of aides that
things need to get going. ... And people keep coming up to him, everywhere
he goes,” beseeching him to challenge President Trump.
WPost’s Guskin: Polls Suggest Age Not Hurting Biden Among Young Democrats.

Writing in “The Fix” on the website of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=007-f62&t=c>
(12/5), Emily Guskin said, “Democratic voters have split along generational
lines in the past two presidential primary cycles. And the very early
front-runner for 2020, former vice president Joe Biden,” 76, “has been
criticized for being, well, old.” However, Guskin said, “Early 2020 polls
cast doubt on the idea that Biden is destined to fare poorly among younger
Democrats. A Washington Post-Schar School poll of battleground
congressional-district voters in the 2018 midterms found that younger and
older Democrats were about equally supportive of Biden as the party’s 2020
nominee,” with 35% of those in each Demographic expressing support for him.
Guskin added, “An earlier CNN poll in October found Biden weaker among
younger Democratic and leaning-Democratic independents,” though not at a
level that would necessarily be problematic.
CNN: Biden, Other Democrats Preparing For Potential 2020 Runs.

In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=008-2ac&t=c>
(12/6, Merica, Saenz) reports, “Most potential Democratic presidential
contenders are publicly playing coy about their plans for 2020,” but “the
race is already well underway,” as party “operatives are interviewing for
potential roles on” yet-to-be launched “campaigns, and prospective
candidates are making calls to elected officials in early states like Iowa
and New Hampshire.” For example, says CNN, former Vice President Joe
Biden’s “inner circle of advisers is...working to make sure he is well
positioned to launch a campaign should he decide to run. Since the midterm
elections, Biden has maintained contact and made calls to donors and key
constituencies,” according to “a source familiar with the discussions.” And
his “political team has also held initial conversations about potential
staffing for a presidential campaign with those already in” Biden’s “orbit,
as well as Democratic operatives who have reached out expressing interest
in working for a possible Biden campaign, the source said.”
Biden Atop Washington Examiner’s 2020 Democratic Power Rankings.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=009-7db&t=c>
(12/5, Carney) offered its updated “Power Rankings” of the field of
potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Topping the list is
former Vice President Joe Biden, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT),
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Cory Booker
(D-NJ), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D-CA). Rep. Beto O’Rourke
(D-TX) rounds out the top 10.
Scaramucci: Biden “Most Qualified” 2020 Hopeful, But Would Have “Tough
Time” Debating Trump.

Talking Points Memo
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=00a-7db&t=c>
(12/5, Lafond) reported that ex-White House Communications Director Anthony
Scaramucci on Wednesday “agreed with former Vice President Joe Biden’s
assessment that he is the most qualified candidate to run for president in
2020, but argued the former VP would have a ‘tough time’ debating someone
like President Trump.” Appearing on Fox News, Scaramucci said, “He is most
qualified and I like Vice President Biden but he’s gonna have a tough time
debating somebody like President Trump. If you look at Vice President
Biden’s career, every time Biden goes into contact with the enemy, he
fumbles the football on the stage.”

*Cupp: Biden “Most Qualified” 2020 Democrat, But That’s Largely
Irrelevant. *In her New York Daily News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=00b-2a0&t=c>
(12/5) column, S.E. Cupp discusses Biden’s claim that he’s “the most
qualified person in the country to be President,” writing, “Without a
doubt, he would be the most qualified candidate in a crowded sea of
Democratic hopefuls running in 2020. ... The question is, who cares?” Cupp
says recent elections have shown that US voters don’t particularly value
experience in choosing candidates. Consequently, “[t]he most important
questions by far are these: Who can withstand Trump’s withering punches?
Who can survive a Democratic primary that will pull candidates to the far
left, and then pivot back toward the center during a general? Who can speak
to the middle of the country? And who has the most money? Qualifications,
unfortunately, do not factor into this brutal calculus.”

*Writer Pans Notion Of A 2020 Biden Bid. *In a piece for the Los
Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=00c-a34&t=c>
(12/5), contributing writer Melissa Batchelor Warnke roundly pans the
notion of Biden running for president, saying, “He’s absurd in the #MeToo
era, having botched the Anita Hill hearings and his apology both. He’s
swaddled in corporate contributions.” Warnke adds that “Democratic voters
are unlikely to smile benevolently on Biden’s boneheaded statements this
time around.” He “has also supported legislation over the years that is out
of step with the current thinking on the Democratic side,” such as “the
1994 crime bill, which is criticized as being overly punitive and
disproportionately impacting communities of color.” Warnke also cites
Biden’s age as a drawback, and says, “The Dem brass would literally rather
die in office than distribute control.”
GOP Strategist Suspects Obama Sees O’Rourke As Possible Biden Running Mate.

Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=00d-ff3&t=c>
(12/5, Goodkind) reports on the news that Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) met
with former President Barack Obama last month – a revelation that has
“fueled speculation that O’Rourke is preparing for a 2020 presidential
run.” However, Newsweek says that GOP strategist Ford O’Connell “thinks
Obama had another position in mind. ‘Obama could have the biggest sway in
helping him become vice president,’ said O’Connell. ‘O’Rourke is much more
likely to be in the parlor game for vice president.’ News of Obama’s
meeting with Tallahassee mayor and failed Florida gubernatorial candidate
Andrew Gillum only fuels O’Connell’s suspicions. ‘Obama is looking for
fresh faces to balance out Joe Biden. He’s doing some legwork for the vice
president side, rather than letting horses run on the presidential side.’”

*“Sources” Say Potential 2020 Candidate Gillum Met With Obama This
Week. *In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=00e-0f7&t=c>
(12/5, Buck) reported that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D-FL), who lost
to Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in November’s race to succeed term-limited Gov.
Rick Scott (R-FL), “met with former President Barack Obama in Washington on
Tuesday,” according to “two sources familiar with the matter.” The meeting
came “amid ongoing speculation that” Gillum “might be considering a
potential 2020 presidential bid. It is unclear what was discussed at the
meeting.” CNN added that Gillum “was in Washington to speak at the
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=00f-acd&t=c>
(12/5, Greenwood) reported that Obama “has met with a handful of potential
2020 Democratic contenders at his post-presidential office in the city’s
Foggy Bottom neighborhood, signaling that he may be playing a role in
vetting those who are hoping to claim the party’s nomination.” Indeed, the New
York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=010-9d1&t=c>
(12/5, Tacopino) reports that O’Rourke “met with Obama last month,
according to The Washington Post.”
Some Potential 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Already Bowing Out.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=011-cac&t=c>
(12/5, Siders) reported, “In just one convulsive 24-hour period” this week,
attorney Michael Avenatti (D) announced “he will not run for president in
2020,” ex-Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA) “told allies that he, too, is out,” and
former Vice President Joe Biden declared “himself ‘the most qualified
person in the country to be president,’ edging closer to a full-on
campaign.” With the developments, “Democrats got a glimpse of the primary
election to come, a precursor to a year of volatility in the party’s
historic, sprawling 2020 presidential field.” However, those same
developments “failed to provide any more clarity or definition to the field
on the eve of a period in which many candidates have said they will
announce their intentions.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=012-283&t=c>
(12/5, Parnes) reported, “The race for the 2020 Democratic presidential
nomination is expected to be crowded, but would-be candidates are quickly
falling to the side as some determine they either don’t see a lane for
their candidacies or that they don’t have the money, desire or stomach for
the fight.” The Hill cited the news on Avenatti and Patrick, and said that
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) “ruled out a run late last month.” The Hill added
that “some Democrats were taken aback by Patrick’s decision.” However, “a
top Democratic bundler said Patrick was aware of the potentially ‘super
crowded field,’ and had ‘fears he might not make the first tier’ of
candidates out of the gate.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=013-f49&t=c>
(12/5, Summers, Leblanc, Pace) reports that Patrick “had previously
expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination,
telling David Axelrod, a former adviser to Barack Obama, that he wasn’t
sure he could stand out in such a large field. ‘It’s hard to see how you
even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill,
sensational or a celebrity, and I’m none of those things and I’m never
going to be any of those things,’ Patrick said in a September interview
with Axelrod.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=014-05e&t=c>
(12/5, Saul) also reported on Patrick’s decision.
Leading the News
Media Analyses: Trump Seeks To Calm Trade Fears, Touts “Strong Signals”
From Xi.

In a series of tweets Wednesday morning, President Trump retweeted an
excerpt of a Bloomberg News story, writing
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=015-522&t=c>,
“‘China officially echoed President Donald Trump’s optimism over bilateral
trade talks. Chinese officials have begun preparing to restart imports of
U.S. Soybeans & Liquified Natural Gas, the first sign confirming the claims
of President Donald Trump and the White House that.....
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=016-b20&t=c>
China had agreed to start ‘immediately’ buying U.S. products.’ @business”
In a third tweet
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=017-e34&t=c>,
Trump wrote, “Very strong signals being sent by China once they returned
home from their long trip, including stops, from Argentina. Not to sound
naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he
said at our long and hopefully historic meeting. ALL subjects discussed!”

Media reports cast the tweets as an effort by Trump to ease
concerns about the agreement he reached over the weekend with China a day
after US markets posted heavy losses amid concerns about the deal. The New
York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=018-485&t=c>
(12/5, Rappeport), for example, says Trump “tried to calm global markets
and ease concerns that his trade truce with China was already
floundering...declaring in a series of tweets that the Chinese government
has sent ‘very strong signals’ since Mr. Trump reached an accord with
Chinese President Xi Jinping in Argentina last week.” Trump “pointed
to a Bloomberg
News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=019-b00&t=c>
(12/5) report” amid “confusion about what Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi actually
agreed to at their meeting, combined with Mr. Trump’s declaration on
Tuesday that he was a ‘Tariff Man,’ roiled global markets on Tuesday.”

To the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=01a-50e&t=c>
(12/5, Boak), “Tariff Man...tweaked his message to suggest more optimism on
the odds of forging a deal.” Still, the AP says, “Trump’s rattling of the
global economy came at a precarious moment, with the economic outlook for
2019 dimming and concerns about a potential recession – if not next year
then soon thereafter – rising.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=01b-3f4&t=c>
(12/5, Heavey) briefly reports Trump’s tweets, which Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=01c-45f&t=c>
(12/5) says he wrote “as uncertainty remains over what commitments were
made between the two nations.” CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=01d-429&t=c>
(12/5, Pramuk) says on its website that Trump “pushed back on reports that
China may not swiftly address the White House’s concerns.” The President,
“who often declares victory even in the absence of concrete progress,
quickly touted major Chinese concessions following Saturday’s meeting,” and
on Wednesday, “tried to show progress.”

To Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=01e-81e&t=c>
(12/5, Oprysko), Trump “tried to shore up confidence that he had
successfully struck a deal with China...after markets swooned a day before
and as Beijing broke its silence about the negotiations.” The White House,
it adds, “has been grappling with a shaky rollout of the deal,” and Trump
has “thrown curveballs into the process” with his tweets.

Trump, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=01f-7c7&t=c>
(12/5, Boyer) reports, “is confirming his announcement of a pause in its
trade war with the US” after US markets “plummeted by about 3 percent,
largely due to investors’ uncertainty about the tariff war with Beijing,”
while The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=020-822&t=c>
(12/5, Fabian) says he “tried to reassure jittery investors.”

*China Breaks Silence On Agreement. *Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=021-6c4&t=c>
(12/5) reports China’s Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday said Beijing “will
start to quickly implement specific items where there’s consensus with the
US and will push forward on trade negotiations within the 90-day ‘timetable
and road map.” The Ministry’s statement described the meeting with the US
as “very successful” and said China is “confident” of implementing the
results agreed upon at the talks, but “didn’t provide any further details
on the outcome.” Bloomberg News says the statement was “the first official
confirmation from China that there’s a 90-day window for the talks.”

To the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=022-323&t=c>
(12/5, Dixon), the “few words offered by” the Ministry “expressed
confidence but provided little clarity on just what the two leaders agreed
at a weekend meeting.” The Times says “all eyes looked to Beijing to
confirm the White House account” of Saturday’s talks, “but the Chinese
government has so far been silent on the details. One possible reason for
the lack of detail is that Xi has been overseas, completing a state visit
in Portugal.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=023-93e&t=c>
(12/5, McDonald) similarly says China issued “an upbeat but vague
promise...to carry out a tariff cease-fire with Washington but gave no
details that might dispel confusion about what Presidents Xi Jinping and
Donald Trump agreed to in Argentina.” China, it notes, “has yet to confirm
Trump’s claim that Beijing committed to cut auto tariffs and buy more
American farm exports.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=024-a23&t=c>
(12/5, Deng, Zhu) has a similar report under the headline “China Breaks Its
Silence On 90-Day US Tariff Truce,” while Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=025-95f&t=c>
(12/5) reports “Chinese officials have begun preparing to restart imports
of US soybeans and liquefied natural gas, the first sign confirming”
Trump’s claims that China had agreed to start buying some US products
“immediately.”

To Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=026-e7e&t=c>
(12/5), the statement was “very light on details,” while Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=027-25b&t=c>
(12/5, Ruwitch) says “China expressed confidence on Wednesday that it can
reach a trade deal with the United States, a sentiment echoed by...Trump a
day after he warned of more tariffs if the two sides could not resolve
their differences.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=028-09d&t=c>
(12/5, Boyer, Miller) reports that the “comments from Beijing did little to
improve investors’ concerns in Europe, where stocks fell generally across
the board.” In fact, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=029-279&t=c>
(12/5, Stevenson) reports that stocks around the world declined Wednesday,
a day after President Trump “posted a series of messages on Twitter warning
that a fragile cease-fire in the trade war between the United States and
China could be derailed.” The drops in Asia and Europe came “after stocks
on Wall Street fell more than 3 percent on Tuesday.” US markets were closed
Wednesday in observance of the death of former President George H.W. Bush.

*WPost: Trump’s Uncertain Trade Policy Hurting Economy. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=02a-9eb&t=c>
(12/5) editorializes that the agreement reached with China “gave US
business a dose of confidence – which President Trump undid Tuesday with a
series of Twitter messages suggesting he is still ‘a tariff man’ whose
patience with Beijing is growing short.” In response, the Dow dropped
almost 800 points on Tuesday. The “upshot,” the Post argues, “is that
uncertainty about US trade policy continues to plague an otherwise robust
economy, and that much of it has been created by the president himself,
first by launching various trade wars, then by conducting them
erratically.”

Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=02b-81e&t=c>
(12/5) columnist Helaine Olen writes that “when it comes to the stock
market, President Trump is in a box of his own making. He repeatedly took
credit for 2017’s stock market gains,” and “so it has come to pass. The
stock market fell dramatically on Tuesday. ... While predicting what causes
gyrations in the stock market is not exactly a science, most observers
think this culprit is obvious: Trump’s erratic, belligerent talk about
trade and China could trigger both a trade war and a recession in the
United States.”

*Trump Calls On China To Seek Death Penalty For Fentanyl
Distributors. *President Trump also tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=02c-667&t=c>
Wednesday morning, “One of the very exciting things to come out of my
meeting with President Xi of China is his promise to me to criminalize the
sale of deadly Fentanyl coming into the United States. It will now be
considered a “controlled substance.” This could be a game changer on what is
.......
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=02d-732&t=c>
considered to be the worst and most dangerous, addictive and deadly
substance of them all. Last year over 77,000 people died from Fentanyl. If
China cracks down on this “horror drug,” using the Death Penalty for
distributors and pushers, the results will be incredible!”

Reporting on the tweets, CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=02e-90e&t=c>
(12/5, Higgins) says on its website that the Administration “has made it a
top priority to tackle Chinese exports of fentanyl and its precursor
chemicals.” Over the weekend, it notes, “the White House alluded to the
possibility that China would seek the death penalty for distributors.”

*Huawei Executive Arrested In Canada For Violating US Sanctions. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=02f-bcc&t=c>
(12/5, Brice) reports Canada arrested Huawei’s global chief financial
officer in Vancouver, “where she is facing extradition to the United States
on suspicion she violated US sanctions against Iran.” Meng Wanzhou, who is
the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on Dec. 1 and a
court hearing has been set for Friday, a Canadian Justice Department
spokesman said. Canada’s Globe and Mail
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=030-947&t=c>
(12/5, Fife), which broke the story, reports that a “Canadian source with
knowledge of the arrest said US law enforcement authorities are alleging
that Ms. Meng tried to evade the US trade embargo against Iran but provided
no further details.”

According to the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=031-e13&t=c>
(12/5, O'Keeffe, Woo), Canadian authorities arrested Meng at the request of
the US government, which is seeking her extradition to appear in federal
court in the Eastern District of New York. The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=032-8fb&t=c>
(12/5, Wakabayashi, Rappeport) says Meng’s arrest “raises questions about
the Trump administration’s overall China strategy. Beijing is now likely to
pressure Canada to release her and to press the United States to avoid a
trial.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=033-19c&t=c>
(12/5, Nakashima) reports that a spokesman from the Chinese Embassy in
Canada confirmed Meng’s arrest, and said in a statement that Beijing
“strongly protests over such kind of actions which seriously harmed the
human rights of the victim.”
Foreign Policy
Putin: Russia Will Begin Developing INF-Prohibited Missiles If US Exits
Treaty.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=034-d3f&t=c>
(12/5, Soldatkin) reports that in a televised address on Wednesday, Russian
President Vladimir Putin said his government “will develop missiles now
banned under the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty if the United
States exits the arms control pact and starts making such weapons.” Putin
“accused the United States of blaming Russia for violations as a pretext
for Washington to exit the pact,” and “noted that many countries produce
missiles banned under the INF treaty.” Said Putin, “Now it seems our
American partners believe that the situation has changed so much that the
United States must also have such a weapon. What’s our response? It’s
simple: in that case we will also do this.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=035-021&t=c>
(12/5, Macfarquhar) reports that the “chief of staff of Russia’s military,
Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, echoed those remarks, saying that any European
countries where the United States stationed intermediate-range missiles,
such as Poland or Romania, would be the first targets in the event of a
conflict.” The Times says that “Gerasimov’s remarks were likely to further
dismay European leaders, already alarmed after President Trump announced in
October, without any prior consultation, that he planned to scrap the
treaty.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=036-251&t=c>
(12/5, Taylor) reports that the Russian warnings came a day after Secretary
of State Pompeo told NATO allies in Belgium that Russia is flagrantly
violating the treaty, “and that Washington will ‘remedy’ the situation by
pulling out of the pact in 60 days unless Moscow takes clear steps to come
back into compliance.” The Times says while Pompeo “was seen to have won
clear-cut support from the alliance Tuesday night after NATO foreign
ministers issued a statement formally declaring Russia in ‘material breach’
of the INF,” his announcement “marked an escalation of U.S. threats to
abandon the INF in response to Russian cheating.” It also “left open a
60-day window for talks, the dramatic move set nerves on edge at a
gathering of NATO’s top diplomats, raising the prospect that new Cold
War-style arms race could be about to play out across the continent.”

*Russia Warns Cyprus Not To Allow US To Build Military
Installations. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=037-56a&t=c>
(12/5, Osborn) reports that Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
“warned authorities in Cyprus not to allow the US military to deploy on
their territory, saying such a move would draw a Russian reaction and
result in ‘dangerous and destabilizing consequences’ for the Mediterranean
island.” Spokesperson Maria Zakharova “said Moscow had become aware of what
she called ‘anti-Russian plans’ involving Cyprus and the US military which
she said was eyeing setting up forward operating bases for its troops
there.” Zakharova is quoted as saying, “We’re getting information from
various sources that the United States is actively studying options to
build up its military presence on Cyprus. ... The aim is not being hidden –
to counter growing Russian influence in the region in the light of the
successful operation by the Russian military in Syria.”

*US Destroyer Conducts Freedom Of Navigation Operation In Direct
Challenge To Russia. *The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=038-a39&t=c>
(12/5, Morton) reports the USS McCampbell, a US Navy guided-missile
destroyer, on Wednesday conducted a “freedom of navigation operation” in
the Sea of Japan “in a direct challenge to Russian naval activity in the
area” – and the US Navy did not “leave any ambiguity about why” the vessel
made the journey. US Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Navy Lt. Rachel McMarr said
in a statement that the US warship “sailed in the vicinity of Peter the
Great Bay to challenge Russia’s excessive maritime claims and uphold the
rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea enjoyed by the United States
and other Nations.”

*Menendez Urges Treasury Not To Ease Sanctions On Deripaska. *
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=039-bdf&t=c>
(12/5) reports that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the top Democrat on the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has “urged the Trump administration not
to waive or remove sanctions on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska or the two
companies he controls.” In a letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Menendez
“cited reports that Treasury was considering such a move and noted the
department’s own analysis says the oligarch is accused of crimes from
blackmail to murder.” Reuters says that in November, the Treasury
“postponed a Dec. 12 deadline for Deripaska to reduce his holdings in the
companies, giving the Russian tycoon until Jan. 7.”

*Poroshenko: Ukraine Needs International Support To Contain Russia.
*In a New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=03a-56d&t=c>
(12/5) op-ed, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko vows that the “Ukrainian
people will not watch as Russia continues its creeping annexation of our
country,” and “we are prepared to stand up to Russia.” Yet, Poroshenko
says, his nation needs “the support of the international community in the
form of further sanctions against Moscow for its latest assault” in the
Kerch Strait and the Black Sea. Poroshenko commends President Trump for his
“true leadership” in canceling talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin,
and the White House and Congress for “tangible support.” Together,
Poroshenko writes, the US and Ukraine “can continue to raise the cost to
Russia for threatening our collective security,” and now is the “time to
respond.”
New Satellite Images Reveal Activity At North Korean Missile Base.

New satellite images obtained exclusively by CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=03b-19e&t=c>
(12/5, Cohen) reveal North Korea has “significantly expanded a key
long-range missile base located in the mountainous interior of the country,
offering yet another reminder that diplomatic talks with the US have done
little to prevent Kim Jong Un from pursuing his promise to mass produce and
deploy the existing types of nuclear warheads in his arsenal.” To CNN, the
new imagery “offers evidence that the Yeongjeo-dong missile base and a
nearby, previously unreported site remain active and have been continuously
upgraded, underscoring the reality of just how far apart Washington and
Pyongyang are on the issue of denuclearization despite five months of
sporadic talks.”

Wolf Blitzer reported on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=03c-562&t=c>
(12/5) that analysts say the images “should send a sobering message to
President Trump” amid talks of a second summit between him and Kim.

*Media Reports Indicate Kim Planning Possible Seoul Visit. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=03d-849&t=c>
(12/5, Kim) reports on “rampant speculation” in South Korean media about a
possible visit by North Korea’s Kim, “despite no official confirmation from
either government.” According to the AP, “many analysts say it would be
extremely difficult for Kim to fulfill by the end of this year his reported
promise to become the first North Korean leader to visit South Korea, given
limited time for preparation and impasses in global diplomacy on his
nuclear weapons. But others say we will not know until the year is over,
noting that several previously unthinkable events have happened in the past
months.”
Senators Introduce Resolution Blaming Saudi Crown Prince For Khashoggi
Murder.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=03e-b03&t=c>
(12/5) reported that after CIA Director Haspel briefed a select group of
senators Tuesday on the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal
Khashoggi, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a resolution “blaming
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for, quote, ‘the abhorrent and
unjustified’ killing.” The senators “are also working on a broader measure
looking at suspending arms sales with Saudi Arabia and limiting US
involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.” Anderson Cooper said the
resolution would be a “rebuke” to President Trump, “who has downplayed the
murder and expressed doubt about the crown prince’s role.” Cooper added
that Secretary of State Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mattis “also deny
there was any smoking gun that the crown prince was involved.”

On ABC’s Good Morning America[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=03f-e81&t=c>
(12/5), Martha Raddatz reported, however, that the senators “emerged from
their CIA briefing with no doubt about who was to blame for Jamal
Khashoggi’s murder.” Now, Raddatz said, “there are calls this morning for
the CIA director to brief the entire Senate after that closed-door session
yesterday for leadership outlining the agency’s stunning conclusion.” Sen.
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was shown saying, “You have to be willfully blind not
to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by
people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the
demise of Mr. Khashoggi.” Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker was
shown saying, “I have zero question in my mind that the Crown Prince, MBS,
ordered the killing, monitored the killing, knew exactly what was
happening, planned it in advance. If he was in front of a jury, he would be
convicted in 30 minutes guilty.”

In an interview with CNN’s New Day[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=040-fbb&t=c>
(12/5), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) similarly said, “From what we know about
this murder leaves you with no doubt that the crown prince, at a minimum,
knew about it, condoned it and perhaps, worse, was actually involved in
directing it. He has absolute control in Saudi Arabia. The 17 people who
flew into Turkey...many have very close ties to him. There is no way, and I
mean no way, that 17 people that close to the crown prince fly into a third
country, murder someone in a diplomatic facility, and fly back to Saudi
Arabia and he not at least know about it, much less perhaps be involved in
it. You can conclude that without having been in that briefing and without
sitting on the intelligence committee the way I do.”

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=041-014&t=c>
(12/5), Mika Brzezinski said that senators also “were angry that Haspel was
not included” in last week’s briefing with Pompeo and Mattis, and Senate
Minority Whip Durbin “suggested her absence was because the White House
blocked her participation.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=042-a7d&t=c>
(12/5, Oprysko) reports, in an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=043-36f&t=c>
(12/5) on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), “who sits on the Foreign
Relations Committee but was kept out of Tuesday’s classified briefing with
Haspel, argued senators coming out of that briefing with Haspel undercut
the administration’s claim that restricting access to the intelligence was
necessary.” Murphy also accused Pompeo and Mattis of misleading senators
during last week’s briefing on the matter.

Murphy asserted[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=044-ccf&t=c>
(12/5), “I was angry that only a handful of senators were in that meeting
but I was less angry when Republicans came out and spilled the beans for
everybody, which belies the idea that we need classified briefings in the
first place. ... Secretary Pompeo and Secretary Mattis did try to push
aside the question of whether Mohammed Bin Salman ordered and directed the
murder of Jamal Khashoggi. We all knew, because we had seen the open
reporting, that the CIA had come to a different conclusion. I think the
Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State are in a bad spot because the
President has given this bear hug to the MBS and to the entire Saudi
regime, so they are bound to carry out his policy.”

*Sen. Sanders: Khashoggi Murder A Disgrace, But Saudi-Led
Intervention In Yemen Is “Even Worse.” *Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), asked
on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=045-7b7&t=c>
(12/5) why Trump “won’t admit” the crown prince was involved in Khashoggi’s
killing, replied, “I think the President, sadly enough, has a great
fondness for authoritarian-type leaders around the world.” In addition, “it
is possible that the President, himself, through Trump enterprises, may
have financial dealings in Saudi Arabia.” At any rate, Sanders – who
co-authored the resolution for the US to end it’s participation in the war
in Yemen – called the murder of Khashoggi an “absolute disgrace,” but “what
is even worse, which we don’t talk about,” is “the Saudi-led intervention
in Yemen. ... Khashoggi’s death was terrible, but in the last three years,
85,000 children have starved to death” during the war in Yemen. He added
that millions more are “facing imminent starvation.”

*Saudi Ambassador To US Returns Amid Criticism Over Khashoggi Case.
*The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=046-0a9&t=c>
(12/5, Hudson) reports Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the
US and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s younger brother, “has returned to
Washington for the first time since the murder of journalist Jamal
Khashoggi, a Saudi Embassy spokeswoman said Wednesday.” The Post says
Prince Khalid’s return “came as dignitaries descended on Washington for the
funeral of former president George H.W. Bush.” A Saudi official previously
“said the prince planned to attend Bush’s funeral, but the embassy
spokeswoman said Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir would be ‘representing the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.’” The Post says it is “not clear whether Khalid,
who has come under criticism for aiding a coverup of Khashoggi’s murder,
would resume his duties as the kingdom’s ambassador in Washington.”

*Turkish Prosecutor Indicts Two Top MBS Aides In Connection With
Khashoggi Murder. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=047-072&t=c>
(12/5, Gall) reports that Hasan Yilmaz, Istanbul’s top prosecutor, has
“filed arrest warrants for two senior Saudi officials who are close to the
Saudi crown prince, accusing them of masterminding the killing of the
dissident Jamal Khashoggi.” The Saudi officials, identified as Maj. Gen.
Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud el-Qahtani, are “both close aides of Prince
Mohammed bin Salman.” According to the Times, “The Saudis have detained as
many as 18 people in connection with Mr. Khashoggi’s death, according to
Saudi media reports, but General Assiri and Mr. Qahtani are not among
them.” Assiri “previously served as the spokesman for the Saudi-led
military intervention in Yemen,” and “is a high-ranking adviser to Prince
Mohammed,” while Qahtani “is a close adviser to the crown prince and is
among those targeted by the United States for sanctions in response to the
killing of Mr. Khashoggi.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=048-e2d&t=c>
(12/5, Fahim) says “there is little chance the Saudi government will
surrender them to Turkish authorities.” The Post adds, “Rather, the
warrants appeared to be part of a continuing effort by the government of
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pressure Saudi Arabia to reveal more
details about Khashoggi’s killing, as well as to isolate the crown prince.”

*Saudi-Backed Yemeni Delegation Arrives In Sweden For Thursday
Peace Talks. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=049-028&t=c>
(12/5, Ghobari, El Yaakoubi) reports a delegation “from Yemen’s
Saudi-backed government arrived in Sweden to attend peace talks starting on
Thursday with members of the Iran-aligned Houthi group, in a renewed U.N.
push to end a war that has pushed the country to the brink of starvation.”
The Iranian-backed Houthi delegation arrived Tuesday, “having failed to
turn up for previous talks in Geneva in September.” United Nations special
envoy Martin Griffiths “is seeking agreement on reopening Sanaa airport,
swapping prisoners and securing a truce in the Houthi-held port of
Hodeidah, now a focus of the war.” According to Reuters, the moves “could
lead to a wider ceasefire that would halt coalition air strikes and Houthi
missile attacks on Saudi cities.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=04a-eab&t=c>
(12/5, Rohan) reports that the US “has called for a cease-fire and reduced
some of its logistical aid for the coalition,” and “Iran has also signaled
support” for the talks, “urging all sides ‘to have constructive and
responsible participation in the talks.’” Yet, UN officials have said that
“they don’t expect rapid progress toward a political settlement but hope
for at least minor steps that would help to address Yemen’s worsening
humanitarian crisis.” The AP adds that “there are few incentives for major
compromises,” so the focus of the peace talks “is likely to be on firming
up a shaky de-escalation.”

Wolf Blitzer of CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=04b-de3&t=c>
(12/5) said that the outcome of the UN-backed talks “will likely impact a
very heated battle underway right here in Washington over legislation to
cut US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.” Nima Elbigar said
that for many in the war-torn country, the talks come too late. It’s
“estimated” that a child dies “every ten minutes from hunger” and
malnutrition, although Secretary of State Pompeo “says without American
involvement, life would be worse.” Elbigar said that any ceasefire must end
the siege on the strategic port of Hodeidah, “which is blocking the aid
from reaching Yemeni families.” Defense Secretary Mattis said the talks
could deliver that outcome, but Elbigar said “we are still waiting to see
tangible results.”
Contractor With Ties To Clintons Charged With Routing Supplies For US
Troops Through Iran.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=04c-b36&t=c>
(12/5, Nordland) reports Abul Huda Farouki, “a Jordanian-American...with
longstanding ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton” whose company “feeds
American troops in Afghanistan, has been charged in federal court with
violating sanctions against trade with Iran, along with other offenses.”
According to the Times, “The charges are in connection with more than $8
billion in contracts held by his company, Anham FZCO, to provide food and
other logistical support to American troops in Afghanistan.” The Times
reports that “after Anham won the food services contract in Afghanistan in
2012, the previous contractor, Supreme Group, complained that Anham was
undercutting Supreme by, among other things, saving costs by shipping
through Iran.” The Times notes that Supreme Group “later itself pleaded
guilty to inflating prices on goods to Afghanistan in 2012.”
Unions Join Nationwide Protests Against Macron’s Economic Agenda.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=04d-301&t=c>
(12/5, Petrequin) reports that the “nationwide protests” in France “took on
an even bigger dimension Wednesday after trade unions and farmers vowed to
join the fray, unimpressed by government concessions that tried to stem the
momentum of the most violent demonstrations France has seen in a decade.”
Earlier Wednesday, “France’s largest farmers’ union said it will launch
anti-government protests next week, after trucking unions called for a
rolling strike.” The AP says “trade unions have not so far played a role in
the yellow vest protest movement but are now trying to capitalize on the
growing public anger.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=04e-7cd&t=c>
(12/5, Kar-Gupta, Lough) reports President Emmanuel Macron may “amend a
wealth tax that critics say goes too easy on the rich, his government
indicated on Wednesday, a day after suspending further fuel-tax hikes in
the face of protests across France over living costs.” According to
Reuters, “The unrest over the squeeze on household budgets comes as OECD
data showed that France has become the most highly taxed country in the
developed world, surpassing even high-tax Denmark.” Reuters adds that “a
Macron aide denied that any eventual revision of the wealth tax would
represent a major climb-down by Macron.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=04f-d51&t=c>
(12/5, Nossiter) reports, “Too little, too late: That was the reaction of
the so-called Yellow Vest protesters to the French government’s sudden
retreat this week on a gas tax increase. The Yellow Vests, who have thrown
France into turmoil with violent protests in recent weeks, want more, much
more, and they want it sooner rather than later – lower taxes, higher
salaries, freedom from gnawing financial fear, and a better life.”
According to the Times, “In that regard, it is more Occupy than Orban –
more akin to the protests against Wall Street driven by the working poor in
the United States than the race-based, flag-waving of Hungary’s
increasingly authoritarian leader, Viktor Orban.”

*Bloomberg News’ Fouquet: Trump Has “Put His Finger On The
Challenge Facing” Macron. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=050-1f2&t=c>
(12/5) reports President Trump “has taken another swipe on Twitter
at...Macron prompted by Macron’s woes over violent protests against fuel
taxes.” Trump tweeted: “I am glad that my friend @EmmanuelMacron and the
protestors in Paris have agreed with the conclusion I reached two years
ago. ... The Paris Agreement is fatally flawed because it raises the price
of energy for responsible countries while whitewashing some of the worst
polluters.” Reuters notes that this week, French Prime Minister Edouard
Philippe “decided to suspend planned increases to fuel taxes for at least
six months.”

Helene Fouquet of Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=051-941&t=c>
(12/5) writes, “Trump has put his finger on the challenge facing Emmanuel
Macron.” According to Fouquet, Macron is “trying to work out how to take
the heat out of the situation without compromising his long-term plans for
the economy and the environment.” Fouquet says Trump has “suggested a
different approach: ditch your green strategy and give the angry people
what they want.”
Report: Global Carbon Emissions Reached Record High In 2018.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=052-aab&t=c>
(12/5, Mooney) notes that the Global Carbon Project has released a report
showing that “global emissions of carbon dioxide have reached the highest
levels on record.” Between 2014 and 2016, emissions “remained largely flat,
leading to hopes that the world was beginning to turn a corner. Those hopes
have been dashed. In 2017, global emissions grew 1.6 percent. The rise in
2018 is projected to be 2.7 percent.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=053-64b&t=c>
(12/5, Pierre-Louis) reports that “even as coal has fallen out of favor in
some markets, the rise in emissions has been driven primarily by stronger
demand for natural gas and oil, scientists said. And even as renewable
energy generation has expanded exponentially, it has not been enough to
offset the increased use of fossil fuels.”

*Brazil Warns Against Excluding Developing Nations From Climate
Talks. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=054-b2d&t=c>
(12/5, Jordans) reports Brazil warned Wednesday “against freezing
developing nations out of negotiations at the UN climate summit, suggesting
this could lead to an acrimonious collapse in talks seen in Copenhagen nine
years ago.” J. Antonio Marcondes, Brazil’s chief negotiator, is quoted as
saying, “What must be avoided at all costs is developing countries being
sidelined or presented with take-it-or-leave-it texts.” The AP says “the
two-week gathering in Poland is considered a key moment in international
efforts to curb global warming because signatories of the 2015 Paris accord
have set themselves a year-end deadline to finalize the rules they must
adhere to.”

*Greenland’s Ice Melting “Off The Charts.” *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=055-681&t=c>
(12/5, Rice) reports that the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet has “now
accelerated, scientists announced Wednesday, and shows no signs of slowing
down, according to a new study.” Luke Trusel, a glaciologist at Rowan
University and lead author of the study, said, “Melting of the Greenland
ice sheet has gone into overdrive. Greenland melt is adding to sea level
more than any time during the last three and a half centuries, if not
thousands of years.”
US Envoy Discusses Afghan Peace Talks With Pakistani PM.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=056-a86&t=c>
(12/5, Constable) reports US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad met
with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Wednesday, just
days after “Khan said he had received a letter from Trump, written in
sincere and cordial language and asking for the prime minister’s help in
arranging peace talks” between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Khan’s office said that in the meeting with Khalilzad, “the prime minister
had assured his visitor that Pakistan had ‘always wanted a peaceful end to
the Afghan conflict’ and that ‘reconciliation is the only solution.’”
Meanwhile, “there were numerous reports that a delegation of four Taliban
officials from the group’s political office in Qatar arrived here several
days ago to hold meetings.” According to the Post, the Administration’s
“fresh effort” to arrange the peace talks “has produced no signs of
progress yet but suggests that the chill between the longtime security
allies may be starting to thaw.”

*WSJournal Analysis: US Escalates Military Campaign Against Taliban
To Secure Leverage In Peace Talks. *A Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=057-801&t=c>
(12/5, A1, Phillips) analysis says escalated US raids and airstrikes on
Taliban positions in Afghanistan appear to be part of a calibrated military
pressure campaign aimed at strengthening the US and Afghan position in the
Administration’s push for peace talks with the insurgent group. The Taliban
have also escalated their attacks, underscoring how both sides are vying
for a battlefield advantage to gain an upper hand in the peace
negotiations.
Domestic Policy
Trump Has Rare Encounter With His Predecessors At Bush Funeral.

While most coverage of the funeral of President George H.W. Bush focuses on
the event itself and on ongoing remembrances of the late president, a
significant amount of coverage is also devoted to the interactions between
President Trump and his predecessors, with special attention on the
coldness evident between Trump and the Obamas and the Clintons. David Muir
reported on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=058-473&t=c>
(12/5, lead story, 6:15) that Trump shook “former President Obama’s hand
and Michelle Obama’s, too. ... But there was no interaction between the
Trumps and the Clintons – Hillary Clinton looking forward the entire time.”
Jeff Glor reported on the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=059-db7&t=c>
(12/5, lead story, 4:25), “President Trump and First Lady Melania greeted
the Obamas. The Trumps and Clintons did not shake hands.” Jeff Zeleny said
on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=05a-f04&t=c>
(12/5), “Bill Clinton glancing over, but neither he nor Trump extending a
hand.” However, on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=05b-e42&t=c>
(12/5, lead story, 5:05), Lester Holt called it “a rare moment of unity:
President Trump greeting President and Mrs. Obama and the Clintons for the
first time since taking office.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=05c-3f1&t=c>
(12/5, Lucey, Miller) reports, “There was no mistaking the odd man out.”
The “front-row banter among Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and
their spouses came to an uneasy end” when the Trumps arrived, “a real-time
illustration of the uneasy ties between the current occupant of the White
House and his predecessors, suggesting Trump as a member-in-name-only of
the Oval Office fraternity. While the funeral ceremony itself was a warm
celebration of the late president, the relationships between the surviving
presidents are considerably cooler.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=05d-cdf&t=c>
(12/5, Rucker) reports, “Trump was in the company of all his living
predecessors for the first time Wednesday, and the encounter was plainly
uncomfortable.” The Post says Trump was seated beside “the president Trump
said was illegitimate (Barack Obama); then the first lady he called a
profligate spender of taxpayer dollars (Michelle Obama); then the president
he called the worst abuser of women (Bill Clinton); then the first lady and
secretary of state he said should be in jail (Hillary Clinton); and then
the president he said was the second-worst behind Obama (Jimmy Carter) and
his wife, Rosalynn.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=05e-cf8&t=c>
(12/5, Fritze, Jackson, Cummings) also reports that “the atmosphere at the
rare meeting of the president with his predecessors...was chilly.” Jeffrey
Toobin said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=05f-853&t=c>
(12/5), “It was frosty. But, you know, who was the guy who was chanting
‘Lock her up’ at his rallies? I don’t think there is any pretense that
these people have any admiration, respect, affection for one another.”

Susan Page of USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=060-775&t=c>
(12/5) writes, “Trump didn’t speak at the memorial service...and the
eulogists who did speak addressed the congregation with the understanding
that they wouldn’t challenge the occupant of the Oval Office.” But “the
contrast and the contradictions [between Trump and Bush] were impossible to
miss. ... Intentionally or not, the words of praise for Bush resonated
through the lens of the current president and the nation’s broken politics.
Trump revels in provocative tweets, disparaging nicknames and a willingness
to shatter political norms. Bush was remembered for personal
characteristics of modesty, courtesy and restraint.”

Dana Milbank writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=061-b68&t=c>
(12/5) column, “George W. Bush recalled of his father: ‘In victory, he
shared credit. When he lost, he shouldered the blame.’ Bush invoked his
dad’s ‘unlikeliest’ friendship with Bill Clinton as they went from
opponents to ‘brothers from other mothers.’” Trump “alternated between
folding arms impassively across his chest and leaning forward
uncomfortably. Could he comprehend the ideas of giving credit, accepting
blame or forgiving?”

Several reports also highlight the fact that the Trumps did not
recite the Apostles’ Creed during the service. The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=062-861&t=c>
(12/5, Boorstein) reports that “Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama
and their wives glanced up and down from the programs they held in front of
them and spoke the prayer. ... President Trump stood, with his hands folded
in front of him, waist-high, the program in his left hand, his lips not
moving. Melania Trump also did not speak, nor did she hold a program.”
Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018120601biden&r=email-ab66&l=063-652&t=c>
(12/5, Marcin) reports, “CNN commentator Keith Boykin posted a clip of the
moment, writing about