EMAIL DETAILS

Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Monday, January 7, 2019 7:55 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday,
January 7, 2019


*Click to access
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=000-8fb&t=c>
mobile-optimized online version, including download options and an audio
reader.*


[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=001-25f&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Monday, January 7, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• NYTimes: Biden Views Himself As Democrats’ Best Option To Defeat Trump.
<#S1>

• Biden Atop The Kiplinger Letter’s Rankings Of 2020 Democratic Contenders.
<#S2>

• Writer: “#MeToo Problems” Could Haunt 2020 Biden, Sanders Campaigns. <#S3>

• Writer Blasts Biden’s Views On Economy. <#S4>

• Columnist Doubts Biden Will Win Democratic Nomination. <#S5>

• Timeline Highlights Key Moments In Biden’s Life. <#S6>

• Biden Rejects Trump’s Claim Other Presidents Wanted To Build Border Wall.
<#S7>

• NYTimes A1: Democrats Consider Whether Woman Can Defeat Trump In 2020.
<#S8>

• Warren Campaigns In Iowa, Targeting Trump Without Mentioning Him. <#S9>

• USAToday: Democrats’ 2020 Nominee Should Not Be Too Far To The Left.
<#S10>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Floats Declaration Of National Emergency To Circumvent Congress On
Border Wall. <#S11>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Trump Announces Death Of Al Qaeda Militant Involved In USS Cole Bombing.
<#S12>

• Bolton: No Withdrawal From Syria Until ISIS Destroyed, Kurds’ Safety
Guaranteed. <#S13>

• Mulvaney Defends Trump’s Comments About Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan.
<#S14>

• Trump: Economic Weakness Gives Beijing Incentive To Reach Trade Deal.
<#S15>

• Trump Says US, North Korea “Negotiating” Location For Next Summit With
Kim. <#S16>

• Trump Lauds Egypt’s Sisi For Cathedral Opening. <#S17>

• Mexican President Launches Plan To Boost Economy Near US Border. <#S18>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Trump “In No Hurry” To Replace Acting Cabinet Members. <#S19>

• In Wake Of Tlaib’s Comments, Pelosi And Hoyer Downplay Possibility Of
Impeachment. <#S20>

• Mulvaney Blames Congress For Debt, Deficit Increases. <#S21>

• House Democrats To Study Government-Run Healthcare. <#S22>

• Khanna Calls For Repealing Bush, Trump Tax Cuts. <#S23>

• Fed Faces Challenge Of Creating Economic Soft Landing. <#S24>

• NYTimes Analysis: Liberal House Freshman Aim To Push Democratic Party To
The Left. <#S25>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• NCI Awards $5.8M Grant Renewal To NMSU. <#S26>

• Laws Intended To Protect Firefighters Who Get Cancer May Not Be Strong
Enough, Advocates Say. <#S27>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S28>

• Washington Post. <#S29>
Biden in the News
NYTimes: Biden Views Himself As Democrats’ Best Option To Defeat Trump.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=002-969&t=c>
(1/6, Martin, Burns) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden “is in
the final stages of deciding whether to run for president and has told
allies he is skeptical the other Democrats eyeing the White House can
defeat President Trump, an assessment that foreshadows a clash between the
veteran Washington insider and the more liberal and fresh-faced contenders
for the party’s 2020 nomination.” Biden “would instantly be the early
front-runner if he ran, but he would have to bridge” party divisions “that
would test whether Democrats are willing to embrace a moderate white man in
his 70s if they view him as the best bet to oust Mr. Trump.” Biden’s
“skepticism about the field could alienate female and minority voters who
are excited that several women and African-Americans are expected to run.”

Several other media outlets offer reports on the New York Times’
story. For example, the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=003-be3&t=c>
(1/6, Lim) reported that Biden, speaking with “a Democratic confidant,”
said of the 2020 presidential race, “If you can persuade me there is
somebody better who can win, I’m happy not to do it. But I don’t see the
candidate who can clearly do what has to be done to win.”

Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=004-66f&t=c>
(1/7, House) reports that Biden “hasn’t yet told allies he’s decided to
run, but has indicated he’s leaning toward it and will likely decide within
the next two weeks, the newspaper said, citing unnamed Democrats who’ve
spoken to him recently.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=005-150&t=c>
(1/6, Birnbaum) and Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=006-ff6&t=c>
(1/6, Atkinson) offered similar reports on the Times’ story.

*CNN: Biden Poised To Announce 2020 Decision “In The Coming Month.”
*In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=007-bb0&t=c>
(1/7, Saenz, Zeleny) reports that Biden “is poised to decide in the coming
month whether he will” enter the 2020 contest. CNN added that an “ally who
spoke with Biden in recent weeks said that the former vice president
indicated he was leaning toward a run.” CNN quoted “the Biden ally” as
saying, “He understands that he needs to make a decision relatively early
in the process. He knows he can’t wait.”
Biden Atop The Kiplinger Letter’s Rankings Of 2020 Democratic Contenders.

The The Kiplinger Letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=008-3a2&t=c>
(1/4, Duran) offered its rankings of “the top contenders for the [2020]
Democratic presidential nomination.” Topping the list is former Vice
President Joe Biden, who leads “most early polls of Democratic voters,”
though “that’s as much a result of being in the public eye for nearly 45
years as it is a measure of true desire to see the 76-year-old former
Delaware senator top the ticket two years from now.” If he runs, Biden
“could quickly assemble a top team of consultants and advisers and lock in
some of the party’s biggest donors. He’d also have access to [former
President] Obama’s campaign mailing list and be able to tap the
organization that their 2008 and 2012 campaigns built.” Second on the list
is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), followed by Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), and
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Sen Sherrod Brown (D-OH) rounds out the top
five.
Writer: “#MeToo Problems” Could Haunt 2020 Biden, Sanders Campaigns.

In a piece for National Review
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=009-8d5&t=c>
(1/4), JNS.org editor in chief Jonathan S. Tobin wrote that if former Vice
President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seek the 2020 Democratic
presidential nomination, they “should both be prepared to have their
potential rivals bring up their #MeToo problems in a campaign.” Tobin cited
criticism of Biden’s handling of the 1991 Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas
hearings and a recent New York Times story
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=00a-09b&t=c>
(1/2, Ember, Benner) that detailed allegations about a “culture of sexism
that apparently pervaded” the 2016 campaign of Sanders. Tobin added, “The
continuing emphasis on #MeToo...mean[s] that Democratic men are going to
have to prove their innocence in a way that will make it far more difficult
for Sanders and Biden than either of them currently anticipates – and that
being old, white, and male could be their undoing.”
Writer Blasts Biden’s Views On Economy.

In a negative piece for The Week
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=00b-a91&t=c>
(1/7), Ryan Cooper argues that former Vice President Joe Biden shouldn’t be
the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nominee. Focusing on comments Biden made
during “a speech at the Brookings Institution last year,” Cooper says
Biden’s “ideas about political economy are badly mistaken and out of date.”
Cooper writes that Biden is wrong in contending “that wages are low in part
because workers aren’t getting enough education,” arguing instead that
“wages are low because that is how the labor system has been deliberately
structured.” After quoting Biden as saying in his speech, “I don’t think
500 billionaires are the reason why we’re in trouble,” Cooper says “the
plainly obvious fact is that 500 billionaires (and the rest of the top 1
percent) are a huge part of why we’re in trouble. ... Biden can’t see this,
perhaps because he has been ideologically indoctrinated, or perhaps because
he is personally too close to the oligarchs.”
Columnist Doubts Biden Will Win Democratic Nomination.

In his Bloomberg Opinion
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=00c-9e0&t=c>
(1/7) column, Jonathan Bernstein writes that he’s “not very impressed with
[former Vice President Joe] Biden’s chances” of winning the 2020 Democratic
presidential nomination, saying that “he’d be at best the leader of a
moderate faction rather than of a broad coalition. In fact, it’s hard to
see anyone but moderate candidates – maybe only moderate white-male
candidates – who would drop out if Biden moved forward. And that’s a pretty
good indication that he’s no overwhelming favorite.” Bernstein adds, “Could
Biden win? Certainly. But my hunch is that Democrats are looking for
someone within the party mainstream who has conventional qualifications –
and someone no older than Senator Elizabeth Warren, who will be 71 by next
November. Biden is already 76. My guess is that he isn’t one of the five
likeliest nominees, and I’m not really sure he’s among the top 10.”
Timeline Highlights Key Moments In Biden’s Life.

As former Vice President Joe Biden mulls a 2020 bid, the Wilmington (DE)
News Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=00d-6c7&t=c>
(1/4) offers a timeline of key moments in his life.
Biden Rejects Trump’s Claim Other Presidents Wanted To Build Border Wall.

Circa
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=00e-1e5&t=c>
(1/5, Grim) reported that President Trump “claimed Friday in a press
conference that some former presidents have told him they wished that they
had built a wall” along the US-Mexico border. However, former Vice
President Joe Biden “doesn’t agree. CNN’s Randi Kaye asked
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=00f-812&t=c>
Biden in an interview about the president’s comment regarding the wall. ‘Do
you recall President Obama ever saying that?’ Kaye asked. ‘I don’t know a
single one,’ Biden said. ‘I can’t think of a single one who said that.’” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=010-ed6&t=c>
(1/5, Rodrigo) reported that Biden went on to tick off the names of
“presidents who would not want a wall, starting with former President
Carter, and said ‘come on.’” Mediaite
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=011-fd7&t=c>
(1/5, Auber) also reported on Biden’s remarks.

*Biden: Trump Shut Down Government Over Pressure From Limbaugh,
“Conservative Blonde Woman.” *The Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=012-a83&t=c>
(1/5, Murdock) reported that during his interview with CNN’s Kaye, Biden
“blamed conservative pundits for pressuring...Trump to shut down the
government despite advice from Republican lawmakers who wanted to keep it
open.” Biden is quoted as saying, “Republicans overwhelmingly voted to keep
the government open. Then Rush Limbaugh and the conservative blonde woman
says he’s losing his base, and so he’s changed his mind.” HuffPost added
that “the ‘conservative blonde woman’ was likely a reference to Ann
Coulter, who called Trump ‘gutless’ for not building a border wall just two
days before he ordered a partial shutdown.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=013-1e5&t=c>
(1/5, Leonard) reported that Biden’s remarks “drew criticism on Twitter for
his use of ‘conservative blonde woman’ rather than the woman’s name.”
Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=014-b19&t=c>
(1/5, Caplan) reported that Biden’s “eyebrow-raising remark comes after
Coulter predicted...Trump will ‘fold’ on his chief campaign promise to fund
the wall, despite expressing to Democrat leaders a willingness to keep the
government closed until an agreement is reached on the proposal.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=015-8e3&t=c>
(1/5, Axelrod) and Inquisitr
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=016-5e4&t=c>
(1/5, Francis) also reported on Biden’s remarks.
NYTimes A1: Democrats Consider Whether Woman Can Defeat Trump In 2020.

In a front-page article, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=017-454&t=c>
(1/5, A1, Lerer, Chira) reported that as the battle for the 2020 Democratic
presidential nomination heats up – a contest that’s expected to include
several prominent female candidates – “two competing narratives have
emerged about the possibility of another woman leading the Democratic
ticket, interviews with more than three dozen party officials, voters and
pollsters showed.” The Times said, “At a time of ascendancy for women in
the party, there’s a lingering doubt in some quarters about whether there
is a risk involved in nominating a woman to take on President Trump, whom
Democrats fervently want to unseat.” According to the Times, “The specter
of [Hillary Clinton’s] defeat in 2016 still haunts some Democratic
officials, voters and activists.”
Warren Campaigns In Iowa, Targeting Trump Without Mentioning Him.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=018-e67&t=c>
(1/6, Janes) reports that during her first presidential campaign visit to
Iowa, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) this weekend “aimed directly at voters
tempted by President Trump’s angry populism in 2016 but avoided mentions of
Trump himself almost entirely.” She “connected issues that galvanize the
left under the idea that America’s political and economic system is
‘corrupt’” and “preventing working-class families from getting ahead,”
implicitly criticizing both Trump and Washington politics. Additionally,
“virtually every position she advocated was, in policy terms, a repudiation
of” Trump. However, she did not substantively address “the micro issues
that are of particular interest to Iowa,” such as agriculture and the farm
bill. The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=019-669&t=c>
(1/6, Epstein) reported that Warren’s populist pitch in some ways recalled
Trump’s message during the 2016 campaign.

The Des Moines (IA) Register
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=01a-501&t=c>
(1/5, Pfannenstiel) reported that “progressive populism defines Warren’s
politics, and Friday was the first time she pitched it directly to Iowans
who will help decide her fate in the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.”
In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=01b-017&t=c>
(1/4, Krieg, Lee) reported that Warren “delivered her first live pitch to
presidential primary voters in Iowa on Friday night with a signature and
searing indictment of the powerful interests she blames for corrupting
government and decimating the American working class.” Said Warren, “I am
determined that we build an America where not just the children of rich
people get a chance to build something, but where all of our children get a
chance to build a real future. That’s what I’m in this fight for.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=01c-684&t=c>
(1/7, Greenwood) reports that Warren’s “early entrance” into the 2020
Democratic race puts “pressure on other potential candidates weighing
campaigns of their own.” Warren’s early start offers “ample opportunity for
her to set the tenor of the nominating contest by staking out positions
that could define the Democratic field.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=01d-f96&t=c>
(1/5, Korecki) reported that Warren “suffered setbacks last year, when she
was widely criticized for the clumsy October release of the results of a
DNA test in an attempt to address her previous Native American ancestry
claims.” This weekend in Iowa, however, “her early-out-of-the-gates visit
looked more than promising,” as “hundreds of people snaked around one block
then wrapped around another, waiting outside for her evening appearance” on
Saturday.

The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=01e-d8f&t=c>
(1/5, Bierman) reported, “Critics, including many Democrats, have
questioned whether Warren is too far to the left, too damaged by the
controversy over her thin claims to Native American ancestry or incapable
of connecting with average Americans. Her advisors see Iowa, where
candidates audition before informal groups of party activists and curious
voters, as an ideal place for her to prove the detractors wrong and remind
the political class what made her such a formidable candidate in the first
place.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=01f-339&t=c>
(1/7, Herndon) reports that Iowa’s “voters are giddy at the prospect of a
crowded field that could feature more than a dozen candidates across the
ideological spectrum. Angry at Wall Street? There’s Ms. Warren, the
longtime critic of unrestrained markets and big corporations, but also
[Sen. Bernie] Sanders or Senator Sherrod Brown.” Voters “eager for a female
candidate may be able to choose between” as many as five high-profile
candidates.

*Warren Asked By Iowan Why She Took DNA Test. *Meanwhile, the
Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=020-2b9&t=c>
(1/5, Weigel) reported that Warren on Saturday was asked by an attendee at
her campaign event in Sioux City, “Why did you undergo the DNA testing and
give [President Trump] more fodder to be a bully?” She responded, “I am not
a person of color; I am not a citizen of a tribe.” Warren added, “Tribal
citizenship is very different from ancestry. Tribes, and only tribes,
determine tribal citizenship, and I respect that difference. I grew up in
Oklahoma, and like a lot of folks in Oklahoma, we heard stories about our
ancestry. When I first ran for public office, Republicans homed in on this
part of my history, and thought they could make a lot of hay out of it. A
lot of racial slurs, and a lot of ugly stuff. And so my decision was: I’m
just gonna put it all out there. Took a while, but just put it all out
there.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=021-c61&t=c>
(1/5, Axelrod) reported that Warren “last year took a DNA test intended to
put to rest scrutiny that she had claimed Native American ancestry,
something...Trump had used to question her credibility repeatedly. The test
infuriated some Native Americans who said the move diminished an ethnicity
and identity to a genealogy test.”
USAToday: Democrats’ 2020 Nominee Should Not Be Too Far To The Left.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=022-b19&t=c>
(1/6, Board) says in an editorial that while Democrats “are full of eager
anticipation, if not outright confidence” about winning the 2020
presidential race, they “could blow it” by “nominating someone so far to
the left that he or she could lose much of the swing vote and be cast as a
liberal version of [President] Trump.” USA Today argues that if Democrats
select “a nominee on the far left bank of the political mainstream,” they
“would cement their reputation as the party that never misses an
opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

*MoveOn Official: Democrats Must Nominate A Progressive. *In an
opposing op-ed for USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=023-9fd&t=c>
(1/6, Jean-Pierre), Karine Jean-Pierre, the chief public affairs officer
for MoveOn, writes that Democrats’ 2020 nominee “must offer a clear,
unapologetically progressive alternative to...Trump.” Jean-Pierre says
voters have “made it abundantly clear that the last thing they want to see
in their nominee is a middle-of-the-road Democrat who won’t go far enough
to turn our country around.” Jean-Pierre cites the midterm elections as “a
blueprint for the 2020 presidential election,” arguing that progressive
candidates who “challenged centrist Democrats in primaries across the USA”
won and many “went on to win their general elections, too, transferring
control of the House to Democrats.”
Leading the News
Trump Floats Declaration Of National Emergency To Circumvent Congress On
Border Wall.

Coverage of the ongoing federal budget shutdown focused primarily on
President Trump’s asserting that he may declare a national emergency in
order to construct a wall on the US-Mexico border. On ABC World News
Tonight[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=024-386&t=c>
(1/6, story 4, 3:00, Llamas), Tara Palmeri reported the move could allow
Trump to “bypass Congress and build the wall himself.” Trump was shown
saying, “I may declare a national emergency depending on what is going to
happen over the next two days.” Palmeri added, “It’s a move that would face
backlash.” House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith: “I think the President
would be wide open to a court challenge saying, ‘Where is the emergency?’
You have to establish that in order to do this.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=025-ffe&t=c>
(1/6, A1, Dinan, Sherfinski) reports Smith “said presidents have indeed
used emergency construction powers in the past – though he told ABC’s ‘This
Week’ program that ‘primarily it’s been done to build facilities in
Afghanistan and Iraq.’”

ABC’s Palmeri added that the President “seem[ed] to undermine”
talks Vice President Pence, DHS Secretary Nielsen, and Jared Kushner held
with “Democratic aides...saying only he and congressional leaders can solve
the standoff.” Trump: “[Senate Minority Leader] Schumer and Nancy Pelosi
and myself can solve this in 20 minutes, if they want to. If they don’t
want to, it’s going to go on for a long time.” However, the President
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=026-231&t=c>
at 4:53 p.m., “V.P. Mike Pence and group had a productive meeting with the
Schumer/Pelosi representatives today. Many details of Border Security were
discussed. We are now planning a Steel Barrier rather than concrete. It is
both stronger & less obtrusive. Good solution, and made in the U.S.A.”

On the CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=027-348&t=c>
(1/6, story 2, 2:20, Quijano), Errol Barnett reported, “Trump, returning
from Camp David this afternoon, reiterated his threat to declare a national
emergency to secure money for border security.” Trump: “It is a national
security, it’s a national emergency.” Barnett: “On Friday, the President
explained such a move would allow him to circumvent congressional approval,
and instead use Pentagon funds to attain the $5.6 billion he wants for a
southern wall, on what he now calls a steel barrier. ... House Democrat
Adam Schiff is doubtful of the declarations’ legality.” Schiff said on CNN’s
State Of The Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=028-0d0&t=c>
(1/6), “If Harry Truman couldn’t nationalize the steel industry during
wartime, this President doesn’t have the power to declare an emergency and
build a multibillion-dollar wall on the border. That’s a nonstarter. And I
think that what the President needs to do more than anything else, he’s
painted himself into a corner on this thing, is figure out how to un-paint
himself from that corner.”

The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=029-4e6&t=c>
(1/6, Schwab) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed
that the President “could go around Congress and use another source of
funding to get his border wall.” Sanders told Fox News Sunday[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=02a-8b5&t=c>
(1/6), “We’re looking and exploring every option available that the
President has. ... The President’s prepared to do what it takes to protect
our borders, to protect the people of this country.” Eliana Johnson of
Politico said on CNN’s Inside Politics[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=02b-126&t=c>
(1/6), “This is something that the President has raised a number of times
privately. And we know this is a President who likes to test the limits of
his power.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=02c-f0d&t=c>
(1/6, Lucey, Mascaro) reports, “Trump stood by his demands for funding for
a border wall Sunday as another round of shutdown talks failed to break an
impasse, while newly empowered House Democrats planned to step up the
pressure on Trump and Republican lawmakers by passing legislation this week
to reopen parts of the government.” The President “showed no signs of
budging on his demand of more than $5 billion” for the wall. USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=02d-3ba&t=c>
(1/6, Jackson) reports the President said he “is willing to settle for a
steel structure rather than a concrete one.” The President told reporters,
“I informed my folks to say that we’ll build a steel barrier. They don’t
like concrete, so we’ll give them steel.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=02e-3c0&t=c>
(1/6, Spiering) reports the President “vowed Sunday not to cave in the
shutdown fight with Democrats over border wall funding.” He told reporters,
“I don’t like doing this, I have no fun doing this, I was elected to
protect our country, that’s what I’m doing.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=02f-b57&t=c>
(1/6, Enjeti) reports, “Trump has agreed to reconvene with congressional
leadership next week in order to continue progress.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=030-b9c&t=c>
(1/6, Costa, Sonmez, Miroff) reports, “Both sides acknowledged that they
remained far apart late Sunday, and while Democrats may be interested in
negotiating a broader immigration deal that includes humanitarian funding,
they have refused to do so unless the government is reopened.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=031-91e&t=c>
(1/6, Samuels) reports, “Lawmakers in both parties on Sunday rejected the
prospect of President Trump solving the ongoing budget impasse by skirting
Congress to declare a ‘national emergency.’” Senate Minority Whip Durbin
said on CBS’ Face The Nation, “I don’t know what he’s basing this on, but
he’s faced so many lawsuits when he ignores the law and ignores tradition
and precedent, and just goes forward without any concern.” Rep. Liz Cheney
(R-WY), “a member of the House GOP leadership team,” also said that “while
the president may hold the authority to build the wall through an emergency
declaration, lawmakers should broker a compromise on border security.”
Cheney said, “Nobody wants him to invoke it and I don’t believe the
President wants to invoke it.”

Durbin, on CBS’ Face The Nation[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=032-bd7&t=c>
(1/6), said, “This is the first President in history to shut down his own
government. Unfortunately people will suffer. ... There was agreement to
continue the conversation. But what we’ve said is, open the government and
let’s have a debate and deliberation. This gun-to-our-head approach with
closing down the government is the thing we most opposed.”

Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) said on CNN’s State Of The Union[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=033-70c&t=c>
(1/6), “I do not believe that holding government workers and all those
affected by government services hostage is the way to determine how best to
secure our borders, which everyone wants. ... All of the bills that passed
the Congress the other night or the House were passed by the Senate, or at
least four of them passed 92-6. ... So Democrats and Republicans in the
United States Senate have worked together to try to forge that compromise.”

Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=034-c2b&t=c>,
“Trump shut down the government because his friends on the far-right were
criticizing him on TV. Now those same ‘friends’ want him to declare a
national emergency under false pretenses, taking resources away from our
men and women in uniform, to fund a political vanity project.” Rep. Jared
Huffman (D-CA) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=035-f7b&t=c>,
“Tell you what: Trump can reopen the government and try this emergency
authority theory to build his crazy medieval border wall. We’ll see him in
court and everyone can fight it out there.” Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=036-a7d&t=c>,
“Trump declaring an ‘emergency’ over his wall would be an unconstitutional
abuse of his powers as commander in chief. He has completely failed to make
the case that our national security requires his wall. The House should
repudiate any such emergency declaration immediately.”

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times said on CNN’s Inside
Politics[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=037-017&t=c>
(1/6) that Trump is “pretty public about where his mindset is, which is
that he’s feeling good about this, and he is feeling good about it because
his conservative allies are telling him he’s doing the right thing and
telling him in pretty blunt terms, your reelection depends on this. He has
absorbed that. That being said, the news coverage is not good and the
longer this goes on, the pain is going to be felt by a lot more people.”

Washington Post conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=038-c7a&t=c>,
“There is no emergency and no constitutional authority for Trump to do this
on his own. Nevertheless, perhaps the House should pass a resolution that
any such action would be a gross violation of the president’s oath and
grounds for impeachment.”

Ginger Gibson of Reuters tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=039-514&t=c>,
“Remember when the governor of Texas sent the state’s national guard to
monitor a military training exercise because people were convinced Obama
was going to declare a national emergency and make the military active in
the United States? How far we’ve come.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=03a-d7a&t=c>
(1/6, Lucey) writes, “The partial government shutdown is spotlighting the
limitations of [the President’s] erratic negotiating style. ... The
president’s zigzag tactics and messaging have angered Democrats and
frustrated even some of the Republicans struggling to help find him an
off-ramp.” The AP writes, “While Trump’s blend of bluster and bullying is
hardly new...his self-professed dealmaking skills are now facing a bigger
test against newly empowered Democrats.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=03b-006&t=c>
(1/6, Sink, Jacobs), Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=03c-c4d&t=c>
(1/6, Mason, Gibson), and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=03d-fde&t=c>
(1/6, Levine, Forgey) also report.

*Trump Quotes Obama, Hillary Clinton In Tweets On Border Security. *In
two tweets Sunday morning, the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=03e-52c&t=c>
(1/6, Miller) reports the President “quoted Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton supporting border security, pushing Democrats to relent in the
standoff over spending on a border wall.” Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=03f-40b&t=c>
at 7:01 a.m., “‘We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United
States undetected, undocumented, unchecked...’ Barrack Obama, 2005. I
voted, when I was a Senator, to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal
immigrants from coming in...’ Hillary Clinton, 2015.” He then tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=040-b45&t=c>
at 7:33 a.m., “....The only reason they do not want to build a Wall is that
Walls Work! 99% of our illegal Border crossings will end, crime in our
Country will go way down and we will save billions of dollars a year! A
properly planned and constructed Wall will pay for itself many times a
year!”

*OMB Formally Demands Funding For Border Barrier. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=041-d61&t=c>
(1/6, Costa, Eilperin, Paletta, Miroff) reports the Trump Administration
“began taking extraordinary steps to contain the fallout” from the shutdown
Sunday. Acting OMB Director Vought “sent congressional leaders a letter
detailing the administration’s latest offer to end the shutdown. It
demanded $5.7 billion ‘for construction of a steel barrier for the
Southwest border’ but also proposed ‘an additional $800 million to address
urgent humanitarian needs’ and unaccompanied migrant children arriving at
the border.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=042-7d8&t=c>
(1/6, Tackett, Edmondson) reports the letter “also provided a fuller
picture of Mr. Trump’s border demands.” The Times calls the call for
humanitarian funding “a small gesture to Democrats.”

*Mulvaney: “I Think This Is Going To Drag On A Lot Longer.”
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=043-d7e&t=c>
(1/6, Sherfinski) reports Acting Chief of Staff Mulvaney “says he hopes
more progress can be made Sunday in negotiations on how to end a partial
government shutdown, but indicated that the two sides are still far apart
on the issue of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.” On NBC’s Meet The
Press[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=044-bad&t=c>
(1/6), Mulvaney said, “We were not there to make a final deal...the
specific mandate of the group was to find an agreement on some of the
underlying terms. ... The discussion immediately turned to a bunch of
technical requests that Democrats were asking for, for the first time ever
in these negotiations, so I think this is going to drag on a lot longer. I
think that’s by intention.” Mulvaney similarly said on CNN’s State Of The
Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=045-7e6&t=c>
(1/6), “We didn’t make much progress at the meeting, which was surprising
to me. I thought we could come in to talk about places we agreed on. ...
They were actually, in my mind, there to stall. And we did not make much
progress.”

*Graham: Goal Is Border Security, “Not To Open Up The Government.” *USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=046-48c&t=c>
(1/6, Cummings) reports Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the President’s
“most ardent advocates in the Senate amid his battle with congressional
Democrats,” appeared “ready to accept a long-term shutdown to achieve the
president’s goal.” On CBS’ Face The Nation[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=047-ed6&t=c>
(1/6), Graham said, “I do want to open up the government, but the goal is
not to open up the government. The goal is to fix a broken immigration
system to bring reality to this table.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=048-da5&t=c>
(1/6, Key) reports Graham said Trump “can’t negotiate on the government
shutdown over funding a border wall ‘as long as the radical left is in
charge.’” Graham said, “We’re having to negotiate with people who want to
abolish ICE, not support ICE. We’re having to negotiate with people who see
Border Patrol agents gassing children, rather than defending our borders as
professional law enforcement officers.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=049-73a&t=c>
(1/6, Sherfinski) and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=04a-114&t=c>
(1/6, Guida) also report on Graham’s comments.

*House Democrats Plan Individual Spending Bills This Week.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=04b-632&t=c>
(1/6, Sherfinski) reports, “House Democrats plan to start passing
individual spending bills this week, starting with one that funds the IRS,
to try to pressure congressional Republicans and the White House amid the
ongoing partial government shutdown.” On NBC’s Meet The Press[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=04c-02e&t=c>
(1/6), House Majority Leader Hoyer said, “What we ought to do is open up
the government first. And that’s what we’re going to do. We passed
legislation last Thursday that would open up the government. I would hope
that [Senate Majority Leader] McConnell would take the responsibility as
the leader of the co-equal branch of government and send this to the
President that would open up government and would start serving the
American people.”

On Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=04d-4be&t=c>
(1/6), Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) said, “I don’t think we are demanding a
surrender but what we are demanding is the government be reopened. We
passed appropriations bills that were passed unanimously, supported by
Republicans, there was an agreement on those bills. The President at the
last moment changed his mind and that deal fell apart. We are trying to
isolate the disagreement.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=04e-546&t=c>
(1/6, Lim) reports Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told CNN that she “wants to
vote on legislation passed by the House that could end the partial
government shutdown.” Collins said, “I can’t speak for McConnell, but I
would like to see him bring the House-passed bills to the Senate
floor.” On NBC’s
Meet The Press[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=04f-aad&t=c>
(1/6), Collins said, “This isn’t a matter of one side or the other caving
in. It’s a matter of getting to a compromise. And that’s a sign of
strength. And it’s important that we remember that real lives are being
affected here.”

*NPS Clock Tower At Trump International Hotel Remains Open And
Staffed. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=050-2a9&t=c>
(1/6, Knickmeyer, Braun) reports, “Despite the federal government shutdown”
and closings at the Smithsonian museums and many national parks, “a
historic clock tower at the Trump International Hotel remained open Friday
for its handful of visitors, staffed by green-clad National Park Service
rangers. ... The Trump administration appears to have gone out of its way
to keep the attraction in the federally owned building that houses the
Trump hotel open and staffed with National Park Service rangers, even as
other federal agencies shut all but the most essential services.” Citizens
for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has field a FOIA request
“seeking documents explaining why the tower was open, how it continues to
be funded, and any communications between the agency and the Trump
Organization.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=051-9a8&t=c>
(1/6, Eilperin) reports that at other parks, the National Park Service
“will take the unprecedented step of tapping entrance fees to pay for
expanded operations at its most popular sites.”

*Towns Outside Beltway Gird For Impact Of Shutdown. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=052-47a&t=c>
(1/6, May, Gowen, Achenbach) has a feature on how towns outside the
Washington region with federal workers are coping with the ongoing
shutdown. The Post writes, “Many of the affected federal workers –
including 10,000 people in Utah, 6,200 in West Virginia and 5,500 in
Alabama – have salaries far below the average $85,000 for government
employees. But those paychecks drive local economies, and workers are
starting to make tough choices about how to spend them – eating out less,
limiting travel and shopping at food pantries instead of grocery stores –
creating a ripple effect through the neighborhoods and towns where they
live.”
Foreign Policy
Trump Announces Death Of Al Qaeda Militant Involved In USS Cole Bombing.

The CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=053-d64&t=c>
(1/6, story 3, 0:25, Quijano) reported “President Trump [is] confirming the
death of Jamal Al-Badawi,” who “is believed to be one of the masterminds
behind the bombing of the USS Cole.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=054-3bf&t=c>
(1/6, Moore) reports Trump announced on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=055-682&t=c>
Sunday, “Our GREAT MILITARY has delivered justice for the heroes lost and
wounded in the cowardly attack on the USS Cole. We have just killed the
leader of that attack, Jamal al-Badawi. Our work against al Qaeda
continues. We will never stop in our fight against Radical Islamic
Terrorism!”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=056-70d&t=c>
(1/6, Milliken, Stewart) reports Badawi, who was indicted by a federal
grand jury in 2003 over his role in the October 2000 bombing, was killed in
a US airstrike in Yemen on Jan. 1. According to the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=057-33d&t=c>
(1/6), the strike took place “east of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital.” ABC World
News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=058-1e4&t=c>
(1/6, story 5, 0:25, Llamas) also reported briefly on Badawi’s death,
noting that he “was indicted in the US, but never extradited for the
attack. Yemen did convict him, but he escaped from prison.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=059-b01&t=c>
(1/6, Sonmez) reports CENTCOM confirmed Badawi’s death Sunday afternoon in
a statement, saying, “US forces confirmed the results of the strike
following a deliberate assessment process.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=05a-d82&t=c>
(1/6, Muñoz) reports CENTCOM “did not confirm whether al-Badawi was killed
by a drone strike or by US fighter aircraft, or whether other members of
the terror group were also killed in the attack.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=05b-e70&t=c>
(1/6, Schmitt), among other outlets, also reports the story.
Bolton: No Withdrawal From Syria Until ISIS Destroyed, Kurds’ Safety
Guaranteed.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=05c-284&t=c>
(1/6, story 5, 1:30, Quijano) reported the plan for the US withdrawal from
Syria “appeared to change again.” CBS (Vigliotti) added, “While visiting
Israel today, National Security Adviser John Bolton said that the American
military withdrawal from neighboring Syria is now conditioned on defeating
the remnants of ISIS, adding, ‘There is no timetable for the pullout.’ It
was welcomed news for a nation worried about destabilization next door, and
a major step back from President Trump’s major announcement in December,
when he said he would pull US troops from Syria immediately.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=05d-22b&t=c>
(1/6, Miller) reports Bolton said US troops will not leave northeastern
Syria until ISIS militants are defeated and American-allied Kurdish
fighters are protected. The AP says Bolton’s remarks signal “a pause to a
withdrawal abruptly announced last month and initially expected to be
completed within weeks.” Bolton “said there is now no timetable” for the
withdrawal of US troops.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=05e-6fa&t=c>
(1/6, Holland) reports Bolton, who is currently on a trip to Israel and
Turkey, “added a new condition on Sunday to the US withdrawal from Syria,
saying Turkey must agree to protect the United States’ Kurdish allies.”
Bolton “said he would stress in talks with Turkish officials, including
President Tayyip Erdogan, that Kurdish forces must be protected.” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=05f-0f1&t=c>
(1/6, Salama) reports that, speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Bolton said
Trump’s order to withdraw US troops is a “cause and effect mission” that
requires assurances from various players in the region.

To the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=060-fb9&t=c>
(1/6, Demirjian), Bolton “sought to reassure allies Sunday that the United
States would be methodical about withdrawing troops from Syria, promising
that the pullout would not occur until the Islamic State was fully
eradicated from the country and Turkey could guarantee the safety of
Kurdish fighters who have fought alongside American personnel.” Bolton’s
comments, it says, “contradict Trump’s mid-December promise to bring troops
home from Syria ‘now,’ an announcement that surprised allies and advisers.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=061-4aa&t=c>
(1/6, Sanger, Weiland, Schmitt) likewise says Bolton “appeared on Sunday to
roll back Mr. Trump’s decision to rapidly withdraw from Syria, laying out
conditions for a pullout that could leave American forces there for months
or even years.” The Times says his remarks “also reflected the disarray
that has surrounded the president’s decision, which took his staff and
foreign allies by surprise and drew objections from the Pentagon that it
was logistically impossible and strategically unwise.”

Hugh Hewitt writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=062-5df&t=c>
(1/5, Hewitt) column that “Bolton confirmed the ‘red line’ is very much in
place with regards to Assad and chemical weapons.” Hewitt adds, “The
message seems clear to both Iran and Syria: The United States is
reconfiguring; it isn’t leaving. In fact, it may be getting even more
lethal. There will be no repeat of 2011.”

*Lawmakers Weigh In On US Plans To Withdraw From Syria. *House
Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-WA), on ABC’s This Week[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=063-1ac&t=c>
(1/6), said, “I don’t think anybody knows what the policy is. That’s part
of the problem. ... Our allies matter enormously, and the President treats
them like dirt. He insults them regularly, does not consult them, makes
radical decisions via Twitter and changes his mind the next day. The world
is big and complicated. The US is not able to do everything on our own. We
need allies to support us. He has alienated them across the board, and in
Syria, the two points that John Bolton made are obvious. Those are the two
big concerns we have: We don’t want ISIS to rise again and be a
transnational terrorist threat, and we don’t want our allies, the Kurds, to
be slaughtered in Turkey. That was obvious how many ever weeks ago it was
when President Trump apparently on a whim tweeted out, we’re getting out of
Syria.”

On ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=064-be1&t=c>
(1/6), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) said, “I have said...the United States should
not pull out of Syria. I have been very hopeful as I have seen reports that
we are now going to slow that down. We have got about 2,200 special
operations forces there, and they are conducting crucially important work
in terms of air support, in terms of artillery support. It is their
presence that has helped the Kurds be effective in the battle against ISIS,
and it would be devastating if we were to pull out precipitously, and if we
were to have a situation where the Iranians were given free rein to really
establish a land bridge there and control and dominate Syria. That would be
counter to our interests and it would allow ISIS to begin to again form
safe havens.”

On CBS’ Face the Nation[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=065-641&t=c>
(1/6), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “Well, I had lunch with the
President last week, there are three things we want to accomplish as part
of the withdrawal: make sure that when we leave, the Kurds do not get
slaughtered. ... We need to make sure ISIS doesn’t come back once they’re
defeated and Iran is not the biggest winner. If you can accomplish those
three objectives by reducing our forces, which I think we can, then count
me in. But those three things have to be accomplished for us to
successfully leave Syria.”

House Armed Services Committee ranking member Mac Thornberry
(R-TX), on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=066-fa9&t=c>
(1/6), said, “Bolton this morning has walked back some of that initial
concern, but there’s still a lot of worry that if you let up the pressure
on terrorist groups – whether they’re in Syria, Afghanistan or Yemen – they
can spring back to life very quickly and threaten us here at home. ... I
think the key lesson from what’s happened in Syria is that Americans don’t
have to do the fighting, but we have to be there advising, sometimes having
air support. ...We have to at least have some presence to keep the pressure
on.”
Mulvaney Defends Trump’s Comments About Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan.

On CNN’s State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=067-3b6&t=c>
(1/6), acting White House Chief of Staff Mulvaney discussed President
Trump’s recent comments defending the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of
Afghanistan. Said Mulvaney, “I think that idea is borne out of frustration.
This ties into the comments and discussions you and I have had about Syria
as well, which is the President promised that he would have a different
Middle Eastern foreign policy. He’s just very frustrated with the slow
progress. ... I think those are comments the President made borne out of
frustration for where we are. I’m not too concerned about the details.”

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), also appearing on CNN’s
State of the Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=068-492&t=c>
(1/6), said, “Anyone that had the standing or the independence to speak out
to the President to tell the President what he needed to hear, not what he
wanted to hear, has been pushed aside. And now you have a lot of yes people
serving the President. And with this kind of a President who is as
impulsive as he is, who makes up claims out of whole cloth, and you talked
earlier today about the astonishing claim that the Soviets invaded
Afghanistan to fight terror. That’s not something you say out of
frustration. That’s a Kremlin talking point. And if he doesn’t have anyone
who will tell him, ‘Mr. President, that’s flat-out wrong, where are you
getting this from?’ ... Someone is giving him these ideas about Montenegro
and what the Soviets invaded Afghanistan for.”

On ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=069-cff&t=c>
(1/6), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) said, “Obviously, I disagree with the
President’s assessment of history there. The Soviets went into Afghanistan
as part of the doctrine, and they were determined to spread Communism
around the globe, and what bankrupted them was Ronald Reagan and his
determination to support those who were fighting on behalf of freedom
around the globe, to fight back against the Soviet communists and his
determination to build the defense initiative to bankrupt the Soviets by
forcing them to have to put more and more resources into their military. At
the end of the day, that’s clearly what bankrupted the Soviet Union.”
Trump: Economic Weakness Gives Beijing Incentive To Reach Trade Deal.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=06a-965&t=c>
(1/6, Mason) reports President Trump said Sunday that trade talks with
China “were going very well and that weakness in the Chinese economy gave
Beijing a reason to work toward a deal.” With US officials set to meet
their Chinese counterparts in Beijing this week “for the first face-to-face
talks since Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping in December agreed to a
90-day truce,” Trump said, “I think China wants to get it resolved. Their
economy’s not doing well. I think that gives them a great incentive to
negotiate.” Asked what he expected to come out of this week’s talks, he
said, “I really believe they want to make a deal.”

To the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=06b-4f1&t=c>
(1/6), “Trump is expressing optimism about trade negotiations with China,”
telling reporters Sunday, “I really believe they want to make a deal. The
tariffs have absolutely hurt China very badly.” According to the New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=06c-e66&t=c>
(1/6, Rappeport, Tankersley), “Chinese officials appear set to offer a mix
of concessions, including reducing some tariffs on American goods, as they
try to defuse trade tensions ahead of a March 2 deadline, when tariffs on
$200 billion worth of imports will increase to 25 percent from 10 percent.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=06d-44a&t=c>
(1/6, Palmer), however, reports that “no agreement is expected this week,
but the meeting is likely to set the stage for higher level talks next week
between delegations led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=06e-fe8&t=c>
(1/6, Boyer) reports Trump “is likely to hold talks with Chinese Vice
President Wang Qishan at the World Economic Forum later this month in
Davos, Switzerland.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=06f-7bc&t=c>
(1/6, Wei) reports that China’s economy is slowing faster than expected and
Chinese officials are acknowledging privately that it is the result of
trade tensions with the US.

*Shelby Calls For Fair Trade With China. *Sen. Richard Shelby
(R-AL), on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=070-fcd&t=c>
(1/6), briefly discussed US trade with China. Shelby said, “Well, we
realize trade is a double-edged sword. We need to trade. We need to trade
with China. Right now, we have some estrangement there as you well know I’m
hoping it’ll work out. It should be fair trade. It should be fair to all of
us and I think that’s the message the President has put out and I think he
will bring the Chinese to the negotiating table.”

*Chinese iPhone XR Demand Not Meeting Apple’s Hopes. *In a
front-page article, the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=071-2cd&t=c>
(1/6, Kubota) reports that while Apple hoped its iPhone XR, the cheapest of
its three iPhone releases, would sell well in China, the world’s largest
smartphone market, people familiar with the matter say that demand has been
weaker than expected, and the company has had to drastically reduce
production of the phone. While analysts say the XR can’t yet be called a
flop, the sagging sales could upset Apple’s strategy of selling premium
smartphones at varying prices. Analysts say issues with XR sales in China
include that status seekers aren’t interested but price-conscious buyers
opt for cheaper phones with the XR’s touted features, including facial
recognition and dual-SIM support.

*US Officials Warn Health Researchers They May Be Targets Of
Chinese Spies. *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=072-d5c&t=c>
(1/6, Pear) reports the Administration has “warned scientists doing
biomedical research at American universities that they may be targets of
Chinese spies trying to steal and exploit information from their
laboratories.” Scientists and universities receiving funds from the
National Institutes of Health “need to tighten their security procedures
and take other precautions, said a panel of experts commissioned by the
agency” to investigate “foreign influences on research integrity.” NIH
Director Dr. Francis S. Collins and FBI Director Wray said that in some
cases, “Chinese graduate students or visitors have taken intellectual
property from American laboratories and given it to Chinese scientists or
arms of the Chinese government.”
Trump Says US, North Korea “Negotiating” Location For Next Summit With Kim.

AFP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=073-2a5&t=c>
(1/6) reports President Trump “said Sunday negotiations are underway on the
location of his next summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while
remaining evasive on its timing.” He told reporters that North Korea
“want[s] to meet and we want to meet and we’ll see what happens.” Trump
stressed, however, that US “sanctions remain ‘in full force and effect’ and
would do so until the United States saw ‘very positive’ results.” AFP says
the President “has cast his first summit with Kim as a major diplomatic
victory, and on Sunday repeated his claim that there would be war in Asia
had they not sat down to talk.” Said Trump, “Anyone else but me, you would
have been at war right now. ... You right now would have been at a nice big
fat war in Asia with North Korea if I hadn’t been elected president.”
Trump Lauds Egypt’s Sisi For Cathedral Opening.

President Trump on Sunday tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=074-b64&t=c>,
“Excited to see our friends in Egypt opening the biggest Cathedral in the
Middle East. President El-Sisi is moving his country to a more inclusive
future!”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=075-7c6&t=c>
(1/6, Samuels) reports that Trump’s remark “comes as Egypt opens the
Nativity of Christ, the largest cathedral in the region, on Coptic
Christmas Eve.” While the cathedral’s opening marks a “momentous” moment
“for Coptic Christians in the country, it has also raised security concerns
that the house of worship will become a target.” More than 100 Coptic
Christians were killed in a spate of terrorist attacks in Egypt last year,
“and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has repeatedly claimed
responsibility for such attacks.”

*El-Sisi Discusses Political Prisoners, US Military Aid In CBS
Interview. *Correspondent Scott Pelley interviewed Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah El-Sisi for an episode of CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday.

Pelley asked[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019010701biden&r=email-7e0e&l=076-04b&t=c>
(1/6) El-Sisi, “Do yo