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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Monday, December 10, 2018 8:00 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Monday,
December 10, 2018


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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=000-4a4&t=c>
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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=001-de3&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Monday, December 10, 2018 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• At Vermont Event, Biden Speaks Of Remaining Engaged, And Spending Time
With Family. <#S1>

• Commentary On Biden Candidacy. <#S2>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Trump Says Comey Lied To Lawmakers. <#S3>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Kudlow: US-China Trade Talks “On Track.” <#S4>

• NYTimes Analysis: Possible US Withdrawal From INF Treaty Raises Fears Of
Other Arms Treaties Collapsing. <#S5>

• Senators Weigh Whether To Withdraw US Support For Saudi-Led Coalition In
Yemen. <#S6>

• US Joins Russia, Saudi Arabia In Bid To Soften UN Global Warming Report.
<#S7>

• North Korea Courts Africa In Covert Defiance Of Sanctions. <#S8>

• Protests Take Place In London Ahead of Tuesday’s Brexit Approval Vote.
<#S9>

• UN Migration Pact Debate Prompting Political Upheaval in Belgium, Other
EU Countries. <#S10>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Trump Says He Is “Interviewing Some Really Great People” For Chief Of
Staff. <#S11>

• Paul Calls Barr’s Views On Domestic Surveillance “Very Troubling.” <#S12>

• Rubio Says He Does Not Yet Know If Nauert Is Suitable For UN. <#S13>

• Trump Suggests Milley Could Become JCS Chair Earlier Than End Of
Dunford’s Term. <#S14>

• Lighthizer Expects USMCA To Move Through Congress In Next Few Months.
<#S15>

• Navarro: Tariffs Not Affecting Stock Market. <#S16>

• Trump Continues To Link Border Wall Funding To Spending Bill. <#S17>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• NCI Director Announces Program Funding Cuts To Support Research Project
Grants. <#S18>

• NCI Grants $2M To Georgia State Professor For Pancreatic Cancer Drug.
<#S19>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S20>

• Washington Post. <#S21>
Biden in the News
At Vermont Event, Biden Speaks Of Remaining Engaged, And Spending Time With
Family.

CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=002-d9b&t=c>
(12/9, Saenz) reports on Sunday, in Burlington, Vermont “at a book tour
event”, Vice President Biden spoke about “how he wants to spend the rest of
his life, saying he wishes to remain ‘engaged in all the issues that have
animated my life’ and ‘spend as much time’ as he can with his family,”
while TIME
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=003-81c&t=c>
(12/10) reports Biden “did not offer any hints about whether he would seek
the presidency in 2020,” VTDigger (VT)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=004-ea0&t=c>
(12/9, Landen) reports, that Biden “didn’t provide the response that many
had hoped he might: an announcement of a presidential run in 2020,” and the
AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=005-8a0&t=c>
(12/9, Ring) reports, “Rather than politics, Biden spoke of his ongoing
commitment to his work in academia and maintaining his close ties with his
family.”

Yet, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=006-7f1&t=c>
(12/9, Otterbein) says Biden “waltzed into the backyard of potential future
opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders sounding an awful lot like a 2020 candidate.”
Commentary On Biden Candidacy.

Frank Bruni, in his New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=007-6f6&t=c>
(12/8, Bruni) column, argued that Biden is unlikely to do well and that his
candidacy does not fit in with previously successful Democratic candidates
for president, though he adds that a national poll has shown Biden “far
ahead of other Democrats in a hypothetical primary field.” Bruni calls
Biden “admirable” and praises him for his “public service” and “devotion to
his family.”

Jared Bernstein writes in the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=008-d5d&t=c>
(12/10, Bernstein) in response to Frank Bruni’s column, saying that during
the Obama Administration, he “developed a real admiration for” Biden. He
adds, “Biden has maintained a common touch.” He also writes that Bruni said
that Biden is “real”, and comments, “woe betide the party that ignores
realness in their candidate.” Bernstein adds, “Biden has earned the right
and respect to pursue whatever course of action he sees fit.” He concludes,
that Biden is “real, informed and competent” and though “I agree with Bruni
that those vital characteristics come with a lot of other baggage, they’re
still among the ones that matter the most.”

Andrew O’Hehir, in Salon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=009-992&t=c>
(12/8) like Bruni, writes that for Democrats, “the leading contenders...by
far, are Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.” He argues that such a contest
“should be avoided at all costs,” because while “both of them are
profoundly decent men who have done a lot for this country,” he thinks, “a
Sanders-Biden throwdown would rip the scabs off old wounds, inflame
entrenched divisions and cast the party in the worst possible light, making
clear on a bunch of levels that it doesn’t know who it represents or what
principles it stands for.” Instead he favors “let[ting] a scrum of younger
Democrats fight it out, with unpredictable results.”

Newsweek
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=00a-39c&t=c>
(12/9, Phifer) reports that appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday,
former senator Rick Santorum said that Republicans will win in 2020 unless
the Democrats “pick someone unexpected.” Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Kinzinger
(R-IL) said that the Democrats “needed someone that could be a ‘unifying
voice’ for the country.” He added, “I actually think Biden would be a tough
candidate.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=00b-876&t=c>
(12/9, Lim) reports Kinzinger, when asked on CNN whether Biden could beat
Trump, said, “Yeah, I think so, because he’s kind of run as a centrist.” He
added, “I think he can attract the kind of people that are voting for
Donald Trump, the middle class, the blue-collar workers. I think he’s the
one that can take that away.” Kinzinger also said that Democrats are
“begging for their far left, they’re turning to the far left. It’s not
going to be a centrist party.”
Leading the News
Trump Says Comey Lied To Lawmakers.

In a pair of tweets Sunday, President Trump lashed out at former FBI
Director James Comey after his closed-door testimony before House lawmakers
last week. While the President’s tweets are mentioned in the coverage, they
are not the focus of much of the reporting. Instead, reports concentrate on
Comey’s comments in Friday’s hearing as well as comments from lawmakers on
the Sunday talk shows about Comey’s testimony as well as last week’s court
filings from special counsel Robert Mueller and other federal prosecutors.

On Sunday morning, Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=00c-263&t=c>,
“On 245 occasions, former FBI Director James Comey told House investigators
he didn’t know, didn’t recall, or couldn’t remember things when asked.
Opened investigations on 4 Americans (not 2) – didn’t know who signed off
and didn’t know Christopher Steele. All lies!” In a second tweet, Trump
wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=00d-f5a&t=c>,
“Leakin’ James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to
Congress in one day. His Friday testimony was so untruthful! This whole
deal is a Rigged Fraud headed up by dishonest people who would do anything
so that I could not become President. They are now exposed!” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=00e-594&t=c>
(12/9) editorializes that Trump’s tweets attacking Comey will get him
nowhere and if he wants to expose the FBI’s activities during the 2016
presidential race, he should declassify all documents relevant to the
matter, as he said he would this fall.

The CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=00f-e84&t=c>
(12/9, story 3, 1:35, Quijano) reported that Trump “took aim” at Comey,
“accusing him of lying to lawmakers during his closed door testimony on
Friday.” CBS (Pegues) added that Friday’s hearing “was described as
contentious at times. Republicans were frustrated because an FBI attorney
instructed Comey not to answer many of the questions.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=010-02c&t=c>
(12/9, Sherfinski) reports Comey told lawmakers “that an FBI
counterintelligence investigation initially started as a probe into four
Americans and whether or not they were a part of the Russian effort to
interfere in the 2016 election – not into Mr. Trump or his campaign.” The New
York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=011-d1e&t=c>
(12/9, Schwab) says Comey “suggested Republicans were retreading over old
ground.” Comey said, “After a full day of questioning a few things are
clear to me. One – we could have done this in an open setting. ... And two
– when you read the transcript you’ll see that we’re talking again about
Hillary Clinton’s emails for heaven’s sake. So I’m not sure we need to do
this at all.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=012-5e8&t=c>
(12/9, Zaveri) provides what it describes in a headline as “highlights” of
Comey’s testimony. The Times says Comey “defended the integrity of the
F.B.I. despite claims of bias.” Comey also “defended his decision not to
prosecute Mrs. Clinton in July 2016 over her handling of classified
information while she was secretary of state.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=013-274&t=c>
(12/9, Samuels) reports Comey “also defended the work of former FBI agent
Peter Strzok, another Department of Justice official who has drawn the ire
of Trump.”

*Graham Blasts Comey Comments On FISA Abuses. *Sen. Lindsey Graham
(R-SC), on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=014-0da&t=c>
(12/9), discussed James Comey’s testimony. Graham said, “My biggest
reaction was he made a statement after he testified that the FISA warrant
process basically to look into that would be sort of a joke. I don’t think
it’s a joke at all that a warrant was issued based on a document paid for
by a political party prepared by a foreign agent that’s unverified to
basically surveil a member of a presidential campaign. That’s not funny to
me. I want to know how that happened and the role he played so there’s a
lot to look at when it comes to FISA oversight and I intend to do that
really early on.”

*Republicans Defend Trump In Wake Of Court Filings. *David Wright
reported on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=015-40d&t=c>
(12/9, story 2, 2:30, Llamas) that “even some Republicans” are concluding
that the President “could be in legal jeopardy.” In an op-ed on the Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=016-f7e&t=c>
(12/9) website, National Review contributing editor Andrew McCarthy, a
former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New
York, writes that the “major takeaway” from the sentencing memorandum for
former Trump attorney Michael Cohen is that the President “is very likely
to be indicted on a charge of violating federal campaign finance laws.”

However, Errol Barnett said in the lead story for the CBS Weekend
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=017-a20&t=c>
(12/9, lead story 2:25, Quijano) that Republicans “are withholding
judgment,” and the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=018-2dd&t=c>
(12/9, Sonmez, Cha) reports that in appearances on the Sunday news shows,
Republicans “defended President Trump amid mounting legal woes stemming
from...Mueller’s investigation.” On NBC’s Meet The Press[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=019-61c&t=c>
(12/9), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “played down the alleged campaign finance
violations detailed by prosecutors, arguing that such missteps should not
be ‘over-criminalized.’” Paul argued that aggressive prosecution of
campaign finance violations could result in the country becoming “a banana
republic, where every president gets prosecuted and every president gets
thrown in jail when they’re done with office.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=01a-8b3&t=c>
(12/9, Samuels) reports Paul said[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=01b-2cb&t=c>,
“I personally think if someone makes an error in filing paperwork or in not
categorizing a campaign contribution correctly, it shouldn’t be jail time,
it ought to be a fine. It’s just like a lot of other things we’ve done in
Washington. We’ve over-criminalized campaign finance.”

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) made a similar argument on CBS’ Face The
Nation[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=01c-894&t=c>
(12/9). Thune said, “I think at this point we have an incomplete picture. I
think at this point the President...has denied some of these allegations
that have been made. Michael Cohen obviously has plenty of incentive now to
cooperate and the representation that he makes I think you have to – there
are going to be some questions raised about those as well. .... This thing
is still not complete. Until it is complete I think it’s probably mostly
speculation on the part of those of us that who are not privy to all the
details.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said on CBS’ Face The Nation[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=01d-3c0&t=c>
(12/9), “I can tell that some of the things that have come out over the
last couple of weeks, particularly with regards to Cohen, have led the
committee to go back and interview witnesses or attempt to interview
additional witnesses again based on their testimony in the past. Clearly
these are things that are to be taken into account and seriously and I
would caution everyone to wait until all this plays out. But it’s important
that this continue to move forward.” On ABC’s This Week[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=01e-f79&t=c>
(12/9), Rubio said, “I have always supported the Mueller investigation. I
continue to do so. I think it’s in the best interests for everyone
involved, including, by the way, the President on many of these issues. I
think it’s important that this go forward.”

Asked on CNN’s State Of The Union[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=01f-0b7&t=c>
(12/9) about the “the possibility that Trump violated campaign finance
laws,” Rubio said that “no one should be above the law. From the very
beginning of all of this, I have said, what we deserve is the truth. No one
is beneath the law, meaning no one is not entitled to the protections of
it, but, also, no one is above it.” Rubio added, “If someone has violated
the law, the application of the law should be applied to them, like it
would to any other citizen in this country. And, obviously, if you’re in a
position of great authority, like the presidency, that would be the case.”

*Rubio: Pardoning Manafort Would Be A “Terrible Mistake.” *Wright
also reported on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=020-732&t=c>
(12/9, story 2, 2:30, Llamas) that Rubio “cautioned the President to think
twice about pardoning [Paul] Manafort.” Rubio: “Not only does it not pass
the smell test, I just, I think it undermines the reason why we have
presidential pardons in the first place. And I think, in fact, if something
like that were to happen, it could trigger a debate about whether the
pardon powers should be amended, given these circumstances.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=021-cfe&t=c>
(12/9, Cummings) reports Rubio said, “I think it would be a terrible
mistake if he did that, I do.”

*Democrats Raise Prospect Of Impeachment, Jail Time For Trump.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=022-c64&t=c>
(12/9, Balsamo) reports prosecutors have, for the first time, tied the
President to a federal crime, “accusing him of directing illegal hush-money
payments to women during his presidential campaign in 2016,” though they
“stopped short of accusing Trump of directly committing a crime.”
Nonetheless, “there was no ambiguity in the court documents that
prosecutors believe Cohen’s actions were criminal and Trump was directly
involved.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=023-977&t=c>
(12/9, Yen) reports that Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the incoming House
Judiciary Chairman, told CNN’s State Of The Union[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=024-1ab&t=c>
(12/9) the details of prosecutors’ filings in the Cohen case indicate the
President was “at the center of a massive fraud.” Nadler said, “They would
be impeachable offenses.” The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=025-6d6&t=c>
(12/9, Daley) quotes Nadler as saying, “Whether they are important enough
to justify an impeachment is a different question. But, certainly, they
would be impeachable offenses, because, even though they were committed
before the President became president, they were committed in the service
of fraudulently obtaining the office.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=026-bce&t=c>
(12/9, Chiacu) reports Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who is expected to become
chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told CBS’ Face The Nation[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=027-81a&t=c>
(12/9), “There’s a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves
office the Justice Department may indict him, that he may be the first
president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time.”
Schiff “said Trump may end up needing to seek a pardon for himself from the
next U.S. president.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=028-173&t=c>
(12/9, Sherfinski) reports Schiff told CBS’ Face The Nation[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=029-167&t=c>
(12/9) that Congress is in touch with Cohen’s lawyers about having him
testify before Congress again. Schiff said “that Mr. Cohen can shed light
on individuals at the Trump Organization on the ‘core issue’ of special
counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether or not Mr. Trump
colluded or conspired with Russia to affect the 2016 election.” Schiff
said, “And so, who are those Trump Organization officials? Are they family
members of the President? What is the evidence they have? It looks like
this is separate and apart from the evidence on the Trump Tower Moscow
deal.”

On ABC’s This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=02a-9a7&t=c>
(12/9), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said, “We have reached a new level in the
investigation. The special counsel is starting to show his cards and these
are very serious allegations. This is a President who is now named as a
co-conspirator. Allegations he committed at least two felonies to try to
manipulate the 2016 election. But Marco Rubio is not wrong that it’s
important for Congress to know all of the facts, to see the evidence that
Mueller has that leads him to make these filings.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=02b-484&t=c>
(12/9, Lim) reports Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) told MSNBC’s AM Joy[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=02c-aa0&t=c>
(12/9) Sunday that the President is a “criminal” who should face
impeachment. Waters said, “The President is a criminal. The President
worked with Cohen, instructed him to go and pay these women to be quiet, to
shut them up. The President was not just simply complicit in all of this,
he is the one that initiated this with his attorney. This criminal must be
brought up by the Congress of the United States for impeachment. And if we
don’t ... we’re derelict in our duty.”

Sen. Angus King (I-ME) was more reserved in his assessment on
Sunday. Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=02d-923&t=c>
(12/9, Key) reports King “warned” on NBC’s Meet The Press[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=02e-769&t=c>
(12/9) that if impeachment occurs on the current evidence, “at least a
third of the country would think it was just political revenge and a coup
against the President.” Asked if there is enough to begin an impeachment
inquiry, King said that “impeachment essentially is a political issue and I
don’t think that the – well, let me put it this way: I don’t think that
there’s evidence yet available to the public where there would be more or
less a consensus that this was an appropriate path. My concern is that if
impeachment is moved forward on the evidence that we have now, at least a
third of the country would think it was just political revenge and a coup
against the President. That wouldn’t serve us well at all. The best way to
solve a problem like this to me is elections.”

King said on Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=02f-a72&t=c>
(12/9), “The President has a series of defenses if indeed that is charged
to be a crime. One would be it wasn’t willful and knowing, which is what
the statute requires. And also, the question is it was his own money. A
candidate can spend as much money as they want. There are no limitations.
On the other hand, it wasn’t disclosed, and that’s one of the key factors
here. The key word there is at the direction of, which directly implicates
the President in what could be a felony. So that is a significant
development.”

Under the headline “‘Presidential Harassment’: Trump Under
Unprecedented Attack on Multiple Fronts,” the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=030-7ab&t=c>
(12/9, Scarborough) says Democrats are “targeting” the President. Democrats
“in the positions of lawmakers, prosecutors, state attorneys general,
opposition researchers, bureaucrats and activist defense lawyers” are
“aiming at Russia collusion, the Trump Organization, the Trump Foundation,
a Trump hotel, Trump tax returns, Trump campaign finances and supposed
money laundering.” Meanwhile, “what conservatives consider the most hostile
press toward a president in modern times has fed the Russia collusion
flames with hundreds of stories – some of them bogus.”

*NYTimes Analysis: Cohen Employed A Risky Legal Strategy With
Prosecutors. *In an analysis, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=031-4c2&t=c>
(12/9, Weiser) reports Cohen “seemed to undertake a brazen and risky legal
strategy” with prosecutors in which he would “offer enough information that
it might prompt prosecutors to ask a judge for leniency for him – but
nothing more about his or others’ activities.” However, prosecutors on
Friday “made clear that Mr. Cohen was less useful to their investigation
because he would not fully cooperate, therefore he would not reap benefits,
such as a government letter on his behalf.” They said he “had refused to
sign a full cooperation agreement.” They “denounced” him as “devious and
greedy – and asked the court to show him only modest leniency, largely for
helping” Mueller’s investigation.

*Christie: Trump Is Not “Totally Clear.” *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=032-b2a&t=c>
(12/9, Nelson) reports former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday
that the President should be concerned about prosecutors linking him to his
former attorney Michael Cohen’s crimes. The President “responded to a pair
of sentencing memos from federal prosecutors following Cohen guilty pleas”
by tweeting
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=033-95e&t=c>,
“Totally clears the President. Thank you!” However, Christie told ABC’s
This Week[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=034-fec&t=c>
(12/9), “You’re not totally clear.” Christie also said[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=035-ada&t=c>,
“The language sounds very definite. What I would be concerned about is what
corroboration do they have. Everyone knows Michael Cohen is not going to be
the most effective or trustworthy witness on the stand, given some of his
past statements. The question is, they sounded very definitive. In my
experience, the problem is, when prosecutors are that definitive, they have
more usually than just one witness.” However, he added that “the flip side
for the prosecutors is, they’d better have more than one witness. Because
if you’re shooting at the President of the United States and the only
bullet in your gun is Michael Cohen, I think that is a problem.”

*Prosecutors Turn Attention To Trump Family Business. *The New York
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=036-490&t=c>
(12/9, Protess, Rashbaum, Haberman) says while prosecutors have “linked Mr.
Trump to the crimes Mr. Cohen had committed in connection with the 2016
presidential campaign,” in Cohen’s sentencing memorandum, they did not say
“that they have continued to scrutinize what other executives in the
president’s family business may have known about those crimes, which
involved hush-money payments to two women who had said they had affairs
with Mr. Trump.” Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have “shifted their
attention to what role, if any, Trump Organization executives played in the
campaign finance violations, according to people briefed on the matter.”

*Russians Interacted With 14 Trump Associates During Campaign,
Transition. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=037-097&t=c>
(12/9, Helderman, Hamburger, Leonnig) reports “Russians interacted with at
least 14 Trump associates during the campaign and presidential transition,
public records and interviews show.” While Mueller “has not yet shown that
any of the dozens of interactions between people in Trump’s orbit and
Russians resulted in any specific coordination between his presidential
campaign and Russia,” the “mounting number of communications that have been
revealed occurred against the backdrop of ‘sustained efforts by the Russian
government to interfere with the U.S. presidential election,’ as Mueller’s
prosecutors wrote in a court filing last week.” A Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=038-e63&t=c>
(12/9) editorial calls on Mueller to complete his investigation and release
his full findings.

In an op-ed for the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=039-37a&t=c>
(12/9), Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager Robby Mook questions “how
much has what we know about Trump and Russia really changed since 2016? Not
as much as you might think.” Mook writes that while “much more evidence
about Russia’s interference has come out since 2016,” he is “not sure we’ve
learned the bigger lesson: Why did it take two years and dozens of
indictments for so many to believe that Russia was not only behind the DNC
hack but may also have been in cahoots with the Trump campaign, when there
was so much evidence at the time?”

*Corsi Files Lawsuit Against Mueller. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=03a-53e&t=c>
(12/9, Gerstein) reports “author and conspiracy theorist” Jerome Corsi
“filed a federal lawsuit Sunday night accusing Mueller of constitutional
violations and leaking grand jury secrets.” Corsi’s suit, filed in US
District Court in Washington, “also accuses the special prosecutor of
trying to badger Corsi into giving false testimony that he served as a
conduit between Wikileaks found Julian Assange and Roger Stone, a longtime
adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump.” Corsi “is demanding $100 million
in actual damages and $250 million in punitive damages for injury to his
reputation.”

*Rutenberg: Important Questions Lie Beneath Investigation’s Tawdry
Elements. *Jim Rutenberg writes in the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=03b-884&t=c>
(12/9) “Mediator” column that audiences are drawn to “articles and cable
news segments about Donald J. Trump, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal for
an undeniable reason: Sex sells.” While the stories “were tawdry, and the
news coverage sometimes veered toward clickbait,” there were “important
questions hiding beneath the sheets. ... People following the yarn may not
have expected that a story centered on a porn star and a onetime Playboy
model would end up with prosecutorial paeans to American ideals. But here
we are.”
Foreign Policy
Kudlow: US-China Trade Talks “On Track.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=03c-fec&t=c>
(12/9, Matishak) reports NEC Director Kudlow on Sunday “insisted that
US-China trade talks are moving in a ‘positive’ direction, despite mixed
signals from top Trump administration officials and the arrest of the chief
financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei.” Appearing on Fox News,
Kudlow said, “We are on track.” Kudlow also “dismissed concerns that
administration officials aren’t on the same page,” saying, “I don’t think
there’s much daylight between Peter [Navarro] and I. I really think that’s
an exaggerated point.”

Kudlow told Fox News Sunday[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=03d-526&t=c>
(12/9), “We are on track. China’s Commerce Department issued some very
positive, promising statements. Sometimes I think these things get lost.
... They agree with the timetable. They agree with the deadlines. They
expect to be moving immediately to take actions on key commodities, for
example, by lowering tax and opening up export sales for us, things like
energy, agriculture, industry.” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=03e-e60&t=c>
(12/9, Wei) also reports Kudlow’s comments in a piece titled “Details
Emerge In US’s Trade Truce With China.”

*Lighthizer: March 1 “Hard Deadline” For Deal. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=03f-99c&t=c>
(12/9) reports USTR Lighthizer said Sunday that trade talks with China
“need to reach a successful end by March 1 or new tariffs will be
imposed...clarifying there is a ‘hard deadline’ after a week of seeming
confusion among President Donald Trump and his advisers.” Lighthizer told CBS’
Face The Nation[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=040-a18&t=c>
(12/9), “As far as I am concerned it is a hard deadline. When I talk to the
President of the United States he is not talking about going beyond March.
The way this is set up is that at the end of 90 days, these tariffs will be
raised.” Lighthizer also said the US “will need concessions across a number
of areas in coming weeks if the higher tariffs are to be voided.”

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Fox News’ Sunday
Morning Futures[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=041-2e4&t=c>
(12/9), “I’m confident that with Bob Lighthizer in the lead and the good
team behind him, that by March 1, the Chinese will deliver on their promise
to have concrete verifiable actions with concrete verifiable results. We
should be optimistic, but the markets shouldn’t pin their hopes on that
because that’s not what this is all about.”

*Report: Officials Unaware Of What Trump Discussed With Xi Before
Talks. *Jonathan Swan, writing for Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=042-144&t=c>
(12/9), exclusively details events surrounding President Trump’s recent
meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires. According to
Swan, President Trump “dictated a statement” to White House Press Secretary
Sarah Sanders in the limousine on the way to the airport after the meeting.
The statement, “which was circulated to principals, was all Trump.” Sources
“with direct knowledge” told Swan “that even the small, senior group that
joined Trump at the Xi dinner didn’t know beforehand what Trump would say.
One source with direct knowledge called it a ‘jump ball.’”

*Kudlow Hints Huawei’s Meng May Be Released As Part Of Deal.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=043-563&t=c>
(12/9, Boylan) reports NEC Director Kudlow hinted Sunday that the
Administration “could release a top Chinese tech executive as part of a
broader negotiation with China, as officials in Beijing scrambled to
balance their outrage over her arrest with their need to cool the trade war
between the world’s two economic superpowers.” Asked on Fox News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=044-2f6&t=c>
(12/9) if releasing Huawei Technologies CFO Meng Wanzhou could factor into
a broader deal with China, Kudlow replied, “I can’t guarantee anything. How
this affects trade … I can’t sit here and be absolutely definitive.”

Also on Sunday, Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=045-c1c&t=c>
(12/9, Rodriguez) reports USTR Lighthizer said US-China trade negotiations
“should not be impacted” by Meng’s arrest. Lighthizer told CBS’ Face The
Nation[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=046-cd8&t=c>
(12/9), “This is a criminal justice matter. It is totally separate from
anything I work on or anything that trade policy people in the
administration work on.”

To Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=047-954&t=c>
(12/9, Donnan, Leonard), “Trump’s trade team sought to insulate talks with
China from a growing dispute over the US pursuit of a Huawei executive on
Sunday, but struggled to address financial markets’ fears that a fragile
truce with Beijing was at risk.” The “rush of televised interviews with
Trump aides ahead of the opening of markets in Asia came amid signs that
the dispute” over Meng’s arrest “was continuing to escalate. They also
illustrated the awkward balancing act the Trump administration faces as it
tries to maintain pressure on Beijing over what many in the US business
community see as legitimate concerns over China’s technology policies.”

ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=048-150&t=c>
(12/9, story 6, 1:50, Llamas) said “China’s new threat” could possibly add
“to the turmoil when America’s already volatile stock market opens
tomorrow.” ABC (Ramos) added, “All eyes now focused on a very jittery
market” after “tensions over [Meng]’s arrest sent the Dow plummeting more
than 1,500 points, a six percent drop, since its high on Monday.”

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=049-dcd&t=c>
(12/9, Strumpf), meanwhile, reports that the any actions taken against
Huawei for sanctions violations could impact US-based tech firms, like
Intel and Qualcomm, that are among the China’s telecom’s top suppliers.
According to the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=04a-100&t=c>
(12/9, Dixon), Meng’s arrest “is seen in Beijing as an attack on China
designed to block its technological advance. But an unintended result could
be to bolster China’s global rise by pushing the country to increase
subsidies and protection of its tech companies, according to analysts.”

*Kudlow: Trump Did Not Know Of Meng’s Arrest Until “Way Later.” *The
New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=04b-f71&t=c>
(12/9, Schwab) reports Kudlow also said President Trump did not know that
Meng “was being arrested at the same time Trump was having dinner with
Chinese President Xi Jinping.” Said Kudlow, “He did not know. He did not
know. And he had no reaction afterward. He didn’t know. OK. I’ll just state
unequivocally, he learned way later, by the way. Way later.”

*China Summons US Envoy To Protest Meng’s Arrest. *USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=04c-a65&t=c>
(12/9, Bacon) reports the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned US
Ambassador to China Terry Branstad to protest Meng’s arrest in Canada “at
the unreasonable behest of the United States.” Vice Foreign Minister Le
Yucheng “demanded” Meng’s release. USA Today notes that a bail hearing is
set for later today in Canada. The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=04d-af9&t=c>
(12/9, Bodeen) reports China’s official Xinhua News Agency
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=04e-f7f&t=c>
quotes Le as calling Meng’s detention “extremely egregious” and demanding
the US “immediately correct its wrong actions.” NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=04f-9b9&t=c>
(12/9, story 6, 1:45, Snow) reported China is “condemning” Meng’s arrest,
calling it “unreasonable” and “nasty.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=050-eb1&t=c>
(12/9, Zhou, Elmer) says China also “ratcheted up the pressure on Canada to
release” Meng by threatening “grave consequences” and accusing Canada of
“hurting the feelings of the Chinese people,” escalating the case into “one
of the worst diplomatic rows between Beijing and Ottawa.” The CBS Weekend
News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=051-e3f&t=c>
(12/9, story 10, 0:30, Quijano) noted Meng “is accused of violating US
sanctions on selling technology to Iran.”

*IMF Head: “Vitally Important” That US, China Reach Trade Deal. *IMF
Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on CBS’ Face The Nation[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=052-b1e&t=c>
(12/9), “I used to be trade minister for my country back in 2005, I know
how difficult those negotiations can be and how long it takes to cut the
deals. So, I wish the Ambassador the best of luck in reaching completion of
something which will not be ultimately final trade arrangement or
agreement. I hope they can establish the parameters, framework, the
timeline, the steps along the way, because that is what it takes. It takes
both parties, US and China, to be determined to reach closure on this. It’s
vitally important, because trade is a major engine for growth.”
NYTimes Analysis: Possible US Withdrawal From INF Treaty Raises Fears Of
Other Arms Treaties Collapsing.

A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=053-3d2&t=c>
(12/9, Sanger, Broad) analysis says after the Administration “delivered an
ultimatum to Russia last week that it was preparing to abandon a landmark
weapons treaty, drawing a combative response” from Russian President
Vladimir Putin, “the specter of a rekindled nuclear arms race was widely
seen as a rewind of the Cold War” --but “that encompasses only one slice of
the problem,” and “perhaps the easiest part to manage.” The Times explains
that the Administration “seems uninterested in trying to renegotiate the
treaty to embrace all the countries that now possess the weapons,”
including China. Instead, the Administration “is moving to abandon the
accord and, with an eye on China, deploy in Asia the sorts of arms it
pulled from Europe in the perilous days before the fall of the Berlin
Wall.” Arms control advocates also fear that if the INF Treaty unravels,
the “much larger” New Start agreement “could also soon collapse.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=054-895&t=c>
(12/9) editorializes that Russia’s INF Treaty violations are “real,” but
“walking away from the treaty will only make matters worse. Who is burying
their heads in the sand?” The Post says the Administration “is right to
confront the issue,” but “President Trump has not exhausted all the options
with Mr. Putin, and U.S. allies in Europe are not sanguine about facing
Russian missiles again.” The Post concludes in warning that abandoning the
pact “would mean restarting an arms race.”
Senators Weigh Whether To Withdraw US Support For Saudi-Led Coalition In
Yemen.

The Senate is slated to vote this week on a resolution to withdraw US
military support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, a move that the Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=055-61b&t=c>
(12/9, Andrews) calls part of a broader effort to punish Riyadh over the
murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi that will pit lawmakers skeptical
about the US-Saudi relationship against the Administration, which sees the
kingdom as a crucial strategic ally. Even though the resolution and other
related measures would give rise to a clash between the Senate and the
Administration, the Journal says the resolutions would not be well received
in the House, and are unlikely to impact the US military’s regional policy.

On CNN’s State Of The Union[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=056-0ca&t=c>
(12/9), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) commented: “Obviously, what happened to”
Khashoggi “is terrible,” but “it’s also about who we are as a nation. The
alliance with Saudi Arabia is a very important alliance. Our alliance is
the Saudi alliance, not an alliance with the crown prince, with the Saudis.
And so it is an alliance that has limits, like any alliance would. This is
a crown prince that is a reckless individual. He’s young. He’s immature.
But, in addition to that, he is reckless. And if we – he’s going to
continue to test the boundaries of what he can get away with
internationally and within our alliance, until those boundaries are set.”
Rubio reiterated that “there has to be accountability for what happened
here, and it has to be clear to the world that America is not a supporter
of it and is not going to be a facilitator of these sorts of crimes.”

Calling Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a “wrecking ball”
and “crazy,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News’ Sunday Morning
Futures[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=057-c57&t=c>
(12/9), “He’s going after others, people have been captured in other
countries and brought back to Saudi Arabia because they’ve been critics in
these countries. He put the Lebanese prime minister under house arrest in
the most bizarre episode I’ve seen in 20 years and it goes on and on and
on.” Graham added that “we’re going to label him complicit. We’re going to
have a vote in the Senate saying that MBS was complicit in the murder of
Mr. Khashoggi.” He also stressed, “I’m never going to support any more arms
sales to Saudi Arabia.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told NBC’s Meet The Press[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=058-86e&t=c>
(12/9), “I think that when we’re dealing with arms, that no personal
financial dealings should have anything to do with the decision. And really
not even the finances of the country. I think selling arms should have to
deal solely with our national security. Not jobs. Not money. Nothing. And I
really think that the war in Yemen that we have no vital national security
interest. And not only that, I think our involvement in this terrible war
is one of the things that engenders more terrorism.” He added, “I think
it’s actually a risk to our national security to be involved with the
Saudis, and we should not be aiding and abetting their bombing of civilian
areas.”

For now, at least, the US intends to “continue supporting Saudi
Arabia’s military interests in Yemen, according to a State Department
official on Sunday,” the CBS Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=059-bcd&t=c>
(12/9, story 8, 2:00, Quijano) reported. Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer
asked Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed whether a withdrawal of
US support for the Saudi-led coalition would hurt his country, because “if
Saudi Arabia becomes toxic for America, then Yemen does too.” Saeed
responded: “If US wants to stand with Yemen, they shouldn’t side. It’s
important location and country – they have [had] a relation with the US for
decades.”
US Joins Russia, Saudi Arabia In Bid To Soften UN Global Warming Report.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=05a-b12&t=c>
(12/9, Nakamura, Fears) reports that the US “joined a controversial
proposal by Saudi Arabia and Russia this weekend to weaken a reference to a
key report on the severity of global warming, sharpening battle lines at
the global climate summit in Poland aimed at gaining consensus over how to
combat rising temperatures.” The arguments “erupted Saturday night before a
United Nations working group focused on science and technology,” where the
US and other countries challenged “language that would have welcomed the
findings of the landmark report, which said that the world has barely 10
years to cut carbon emissions by nearly half to avoid catastrophic
warming.” Meanwhile, the Administration “is plowing ahead with a raft of
aggressive policies on coal power and oil exploration that are likely to
worsen the effects of climate change – steamrolling over dire environmental
warnings issued by the administration’s own team of experts in a major
report just two weeks ago.”

*Canadians Divided Over PM’s Proposed Carbon Tax Increase.
*The Washington
Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=05b-e2f&t=c>
(12/9, Brown) reports that “Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan
to dramatically increase taxes on carbon emissions to combat climate change
is dividing the country, pitting six of the provinces against Ottawa and
setting the stage for a bitter and partisan federal election next year.”
The dispute “is being watched carefully around the globe in the wake of
violent protests that have shaken the government of French President
Emmanuel Macron, protests originally sparked by a now-abandoned plan to
hike fuel taxes at the pump as a way to fight climate change.” The Times
explains that roughly “40 countries, including China, Japan and 10 European
nations, have imposed some kind of levy on carbon emissions, although some,
such as Australia, have repealed their carbon taxes in the face of
political opposition.”
North Korea Courts Africa In Covert Defiance Of Sanctions.

The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=05c-198&t=c>
(12/9, Parkinson) reports on the many North Korean soldiers, contractors,
businesses, and arms deals operating in other countries, many in Africa, in
violation of the United Nations sanctions and in defiance of the US-led
“maximum pressure” campaign. According to foreign diplomats and military
officers, the pattern traces across smaller nations, including Mozambique,
Tanzania, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia, that are making their ties to North
Korea more surreptitious.
Protests Take Place In London Ahead of Tuesday’s Brexit Approval Vote.

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=05d-349&t=c>
(12/9, story 5, 0:20, Snow) reported that large-scale protests took place
in London on Sunday against the proposed Brexit package vote, due to be
held in Parliament on Tuesday, with a counter-protest also talking place.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=05e-82d&t=c>
(12/9, Booth) reports the several-thousand-strong protest march on Sunday
by UK Independence Party supporters and allies in London reflects a sense
the group feels “they are being double-crossed by ‘the establishment,’
aided by a ‘seditious BBC,’ and a deep state of pro-Europe civil servants
and global capitalists led by May.” Party head Gerard Batten called Prime
Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plans “‘a betrayal’ that had created ‘the
biggest crisis since the English civil war’ in the 1640s.’” The Post says
the protest, along with a large-scale counterprotest, reflects “how Brexit
– described by some as the most momentous decision in a generation – is
rubbing the usually staid Brits raw.”

*NYTimes Analysis: Little Loyalty To May As She Makes Late Appeals
Over Brexit Vote. *A New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=05f-c4b&t=c>
(12/9, Barry) analysis says May has “few reserves of trust or loyalty to
draw upon” as she makes late appeals “to her colleagues to let go of their
passionate, polarized beliefs and support her plan to leave” the EU in a
Tuesday vote. May said Brexit arguments have “gone on long enough. It is
corrosive to our politics. And life depends on compromise.” Despite these
appeals, the piece says moderates are ill-prepared to support the current
Brexit package as May’s early efforts in Brexit negotiations were
“secretive” and included arguments for no deal rather than a bad deal for
Britain. While these “weaknesses as a politician – her dislike of the
spotlight, her lack of a political tribe – were part of why she was chosen
as prime minister in the first place,” they have also left her too
concerned with party fractures to address wider “splits in the country”
that may sink the approval vote.
UN Migration Pact Debate Prompting Political Upheaval in Belgium, Other EU
Countries.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=060-305&t=c>
(12/9, Birnbaum) reports “controversy” over the “planned adoption this
week” of the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration has
prompted “political upheaval” in Belgium, Germany, Poland, Hungary, the
Netherlands, Italy, Slovakia, Latvia and other countries. While the
nonbinding agreement would reaffirm “existing commitments to human rights
and seeks to broaden international cooperation to avoid future” migration
crises, debate over the issue reveals “the degree to which the issue has
become politically poisonous in the era of President Trump and rising
far-right leaders in Europe.” In Belgium, Prime Minister Charles Michel’s
“decision to commit his country to the pact led the right-wing N-VA Flemish
nationalist party to leave the ruling coalition late Saturday” leaving
Michel scrambling “to hold on to power.”

*Facing Large-Scale Immigration, Chile Refuses To Sign UN Migration
Pact. *Similarly, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=061-00a&t=c>
(12/9, Laing) reports that Chile “has become the latest country to pull out
of” the UN pact, “provoking fury among opposition parties who accused”
President Sebastian Pinera’s “government of ‘shameful and authoritarian’
behavior.” Chile’s Interior Ministry Subsecretary Rodrigo Ubilla said, “We
have said that migration is not a human right. Countries have a right to
determine the entry requirements for foreign citizens.” Reuters adds the
agreement “has met fierce resistance from governments including the United
States, Austria, Hungary, and Poland who frame it as encouraging
migration.” Chile’s “refusal” to sign the pact “reflects its hardening
stance towards migrants whose population has grown fivefold in 30 years
amid influxes from Venezuela, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia,
among other Latin nations.”
Domestic Policy
Trump Says He Is “Interviewing Some Really Great People” For Chief Of Staff.

Following the news that Nick Ayers will not succeed John Kelly as White
House chief of staff, President Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=062-a6b&t=c>,
“I am in the process of interviewing some really great people for the
position of White House Chief of Staff. Fake News has been saying with
certainty it was Nick Ayers, a spectacular person who will always be with
our #MAGA agenda. I will be making a decision soon!” Kelly O’Donnell
reported on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=063-7bb&t=c>
(12/9, story 4, 0:55, Snow) that Trump “is expected to name a new chief of
staff by year’s end. That is a change, because Mr. Trump said only
yesterday that he expected some kind of announcement within a couple of
days.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=064-7df&t=c>
(12/9, Rampton, Holland) reports that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Rep.
Mark Meadows (R-NC), “chairman of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, are
among the possible contenders” for the post. CNBC
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=065-205&t=c>
(12/9) reports on its website that Mnuchin “has indicated to his inner
circle that he feels best served as the head of Treasury”, though “some of
Trump’s family members are pushing for Mnuchin as a possible replacement”
for Kelly. While it is unclear if the President has spoken with Mnuchin
about the job, Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=066-77c&t=c>
(12/9, Swan) reports Trump “has asked confidants what they think” of
Meadows as a pick. Axios’ Jonathan Swan says Trump “has also mentioned
three other candidates besides Meadows, according to a source with direct
knowledge,” but does not know their identities. Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=067-b8d&t=c>
(12/9, Talev, Jacobs) reports that ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and
2016 Trump deputy campaign manager David Bossie have also been suggested,
while the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=068-7e8&t=c>
(12/9, Sonmez, Dawsey, Paletta) adds USTR Lighthizer, OMB Director
Mulvaney, and Acting Attorney General Whitaker to the list.

Though Ayers, currently chief of staff for Vice President Pence,
had emerged as the frontrunner for the job, he tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=069-1d5&t=c>
Sunday afternoon, “Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues
for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing
at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the
cause.”

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=06a-80d&t=c>
(12/9) reports that “a White House official” said Trump and Ayers “could
not agree on Ayers’ length of service. The father of young children, Ayers
had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump
wanted a two-year commitment.” On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=06b-21e&t=c>
(12/9, story 4, 0:40, Llamas), David Wright also reported that Ayers “was
not willing to do the job longer than three months. The President wanted
somebody who would serve longer than that.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=06c-9d9&t=c>
(12/9, Sonmez, Dawsey, Paletta) reports Ayers “was also skeptical of taking
the job based on the challenges that Kelly and his predecessor, Reince
Priebus, faced in the position.”

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=06d-51d&t=c>
(12/9) writes, “As President Trump heads into the fight of his political
life, the man he had hoped would help guide him through it has now turned
him down, and he finds himself in the unaccustomed position of having no
obvious second option.” USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=06e-630&t=c>
(12/9, Jackson, Cummings) reports Ayers “took himself out of the running,”
and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=06f-369&t=c>
(12/9, Restuccia) calls it a “surprise development” that “leaves the
president without a clear replacement” for Kelly.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=070-3fa&t=c>,
“Congrats to @nick_ayers on lasting 0 Scaramuccis as @realDonaldTrump’s
chief of staff.” Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=071-b83&t=c>,
“[Trump] doesn’t like the idea he was spurned by Ayers – who he wanted.”
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=072-9d1&t=c>
(12/9, Bender), the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=073-1ac&t=c>
(12/9, Finnegan), and the New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=074-a07&t=c>
(12/9, Schwab) also have straightforward reports on Ayers’ decision. The CBS
Weekend News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=075-a8e&t=c>
(12/9, story 2, 0:25, Quijano) also had a brief report.

*Kudlow Does Not Think Kelly Was Fired. *Asked on Fox News
Sunday[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=076-106&t=c>
(12/9) if Kelly was forced to resign, NEC Director Kudlow said, “I don’t
know, to be perfectly honest. I think it was very amicable. That’s what I
understand. ... I think a lot of the gossip is just wrong. I think they did
get along. Everybody is going to have disagreements, that’s the way life
works. But was he fired? I don’t think he was fired.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=077-3fc&t=c>
(12/9, Burke) reports Kelly’s exit “is raising concerns about how the White
House will face potential legal and political challenges in 2019.” Kelly
“was thought to bring order to an often chaotic White House.” Sen. Marco
Rubio (R-FL) said on CNN’s State Of The Union[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=078-21a&t=c>
(12/9), “I’m a huge John Kelly fan. I’ve known him since he served in
Florida. There’s always a turnover in chief of staff. Every President has
at least a couple. We’ll see who they put as a replacement, and we’ll go
from there.”

*Politico Analysis: Chief Of Staff Job Less Desirable Under Trump. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018121001biden&r=email-5154&l=079-4ec&t=c>
(12/9, Johnson, Isenstadt) writes, “In any ordinary White House,” the job
of chief of staff “would be an ambitio