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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, March 8, 2019 7:58 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
March 8, 2019


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=001-2e8&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, March 8, 2019 8:00 AM EST*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Biden Reportedly Plans To Launch 2020 Bid In April. <#S1>

• Media Analyses: Bloomberg, Brown Exits A Boost For Biden. <#S2>

• The Hill: Biden Democratic “Frontrunner,” But Doubts Remain About Whether
He’ll Win. <#S3>

• WPost’s Rubin: Democrats Need Biden To Keep Party From Picking Far-Left
Nominee. <#S4>

• Hoyer Says Biden “A Very Viable Candidate.” <#S5>

• IAFF Appears Likely To Back Biden, But Other Big Unions Not Showing Their
Cards. <#S6>

• WPost Spotlights Biden’s Opposition To Busing In The ‘70s. <#S7>

• Geraghty: Biden Bid Might “Prompt More Democrats To Reevaluate The Obama
Era.” <#S8>

• Eric Trump Says His Father Would Score “Easy Victory” Over Biden. <#S9>

• Brown Opts Against 2020 White House Run. <#S10>

• Stumping In Iowa, Sanders Touts Liberal Agenda, Blasts Trump. <#S11>

• Gillibrand Yet To Win Endorsement From Any New York Congressional Members.
<#S12>

• Hickenlooper Says Trump “Destroying Our Democracy.” <#S13>

• Eyeing 2020 Bid, Bullock Hires Veteran Democratic Hand Ridder. <#S14>

• Priorities USA Says Ohio Not Currently One Of Its Targets In 2020
Presidential Race. <#S15>

• Schultz Hires GOP Operatives Ahead Of Potential 2020 Independent Run.
<#S16>

• Poll: 49% Of Michigan Voters Say They “Definitely” Won’t Back Trump In
2020. <#S17>

• Politico: Trump Advisers Want Him To Hold Off On 2020 Rallies For Now.
<#S18>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Manafort Sentenced To 47 Months In Virginia Case. <#S19>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Bolton: Trump Open To More Talks With North Korea. <#S20>

• Bolton: US Wants Peaceful Transfer Of Power In Venezuela. <#S21>

• Trump Meets With Czech PM. <#S22>

• NYTimes Analysis: China Wary Of Deal Even If It Does Not Require Many
Reforms. <#S23>

• Votel: No Pressure To Withdraw From Syria By Specific Date. <#S24>

• US Urges UN To Restore Missile Restrictions On Iran. <#S25>

• UN Secretary-General Calls For Immediate Talks Between Afghan Government,
Taliban. <#S26>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Kelly Declines To Discuss Process That Led To Kushner Getting Security
Clearance. <#S27>

• Trump Making Headway In Bid To Stem GOP Defections On Emergency
Declaration. <#S28>

• House Democrats Probe Possible White House Interference With AT&T-Time
Warner Merger. <#S29>

• House Passes Anti-Bigotry Resolution In Wake Of Omar Comments. <#S30>

• Census Bureau To Tap DHS Files On Noncitizens. <#S31>

• NYTimes Analysis: Administration Officials Mimicking Trump’s Use Of
Twitter. <#S32>

• WTimes Analysis: Trump Discovers Governing Is More Difficult Than He
Thought. <#S33>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• NCI Awards SPORE Grant To City Of Hope. <#S34>

• Wisconsin College Plans To Build Cancer Research Center. <#S35>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S36>

• Washington Post. <#S37>
Biden in the News
Biden Reportedly Plans To Launch 2020 Bid In April.

On the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=002-055&t=c>
(3/7, story 5, 2:05), Jeff Glor reported, “CBS News has learned former Vice
President Joe Biden is very likely to enter the [2020 presidential] race.”
CBS broadcast a clip of Biden saying during a recent appearance at the
University of Delaware, “We’re in the final stages of that decision.” CBS
News’ Ed O’Keefe said that Biden “is expected to launch his presidential
campaign next month. People familiar with his plans tell CBS News he is
putting the finishing touches on the campaign team and strategy.” O’Keefe
added, “Early polls show Biden would start the race at the top,” but he
“could be quickly cast as out of touch with today’s Democratic party as
voters scrutinize his four-decade Senate record. He has already apologized
for his handling of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation
hearings and for his support of tough on crime legislation in the 1990s.”

And in an article on the website of CBS News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=003-035&t=c>
(3/7), O’Keefe similarly reported that Biden’s “formal kickoff is expected
by mid-April and would all but cement the size and scope of the Democratic
presidential field.” O’Keefe added that although Biden “can likely expect
to find support in suburban swing districts and Midwestern states key to
previous Democratic presidential” wins, “he faces doubts about whether he
can win over minority and younger voters that are fueling much of the
party’s current energy and success.”

In an online article, Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=004-849&t=c>
(3/7, Steinhauser) reported that last week during his appearance at the
University of Delaware, Biden “emphasized that ‘I have to make sure that I
could run a first-rate effort.’ And that’s exactly what his top political
advisers are quietly working on behind the scenes, ahead of what may be an
April presidential campaign launch. Sources familiar with the planning of
Biden’s inner circle confirm to Fox News that top advisers to the former
vice president are getting their ducks in a row, figuring out a campaign
structure and reaching out to veteran Democratic operatives who could
potentially be involved.”
Media Analyses: Bloomberg, Brown Exits A Boost For Biden.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=005-b91&t=c>
(3/7, Schor) reports that with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and ex-New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) having announced this week that they won’t
enter the 2020 presidential race, former Vice President Joe Biden “has more
space to court voters who could help him claim the Democratic nomination.”
The AP says Brown “has deep connections to blue-collar, union-friendly
voters in the Midwest while Bloomberg saw his path to the nomination run
through centrists uncomfortable with the party’s move to the left. But
together, their decisions could give Biden a greater opportunity to appeal
to the middle-America voters who sided with President Donald Trump in 2016
and could be crucial to Democratic hopes of winning back the White House.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=006-4f5&t=c>
(3/7, Siders, Strauss) reported that “for Biden, who is nearing his own
decision about running in 2020, Brown’s withdrawal followed Bloomberg’s
departure as a second piece of good news this week. ‘I would think of all
the candidates or potential candidates running that Sherrod’s decision of
not running would be most significant for Biden,’ said former Ohio Gov. Ted
Strickland, who is supporting Washington Gov. Jay Inslee for president and
added that Brown’s departure ‘makes it a little easier for me to be for
Inslee.’ ‘I mean Biden’s been talking about the dignity of work forever,’
Strickland said. ‘I think Sherrod and Biden would have a similar message
when it comes to those working unions.’”

In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=007-ee3&t=c>
(3/7, Memoli, Vitali) reported, “Sources close to Bloomberg say
that...Biden’s potential entrance into the 2020 fray made an uphill, but
potentially winnable, primary slog even steeper for the New York
billionaire. While Bloomberg’s path to the nomination was narrow already,
‘the path is really narrow with Joe in the race,’ one source close to
Bloomberg told NBC News.” Meanwhile, Brown “told reporters that while he
and Biden have spoken from time to time, ‘his getting in or out had zero
impact’ in his decision. But he said Biden is among those potential
candidates who could carry his ‘dignity of work’ message in the election.”

Writing for Washington Monthly
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=008-672&t=c>
(3/7), Martin Longman says that with Brown opting not to run, Biden now
“has a little more room to maneuver.” Longman says, “Both Brown and Biden
are almost ideal general election candidates against Trump in my home state
of Pennsylvania, and Biden has a clearer path now to picking up white
progressive/labor votes, especially in the western part of the state.”
Longman adds, “I still think Biden should be considered the front-runner”
in the Democratic race.

Writing on the website of ABC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=009-d04&t=c>
(3/8), Rick Klein says, “One could define” Biden’s “brand of working-class,
pragmatic, Obama-shaped Democratic politics by quoting the parade of
prominent names who this week said they wouldn’t” enter the 2020 White
House race: Bloomberg, Brown, Hillary Clinton, and ex-US Attorney General
Eric Holder. However, “potential holes and pitfalls in Biden’s own history
are already on display.” For example, as “other Democratic candidates
debate reparations for descendants of slaves and Native Americans, The
Washington Post unearthed this Biden quote from 1975, when Biden already
was a senator: ‘I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the
sins of my own generation. And I’ll be damned if I feel responsible to pay
for what happened 300 years ago.’”

*Exiting Candidates’ Decisions Said To Imply Biden’s, Sanders’
“Advanced Ages” Not Likely A Big Issue. *Writing for Slate
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=00a-6fc&t=c>
(3/7), Ben Mathis-Lilley said that Bloomberg and Brown may have found
themselves competing with Biden for the same type voters. Mathis-Lilley
said that Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), who this week also announced he
wouldn’t run for president, would have likely found himself competing with
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for support from liberal voters. Mathis-Lilley
added, “One thing this implies is that these Democrats and their advisers
do not see Biden’s and Sanders’ candidacies as likely to founder because of
their advanced ages. Biden will be 78 on Inauguration Day in 2021, and
Sanders will be 79. For someone seeking eight years in the presidency,
that’s old!”

*Chris Cuomo Says Biden “Could Probably Take Me In A Push-Up
Contest.” *The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=00b-06b&t=c>
(3/7, Yilek) reported that CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Thursday “bet former
Vice President Joe Biden could beat him in a push-up contest, despite their
nearly 30-year age difference. Cuomo asked CNN commentator Jennifer
Granholm” if “Biden...is the face of the Democratic Party’s future.
Granholm asked if Cuomo was referring to Biden’s age. ‘No, his positions,
frankly,’ the 48-year-old Cuomo said. ‘I think Biden could probably take me
in a push-up contest.’ Biden is 76 years old and will be 78 by Inauguration
Day 2020.”
The Hill: Biden Democratic “Frontrunner,” But Doubts Remain About Whether
He’ll Win.

Under the headline “Biden Is Frontrunner, But Many Dems Doubt He Can Win,” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=00c-708&t=c>
(3/8, Parnes) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden “will be the
clear Democratic frontrunner for president when he enters the race, but
there are lingering doubts about his ability to win a primary as the
Democratic Party moves to the left. Those questions resurfaced last week
when progressives became angry over his comments saying Vice President Mike
Pence is a ‘decent guy.’” The Hill quotes a “Democratic strategist” as
saying of Biden, “His world view on dealing with Republicans, and most
issues are out of step with where a lot of Democratic voters are right now.
The problem Biden has to overcome isn’t a problem with the Pence remarks
themselves, but, rather they’re an early warning sign of what he is going
to face when he goes from senior party figure and lovable grandpa Joe to an
actual candidate.”
WPost’s Rubin: Democrats Need Biden To Keep Party From Picking Far-Left
Nominee.

Writing on the website of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=00d-8c6&t=c>
(3/7), Jennifer Rubin said that while former Vice President Joe Biden “is
not a lock” to emerge as the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, “the
past few weeks illustrate why Democrats need [him] in the race.” Rubin said
that with the Democratic Party shifting to the left, Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-VT) or Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) could emerge as the nominee, and the
“2020 race would then be the only sort of race [President] Trump could win,
one about ‘socialism,’ instead of a race he could never win, one about
him.” Consequently, Biden is needed “to remind Democrats that they win when
they stick to the center-left candidates and that they achieve progressive
aims when they win elections.”
Hoyer Says Biden “A Very Viable Candidate.”

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=00e-f15&t=c>
(3/7, Baker) reported that during a Thursday appearance on CNBC, House
Majority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) “voiced his support for former Vice
President Joe Biden in 2020. Host Joe Kernen asked” Hoyer “if Biden is a
‘viable candidate at this point.’” Hoyer replied, “I think Joe Biden is
very viable. As a matter of fact, I think Joe Biden is ahead in the polls
right now. Now, that doesn’t mean a whole lot, in my opinion. But what it
does show is Joe Biden has a very broad reach in the Democratic Party. He
is very well respected and liked in the Democratic Party. The boy from
Scranton as we call him, as he calls himself, he reaches out to middle
America, working America, speaks their language. I think he’s a very viable
candidate.”
IAFF Appears Likely To Back Biden, But Other Big Unions Not Showing Their
Cards.

Writing on the website of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=00f-4e2&t=c>
(3/7), David Weigel said, “As Joe Biden inches ever closer to a
presidential bid, one of the loudest voices in his corner” is that of
International Association of Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger,
who “has all but promised an endorsement in 2020.” Schaitberger told
Weigel, “I would say he has a very good shot of getting our endorsement.
He’s got a 40-year track record on the issues that mean the most to our
members and their families.” Weigel added, “The IAFF’s enthusiastic support
for Biden stands out for a simple reason: No other labor union sounds so
ready to wade into the presidential race. Four years ago, Hillary Clinton
locked up the support of the country’s biggest unions earlier than any
non-incumbent candidate in Democratic Party history. This year, most labor
leaders are telling candidates to expect a drawn-out process, with no
coronations and plenty of demands.”
WPost Spotlights Biden’s Opposition To Busing In The ‘70s.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=010-a70&t=c>
(3/7, Viser) reports that as “a freshman senator in the mid-1970s,” Joe
Biden’s “home state of Delaware, like other hotspots across the country,
was engulfed in a bitter battle over school busing, debating whether
children should be sent to schools in different neighborhoods to promote
racial diversity.” The Post says Biden “took a lead role in the fight,
speaking out repeatedly and forcefully against sending white children to
majority-black schools and black children to majority-white schools.” The
Post adds that Biden “played down the persistence of overt racism and
suggested that the government should have a limited role in integration.”
Biden spokesperson Bill Russo told the Post, “Biden] never thought busing
was the best way to integrate schools in Delaware – a position which most
people now agree with. As he said during those many years of debate, busing
would not achieve equal opportunity. And it didn’t.”

Talking Points Memo
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=011-2b1&t=c>
(3/7, Lafond) quoted Biden as telling the Post in 1975, “The new
integration plans being offered are really just quota systems to assure a
certain number of blacks, Chicanos, or whatever in each school. That, to
me, is the most racist concept you can come up with. What it says is, ‘In
order for your child with curly black hair, brown eyes, and dark skin to be
able to learn anything, he needs to sit next to my blond-haired, blue-eyed
son.’ That’s racist! Who the hell do we think we are, that the only way a
black man or woman can learn is if they rub shoulders with my white child?”

In his Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=012-bb8&t=c>
(3/7) column, Wesley Pruden writes, “Reasonable people recognize that ‘that
was then, and this is now,’ and say that Mr. Biden’s later work with
civil-rights advocates to desegregate Delaware public schools should be
taken into account.” However, “The young firebrands in the Democratic Party
who generally know nothing about the nation’s history but are eager to
judge everyone else by their own ignorance, are likely to cut the old man
nothing. They’re gearing up for a campaign to win reparations for
descendants of slaves, and everyone with at least one blue eye should
expect to eventually write a check.”

*CNN: Advocating For Crime Bill In ‘93, Biden Warned Of “Predators
On Our Streets.” *Meanwhile, in an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=013-65c&t=c>
(3/7, Kaczynski) reported that Biden “in a 1993 speech warned of ‘predators
on our streets’ who were ‘beyond the pale’ and said they must be cordoned
off from the rest of society because the justice system did not know how to
rehabilitate them.” Biden’s remarks came “a day before a vote was scheduled
on the Senate’s version of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
Act.” Biden’s remarks, “which were in line with the broad political
consensus to tackling crime at the time, are at odds with a new bipartisan
coalition of activists and lawmakers who are trying to undo what they say
is a legacy of mass incarceration fostered by that era. Biden’s word choice
could also pose a problem with a new generation of Democrats who view the
rhetoric at the time as perpetuating harmful myths about the black
community.”

Writing for Salon
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=014-5ec&t=c>
(3/8), Matthew Rozsa highlights the CNN report and adds, “This isn’t the
only area of policy where Biden’s background may appear out of step with
the Democratic Party of 2019. In the 1970s and 1980s he opposed antitrust
legislation that could have applied to Coca-Cola, opposed school
integration legislation, sided with Ronald Reagan on a tax bill that
reduced the top income tax rate from 70 percent to 50 percent, supported a
spending freeze on Social Security, supported welfare reform and backed
Bill Clinton’s sweeping agenda of financial deregulation. Biden even
claimed in 1974 that the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade ‘went
too far’ and said he did not ‘think that a woman has the sole right to say
what should happen to her body.’”

Under the heading “Biden’s ‘93 Remarks About Crime Bill Sound
Pretty...Racist,” Matt Vespa, writing at Townhall
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=015-0cf&t=c>
(3/7), highlighted the CNN report and added, “Hillary Clinton called them
‘superpredators,’ though she did nab a solid 88 percent of black voters
during the 2016 election. Still, we’re in a different era regrettably.
Identity politics reigns supreme on the Left. Everything and anything is
racist. And they’re retroactively applying this nutty standard to
everything. Joe may jump in, but it doesn’t mitigate the chance that the
2020 Democratic primaries could be a full-blown and bloody war that batters
the party.”
Geraghty: Biden Bid Might “Prompt More Democrats To Reevaluate The Obama
Era.”

Writing for National Review
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=016-5ee&t=c>
(3/7), Jim Geraghty said that “one question that hasn’t been
explored...much is whether the option of President Biden will prompt more
Democrats to reevaluate the Obama era – asking how and why a presidency
they loved for so long and thought of as a rousing success could end with
the election of a man that they detest. ... Most Democrats will probably
warmly greet a Biden 2020 campaign that pitches itself as the option
closest to an Obama restoration. But a vocal contingent will ask, ‘If this
is the worldview and proposals that will beat Trump...just how different
are they than Hillary’s? And if after eight years of Obama, voters chose
Trump...how certain can we be that they wouldn’t pick Trump over a return
to Obama-ism?’”
Eric Trump Says His Father Would Score “Easy Victory” Over Biden.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=017-749&t=c>
(3/7, Samuels) reported that during a Thursday appearance on Fox News,
President Trump’s son, Eric Trump said “that his father would enjoy an
‘easy’ reelection victory over Joe Biden if the former vice president was
the Democrats’ presidential nominee in 2020.” Said Eric Trump, “If you want
to put Biden against my father, I think it’s going to be an easy victory
because all you need to do is line up stats. Not soundbites, but
quantifiable stats and he beats him all day long.”
Brown Opts Against 2020 White House Run.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=018-262&t=c>
(3/7, Smyth, Schor) reports that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on Thursday
announced that he won’t enter the 2020 race for president. Brown’s
announcement came “after recent visits to several early-voting states to
highlight his worker-friendly policy agenda. Brown said he believed his
‘dignity of work’ tour succeeded in putting the struggles of average
Americans on Democrats’ 2020 radar and that he ‘can be most effective’ by
remaining in the Senate.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=019-4a2&t=c>
(3/7, Ember, Martin) reports that Brown’s decision “comes as better-known
Democrats like former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. prepare to
announce their own plans for 2020.” However, supporters of Brown on
Thursday said “that his decision to forgo a 2020 bid had nothing to do with
the signs that Mr. Biden is preparing to enter the race. Rather, they said,
Mr. Brown ultimately resolved that he was content in the Senate and lacked
the consuming drive to become president.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=01a-566&t=c>
(3/7, Strauss) reported that Brown’s “allies saw him as a potential rival
to...Biden in the 2020 Democratic field.” However, Brown “told reporters at
the Capitol that Biden had ‘zero impact’ on his decision.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=01b-1d7&t=c>
(3/7, Weigel, Janes) reports that earlier this week, Sen. Jeff Merkley
(D-OR) and ex-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) also announced they
wouldn’t enter the 2020 race. In her Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=01c-4fe&t=c>
(3/7) column, Karen Tumulty laments Brown’s decision, saying he “would have
brought to the race a combination of idealism, maturity and practicality
that will be missed.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=01d-4c4&t=c>
(3/7, Whitesides) and the Huffington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=01e-602&t=c>
(3/7, Robillard) also report on the story.
Stumping In Iowa, Sanders Touts Liberal Agenda, Blasts Trump.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=01f-91c&t=c>
(3/8, Beaumont) reports that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “reasserted himself
on Thursday as the original champion of a progressive agenda many of his
fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have since adopted.” During
a campaign stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Sanders promoted “the same themes
that launched him to a near-tie with Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Iowa
caucuses in 2016.” Said Sanders, “Shock of all shocks, those very same
ideas are now supported by candidates – Democratic candidates – for
president.” During the rally, Sanders “called President Donald Trump ‘the
most dangerous president in modern American history’ and accused him of
trying to ‘divide us up by the color of our skin, our country of origin,
our gender, our religion and our sexual orientation.’”

*Sanders Quick To Defend Omar, Who’s Accused By Democrats Of
Anti-Semitism. *Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=020-163&t=c>
(3/7, Caputo, Otterbein) reported, “When the latest controversy erupted
over Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments about Israel,” which were criticized by a
number of Democrats as anti-Semitic, just “one 2020 presidential candidate
rushed to her defense: Bernie Sanders.” Sanders “embraced” Omar “and called
out House Democrats for ‘stifling’ debate about Israel while also warning
against equating ‘anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the
right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel.’ No other presidential
contender came out as quickly – or as forcefully – as Sanders,” whose move
“helped solidify his hold on the party’s left wing and dovetailed with his
intensified outreach to older African-American voters, a critical
constituency that failed to warm to him in 2016.”
Gillibrand Yet To Win Endorsement From Any New York Congressional Members.

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=021-fd7&t=c>
(3/7, Goldmacher) reports that presidential candidates Sens. Cory Booker
(D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) each have won
endorsements from congressional members in their respective homes states.
However, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has yet to win the support of any
of “New York’s 21-member congressional delegation.” The Times says that
Gillibrand’s “missing support back home is revealing of both her New York
relationships and how she has constructed her national profile, often by
staying far from the state’s notoriously fractious and rough-and-tumble
fray.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=022-78b&t=c>
(3/7, Schneider, Barrón-López) reported that among the field of Democratic
hopefuls, Gillibrand is “the only senator running in 2020 without any
home-state congressional backing.” However, Gillibrand, “who is still in
the exploratory phase of her presidential bid, is working behind the scenes
to curry support among her colleagues.” Those “efforts to get home-state
colleagues committed to her” bid “reflects some members’ wish to see the
field develop, as well as the complex internal politics of New York’s huge
Democratic delegation – and the fact that Gillibrand could face
presidential competition from within the state” in the form of New York
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY).
Hickenlooper Says Trump “Destroying Our Democracy.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=023-b48&t=c>
(3/7, Samuels) reported that ex-Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) on Thursday
“officially launched his 2020 presidential campaign,” jabbing “at President
Trump while promoting a vision for a more unified country.” Addressing
supporters in Denver, Hickenlooper framed Trump “as a divisive figure with
harmful policies, and pledged to move the country forward by bringing
leaders together.” Said Hickenlooper, “Donald Trump is alienating our
allies, ripping away our health care, endangering our planet, and
destroying our democracy.”
Eyeing 2020 Bid, Bullock Hires Veteran Democratic Hand Ridder.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=024-297&t=c>
(3/7, Strauss, Schneider) reported that Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT) “has
hired veteran Democratic operative Jenn Ridder to work for his PAC, in the
latest sign” Bullock “is nearing a presidential run. Ridder will join
Bullock’s Big Sky Values PAC as a senior adviser, but she would be an
obvious choice to manage Bullock’s campaign should he decide to run for
president.” Ridder managed Gov. Jared Polis’ (D-CO) “successful campaign in
2018 and previously worked at the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee and was former Colorado Sen. Mark Udall’s deputy campaign manager
in 2014.”
Priorities USA Says Ohio Not Currently One Of Its Targets In 2020
Presidential Race.

In an online article, Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=025-184&t=c>
(3/7, Mikelionis) reported that the Democrat-aligned super PAC Priorities
USA, which “spent $133 million in support of Hillary Clinton in 2016,” says
“it no longer considers Ohio a target state for the 2020 presidential
election.” Fox News said, “In a memo,” the group “downgraded Ohio’s
importance and labeled the state a ‘GOP Watch,’ along with states such as
Texas and Iowa. The PAC now sees Ohio as less likely to flip than other
swing states, such as Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and even
traditionally red states like Georgia and Arizona, according
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=026-92f&t=c>
to Cleveland.com. ‘It’s not in our initial spending plans,’ Josh Schwerin,
a spokesman for Priorities USA,” said, adding, “It is in the states to
watch-and-see if an investment is worth making.”
Schultz Hires GOP Operatives Ahead Of Potential 2020 Independent Run.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=027-457&t=c>
(3/7, Wong, Greenwood) reported that ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, “a
lifelong Democrat” who is mulling a 2020 independent run for the White
House, “has recruited at least three veteran House Republican staffers and
consultants to join his presidential campaign-in-waiting.” The recruits
“include Brendon DelToro and Matt LoParco, who served as deputy political
director and external affairs director, respectively, to former National
Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Rep. Steve Stivers
(R-Ohio) during the 2018 cycle. A third Schultz hire, GOP consultant Greg
Strimple, founder of GS Strategy Group, has done polling and other
consulting for the NRCC” and other Republican groups. The Hill said, “The
hires are reflective of Schultz’s efforts to cast himself as a political
centrist who doesn’t neatly fit into the rank-and-file of either major
party.”
Poll: 49% Of Michigan Voters Say They “Definitely” Won’t Back Trump In 2020.

The Detroit Free Press
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=028-a26&t=c>
(3/8, Spangler) reports that an EPIC-MRA poll of 600 Michigan likely
voters, taken March 3-7, “has more bad news for President Donald Trump’s
2020 re-election hopes in” the state. In the poll, 49% of those surveyed
said “they will definitely vote to replace Trump,” 16% said “they will
consider voting for someone else,” and 31% said “said they will definitely
vote to re-elect Trump.” In the poll 44% of independents said “they will
definitely vote for someone” other than Trump, 27% said “they will consider
backing another candidate,” and 19% said “they would definitely vote to
re-elect” the President.
Politico: Trump Advisers Want Him To Hold Off On 2020 Rallies For Now.

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=029-36c&t=c>
(3/8, Orr) reports, “As he watches the 2020 Democratic candidates fire up
campaign crowds, President Donald Trump is itching to upstage them with
rallies of his own.” However, “Trump’s political advisers” argue that he
should hold off for now on holding rallies, contending that his “best asset
is the White House – and that he should make the most of it.” For the time
being, “Trump’s Republican allies and campaign officials believe an early
re-election strategy built around his role as chief executive in dignified
settings like the Oval Office and the Rose Garden will carry more weight
with voters than his signature freewheeling arena speeches.”
Leading the News
Manafort Sentenced To 47 Months In Virginia Case.

Paul Manafort, the former chairman of President Trump’s 2016 campaign, was
on Thursday sentenced to 47 months in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000
fine and approximately $24 million in restitution, in the Virginia case
against him. Coverage is largely straightforward, though some analysts and
Democratic members of Congress said the sentence was considerably lighter
than expected or deserved.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=02a-50e&t=c>
(3/8, Barakat) reports Manafort was “sentenced Thursday to nearly four
years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising
Ukrainian politicians, much less than what was called for under sentencing
guidelines.” Manafort “had no visible reaction as he heard the 47-month
sentence. While that was the longest sentence to date to come” from Special
Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, “it could have been much worse for
Manafort. Sentencing guidelines called for a 20-year-term.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=02b-939&t=c>
(3/7, Phillips, Johnson) reports, “The prison sentence marks the end of a
stunning downfall for the longtime political operative who helped elect
four Republican presidents, including Trump.” US District Judge T.S. Ellis,
“who had been critical of Mueller’s prosecutors, imposed the sentence
Thursday evening. He said Manafort had committed ‘serious, very serious
crimes,’ but he also said that Manafort had ‘lived an otherwise blameless
life and earned the admiration of many.’”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=02c-a99&t=c>
(3/7, Weiner) reports Ellis said he “must consider the entirety of
Manafort’s life when issuing a sentence, saying letters show Manafort has
been ‘a good friend’ and a ‘generous person’ but that that ‘can’t erase the
criminal activity.’” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=02d-492&t=c>
(3/7, Viswanatha, Bykowicz) reports Ellis said he viewed the case as a
standard tax- and bank-fraud case despite the political ramifications. He
did, however, express surprise that Manafort did not express regret in his
statement to the court before sentencing. Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=02e-f99&t=c>
(3/7, Samuelsohn, Gerstein, Choi) reports, “Manafort did not apologize, an
omission that Ellis pounced on.” Ellis said, “I was surprised that I did
not hear you express regret for engaging in wrongful conduct. I hope you
will reflect on that and your regret will be that you didn’t comply with
the law.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=02f-2b7&t=c>
(3/7, Lafraniere) reports under the headline “Paul Manafort Is Sentenced To
Less Than 4 Years In 1 Of 2 Cases Against Him” that the sentence “was far
lighter than the 19- to 24-year prison term recommended under sentencing
guidelines. ... A team of Mr. Mueller’s prosecutors sat glum-faced while
Judge Ellis delivered his decision.” Former US attorney Barbara McQuade
told the Times, “It’s atrociously low.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=030-9c3&t=c>
(3/7, Megerian) reports, “Manafort has been in jail for the last nine
months, so his sentence means he will serve an additional 38 months behind
bars under Ellis’ sentence.”

The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=031-ccd&t=c>
(3/7, Ross) reports, “Manafort joined the Trump campaign in April 2016 and
focused heavily on wrangling delegates for Trump at the GOP convention.” He
“testified multiple times before Mueller’s grand jury after entering his
plea deal. But that agreement fell apart late in 2018 after prosecutors
accused Manafort of lying about several aspects of the investigation.”

Two of the three broadcast networks led their evening newscasts
with the sentencing before the length of the sentence had been announced.
In the lead story on the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=032-89f&t=c>
(3/7, lead story, 2:20, Glor), Paula Reid reported, “Manafort told the
judge that he has had a lot of time to think while he’s been behind bars,
and he begged the judge to be compassionate. Manafort’s sentencing comes as
special counsel Robert Mueller appears to be winding down his two-year
investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.”

In the lead story on NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=033-1d4&t=c>
(3/7, lead story, 2:20, Holt), Hallie Jackson reported, “Manafort, in a
wheelchair wearing a green jumpsuit, appeared before a Virginia judge, a
dramatic conclusion to his year and a half long court battle. He’s been
convicted of financial crimes, including tax and bank fraud, crimes for
which he did not apologize today, though he asked for compassion.” On ABC
World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=034-6b4&t=c>
(3/7, story 2, 1:50), anchor David Muir reported Manafort faced “the
longest sentence of anyone charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=035-698&t=c>,
“Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, commits bank and tax fraud and
gets 47 months. A homeless man, Fate Winslow, helped sell $20 of pot and
got life in prison. The words above the Supreme Court say ‘Equal Justice
Under Law’ when will we start acting like it?” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)
said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=036-a57&t=c>
(3/7), “The real question is, is the President going to pardon him? He
certainly has dangled that pardon in front of Mr. Manafort and I’m sure Mr.
Manafort is holding out hope that he will receive that.”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=037-9de&t=c>,
“#PaulManafort got 4 yrs but real issue is appearance of a conspiracy to
prevent public release of the #Mueller report. The judge responded to a
plea 4 leniency – real crisis is attempt by the AG to muffle the report &
deny access to the American people.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=038-cf9&t=c>,
“Paul Manafort getting such little jail time for such serious crimes lays
out for the world how it’s almost impossible for rich people to go to jail
for the same amount of time as someone who is lower income. In our current
broken system, ‘justice’ isn’t blind. It’s bought.”

National security and legal analyst Susan Hennesey said on CNN’s
Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=039-90a&t=c>
(3/7) that Manafort’s sentencing is “significant for the President even
though he’s attempted to distance himself from Paul Manafort in part
because it reflects on President Trump’s personal judgment. A lot of these
red flags about Manafort were known for a long time. They were known well
before he joined the trump campaign. This isn’t new information that the
President learned while he was a candidate, when Manafort was ultimately
been forced to step down.”

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=03a-dd1&t=c>,
“What’s surprising to me is that Judge Ellis, who usually puts high
importance on acceptance of responsibility, noted that Paul Manafort showed
none – but didn’t punish him for that at all.” Laurence Tribe tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=03b-3a6&t=c>,
“Calling Manafort’s life of criminal collaboration with murderous dictators
and of stealing tens of millions of dollars from American taxpayers
‘otherwise blameless’ is a sick joke. It’s as though Judge Ellis himself
was angling for the pardon Trump dangled in front of Manafort.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=03c-62a&t=c>
(3/7, Leiby) reports, “Objecting to an abundance of sealed and redacted
records in the criminal case against Paul Manafort...the Washington Post
petitioned a federal court Thursday to open those records to public view.”
The Post’s motion “cited ‘the profound public interest in these
proceedings.’” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=03d-31d&t=c>
(3/7, Mordock), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=03e-9e5&t=c>
(3/7, Wheeler, Chalfant, Axelrod), and the Fox News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=03f-1ad&t=c>
(3/7, Pappas) website are among the other outlets also reporting on the
sentencing.

*Cohen’s Lawyer Says Pardon Was Discussed, Possibly Contradicting
Cohen’s Congressional Testimony. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=040-702&t=c>
(3/7, Balsamo, Sisak) reports that Lanny Davis, attorney for Trump’s former
personal lawyer Michael Cohen, said in a written statement Thursday that
“Trump’s advisers dangled the possibility of a pardon” for Cohen last year.
This “raises questions about whether Cohen – who is slated to begin a
three-year prison sentence in May for crimes including lying to Congress –
lied to Congress again last week.” At 5:39 p.m., Trump tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=041-dde&t=c>,
“Breaking News @MSNBC: ‘Cohen’s lawyer contradicts Cohen’s testimony about
never seeking a Presidential Pardon.’”

On ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=042-f06&t=c>
(3/7, story 3, 0:55, Muir), Pierre Thomas reported, “Cohen’s attorneys say
that he explored the possibility of a pardon, but that he never officially
asked for one. Republicans are not buying it, and some are saying Cohen
made another false statement before Congress and should be prosecuted.”
Paula Reid reported on the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender.
Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=043-72f&t=c>
(3/7, story 2, 0:40, Glor), “Last week, Cohen testified that he never asked
for a pardon, but now his attorneys have confirmed that his previous legal
team did explore that possibility. Now, Cohen has previously lied to
Congress, admitted to that, and that is part of why he is headed to jail
soon.” On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=044-13a&t=c>
(3/7, story 2, 2:05, Holt), Kristen Welker reported that Davis said Cohen
“did at one point direct his former attorney to explore possibilities of a
pardon with President Trump’s lawyers. Still, Davis insists that does not
conflict with Cohen’s congressional testimony because Cohen is no longer
cooperating with the President’s legal team.”

Wolf Blitzer said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=045-3cc&t=c>
(3/7) that House Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings said he
warned Cohen “that he would nail him to the cross if he lied to Congress.
Now there are...very serious questions about Cohen’s public testimony that
he ‘never asked’ for a presidential pardon.” Jim Acosta said on CNN’s
Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=046-24a&t=c>
(3/7), “I talked to an Administration official...who said that the
Department of Justice may have to take a hard look at whether Cohen
perjured himself when he said in that testimony that he had not been in
discussions with the President’s legal team about some kind of pardon.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=047-8ec&t=c>
(3/7, Cummings) reports former Trump attorney Jay Sekulow has said he was
not part of any pardon discussion.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=048-981&t=c>
(3/7), “I believe it’s possible that both things are true, that he directed
his attorneys at the time when the White House was dangling the possibility
of pardons to explore that. That’s not the same as explicitly asking, ‘Will
you give me a pardon?’ So he’s parsing the language carefully to avoid, in
fact, perjuring himself. ... Is it perjury? I don’t think that’s clear.”

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=049-761&t=c>
(3/7) that if Cohen perjured himself, “he would be in contempt of Congress,
much like others who have lied to Congress. ... In this particular case,
though, there appears to be a real interest on the part of Michael Cohen to
cooperate in every way.” Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA) said on CNN’s
Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=04a-c34&t=c>
(3/7), “I believe that the President dangled the pardon. I think he did it
publicly by tone and implication of some of his words. I don’t think
there’s any question about it.”

Henry Olsen writes in his Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=04b-27f&t=c>
(3/7) column that Republicans said Cohen “would lie before Congress, and,
it took only a week for Cohen’s own lawyer to suggest that they were right.
Democrats eager to impeach the president should take note.”

*Cohen Sues Trump Organization For Legal Fees. *On NBC Nightly
News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=04c-bbf&t=c>
(3/7, story 2, 2:05, Holt), Kristen Welker reported Cohen is “once again
going after his former client, now suing the Trump Organization for $1.9
million in legal fees.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=04d-cb3&t=c>
(3/7, Mustian) reports the lawsuit, “filed Thursday in New York state
court, claims the Trump Organization stopped paying Cohen’s mounting legal
fees after he began cooperating with federal prosecutors in their
investigations related to Trump’s business dealings in Russia and attempts
to silence women with embarrassing stories about his personal life.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=04e-cae&t=c>
(3/7, Hayes) reports, “Cohen claims that in July 2017 he and the Trump
Organization entered into an agreement that the company would pay ‘for his
attorneys’ fees and costs in connection with Mr. Cohen’s representation and
defense in the investigations and other matters.’” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=04f-dce&t=c>
(3/7, Sonmez) reports Cohen says in his filing that he wrote to the Trump
Organization earlier this year “requesting that it reimburse him for all
outstanding amounts, but he received no reply.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=050-507&t=c>
(3/7, Gold) reports Trump Organization lawyer Marc Mukasey said in a
statement, “The Trump Organization doesn’t owe Michael Cohen one penny of
legal fees. This is a desperate money grab by a desperate convicted felon.”
Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=051-2ae&t=c>
(3/7, Stempel) and the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=052-813&t=c>
(3/7, Morton) also report on Cohen’s lawsuit.

*Judge Dismisses Daniels’ Hush-Money Suit Against Trump. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=053-82f&t=c>
(3/8, O'Brien) reports US District Judge James Otero has dismissed a
lawsuit brought by adult film performer Stormy Daniels “to end a hush-money
agreement she had” with Trump. Otero dismissed the lawsuit because Trump
and Cohen “have agreed not to enforce the nondisclosure agreement against
Daniels, court documents showed.”

Daniels tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=054-c24&t=c>,
“More than a year ago when I was being threatened with a 20 million
lawsuit, I asked a judge to toss out this illegal NDA. Glad I stood my
ground & kept fighting.” Her attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=055-42e&t=c>,
“Yet again, lots of misreporting going on. Be clear: The Court specifically
found that Stormy received everything she asked for in the lawsuit – she
won. How people can claim this is a ‘loss’ after we forced Trump and Cohen
to cave and Cohen has been convicted, etc. is a mystery.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=056-268&t=c>
(3/7, Jackson) reports the President said on Twitter earlier Thursday that
the Daniels matter “has nothing to do with campaign finance laws – and
appeared to acknowledge payments he previously said he knew nothing about.”
The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=057-aca&t=c>
at 9:24 a.m., “It was not a campaign contribution, and there were no
violations of the campaign finance laws by me. Fake News!”

*Schiff Bill Would Give Congress Investigative Materials In Case Of
Pardons. *The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=058-580&t=c>
(3/7, Demirjian) reports House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff will
introduce legislation “to ensure that Congress gets the investigative
records associated with any witnesses in the federal probes of President
Trump’s campaign, businesses and alleged foreign ties if the president
pardons them.” Schiff “framed the bill as an attempt to ensure that, if
Trump – or any president who follows him – uses pardons ‘to cover up crimes
involving any President, his/her family or associates, Congress finds
out.’”

*House Judiciary Committee Ranking Republican Criticizes Nadler
Inquiries. *Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=059-dac&t=c>
(3/7, Morgan) reports House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Doug
Collins (R-GA) said Thursday that “the panel’s investigation into
obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power under Trump surpasses
the scope of legitimate legislative inquiry and violates the U.S.
Constitution.” In a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler,
Collins wrote, “Your requests are part of a concerted effort to target and
punish associates of the president. This effort to intimidate those who
choose to associate with the president ‘through actual or threatened
imposition of government power or sanction’ violates the First Amendment.”

*Mueller Report Already An Amazon “Best Seller.” *The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019030801biden&r=email-20c4&l=05a-e4d&t=c>
(3/7, Hsu) reports that though it is not known when Mueller “will finish
investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election” and “it is unclear
whether the report he is expected to file will ever become public,” two
publishers have already listed March 26 as the date “when people can buy
their book versions of the eagerly anticipated document.” The Mueller
report is already the “#1 Best Seller”
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in political books on Amazon, though one of the publishers “plans to add a
note specifying that the listed date is only a placeholder.”
Foreign Policy
Bolton: Trump Open To More Talks With North Korea.

Reuters
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(3/7, Brunnstrom, Shin) reports President Trump “is open to additional
talks with Pyongyang over denuclearization, his national security adviser
said on Thursday, despite reports that North Korea is reactivating parts of
its missile program.” National Security Adviser Bolton said Thursday on Fox
News’ Fox & Friends[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(3/7) that Trump was still open to additional talks with North Korea over
denuclearization. Said Bolton, “The President’s obviously open to talking
again. We’ll see when that might be scheduled or how it might work out.”
With regards to reports that North Korea has resumed work on its missile
program, Bolton said, “We have a lot of ways of getting information. We’re
going to study the situation carefully. As the President said, it would be
very, very disappointing if they were taking this direction.”

The AP
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(3/7, Riechmann, Lee) reports Trump himself said Thursday that he’s a
“little disappointed” by reports of new activity at a North Korean missile
site. Meanwhile, “briefing reporters at the State Department later, a
senior US official said that despite the new activity and the failure of
last month’s Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi...the administration still believes
it can reach and implement an agreement by the end of the president’s first
term.”

The New York Times
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(3/7, Sanger) reports that a “a senior American official warned that a
satellite launch would violate Kim Jong-un’s commitments to suspend missile
and nuclear testing.” The official “said the United States had not
concluded whether North Korea was intending to conduct a launch,” but that
“would amount to backsliding on commitments made to Mr. Trump.”

*Satellite Images Show “Even More Construction” At North Korean
Missile Site. *Andrea Mitchell reported on NBC Nightly News[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
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(3/7, story 3, 1:00, Holt) that new satellite images of a North Korean
rocket launch site “show even more construction,” demonstrating the speed
with which Kim can reverse steps taken towards disarmament. However,
Mitchell reported a State Department official said “there is still time to
denuclearize North Korea before, as he puts it, the end of President
Trump’s first term.” Mitchell added that the official “described
negotiating with North Korea as a grinding process.”

The Wall Street Journal
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(3/7, Gordon) reports the 38 North website said Thursday that new satellite
images show construction to rebuild the launchpad at Tongchang-ri has moved
quickly. The site, however, said the new data also shows that the work
began before Trump’s summit meeting in Hanoi last week with Kim.

*Pyongyang Denounces US-South Korea Military Exercises. *The Washington
Post
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(3/7, Denyer) reports President Trump has “scaled back US military
exercises with South Korea, but that apparently was not enough to satisfy
North Korea.” The state-run Korean Central News Service (KCNA) issued “a
strongly worded condemnation of the more limited exercises on Thursday in
what may be another example of hardening attitudes” since last week’s
summit in Hanoi ended without an agreement. Said KCNA, “It is a violent
violation of the joint declarations and statements that North Korea reached
with the US and South Korea. This also represents a frontal challenge to
the aim and desires of all [Korean] people and the international community
for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”

*Carter Offers To Visit North Korea. *Politico
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(3/7, Marinucci) reports former President Jimmy Carter is “offering to
travel to North Korea to try and break President Donald Trump’s deadlock
with the North Korean dictator.” The offer was described to Politico by
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), “who met with the former president in Atlanta on
Thursday.”
Bolton: US Wants Peaceful Transfer Of Power In Venezuela.

National Security Adviser Bolton said on Fox News’ Fox & Friends[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
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(3/7), “The Maduro regime has been ripping off the Venezuelan people since
it has been in power going back to when Hugo Chavez was there. They have
plundered the state oil company. They are engaged in illegal drug
trafficking. They are moving resources out of the country to what they
think are going to be safe havens. We want a peaceful transfer of power
from Maduro to Juan Guaidó, who we recognize as interim President, by the
way along with 50 other countries, most of the democracies in the world.
And so we think increased pressure against Maduro...is the way to help the
Venezuelan opposition get that peaceful transition of power.”

*Abrams: US To “Expand The Net” Of Sanctions Around Maduro. *Reuters
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(3/7, Wroughton, Zengerle) reports US special envoy for Venezuela Elliott
Abrams “pledged on Thursday that Washington would ‘expand the net’ of
sanctions on the South American nation, including more on banks supporting
President Nicolas Maduro’s government.” Abrams told a Senate panel, “There
will be more sanctions on financial institutions that are carrying out the
orders of the Maduro regime.”

*US Revokes More Visas Of Maduro Allies. *The New York Times
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(3/7, Rogers) reports the Administration said Thursday it had “revoked 77
more visas of individuals aligned with President Nicolás Maduro.” Assistant
Secretary of State Kimberly Breier tweeted
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“In all, more than 250 visas have been revoked. We will continue to hold
all of the Maduro regime accountable until democracy & freedom are fully
restored in #Venezuela.” The Times calls the visas revocations “the latest
in a series of relatively modest moves by Washington intended to slowly
choke off Mr. Maduro’s economic resources.”

*Abrams: TPS For Venezuelans Is “Under Review.” *The Miami Herald
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(3/7, Daugherty) reports the “ongoing crisis in Venezuela...has led to 3.4
million Venezuelans leaving the country,” but the Administration “hasn’t
made a decision on extending” Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans.
Abrams said TPS for Venezuelans residing in the US is currently “under
review,” during a Senate hearing on Thursday. The AP
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(3/7, Lugo) reports that a group of 23 Democratic and one Republican
senators asked the Administration on Thursday to grant Venezuelans TPS. The
White House “did not respond immediately to a request for comment.”

*US Official: Administration To “Financially Strangle The Cuban
Regime” Over Maduro Support. *The Washington Examiner
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(3/7, Gehrke) reports the Administration is preparing to “financially
strangle the Cuban regime” because of its support for Venezuelan strongman
Nicolas Maduro, according to a senior Administration official. Said the
official, “We are fully willing to keep it up financially. They’re going to
have to reconsider.” The official said the Administration has it “very
clear to [the Cubans] that the intent of our enacting Title III, and of
looking to do so in the future, is to essentially create a completely
inhospitable foreign investment environment for Cuba, to pressure it
economically for its actions in Venezuela.”

*Much Of Venezuela Plunges Into Darkness Amid Widespread Outage. *The
AP
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